#Some Andreil in the tags

[jtl-fics]

Thinking about Matt and Neil going on their own country tour together during Matt's last year spring break where Matt has a big signing bonus for his team.

Matt: "Hey Andrew, you know how you and Neil have those cute couple road trips during school breaks?" Andrew: "We're not-"

Matt: "So I'm taking him this time and we're going to have our own cute couple road trip. Bye!"

What follows is Matt and Neil's cross country trip trying out all these fancy food places because Neil's relationship with food is still weird and Matt wants Neil to enjoy nice things.

#B-plot is Andrew trailing after them because #Fuck you Matt cute couple road trips are his and Neil's thing #The other Foxes keep getting in Andrew's way #Until he finally catches up to them at a restaurant in California #And Andrew hears Neil go 'I gotta take Andrew here!' #And Matt goes 'you've said that about every place we've gone.' #And Andrew loses them again because FUCK #Matt Boyd #Neil Josten #Matt&Neil #AFTG #Some Andreil in the tags

[emry-stars-art]

@lyndiscealin your addition to this post… immaculate, I wanted to draw it, I hope you don’t mind I made minor changes 😅

And did you mean for it to fit almost perfectly with the next bit, because I feel like you did, all I needed to add was one panel between - like, fix the mood in the last two panels and it’s like a seamless comic you’re a genius

Anyway THANK YOU everyone is so brilliant with their ideas and additions 💕

#Lyndis you beautiful angst queen you #if you couldn’t tell by what parts of this I’ve written so far #I do love me some angst #so I did this in the course of one evening/night 🥰 #yay for simple styles #fan art #my art #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #royal au #chibi #tags #comic

[siriusblackisdead]

Aftg memes part 4(?) cuz i dont have anything better to do with my life💪🏻💅🏼

#its too late for my brain to come up with some high quality funny shit to put here so we’re just gonna tag that boring stuff okay I’m sorry #all for the game #aftg #neil josten #the foxes #andrew minyard #nicky hemmick #Kevin day #aaron minyard #twinyards #matt boyd #dan wilds #coach wymack #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #andreil

[meyhew]

have u had your brain forever altered by aftg? do u also spend an obscene amount of time thinking about neil and andrew? has the general 2016/2017 litblr era defined a core part of ur identity? do you also get nostalgic about that time (even tho it kinda sucked but u also just had to be there)? if u said yes to any or all of these, this is thee place for u 

kindly reblog this (not needed but pls) 

fill out this very quick form 

thats it <3 u can follow us seed & michelle (if u dont already) if u would like to keep up with any changes to this. one of us will most likely dm you soonish <3 

#aftg #tfc #all for the game #andreil #soc #trc #sorry for all the tags i simply need some exposure. pls reblog thank u

[mistykaru]

it’s not full ham 90s anime style i was mostly having fun with filters and different decoration brushes lol

#aftg #the foxhole court #neil josten #all for the game #andreil #bc this is definitely like andrew's shoujo vision of neil at some point idk lmao #i was just going heehee as i drew it #the flowers are stamp brushes everything that is not neil is a stamp brush bc this was very much for funsies #dont come for me #also i am so bad at a 90s anime style listen i've been trying since i was like 8 and that was the kind of art that the sister drew #so this is more my regular stuff but his eyes are colored differently #i lowered the opacity of the lines layer being like alright time to try for that anime 90s style #and i lost all steam so #maybe one day but i make no promises #i'm p sure other people have done the thing anyway so like go look at their stuff #i forgot to google it before i drew this so i actually don't know but i'm sure there must be #update google gave me nothing but i tried one (1) search #can you tell i haven't really spoken to anyone in like a week soz for the fuckin tag waterfall #myart #ashjdfklha i just realized i forgot his scars again lmafuckin o whatever this is a happy shoujo universe neil ok

[borbealis]

ok guys. I don't understand why there is so much nora hate. pls explain in the comments

#i've been in the fandom for years #but not actively #and back at the beginning of things fans loved her #what changed #please explain #aftg #tfc #all for the game #the raven king #king's men #nora sakavic #tagging some ships and characters so that more people see this cause i really do want to know #andreil #kandreil #renison #jerejean #neil josten #andrew minyard #twinyards #matt boyd #dan wilds #allison reynolds #renee walker #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #kevin day

[cacowhistle]

i haven't posted like any fic in forever and that's mostly bc i haven't written any that i'm satisfied with. in the meantime tho, have a weird snippet of all for the game fic that i started to try and get a handle on some of the characters. it's not finished and i won't be finishing it. but like some of it is pretty okay i think?? one of these days i'll finish another fic. today is not that day but just like imagine it for me. it's totally gonna happen.

The Foxes are losing.

Correction, Neil thinks, as he watches Matt clash with another backliner, the Foxes are self-sabotaging.

The score is one to six, Jackal’s favor, and Neil thinks Allison is about ready to storm off the court. Halftime, finally, is called as Matt throws the third punch he’s thrown all night, and Neil huffs out a sigh. He isn’t getting back on the court tonight—that’s the second yellow card.

People are attempting to pull the grappling backliners apart, but Neil doesn’t spare them much of a glance as he jogs past, racquet slung across his shoulders. He only has eyes for the bench and the goalkeeper sitting on it, fingers interlocked and elbows resting on his knees as he studies the ongoing brawl with an impassive stare. He’s interested. Hopefully that means they can salvage this.

“Andrew,” he says, stepping through the door, “stay in goal tonight.”

He looks up at Neil, looking utterly unfazed. “That’s not my job.”

Neil gives him a look, an unsubtle warning. Those never work, though—he and Andrew both know it. Words are the only thing that will get Andrew on a leash. Neil’s words. Sometimes Kevin’s, even rarer, Renee’s. Neil is the one with the highest success rate.

“Your job,” he murmurs, voice lowering as he leans in, “is to stay in goal tonight. I don’t care what the other team is saying about me. I don’t need your protection.”

Andrew scoffs. Neil swats the back of his head. Were it anyone else, they’d lose fingers, but Andrew just stares up at him, eyes flat and dark. Neil raises an eyebrow. Andrew is silent for a very long moment, before reaching up to tap the ugly scar on Neil’s cheek with his thumb. He doesn’t even blink.

“I know you don’t,” Andrew says, eyes still dark, “this’ll be much more interesting.”

There have been ugly taunts being thrown around all night. Butcher is the new nickname, the cruel, jeering jab that the opposing team has been using to try and throw Neil off his game. The worst part is, he thinks it may be working. At the very least, he got to see Kevin trip the Jackal’s dealer with his racquet “on accident” after the guy had spat out some sort of insult involving his father’s name. Neil certainly wasn’t worried about himself, though—just how Andrew would react when he finally got out on the court.

He has a vindictive, violent, protective streak. Neil isn’t stupid. One particularly nasty word with the intent to cut deep a bit too close to Andrew, and that heavy goalkeeper’s racquet is caving in a ribcage or shattering another arm. He knows that Andrew has chosen him as his mark, the thing he’ll maim for.

But Andrew trusts him. And he, however stupid it is, trusts Andrew. He’ll handle it himself, without sending someone to the hospital. Even if Andrew disagrees with the method and result, he’ll allow Neil this reclamation of power if he deems it necessary.

Neil isn’t religious, but he prays that he does anyway.

The game resumes with Andrew in goal and Nicky going on in Matt’s stead—Neil isn’t sure it’ll be much better, but at least Nicky won’t try to get the other team to punch his lights out the way Matt’s been trying to all night, with the way he’s been behaving. A sour mood, one that Neil doesn’t quite want to interpret or find out the reason for—it takes a lot to ruffle Matt’s feathers like this.

He’s grinning at them through the plexiglass, though, so maybe he was just feeling like a grade-A piece of shit tonight.

Someone yells across the court. Neil hears the word junior, and his shoulders tense. The Jackal’s goalkeeper shouts it again, grinning beneath his helmet. Neil returns his gaze with a dead-eyed stare, not moving even as Kevin claps a hand over his shoulder.

He leans in, saying only for Neil to hear: “Carve them up.”

Oh, he’ll clear through them like a cleaver.

He makes it to half-court and wastes no time as soon as the buzzer’s gone off. Off like a shot, he races down the court—the backliners will handle the incoming strikers, and there’s the deafening crack of Andrew sending a shot down the court—a confirmation of Neil’s confidence that tonight will turn around. His mark is practically right on his heels, but he manages to snatch the rebound out of the air and pivot away, just as the backliner swings his racquet and smashes against his with enough force to send a rattle of pain all the way up his forearms. Neil doesn’t let go—but the ball goes flying. It’s messy and uncoordinated. It has no place in a Class I game. Neil narrows his eyes at the backliner, who just grins.

“C’mon, Butcher,” he says, and Neil’s blood burns.

It takes less than a second for him to lose his tail. He ducks around the backliner, feinting one way before bolting the other, seeing Allison with the ball—the pass is quick and clean, and before long Aaron is tossing it back Andrew’s way.

It clears the court. Neil isn’t sure he’ll be able to catch it, but he takes off anyways—right between the oncoming defense players, weaving across the court with a snarl. It takes nothing for him to get out of their range, even less to snatch the ball out of the air. They’re still coming, though, and he’s hardly in position to shoot. He’s shot from worse angles, but he can give himself better odds—darting towards goal and passing to himself, the goalkeeper’s got his eyes on him and there’s something ugly in them.

Neil makes the goal. He makes sure to make it hurt, too. This got personal as soon as these shitheads let the name Nathaniel leave their mouths—so he strikes back twice as hard, the best way he knows how.

“At least my father cared enough to chase me across the country,” he snaps, eyes gone wild, “is yours even in the stands?”

It was the wrong thing to say. Or maybe the right thing. The goalkeeper’s eyes light up with fury, and Neil knows the punch is coming before it gets there. It rattles him down to the teeth, and he’s sent stumbling sideways. A second one comes moments later, and Neil’s not fast enough to get out of range. The buzzer goes off and Neil thinks that sound ringing in his ears is the shouting of his teammates. He doesn’t wait for someone to come to his rescue, though—he hits right back.

It takes three people to pull them apart. There’s definitely blood dripping from Neil’s nose as he backs off, panting and swearing as he does so. He doesn’t fight it as he’s swung around and shoved back toward his team, and the sight that greets him is pretty much what he expected: Andrew, being held back by four of their teammates—Kevin with his arms wrapped around his middle, Allison and Nicky holding him by the arms, Aaron pushing against his shoulders. They don’t let go of him until Neil’s halfway across the court toward them, though Andrew’s still simmering as Neil comes closer.

“You’re bleeding,” Kevin says, and Neil grins, all teeth.

“You told me to carve them up,” he says, sharp as a knife’s edge.

#aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #andreil #neil josten #andrew minyard #aftg fic #aftg fanfic #aftg fandom #idk how many tags can i slap on this thing #my writing #this one isnt good enough or finished enough for ao3 but i CAN slap it down here so!!! here u go!!!! #have some absolutely deranged gay people!!!

[mollymarymarie]

Thanks for the tag @billsfangearring <3

Three ships: Wolfstar, Drarry, Andreil (Andrew Minyard/Neil Josten)

First ever ship: Stucky (Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes)

Last song: Currently listening to Days by Balmorrhea

Last movie: The Fellowship of the Ring. The line that always gets me teary eyed - “There’s always been a Baggins living here, under the hill, in Bag End. And there always will be.”

Currently reading: Does it count as reading if I’m just editing my own fic? I’ll count it as reading.

Currently consuming: I had dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner lol 

Currently craving: the cereal marshmallows in my pantry. they’re JUST THE MARSHMALLOWS WITH NO CEREAL 

I’m hardly ever on tumblr so I don’t know who’s done it already and who hasn’t, but I’ll go ahead and tag @blitheringmcgonagall @therealrjlupin @theresthesnitch @greyeyedmonster-18 @femme--de--lettres and @squintclover (even though billie already tagged you lol) and honestly anyone who hasn’t been tagged yet who wants to answer some silly questions

#tag game! #thanks love! #feel free to join in if you want! #getting to know me #feel free to rec me some andreil fics if you got some #i haven't read any #just the AFTG series #but i need the fics #i could search it but meh

[circus-clown-calvary]

I still don’t know how this app fully works so let me yell into the either and hope for a response

What kind of AFTG fics are y’all looking for?

One shots or multi chapter? Long or short? How long is too long? How short is too short? Soft or angry? Fluff or angst? Poetic or blunt?

I’m looking to write more for aftg but Idk what to write so can I get some input from y’all?

Either in the rb tags or in a comment? A Dm even.

Also can y’all rec me you favorite fics too? I want to expand my horizons lol

#personally I like ~4000-9000 word long one shots with a mix of all the umbrella tags #I can’t read anything longer than 4 chapters right now #expect old fics iv re read like 30 times already lol #iv stuck to mainly Andreil but I want to start reading more fic that don’t revolve around Neil or Andrew #i love them #but #the others deserve some spot light #honk talks #<3 #andrew minyard #aftg neil #neil josten #aftg fics #aftg #all for the game

[kirsctein]

I don’t really get it when ppl write Neil younger than he is for no reason??? Is it for shock factor?

#like??????? #literally why #I get that some might just get confused because he lies about his age in canon and make him a year too young #but when he’s deaged like 3 or 4 years for no reason? #but pretty much everything else is kept like in canon #why are you making him be like 16 when everyone else is their canon age #just to write the other react that ‘oh he’s just a kid he shouldn’t need to go through smth like this’ ?? #in andreil fics??? #you think Andrew would go after someone who’s underage? #ok gotta be fair that I didn’t actually read further than like one chapter so no clue how they handled the ship but it was in the tag #aaand just to clarify I just mean fics where he’s made a minor for no reason #not other age gap fics even tho the concept usually makes me 😐😐 #but I’ve read good age gap andreil before so #my beef is with writing him a minor #ALSO!!! yes you’re allowed to write what ever you want #which is why I’m shouting this into a void instead of starting shit in the comment section #please ignore me!!! I have bad opinions

[polzkadotz]

fic writer Neil/ao3 wrangler Andrew finally got an update!

Word count: 1k for chapter 3 (3k for the whole wip) | Rated T

This chapter features

✨ bins being real quiet before Andrew's birthday

✨ Neil posting an Apology Fic

✨ Drunk chaos from Neil, shocking flitting from Andrew on an ao3 comment section (or Dan seems to think so 👀)

link in the comments! 🥰

#my writing #my fics #fic: You are welcome to follow the guidelines when tagging (you are encouraged to use whatever form of tags you prefer 😏) #andreil #it took me 4 hours to remember how to do the HTML code for this thing properly AND IT DOESN'T HELP THAT I DONT HAVE A KEYBOARD #but I pulled through and I'll fix the wonkiness at some point

[emry-stars-art]

I drew them kissing again. This but better

Because now I can tell you it’s chapter 18 and you can read it right now 👀

#idk guys I think I got some complex emotions shoehorned in here this time #at least I hope I did #you’re not necessarily going to be happy with the end of the chapter #but you will probably understand and be satisfied #for now 👀 #anyway #fan art #my art #fan fic #my writing #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #yayyyy i can tag andreil now #swicr #swicr ch18 #kisses

[jingerhead]

Hello! It’s been hot minute since you’ve done a fic rec …. sooo pretty pretty please bless us with one ?

Hi lovely anon! I'd love to do another rec list - I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get to answering this, but I hope you enjoy the selection. As always all these fics are andreil-centric unless stated otherwise, be mindful of tags and warnings and show all these writers some support!

Fluff

The One Where They Adopt The Cats by athousandstoriesleftuntold

Hold my hands tight by Faithpollen

You're Worth Losing a Bet by jaydreamz

Holy Ground by freshtaylorswiftduck

King of My Heart by marie_pothos

Lay All Your Love On Me by somebodytoundress

yeah i'll pay 7 dollars for that by archiveofourfoxes

Neil Josten, Sugar Daddy by tomat0head

When Neil Stole Andrew's Cats by LeosBrainrotvvv

Angst

You are in love by freshtaylorswiftduck (misunderstandings)

White Noise by Esmay_Writes (panic/anxiety)

Let's Go To the Beach by greencherrybomb (attempted assault)

the ticking of a heart by kariospy (depression, dissociation, panic attacks)

Broken Compass by JostenlovesMinyard (twinyard-centric, referenced abuse and assault)

So It Goes... by marie_pothos (light angst, mutual pining angst, mild sexual content)

Smut

Better than Sex by sillyunicorn6154

Floating with you by boredgojo (Bottom Andrew)

One Squeeze For Yes by bri_ghtly (aftercare)

Manufactured Urgency by andrewiel

No Kissing Challenge by zoellendraws

But I Can Try (If You Like It) by sambutwithbooks (fem andreil)

When I'm awake with you by TheseSmallDelights

you the type i wanna marry and keep you merry by miehczyslaw (fem andreil, omegaverse)

you are a masterpiece by coritkyo (bottom Andrew)

Longer

Little by Little by klarfire (incomplete, Neil and Nathaniel are twins, read tags for warnings)

Of Keyboards and Streams by PastelKnights (incomplete, streamer au)

100 days by doodlingstuff (incomplete, blind Andrew)

Who's your roommate? by neil_jos10 (Neil and Aaron are roommates, references to past abuse)

The Art of Being Human by kanekicure (merfolk au, part of the 'way down we go' series you should read itttt)

Growing pains of becoming a Real Person series by nightwalker4769 (Neil has a fear of needles)

A Tragic Beauty by rayla2tobe (incomplete, Sleeping Beauty au)

Absolute Favorites

roller rink kids (steady on your feet) by Major_816 (Mac is a god read all their works)

Thicker Than Water by Fortheloveofexy (vampire Andrew)

For The Dancing & The Dreaming by Tidalst (sorcerer Neil)

How to Write a Love Story by tomat0head (fake dating)

#jinger answers #jinger's recs #aftg #aftg fic rec #tfc #tfc fic rec #all for the game #all for the game fic rec #the foxhole court #andreil #andreil fic rec #andriel #andriel fic rec

[fortheloveofexy]

Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

Thanks for the tag @mostlymaudlin ! tagging @jingerhead @paradoxolotl @exy-shmexy @storiesnstardust

Top 5 (by Kudos):

1. Call Me By Your Name (3.9k, andreil)  

Basically, Neil calls Andrew “baby” in his sleep once, so Andrew  gets flustered and then secretly tries out different pet names for Neil.

This one... honestly really surprised me with how popular it got. It’s my most kudos’d fic by a long shot (2,378 kudos??? insanity). It’s a short little thing, entirely focused around andreil and pet names. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this one being the top fic, because it’s one of my oldest fics and I don’t really love the prose now. I don’t really understand why it got so popular out of everything I wrote bc it’s never anyone’s favorite fic when I ask, but I’m glad so many enjoyed it!

2. Sweet Enough To Eat (3.1k, andreil) 

Andrew experiencing cute aggression. That’s basically the whole premise lol.

 Anyway, this one is my oldest fic, so I assume that’s why it’s so popular. It’s cute, sweet even! I still like it to this day. Not much else to say about it though.

3. May We Meet Again (10.7k, andreil)

The first installment of the Artist Neil AU. 

To be honest, I don’t like it anymore. That whole AU has problems with pacing, and some characterization issues too. Plus, looking back at the art now makes me cringe so hard. The only reason it’s still up is bc I know a lot of people really like it. Sometimes I think about revising the whole thing but I still remember how big of an undertaking it was when I first wrote it and made all the art for it, so I probably won’t. 

4. The Marks We Make (41.3k, andreil)

A (mostly) canon rewrite from Andrew’s POV with a soulmate AU twist. 

This the first multichapter fic I ever wrote, and one of the earliest fics I ever published, so I’m not surprised it’s high on the list. There are some things I like about this one, and some I would do differently. Writing this fic helped me make some of my first friends in the fandom though, so it was very much worth it.

5. Yes Or No? (35.5k, andreil)

sub andrew & Dom Neil pwp - need I say more?. 

This one truly surprised me. It was meant to be a one-shot experiment, something I wrote as an exploration of my own boundaries and limits. BDSM fics are often triggering for me, so I generally avoid them, but I wanted to write a BDSM fic that I would be able to enjoy and to explore BDSM from a safe distance.

However, given how much the fandom seemed to be against Andrew submitting (and sometimes even just bottoming) at the time, I worried I might end up getting hate for writing it. To my surprise, I did not, and so many commenters asked that I continue it that I ended up turning it into a whole series. 

I’m quite proud of it still - it might just be a smut fic to most people, but it will always be more than just a smut fic to me. 

I do hate the last 3 paragraphs of the main fic though. I was on a kick where I thought incorporating references to fic titles and canon lines into my writing was clever and fun, but now I just cringe when I look at it. Ahh well, maybe someday I’ll change it and tell nobody. Create a little Berenstein/Berenstain Bears moment :)

Top 5 (Personal Ranking):

1.  More Than Words (32.9k, ongoing, neon friendship)

Neil and Aaron meet as kids and become best friends, long before Aaron learns his mother’s secret - he has a long lost twin brother.

I cannot gush enough about the love I have for this fic, this whole story. I can’t talk about it here because I have some insane twists planned (iykyk) but just know this fic is my baby and this story will be my magnum opus once it’s done. I love writing Neil and Aaron’s friendship, I love writing Aaron’s POV, I love the plans I have these boys. It’s still ongoing so I understand why it’s not higher up in the kudos ranking, but I’m hopeful that will change once I actually finish it.

2. A Quiet Self-Destruction (2.6k, andreil)

A character study on Andrew’s experience with depression, and how Neil helps him through his bad days.

I wrote this to comfort myself during one of my own depression spells. It still brings me a bit of hope on dark days. For that, I will always love it.

3. Scribbles and Sticky Notes (11.7k, andreil)

Neil retires from Exy, with heaps of fluff, soft Andreil, wholesome Twinyards, hurt/comfort, MCD and angst.

Hands down, this is the saddest fic I’ve ever written, and I’m quite proud of that fact. I think the pacing is really good, and the gut punches are quite successful (while being foreshadowed quite nicely). The characterization is also spot on, I think. It’s got MCD though, which I think is probably why it’s not more popular. 

4. The Past, Stained Red (4.4k, andreil)

Part 3 of the Artist Neil AU. Andrew has a surprise run-in with a ghost from his past, and finally gets some closure.

This is the only fic of the Artist Neil AU that I actually still like. It’s well-paced, well-characterized, and I still like the art. Mostly, though, I viciously loved writing Andrew getting to close the door on Cass, and I loved writing him acknowledging the harm she did to him as a foster parent. He couldn’t see it as a child, but as an adult? He sees her clearly, in all her failure. It was extremely cathartic to write that. 

5. Catdrew Meowyard (1.4k, andreil)

Andrew suddenly has cat ears and a tail. Nobody questions it. Shenanigans ensue.

This is such a silly little fic. I wrote it as a joke and I still love it dearly, even though it’s very dumb. It’s just very fun to write and to read, and it’s perfect for when I want to blow off steam and write some crack.

#aftg #andreil #all for the game #the foxhole court #aftg fics #aftg fanfics #andrew minyard #neil josten #fic recs #aftg fanfic #andreil fanfic #andreil fic #aftg fic #fanfic

[nanatsuyu]

I feel like it’s not talked about enough that early in the books Kevin is the only person we see Andrew initiating any type of physical closeness/touch with at all … also thinking about how they’re described physically with each other in Son of Nefes like. so much tenderness (@ your tags about how Andrew carries himself around Kevin and Neil)

I definitely think their closeness in the beginning gets overshadowed a lot by how close Andrew and Neil get later in the series. And that's not a diss on andreil! I think it's important to Andrew's character to see that while Neil played a very large part in letting Andrew explore his boundaries and grow comfortable with physical affections, there were others that helped in that healing along the way too.

One of my favourite scenes is the one where Kevin takes his glove off for Andrew to inspect his hand for any damages. It's written in such a way that implies they weren't paying any attention to the rest of the world around them. Matt had been carded, the play was over and a fight had broken out, and during that sliver of time, either Andrew had hailed Kevin over or he'd gone of his own volition to the goal for Andrew to give his injuries a one over. Kevin knew he was going to get swapped out, and they both turned somewhat surprised when Dan called out to Kevin, as if the game being in play was an afterthought. (Which, considering it's Kevin, seems somewhat ooc since he always knows what's going on on court).

And, although we don't have the exact words regarding Andrew's deal with Kevin, it was implied in the most basic terms that Andrew would protect Kevin from Riko. (There's obviously nuance here given Andrew's bodyguard tendencies when Kevin gets into later spats with people, but for the sake of how vague most of Andrew's deals are spoken aloud, I think it's safe to assume he promised to protect Kevin from his big bad not sibling in the same way he promised to have Neil's back). All that just to say... It wasn't really in their deal for Andrew to protect or look after Kevin outside of his affiliations with the Ravens. And yet, even after threatening to break his own hand before all this, because Kevin annoyed the piss out of him so much, here he was, inspecting Kevin's hand and putting the game on hold to do so.

This injury has nothing to do with Riko or the Ravens. So, in terms of their deal, he didn't really need to dote on Kevin like that. And yet.

And yet.

And this is really only one instance of them being glued at the hip. Andrew does a lot of redirecting of Kevin's person in the same way we see him do later with Neil. Like you said as well, Kevin's the only one for some pages that we see Andrew physical with that isn't necessarily reactionary or defensive. I know Andrew was still on his meds at the time, but this line came across to me as him literally shoving Andrew down court who didn't seem to take much issue with the it:

He doesn't make much mention of it, but if I had to wager a guess, these moments of familiar contact are not a new thing upon Neil's arrival.

(Also it's been a hot minute since I skimmed through son nefes (the ec and I are on cherry picking terms most days) but I know Renee saw it too.)

Like it makes me insane to think about how their deal didn't have to incorporate all that closeness. It didn't require Andrew to become intertwined with the rest of Kevin's life and daily going on's. He could have agreed to keep him on a leash from getting dragged out of the fox den by the Ravens and called it a day, but we can see clear as day that Andrew treats his relationship with Kevin far more delicately than that. In terms of canon, the best friend (platonic soul bond or whatever title floats your fancy) behaviour jumped out of Andrew so fast, I'm shocked how anyone could overlook it.

And I haven't even touched on how Wymack views their relationship, or Kathy's show, or the role Andrew plays as Kevin's other half post Evermore, or the first genuine smiles are the ones they give each other, or the pseudo threat of the butter knife scene, or whatever they had going on here:

Like, there are certainly motions that can be considered varying levels of tender, but I do think it's important to remember that Andrew's gestures should not be measured with the same scale as say someone like Renee. We can obviously see in later chapters that Andrew can be incredibly gentle (ie the hip kiss that ruined my life), but I think it's a disservice to Andrew's character to understate how close he and Kevin are through the series, both physically and emotionally.

#and i say emotionally with an asterisk because i dont think anyone in that series made it out without some codependency issues #but thats another topic #also thos got really long and rambly im so sorry #i just feel very desperately about Them #aftg #kevin day #andrew minyard #kandrew #nana asks

[second-luv]

I‘ve been in this fandom since 2015-16. I‘ve seen the ao3 tag count go from 200(ish) to 11.000. I‘ve read every (good) fanfiction under the andreil tag and then some from other fandom related tags. I‘ve even read bullet point fanfictions here on tumblr bcs I read every (good) fanfiction on ao3 and tumblr, thats how desperate I was. And now I get to see how big this fandom got! We trended on tumblr!!! We are probably getting a rainbow crate special edition!!!! WE ARE GETTING A NEW BOOK!!!!?!!!!?! I am so happy to have seen this fandom grow and still be a part off for such great news!!!

#all for the game #andreil #nora sakavic #the foxhole court #tfc #aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #the sunshine court #jean moreau