#and andrew lets renee drive

[bisexualchaosdemon]

The Foxhole Court, ch.10

Quick question: If neither Aaron nor Kevin are allowed to drive Andrew's car, how tf did they get to Reddin?

[dvrcos]

Andrew Minyard mic’d up if aftg took place today and the Foxes did social media promo

Andrew absolutely refuses to be mic’d up for a long time

When he finally agrees to do it it’s during a game against the Jackals

Everyone is sure it’ll be a bust and they won’t get much of Andrew actually talking

But to everyone’s surprise, Andrew turns his inner monologue outwards and doesn’t shut up

He commentates the game from his perspective

‘And there’s the son of Exy Kevin Day running the ball up- and oh yeah no he’s down for the count’ *huffs a laugh through his nose*

‘The other fuckers have the ball now, if my brother dearest let’s them get it to my goal I’ll kill him’

And when the opposing teams striker trips Aaron up and gets past to Andrews goal he shuts them out of course

‘He’s dead. Find a new backliner coach’

When he gets bored of the game and the backliners are keeping the ball away from his goal he starts to sing

He does a full rendition of “Life is a Highway” because Neil and him watched Cars on the bus ride to the game

And he gets into it

He makes the guitar noises with his mouth and everything

He even sings it in the best low, country voice he can do

He interrupts himself in the middle of the song suddenly, feeling the need to give his full synopsis and review of Cars

‘If I was the stupid fucking car and I fell out of my sentient truck/trailers ass I would keep driving in the same fucking direction. Simple’

‘Josten would do the same thing as Lightning McQueen. He would fuck up an entire town, he’s already done it once actually, when he came here.’

‘Stupid junkie, I hate him’ he adds but there’s a fondness in his voice

‘How do the cars reproduce? Are there humans in this universe that build cars and then make them sentient? Do the cars bang?’

Halfway through his rant one of the strikers gets past Matt and Aaron and he doesn’t even stop talking when he smacks the ball halfway across the court

When the other teams strikers start breaking through the backliners more frequently Andrew doesn’t even seem to care

He just swats every attempted goal away, squawking a quite ‘mine’ like the seagulls from Finding Nemo after hitting each one

Mine *smacks* mine *swats* mine *swish*

He keeps his goal almost completely shut down the entire game, spare a few times when the other team can get the ball past him because he’s not paying attention

‘I wonder what coach is buying us for dinner after this. I hope it's good since we’re’ *his goal lights up red* ‘Oops, anyhow it better be good, I’m working my ass off out here,’

‘What if we all started moving in slow motion. Josten and Day would look stupid running up the court like that,’ *a ball flies past his helmet* ‘If we were in slowmo I would’ve stopped that’

He plays the entire game (Renee's out with an injury) and he shuffles through doing all this the entire game

He sings verses of whatever song pops into his head

He reviews the movies he’s watched recently

He commentates the game in his dry manner, listing off every stat he knows about the other team and then explains why they still suck

He makes fun of his Foxes and the other team

He talks about his random hypotheticals

All while keeping the goal almost perfectly defended against the other teams strikers

When the game ends and the Foxes are loaded back up on the bus they listen back to the recording of Andrews mic

And they’re shocked that he doesn’t stop talking once the entire game

They listen to his entire recording on the ride back to campus

All of the Foxes are laughing the entire time

Even Neil is smiling (even though he’s used to this version of Andrew that is weird and likes to ramble)

When they post his mic’d up highlights to their social media it goes viral

It’s their most viewed and liked mic’d up video

Their fans are begging for more of Andrew mic’d up but he refuses to do it again

He got the enjoyment out of doing it once and doesn’t feel a need to do it again

The foxes do start to pay a little more attention to what Andrew’s saying while in goal (and all the time)

Aaron Mic’d up

[staticvn]

the foxes : random headcanons (because i need to let it all out somewhere)

• Renee & Matt are both huge fans of atla and the pjo series. Dan likes it as well but not as much as they do. They also tried to convince Allison to watch it with them and despite saying it’s “not her thing” she really likes it.

• Renee keeps her own garden. Mostly plants and flowers though. She tries for some veggies as well but they never grow right

• At some point, Andrew would stop smoking completely. The withdrawals are crazy and he’s cranky as hell through the whole thing but yeah.

• Renee would definitely love visiting churches and cathedrals in different countries. Not only cuz she’s religious but also because she loves the architecture and art a lot.

• also also Renee would keep the coolest looking patterned stuff. Fox shaped & cat paw carved ceramic mugs, knitted sweaters with a lot of patchworks and so on.

• Renee taught Neil ASL. For no particular reason just that it’s a good thing to know. After that she also tried teaching some of the other foxes but mostly just the basics.

• Kind of surprise to everyone, Aaron would be really good at chess. Neil and Matt on the other hand… very much not. He sometimes has chess matches with Kevin but Kev always loses which genuinely drives him mad.

• Aaron knows latin- not just the medical terms that med students have to know but like the language. So you bet that whenever someone gets him angry he starts to yap at them in latin just to make a point of some sort.

• Andrew would like those old/retro gameboys

• Andrew always beats everyone in mario kart with Nicky often being either close second or complete last - no in between.

• Nicky is the #1 pancake maker. He was kind of awful at it at first but after many many tries he perfected it for the twins

• Kev is also the #1 cook in healthy but completely flavourless prison-looking meals (though it is not his fault. i blame the nest.)

• if the foxes would ever have escape room night best believe Neil would be the first to figure it out and in record time as well.

• Kevin is a mosquito magnet and won’t stop complaining about it…like ever. (had to google synonym for bitching btw)

• to fight off the “eboy Andrew” allegations im fighting back with “absolute loser Andrew” where he wears too big sweaters, reading glasses, has crooked teeth, and searches through different cryptid or internet mysteries- related sites for too long (…projecting but still)

• Neil hates coffee. his favorite tea is peppermint or earl grey.

• the monsters watch cartoons in the morning if they don’t have classes i said what i said

• Neil definitely got into photography (or sketching or both) at some point. there is just something so symbolic about that i just can’t wire up my brain rn to figure out why.

• Kevin listens to podcasts instead of music while working out because he is simply that type. sigh

ok im done

[tcoaal]

EDIT: i made a few small edits since i posted this

hi i might be beating a dead horse but this rant has been building up since seeing the first comments on reddit. spoilers under the readmore + i didn't want to eat your entire dash

you're all free to like or dislike or love or hate The Coffin of Andrew and Renee mod all you want but something that's been driving me absolutely bonkers in criticism of it is people saying Renee was wholesome or loving in it. i have a lot of mean words about it actually but i want to keep it civil and just say: you are absolutely completely incorrect in every capacity.

the key difference between canon gravecest and Andrew's and Renee's relationship in this mod is Renee's abuse is completely different than Ashley's. the mod is quite arguably a LOT more fucked up than the source material when you pay attention to it!

(and also one of the mcs is a milf yada yada)

this mod at the end of the day is a fanfic. it's an AU fanfic you get to play. it's a really well written fanfic! not the same as the original, and there's definitely parts that are weaker (the first half of the 303 lady scene after the summoning was really weak before it became my favorite part of the mod) but it does a decent job at exploring this story with a major plot of divergence years before the canon start of the game and how that's affecting Andrew.

Andrew is considerably more submissive when things get rough around Renee than he is with Ashley. the thing about gravecest is that it's codependent. Ashley doesn't really force or make Andrew do anything: Andrew desperately wants to blame his problems on Ashley but deep down he's just as, if not even more fucked up than Ashley actually is. this is something we could debate and discuss for hours but: this dynamic is lost with Renee, and for good reasons.

Renee was the one that forced Andrew to be the one who raised his sister. and then Renee forcibly separated them and told him if he ever had problems come to her.

Andrew is dependent on Renee in a way Renee clearly is not in the mod.

Renee's life has kinda gone to shit. getting Ashley locked up didn't magically solve her problems: her life is actually worse than in canon. her doormat husband finally found the balls to leave her, Andrew clearly resents her deep down, she's locked in an apartment and her tie to Andrew is literally the only thing she has left. and boy is Andrew infinitely worse off for that! Renee actively controls every aspect of Andrew's life one way or another, and while I dislike the first half of the Room 302 scene the ending shows that contrast.

Andrew basically mentally shuts down whenever Renee gets serious about weaponizing his dependency. Renee is somebody who forced him to raise his sister, then forcibly ripped that person from her to make herself the one he's dependent on.

this scene was really fucking haunting to watch because she actively weaponizes using what she did. she was the one responsible for letting shit get so messed up when he was a kid. and then he uses it to hurt him: and then continues to weaponize the fact she "saved" him to make him back down.

"And... maybe I said some things that weren't called for myself."

^ the exact line that sold this characterization of Renee to me. this is immediately after her exploiting his trauma, trauma she is very much directly responsible for. this isn't a happy scene. this isn't a wholesome scene. look how tired Andrew looks compared to his mother.

even when she's blatantly, clearly in the wrong she won't admit responsibility. it was Andrew's fault for acting like a child. it's his fault for lashing out when his trauma is exploited by Renee and she has to further manipulate and abuse the trust she forcibly installed into him to make him back down. but maybe she said a few bad things too. she didn't mean it though. Andrew should know better though.

anyone with half a brain can tell this is horrifically fucked up and a very different kind of control and confrontation Ashley uses: Ashley just likes to get in his face and initiate a verbal argument regarding Andrew's hypocrisy more other than not and then said arguments run their natural course. Renee repeatedly uses textbook abuse and gaslighting tactics to force the person dependent on her to back down. Anderw is not naturally "a dutiful son," as the mod describes him, Renee made him become that and regularly abuses that fact.

Renee is a lot more gungho about being a cannibal and is extremely attached to a story about a monster that eats everything that threatens her child because Renee has lost everything else of value in her life and is forcing Andrew to be close to her, constantly picking needless fights at the idea of her own son leaving her side and leaving her alone, and emphasizing that he owes it to her to stay by her side and actively controls him to ensure he doesn't leave.

like, you can feel however you want. i've seen some people hate it. i've actually seen some people who like it more than the actual game itself. i certainly have a few criticisms of it, mostly tied to its format inherently, but i'll defend it unless chapter 2 drops the ball.

but every time i see someone comment "Renee is really wholesome and loving in this mod and that's really OOC for her," or when the criticisms mostly boil down to the art style i think i die inside a bit and i cannot take that person's complaints regarding this mod seriously in any capacity. anyways thanks for listening to my insane rant if you read this far manifesting chapter 3 soon my crops are dying

[minyards-pipedream]

JerDrew Friendship

They start talking when Jean joins the Trojans. Jeremy isn’t fully prepared for what they’re dealing with when it comes to Jean’s trauma and he splits his questions between Andrew and Renee.

Andrew actually gives good answers from time to time. It’s not that he cares about Jeremy or Jean in particular, he just has intimate knowledge of how to deal with how the Nest fucks people up after both Kevin and Neil.

But then Jeremy starts messaging him about other things. Even as simple as, “hey, haven’t heard from you in a few days. Just wanted to say hi!”. Andrew rarely dignifies those with a response.

When it’s an emotional emergency, Jeremy usually calls Renee. She tends to comfort him more than Andrew does but one time he finds himself utterly distraught and she isn’t answering so he calls Andrew. He can hear Andrew’s friends in the background (Jer would never call them “the monsters”) but it gets quiet once Andrew realizes that Jeremy is utterly freaking out. Ravens have been killing themselves left and right, and Jeremy is worried it might force Jean over the edge. Andrew’s already had this conversation before, talking down Kevin from driving all the way to California to check on Jean.

“Have you ever known him to disappoint you?” “No, but-” “Then give him some fucking credit here.”

Andrew doesn’t hang up first though, letting Jeremy get through everything he needs to.

Slowly it starts to feel like they’re in this together, even if they’re not truly friends at first. Even though Andrew hates the idea of actually making friends - he only has interest in family and at first, Jeremy is certainly not that.

But saving Ravens pulls them together, knits their mismatched souls in to some sort of shitty quilt.

Andrew starts answering the, “just saying hi” texts.

Jeremy stops having to send them so often, because Andrew has taken to sending him unflattering pictures of Kevin every few days. (Both to get back at Kevin for being a bitch and because he knows they make Jeremy laugh.)

[silksufjan]

songs from The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We as aftg characters

Bug Like An Angel: Wymack (‘did you go and make promises you can’t keep/well when you break them they break you right back’)

Buffalo Replaced: Renee (‘i have a hope and though she’s blind with no name/she shits where she’s supposed to, feeds herself while i’m away’)

Heaven: Nicky (‘as i sip on the rest of the coffee you left/a kiss left of you/heaven’)

I Don’t Like My Mind: Aaron (‘i don’t like my mind, i don’t like being left alone in a room/with all its opinions about the things that i’ve done’)

The Deal: Andrew (‘there's a deal you can make on a midnight walk alone/look around, listen close, hear it fall from above/it will ask what you'd give and what you'd take for it in return’)

When Memories Snow: Matt (‘when memories snow/and cover up the driveway/i shovel all those memories/clear the path to drive to the store’)

My Love Mine All Mine: Neil (‘nothing in this world belongs to me but my love, mine all mine/my baby here on earth, showed me what my heart is worth’)

The Frost: Jean (‘you’re my best friend/now i have no one to tell/how i lost my best friend’)

Star: Allison (‘i’m yours no matter/that love’s gone/we just see it shining/we’ve traveled very far/i’ll keep a leftover light burning)

I’m Your Man: Kevin (‘people always gave me love/others were never to blame after all’)

I Love Me After You: Dan (‘stride through the house naked/don’t care that the curtains are open/let the darkness see me… i’m king of all the land’)

[deeppenguinstudent]

Toxic kevjean that just keeps coming back to eaxhother everytime like the bitter exes they are.

One day, Kevin gets shit faced drunk like blackout he can't remember anything. When he comes to, he's at a random train station. He fishes out his phone, but it's dead. He uses the last cents he has left and dials Jean's number bc that is the only number not saved on his phone, the only number Kevin ever yearns to call.

Jean picks up, obviously disgruntled, but he hears Kevin's slurred voice at the end. He's worried obviously so he takes his motorcycle and rushes over to Kevin, it's a 2 hour drive from the location he's at but when he sees Kevin unable to stand up, he sighs and takes him on his bike. He rings the house door bell of Andrew and Neil's house at like 3AM. Andrew answers, gives him a once over, and then takes Kevin inside. He has to pry him from Jean's hands because he just doesn't want to let go.

This happens again. Of course, it does. Time and time again, Jean rescues Kevin from potential death because of his stupid decisions. But one day, someone else picks up the line - Jeremy. He knows Jeremy, Jeremy was the one Renee had told Kevin to play nice when he saw Jean and Jeremy dancing together at the university gala. He cuts the call immediately and drinks even more.

By the time he comes to, Jean is beneath him, his arms around Kevin like back then, and Kevin feels this is a dream. A dream he wished so hard to be a reality. But as he feels the eventual ache in his head and Jean's stinging slap from last night, he realises that it is actually real.

They talk it out, and eventually, finally, after 2 years of bad blood, they hold each other for the lost time they wasted.

Kevin breaking things off with Jean and then being the one unable to move on just holds a special place in my heart♡♡

[coff-in]

COFF-IN ITS ME AGAIN DEVIOUS ANON IS JUMPING BACK INTO THE GRAVE :D I missed you and I come offering new food (mostly bc I thirst for Andrew lord help me)

Childhood friend reader who is basically a third sibling (maybe even the oldest) to the Graves siblings! She's a literal girl-next-door, about 2 when Andrew was born, and due to being in the same neighborhood/Reader and her parents being relatively sociable, Andrew and reader were kinda mashed together from a young age and just told to play. Maybe Mrs. Graves dumped Andrew off at reader's house often bc she didn't want to handle him and hey, since he gets along so well with the neighbor's daughter, may as well use them like free babysitters. Reader is super sweet to Andy from early on and takes care of him like an older sister would. When Ashley joins the team, even better! It's not just his baby sister, it's *their* baby sister. Reader ends up being their closest and basically only friend through childhood and middle school and just about calls Andrew/Ashley her siblings-in-honor. Hell, her parents are probably more parental to Andrew/Ashley than their actual parents. I just think this is fun because I think this is a dynamic where I can potentially see Andrew floundering about in the friendzone/siblingzone because reader kinda considers him her brother and not a dating option but he wants to date her and seeing her find other guys drives him up the wall. Man probably casually walks reader around school to class and keeps his fingers in her belt loops and glares at any guy within a 20 ft radius when reader isn't looking. This is also one dynamic where I can potentially see Ashley *encouraging* Andrew to date a girl, because she wants them to be reader's priority just like in childhood and that won't work out if she gets a man, so if Andrew can snag her, she'll never leave them. This can be fluffy, but I can also see this going darker if Andrew and Ashley after escaping quarantine kind of show up at the reader's door and she's so happy to see them until she realizes that her childhood friends kinda...yk, are cannibals and murderers and will be going after their parents soon (assuming they didn't tell her about Nina). It's a reasonable reaction, but also they're like "...so you still love us, right?" and if reader hesitates even a second, she's kinda taken hostage in her own house. They wouldn't hurt her, they just...well, she looked like she was thinking about leaving, you know? The dynamic skews so toxic because they would absolutely guilt-trip the hell out of her and tell her that she's their last hope of continuing on and is she really going to condemn her siblings-in-honor/maybe boyfriend and sister-in-law to death?

notes from coff-in: DEVIOUS ANON I MISSED YOU!!! i hope you've been doing well and good :3 i'm so happy and honored that you missed me (i'm honored whenever anyone here gives me praise tbh). i also understand your need for andrew, haha! i'll let you in on a thought of mine: i've been thinking of a (relatively) normal younger sister/twin sister that seems to look up to ashley than andrew because ashley's a girl like [reader], so she's able to help her with girl issues like periods, bra/underwear shopping, soothing her mommy issues, etc and andrew is a bit jealous that baby sis likes or hangs out with ashley more than him but he's also embarrassed about this jealousy because he knows (subconsciously or consciously) that it stems from a want to be the person baby sis relies on more... but that's just an idea for later :3 welcome back to the coffin, devious anon, we're happy to have you here!

[fem] reader-insert, pseudo-incest

teehee :3 andrew's in love :3 he loves [reader] :3 he loves you :3 andrew loves you sooo much :3 he wants to kiss you so badly :3 andrew thinks about you every time he jerks his di--

sorry i had to get that out of me... know that renee graves (or should i keep calling her mrs graves??) would take the chance to dump andy onto [reader]'s family. she would STILL have the AUDACITY to say "oh raising you was so easy, i thought i could handle another one..." knowing damn well that it was a DIFFERENT FAMILY raising andrew. to be "fair", renee is 15 years old when she had andrew, she's bound to make dipshit decisions and take them for granted (like how tf do you ask your "disappointment" son for money then call him a freeloader, like what???)

i think being raised by [reader]'s family would highlight the abuse andrew and ashley face even more to them. also having [reader]'s family raise andy as one of their own children next to [reader] just barely manages to fulfill that taboo aspect of their relationship, you know? it's wonderful! like yeah, they're from two different families but andy sometimes slips and and refers to [reader] as his big sis (ashley does it on purpose) and when they take care of leyley, andy can't help but to think how leyley is their baby sister and they're like... mommy and daddy, you know?

i honestly can't really add more to this, the meal you cooked. THE MEAL YOU HAVE BLESSED US WITH, DEVIOUS ANON!!! IT'S SUPERB, IT'S DIVINE!! i'm riding your meat right now, get over here

ashley is doing that thing where she whispers in andrew's ear while he sleeps "you want to date [reader]. you want to keep here forever. you want her to never leave us." she's so silly, i love her. it would be so fucking sweet to if [reader] also saw andrew and ashley as her siblings also. ashley is being neglected/left out by her friends and [reader]'s like "hey guys, we should let ashley have a turn" or "hey ashley, do you have anything to add to the conversation?" and ashley's just, AUGH SHE'S SO SHOCKED, and like... i'm holding her gently in my hands i love her (THEY SHOULD KISS!!! RIGHT NOW!!!)

and the darker route... teehee :3c like... how would she ever find out? for all she should know, her psuedo-sibs/friends have returned from their awful quarantine and wanted to come over to say hi and stay with her for a bit! yippee!! but also the angst is so yummy, having [reader] tied in the back of their stolen car when they go to the new graves' residence and [reader] really thinking "do i turn them in? what if they come back to hurt me? would they hurt me either way?? maybe this is their last murder... yeah! they're just going to kill their parents and then everything will go back to normal!" poor poor [reader]... nothing is going to be normal again... AAAH HEHEHEHEH >:3c

thank you thank you thank you!

----

coff-in

[foxesscramble]

in honor of the holidays here's some foxes and co going home for the holidays (set sometime in the future)

Somewhere in Wisconsin:

Matt Boyd just won his last game before their winter break.

Dan and Matt make their rounds to say goodbye to everyone as they disperse for the break.

They head out and grab a taxi, making a quick stop by their house to grab their luggage.

They’re headed home for the holidays.

Back to where their families were collecting for the holidays.

Back to South Carolina.

They were unbelievably excited to see everyone.

They had a secret that they were finally telling the foxes when they got them all together.

Dan cradled her growing belly

Somewhere in Colorado:

Renee compiled a list of care advice for her neighbor who is petsitting for her while she’s in South Carolina.

It’s a hefty list and Renee is once again grateful for her kind, elderly neighbor who had volunteered herself immediately after hearing Renee was going to be traveling.

She made her rounds saying goodbye to all her pets before grabbing her suitcase and keys and heading to the door.

She sent a text to Allison to let her know she was about to hit the road.

Text sent she said one last goodbye at the door before locking up behind her.

South Carolina, here we come.

Somewhere in New York:

Allison carefully packed her clothes into her bag.

Had she possibly packed too much for her two-week trip? Probably, but she hasn’t seen anyone in a while, and she likes to look good.

Allison checked her phone for the time before grabbing her suitcases and putting them by the door.

She did one last walk-through to make sure she didn’t forget anything before turning all her lights off and grabbing her luggage.

She closed the door and locked it before making her way out of her apartment. 

She sent a text to Renee to let her know she was leaving and got in her car.

Somewhere in Germany:

“Nicky, Liebling, if you don’t get your ass down here we’re going to miss our flight!” 

Nicky swears as he collects his bags in a hurry, his feet pounding down the stairs of his and Erik’s apartment.

Germany had done Nicky a lot of good but he was undeniably excited to head back to the States.

Back to his family.

“I’m ready! I swear!” 

Erik laughed and herded him out the door.

They made it through the security check with 15 minutes to get to their boarding area.

They laughed as they ran through the airport, their luggage flipping and bumping into the back of their legs.

They were the last people on the plane, but they made it.

Nicky was going home.

Somewhere in California:

Kevin lugs both suitcases into the trunk of his car before he helps Amalia into the back seat and gets her buckled into her car seat.

They were driving all the way to South Carolina because Amalia had recently become deathly afraid of planes.

Settling in for the two-day drive, they'd barely made it 30 minutes into the trip before Amalia determined it had been a long time and it was time for snacks.

With a deep breath and a silent prayer to all things holy, Kevin pulled into a gas station to get snacks and have a bathroom break.

He knew the drive would be rough but 'Grandpa Coach' and 'Gran Abby', as Amalia had taken to calling her grandparents (maybe Kevin should have stopped calling them by name), would be more than willing to take Amalia when they got home.

Amalia spent the rest of the 36 hour drive rotating between excitably talking about seeing her aunts and uncles, singing the entire Frozen soundtrack at the top of her little 4 year old lungs, and sleeping.

Somewhere between Kansas and South Carolina:

"If you touch the stereo one more time, Josten, you're losing your hand."

Hands held over the console.

Hand kisses.

Smoke breaks.

Lots of snack breaks.

Neil gets fruit cups and Andrew gets candy.

Their cats joined them for the trip.

Sir sits in Neil's lap the entire ride but King gets the zoomies every 30 miles.

Andrew has to repeatedly remove him from his feet so he stops getting close to the pedals.

They call Bee halfway through the drive to make sure she’ll be there when they get there. She and Andrew chat while Neil takes a bathroom break.

When Neil comes back Andrew’s frame has relaxed a bit further. 

They were both excited to see everyone but that didn’t take away the anxiety of having that big of a group together again.

But the foxes were family and they couldn’t wait to see their family.

Somewhere in North Carolina:

"Okay, and you packing the girls' blankets?"

Katelyn and Aaron may resemble headless chickens trying to get their 13 month old twins together and ready.

Katelyn has been tasked with the girls' things and Aaron has been tasked with actually getting the girls in the car.

One of the twins is passed out in their car seat and the other is sobbing and throwing a fit.

Aaron is trying to calm her down and Katelyn is driving.

It took about an hour to get her to stop crying and when she did Aaron took a deep breath and fell back in his seat.

He rested his head back and closed his eyes, letting the quiet sounds of the road soothe him.

That calmness lasts for a good minute before Katelyn lets out a loud, FUCK!

"I forgot our suitcase!"

Somewhere in South Carolina:

Abby fluffs the decorative pillow for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. 

She’s already vacuumed and swept every room in their house. She’s gotten all the spare bedrooms ready and taken out all of the blowup mattresses. Most of the kids were staying with them with the exception of those that had kids.

They hadn’t all been together in so long and it felt imperative that the house looked good for everyone.

Wymack came up behind her and gently took the pillow from her hands before setting it back on the couch.

“The place looks amazing, Abby.” 

Abby turned around and shot him a doubtful look.

Wymack laughed roughly and leaned forward to place a careful kiss to her forehead. 

“They’re just going to be happy to be here. I don’t think they’d care if it looked like a pigsty in here. Everything is okay, and you know why?” 

Abby leaned her weight against Wymack’s chest. “Why?”

Wymack pulled back slightly so he could send her a fond smile.

“Our kids are coming home."

[neilljcsten]

aftg prompt: something with andrew hacking and coughing bc he smokes sm but acting like he’s fine and normal

ouuu ty!! let me know what you think :)

Objectively, Neil knew Andrew needed to stop smoking. Except the acrid smell of a burning cigarette was something so deeply Andrew, that Neil had no idea how to get him to stop. They were well past making deals so he couldn't pull the same stunt he did with cracker dust (he also couldn't buy him another maserati - Stuart would kill him) and he wouldn't trivialize whatever "this" was by giving Andrew an ultimatium. So he watched.

He watched Andrew gradually turn into something of a chain smoker over the summer. If there wasn't a racquet in the man's hand, it was a cigarette. It took him until September to piece together why; Aaron's trial was set for October and the twins had started meeting with Aaron's lawyer in June. Kevin and Wymack had tried talking to Andrew and were both met with a blank stare. When Kevin tried again at night practice, Andrew threatened to break his own hand if Kevin brought it up again. The rest of the Foxes had picked up on the new tension between the two and did their best to stay out of it.

Things came to a head after their first game. Renee had to step in as dealer after Dan took a nasty hit and the new goalie sub wasn't up to Kevin's impossible standards yet, so Andrew played the full game. The stress of the season opener was only compounded by the possibility of Moriyama men watching from the sideline. There was a small chance there were there and an even smaller one that they'd act out against Neil or Kevin, but Andrew locked down the goal anyways.

When the final buzzer rang out, 11-0 in the Foxes' favour, Neil jogged over to meet Andrew in net. He was startled to find Aaron already there - he usually went right to the cheerleaders. Seeing Aaron rip off Andrew's helmet had Neil switching into a run. He heard Andrew before he got to the net and god he sounded awful. Andrew's body was shaking with each rattling cough he let out. Each one sounded like it was being ripped from his chest, deep and throaty. Aaron must've heard him coughing throughout the game. As a backliner he spent far more time closer to Andrew than Neil ever did as a striker. Neli flicked an alarmed glance at Aaron, who was watching his twin with a mixture of anger and concern. Even Andrew, ever calm, seemed distressed at his body's betrayal as another cough shook his frame. Neil shifted to stand beside Andrew, allowing the goalie to lean into him for support. His legs screamed at the added weight but he would carry it a hundred times over if it meant taking some of the world off of Andrew's shoulders.

"You need to stop smoking." Aaron said in German.

It took Andrew a few tries to catch his breath in between coughs before he managed to bite out a hoarse "no" in response.

Aaron looked at Neil for help and found none. This was officially a Minyard argument. Neil had gotten in the middle of enough of those to know to stay out when he could.

"Listen to yourself. This was one game against a shit team. How do you expect to play the rest of the season if this is what happens?" Andrew's silence pushed Aaron to drive the knife deeper. "What happens when you can't play anymore because you've officially killed your lungs? Are Kevin and Neil going to be offed by the fucking mafia because our team has a shit goalie?"

Andrew's eyes, which had been roaming the crowd for anything to distract himself from Aaron's tirade, snapped back to glare at Aaron. Undetterred, Aaron pressed on.

"If you stop smoking, I'll stop dust. Deal?" Privately, Neil was shocked that Aaron would offer such a thing. Dust was the last drug he clung to from his past life and he downed it like a drowning man every Friday.

There was a brief pause before Andrew spoke.

"Deal."

--

The next morning Neil found 5 boxes of cigarettes in the dorm's garbage can. He picked up a few niccotine patches and pints of ice cream on his run, placing the latter in the freezer when he returned. If half of the pints were Aaron's favourite flavour, he pretended not to notice.

[dvrcos]

Aaron may not have an eidetic memory like Andrew does but he has a damn good one and he can remember anything he puts even the smallest amount of effort into remembering.

After everything that happened in Baltimore Aaron starts to note every small possibly important (and unimportant) medical fact about the foxes. And he’s not even totally conscious he’s doing it.

He consciously remembers Andrew and Nicky’s blood types. He knows Nicky’s allergic to penicillin and he knows Andrew doesn’t react well to doctors so it’s best for everyone if he can be administered some kind of sedative right away.

And then he thinks he should probably know this stuff for Kevin, and begrudgingly Neil, because they’re part of his strange little family that Andrew’s created. So he quickly and easily finds this information on them (because he’s a Minyard and he just knows how to find the things he needs to know). So he knows their blood types and he knows Kevin still feels residual pain in his left hand but doesn’t show it and try’s to ignore it. He knows Neil heals annoyingly quick from his all too common injuries but he also knows he aggravates those injuries easily by pushing himself too soon.

But it doesn’t stop there, there’s a small itch in the back of his head driving him to find out the important medical facts about the rest of the foxes. So he allows himself to remember their blood types and allergens and tells himself he needs to know incase of an emergency.

But he also notices that Matt has a high tolerance to pain medication whenever he’s being treated by Abby for an injury during practice or a game. And he notes the one type that works for him and keeps multiple bottles on him and in their room. (It’s also the only type that works for Kevin and works best for Neil so he stocks their room with it too)

And he notices that Allison is a slight germaphobe and applies hand sanitizer anytime she has to touch a public door handle or they go out to eat. So he opens as many doors for her as he can despite the confused look he gives her every time and he just glares right back at her. He keeps an extra mini bottle of hand sanitizer in his backpack for her as well and silently passes it to her when she’s forgotten hers.

He notices Dans chronic knee and lower back pain that Abby is constantly treating and how there’s always a rotating rainbow of colorful KT Tape on her. So he keeps an eye on Abby’s stock of tape and when a color is running low he casually mentions it to her to order more and then walks away.

He notices how Renee always picks at the scabs on her knuckles that result from her sparring with Andrew. He figures the wraps she has are getting old and silently leaves a new pair on the counter the next time he’s in the girls dorm, along with a box of bandaids and a tube of antiseptic ointment. He leaves a matching set of supplies in Andrew’s dorm as well just to be safe.

He doesn’t consciously realize that what he’s doing is protecting and taking care of the Foxes. But the others catch on and smile fondly at him because he’s letting himself care for them and become part of their family.

And the one time Dan mentions what he’s doing for them he looks at her like she’s crazy. He tells himself, and her, that that’s not what he’s doing, he’s just a future doctor and someone needs to take care of these injury prone idiot athletes and no one else besides him and Abby are going to do it right.

Aaron would definitely be so observant and acutely aware of the Foxes physical well beings despite him insisting he doesn’t care and hates them all. But he basically becomes Abby’s right hand man and teams second nurse because it’s good practice for his future and he knows them.

[vannyinthestars]

Guys guys guess what

I started writing the AFTG x American West/Rodeo/Cowboy/Ranch AU of my dreams.

Idk if it’ll actually become a long form fic, but I thought I’d give you some highlights:

A whistling carried over the yard. It guided Andrew’s eyes back to a single figure, perched atop one of the gates as if it were a throne. He didn’t feel a need to react, not until he realized it was Cracker’s pen. Noticing his mustang moving sent him stalking over, fully prepared to shove the stranger to the ground.

What stopped him short was watching Firecracker trot up to the man with her ears angled toward him curiously. The stranger pulled something from his pocket, and held out his hand. The mare sniffed from where she’d stopped, but refused to touch his hand. Andrew waited and watched as the stranger tossed it into her empty feed pan.

As soon as he was satisfied with her nibbling on his offering, the stranger turned to look at Andrew. He’d seemingly heard his approach, and knew he was there all along.

Andrew stood his ground, letting the stranger swing his legs over the gate and drop to the ground. Cracker jolted at the movement, and he said something to soothe her before he met Andrew on the lawn.

“She yours?”

Andrew hadn’t expected that. His face was still the picture of neutrality, but it encouraged his curiosity. “Yeah,” He kept his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. “Take it you’re the new kid Wymack warned me about.”

The stranger smirked. “Ah, I got my own warning,” He chuckled. “Neil- Neil Josten,” He offered Andrew his hand.

“Andrew Minyard,”

-

Okay so:

- Wymack runs a rodeo grounds, but also has a stable but also a boarding house. You help at the stable/ranch and your horse boards for free. He helps the kids event and stuff.

- Kevin rides a Friesian, big into Dressage. (I want to name his mare Queenie.)

- Allison does show-jumping, but also barrel racing. (Her thoroughbred (show jumper) is named Madonna and her quarter horse is Rocky.)

- Dan does team roping, she learned under Wymack but now helps him out with his “strays” (She has a paint that is technically Wymack’s but everyone knows that is her heart-horse named Whiskey. She thought it was funny bc her back story is still the same and Hennessy)

- Aaron is a vet student, he interns in town under Abby. Katelyn is the receptionist.

- Bee does equine therapy, she’s a retired barrel racer.

- Andrew worked as a jockey, made a decent amount of money in a lawsuit after an accident. He adopted a BLM mustang on a whim and gentled her himself with guidance from Bee. Her name is Firecracker.

- Nicky is a stable hand, he’s got an old draft horse cross named Bear. (Erik isn’t a horse guy, still German but he is working in the US on a land conservation/research thingy.)

- Renee is a trick rider. Neil makes a comment about her having a death wish.

- Matt was a bull rider? He got a nasty head injury but grew up around horses. He’s the biggest ranch help for Wymack. His horse is a retired Thoroughbred who also makes a good lesson pony.

- Neil never meets Seth, but his legacy is around the grounds. He died in a drunk driving accident on the rodeo grounds but Neil thinks there was more to it. (Seth was a bronc rider).

- Neil eventer in English when he was younger, he knows his way around horses.

- The story starts with him signing up to ride a bronc on a whim, he’s not a circuit cowboy, Wymack runs some searches and has no idea who the kid who just won the event is.

- Offers him a place to stay for the night, and some work if he needed it.

- I’m already tempted to write a TSC/Trojans spin off bc I need to give Jean Moreau a mustang that he can see himself in. He can’t be with Kevin (their story is slightly different but some aspects remain the same) but he can be with horses. Give him a mustang gelding that shies away from everything and who he has to learn to be gentle with as he learns to be gentle with himself. Also, Cowboy Jeremy. Team ropers Cat and Jeremy, barrel racing Laila. And bc Emma Swift is my Trojan I decided to project onto: she’s a ranch hand who works more with the cattle and less eventing.

Guys hear me out okay.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Good morning Aerie!!! Can I please request vampdrew this week?

WIP Wednesday (9/4) | Vampire Andrew AU (Part 174)

"What the hell is going on?" Wilds asks, grabbing her boyfriend by the arm and pulling him back a step. Wise woman. "We just got back and you're already trying to kill each other?!"

"We never left, of course we're trying to kill each other," Aaron says, taking the words out of Andrew's mouth.

"Not funny, Minyard."

"Here I was going for honesty." Aaron shrugs, earning a laugh from Nicky. Andrew doesn't turn around to look at where Kevin is still sprawled on the ground. But he can picture the expression on his face. He knows he isn't amused.

"What happened, Kevin?" Dan demands. "Neil?"

After a cough, Neil croaks out, "We just had a disagreement."

"Making fun of my smashed hand is not a fucking disagreement." Kevin whispers, finally making Andrew turn around. He looks up at Andrew, eyes wide and vulnerable. Neil crossed a line. He will not cross it again.

"What? He made fun of your hand?" Renee speaks up, giving Neil a look. Neil curls in on himself further. Andrew uses every bit of willpower he has to stuff his fangs up into his gums and clears his throat so his voice doesn't come out thick as venom. 

"That's right. Neil hurt Kevin's feelings, so Kevin hurt Neil's... everything. But don't you worry. We're already made up. In fact, we're driving Neil to practice later. Clean slate and all that." Andrew says with the most polite smile he can muster. It feels wrong on his face.

"That okay with you, Neil?" Boyd asks. Oh, apparently he's already adopted this poor lost duckling. How stupid of him.

Still on the ground, Neil swallows so hard Andrew can here it. Then looks between Andrew and Kevin. Andrew catches his gaze and holds it with his own. Andrew nods subtly and Neil copies him. "I. Yeah. Your truck'll be full anyway. This just makes sense."

"Now apologize to Kevin and we can all forget this ever happened." Andrew tells him.

"I'm sorry, Kevin." Neil says almost instantly. As far as Andrew can tell, based on his heartbeat and his body language, it's sincere. "I shouldn't have said that. You just... piss me off a lot."

At that, Matt laughs and the rest of the hall seems to follow suit.

"Kevin's real good at that," Nicky says, earning a glare from Kevin. Then he waves at Neil. "See you later."

"Later." Neil repeats as he gets up. Once Boyd pulls him into the girls' dorm, Andrew spins around and holds out his hand to Kevin. His control dies at the marks on the back of Kevin's wrist and his fangs slip back out.

"Are you finished wasting blood?" He asks. Kevin nods and takes his hand, letting Andrew pull him up. Andrew looks at Nicky and Aaron before tilting his head towards the dorm. The two of them look ready to protest, but Andrew points. "Go. I need to talk to Kevin for a second."

"'Talk to' or cannibalize in a hideous display of violence?" Nicky asks with a nervous smile.

"I haven't decided yet. Go on." Andrew tells them.

"Good luck, Kevin." Aaron says, shoving Nicky into the dorm. Once it clicks closed, Andrew turns Kevin's hand over and checks that thick white scar on the back. It looks the same as always, not further damaged by his temper tantrum.

[jeanmoreaue]

Characters ranked by how likely Andrew is to let them drive his car?

oo okay okay

1. Neil

2. Renee

3. Nicky

4. Matt - unlikely but vaguely possible since Matt appreciates Andrew’s car

5. Aaron - this is spite. in a rare scenario maybe

6. Dan - from here down this is absolutely never happening lmao

7. Allison - no.

8. Kevin - YES i am ranking Kevin this low this bitch cannot drive it is a miracle Kevin made it with his broken hand to psu he probably scraped like 7 cars on the way no way is Andrew letting Kevin damage his nice car

[simonsrosebud]

“It becomes kind of a lost and found situation” MY GOD. I WANT TO KNOW MORE PRETTY PLEASE

AHHH my wish is ur command, this is the full rundown on how Andrew stumbled upon Blake and brought her and Elliot into his and Neil’s family

So Andrew waits in the shed and catches her when she opens it. Mans is bored okay let him live.

Blake drops the bike and tries to run, and promptly trips in the still wet grass from when it rained an hour before. She kinda twists her ankle and tries to run again but can’t, and Andrew tells her to get up. She’s the same height as him and all fight, yet quickly folds when reality sinks. She begs him with mud on her arms and side of the face not to call the police or her dad “I-I was just- the 24 hour pharmacy is six miles away and I can’t drive and I just needed-” she’s close to hyperventilating and starts trying to back away. And Andrew tells her to knock it off. “You do this three times a week” boom got her. “I… I work there.” “At the pharmacy” “At the checkout counter,” she scowls. “At midnight” “I have school” “Not at 4pm” “I- look, are you going to get me in trouble or not?” “Contemplating it. Tell me the truth first.”

Blake works at the 24 hour CVS at 12-4am bc she doesn’t trust leaving her brother at home when she’s not there. Night time is safe bc everyone is asleep and safe. When she tells Andrew her brother is 14 and not like 3 he tries not to assume the worst. Because of this, he gives her Neil’s ratty old bike that’s been sitting for years, pumps the tires, and drops it on the grass for her. “Petal with one foot”

I should mention that he does this not bc he feels bad about her working at 15 years old but because he can’t won’t afford to get involved. She’s not his kid, she doesn’t know him, he has no ties or responsibility to her. He doesn’t know her situation, she never says anything about abuse and not every situation is like his own past, but he just has this sick feeling anyway.

That should’ve been the end of it, but two weeks later the bike shows up back in the shed looking like it’s been run over. A note attached reads “i’m sorry”. Andrew leaves $20 by the electric bike and writes “take the fucking bus” under her handwriting. 4 days later the money is gone.

Blake is gone for another 4 weeks, and then when Andrew can’t sleep one night he sits outside smoking a tiny bit of weed (bc Neil made him give up cigarettes long ago) and he catches her walking down the sidewalk. She freezes bc she was definitely about to borrow the electric bike again. This time he allows it. Neil hasn’t used the thing consistently since he was 38 (4 yrs ago) anyway.

2 weeks later he catches her outside again, this time texting Renee who is on the other side of the world for something he doesn’t care enough about, and Blake has a bruise on her jaw and a cut on her cheek, bandages around her one wrist/hand. “Bicycle accident” is what she says. “Funny. The bicycle is scuff free” He sees the brief panic in her face. “Who is hurting you?” bigger panic “No one, you’re crazy” “Maybe once. I know abuse when I see it” “fuck you, you don’t know me” he scares her off. No trace of Blake for 2 months, bike untouched.

2 months later, Andrew goes to the 24 hour CVS to get smth idk, not thinking ab it being Blake’s workplace, but what do u know? Blake is at the counter wearing a turtleneck in summer. She doesn’t notice him w her headphones in, and smth in Andrew cracks when she lifts a scratched up a bruised hand to lightly pull the neck down and itch, revealing the bruises. Her eyes are hollow when she sees him, recognition insignificant, but as soon as she realizes what he’s rlly looking at she silently shakes her head as if saying “no, not here, not now, not in front of others pls don’t say anything”.

Andrew leaves without purchasing anything.

However, when she steps outside 20 minutes later post-shift Andrew is waiting on the hood of his car. “If you lie to me, I will call the police and you can let them find out who choked you.”

Scratchy voiced, like she screamed too hard at a concert, she says “No-No please don’t, I can’t- you can’t call the police” “Give me one good reason not to” “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” she starts breathing heavily and raggedly and trips over herself into the brick wall of the CVS. She’s never had a panic attack before and she can’t catch her breath and is she allergic to something? Is she dying? Andrew makes her sit without touching her, and waits her out patiently until she’s breathing normally.

“Please don’t call anyone” “Then show me” “Why? What the hell do you even want?” Andrew wishes he had an answer to that but he doesn’t. What does he want? For this kid to not die at the hands of someone else? To get off better than he had? Andrew’s been retired from exy for 6 years now, and sure, he got bored sometimes, but aiding a teenager he didn’t know out of abuse or through the foster system wasn’t something he was really looking to add to his plate.

To be honest, he’d been hoping that the bruises were from a boyfriend that she could just break up with. But Andrew knew better.

He wouldn’t know without seeing her wounds, though, and he’d done the trade game once to know that sometimes it worked. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up and showed her his scars. She didn’t know who he was, there was no one for her to tell. He didn’t care anymore as it was.

“I gave myself these when I was younger than you. When things got worse, I got myself sent to juvie just to get away from it. I will make you a deal. You tell me the truth about what is going on, and I will get you away from it.”

“Not to juvie, I hope” she jokes meekly. He shakes his head and she just deflates. “It’s our dad” she whispers like he can hear her “He was always rough handed, but then our mom died two years ago and he just started getting really bad. Like, slaps me or spanks me for talking back, or-or throws shit all the time. I had- my hands were all wrapped up cause he threw a vase and it shattered, and I had to clean it up cause he won’t and he just- he just shoved me down into all the broken pieces and it cut me all up” she was crying again, shaking hands pressed to her eyes “and he almost drowned Elliot cause he thought throwing him in the lake over and over again would teach him to swim,” and oh that was an ugly sob “so now I make Elliot st-stay after school for sports and go right to his room after. I’ve been cooking our meals since mom died but dad doesn’t go to the grocery store and sometimes he barely gives me enough money to get food, so I’ve been working-” Blake cuts herself off bc she is trying not to panic again, and when she opens her puffy eyes she’s met with Andrew’s calm but blank stare.

Andrew doesn’t have the luxury of staging a car accident anymore, though. “And the neck?” “I told him I wish he died instead of mom” “Good”. Andrew stands and unlocks the car “We are going to get your brother, and then I am getting you out of the house. How long will it take for him to notice that you’re gone?” Blake looks scared again “I-I don’t know, he’ll notice, but he probably won’t do anything about it until night time. But he-he has my location on my phone”

Easy fix, she turns the location feature off and Andrew drives her to him and Neil’s house first bc he wants Neil as extra help just in case. “The girl that broke into the shed” “Oh, uh, hi? Why is she outside our bedroom?” Andrew switches to German “Her father beats her and favors drowning her brother.” Neil sits up bc okay that’s got his attention, and the first thing he says, albeit cautiously, is, “Does he… do I need to call-” “No” and phew thank god. Neil doesn’t need two confirmed hits on his hands. It’s been 23 years since he got rid of Grayson for Jean.

“We need to go get him out of the house, and in the morning we need to call our lawyer. For them” “Why not the police?” “She said no.” it’s so telling that that’s enough for Neil to get on board “Well, alright. Not forever, but definitely for the night”

Blake is kinda taken back by all of Neil’s scars bc he was sleeping shirtless after all, but then they’re leaving the house again and Blake is on the phone with Elliot that only gives Andriel a one sided convo about “we’re getting out of there for good, pack what you absolutely need, the rest we’ll… i don’t know, we’ll get another time, maybe…. yes, i’ll be there soon. don’t leave your room, i’m gonna go in and pack and then we’re out. quick and quiet, hear me?”

Anyway, luckily their dad isn’t even home they don’t know why. Neil sees Elliot looking through the window as they pull in, and when they follow Blake up the stairs Elliot trips backwards away from them “Who the fuck are they?” “We’re neighbors, kind of. We’re getting you out of here, take it or leave it” “El, it’s fine, please, I promise”

Neil goes with Elliot, who has a black eye and bruises from rough fingers on his forearm. “Dad left in a rampage when he saw you were gone, i told you that job wasn’t fucking worth it”

But then all four of them are safe in Andrew and Neil’s house, and King immediately goes over to Elliot who promptly collapses into a panic attack against the front door. He and Blake sleep in the guest bedroom except they really don’t sleep bc Andrew and Neil can hear the hushed whispers and questions and crying, because they might be in a strangers house and they might not know what comes next but they’re out and they’re safe and they’re going to be okay.

[foxholecore]

I think about Andrew understanding that he cannot always be the only one driving and sometimes he cannot be even trusted behind the wheel, that he has to give way somewhere when it came to the driving. I think about the trust and care that went into allowing Nicky to not only drive his car but to put him on the insurance. I think about how aside from Renee, in select few circumstances, he does not let or trust other people behind his wheel. I think about how everyone seems to respect or at least honor the not being on insurance policy as meaning not allowed to be behind his wheel. I have plenty of qualms with Nicky’s lack of respecting boundaries in TFC, but I think about how easily Nicky respected Andrew’s boundary with his car. How he accepted that he was replaced on the insurance policy by Neil, and how that meant he was no longer allowed behind the wheel. Because let’s be honest, it’s not really about the policy when Andrew and hell, most of them, do other reckless things or break the law at least occasionally. I think about the trust that went into giving Neil the other key to his car. I just think about this a lot. And the symbolism and implications of it all.