nathaniel, neil, nathaniel, neil. andrew flips the two names around in his head like tossing a coin. heads or tails, the coin always comes up abram. nathaniel and neil are two sides of the same coin; forged in a dark basement, in musty hotel rooms, on the exy court. both hate sweets, love to run, to talk back any chance they get.
some days, the coin lands on nathaniel. jack makes one too many comments at practice and neil - no, nathaniel - has him on the ground, raquet to his neck in an instant. he can't hear what the strikers are saying but through the grate of the helment, andrew sees nathaniel's smile.
others, it lands on neil. andrew finds neil and matt splayed out on the couch, three movies deep into a "pop culture lesson". neil motions for andrew to sit and absently cards his fingers through the blond's hair. matt hides his grin in his sleeve.
but abram; he runs to andrew after each winning game to tap sticks, he sits each friday in columbia, talking about escape routes for an alien invasion, he keeps ice cream in the freezer and cigarettes in his backpocket.
heads or tails, doe or minyard, doe or minyard.
doe was made and unmade in california. 13 homes, 13 film reels constantly playing in the back of his mind, each scene driving the cuts deeper and deeper. andrew doe learns the danger of wanting and vows to keep everyone out.
minyard went to juvie for his brother. he crashed the car to keep him safe. he spent years on medication that sent him up up up to protect his cousin. minyard guards himself with knives sharper than his glare; he protects those that are his and fuck anyone else.
heads or tails, the coin starts to come up drew.
it starts small; quick grins in columbia at neil; shared dinners with aaron that don't end in a fight; something like excitment in his stomach before an exy game. when neil is hanging out with the upperclassman, he stays.
heads or tails; the coin lands on growth
hi! i love your neil(s) so much! i saw someone mention the neil universe and now im thinking uhhh trojan!neil !!?
trojan! neil descends upon us ... (deeply cursed)
This is so beautiful!
Jean & Cat & Open Roads
🦊 Andrew Minyard Animatic. an andrewmatic if u will. heed warnings yo
Characters from the All for the game series by @korakos 🦊
Rawwwr!
via imgur
I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Andrew used knives and cigarettes to cope
Only for Neil to be torn apart by a couple knives and a cigarette lighter.
Yes!!
one thing about me is that i will NEVER shit on nora's writing. like everyone bitching and moaning abt aftg having bad writing shut the fuck upppp take ur hater agenda elsewhere bc all i had to do was read everything post ch 11 of trk and that's what really cemented it for me. aftg's writing style may be unconventional (and i do fully believe this is bc of neil's narration NOT nora's writing go read the ec and tsc) but everything post ch 11 of trk is written SO well like the emotions are all so raw and real and it's such a good portrayal of grief and guilt and anger all from the pov of a slightly emotionally unavailable traumatised kid (neil IS still a kid he's fucking eighteen years old) who doesn't know how to process what he's just seen and been involved in. like the conversation between andrew and neil in ch 12 hurt me on so many levels. the "i told you once before didn't i? i don't feel anything." "anymore" was my last straw. anyway STOP dragging nora's writing just because it isn't "conventional" just read tsc she writes emotions and different characters with so much depth and if u don't like neil's narration just read jean's it is NOT the writing style. i DIGRESS.
You know what?
I love you, fics that take months to update. I click on the newest chapter and have no memory of this place and get to go back some chapters and rediscover how much i love everything about this story.
I love you, fics that take years to update. I think of you fondly, and know your names, go search for you and see an update from this year and scream, diving in uncaring of any missed details (i will finish the update and read you in reverse because this is a treat you have bestowed)
I love you, fics that probably will never update again. Thank you for being a roman empire for my mind, thank you for teaching me about the ephemeral fandom experience, for inspiring a thousand million what if-s, for being a comfort read and a nostalgia read and a reread.
I love you fic writers, who jump into projects and stories with enthusiasm. I love you when you succeed in pumping out those chapters and that love doesn't go away when you stop.
I love you fic writers who post and then get in your own head and never feel confident enough to update, whether it's at all or whether it's just that one story.
I love you fic writers, who have a fandom or media hurt you to the point of abandoning or having a hard time with their WIPs.
I love you fic writers, who lose interest or have life changes or illness or bad memory. Thank you for being part of the fandom, a core part of the fandom. Thank you for the time spent in the fandom.
I love you, fic writers who try out something new and then stop. You're so valid.
I love you, WIP fics that may or may not ever get finished. Thank you for brightening my day in the way only you could have.