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otdiaftg · 1 month

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The King's Men - Chapter Fifteen (17)

Day: Friday, March 22nd / 23rd* Time: 11:30 PM EST

Neil locks the door behind him and crosses the room to Andrew's side. Andrew lets him take the vodka away without argument or resistance. Neil screws its cap on tight and sets it where neither of them could knock it over. Andrew is ready when Neil turns back to him, and he catches Neil's collar to pull him down. Neil plants one hand against the rough carpet to keep himself leveraged off Andrew's body. The other he buries in the beanbag near Andrew's head. Andrew drags a hand down Neil's arm from his shoulder to his wrist. "Last I checked you hated me," Neil says against Andrew's mouth. "Everything about you," Andrew says. Neil pushes himself up a bit. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am." "And I'm not as smart as I thought I was," Andrew says. "I know better than to do this again. Perhaps it's the self-destructive streak in me?" If it wasn't for that "again" Neil would think this has to do with Wednesday's terrible conversation. Neil ticks through all the possible explanations as fast as he can, from Roland's rejected advances to Andrew's complicated family issues to the Foxes and Drake. Pressure on his wrist finally turns his thoughts where they need to go. Neil had once asked Andrew if it would kill him to let something in. He should've known better than to say such a thing after seeing Andrew's scars. Andrew had nearly killed himself trying to hang onto Cass Spear, but he'd still lost her in the end. "I am not a pipe dream," Neil says. "I'm not going anywhere." "I didn't ask you." "Ask me," Neil insists, "or stick around long enough to figure it out for yourself." "I'll get bored of you eventually." "You sure?" Neil asks. "Rumor has it I'm pretty interesting." "Don't believe everything you hear." Neil ignores that dismissal because Andrew is already pulling him down again. They kiss until Neil feels dizzy, until he isn't sure he can hold himself up anymore, and then Andrew pulls Neil's hand off the beanbag chair. He holds it up away from them for an eternity, then slowly presses it flat against his chest and lets go. Andrew tenses up underneath Neil's hand but relaxes before Neil can pull away. Neil isn't fooled. Andrew had made it very clear the first time he kissed Neil how important an actual "yes" is. This casual surrender isn't genuine consent. Andrew is doing this because of what they'd said on Wednesday, but Neil isn't sure which one of them Andrew is trying to convince. It's only been three months since Proust's abuse and four months since Drake's attack. Neil doesn't know when Andrew will be okay with this but he knows it isn't today. Neil leaves his hand on Andrew but refuses to move it from that spot. "I won't be like them," Neil says. "I won't let you let me be." "One hundred and one," Andrew says, "going on one hundred and two." "You're a terrible liar," Neil says, and Andrew kisses him into silence.

Art used with permission by rainbowd00dles. Thank you @rainbowd00dles

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

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currently-evil · 1 year

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Raven!Neil Au where Andrew and Neil meet for the first time at a banquet.

They sit across from each other and Neil smart-mouth Josten can't help but go off at Kevin, still angry about being abandoned by him.

To his surprise it's Andrew who answers him. It's a bit of a match. Cutting remark after cutting remark, but.... it's unexpectedly fun.

Both Ravens and Foxes watched in shock as Neil and Andrew somehow moved from insults to genuine conversation.

They lean closer to each other, no longer raising voices. Neil practically showed everything on the table to the side so he can lean almost half of his body across the table just so he and Andrew can talk freely.

Everybody moves subtly closer just to overhear even a snippet of what they are talking...

... they plan an apocalypse plan. Arguing about cons and pros of bunkering in the supermarket.

And they look like they’re having fun... or as much as they would let themselves show any kind of enjoyment in the environment they are in.

They lean close, talking in hushed voices... looking almost like they are flirting.

Or rather they are flirting, thinks NIcky, watching as his usually emotionless cousin lean closer to the redhead rolling his eyes with a shadow of a sarcastic smile on his lips, and he promptly shoves his entire fist into his mouth to muffle a squeal.

I just love to think that it infuriated Riko, that he isn't the center of attention in the 100%. Riko trying to stop their conversion, to butt it, interrupt, only to be ushered by Neil or Andrew everytime.

Neil remembering how in Ferdinand’s show Andrew played with Riko by pretending to not remember his name and doing the same thing, looking straight into Andrew eyes, ignoring his captain having a furious meltdown at his side.

Andrew watches it all with his eyes burning into Neil.

(All of the foxes and Ravens stimulatingly wondering how the heck the most meddling one from their team suddenly found the most meddling one from the opposing team. What kind of cosmic justice is this?)

In the end Neil just takes a napkin and doodles something quickly on, His eyes smile with a fire that could only promise a disaster (Andrew knows better not to let himself get burned, and yet...) and before Riko has enough and pulls all the Ravens away, he slides it towards Andrew.

All the foxes are gapping.

Did... Did that Raven just propositioned Andrew? Like in the middle of a banquet??? did he just casually give him his number??? What is going on???

Andrew refuses to feed their curiosity in any way.

But when they are safe in the bus, Kevin drunk into oblivion, rest of the foxes bored with his silence…

He lets himself unwind the napkin.

There is a letter inside. Neatly folded multiple times so it doesn't even look like it was hidden inside the napkin until Andrew could feel it in his hands.

Letter describing how Kevin is the son of Wymack.

And a little note on the napkin....

"Have fun with it.”

And Andrew can't help but feel his interest stir inside him.

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If anybody is interested i wrote short fic about this :) Here is link

#Neil Josten #Neil Abram Josten #Andrew Minyard #Andrew Joseph Minyard #andreil #All for the game #Foxhole court #the foxhole court #aftg #aftg andreil #aftg headcanon #Raven Neil destroying Riko's life is my jam

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jtl-fics · 10 months

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Time After Time:

Math Nerd AU

May 19th, 2020 (in the past future [before the reincarnation])

Math Nerd AU | Unusual Fic Asks

Neil was coming to accept that he wasn't going to die of old age as the doctors told him the recovery time for his twisted knee. He would need to do physical therapy before he could even have the surgery and then additional physical therapy afterwards.

It would take too long.

The Moriyamas would cut him as a useless thread. "Mr. Josten, you'll play again." The Doctor assures, "You will just-"

"Thank you Doctor, yes I understand." Neil interrupts. "Let's schedule a time to start the physical therapy." he says because a part of him feels spiteful. He knows how Ichirou works, knows that his death will look like a suicide.

People who are committing suicide don't make plans right? Maybe his death would be just enough to topple it all to the ground and save Kevin and Jean. He makes his appointment and hobbles out of his doctor's appointment to find Andrew in the waiting room.

He wonders how much longer he'll get to look at him.

He'll never actually be ready to stop.

Andrew's gaze snaps to him and Andrew has always been able to read him like a book. "It's too long?" he asks.

Neil laughs because, as usual, there was no point in hiding things from Andrew. "I've had my will ready for a while. I'm leaving-"

"Stop." Andrew raises his hand, "you aren't dying. Not before me. I'm older." Andrew argues.

Neil smiles and wishes to say the three words that bubble up in him but he wants them to be the last ones he says to Andrew if he can manage it. Saying them now would only make Andrew upset and possibly leave.

"Let's go home. I wanna see the cats." he says instead. It doesn't matter too much, his will spells out where everything is supposed to go. Andrew helps him into the car and puts his crutches in the backseat. They drive in silence and Neil finds himself looking at every black car with out of state licenses.

He looks at his phone because there's no point in worrying. His fate was sealed the moment that Ohio player rammed into him. He hopes Andrew likes one of the options he listed in his will. He hopes he stays close to Andrew, hopes he can protect him from beyond.

He prepares texts for all of his friends as he goes. Most are just I love yous and some thanking them for being especially kind to him. His text to Matt a long note on how sorry he is that he won't get to watch his god daughter grow up. His note to Aaron to make sure that his daughters take after Katelyn when they're born.

They get home and Neil is glad to see that there are no cars in their driveway. It does not mean that Ichirou isn't there, but it gives him a bit more time to look at Andrew.

Andrew's jaw is tight as he pulled into their garage.

"I've had arrangements made and paid for Andrew. It's going-"

"Shut up." Andrew hisses and gets out of the car.

Neil's phone rings and he sees a familiar area code he looks as Andrew shuts the door as he enters the house.

He hits accept. 32 wasn't bad considering he never expected 20.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Wesninski." Ichirou greets and Neil lets his eyes close. "I hear you will not be able to pay me." he comments.

"It will be quite some time before I can work on the court again My Lord." he doesn't lie or try to hide it. "I understand what this means for our deal. May I-"

"I wish to strike a different deal." Ichirou interrupts and Neil blinks.

"You...wish to strike a different deal?" he asks.

"I am in need of someone with your certifications Wesninski." Ichirou says.

Neil's jaw tenses. He can't do his father's work. He'd rather just have Ichirou shoot him and let it be done.

"You have kept up to date with your CPA certification from what I understand?" Ichirou continues.

Neil blinks.

What?

#Math Nerd AU #Unusual Fic Asks #AFTG #AFTG AU #Andreil #Unseen is Andrew inside looking at the money he's saved up from his own paychecks #Money that will cover what Neil owes Ichirou for a year. He's set it aside in case this ever happens #To buy Neil time #Turns out Wymack has saved Neil's life instead #Since he got Neil his college degree #Math Nerd - Future Past - 01

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foxo-lotl · 9 months

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another from twitter, one of my favourites. angst

andreil having a fight on a really bad day for Neil. Andrew telling Neil what the have really is nothing and he doesn't lie.

Neil just saying 'okay' and walking away.

After that, they're both distant, Andrew tries to talk to Neil the next day, but Neil's responses are quiet, almost dead.

It hurts. a lot. going from Neil listening to his every word and throwing himself into conversationa with Andrew with full interest, to him being completely withdrawn and empty, it's almost worse than when Neil arrived at Palmetto. He throws all his energy into practices, and doesn't come back to the monster's dorm. his dorm. his bed. with Andrew. Andrew's grown so used to sleeping beside another body that the heat and weight of it is something he almost thinks he misses. When he gets in the car to drive back from practice, he instinctively waits several seconds to hear the click of the seatbelt beside him, before realising he won't hear it. When they get back to the dorm, he starts on coffee, pulls out both his and Neil's cups, and makes his hot chocolate, he finishes making the drinks, picking them up and walking to the couch, he is just about to mutter a 'junkie' before he realises Neil just isn't there and pours both drinks down the sink. He can't even smoke without it hurting, the smell and taste tainted by Neil the same way it is by Andrew and his mother for Neil. When he goes to sleep at night, he occasionally tries to snuggle into Neil's arms before realising they're not there. in the mornings, he groans, expecting Neil to get up for his run, and prepares himself to grip Neil so he will decide to postpone his run, only to realise there is nobody for him to pull back to bed.

Andrew thought he'd lived through hell, and he had, but this is almost more painful, he'd desensitised himself to physical pain, but this type of pain is something that takes careful management, and he let himself fall too far that he doesn't think he can ever recover from it. It ends when Renee, Aaron, and Matt notice the way the both of them look deader and yet more miserable than they've ever seen before, when they notice the space they leave beside them when they sleep, when Aaron watches Andrew pours a drink from a cup he knows was Neil's down the sink, with an expression he can only describe as hurt on his face, clearly not thinking anyone was nearby.

They lock them both in Matt's dorm (painstakingly, because they're both observant and stubborn) And tell them they'll be back later.

They make it two hours of silence and rare eye contact before Andrew hears tears quietly hit the desk Neil is sitting at. The sound surprises him, he's never heard or seen Neil cry, and knowing he's the one who caused it hurts so so so much worse than he could ever expect.

Neil doesn't sob, doesn't wail, barely sniffles, he's just silent. And it hurts Andrew to remember the things that must've happened for Neil to be able to do that, to feel like he must.

Andrew hasn't cried since he was 10, but he does when Neil finally looks up at Andrew's face. It shocks him, because he'd nearly forgotten the sound of his own cries. Andrew isn't quiet, he focused on not doing it at all, rather than being quiet, they wanted him to cry, he wasn't going to give it to them.

When Neil hears Andrew's sobs, he can't hold himself back. Sliwly, carefully, he moves towards Andrew and holds out his hand.

Andrew latches on like it's the only thing keeping him alive. it is.

Andrew almost begs through his sobs, instead, he apologizes, he was angry and scared, and he was lying, and he needs to hold onto Neil or he might float away.

Neil tells him about that day, how it was already a bad day, how he needed to know Andrew wasn't going to let him go, to make him leave. And what Andrew said had tore him open from the inside out, it felt like he was being killed, left on the side of the road like roadkill. Nothing. Andrew cries more at that. At what he'd done. At how he made Neil hurt so badly, but Neil forgives him, and Andrew promises to never say that again. They end the night cuddled up, clinging to eachother, silent tears making their way out occasionally, vowing to never let the other go again.

#all for the game #aftg #aftg andreil #aftg textpost #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #palmetto state foxes #the foxhole court #aftg series #aftg neil #aftg andrew

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obsessing-over-fictionn · 2 years

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pt. two of things i gathered from reading nora's extra content :

part one and three and four

[tws : sexual assault, self-harm, substance abuse, overdosing]

- andrew once climbed the fence surrounding wymack's apartment and broke into his room and liquor

- wymack was in a car wreck and broke his hip in three places

- it never fully healed

- wymack doesn't like cockroaches

- before neil moved into wymack's apartment, andrew broke in biweekly

- dan has a younger cousin named joanna

- laila's last name is evans

- while dan and renee were still rivals, before the foxes, renee was known as 'rainbow bright'

- the year that dan joined was only the second year that the foxes had been a thing

- wymack's father took wymack's mother's eyes out using a corkscrew

- dan's gpa the senior year of high school was a 2.0

- allison had an eating disorder

- the foxes did end up celebrating neil's birthday post-tkm like dan promised

- nora believes that if neil had revealed his past mid/late november, they wouldn't have fought to keep him, though they wouldn't exactly have wanted to let him go

- ichiro was engaged by the time that he met neil

- during aaron's trial, neil met with bee and asked her to be there for andrew, worried about how he would react to seeing cass again

- neil said that andrew needed a mother at that time and he wanted bee to be andrew's support

- the money neil had left over from his time on the run was spent on a vacation for the foxes, road trips with andrew, christmas + birthday presents for the foxes, neil's car(which is described as half as expensive as andrew's maserati), and donates the rest of it to a safehouse that helps the homeless youth in baltimore

- besides andrew, neil is closest to matt !!

- neil's least favorite fox is aaron

- neil doesn't cry very often, but he would when he gets the call that wymack was gone

- after matt graduates, neil starts a new binder that contains things all about the foxes post-graduation and what they're up to

- neil is confirmed to be on the ace spectrum and nora guesses that he leans more towards the demisexual label !

- if neil hadn't gotten andrew to retract his protection, nora believes that their relationship never would have recovered because andrew wouldn't have been able to forgive himself for not protecting neil

- if it hadn't been for aaron, andrew would have stayed with cass

- andrew's scars weren't there for suicidal reasons. rather, they were his way of staking a claim on his body, which so many people were trying to take away from him

- the cutting was a way to keep control, in the way that he could control how much pain he felt

- betsy cried when seth died

- "(Betsy cried over Seth–but she had to sit on it for days, because when she got the news she knew she needed to get to Allison, get to Allison now now now, hold her together before grief tears her apart. Betsy knew more than anyone how much Seth loved Allison; she knew that he was trying, she knew that he was trying so hard but that it was just too much sometimes to keep an even keel and can’t we try another drug one that makes me better or one that will kill me faster I don’t even give a fuck at this point Doc just give me something so I can sleep)" - nora, about betsy and her relationship with seth

- at the end of tfc, the two people who andrew couldn't afford to lose were neil and bee

- bee is the only person that andrew had ever yelled at

- it happened after bee had what appeared to be a heart attack, and she is given stints to open up her arteries

- "When Bee wakes up from the procedure and Neil asks her how she’s doing she dopily says she is fine. Mistake. 'You are not fine and this is not fine and if you ever eat another fucking piece of chocolate again so long as you live I will fucking kill you.'" - nora, about betsy and andrew's relationship

- even post-graduation, andrew and bee keep in touch

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phantaloon-books · 2 years

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things the foxes have done in college somewhat inspired by my endless exhaustion because the semester is almost over and idk how to survive the next three weeks

neil josten does not care about having good grades. his priorities are andrew, exy, his foxes, sleep, and his studies, ni matter how much he enjoys math. he falls asleep in class, turns in assignments late, doesn't participate in discussions... how is he passing you ask? no one knows to be honest, not even him, all that matters is he can play exy and occasionally do fun math things

aaron once went an entire school week with only 7 hours of sleep because he had too many things to study plus exy practices (-450/10 would NOT recommend), how he managed to play that friday without collapsing is a wonder and an awe to all the foxes

the girls do study dates, in which they all agree to be at the dorm or library at the same time to do homework or study, which almost always turn into a night out having dinner or doing something fun instead of studying

nicky tends to procrastinate and suddenly he has to read an entire 200 page book in one night for a test he's had in his schedule for two weeks, when this happens and he has to stay up late, he takes little naps between chapters, as a treat <3 but he does finish doing whatever he needs because he's a good student

kevin has an... unorthodox method of doing his homework, and the thing is he'd rather die on the weekend doing absolutely everything that needs to be done the following week than having to finish any assignment or having to study for a test in the middle of the week so he can dedicate his time to exy

matt may be a sociable guy, but if there's one thing he can NOT do is study in groups, which sucks because he likes being around people, but he gets too distracted and falls in the ropes of helping others study instead of studying himself, so there's a rule that matt must study alone 90% of the time

related to this, once things settle down between the upperclassmen and the monsters, they once made the mistake of leaving nicky and matt to study together... let's just say it was a mistake

andrew is also a procrastinator at heart, no one is sure they have ever seen him study or do homework, but he does everything at night because he doesn't sleep anyway, and it's easy to write papers and study when you remember everything you've read and heard before

dan is the kind of student to put her all into her notes, they're organized and pretty and color coded

allison shows up in class with her notebook and a black and a blue pen exclusively, she may be THE allison reynolds, but her notes are a fucking mess with scribbles in the sides, smudged pen ink, weird little diagrams no one understands but her, because she's done trying to be anything but her most chaotic self

similarly, kevin's notes are a fucking mess of english, french and the occasional japanese because he may be receiving his classes in english, but he tries to synthesize his lectures in his own words and ends up writing a multilingual puzzle

look i don't know a single med student who doesn't have a love/hate relationship with their choices, so it's the week before finals, aaron has a thousand projects and papers to give in but he just doesn't know how anymore, and he's just so tired he could cry, and he's just 'can i really do medicine? is this really worth it?' and it's like 4 am and he's just so tired he feels the craving of the drugs again, but andrew never sleeps anyway, so he's just there in the living room reading a book next to his exhausted twin in silent support. aaron may still feel tired and hesitant when he's done an hour or two later, but knowing that andrew was there made things better

in contrast, neil gives a look to all the things he has to do that same week and pulls everything off in one night, no one knows how he does this, but he does it and he fucking nails it

#aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the king's men #tfc #trk #tkm #andrew minyard #neil josten #aaron minyard #kevin day #renee walker #nicky hemmick #dan wilds #matt boyd #allison reynolds #can you tell I'm at my limit i don't know how to keep going guys

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aftgficrec · 4 years

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Hey this might sound kinda vague but do you have any fics where neil professes his love for andrew? like maybe he gives a big speech about how much he cares about him to the foxes or even to andrew himself. They can already be dating I just want andrew realizing how much neil cares about him. Sorry if that's too complicated!! I love your blog and I ama super thankful for all the fic you guys have provided me!!

Sometimes the big speeches come out as more defending Andrew to the Foxes, but we have several fics for you where Neil makes his feelings known. - A

Neil says I love you…

Neil says I love you first

Neil head-over-heels for Andrew

‘Drunken Words Are Sober Truths’ here

‘Musings about my foxes...Chapter 1: FibFinder’ here

‘Leave and don't come back’ here

‘Carry Me Home’ here

‘free and young (and we feel none of it)’ here

‘i think i’m in love with you and i’m terrified’ here

‘Something in Return’ here

‘bloom’ here

‘Seeing Stars’ here

‘He is my Best Friend..?’ here

‘If I Tried’ here

Neil tells everyone how he feels...

Neil defends Andrew to Foxes

Neil protective of Andrew

andrew and neil talking about their feelings while lying in bed by @littlespoonevan [Tumblr Fic, 2017]

Two years, one month and twenty-seven days. That’s how long they’ve been together.

Do they ever say it? prompt fill by @mendozaquintana [Tumblr, 2016]

Anonymous asked? Question: Andreil (again). Do they ever say it? Is Neil like "I lo-" and then stops himself even though they both know what he was going to say? Does one of them accidentally say it to someone else and then Realize? Listen they're in love and they say it aloud at some point, right? Because no one has ever said it before to either of them and I need this to happen.

If you love me, don't let go by LFMH021 [Rated T, 8200 words, Incomplete, Last Updated 2017]

“I’m going to take you away. You’re coming with me to Europe, you’ll re-start your life there; the little boss has agreed to re-construct your deal. Jackson and Romero are on the loose, if you don’t get away from there, you’ll bring your teammates to harm, they will be involved again. I will take you secretly tomorrow evening, 11PM, at the construction site in your campus. Don’t tell anyone.” – Stuart Hatford

A single text was all it took for Neil’s plans for a happy life to ruins.

He was a martyr. He’d rather be in pain than involve the Foxes again. So he left.

Not a single note. Not even a goodbye. Andrew woke up with an empty bunk below him. His first thought was: “Never again.”

Can I? by TheBashfulPoet [Rated T, 4445 words, complete, Andreil Week 2019]

Andrew knew that leaving Neil would have consequences. He just didn’t know they would leave him standing here.

I'll go with you (you don't need to run) by TheBashfulPoet [Rated G, 1545 Words, Complete, Andreil Week 2019]

Andrew was a man of little words, preferring action over pretty lies. But Neil was never like Andrew, he reveled in the way words could be weaponized or anchor him to a life he never thought was possible. Words held a certain power for Neil which is why when he whispers the words in Andrew's ear, he shuts down. Because Andrew doesn't think he could ever say them back. And if he can't, how long will it be before Neil leaves him for someone who can?

Or the fic where Andrew spirals and panics and Neil just wants to know what he did wrong.

Andreil Week Day Seven: Are you afraid?

Art

THESE BOOKS. THESE CHARACTERS. art by @dancingwdinosaurs

andreil can have a little hug, as a treat art by @poikas

#fic #neil josten/andrew minyard #matt boyd & neil josten #stuart hatford & neil josten #universe: post canon #universe: au #au: music #theme: fluff #theme: declaration of love #theme: friendship #theme: foxes react #theme: angst with a happy ending #theme: break-up & make-up #theme: fluff & angst #andreil week

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whatmack · 5 years

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do you think neil ever like... forgets that he doesn't have to lie? even with mundane things he lies so easily/automatically about stuff he doesn't need to as if he's on autopilot. I'm imagining when hes distracted or tired he just says the first plausible lie he can think of (especially when he wants people to leave him alone) so every once in a while he lies about something not that important and has to go "wait, actually I meant-" and confused the hell out of people

!I actually think about this a lot, because I agree! It’s so difficult to get out of established behaviors, especially when those were survival behaviors, even when the circumstances have changed....his instinct to hide himself was, in all ways literal, the thing that kept him from death (and how it contrasts with his snark mouth is an interesting balance!!!!)I wonder if a lot of times he’ll tell a lie and not give a shit-- like, maybe he’ll recognize he doesn’t HAVE to lie, but if it doesn’t matter/he doesn’t care about the person, eh, they don’t have to know anything about him anyway, and sometimes it’s funny (or Andrew thinks it’s funny, which is even better)HOWEVER around the Foxes!! They’re his family-- he loves them-- they’ve seen the ugliest of himself and love him anyway. So I can see him trying to train himself out of lying to them (not all the time, our boy’s an asshole, but making it so that’s a choice rather than a reflex). I’m thinking about them-- oh, let’s say Dan, to give us all a clear picture-- waiting patiently while Neil stutters and backtracks through telling the truth, that he does, actually, like soft pretzels or wants to go the long way or is getting a little tired or anything that doesn’t really matter, but he wants to be worthy of the love these people have given him--I don’t think there’s a single Fox who wouldn’t understand Neil’s instinctive lying. He may have it deeper entrenched than most, but telling the truth of yourself is for people who have been treated kindly. gd i love the foxes and their love for neil i’m weeping

#neil gives a different name to the barista every time just wo thinking #and the barista doesnt care even if it's something like 'balthazar III' bc they've seen it all #Anonymous

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darkblueboxs · 4 years

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I love TSATH but tbh it feels like the protagonists are Andrew and Firinn, Neil feels almost like a side character. I know that technically Firinn is part of him, but it feels like she has much more personality than him. Idk how to explain it, it's like Neil is passive while Firinn is active? In the books he's very dynamic, him dragging Riko doesn't come as a surptise in the books, but in TSATH it feels almost OOC bcs he's sort of bland and it feels like it comes out of nowhere??????? I'm very

sorry, I suck at giving criticism in english because it's not my language, but I hope the point of the message is clear enough and it might help in the future >.

Yeah, I know.

This was one of the first problems I ran into when I started on chapter one. How much of “Neil” is still Neil, and how much of Neil’s personality is now his daemon’s? How do I balance the two of them out when they’re both playing a role written originally for one? Who gets which character traits, which actions, which behaviours?

I started out with a vague rule of “if canon neil is making a decision with his heart rather than his head, then that decision is Firinn’s because it represents his soul’s desires winning out over logic.” - a rule which I probably abandoned within three minutes of making it.

The first problem with this is that the crux of aftg is Neil’s evolution from purely pragmatic behaviour (keep running, look out for yourself) to letting himself follow his heart at the risk of his own life (staying with the foxes at the risk of mafia retaliation). So, the more the fic goes on, the more Neil acts on heart and not head, the more Firinn becomes the agent of his actions.

The second problem is that, while, yeah, I could keep certain actions/decisions/behaviours as Neil’s, I just don’t want to. If I take actions/agency away from Firinn and give them back to Neil, all I end up doing is copy-pasting canon scenes as they exist already, except with a bunch of animals doing nothing in the background.

So yeah, Neil probably is passive/OOC/bland/whatever in this AU. Some of it is related to the universe he’s in (if you take a person’s soul out of their body and put it somewhere else, they will act differently) and some of it is just to make the story more interesting (because who just wants a line-for-line repeat of canon for three paragraphs?) and some of it is simply because if I focus too much on Neil and not enough on his daemon, there’s just no point in the AU existing at all.

Sometimes it all balances out, sometimes it doesn’t. Them’s the breaks. I just don’t have the time or ability to fix everything that’s wrong with TSATH; If the characterisation is a deal-breaker for you, it’s fine to look elsewhere for your fic, no hard feelings at all.

#i do appreciate that you're trying to help #but if i haven't specifically asked for criticism... please don't?#Anon #my asks

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stellamai · 7 years

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Andrew thinks he doesn't like kids. Andrew's wrong.

Andrew doesn’t like children on principle. They’re noisy, excitable, annoying, and regularly deplete the chocolate ice cream supply in his local shop before he can get to it.

So why he is now driving hundreds of miles solely to visit a pair of four-year-olds is anyone’s guess. Although, he has to admit, the blue-eyed man to his right might have something to do with it.

For some reason, Neil adores Dan and Matt’s kids. He met them as babies - crying, sniveling, wrinkly things - and yet was not put off. Andrew can’t understand it. They’re twins, for God’s sake. Double the attention-seeking nuisance. He gets enough of that from the cats. He ended up having pictures of them shoved in his face for the next four years as Neil excitably told him about Willow’s first steps, Clara’s first word, their first baby teeth …

Then Dan and Matt had moved to just a state over, and Matt had started urging Neil to visit.

“No,” Andrew had said firmly, when Neil mentioned it. He should have known something was up when Neil let him put extra syrup on his pancakes that morning. Their coach had been trying to put Andrew on a reduced-sugar diet and, annoyingly, Neil was on the balding man’s side. “We are not driving five hundred miles to visit a couple of kids. If Matt wants you to see them so badly, he can bring them to one of Allison’s stupid Fox reunions.”

Neil had just looked at him for a minute, expression open and eyes so, so blue. “Clara gets nervous around new people. Matt doesn’t think she could handle meeting everyone at once.”

Andrew felt his resolve cracking, but kept his expression stony. Not that it did much good; Neil seems to be able to read him no matter what walls he puts up.

“He also tells me there’s an ice cream parlour near their house which gives you unlimited toppings for two dollars.”

Andrew frowned, and Neil knew he’d won. It was written all over his smug face.

“Is that a yes?” he asked with a cheeky smile.

“I hate you. Yes.”

“I’ll tell Matt we’ll see them next month.”

And so, on the first weekend of the off-season, they stock up the cats’ food and water dispensers that Neil had bought for when they were at away-games, pile into the car, and set off on their trip to visit the Boyd-Wilds household.

“No cigarettes near the kids,” says Neil sternly, tucking the carton away securely in the glove compartment. Andrew scowls but doesn’t protest, and when they next pull up at a gas station he buys four packets of boiled sweets in defiance and sucks on them obnoxiously for the remainder of the journey. Neil glares at him every time the packet rustles, and eventually snags Andrew’s free hand in his own to keep it occupied. Andrew links their fingers together and says nothing, opting to grab a new sweet with his other hand whenever they stop at a red light.

They arrive in the early afternoon, pulling up outside a uniform-looking white house in a row of many others. It’s a quiet neighbourhood, and their car had drawn attention from more than one passer-by on their way here. Andrew swipes the keys from Neil, who had been driving the last leg, and makes sure the car is locked before turning to walk through the gate Neil holds open.

The door is open before they can even think about ringing the bell and a tall figure emerges, carrying a much smaller one in his arms.

“Neil!” exclaims Matt. “And my favourite Minyard. Come on in.”

Andrew narrows his eyes but follows Neil and Matt inside without complaint. Matt sets twin number one down and immediately clasps Neil in a fierce hug, releasing him a second later with a wary glance at Andrew.

Neil rolls his eyes. “Good to see you too, Matt.”

“Looking good, Neil,” calls Dan, emerging slowly with twin number two clutching onto her leg - Clara, Andrew presumes. “What’s all this I hear about you two being signed to the US Court?”

“Nothing, yet,” replies Neil slyly, hopping out of the way as Willow barrels past him. “You shouldn’t put so much stock in what the media says.”

“Right,” says Matt, grabbing his unruly daughter and hoisting her into his arms again. “Like your supposed rivalry for the first few years of your career. Or how you supposedly got married in the Bahamas last year - wait, you didn’t, did you?”

Neil shakes his head with a grin. “Hello,” he says to Willow, who is now taller than him from where she sits in Matt’s arms.

“Hi!” she shouts, wriggling in Matt’s grip until he puts her down. She then proceeds to skip in circles around Neil, who stares at her in bewilderment. Andrew feels a strange sense of smugness.

They haven’t eaten since breakfast, not counting the sweets on Andrew’s part, so Dan makes them each a sandwich as the kids retreat to the garden to play with Matt. From what Andrew can see through the large French windows, they appear to be playing catch with a tennis ball. He shakes his head. There is no escaping the sports junkies. As if to prove this point, Neil goes out to join them at the first opportunity.

Andrew retreats to the living room, taking a seat on one of the large leather couches as he receives a text from Nicky, who has apparently been kept well-informed about their trip by Neil and is now eager to find out if Andrew’s opinion of children has been miraculously changed by what he calls ‘Dan and Matt’s angels’. Andrew is just about to type out a resounding ‘no’ when Clara appears at the door to the room, staring silently at Andrew for a minute before crossing to sit on the sofa with him.

He tilts his head to look at her for a minute, but when she doesn’t make any attempt at conversation he turns back to his phone.

‘Don’t know’, he sends back, just before everyone else piles into the room, loud and excitable. Neil glances at Andrew and Clara on the sofa, curiosity clear on his face, but when they make no move to interact with each other he turns his attention back to Matt and Willow, who appear to be reenacting one of Neil’s impossible goals from the previous season. Andrew hates that Neil doesn’t seem concerned that Andrew is in such close proximity to a small, defenceless, unpredictable child, hates that Neil has so much faith in him when he’s sure Dan and Matt still see him as a monster, and h a t e s the gentle smile that spreads across Neil’s face as he watches Matt and Willow play.

Clara lets out a small laugh when her sister mimes being checked rather dramatically into the wall of the court, but when Andrew turns his gaze to her she looks down again, hugging her knees to her chest in an obvious attempt to make herself smaller. Andrew knows the move well. His hands shake slightly as he’s tugged back into his past as a foster child, and he pulls out a sweet to unwrap to keep himself distracted. He wonders absently if there’s a child out there who’s like him - who’s crying out for help from people who will never understand them. He shakes the thought from his head. He may understand, but he’s in no position to help.

Then he looks at Neil, who rescued two stray cats and coaxed them back to health, who’s now managed to calm Willow down enough to crouch down and talk to her animatedly about something, grins covering both their faces, and he can’t stop the shiver that runs through him. He thinks, what if -

He’s jolted out of his thoughts by the realisation that Clara is looking at him - or, more accurately, she’s looking at the sweet wrapper he’s worrying between his fingers. He blinks, watching her for a moment before pulling out another sweet. He glances across the room, but no one’s looking at them, so he surreptitiously slides the sweet across the surface of the sofa and pulls his hand back, staring forwards the entire time. Clara snatches the sweet up and unwraps it, popping it in her mouth. The next time their eyes meet, she smiles.

By the time Neil’s ready to leave, Clara has visibly relaxed, a smile stuck on her face as her sister teases her and she responds by sticking out a tongue stained yellow from the lemon sherbets. When they’ve all said goodbye, she steps towards Andrew with her arms held out questioningly. He stiffens for a second, then crouches down, allowing her to wrap her arms around him briefly. He almost - almost - mirrors her smile when he sees the shocked looks on Dan and Matt’s faces, but it's their very presence that prevents it. He instead turns his attention to squashing the warmth blossoming in his chest, but fails miserably when he sees the grin that lights up Neil's face.

“Don’t even think about it,” he says once they’re back in the car, but his words hold no heat.

Neil just smiles wider. “So, ice cream?”

“Ice cream,” Andrew agrees, reaching for his cigarettes where they lie in the glove compartment. At the last second though, his hand stills, and he reaches for another sweet instead.

After all, there will be no smoking around the kids.

READ PART TWO HERE.

#andreil #tfc fanfic #all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #tfc #aftg fanfic

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otdiaftg · 2 months

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The King's Men - Chapter Fifteen

Day: Tuesday, March 12th / 13th* Time: 12:00 AM EST

Neil shakes his head and starts for the bedroom. Andrew isn't far behind him, and together they get Neil changed out for bed. Neil eyes the bed with some consternation. The only person he'd ever shared a bed with was his mother. She crammed them onto the same narrow mattress so she'd always know where he was; it was the only way she could get any sleep at night. Hesitation does neither of them any favors, though, so Neil picks a side and tugs the blankets back as carefully as he can. Despite his reservations, there is something painfully familiar about the weight of another body in his bed. Less familiar is the way it feels being pushed deeper into the mattress, Andrew's hands on his shoulders and tongue in his mouth, but that is something Neil can definitely get used to. He won't let himself dwell on Aaron's ugly words, but it is harder to let go of Nicky's assumption that this is nothing more than an anger- fueled attraction. Nicky is more right than Neil wants him to be, but Neil has no reason to resent that. He'd known going into this what Andrew thinks of him—Andrew's apathy is precisely why Neil had decided to accept Andrew's advances. But it isn't that easy anymore, and Neil doesn't know why or when it changed. He knows less what he is supposed to do about it. He'll have to warn Andrew at some point, but now isn't the time. He buries his unease and confusion deep and works bandaged fingers into Andrew's hair. He doesn't care how much it hurts so long as he can pull Andrew closer, and he lets Andrew take him apart until he can't think anymore.

Art used with permission by Lunapiq. Thank you @lunapiq!

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

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otdiaftg · 23 days

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Half-time begins.

The defense line hit half-time break so exhausted they can barely breathe. Neil can't remember the last time Matt looked so worn out. "Fuck," Matt says weakly. "What just happened?" "I'm sorry," Renee says. "No, no," Nicky is quick to say. "That's on us, not you. They're just so good." "They're brilliant," Wymack says, "but they're doomed. They don't know how to pace themselves for a full game. Don't know if you could see it out there, but they were starting to slow down by the thirty-minute mark. Second half is going to kill them." "I hope so," Dan says, with a grim look at Kevin and Neil. "It's a bigger point gap than we wanted. Can you close it?" "We are not the problem here," Kevin says, gesturing between Neil and himself. Nicky is too tired to bristle at that accusation, but Aaron sends Kevin a sour look and Matt scowls. Kevin doesn't care who he offends and keeps his eyes on Dan. "If you'll actually get the ball to us, we can do something with it." Matt looks at Andrew. "One of these days you have to let me hit him." Andrew gazes back at him in unimpressed silence.

Day: Friday, April 5th / 6th* Time: 8:50 PM PST

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

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otdiaftg · 2 months

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Neil lifts a cup down from the cabinet and shakes his medicine out of the bag. There he stops, because he can only imagine how much it'd hurt his fingers to unscrew that child-safety cap. He looks around for something to make it easier and see's Kevin waiting in the doorway.

Kevin glances from Neil to Matt and speaks in French. "When Riko finds out what your father did to your face, he will retaliate." By now Matt is used to them jabbering away in foreign languages around him. He gives no sign he hears them or cares what they are saying but pulled coffee beans and filters down from the cabinet. Neil wars with himself, heart tripping and skipping with unjustified nerves. He studies Matt's profile until Matt cuts the grinder off, then looks past him to Kevin. "Can he do anything about it, though?" Neil asks in English. Matt freezes with the filter halfway to the coffee maker. In the doorway, Kevin tenses up in incomprehension or disapproval. Neil feels Matt's eyes on him but doesn't return the look. Just last night he'd said he is done lying to Matt. He can't expect Matt to believe him if he talks behind Matt's back today. The upperclassmen know the whole story now, anyway, so there is no reason to hide this inevitable complication. "By now Kengo knows my father's dead and I'm alive. Worse, he knows the FBI has already talked to me. He has to make a decision on me one way or the other. Will Riko risk making the first move?" Kevin flicks a cool look at Matt but obediently brings the conversation back to English. "They touched what they never should have. By erasing your tattoo they've swept him aside as insignificant. Riko won't tolerate that." Kevin lifts his left hand as a prime example of Riko's violent inferiority complex. "If he thinks he can sneak past his father to get you, he will." "Let him try," Neil says. "He knows where he can find me." "Your false bravado helps no one." "Neither does your cowardice," Neil points out. "I was only afraid of Riko because he knew who I was. What can he hold against me now that everyone knows the truth?" Neil gives Kevin a moment to digest that then said, "Andrew says the Ravens have to let this feud play out this spring, so Riko can't even come after the rest of you yet. They might kick and fuss a bit but you're safe from them for now." "You believe him?" Matt asks. Neil shrugs. "Tetsuji calmed their crazy fans down by saying the Ravens would handle us on the court. He has to deliver, so yeah, I believe Andrew. But hey, since Riko's hands are tied," Neil said, glancing back at Kevin, "now's a perfect time to take that off your face." It takes Kevin a moment to catch on, and he jerks like he's been struck. "Don't even joke like that." "I'm not joking. Allison said she'd spot me the cash to take mine off. Maybe she'll do the same for you now that I don't need her help." "No question," Matt says. "She loves a good scandal." "Stop," Kevin says. "Shut up." "You're supposed to be done being second-best," Neil says. "Prove it." Kevin makes a cutting gesture at him and storms out.

Day: Monday, March 11th / 12th* Time: 8:38 AM EST

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

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