Andrew is the favorite uncle. Not just for Aaron and Nicky’s kids but all the foxes kids are just obsessed with uncle Andrew.
None of the foxes understand why except for Neil. But that only because Neil is there when Andrew gets up at three am to answer a phone call from their sobbing niece, who admits for the first time out loud that maybe she isn’t a boy and “is that okay uncle Andrew”. Or when Kevin’s kid shows up at there house after getting in an argument with her dad and Andrew lets her rage and rant until it doesn’t seem like the end of the world anymore, then walks her home (hc: they live pretty close for a while cause their on the same team). Or when nobody can get Aaron’s twins to stop crying but as soon as Andrew is given a turn at trying to calm the babies they stop immediately.
The kids all love Andrew he’s the first one they go to with their issues, he’s the first one they run too when all the foxes are together, he’s the first one that they come out too if they’re queer(Nicky is so mad when his kid comes out to Andrew before him)
He’s just a really good uncle.
nicky + the twins headcannons
andrew was a little blindsided by nicky taking custody. after tilda passed, andrew was expecting to go back into the system and he was ready to fight tooth and nail to stay with his brother and keep them both safe, or make luther and maria regret taking them in everyday the twins spent under the hemmick's roof.
andrew gave nicky a really wide berth for a really long time. in his mind, an adult man he doesn't know flies halfway across the world, leaving behind what sounds like a happy life, to get two underage boys alone in a house with him. at first, there's no "this is my cousin, this is my family." he doesn't know this person. he's never known this person. but he knows nicky's father. and andrew doesn't want that person alone with his brother.
neither twin really thought nicky was going to be a good guardian. both were expecting to fend for themselves a lot more than they ended up having to.
nicky spends the first several weeks cataloging every little detail about the twins that he can. aaron likes spicy food, andrew does not. andrew tears all his food into tiny pieces for some reason and aaron eats like a normal human being. andrew has a major sweet tooth. aaron also likes sweets, but prefers salty snacks. both twins always seem to be cold. both twins like to color-code things. both twins are right-handed and have horrific handwriting.
all the twins' teachers tell nicky that the boys are incredibly smart but don't seem to engage with their full potential. andrew excels at english and writing based classes while aaron flourishes in math and science.
nicky bakes a (pretty okay) cake for the twins birthday and presents it at breakfast. it's the first time someone actually bakes aaron a birthday cake.
nicky would purposely say or do things to get negative attention from the twins because he saw the way they would make eye contact across the room/the table when nicky would annoy them. he decides that letting them have a common enemy may help bring them a little closer than making an enemy out of each other.
it's nicky that teaches the twins to drive.
aaron and nicky bond over television shows.
nicky remembers the first time each twin chose to spend time with him. aaron sat down beside him and silently watched the show nicky was finishing. andrew helped nicky clean up the kitchen on their birthday after nicky made them the cake.
what did you expect, captain?
He's five feet tall
He consumes his weight in ice cream and hot chocolate
He plays goalie for a sport more fucked up than hockey
He plays said sport at a collegiate level
He lifts weights to Punch Good and carry people's burdens
He dual wields knives
He was in Child Prison
He committed murder once
(would have been five but he got caught)
He's scared of heights
He wants Nothing
He hates the Pipedream
He doesn't hate the fucked up sport he plays (he'd have to care to hate it)
He doesn't like the word "Please"
He values his word and his promises more than most things
There is no This
This is Nothing. They are Nothing.
The Pipedream is Nothing
And as he's always said, he wants Nothing.
He smokes cigarettes in his sports car he got with his birthgiver's life insurance
He's a Monster
He's the funniest bitch around with the deadest stare
He hates being touched
Yes or No?
He needs to be in control
It's always a yes with you
He'll resort to handcuffs if you don't listen well
He's five fucking feet tall
something that makes jean so tragic is his inherently good heart. he’s prickly and distrusting and he’s been through too much but that doesn’t stop him from caring or feeling concern for others even if he can’t really convey it (because he wasn’t allowed to :(((). one of my favourite moments in the book was when jean noticed pat and ananya being touchy with cody and cody not really reciprocating leading him to ask cat if they were safe. like he was worrying for the safety of somebody he hardly knew even though he was conditioned not to care. he’s also extremely accepting. doesn’t bat an eye at cody being nonbinary, respects their pronouns, doesn’t care about pat, ananya and cody being poly just that it’s consensual and there’s no way the nest would have exposed him to that with the same sort of acceptance when jean was scared to show his attraction to men.
andrew is so real for thinking neil is a hallucination cos now that we have outsider pov on him it's actually insane that he's a real person. like this is neil josten: he's the prettiest boy you've ever met. he's the runaway son of a serial killer. he has a million dollars but is afraid of spending money. he folds his clothes a specific way so he can tell when someone's gone through his stuff. he keeps a stalker's journal on the two greatest exy players of all time. he wears coloured contacts and they're brown. he paid a busboy $100 to knock him out cold. he insulted a celebrity athlete on live tv after trying to keep a low profile. he says he's trying to stay alive while running towards death like it's a race. he mouths off to the mafia. he respects your boundaries and is the first person ever to take you at face value and not consider you an out of control psychopath. he orders hits on your abusers. he has the most electric blue eyes you've ever seen. he looks great in clubbing clothes but dresses like he's homeless. he insults someone for their "intricate and endless daddy issues" while his father is a convicted mobster and serial killer. he didn't give a fuck when his teammate was killed. everyone seems to like him even though it's clear he's hiding a million secrets. he doesn't catch on to the many many hints you're giving him. he calls you out not for being a danger to others but for being a danger to yourself. he thinks you should be protected as well as trusting you to protect him (and you think, how can someone be a victim and a protector?). he doesn't give a flying fuck what literally anyone thinks about him. he comes back from being waterboarded and tortured and abused for weeks (to protect you) and is still as feisty and bitchy as before. except now he's a redhead and has many more scars. he is possibly the first person to ever make the active decision to protect you. he's willing to put himself in harm's way again and again and again so he won't lose you. he always has a cigarette but he never smokes. he says "you're not actually a sociopath are you?" and "the next time someone calls you soulless i might have to fight them". even though he's messy and a little oblivious he's sees you. he might be the only person to ever want you off your drugs. he wants to see you lose control, is aware that you're not out of control, you're actually so controlled and restrained all of the time and he wants to see you feel something, he wants you to be angry, be angry at him. he riles you up on purpose to see you show emotion, feel something. he's a runner and yet he's still possibly the bravest person you've ever met. he gets kidnapped and comes back even more bruised and battered than before and he's still a mouthy little shit who bitches at the press and cuts deals with the yakuza. he's most of the reason why the worst team in the nation ends up winning championships. he shoves a guy clean off his feet because they body checked you. he punched celebrity athlete riko moriyama in public, for you. he threatens him, for you. he's almost killed on live tv. he mouths off to the fbi. he watches the (second) best exy player in the world get shot. he also watches his father, notorious serial killer and gangster, get shot in front of him. and he laughs. he smiles. he kisses you and is never gonna run again and he's free and he wants to be with you, he wants you.
Imagine Andrew hears from Wymack and Abby that Bee is having a bad day. He's graduated so she's not his therapist anymore but they keep in contact. He suddenly posts up on campus with gourmet hot cocoa, breaks into her office when he knows she has a break, says not a single word, throws himself across the couch-
but Bee is already smiling (it's so small, she really was having a bad day) and so, as far as he's concerned, Mission Accomplished
one of my fave parts abt aftg is how realistic it is. like they're all college kids, 18-20 ish. they're just teenagers. like yeah obviously neil is going to retaliate on live television without thinking about the repercussions. obviously they're going to rely on their most violent friend for protection from the mafia even though he's just a 20 year old bipolar kid with a heavy ass racquet. obviously the trojans are going to have a cardboard cutout of a dog with a stupid name that they treat like a real pet. obviously they're going to take tourist photos when they go pick up the random dude from arizona that's going to change their lives forever. god i love them. god
Neil Josten wears a gold band around his left ring finger and is absolutely cheating on his partner.
Before he ever joined the Santa Fe Cougars, Josten was part of a pride campaign for Nike. So was Andrew Minyard. It was a big deal. The interviews around it said every athlete in the campaign was LGBTQ. Josten talked about his husband. Minyard talked about queer foster kids.
That, the Cougars speculate, is where Josten and Minyard reconnected. They went to college together, separated when Minyard moved to Santa Fe and Josten moved to Jersey, saw each other again at this campaign, and then, a year later, were on the same team again.
None of the Cougars have ever met Josten’s husband. Even at team parties, Josten never brings him around. Probably he thinks it would be too risky.
None of them have gotten close enough to Minyard to figure out his relationship status. But, the Cougars collectively believe, Minyard’s relationship status can only possibly make a bad situation worse.
Keep reading
jeremy knox gets grumpy when he's sick.
the first time jean sees it he is kind of amused. instead of getting up early as he usually does, jeremy doesn't get out of bed until cat and laila storm the bedroom he shares with jean saying breakfast has been done for over an hour.
jean stands by the door, an eyebrow raising as he sees jeremy put the covers over his head to avoid dealing with his friends. something jean has never seen him do before, something that is so not like jeremy.
"come on, jeremy. it's saturday. we already didn't do anything last night, you're not going to waste today."
cat insists while trying to pull the covers off jeremy who with a weak sigh ends up giving up and just letting her do it. the moment both laila and cat see his face they realize what's happening.
"what the hell, jeremy! what have i told you about hiding in the room while dying sick instead of literally asking for help?"
"don't be dramatic. i'm just tired." jeremy unconvincingly tries to calm his friend who already had her hand on his forehead.
"bullshit. you literally have a fever right now. sit up, laila is gonna bring something for you to eat before taking some medicine."
"not hungry. just want to sleep." jeremy whined once again trying to put the covers over his head.
"don't make me get jean to get you out of this bed."
"leave me out of this." jean warned still standing by the door and the moment jeremy heard his voice he felt himself more alert.
the last person jeremy wanted to see him weak, pale and sick was jean. he closed his eyes, defeated. and started sitting up knowing cat wouldn't leave that room until he did exactly as he was told. he awkwardly ran his fingers through his messy hair knowing it'd be useless.
"satisfied?" jeremy crossed his arm grumpily like a child and jean strongly held back the sudden urge he had to laugh- something he seemed to be wanting to do more ever since moving out with cat and laila- at the scene.
laila then re-entered the room carrying a plate of toast with eggs and a cup of the orange juice they had in the fridge especially for occasions like these.
"lighten up, princess. i know you love being babied by us."
laila handed him the plate and put the juice on the bedside table. jeremy who still had his arms crossed against his chest pouted a little.
"not like this! i hate being sick!"
and he did. jeremy didn't get sick as often but when he did, oh boy. it was hell. it'd usually take him at least three days to fully recover everytime and he hated how useless he felt between that time which resulted in a very grumpy, very whiny captain sunshine.
"poor thing. i know it sucks, but you'll feel a little better once you eat and take the meds." laila caressed his hair getting a content little sigh from him this time.
"thank you, guys." he then remembered jean standing by the door and immediately felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment.
"good morning, jean!" jeremy offered him a little smile.
"eat your eggs."
"he learns fast." cat joked and jeremy groaned.
"great. just what i need, three nurses wannabe"
"we can just let jean do the work if that's what you want."
laila winked at him and jeremy almost choked on the eggs he had just put in his mouth.
"alright, alright. we'll let you eat your food and then check on you again later. don't forget to take the meds for the fever after eating."
the girls left the room, but jean stayed where he was.
"jean? are you really gonna stand there and watch me eat?" jeremy joked a bit embarrassed still.
"i do not think you should be alone while sick."
"i'm okay, jean. really."
jean seemed to ponder for a few seconds before leaving. jeremy barely had time to finish chewing a piece of toast before jean was back already.
"to make you company."
jeremy thought his cheeks were gonna crack with the way his smile was so big on his face. in front of him there was nothing less than a six foot french man holding a cardboard dog cutout to put by his bedside.
"jean! you're amazing. thank you!" jeremy said cheerfully, his smile still bright and big on his face. "you... you can stay too if you'd like. i mean-" jeremy's face heated as he struggled with his own words.
"after im done preparing lunch with cat and laila."
jeremy smiled again.
"i will be here. we will." jeremy brought barkbark closer to him and jean rolled his eyes, but the small smile wanting to appear on his face before he left the room didn't go unnoticed by jeremy.
kevin's bday being 22 + 22 ravens when evermore was shut down + 22 of neil's names and cities
andreil jersey numbers adding up to 13. baltimore happened on 10/3.
renees jersey number being 9 - stephanie being renee's 9th foster home
jeans jersey being 29 for kevin (2) and renee (9) and jeremy (2+9=11)
riko's perfect court fell after number 4 (四 ie, 死 (death))
neil's 10 is the mirror image of riko's 01