#but I can’t rly talk about Andrew’s memory without being like DRAKE THO ALSO PROUST ALSO HIS ENTIRE SAD LIFE

[ninyard]

Hi could you write something about Andrew’s eidetic memory and which of the foxes know about it / their reactions to it? I feel like Kevin at least definitely knows and is like a mixture of awed and bitter/exasperated about it

YES I wrote most of a hc post way back in 2016 about Dan knowing about it, but I think Kevin, Aaron and Renee know about it too (but also Coach without actually knowing)

So! How do the folks find out?

Kevin is a pretty perceptive guy, albeit some situations (aka literal son of a murderer) and probably would’ve found out on his own, but he ended up being told by Andrew when he asked one time how he always knows exactly when to pick up Kevs meds/how he knows about all his appointments when he only tells him once. Kevin jokes that he must have a calendar somewhere. Sometimes Kevin will forget about a session with his PT or about a photo shoot or an interview but every time without fail, no matter how long ago he told him, Andrew will be at his door ready to bring him wherever he needs to go. Andrew’s memory serves Kevin in little ways; it’s in reminding him to pay a bill, or cancel a subscription, or pick up something, or if kevin tells Andrew to remind him of something, he always will. Andrew is kind of like Kevin’s personal diary; but Kevin doesn’t abuse that. They never acknowledge it in a “Andrew remembers these things JUST for me” way, and his understanding of it is just that Andrew has a REALLY GOOD memory. Good friends remind their friends to cancel free trials they forgot they had, you know? Kevin never really thought about it deeper than that until the thanksgiving incident, and the moment he put 2 and 2 together, he nearly got sick it hurt his stomach so badly. He never said anything to Andrew, but every now and again he thinks about Thanksgiving, and he can’t help but think about how clearly Andrew must still remember it.

Aaron knows because Aaron just knows. When they went to school together Andrew always did really well in exams without even trying. Aaron could count on one hand how many times he’d seen Andrew ever study. He just seemed to know everything he was asked. He rarely did homework, and while Aaron was busting his balls studying, Andrew was bullshitting answers he’d never wrote, at the back of the class when the teachers asked him to read out his homework. He remembers hearing Andrew’s teachers talking about his photographic memory. I know I talk about it a lot but I feel like it’s fairly significant in all the Foxes relationships with Andrew, but during Aaron’s trial, Aaron’s lawyer is talking about his brothers eidetic memory, and Andrew’s talking about what happened that night, and who Drake was, and what he’d done to him. When Aaron saw Andrew on the witness stand, blank-faced and monotone, talking in detail about what Aaron didn’t see that night? Aaron seen how hard it was in his face, but he saw the intense memories in the panic attacks Andrew would have when he thought no one was watching.

Dan found out in a relatively nice way. Most of the foxes knew Andrew had a great memory, and 90% of the time if they lost anything they could ask Andrew and he would know. Sometimes they would bet on it, but they stopped when they realised he never really forgot like..anything? One time before a Big Game, Dan had lost a loose page she kept in the notebook that had all their opponents numbers, positions, signature moves and stats. She came up to Andrew and was like look I know you don’t want to help me but tell me you know what that sheet said I showed it to you guys last week Matt nearly tells her to give up and then suddenly Andrew is listing off every single name and number that was on that sheet. He didn’t slow down for her to write anything, and didn’t say any of it as if he cared or was interested in knowing. Dan was so grateful but she was like how? How do you do it I remember you looked at that page for like? A second?? And Andrew being Andrew doesn’t tell her, instead tells her Kevin knows and he’s not interested in explaining. She thinks it’s an amazing advantage to the team, until Kevin emphasises he remembers. Everything. She felt bad for wanting to use him for his memory after that, but still sometimes showed him things she would need to know just in case she lost it. Later on in their college career, maybe Andrew stops having to be asked what those sheets said. Maybe he just willingly helps out.

Renee! Sweet angel! Andrew straight up just tells her. They’re talking about some stupid hypothetical, something about time travel, and Renee talk abouts wishing how she could experience some things again; her first game with the foxes, her first kiss, the day she found out she was being adopted (the first time she realised Andrew had a crazy crush on Neil) she asked Andrew if he had anything he would experience again. In Andrew fashion he told her he could experience everything again if he wanted to. When she questioned him he told her. Not much more than that. She doesn’t bring it up after that (but is guilty of asking him where she left things every now and again, specifically at gatherings like the banquets where she would put her jacket down somewhere and forget, or her phone, or her purse)

(Bonus Coach: he found out similarly to Dan. He realises he “learns” stats for Dan, but says nothing, because Andrew is that kind of person that once you bring attention to something he will never do it again. At one point Coach asks him to help scout goalkeepers in his final year, and Andrew can list off the best ones and their information without looking at any notes.)