everythingthatmatters:

vex-vern:

glenflower:

coldsaturn:

alrightlupin:

off-meds andrew has literally no chill remember when neil was like

“seth overdosed?”

and andrew just went “keep up with the conversation”

like somebody died andrew

kevin in that same scene tho 

andrew “he wasn’t that important” minyard

kevin “but what about exy” day 

neil “i don’t understand the big deal” josten 

these assholes are literally MADE FOR EACH OTHER. neil spend the next couple pages analytically watching his teammates, trying to figure out who’s the most apathetic. spoiler alert: it’s neil. it is 100% neil.

 neil is SO ruthlessly efficient in his affections? he is utterly delighted when riko dies because it means that his foxes are safe. he doesn’t care that seth died beyond his worry that it may be his fault, so allison might be hard to handle. THAT IS HIS EXACT REASONING: “if allison connected the dots and blamed seth’s death on neil there’d be no dealing with her this year”. 

he doesn’t even really feel guilty about inadvertently causing seth’s death – the first time explicitly feels guilty in the text is when andrew blames him for drake. THAT fucks him up. seth’s death? a minor inconvenience at worst. at best, it got rid of an obstacle in the team’s line-up, a ruthless observation that not even exy-obsessed kevin makes. 

#i will be the first person in line to scream my love of neil josten from the roof tops #and to insist that we coddle this boy and protect him forever #but neil is not a nice person at times #he STRIVES to be #that quote about allison comes almost directly after he considers his parents and how they were both different types of monsters #and how he didn’t want to be monstrous like them at all #but neil never fostered healthy attachments to people #and so he has no real empathy for those who die along the way#something he very obviously learned from his mother #and he has no mercy for those who must die along the way to protect his loved ones #something ichirou calls him out on #and calls him a wesninski for #the foxes make neil josten into a real boy and into a better person #but ichirou is right in that there is still a bit of the monster in neil #which is perfectly matched to andrew #who wears his monstrous-ness outwardly #but care so DEEPLY under the surface#in terms that would horrify neil josten: neil is a monster like his mother who smiles when riko dies and shrugs when seth falls in his path #and andrew is like his father who ruthlessly cuts down anyone who is a threat to him or his#and whose leash is now held by neil #WOOPS THAT GOT DARK #THEY’RE NOT REALLY THAT AWFUL #LIKE I SAID THE FOXES MAKE NEIL INTO A BETTER PERSON #BUT GOD HELP ANYONE WHO HURTS THE FOXES#BECAUSE EMPATHY IS SOMETHING THESE BOYS ONLY RECENTLY LEARNED