#the minyard project

[detectivebambam]

In their 30s, the twins begin a charity known as The Minyard Project.

Funded by thousands of volunteers, exy fans, and episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy, The Minyard Project provides prenatal and postpartum care for single mothers, as well as proper background checks for foster families.

The funds also provide hygiene products and luggage for foster children, daycare services for single/working parents, and in-house counseling services for children living in group homes.

The Minyard Project has provided safe homes for over 10,000 children, prevented 20% of abandonment/neglect cases, and brought the national number of foster children down by 30%.

Foster children are 3x more likely to graduate high school without a criminal record or substance addiction.

[moonsnqil]

barista andrew ☕️

[speciouspessimism]

hc that once he feels comfortable, neil’s favorite thing is wearing (stealing) his friends’ (the foxes’) clothes. it’s like a physical anchor for him? something undeniable that says “i am loved, i am cared for, i am trusted” and most importantly “i must return”.

- he and andrew basically share clothes…. when it comes to clothing they forget who’s is who’s and accidentally wear each others’ jerseys

- matt’s mom is sentimental and has a lot of matt’s old clothes, and eventually matt brings neil home over a break and lets him thrift in his childhood wardrobe

- nicky gives him old t-shirts from bands he doesn’t listen to anymore and neil wears them as pjs

- kevin is a stylish bisexual in his early twenties so he has looots of nice jewelry of which neil picks a piece or two of to sneak every week, and Kevin lets him under the pretense of teaching neil to dress better

- renee notices that neil has no proper comfortable clothes and will always offer for him to take her sweatpants (they’re… kinda long) “for the night” but they both know she does not expect them back for a few days

- dan and neil have the same shoe size… enough said

- allison will wear a great sweater and later neil will come by to hang out in just a t-shirt and jeans… and then oh nooo he’s sooo cold…. shiver shiver complain… nooo it’s fine..oh my goood are you sure….thank you soooo much allison thank you…. (they do this dance often and no one understands why allison lets him)

- even aaron once gets sweatpants just a couple inches too long and one day neil just finds them on his desk in the dorm, flung over a pile of notes and messing up his study space, but warm and brand new

- not clothes but when neil completes his first full year with the foxes, like to the day, on the calendar one year since he came to south carolina, wymack gives neil the blanket he used when sleeping on the couch in his apartment last summer

all of this makes neil feel safer than he would admit, but they all notice and play this game. if he’s wearing dan’s sneakers… well, he can’t run away with those on, it would just be inconsiderate

[scholliski]

all aftg fans have one controversial take that they’re afraid to tell anyone

[lovely-jjh]

And if I said that Aaron Minyard greets every new adult with a miss/mister or ma’am/sir because it was beat into him by his mother to make her look good? And he never stopped because when he forgot to as a kid he would get beat? And it took him months to stop calling abby Miss Abigail and coach Mr Wymack because he was scared to get in trouble? What then??

[purpleshadow-star]

Hc that one day Aaron is walking to the dorms from his class, and he's texting Kaitlyn while he walks, so he doesn't see that the stairs outside the building his class was in are wet, so he slips and literally tumbles down all the stairs. It's at a time when a lot of classes just got out, so a bunch of people see him. Even worse, he just finished a biology lecture, which happens to be in the same building and at the same time as Neil's calculus lecture, so Neil witnesses the whole thing.

For the next month, Neil obnoxiously reminds Aaron to be careful whenever he is walking and texting or whenever he is confronted with stairs of any kind. It's always some variation of "careful Aaron, there's a crack in the sidewalk!" (while Aaron is on his phone) or "careful Aaron, there are stairs!"

The Foxes don't understand because neither Neil nor Aaron will explain. Aaron is just too embarrassed to tell them, and Neil finds it amusing to keep them all in the dark about Aaron's incident. All of them except Andrew, of course.

[chaoticas-hell]

Andrew: Neil isn't allowed to have metal spoons anymore

Nicky: why? Is it because he knows how to kill someone with one?

Andrew: no. Neil, do you want to tell the group why you can't use metal spoons anymore?

Neil:

Neil: I broke my tooth. Twice.

Andrew: there you have it

Matt: at least it's not murder

Aaron: this time

[yourleftpinkytoe-blog]

Andrew Minyard listens to the song “Don’t speak” by no doubt.

No I will not take criticism on this.

[cultpastorkevin]

Dependent Personality Disorder, Kevin Day, & the Edgar Allan Ravens

brought to you by an ex cult pastor w/ crippling mental issues

well let’s just jump right into it ngl (also if I miss anything or forget something give me a pass I have amnesia and a one track mind so I definitely missed stuff)

Okay so the whole Ravens always have a partner, never go anywhere alone, if one fails you both pay, etc. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and I don’t see it broken down and discussed at length enough, so imma try to do that from a mixed personal experience & psychology perspective

The fact Jean, Neil and Kevin have all stated in books and in the extra content that not having that presence next to them was devastating (much less so for Neil okay he didn’t spend fucking years there); Nora has also talked about how Ravens are basically unable to function if left alone; you can’t send them to the store alone or leave them places or expect them to be capable of completing tasks without their other half; TSC reeks of Jean having to learn how to function without a double and it’s gonna be a trainwreck for Jeremy bc how the fuck can Jean be this old and not feel able to have a room on his own anyways—

What is Dependent Personality Disorder?

The DSM-5 refers to DPD as a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of, which leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation. It is characterized by excessive fear and anxiety. DPD begins by early adulthood, is present in a variety of contexts, and is associated with inadequate functioning. Symptoms can include anything from extreme passivity, devastation, or helplessness when relationships end; avoidance of responsibilities; and severe submission.

According to the DSM-5, the disorder is indicated by at least five of the following factors:

has difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others.

needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of their life.

has difficulty expressing disagreement with others because of fear of loss of support or approval.

has difficulty initiating projects or doing things on their own (because of a lack of self-confidence in judgment or abilities rather than a lack of motivation or energy).

goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant.

feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for themselves.

urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends.

is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of themselves.

Since I only need 5, and I don’t want to bore everyone to death, I’ll just do 5.

needs others to assume responsibility for most major areas of their life

Kevin spent well, basically his entire life having everything picked out for him by others. Exy was chosen for him. Where he lived, when he slept, what he ate and when was chosen. Riko and Tetsuji dictated his every fucking step up until he left. Kevin didn’t learn anything he wasn’t supposed to learn and therefore automatically expected others to do it for him because that’s what he was taught to do. Kevin’s only skill in life is Exy, which means he doesn’t have any other skills (well he does, he just doesn’t think they’re useful or important). Ravens are taught to be dependent on each other because without each other, they’re not whole or a person; they’re dehumanized until they begin to assign responsibility to someone they think is more equipped for it, is better for it, which is usually an authority figure (in this case, those figures are Riko and Tetsuji). Tetsuji knew exactly what he was doing by creating the psychological mindfuck of an inter-dependent group that is the Ravens. He took a bunch of young adults, gave them a god, and then helped that god beat them into numb dissociation until they couldn’t think for themselves and were even afraid to.

has difficulty expressing disagreement with others because of fear of loss of support or approval

Reminder that DPD is prevalent in people who have been excessively abused and it’s also characterized by extreme anxiety. For people like Kevin and the Ravens, expressing anything other than what Riko and Tetsuji wanted could get them killed; it wasn’t just about being terrified of disapproval or protection, it was because losing anything from the group meant you were gonna get hurt (usually badly). Jean was literally waterboarded for shits and giggles, you think Riko is gonna take someone saying no very well (Neil Josten drove him insane I can tell u that much)? Ravens have a hive mind mentality because a hive mind keeps them alive and safe. Kevin had a hive mind when he was with Riko, and I’d argue he still had the remnants of one when he was with the Foxes. Riko breaking his hand was the only thing that broke him out of it, and even then, it barely did. Kevin only started mouthing off to Riko when Neil (bless his scrungly ass) started shaking Riko’s brain like a maraca. He had someone he could depend on in those situations because, again, Ravens always do things together. Kevin wouldn’t fucking dream of shitting on Riko at Kathy’s show by himself. Kevin spent 10+ years at Evermore with his sanity hanging on the hook of a batshit adoptive brother whose approval or disapproval would dictate if he was allowed to sleep. So yeah, I’d say Kevin had a violent need to always express agreement and do everything Riko wanted whether he liked it or not because the anxiety and terror of not doing so outweighed any sense of self preservation he could have. That ties in w the next one.

goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant

Riko utilized abuse in a lot of ways; Nora put in her extra content that he had other Ravens rape Jean; imo, those Ravens most likely didn’t fucking want to, but going to excessive lengths to stay within his approval and be safe? Yeah, they were gonna do it. Tetsuji and Riko also make the Ravens never miss practice or any other shit they want them to do, regardless of the state they’re in. Which means you’re going to practice when you’ve been raped the night before; it means you’re going to practice after getting butchered all night by your other half, etc. Anyways; when Kevin works with the Foxes, he repeatedly does the opposite and basically throws a fit if someone steps on court that isn’t in shape to. This begs the eye raiser that he didn’t want those things happening at Evermore, but he did them anyways because his need for approval and the anxiety of not doing so, outweighed the fact he hated doing it. He was so dependent on Riko and staying close that he was pretty willing to toss anyone and everyone under the bus to meet expectations even if they left a nauseating pit in his stomach. Doing unpleasant things for the person you’re attached to is hard, but their praise and approval after the actions erase all previous anxieties, which then fuels a broken cycle of seeking out that approval and continuing to engage in unpleasant actions out of fear of not recieving that pending approval afterwards. It’s hard to explain succinctly the mindfuck DPD causes your thoughts to be like when you have it.

urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends

Kevin lost Riko. You know what he gets next? Fucking Andrew. I don’t even know if I need to explain this one because Kevin’s dependency on Andrew is so prevalent and excruciatingly obvious throughout the whole series lmao. Kevin ain’t gonna admit it but he relies on Andrew like a starving man relies on garbage (no offense Andrew). Kevin’s duo dependency with Riko was shattered to its core and guess what idiot he latches onto to fill the void? Andrew ofc. I think out of everyone, Andrew is probably the healthiest until Neil comes along (still think it should’ve been a polycule but I digress).

Riko’s obsessiveness and possessiveness with Kevin was crippling to Kevin and left him without the ability to exist without a buffer. Andrew’s apathetic ass and explicit understanding of consent is needed to balance out Riko’s emotional instability and disregard for Kevin’s autonomy. I would go so far as to say it was dependency that forced Kevin to become more independent because Andrew wasn’t going to sit on his ass and wait for Kevin to figure it out or heal. Kevin only struggled into some form of functionality out of what I personally see as a crippling people pleasing need to be useful and that came from being dependent on those around him. He became semi functional (I use this so vaguely bc that man would not be functional in the real world) out of necessity and obligation to those around him, not because he actually healed or processed his shit.

Ignoring your own issues to meet expectations of the one(s) you’re dependent on is stereotypical avoidance and signs of people pleasing and also it’s a trauma response. Kevin quite literally just went “yeah well I have some problems but I’m going to push those aside bc nothing else matters besides Exy” and then proceeded for the entire series to use Exy, Neil, and Andrew as ways to try to avoid his trauma history. He’s kinda insane for that but also I get it, because placing your trauma lower than something else and then in turn obsessing over something or someone helps you compartmentalize and pseudo-function until you eventually snap and have a massive meltdown. Another thing is that when you’re living in an abusive environment you can’t afford those meltdowns. I like think that after all the shit happened in AFTG, Kevin just lost his shit for a period of time because it’s a very reasonable trauma response in victims for once you’re finally safe, you just shatter from all the pressure you’ve been avoiding in yourself. It’s only after you shatter that you can heal, and you can’t do that unless you’re in a space that you’re allowed to. And Tetsuji kept his Ravens in a headspace where they couldn’t.

feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for themselves

Ngl I’ve kinda already covered aspects of this but I just wanna reiterate what Nora said abt this specifically in her extra content that “Kevin is the one who warns Jeremy he (Jean) cannot go anywhere alone, “we Ravens don’t know how” and “Being able to go to class or the grocery store or the gym without any of his teammates in attendance is just—unfathomable” in regards to Jean Moreau’s transition into the Trojans. This is just kinda, explanatory. We’re talking about college age athletes who have been hazed and abused so much that the idea of going to a class alone isn’t even a concept to them; Kevin explicitly tells Jeremy that Ravens don’t know how to do things. They’re dependent on each other. Kevin is not only speaking to help Jean, but when he says “us Ravens” he’s including himself in that statement because he can’t either and he knows how hard it is to try to acclimate to suddenly being thrust into individuality when you haven’t had it in years. Unlike most of the Ravens, Kevin and Riko (and eventually Jean as well) grew up having that inter dependency made into a core personality trait. They hate each other and they love each other, their failures and wins depend on each other, one can’t breathe without the other suffering for it. At what point does trained and conditioned, and ultimately encouraged, dependent behavior turn into brainwashing and dehumanization until there’s nothing left of you but the one you’re dependent on?

Finally

I’m not saying Kevin Day or all of the Ravens have DPD; but what I am saying is that they have extreme traits at the least of it and it is entirely fucking reasonable to me that at least a few of them ended up with DPD or similar disorders because of the shit that happened to them in the Nest. People forget that trauma and adverse circumstances (especially from young ages like Kevin and Riko and Jean) can cause you to develop disorders or even mimic symptoms of disorders because those traumatic events caused reactions that are disordered behaviors. I feel if anything is to be nitpicked, it’s Kevin’s absolute bitchiness, because god he can be an asshole, and someone somewhere could argue because he has that antagonistic streak, DPD is entirely out of the question.

Unfortunately, the dichotomy exists of knowing when you can be bitchy and maintain submissiveness. Kevin probably learned where and when and to what extent he could tow that line when he lived in the Nest, whether it was taking out his anger and his anguish on other Ravens, on the court, or on the Foxes when he moved over. In my experience, my own explosive anger issues had to be portioned out, I had to know who I could do that to, be like that with. When and where was the correct time to lash out and when I was gonna get hit for it. Kevin isn’t stupid, he knew what Riko and Tetsuji were like. He also knew he had the upper hand in the power dynamic over the Raven’s on court. If he went for blood out of anger during practice, triggered by if Riko hurt him too much or took too much from him, other Ravens just had to take it, or worse, probably were encouraged to encourage the brutality.

All in all, I think Tetsuji created an absolute fucking labyrinth of a psychological warzone that both forced submission and rewarded dominance; it left lasting behavioral traits and triggered disorders that crippled Ravens, some for their entire lives. I wanna bet probably no former Raven went to therapy; the ones that got divvied up after the Nest closed probably were required to by their new teams, and they probably are the only generation that maybe were able to heal from it. In the extra content, Thea decided because Kevin could play again, “no harm no foul” on Riko’s end. If that’s not hivemind, culty, worshipper behavior, idk what is. That’s not a normal reaction, but it is a conditioned one.

[dvrcos]

My Aaron Minyard headcanons that float around in my head all day every day and I need to write down before I forget them.

1. He is a mf with chronic migraines and he will let everyone know it and he will use it as an excuse to be an asshole.

2. He for sure wears Nike Blazers Mid 77s and baggy tops with baggy bottoms. And he’s a neutral/earth tones kinda person.

3. He is constantly cold and once again will let every know about it and bitch about it at least once a day. (It’s actually multiple times a day)

4. He will bitch about his course work and talk about dropping out at least once a week but you’ll catch him dead before you catch him ditching class.

5. He skateboards and he finds it fun but he also does it because he enjoys watching Kevin freak out about him potentially falling and hurting himself and fucking the team over.

[scoobiesminyard]

Andrew Minyard by GarnYarn (not my art)

[fandomnerd101]

It’s them again :D

[prince-peachie]

Reintroducing Arlo Minyard-Josten because I have a new and improved doc for him!

My goal is to win over people who are like me and usually don’t like Andreil as parents AUs so hopefully you grow to love him like I did!

[exy-shmexy]

the foxes leaving the court after practice. matt is ahead of the group, discussing plans for what they could do during the evening with allison and nicky when he gets hit by a vicious snowball to the back of the head.

he immediately spins around to find neil pointing at kevin who is in a very animated discussion with dan about all the things the foxes have to get better at on the court. neil’s face is one of pure and utter innocence, and next to him, andrew is a wall of impassivity with a cigarette already hanging from his lips.

matt grins.

he crouches down, makes a snowball and immediately fires it at neil who ducks just in time to avoid it. andrew steps away from them with a bored sigh to join aaron’s side on the sideline while neil quickly throws another snowball at matt, which lands right in the middle of his face. matt laughs, but it is cut short when another lands in the middle of his jacket from the other side. he turns around, and renee can barely contain her laughter.

all hell breaks lose after that.

the foxhole court’s parking lot turns into a snowball battle ground. there is no teams, it’s every man for himself except the twinyards who team up for half a second to shove freezing ice down nicky’s back. allison manages to toss one at both dan and kevin before they can react, kevin retaliates with a mighty scowl and a bigger snowball that lands against the side of her face. dan takes that opportunity to throw one at his face too. meanwhile neil is fully targeting matt, but when matt ends up charging at him then tackling him into the snow, he lets himself go down without a fight and explodes into laughter while he fake-wrestles against him. eventually, matt lets him go but neil ends up shoving snow in the front of his jacket and matt screeches. one stray snowball somehow hits wymack who barely walked out of the court.

he looks at the foxes with the face of a man who has too many children to handle and a barely suppressed smile then with a scowl, he herds everyone to their respective cars back to abby’s so they can all have something warm to drink and eat before “you dipshits all catch a cold and can’t play on monday”.

[overallsonfrogs]

Rip Andrew, you would have loved 21st Century Liability

[chronically-peach]

Part of what I love so much about the monsters is that they’re not perfect victims. They’re not abuse survivors who prettily cry and sometimes have nightmares but are otherwise golden children. They’re flawed and they have terrible coping mechanisms. They make rash decisions and some have little to not self preservation. Their trauma and how they cope with it hurts other people around them. They’re not perfect, not by a long shot but they are realistic. They’re the personification of some of the grimiest parts of being a victim. The monsters are some of my favourite characters because I can relate to them. They’re survivors but they’re still victims. People often forget that abuse victims don’t get to move on as easily as you think they should. For some people that darkness lingers in the corners of their soul and it takes a lot to get rid of it. I love the monsters because they accurately portray imperfect victims and there’s not enough of that representation in media.