Ok Ok But The Upperclassmen Planning A Team Bonding Night And Someone Pulls Out A Puzzle. While They’re

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

ok you know how neil counts to ten to calm down? has that worked a single time in this series?? i stg he always gets to like 6 and then just fucking SNAPS

hc that andrew’s wardrobe is entirely black... except for his socks, which are super colourful with ridiculous patterns

stop him. (original)

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.

andrew, after his car is destroyed by ravens fans: in terms of money... we have no money

neil, with a quarter of a million bucks: *hands over his binder*

Wymack: sometimes people ask me how i manage the foxes so easily. truth is, i don’t. i have no control over them whatsoever. aaron called me this morning and when i showed up andrew shot me in the throat with a nerf gun

hc that andrew’s really good at drawing, and bc of his eidetic memory, he can depict scenes perfectly. he didn’t draw much when he was on his meds, but got back into it when he was sober again. here are some memories i think he would recreate:

the “you know, i get it” speech (this one is a kaleidoscope of colours bc of his drugged state)

neil at ground level, andrew’s cigarette between his lips, giving andrew a mock salute (that scene right after andrew returns from easthaven)

seeing neil’s scars for the first time

aaron and nicky dancing, carefree, at eden’s

bee’s glass figurines (he adds to this drawing every time he gets her a new one)

sparring with renee

neil sitting on the ground at the foxhole court after calling andrew during his panic attack

neil leaning over the bus seat

matt grinning during an exy game

neil at the baltimore reunion (the rest of the foxes are blurs in this one because he only had eyes for neil)

sleepy neil curled up in the beanbag chair

allison and renee curled up beside each other

kevin coming in, drunk, with his new tattoo 

nicky and erik hugging when erik came as a surprise

kevin and wymack right before the final match

riko with his racquet raised above neil (he wasn’t going to draw this one, but he couldn’t get the moment out of his head and thought it might help to get it down on paper)

aaron smiling for a split second at a sarcastic comment andrew made

neil, yawning and wearing andrew’s hoodie

matt ruffling neil’s hair

allison painting renee’s nails

neil sitting on the rooftop, the sunset setting his hair ablaze

ice cream at sweetie’s (no cracker packets in this memory)

the first goal robin blocked during a game

neil on facetime, staring at andrew like he could never get enough

the first house that andrew could really call home 

sir and king climbing all over neil

neil and kevin wearing olympic medals

neil and andrew’s hands linked together

aaron and his family when they come over for dinner

neil, soaking wet and laughing during a watergun fight in their backyard

neil, smiling and happy and home

i’d like to think that, when andrew feels ready to show neil his drawings, they hang them up around their home. and when the foxes come over, they’re in awe at the memories and the love that is captured in the artwork, but they know not to say anything. dan gives them pictures, though, to hang up alongside the drawings, and they do

neil “i’m fine” josten telling wymack after coming back from evermore that no, no, he’s not alright just... pierces my heart every time i think about it. you can really see how much neil’s grown by how he finally begins to trust someone other than himself or his mom. he puts himself in such a vulnerable position when he reaches out, especially by asking for help from an older man (given his past). and the way that wymack drops everything during winter break to immediately rush to the airport, i just- 

agdjahkshskdhj you’re not wrong💀💀

neil. buddy. my guy. you got through christmas at evermore with riko moriyama, but concerned teammates are what you can’t survive. sir, wtf

(the king’s men, pg. 16, ch. 1)