you're not what you thought you were

when it comes to andreil ppl really do conflate not conforming with relationship norms to not "being" in a relationship which is why there's so many works geared towards "fixing" this by having them get married / label themselves boyfriends / deal w some sort of insecurity or miscommunication regarding their relationship security so that they can "be in a relationship" completely disregarding that that IS whats happening at the end of the series it just doesn't fit in the "normal" box and well. Annoys Me.

I will never get over Kevin giving Neil such a disgusted look that it made the guy self conscious about his clothing choices for the first and only time in the series.

ngl it’s so crazy to me that some people think andrew choking kevin was out of character for him. there’s plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise, but the scene where he goes after allison in particular shows that when andrew’s promises conflict with one another, (ex. aaron vs neil), he prioritizes the one that he deems most pressing in that moment. what’s more, if someone stands in the way of andrew’s efforts to protect someone, he will always, ALWAYS, escalate. it’s a knee-jerk reaction. it’s tunnel-vision. choking kevin was not a premeditated decision to hurt someone he cares about, it was a goal-oriented response to the fact that neil was in danger. i’m not saying that characters cannot be poorly written, but as @andrewminyard-josten has articulated before, it’s really crazy to refer to the CANON CHARACTER as ooc because he doesn’t match your perception of him.

My favourite aaron minyard fact is that he hates cops so much he's actively supporting neil getting to stay with the foxes and sides with the rest of his team when the fbi threaten to take him into witsec. literally less than 48 hours after this he goads neil into punching him in the face. he isn't mad about any of the mafia shit whatsoever that's not neils fault. aaron minyard is committed to hating neil josten solely because neil is a prick. and he's right

we talk a lot about how much of a revelation andrew’s confession is for neil, and not enough about how revelatory neil’s reaction is for andrew. because like. imagine you like this boy. but he doesn’t swing. you know the answer would be “no,” so there’s no point in even asking. then he goes and gets himself needlessly tortured for you, and tells you there’s no amount of suffering he wouldn’t endure for you. not because he thinks you’re weak, but because he thinks you’re worth protecting. he says things that you would interpret as advances if it were literally anyone else. you remind yourself that he doesn’t swing. now you’re at eden’s and he’s asking about your feelings for him in 12 different ways. he really wants to know. so you tell him, in the most casual and crass way you can, thinking that’ll put an end to it. but unfathomably, it doesn’t. he asks you why you didn’t tell him. why would you have? it would have been a “no.” you say that, and instead of confirming it, he just echoes your words, clearly still reeling. you start to leave, and he tells you that he wants to keep playing your game. while the absence of a “no” is obviously not the same thing as a “yes,” you’ve been operating for months and months under the assumption that the answer would be unequivocal. so you keep waiting for that answer, but it never comes. for the first time since you met him, you wonder if maybe it’s not a “no” after all. if maybe you could have this. you can’t remember the last time you were able to have something you wanted. the world tilting on its axis, indeed.

do you guys ever think about andrew abruptly ending most of his and neil's conversations by saying "i'm done talking to you now. go away" and neil listening every single time and how that was probably one of the first things to make andrew wonder if neil would respect his "no" in other situations

Something that really irks me is when in fic or in fandom in general is andrew being written as if he still considers his relationship with neil nothing post Baltimore. When after Baltimore thats seems unlikely just because he was so obviously and undeniably affected that he can no longer lie to himself and he won’t to neil either. Like i thought that was the whole point right? it finalizes both their arcs, neil becomes real and andrew gets to have what he wants safely.

I think if I heard I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas in the correct circumstances it could move me to tears. It's like the promise of a brighter future that never came to pass

and for tonights bed time story can someone tell me what its like to get what you want