#who framed andrew fox

[allfortheslay25]

Who Framed Andrew Fox? Toon AU

Forgot to say Neil is 28 and Andrew is 30

Both tend to act in Mobster toon films but Andrew dabbles in comedic skits too (gets high to do it tho)

Kevin below 👇

Kevin is a detective who hit rock bottom after investigating his mother’s death and finding out a toon did it but not catching the toon

He takes up a quick job to catch evidence of Nathaniel Fox’s infidelity leading to Andrew Fox (his husband) to murder Ichirou Moriyama in a jealous rage. However, something doesn’t seem right with the crime so Kevin volunteers to clear Andrew’s name

(I forgot Neil’s scars in the last image. Sue me)

[plaidos]

The Homestuck community isn’t the first fandom to pretend that “the new stuff [about minorities] doesn’t count [because it was made by marginalised people]” (Star Wars, Doctor Who, Spider-Man, etc) but they are one of the most annoying.

The sheer cognitive dissonance this fandom has that the wider opinion is “Only the parts made by Andrew Hussie count. And only before they started identifying as non-binary. And especially only the bits made by white people” like wow I wonder why.

People will try and argue, “it’s because it frames itself as non-canon” which first of all, no it doesn’t, but even if it did, that seems to be working out well for Undertale/Deltarune. Something tells me that if Toby Fox had signed Deltarune off to a bunch of trans people & people of color people would be arguing that that is a soulless corporate cashgrab too.

People on the Homestuck subreddit still talk about how Hussie got brainwashed by the trans community. It’s fucking dire out here.

[allforthegaymes]

Neil josten and his disposable cameras against the world.

Neil josten who has spent his entire life ducking away from photos, whose heart still beats a little faster when he sees a photo blown up for a poster on the side of the stadium when the season starts up again. Who sees a news article about himself go up and refuses to read it, trusting his pr manager (and andrew) to make sure anything posted about him isnt something weird.

Neil josten with a different disposable camera tucked into the pockets of every pair of jeans, each backpack and duffel bag, and shoved into nearly any crevice of the apartment.

(Andrew fishes at least one a month out of the dryer after they get forgotten in Neils jeans)

At first Abby had suggested it as a way to get more used to hearing a camera flash and associate it with something positive.

So theres rolls and rolls of film developed around the dorm, photos of the foxes, the stadium when the sun sets over it and lights the sky up orange. Blurry photos from Edens of Aaron and Nicky dancing to ABBA, photographed right after is a picture of both of them leaning on the bar wall outside crying into their phones trying to call Katelyn and Erik.

(Andrew corrals them into the car when he realizes that Aaron and Nicky drunkenly called one another and had been blabbering to one another from just over a foot away thinking they’d actually called their respective partners)

A series of photos of Kevin drunk and half leaning over the bar trying to snag someone elses drink that Roland is in the middle of mixing, showing Roland darting back and forth trying to dodge Kevins long reach.

Another photo of Kevin being dragged out of Edens by security, Rolands mixer held up victoriously in his hand as he’s brought outside.

A picture of Allison leaning against her pink convertible. Her hair is tossed back behind her and her mouth is open with a loud bark of laughter. She’d glared at Neil after for taking a picture of her unaware but she has the photo pinned up in the girls dorm room anyways.

Photos of all the cats at the shelter when they decide to adopt Sir. Most of the photos are of Sir. Nearly all of them looking identical because of the Persian’s inability to not have a permanent glare on his face.

The cycle repeats when they get King. The Scottish Folds face etched with a permanently shocked look.

Theres a photo of her on the bathroom counter, feet blurry in the bottom of the photo but its clear shes trying to scramble backwards, the edge of a hair tie looped around the sink faucet and the other half lodged in her mouth as she tries valiantly to pull it loose without getting it in the water spray as Andrew washes his face in the mirrors reflection.

Andrew takes up the majority of the photos. Sure there’s hundreds pictures of the other foxes scattered about but Andrew is always Neil’s main focus.

Wether its actually Andrew framed front and center, always trying to give his typical unimpressed look but constantly betrayed by the uptick of the corners of his mouth, the slightest peak of his teeth when he closes his eyes at the beginning of a tired smile towards Neil.

Or if its not related to Andrew, the essence of him always ends up leaking in. The curl of cigarette smoke at the bottom of a photo of the sunset view from the top of Fox Tower. The reflection of his arm bands in the photo Neil snapped of the Maserati in the rain.

Neil’s favorites are the ones of him and Andrew in their house after theyve gone pro. Its a cozy house out in Washington, close enough to the Seattle team that they can comfortably commute each day without having to actually live within the city.

The lighting is always half shit because of the constant overcast sky outside. But the array of lamps inside always try their best to make the photos look orange and cozy.

Andrew sat asleep in Neils armchair. The bright orange fabric something that Andrew had huffed and rolled his eyes at, but constantly found himself in instead of the black designer chaise Andrew had bought. Both cats are on him. Sir sat on his shoulder glaring down at King, who is in the process of trying to eat his hoodie strings.

Andrew stood in the kitchen, his bare back turned towards Neil as he pours a smoothie out from the blender, arm already reached behind him and holding Neil’s smoothie glass out towards him.

Andrew a half second later, turned looking startled over his shoulder in shock from the sound of the camera shutter as Neils smoothie is caught in motion falling to the floor. Another photo following of Neil hunched over on the floor sweeping up glass.

A photo of Andrew stood with his hip cocked looking up at the light fixture on the ceiling, arms crossed in front of his chest as he stares up at it, the light half ripped out of the ceiling when he’d gotten the midnight urge to change it and then quickly remembered he was a professional athlete and not an electrician.

Andrew hunched over in the engine of a Mustang. The cars an obnoxious bright yellow, two black racing stripes gone up the middle of the hood. His hands are covered in grease and theres a streak of grease running through his short blonde hair as well. Theres a wrench in his hand and a jug of some fluid propped on the engine that Neil doesnt care enough to understand what its for.

And Neil knows the foxes start taking more pictures of him, can hear the camera shutter or see the flash going off but doesnt flinch away or try to sidestep out of the way anymore. Doesnt care that theres evidence of Neil Josten being a real man that exists and lives a real life outside of fake IDs and lies, because he has photos of the life he’s created for himself as well.

[all-for-the-game-confessions]

I think the fandom is massively over-correcting the whole innocent uwu Neil x Badass Andrew phase from a while back by making Neil a great deal more violent/capable than he is in the comics and making Andrew the ' Disaster gay' and it BUGS ME. Now, that's not to say Neil ISN'T violent or capable but he's mainly a runner for the first 2.5 books! Fics and such set in that time frame should not have him confidently standing up to Andrew, Foxes, the Mafia, etc. He's confrontational but then he RUNS AWAY cause he doesn't want to die! It's only AFTER tkm that he becomes someone who wants to stay and fight! But even then, unless it's in direct defense of ANDREW, we (I think) never see him actively get his hands dirty. He calls out a hit in the and that's super cool, but HONESTLY. AND ANOTHER THING: people portray him as so much more kind and considerate than he really is. I love him to pieces but for the love of GOD if it's not Andrew, the Foxes, or Exy (IN THAT ORDER) he does. Not. Give. A. FUCK. Jean I consider as an extension of Kevin and a remnant of his Mafia days.

Now ANDREW. The decision to take away his apathy and make him a 'disaster gay' when a MASSIVE part of his character IS his apathy is unbearable to me. Yeah he thought Neil was attractive from the start but moreso he knew he was trouble! I firmly believe Andrew would have killed Neil in those first few weeks if he had proved to be a legitimate threat to his people. I love Andrew because of his personality and choosing to change it because some of y'all can't 'justify' loving a violent figure makes me roll my eyes. Like, he is mean! He is violent! Definitely more soon his medication but STILL and trying to say he's just a sad, hurt person is taking SUCH a large part of his agency!

I'm sorry, this makes no sense, I just found this blog and wanted to rant my sorry ass off.

TLDR, Andreil are equally badass, Neil is a crazy person, Andrew is a violent person, and I'm making a big deal out of nothing.

.

[cobbbvanth]

so the thing about andrew maybe giving up smoking because of what jean says that has me so !!!!! is that the inciting event (foxes vs ravens match) wasn't even remotely a failure on andrew's part.

but when neil got hurt this time it wasn't that andrew wasn't fast enough! andrew was attacked thirty seconds into the game and even neil "fastest man in class I exy" josten couldn't have (and didn't) make it across the court to him before the violence started.

regardless of this, andrew throws the cigarette away. because he can't stand seeing neil get hurt, and if there's even a possibility that jean was right that andrew's habit of smoking might be the reason neil gets hurt again, then it has to go. again we get a flash of andrew's lack of self preservation because if it was for his own health he'd have given up any one of the number of times kevin asked him to. but now it's framed around neil, and it's not just andrew who needs him to live.

[nobodyaskedyou]

the foxes as things my friends have said

Medicated Andrew: stubbed your toe? murder the closest person in sight. crashed your car? murder the police officer and frame them. someone cut you in line? well what are you waiting for get out the serrated knife and start stabbing. I have great morals

neil: I have a habit of touching hot hot glue because i fear no god

seth: YOU GET A SLUR AND YOU GET A SLUR AND YOU GET A SLUR

aaron: running on spite and mommy issues

dan: all men are better when they're soggy

renee: Through the kindness of the community, jesus killed my father 

matt: I'm using my chad cells to conquer the negativity

allison: If you bite my hair i will violate the geneva convention

nicky:  0/10, not accessible to people who wanted to  macerena

kevin: 90% slut fluids and 10% solid fucking vodka 

[existentialterror]

ARG notes: ZampanioSim

Okay, a work this metafictional and also that (I think) responds to audience interaction is going to need a high-caliber gimmick. Hang on.

...

Alright. Hey guys, catfishAnabasis (Light) here, taking a moment out of my surprisingly busy day tell you about a weird thing on the internet.

ZampanioSim is an intricate and brainbending ARG. It takes direct inspiration from Homestuck, The Magnus Archives, and House of Leaves, as well as the creator (JR, jadedResearcher/justifiedRecursion)'s previous canon of Homestuck fan-work and games. A major theme is "unreality".

HERE IS YOUR TRAILHEAD.

Feel free to ignore the rest of the writeup and check it out now.

I know very little about JR's other work, right now. However, among my many INTERESTS, I am something of a TMA ENJOYER and an AMATEUR INTERNET INVESTIGATOR, and if I were in a HOUSE I like to think I could LEAVE it pretty easily.

So, yeah. I figured I'd just describe my experience of this rabbithole and maybe you'll want to check it out too. I'm sure this will only scratch the surface.

ZampanioSim is structured as a nested labyrinth. In the same way that:

Homestuck is a webcomic framed as an interactive adventure game about an account of kids playing a video game (Sgrub) that doesn't exist, and

House of Leaves is a novel framed as a found scholarly discussion about a documentary (The Navidson Record) that doesn't exist about a house that doesn't exist,

ZampanioSim is a game-based ARG framed as an attempt to simulate a game (Zampanio) that doesn't exist based on a found FAQ of the game (that only sort of exists).

More concretely, ZampanioSim features a lot of nested browser games, as well as audio, narrative, an actual audience-interactive narrative game (the way Homestuck was originally), external websites, and more.

The starting point is, of course, the House:

ZampanioSim takes full advantage of the browser as medium. There is content accessible via the address bar, developer tools, cookies (I think), the developer console, and probably more that I haven't realized.

Like, to give you a sense of the kind of rabbithole we're dealing with: Here's a map I made of the House outset page today:

...And I say today because the House does change over time. Today (a friday) when I clicked on the EastEast route, for instance, I was greeted by this grotesquely distorted version of Rebecca Black's "Friday":

Okay, let's talk about what we have going on in the House map, starting from the doors and working out. (I've given some of these my own names for clarity.)

North

The Classpect Menu Game:

This, I think, is the main titular "ZampanioSim". It's the part that's intended to recreate the experience of a supposed old computer game, but by and large, you only experience the menu screen, not the rest of the gameplay. You can select attributes (based on Homestuck's Classpecting system + the Magnus Archives fears) gain points and select skills and (depending on your seed) eventually "beat the game". It's glitchy, it's a hellscape, there's an entity or two in the menu system that are trying to talk to you. It's great fun. Contains links to a rabbithole (which you can plug passwords into for more secrets) and + some secrets to you in the credits.

(While mostly the aspects seem to add flavor to the menu options, there's a special class called "Waste". This appears in neither TMA nor Homestuck, but comes from a fan or meta-joke that Andrew Hussie and Toby Fox, the writer and a major composer for Homestuck, are classpected* as the "Waste of Space" and "Waste of Time". By telling it you're a "Waste"you're more likely to get weird glitches and new options in your Classpect Menu game run - there's a fun recurring element in some of these games about the game changing depending on who you tell it is playing. I learned about the Waste trick from JR's youtube channel. Also, setting your birthday as Halloween might also do something.)

I have no idea if the different iterations of games here are substantially different. I haven't checked. There's a lot going on. "There's a lot going on" is a good summary of ZampanioSim overall.

*( Uh, classpecting is this in-Homestuck personality system where game players are a [Role] of [Element].)

Eyedlr: Eyedol Games is the company that supposedly made the original game Zampanio. Eyedlr is their spambot-filled tumblr clone, which also has secrets in it. (Actually, just assume everything has secrets out.)

East

The House Exploration game: It has the same setup screen as the Classpect Menu game, but this one drops you into a game with visuals: An infinite(?) procedural house you navigate with imagery derived from your choices.

Peewee's exploration game: When it's not blasting Rebecca Black's Friday But Weird into your ears, the EastEast route is another procedural infinite(?) maze, except that you type directions to Peewee, a snake guy with goggles who also moves around on his own. This one also introduces named characters we learn more about elsewhere.

Bathroom text: Procredural bathroom maze, unless it's just some text telling you to take a break. ZampanioSim really likes telling you to take breaks and hydrate, so that you can better appreciate and spread Zampanio.

Absolutely not. Also, I'm a busy woman. I have to finish this writing summary first.

South

The Train Game: a game - notably not a maze - where JR walks down a series of train corridors and monologues to you about the game and the "reality" behind it.

The mazecrawler game: You tell a little guy how to navigate an infinite(?) maze - and if you choose right and open up your browser's Console menu, you can learn a great deal more about

West

The only West route is AdventureSimWest, which is an actual text narrative game where readers submit commands that the author incorporates into updates - just like early Homestuck. It's still going. The logs are extensive but it's mostly about the antics of a new employee at Eyedol Games, which is stuck in a time loop.

Other

Then there's some other scattered clickable text -

The truth about alt: An exchange between two shapeshifters.

A transcript: A dialogue between two people who apparently work for Eyedol Games.

The lower left leads you to an apparently rotating selection of other Zampanio-related games. I particularly liked NagaGirlfriend.

None of this is even the stuff you can reach this page exclusively through the Console menu.

And much more

And there's a lot of stuff that's NOT branching directly off of the house. There's other things you find buried in links or by searching - a discord and a wiki that both straddle the line between in-character and -out, Archive of Our Own content, a youtube channel, the Eyedol website...

Is there a "story" to ZampanioSim?

Yes.

Like I said, there's a lot I haven't seen yet. But what's going on is something like this:

JR is attempting to recreate this game, Zampanio, of course, and tap into its fanbase. The game Zampanio is an infectious meme. Eyedol Games is a transdimensional company that is perhaps both trying to spread the meme and contain it, by removing its spores, e.g. the Zampanio FAQ - the thing that inspired JR to make ZampanioSim - from the internet.

Various parts of the game recognize that they are fictional and may identify you the reader/player as "Observers".

There are a few recurring characters who have gotten swept up into the meme, either working for Eyedol or trapped in ZampanioSim or both, and have followed it from variant to transdimensional variant.

(this is an image from homestuck. it's a reference.)

Japes aside, this is a brain-bending, very cool, and completely ludicrous unfiction project which I believe is made mostly by one person with an unparalleled hand for web sorcery, whimsy, and vibes. The vibes are so good.

The host website, Farrago Fiction (which AFAICT is a multi-person project), hosts a number of often-homestuck-inspired weird games and simulators.

I know ZampanioSim is now a few years old and is still actively updating. Consider checking it out.

2024-08-24 edit: Part 2!

[fuzzballsheltiepants]

A (very) incomplete list of things I loved in TSC: (obviously, spoilers)

Jean having no sense of time at the beginning. he has literally zero idea how much time has passed and has no frame of reference. it feels like weeks; we only know because we read the original series

the shift once again, this time from Jean's POV, from Nathaniel to Neil! it being a mark of respect

seeing how Neil really relayed the deal with Ichirou to Kevin and Jean (that Neil totally glossed over in TKM)

all of Jean's internal and spoken insults for everyone around him but especially all the Foxes

Jean's complete and utter disdain for short people and how many there are, just, everywhere. why are short people allowed? they should be illegal

Andrew's single word in the entire book being, "Leaving." just classic

the whole scene where Jean watches the final game? where he is so invested in how the Foxes are doing that when they win he shoves the tv?

Jean mentally adding Andrew into the Perfect Court because they need a goalkeeper, deciding that if Kevin and Riko die it would be ok because Jean, Andrew, and Neil were enough to rebuild around

Jeremy standing at baggage claim playing with a yo-yo until he gets it tangled in his headphones

Cat teaching Jean to cook

Jean being adorably horny and constantly swayed by beautiful people

Cat thinking Renee is hot

Jean just...not understanding how people function if their every move is not controlled at first? and then starting to come around?

Jean buying clothes! picking out things for himself!

Jeremy buying people in need gift cards because he can

Barkbark von Barkenstein being the silent unwitting center of a tiny war between Jean and Jeremy

Rhemann starting to realize what Jean/the Ravens have been going through at the hands of their coaches and needing to take a minute or fifty to get over it

Jean finding himself adopted into a queer family and just rolling with it

Jeremy and his complete and utter avoidance of every possible personal problem. nothing to see here, folks

Jean's glee when the Trojans first curse, being absolutely certain that this is revealing some deep well of depravity

the Trojans' techniques for staying sportsmanlike on the court (while really aggravating the fuck out of their opponents)

the fact that Neil and Jean together are basically a buddy comedy (which I NEED MORE OF)

Neil from an outside perspective as a weird little man who can negotiate without flinching with dangerous people, navigate an unfamiliar city after briefly studying printed off Mapquest instructions, coolly order a hit in the middle of a restaurant, and develop a convincing lie at the drop of a hat

Neil's tactless but relentless kindness?

"A cool evening breeze. Rainbows. Open roads. Friends."

[daywife]

Did you even see how pale Kevin's face went when Rico came into the frame during Katie Ferdinand's interview? It was a look of horror, you could see how tense he was and the tension in the air.

I was one of the invitees and sat in the hall, seeing this I was shocked and perplexed. We all thought and think that they have a strong brotherly relationship. When Rico extended his hand to Kevin, it was noticeable how hard it was for him to extend his hand in return, and when the king extended him for a hug, both Neil and the foxes tensed up.

All the foxes went berserk when they saw Moriyama, Andrew jumped up with a bang, but the others stopped him, I'm sure that if they hadn't been able to stop him, they would have fought right there on air.

Many people think that Neil's reaction is a funny attempt to attract attention to himself, I don't think so, it seems to me that it was a defensive reaction(?).

In his speech at the interview, Josten defended Kevin and spoke only facts that the fans of the ravens cannot accept. From Neil's words we can draw many conclusions, it is obvious that he knows much more than we do and such an enemy attitude towards the King is not taken out of thin air.

We don't know the whole truth and therefore we can't say who is right in this situation.

Rico tried to lure Kevin to his side right on air, he obviously can’t let Kevin go and their affection for each other makes itself felt, they were very close, at least in public.

Moriyama says that Kevin can return to the nest and be a coach there, but this is obviously burying Kevin's talents. At the peak of his game, Day was literally on the heels of Rico in the game and was even better. This is a fact.

Just draw your own conclusions.

[neilljcsten]

aftg prompt: something with andrew hacking and coughing bc he smokes sm but acting like he’s fine and normal

ouuu ty!! let me know what you think :)

Objectively, Neil knew Andrew needed to stop smoking. Except the acrid smell of a burning cigarette was something so deeply Andrew, that Neil had no idea how to get him to stop. They were well past making deals so he couldn't pull the same stunt he did with cracker dust (he also couldn't buy him another maserati - Stuart would kill him) and he wouldn't trivialize whatever "this" was by giving Andrew an ultimatium. So he watched.

He watched Andrew gradually turn into something of a chain smoker over the summer. If there wasn't a racquet in the man's hand, it was a cigarette. It took him until September to piece together why; Aaron's trial was set for October and the twins had started meeting with Aaron's lawyer in June. Kevin and Wymack had tried talking to Andrew and were both met with a blank stare. When Kevin tried again at night practice, Andrew threatened to break his own hand if Kevin brought it up again. The rest of the Foxes had picked up on the new tension between the two and did their best to stay out of it.

Things came to a head after their first game. Renee had to step in as dealer after Dan took a nasty hit and the new goalie sub wasn't up to Kevin's impossible standards yet, so Andrew played the full game. The stress of the season opener was only compounded by the possibility of Moriyama men watching from the sideline. There was a small chance there were there and an even smaller one that they'd act out against Neil or Kevin, but Andrew locked down the goal anyways.

When the final buzzer rang out, 11-0 in the Foxes' favour, Neil jogged over to meet Andrew in net. He was startled to find Aaron already there - he usually went right to the cheerleaders. Seeing Aaron rip off Andrew's helmet had Neil switching into a run. He heard Andrew before he got to the net and god he sounded awful. Andrew's body was shaking with each rattling cough he let out. Each one sounded like it was being ripped from his chest, deep and throaty. Aaron must've heard him coughing throughout the game. As a backliner he spent far more time closer to Andrew than Neil ever did as a striker. Neli flicked an alarmed glance at Aaron, who was watching his twin with a mixture of anger and concern. Even Andrew, ever calm, seemed distressed at his body's betrayal as another cough shook his frame. Neil shifted to stand beside Andrew, allowing the goalie to lean into him for support. His legs screamed at the added weight but he would carry it a hundred times over if it meant taking some of the world off of Andrew's shoulders.

"You need to stop smoking." Aaron said in German.

It took Andrew a few tries to catch his breath in between coughs before he managed to bite out a hoarse "no" in response.

Aaron looked at Neil for help and found none. This was officially a Minyard argument. Neil had gotten in the middle of enough of those to know to stay out when he could.

"Listen to yourself. This was one game against a shit team. How do you expect to play the rest of the season if this is what happens?" Andrew's silence pushed Aaron to drive the knife deeper. "What happens when you can't play anymore because you've officially killed your lungs? Are Kevin and Neil going to be offed by the fucking mafia because our team has a shit goalie?"

Andrew's eyes, which had been roaming the crowd for anything to distract himself from Aaron's tirade, snapped back to glare at Aaron. Undetterred, Aaron pressed on.

"If you stop smoking, I'll stop dust. Deal?" Privately, Neil was shocked that Aaron would offer such a thing. Dust was the last drug he clung to from his past life and he downed it like a drowning man every Friday.

There was a brief pause before Andrew spoke.

"Deal."

--

The next morning Neil found 5 boxes of cigarettes in the dorm's garbage can. He picked up a few niccotine patches and pints of ice cream on his run, placing the latter in the freezer when he returned. If half of the pints were Aaron's favourite flavour, he pretended not to notice.

[allfortheslay25]

hey queen... i know youve prob alr got this but can we have fem andreil in who framed andrew fox

Have a couple doodles wips cuz I was too lazy to clean up the sketches

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Hiii, could we get some vampdrew please? :D

WIP Wednesday (2/12) | Vampire Andrew AU (Part 217)

NEIL

When Neil wakes to a head stuffed with cotton and his limbs full of lead, he takes it as a sign that he'd overdone it in practice the day before and vows to never do it again. He knows he'll break that vow the next time he steps onto the court, but he at least pretends for a few moments. Then his brain comes online and he registers a pair of arms wound around his middle. That plus a presence at his back sends him down a completely different train of thought.

If arms are around him, his mother is alive. He's in her bed. They're running.

Had it all been a dream? A nightmare? Were they really okay?

Opening his eyes proved harder than working his mouth, so Neil gives a croaked, "Mom?"

He's not sure what he expected, but a man's gentle laughter wasn't it. "Not quite, hon."

Neil wrenches away from the sound, from the body behind him, and with Herculean effort manages to peel his eyes open. Before he can get very far, the arms catch him just shy of him falling out of the bed onto his face. Neil claws at them until they let go, then lands with a thud on a hideous rug. The fall does nothing to help the now pounding in his head, Neil shuts his eyes and counts to ten, hoping things will make sense when he opens them.

"Jesus. Fuck. What do you have against my arms?" whines that same voice, now from above him. Things finally click into place and Neil thankfully doesn't have to bother to look up. It's Nicky's voice. Nicky Hemmick, PSU Foxes, backliner. Teammate, annoyance, and now captor?

"What did you do to me?" Neil's voice is like gravel as he forces the sentence out. When he coughs to clear his throat it feels like he's swallowed razor blades and the room starts spinning. He ignores it. "What did I say last night?"

"Nothing." Nicky says with a bit of hurt in his voice that Neil ignores. "And nothing. But boy we fucking tried. I don't even wanna know how much dust Andrew ended up giving you. If it was as much as I thought, you wouldn't be able to move right now so he must've held back. Good for you and our bank account."

It doesn't feel like Andrew held back. Neil wonders if he ever has in his life. He lies there for another thirty seconds before risking it all to move up onto his hands and knees. The move makes his stomach roil, but he manages it then sits back on his knees to glare at Nicky who's propped on his elbows looking down. Before either of them can say anything— or before Neil can put his fist through Nicky's face— he hears footsteps approaching from behind him.

He grabs the nearest object to throw toward the new arrival, but sadly it doesn't hit. Neil looks over in time to see Aaron sidestep his attack and an alarm clock smashes against the door frame. Neither of them pays it any mind.

"Good morning to you too." Aaron says with a roll of his eyes.

[wilhelminyard]

y'all seemed to like this so here are more moments but the christmas edition :

• andrew and neil, for the longest time, never decorate their house for christmas because honestly who gives a shit? neither of them is big on holidays and decorating the whole house only to take everything down in a few weeks seems more of a hassle than anything else. so they just don't. until one year, it's their turn to host the annual christmas dinner with the rest of the foxes and nicky and allison almost faint when they find out andrew and neil didn't even get a tree. they both turn up to the house with enough decoration to make it look like santa's personal workshop. andrew flat out refuses to help but allison manages to convince neil to give her a hand with the christmas lights on the roof because she needs someone there to make sure she doesn't die and she doesn't trust nicky. nicky feigns offense but he'd rather not be out in the cold anyway so neil goes. when it's done, allison drags everyone outside to watch when they turn on the lights and when she does andrew can see neil's eyes lighting up with childlike wonder. then suddenly neil is more involved. he puts a wreath on the front door, ornaments on the tree and more lights anywhere he can. andrew mumbles something about the electric bill but neil seems so fascinated by this stupid tree in their living room that the next year, around christmas time, andrew puts stupid tiny christmas hats on the cats and even more stupid stockings with their goddamn initials and jersey numbers on them near the fireplace. then he drags aaron with him to buy a tree, threatens to cut his tongue off if he says anything and almost dies on the spot when neil comes home and looks at him with his oh-so-blue eyes filled with that same childlike wonder he had the year before and andrew vows to turn his house into a goddamn christmas tree forest if he has to as long as he can see that look in neil's eyes every year for the rest of his life.

• it turns out that andrew is incredibly good at giving presents. but he'll never admit it to anyone, ever. let alone the foxes. only neil is aware of this, because he never knows what to give people and has to ask andrew for help. so matt never found out that when neil was his secret santa that one year, the incredibly thoughtful gift he got was actually andrew's idea. neil is the one who has to be sujected to matt's overwhelming affection and tight hugs, meanwhile andrew's secret and his 'annoyed by the entire idea of christmas and gift giving' reputation is probably safe considering he bought aaron a "medical terminology for dummies" book. a win-win situation if you ask him.

• nicky gives them matching ugly christmas sweaters "with the coats and the armbands I figured that since you guys love to match so much we might as well make it fun for once". neil wears his immediately, unbothered, but andrew refuses to put this bright colorful piece of garbage on his body. not even his corpse would allow it, he'd come back from the dead and punch nicky in the face if he got anywhere near him with this atrocity. then neil says something about how andrew claims to be the one with the fashion sense out of them both but nowadays neil goes shopping with allison while andrew still wears the exact same black shirts he wore back in college and he finishes with "but you know I get it, it's hard to compete with your black-on-black aesthetic". andrew puts the sweater on just to spite him. kevin takes a picture and andrew strongly considers murder.

• for obvious reasons, it turns out neil has never watched a christmas movie when he was younger. matt believes this is blasphemy. he sits neil down for a movie marathon. matt can only stare in disbelief when neil ends up saying stuff like "you know what marvin and harry are actually pretty lucky because if it had been me instead of kevin mccallister I would have just shot them both" and "if you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is NOT all around but you know what is? the mafia." but other than that it was a pretty successful afternoon in matt's opinion.

• dan ropes them into a gingerbread house-building competition one year. andrew usually makes it his personal mission to avoid any and all festive activities but he agrees to participate in this one mainly because he wants to beat aaron. aaron is frustrated when he realizes that andrew's house is, in fact, better than his. aaron's keeps falling apart for some reason. but he is the doctor out of the two of them, he is supposed to be the one with the steady hands so how the hell is he losing to an exy goalie whose hands are mainly used to punch people in the face when the sport gets too rough? what he doesn't realize is that when he looks away every time neil is trying to rile him up by just being his usual annoying self, andrew eats the foundations of his house. work smarter not harder.

[ninyard]

Okay I’m back I’ve mapped out how the whole night we met/binghampton riot scene would play out

* Song starts *

Instrumental - Riot starts, thrown bottle, foxes fighting

I am not the only traveler

→ Neil struggling, getting pushed into Lola’s car

Who has not repaid his debt

→ foxes getting on the bus, busted up

I’ve been searching for a trail to follow/take me back to the night we met

-> Andrew realizing Neil is missing from the bus and making his way back out the door. It would be cool if in this scene there was like a ghost image of them on the bus together somewhere behind Andrew.

Then I can tell myself

→ Neil in lolas car

What the hell im supposed to do

→ andrew outside looking for Neil

Then I can tell myself

-> Lolas car again, artsy shot of handcuffs, knife, dashboard lighter

Not to ride along with you

-> Foxes at the hospital, artsy shot of bandages, casts, bruises, gowns, hospital equipment

I had

All → flashback to them kissing

Most → flashback to Neil breaking the deal

Some → flashback to “you were amazing”

none -> shot of just Neil’s duffle on the ground with andrew standing behind it, focus moves from bag to Andrew’s face

Take me back → flashback to Andrew picking Neil up at the airport

Don't know what I'm supposed to do

-> scrolling through Neil’s phone to find the countdown, focus on the Baltimore area code

Take me back to the night we met

→Andrew telling Neil where he can touch him

When the night was full of terrors

And your eyes were filled with tears

-> frenzied shots of Neil in lola’s car: Artsy shots of Burns, blood, swirching cars INTERMIXED with shots of the Drake Incident

When you had not touched me yet

-> Neil covering andrew with a blanket at the Hemmick House

Oh, take me back to the night we met

->Andrew touching Neils scars, the shot of Neil saying Abram

Music fades out to “Baltimore area code?” And the “You were always going to lose him” line/reveal from kevin, music rushes back in to:

All - Neil asking Andrew to shut the goal down, “Anything” (kevin in frame)

most -kevin and Neil at night practice, andrew watching

some - kevin handing Neil the boarding pass for evermore

None - Andrew choking Kevin

Take me back to the night we met

-Doesn’t mean i wouldn’t blow you (Kevin has to be slightly in frame in this shot do you see the vision?)

I don't know what I'm supposed to do

->never before seen kissing footage

Haunted by the ghost of you

-> Kevin’s holding his throat, the foxes all staring at Andrew

Take me back to the night we met

-> THE meet cute of all time: the racket hit in Millport

Instrumental out

—> Neil unconscious and beaten up in the back of the car

the “you were always going to lose him” moment PLEASEEEEE

neil covering him with the blanket too oh man this has only just made the fact that i’m never gonna see this so much worse because there’s so many points in this that i want to see on screen SO BADLY

i can see all of it so clearly and it’s just devastatingly good

[samoony]

CHRISTMAS WITH THE FOXES

Neil sat quietly in the corner of the dorm lounge, the scent of cinnamon and hot cocoa filling the air. The lounge was transformed into a cozy Christmas haven, with twinkling string lights draped across the walls, a small faux tree glowing in the corner, and a pile of mismatched gifts under it. For someone who had never celebrated Christmas before or had good memories of it, Neil felt as if he’d stumbled into a scene from one of the holiday movies that nicky insisted on playing on the screen.

The foxes bustled around, chatting and laughing, their festive sweaters adding splashes of color to the room. Andrew gave him small glances every once in a while from across the room, where he was helping set up the snacks(and eating some to). when Neil caught a glance, he returned a small smile, his nerves buzzing. He wasn’t used to being part of celebrations, and the warmth of it all felt almost overwhelming.

“Okay, everyone!” Dan called, clapping her hands. “It’s Secret Santa time!”

The group gathered in a semi-circle in the floor while others on the couch, and the first gift was handed out. Laughter and thanks bounced around as each person unwrapped their presents. When it was Neil’s turn to receive a gift, he hesitated, his awkwardness creeping in. Renee handed him a neatly wrapped box with a grin.

“It’s from me,” she said, sitting back to watch his reaction.

Neil carefully unwrapped the paper, his fingers trembling slightly. Inside was a photo frame, simple yet elegant, and within it was a picture of him and Andrew from earlier that year, both blushing while holding hands and neil being with a huge grin in his face. His throat tightened. It was such a thoughtful gift, yet he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Thank you, Renee,” he said, his voice quiet but sincere. “This… this is really nice.”

Renee smiled warmly. “I thought you might like it. You and Andrew look good in that photo.”

Andrew leaned over and whispered, “Told you it would be nice.” referring to the talk they both had before because neil kept insisting he didn't need presents.

As the gifts continued, Neil’s heart raced. It was his turn to give his gift now, and his nerves peaked. He reached under the tree and pulled out a neatly wrapped box, slightly larger than most of the others. He walked over to Aaron, who was sitting with a curious expression.

“Uh… This is for you,” Neil said, handing the box over.

Aaron raised an eyebrow but still said “Thanks, Neil.”

The room fell silent as Aaron unwrapped the gift. As the paper fell away, revealing an iPad and a digital pen, gasps rippled through the room. Aaron’s jaw dropped.

“Neil,” Aaron said, his voice almost a whisper. “This is… This is a lot, I—why?”

Neil fidgeted, looking down at his hands. “I… I know you’re studying medicine, and I thought it might help. For your notes and stuff. I just… wanted to get you something useful.”

The foxes erupted in surprised murmurs, and Nicky turned to Neil with wide eyes. “Neil, how did you afford this? You spent all your money last year on Andrew's car—”

Neil shrugged sheepishly. “I took on small jobs here and there, saving bit by bit. It wasn’t much.”

For a moment, everyone was silent, absorbing Neil’s words. Then, as if on cue, they all surged toward him, enveloping him in a massive group hug.

“You’re the sweetest person ever, Neil!” Allison exclaimed.

“Seriously, thank you, that was really nice of you” Aaron said, his voice cracking slightly with gratitude.

Neil, squished in the middle by the foxes, felt warmth spread through his chest. For the first time, he truly felt what Christmas was about—not only the gifts, but the love and joy shared among those who cared about each other...home.

And as Andrew leaned in to kiss his temple, Neil couldn’t help but think that this was the best Christmas anyone could ever ask for.

[itscloudsocks]

Kevin and Oakley pt. 1

Looking back, Kevin really doesn´t know how he´s still alive. College has been a total shitshow; Kevin can see that now, almost seven years after graduating. Some of the stuff Neil pulled definitely should've gotten them killed. But hey, Kevin is not one to complain, he´s not sure where he would´ve been without the Foxes. Feeling sentimental, Kevin drops his phone on the counter and turns towards his cup of coffee. Every now and then he misses college - not the classes or the campus life, but the quiet evenings he spent with Neil and Andrew on the couch or the shopping trips with Matt, Allison and Nicky.

Now, all of the foxes are spread out in the world: Nicky is in Germany with Erik and their son, Aaron and Katelyn are both hard at work saving people, Dan and Matt are back in Palmetto, raising their kids while Dan has taken over a little leagues team, Renee is with the peace corps and Allison is somewhere in New York. Andrew and Neil live in and play for Michigan, they´ve just bought a house a few years ago and are living the successful-partners dream. And then there´s Kevin.

At 30 years old he´s still living alone. He has nothing besides Exy and the cream coloured hunk of a cat currently laying ontop of his fridge. She's been given as a present from Neil and Andrew who had blatantly lied when telling Kevin that the little kitten probably wouldn't get that big. Now, two years later she´s outgrown most cat beds he bought and prefers sleeping on his spare pillow on his bed. That doesn´t change the fact that Kevin, despite everything, loves her to pieces.

“Get down there, lady, you´ve already had breakfast.”

Lady just blinks at him, meows and lazily takes a swing in his general direction, missing by miles. With a sigh, Kevin puts his cup away and raises his arms towards her, quietly asking her to get down from the fridge. She in return reaches for his hand and starts nibbling on his finger. Defeated, Kevin accepts his fate and stays where he is standing, hand raised and with his coffee just out of reach. Instead, he lets his eyes wander, taking in the boxes of tupperware and kitchen utensils still unpacked and waiting in a corner of the room.

Kevin moved almost a year ago but for some reason he doesn´t dare to fully unpack. The breakup with Thea happened just shortly after he had graduated, just three months after he had moved in with her. It´s been a sudden, painful event; Thea had ripped the bandaid off but didn´t think of Kevin´s attachment issues. Moving back in with his father and Abby at 25 definitely was not something Kevin expected to happen.

Lady´s sharp teeth digging into the palm of his hand finally rips Kevin out of his thoughts for long enough to get moving. Scolding his cat gently, he pulls his hand away, offering once more to get her down. When she doesn´t react, he leaves her in favor of finishing his coffee and getting ready to leave his home-not-hom.

Reaching for the electric razor sitting on the little ledge beneath the mirror, Kevin shaves off the shadow of stubbles covering his cheeks. He's pretty sure he could grow a decent beard if David´s beard is anything to go by, but it´d be a change he´s not ready for yet. Changes in general are not something Kevin likes to go through, especially alone. Back in college it has been easier because there´s always been someone to catch him in one way or the other but now he's alone and away from his family so changes in any shape or form are something he turns away from.

His hair has gotten longer again - it´s time for a haircut - but the strands of dark hair framing his face take some of the attention from the tattoo beneath his eye so he might just leave it. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Kevin deems himself presentable enough for practice. Today´s gym day anyways and the rest of the team doesn´t pay him too much attention so he doesn´t bother putting his hair back in something neater than a low ponytail before getting dressed in sweatpants and the blue and grey jersey of the Chicago Scorpions. His gym back is already packed and waiting in the hallway. Lady apparently considers this a pillow worthy enough for her majesty to lay on because she´s curled up inside the bag, tail hanging over the edge and large head resting on her crossed front paws.

“I can´t take you with me, you know that. I´ll be back in the afternoon, promise.” Lady just purrs and rubs her head against the towel she´s laying on, making Kevin soft enough to kneel down and rub her ear. The low rumble coming from her chest instantly make Kevin´s shoulders lose the unnoticed tension holding them up.

“I know sweetheart.” Kevin would die on the spot if anyone heard him right now. “I´ll be back before you know it.”

Kevin knows that once he´s out of the door, Lady almost instantly curls up somewhere and just sleeps until he´s back, but leaving his silky soft sweetheart behind, even if just for a few hours, leaves him feeling restless and on edge. With an aching heart he scoops Lady up in his arms, lightly rubs his cheek against her head before letting her back down on the ground. Before she can slip back into his gym bag, he zips it closed and lifts it up over one shoulder.

“Behave, you know the rules.”

Lady meows an answer, rubs around his legs while he slips in to his shoes and sits next to the door until it closes in front of her.

The drive over to the gym is a relatively quick one, traffic is bad but Kevin knows to leave a bit earlier just to get through it. Once he enters the gym through the court entrance, he´s immediately greated by warm, sticky air, laughter and Dalton´s obnoxiously loud music. The urge to turn around and just call in sick is quickly suffocated at it´s root when Dalton notices Kevin, drops the ropes he´s been holding and comes over. He´s already sweaty and gross, grinning while out of breath, and wraps an arm around Kevin´s shoulder, pulling him in close to squish their cheeks together.

“Kevin, light of my life. Oh how I´ve missed you, my-”

“Shut the fuck up,” grumbles Kevin, rolling his eyes while slapping Dalton´s hand away. “You stink.”

“And you´re late,” Dalton notices.

“I´m perfectly on time. It´s not my problem you´re addicted to lifting weights.”

“You can just admit your jealousy, Day.”

“Jealous of what? Your inability to buy normal shirts? I don´t think so.”

Snorting, Dalton shrugs and pats Kevin´s shoulder.

“Go get changed so you can spot me.”

Shaking his head, Kevin wanders off into the locker rooms to change into his gym clothes. While he´s warming up, the rest of the team slowly sneaks in, all holding varying phases of sleepiness in their slumped shoulders and sleep-swollen eyes. Their coach doesn´t usually join their gym sessions, trusting Isaac Wilson - team captain and kind of a jerk - to take attendance and take care of the rest. Wilson, of course, is nowhere to be seen. If he joins them at all, he´ll be late and most likely take the list of attendance he forced Nellie Jakobsen to check off.

Nellie is too new - and too kind - to be able to say no to Wilson and Wilson is too much of a dickhead to not take advantage of that. Speaking of the devil, Nellie steps up on the mat next to Kevin, reaches for a couple of weights and starts her exercises. Kevin continues his sit-ups, trying to not pay the young woman shooting him glance after glance any mind. It's not that easy though, when you're looking at the same mirror. At one point, Nellie must ́ve worked up the courage to say whatever there is to say because she turns, takes a little step towards Kevin and clears her throat.

“Uh…hi,” she smiles, her already rosy cheeks only deepening in colour.

“Hey,” replies Kevin, coming to a pause in his movements. “What´s up?”

“Uh…Chase and my sister and I wanted to go to the history museum later today and Dalton mentioned that you like history so we - I uh, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to join us?"

Blinking, Kevin tried to organize her nervous mumbling into understandable sentences in his head. Chase is Nellie's cousin and he's never met her sister in his life. He doesn't like meeting new people, he doesn't like going to places he's not been to before, not without planning and at least two days of overthinking it.

But then again, if Dalton knows about Nellie's plan, he'll annoy Kevin once he hears that Kevin said no. The fact that Kevin's social life is pretty much non-existent is already one of the biggest topic of Dalton's teasing, he doesn't need to pour gasoline into the fire.

Get out there Kevin. If it's no fun you can leave and if you're having a good time you can be even prouder of yourself to going through with it.

Of course Abby is the voice of reason in his head. Just because he can't say no to her.

"Uh...sure….yeah, sounds good."