Hot Take Ig But Like

david wymack is such a fierce protector. he loves so deeply and so unconditionally it makes me wanna cry.

like he had just met neil when he said "you need one of us to talk to your parents? are they the ones who hurt you? [...] if your parents are a problem for you, we'll move you to south carolina early."

and he offered him his couch. and then he told him "foxes are foxes for a reason and they know we wouldn't sign you if you didn't qualify. that doesn't mean they know the specifics. it's not my place to ask and I'm sure as hell not going to tell them. did you think I made the team the way it is because I thought it would be a good publicity stunt? it's about second chances, neil. second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

he barely knew jean when he told him "your so called master and that bitch of a nephew of his. kevin told us the truth when he transferred so we'd know what we were getting into. I know you think you have to go back to evermore and I know what's waiting for you there. I will burn this house down before I let him touch you again."

and let's not forget about "wymack didn’t care if he had nine foxes or twenty-five. he’d stand behind them until the bitter, bloody end."

and how he usually drives the bus himself because "it was apparently better to be uncomfortable but safe than to trust a stranger with his fractured team."

david wymack dedicated his life to showing kids who were dealt a shit hand in life that they can still play their cards right. I heard somewhere once that sometimes miracles are just good people with kind hearts and I thought it was a little corny but oh does it apply to someone like david wymack. he gave each of the foxes their own miracles. I know he is a fictional character but he just has the biggest heart and honestly he makes me want to have faith in humanity.

Is one of anyone else's favorite scenes in aftg that chapter in The Kings Men where the team is on the drive to Binghamton and Neil spends the entire second half of the trip talking to Andrew. Like:

Neil wanting to sit and talk exy with the rest of the team but that would mean Andrew would be left alone in the back of the bus.

Neil staring and not knowing what it was he found so interesting (beautiful) about Andrew's figure.

Neil calling Andrew just so Andrew would look at him and he'd be able to better study him. (And not being embarrassed or thinking anything of it because he is just admiring Andrew and he sees nothing wrong with that)

The whole "I knew I’d look out for only me when the world went to hell. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to go back for you.” conversation AND ANDREW GIVING IN

Neil talking about his life and all the places he's been and Andrew talking about his life after foster care (just the fact that they had this conversation with each other that they won't willingly have with anyone else)

ANDREW NEVER TAKING HIS EYES OR ATTENTION OFF NEIL AND LETTING HIM RAMBLE

I love something about Andrew being the one who tells Neil everyone is betting on his sexuality.

NEIL SAYING HE DOESNT SWING AND NEVER WILL BECAUSE THE ONLY PERSON HE WANTS IS ANDREW, followed by Andrew's "don't say stupid things", AND THEN FOLLOWED WITH NEIL'S "stop me" AND KISS (that he initiated)

Everything about this little portion of the chapter I love so much.

Everyday I'm reminded of the fact that andrew's arm was under neil's pillow when neil went to reach for a weapon and I lose a bit more of my sanity bc of it

imagine you’re andrew and you’ve gone through almost two decades of struggle—over a dozen foster homes and therapists, juvie, abuse, finding out you have a long-lost twin, medically-induced mania, and are viewed as a heartless threat to society even by your own family.

and suddenly you’re struck by (or more accurately, you strike) some rando little runner from arizona who throws wymack’s offer back in his face just like you did. someone who hates cops and lies to feds, who respects your boundaries but still challenges you. someone who’s not a chain smoker like you but tolerates craves the smell. someone who, for all of his lies, is not as slick as he thinks he is. someone who sees you not as a threat to others but as a threat to yourself. someone with a killer’s smile who doesn’t flinch away from anything you throw at him. someone who bears the scars of surviving childhood and hides them just like you do. someone with so much passion for exy who sees your potential, not for his own benefit, but for yours. someone who doesn’t swing but sees you as someone who is worthy of care and protection and affection.

he’s so offensively perfect i would think he’s a pipe dream too.

andriel headcanons

• andrew really pushes neil to enforce his own boundaries. sometimes neil is too wound up to be touched and the second andrew senses it, he makes neil say it aloud. "tell me to let go. enforce it. you know i'll respect it, this should be easy. tell me to back off."

• they try to raise plants. they fail miserably.

• the cats favor neil over andrew, which andrew doesn't necessarily mind.

• but when other players on their team bring their kids to practices or team events, all the kids love andrew and neil's a little jealous (even though he has no idea how to interact with kids).

• andrew has horrible seasonal allergies and neil doesn't.

• neil kicks all the blankets off in the middle of the night and andrew hoards them. they wake up in the mornings with the blanket on only one side of the bed and they never fix it.

• the first night andrew falls asleep facing the wall, neil doesn't say anything about it. but he falls asleep smiling.

• their relationship with aaron and katelyn is pleasant, and gets better with time, but the only thing that andrew and katelyn absolutely agree on is their disdain about neil using a 3-in-one shampoo/conditioner/body wash.

I fucking- I can't find it right now, but whichever one of you motherfuckers said Andrew's 'lack of control' was actually just intentionally calculated releases of pressure, that he was always in control when he lashed out because he lashed out in very specific and measured degrees - every single 'too far' was always 'just enough', its just no one else saw the raging volcanic inferno brewing just beneath the floorboards cus they were too distracted by how ear piercing the sound of the tea kettle going off was-

You're so sexy and I love you, but I wanna respond to you in spirit cus I can't find your post babes

We love 'biblically accurate' and 'devil's sacrament' as religious phrases yea? Well, my favorite (aside from 'heated fellowship', a black christian euphemism for fucking nasty) happens to be to 'know' or more specifically to 'know biblically', another word/phrase for fucking someone nasty.

stay with me this is going somewhere i promise pack a bag if you must

The interpretation I was raised with was that sexual intimacy was so vulnerable and exposing of one's most inner authenticity (that which apparently only God had such access to) that sex could make someone Know and See you the way Christ did (yadda yadda, "only fuck other Christians cus they'll be saved and sanctified enough to honor that blessing", yadda yadda) ANYWAY

THE POINT IS

You ever have someone in your life who just,,, saw you? Like, they could take one look at you and just Intuit Through The Vibes that something was up? Like they could just feel your energy and knew what to do or say or whatever? The kind of person who could walk into a room where you're minding your own business, doing something mundane, and they take one cursory scan of your posture and immediately ask "What's wrong?" like,,, what??? why do you ask??? what do you mean 'you can tell', I'm not fucking doing anything???

The kind of being seen for who you are that just leaves you feeling kinda exposed and tender? The kind of thing that leaves you bereft and yearning if you've never experienced it before (or had but lost it) because it feels like everyone only likes different mirages of you?

Andrew and Neil are so Relationship Of All Time because they seemed to See and Know each other like that even before they started locking lips on rooftops.

When Neil said "I want to see you lose control", i'm imagining Andrew probably felt so naked and flayed because everyone assumed he was perpetually losing his grip. On his anger, on his sanity, on reality, on his control. But like,,, Op's Spirit Of Post Long Lost, you were so fucking right. Every bit of Andrew's behavior was carefully calculated and intentionally released packages of what was his True Inner Turbulence that he would never dare release out into the open because that's not a target he's willing to give anyone a chance at aiming for.

Out of control? Andrew hasn't been that since he was probably a tween.

But Neil had never been fooled. From cigarettes and airport pickups to cigarettes and rooftop altercations, not once had he fallen for the mirage.

Without ever having needed to touch him in that way, Neil Knew Andrew. Biblically.

And that's why Andrew simply had to engage him in heated fellowship.

saw a post about how jean and neil are pretty alike so andrew would probably like jean and just. thinking about how andrew could teach jean everything he's learned about bodily autonomy and consent and trust and self worth. thinking about aaron killing drake and neil putting a hit out on grayson. thinking about them both finding partners they trust to respect their boundaries. thinking about neil saying "andrew's taught me about give and take" and how andrew could teach that same lesson to jean. thinking about andrew teaching jean to trust bee and telling him about what he talks to bee about. thinking about jean getting bee a glass figurine for her collection because andrew told him she likes them. thinking about bee getting jean a magnet in return. thinking about how they have like more than a foot of height difference. thinking about them bonding over making fun of kevin. thinking about jean getting to know the person who finally stood up to riko and protected neil from him. thinking about jean learning that neil went to evermore to try to protect andrew from proust. just andrew and jean okay!!!!

Ok wait but can we talk about how awkward Wymack probably felt during the Andreil scene in the hotel room??? Like nora had our man CHAINED TO ANDREW while they had THE Andreil moment and he was just like ‘yup, handcuffed to one of the problem children while he confesses his love to my other arguably more problematic problem child mhm just a day in the life’

does anyone else suffer from the aftg effect? i remembers the moment i finished tkm and I was looking into the air thinking "nothing its ever gonna top these books", like, yeah, after aftg I read more books, but i wasnt able to connect as hard as i connected with the Foxes; and it never matters how long i stay away from the books bc im busy with my life, every single time i go back to them without fail, to the way too sweet andreil fanfics, to the beautiful fanarts, to this cursed fandom that always likes to suffer for some reason, they always drag me back. it never fails to impress me how much these silly little books mean so much for me and for many people too, and thats the aftg effect, the feeling of knowing ur fucked bc theres no way ur going to get over the books in this lifetime or the next one, once u start liking the characters, theres no way back.

Jean is not a delicate little butterfly that’s been trampled into the mud. He’s a chained dragon that’s been trampled into the mud, and the chains are off now. No one else could survive what he went through for as long as he did, certainly not with any trace of spirit or heart still intact. No wonder Jean feels so unseen. Not because people can’t see his pain… but because that’s ALL they’re seeing. How frustrating to prove yourself unbreakable only to be always seen as something broken. He’s faced the darkest fires of hell and survived, but everyone’s focussed on his still-smoking wounds instead of his still-beating heart. This man is a warrior. It’s his enemies they should feel sorry for.