andrew definitely sets alarms for like 6:13 and 8:19 and it makes kevin So Mad
okay bestie please elaborate on:
SAFE HAVEN AU (yes i’ve already heard about it and watched the movie with you but just more pls), vet fic, and andreil night drives!!
Thank you for the ask! Even though I have made you watch it with me I will still offer you some Safe Haven content (honestly if I've made you watch Safe Haven with me there's no going back we're best friends from then on).
Spoilers for the movie Safe Haven?? Idk if I need to do that but this is your warning if you haven't seen it there is an actual twist so like don't read this if you genuinely want to watch it.
Safe Haven Au
One of my favorite WIPs! Idk why I love this movie so much but honestly it's probably cause I watched it a lot as a child and can now project Andreil onto it. Anyways, into the plot. I'm just assuming y'all have seen it because otherwise we'd be here for ages. Oh and some relationships are changed and I feel like you can guess where as I explain who is who. So Neil is Katie and Andrew is Alex which I feel is pretty obvious. Nicky is Lexi, and Aaron will be Josh which again.. if you've seen it you know the vibes. Wymack will be Roger which I think will be ridiculously funny for the lead up to canoeing scene. Bee will be Jo because the potential™. And of course Nathan is Kevin. Also Kevin is Rhett. And Abby will be the Ivan's owner.
The plot stays pretty much the same with some minor changes like the kids being replaced with Nicky and Aaron, Bee being Jo and Nathan being Kevin. But even then their roles are staying the same it's just the relationships that are changing? This au works to well is what I'm saying. The biggest change will of course be with Bee being Jo. I think she'll end up being a co-owner of the shop with Wymack and will have adopted Andrew and Aaron at some point, and Nicky will either also be adopted or just like live there with his cousins because he can (maybe post-Bee?? I'll have to think on this more apparently). So Andrew will take over her spot as co-owner and the story stays the same from there. It's really more backstory that will be a kinda off-hand mention (e.g. beach scene) than a true plot point because if you've seen it you know that her character up until the end reveal doesn't involve any of this.
I don't actually have anything written for this it just all exists in perfect vivid clarity in my head. But maybe I'll have a piece soon and can post it separate if anyone is interested?
Vet Fic
This fic kinda has it all for some of my favorite fluff tropes. It's a meet-ugly (meet-angsty??) strangers to neighbors to friends to lovers. Basically, Neil works as the night receptionist for a 24/7 emergency vet when Andrew runs in one night with a fast-fading King (or Sir, undecided) after she's attacked by an animal. They manage to save King because I'm not horrible and Andrew is taking care of her at home when he notices someone moving into the long-vacant apartment next to his. That someone being Neil who very quickly becomes invested in King's recovery because why wouldn't he be, he worries about emergency patients all the time and finally has the chance to see how one is doing. Of course, King immediately falls in love with Neil when he comes over to check in and Andrew slowly begins to as well. Queue inevitable angst because yeah and then a soft sappy ending like always. Here's a piece from it:
-
Andrew was walking into his apartment building when he spotted a moving truck parked at the curb. Hopefully whoever was moving in was nowhere near his apartment, or at least knew how to take a hint when met with his blank glare. Fate seemed to hate him however, because when he stepped out of the elevator the door to his neighboring apartment was propped open and surrounded with boxes. Great. He tried to unlock his door quickly to avoid meeting them but again, fate hated him. Just as he was about to push his door open he hear a startles gasp then, “King Fluffkins!”
Odd. That was definitely not his name. He turned to his new neighbor prepared to ask what the hell was wrong with them and how they knew his cat’s name.
He found the nurse from the vet—Neil, his memory supplied—looking at him with wide eyes. Now that his mind wasn’t clouded with worry he notices that he is very attractive. Dammit. Fate was so fucking with him. To late he realized how long he had been staring and forced a response from his lips.
“My name is not King Fluffkins.” Andrew deadpans. -
Andreil Night Drives
This is an idea I've had almost since I read the book, it's just a short little fic based off of the song You Won't Be Here Again by Rainstorm Society. It's my favorite song to drive to at night/early in the morning and I think it works really well for their night drives after nightmares or when they can't sleep. There isn't really a plot it's just them together with the vibes of the song.
ok ok but the upperclassmen planning a team bonding night and someone pulls out a puzzle. while they’re building it, neil casually mentions that he’s been there before. after that, it becomes the foxes’ goal to find as many puzzles of obscure places neil’s been as possible. they hide the picture so that neil can’t see it ahead of time, and build until either a) he recognizes it and gives them a random piece of info about that place or b) says he hasn’t been there, but still somehow always has an obscure fact to share about the place
love your hcs!!!! do you think you write one about the legacy neil left at palmetto and with the foxes. like he goes back when wymack retires. and next to where he carved his and andrews initials into the bed post just before andrew left, there’s other foxes initials and he sort of unknowingly created a tradition. or like eventually he gets his old exy racquet back from the cops and it sits at the court and before a game he slapped it so so did the rest of the team and has become a team ritual
hi anon - thank you so much! sorry for the delay, this week has really been something skhdskgjhd but i hope you enjoy <3 i had lots of fun with this :)
years down the line, wymack is retiring (dan will be taking over for him)
neil and andrew are still playing pro together, but there’s a lull in their training and it’s nearing the end of the collegiate exy season, so they drive to palmetto together
andrew says he’s only going because he doesn’t want to have to deal with the cats alone
“you were alone with them for two weeks last year”
andrew pretends he doesn’t hear him
and then neil and andrew are standing outside wymack’s apartment, unannounced, and he grumbles that “at least you didn’t break in this time” but there’s fondness in his tone and he ushers them in
they have a night of comfortable chatter and silences, and andrew grabs the alcohol from the same cabinet it’s always been in. it’s familiar, and neil falls asleep on wymack’s couch with a smile on his face and andrew curled up on top of next to him
and the next day, neil and andrew go to fox tower, and they walk the stairs that they know as well as they know each other
they get to the third floor, and a small group of foxes is leaving their dorm room, the one that used to belong to neil and andrew, when they see the two and just. freeze.
it’s nothing new to be recognized by fans, but it’s weird for it to happen somewhere that feels like home. they tolerate it and ask if they could go into their old dorm room
the young foxes scramble to let them in and frantically pick up clothes and throw away trash to give the room some semblance of tidiness. neil and andrew don’t care
the bean bag chairs are gone, but there are still faint ash stains on the windowsill, and the crystal-clear memories of long since faded moments wash over neil
they drift over to the bedroom, and the young foxes leave them be as they silently make their way to the bunk. neil gingerly sits down onto his old mattress, andrew right beside him
andrew catches neil’s attention by tracing the carvings of their initials on the bed post, then trailing his finger down an array of other scrawled letters below. other initials, carved by foxes who came after them, and a smile ghosts over neil’s face because,,, he stopped running and he left solid evidence behind and people actually continued it after he was gone ?? and it’s such a weird thought but he loves it
he asks the young foxes if there’s anything else that continued after he left
they show him the roof, fitted with new locks that have also since been sabotaged. it looks like their secret spot was less secret than they thought, but at least someone’s still enjoying it
they proudly demonstrate how they’ve all memorized neil’s riko roast which baffles him because that was never even televised ?? where did they hear it ????
andrew ofc will never tell him that he transcribed it when nicky asked him to. he doesn’t even really know why he listened, so there’s no way he’s ever going to try to explain it to neil
all of them have orange bandanas, which is a tradition that started neil’s second year and has apparently continued ever since
they don’t know that that’s where it started so they don’t mention it, but neil noticed from games
they take neil and andrew to the court and show them the two lucky racquets (the drake one they got back from evidence when the case was closed and the one andrew used to shatter riko’s arm) and they all absent-mindedly tap them on their way in
it used to be a thing the foxes would only do before games, but slowly spread to. every single time they go to the court
apparently it’s also become custom for them to link arms on to way back to the bus after games, after neil’s kidnapping from binghampton
it took a while for them to get the order of the line right bc if they’re not careful, their attempt at keeping each other safe becomes a fist fight
bonus (not one of neil’s legacies): dan’s photo wall continues! they don’t ever take down pictures of the older foxes, just keep squeezing more pictures in. it expands beyond only one wall to every wall of the foyer, and they’re still having trouble finding room. sometimes they have to pile photos on top of each other
they also mention that movie nights are still a thing! they’re bi-weekly, and they always try to find a classic movie that at least one of the foxes has never seen bc of a shitty childhood
night practices are also still happening. not everyone goes every night, but a couple of the keeners do
“junkies”
neil is,,, stunned, honestly. he didn’t ever imagine he could have this concrete of an impact, didn’t think he could keep existing in a place even after he left it
before, he’d never wanted to be remembered. the idea slowly became more bearable over the years, but this is,,, he never expected anything like this
it’s overwhelming and it’s wonderful and he loves it
and later that night, neil and andrew go up to their rooftop (there are two young foxes up there that scurry away as soon as they realize who stepped onto the roof)
and as they look out over the city, hands linked, neil’s heart feels so light and he can’t get rid of - doesn’t want to get rid of - the smile that seems to be glued to his face, even through the pang of nostalgia - another new feeling
and neil and andrew sit under the comforting blanket of the night and talk into the darkness
just like old times
and it’s comfortable and familiar and once upon a time, neil wished that it would never end
but now? now, neil knows that while he may leave,,, this will never end. not really
as he sits under the stars next to the man with whom he will spend the rest of his life, neil knows the memories and whispers of the past live on through love and legacies
Dude no shit, he literally says “fuck you, cripple” and books it out of the room before Kevin can beat his ass. And in the first book too, like oh damn you guys don’t even know about his “attitude problem” yet
I’m surprised this quote is in the third book considering, you know ... everything
andrew joins neil for runs occasionally and denies that it’s bc he cares for him (kind of like how cats are “coincidentally” in the same room as you 90% of the time) and neil chooses the routes that he knows andrew will like best, the ones with viewpoints where it seems like you’re on top of the world bc heights are always a sure fire way to ensure andrew feels something, even if that something is fear
and neil feigns confusion when andrew accuses him of slowing his pace down for him, but while andrew thinks that neil’s trying to coddle him, neil just wants to spend more time doing something he loves with the man he loves and seeing the way andrew’s eyes dart around as if to soak up the world and ingrain it all in his memory when he thinks neil isn’t looking, more interest than he normally shows while playing exy
they talk and neil laughs and they get home sweaty and tired to take lazy hot showers together. neil has always and will always love running, but his favourite morning runs are those precious occasions when andrew joins him and it’s just the two of them against the world. andrew will never admit it, but those just might be his favourite mornings too
hc that andrew’s wardrobe is entirely black... except for his socks, which are super colourful with ridiculous patterns
reblog this with what comes up in your tags when you type gay
i have so many emotions about One Riko Moriyama, because on one hand i hate him so much but in the other hand, every single time he appeared in the book i just...loved it. cause he added this tension and always progressed the plot. it was just so good yknow? like he’s a little bastard and if he were real i’d hate his guts on i instinct but as a character/ piece of fiction, i find him really interesting to think about. anyways:your thoughts? not just on this but like, riko in general?
(sorry for such a long ask ┌(-.-)┐)
riko moriyama is a little bitch and i hate him, but i absolutely agree with that. he’s a terrible person and i was almost as excited as neil when he died, but i also absolutely loved the almost feral side of neil he brought out. riko prompted so many iconic lines, and i was genuinely excited when i got to scenes that had him in them. that could be because i’m a sucker for angst
overall, i hate riko in terms of actual qualities. he wasn’t even a villain i could sympathize with, because he just genuinely enjoyed causing pain and terror for no other reason than that it was fun. but i loved the added angst and drama he brought to the series, it definitely enhanced some of aftg’s best qualities and made it that much more interesting
you know what’s painful? before the final match against the ravens when neil says that he can see how much matt loves his mom and that “sometimes he was still surprised at how blatantly that love was returned”
like??
mary did her best to keep neil alive and they had a complicated relationship but, ultimately, neil loved her
this quote hurts though, because neil obviously didn’t really get that love reciprocated - yes, in her own way, mary loved him and tried to keep him safe and as happy as possible given the circumstances, but overall his life on the run was full of pain and fear and his mom added to that
so of course it’s weird for him to see randy love matt so fiercely and so openly, but my heart still aches for him
popping back in to ask: what are your fave fic tropes? do you have any fave fics to recommend that follow those tropes?
i KNEW that my notes document filled with fics i’ve read would come in handy someday! i’m a sucker for hurt/comfort and angst, those are always tags in my ao3 searches :) here are a few of my favourite aftg ones:
say something by Willow_bird - my most reread fic. andreil learn ASL bc neil goes mute sometimes. lots of content, awesome writing, fluffy but also angsty and lots of hurt/comfort
this is what hollows by constellationqueen - raven!neil, great writing, LOTS of angst, true to characters, in progress (i’m subscribed!)
heaven can’t help me now by history11huh - kevaaron fic (didn’t love the ship before reading this but obsessed now), love-hate relationship, definitely angsty, in progress (subscribed!)
a switchblade is my preferred weapon by badacts - raven!neil, diff povs, overall great, love it
staring at the sun by TheirHighestMajesty - jerejean fic! jean adjusting to the trojans. tons of angst and hurt/comfort. i vibe more with the first half of it and am not subscribed anymore, but i think it’s still in progress! highly recommend. (fair warning, the slowburn is... very slow)
the unkindness of ravens by crazy_like_a - raven!neil, first fic i ever bookmarked, wonderful writing, obsessed with this one. in progress, subscribed :)
be sure to read the TWs for these, especially the raven!neil ones, bc some parts are pretty dark
also most of these are pretty long LMAO i’m sorry, i like getting invested in fics. i also tend to skim filler chapters etc
aftg blog ❅ she/her ❅ headcanons, textposts, and shitposts ❅ feel free to send me prompts or just reach out!
192 posts