#kevneil headcanons

[mania-sama]

also!! same anon. any kevneil hcs? 👀 what do u think there relationship would be like?

thanks for sending in another ask!!! i love answering!!!!

I have to really think about this because it's been a while since I've read the books. I needed to refresh my brain a bit!

Since they got together, everyone thinks that they'd push each other to unhealthy heights of Exy obsession. But, that's not the case. Slowly, they are able to coax more interests than Exy out of each other.

With Kevin, it's a lot easier. Neil already knows of Kevin's attempts at having other interests, despite having Exy shoved down his throat since he could talk. So, when the time comes, Neil encourages Kevin to spend time with the things that bring him joy. Such as watching the newest documentary about Ancient Egypt on the History Channel instead of a rerun of a UPenn Exy game, or attending his first Ren Faire dressed to the nines so nobody would recognize him.

Neil tries, too, of course. He picks up 'hobbies' at Kevin's subtle proding, but they always end up as competitions to see who can learn them quicker or better. Instead of being hobbies, they just end up as skills in his set. They learn how to knit together, and Neil is a thousand times better since his hand was never broken; his fingers are more nimble and move at a faster sustainable pace. Kevin sulks at this, obviously. So, when they learn chess, Kevin ensures he always has two wins over Neil.

Exy is still Neil's primary focus, his lifeblood. It's Kevin's, too, but Kevin allows himself a little more freedom. Neil doesn't find as much fun in Renaissance Faires or tours of Native American landscapes as Kevin does, but whatever makes Kevin happy makes Neil happy.

They argue very little at home. Whatever steam they have, they settle it on the Court, either in private sessions or in actual games. They do not hold back. When Neil makes a too-wide pass, Kevin shouts, "Josten! Fix your fucking aim or get off the court!" because he remembers that Neil sucks at putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Likewise, Neil bites back with, "Maybe I wouldn't have done that if you'd get off my ass every once in a while!" because Kevin is always insisting that Neil never does his chores correctly, and perhaps it pisses him off a little.

But, if anything happens to them on the Court, nothing else matters. It could be a good thing; perhaps Kevin made the game-saving goal, or Neil intercepted an important pass. They'll bump shoulders or, if it's appropriate timing, lift each other into the sweetest victory hug. It could be bad. It could be that Kevin's ankle rolls with a sickening crack. Neil drops his racket from whatever corner of the court he's in and rushes to Kevin like his heels are on fire. He pushes everyone away to pull Kevin into his arms, cradling his face as Kevin breaks down, memories of his broken hand crashing in on him. He whispers to Neil, the only person who could truly understand his situation and the only one willing to comfort him, that he's never going to play again. It's all over, he says, over and over again.

Neil tells him it's not true. It's a sprained ankle; it heals in six weeks. Kevin had a right to panic since their lives were reliant on their ability to play Exy, but Neil stayed right by his side the entire time. He shields Kevin from the press, having little patience for their prying questions. He spits out words that he knows Kevin would be horrified by (and so would the US Exy National PR Team). He sits down with Moriyama and explains the injuries and healing time. Moriyama leaves Kevin alone. Neil never lets Kevin get too far into his own head, and at the end of it all, Kevin thanks him in his own way.

Neil is on the receiving end of a lot of things; he finds brand-new running shoes waiting for him on the kitchen counter. There are his favorite protein bars ever from Germany stacked to the brim in the pantry. Kevin tells him, nonchalantly, that they have first-class tickets to watch the best professional Japanese team play in person in a month. It's hard for Kevin to say specific words, but Neil doesn't need them to understand.

But, sometimes, they do come out. At the end of their morning run on a rainy Tuesday, Kevin turns to Neil and says "I love you." Because perhaps that's when he needs to say it - when it's all clogged in his chest and nobody expects him to say it, least of all himself. And Neil will return the affection that night when the sun has set and the fear of nightmares has nestled into his skull. He fears that he has made a mistake letting Kevin so close to his heart, close enough that someone can hurt Neil by taking Kevin away. He turns to Kevin, grabs the nape of his neck, and says "I love you, too."

Because he knows that his fears are inane. That having someone to take care of his heart rather than letting it rot in its bone cage is the best decision he's ever made.

They sleep wrapped in the other's limbs and body. And when one starts shaking from a nightmare, they don't hesitate to pull each other closer. And that's all they need at the end of their long days. Having someone who will worldlessly, unquestioningly support them is enough.

[dysfunctionalcreature]

my kevandreil centered aftg headcanons in no particular order:

(disclaimer I have not reread the books in a while so my memory of canon is a little foggy)

Kevin has an (undiagnosed) severe anxiety disorder

Kevin scratches and picks at the skin of his hands (in particular his left hand) when he's anxious

Andrew will headbutt Neil and Kevin to show affection, and depending on Andrew's mood the headbutts will range from oh so very very gentle, to nearly migraine causing

Neil will hold Kevin's hands when he's stressed to stop him from picking at his skin

Andrew likes to pull Kevin down and cup his cheeks (in particular the cheek with the tattoo) and just stare at him

When they all share a bed and spoon, Andrew is the big spoon, Kevin is in the middle, and Neil is the little spoon

When Andrew is wanting to be affectionate but not that physical he will just hold onto the fronts of Neil's or Kevin's shirt

Andrew and Kevin have bonded over the similar traumas that they have acquired from foster care and The Nest

Neil and Kevin have bonded over they're shared traumas in The Nest

Kevin has weekly calls (in french) with Jean once he's with the Trojans, sometimes Neil will join the call for a bit to say hi to Jean

Kevin can and will do the most adorable and tragic pouts (big watery green eyes, bottom lip trembling) whenever he doesn't get what he wants, and sometimes that even works to convince Andrew to do something "boring"

Andrew and Neil are both very supportive of Kevin getting sober once he decides he wants to and they help him as much as they can

Andrew and Neil time: sitting on the roof together smoking. Neil and Kevin time: watching and analyzing and obsessing over exy games together. Andrew and Kevin time: just resting together in silence while Andrew holds onto Kevin

Andrew will often let Kevin lay his head in his lap, especially when Kevin's very stressed/upset about something

Kevin has extreme separation anxiety with Andrew

Neil and Andrew like watching true crime shows together, sometimes Kevin will sit with them but if he does he'll tune out to the show and read one of his nerdy books

Andrew will often pet Kevin's hair when he's resting his head in Andrew's lap

[martyrframing]

do you think that kevin day thinks about the kid he did scrimmages with once. that he sees the three on jeans face and wonders abt nathaneil who would've been marked that way. do you think he he felt even a bit of relief at the thought that nathaneil got away and do you think that it worsened the horror when he realizes who neil is. do you think he trained neil so desperately partly because he wanted to protect that kid that got away and do you think when neil returned from christmas a part of him died because he failed anyway? do you think he feels like he had a hand in four tattooed on neils face and do you think a part of him felt some kind of sick happiness that he pushes away when neil comes back from his father's house, the tattoo burned away, because in a sense, that kid survived. that kid escaped the nightmare of riko's ambitions...

[numnue]

you ever think about how aftg is “all for the game” and how neil gives his “game” to kevin at the beginning of the series (in the MOST homoerotic way possible) and they both spend the rest of the series trying to convince andrew to give them his “game”, so it’s ALL for the GAME, ITS ALL FOR ANDREW AND NEIL AND KEVIN AND LIKE BRO THE KANDREIL IS SO STRONG SO STRONG I AM GOING TO GO FERAL

[jostenjorts]

Neil: What does “ily” mean

Aaron: I’m leaving you

[ninyard]

hello its the anon from earlier!! i am So Glad you asked about my aro kevin headcanon ive been wanting to talk about him forever. i just think it fits so well with his character. we all know that the way neil was written came across very aspec, and hes canonically demisexual, and as soon as i found this out my brain just started pointing out all the similarities between them. so heres my list of Reasons I Think Kevin Day Is Aromantic:

1. his obsession with exy. it acts as a sort of stand in for an actual romantic relationship for him, despite canonically having a gf, similar to how neil often passed over conversations about sex in favour of exy.

2. he canonically started dating said gf because he respected her due to her exy prowess, and he has never said/done anything that leads me to believe he genuinely feels romantic feelings for her, so to me it came across like a classic aro situation of "oh this person is nice to me and i like and respect them as a person, i must want to date them!"

3. he grew up in the nest, which is a cesspool of toxic relationships and things he has to unlearn, and because of this upbringing, he could easily write off any aromantic feelings as residual damage from growing up in that environment

4. most of his popular ships (kandrew, kevneil, kandriel, etc) a. have exy in the middle of them and b. ALWAYS seemed way more powerful as platonic to me (i could definitely fuck with a kandriel qpr situation actually)

5. additionally, when i was reading the books, none of his interactions came across as romantic in nature at all, and im the kind of person who can see a ship in anything, but he just always seemed to have other things (cough exy cough cough) at the forefront of his mind

6. delicious angst potential with him thinking hes just inherently incapable of love because of the abuse he endured and thinking he's too far gone and hes damaged in that way forever but then finding out about aromanticism and etc etc you get it

6. i am aromantic and i like kevin day and im projecting

while often aro goes along with ace, especially in fandom headcanons, NO ONE can deny that Kevin Day Fucks. and thus, aroallo kevin day was born in my mind and for years its been my most set in stone, steadfast headcanon throughout any of the fandoms im in. and then i saw some kevallison stuff and i was like, while aro kevin day is my number one, i cannot deny that they would be an incredibly hot couple like jesus christ. and THEN i saw your fwb besties who fuck kevallison agenda and i was like. oh my. this fits perfectly with my aroallo kevin headcanon. this is it. and then i immediately absorbed fwb kevallison into my brain and merged it with my aroallo kevin headcanon and thus, my most favourite headcanon was born.

this came out way longer than i was expecting im so sorry but this has been marinating for a while.

holy shit anon

you've turned me into aroallo kevin supported because this. this is PERFECT.

like kevin FUCKS. we all know this. but being in a relationship?

like i was thinking about kevallison recently and how the most likely way it ends is that allison realises sometime coming up to the end of their final year together that she actually is starting to crush on him a little bit. and that was in their rules - if one of us catches feelings, we're done, we stop fucking, because this is NOT a feelings thing. like allison probably thinks at some point she must be a terrible person to be in a relationship with because HOW have her and kevin been fucking for X years/months and he STILL hasn't caught feelings for her???? 1) he's just a man and 2) he just. doesn't catch feelings.

yeah anon i fuck with this

[sunriseabram]

Fandom Trumps Hate 2024: AFTG

Take a look at all these amazing AFTG offers for @fandomtrumpshate 2024. For full details of all listings, click here. Browsing is open now, bidding begins 8 am EST, 5th March 2024, to 8pm EST, 9th March 2024. Come help us raise money for nonprofit organisations! Reblog to spread!

Written Fanwork:

Catasterisms (@catasterisms): 5 - 10k, Andreil, E. Special: ace characters.

LailisGrace (@lailisgrace): Less than 5k, E.

Jane (@billdenbrough): Less than 5k, Jerejean/Kevaaron, E. Special: ambiguous endings.

Ilgaksu (@ilgaksu): Less than 5k, E. Special: character study, kink.

Lacklusterlion (@lacklusterlion): Depends on donation, Andreil, E. Special: willing to address most topics.

Adverbialstarlight (@adverbialstarlight): 5 - 10k, Andreil / Renison, E. Special: nonwhite characters, f/f.

Foundinthedark (@sunriseabram): 10 - 20k, Andreil, E. Special: canon divergence, supernatural, hurt/comfort.

Astus (@thetamingofspike): Less than 5k, andreil, E.

Geneat (@aftg-ho): 5 - 10k, Kandreil / Ravens, E. Special: raven team, smut, poly, unhappy endings.

Six-of-snakes (@six-of-snakes): Less than 5k, Kandreil / Kevjean, M. Special: trans headcanons, f/f.

Yikesohdear (@livelikeheroes): 5 - 10k, Andreil, M. Special: trans characters, dark content.

Yourneighborhoodneighbor (@yourneighborhoodneighbor): Less than 5k, Andreil, Twinyards, E. Special: omegaverse, kink, trans characters.

Fanart:

Tidalst (@tidalst): Andreil/Kandreil/Kevneil, T, bid starts $10. Special: trans interpretations and poly.

Heartstringsduet (@heartstringsduet): M, bid starts $10.

Oddgreyhound (@oddgreyhound): T, bid starts $10. Special: trans characters.

Imico (@thisuserdead): M, bid starts $5. Special: f/f, poly, trans characters.

CavanCaptain (@captainroadkill): E, bid starts $10. Special: Riko, Renee, Gore

Fan labour:

RainScrawl: Podfic. 10 - 20k words, E. Special: vast interests.

CuriousEmWanders: Beta / sensitivity reading / specialist expertise. More than 50k, Andriel, E. Special: mental health, kink.

Storyofeden: Podfic. Depends on donation, E. Special: unhappy / ambiguous endings.

Sydinrealtime (syndinrealtime): Beta / sensitivity reading / specialist expertise. More than 50k, E. Special: Judaism, medical field, death.

Aliteralgarbageheap: Podfic. 20k Max, Andreil / Kandreil / Matt x Andreil, E. Special: soulmates, gender, poly, trans characters.

If I missed anyone's listing or @, please let me know and I will add you! Thank you to everyone who is offering their talent for free! You are amazing ♥

[codename-adler]

Letter Ask Game: R, S, and M?

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

(i’m assuming we’re speaking of canon) since TSC, it really has to be Cat & Jean. truly punched a hole through my chest. she showed up and delivered and by god did she really understand Jean. they are both so lucky to have simply… clicked? just like that? it’s incredibly rare and special and i did not expect Nora Sakavic to go so hard with them, with Cat. 

pre-TSC i’m not sure i had one… at least not one that was canon. maybe Kevneil or Kandrew if we consider it from the canon-ish platonic pov? i’ll go with that. yes. ofc from a pairing/ot3 pov their friendship is also at the heart of it, how it was trust, loyalty, safety and protection first, an even match on all fronts. perfect perfect perfect. even better when they clash and come together again after.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

girl which one… i’m drowning in them! currently i’m very into the hc that Seth had a little brother he lost tragically, i spoke about that briefly some time ago. i’m also exploring the idea of Bee’s secret wife being Abby. 

i think Matt has acne scars on his face. i think Dan is gap-toothed. I think Laila and Jean bond over their love of Monet. i think Neil listens to movie soundtracks and original soundtracks. i think Allison’s parents disowned her for more than playing Exy, and it was for liking girls too. I think one of Robin’s favorite food is seriously hot cross buns.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Catalina. Neil.

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

A Kevin and Neil bonding hc bcs I need more of those:

yes, they bond over Exy, of course. But they never really agree on some points and can get exasperated with each other very quickly

so when they find out they have something else to share, it's met with a stuned silence and unsure company

It starts with the vinyls

Wymack kept them, because why wouldn't he?

and Kevin remembers them, because why wouldn't he?

not the same copies, those are back... whatever happened to his mom's stuff, but Wymack had her favourites

and as young as he was, Kevin would never forget her favourites

and, look, Kayleigh was a sports player trying to make a co-ed bastard stickball thing happen in the 80s. Do you know what she loved? Queen

so when Wymack shows up with a box of old Queen vinyls that haven't been touched since her last visit and leaves it at his dorm along with a player, Kevin is a little boy again

it doesn't take Neil long to realize he knows those songs playing in their room. Not one or two, but most of them. And that is quite unusual

because you know who else loved Queen? Mary Hatford. Mary, who left England when they were on their peak and kept up with it as much as she could

and is not really difficult to find a Queen song playing on the radio, regardless of wherever in the world you find yourself, so she always tuned on them. Enough for Neil to learn. Enough to be one of the few nice memories he has of her

so when he quietly says to a very sensitive Kevin that his mom quite liked those songs too, neither of them knows the next step

they don't talk about feelings. They don't talk about dead moms and lost childhoods

but they sit on the floor next to an old record player and listen to music they no longer thought they could enjoy, together.

[allforthe-gays]

kevneil au where neil joined the ravens when he was a kid

(neil and kevin are a year apart in this au)

when riko broke kevin's hand neil made kevin go to the foxes. kevin didnt want to leave neil behind, but neil knew kevin wouldn't last long if he didnt have any value to the ravens.

when kevin showed up in the foxes bus, wymack immediately took him under his wing. he took him to abby's to get patched up and then sent andrew after him to make a deal, and kevin became one of the monsters.

slowly kevin integrated himself with the foxes. at practice kevin would throw impossible passes, and seem surprised when no one was there to catch them. but then neil showed up and suddenly someone could catch kevin's impossible passes and complete his overly complicated drills.

(neil, in all of his wisdom, had talked to ichirou and convinced him to let him join the foxes, promising ichirou impossible results by the end of the season)

andrew was the first to catch on. at first he pushed aside their lingering eye contact and touches as casual familiarity. but then he noticed the small things that they did for each other.

every morning neil went on a run, and every morning kevin made protein shakes. when neil stayed over at abby's, kevin started to 'accidentally' make extra, and neil would 'reluctantly' drink the left over shake becuase it would be wasted if he didnt.

when kevin dragged neil and andrew to practice during break, neil would always bring an extra water bottle that he let kevin steal. nicky tagged along one of the days and tried to use the 'extra' waterbottle but backed off when kevin threw a ball at his head.

neil and kevin watched recordings of exy games religiously, and had a set method of gathering data on other players (unless it was related to jeremy knox. knox's glory could not be captured by mere numbers) while neil argued with every conclusion he came to, even when they agreed.

when the season started neil and kevin would talk rapid fire french at each other during breaks and at half-time. andrew decided to try his best to copy what they said into google translate after the game, but came to the conclusion that his memory must finally be faulty because dear god he sure hoped they weren't talking about that in front of the entire team.

their relationship was only really confirmed when andrew walked into his dorm room to find neil inside the oversized sweatshirt that kevin was also wearing, cuddling on the couch watching their exy videos together.

[dysfunctionalcreature]

so in my opinion personally for an aftg omegaverse au, Andrew is an alpha, whose scent is like leather, cigarette smoke, and asphalt. Kevin is an omega, whose scent is like green apple and mint candy with a hint of brand new plastic. Jean is an omega, whose scent is like ocean, musty dusty blankets, and a hint of unspecified pastry. And Neil is a beta (and I know betas are often thought of as boring but I truly don't mean it that way, it just fits him imo, like he "doesn't swing" so idk what else he would be), so I don't have a clear scent in mind for him because I don't think beta's usually have very notable scents, but if he has one at all it's definitely spicy like cinnamon with maybe a hint of wood smoke

[crazy-fangirl2524]

When Andrew and Neil sleep on the same bed together, they rarely, almost never fall asleep cuddling. Because it’s uncomfortable and both like to have personal space. (Of course if they are just chilling in bed they will cuddle but when they sleep? There’s always a few inches between them)

On the other hand, Jeremy and Jean must be tangled up to be able to sleep. Because Jean wants to wake up to know that he’s safe and that Jeremy is safe and he’s home. Jeremy is just clingy.

[306saint]

Need 2 speak abt kevin and neils relationship

- lets just pretend neil continues to major in spanish

- neil really does not put a lot of effort into his classes but he has this exam on the history of mexico which contributes to a large amount of his overall grade. it may determine whether or not he passes the year

- kevin notices him stressing about it and tries to figure out what he can do to help

- a few days before the exam he silently hands neil of one of his history books about north america. he walks off and neil opens it to find the section on mexico to be bookmarked already

-there’s a key at the start stating that important dates are highlighted in blue and important events are highlighted in green

- passages that’ll come in useful are carefully underlined and elaborated in the margin

-theres sticky notes and memos leafed between the pages, giving more explanation, recommending further reading etc

-when he gets about halfway through and he’s noticing how he’s starting to feel tired there’s one more note from kevin saying “you’re at a good stopping point here. take a minute to review and then go have a break. please eat some actual food for once, josten”

- after neil reads a particularly convoluted chapter he turns the page to find kevin’s neat handwriting summing it up. it begins with “i know that might have seemed complicated (it confused me at first too, don’t worry) but here’s basically all you need to know” and proceeds to give probably the most articulate pieces of writing neil has ever read

- neil reads it all and takes a few notes and passes his exam with a reasonably good grade

- he buys a box or carton of just about every health food or supplement he’s seen kevin have over the last six months and dumps it on kevins bed as a sign of his gratitude

[jostenjorts]

Kidnapper: We have your boyfriend

Neil: No you don’t

Kidnapper: Is Andrew Minyard your boyfriend?

Neil: Who’s asking?

Kidnapper: Is Kevin Day also your boyfriend?

Neil: Why? is he there?

Kidnapper: perhaps

Neil: omw [hangs up]

[bambazzle]

My gift for @scatter-brain-at-work for the aftg exchange! Neil watching his faves do surf tricks at the beach! @aftgexchange

[sasgfs]

do me a favour by arctic monkeys is actually the kandreil anthem