I Always Thought Andrew's Big Tips Were Actually For The Drugs??? Like To Pay Them In An Inconspicuous

i really wish we’d had more hernandez content, because he was obviously important to neil. like neil didn’t flinch at all when hernandez reached to help him up after andrew slammed him w the racquet, he clearly cared for neil and wanted to see him succeed, he was probably the person neil most trusted (although still warily) in millport. like i bet he puts up all the newspaper clippings about neil that he can find, and i bet he follows neil’s life through the news (and is shocked when the truth about his past comes out). i hope that neil gives him a ticket to watch him at the olympics. anyway, i want more hernandez content 

Guys this isn’t an aftg account BUT I can perfectly sum up Andrew and Neil in two quotes from my kids at work

Andrew: “Congratulations, you’re a liar. “

Neil: “My favourite colour is none of your business.”

@jensen57 @jingerhead @twirlingflurry This is all your fault. Enjoy the novel.

I will start this off by saying, write whatever the hell you want. I don't have to interact with it. But also really think long and hard about why you are writing them that way. Why do you need to change these characters so completely to enjoy them? So yes write whatever you want, but also think a little when you do.

This is all in reference to this post for context. Now I will rant.

I hate to be mean but I think some of you need the actual slap in the face that is there is no justification for this whatsoever. Whatever "oh he's overcoming his trauma, oh he's friends with her because this and that, oh it's because he's allowed to now," bullshit you want to come up with is worthless to anyone who has any grasp on the characters and their personalities.

Neil avoids Allison for pretty much the entire series. He barely even likes her. The only time they interact in canon is when it is actually necessary for them to do so. The one time they're ever alone is when he has to ride with her and they literally do not say a word to each other. He never seeks her out, even for the coverup in TRK. Wymack sends him. On top of all of that, she is also the person who outed him and Andrew to their entire team against their will not even 2 days after a very traumatic event solely to win money. And you can argue that they don't really care because they don't acknowledge it at the time, but I will calmly direct you to the scene at the cabin when it is brought up again at a much less traumatic and stressful time and both him and Andrew react very negatively to it.

Neil also hates shopping, and gossip, and drama. So tell me where exactly their personalities and interests line up. And listen I know that she is a deeper character than that but I am speaking solely to these situations where they also tend to erase her personality too. And I am all for hc's where she cuts his hair or her and Nicky (who canonically enjoys it) shop for him. But please explain to me where exactly "Neil's bestie Allison picked him up for a goss sesh and then they went to the mall." fits into canon. Literally one example. AND very very importantly. Neil isn't gay, he is demisexual. GBFs are already a harmful stereotype, so maybe don't erase an ace characters identity and his canon character in general to fit him into the role of one. Like seriously what the fuck.

Getting into that more, since when has Neil been this hyperfeminine allo "sassy bitch" who blushes when someone looks at him. I will say this, I think a lot of us in the fandom recognize that it has grown a lot in the last year and there are a lot of young fans now who probably should not have read it. But they did, and now they're here. And now Neil goes skirt shopping because they fit his slender waist and long legs oh so well. Oh wait, Neil's 5'3. Oh wait, Neil's a man. Oh wait, since when did he ever express anything but anxiety and discomfort about showing his scars. Sorry, I just forgot that the entirety of canon and Neil's characterization exists for a second there. On that note, the word blush (or any variant) doesn't exist in canon outside of describing 1) exertion (you know from the sport they play that requires strength that might, just maybe, mean Neil is muscular) and 2) Maria Hemmick being a horrible person. And then I read one of these posts and someone looks at Neil and he flushes red. Since when. I feel like I don't need to explain how that is ooc.

In that same vein, what is with the characterization of Andreil as a whole in these. Andreil is just such a special ship. They go against pretty much every relationship norm. They fit so well together because they are so similar. Neil is just about as emotionless as Andrew throughout the books in case anyone forgot. But because they've turned him into this hyperfeminine caricature Andrew now needs to fit into the strong manly uncommunicative toxic boyfriend who will Defend At All Costs and like mf growls now. People don't growl so what the fuck is with that. In reality, Andrew lets Neil handle his own problems. Because Neil can handle his own problems. I don't know why I need to stress that when it is canon and obvious. He doesn't need Andrew to throw someone out the window because they looked at his scars wrong in the crop top he and Allison bought. As you can probably guess he doesn't because that would never actually happen if he were in character, but I'll reiterate it here anyways for the sake of ranting. They also fucking talk to each other. I don't know where y'all got the idea that Andrew never asks questions or like says words to Neil when he is so serious about consent (as he should be) and half the reason anyone bet on them being a thing in AFTG was because Neil is the only one he talks to most of the time.

On to other topics.

I like Matt in canon. He's an interesting character who has overcome a lot. But I cannot stand him in fanon most of the time. He literally acts like the fucking dog from UP half the time and that is the only way I can describe it. Yes, he is friends with Neil. Yes, he is also kind. You know what he also is? He's a recovering addict. He's a flawed person just like every fox. He's a traumatized person just like every fox. He has an actual personality and life outside of being nice to Neil. Maybe consider giving him that next time.

KevAaron just kinda spontaneously appeared out of the depths of hell and I don't know how to shove it back in there. I have met young fans that ship it exclusively (yes, instead of Andreil). I'm fairly certain people just went "ah here is a character we haven't tried to ship Kevin with yet" and ran with it. They never once have direct dialog in the entire series, despite living together, being in the same group, being on the same team, and partying together. Apparently they "have similar trauma" but like guys.. if that is the only link you have for a ship I have very very many questions. Especially if you're going to bash KevThea for the same reason (I don't ship KevThea either pls don't come for me I'm just making a point). If you feel the need to break up KateAaron's happy, healthy canon relationship to shove a character into an mlm ship that has absolutely no bearing in canon and basically requires it to be written ooc please reconsider that ship. 

I will end this by saying, in the nicest way possible:

If you need to change so much about the characters to enjoy them and the series, did you really enjoy the series?

trying to get into photoshop so I drew the fox girls 

neil was ready to die. he had accepted that he wasn’t going to live past 19, that he would be killed, that he wouldn’t do anything else with his life. and he was mourning the loss of exy and his teammates and friendship, but he didn’t bother mourning the loss of a domestic life because it never even occured to him that that could be a possibility. that dream died the night he ran away. he didn’t mourn the loss of lazy sleep-filled mornings or cat cuddles or holding hands or having his own place, because to him, that was always too far-fetched. he didn’t mourn for the small joys of domestic life, because he’d never had them in the first place

aftg but instead of carrying the money in the binder, neil uses a piggybank

I loved your hc about Neil doing Robin's hair so much 🥺 do you have any more Robin and Neil headcannons?

thank you so much!! and yes omg, i think about robin and neil’s friendship constantly, i’ll add a few of my hcs here :)

they go for runs together. it’s a good way for robin to become comfortable around him because they don’t really have the breath to talk, but she can get used to his presence. it took neil some time to adjust, since he’s used to running alone to escape his thoughts, but it’s nice to have a quiet, determined person with him. plus, it makes her faster on court, so its a sneaky way for neil to get her to be better at exy without actually playing exy 24/7, since she’s not quite as exy-obsessed as him

they bake together!! even though neil doesn’t like sweets, andrew does, and he normally saves them for him (he brings some w him when he goes to visit andrew after andrew leaves psu). robin likes knowing that she took all of these random ingredients and made something delicious. she shares with the team but also indulges in the treats that she’s been missing out on most of her life

sometimes the court is a bit too stifling, too cage-like, for robin, who has way too much experience being locked up. (even though it was the one thing in her childhood she associated w freedom, it’s different to watch the games than to have the heavy doors bolting you in). this is one area where neil and robin can’t really understand each other; robin was stuck for too long to want anything to hold her in place, while neil was on the run for so long that any hint of permanency is something that he latches on to. despite that, he’s always there to help talk her down from her panic, and never feels any frustration towards her when she needs to step out for a bit. those panic days are ones that always end w a quiet run together 

they have secret movie nights together where they try to catch up on the movies that the foxes reference all the time, since they both are seriously lacking in that department. (the movie nights are secret because they don’t want to deal with other people). sometimes they think the movies are worth the hype, sometimes they don’t, but they always enjoy each other’s presence. this is also a great opportunity for neil to practice more complicated braids, and to coach robin on how to do some simpler ones herself

robin slowly becomes more vocal, being so close to neil. she never has any speeches quite as iconic as “you know, i get it”, but her dry humor and sarcastic smiles make her fans go wild

robin learns german! she can communicate w the monsters privately that way, which is something that she’s immensely grateful for. and in neil’s senior year (when the rest of them have graduated), robin and neil become closer out of necessity, like nora said. the german is super helpful then for developing inside jokes and having conversations without fear of everyone eavesdropping

i have to go finish up a final project rn, but i hope those are the sort of things you were looking for! if you want more in the future, let me know :) and same goes for any other character combo hcs you’d like to see!!

fandom really is a closed circle and this has happened before and will happen again but the past few months there was a bunch of 'lol aftg was so bad' posts and it was exhausting but now ive seen about six posts like actually no aftg was really good stfu and id just like to weigh in and say actually no aftg WAS really good stfu

“are we? friends?” crushes my heart EVERY TIME, like - neil had never had a friend in his life. there’s no way he got close to anyone in little leagues or on the run. the person he was closest to regularly beat him - and he saw no problem w that.

neil had no idea what constituted a friend, but then there was nicky, with his smiles and friendliness and exuberance, there were people that he actually cared about and that cared about him, and he didn’t know what to call it, didn’t know how to deal with it, didn’t know it was even possible for him to have friends, like normal people do, like people without butchers for fathers do.

the little stray finally found a home, and he would tear the world apart for his makeshift family of friends.

if nicky knew neil and andrew were making out in the dorm, he would’ve left them to it and found somewhere else to sleep for the night