#aaron and nicky

[andreilslovechild]

Aaron and Nicky

Okay so I vaguely discussed this on my previous post about Aaron and hatred, but I needed to say more on the topic bc it kinda just recently popped up in my head again and it's just...ugh so good.

When Aaron moved to SC, he was 13, and Nicky was like 17ish. So, depending on what year he was in, he would have been either in his junior or senior year of high school. Assuming he was in his senior year, Aaron would have only had around, let's say... around 7-8 months with him assuming they moved during the summer.

Aaron would probably have talked to Nicky a few times a year before this. Maybe once every month or two when Luther talked to Tilda, but not really anything special. They probably saw each other a few times for holidays when Luther would pay for their plane tickets. You know the classic long-distance cousins. You don't talk much, but you still know things about each other.

Then, once Aaron moved to SC after finding out about Andrew, he would have been reeling from that discovery, alone, and in a new city he'd probably only been in once or twice before. And even then, he'd probably only been to nickys house, church, and back again. So he would have clung to whatever familiarity he could find.

Him and Nicky would hang out or talk on the phone when Tilda was too high to care, and Aaron used him as an excuse to get out of the house and away from her heavy hands and the crushing silence that echoed in the new house that was already falling apart. He would have picked up on the type of language older kids used, even kids his own age really, would have tried to fit in by using it, and at the time homophobic or vaguely offensive language would have been the norm. Aaron himself may not have used them against Nicky specifically, but Nicky would have heard Aaron using things like "fag" or "gay" as an insult.

Whether Aaron knew Nicky was gay is up for debate, but it's probably likely he knew that Nicky had "strayed from the path of god" or so Luther would have put it. He'd probably heard about the conversion camp in passing, though he likely didn't know what it really was. I think it was mentioned too that Nicky tried to act straight after his experience at conversion camp somewhere in the EC, so Aaron was probably under the impression that Nicky was "cured" like Luther and Maria were.

But long story short, during those 7-8 months, nicky was Aaron's closest friend. I doubt Aaron was very social, so even after school started, he probably didn't make friends that easily, so he hung out with nicky most days, and they did their homework together or whatever. Very sibling like. I think Nicky was the one to convince Aaron to reach out to Andrew against Tilda wishes, and probably the one to comfort him when he recieved a big fuck you back. He was the closest thing Aaron had to real family.

He probably noticed nicky wasn't as happy as he liked to seem, but he was a kid and the most he could do about it was spend lots of time with him and try and get him to genuinely smile now and then.

And then there was the Germany trip.

Aaron wasn't happy Nicky was going on the trip, and Nicky was probably a bit guilty for leaving Aaron behind, but Aaron wouldn't have stopped him from going when Nicky so clearly wanted to. He thought it'd be 5 months or so, and then he'd be back. Just 5 months of crushing loneliness, and he'd have his cousin back.

I think Aaron started using properly for the first time while Nicky was gone on that exchange trip. He'd used a few times here and there before, but not regularly. And certainly not enough to crave them. But with nicky gone, he didn't have any other way to escape. He told himself he'd stop when Nicky came back, except Nicky didn't come back. Not really. He was back for maybe 2 weeks total to officially graduate and pack up his things, and then he was back to Germany because he'd found some perfect gay lovestory there. So he kept using.

I think Aaron resented Nicky leaving him for a long time. He left him alone to suffer his mother and their crazy family by himself. He may not actively realize it, but it also makes him resent nickys sexuality a bit too because if Nicky wasn't gay this wouldn't have happened, and he'd never have left him.

Then three years has come and gone, and andrew is there, Aaron's no longer alone, but Tilda dead. And then Nicky comes back to take care of them. Fights for them. Makes sure they stay with him. And he's nothing like the Nicky Aaron remembers. Well, he kind of is, but not really. He's more flamboyant and bubbly and waaay to talkative and sexual and Aaron isn't sure what to do about it. The first few times were an accident, tired and hurt, and going through withdrawal as he screamed insults at the locked bathroom door. He heard nickys voice and begged him to let him out and then insulted him when he didn't.

But he also notices afterward how they make nickys smile turn a little bit tight. And then the insults become a test. A way to push even more to see if Nicky would break. If he would hit and scream like Tilda or glare and use the stick like Luther. But he didn't. Not even a little bit. Not even once. And slowly, Aaron forgets that that's what the words were supposed to be. He just uses them casually, the insults at the tip of his tongue whenever nicky does something he can comment on. It just becomes normal. And he sees the way nicky brushes them off, but not really. He can see through the mask. But he just can't stop.

It takes years of practice and therapy and more than a few seriously uncomfortable conversations for Aaron to properly get his tongue under control. But he tries. And trying is enough for nicky when it comes to them. After all, nicky had dealt with Andrew, too, who was arguably worse in some ways.

Nicky and Aaron's relationship is infinitely complicated in so many ways. They went from distant family to friends, to strangers, guardians, and children, to finally being just cousins. It takes a long time and probably isn't until after both of them have graduated and Nicky is back in Germany, but they get there in the end, and that's the important part.

(Credit to creamka_ on ig for the art love them)

[lukeawesm]

'who are they?' 'the monsters.'

twilight!au

[consistently-panicked]

One of my favorite things about Neil was when he was questioning his sexuality. He looked at Nicky and Matt to see if his feelings towards them had changed to try and deduce if he was gay tm. Of course, he came to the conclusion that he’s pretty exclusively attracted to Andrew, but did he ever even think to look at the identical twin of the man he had just kissed? No, why would he do that. Like hmm, I enjoyed kissing this person, does someone who looks the same give me the same feelings? Never even crossed his mind. Of course he isn’t attracted to Aaron. That’s disgusting. This petty ass man will always have my heart.

[tbartss]

Underrated moments in AFTG upon reread:

- Allison calling Kevin’s tattoo a tramp stamp

- Seth laughing his ass off upon hearing Riko was on the Kathy Ferdinand show

- Nicky suggesting Allison and Kevin hook up and they both react with intense disgust

- Aaron shrugging to Neil coming back absolutely battered from Evermore

- Kevin wanting to ask what Neil and Andrew talked about at Eden’s twilight after Andrew confessed to Neil, then seeing Neil’s face and being like “you know what? Not my business.”

- Dan, Allison and Renee basically fake dating platonically their first year to defy the sexist guys on their team

- Neil finding math interesting

- Kevin giving Neil the most scathing elevator look that Neil feels shame about his wardrobe for the first and only time

- Dan punching a Raven in the dick after they made a sexual comment about her past

- Matt’s mother being so grateful to Andrew for getting Matt clean that she pays Aaron’s bail

- Nicky calling Kevin a brat

- Wymack making Dan the first female captain despite the rampant misogyny in Exy

- Andrew stroking Neil’s back after Neil stood up for Kevin at Kathy’s Interview

- Wymack and Matt being the original Andreil shippers

- Neil giving Kevin his binder before going to Evermore like HELLO???? That was some INSANE trust

[allfortheslay25]

Monsters pregame:

[nothatsmi]

The foxhole court, chapter five

First books monsters were something really.

On an aftg reread, which is very useful to survive school these days. Currently into the raven king, i'll make more fanart cause this brings me so much joy (which - idk what it tells about my mental state). If you have suggestions on what I should draw next I'm taking em.

[tscsunlover]

got my rainbow crate all for the game books! Im gonna add the bonus chapters here for anyone who didn’t buy the books cause they were EXPENSIVE

links aren’t working for some reason and you can only add ten pictures to a post so i’m gonna add the next two books in reposts

THE FOXHOLE COURT BONUS CHAPTERS SPOILERS BELOW

[iam-anordinary-human-orami]

Does anyone else think that after the foxes grappled with the "happy 19th junior" scene Allison was like "okay, are we just going to ignore the fact that Neil is actually a Capricorn and not an Aries?" Just for Nicky to nod furiously "I didn't want to be the first to say it, but damn so many things make so much sense now" and everyone else looking at them like

[dcvina-claires]

fake idgafer i saw you beat up four men for being homophobic to your cousin. i saw you kill your brother’s abuser. i saw you befriend a kindhearted religious girl even though you knew the others would tease you. i saw you offer two traumatized boys protection when they thought they would never get any. i saw you ask “how many kids” when you found out that your abuser targeted more people. i saw you sitting on the roof even though you’re afraid of heights because you didn’t want to feel nothing anymore

[dustisus]

funniest indicator of neil’s exy progression (& his development into his bitch self) is him going from ”nicky and aaron are sooo good! i can’t believe I get to play exy with them!” in tfc to being like ”nicky fucking sucks at exy and if i ever have to see aaron again it will be too soon” in tkm

[mini-minish]

neil medalhista inspirado naquela fotona da flavinha ✨🦊 neil at the podium inspired on a picture of flavia saraiva

// comms open!

[aftheyyyy]

Nicky said the twins chose to study German because Nicky could help them pass, and I don’t doubt that was part of it, but I wonder if they chose it as a sort of apology, too. We’re sorry you left Germany to take care of us; we’ll learn German so you have something of it to bring home with you. And their fluency is interesting, too. Two years of foreign language in high school won’t get you that far, and none of them are studying it in college, so I wonder if they used German at home a lot, to make Nicky miss it less? To make him feel more at home with them?

[threewaywithdelusion]

I wish more people liked Canon Nicky. Like yeah, he sucks a little bit, but that’s the point.

All the Foxes suck a little bit. They’re not perfect victims, they use slurs, they do bad things to each other. Seth’s a selfish homophobic asshole, but he saves Allison. Kevin’s a one-track-minded alcoholic who hears his teammate died and wonders how the team will keep playing, but he also gives Andrew a chance before anyone else does. Wymack’s lucky they didn’t have cancel culture in 2006, because some of the things he says are horrifically not PC. But he’s not some perfect savior of a coach. He’s a guy with a terrible past who decided to make it his life’s mission to help troubled kids. And if he gets it wrong sometime, it’s because absolutely no one in these books is 100% mentally well and they’re definitely not coming across mental health tips on TikTok or reading books about how to do better.

Nicky is terrible at boundaries and consent. It’s probably a trauma response to his upbringing and conversion therapy, but that doesn’t make it okay. He makes creepy comments all the time and he assaults Neil in Columbia.

I’m not excusing any of that. But Nicky isn’t only that, and that’s why he’s interesting.

He’s the one who texts Neil a million times a day, until Neil stops looking frightened every time his phone beeps. He gave up Erik and Germany to raise two angry teenagers who never reciprocated his affection. He had a relatively normal upbringing (religious trauma aside) and then got thrown into dealing with the twins and having to navigate 1) Andrew locking Aaron in the bathroom to get clean (is he being a good or bad guardian by letting that happen?) 2) working two jobs to pay for the house 3) Andrew being arrested 4) Andrew being put on meds that made him manic and unreliable 5) Aaron’s homophobia 6) Andrew’s violent threats and so much more.

When exactly did he find out Andrew had killed Tilda? Which of the twins told him? And did he ever wonder if Andrew would kill his newest guardian if Nicky messed up?

Nicky is incredibly selfless, brave, and patient. And he’s also pushy, kinda creepy, and incapable of understanding boundaries. He’s both. And I wish the fandom wouldn’t sanitise him, because I think that’s part of the point.

[hauntingsunshine14]

"omg those are the exy monsters they're so scary"

you mean nicky? with a mortgage, husband and two kids?

neil? canonically a math nerd who enjoys cross country?

aaron? the pre-med student dating a cheerleader?

kevin? worlds first almond-mom-history-nerd?

andrew? the boundary respecting ice cream addict?

like yeah ok they've killed people but like also they have a cheese drawer so just calm down, be respectful, and don't start punching people - you'll be fine.

[realgansey]

“He needed to know what Nathaniel was saying in this historic moment.”

Meanwhile Neil

[falafels]

pt.35: Kevin’s birthday!! <pt.34 pt.36>

merry TGR day/eve soldiers godspeed to us all

tags for the homies ❤️ @andrewsleftarmband @blurryhour @you-know-i-get-itt @notexactlythatgirl @longspacerat @tessasilverswan @minyard-05 @carbon-dated-gal @bisexualchaosdemon @stormiiflies @watercoloureyes01 @vampire-overlord @iron-sides @azure-wing @buffalo-fox @ohgodnotagainplease @pink-hydrangea @jaywalkerss @ohmynoggin-blog @cosmic-marauder @min-getoutofmy-yard @plazybones @disastersappho @leestars13 @the-witch-forever-lives @minyardsss @post-historical-posts @andabuttonnose @hidinginmyhands @aftg4l @allfor-thegames @kaleidoskuls