Hey! I Don’t Know If This Is What You’re Referring To But I Really Like How Nicky Is Portrayed In

do you think andrew knew his birthday when he was in foster care? tilda didn’t even leave him with a last name - did she leave his birthday? or did he grow up with a random estimation? was aaron the one that told andrew what day they were born? is part of the reason he doesn’t bother celebrating because he just never knew what day to celebrate before and he wasn’t going to start that late in his life?

this idea just randomly came to me and i can’t get it out of my head so: the foxes as texters (we already vaguely know some info but i have stuff i want to add on)

neil is just the worst texter ever. like... one word answers, bland messages, leaves you on read 99% of the time. normally reads the texts at least, but he doesn’t text first unless he needs something, and he doesn’t make an effort to keep the convo going. phone is always on silent but with vibrations - he hasn’t figured out how to turn it off vibrate, and he doesn’t care enough to ask for help (esp since his phone is normally dead anyway). he gets better at checking his phone and answering calls when andrew leaves psu though

andrew either answers within 2 seconds or never answers at all. autocap is off and he never uses punctuation (not even for questions). messages are usually short and to the point, but he’s fun to text if he actually deigns to answer. mix of dry humour, heavy sarcasm, and obscure messages that you can only understand by remembering 6 throwaway comments 

nicky is very enthusiastic!! lots of emojis, instant replies for all, only punctuation he uses are exclamation points and question marks. isn’t deterred by bland texters (re: neil) and will spam you with no regrets. also sends lots of pictures! and he never says “already seen it” when you send a meme that he’s seen before - he’s just happy when someone thinks of him

dan usually replies within a few hours. uses excessive amounts of question marks, and her texts are filled with abbreviations. autocap and autocorrect are off. sends memes constantly, never afraid to ask someone to meet up or to start a convo w someone she hasn’t talked to in a long time. sends a ton of short messages in a row rather than one big one. only uses periods if she’s mad or it’s important

matt’s texts have a ton of typos, even though autocap and autocorrect are both on - he mostly texts w capslock bc he gets easily excited. uses punctuation, but not at the end of texts. gets back as soon as he sees your message, but it could be a while, bc he always puts his phone on silent during practice and classes. uses cute emojis all the time

renee has autocap off but autocorrect on, and she uses proper punctuation. many :) type of emojis but rarely the actual face ones. takes a bit longer to answer bc she wants to formulate the right response, but she’s very quick to reply if it’s an emergency

allison doesn’t answer for hours, unless she actually likes you. always has a ton of unopened messages, and says she’ll get around to them eventually. texting style morphs from person to person - perfect punctuation w neil, no autocap or autocorrect w dan, enthusiactic w nicky, etc. won’t text first unless she likes you or has something important to say or ask for

kevin’s texts are very demanding. def has autocap and autocorrect on. not afraid to spam until you answer him. he’ll send a massive text and then a ton of short angry ones. texts people when he’s bored and drunk texts constantly (you could be getting a play-by-play of his fav exy moments, or an in-depth analysis of an important historical figure, or be completely roasted). he has french, english, and japanese keyboards, so sometimes his autocorrect gives you a multilingual message. sends memes to anyone that they remind him of or that he thinks will enjoy them, but hardly ever answers any memes or posts sent his way

aaron is the sweetest texter ever with katelyn, all cute emojis and smiley faces, but he’s pretty dry w basically anyone else. has fun texting w the monsters though, and he’ll never admit it, but he loves getting spam from nicky and memes from kevin. the only people he sends memes to are nicky and katelyn. the messages between him and andrew could all but be in a different language (and sometimes actually are in german) for how chaotic and obscure they are. he’s the type of person to open your message and then forget about it for a week before answering

seth is direct with his messages and you never know if he’s being sarcastic or just really mean. sends posts to allison all the time when they’re on, ghosts her when they’re off. short messages, but happy to help keep the conversation going if he likes you. no qualms about spamming you if you don’t answer. sappy drunk texts

if you made it through that... good job, this is just a dumping ground for my random thoughts lmaoo

the foxes as taylor swift albums 

this post is dedicated to @unholy-goddess oddess (because i know she’ll love it, and because she helped me place a few foxes) and to @andrewssock (because i know they’ll hate it xoxo)

the first three are tentative but there’s more and more good proof the farther along you get, so just bear with me

1- debut: aaron

aaron gets debut mainly because of the longing-for-things-you-can’t-have and i’m-absolutely-in-love-with-you vibes, but also partly because of the slightly judgemental aspect of the album

lyrics that remind me of him: 

- i’m only me when i’m with you, from “i’m only me when i’m with you”

- and i don’t try to hide my tears/ my secrets or my deepest fears/ through it all nobody gets me like you do, from “i’m only me when i’m with you”

2- fearless: dan

first off, just because of the name of the album lmao. the love songs are also great for her and matt, discovering yourself and ending up better off than you were when you were a teenager, and the underlying theme of friendship, loyalty, and desperate love all fit dan. 

lyrics that remind me of her:

- don’t forget to look before you fall/ but i’ve found time can heal most anything/ and you just might find out who you’re supposed to be, from “fifteen”

- this love is difficult/ but it’s real, from love story

3- speak now: matt

he’s so in love with dan and that’s the driving reason behind this placement, but also the standing up for yourself bits are very fitting

lyrics that remind me of him: 

- you’re the kind of reckless that should send me running/ but i kinda know that i won’t get far, from “sparks fly”

- long live the walls we crashed through/ how the kingdom lights shine just for me and you, from “long live”

4- red: allison

my beloved. the whole reason i even thought of this post in the first place. i was listening to starlight and it fit so well and then i listened to the rest of the album (for the millionth time) and it all clicked into place for her. this one is very much about glamour (and its beauty and struggles), off-and-on-again relationships, and the highs and lows of being a (beautiful) young adult. allison vibes all around

lyrics that remind me of her: 

- the whole place was dressed to the nines/ and we were dancing, dancing/ like we’re made of starlight, from “starlight”

- and they still tell the legend of how you disappeared/ how you took the money and your dignity and got the hell out, from “lucky one” 

- the entirety of “i knew you were trouble” and “we are never ever getting back together”

5- reputation: andrew

i have no doubt in my mind that this is andrew’s album. for a second i did consider neil, but he actively avoided having a reputation whereas andrew’s is all people think of when they hear about him. also i think he’d appreciate the beat drops

lyrics that remind me of him:

- i don’t regret it one bit/ ‘cause he had it coming, from “i did something bad”

- maybe i got mine/ but you’ll all get yours, from “look what you made me do”

- for you i would cross the line and don’t blame me, love made me crazy/ if it doesn’t you ain’t doing it right, from “don’t blame me”

6- 1989: neil

debated this for about 2 seconds, at which point i remembered the song “i know places” exists. the overall album atmosphere of big cities and hiding and faded memories fits neil to a t. 

lyrics that remind me of him:

- they are the hunters, we are the foxes/ and we run/ baby, i know places we won’t be found and/ they’ll be chasing their tails trying to track us down, from “i know places”

- nothing lasts forever/ but this is gonna take me down, from “wildest dreams”

- but when the sun came up, i was looking at you, from “out of the woods”

7- lover: nicky

it’s an album about loving someone from abroad, with a mix of euphoric songs and hopeless songs and honestly i think this is just perfect for nicky. it was one of the easiest ones to place

lyrics that remind me of him: 

- i like shiny things but i’d marry you with paper rings, from “paper rings”

- have i known you twenty seconds or twenty years?, from “lover”

- something gave you the nerve/ to touch my hand/ it’s nice to have a friend, from “it’s nice to have a friend”

8- folklore: renee

literally listen to any song and you’ll know what i mean

lyrics that remind me of her:

- i just wanted you to know/ that this is me trying, from “this is me trying”

- only twenty minutes to sleep/ but you dream of some epiphany/ just one single glimpse of relief/ to make some sense of what you’ve seen, from “epiphany”

9- evermore: kevin

unholy-goddess and i both actually originally thought fearless for kevin, but some of the songs in evermore are just too perfect of a fit to ignore, so he gets my favourite album. what is most reminiscent of kevin in this album is the exhaustion and the discovery of one’s own worth. it’s best related to him if you listen to it thinking of him looking back on his time with the ravens. also it’s literally called evermore 

lyrics that remind me of him: 

- i know my love should be celebrated/ but you tolerate it, from “tolerate it”

- there’ll be happiness after you/ but there was happiness because of you too/ both of these things can be true/ there is happiness/ past the blood and bruise, from “happiness”

- tell me, when did your winning smile/ begin to look like a smirk?/ when did all our lessons start to look like weapons pointed at my deepest hurt, from “happiness”

- i don’t need your “closure”/ your “closure”/ don’t treat me like some situation that needs to be handled/ i’m fine with my spite/ and my tears/ and my beers and my candles, from “closure”

- and i fell from the pedestal/ right down the rabbit hole/ long story short, it was a bad time, from “long story short”

i honestly don’t think anyone besides heidi will get this far, but whoever is reading this, i truly do love and appreciate you <3

i feel like we all just forgot that kevin’s on nicky’s List™?? okay a) this is further proof that kevin’s hot af b) does kevin know??? that nicky wants to bang him???? and c) nicky what a waste of a choice, kevin would never

hi i think paper cut hearts but ennui_ephemera on ao3 does a pretty good job portraying nicky!

ooo thanks anon! i think i’ve read that one, but it’s definitely been a while. i’ll have to go reread it :) tysm for the rec, ily <33

Here’s a promt. Like Andrew, Aaron has a similar memory and a couple trigger words such as being called “ungrateful”. But unlike Andrew, Aaron shuts down.

Oh.

(cw: past abuse, trauma, trauma responses, apathy, foul language.)

"You're an ungrateful little bitch sometimes, you know that? Fuck, sometimes I really wish I'd given you up."

The first time someone called him ungrateful, Aaron tried to defend himself. It didn't go well for him in the end, but he supposed afterward that he should have learned how to duck from a punch before demanding life be fair.

When it happens now, Aaron knows consciously that nothing was meant by it. It's another matter of Coach being Coach, being a gruff old man with an attitude that Aaron normally admires. He likes that Wymack doesn't take anybody's shit, he likes even more that Wymack won't take his. There's some sort of safety in knowing he could be an asshole to the man and not get in any real trouble for it. (There is safety in knowing he won't be hurt for talking back.)

They're in the lounge when Coach says it. Aaron is perched on the armrest of the couch, with Nicky, Neil, and Andrew all seated on the cushions, and Kevin on the opposite armrest. The team is going over some basic shit for their next game, something Aaron has heard Kevin repeat time and time and time again. He's half-tuned out, but comes back to it when someone says something about dinner.

"You owe us, Coach." It's Nicky. He's whining about it, and Aaron tries not to roll his eyes. "We won last week, I think we deserve a team dinner after this week's game!"

"I owe you squat," Wymack says, his expression flat. "All the shit I do for you assholes?"

"Come on, Coach!" Matt this time, a grin spread wide on his face and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Aaron looks back at Wymack.

For his part, the man isn't swayed. He gives Matt the same dead look he gave Nicky. "You're all ungrateful little shits," he says.

It takes a surprisingly long time for Aaron to process what's been said. The word doesn't quite hit him right away, and at least four seconds have elapsed by the time he really reacts. Ungrateful.

The world feels less real than it did five seconds ago, Aaron decides. He knows what's happening, it isn't the first time he's gone through this shit, and he knows it sure as hell won't be the last. That doesn't make it any better though, so he just as easily dismisses the past experience in favor of trying to keep up with the conversation instead of being unresponsive.

It doesn't work. Not as well as he wants it to anyway, and definitely not well enough to convince his family that nothing happened. Aaron can feel Andrew's gaze on him, steady and unyielding and oh so suspicious of the man he calls his brother. For a moment, Aaron wonders if he looks the same way Andrew did last week when Kevin said the word "misunderstanding". They both have their words, he knows, and now Andrew knows one of his.

The conversation is still going on, Aaron realizes belatedly. He's trying too hard to get his eyes to focus to really pay attention to it, and when he looks down at his hands they're so fucking blurry he's not even sure if they're his. They must be, though, because who else would they belong to? They can't be anyone else's hands, they wouldn't be in his lap if they were.

"Aaron," Andrew's voice says, and Aaron blinks and looks away from his blurry fingers. There's less noise now, and when Aaron forces his eyes to look around the room, he realizes that the others are gone. When did they leave? How long has he been sitting here? It can't have been that long, he wasn't — he wasn't gone that long.

Andrew is standing in front of him, he realizes — that's his face. That's his, his and Andrew's face. They're the same. That's his brother. Aaron wants to say something, tries to say something, but his voice isn't quite working and he doesn't get why.

"Aaron," Andrew says again, and Aaron returns his wandering eyes to his brother's face. Andrew looks... bored. Bored? Bored. He always looks bored, though. Except when he's angry. Or when he's talking to Neil. Or when... when he's playing Exy. Andrew likes Exy, he does, but he won't ever say it. That's okay, though. Aaron won't tell.

Then Andrew is holding up his hands, and Aaron follows their actions with his eyes. Andrew grabs hold of his hands, or at least that's what it looks like, but Aaron still can't really tell if they're his. He feels it, he thinks, but that could just be his mind playing tricks on him. The connection between visual reception and tactile stimuli fascinates him, but—

"Aaron," Andrew says a third time, and this time Aaron meets his eyes. Andrew breathes slowly, obvious enough that Aaron can slowly start to match it. It helps, he thinks, and his fingers twitch against Andrew's. Andrew squeezes his hands in return, not enough to hurt, but enough that Aaron can feel it. His eyes still aren't entirely focused yet, so he blinks a few more times, startles a bit when he feels tears fall onto his cheeks. When did that happen?

Andrew looks indifferent as ever, Aaron realizes as he takes another slow breath in time. There's nothing in his expression, but Aaron tries to see through that — Andrew stayed for a reason. Andrew's saying his name for a reason. A year ago, Aaron isn't sure he would have.

"Aaron," one more time, and whatever Andrew sees when they lock eyes again must convince him Aaron is okay. And he is, Aaron thinks, he thinks he's okay. Or at least he will be.

Andrew lets go of his hands and steps back, giving him another silent once-over before nodding to himself and walking out. The room feels empty without Andrew there, but it's enough of a motivator for Aaron to stand up and follow him.

it’s really trippy to search for allison reynolds, expecting the blonde defensive dealer and absolute goddess allison jamaica reynolds, just for the search to give you allison reynolds, the basket case emo girl from an 80s movie

andrew cuts cake pieces from the middle, and it’s not even because he doesn’t like the edges - it’s just for everyone else’s reactions

the foxes love neil bc he’s like a lil stray that they feel like they need to take care of half the time and are terrified of the other half, but like... he’s such a Bitch™ to literally everyone else. not even just his considerable amount of enemies but... the cheerleader that he shot down, bee, basically every exy player that isn’t on his team, the doctor in baltimore, etc etc etc. i love him for it, but i also know that if i met him irl he would tear me to shreds

nicky has such a big heart and prioritizes everyone else over himself and i feel like we don’t talk about it enough. he’s the type of person who soothes the foxes during their panic attacks. he’s the type of person who will leave the only place that truly feels like home behind to go look after two difficult teens. he’s the type of person who will sit next to a crying stranger in the hallway and comfort them however they need (talking, distracting, joking, quiet support) without expecting anything in return

erik showed him joy and love and acceptance. i think nicky made it his goal to do the same for everyone he even remotely cares about