Minyard #1

My third artwork for @aftgreverse and guess what - it's andreil dancing! Hmm, I wonder what lead to this situation... I have a soft spot in my heart for this drawing because this was the scene that started my whole Undercover AU.

The second artwork for this year's @aftgreverse. I loved working on it and I hope you love it just as much!

It feels like it has been a lifetime and some more since I started working on my Undercover AU for @aftgreverse and I finally get to share the art!

bffs andrew n renee :-)

Kevin was not only a victim, but also a participant in the fucked up hierarchy and abusive culture of the Nest. He benefited from his position as Riko’s second and one of the “sons of exy”. He didn’t have the power to stop or change anything, but that doesn’t make him less accountable for his part in it.

I think this concept is something that the books illustrate beautifully with the post-Drake confrontation between Andrew and Neil.

Neil was just trying to help Nicky out by getting Andrew to agree to dinner. He had no way of knowing or even suspecting what would happen. But Andrew still points out that his actions led to the attack.

And Neil turns around and points out that Andrew didn’t stop Drake from preying on other kids. Andrew was in juvie, he tried to get Luther to stop Cass from taking in more kids, he did what all he thought he could at the time. And yet, he still has some responsibility.

When someone asked Nora about that exchange she points out;

Andrew understands the difference between assigning blame & blaming someone. He can tell Neil You had a hand in this without meaning You did this to me. He isn’t holding Neil personally accountable for what happened to him, but that doesn’t mean Neil didn’t play some part in the tragedy.

So back to Kevin, I think it is important to consider how his time in the nest and everything it entailed affected him and at the same time not dismiss or forget where he might have had a hand in things. Because I don’t think Kevin will ever be able to forget, and it’s as much a part of his character as all his other trauma.

We get tiny glimpses in canon of Kevin dealing with it. After Renee rescues Jean, Neil convinces Kevin to talk to him by reminding him;

“You already walked away from him once knowing what Riko would do to him in your absence. Don’t do it again. If you don’t protect him now, his death is on you.”

Later in that scene Neil tells Kevin that he is more afraid of losing everything than the consequences that may come from holding on.

“I don’t understand.” “You do, or you wouldn’t have trusted Andrew and Coach in the first place. Problem is you put yourself in their hands and refused to commit any further than that. You think Riko will hurt you for your defiance, so you’re afraid to step too far out of line. But this middle ground won’t save you forever.”

Kevin survived in the Nest by managing to stay in that middle ground, he protected people when he could*, but he never defied Riko. He was there for everything Riko did to Jean, he stood by Riko’s side through all of it. It wasn’t his choice, and he couldn’t have stopped it without risking his own safety, but he was there. Now that he is no longer in the Nest he needs to come to terms with his past or else he’ll never be able to move forward.

*so I inferred this from one line in canon that always intrigues me but I’ve never seen discussed. My thoughts on it kinda tie into the discussion of Kevin being morally gray, and since we’re already here…

I’ll take you down with me

(click to see Andrew’s earrings)

[🦈do not repost🧜🏽‍♂️]

Neil: Oh, Neil' in b-flat.