one of my favorite underrated moments in tfc is the one near the end when the foxes win and dan runs up to neil to make sure he’s unharmed and all neil comments is “we won” and dan just laughs and says ‘yeah, neil. we won!” bc its such a neil thing to do. he almost just got killed (again) and all he can think about is the fact that the foxes beat the ravens. and dan is just so happy bc he’s okay. and i just love their relationship so much.
1. looking for neil at binghamton. he was lost–he was lost– 2. seeing the fbi cars in the parking lot of the motel. which only meant one thing. dragging wymack behind him, running to break down the door to the motel. neil was–he was found 3. when the foxes beat the ravens and andrew sees riko raise his racket to hit neil. but he couldnt lose him. not again, not like this–and faster than his own thoughts were his own reflexes to protect neil. running over to break riko’s arm before riko could swing down on neil –he was safe.
do you ever think about how andrew sat through neil’s interrogation and still chose him? like, we talk about neil choosing andrew, but neil already knew andrew’s past. the fbi probably asked about his childhood, what he saw his father do, what neil himself was trained to do under his watch and then he had to talk about his mother and the thing she did, the things she made him to whilst on the run. after all that, andrew still chose him.
I still can’t get over how Andrew was surprised when Neil wasn’t wearing his contacts the first time they went to Columbia.
When Nicky first tells him not to wear them, it seems like Andrew sent Nicky as his minion to make him not wear them.
But then Andrew is surprised and asks why Neil isn’t wearing them when he goes to pick Neil up.
Andrew, who shows no interest in anything and is known for barely talking to people, kept everything else he found in Neil’s room secret, but would not shut up about the fact that Neil wore brown contact lenses and he didn’t like the colour.
He talked about Neil’s fake eye colour so much that Nicky went and told Neil not to wear the contacts anymore just to try to sate Andrew.
there will be a day when wymack is in front of the tv, watching a pro game while working on looking at new recruit folders, and he will see neil josten make an impossible goal. he will see that and suddenly remember walking into a stadium in milport, arizona with andrew and kevin behind him and seeing this kid with nothing left to live for. he will remember offering him a contract, seeing him run, seeing him stay. he will remember picking him up from the airport, bruised and stitched and wearing death on his face like a mask. he will remember a hotel room in baltimore and the bus ride home and every terrible truth that fell from that boy’s mouth. he will see neil make a goal and watch him light up like a christmas tree on tv, clacking sticks with his fellow striker, and remember that neil did this. that he survived and he made it and he’s doing okay. and wymack will smile, just a little, and keep flipping through his folders.
The thing i love about andreil getting married (regardless of the motivation) is the idea that neil abram josten, the boy who probably spent years on the run wishing he could have a normal family, a normal home, and a normal relationship, the boy who nearly fought to death just to have his name, gets to write “neil josten” on a marriage certificate. He gets to hear a judge ask andrew “do you take neil josten to be your lawfully wedded husband?” and he has the goofiest grin that has andrew glaring and raising the percentage because he’s home. He has a paper that says so forever, until death or whenever andrew finally makes good on his threats to kill him, and its never felt so good to not be nathaniel wesninski anymore.
look say what you will about Aaron Minyard but he joined that Fox-pile sleepover when the Foxes get back from Baltimore. Like he slept on the floor with all his teammates for NEIL and as far as i recall having read this series at least 8K times he never makes a single noise of protest about it.
there are a few perfect literary moments and topping the list is kevin day slowly switching his racket from his right to his left hand in front of riko’s dumbstruck face
