Fanfic Tag Game

my guy matt is such a speedy driver that andrew didn’t even catch up to him on the way to the mountains like... oh my ajm, driving with matt would be a mix of wholesome, chaotic, and absolutely terrifying

I posted 132 times in 2021

88 posts created (67%)

44 posts reblogged (33%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.5 posts.

I added 673 tags in 2021

#aftg - 105 posts

#all for the game - 94 posts

#neil josten - 75 posts

#the foxhole court - 74 posts

#tfc - 72 posts

#palmetto state foxes - 70 posts

#andrew minyard - 69 posts

#andreil - 52 posts

#all for the gay - 39 posts

#nicky hemmick - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 129 characters

#her and aaron's relationship reminds me too much of my aunt and cousin for me to feel anything other than all-consuming hatred :)

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

no fucking wonder mary never let neil make any friends on the run. for someone whose survival depended on anonymity and being anyone but himself, he was absolutely horrible at hiding any aspect of his personality for longer than 2 seconds of actual human interaction

951 notes • Posted 2021-03-18 01:22:22 GMT

#4

nicky buys andrew rainbow socks at pride one year as a joke and also as a futile attempt to bond. he forgets about them, but andrew often wears them under his black boots (especially when they go to eden’s) and no one knows about it. years later, at psu, nicky walks in on neil and andrew asleep on the couch. and there, peeking out from under blankets and neil’s legs, are the rainbow socks on andrew’s feet. nicky doesn’t take a picture because it feels too personal, but his heart soars at the sight and he cherishes this small victory

1181 notes • Posted 2021-03-27 23:56:07 GMT

#3

it’s the way that the foxes didn’t stay anywhere overnight all year and instead drove home in the middle of the night every single time to avoid being stuck somewhere unfamiliar, but they willingly stayed at a hotel when neil was taken and would’ve been fine with booking a second night when he came back to them if that’s what he wanted. like andrew would’ve stabbed them if they even thought about leaving, but the best part is that he didn’t even have to. i’m sorry i’m just crying

1325 notes • Posted 2021-03-15 03:09:38 GMT

#2

on the one hand, saying “make me” and refusing to kneel when tetsuji told him to is iconic. on the other hand, neil knew he’d be there for two more weeks and he still purposely antagonized him???? very in character but what the f u c k

1435 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 01:12:02 GMT

#1

honestly andrew probably got to neil in time by booking it across the court the second neil opened his mouth after the final match bc he just knew it’d be some dumb shit that would make riko want to kill him 

2904 notes • Posted 2021-01-29 22:11:00 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

when neil ditched kevin to go sit with andrew on the bus and matt held kevin back, it’s 100% because matt was rooting for the tiny terrors to get together (and yes they were already “not-a-this” at this point but matt didn’t know that)

it’s SO ADORABLE how eager matt was to join neil and kevin’s convo at the end of tkm when neil switched it back to english. like, no hesitation, he just jumped right in and offered his opinions and acted like it was totally normal. and all the while he was probably internally combusting of happiness because !! neil purposely brought the conversation back to english !!! specifically so that matt could be included !!!!!

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

yes neil is absolutely clueless when it comes to people liking him, both platonically and romantically, but he’s honestly pretty perceptive when it comes to other people. he was able to analyse the relationships and dynamics between the foxes pretty quickly (for the most part) after meeting each of them, even without knowing their backstories or anything about them. i think that this is for a few reasons:

neil has spent his entire life looking for threats towards him, not love

the only person who ever really cared about him before he joined the foxes (from what we know) was his mom, who had very questionable ways of showing it (i could write a whole other post about mary)

neil didn’t actually expect anyone to care about him in any way, because he didn’t think he was worthy of friendships and had never really opened up enough for it to be a viable option 

he had to be good at quickly and discreetly analyzing other people’s relationships, because it was important to understand those around him on the run 

excluding all the times where he went off and snapped at people, he tended to listen more than talk, especially when in big groups. this is the perfect opportunity to absorb information about everyone else

that being said, he didn’t pick up on anyone caring about him, because that idea had never even crossed his mind

also, given that he hadn’t really known what romantic attraction felt like, it was probably pretty hard to place his feelings for andrew 

and andrew’s not exactly the easiest to read, so even for neil (who understands him significantly more than others do), it would’ve been hard to see that andrew liked him (esp since andrew was presenting his attraction as hate)

however!! it would’ve been a lot easier to pick out the subtleties in the relationships between the other foxes, because they’re generally more open 

basically, i think that neil actually isn’t completely clueless when it comes to love/lust/attraction between others, it’s just when it comes to himself - who he doesn’t think is worthy of anything good - that he’s a bit thick

can we talk about how neil gave andrew back his armbands immediately upon his return from easthaven, even when he was warned against it? the neil josten at the beginning of tfc never would’ve willingly armed him. it speaks volumes for the trust the two have built that he gave andrew back his knives with absolutely no hesitation

andrew never liked snow days, because staying home meant he couldn’t escape the house that day. they didn’t happen often, ofc, w him being in cali, but that didn’t make them any less dreaded

when he wakes up one day and sees snow out of his window at palmetto, andrew tenses. classes and practice are cancelled, because it’s south carolina and snow cancels everything. andrew stays in bed that day, back against the wall, body tense, eyes alert

neil doesn’t mind. he makes some hot chocolate for andrew and places it within his reach without getting too close. he grabs warm clothes for andrew to change into, and when the offer goes ignored, neil grabs blankets from the living room and tosses them to andrew, who stares at neil for a moment before bundling them around his slightly shivering body

neil offers andrew memories. watching movies with his mom in front of the fire. snowmen and steaming showers when the cold soaked into his bones. thick socks and long scarves. warm mittens and chai tea with a cinnamon stick, his favourite winter treat growing up

andrew listens. the tension in his body slowly eases throughout the day, but his back never leaves the wall and his eyes remain wary. he doesn’t tell neil why he hates the snow, and neil doesn’t ask for that truth. neil just stays in the room, watching games with headphones or doing homework or taking a nap

andrew doesn’t say anything. it doesn’t bother neil

the next day is the weekend, and most of the snow has melted. when neil enters the dorm kitchen in the morning, andrew is already there

and waiting for neil on the counter is a mug of hot chai tea with a cinnamon stick

neil going around the baltimore hotel and checking the drawers to make sure nothing was left behind is too pure. they may have adopted him, but he still looks out for his own. and he also definitely thinks they’re not responsible enough to remember to check 

okay you know what, andrew may have killed his mom but at least he’s a generous tipper. murder? excusable. tipping 5% at a restaurant? well now we’re gonna have to excuse another murder