Andreil - Blog Posts
okay but i’m soooo interested to see how andreil’s rooftop cig moments will transform in the queen’s game now that andrew is quitting. because neil doesn’t smoke but he’s still holding a cig and i doubt he would keep that habit up with andrew’s decision
just realized we’re gonna see non-smoking andrew in the queen’s game……..
They deserve a good nap 😴
love language of sharing cigarettes
Listen, you know why Andrew loves Neil? Why Neil Abram Josten was the one Andrew would allow into his inner space, to allow growing roots where Andrew keeps the remaining fragments of his heart?
Because hardly anyone respects Andrew's boundaries. Renee does. Bee does. Wymack does. Andrew respects his own boundaries to the point of enforcing them at knife point.
But Neil? Neil Abram Josten?
He views Andrew's boundaries as sacred.
Renee, Bee, and Wymack would view crossing Andrew's boundaries as disrespectful at best and a violation at worst. They earned his trust that way.
But NEIL???
Neil views crossing Andrew's boundaries as a fucking sin. As blasphemous. A devoted disciple would sooner spit in their God's face than Neil ever conceiving of crossing Andrew's boundaries.
Some people would look at you erecting brick walls covered in barbed wire and would start looking for a good crack to aim a sledgehammer. Some people would watch you lock a door and try knocking, just once, to see if you'll open it for them. And some people would watch you draw a line in the sand and never dream of stepping over it.
Neil parked his ass on the other side of Andrew's barbed wired multi-layered brick wall surrounding his concrete bunker and stayed there, running his mouth. And when Andrew revealed the hidden door, Neil smiled, stayed put, and kept talking.
Andrew didn't fall for Neil because Neil wouldn't come in.
He fell because Neil waited for Andrew to come out, waited for Andrew to extend his hand, and waited for Andrew to lead him inside by his own volition.
And that's why Neil was the one who earned Andrew's "Stay".
not sure if someone's said this already, so I will: can we appreciate Neil moving stuff out of the way (like the ice cream for example) before making out with Andrew? cause so often we either have people knocking stuff over cause they simply don't pay attention to that, or whatever items were around are just forgotten about / not mentioned again. so I love that he does that first, and that Nora actually bothered to put it in there
andrew definitely loves to nap. i just know he gets exhausted from having to be around people at class (and generally just deal with the human species) and as a result, needs quiet time in bed to be able to make it through the rest of the day. especially with their late night practices. and when i say nap, yes i do mean i think he takes naps in the traditional sense where he’s falling asleep for a little while but i also think he just likes to get in bed midday to just rest and reset. like just to be in the dark and not have to deal with anyone while he is horizontal and tucked in. tell me you can’t see it
(also imagine neil finding this out. i feel like some days he would join andrew but knowing andrew is doing this to be able to mentally handle the rest of the day, he would know to give him space and respect that. and when he does join him, sometimes he’ll be invited to just lay next to andrew but a lot of the times he just gets in his own bed and rests too, just providing some quiet company. dorm beds are tiny, even for them, and there’s no way to comfortably avoid contact and the last thing neil wants to do is push andrew’s boundaries especially when he is doing this to reset. but andrew lets him stay in the room when he does occasionally join and i feel like neil would be pleased at that alone, at being able to partake in and witness this ritual of his even without cuddling.)
Andrew Minyard doesn’t recover
And that’s okay- here’s why
Many people have been angry about the extra content through the years, but by far the thing that I see the most people being pissed about is this, “Andrew and Neil doesn’t get married” and the “they never say I love you”
But let’s talk about this for a minute
Because just because he doesn’t recover, doesn’t mean he doesn’t get better
He does, he keeps a stable relation to his brother, cousin and Kevin after graduation, something he wouldn’t have before
He let’s himself care for Neil and the cats
He starts finding some sort of joy in Exy with the people he cares about and who cares about him
He gets well enough to sleep in the same bed as Neil and have sex with him
He gets well enough to go on mundane dates with his partner on the beach, FaceTime Nicky on schedule and cuddle up with the cats at night
He gets a lot better
Don’t relate “full recovery” to “getting better” because they’re wildly different
He shows that even if you do not recover completely from the trauma you’ve suffered, from the hurt, you can still live and be happy with the people you love
So if I see one more person saying that he’s “bad mental health rep” I might actually have to fight them
We all know that Neil has two smiles, his "Neil-smile" and his "Nathaniel-smile". I went through the books to see how many times Neil actually smiles, because god knows it's not that many.
His "Nathaniel-smile" pops up a few times, usually when he's around Riko, threatening someone, or daydreaming about his father's gruesome death.
"Are you threatening a federal agent?" Nathaniel smiled so hard his burns ached. "I wouldn't dare."
He smiles his normal or "Neil-smile" a total of eight times through the series. Never in the first book, twice in the second, and six times in the third. Out of these eight, four were towards Andrew, one to Kevin, one to Wymack, one to Nicky, and one to Matt.
Nicky subsided with a lightning-quick grin in Neil's direction. Neil managed a small smile back.
The original point of this post was that Neil really doesn't smile or laugh or anything as much as he does in fanfictions and stuff. Andrew and Neil are not a grumpyxsunshine trope, Neil is not the light to Andrew's darkness, they're both massively fucked up and Neil does his crazy serial killer smile more often than his regular one.
He couldn't sleep, but at least he could daydream his father's death over and over again. That was almost enough to make him smile, and eventually it thawed the chill from his veins.
Anyways, that 𝘸𝘢𝘴 the original point of the post, but now I'm stuck thinking about how cute it is that he literally smiles only eight times throughout the entire series, and 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 of them are to Andrew. It's so fucking cute, especially when you consider the circumstances of the rest of them.
Andrew, who for once hadn't wasted their time denying that this thing between them might actually mean something to both of them. Neil hadn't even noticed the silence at first, too distracted by his dizzying thoughts. Now he couldn't help but smile and pull Andrew in.
He shares a tired smile with Kevin after the first Raven match. He smiles when Wymack picks up the phone when he calls him after he comes back from Evermore. He returns Nicky's grin with a small smile to reassure himself when Riko comes to watch their match against the Longhorns. And he gives Matt a tight smile during the final match against the Ravens.
"Neil?" All the gruff posturing left Wymack's voice; that sharp edge was all alarm. "Are you all right?" Neil smiled. It felt like it tore his face open. "No. No, I'm not. I know it's kind of sudden, but can you come get me? I'm at the airport."
With Andrew, basically every single time is directly 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 of him. Those smiles are some of the only times he actually feels or shows genuine pleasure or happiness, and I just think that's so cute.
It wasn't funny—none of this was—but that response was so obnoxious and so typically Andrew that Neil couldn't help but smile.
Technically he does smile a ninth time, at all of the Foxes, but since that was immediately after and because of Riko's death, I'm tempted to classify it as a "Nathaniel-smile" lmao.
Neil looked from one tired face to the next, soaking them in, reveling in everything they'd accomplished tonight and imagining how they'd react when they heard the news tomorrow. "What's so funny?" Nicky asked when he spotted Neil in the doorway. Neil hadn't realized he was smiling. "Life?"
(Also the word smile no longer feels like a word to me now. I never realised how often Renee smiled until I had to go through every single time any character smiled in the books)
AND WHAT IF I SCREAM?!? AND WHAT IF I LOSE MY MIND!?!!? what then
you gave me a key and called it home.
THIS IS AMAZING OMG they mean so much to me
CW: MCR :)
'Cause I love all the poison away with the boys in the band
Okay so this one is L O N G- Don't question the format I'm trying new things.
Aftg, it's been a while! Almost got a full playlist of song that would match aftg and that I would love to animate, unfortunately I have exams to pass (3rd year art school film incoming) so this is a kind of compromise.
they def get weird tan lines during the summer because of their armbands which is part of why they keep them on all the time. neil’s are more distinct differences in tan levels and andrew’s are like burns that fade into barely tanned skin
I love how we as a fandom have just accepted that andrew is like pale pale and Neil is obviously white but tan. Like it just fits.
sorry to report but i will never stop being insufferable about neil and his bandana
little something bc I’m not posting a big piece this week
Soft Andreil for Neil's b-day
Hi all, am taking Andriel art prompts for the first time in so long because I finished my degree last week !! Woo pardy. Anyway pls drop me a little something and I’m gonna get back on my bullshit!
Been going to gay bars and thinking about Eden’s a lot recently!
I feel like Andrew and Neil aren’t a red and blue couple they’re an orange and purple ya know
I made this dodgy sketch when I was coming up with Nicky, Neil and Aaron’s little trio in my criminals au. Thought I was gonna clean it up but then I got carried away with writing so here gjfjfkd I push it into the void.
kiss because its the end of the world for the fic prompts?
oooh yay i was hoping i would get this one !! thank you anon. also you didn't specify which ship, so I'm going with andreil :]
~
When the sky turned a bloody red and the stars began to plummet from the heavens, Andrew turned to where he sat beside Neil on the rooftop and said, when you wanted to watch the stars shoot through the sky, I don't think this is what you meant.
Neil didn't respond. He turned a slow look on Andrew, mouth slightly parted and skin bathed in crimson from the inferno above them, and said nothing.
Andrew should have guessed this was the only way to render Neil Josten speechless.
In a lot of ways, the apocalypse wasn't what Andrew had expected. It seemed like eons ago when he and Renee discussed world wars and water shortages wreaking havoc on civilization, but in all their contingency plans and talk of zombies and nuclear winters, neither of them had guessed it would be anything other than humankind's own dong that would do them in.
Weeks ago, when the weatherman came on the television and wept, Andrew hadn't yet realized that the world was really ending. It wasn't until Aaron showed up unannounced on his doorstep with a bag on his shoulder and his family in tow, that he realized that this was it. Only calamity could make his brother visit him unprompted.
Andrew spent a lot of time with his family during those last days, more than what he would have expected. Nicky and his husband managed to get a flight to South Carolina before they shut the airports down and closed borders, and he stayed in Andrew's guest bedroom while Aaron and his wife and daughters took Neil's old room.
Neil moved into Andrew's room, but neither of them talked about it.
Despite the universe shaking itself apart around them, life carried on. People went to work at their boring office jobs and then drank themselves silly afterwards, tuning into to the news station rather than the sports channels. Wars were fought and love was made. Andrew's feelings for Neil continued to turn like a wheel in his chest.
What else was there to do, except wait for the end?
It was on the roof with Neil and a bottle of whiskey between them when Andrew wondered if maybe he should come clean. He'd just about let the words tumble out of his mouth when Neil pointed to an asteroid streaking across the rust-stained sky, the first of many to come. Do you think this is how the dinosaurs felt? he had said.
Andrew's chest tightened as he gazed at the side of Neil's face, illuminated by the blood-red sun in the sky. No, he said. I don't think this is what they felt at all.
Nicky made them breakfast the next morning. He wore a pink chef's apron and cracked eggs in a sizzling pan. Eggs and toast, that's what they were having. That's all that was left. Andrew's family gathered around his tiny kitchen table and ate this last sacrament together. Nicky told jokes that surprisingly didn't fall flat, and Neil pushed his knee up against Andrew's under the table. He said nothing, but he caught Andrew's eye and smiled.
Andrew wondered if he should feel this happy when he and everyone he had ever loved would be dead in just a few hours.
After breakfast, Andrew and Neil climbed onto their roof to watch the lightshow. Fuck it, Andrew thought. He and everyone he loved would be dead in just a few hours. So he took Neil's hand and said, I love you.
Neil didn't let go of his hand, and when he pulled him closer, Neil was the first to lean in and press his lips against Andrew's.
Andrew's lungs burned, but he didn't think it was the smoke-filled air that was choking him, or the burning ozone and brimstone stinging his nose. The world was a dull roar around them, but all of Andrew's senses were overloaded with Neil. He combed his fingers through Neil's hair, soft and ablaze in the dying light, and leaned back. Neil's eyes were the only bit of blue in the entire world, and Andrew was content to die with this being the last thing he saw.
He didn't say that he wished he had more time, and he didn't say he regretted not telling Neil sooner. Wishes and regrets didn't matter anymore. All the mattered was that the sky above them was streaked with fire and blood and the sun reminded Andrew more of the middle of a ripe peach than death itself, and that Neil's hand was folded in Andrew's own.
Neil turned his face to the heavens, chin titled up as it crumpled around them. The sky was awash in red and orange and black as the stars burnt the atmosphere and cascaded around them. In his last moments, Andrew would have thought they looked like falling angels, though he never had believed in such things. The end of the world shouldn't be so beautiful, and yet.
Andrew leaned into Neil, pushing his shoulder against his, and watched the lights blink out one by one.
Hey y’all!! Go check out my new fic if you have time! Working on the fourth and fifth chapter right now and they’re my favourites out of the story so far. Def recommend if you like the idea of Andrew being trapped in an office job.
Link here
my @aftgexchange this year for @eloennerosa, who wanted dark academia andrew and cottagecore neil!
(click for better quality)
Back from the dead 2 post this bad boy 🦊
Tried a more experimental style with my fall exchange for @lav-ende !! Bit rough and raw for the vibez hope u like my version of a camping au 💕
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞/𝐬
@aftgexchange for @abraxos-is-toothless
𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 jealousy with a happy ending
click for better quality and don’t repost or use without permission
ty for a great selection of prompts! i spent so long trying to decide between this and fake dating, but i just had this fixation of neil being jealous when andrew says hello to the cats first after being away from home for a long time