#aftg fake twitter

[swordofazrael1992]

so. the sunshine court. amirite

[allforthe-gay]

Neil: everyone's like oh what's your sexuality

Neil: idk man i just know i like Andrew

[rotisseries]

I'm so unbelievably susceptible to the famous secret relationship trope it's unreal actually

[snakesarecuties]

save me aftg tumblr

aftg tumblr save me

SAVE ME AFTG TUMBLR

[mieeaahhh]

There is nothing I love than those aftg fake Twitter posts

[moreau03]

I do not understand how anyone can survive AFTG and its extra content and leave with the cringe mindset of: "actually, people shouldn't create disturbing fiction, because I find it gross that they even entertain such thoughts."

I just saw a post claiming that Riko simps and shippers were a "real problem" in the AFTG fandom. Please do not bring that attitude into one of the few non-toxic fandoms left, where people are capable of recognizing that depiction does not equal endorsement, and that you can simply ignore harmless weirdos who ick you out. Please also stay on Twitter, which Nora accurately described as a PvP zone.

Riko Moriyama is abominable, and his actions are inexcusable; everyone understands that, but he does not exist. I cannot, in any way, abet a fake evil man; I cannot even fuck him for real, but I can have many harmless thoughts about bringing him to his knees. Thank you.

[a-drewid]

It’s 2 am and I have aftg social media headcanons

Enjoy whatever train wreck this becomes

So during Neil’s second year at Palmetto State, Wymack decides its in the team’s best interest to participate more online and with their fans on different social media platforms. Originally, this was just having a team-shared YouTube account and a team-shared Twitter account.

But because it’s the foxes, things went downhill pretty quickly.

First off, the only person trusted with the login info for both the YouTube and Twitter accounts was Dan, because Wymack thought (rightly) that if any of the other foxes got their hands on the public accounts, everything would go to shit. But Wymack underestimated the fox’s power to get what they want.

One night, after a good game that they won, the foxes are all sufficiently drunk, and Matt and Allison manage to wheedle the login information out of a very tipsy Dan.

The next day, all the foxes have access to the accounts, and things start going sideways from there.

It starts off small at first. A tweet roasting the Raven’s (Neil’s doing), a YouTube compilation of different fox’s eating it during games played over It’s a Hard Knock Life from Annie (courtesy of Nicky and Matt). Wymack doesn’t think much of it, just happy that his foxes are actually listening to him for once.

But soon enough it’s tweets that just say Jeremy Knox <3 (Kevin was drunk) and YouTube compilations titled Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten staring at each other for ten minutes and thirteen seconds (Andrew thought Nicky was behind it, but it was actually Renee the whole time).

Then, somehow, it gets worse.

After a particularly rough argument, Aaron goes dark on his personal twitter. Fans are, understandably, confused. But their confusion only grows when they go to check his alt and find twenty new posts. They’re all just baby pictures of Andrew.

Then a Vine account pops up (cause Vine was still alive back then). At first, people aren’t sure if it’s real or not, but after a particularly… worrying video (the camera starts on a very drunk Matt talking about how pretty Dan is before panning to the side, showing a clock that reads 3:29 am) fans are convinced that it’s actually being run by the foxes.

Then the betting starts.

The first bet is started by the upperclassmen, and it’s simply how long it will take before Neil activates his personal Twitter and replies to one of Kevin’s tweets. In the end, it only takes a week. The tweet was about exy (obviously). Neil responded simply with ‘You tell ‘em Queen.’

After Neil has established himself as a salty shit on Twitter, the bets continue.

How long until Andrew and Neil start fake arguing under one of Neil’s tweets. Two days.

How long before the Minyard-Josten rivalry comes to a head among fans. Three days, right after Neil calls Andrew a midget on his main an Andrew blocks him.

Things also happening on the side: Instagram accounts have been made. Dan posts mostly pictures of her and Matt, or her and the other girls. Matt only ever posts pictures of Dan. Instagram is abandoned shortly afterwards, however, when the app proclaims Aaron’s death for the third time (like what happened with Jack Manifold lmao). Sources vary on whether or not Andrew had anything to do with this.

Neil sometimes forgets he has Twitter, and he’ll open the app after weeks of ignoring it, post some cryptic shit, and leave the fans to scramble for a meaning to the most random sentences.

Neil Josten @/n.a.josten

What the fuck does ‘lit’ mean.

Neil Josten @/n.a.josten

I’m gonna start breaking shit.

Neil Josten @/n.a.josten

Guys please. What is a twink. Nicky won’t stop calling me it.

The foxes quickly become, if possible, even more well liked by there fans, simply for the amazing content they make on the regular. A YouTube video that’s just twenty minutes of Allison doing Renee’s makeup and them talking about women’s rights? Amazing. A vine that’s simply Andrew throwing an exy ball at the back of Kevin’s head and looking into the camera like he’s in the office? Fantastic.

It’s really far too late when Wymack realizes that his foxes have taken social media and ran with it, but he can’t really be mad at them, cause they just seem to be having so much fun with it. 10/10 for team bonding :)

[darkblueboxs]

I posted 562 times in 2021

73 posts created (13%)

489 posts reblogged (87%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.7 posts.

I added 520 tags in 2021

#aftg - 246 posts

#all for the game - 43 posts

#tfc - 43 posts

#the foxhole court - 42 posts

#mine - 35 posts

#my fic - 31 posts

#tsath - 23 posts

#andreil - 23 posts

#soc - 19 posts

#taz - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#six months post tkm wymack suddenly sits bolt upright in bed because he just remembered he filed paperwork to legally adopt neil in case the

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Andrew “criminal justice major” Minyard is assigned a paper on modern crime family behaviours. He hands in a diary about Neil.

7:45: the last remaining wesninski eats a bowl of Cheerios

8:02: the butcher jr leaves his dishes in the sink instead of washing them like I asked

1710 notes • Posted 2021-08-27 22:21:06 GMT

#4

I love how ass-backwards our understanding of Neil is, like literally the first paragraph of the book we get the whole mom-died-in-a-car-fire traumatic backstory but we don't get basic shit like his hair colour or even his NAME until the second book??? Go king give us nothing

1729 notes • Posted 2021-03-03 21:45:09 GMT

#3

Imagining years down the line Aaron is going about his business when someone comes up to him while he’s in line for coffee or whatever like “this is going to sound insane but did you suck my dick in juvi”

2203 notes • Posted 2021-05-06 00:01:43 GMT

#2

what if the foxes looked at neil's obviously fake name/ID, his avoidance of doctors/hospitals/cops, his refusal to talk abt his background or his family, his "french mom," his shifting accent/sporadically british vocabulary & his three languages and decided that he was clearly an undocumented immigrant that needed to be protected at all costs

matt makes it about three months before quietly offering to marry neil to help with his "situation." neil has never been so confused in his life.

2388 notes • Posted 2021-08-01 22:46:45 GMT

#1

aight this made twitter people angry so i’ll say it here too

Yahoo answers shutting down on a month’s notice is a good reason to remember why donation-run sites like AO3 are so invaluable to fandom.

Companies will delete decades of work with zero warning the minute it stops making them money. protect non-profits and donate when u can.

21449 notes • Posted 2021-04-09 13:17:32 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[bazookajo94]

Exy fanboy Neil Josten stumbles across roleplaying Twitter accounts. Lonely and curious, he requests one for literally any of the players from the professional exy team Palmetto State Foxes. Someone calling themselves rp_aaaaaminyard03 responds.

Andrew Minyard, bored with life, the universe, and everything, makes a fake roleplay account on Twitter. He is roleplaying himself. He is rp_aaaaaminyard03.

--

this is my gift for @kiirynilcc for the @aftg-mixtape I hope you love it as much as I do!

[beautiful-mind-art]

I thought, man those fake AFTG Twitter posts are cool, what if I made a fake tik tok. I present to you: Nicky catching Andrew spaced out, and uses it as the perfect opportunity to use all of his dumb saved pictures of Neil

[moonysideofthesun]

I posted 154 times in 2021

16 posts created (10%)

138 posts reblogged (90%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 8.6 posts.

I added 25 tags in 2021

#marauders era - 4 posts

#renison - 3 posts

#all for the game - 3 posts

#reblog - 3 posts

#aftg - 2 posts

#james potter - 2 posts

#the foxhole court - 2 posts

#the raven king - 2 posts

#the kings men - 2 posts

#the marauders - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 99 characters

#my grandma is the one who taught me this in case i end up sleeping in an airport or a crowded place

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

‘mum’ by luke hemmings is a regulus song

25 notes • Posted 2021-09-04 11:36:22 GMT

#4

i finished reading one last stop yesterday night and omg :

Casey McQuiston has no rights to make me feel so much emotions like wtf (just kidding, they're the only one i allow to do it)

all the references to Chinese culture made my sinisant heart jump with joy and pride

‘hello Coffee Girl’ ‘hello Subway Girl’

the ‘GENDER IS FAKE’ sticker like hell yeah !

the end ??????!?!?!!?;!;!!!!!;_(_)_(_)2+_(€(:)€ (no need to add more)

i'm officially Wes #1 protector

like, in a new comfort character unlocked way

my new favorite book

thank you Casey

we love you <333

bye folks, i am now going to cry because i will never meet the love of my life in a subway like august and jane/biyu did (my city doesn't even have a subway)

75 notes • Posted 2021-09-26 08:16:02 GMT

#3

⚠️MARAUDERS STAN STOP SCROLLING ‼️‼️⚠️

please reblog to reach more people

this is what lunopal tweeted about allyship and supporting minorities rights (especially about racism, antisemitism, islamophobia and ableism), and there are many more tweets on their twitter acc !!

[the following pics are screenshots of @pestoprongs insta stories]

i don't think i need to explain how insensitive and disrespectful it is, they're not a good person and you should stop supporting them. if you have lunopal's art in your layout/theme, change it to fanart by people who actually care about other human beings (like pestoprongs, siriuslyginger, faheyspadfoot, thejaninterlude... just to name some of them). unfollow them and tell your friends to do so !

107 notes • Posted 2021-11-09 21:08:09 GMT

#2

y'all are sleeping on Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall too much. like C'MON ??!?! ENEMIES TO LOVERS !!! FAKE DATING !!! “OH SHIT THERE'S JUST ONE BED AND WE HAVE TO SHARE” !!!?!?!??!;&+&)_)_

115 notes • Posted 2021-07-29 23:53:26 GMT

#1

“the connexion is unstable, wait a bit please” just like my mental health, now give me my ship, i don't have time for all of this

231 notes • Posted 2021-09-19 19:45:25 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[aftgficrec]

Do you have any internet friends fics?

We sure do!  There were several new ones in the recent Mixtape Exchange, as well as some lovely older ones.  These mostly have a “friends to lovers” or “strangers to friends to lovers” theme.  -F

every time you curse my name by djhedy for bazookajo94 [Rated T, 4011 words, Complete 2021, AFTG Mixtape Exchange]

Andrew is a famous exy player, gets twitter, and needs a little help learning he isn't who the haters say he is.

(tw: cyberbullying, tw: death threats, tw: rape threats)

Take Me Home by 5a5b5p5 [Rated T, 9289 words, Complete 2021, AFTG Mixtape Exchange]

There’s a faint huff of breath from across the line—silence followed by an incredulous “…you’re asking me to role-play meeting up with you.”

“Yep,” Neil confirms. He lowers his voice a little, effecting a teasing tone. “Andrew, if you were here with me now, what would you do?”

Neil is only joking, but he’d be lying if he said Andrew’s slight hitch of breath didn’t cause something within him to soar with pride. It’s times like these when he wishes he knew what Andrew looked like, if only to see if he’s blushing as hard as it sounds like he is.

“Shut up,” Andrew says, sounding a little breathless. “Are you serious?”

or - Neil and Andrew are online best friends who have never progressed past talking in voice calls. Despite being an ocean apart, Neil wants nothing more than to go home to Andrew.

(tw: implied/referenced abuse)

all that i’ve been dreaming of by bazookajo94 [Rated T,  5367 words, Complete 2021, AFTG Mixtape Exchange]

Exy fanboy Neil Josten stumbles across roleplaying Twitter accounts. Lonely and curious, he requests one for literally any of the players from the professional exy team Palmetto State Foxes. Someone calling themselves rp_aaaaaminyard03 responds.

Andrew Minyard, bored with life, the universe, and everything, makes a fake roleplay account on Twitter. He is roleplaying himself. He is rp_aaaaaminyard03.

(tw: scars)

Love, Neil by gluupor [Rated G, 2896 words, Complete 2020, AFTG Bingo]

A random post got Andrew the attention of a guy he's slowly starting to fall for. He'd never expected to feel this way about anyone and now his entire life's been turned upside down. The only problem? They've only ever communicated online and Andrew's scared that he'll not be enough in real life.

(tw: involuntary outing)

No Place Like Home by gluupor, moonix [Rated T, 31709 words, complete 2019]

With neighbours like these, who needs enemies? Neil and Andrew have been friends for years, but have never met face to face. Josten and Minyard are new neighbours who start off on the wrong foot. Can they turn a prank war into a courtship?

Far Too Young to Die by fueledbyfiction [Rated T, 4458 words, Incomplete, Last Updated July 2018]

Neil is a senior at Millport High School greiving the death of his mother. He immerses himself in playing Exy for the crappy school team and reading books in the corner of the public library. He is surfing a Harry Potter forum, when a post catches his eye. He leaves a comment, not expecting a reply, but it blooms into something that could not exactly be called a friendship, but is pretty close to it.

Meeting Finally by Officialwinchester [Rated G, 988 Words, Complete, Andreil Week 2018]

Neil has been dating Andew online for almost a year, and now they're meeting in real life.

What if we kissed...and we met on tinder? Series by djhedy  [Rated T/M, 63854 words]

a series where alison convinces neil to sign up to tinder, where he meets matt, and eventually andrew and ... it's cute ok

part 1: likes: exy [Rated T, 32568 words, Complete 2020]

part 2: Can I kiss you?  [Rated M, 6131 words, Complete 2020]

part 3: best friends [Rated T, 2116 words, Complete 2020]

part 4: Kevin [Rated T, 2542 words, Complete 2020]

part 5: what it means to us [Rated M, 20572 words, Complete 2020]

(tw: ace-blindness)

[aftgficrec]

Hi, I love your tumblr. I don't know if you've done this before, but is there anything with non binary or gender non conforming Neil? Preferably longer ones but I don't really mind, thanks!

Here’s what I found for you, and the ones in the previous recs are longer. - A

from previous recs:

‘Bigger Than A Hexadecimal’ here

‘Feeling Fine and Fancy Free,’ and ‘...The Best Of All Best Friends REMIX’ here

‘The Golden Three’ (kandreil) here 

‘forgive our sins forged at the pulpit’ here

Luck by infernalstars [Rated G, 1301 Words, Complete, 2020]

“I will not be caught dead in a skirt,” [Andrew] said, listing things off on his fingers. “If you call me [deadname], I will hurt you. You will make an appointment for me to get my hair cut. And I swear to god if you think I’m making this up you’re dead to me.”

or in which neil josten gets their boyfriend to wear a skirt :)

tw: implied/referenced rape/non con, tw: gender dysphoria

I've Been Trying To Do It Right by CasTheButler [Not Rated, 1273 Words, Incomplete, Updated Feb 2020, AFTG Valentine’s Day Exchange]

It's a fake dating au with no actual fake dating... in space

confessions (the truth is...) by maisy_daisy [Rated G, 1310 Words, Complete, 2020]

Neil Josten doesn't know who they are or where they're going. One night with a confident stranger isn't enough to find themself, but it's a start.

NB: Tumblr version by @ravens-play-exy-too​ here

Nonbinary Neil by greenJeanKirstein [Rated G, 932 Words, Complete, AFTG Secret Santa 2016]

Neil tries different pronouns under the disguise of different aliases. As Alex, she has female pronouns; Chris uses the neutral ones, and Neil is too busy trying not to die to think about the pronouns he, and others, use for him.

Oh, and Neil also tells Andrew that he's nonbinary.

NB: Nonbinary Neil edit @softproko to accompany this fic here

Non-binary Neil hc by @satanic-foxhole-court [Tumblr, 2020]

- Just chills with non-binary

- Still chill with being ID as masc

- Likes skirts and summer dresses! They do the swish swish around their legs and thinks it’s cool

Art

Neil in a skirt art by @chbvnny on Twitter

[aftgficrec]

hi!!! bless y’all for taking the time to answer these asks!! sorry if this is vague, but do y’all have any recs for andreil “fluff” or funny content that keeps really close to their characters? like them just being the dry humored deadpan duo we know and love? thank you so much!!

There are some writers that really seem to take that “dry-humored deadpan” concept and run with it.  If you find one of the writers mentioned “clicks” with what you’re looking for, check out their other fics - most of them have others that might satisfy that craving!  You might enjoy ‘what if we kissed…and we met on tinder?’ recommended here, and ‘married to my enemy’ recommended here, as well as the fics below.  -F

In Which Neil Josten is a PR Nightmare by CoverYourEyes [Rated: T, 12442 words, incomplete, last updated 2/2020]

Eve was not the best person in the world. Sometimes she didn’t hold the elevator open when she saw people rushing to catch it from the other side of the lobby. Cutting the line at Starbucks was a semi-regular action.

But Eve did not deserve to be Neil fucking Josten’s publicist.

Or, the one where Neil does what he wants, picks fights with reporters, discovers Twitter, breaks the internet, and really shouldn’t be allowed out of his house.

Wanted: Random Guy by fuzzballsheltiepants [Rated T, 5989 words, Complete 2020, AFTG Valentine’s Exchange]

Neil’s just trying to get through life as a math major, surviving primarily because of his favorite coffee shop and his speculation about all the regulars there. When an ad appears on the coffee shop bulletin board looking for someone to take fake couple’s photos with, he decides to give the guy a call. After all, it could be entertaining…right?

Andrew Minyard: Tiny Gay Disaster by gluupor [Rated T, 17045 words, Complete 2019]

Andrew is fed up with Nicky continually setting him up with guys, so he devises a plan to get him to stop: he claims he’s dating Kevin. Of course, with his luck, as soon as he declares himself off the market he meets Neil. Cue the useless gay pining.

can i get a kiss (can you make it last forever) by Talls [Rated T, 8995 words, Complete 2020]

“I’m obsessive about everything,” Neil protests, sitting in a booth with the four upperclassmen he can stand. “What makes this obsession special?”

“Okay, we get the Exy obsession, because you’re legitimately planning on going pro, and we get the Kevin obsession because he’s dedicated to teaching you to go pro, and we even get the Minyard obsession,” Dan says.

In which Andrew has a podcast, and Neil falls in love with him twice.

my head goes forward (and my heart goes back) by ephemeralsky [Rated T, 2454 words, Complete 2019, Andreil Week]

Nathaniel Wesninski. Alias: Neil Josten. Status: Active; extremely dangerous.

Andrew has run into him on a few missions in the past - Bucharest, Hanoi, and, most notably, Reykjavik - and the warnings had been the same: Do not engage. Avoid at all costs.

As if that had ever been possible.

(or: Andrew is a spy, Neil is a hitman, and Kevin is exasperated)

(tw: cartoon violence, tw: knives, tw: guns, tw: murder)

[darkblueboxs]

The Manga is Way Better (Save me from the Fangirls)

Read here or on AO3

Inspired by an absurd GC conversation feat. @hope-coeurell and @karmacharmeleon18 about exy anime in the aftg universe.

Neil wakes up to eleven hundred new twitter followers overnight, which sets off alarm bells for a number of reasons.

He didn’t want the damn account, but his publicist insisted, and Carol rules Neil’s public life with an iron fist. He leaves her to post generically upbeat tweets on his behalf about the exy world, and in return he tries not to start any fights that she’ll have to finish. Emphasis on tries.

He assumes that the influx of followers is down to some vaguely rude retort going viral that he’d already forgotten making, but to his bafflement most of the new followers seem to have cartoon avatars and names that are more emoji than letter. He clicks on one profile out of curiosity, understands about one word in five, and promptly loses interest.

He puts it down to the ramp up in interest caused by the approaching world cup and shuts off his phone. The muggy SoCal heat makes Neil drowsier than he usually would be, but the sound of Andrew brewing coffee in the kitchen is enough to drag Neil from bed. They’re only on the western coast for a few days while the national team attends a few mandatory press junkets and board meetings, and Neil would resent it more if not for the opportunity to spend time with his family.

They’re actually scheduled for a day off, but Kevin pulled every contact he had with the Trojans to bag use of their court for the day, and he’s dragging every player he can in with him. Luckily for them, it’s the off-season, so the only players they’re booting from their own pitch are the ones with nothing better to do on their break.

The fox’s group chat is buzzing regularly on the ride to the stadium, but Neil ignores it for the city sights rolling by his window. Neither he nor Andrew have visited this part of California before; it leaves a far better impression than their previous experiences with the state.

It’s when he arrives in the locker room to find Matt and a few other players huddled around a phone screen that the alarm bells return.

Matt looks up, takes one look at Neil, and bursts out laughing. “Hey, look, it’s Niall Jamestown.”

Neil gives him a deliberately blank look as he shoulders his bag from his shoulder. “Morning, Matt.”

“You’ve watched this, right? Tell me you’ve watched this.”

Neil glances to Andrew, who seems to know as much as Neil does, before replying. “No?”

“Oh my God,” says Matt, and shoves the phone in Neil’s face.

The sight he is met with is baffling to say the least; a bunch of cartoon boys with brightly coloured hair yelling at each other in Japanese the middle of an exy court.

“Japanese soap opera?” Neil guesses.

“Just wait.”

Neil watches with disinterest. The doors to the cartoon court bang open and the lights flicker as the music crescendos, building up to some dramatic reveal.

A kid with red hair, blue eyes and a scarred face steps into frame. “I’m Niall Jamestown,” say the subtitles as the character slings a racquet across his shoulders. “And I’m going to beat you all!” Then the screen goes black.

Neil is genuinely speechless.

“You’re an anime character, Neil!” Matt beams. “How cool is that?”

Neil looks back to his cartoon doppelganger. “What the fuck is anime?”

*

Neil is acutely aware of when the next episode comes out, because his twitter following jumps wildly again. He has a lot of new messages, although none of them seem to really be directed at him.

“Do not fucking talk to me about fucking King of the Court,” Kevin snaps as they toss a ball back and forth.

“It’s a show about exy, isn’t it?” Neil says. “Why wouldn’t you like it?”

“It’s thinly-veiled Raven propaganda that shows no respect for actual exy rules. They have a distant cousin of the Moriyamas on the creative team because they figured it might be a good merchandising opportunity, but thankfully the manga never really took off in America.” Kevin’s expression darkens. “The new TV adaptation, on the other hand…”

When Neil continues to look at him blankly, Kevin rolls his eyes and explains, “A Manga is like a comic book.”

Neil nearly drops the ball. “I’m a comic book character, too?”

“No, they’ve clearly changed the character’s name and appearance in the remake to make him look like you. They’re going to make you look like an asshole.”

Neil thought he was used to being on television; it turns out he was sorely mistaken. He shrugs. “I’m pretty good at doing that by myself already.”

Kevin throws the next ball to him harder than necessary. It whistles past Neil’s right ear; an inch to the side and it would have been a black eye. The whack of a racket against the ground clatters from the other side of the court, Andrew’s idea of a friendly warning. “Take this seriously.”

“It’s a cartoon, Kevin, how on earth do I take it seriously?”

“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it was Raven propaganda,” Kevin snaps. “The main team, the protagonist, they’re very…” Kevin trails off. “Just go look it up when you get home.”

Neil tries ten minutes of the first episode, but quickly loses interest when he realises there’s more heartfelt speeches about friendship and teamwork than there is actual playing. Kevin’s right, though; the main team, Iwatobi Crows, are a clear stand-in for the Ravens with their black-on-red uniforms. They’re supposed to be the underdog team, which is hilarious, but worst of all is their captain, a charismatic, friendly, dark-haired teenager with a conspicuous beauty-spot on his left cheekbone.

Neil retches quietly before throwing his laptop aside and vowing never to think about the show again.

*

“People on twitter are yelling at me.” Neil frowns. “A lot.”

“This is not news,” Andrew says without raising his eyes from his book.

“This one says I ‘hurt her precious baby.’” Neil scrolls. “They could be a little more creative with their death threats.”

Death threats is enough to pique Andrew’s interest. He takes Neil’s phone and scrolls for several minutes, the crease between his eyebrows deepening slightly. He hands the phone back. “Your cartoon alter-ego is insulting their precious king.”

Neil snorts. He plays a clip beneath one of the tweets showing Neil’s character and Riko’s in a heated argument. It’s melodramatic and darkly lit, and fake-Neil’s smile is wide and sharp as he tells Riko his team will never amount to anything. “You are destined for failure,” Niall snarls. “Pathetic.”

It isn’t meant to be funny; it’s meant to be cruel and devastating, but Neil laughs. “This guy is growing on me.”

Andrew shakes his head as he returns to his book. “Don’t come crying to me when the fangirls break your face.”

Neil snorts. “I’d trust you to patch me up again after.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow but doesn’t deny it.

*

“One of my co-workers has asked me for your autograph,” Nicky says, his voice cracking and jumping across the videocall. “Think you can get a poster to me before Christmas?”

“Easily. I can get a hold of some national team merch as well if she-”

Nicky cuts him off with a snort. “No, it’s cool, she isn’t really into exy.”

At the kitchen counter behind him, Andrew’s knife stalls over the carrots. They share a baffled look.

“What?” says Neil eventually.

“Oh, yeah, she doesn’t follow exy or anything, she’s just really into that show, what’s it called? King of the Castle?”

“Something like that.” Neil says, keeping his expression remarkably straight. “You’ve heard about it?”

“Are you kidding me? The whole anime world is talking about it. Not that I’m deep in the weeb community or anything, I just followed a few people for posting those cute yaoi ice-skating gifs a while back and they’ve been talking about nothing else in months.”

Neil understands some of those words. “Okay.”

“Say, Neil, do you know what a ship is?”

“Like, a boat?”

Andrew reaches past Neil and hits the end call button. “Not today.”

Neil nods, feeling as though he has just been saved from something unfathomably vast and dangerous. “Not today.”

*

Robin sends a picture of the photo wall in the Foxhole Court’s lounge. Someone has put up a poster of Anime Neil in one corner. It’s life-size, and he glares across the room with overshiny blue eyes, a leather jacket thrown over his shoulder as he scowls. She accompanies the message with a simple smiley emoji, but Neil isn’t fooled.

Not funny, Neil texts back.

He’s taller than you, she replies.

*

“What are you going to do about it?” Kevin says on one of their phone calls. “You can’t let them burn your reputation to the ground like this. They’re portraying you as a mouthy bad-boy who listens to no one and breaks all the rules.”

“Just like real life, then,” Andrew says loudly enough that Kevin can hear.

“Kevin, some kid’s cartoon isn’t going to affect my exy career,” Neil says, scooping Sir onto his lap as he talks. “It’s about how well I play.”

“It’s about image, Neil. Your publicist will agree. Has she considered suing for defamation? I know some good lawyers if-”

“She’s looked into it.” Neil had watched Carol’s growing exasperation with detached amusement; she was, as far as he knew, a good person, but watching her having a meltdown over a cartoon caricature had been mildly entertaining regardless. Neil just couldn’t bring himself to see what all the fuss was about. “They’ve changed my name, so it’s a no-go.”

Kevin makes an exaggeratedly pained sound. Neil doesn’t have to picture his expression; he knows all too well what Kevin’s disappointed face looks like.

“You’re taking this heavily,” says Neil. Then, “Did make you into a character too or something-?”

Kevin hangs up.

*

“Neil, how does it feel knowing my husband loves you more than he does his own wife?”

“This isn’t news.” Neil smiles as Dan laughs. He can see moving boxes and sports equipment behind her as she spins, showing Neil through the camera their new living room.

“Have you seen the monstrosity? Has he shown you? He said he wanted to bring it on our next fox holiday, but I said no, there’s no way I’m sitting next to that thing in the truck for six hours, besides, it’s not even that funny.” The amused tilt to her voice says otherwise.

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

“If I have to be traumatised then so do you.” Dan leads into her bedroom, and for a moment the picture turns dark and grainy. The lights flick on, and on the bed Neil sees-

“Dan, what the fuck is that?”

“Randy came across it online and thought it would be funny.” Dan sighs.

“What is it?”

“Haven’t you seen a body pillow before?”

Neil screws up his nose, leaning into his screen to get a better look despite himself. “What is he wearing?”

Dan hesitates. “Swimming costume?”

“It’s a show about exy.”

“Yeah, I got nothing. So I’m guessing you don’t want us to bring it on holiday?”

“Burn it. Please.”

“Good idea.” Dan pauses. “Unless you think Andrew would-”

“No. He would not.”

*

Neil’s anime persona gets a girlfriend, which Neil discovers only when he opens Twitter (an action which becomes more fraught with danger with every passing day) to see art of them having sex.

He blocks several hundred more followers (he’s gaining more than he can possibly hope to block every day, but it’s for the sense of control more than anything) before throwing his phone aside and climbing back into bed.

“I have a girlfriend,” Neil announces. Andrew’s head appears from beneath the covers to blink at him blearily, dislodging one of the cats as he does so.

“An unexpected development,” he says eventually.

“Anime me. He has a girlfriend.”

“Jealous?”

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.” Neil nuzzles under the covers and waits for Andrew’s go-ahead before shifting in against his side.

“Does it upset you?”

“No, it’s just weird.” Neil stares up at the ceiling for several seconds before meeting Andrew’s eyes. “Well, it’s not the show, really. It’s the people.”

Andrew doesn’t reply, but his gaze remains fixed on Neil, encouraging him to keep talking.

“I’m just not used to being seen like that. Like, the people who are yelling at me because they don’t like the character I kind of get. It’s more the really flirty ones. Like, why? They don’t know me.”

“The flirty ones?”

“Just a lot of people saying really sexual things. I keep blocking them, it’s fine.”

Neil thinks he has inadvertently conditioned Andrew to tense up at the word fine; he has long tried to erase it from his vocabulary, but it still slips through now and again.

Andrew’s chest presses against his as he leans over Neil to the bedside table. For a moment Neil’s mind stops working, just thinking about skin against skin. When Andrew leans back, Neil’s phone is in his hand.

“Don’t bother looking, honestly, it isn’t worth it,” Neil says as Andrew taps several buttons.

“I’m not,” says Andrew. When he hands back the phone, the screen says account set to private.

“Carol isn’t going to like that.”

“Carol can take it up with me.”

Neil smiles. “Jealous?”

“No,” says Andrew flatly, and Neil realises that, oh, this isn’t about him.

After several minutes on the phone with Andrew, Carol concedes that keeping a low profile might not be the worst thing in the world.

*

“Neil, it’s bad,” Kevin says before he’s even through the door. “How are you not keeping up with this?”

“Digital detox,” Neil answers as Kevin pushes past. “You should try it. Great for the skin.”

Kevin doesn’t dignify him with a response. “Your character broke Riko’s  - I mean, Ryuu’s – arm. Mid-match. You can’t stand for this.”

“Are you watching this show every week?”

“I have to be ahead of the backlash,” Kevin says emphatically. He throws himself down on the couch, before standing up again, clearly too agitated to stay still. “You don’t understand, Neil. This could destroy you in the Japanese markets before you’ve even made it big in America. You have to-”

“What did they do to you, Kevin?” Neil interrupts. Kevin stops short, mouth open mid-sentence. “Because this clearly isn’t about me.”

Kevin looks away. “His name was Kev. The bumbling, obsessive, star-struck idiot that messed up the whole team’s dynamic, injured himself by pushing himself too hard and crashed out into nothing.”

Neil sobers. “Everything they told you you were.”

Kevin doesn’t look up.

“Kev? They didn’t even bother to change your name?”

Kevin shrugged. “Why bother? I couldn’t sue them. I was under the Moriyama’s thumb, remember?”

Neil stares at him. “You aren’t anymore.”

“I’m-” Kevin starts, stops, starts again. “Oh.”

“You said you knew some good lawyers, right?”

A smile breaks across Kevin’s face. “Right.”

*

King of the Court does not get renewed for a second season. Several of the foxes send Neil messages of faux commiseration, which he responds to with equal sarcasm.

A few months later, after the exy world cup medals are hanging securely over Neil and Andrew’s dresser, the same studio releases a promo for a new show. It’s nothing like their last exy anime save for the mutual sport. The characters are all decidedly fictional, neither looking nor sounding like any prominent figures in the exy world, and the protagonist’s strip doesn’t share the colours of any big USA teams.

The new anime looks as cheesy and melodramatic as the last, although Neil likes the name a lot more this time.

All for the Game. That’s a title he can get behind.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

[aftgficrec]

Some good fics outside ao3?

We can’t get enough AFTG either, anon! There are a number of great fics on tumblr and twitter, as well as a few zines and such. Here are a few of our faves, and there are plenty more where these came from. - M and A

NB: Please use your own judgement regarding tags and trigger warnings.

Twitter 

cheri by Maria / atomparrishh (Twitter; Not Rated; Complete; 2019)

andrew minyard is one of the top models in the world. while on a train from paris to rome, andrew finds himself leaving the city of love with the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. a 10 hour trip of gay panic ensues. AKA a ten step guide to flirting, by andrew minyard.

NB: This is a long twitter thread that uses screenshots, photos and captions to tell the story. Very clever multimedia fic. 

Reign - An Interactive AU by Andre / @Chryseos1 (Twitter, Not Rated, Dark Fic, Incomplete; 2020)

Neil Josten doesn’t want to be king but it doesn’t look like he has a choice - at least not until banished knight Andrew Minyard enters the scene. This interactive AU is an illustrated tale told through twitter polls - with real stakes! Characters will live and die according to the choices of its readers. Will you take part? Do you have it in you to choose? 

NB: This interactive fic contains mild gore and serious violence including possible major character death due to the nature of the interactive choices. 

Morning Fuc*offee - A Morning AU (Twitter / Tumblr) by redscribbleb / @scribbleb_red (Rating G; 1114 Words, Complete; 2019) 

“Andrew Minyard likes his routine - wake up, walk to Fuc*offee, side eye the barista, do some work, go home, drink, sleep. He’s been doing this for months - the barista is good looking and easy to annoy, he’s deft with his hands and safe to look at from a distance. He’s not happy with life but he’s fine with this - it gets him by for now. Which is why he’s so irate when a new guy starts to do the same.”

NB: This author writes almost daily “Morning AUs” on twitter, which are invariably added to tumblr or AO3 as well. 

Tumblr 

TFC Tumblr Drabble by @c-valentino [Tumblr; Not Rated; 2017]

The cousins did not expect to find a burglar in their house, especially not one with a familiar face… 

Forget Me Not Collection (Tumblr Blog)

A collection of All For the Game art and writing celebrating growth and healing, recovery and regeneration.

NB: A lovely, ongoing aftg zine hosted right here on tumblr that is accepting new content. 

Kevin growing up with Riko and the Ravens, Tumblr drabble by @wesawbears [Tumblr; Not Rated; 2020]

I wanted to write something about what it was like for Kevin growing up with Riko and the Ravens and I don’t know where it went from there, but alas. Normal warnings for anything TFC related.

“How have you made it this long without someone throwing you out an airlock or something?”, Tumblr prompt fill by @puddingcatbae [Tumblr; Not Rated; 2019]

They’re in the car, headed west, flying down the freeway with the windows down because it’s summer and the weather is nice and Andrew’s car is in the shop so they took Neil’s piece of shit car for this trip instead and Neil’s piece of shit car doesn’t come with working air conditioning.

How to Steal a Million, Tumblr fic by @nekojitachan [Tumblr; Not Rated; 2019]

“A fake, you gave them a fake piece of art,” Neil reminded the fool as he ran his hands through his hair, which Allison had done her best to tame earlier. “A piece of marble, which they can use all these nice little bits of machines to scan and run tests on it.”

NB: Click through the author’s tags to find several more chapters.