Hwhy

For Fanfic, as long as it’s tagged properly you should be able to avoid it. I know sometimes Fanfic isn’t tagged properly and that can occasionally become tiresome. [I think I’ve mentioned this before, guys, but “No Archive Warnings Apply” and “Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings” are two very different things. Someone should also include Andrew Minyard/Original Male Character(s) or Andrew/Roland if that is happening ON-PAGE. Obviously not if it’s just “and Andrew hooked up with Roland in the past” but if you are writing on-page Andrew/Roland or Andrew some random OMC that needs to be tagged]. I know some writers are afraid to use tags they think will deter readers, but you gotta be honest, guys. Fanfic etiquette is a two-way street: readers should avoid Fanfic that is obviously tagged with tropes they don’t like reading & writers need to properly tag their Fanfic so you’re (a) reaching the right audience and (b) not annoying the wrong audience.

Personally, I also struggle with Fic that is tagged Post-Canon that actually has the characterization and conflicts of early TKM. For example: Neil thinking that Andrew thinks they’re nothing or Andrew still saying they’re nothing even though the last page of TKM is Andrew & Neil confirming their relationship as not being nothing, or the fact that Andrew has already broken his deal with Aaron and Neil KNOWS Andrew broke his deal with Aaron for him and Andrew even has the comment about how he should “know better to do this again.” I find this tiresome b/c instead of reading someone’s interpretation of the progression of Andrew/Neil, it’s just… what Nora already solved in AFTG. And it would be fine if someone wanted to take a different approach than what Nora did, but unfortunately I think mishaps like these come from people having misunderstood canon without realizing it & then tag their Fics as “Canon Compliant” when it’s not.

I’m also kind of annoyed that Fanon!Andrew who frequently hooked up with random men at Eden’s Twilight is basically taken as Canon by so many people. Nora has said that prior to Neil, Andrew experimented with a few boys in juvie, and then Roland. Andrew was basically in an exclusive (on his end, at least who knows about Roland) FWB with Roland. This makes sense when Andrew’s trauma is taken into consideration & the fact that prior to Neil, Andrew could not stomach being touched by someone else. Nora has also described Andrew hooking up with Roland as “controlled make-outs” that Roland eventually ended up hand-cuffed for. There was also no penetration. Like, y’all Andrew’s history of CSA & SA needs to be taken into consideration more seriously than just a passing mention. It needs to be embedded into his actual characterization. Is someone with a history of CSA & SA going to risk being overpowered in an ALLEYWAY (the same Alleyway his cousin was attacked in for being gay) by a man he doesn’t know?

Now, my only actual gripe with “Andrew cheating” or “Andrew treating Neil like garbage” is bringing that Fanon energy into Canon. People who read AFTG and then genuinely argue that Canon!Andrew would mistreat/abuse Neil. Or people who like “Andrew breaks up with Neil b/c he doesn’t like/want to be attached” that completely misconstrues his Canon characterization but ppl then act like is fact. Andrew is actually extremely attachment-prone (codependency pact with his brother that doesn’t allow either of them to leave or have other friends, how he keeps even NICKY who he doesn’t have a deal with on a short leash & searches for him if he’s left the dorm for too long, viewing the only therapist who he ever clicks with as a pseudo-mother, his willingness to be tortured for Kevin even though he doesn’t really believe Kevin will fulfill his end of the deal, and the fact that when Neil tries to break his deal with Andrew b/c Kevin doesn’t need him to to stay anymore, Andrew says ‘I’ll find something else’). Andrew knows Neil is the runaway between them & he’s not going to do something to break Neil’s faith in him. Canonically, Neil’s faith in Andrew’s protection post-“Happy Birthday Jr.” Is what inspired Andrew to try harder during that Exy game, b/c he saw Neil as being unafraid of the obvious threat as trust in Andrew’s willingness to protect him.

The problem I find often with “Break Up & Make Up” (and why I don’t really read it) is that the breaking up is basically for relationship angst, and then at the end the couple makes up and they get back together and… the relationship is exactly how it was before the break up. Nothing has changed. It basically makes everything narratively pointless. Andrew cheating on, hurting, or breaking up with Neil would be such a break in Neil’s trust for him (the trust that results in someone demisexual like Neil being ATTRACTED to Andrew, that gives Neil the courage to stay, the reason ‘Neil Abram Josten’ is real, that the idea that Andrew could do all of that and Neil would just… view him the same as he does throughout Canon, as Andrew being his pillar of strength is nonsensical. That Fanon!Andrew is not Canon!Andrew and doesn’t deserve Canon!Neil’s devotion. Get him outta here).