#Middle name: Neil-Abram

[jtl-fics]

I’ve really typed out a lot of FF on my phone since the suggested word after i type Captain is Neil.

I could see FF, now that he realizes Neil and Andrew are friends, having this be his own suggested word years down the line when phones enter into that period.

Just FF calling Neil Captain Neil years and years after he graduates.

[passionorangeguavajuice]

Real question is do I put a middle name on Neil’s mood board or not?

[simonsrosebud]

my aftg fox children headcannons (guys be nice to them okay)

Dan & Matt:

They have two boys, Jace and Abram Boyd, one year apart (Abram wasn’t planned hehe) by the time Dan is 32.

Dan/Matt aren’t religious, but they still assign godparents to their kids. Jace’s godparents are Wymack and Abby, Abram’s are Neil and Renee.

At first Neil said no. He didn’t think that responsibility was something he could handle until he eventually got a call from Renee. “I know why you’re calling me” “I figured you would. I warned Matt and Dan that you may not respond in the way they wish, they don’t take it personally,” she’d said. Neil knew it wasn’t personal, but he admitted he also didn’t see the point and couldn’t be cut out for that. “I think you may misunderstand their intentions, may I try to clear it up?” Renee explained that, really, it was only a title, a glorified uncle of sorts, since the boys weren’t getting baptized and they weren’t putting their godparents in their will’s like old tradition did. “It’s a way to showcase the love and trust they have in others; you, me, Coach Wymack and Abby”. “It is an excuse to spoil them rotten,” Andrew had added when he talked to Neil. Renee told Matt to wait a bit, not to push, and a week later when Neil was randomly on the phone w Matt he said “I’ll do it, by the way. The kid thing- The godfather thing.”

Naming Abram was a struggle. They wanted something meaningful since Jace’s middle name was David. It wasn’t until Dan asked Matt what Neil’s middle name was that they got cookin. Neil was in the off season when he was born, so he drove out (accompanied by Andrew) to Atlanta from Columbia and they asked Neil when he got there.

Their backup name was Joshua (aka Josten) in case Neil wasn’t comfortable with Abram. Luckily it only took a few minutes of blue-screening for Neil to shake it off and allow it. Abram was Neil’s one real name, the one thing he’d kept all those years, the thing that made him feel grounded and safe. But Neil was 27. He hadn’t needed the name since he first moved away from PSU at 23 and was alone again. The kid deserved something safe.

ANYWAY. Jace is a certified hetero and goes to University of Miami for college. He grew up playing exy and baseball but once he was a sophomore in high school he quit exy and stuck to baseball all through high school. He’s 5’10.

Abram plays midfielder for soccer and used to play backliner for exy. Abram goes to PSU and rooms with Elliot (Andriel’s adopted kid, just wait it’ll make sense i promise), joins a campus soccer team, then makes the PSU team his sophomore year as a walk on.

Abram is 6’1. Has massive game but doesn’t use it bc he’s kinda oblivious. Very silly and energetic and comes off flirty sometimes when he’s just being nice and goofy. He later attributes it to the fact that he didn’t know he was bisexual until senior year of high school.

Abram fucking fawns over Elliot 3 months into living together bc he realizes he’s kinda in love with him. Never lets it show bc he won’t ruin their friendship and plus they share a room tg. Def foams at the mouth when Elliot comes back sweaty and shirtless from runs. Once Elliot is eating a banana and out of nowhere says “You ever eat a banana and wonder how the fuck girls suck dicks?” in the dining hall and Abram chokes on his drink so bad it comes out of his nose. Horrified.

Neil & Andrew (ik hold on):

Blake (f) and Elliot (m) Nelson.

Andriel had no intention of ever having kids bc no.

However, when Andrew and Neil are 42/43 and living in South Carolina again, Andrew notices that there are footprints in Neil’s garden. Then he sees it again and sees that the footprints continue towards the shed in the backyard. He checks their cameras to see that it’s a young girl coming and going with Neil’s electric bike a few nights a week from 12am-4am. The third time he waits inside the shed and promptly scares the living shit out of her.

QUICK VERSION: Andrew catches Blake sneaking into their backyard shed and borrowing Neil’s electric bike at night a few times a week, lets her use Neil’s old raggedy bike that hasn’t seen the light of day in years, turns a blind eye when she returns it run over, gives her bus money instead, goes back and forth with her for like 1.5 months, points out the bruise & bandages she shows up with one night while he’s sitting outside at 12am (insomnia), doesn’t see her for 2 months, shows up at the 24 hour CVS she works at 3-4 nights a week and sees the bruises on her hand and throat through her turtleneck while she thought no one was looking, threatens to call the police post-shift at 4am and sits with her through a panic attack bc “He’ll- I’m only 15, they’ll make me quit my job and we can’t to afford- and they’ll split us up, and he- Elliot won’t- he can’t- oh my god” and then takes her to his house w consent, briefs Neil bc those kids need to get out of that house but they’re not staying here, Neil who somehow takes it all without a second thought and says “well not forever, but definitely for the night”, takes Blake and Neil (awk first meeting) to Blake’s house and gets Elliot out of the house while their dad is gone (Elliot has a black eye and bruises from rough fingers on his forearm and says dad left in a rampage when he saw u were gone, and i told you that job wasn’t fucking worth it).

Elliot doesn’t trust either of the men after what his sister protected him from and doesn’t know wtf is happening bc he thought Blake had been borrowing her friend’s bike. They stay in Andriel’s guest bedroom for the day, Abby is retired by now but only lives 45 minutes away. Neil takes charge of calling her despite Andrew thinking there’s more pressing matters like kidnapping 2 teenagers. “You didn’t kidnap us, idiot, we came with you” Blake says.

Long story short, the siblings end up staying with them longer than they thought due to lawyers and police and safety.

It becomes kind of a lost and found situation. What was once “while we get legalities figured out” became “until your father’s trial is over”, which stretched into “no way they’re getting sent to XYZ” and “until they can find someone competent enough to handle trainwreck’s, they’re stuck here” and “Dan won’t care if we bring them to Thanksgiving, right?” “Amalia’s been playing exy since she could walk, Kevin, Elliot started a year ago” “Elliot knows Santa isn’t real, right? That stops at, like, 12?” “I’m not teaching her to drive, I’ll get myself killed” “If your mouth gets you kicked out of school, don’t come crying to me” “Addie & Annie keep telling Blake to spend a weekend in Atlanta” “I’m not telling her not to date, she scares me” “Just because your mother wasn’t worse doesn’t mean she was good”

Until one day, two and a half years later, Blake hands Neil an application for adoption, who tilts it towards Andrew, who silently takes it and begins to fill it out.

Blake is 5’0, Elliot is 5’9. Blake is blonde and Elliot has light brown hair, and while they’re not ghostly pale, both of them burn in the sun in .2 seconds.

Elliot does cross country and was training for a 10k when they left their dad so Neil gladly continues that. He’s in awe when he finds out who Andrew and Neil really are, not because he knows their names but bc once he watches their old games it’s like watching gods to him. He’s a true golden retriever which isn’t helped by his ADHD, anxiety and mild dyslexia, which he doesn’t get medicated for until he’s 16.

When Elliot was 13 he almost drowned in a lake bc he was never taught how to swim. When their dad found out he took him back to the lake against his will and kept tossing him in the lake until he kept himself afloat enough to pull himself up onto the dock, nearly coughing up water. It was so traumatic to a young kid that Elliot had a problem with bodies of water after that. Instead of being fine just not going in, he avoids pools or lakes entirely. Beaches are give or take since he can sit far up on the sand.

Elliot watches exy with Neil and feels cool about it; latches onto King instantly and vice versa bc she’s an ESA and his anxiety is through the roof half the time.

Elliot gels very quickly with Jace and Abram when Andriel brings them to Thanksgiving at the Boyd’s house. Once he gets the boys’ numbers they add him and Blake to the groupchat they have with Kateaaron’s, Kevin’s, and Allison’s kids.

Later, when Elliot goes to college at PSU, he and Abram room together. They become even more attached at the hip (impossible) and Elliot becomes infatuated with Abram in a totally normal way that he eventually figures out by spring break is definitely bc he wants to fuck him. But Elliot is chaotic and too anxiety ridden to ever make a move so he bides his time being innocently flirty that comes off as being silly, and doesn’t complain when Abram wraps his arms around him or lets him sleep back to back in Abram’s bed after Elliot has a bad nightmare or can’t turn his brain off at night.

Eventually, sophomore year when they live in a house with 3 other guys, Elliot climbs into Abram’s bed face down after a night out, almost half on top of Abram. They’re literally both so drunk. “You’re in my bed,” Elliot slurs. “S’my bed, babe”. Elliot lifts himself up on his elbow over Abram’s (warm and shirtless) chest. “Who you callin babe?” Abram giggles lowly and Elliot leans down and kisses his cheek, “You can be my babe, babe” he boops Abram’s nose and giggles drunkenly, and his head is dipped low already when he lets his lips lightly press down on Abram’s chin, simply touching, before actually pressing a kiss there after a second. Abram’s hand comes up just as he presses that second kiss down, tangling into Elliot’s hair, and when Elliot pulls his head back up Abram’s grip tightens. Abram tilts his chin up and kisses just beside Elliot’s mouth, pulling him down fully and kissing him deep after the two pause against each other for less than a moment.

Aka, they hardcore make out. We’re talking ass grabbing, lib biting, neck sucking, Elliot straddling Abram, a bit of dry humping, Abram pressing him down into the mattress and moving down to-

Anyway, when they wake up Elliot runs to the bathroom connected to Abram’s room to throw up, and when he notices Abram come to the doorway he says “Dude, you sucked my dick” into the toilet bowl “you’re, like, really good at it, too” immediately wretches again. And it’s probs the hazy hangovers, but Abram says, “Yeah, been wanting to do that for a while” “Thank god, I’ve been dreaming about you doing that since last year… Hey, B?” Abram hums and Elliot doesn’t even lift his face from his arms over the toilet seat before asking “Wanna go out with me?” cue gagging, but luckily Abram splashes his face w water and leans down to just kiss the back of Elliot’s neck “oh that was hot” Elliot mumbles. “Yes, I’ll go out with you” “Thanks… Hey B?” another hum “Can you start the shower and also kill me while you’re at it?” “Whatever you want, babe”

Junior year Abram has to live at Fox Tower but Elliot and the other 3 guys stick together. Except Abram is closer with these guys so he ends up sleeping in Elliot’s bed like 4-5 nights a week. Elliot is an absolute THEIF of clothes too, like if Abram comes over he’s going home without a hoodie.

Elliot calls him B or Bram, most recently babe. Abram calls him baby, El, and sometimes sugar when they’re alone.

Blake is queer too which Neil gets really relieved by because how tf do u give a girl the talk. Turns out Andrew had already done it bluntly and against her will when she first went on a date at 16.

Blake doesn’t go to uni but gets her associates at a community college and Allison somehow gets her an internship with a PR agency, shocking considering her no-filter and sailors mouth.

Aaron & Katelyn:

They have identical twin girls: Annalise and Addison.

The twins are… not planned… they’re 26 and Aaron’s in his last semester of med school while Katelyn is nearing the end of her first year of residency (bc exy players 5th year). Thankfully Aaron had already been matched with the hospital Katelyn was at for his residency.

Aaron gets genuinely terrified when she tells him over the phone like 3 days before he was due to visit. He calls Andrew bc it’s too soon and this isn’t supposed to happen and he doesn’t know how to be a parent when the only one he had was a piece of shit and it’s the first time Andrew hears him audibly diss Tilda without adding “but she was my mom”. Andrew doesn’t say much, but he does say “You had a terrible childhood, yes?” “I mean, yeah” “Good. Don’t replicate it, and maybe yours won’t hate you.” and it’s enough.

All of this is thrown out the window when they find out they’re having twins. Aaron almost faints.

Annalise’s nickname is Annie and sometimes Anna by school friends. She has zero preference between the three options.

Addison rarely gets called her full name other than teachers, gets called Addie.

Andrew calls them both by their full names.

Katelyn has no middle name, so when her and Aaron get married she made Mackenzie her middle name and took Aaron’s surname.

Aaron calls his girls Ad/Addie-baby and Anna-bear.

Addie’s middle name is Mackenzie, Annie’s is Nichola…. you know why🥹

When Katelyn has to full name them she’ll typically yell “Annalise Nick!” and “Mackenzie!”

Aaron didn’t like the nickname Annie bc she’s a redhead and “orphan annie” felt weird bc he and Andrew are orphans. But Katelyn loved the name and it came naturally from others so he got over it.

Addie is bisexual aromantic. Annie is straight.

Addie goes to University of Georgia, and Annie goes to PSU for their really good speech pathology program (the twins are a year older than Jace/Blake and 2 years older than Abram/Elliot so Annie was the first kid to go to PSU).

The twins grew up in Chicago until they were 11, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Since they’re close to U Georgia, Addie tells her parents they’re only allowed to visit when she says so she’s not suffocated. Annie is more of a homebody so she not only loves that Dan is at PSU, but would let Kateaaron visit every weekend if they wanted (daddy’s girl).

Allison:

Maybe she gets married maybe she doesn’t, regardless I like to think she doesn’t for a while and ends up adopting a 3 year old named Sabrina.

Sabrina grows up to be a natural honey blonde just like Allison and coincidentally has her same smokey grey eyes.

Queen of nicknames: Sab, Bri, Brina, Briners, Reynolds.

Sabrina never puts a label on her sexuality and is pretty fluid with it, just doesn’t rlly give a fuck.

Grows up in Miami but they go to NYC every winter break and normally 1-2 times every summer. Grew up traveling with Allison but not enough that it affects her childhood.

Goes to NYU. Eventually helps Allison run, design, model for her fashion empire.

Has like a million followers on Instagram, has modeled for Victoria Secret, has been a brand ambassador for Moschino and goes to Paris fashion week w Allison every year once she’s 16.

Since the Foxes go on vacation every summer together, Sabrina grows up very close with the twin girls since they’re the same age. Brina and Addie *experimented* together when they were younger bc they didn’t wanna go to college not knowing anything. Since then, every time they see each other they end up hooking up. They’re very touchy feely with one another, but Brina is kinda like that anyway. Addie only tolerates her and Annie being like that.

They jokingly call their situation “best friends who bone”. Realistically, they’re in a (long distance lol) queerplatonic relationship that just includes sex. Annie secretly thinks Sabrina is aro as well but keeps it to herself bc it doesn’t matter to label it.

Kevin & Thea:

Amalia Day🫶🏼

Youngest of the kids, 3 years younger than Abram/Elliot. They weren’t necessarily concerned with the prospect of kids, so she isn’t born until Kevin is 32 and Thea is 36, not even a full year after she retires due to one too many knee injuries. She goes to Kevin one day after practice and kinda straight up says, “I want a child- No” she cuts him off “I’m 36, I want to be a mother, I want to be a mother with you, and I don’t want to be seventy when she goes off to college” but Kevin just says “She?” “Yes, I’m not bringing another spitting image of Kevin Day into this world”.

Clearly, they do have a girl. Despite Thea’s blunt and sometimes abrasive approach to some things, she takes to being a mother with all the gentle-ness that Kevin remembers of his own, and it’s enough to calm him about being a father (bc we all know Kevin was shitting his pants the whole time).

Amalia is tanner than Kayleigh was, but it’s unnerving how similar she looks to Kayleigh. It makes Wymack a complete pushover for her (though he always says no at first just to say he did).

Amalia grows up playing exy, of course, but also soccer and dance which pains Kevin and Thea reminds him to stfu. Thankfully for him, she’s really fucking good at Exy and gives up dance by the time she’s 8 and soccer by 11.

Plays for the US Teen Exy All Stars team (idk made it up). She plays offensive dealer. Her playing becomes Kevin’s dare I say obsession, but he becomes good (by force of Wymack, Thea, Andrew and surprisingly Jean) at being normal about it- not forcing exy down her throat and pressuring her. It’s good that she’s not a striker living up to Kevin’s legacy.

Amalia makes a Twitter when she’s 16 and it lasts about 3 weeks until Kevin finds out and makes her give him her password to monitor the account. Smart, giving the family’s status and her age, but she acts like it’s the end of the world.

If it wasn’t for Wymack, she would probably be an entitled brat. He keeps her humble along with the other kids.

Terrible fucking driver. Like holy shit.

Thea learned French over the years, so they raise her speaking English and French. As a teen she says she wishes she spoke German instead since Andrew, Aaron, Neil, Nicky, Erik, Annie, Addie, and Blake (eventually) all speak it.

She eventually goes to play for USC Trojans, plays pro, and goes to the Olympics as a 4th year senior in college.

Ages:

Sabrina Reynolds, the twins

Blake/Jace

Elliot/Abram

Amalia

All the kids are one year apart, with Amalia the youngest at 3 years younger than the boys and 5 years younger than Sabrina.

That’s all folks holy shit this was long. Maybe I’ll expand on it soon

[ninyard]

Everyone and their mama having a middle name in aftg except kevin is so funny to me 😭😭 like you have Allison Jamaica, Andrew Joseph, Neil Abram but nothing for him

No but like I don’t know a single Irish person that doesn’t have at least two middle names. Kayleigh said fuck my culture my son is NOT getting a middle name. But to be fair if he did have a middle name it’d be like. Kevin John. Kevin Francis.

[joejhang]

who the fuck even is abram

OK I LOVED WRITING MY NEIL VS NATHANIEL ESSAY SM SO NOW I'VE GOT ONE FOR ABRAM. spoilers ahead and continue at ur own risk !!!

abram is a mildly easier "character" to dissect than nathaniel or neil because neil explicitly states who abram is and contrasts him to nathaniel and neil: "neil" might be an easily-spooked runaway, and "nathaniel" was a hunted young man, but "abram" was the one shielded from and untouched by his father's bloody business.

the first time we hear of abram is when neil is trying to convince andrew to trust him with kevin's safety so andrew can leave for rehab w that security. andrew points out (rightly) that all neil does is lie, so how can he be trusted w someone as important as kevin? and neil answers "don't trust "neil", trust me."

you don't get it cos this line is one of the most insane in the entire series and no one points it out. because what follows is andrew asking "who are you?" (the layers of that, too) and neil just answers "if you need a name, call me abram."

this is so fascinating because neil literally separates himself from the "neil josten" identity in this scene and says trust me. who he is, in himself, he considers (at least at this point in the story) separate from both nathaniel wesninksi and neil josten. and when asked to put a name to this "true self" he says "abram".

isn't that crazy like y'all be arguing whether neil is truly at heart neil josten or nathaniel wesninski when he said himself, he's neither: the only "true self" he ever gives us is "abram". not even a last name because abram never belonged to nathan wesninski, and neil josten wasn't even a real person until the foxes made him one.

ok technically, i do realise "abram" is nathaniel's (and eventually neil's) middle name and i also find it interesting that even as abram has no last name and is neither wesninski or josten, the name "abram" has belonged to both last names throughout neil's life. so technically i would say abram is neither wesninski or josten but also both wesninski and josten.

that doesn't make sense but hopefully the rest of the essay makes it make sense.

"abram" is the name used by mary when she wanted to shield nathaniel from his father's work, and also the name he'd had when he'd played little league. interesting, too, because while nathaniel mostly belongs to the butcher, and was born and bred by mary, and while neil was a conscious decision, a choice and an amalgamation of his loved ones, abram belongs almost completely to mary and neil. neil also notes his time in little league as the only times he saw his mother smile. this was also before the bloody events of castle evermore, and before the miserable years on the run, so u can bet these were probably the only bright times in neil's entire life until he joins the foxes. nathaniel is deeply entrenched in a dark and bloodied past, a mirror and creation of the butcher, a cold-blooded killer. neil is an identity forged in fire (for lack of a better term) by the reckless choices he made and shaped by hands that loved him and fought for him as fiercely as he fought for them. neither of them can be fully absolved of trauma and bloodshed and anguish.

abram is a different story. abram is rooted in neil's youth, but not the fearful, abusive baltimore house, but the freedom of being on the court. abram was a creation of his mother's love (no matter how heavy-handed it became later on), and is deeply entrenched in probably the only happy childhood memories neil has and definitely the only happy times he ever experienced with his mother (his father basically entirely out of the picture). abram, unlike neil and nathaniel, is entirely untouched by the butcher's cleaver, r*ko's vicious games and mary hatford's closed fist. abram, neil implies, is someone who can be truly trusted. someone who neither has murderous nor runaway tendencies. someone who keeps his promises and doesn't flinch in the face of violence, but keeps his hands and trail clean.

abram, out of all of neil's many identities, is the only one that is both real and clean. real, because when neil was young and played exy and got to feel happy and (sort of) free for the first time, he was always abram, not nathaniel. real, because he considers "abram" to be his true self. when "neil josten" couldn't be trusted and "nathaniel wesninski" was too risky, "abram" was the name he gave to andrew. clean, because mary said "abram" to protect a young nathaniel from his father's dirty work. clean, because "abram" was what mary called him during the only times she ever smiled, before those violent fearful years on the run, before she showed her love through shades of black and blue. clean, because abram remains untouched by the violence of his childhood, because abram was only ever used during those sparse, happy times in his life, and before that it was steely-eyed, auburn-haired nathaniel and after that there was no more "abram" just alex, stefan, chris and twenty-something other names that meant nothing, and then neil josten.

andrew himself reinforces this when he says "truth is irrefutable and untainted by bias. sunrise, abram, death. these are truths." duh, this is saying, abram is a truth. the truth. abram is someone, an identity, a person, a promise that is irrefutable, untainted, unbiased. abram is like the sunrise, like death, certain and sure and undeniable.

obv another notable point is that neil's final, real name by the end of the series is neil abram josten. interesting, because abram isn't really mentioned much at all throughout the series, but is significant enough to literally become part of neil's name. like yes, neil did mention that abram was his middle name, but he also says "i don't want to be nathaniel" and "abram" was a part of nathaniel and his name. that neil thought to transfer and keep "abram" as a part of his final, real name, is significant. abram remains a part of him, even as he lets go of the past and "nathaniel" (i.e. his father, the murder and the blood and the years on the run) but holds onto "abram" (happiness, his mother's love before it became ugly, freedom, exy). it would make sense that he makes abram a part of his true name when he considers abram to be his truest self.

the way i'd yap about this man for days. GOD HE'S SO COMPLEX. anyway go read my nathaniel vs neil essay !!!

[otdiaftg]

The Raven King - Chapter Thirteen

Day: Monday, November 13th Time: 10:20 AM EST

"Trust you." Andrew enunciated each word like he'd never heard them before. He laughed curled his fingers tight around Neil's chin. "You lie, and lie, and lie, and you think I'll trust you with his life?" "Then don't trust 'Neil'," Neil said. "Trust me." "Oh, but who are you? Do you have a name?" "If you need one, call me Abram." "Should I believe that?" "I'm named after my father," Neil said. "Abram is my middle name; it's the name my mother used when she was trying to protect me from his work." It was the name he went by at his little league practices so the coach would actually let him play. It was strange hearing it aloud when no one had called Neil "Abram" in eight years. "Ask Kevin if you don't believe me. He would know." "Maybe I will." Neil waited, but Andrew didn't let go. With so many people watching them Neil couldn't lift his shirt. He did the next best thing and dragged one of Andrew's hands under the hem. He pressed Andrew's palm to the ugly scarring across his abdomen. Andrew's eyes dropped to Neil's shirt like he could see Neil's marred skin through the dark cotton. "Do you understand?" Neil asked. "Nothing Riko does will make me leave him. We will both be here when you get back." Andrew's fingers twitched against Neil's skin. "Someone lied to me. These ouches feel a little rough for a child on the run." "The story I gave you was mostly true," Neil said. "I might have left out some critical details, but I know you're not really surprised by that. If we survive this year and you're still interested, you can ask me for them later. I think it's your turn in our secrets game, anyways."

Art used with permission by rainbowd00dles. Thank you @rainbowd00dles.

[carbon-dated-gal]

My personal HCs of Jeaneil bestfriendism

Tws: mentions of human trafficking, sh, injuries, parent death (Mary).

(Also set in Raven!Neil AU)

•Nathaniel willingly participates in human trafficking after Mary's death, b'cuz fuck you. Living without any real destination had killed Mary's humanity and identity and he's not going to end up like her.

•Belonging to someone, meant having their brand on your back (literally) and that was going to be his saving.

•But for better for worse, ichirou was the one to pay millions of dollars for someone something like him

•ofc, this meant Nathan couldn't touch him but it also meant he would end up in the exact same place that his mum had died for

•but that was when she doubted his capabilities in exy but now that variable was taken out, no?

•By the time abram arrives at Evermore, Jean already had been living there for an year

•anyway, jean and Nathaniel meet when they were both 15 yrs old. And due them both being in hard rebellious phase, they take swings and jabs at each other cuz well...

•they were about the only ones who saw each other as equal instead being something either above or below them

•he Goes by his middle name w both Jean and kev

•Jean picks out all the bell peppers from his meal and Neil sneaks them onto Kev's plate who begrudgingly eats them

•Codependency, man. So much codependency. You'll never see one w/o the other

•sometimes when Nathaniel/abram (ur pick) sneaks them out, it starts raining and jean immediately hates it. But his partner catches a couple droplets into his hand and he flicks them onto jean, smiling like he had no demons waiting for him back home

•and jean thinks the rain might not be so bad.

•post-game interview and reporters are onto jean asking him one intrusive question after and jean just glares at them. Flat eyes and all.

•'Ram jumps in, and asks the reporter why their mum doesn't love them and maybe that's the reason they turned out like this in life— Kev pulls him away by his collar, apologising to the reporter

•they get into trouble for that ofc

•when Kevin begs jean to help him after riko breaks his hand, abram tries to stop him. He knows they'll have to pay the price but the look jean gives him is absolutely heartbreaking, "it's Kevin, abram. We have to help him."

•Nathaniel doesn't help. But hours later, when riko asks about Kev's whereabouts, he steals himself and refuses to answer.

•stitching each other while trying to make the other one keep their head down. With, Nathaniel's presence in the nest, jean finds keeping his opinion to himself... A bit harder than in canon.

•"why the actual fuck is that man wearing fucking jorts here?"

"I dunno, jean. They look kinda cool"

"I'm sorry, cool?"

•abram: "yk, that one time when you took a step towards the right with riko, you'd have reached him faster if you skipped on ahead to him—"

Jean, dead tired and barely even listening: "jfc, it's 2.30 in the morning go tf to sleep."

•abram was the one to snatch away the blades from jean. He hides them and cradles Jean's face in his hands, avoiding the bruises. That was the first time Nathaniel had seen a man that vulnerable and comfortable around him

•after kev leaves, Nathaniel tries to take over his job by swallowing the vegetables from Jean's plate. He promptly spat out that piece of broccoli.

I have more ofc, but I feel this post is becoming a bit too long so.

[andreilscat]

Andrew and Neil would watch horror movies just to make fun of literally everything and everyone.

Andrew is leaning back on the sofa with ice cream in his hand, and both cats fast asleep by his side.

Neil makes himself comfortable on the floor, between Andrew's legs, slightly leaning on one of them.

Neil, turning every five minutes to look at Andrew: "It's like she is tripping on purpose! Is she trying to get herself killed or what?"

Andrew, between the mouthfuls of ice cream: "That doll is so fucking ugly anyways, why would anyone buy it in the first place?"

Neil, grinning like a crazy person: "I mean, maybe it reminded her of that ugly husband of hers."

Andrew chokes out a laugh at that because yeah, he can see it.

Neil: "If I heard someone whispering my name from the attic in the middle of the night I'd be moving cities."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Abram."

At some point Neil falls asleep and Andrew carries him to the bed.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Hi Aerie! I hope this week doesn’t suck so bad.

Can I have some Mer Roadtrip or Demon Neil please?

@aftgphoenix

WIP Wednesday (11/13) | Mer Roadtrip AU (Part 92)

"Neil Josten," Neil says softly, turning it over in his mind and seeing how it feels on his tongue. It seems like it would be a decent name. Just random enough to be random, to belong to anyone. If Josten actually is a last name...

"Have we got a winner?"

"I think so." Neil nods, then pulls out his notepad to scribble it down. He practices writing it a couple times, then signing it.

"A-ha!" Andrew snaps his fingers suddenly. "Now I remember where I've heard it. 'Jostens' is a brand that makes school stuff. Uh, yearbooks, class rings, all that junk. They made them at my school anyway."

"So it's a name?"

"Most likely." Andrew pulls out his phone and thumbs a few keys before squinting at the screen. "Yeah, a name."

"I thought we didn't have... internet service." Neil says, gesturing to Andrew's hand.

"We don't. The hotel has wi-fi. I'm shocked this thing can connect to it, but alas we live in truly incredible times." Andrew shoves a heavily laden plate toward him. "Neil Abram Josten, are you going to eat breakfast or not?"

"Yeah, yeah." Neil moves to grab his plate and hops up onto the desk to eat. Josten. Neil smiles. He thinks he likes that.

"You think I should keep Abram in the middle?" He asks as he picks up the unholy sandwich Andrew made him. It's a horrible mishmash, a leaning tower of breakfast. But Neil will eat anything.

"It's yours, why wouldn't you keep it." Andrew says, giving him a look. Neil supposes he has a point. He takes a bite of his breakfast sandwich and is surprised.

"Hey, not bad."

"Yes, I'm a genius," Andrew says with a big, pointy-toothed grin. "Too bad there was no syrup. That would've been great."

Neil hums an agreement and the two of them eat breakfast together before packing up all their things and watching TV until it's nearly time to check out. Neil returns the key and when he meets Andrew at the car, the other boy has procured another half dozen muffins and a paper plate piled with chocolate chip cookies.

"Where did you..."

"The dining room," Andrew answers from the passenger seat. "They left it unguarded. Not my fault. They should get better security in there." He crams an entire cookie into his mouth and grimaces before opening his door to spit it on onto the blacktop. "Oatmeal raisin. Disgusting."

"That's what you get for stealing."

"Karma isn't real, Neil. Neither is the tooth fairy, in case you're wondering." Andrew picks up another cookie and gives it a long look. Neil starts the car.

"If you get another bad cookie you have to eat it, can't be flinging the door open on the highway."

"Watch me." Andrew says. Neil presses a button on the door panel to lock all the doors. After giving him an incredulous look, Andrew finds the same button on his door and unlocks them again. "Stalemate."

"Andrew—"

[dickwad5000]

tabling the andreil i love you debate to address something more important. hc that andrew doesn't use petnames but he does the first-middle name thing. like: "yes or no, neil abram" and "neil abram, are you willing and able to take my totinos out of the oven?" and "for the last fucking time, neil abram, the exy armor does NOT stay on during sex"

[jtl-fics]

I am once again asking for Math Nerd AU (andreil being in love and confusing the other foxes maybe?)

WIP Wednesday (7/12/23) | Math Nerd AU

Andrew looks at Nathaniel. Andrew looks at Alex. Andrew looks at Neil. Andrew looks at -

"Abram." Andrew returns and can feel the confusion from the Foxes around him but his eyes remain on Neil, on his Abram. He has none of the hesitation his younger self had.

"Andrew, maybe we need to get your head checked again-" Nicky says worriedly.

"Andrew?" Neil asks and there's something in Neil's eyes.

Neil hadn't used Abram as his middle name this time.

It was a name only Andrew would know.

[iridescent-peasant]

I'm gonna vaguepost about a fanfic I read bc I'm jewish and pissed. genderbend of Neil that turned "Abram" to (for some fucking reason) "abra" ???

Let's take a moment for some bible study: the father of the jewish people ye old Abraham's (אברהם) original name is actually Abram (אברם). only after he finished completing the will of g-d did the hebrew letter ה (h) (which is the letter of g-d bc its in g-d's name) get added to his name (and that of his wife!!) to make his closer to g-d.

Neil's middle name, the name his mother used for him when hiding or on the run, being Abram has a fascinating (and probably unintentional) jewish connotation. He's still on his journey, not yet reached his end of settling down peacefully!

SO if you're genderbending/trans-ing him, it would only make sense to change "Abram" to "Sarai", the name abraham's wife Sarah had before she and was also given the "h".

[eponinemylove]

NEIL JOSTEN IS JEWISH!! You can’t change my mind

[jeanvaljeancheri]

Fic recs with Neil protecting/being there for Andrew cause that boy deserves it!

Identity Theft

The Foxes make a bet: will Neil really be able to tell Aaron and Andrew apart if Aaron is deliberately impersonating his twin?

Or,

Aaron Minyard's adventures in identity theft.

One day we'll reveal the truth

“Is there a reason you don’t like Neil?” Bee asks him then and Aaron doesn’t understand how the fuck they got onto this when she’s supposed to be fixing him and Andrew.

“I don’t trust him,” he says eventually. “All he’s done since he’s got here is cause trouble.”

“Well, a lot of that was out of Neil’s control,” Betsy reminds him evenly.

“That doesn’t suddenly make him a good person.”

“Watch him then.”

Aaron startles so much at Andrew’s voice he twists in his chair to stare at him. Andrew hasn’t addressed him directly all day but he’s looking at Aaron now.

“You think he’s using me or trying to fuck me over or whatever’s going on in your head- watch him. Watch us for the next week. Stop averting your gaze and pretending it doesn’t exist and then I might listen to what you have to say.”

They Shouldn’t Have Done That [A Minyard-Josten Rivalry Fic]

When two strikers try to attack Andrew, Neil gets mad. They shouldn’t have done that.

No, This is a Misunderstanding

The monsters run into Luther at Aaron's Trial. Luther has things to say. But Neil does too.

Lifeline

"What is your name." He wouldn't care usually, but the way this kid had avoided it last time he asked, he was curious.

"I've had six so far." He answers slowly, weighing each word. "Which one do you want?"

Six names? Yep, there is something going on there.

"The real one. The one that fits you best."

"Not my birth name then?" He sounds almost hopeful?

Andrew waits until he sorts through his thoughts. He has another hour before he has to go back.

"Abram." He decides after a long pause. "It's my middle name. The only one that doesn't have to change because it can just as easily be left out."

I like this one a lot!

It's basically canon except Neil and Andrew have met before and so when Neil gets recruited by Wymack they already trust each other.

Or, what could've happened if Andrew had someone who cared for and protected him for once

Odd Eye

Andrew spends most of his childhood thinking he is a psychopath. He is not. Andrew is, and always will be, just Andrew.

There's something about this fic that is just <3 I love the friendship between Andrew, Neil and Kevin (aka neurodivergent gang) in this fic!

***TW: Andrew goes through a bad depressive episode in this one, child abuse, self harm, child sexual abuse, and talk of/reference of past rape

[aftgficrec]

do you have any fics where neil is like kinda mean to the foxes or like stands up to them? i want fics where they realize that he’s not very innocent. or just any fics where he’s in character? i hate ones where he acts like a baby. thank you so much for all the work you do!! <3

We had a merry discussion about what is “in character” for Neil, and you might be surprised at the different aspects that we listed. That aside, I think you’ll enjoy many fics in our previous asks, particularly ‘Neil says it's fine I've had worse’ at the top. You’ll also find dark!, bamf!, and butcher!Neil there, plus him standing up to the Foxes about his sexuality or their treatment/dismissal of Andrew. - A

please see:

Neil says it's fine i've had worse here

Foxes find out Neil's not soft here

Neil hurts/kills in front of foxes here

new BAMF! or Raven!Neil here

dark!Neil & Andrew here

bad boy Neil here

Neil Josten: Moriyama spy here

protective Neil here

Neil with DID here

Neil fights with Jack here

confrontations about demisexuality/Andrew's soullessness here

The air gets thin on top of the mountain by maeusetod [Not Rated, 2351 Words, Complete, 2015]

For someone as oblivious as him he wondered how he had survived all those years.

just another language we speak by Yuu_chi [Rated T, 1455 Words, Complete, 2016]

They're never going to be the sort of couple that other people want them to be.

you hold me ransom every time by shamiram [Rated T, 2203 Words, Complete, 2016]

Kevin and Neil fight; it really shouldn't be Andrew's problem.

tw: anxiety, tw: referenced gun violence

escape artist by ArsenicInYourPudding [Rated T, 3612 Words, Complete, 2016]

Really, Neil's going to miss that pair of running shoes the most.

tw: implied/referenced violence, tw: blood

His Father's Eyes by maeusetod [Not Rated, 3012 Words, Complete, 2016]

Sometimes Neil had thought about, when and under which circumstances he would hear the name Nathaniel again, but he had not expected it to happen like this.

Shrike by Leteel6 [Rated E, 13870 Words, Complete, 2021]

Time’s up, Junior.

Indeed. Indeed it was. For who though, Nathaniel was unsure. All he knew for certain that the blood on the wall was still wet, not yet tacky which meant that he wasn't too far behind his fathers trail. He would catch up to him, this he knew with single-minded determination and it would either end in his death or his fathers. Maybe both. One way or another though, he would finish this.

Or, Neil never ends up going back to Baltimore. Instead, his father comes to Palmetto.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: dissociation, tw: knife violence, tw: blood/gore, tw: referenced animal torture, tw: murder, tw: canonical character death, tw: gun violence

Lifeline by pandaseek [Rated T, 231608 words, incomplete, last updated Oct 2021]

"What is your name." He wouldn't care usually, but the way this kid had avoided it last time he asked, he was curious.

"I've had six so far." He answers slowly, weighing each word. "Which one do you want?"

Six names? Yep, there is something going on there.

"The real one. The one that fits you best."

"Not my birth name then?" He sounds almost hopeful?

Andrew waits until he sorts through his thoughts. He has another hour before he has to go back.

"Abram." He decides after a long pause. "It's my middle name. The only one that doesn't have to change because it can just as easily be left out."

tw: implied/referenced rape/non-con, tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: implied/referenced child abuse

NB: fanart for this fic by Super_Yellow on AO3 here

Art

Simply hyperfixating on murder lacrosse art by @cowboymoonking

How’s that target on your back feel? art by @kiiakostet

it’s been a hot sec art by @broresteia

I drew Neil again art by @freshsunberries

[knox-knocks]

i wish u would write a fic where neil and andrew knew each other in the past by some magical means (dream walking or telepathy or something) not thinking they'd ever meet in real life and then uh oh they do

yesss i love these kind of fics. thank you for the prompt, anon!

~

Doe? Are you there?

I'm here, Abram.

Neil squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a shaky breath when he heard the tiny whisper in the back of his head answer his call. Doe didn't always respond when Neil reached out, but he was always there when Neil needed him. And right now Neil really needed him.

I think I'm making a big mistake.

Are you safe?

I'm never safe.

The first time Neil realized he heard a voice in his head that didn't belong to him, he was bleeding out from a bullet wound in his shoulder. It had just grazed the edge of his Kevlar vest, but Neil's vision still swam in and out as his blood stained the seats of a 1997 Ford Escort while his mother pushed 100 to get the hell out of dodge. Neil hadn't meant to call out, but the response he heard was the only thing that helped him cling to consciousness. After that, he heard the voice more often.

It took a long time for Neil to acknowledge that the voice was real and he had a strange connection to a boy named Doe. Neil didn't know much about Doe except that he was a year older, he lived in California, and he was an orphan. Neil used to wish he was an orphan, but sometimes Doe sounded so unhappy, so broken, that Neil took it all back.

Four years since that moment, and Doe became the person Neil relied on most. He never told him his real name, or where he was, or why he was running, but he shared his middle name. The name that was sacred and the one his mother only used when she thought he was asleep or dying. And when his mother was gone in a plume of dark smoke and black sand, Doe was there to help pick up the pieces.

Neil pressed his hand to his chest and forced air into his lungs while Doe quietly counted out breaths. His ribs still hurt from the racquet Andrew Minyard slammed into his stomach, and the scratch of his pen over paper as he signed his name on the line still reverberated in his ears, but it wasn't enough to drown out Doe's voice.

Everything was changing and Neil was terrified and exhilarated all at once. He wished Doe was more than a presence in the back of his mind. He needed him now more than ever before. But for now, Neil simply breathed.

I'm here, Abram.