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xxxbabyinatrenchcoatxxx · 7 months

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I love Andrew Minyard as a criminal justice major. Just imagine the possibilities that could happen!! He'd 100% write a paper about nature vs nurture that is about himself and Neil (only if you read between the lines can you tell that tho)

Oh man!! An idea is coming into my head as I think about this!!

Okay, okay, so imagine the following.

Andrew is in his The Serial Killer's Psyche class when he learns about the more recent recent killers, including The Baltimore Butcher.

He lowkey becomes fascinated with the whole thing.

(It's the knives)

And goes down a rabbit hole looking into anything and everything regarding the Wesninski family.

He learns that Nathan was married and had a son, Nathaniel, with a member of another known mafia family from across the Atlantic, Mary.

The son would be the perfect killing machine for these two.

But then he learns that Mary and Nathaniel died tragically in an unknown form.

"The family wants to keep their privacy in these hard times." The press says.

Despite Andrew researching for days (he even went to the library once!) He can't find any record of how they died, but their death certificates have the same time stamp on them so at least he knows they died at the same time.

After finding out as much as he can about the family, he is (and he would never admit this to anyone at all ever) solely on the side of the cops in believing that Nathan Wesninski is The Baltimore Butcher despite there not being enough evidence, etc etc.

Having learned all he could, he all but forgets about the Wesninski family.

Fast forward to the next semester when Kevin tells him they are going to Arizona because he found them a new striker.

As Neil is trying to catch his breath from Andrew hitting him, Andrew is suddenly excepiencing a new phenomenon to him "familiarity"

For some reason, this flight risk reminds him of someone, but he can't quite remember who.

This is new.

Not remembering something.

Is his memory failing him for the first time ever?

He blames it on his meds and moves on

Everytime he sees Neil after he moves to Palmetto, he has the same feeling.

Ever. Single. Time.

It is increasingly aggravating and intirely too intresting.

After weeks spent trying to remember who Neil reminded him of, filing through every person he's ever encountered, and Neil's skitish behavior, he decided that Neil must be a threat.

Why else would his instincts tell him not to trust Neil?

Why didn't he react to the Moriyamas coming south that fall?

Why couldn't he fucking remember where he knew Neil from???

His shell cracked a little bit and he decided on impulse that Neil was going to Eden's with them

Andrew was practically vibrating with rage by the end of that night.

"Who are you?" Andrew asked.

"Wha- I don't understand? I'm Neil?"

"No. I know you, but I've never seen you before." Andrew watched as Neil tensed, wondering what was running through the runners head.

"We don't know each other." Neil made as if to walk away, but he didn't make it far before he had to grab the wall to stabilize himself.

"I know you." Andrew said, grabbing his shoulder.

"No, you don't." Neil shoved him.

"Do you work for the Moriyamas?"

"You think I'm a mole?" Neil scoffed, but it was more slurred with the drugs in his system.

"You're something. And I know how to properly dispose of a body." Andrew said lowly, threatingly, putting both hands on either side of Neil, caging him him.

"So do I." Neil's voice was steady, and he shoved Andrew back as far as he could before taking off.

Neil feeds Andrew half-truths the next day at Wymacks, saying that he must have seen him on the street somewhere. He honestly had no idea why Andrew recognized him.

Andrew doesn't believe that, but he believes Neil's half-truths about his family and lets him go.

Eventually, the familiar feeling is exchanged with actual recognition, and the books continue on as normal

UNTIL

Andrew gets out of Easthaven and sees Neil with his blue eyes and Aubrun hair and brused face, and Andrew freezes for only a moment.

But for that moment, it's like a Christmas tree lighting up in Andrew's head.

Neurons firing and connecting dots he didn't know went to together.

Nathaniel Wesninski stood next to his family

Nathaniel Wesninski protected his family while he was in rehab

Nathaniel Wesninski has been alone with Kevin every night for the past 4 months

Nathaniel Wesninksi was a runaway

Nathaniel Wesninski was alive

Nathaniel Wesninski

Andrew doesn't know what to do with this information yet, so he does nothing

He goes about his decided itinerary for the day

He still doesn't know what to do until "I never understood why he liked knives."

Everyone else was thinking Riko, but Andrew was thinking Nathan.

He decides then and there that he's not going to say anything until Neil tells him.

Neil's "I'm Nathaniel" hits Andrew like a gut punch.

He already knew it but now it's confirmed.

When Neil goes missing, Andrew was the first to tell coach about Nathan's release from prison.

He persuades Coach (read: stares down repeating "Baltimore") to take them to Baltimore because that's where Neil is.

Books go on as normal

Life seemingly goes back to normal after summer break.

They start the new semester with significantly fewer worries, and Neil is figuring out his newfound freedom.

Andrew is in his Advanced Psychology class when Nathan Wesninski is brought up again.

The professor - fortunately for her sake - doesn't mention Neil or Nathaniel at all but assigned them an imaginative assignment

They are to pick a serial killer and study what is known about their at home life and write a paper about what it might be like to grow up in that kind of enviroment

Andrew was going to ignore this assignment, but Neil found out and thought the whole thing was hilarious.

Neil finds out that Andrew was entirely too fascinated by the Wesninski family.

"You liked me before you even met me."

Eventually, they decided that Andrew didn't have to write the paper.

"Mr. Minyard. It is your turn to present."

Andrew and Neil walk to the front.

"This was a single person assignment, Mr. Minyard."

"I think a first-hand account is better than anything I could have come up with. Don't you think?"

"First hand?"

"Hello Andrew's classmates. I'm Nathaniel Wesninski, but please call me Neil. Fair warning. If you ever call me Nathaniel, I will kill you."

They spend the rest of the class basically ragging on Nathan the entire time

#aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #the foxes #aftg neil #the foxhole court #andriel #the raven king #the kings men #aftg au #criminal justice major Andrew Minyard

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kiwiaok · 5 months

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even more things from my aftg hungers games au:

• allison being a mix of cinna’s and effie’s characters: she’s neil’s stylist but she’s also with the rebels and accompanies them to district 13

• matt and dan are the capitol’s darlings, the only pair that was ever allowed to win together; during 75th hg they drop the baby bomb except dan actually is pregnant

• renee is the one with the bow and it’s her that destroys the arena

• andrew was involved with the rebelión (as were most tributes during 75th games) but he didn’t share any info with neil, still not trusting him enough to endanger the fate of his family. later, when andrew is saved and neil is taken by the capitol and drew watches videos of neil’s torture he wishes he told neil. he doesn’t believe in regret but when neil from the video starts crying and murmuring “pleasepleasepleasestopnononoplease” the bad taste in his mouth tastes like regret anyway

• during 74th games neil acts like a chameleon. he does what he always did best and accommodates to his surroundings. he fits seamlessly with the capitol, he’s charming, funny, stealing the hearts of sponsors. during 75th games he’s angry, he’s spitting and throwing punches, unwilling to try to get into anyone’s good graces as he’s a dead man walking either way. andrew likes him much more this way

• nathan sending neil a cleaver as a gift during games and not just any cleaver - the exact one neil was forced to use as a kid and that had been used on him. thus: neil absolutely losing his shit and going batshit crazy in the arena

• unhinged, bloody neil, panting and curling his hands around the cleaver as he stands among bodies he just ripped apart (this one scene is very vivid in my mind and it makes me all kinds of hot and bothered tbh)

• jerjean arc hehe. and I ain’t tellin you nothin more

• kevaaron!! aaron becoming a doctor in district 13 like prim did. aaron meeting kevin and teaching him what a healing, gentle touch is. teaching him how it is to belong with someone not to someone. both of them teaching each other how to step out of their brothers’ shadow and become their own people

#kevaaron so lovely I’d hate if sth happened to either of them #the hunger games #aftghungergamesau #aftg #all for the game #fanfic #kevaaron #jerjean #ao3 #the foxhole court #aftg trilogy #andreil #kiwiaok

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stabbyfoxandrew · 25 days

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happy wipwednesday my beloved! i glad to see that you survived yesterday's fight with our angel and came out winning!

i am here to humbly request to know what your other problem child is up after he fucked up his not-date. Can't wait for you to break my heart again but until then:

kith <3

WIP Wednesday (4/3) | Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 126)

The only way Neil can fix this is by explaining himself. And explaining means telling the truth. A lot of it. Pretty much all of it, he thinks.

How can he possibly do that?

Neil’s never told anyone the truth. Well, besides the FBI. And that doesn’t really count because he had no choice. That night it was either tell the truth or go to prison for being related to Nathan Wesninski. He chose wisely, of course. But it was no picnic for him. Neil recalls those horrible hours he spent recounting his absolutely abysmal childhood to a government issue thug wearing scuffed loafers and a bored expression.

They didn’t believe him at first. Not totally. They made him rehash everything over and over until his throat was raw from talking so much and they were finally, finally satisfied with his life story. Then they shoved him into witness protection, where he was forced to spend almost a year living in North Dakota under the name Peter Duncan.

God, Neil loathes that state. And he loathed Peter. And that stupid, dinky little apartment with the awful neighbors and shoddy TV service. Sure it was stable. Normal, even. But, as insane as it would seem to anyone else, he prefers being on the road again. Running is something he’s used to. Something that makes sense even though his demons are long buried.

He likes traveling without a destination. He likes free Wi-Fi and complimentary breakfasts and room service and nice people telling him to ‘come again’. He likes his stupid little car and it’s stupid broken radio that’s thankfully stuck on a sports channel.

Hell, he even likes Neil. He likes the man he’s become since crawling out from under his mother’s corpse and his father’s ax. Because despite everything— all the names he’s used and cities he’s seen and things he’s had to do to survive— he’s turned out to be a mostly decent person. Except for the whole… ‘burning down buildings’ thing. But he’s working on it. Sort of. And on the bright side, he hasn’t killed anyone in years. Those were all self defense, of course. So… Do they really count?

Wait a minute, Neil blinks. What was his point?

Oh. Right. The truth.

Other than those suited pricks at the bureau, it’s a completely foreign concept to him. Neil runs his fingers through his hair a few dozen times, the curls tangling around his fingers as he does. He rips his fingers through and wonders if he should shave his head again. No. No, it’s about to be winter and he hates when his ears are cold.

And with his hair longer, he looks less like his father.

To prove that, Neil looks into the bathroom mirror and finds Neil Josten there. Not Nathan or Nathaniel. Not even Peter. (Of course not, Peter had black hair.) Neil gives his disassembled phone a glance and wonders if Andrew would’ve wanted to be friends with Peter. Or any of his other aliases with friendly dispositions.

It wouldn't matter. None of them would ever have even tried. That's one thing that sets him apart from all his past selves. He's trying. Neil lets out a breath. He’ll put his phone back together and tell Andrew… Something.

In a day or two.

When he figures out what that something is.

#your boy is Thinking tonight my dear. he is having a Time rn. (cue neil josten freaking out about the terrifying prospect of being known)#also muah muah muah <3333 #andreil #aftg #WIP Wednesday #Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew #🕊️#answered #tisaqslur

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starrycassi · 3 months

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This is a somewhat outline of my church-aftg au, because I'm having so many thoughts but so little time.

Mary dies before she does in canon. Nathaniel is 15 (or so. I suck at math and ages) and either found by one nun or forced by the situation to search for refuge in a church. He gets there, that's the point.

At the same time, the whole Drake thing is happening with Andrew. But, instead of being send to juvie, he ends up in a "Troubled Teens" program. He doesn't care as long as he's away.

Nathaniel (who has John as a temporal name) and him end up being roommates. Nathaniel tries to stay under the radar and that strategy work for like one week beforehand Andrew gets into trouble and he explodes.

The church has an exy team! Nathaniel gets into it willingly and he makes a deal with Andrew to get him to play, too. He never expected the blonde to be actually fucking great at it but God is Great or something.

And so, they slowly build up their very lovely bond we all know and care about.

Also, Renee is there! She's not yet a reformed christian here but she's on the path. She's in the team of another church and they get there every so often to play against them.

Also she comes by with her mom (reluctantly) to do donations and stuff.

Andrew and Nathaniel immediately clock her down as being dangerous and they confront her about it.

She explains everything in exchange for an explanation of their own and they become a weird kind of trio, with Nathaniel still keeping his distance but trying to be neutral or even nice.

And things are kinda okay for some time.

Then Luther tracks Andrew down and just fucking shows up one day.

He's like "Oh I'm so glad you're in the church!!" and Andrew immediately wants to rip his throat open

Nicky's there. He came home to try and help his family reconnect and all that

So Andrew and his family are meeting. Nathaniel is just kinda there (an this point, andrew knows about "John's" dad being called Nathan and about his real name) and to be an annoying shit he calls him "Niel"

Nicky goes "You called him miel? Like,, honey in Spanish??" Wink wink

And Andrew very casually just says "Nah. His name is Neil. I mix up the letters to make sure he's paying attention

And that's where the name comes from

So yeah whatever shenanigans ensue mafia blood guys gays sports yada yada

I think Neil ends up being taken in by Renee's mom because if anyone is badass enough to deal with TWO crazy mafia-related kids is Stephanie Fucking Walker

#aftg au #yes I know miel is not a pet name in Spanish this is just nicky being a piece of shit #andreil au #andreil #andrew aftg #neil aftg #nathaniel aftg #renee walker #aftg church au #aftg #aftg headcanon #aftg andreil #yeah idk if this mskes sense but whatever

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adamwatchesmovies · 1 month

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Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

I might’ve been a little starved for blockbusters the first time I saw Godzilla vs. Kong and rated it. In my defense, it was during the pandemic and the other movies I was able to see during lockdown were mostly disappointments. Reviewing the film again, I recognize that the human’s plot is undercooked while everything with the monsters is spectacular. Well, at least the movie knows where its priorities stand and considering what its audience wants to see…

When Godzilla suddenly attacks Apex Cybernetics’ Pensacola facility, conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) becomes convinced they somehow provoked the titan. Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) - an avid fan of his podcast - shares his suspicions. They rope her friend Josh (Julian Dennison) into investigating and confirm their fears aren't entirely unfounded. After the attack, Apex insists mankind needs to develop a weapon against Godzilla and asks Monarch to give them access to Kong. They believe the titan ape can lead them inside the vast caverns below our world to a power source formidable enough to take down the king of the monsters.

Though Godzilla’s name appears first in the title, this film is about Kong much more than the radioactive dinosaur. It’s a good choice, as the ape is resourceful, an underdog in this fight and intelligent enough to communicate with Monarch via sign language. Godzilla might’ve protected the Earth/humanity in the previous movies, but was it really a heroic character, or was the nuclear reptile just killing its rivals? Kong, on the other hand, has actual human friends. Even though the Iwis we met during Kong: Skull Island have been wiped out (seems like a missed opportunity), Kong still has a link to them in the form of Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a deaf-mute Iwi survivor adopted by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Nonetheless, his situation gives him a very relatable quest: he wants to know if there is a new family for him out there.

One-half of the human's story fares fairly well. With the help of Apex Cybernetics, Dr. Ilene Andrews, along with Jia and hollow-earth scientist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) follow Kong into this hidden world beneath our feet that houses all sorts of monsters and an ancient rivalry between Kong and Godzilla (seems wacky, but it does lead to some fun developments). These characters are following Kong on his journey so when the 8th wonder of the world is put in danger, they are too. The other humans, however, feel like they only appear to deliver exposition or to give us some familiar faces. You could easily re-jig this story to remove them.

But of course, you didn't come to this film for the human element. Yes, kaiju films are better when the "tiny" protagonists are compelling, but if there's one aspect of this movie director Adam Wingard had to get right, it was the Godzilla and Kong stuff. I'm happy to say you won't be disappointed. The Titan battles are varied, clearly shot, tense and action-packed. You get three rounds between Kong and Godzilla, with a clear winner at the end that will leave fans of either camp satisfied. I know a lot of purists will say a Godzilla film isn't the same without rubber suits, but this picture does so much with modern special effects. Varied locations, varied angles, moves no human could do, etc. That last brawl in the neon-lit Hong Kong will make you say "wow!".

There have been a lot of Godzilla films since the character appeared. Some have been dramatic, others comedic or somewhere in the middle with an emphasis on dumb fun. None have featured action scenes as good as the ones in Godzilla vs. Kong. Even if you only have a passing interest in the characters, the highlights are strong, strong enough to make you forgive the parts that could've been strengthened. It's not even a guilty pleasure; it's gargantuan fun. (On Blu-ray, March 27, 2024)

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tickly-giggles · 8 months

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So many questions to ask to your boys~! I'll go with one for each one of them if that's ok~!

For Andrew 😥 does he struggle with anything?

For Eric 😘 how does he show his love?

For Christian 🤫 does he have any secrets?

For Nathan 🤨 what is something not many people know about him?

Omg this is amazing, thank you for all the questions!! And yes, please send as many as you'd like ^w^

Send in OC asks!

Andrew has anger issues. He's got a big ego and is pretty hot-headed. However, most of his struggles lie with not being open to talking about his problems. He has his fair share of yucky memories from childhood, and growing up, he was sorta taught that violence is one of the most effective ways to deal with people. As an adult, he's more or less grown out of that mindset, but he can still get confrontational, which is where the anger issues play a part. Luckily, he's picked up drumming as a coping mechanism, so he'll go slam on his drums if he's really pissed off. Unfortunately, that only leads to him bottling up his emotions more because he feels that since the initial anger is gone, he is okay. (Spoiler alert: he's not)

Eric is not good at expressing his feelings through words at all. Whispering sweet nothings, romantic one-liners, flirty banter, it's just not his thing. He gets quite flustered when put in a romantic situation and, depending on the person, he'll either shut down almost entirely and become a blushy puddle, or he'll go "tsundere mode" where he tries to replace his butterflies with anger and swear he's fine while blushing up a storm. Because of all of this, he prefers to express his love through actions. Little acts of kindness like offering to pay for a meal go a long way in showing just how much he cares about the guys. He doesn't always act like it, but he adores them~.

Christian isn't too secretive of a person, but the biggest secret he does have is his natural hair color. It is obviously dyed, but his natural hair is platinum blonde. He really dislikes it and doesn't like it when people bring it up.

(Here's a little drawing of it btw 👀)

Nathan is an absolute sweetheart who has the patience of a saint and is a very cheerful and bubbly person. So, at first glance, you might not guess he suffers from depression and self-esteem issues. He's been dealing with it since he was little, and it's caused a roller coaster of emotions throughout his life, as well as some bad mistakes. Not even his friends know the full extent of it because he doesn't want them to worry or treat him like he needs to be babied. He's a soft boi, but he's strong and knows he can handle it on his own.

#asks #answered asks #oc asks #oc questions #nathan #andrew #eric #christian #character development #ocs #original characters #original character asks #original character lore #oc lore

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bailesona · 1 year

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okayokayokay SO!!! let me see if i can describe the grishaverse verse for the entire multi.

instead of stanley's diner, the business is now a tavern in ketterdam called the candlewick.

richard, formerly of a very wealthy merchant family in east kerch, met, fell in love with, and married stanley, a self-proclaimed "wanderer" of many places and many homes who found himself so besotted with richard, that he decided to make richard's arms his final home.

tying into aisling's grishaverse verse, they owned a small building directly beside the pile of wood and brick that would soon become the candlewick. they adopted and raised four boys in that time; henri, nathan, etienne and ramsay. together, they operated a small bakery and coffee shop that served primarily sailors who brought goods into the island.

enter aisling, victor, elena and eli.

they've travelled from the opposite end of kerch to ketterdam with a sizable pile of money to secure them either a modest life hidden above a laundry house, or to spend in one instalment on said pile of wood and brick next to stanley and richard's humble abode.

now a number of things begin to happen.

upon purchasing the candlewick, nathan and etienne decide to help set things up with aisling and the kids. at this point, elena's estranged uncle daniel (who along with aisling knows he's her uncle, but elena doesn't know) arrives in from ravka, and decides to help his niece in whatever way he can. he decides to stay and help set up the candlewick.

a young singer, renée, arrives shortly after the candlewick begins to look respectable. in exchange for singing at the tavern, she will also bring in two girls who have been sharing a tiny cramped bedroom with her in their former lodgings, and they will work in exchange for a place to stay. renée, rani and bella inspire aisling to create additional rooms in the tavern and turn it into an inn as well as a tavern.

richard, stanley and the four men have, at this point, spent so much time helping with the candlewick that they lack interest in returning to serve more black coffee and rye loaves to the sailors. aisling signs a contract with richard that enables them to merge the two buildings.

now the kids arrive. tina and tim are orphans who possess excellent talents that will be wasted if the owner of their orphanage has their way and sends them to join the army when they age out. they escape to ketterdam with three others, two of which are grisha; gabriela is a heartrender, andrew is a squaller. sam is not grisha. i'll make a post abt this later, i like backstories!

as they arrive and explain their statuses as fugitives, aisling and the adults, including aisling's fiancé eoin, decide to use the addition space to install secret tunnels and passages within the walls and floors of the tavern that lead to three secret exits; one leads to three boats beneath the tavern in the docks, another leads to the opposite side of the tavern, and the third goes to the roof, where a series of bridges and wires lead to the various rooftops in the surrounding area.

when eoin is killed indirectly by his former employer, pek.ka rol.lins, aisling's grief leads to another decision on behalf of the squad. they have become a gang. not using violence or blackmail, but rather by using their statuses as the owners of a nice tavern with good food, a brilliant entertainer, and rooms that are fit for royalty. nobody will suspect them of gathering and utilising secrets shared by drunk or overly chatty men and woman and folks at the bar. nobody will learn that they file these facts away to aid with future crimes.

the gang is named the ashes, and in eoin's memory, one of pranks and petty revenge, they use their profits to purchase enough land surrounding and including parts of the docks to install an outdoor dining area, a play area for the kids, and a small local market for vendors who wish to cater to the sailors and fishermen who flock that stretch.

as a result, this has instigated something of an on-going, simmering tension between the two gangs. but aisling refuses to let it go further than this for now. after all, they've lost more than enough as it is.

#grishaverse v tbt.#( ooc. )#( this is pt. 1 )#( bc pt. 2 is like )#( where i explain what each character's role and information is in relation to this verse )#( but also idk if this makes sense or if it works out so !!! )#( anyway back to studying ! )

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thehalcyonharbinger · 4 years

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Cute andreil facts from Nora’s posts that everybody forgets about

They actually do hold hands

When Robin moves to their dorm (during Neil’s fourth, Andrew’s fifth year) Andrew relinquishes his loft and shares with Neil the entire year

Renee was the first one to catch on Andrew’s attraction to Neil, but Kevin was the first one to catch on Neil’s attraction to Andrew

After Aaron outs Andrew and Neil’s relationship to Betsy (during The King’s Men), Betsy sends Andrew a message that says ‘’I’m happy for you’’

Andrew punches their pro team coach when he makes Neil play despite his injury

They sit on each other’s laps

Andrew is usually the big spoon

Andrew isn’t actually the top, they switch (by the time Neil becomes the Foxes’ captain, they are comfortable either way)

They go on dates, mostly long drives to nowhere, but also long walks on the beach or even a table for two

They stock coffee in their house in case one of them wakes up in the middle of the night because of nightmares

They don’t say ‘I love you’ because neither of them have ever heard anyone say these words directly to them, but there are times when Neil could’ve said them: during Aaron’s trial, when Betsy had a heart attack, during Nathan Wesninski’s trial, when they finally got their own apartment, when their team beats Kevin’s, when the US Court wins the gold medal

Their ‘I love you’ is in ‘Stay’, ‘Don’t go’, ‘Welcome home’

Neil likes forehead kisses, and Andrew is definitely tall enough to give them

Their first time was stressful for both of them, not only for Neil (we like to paint Andrew as this very experienced dude, and forget that Neil is actually his first too, which is sad)

Andrew discusses his and Neil’s relationship with Renee

Andrew buys Neil a camera when he noticed how much Neil loved the photos in the lounge

Andrew destroys the hems of every single pair of pants he owns because they are too long

One day they both stop asking

One day Andrew will learn to trust Neil with all of himself

Andrew is better with kids than Neil

When it’s nearly time for Aaron’s trial, Neil asks Betsy to be there for Andrew and says that he needs a mother right now

Neil practises picking locks, so he handcuffs himself to a bed

when Andrew finds him, he makes fun of his miserable attempts and leaves him handcuffed to the bed, stating that he did it to himself and now has to deal with the consequences

The next day Neil handcuffs himself to Andrew, so he won’t leave him again

*So obvioulsy the statement ‘’everybody forgets about’’ is false, but I wanted to write down all of my favourites (even though I’ve probably forgotten about at least half of them)

This post also exists for writers who need some fanfic ideas, etc.

If you feel like adding anything I didn’t include, please go ahead, let this post be even longer it already is

#the foxhole court #headcanon #or just canon #andreil #aftg #all for the game #tfc #neil josten #andrew minyard #fanfiction #I know this fandom isn't a big fan of THE POSTS trademark but I love them #let me live #the raven king #the king's men

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spacepanda7 · 3 years

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I know a lot of AUs of AftG/TFC have been done in the Avatar universe, but has anyone done an Avatar: the Last Airbender AU?

Kevin, the Avatar has been missing for 100 years, before he is unwittingly discovered inside an iceberg by estranged waterbender twins Aaron and Andrew and their nonbending cousin Nicky who live in the Southern Water Tribe. (Aaron and Andrew do not give me waterbender vibes, but changing the nations didn't work that well, since either their trips would end up way shorter or the Air Nomads would be the world invaders. Which, no. Oh well, Aaron wants to heal people.) They find out he is the Avatar and reluctantly agree to accompany him to the Northern Water Tribe to learn waterbending. Along the way, they find out the exiled fire nation Prince Nathaniel is hunting the Avatar, in order to regain his honor. He is traveling alongside former General David Wymack, a taciturn man who nonetheless tries to guide and help his ward.

Along the way, they meet some interesting people and new friends including Roland, the leader of the Freedom Fighters, Dan, a young earthbender who Kevin helped break out of prison, and Erik, who leads the Kyoshi Warriors, and also encounter new enemies, including Commander Tetsuji of the Fire Nation. Once they get to the Northern Water Tribe, they meet the waterbending master Chuck. Initially, he wants to make Aaron go into warrior training instead of healing, as he wishes, due to the fact that male waterbenders are drafted to fight. But after a beatdown from Aaron, the Healing master Abby, and the fighting master Betsy (women fight here, they have an option but men have to) he agrees to let Aaron train as a healer. Andrew learns how to fight alongside Avatar Kevin. The Fire Nation invades, Kevin is briefly captured by Prince Nathaniel who Andrew defeats in a few seconds flat, and Commander Tetsuji tries to kill the Moon and is dragged into the Spirit World. Goodbye and good riddance to him.

So, next stop is the Earth Kingdom, where they look for an earthbending master. Eventually they find Katelyn, a young earthbending prodigy who was blinded in an accident as a child, and is therefore overly sheltered by her parents and sneaks out to fight in the Earth Rumbles. She travels with them to teach Kevin earthbending, and despite her disagreements with Kevin and Andrew (Aaron is immediately rather taken with her), she becomes a part of their group. They find out they have a new pursuer, the Crown Prince Riko of the Fire Nation and his two close nonbending friends, Jeremy, a cheerful chi blocker, and Jean, an apathetic swordsman (Knives will be Neil's thing). Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Wymack end up pursued by Riko as traitors, and are forced to go incognito in the Earth Kingdom, taking on the names Kyle (idk, in honor of Kayleigh, okay?) and Neil Josten.

Their paths cross in Ba Sing Se when they meet the conniving leader of the Dai Li, Proust. They tangle with the Dai Li and the incognito Prince Riko who is disguised as Erik, who recently rekindled a romance with Nicky on their way across the Serpent's Pass and was captured shortly after. After Nathaniel and Andrew are captured and thrown into the catacombs together, they talk, during which time Nathaniel expresses remorse for the suffering and personal trauma the Fire Nation inflicted on Andrew. He in turn, reveals that he is only after Kevin due to fear of what his father, Firelord Nathan, would inflict upon both him and Kevin's group if he doesn't obey, saying that while he is attemoting to capture Kevin to prove himself worth keeping alive, he is also trying to keep Kevin and the team out of his father's hands. Andrew tells him to "stop being a martyr". However, after they are freed and encounter Riko and Wymack in the catacombs, Nathaniel appears to change his mind and joins Riko in fighting Andrew, Kevin, and Aaron. Wymack surrenders himself in order to let the others escape. Riko mangles Kevin's left hand and almost kills him but Aaron manages to heal him and Andrew promises to protect him.

The Monsters regroup incognito in the Fire Nation to wait for the Day of Black Sun invasion. The invasion day arrives and everything seems to be going as planned until Kevin, Aaron, Nicky, and Katelyn encounter Riko in the throne room instead of Nathan. Nathaniel confronts his father and escapes to join the Monsters and most of their allies end up captured, though their old Freedom Fighting friends Matt and Allison and the earthbender Dan escape with them. They arrive at the Western Air Temple to recuperate and attempt to think of a new Firebending teacher for Kevin. Nathaniel, who now goes full time as Neil Josten, arrives and offers to help. He is immediately scorned by Kevin and mocked by Aaron and Andrew. However, when the assassin Gorilla (sent by Riko) arrives to kill the Monsters, Neil saves them and they reluctantly accept him. He warms up to the group members one by one, helping Nicky break Erik out of the Boiling Rock and helping Aaron hunt down and kill his brother's former tormentor Drake. While at the Boiling Rock, Jean makes a split second decision to save Neil, who he used to be close friends with, and Jeremy jumps in to help, resulting in their capture. After their "field trips", Neil tentatively earns Andrew's intrigue and Aaron's reluctant acceptance.

The comet arrives and Kevin goes missing. The rest of the monsters find their old mentors including Betsy and Abby, and Neil discovers Wymack as well. They reconcile and he advises them about what to do next. As the comet approaches, Aaron, Katelyn, Nicky, and Erik travel to the airship base to hopefully meet up with Kevin as he confronts Firelord Nathan. Neil and Andrew travel to the Fire Nation to confront Riko. After an extended, tough battle, when all hope seems gone, Kevin manages to hit Nathan, momentarily incapacitating him enough to kill him. Riko challenges Neil to an Agni Kai which he accepts. He is winning until Riko aims lightning at Andrew instead and Neil dives in front of him. Andrew fights Riko and manages to chain him and smash his arm. As a result, he has a psychotic break and kills himself. Andrew heals Neil and yells at him for making himself a martyr. Neil says that he wouldn't have done anything that might result in losing Andrew. He so explains that if he had turned on Riko in the catacombs, he would have been exposed, and his father would have stopped at nothing to break him, including torturing the Monsters. Andrew appears to accept the explanation.

And we know the rest: Kevin is crowned Firelord, and he, Jean and Jeremy, figure out where to go from there. Aaron travels home with Katelyn, Andrew stays to protect Kevin, and Neil stays with him, and Nicky and Erik leave to travel the world. Dan and Matt, and Allison and Renee get together and return home as well. And they live, not happily ever after, but something approaching it.

P.S. a few years later, Kevin goes on a search for his mother Kayleigh.

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jostenjorts · 2 years

Text

continuing on from this https://jostenjorts.tumblr.com/post/666747509802139648/lets-be-honest-i-was-obviously-gonna-make bc I just learned that Neil’s favourite colour is grey/gray

After all the arguments over whether or not grey was a shade or colour that ruined every family meal, bonding, day to day activities

Hell, Nathaniel had even gotten a call during class once from his parents because he wasn’t answering their group chat and it was just to get his opinion on the matter

It continued on over the years and he hadn’t realised that one argument between his parents had become part of his day to day life

Andrew was the first to point it out, all the grey that Nathaniel had. From the case on his phone, his shirts all being different shades of grey, never white or black and his shoes that he wore were the same

He dismissed it, thinking the blonde had gone beyond crazy

Only to go home one day and stare at his room

It was so very grey, the only colour being splashes of orange from his time with the foxes and there was red hanging around too from his time as a raven

There was also white and black, which further brought attention to all of the grey in his room

He hated it, but it also made sense why his mother never came into his room unless she needed too. Though he only assumed that was because she didn’t want to walk in on him doing whatever

An hour later his parents were arguing over it again. Andrew was with him, only staring at his phone, already used to the ‘grey being a shade not a colour- stfu Nathan it is a colour’ argument

Andrew nudged his knee against Nathaniel’s, entering that small space that kept between themselves while sitting on the redheads bed

The two shared a look, a grin from Nathaniel and a twitch of the lips from Andrew before he forced it down, looking disgusted at himself for almost smiling

They went downstairs, then to the basement when they saw the door opened

Mary was stitching up a wound on Nathan’s shoulder, muttering to herself how big of a fucking idiot her husband was for not watching his back and mockingly asked where Lola was

Nathan told her to stop being jealous about Lola

“She’s dead, you killed her, why are you still being bitchy and bringing her name up?”

He hissed when she ‘accidentally’ did her work a little more aggressive then usual. Only to stop, looking up to see her son and his not boyfriend

“oh hi boys! what brings you two down here?” she asked, previous conversation forgotten

“just had some news to share” Nathaniel responded, hands going to his pockets and once again shared a look with Andrew before paying attention to his parents again

“if the news is about you and him dating, we already know and we love you but it was painfully obvious-“ Nathan started, only to curse at the smack to the head he got from Mary

Nathaniel and Andrew only stared at the two, one staying looking amused while the other went back upstairs needing a smoke

“well no, that’s not what I was going to drop on you but we aren’t dating.” He said, sounding close to laughing. He didn’t know what he and Andrew were, they didn’t put a name on it nor talked about what they were

“well, go on then.”

Nathaniel started to walk back up the stairs, wanting to avoid the argument that was too happen in an instant. “Well you see, mum you hate it, dad you’ll get mad either way from what I’m about to say,” another step up the stairs, body turned and ready to bolt. “Discovered recently that my favourite colour is grey, okay bye, love you, I’ll be back later.” He left, slamming the basement door shut and ran out the front door, grinning to see Andrew already in his car

Before he left, Nathan and Mary were heard arguing and calling Nathaniel to come back, but he either didn’t hear or just chose to ignore them

Either way, the two ended up arguing. Mary being mad that her son liked the colour grey but also being pleased to hold that over Nathan’s head

That grey is a colour

Nathan was annoyed that his son had called grey a colour when it was a shade and jumped right into that argument for the second time in the last hour as Mary continued to stitch him up

#aftg #all for the game #andreil #andrew minyard #neil josten #nathan wesninski #nathaniel wesninski #mary hatford

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darkblueboxs · 4 years

Text

What your favourite aftg ship says about you

Inspired by the eldena doubleca5t youtube videos

neil/andrew: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of deep-seated mistrust. You likely spent your teenage years obsessing over edgy anime boys who have trouble talking about their feelings.

kevin/andrew: your ideal relationship dynamic is either bodyguard x protectee or hamster x banana

neil/kevin: you spend your saturdays panhandling outside nora’s house for spare kevin character development

neil/andrew/kevin: you just wanted good things for kevin, and really, who wouldn’t?

neil/matt: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of two bros chillin’ in a hot tub

dan/matt: you are a firm believer in men! getting! pegged!

renee/allison: you want a girlfriend that not only can kick your ass, but will do so on request

seth/allison: your ideal relationship dynamic is sitcom wife x sitcom husband

kevin/aaron: your interest in these characters’ established relationships is outweighed by your need to make it gay

seth/kevin: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of wanting to punch each other in the face

allison/kevin: you may be firm believer in the inherent eroticism of wanting to punch each other in the face, but you mostly just want allison to step on you

seth/aaron: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of homophobia

dan/renee: you probably read the extra content

dan/allison: same joke as renison but you have a complicated relationship with religion

aaron/katelyn: your ideal relationship dynamic is marrying your highschool crush.

erik/nicky: you just wanted good things for nicky, and honestly, who wouldn’t?

laila/alvarez: you are always a slut for minor characters in dire need of more screentime

neil/ichirou: you don’t understand why anyone would waste their time fucking around with jock drama when there’s a sinister mafia boss right there

stuart/ichirou: this is the same joke as neil/ichirou but you also have a crippling addiction to dilfs

nathan/ichirou: this is the same joke as stuart/ichirou but you also a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of murder

neil/jean: you are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma

kevin/jean: your belief in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma is outweighed only by your love for the childhood friends to lovers trope

neil/r*ko: you like andreil in theory, but you just don’t think they spent enough time wanting each other dead

kevin/r*ko: your love for the childhood friends to enemies to lovers trope outweighs your interest in avoiding becoming the subject of a callout post

jeremy/jean: your ideal relationship dynamic is tortured edgy boy with a soft spot for one (1) ray of sunshine

jeremy/kevin: your ideal relationship dynamic is getting your senpai to notice you

abby/wymack: you’re either a sucker for a cutesy team mom x team dad slowburn or you have a crippling addiction to dilfs

kayleigh/wymack: your addiction to dilfs is outweighed only by your addiction to pain

jean/renee: you are a firm believer in mlm/wlw solidarity

kevin/thea: you are nora sakavic

#aftg #tfc #all for the game #the foxhole court #andreil #pls do not take any of these dumb jokes seriously #there was like forty jokes i could have made for andreil god it was hard to pick #mine

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twokisses · 3 years

Text

thicker than blood;

an andreil fic

4988 words | rated: m

summary: Neil receives news of Stuart Hatford's death, and it very nearly breaks him. Andrew helps him through it.

(A fic exploring the first time Neil and Andrew use the handcuffs Roland gave them, and everything surrounding it. Based off Nora Sakavic's extra content.)

huge huge thank you to my betas @werebearish (who helped me so much overall & especially with making sure i was doing okay with the communication and consent in this fic) and @sharing-a-room-with-an-open-fire for being lovely both as beta and hype person!

Read on my AO3,

OR keep scrolling to read it right here on tumblr! 💖enjoy.

----------------

Neil gets a phone call in the middle of dinner.

His awful factory-made ringtone cuts right through the calm of the kitchen, tinny and sharp. Andrew aims a questioning look at him across the counter, strewn with half-full paper containers and plastic cutlery, and Neil frowns in return. He's currently got a mouth full of mashed potato and a lap full of King, who's curled up in a fat, white ball and purring in perfect contentment. It’s a terribly relaxed scene to interrupt.

‘Nicky?’ he guesses listlessly. Andrew shrugs. It is the most likely possibility. Nicky’s been planning some Fox reunion for weeks, and hasn’t stopped pestering Neil for help with it. (He’s in Germany now too, and the time zones are an added nuisance. Andrew has aggressively ended more than one of his calls that have woken him up in the middle of the night.) (He lets Neil make his apologies in the morning.)

Neil lets out a sigh, and Andrew recognises its quality: three parts resigned and one part hopelessly fond. It's practically reserved for the Foxes. Then he watches as Neil pushes back from the table to stand, forcing King to jump off his lap. The little pest mewls indignantly as Neil disappears into the living room. He (the cat) has always preferred Neil over Andrew. Not that it stops him from padding over to try his luck near Andrew's chair instead. Andrew splits his attention between kicking him away and the sound of Neil shuffling around the other room.

A few moments later, the ringing cuts off, and Neil’s voice filters back to Andrew.

‘Hello?’

There’s a pause. Nicky's probably yelling into his ear already. Bored, Andrew continues dissecting his chicken but keeps one ear out for Neil’s reply by habit. His responses to Andrew’s cousin are standard by now anyway, going on rotation: Nicky, stop worrying. Nicky, it’s not that big a deal. She'll love the cake. He'll be fine with the music. Andrew waits for it, almost.

Instead, Neil replies with one word:

‘Yes.’

And Andrew’s whole body coils tight.

Neil had become quieter earlier, as if to keep Andrew from hearing—but nothing could hide the way the temperature of his voice had dropped to freezing. Bristling all over like a cornered, panicked dog.

Andrew knows Nathaniel when he hears him.

'I have not, sir,' is the continuation after a slight gap. Andrew is still holding the knife he used to cut the chicken - he runs a considering thumb over the handle. Sir. Not the FBI, then - Neil was never deferential to them. Not one of Nathan's old lackeys either. That tone is too carefully precise for an unexpected call from an old demon. Too stiff and formal. Practiced. Moriyama.

Andrew puts his knife down, and is silent as he leaves his seat and moves into the living room.

Neil is standing facing away from him, rigid as a statue. Fingers tight around the phone and the sofa back, shoulders set in a stiff line. It's jarringly incongruous with the soft sleeping clothes he's in, and the warm light spilling over from the kitchen. A past-Neil’s tension in the current-Neil’s environment. Cruel reminder, Andrew thinks, that with ties like theirs, you can never really be separate from all the blood outside your door, no matter how safe you've grown accustomed to being.

Neil's back moves with a controlled breath, and he says, ‘I'm listening,’ with steel in his voice. This moment is the cusp of something, though Andrew can't yet know what. A reprimanding slap or a stab to the gut? Has Neil been overly troublesome in the media of late? Has his form suffered? It could just be a housekeeping call. Or you might have to keep Neil from getting killed again, says a little, bloody voice in Andrew's head. He's always been prepared for that, though.

But he knows what it is almost immediately. It's impossible to miss. Whatever the unknown caller says after that hits Neil so hard he physically rocks forward from the force of it. For one moment, Andrew thinks he might even stumble to the floor. But he catches himself, barely—tightening his fingers so hard into the back of the sofa that his knuckles go white. Andrew was already poised to go to him from the moment he moved, but Neil hasn't given a go-ahead. It could be the last thing he needs. So, though he strains doing it, Andrew stays.

More silence, and the emptiness only makes Neil's heaving breath more audible and splintering in the air. Then, at last, he says, ‘Fine.’

And, ‘It won't be a problem.’

And, ‘Yes.’

A pause. Then Neil lets the phone slip from his ear and lowers it very, very slowly to his side. He takes another breath.

‘Neil,’ Andrew says.

‘They'll kill Uncle Stuart within the week.’

His voice is almost flat. It would be, to the untrained ear. But Andrew has spent too much time over the past few years learning the language of Neil’s voice, the bits of feeling and meaning tucked into his unique inflections. He is not fine.

Andrew stares at Neil’s back while he takes in the information he’s been given, processing it silently. ‘Why?’

‘There's someone else in his ranks. Vying for his position.’ Neil is still staring at the wall in front of him. ‘They have big plans, and backing. They're not going to wait for a vote.’

Andrew mulls that over. There might have been complications if Neil’s life still hinged on the agreement between the Hatfords and the Moriyamas. But with Kengo dead and Neil’s life signed to Ichirou, Stuart Hatford is no longer involved in any way. Neil will remain unaffected… professionally.

Across the room, Neil's head falls, just the tiniest bit, and his back stutters with his jerky breathing. Andrew doesn't know the extent of what he might be feeling. He doesn’t know what Neil’s uncle really meant to him—they’ve never had reason to talk about it.

He won't pretend to feel anything for Mary or Stuart Hatford. But he's past the point of pretending he doesn't feel anything for Neil. The compulsion to care is only more tolerable now due to familiarity, but it still burns in Andrew's stomach.

Andrew says, ‘Yes or no, Neil?’

Neil breathes deeply a few more times. Then he says, ‘Yes.’

The distance between them is easy to close. When Andrew gets to him, a hand reaching out to hold the back of his neck, Neil turns all the way around into the curve of Andrew's arm. Andrew doesn’t stop him. He does take the opportunity to get a look at Neil’s face, though—and what he sees is a mess. A battlefield, all Neil’s emotions fighting so quickly and viciously for dominance that Andrew can’t even place what he’s feeling - grief, anger, disappointment. Andrew wonders how many of Neil's past memories are crashing down on him at the moment, and decides he'll ask later.

Right now, Neil is reaching for Andrew. But his fingers stop a breath away from Andrew's back. ‘Is this okay?’ he whispers.

And Andrew feels - angry. So angry his vision goes red for a split second, and all he wants to do is burn the Moriyama kingdom to ashes, bring it to its knees in the dirt. Andrew hates it for forcing Neil into this life. More, he hates Neil for even thinking of Andrew in a time like this. It’s too much.

‘Shut up,’ Andrew snaps, but Neil doesn’t have time to look bruised before his arms are being pushed firmly to Andrew’s sides. ‘Yes,’ Andrew says, emphatic, in reply to Neil’s uncertain look. ‘It’s okay.’

Jaw working, Neil’s head dips in a jerky nod of thanks. Or maybe it’s a surrender, because his forehead ends up pressed to Andrew’s shoulder and his fingers curl into fists in the back of Andrew’s shirt. Andrew keeps one hand on Neil’s neck, the other pressed flat to the small of Neil’s back. Keeping him close. Neil won’t break over something like this - he’s seen too much of the world already - but it’s never hurt him to have reminders of the support he has when he’s shaken. And Andrew will give him that, because sometimes there is nothing else to give.

They don't talk about it for a while. In fact, they don't say anything for the rest of that night. The next day, Neil is gone when Andrew wakes up, and the old pulse of fear that that elicits is only snuffed out by the sight of all his things still in their rightful places. Andrew waits until Neil comes back at mid-morning, drenched with sweat and leaking hurt. When Andrew prods, Neil just shakes his head. So Andrew lets him be.

Neil catches wind of Stuart’s murder two days later. Andrew walks into their flat just before sundown, and Neil's already there, curled up in one corner of their sofa and staring into space. It's unusual for him. Unusual because his obsession with Exy grew rather than subsided upon graduating university, and Andrew's gotten used to him getting back at around eight every night. There's always some extra practice or emergency meeting to hear about later when they're settled together, some troublesome teammate or mandatory paperwork. Andrew is used to it. He's fine with it.

But Neil is here now, against all odds, at six-thirty. And it can't be for any pleasant reason because he hadn’t texted Andrew to say he would be home early.

Andrew drops his keys onto the table by the door, overly-enthusiastic on purpose. As he hoped it would, the harsh clatter makes Neil jerk out of his stupor and turn to look at the door. He's blank-faced at first, numb, but some feeling flushes to the surface at the sight of Andrew.

Andrew waits for him.

‘It's done,’ Neil says. His voice sounds raw, like he's been scraped inside and out for hours and has only just stopped bleeding. But now that the skin is red and exposed, anything could smart, even good intentions.

Andrew says nothing. He dumps his bag by their shoes, then walks into the kitchen and fixes a mug of coffee that’s black and sugar-free the way he personally hates. Neil watches him emerge with it a few minutes later, all the way until Andrew’s standing right in front of him. Andrew holds the mug out.

‘You're not having anything?’ Neil asks.

‘I'm not the one who hasn't consumed anything for 12 hours at least.’

That gets a tiny huff of breath out of Neil; something that, any other time, would have been a laugh. He takes the mug. ‘How did you know?’

‘I know you,’ Andrew says. Neil's gaze warms up at that, but Andrew doesn't snap at him about it like he usually does. He settles for looking away instead. ‘I’m going to take a shower,’ he says. ‘Can you order food?’

‘Yeah,’ Neil says, eyes still lingering on him. Andrew feels his gaze until he rounds the corner into their bedroom.

Neil orders while Andrew is in the shower, then claims the bathroom after him. Andrew dresses in the softest clothes they both own (his sweatpants, Neil's sleeping shirt) and feeds the cats while waiting for their delivery. He's just shutting the door in the face of their slightly unnerved delivery boy (it's always this way for them - thanks to Neil’s scars and Andrew's general aura of menace) when Neil comes out of their room. Andrew pushes him into the kitchen with a hand on his back, observing his wet hair and his eyes that are just a little bit softer than before. Andrew doesn't think it's because Neil is calming down - it looks more like he’s at the end of his rope and is finally too tired to keep his guard up. Even easier to break than before.

Dinner is silent, and Neil cleans up for an excuse to turn his back on Andrew for a while. Andrew doesn't take it personally. Stuart is a man from Neil's old life - his influence over Neil goes back further than Andrew may be able to reach, maybe further than Andrew even knows. But he's had enough of Neil's jittery silence by the time the dishes are put away and Neil is wiping down the counter like that's something he normally takes so seriously.

‘Are you going to talk about it?’ Andrew asks. Straightforward. It's the only way to get to Neil sometimes, a man so used to going round and round just to lose you. (He’ll never lose Andrew, though he can try.)

Neil slows and stills, fingers digging into the damp cloth. ‘I don't know what I'd say,’ he replies, and Andrew knows he's being honest.

‘How about what you're feeling?’ Andrew suggests. ‘Will I have to wake up in the middle of the night to stop you packing up and leaving?’

‘You know I wouldn't.’

‘Do I?’

‘Yes, you do.’ Neil levels him with the steadiest look he's displayed all night. Andrew lets their stare-down soak in the silence for a while, the trust and history and over-exposed feelings. He does know.

Neil sucks in a breath. ‘What would be the point, anyway? Especially now, I'd have nowhere to go. No one would protect me.’

‘You've never wanted anyone to protect you. We all know from experience.’

‘I've never wanted anyone to get hurt because of me,’ Neil corrects, earnest. Andrew hates him. ‘Running would hurt you more than protect you now.’

‘And don't forget your precious Exy.’

Neil's smile is barely a twitch at the corner of his mouth, faltering and tentative. ‘Are you distracting me?’

‘I'm getting you to speak.’

The smile is bitten down. ‘You sound like Bee.’

‘There's a reason I still speak with her.’ Andrew reaches out and hooks his fingers into the cloth Neil is still holding. Neil lets him nab it and throw it over into the sink. 'Tell me,’ Andrew says.

Neil eyes the smooth marble top of their counter for a while, as if tracing back through his life using the spidery veins branching through the white. It takes a few seconds for him to speak. ‘I never really knew Uncle Stuart,’ he murmurs. ‘You heard when I was telling the FBI - we only stayed at his house for a few weeks once we left ours. After that, Mum rarely even spoke about him, but he called a few times. While we were running.’

‘When you were with your father?’

‘Stuart never visited. And Nathan would always question, if Stuart called.’ Neil sounds a little grittier, rougher around the edges, at the mention of his father. ‘Too many questions. Even when Nathan knew it had nothing to do with business, he'd insist on making sure. The Hatfords aren't associated with my father's gang, so Uncle Stuart wasn't pleased with Nathan prying into his business, and using my mother to do it. So he just... refrained.’

Andrew’s eyes rest heavy on Neil’s face, drinking in the shifts in his expression. ‘Why did he call when you were running?’

‘Mostly to check up on us,’ Neil replies. ‘Sometimes he’d tell us about safe houses we were nearing. Sometimes he’d help us retrieve money from our stashes if we couldn’t get to them ourselves.’ Neil’s right hand moves up his left arm to press into the bicep - Andrew wonders if he suffered an injury there connected to whatever story he’s thinking of. His expression is so far away Andrew wonders if he'll even continue, but he does. ‘There wasn’t much he could really do from England, but he tried. He cared about Mum,’ he says, and that makes him choke up a bit, but he pushes stubbornly past it, ‘and me, by extension. But it was mostly practical. Survival.’

‘But you’re hurt,’ Andrew states, more than asks.

‘Yes,’ Neil says, swallowing. He looks at Andrew again, near pleading. ‘He’s - he was all I had left of her. He was family.’

Andrew takes a moment to chew that down and digest it. It's difficult. When he speaks again, his voice comes out a little too hard and fast. He has no control over it. ‘You still have family,’ he says, and he knows Neil hears all of what he means by the way his gaze sharpens on Andrew: You still have family. It’s more family than Stuart ever was to you. You have the Foxes. Wymack. Robin. The bloody cats. You have me.

Andrew gives too much to Neil all the time, but it never feels like depletion because Neil gives right back. In some strange way, it even feels like fighting—but Andrew doesn't think it's surprising given that it's them involved. Neil keeps pushing and pushing to see where Andrew will give, and Andrew stays stubbornly still - there’s nothing you could do or say that would make me go.

Andrew’s arms strain against the counter that separates them. He wants Neil to come to his side, get into his grip and let himself go in it. Neil looks similarly strung tight.

‘Yes or no?’ he asks, rough.

‘Neil,’ Andrew warns, though it feels slightly feeble.

‘Andrew,’ Neil shoots back. It's challenging, yet vulnerable, still. It draws Andrew in like a moth to a flame. Andrew rises from his chair and Neil’s eyes follow him, heavy and sparking.

‘You are not okay,’ Andrew says, as Neil rounds the counter to move into Andrew’s space. Neil takes one of Andrew’s hands in his own and presses his mouth to the knuckles, more a dragging of lips across the skin than actual kisses. Eye contact is held - it feels more intimate than anything that could follow.

‘I know,’ Neil replies. ‘Just kiss me?’

It’s inevitable, Andrew supposes. Moving into him and cupping his neck and jaw with a palm, their mouths melding and melting into each other. Neil makes a small noise that Andrew muffles with his tongue, and his arms wind around Andrew’s shoulders. There’s no more space between them, emotionally or physically. Andrew presses Neil back into the counter, hands holding onto the edge as Neil takes him apart with his one biggest asset - a mouth that does everything, lie and defend and care so intensely it takes Andrew out at the knees sometimes.

He’s already a little shaky inside when Neil pulls away, hands in Andrew’s hair. ‘Can we move?’ He’s gasping, a little.

Andrew understands clearly what he means, but he asks anyway: ‘Move?’

‘Bedroom,’ Neil mumbles, eyes warm over the curve of Andrew’s lips. Andrew shakes his head once, and that makes Neil’s eyes snap immediately up to his, alert again at the unspoken no.

‘You,’ Andrew says, moving his hand to press his fingers into Neil’s hip, ‘are not. Okay.’ It’s a reminder.

Neil takes in a slow breath, showing Andrew he’s actually thinking. ‘I know,’ he repeats, careful. ‘But I need this right now.’ Andrew opens his mouth, but Neil rushes on, ‘I’m not in the right place to know where your lines are. That’s all I - that’s all you need to think about. But I need you. I want it.’ He takes a breath, one hand drifting from Andrew’s hair down his neck and making Andrew shiver. ‘That's not changing.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘We have the cuffs.’

Andrew's fingers dig hard into Neil's skin. ‘Neil - ’

‘I’m not asking blindly,’ Neil presses, eyes completely honest and fierce. ‘I’ll tell you if I need to stop—and I know you will if I do. Plus, I can get out of the cuffs myself. You know that.’

The cuffs were a gift from Roland years ago, well-meant but completely unappreciated at the time. Where it had been a dismissed joke before, it turned into a point of silent contention between Neil and Andrew once it appeared in their hands as a physical reality, like an accusation. Andrew trusted Neil to stop at his no, Neil still had the scars to show how he’d struggled with binds before - neither of them were willing to use them for any reason. So they’d all but ignored it. That is, until Neil had thought it necessary to brush up on his lockpicking skills, locking himself to the bed, and then to Andrew, in order to practice. Neil is right; he does know how to release himself now, expertly. It’s only one part of it, though. It’s more about what the cuffs mean.

But. It’s been so many years. So much time spent growing together, learning each other bit by bit with careful permission and gentle touches. It’s yes until it’s no is practically Neil’s mantra, said so many times that Andrew is finally coming around to believing it. He knows he can trust Neil’s word now, trust that he’ll say the words when they’re needed to be said—that Neil understands what it means to Andrew and wouldn’t ever take it lightly. He wouldn’t hurt Andrew like that—by hurting himself—because he knows it’s the worst possible way he could do it.

Andrew wouldn’t have done what Neil is asking for a year ago, less, but there’s something too much like Nathaniel in Neil’s eyes now, and Andrew finds himself wanting to get Neil back. Andrew would do anything for him - he knows that by now.

So he says, ‘Yes. Okay,’ and Neil damn near fractures in his hands with gratitude.

It’s a little difficult to get to the bedroom when they’re still joined at the mouth, but they manage it. Neil's shirt gets pulled off and abandoned by the door. He falls heavily onto the bed and brings Andrew down on top of him, holding him close with careful hands on his shoulders, his kisses travelling to Andrew’s neck. Andrew hisses when Neil licks a line up to his ear.

Andrew moves Neil’s head back against the pillows with a hand at his jaw, then sits up to give Neil space. ‘Where are they?’ Andrew asks.

‘I’ll get them.’ Neil props himself up on an elbow and twists around to open the lowermost drawer in their bedside cupboard. Andrew notes that this is another form of yes - Neil consciously getting the cuffs himself and placing them in Andrew's hands.

They feel cool in his fingers, the metal slipping easily past the grooves of his skin but the leather catching a little, having more grip. Andrew moves them around from hand to hand as he watches Neil, and thinks it over again. To be sure. For his part, Neil sinks back into the bed and waits patiently for him, eyes gleaming in the minimal light coming from the window.

Eventually, Andrew moves, and it's to raise up onto his shins as he leans over Neil. Neil's eyes spark, and he moves his hands together so Andrew can easily wrap one of his own around his wrists. Andrew tugs them over Neil's head, then fixes Neil with his eyes as he presses one of the open cuffs against Neil's skin, right where it's scarred.

‘Yes or no, Neil?’ he asks.

Neil says it clearly: ‘Yes.’

The clicks of the cuffs closing sound especially loud in the quiet room. Andrew keeps his hands against Neil's when he ducks his head down to give him a kiss, which Neil returns wholeheartedly. It’s not soft, but it’s not quite their usual desperate need, either. There’s a fine balance they’re walking between the two, with the weight of loss still hugging close to Neil - gentle enough to avoid bruising, hard enough to keep grounded.

Andrew’s just sinking into it when a roll of Neil’s body brings him into full contact with Andrew. It makes them both jolt, and Andrew half-unintentionally bites into Neil's bottom lip.

Pulling away, Andrew finally lets his hands leave Neil’s and uses them instead to press his hips into the mattress. ‘Stay,’ he says, low, and Neil obeys without question.

In the weak moonlight offered by the window, Andrew lowers his mouth back down to Neil, but this time to his stomach, where evidence of his violent past presses back against Andrew’s lips. He takes his time, licking over the unblemished parts of him, kissing along the scars, even the smallest one on Neil’s side which is nothing more than a raised, red line. Neil relaxes bit by bit. A sigh trembles on its way out when Andrew moves lower, mouth finding the sharpness of his hip bone while his fingers pull on the drawstring of Neil’s sweatpants. They’re tugged off with his boxers and abandoned over the side of the bed.

Neil is restless already, breath hitching when Andrew starts rubbing circles into his thighs. Andrew’s breath ghosts over him, barely a suggestion, before he asks again, ‘Yes?’

The answer is passionately, definitely affirmative. It’s in Neil’s everything, the verbal yes paired with his physical eagerness. Andrew holds Neil’s gaze firmly as he takes him into his mouth, slowly, watching half for the pleasure of it and half to make sure Neil stays with him. Partway through, he knows it was a mistake to do so.

Neil’s eyes are miles deep - and they’re looking at Andrew like he’s a lifeline. Andrew wants to tell him to stop, but he doesn't, because being honest with himself, he wouldn't let anyone else be with Neil now anyway. Why bother saying something they both know isn’t true? It doesn’t seem possible to hide anything here, with Neil’s hands tied away and nothing keeping Andrew apart from him. Andrew takes care of him the way he always does. It’s really not hard for him to use the tricks he’s learned to make Neil come undone. But today, Andrew feels more than he can logically account for. There’s too much emotion in the way he holds Neil down. He finds himself stroking Neil’s legs in repeating, absent back-and-forths. He wishes Neil’s fingers were in his hair, on his shoulders, keeping him close and guiding him. He wants to find every place Neil is hurting and see if there’s nothing he can do about it. Everything about this situation, their space, the soft lines of Neil’s body and the slow, slow way he lets himself unravel before Andrew, screams of trust. It's swallowing Andrew up.

Eventually, Neil’s voice washes over Andrew, silky and tinted blue like a wave coming in. It’s a husky admission of, ‘Andrew, I’m close.’ And that makes Andrew stop rather than continue, much to Neil's protests. Andrew shushes him with a kiss to his thigh.

‘What do you want, Neil?’ he murmurs.

Neil takes a few moments. His hands, still held together above his head, relax slightly from the fists they were curled into before. ‘Want you to kiss me,’ he breathes finally.

There’s no hesitation in Andrew when he moves up Neil’s body. Neil’s mouth is fluid and hot against Andrew’s when Andrew claims it. Andrew skims his hands down his sides and Neil shifts eagerly into the touches.

‘Okay?’ Andrew asks. One of his hands moves down Neil’s stomach and between his legs to grip him firmly. Neil nods hurriedly in response.

‘Yes, yes, Andrew,’ he gasps. He doesn’t say anything else after that, too caught up in feeling as Andrew works him quickly towards the edge. In a pulsing moment, Andrew reaches one hand up and intertwines their fingers together. Neil’s fingertips dig firmly into Andrew’s knuckles. He squeezes down even harder when he comes, like he needs Andrew to hold onto or he’ll drift away. Neil’s release is a whole experience, the way it is every time. It’s so much that Andrew can’t even focus on any one thing - the sudden clink of the cuffs around the headboard as Neil pulls against them, the wetness on Andrew’s knuckles, Neil’s mouth on his, all tongue and heavy breaths as he rides out the tide of pleasure. Andrew holds him together through it, until Neil whispers Okay, yes, okay, and Andrew takes his hand away. He eases him back down into the bed sheets without breaking their kiss, and immediately frees Neil of the cuffs, needing them out of the way. Neil seems just as relieved as Andrew is when he finally gets his hands into Andrew’s hair. It allows him to pull Andrew in again, so Andrew can kiss him down from his high.

There’s a brief moment where Neil pulls just far enough away from Andrew to ask, ‘You?’ They’re flush against each other from chest to ankles - it doesn’t allow much room for guessing on Neil’s part that Andrew isn’t done. But Andrew shakes his head and kisses him again, and Neil lets it go. It’s more than enough for now that they’re close, honesty sitting gently between their shoulders like a rough diamond that only gets better with time.

Later, when Andrew has cleaned him up and settled against the headboard with a cigarette burning, Neil moves his head near Andrew’s lap, and Andrew lifts his arm so Neil can duck under it. Neil rests his head easily in the nook between Andrew’s slightly bent legs and torso, on his back so he can look up at Andrew. Andrew lets his arm relax over Neil’s shoulders and doesn’t explain it away.

‘Thank you,’ Neil whispers, and Andrew’s gaze moves slowly from the window to Neil. It’s quiet. Andrew can feel Neil's heart beating against his forearm. His reply is given in the small, bare circle he brushes into Neil’s arm with his thumb.

Over and under everything is that something they won’t call love, expansive and still growing so large it could, eventually, overwhelm anything that comes to haunt them. That time isn’t now, but they’re fine with that. What isn’t okay will be someday. It’s the one certainty they have for their future together, and it’s enough to get them through.

That’s all that matters.

#andreil #andreil fic #andreil fanfic #all for the game #the foxhole court #tfc #aftg #all for the game fanfic #the foxhole court fanfic #tfc fanfic #aftg fanfic #m:fic

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star-going-supernova · 3 years

Text

So. Madison Russell. Godzilla vs Kong. Welcome to my ted talk.

From a writing perspective, they totally wasted her character. She, Josh, and Bernie were almost exclusively used just as a method of showing the audience what was happening "behind the scenes" at Apex. Pouring the whiskey on the computer was about the only thing of note they did, and even that didn't do much. Mechagodzilla was only slightly hindered by it, and if they'd just written Kong and Godzilla differently in the fight scene, they could have skipped the whiskey part entirely. They could have done so much with having people "on the inside" but Monarch as a greater organization barely had any presence at all, which negated the need to have people on the inside.

Maddie's steadfast insistence that Godzilla wasn't a bad guy at the beginning had so much potential, but it became the conspiracy thing instead. It felt less like she wanted to prove Godzilla wasn't turning against humans, and more like she and her new conspiracy friend wanted to crack open a shady organization, which was frustrating. If they wanted to depict her as someone who was forced to become competent at a young age, which was part of the serious, intense vibe I got from her, instead of the inexplicable personality shift, they should have showed her doing something to help. Getting in contact with her dad/Monarch, giving them evidence to begin a city wide evacuation outside the Apex Hong Kong HQ, messing something up or making it harder for the Apex people to get Mechagodzilla up and running—just, anything.

The fact is, we had Maddie being very proactive in KotM. Stealing the ORCA was the game changer. Instead of taking that to the next level in GvK and giving her an opportunity to continue that aspect of her character—that is, being someone who refuses to sit by when she can do something to help, even if it’s dangerous—they rendered her obsolete.

The movie wouldn't have significantly changed if you took her character out. If Bernie went by himself and ended up in Hong Kong, nothing would have changed, because Maddie didn't do anything of personal importance. She went from being an active character in KotM to being a passive one here, which are a pet peeve of mine. If you saw my post about what I liked and didn’t like about Godzilla (2014), that might sound very familiar.

It would also have made so much more sense if she developed a love for studying Titans instead of focusing on conspiracy theories. Plot-wise, it would have given her claim to her dad that Godzilla was being provoked more credence, and could’ve opened an interesting dialogue between them to reinforce that she knows what she’s talking about. Monarch was obviously still a big part of their lives, given that Mark had rejoined, so it would’ve been the perfect opportunity for Maddie to pursue a Titan-related future.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I loved Jia, and wouldn’t want to take her out of the movie or even diminish her presence in it. In fact, I think they should have focused on Jia, and only on Jia.

Hear me out: Godzilla vs Kong should’ve been split in two. A Part 1 and Part 2 situation.

For Part 1, we keep a lot of the GvK canon, especially the Kong-centric stuff. Include even more scenes showing us that he’s protective of Jia, don’t just have Dr. Andrews say that he is. Have him defend her from something dangerous, maybe even from some humans. Include their backstory, how he saved her during the storm. And start it even earlier, before Godzilla attacks Apex the first time. Keep the whole Hollow Earth plot, keep the fight scene in the ocean, keep the discovery of the temple and the axe.

And on the Godzilla side of things, start earlier on that as well. Keep the other Titans in, have humanity tentatively believing that a time of great peace is upon them. Their mere presence is restoring the planet. There was an emphasis of nature, particularly in relation to the Titans, in KotM that I really think they should have included more of in GvK to better tie the two movies together, if only they hadn’t swept all the other Titans under the rug. They wanted a movie about a fight, not about the Titans. So, undo that. Show us a little of what Mark does, do a sweep of the other KotM cast (cameos at the very least) to show how they and Monarch are working to uphold that peace post-Boston. I’d also have loved to see Boston itself, too, five years later.

Instead of giving us a Generic High School scene, show Maddie learning about the Titans alongside the experts. Bring back the wonder and amazement she had when she saw Mothra for the first time, when she reached out and touched her. She’s second generation Monarch, make that mean something. When Maddie took the ORCA to Boston, she had a conviction. She couldn’t not have. She was there in part to lure Ghidorah in, but I can’t even pretend to believe her plan ended with that. She knew Godzilla would come.

That sort of belief is hard to kill, and if death via Ghidorah wasn’t enough to scare her off, no way anything else in those five years afterwards did. Her belief that Godzilla is good survived to GvK, and should’ve been a main focal point of her character. Godzilla attacks Apex—she and every other Monarch person who has spent years studying the Titans knows something is up.

Keep Mark’s character development regarding his opinions on Godzilla. He believes Maddie when she says something has to be wrong, not just because he trusts his daughter, but because he looked into Godzilla’s eyes and saw more than just an animal.

They’re in Part 1 only minimally, just to establish their presence and how they feel about Godzilla destroying Apex. The focus is clearly on Jia and Kong’s side of events.

Sorry, but I’m leaving Josh out and seriously dialing back Bernie’s role. Instead, the character we follow inside Apex is Ren Serizawa. We see his motivations, his ambitions, and he becomes a character with more than just a few lines. Does he resent Godzilla? Or does he resent his father, too? Serizawa’s sacrifice was willing, after all. He was no accidental casualty.

Part 1 ends in the Hollow Earth, with Ghidorah taking control of Mechagodzilla on the surface. Alter the timeline just enough so that Godzilla has only just arrived to Hong Kong, and Kong’s still in the Hollow Earth. The final scene is Mechagodzilla emerging into the city as the sun rises. The post-credits scene is our KotM cast in the Argo, location unknown, watching a screen with Mechagodzilla on it.

Part 2 begins with a reveal: Ren Serizawa isn’t dead.

Backtrack. This part focuses more on the Godzilla side, and Monarch. It’ll have flashback scenes from the five years between KotM and now, showing exactly why Monarch as a whole firmly believes Godzilla is reacting to something instead of being anti-human all of a sudden. The Titans are not inherently malicious; destruction is a side effect of their size, no more, no less. He earned his title of King in KotM—make it mean more than just trying to make Kong “bow.” Make him a protector, a guardian. He’s nature’s balance. By definition, he must protect humans as well.

What Monarch needs to figure out is this: what is he trying to protect them from?

They investigate Apex in search of the answer, but knowing from past experience the sort of things Godzilla gets proactive about—the MUTOs, Ghidorah—Monarch mobilizes. They prepare for another fight, at Mark’s instructions. He witnessed both San Francisco and Boston firsthand, even if the former was from a civilian standpoint.

Godzilla has more hunt scenes. He targets a second Apex lab after his ocean fight with Kong, telling Monarch that they’re on the right track.

Maddie, being a minor and not dragged into the thick of things (yet), has to stay home. Remembering the podcast she sometimes listened to, when the topic was focused on the Titans, she tracks Bernie down, and he tells her about what he saw: the eye.

The two of them go to the ruined Apex building and discover the eye is gone before getting caught. With Monarch currently breathing down their necks, they recognize Maddie to be Mark’s daughter and take her to Hong Kong. Sorry, Bernie, but that’s mostly as far as you’re involved. Timeline-wise, this is roughly when Kong puts the axe in the temple floor and Godzilla blasts a hole to the center of the earth. Monarch is following Godzilla, but they’re behind a bit thanks to the tunnel shortcuts. They’re still unaware that Maddie has been kidnapped and is en route to Hong Kong.

This is also when Mechagodzilla gains a life of its own. Walter Simmons is killed and Ren Serizawa becomes trapped in the link to Mechagodzilla, serving as the bridge between the robot and Ghidorah’s mind. Ghidorah is essentially controlling MG by controlling Ren, who is controlling MG. Make sense? He’s the puppeteer’s puppeteer.

We reverse some things. Godzilla fights MG first, gets beat around but not as much as in GvK because he isn’t fresh out of a different fight. Kong returns to the surface through the tunnel Godzilla created, having carried the one remaining HEAV out himself, because Nathan Lind has never flown one before and doesn’t know how they work. Kong wants to protect Jia, and Ilene Andrews and Nathan Lind are very lucky that Jia likes them.

Mechagodzilla sees Kong and takes off, and Kong decides now would be a great time to fight Godzilla, who’s having a pretty bad day. Monarch arrives, and half of them split off to follow MG while the rest stay to try and deescalate the situation. Other than Godzilla faring slightly less well, the fight goes mostly the same as in the movie, except for one big difference: one of the Monarch crafts pick up Jia and Co, and she’s able to get Kong’s attention from the back of an Osprey well enough to tell him to stop fighting. There’s a bigger threat out there, and Godzilla definitely needs to be okay enough to fight it. Either they work together, or they reschedule.

She’s very stern about it, and though no one’s really sure what the two Titans decide on, they stop fighting. They leave together to go after Mechagodzilla, who is currently being slowed down by Mothra, because she deserves to be in this movie. The other Titans basically hinder Mechagodzilla as much as possible as it rampages, telling Godzilla where it is. Monarch finally figures out that it’s heading for the nearest entrance to the Hollow Earth, right around when they also figure out that Ghidorah is involved. With Dr. Andrews and Nathan Lind’s input, they theorize it intends to take more of the power source down there to further strengthen it.

They do their best to clear the cities in its path, evacuating as many people as possible. It’s all they can do. As in the past, they must trust Godzilla to do the heavy lifting. Around the same time, an assistant tells Mark that some guy named Bernie called and is asking for him. This is how he finds out Maddie was taken to Apex’s Hong Kong location.

Meanwhile, the Apex guards and Maddie finally arrive to find the facility abandoned and damaged, MG gone, and Simmons dead. The guards more or less split, leaving her there alone. Maddie, being Maddie, goes deeper until she finally discovers Ghidorah’s skull and Ren Serizawa inside, trapped in his own head with Ghidorah. It’s killing him.

He’s aware enough to have a conversation with her. They argue about the Titans. He wants Godzilla destroyed out of anger over his father’s preference for Titans, rather than his own son.

(“You’re not the only one with ghosts!” she yells at him. “You’re not the only one who resents a parent for putting Titans ahead of you when you needed them!” He chokes out, “I do not resent my father—” “Coulda fooled me. Why else would you be spitting on his sacrifice like this? Who are you trying to help, huh? All the other kids out there who are losing their moms and dads because you let Ghidorah out? Sorry, mister, but the last time someone did that, your dad paid the price.”)

Ren is getting worse. He’s going to die if he stays in the link much longer, but he can’t disconnect. Maddie, looking around, gets to work on something. The camera slowly pans around to show that there’s a second pilot seat, back-to-back with Ren’s. It would allow for seamless switching between pilots without MG ever not having someone at the controls.

Even with the other Titans’ help, Godzilla and Kong are unable to stop MG from going through the tunnel and into the Hollow Earth. Monarch is unable to follow, because of the gravity issue. They’re both tired from the journey and their fight, especially Godzilla. This is their last chance. If Mechagodzilla reaches the power source, it’s all over.

The fight doesn’t go in their favor. They’re both bad at working together, so their attacks are uncoordinated at best, actively hindering each other at worst. Kong gets flung off a mountain and MG pins Godzilla. Even thought he caught himself, Kong isn’t going to make it up in time to help him.

Maddie puts on an identical pilot setup, and with Ren’s instructions, switches the link over to herself, freeing Ren. He collapses forward, immediately falling unconscious from the release of the strain. Fighting past the pain and overwhelming presence suddenly in her head, Maddie does what she does best: she causes Ghidorah problems.

She screams, and it echoes like a roar through his skull.

In the Hollow Earth, Mechagodzilla stumbles.

It’s the beginning of the end. She can’t control it or even really stop Ghidorah, but she gets in his way as much as possible, giving Godzilla and Kong the edge they need to finally get their act together and use some teamwork to take Mechagodzilla down. They destroy it and return to the surface before parting on amicable terms.

After too long, Mark arrives at Apex with a whole team of people. Ren Serizawa is found comatose but alive, and he’s quickly removed for medical attention. Though Maddie’s also alive, there’s something else clearly wrong. She’s still wired into the piloting gear, stiff and unseeing, as if she’s frozen. Her eyes are open but distant, pupils virtually gone from how constricted they are, and her jaw hangs open slightly. Despite how tense her body is, she’s limp. Nothing they do wakes her up, even after getting her out of the skull.

They wheel her out on a gurney to where a handful of Ospreys landed, but as they leave the building and step out onto the roof, they find Godzilla has returned. He watches them, and he’s exactly as aware as Mark remembers.

(“She tried to help you,” Mark calls out to him. No one knows exactly what happened in the Hollow Earth, during the fight, but the scene in Ghidorah’s skull was telling. “No, she—she did help you!” For the second time in her life, Maddie put herself in Ghidorah’s path and, ultimately, won. Only this time, her victory came with a price.)

Godzilla snorts before leaning over the roof’s railing, moving toward the gurney. The humans all back away, even Mark, though he doesn’t go far. Spines humming, eyes flaring blue, Godzilla rumbles deeply.

On the gurney, Maddie stirs.

Later, much later, after Maddie and Jia have met—heaven help everyone else, honestly—they sit together on the edge of a pier over the ocean, Jia leaning comfortably against Maddie. It’s quiet. They’re alone, watching the sunset. A heavy footfall behind them, the feel of the vibration trembling through the wood, makes them turn around. Half concealed in the brush at the edge of the island’s foliage, Kong stands, facing them.

They both wave before standing. They sign goodbye to each other, then part ways. As Maddie walks away to a waiting Osprey, we see behind her as Kong crouches to allow Jia to climb into his palm before vanishing into the forest.

The Osprey takes off over the calm ocean. It has a different design than most, with a large door set in the side instead of at the back, more like an ordinary helicopter. It’s open as they go, Maddie secure inside as she stares out. A smile spreads across her face as jagged spines slowly breach the ocean’s surface, easily keeping pace with the Osprey, which lowers to be closer to the water.

For just a moment, in the fading light, Maddie’s eyes almost shine blue. The screen goes black to the sound of Godzilla’s roar.

#GvK Spoilers #whoops this got long #long post #Star's Stories #kinda #Star's Thoughts about Stuff #life and times of star

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