Headcanon that whenever Andrew starts reading a murder mystery, he and Neil have developed this weird little ritual where Andrew tells him about the plot, briefly going over the facts and details of the murder and Neil immediately picks a random character and decides that's the killer.
Not the most suspicious character. Not the one that makes sense. Just some guy.
And then he commits.
It doesn't matter how much evidence points elsewhere as the story progresses. Neil will spend the entire book inventing increasingly ridiculous theories to explain why his suspect is still guilty. Every new clue gets twisted into supporting his argument somehow. Contradictory evidence? Clearly part of the cover-up. Alibi? Fabricated. Confession from someone else? Obvious misdirection.
Andrew rarely engages with any of it, often ignoring Neil's take altogether, but he continues updating him on the case anyway, so Neil hasn't stopped.
There's also cero context when they talk about it so it leads to situations like this:
Andrew, entering the room: the old lady from the bakery is dead.
Kevin: what? who?
Neil, gasps: she faked her own death, she's smarter than I thought.
Kevin: wha-
Andrew: recognisable body, she is dead.
Neil: she killed herself then.
Kevin: you know what, I don't even wanna know.
Andrew: stabbing herself herself 27 times?
Neil, shrugs: to each their own.
Kevin: ahhh, the fucking book, ok
Andrew: there was another murder after hers.
Neil: Oh, that makes sense. The corpse they found was her secret twin's. Perfect alibi.
((Hi, sorry, super tiny edit because this felt like it needed a bit more context about why Neil gets the murder wrong in my head. So sorry. You can carry on now. Have a good day!))
no but imagine being the Palmetto State track team coach and learning about this kid who can run a mile in four minutes and so you go and check it out but surprise surprise the exy coach from the shit exy team has him already so you try to negotiate for the player because he might be the fastest kid you’ve ever seen but the exy coach keeps saying no and no and so you watch this kid that can RUN THE MILE IN FOUR MINUTES become the fastest exy player in history and you’re sobbing falling to your knees because you could’ve had him in the track team winning you gold medals in the olympics but instead you just stare from your campus office as this redhead short exy obsessed kid runs laps around the entire uni campus for hours on end without getting tired and just wishes all hell on exy
the foxes as things that actual athletes have done
(i think it's like all hockey - and a lot of it is l*afs-centric) (they all have truth, but some have elements that didn't happen irl). in an au where all foxes went pro (except aaron bcz as a biochem student- if a man's going through all that suffering let him be a doctor)
kevin: liked a tweet of a dude getting pegged, and then in a press conference had to explain how his finger slipped but in a way that 1) makes it seem like he's not into being pegged and 2) does not put down ppl who like to get pegged. (likes are now privated)
neil: post-game, an opponent was getting real close to him and in his face and then on instinct, neil licked him. it got a visceral reaction, so he did it to another guy later on. someone on social media reported that the NEL had a talk with neil to make him stop, and then he reposted that and said 'no they didn't lol'
andrew: during an injury, while in the press box, flipped off a broadcast camera that was on him all game for funsies. it got an odd reaction from other fans and they tried to make him apologize for it. he did not. NEL fined him + changed rules so that the department of player safety could fine players who did stuff like that.
neil: during an injury, while in the press box, was caught eating an ice cream cone without worries while the score of his game showed his team getting blown out + a snowstorm outside the arena. that picture went viral among exy fans and is now a reaction photo + popular sign for games.
kevin: held the conference finals trophy bcz he didn't believe in curses (semi-finals trophy - sports superstition that all trophies except the finals one is cursed so don't touch them), but then his team lost in finals. the next year, he was the furthest away from that trophy, and they won.
dan: when a celebrity fan of her opponent's team prayed for them before a playoffs game and posted it on instagram (and then dan's team beat the celeb's team), she went into their comments and said "not today [celeb]"
seth: got in a fist fight with a fan because after he got a yellow card (sent off court for a sub), the fan began to mock him. straight up began yelling at each other, barriers between the bench and fan broke, and they started fist fighting
matt: broke his stick, took a dropped stick from an opponent, and scored a goal in the chaos
nicky: lost his stick so played with a discarded goaltender's stick for a few minutes and then got carded for 'improper equipment'
allison: beat up a fan with her shoe
andrew: after the trade to neil's team, he was booed every time he blocked a shot/touched the puck when he played against his old team (fans would travel for that game to boo him)
seth: scored a goal with his butt
renee: goalie goal + assist in a singular game. almost got in a fight for the sole reason to complete the gordie howe (fight + assist + goal in one game), but resisted the pull of the dark side somehow
dan: first player in exy history to score three goals off of her face + keeps the game ball in a display case in her home
neil: after scoring one too many goals against the opponent + antagonizing them, he gets chased around the entire court by the opposing team and has to get off court and onto his team's bench to avoid them
allison: the exy ball hit her hard in the nose while she was on the bench (stray hit during substitutions) and a fan mocked her for it. a few minutes later, similar situation and a ball hit the same fan on the nose. allison mocked them back
kevin: has an unexplained and intense rivalry with an opposing mascot that is considered a cosmic being from hell
