“It’s like when a song changes key, or starts on the offbeat, or shifts its meter halfway through. It’s that hiccup you get in your chest. That tiny huh moment. Like maybe something’s kind of wrong. Or maybe something’s about to change.”
Alright so I have some Serious Feelings abt this and the majority of this is from a Google Doc comprised of every time I’ve subjected some poor soul to my ramblings. I’m also projecting like crazy from my own experiences and ideas about Certain Topics but Here U Go:
(I’ll try divide this up a bit, bear with me)
Andrew has a very solid idea of good/bad in his mind, if someone hurts his family (eg.Tilda) then that is Bad and so it has to be Fixed so that things are Good. It’s something that Doesn’t Make Sense to the other Foxes but to Andrew it makes sense because There Was A Problem and Now There Isn’t One. Andrew admits in canon that he doesn’t understand why Aaron doesn’t understand how Andrew Fixed The Problem.
There is also his possessiveness over people. Them/Us. He Keeps His People Safe by stopping New and Potentially Bad People getting to them. He makes his deal with Kevin, and with Aaron to keep them Safe. New People are not Us and are Less Predictable and therefore Off-Putting. Personally, when I am in situations with people whom I cannot predict I get thrown off very quickly/easily and it gets Upsetting Real Fast.
He has fixed rituals that Do Not Change. On Fridays, they get in the car and everyone gets in Their Seats and they all go to the Same Diner Every Time and get the Same Thing and then they go to Their Club and get Their Drinks in the same way they always do. A common trait in those on the spectrum is the desire for routine. Again, here I’m drawing off of my own experiences. Admittedly, in the books the Eden trips are not very regular, but they always follow the same order. There are also other things. For example, his sessions with Bee. He goes every Wednesday to Bee and she makes him the chocolate and they Talk. Every night he takes Kevin (and later Neil) to the court to practice while he chills in the stands. Consistent Routine is Important to him.
. Andrew has His Spot on the roof where he goes to be Alone and Quiet when Things get Too Loud. When the upperclassmen get to be Too Much or his family is getting to be A Lot then he goes to the roof. If you are familiar with the idea of Sensory Overload then you might already understand the point I’m making here. If not, I recommend this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2P4Ed6G3gw) but be careful, as I personally found it to be very overwhelming. Basically in the books, when Andrew is getting Overloaded he heads off to the roof to Process. In this sense, allowing Neil to join him is a huge sign of trust because That’s His Safe Space.
So yeah, those are some of my Feelings on this particular headcanon. HMU if you want more but that’s all I have directly from canon. There’s more that’s just personal headcanons for stuff, such as different ways he stims, or how Neil Helps (Nicky and Aaron totally got him a weighted blanket bc they Do Care and he Loves It). I have seen it suggested that Kevin is also on the spectrum, inspired by how quickly he bounces back to Exy, which is conceivably his Special Interest, and while I do support this hc, I haven’t put as much personal thought into it as I have with Andrew.
And another thing, his speech patterns. Something I see forgotten a lot in fanfiction is how Andrew Does Not Often Contract His Words.I cannot speak for anyone else on the spectrum, but I know that when I am getting worked up/upset I feel that I will not be understand so I do the same thing, I try and use full words and focus on that rather than anything else to try in part to calm down and reorientate myself.
the maserati is soaring down the highway. the windows are down. the sky is black. charli xcx’s “boys” is blasting at full volume. people think nicky is the one to put the song on the radio. it’s andrew
Things that fucked me up in The Foxhole Court series (warning: spoilers):
Every single time Andrew did something just because Neil asked
“He pressed Andrew’s palm to the ugly scarring across Neil’s abdomen”
Dan’s
entire existence as the biggest boss in the galaxy
“You are a pipe dream.”
“I am not a pipe dream. I’m not going anywhere.”
Renee saving Jean
Renee doing literally anything
Wymack hating that Neil flinches away from him and doing everything he
can to prove he’s the good male role model Neil deserves???
RESPONSIBLE AND CARING ADULTS
“You hate me, remember?” “Every inch of you,” Andrew said. “That
doesn’t mean I wouldn’t blow you.” ANDREW LMAO
SHOWER BLOW JOB/CODDLING/ANDREW FINALLY LETTING GO ENOUGH TO LET NEIL
SEE HIM FEEL PLEASURE (partly because he can’t bear to leave Neil’s side to
take care of it alone FUCK)
“Yes or no?”
VIGOROUS CONSENT and Andreil knowing each other well enough to tell when
the other isn’t in a good enough place to consent even when they think they
are??
Neil calling Andrew a “drama queen” behind his back
Nicky getting the happiness he deserves in Erik
“Who’s humanizing who in that relationship, anyway?” NICKY OMFG
Andrew
needing to map every single scar/wound on Neil’s body and Neil letting him
Andrew
saying “I told you not to look at me like that” after Neil stares at him with
fucking giant anime heart eyes when the sunlight hits his hair
Matt
and his spikey hair (/everything)
Casual 3 hour bus chats where Andreil loses track of time smh
How fucking short Andreil is??? 5 foot **nothing*** is right
Neil
saying he wants a vacation and Andrew almost cutting Kevin’s dick off when he
tries to get in the way of it
BED SHARING IN THE CABIN ffs
Honestly that whole woodland retreat with team bonding took me the fuck out
“The
only one I’m interested in is you.” Demi!Neil is watering every crop in
my field??
“Thank you. You were amazing.” (aka me @ Nora Sakavic)
Nothing but My Aching Soul 