#and by least I don't really like his character but it's not like I Riko-Moriyama hate level him anyway

[perfecteggpartyland]

if u want answers to ur points ig ill give it a shot:

"Neil is biased." - Yeah, but it's not really a point. You can acknowledge this, and still agree with Neil.

"What about Jean?" - Again, doesn't really matter. Whether Jean is seen as a coward or not has no bearing on whether Kevin is seen as one or not. They don't even really behave all that similarly either, Jean is closer to Neil in behaviours in many ways.

"Kevin's character grows and changes." - I'd agree. Whether people view Kevin as starting the first steps in changing or having completely changed is a readers perspective however. Personality traits don't just dissappear, Kevin may still act 'cowardly' post canon. In the same way, Neil is often post-canon treated as having urges to run or to behave in dangerous ways (taking care of his own serious injuries DIY style, keeping a packed bag to help with anxiety about having to run, etc). Readers often like to explore key character traits even after the text itself has suggested they might have overcome them, or began to at least. And I don't really see an issue with this treatment of either Kevin or Neil, it's just something fans tend to enjoy doing, to explore the characters further.

"Neil's bravery had negative consequences." - You've said this one a lot, and I don't really get your point. Whether the actions are brave or not aren't based on the consequences. At the very least, that's not a universal perspective, so I'm not sure what you were going for.

"The other Foxes flaws don't get used like this." - I'd disagree. I pointed out the Neil thing, but it gets done to Andrew, Nicky, Aaron, etc. Fan work always tends to do this. Aaron's homophobia is exaggerated, Andrew's violence and controlling tendencies are, Nickys lack of boundaries are, and so on.

"Neil had nothing to lose." - Again, don't really see how this matters. Regardless, Neil was still afraid and had to push through that. And he did have his life to lose. And by the third book, the Foxes too. The thought of losing these two things upset and scared him, its shown explicitly in the text. I think people often make it out like Neil didn't care that he'd die, but it's not true. Its shown in the books to not be true.

"Neil doesnt know the power the Moriyamas have." - Just flat not true. Neil finds out the Moriyamas are part of the Japanese mafia in the first handful of pages of the first book. Long before he's had to meet any Moriyamas personally. So, by the time he does, he knows. And he obviously knows how serious the mafia is, he's the son of two mafia crime families.

I think that's everything?

First of all thanks for discussion; I mean in everything regarding Kevin 99% is all Kevin is a coward and he always stays that way; I'm all about exploring characters traits ; also I think I'm referring to Kevin/jean as both of them grow up in same circumstances and I'm wondering what makes Kevin a coward and if jean is by the same logic; also while Neil does find out that moriyamas are mafia he still doesnt realize what they can do if that makes sense ? Like jean/Kevin know riko but Neil even after roasting him on live tv and riko goes after Seth; he still does antagonize him and it still ends up destroying property of the foxes; like I think someone already said this in my anons that Kevin's beheviour can be both cowardly and understandable since both Neil and Kevin are just trying to survive; Neil's behaviour can be both brave and reckless/impulsive; since even after knowing what confronting riko does in the end and that it always affects People around him he still does it and can't keep his temper in check ; so it ends up hurting another lot ;, I think he didn't grasp and didn't care what riko would do to other People; unlike Kevin/jean who knows how riko is 🤷so I think that's a huge part as in why Neil is more likely to talk but to riko

[afurtivecake]

Hello! 10, 12, 13 and 16 for the aftg ask game 🌼

Oh hello! Thank you for indulging me!

Oh shit, i genuinely panicked for a moment there because i forgot which ask game and where i could find the questions.

(now that i've had a look at the questions...ah shit, i'm going to spend it talking about riko, aren't i? ah, well fuck.)

10. A villain you think is fucking hot.

i'm pretty ace about hotness in general so i guess i'll just have to take jeremy's word for it that ichirou is hot. (riko's my favourite villain but more because i think he's kind of pathetic, and i like that in a character :) )

12. Favourite narrative foil

damn these questions are not pulling any punches

yeah it's gotta be neil and riko. there's a lot said about neil and jean and they are really interesting, but. the thing that gets me whenever i consider neil and riko is that they were both born into families that expected them to grow into the violence that defines their families. they're so alike in a lot of ways. in fact, up until that moment with neil's tryout, him and riko were almost neck to neck with their whole traumatic backgrounds and their obsession with exy. but then from that point onwards, their paths diverge. neil's mother's love for him saves him from the moriyama's clutches and from going down the path of cruelty and violence that riko goes down.

neil and riko both have violent, explosive tempers, but neil takes his anger out on people stronger and more powerful than he is while riko directs that anger towards the most helpless people within reach. while neil chooses to cut people down with biting words, riko take the literal, physical route. it's very much a reflection of their upbringings, post-tryout. mary wasn't a gentle, loving mother, but it was clearly important to her that she keep neil away from using physical violence. as a result, neil talks his way through situations and doesn't really know how to fight or wield weapons beyond maybe basic self-defense. riko, on the other hand, grew up in an environment where words mean nothing and action everything.

riko taking pleasure in hurting people who can't fight back vs neil taking pleasure in seeing people suffer too, but only if he thinks they deserved it.

riko besting people who don't have a chance so that he feels powerful vs neil liking the rush of escaping situations where he barely had a chance and beating powerful people

neil, who has long since accepted that he is nothing and nobody vs riko, who is desperately trying to prove that he isn't nothing and nobody

neil, who was given the freedom to walk into this whole exy mafia mess with his eyes open, who sees exy and the moriyamas as a bright future vs riko who's never known freedom from exy or the moriyamas, whose future with those things was always nothing but black

also, i'm obsessed with the fact that neil is the striker and on-court partner that kevin chose while riko was the partner that he was assigned. riko coming second-best to neil in kevin's regard? that must have stung a lot.

13. Favourite narrative symbolism

chess pieces, if that counts, (i'm going to be a little loose with the definition of symbolism here because i've always struggled to think in terms of symbols) or at least kevin's queen tattoo. it just completely re-contextualized riko, kevin and their whole Perfect Court thing for me. riko really never was king in the sense of a supreme ruler though he tried to act like it; he was a chess king. he had very limited freedom, he relied on the strength of others around him and he was the key thing propping the whole game up. riko was king but he was still another chess piece being moved around by tetsuji and the moriyamas, same as kevin or jean. his game falls apart without kevin and jean (the foxes didn't win that match because they were better than the ravens) and the whole ravens experiment falls apart without riko, their chess king. kevin's tattoo replaces riko's mark of ownership (the '2') with something that is way more truthful. it marks him as a moriyama asset, a chess piece with a limited freedom, but a piece with the most freedom on the board.

16. How did you get here? How did you discover AFTG

HERE here? well, i was just minding my own business, reading sports fiction and queer romance novels late in the month of march, when i came across aftg in the list of books under the lgbtqia+ category at my library. i borrowed it thinking, well, it does seem to fit my very loose genre criteria. little did i know, i would finish the three books in three days. then i spent a week lost in a haze of "what the fuck did i just read?" and in vehement denial that i've been ensnared by these books in any way. then i lost that battle with myself and accepted that ok, i'm insane about this series. then i suddenly found out that a fourth book was coming out in like a week. then i really went insane about this series.

i had so many thoughts about these books that could not fit into my usual texts to my friends (who basically get in-depth reviews and analyses of everything i read) and so i had to put them on tumblr instead. it was for the greater good! i had to spare them my endless thoughts!

[capcavan]

Dear Cap-senpai, how does one come up with a cool, original and cohesive AU idea for AFTG? I want to write for these characters, but I have no idea where to even start. - Sincerely, a struggling writer

I am really honoured that you ask, because I see myself as mess I am just very devoted mess Making any sort of story is always the same no matter if you do fully original work or something based on pre existing IP You need to pick topic you enjoy this way you will have fun developing it it will make it feel like fun activity not work or effort. Ok lets take the Rikoi au as example bc my brain is right here right now general idea is ,, Riko as mermaid" now the question is how do i make the concept of mermaid tie into his family history i tie it into his design, i try to consider his background and possibly how his culture could tie into it - rikos family backstory - Japanese koi - i could read up some Japanese stories about koi to get even deeper - swamping number from arabic 1 to japanese to fit the theme bit more - moving moriyamas all the way back to Japan to have more traditional looking garden/pond environment for him so this is Riko but every universe and story need supporting cast [your cast can be 1-2 character it can be 5-20 or more how much you can handle but having more character makes your world and story feel more alive ] so now we have renee who because of her canon background witch charity becomes part of meer rescues team foxes who are half way house become meer sanctuary aaron and andrew who are the most different twins ever become 2 different species neils father who is piece of shit is still a piece of shit! <3 ilu nathan it's all about finding loose parallels! you don't have to tie things that way but finding things that tie your new AU yo canon even slightly will help other people understand the new dynamics and find something to relate to taking into account their love for original work when designing a story even for 1 character try to spend at least a bit to think of the world around them - aftg is actually great example of this - our main narration is made by neil who spoon feeds us very limited amount of information but in EC nora explained in much more detail how the whole world around him functions and motivations of other characters- we wouldn't knew those informations but nora wrote those books taking them into account this is why the relationships character formed have so much depth I also watch a lot of youtube videos about story analysis for video games and enjoy listening to essays about characters motivations !

[thecasualbookreviewer]

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

The Raven King, Nora Sakavic

Summary:

The Foxes are a fractured mess, but their latest disaster might be the miracle they've always needed to come together as a team. The one person standing in their way is Andrew, and the only one who can break through his personal barriers is Neil.

Except Andrew doesn't give up anything for free and Neil is terrible at trusting anyone but himself. The two don't have much time to come to terms with their situation before outside forces start tearing them apart. Riko is intent on destroying Neil's fragile new life, and the Foxes have just become collateral damage.

Neil's days are numbered, but he's learning the hard way to go down fighting for what he believes in, and Neil believes in Andrew even if Andrew won't believe in himself.

Review:

I am once again reminding anyone that wants to read this series to research the trigger warnings before hand, Storygraph has aa very complete and accurate list, this second book gets darker than the first one, specially on the second half of the book, and the last two chapters.

If you're reading the books back to back like I did, the first few chapters might seem a little dull, I think it took me at least three chapters to really get into the book, but once i got going i didn't want to put it down.

I don't think I've liked a side character as much i like the side characters in this series before, they're all a different brand of screw up, but the more we find out about them, and the more they interact with each other i like them more and more; of course, the main characters are very interesting as well, in this installment we find out more about Andrews past, and lot of things start to make more sense about the way he is. I wasn't a huge fan on Kevin in the first book, but I actually started to like him in this one; and Neil continues to be a disaster of a human being, but I love him.

Riko Moriyama is a villain that doesn't have many scenes, but the ones he does have, are impactful, I don't think I've hated a character more than I hate Riko Moriyama. I really hope he gets all that's coming to him, but I'll let you know when I read the next book.

I had to take breaks in between reading some of the chapters cause things got so so dark, I had to have some breathing room in between, otherwise I probably would've finished this book in a day. Though I still understand nothing about Exy, and always get lost in the game scenes, I've just accepted I'm not gonna get it.

The book it's a great sequel, and it does a good job to keep you interested enough to want to start the next book as soon as possible.

[darlingbudsofrae]

Nicky Hemmick Appreciation Post

Foxes Appreciation Series : 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 ||

It’s time for Nicky Hemmick appreciation hours!

I think out of the foxes, I really don’t like the way Nora developed, or lack thereof, Nicky’s character.

He was one of the few POC/LGBTQIAP+ characters in the books and the way he was written just wasn’t it, y’know?

I think out of all the changes we could have, I wish Nora developed him better because his character could’ve gone to so many potentials. 

But let’s get with what we have-

First off, I just want to say I appreciate Nicky’s relationship with Erik so much.

They’re adorable. 

Now, let’s get to the sad and dark stuff-

Nicky’s past is one of the most messed-up backstories I’ve ever read in my entire life. And I read a LOT of sad books.

Dude literally went to a gay conversion camp (the fact that this shit exists is proof that hell is just a place on earth) for a year and had to repress his sexuality his entire life because his parents were homophobic shitholes.

Repressing his sexuality also led to depression. He had freaking suicidal thoughts and he took the first way out of his problems and saved himself by taking the first chance to leave, aka Germany.

I’m not sure if anyone remembers but to get to that- he had to pretend he was something he was not. He had to play the “perfect son” role because he couldn’t afford to be himself in a place where his existence was deemed wrong.

Also, the fact that he had the capacity to do this- to maintain that role until that Germany ticket landed in his hands while combatting suicidal and other morbid thoughts-

Kid, that sucks. Nicky Hemmick needs a hug.

Also, taking note of this fact makes me appreciate his reactions towards his teammates’ tragedies more.

Like at first I was constantly surprised because I thought it’s such an overreaction to feel sad and almost cry as a reflex to other’s misfortunes (lowkey exposing myself here) 

But to realize he went through such a traumatic experience and can still empathize + sympathize deeply with his teammates-

it just makes me really appreciate that aspect of him- to be able to still be that person and have that sense of humanity despite of the horrific things he went though, that’s amazing.

Let’s talk about the fact that Nicky could’ve just live his entire life in Germany with the love of his life and cut off entirely his connections with his family because he had every right to detoxify his life and live happily for himself.

Nicky was about 19-20ish when he learned that Tilda had died and how he reacted to this by going back because he doesn’t want the twins to be raised by the same people who gave him hell- because he knows the twins deserves better- that’s incredible.

He had absolutely no obligation to, he wasn’t even that old to have that responsibility but he took it.

He came back and fought for the rights to become a guardian for the twins (against his own parents), like that takes so much time and effort and the fact that he did it at like a considerably young age is just so mind-blowing.

I’m not going to act like he’s the best guardian. But let’s not discredit where credit is due.

Despite everything- he gave Aaron and Andrew a home. Provided a roof over their heads, helped them at school (he taught them to speak German), worked jobs to provide for their basic necessities, and assuming Andrew spent all that insurance money on the car, someone has to be working to pay the tuition and bills, right?

And that someone was Nicky. 

(He also got Andrew and Aaron gigs at where he worked at).

Like no one talks about this enough but Nicky lowkey raised the twins. Like, he actually raised the twins.

There is not enough words in this world to describe how overwhelming and amazing that is. 

He had no obligation whatsoever to these two who probably gave him a hard time because as much as I love the Twinyards- they were assholes (I mean they were kind of mean to him for crying out loud, and that’s just on the books- imagine how much more he got back when the twins were probably so distrustful of him) and really, they weren’t Nicky’s obligation because most people forget that Nicky wasn’t that old. 

He was pretty young too. 

And by going back, he’s associating himself with the things that lowkey broke him but he still went and stayed anyway even when he could’ve easily just be happy and cut it all off because despite of everything, he wanted to provide the twins with an at least better option than his horrible parents.

He wanted the twins to have a good life- literally wished for them to heal and be okay and succeed and that amount of love- it’s just amazing. Like, I said that a lot by now but it’s just really amazing.

Nicky Hemmick is amazing.

He was also supposedly only going to stay until the twins finished high school but then Coach Wymack happened and with Erik’s support and his hopes of the twins being happy, he stayed.

I’m not sure about Nicky’s exy abilities, I think he got scolded a lot by Kevin but I like to think that he wasn’t that bad. I really wish we got more exy contents, that one time I got invested in a sport and there wasn’t even a lot of it. 

I also like to believe that he’s more mature than he lets on. Like, he actually knows all that adulting shit.

Also, when Neil noticed that Nicky is just playing his energy levels up to compensate for the Twinyards’ walls because despite everything, he wants to be friends with everyone but can’t because he’s with the monsters and that honestly sucks.

But it’s also commendable that he really tries. 

Ignoring the Eden incident aside, he was actually really great to Neil.

Like, he’s one of the few in the foxes that was friendly to him at the start. 

He also taught him a lot of things (like social cues and all) and did whatever he can to help him.

He’s actually a pretty good friend. 

Also, I lowkey feel for him that despite everything, he still wanted his parents’ validation and approval.

I saw a decent amount of people hate Nicky for this because it was what led to the thanksgiving incident, but I just find it sad.

Because at the end of the day, Nicky was just a son who loved his parents even if they couldn’t love everything he was and the things he stands for, and it’s just sad because even if it was kind of obvious, he just wanted to believe that everything could still mend.

He still wanted to be accepted by them.

Some people don’t deserve to have kids.

But when he realized that it wasn’t going to happen and this brought harm to the twins, he was very apologetic over it and guilty even if it wasn’t his fault, and he chose the twins.

He will always choose the twins. 

"It's about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we choose. This one. The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about."

Overall, it’s just really amazing that despite everything, he can look for the positive and enjoy life even if it’s really shitty.

Just ✨Nicholas Esteban Hemmick✨ dude.

[whatmack]

Hi! I know it's been a while since you wrote it, but I recently re-read in Flanders Fields, and I needed you to know how much I love it. It's maybe my favourite piece of fanftiction ever, and it has a very special place in my heart. I read it first when it was still being published, and it's been living in my mind rent free ever since. I was wondering if there was anything you left out of it that you wanted to talk abt? Dw if you don't wanna respond to this, it's mostly to let you know how much I loved this fic (and also to try get myself some extra content ;p )

Thank you so much! That’s-- ah, this means a lot to hear. It’s fucking wild that IFF went up less than a calendar year ago, huh? The aesthetic choice to have Neil not wearing a mask in surgery did not age well  One of the things that I really enjoy about writing fanfiction is that you’re working with a reader base who already has a body of information about the characters, relationships, etc., and whatever you change, or don’t change, you can still imply things or have background interactions that don’t requrie as much in-text explanation, because it’s reasonable to assume your audience will pick up what you’re putting down based on what they already know. (It’s why, for example, in BAST from the year before, I was skimpy on the details of Nathan and Lola’s violence, and on Andrew’s abuse. The readers already had the relevant basics, and I tried to toss out enough details about what changed so that, hopefully, y’all’d get the picture.) That said, the reference to Kevin’s tattoo in the chapter with the wine cellar has never sat quite comfortably with me. The scene itself I kept in not just for the trivia (that’s based on a real event, one that I doubt was isolated, of soldiers being ordered to blow an alcohol cache and drinking themselves silly instead), but because I wanted to keep up with the narrative of Andrew protecting Kevin, and also how he protects “his” other people with Kevin as an example. The tattoo was an easter egg to myself, and to the readers, to indicate to us why Kevin was upset, though Andrew didn’t know the specifics. (More after the cut)

But I wish I had put a bit more buildup to that, a bit more backstory. In the fic as a whole I feel it sticks out as a random detail, and I’d have liked to either remove it and find something else to reference, or seed more of Kevin’s backstory earlier, so the tattoo, and Kevin touching it when remembering shit that upset him, wasn’t so-- weird? Incongruous? Because I didn’t include the backstory in the story proper, I had only a vague outline of what Kevin’s life had been like pre-Andrew’s Squad. Therefore this isn’t going to hold up to the level of fact-checking and forehead-creasing-late-night-museum-website searching that I tried and sometimes almost succeeded in applying over the rest of the fic. That said, what was in MY head while writing, was: Like in canon, the Moriyamas set Kayleigh up to be killed in an accident (likely horse-drawn-carriage, though there WERE some automotive vehicles around pre Model-T-Ford), and took Kevin to be, well, Riko’s. Instead of Exy, Kevin was raised to be Riko’s retainer, second, bodyguard...whatever Riko needed. Or wanted. I’ve shunted Riko and Kevin, at least, to England for this, because the US did fuckall in WWI. Kevin endured canon-typical abuse from Riko, including the paired face tattoos, but also excelled in the training and tasks the Moriyamas set him; he was in particular a very skilled shot. Riko did not break his hand (that big ol’ rock from the shell blast did that, whoop), but after a particularly ugly altercation on the eve of war Kevin made his defiant stand by running away and enlisting in the Irish army, not the English, out of loyalty to the mother he barely remembered. It took Wymack a while to track Kevin down after Kayleigh’s death. Once he did, he spent the following years attempting get Kevin away from the Moriyamas. Unfortunately-- though to his credit-- this garnered their attention. As a Filipino man in Britain, he already had difficulty finding work; as a Filipino man who had made himself a nusiance to a powerful crime family, it became impossible. He joined the army to keep from starving on the street, and found to his surprise that he was good at it. He gained a reputation among the enlisted men for being impossible to kill-- for being lucky-- something that provided him with a great deal of dark amusement. Despite continued trying, he did not manage to meet Kevin until Kevin wound up under Whittier’s command. By then he knew Kevin was his child; I haven’t decided how, or when, he found out. 

[kevindayscrown]

Why Kevin Day is the most in-depth character in the All For the Game series

An essay by a Kevin stan, so you know it's at least 70% biased

Hello, hello everyone, welcome to another session of me, brainwashing you about the amazingness of Kevin Day. In this short essay, I'll discuss how our number Queen asshole striker is, in fact, not just a whiney bitch, but one of the most key characters in the AFTG series. I'll also discuss how Nora pretty much did him dirty and how much I appreciate the fandom for doing him better.

I've decided that it will be much easier to take things chronologically, so I can delve deeper into what makes Kevin the character whose stans won't shut up about.

Unlike the rest of the characters in the series, Kevin started off in a somewhat stable family condition. He was brought up by his mother, Kayleigh, but still probably had to live with the title 'Son of Exy' from the moment he was born. We've all witnessed what being on the spotlight from a young age has done to child stars. Kevin, upon growing up, would start feeling the burden of a whole legacy created by his mother. Because Exy, despite being a bastard sport, has a large fanbase around the US, and possibly further - since it's mentioned that it's also an Olympic sport.

It wouldn't be a surprise that Kevin more than likely looked up to his mother and wanted to play Exy for her. Suddenly though, Keyleigh died in a car accident (if it was even a car accident; knowing the Moriyamas, it could had been done on purpose) and left Kevin in the care of Tetsuji Moriyama, the head of one of the yakuza's branches, and his now adoptive brother Riko.

Let's be honest, both of them were just kids. They only had each other, so it was really easy to get attached. Kevin has lost his mother at this point and Tetsuji is not exactly a proper father figure, so Kevin had to cling on Riko. Despite us seeing him in the main timeline being an asshole who snaps at everyone, his willingness to submit into the position of 'number 2' even if he's better than Riko, shows how much he depends emotionally on people. Riko and Kevin had to meet certain expectations, had fans from a very young age, and Neil even mentions that he literally witnessed Kevin grow up from media outlets and coverages. Kevin had to stick close to the only other person who's going through the same thing.

As a result, it was easy for Kevin to focus on what he's taught to believe; he should aim for the stars, he should be good, great, but never the best. Because Riko is the best. Kevin accepts that.

I hate how people call him a spineless coward just because someone mentions it once in the book. Kevin isn't like Neil. Neil was given a chance to escape. Kevin could never escape Evermore. Even if he did consider it his home, he was still abused on a daily basis. Riko mentions in Raven King, when he's about to torture Neil, that Neil is basically in the same position as Kevin once had been:

People forget that, Kevin probably had to live through what Neil did ever since Riko turned into his fucked up self. Which literally means years of physical and mental abuse, with no hope of escape but the bright future he had ahead of him. So what did Kevin do? He focused on playing.

Stop making Kevin all about being an Exy freak or an alcoholic. Kevin was so obsessed with Exy because it's the only thing he has ever known. He probably couldn't even drink before he escaped Evermore.

Imagine being torn between loving and clinging on the boy you once called brother because it's the only family you've known, and being hurt by him, again and again at a later age, having him shatter all you think you are good at. Riko didn't just break Kevin's hand. He almost took away from him all he thought he had left, and possibly the only way Kevin had of feeling close to his mother.

Kevin loses all he's ever known, and he blames himself for it at first because he thinks it's his fault that he even dared to show he could be better than Riko. He's in pieces and the only thing he does is to cling yet on another person. Aka Andrew. And somehow like this, we come back to the point about Kevin not only being far from an emotionless asshole, but actually being the most emotionally attached character in the series.

Entering the timeline of the books, Kevin appears as the epitome of a narcissistic asshole. It's fair for someone (as a reader) to not like him at first, when we don't know all that much about him. But as the story unravels, a clear distinction is made:

Kevin is not a narcissist. He's egocentric.

Kevin knows and truly believes he's the center of attention. Because, admittedly, he is. The books could had easily had Kevin as the protagonist. Like mentioned before, being raised on the spotlight, has had a tremendous impact on how he sees himself. He's obsessed with what image he's presenting to the public. I don't think he said 'being heterosexual is easier' without a reason. Kevin has led a life full of suppression. He can flash a 'press smile' for the cameras, he can snap and be cold at the Foxes, when in reality, he's suffering from severe PTSD, with panic attacks that he's handling in the worst way possible:

Alcohol. Why? Because the Foxes are all assholes and hypocrites. Don't get me wrong, I love them. But the fact that they just ignored Kevin everytime he had a panic attack and simply thrusted a bottle of vodka his way and called it a day? Inexcusable. Kevin needed a lot more than that.

Oh jeez, I wonder why he didn't tell Wymack he was his father all along.

If I see another person saying that Kevin was an ass for not telling Wymack straight up, I might slap a bitch. Do you think that Kevin would have been able to handle another rejection, another loss of a parental figure? All he did, was in self defense. Yes, it was selfish, but it was probably the only time in his life he could really make a choice on his own.

But you know what? Kevin overcame all this. Maybe and most probably not completely, he will never be able to wash away some stains, but he became more confident and emotionally independent. He detached himself both from Riko and from Andrew, and became the best striker in the history of Exy.

One of the reasons why I love Neil and Kevin - especially Kevin - is because their healing journeys are more fleshed out than Andrew's. But in this case, Kevin's was not really given the attention it deserved, it happened on the side lines and he had to do it alone. Neil had the foxes, had Wymack and Andrew. Kevin had no one, because the foxes, despite being assholes themselves, kept dismissing him and his problems. I really do believe that, in the first drafts when Kandreil was canon, Nora had potentially explored his character more. I wish we had gotten that instead of this sloppy attempt to squeeze in his ark along with Neil's.

I'll end this with some highlights that also showcase how badass Kevin is. He's a mess, but he does grow some spine when he finally becomes his own person:

Oof, if you actually read through this, thank you for tolerating my probably incoherent thoughts. I actually barely scratched the surface of my thoughts on Kevin's character but for now, this will do.

[shihoran]

hi I love your work! you have such a pretty art style and I love your riko. I like the ciel/sebastian vibe for riko/kevin even if I don't like the pairing. your stuff is making me question tho. also I wanted to know why you like riko so much? not judging, I just am curious. your art about him is beautiful and I love it but not him, yknow what I mean?

Hello, and thank you for stopping by :D

Yes, I know what you mean. I don’t know if I really like Riko either, or perhaps I don’t want to admit it, because I know he’s … terrible, hahaha.

Though, there is a difference between liking a character for their actions, and liking the concept of that character. I’ll try to explain it as best as I can, and,.. well, I took 4hrs for this, so there is a TL;DR at the end, hah.

I hate what he did to his victims; I don’t have to reiterate his crimes, because everyone knows what he did. Given, that he had autonomy over his actions(no one forced him to commit those crimes), he still chose to do it. He still chose to hurt another person. Chose to be, what we know is, a Bad Person.

That’s what I do like, though. The concept - the idea that someone grows up in such a vile environment with his life narrowed down to one set path, but opposing to that, believes that he has all the freedom in his actions; because all he does is free from fault by the standard of the Raven Nest.

His judgement of what is right or wrong is based on the morality of that space, that is quasi-closed off from the rest of the world.

A similiar concept can be found in the book “The Lord Of The Flies”, written 1954 by William Golding. It’s a book about stranded Boys on an uninhabited island and their attempt to govern themselves. It doesn’t end well.

“Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality.” [wikipedia: Lord of the Flies]

Now take that theme and narrow it down to Riko and the Nest. While the rest of the Ravens that joined as teens, having lived their life outside the Nest and being able to found a moral standard, Riko had none of that time to actually develop any standard aside from what he’s been given to from Tetsuji and the Ravens, that were already integrated into that hivemind.

And even if Riko had the chance to know that for ex. violence against someone else was wrong, even the victims inside that hivemind would soon transform into attackers themselves - or they’d drop out and become out of reach/ uninteresting for Riko.

A thought play cue is the uninhibited island / the quasi-closed off Nest, in which the people follow their own rules:

If Person A hits Person B, and they both agree that “hitting someone is justified”, then who is there to judge this? And why would the voice of an “outsider” count, if A & B’s moral standards are already established?

If Riko hurts Jean, and even if Jean does not agree with being hurt(because I do believe his moral code from pre-Raven time is still very strong; and that he’s an overall mentally strong character), who in the Raven Nest would actually step up against Riko? Jean has been dehumanized to Riko’s property; Riko was King, and violence was normalized.

Another thing that I like about his character is that he is very… basic. His need for approval, affection - Love - is a very basic human need, that he hungers for like nothing else.

He has been denied all that from the moment he was born, as he was being passed off to Tetsuji, which formed part of why he became so obsessed with Exy.

“[…]Riko and Kevin would gurgle at each other in the locker room while their parents worked. These were the only times in those first years that Tetsuji interacted with Riko. Tetsuji wanted nothing to do with Riko until Riko was old enough to shape into a star. Riko was too young to understand any of it, but he could connect the dots on at least some level that Kevin being at the Nest = Tetsuji would actually look at him instead of just walk past him without slowing.” [from Nora’s extra content: Who is Riko Moriyama?]

Somewhere along the line Riko misunderstood Tetsuji and believes that, if he just becomes the best at the sport, that his family will actually acknowledge his existence. And he throws himself into improving and doing everything he can to come out on top, always, without fail; without even being allowed to think about failure, as he was a symbol - not a human - to the Raven, Tetsuji, and his fans.

It’s a bit ironic, or maybe it’s just natural, that he would dehumanize another person in the same way he had been dehumanized all his life. And for being someone capable of his degree of violence, well, he’s rather… naive, to believe he’d ever be acknowledged by his family. Perhaps, he believed that acknowledgement - telling him that they see him, that he exists, that he is the son of someone - would grant him a sense of worth. Of real worth. Of humanity.

We all agree that he is a bad person.We all understand that what Riko did was wrong. And most of those who know him also agree in their hate for him.

It begs the question, though, would we have been better people?If all your life you’ve been restricted to one path, wouldn’t you want to cross borders? Riko crossed them in the only way he could - using people as outlet for his needs - using them as landmarks, objects, things to pass around, things to pass time with; to reclaim his freedom over the people - over their minds and bodies - he doesn’t get to have.

It’s a tragedy, really, he tries so hard to gain affection from people he can never reach, but he himself is incapable of being a decent human being to those close and around him.

Speaking of tragedy, another reason I do like to think of him is because I take stance with Aristotle’s Theory on Drama, as written down in the “Poetics” a study of Greek dramatic art (384-322 B.C.). In which he writes about the protagonist of the drama (although Riko isn’t the protagonist of The Foxhole Court, he is the main focus in this reply) and claims:

“The aim of tragedy, Aristotle writes, is to bring about a “catharsis” of the spectators — to arouse in them sensations of pity and fear, and to purge them of these emotions so that they leave the theater feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men. This catharsis is brought about by witnessing some disastrous and moving change in the fortunes of the drama’s protagonist[…]“ [from a Critical Essay Aristotle on Tragedies: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/agamemnon-the-choephori-and-the-eumenides/critical-essay/aristotle-on-tragedy]

I don’t necessary agree with all what Aristotle says, but writing my thoughts on that down here… would go beyond the scope of discussion…

On a different sidenote, because I’ve been writing a lot already anyway, so I might as well put it down now…

I don’t assume myself to be in any position to tell other people to change their mind about Riko; to stop hating him, or to start thinking of him past the kneejerk reaction. I’ve been there before, so I understand the general distaste.

However, by the end of the day, I hope that we all understand that Riko Moriyama is a fictional character, in a fictional world, thought up, somehow, somewhen, and then written down, and most importantly: Not real.

People’s feelings towards fiction are very real, and they are valid. That’s the beauty of fiction, no? It’s not real, and it still manages to make us feel some sort of way about it.

We can toy with fictional characters in our heads or on paper all we want, make them bad, make them good, destroy them, make them god - in the end, it’s all just thought plays, little mind games, to entertain and pass the time. And it’s not real. No one in real life gets hurt. And we still get to enjoy a hopefully quiet and overall white picked fence life, while our inner creators are free to be wild.

I’d rather live in a world where all fiction is unhinged and reality is peaceful, rather than in a world where only utopian literature exists, and real people hurt real people.

So, I thank you, Anon. For being plainly curious, for reaching out in good hope, for asking quietly, for opening a conversation.

We don’t have to agree on anything; maybe you thought of my answer as not what you had wanted to hear, and that’s also Ok. I do hope that my thoughts were somewhat entertaining, though, at least to some.

Thank you for reading!

[TL;DR] I don’t like Riko’s wrongdoings. I don’t even know if I like him as a character.However, I do like the concept of his character, the meta, the abstraction - I like that he’s not real. I like thinking about morality and immorality. I like thinking about What Ifs and Whys. I like entertaining and educating myself on tragedies.

Simply put, I like fiction.

[c-valentino]

What do you think of Riko as a character inside the books? (no HCs) / Any fave HCs you want to share? / Any pairings/ships you like with him? / fic recs? / art recs? / Kevin&Riko - do they have/had feelings for each other? / Thoughts on his finale scene? / Did you read Nora's extra content? // tag other bloggers you think have something interesting to say about him! (maybe someone we don't know yet??) #Thoughts on Riko Moriyama

What do you think of Riko as a character inside the books? (no HCs) From a writer’s point of view? He’s a fucking tragedy. (and no, I don’t mean the pieces of background story we did get on him, that’s been said and discussed before) He’s kind of the worst villain a story can have - and here is why: 

Riko is ‘one’ of the book’s antagonists, and to quote my German lit. teacher: “Antagonists act while heroes react.” - meaning it is often a villain who initiates any kind of dramatic change in a story. That said, why is Riko Moriyama a bad example of a villain? A good villain needs a plausible background story. The reader needs to actually understand what happened to the character in order to make him into what he is today. A good villain started out as an ‘ordinary’ person, same as a hero. Both undergo a series of events to turn them into what they are. If not enough depth and character development is put into a story the character becomes lifeless, doesn’t spark any kind of interest within the reader and (in this case) the villain becomes a ‘plot device’ - meaning someone who does evil things to create scenes that show more light on the main character and his reactions. (Neil has to suffer through some pretty over the top and kinda unexplained abuse from Riko in order to add to the tragedy and heroic survival in his character’s development). [unexplained meaning: Riko could just have done a million other things to him - it wouldn’t make much of a difference. As long as it fits the excessive violent behavior category it would have worked plot wise. There is no explanation why he is using knives (other than that it fits the whole scar theme of the books (Kevin, Andrew, Neil, Jean… all of them have scars)) … ] Or, to be very harsh here and I know it’s not quite THAT bad, think of those silly cartoons, Road Runner and Coyote - you know the coyote will do any kinds of destructive things, you don’t know why, it’s just his role, he’s a plot device. 

Of course there are ways to create a great villain without spending many pages on his background story. Take Makishima Shogo e.g. (PsychoPass season one), we know next to nothing about his background, yet he is one of my favorite antagonists. His character feels real because there are enough little aspects about him that add depth: he likes to read books (physical copies because ebooks lack character), he likes to quote from those books to drive his point home, he likes to dip his sweets into tea… - non of that makes him better/worse at changing/destroying society, but it gives us an idea of who the man behind that criminal mastermind is. 

Sadly, we only get the smallest glimpses of Riko. Overall his name is being mentioned 595 times in the trilogy, but we encounter him only a few times. Most of his actions happen behind the scenes. He’s also the best kind of HC goldmine you can find. Wasted potential makes for great fan content because there is so much left to explore (no matter if the author had to cut all the information out or cba to come up with anything to begin with. The fields of imagination are endless my friends!) Or, as Nora explained: “I wanted a stronger antagonist, so I kept giving him more power–and then I tore a chunk of it away in the final draft out of necessity. He had more presence in the second-to-last draft, just as Neil’s father did, but I had to delete entire chunks to balance the story out…” Basically all the information we have on Riko comes from Nora’s extra content (his whole backstory is in there). If you read it his character starts to make sense, becomes interesting and worth exploring. But it is what it is. You can’t really blame the readers for hating Riko Moriyama when they pick up the books for the first time. He is a shadow of a character in there. And let’s be honest, the extra content “doesn’t count” in many reader’s opinion. If it’s not in the books it didn’t happen! (true to some degree, but I’m not a purist. I research and dig for those extra pieces of information. I’d rather have four books with all the information on the side characters in there, I don’t need a sequel.)  So, conclusion: If you hate Riko Moriyama, consider reading Nora’s extra content and give him another shot. He is quite interesting.

Any fave HCs you want to share?oh geez…. endless supply of those • Young Riko wide-eyed on his first trip outside of the Nest (supervised &!! unsupervised) like… the things he wants to see/eat/try/buy, (with Kevin by his side/the whole team/on his own/some Moriyama bodyguard), him buying ice cream (wow that’s sweet), fast food (not rly his thing, too greasy), clothes (ripped jeans, t-shirts, that amazing black coat he sees on his way back, a hat - because all he has are workout clothes, Exy gear and suits)• Riko doing promo/commercial stuff for the Ravens, playing nice for the staff on set, but wishing some of them a very painful death because they are so fake… (kinda used that one before) • Riko doing drugs/alcohol for the first time (can’t hold his liquor even though Kevin seems to have no problems in that department, and oh, it pisses him off - gets a huge backlash from his uncle afterwards for being an embarrassment to the family name) (drugs are something he can’t really get to terms with. He likes the feeling they give him (at least some of them) but he absolutely hates the aftermath, remembering how they made him open up, bringing him close to losing control…(ravens are against doping btw) • Endless scenes of Riko/Kevin making out… Young Kevin getting curious at some point and the only one around for him to ask is Riko, Riko being so angry that something has to give and sadly that’s Kevin, both of them being hyped after their first official game(win) and making out on Kevin’s bed, both of them getting drunk at the victory celebration and Riko dragging Kevin off to somewhere that’s dangerously public and oh, Kevin, be quiet dammit… 

•Kevin is like an octopus while being asleep and Riko can’t stand it, it’s too warm, too sweaty, too heavy, too close…. - that’s why they make out on Kevin’s bed and he leaves afterwards. But there are times he wishes he could just go over there while Kevin is asleep. He does one night, when Kevin has been drinking with the older ravens… he has covered his ass and Kevin is gonna pay for it later… gets into bed behind Kevin and prays he won’t wake up…• Riko not admitting that there is more than Exy in his head sometimes… he likes psychology, astronomy, he’s good at math too and maybe physics would be interesting if the teacher wouldn’t be such a boring moron who takes ages to come to the point… but he can’t tell anyone because all he’s meant to be is the heir of Exy, and rly, what’s the point anyway? Chances are he won’t survive the end of his Exy career… • He likes music and some company gave them these awesome noise cancelling headphones. He likes them but only uses them when he is alone because he needs to hear the people around him…  • He’s an awesome dancer with remarkable body control, and so is Kevin, as they both find out on their first (and last) night at a club…

Any pairings/ships you like with him? Both Riko/Kevin & Kevin/Riko work just fine for me. I’ve written (Raven!)Neil/Riko/Kevin before, and if you put some work and thought into a well crafted AU setting even Riko/(raven!)Andrew works. - If it has to be straight… my best bet would be Allison - she has enough of an attitude to stand her ground.

fic recs?let me give you a few but it rly deserves a full list at some pointwhat if i did by MadHatterNO7 - Kevin/RikoNever More by biffes - Kevin/Riko Kevin/Riko/Jeanignominy by Saul - Kandreil but I still like Riko in this one… baptism by Saul can’t go wrong with Saul aka @unkinglythose are only the ones I can name on the spot…

art recs? Well, there is @shihoran , of course, she’s been posting daily. hers is maybe the sweetest Riko I’ve ever seen (nothing like I imagine him but gorgeous art!) I know @foxesrefuge is working on some stuff (since I’ve seen a glimpse of it! ha! no spoilers though) http://berry-muffin.tumblr.com/post/154991766150/insp-and-a-bonus-because-fuck-riko-moriyama    http://llstarcasterll.tumblr.com/post/157091722582 http://schwarzbrot.tumblr.com/image/138611768689 http://ziegenkind.tumblr.com/post/147315366365/here-you-go-nonnyand…. srsly, we need more Riko art!

Kevin&Riko - do they have/had feelings for each other? According to Nora’s extra content ‘yes’ they had feelings for each other. And I’m not talking the platonic kind of feelings. We’re talking the conflicted ‘adoptive’ brother/romance kind of stuff. Inside the books? Yes, I believe they have a nice textbook example of love/hate relationship to the very end. Riko can’t get over Kevin, even keeps his room untouched (as Neil tells us) and I could write you another two pages about that first interview scene. You can’t just ‘hate’ someone for no reason. Hate is a very personal feeling and it needs some kind of obsession behind it. Kevin tells us that he knows how it is to be with Riko. He also tells us that Riko wasn’t always like the way he is now. He’s gotten worse. You hear the Foxes call Riko a bastard, crazy… yet Kevin usually doesn’t outright insult Riko. Does he love him after what Riko has done to him? Probably not! Did he get rid of all his feelings from the time they grew up and learned to love Exy together? Unlikely.  

Thoughts on his finale scene? ¬_¬ you had to… I don’t like it. But that’s my personal (emotionally clouded) opinion. It works as a scene because it is fast paced and written in an almost detached way - like such an experience would be, I imagine. Hard to take in, slow to process, very overwhelming, scattered, scrambled brains and all. The scene itself makes me nearly choke on the tension and displayed/withheld emotions.

Did you read Nora’s extra content? Oh yes! Such an inspiration. I’d love to get my hands on some of the earlier drafts… *cough*moreKandreil/moreRiko*cough*

// tag other bloggers you think have something interesting to say about him! (maybe someone we don’t know yet??) #Thoughts on Riko Moriyama - Already did! :D

[capcavan]

your post asking for riko appearance headcanons … i have been WAITING for the moment to describe the riko in my head im so sorry in advance for my rambling

doesnt fit a lot of east asian beauty standards. monolids, rounder face, some acne scars, smaller lips, noticeably tanner than other moriyamas but not like. extremely tan if you know what i mean. hes still inside most of the time but hes not exactly pale pale. if that makes sense ?? i also see him with short hair because i have a hc of tesuji making riko keep his hair short (strips away something personal from riko, makes him lose something that should be in his control) which bleeds into my hc of riko making the rest of the ravens have their hair shirt in turn. but in my heart he would have longer hair if he was able to. his hair is extremely straight, flat and thick btw. AND he has a crooked smile To Me. once again sorry for rambling i love thinking about characters appearances

NAH I LOVE THIS your riko is basically my riko just more tan and with his hair cut short idk i probably don't convey this enough in my art but i am not trying to draw riko pretty he is supposed to have round chubby face , he is average he has upturned piggy like nose , i was actually joking to friends today that after i drew him with stretch marks he just needs some pimples to be real boy dgdfgsdfgsdf and i don't even think being "ugly" or at least "not attractive" would be issue to him, looks do not matter on the court you wear helmet anyway, he's also short asian man in america in 2000's I really don't think he ever HOPED to bank any of his value on his looks but yes love you will draw everything for you