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‘little lion man’ by mumford and sons, but make it neil josten

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shoutout to my mum for when i was wearing my pride bracelet for the start of pride month today and she goes ‘oh is that a new friendship bracelet? it’s pretty’

was it a friendship bracelet, no, but was the sentiment appreciated? absolutely

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Can we talk about Andrew Minyard for a second? Specifically the way he talks? I loved Andrew's character for a lot of reasons, but his wit has definitely got to be the primary aspect of his personality that got me hooked in book one. I know that his clever turns of phrase and out-of-pocket references can be partially attributed to his eidetic memory and instant-recall, but the fact that his personality is also just Like That is amazing. As someone who nerds out over interesting vocabulary and witticisms (my friends tell me I talk like a skater boy who swallowed a dictionary), I very quickly grew attached to him?? His story makes me so emotional, book two Messed Me UP, and I swear I would fight for this man tooth and nail in just about any situation if it meant sparing him some of the shit he goes through. Like, he's brilliant, he's witty, he cares so much, and he deserved so much better than the shitty lot he drew in life. I acknowledge that he has his flaws, but y'all I will talk about him for hours if you let me.

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Bc it got popular on twitter,

an edit of the court I made for a project & ended up not using. Found it in my files today and decided I still like it a lot 🦊

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wymack really said Bonded Pair: Do Not Seperate

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sorry that this is a random screenshot i found on instagram so i don’t have the credit, but this is so unbelievably andrew minyard that i had to share it here

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Neil, sweating: I only have two jobs, and taking care of Kevin isn't going great so I'd better keep the mas safe

Neil: *gets on the wrong side of the road*

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saw an instagram post that was a screenshot of a tumblr post about kafka:

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one thing i’ve been thinking about a lot during an aftg reread is how much the fandom (especially fanfics) has babygirl-ified neil. so many fanfics that i’ve read have made neil someone that’s needed to be protected or dommed by andrew, and then you read the actual books and neil is one of the most capable people of looking out for himself ever, to the point of it becoming a problem.

like he isn’t uwu traumatised cinnamon roll, he’s an unhinged dick who will have no issue with causing problems for others that he thinks deserve it

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I drew him while high 🥰

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i think that this is really important to remember, as neil highlights how andrew telling him to stay showed he cared, but considering that kevin knows firsthand how bad the moriyamas are he just wants neil to survive. more importantly, it shows that kevin doesn’t blame neil for running in the first place, which i think shows their level of friendship and understanding, since it would be so easy for kevin to feel resentful that neil managed to escape

when kevin found out neil's real identity he told him to run knowing too well that it would end the foxes season </3

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i think that andrew has reading glasses instead, and that he never wears them unless he’s at home reading to neil

andrew minyard has glasses. of course, he never knew he needed them until he realised that objects far away from you were not supposed to be that blurry. so he goes and gets his eyes tested and finds out he needs glasses. but he only wears them around neil.

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The foxes: so-

Andrew: no

Neil: hey a-

Andrew: I guess. You convinced me. You really did something there with your words. I’ll do it.

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Neil: someone could literally smack me on the head and I wouldn’t realise they were into me

Andrew: *smacks Neil on the head*

Neil: ow! what the hell was that for?!

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Yall ever think about how Riko forcing Neil to play backliner is ultimately the reasons the ravens lost to the foxes? If he hadn't done that the foxes defense would never have been able to keep up with the raven strikers and Riko would've won. But Riko was so obsessed with his perfect court and Neil playing the exact position he did at age ten that he handed the foxes the keys to victory.

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okay. can neil sing? can any of the foxes sing? thoughts pleSe

okay i am not very good at Music stuff beyond just liking it, so i had to consult with my more musical friends @sillyunicorn and @starwarned ...i have a more informed opinion now. and im going to express it thru narrative, bc im me:

hold on to that feelin'

andreil, rated t, 1k

it’s been almost ten years since the palmetto state foxes won the ncaa championships and changed the world of exy. 

neil knew there would be things that would happen — sports fans love an anniversary. but he thought maybe they’d do a ceremony back in palmetto, or a magazine write-up or something.

he had not expected a film studio to want to make a whole documentary on the subject. he had not expected to learn this news on a call with ichirou, who had told him in no uncertain terms that neil would agree to do the film, and that he would be as personable and camera-friendly as he could muster. 

neil had especially not expected the filming to involve… karaoke. 

it’s one of several excursions the crew has taken the old team on this weekend. the film will include interviews and old footage, but it will also be interspersed with clips of the team “hanging out.”

“the bond you all created is part of the narrative of your win,” the director told them. “we want to capture the fact that you were the first team of foxes that actually got along.”

no one corrects this narrative. the documentary is going to be the hollywood version of neil’s freshman year. it’s going to be sunshine and rainbows and campfires and bumper cars and, apparently karaoke.

“i’ve never done this before,” neil says, holding the microphone awkwardly. 

“andrew!” nicky chides. “you’re the one responsible for giving him Real Boy lessons — how could you have deprived him of karaoke?”

andrew is lounging on one of the sofas in the small room they’re all crowded into, scrolling through the song selection to pick something for neil.  “yes, because karaoke is something i obviously consider essential to the human experience."

“raise your hand if you’ve done karaoke before,” allison says. she’d gone first, singing a show tune that drew complaints from half the room in a booming, enthusiastic voice. everyone except neil and kevin lifts a palm — including a reluctant andrew. “okay, yes, this makes sense. kevin, you’re next.”

andrew stops scrolling. “you know this one,” he tells neil. “just follow the lyrics on the screen.”

the title and artist flash up on the screen, but neil doesn’t recognize them. he slides andrew a look, but andrew only gestures impatiently back to the screen. 

just a small town girl

livin’ in a lonely word

“oh,” neil says, finally recognizing the song despite the instrumental version playing. “i do know this.”

“then sing it!” dan says. 

“just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit…”

neil sings. he can’t remember if he’s ever tried before, and he’s not sure if it’s going as intended. a couple of foxes laugh, and he’s self-aware to know that’s probably a bad sign. but whatever. how many of them made the us court? neil knows what he’s good at. and he’s done enough terrible commercial acting gigs to appease ichirou that he doesn’t much care about how bad he is at this type of shit. 

the others join in for the chorus and carry him through to the end. the cameras are rolling, and neil can admit that he’s kind of having fun. he is killing this camera-friendly thing. he is definitely not going to get a knife to the gut this time around. 

when he’s done, he turns back to the room. it’s quiet for a second, and then allison cackles so hard that she nearly falls off her stool. nicky and matt join in immediately. dan stands to give neil a hug, but she’s laughing too. renee hides her smile behind her hand.

“yeah, yeah,” neil says, waving them all off. he holds the mic out. “kevin, your turn.” 

kevin puts on an air of confidence when he struts up to the makeshift stage. he chooses a song by the black-eyed peas, and his stance is rigid and determined as the music starts.

“i think i know this one too,” neil whispers to andrew once he sits down in the narrow space between him and matt. andrew knocks his elbow into neil’s side, shushing him.

hmmm. kevin doesn’t sound quite like the song that neil’s heard on the radio. he turns around once he’s done, glaring at the room, daring them to react. they do, anyway. 

“there, i did it,” kevin says, dropping the mic to the floor and stomping off.

renee mostly sounds like she’s talking when she sings "hallelujah," but she smiles through the whole thing, so there’s less ridicule involved. matt and nicky give and energetic duet on a shania twain song that neil has heard each of them singing in the shower at different points before, and alison says it makes her ears bleed. aaron earns a surprised slow clap after singing “someone like you” by adele — “a doctor who played exy and can SING… maybe katelyn isn’t settling after all,” nicky comments. dan goes all out for a whitney houston song. 

“are you going to go?” neil asks andrew when nicky takes the stage for a second time. 

“absolutely not,” andrew murmurs, eyes on his cousin. neil huffs a laugh, but settles against andrew’s side to watch the rest of the madness.

later, when neil and andrew are back at the hotel, neil crawls across the bed to where andrew is sitting. andrew pulls neil in by the collar of his shirt for a kiss.

“aaron can sing,” neil says against andrew’s mouth. 

andrew shoves him back, making a face. “and?”

“is it genetic?”

“i don’t know.”

“hmmm,” neil says, flopping onto his back beside andrew. “i’ve never heard you sing. i’m curious now.”

“that’s because i don’t sing,” andrew says. 

neil sighs, knowing a dead end when he sees one. “fine.”

he gets up to get ready for bed, and then nearly dozes off when andrew takes his turn in the bathroom. he blinks a few times when andrew crowds against neil’s back, pressing kisses to the side of neil’s neck. neil is nearly asleep again when andrew’s voice pulls him back, soft and slow:

“blackbird singing in the dead of night

take these broken wings and learn to fly…”

neil doesn’t really know what constitutes as good or bad. but he knows that he likes the sound of andrew’s voice. he wraps his fingers around andrew’s wrist where is lays on him stomach, and andrew goes quiet again.

“keep going?” neil requests, voice only a whisper.

andrew heaves a sigh. 

“all your life,

you were only waiting for this moment to arise…”

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welp, makes sense

*releases her* you’re both free to go

Your honor in her defense she doesn't give a shit

Neither do i