#if the change in Kevin wasn’t as dramatic as it was for Riko I imagine Kevin winning made him absolutely livid | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

percontaion-points · 3 years ago

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Raven King chapter 6

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Chapter 6

Nicky was bringing Jim from his improv class...

I thought Nicky had a long-term boyfriend?

Well, if he did, he probably doesn't anymore. Not with all of Nicky's jokes about cheating and him taking some rando to the big dinner.

Blackwell was slow to appear in the distance, but it didn't take long to spot the two stadiums. The football and Exy stadium were on opposite sides of the campus like massive bookends.

I'm still having a really difficult time swallowing that society completely shifted because of a sport invented some 30 years earlier.

Like I'm willing to overlook a lot for the sake of a story. But for society to just go completely and utterly apeshit over a 30 year old sport makes zero sense. AND I READ THE STORY WHERE THE LADY HAD SEX WITH THE LITERAL BULL.

Wymack pulled a bottle of vodka out of the bag and put it down beside Kevin. "You have ten seconds to inhale as much of this as you can. I'm timing you. Go."

It was alarming how much a man could drink when he needed an emotional crutch.

WOW THAT'S SUPER FUCKING HEALTHY.

Like I get that his foster-father and brother abused the shit out of him. But therapy is much better than alcoholism.

Madison was using the home locker room to change right now, so the Foxes had to go all the way around to the away side.

I really love how there's this big fancy banquet dinner where they invite all of the college exy teams, and they literally have to change in the locker room.

My high school did this band banquet, too. But we didn't have to fucking eat dinner out on the football field with our parents... We had the school cafeteria for the evening.

Out of touch author can't even think of a world where these idiots would want to rent a banquet hall. Oh no... it's got to be at the fucking stadium, for some unholy reason.

Judging by Neil's quick headcount, the Ravens hadn't brought dates. They hadn't brought any color along, either. All twenty-two of them were dressed head-to-toe in black. The twenty men wore the same shirts and slacks, and the two women wore identical dresses. They even sat the exact same way, all with their right elbows on the table, all of them with their chins in their hands. Another team might look foolish going so far, but somehow the Ravens looked imposing.

I joke about the fox characters outside of Neil, Kevin, and Andrew being cardboard cut-outs... but this ain't got nothing on those cardboard cutouts.

"I know who you are," Riko said. "Who here doesn't? You're the woman who captains a Class I team. You've done admittedly well despite your disadvantages."

CASUAL SEXISM.

The man to Riko's right stood up as soon as the Foxes were settled and walked behind the Ravens until he was across from Neil. Two fingers to the woman's shoulder got her out of her chair and she moved to the newly-emptied seat. The stranger sat across from Neil. As he did the Ravens fell out of their frozen poses, but they did so only to lean back as one in their chairs.

Did they practice this ahead of time?

The black three tattooed on his left cheekbone meant he could be no one but Jean Moreau.

Imagine getting a tattoo of a college sports number. Of which you would only get to play for a few years before being forced out.

It took him only a few seconds to realize the Ravens were coming. The entire team was crossing the court toward Kevin, walking in V formation like a flock of birds going south.

I can't with her descriptions of the Ravens. Like one team's colors are orange and white, and the other is black and red. ONE OF THEM IS GUD AND THE OTHER IS EBUL. THE RAVENS ARE EBUL, AND THEY'RE ALL HENCHMEN ROBOTS.

"We're sure it is," the Raven striker said, "seeing how you're dating a prostitute."

"Stripper," Dan corrected...

[…]

Neil tried not to stare at her. He would have dismissed the Raven's insult as an outright lie if not for Dan's easy response. Too late he remembered her telling him she'd worked an overnight job during high school to make ends meet.

THE AUTHOR DOES REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE 18 TO WORK JOBS LIKE THAT... RIGHT?! Like please tell me that the author didn't write about a 15 year old getting a job as a stripper.

This series is bad enough without needing to drag child strippers into the mix.

The others fell asleep within a few miles, but Neil spent the entire ride thinking about Riko and his father.

Chapter 6 summary: So it's time for the banquet. They do a random lottery draw where they decide which school will host the banquet this year. The school picked is only about four hours away. The banquet itself lasts for two days, in order to justify some of the travel time for those further away. However, the foxes are of the opinion “fuck that; we're not staying the entire two days”.

As they get closer to the school, Kevin starts to have a panic attack. As the others leave the bus, David gives Kevin some alcohol, and tells him to chug it. Which... yeah, that sounds fucking healthy. They have to change out in the locker room, which is fucking weird if you ask me. And then they go into the stadium, which has been turned into a banquet hall. The sight makes Neil angry, and mood. Rent a fucking banquet hall for this, assholes.

They're upset to see that the foxes are randomly supposed to be sitting across from the ravens. And the ravens are all dressed like evil henchmen, and are even randomly acting in unison. Talk about zero personality. David warned the others not to pick a fight, but obviously wasn't counting on Riko bringing his planet-sized ego with him. A rando Raven player named Jean-- who is the embodiment of every French stereotype you can think of-- starts to antagonize Neil, and calls him by a bunch of Neil's former names. He then moves on and starts insulting everybody else.

Their little pissing match goes on for a long while. But hey, it's not like anything else is going on, so this might as well happen, I guess. Finally, Riko antagonizes Neil into speaking, and Neil calls Riko out on his shit, saying that he's a whiny, entitled little brat who doesn't have anything going for him. Then, Jean and Riko start to act like they “own” Neil, which has fucking creepy slavery undertones to what they're saying.

David finally shows up to say that they're trying to move the foxes to another table. As they get up to leave, Jean can't help but name-drop Neil's father. The others rally around Kevin and Neil once they're away. Kevin is sent back to the bus to drink some more liquor, and Neil thinks about following. Not only that, but just fucking leaving. But he doesn't, because then this series would be put out of its misery.

After dinner, then they put all of the tables away and everybody starts socializing and networking. The ravens come over, act like they've never met the foxes before, but then continue to insult them. I'm really fucking over this. Riko's uncle and the raven coach comes over. The two teams awkwardly stare at one another, and the only thing this scene needs is some dramatic finger snapping. Tetsuji says that he ran fingerprint test off of a glass Neil drank out of back during that dumb morning talk show, and knows who he is. He yells at Neil about crimes that Neil's dad committed against The Family©, as if Neil himself personally did all of that. However, Neil stands his ground and refuses to be bullied by these assholes.

Matt finally drags Neil away, and threatens to tell the exy board about Riko's shit behavior and have him benched for the rest of the season. They all go back to the bus finally, and start to head home.

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nekojitachan · 4 years ago

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I really need to figure out how many parts there are to this story (The Real Thing). I do. But for now, have a new one, and know there’s one more left.

Last part is here.

Uhm, mention of Andrew’s rehab, nasty Ravens roughing Nathaniel up (nothing too bad) and Andrew NOT LIKING THAT, FEELINGS! Oh, and Riko being Riko.

******

Despite being told not to practice for a week, Andrew changed into his Ravens’ uniform as soon as he was back in the Nest since the rest of the team was out on court – since Nathaniel was out on court. He rushed out of the locker room as quickly as he could, muscles still rubbery from recovery, and immediately noticed three things.

First, that Riko wasn’t anywhere to be seen, nor was Kevin. Second, that the Ravens were oddly subdued as they stood around watching the players currently involved in a scrimmage. And third? That Nathaniel took part in the scrimmage (as did Jean)… not as a backliner, but as a striker. He wore a lighter set of padding and held a striker’s racquet, managed to avoid Federov to score a point – and then nearly went to his knees when the asshole slammed into him after the ball was out of his racquet.

A sharp, tumultuous anger flared to life inside of Andrew to see his soulmate treated like that, yet before he could do more than take a step forward, he found his way blocked by racquets; Toby and Leif had moved to block him. “Don’t,” Toby whispered while Leif shook his head. “It’s almost over, and it’ll only be worse if you do anything.”

“Don’t tell me-“

“Let him get through this and then be happy you’re back,” Leif hissed. “He’s been through enough.”

Andrew stopped trying to shove past the racquets and gave the backliner a narrow look. “Ben said he was all right.” Had his partner lied?

Leif shrugged then resumed watching the scrimmage. “He is, all things considered.”

That wasn’t much of an answer. Andrew ignored Toby belatedly welcoming him back and resumed watching the scrimmage as well, inwardly seething each time Nathaniel was slammed into, knocked down or battered around. His soulmate was one of the best backliners out there despite his small size, and even showed promise as a striker because of his amazing speed and knowledge of Exy. But he had still switched to a new position after years of playing a different one, so his responses were the slightest bit off. If he was playing anyone else but the Ravens? It probably wouldn’t matter, but he was, and the best team in the Class I division picked up on each and every mistake he made.

After a few more minutes, Tetsuji finally called an end to the scrimmage; Andrew wanted to throttle the old bastard when he strode over to an obviously worn out Nathaniel and gave him three strikes against the lower back with his cane then ordered him to do more drills. He ‘corrected’ a few other players before he approached Andrew and studied him for a few seconds. “Work on drills.”

No ‘hey, glad to see you’re back after we put you through hell’ or ‘get some rest, you look terrible’, but Andrew would accept it since it allowed him to be near his soulmate and not punch the asshole in the throat (yet). He grabbed his racquet and went to the outer ring of court, where Nathaniel was already at work on the Raven drills.

The idiot paused to give him a slight yet pleased smile, his eyes shadowed as if exhausted and cheeks sunken as if he’d skipped too many meals, but other than that… other than that the sight of him made Andrew’s heart race, dammit. Ever since coming off the drugs, the world had been somewhat muted, had lacked the hint of mania-enhanced vibrancy it had possessed the last year and a half, but now that he stood near his soulmate…. He felt the same inexorable pull toward Nathaniel that he always had, the same urge to slide his fingers into the auburn curls tucked beneath the black bandana and tug him forward for a kiss, to nibble and suck on that full bottom lip.

Those emotions were real, were so very real, as was the need to protect Nathaniel, to ensure he was all right, to track down everyone who’d hurt him while Andrew was gone.

For a moment, Andrew felt a rather dramatic urge to carve out his heart to put an end to all those feelings before common sense kicked in. Then he realized that he was still staring into Nathaniel’s eyes and decided he could live with beating himself into a coma with his own racquet. Before he could carry through with that solution, though, Nathaniel began to frown. “Are you all right? You look really tired, should you even be out on court?”

Andrew clicked his tongue and stepped forward. “Look who’s talking, sweetpea.” He scooped up a ball and with a clever twist of his wrist, knocked over the three cones on the end to the left. “When’s the last time you slept? Or ate a full meal?”

“I’ve been eating,” Nathaniel mumbled as he completed drill #8. “And… not here.” He glanced over at Tetsuji, who barked out a correction at Leif (who was certain to be caned once the scrimmage was over).

That implied that a certain ‘sweetpea’ would talk later; Andrew gave him a narrow look before he focused on knocking over cones for the next twenty minutes, imagining that they were Riko and Tetsuji the entire while.

He felt a rush of that irrational, potent urge to protect when he saw all the bruises, new and old, on his soulmate’s lean body when they stripped for the showers, and only managed to keep from crushing skulls with locker doors when he realized that they were from playing Exy, that the marks matched up to weak spots in the protective padding (or the lack of it entirely) and not from- that it was from Exy.

That no one was suicidal enough to ignore his reminders before he’d left for rehab.

He wasn’t particularly hungry, so he dumped his slab of disgusting tofu in Nathaniel’s bowl, followed by his orange dropped on his surprised soulmate’s tray. “Eat them,” he ordered in French. “Let Valjean do the talking.”

Jean snorted in amusement but motioned for his partner to eat as well. “So nice to have you back.”

“Considering that I go away for a couple weeks and come back to everything all fucked up? I’d say ‘yes’.”

Jean winced while Nathaniel nibbled on his bottom lip and slowly peeled his extra orange. “It… it is nice to have you back,” Nathaniel murmured as he ducked his head.

“Eat,” Andrew repeated as he poked at his rice with his chopsticks and told his stupid emotions to fuck off. “What the hell happened with the asshole?”

“Yes, that,” Jean sighed as he stabbed at his own tofu before breaking it apart. “Have you heard the story about how Kevin and Riko went on a skiing trip together, only for Kevin to break his hand?”

Andrew nodded as he dropped several grains of rice onto the table and began to flick them toward the wall. “Utter bullshit.” Why would either of the young men take time off right before the playoff season? All they’d talked about was how the team had to spend the whole winter break training, not to waste time on some stupid vacation.

“Yes, exactly.” Jean glanced around the large room, but everyone appeared to be focused on their own meals and conversations. “All we know is that Kevin disappeared one night, unable to attend the winter banquet with us, and Riko left soon after that.” He gave Andrew an intent look before he forced himself to eat his dinner, while Nathaniel, done with the one orange, steadily shoveled rice and tofu into his mouth.

All they knew? Or all they could say while out in public? Andrew continued to flick rice grains until the two were done, then nodded when Nathaniel proclaimed that he was tired. He watched his soulmate pocket the extra orange, and followed the two backliners (well, maybe not Nathaniel anymore) to their room.

Once there, Nathaniel set the orange on his desk and opened the drawer to retrieve a paper bag filled with the ‘good’ energy bars… and what turned out to be expensive chocolate bars. “Here,” he told Andrew as he handed them over. “I made sure to grab them whenever they restocked.” A slight flush colored his sharp cheekbones as he ducked his head again. “And, uhm, one night they had the chocolate up in the East Tower. I thought… well, I can’t get out to buy a gift.”

Andrew noticed that Jean was pointedly looking away right then, his right hand clamped over his own soulmate mark. “The only thing I could have brought back was used toiletries, so give me a few days, okay. These… these are great.” He reached out with his left hand to tousle Nathaniel’s hair, which made his soulmate smile, then sat down on Nathaniel’s bed as he pulled an energy bar and chocolate bar from the bag. “Now tell me what really happened.”

Nathaniel sat down next to him, so close he could feel the redhead’s body heat. “As you guessed, the skiing story was a lie,” he said as he switched to French. He looked straight at Jean as he tugged on the hem of his black sweatshirt. “What really happened was that… well, Riko broke Kevin’s left hand.”

Andrew paused in opening the wrapper of the energy bar to raise an eyebrow. “Not to apply logic when dealing with a jealous psychopath, but any idea why then?”

“Because earlier that day, several ERC officials showed up and had the two play against each other to disprove the rumors that Tetsuji is making Kevin hold back in favor of Riko,” Jean explained. “Riko won, but… I think he realized that perhaps they were right.”

“Of course they were right.”

Andrew nudged the ‘peanut gallery’, AKA his soulmate, in the side (gently, considering all the bruises) to make him remain quiet, and nodded to Jean to continue. Nathaniel grumbled but began to peel his orange.

“All we know for certain is soon after that, Kevin came to us with his hand broken.” Jean winced while Nathaniel muttered about Riko being a fucking prick. “Riko used Kevin’s racquet to break it with the intention of crippling him. We did what we could, and….”

“And?”

“And I called in a few favors from the guards I know who report to the main branch,” Nathaniel explained with a quiet voice. “Enough to get him out of the Nest and somewhere safe.”

For a moment, Andrew wanted to grab Nathaniel by his shoulders and shake him, to yell at him about doing something stupid, something that would put him in danger… yet he hadn’t seen any new cuts or scars on his soulmate (or Jean), hadn’t seen anything to make him think that the two idiots helping out their friend had been a huge mistake (yet). “Where is he?” he asked before he popped a piece of dark chocolate into his mouth, then hummed in pleasure at its intense flavor.

Nathaniel slumped in relief next to him (and slightly against him) while Jean smiled (a tiny bit, but still a smile). “It’s not common knowledge yet, but he’s at Palmetto State.”

Andrew was only familiar with the university since he’d spent a couple years in Columbia, which wasn’t far from the university. “Why the hell is he there?” He’d think that Kevin Day, #2 of the ‘esteemed’ Ravens, would go into a fit of apoplexy to be near the worst team in the Class I division.

Nathaniel and Jean shared a smug look as Nathaniel handed Andrew an orange section, which he accepted with a dubious frown despite his soulmate’s urging. However, when he tried it with a piece of chocolate, he had to admit it was an acceptable flavor pairing. “No one knows who’s Kevin’s father, right?” Nathaniel asked, his expression still smug.

“Big deal, he’s not the only one playing the ‘who’s your daddy’ game.”

Nathaniel’s smile was wiped away by Andrew’s dry comment while Jean rolled his eyes. “Perhaps, but the thing is, Kevin does know who’s his ‘daddy’.” He scrunched his nose when Andrew gave him an interested look. “A couple years ago, we found a letter his mother wrote in Tetsuji’s library identifying the man. It seems she had an affair with David Wymack but chose not to inform him of the results.”

“Hmm.” Andrew slipped the last piece of chocolate past his lips and sucked on it as he considered that bit of news – and the fact that Tetsuji knew about Kevin’s bloodline while Wymack didn’t. “Why didn’t he go before now?”

“Because Kevin worried about the Moriyamas doing something to his father if he did,” Nathaniel explained as he rubbed his right hand along his scarred chest. “Now… now he doesn’t have much to lose and feels that he has no value to the family because of his hand.”

That and Nathaniel (and Jean) had stuck his neck out to get him away from Riko (and the Nest). Andrew once again wanted to shake his soulmate for being such a fool, but part of him realized that he couldn’t throw stones when it came to him protecting Aaron and Nicky.

(That he’d do just as much if not more for Nathaniel.)

“What about Riko and you being a striker?” he asked as he once more nudged his soulmate.

Nathaniel grimaced as he tugged again on the hem of his sweatshirt. “With Kevin gone, Tetsuji decided that I was the best choice to replace him. There’s no chance of having anyone ready for the playoffs, but he’s determined I’ll be trained in time for next season.”

“They’re hoping for Kevin to return, one way or another, but don’t think he’ll be able to play,” Jean explained in more detail. “Since the main branch ‘happened’ to find out about Kevin’s ‘accident’, Riko’s actually had to pay for his impulsiveness, at least a little, and was sent to Baltimore for winter break.” Next to Andrew, Nathaniel twitched at the mention of his birth city, which made him think that Riko wasn’t spending time with his professional team.

“He’s going to be furious when he returns,” Nathaniel murmured against Andrew’s shoulder. “Especially since Tetsuji announced that the Ravens will play without him for at least the first round.”

That was a surprise; Andrew glanced at Jean to confirm the news and clicked his tongue when the young man nodded. “Supposedly, Riko’s too distraught to play, but we think it’s a mix of keeping him away from the press and a punishment of sorts. They announced the line-up the other day, and it’s not as if we’ll have a problem winning without him or Kevin.”

Especially when Andrew would continue to shut down the goal as much as possible, per his bargain with Riko. Reminded of the importance of his performance, he gave his sleepy soulmate a slight nudge before he slipped off the bed. “Unless there’s any more gossip I should know, I’m heading off to bed.”

“No,” Jean said while Nathaniel stretched out on his own bed, clearly exhausted and ready to fall asleep. “You know the important things.”

Andrew gave him a quick salute before he left, thoughts focused on what he’d just been told. He wasn’t happy about Nathaniel risking himself for Kevin Day, but doubted that Tetsuji would wait to punish the fool if he suspected anything. That left them with Nathaniel’s position switch, Andrew and Jean having to work harder to make up for Kevin’s lack on the court, and dealing with an even more unstable Riko.

Oh what fun.

(Andrew pondered the chances of him getting away with another ‘accidental’ death, but dammit, Riko was rarely alone and highly unlikely to get into a rigged vehicle with him.)

Ben acted happy to see him and filled him in a bit more about the ‘drama’ while he unpacked his bag, sent a few texts to Aaron and Nicky then got ready for bed; about how the fans were upset over the possibility of Kevin never playing again, and most of the strikers being unhappy about the thought of Nathaniel stepping in for Kevin next season.

Morning came all too soon; Andrew struggled through the morning workout, determined to build back the muscle he’d lost during rehab. He noticed that Riko still wasn’t back on campus, and so made a point to give long blank stares at Federov and a few others (the ones who looked too long at Nathaniel, the ones who’d slammed him around on court yesterday) as he lifted weights (too much weight, his muscles protesting the entire time which he ignored); they quickly looked aside, their expressions uncomfortable.

(The pain was worth it when Nathaniel – Nat – sat next to him at breakfast and handed over the banana one of the servers had snuck to him.)

The campus was even more an explosion of black and red as Edgar Allan showed its ‘pride’ at the team heading into the playoffs yet again (as if there’d ever been any doubt), with many students in Andrew’s classes wearing #1 and #2 jerseys and sweatshirts. There were hushed discussions about Riko and Kevin, but the students wisely didn’t approach him. That semester, he didn’t have any classes with Aaron, so he picked seats in the back row, far away from everyone else, and basically catnapped to catch up on his sleep.

Tetsuji was indeed a bastard about playoff training; their first game was against Idaho State’s Bengals, who weren’t much of a challenge, but ‘the Master’ demanded perfection (‘the Master’ was a prick). Andrew was ‘allowed’ one week of drills to get back in shape, then another week of scrimmages before the first game of the season. So much for following the doctor’s orders, but he wanted to be back in shape to defend the goal just as much as Tetsuji expected him to be, if for different reasons.

(Nathaniel kept taking the abuse while out on court from his own teammates; Andrew looked forward to the next week when he’d be out there with him, to when he would be in control of the ball and ‘oops, I didn’t realize I threw it that hard’….)

There was a sense of anxiety and uncertainty thrumming through the team as the week wore on, a nervousness that had them snarling at each other more than usual. Andrew watched on dispassionately as the Ravens postured and plotted for starting lineup, for Tetsuji’s (positive) recognition, for anything that would make them seem more important. The only time they dared to drag him into their pathetic games (Bautista and Loiseau trying to taunt him about his lack of a smile and insinuating something about him and Nathaniel), he put a stop to it real quick by asking them if they thought they could play without half their vital organs.

(He was even going to be ‘nice’ enough to leave the choice of which ones to them before they mumbled something about homework and scurried away.)

Things didn’t get any better when Riko showed up at last toward the end of the first week, sullen and appearing odd without Kevin skulking nearby like a misshapen shadow. As Nathaniel had predicted, he was an even moodier bastard than usual, especially when Tetsuji ordered him to do drills instead of practice with the team, a sign that his punishment was ongoing.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise when he approached Andrew toward the end of practice on Friday with a cruel smirk on his face. “How’s life without the drugs, Minyard?”

Andrew gave him a cool look for a couple seconds before he answered, aware of how Nathaniel and Jean slowly approached from the left. “Less medicated.”

“It’s certainly not improving your sense of humor, but your Exy skills are as good as ever, if not better,” Riko said as he eyed the red cones knocked over during Andrew’s drill practice. “I’ve good news for you, as of now, you’re #5. Someone will be here tomorrow to do your tattoo, and your new uniform will be your locker in the morning.” The glassy gleam in his eye dared Andrew to argue, especially when he glanced at Nathaniel standing a few feet away, but all Andrew did was nod once (his hands clenched around his goalie’s racquet).

It was a quiet dinner, with Nathaniel forcibly holding in what he wanted to say until they reached his room a short while later. Once the door was closed behind Andrew, he let out a harsh breath and jerked his hands through his damp curls. “Why? Why are you letting him do that? You don’t have to be perfect court, too! It’s another way for him to sink his claws into you!”

Because Andrew knew if he put up any sort of fight, Riko wouldn’t hesitate to use Nathaniel against him, and possibly Aaron as well. “Because it’s just a stupid tattoo. He’s probably doing it to balance out the fact that Kevin’s gone.” To fill the gap left in his stupid perfect court because of his own jealousy.

On the other side of the room, Jean grunted in agreement. “I agree, he’s likely trying to show it doesn’t matter, Kevin’s loss, when he can still find talent to round out his court.”

“Still, it makes it that much harder for Andrew to get away if he’s perfect court. You know Riko will think he can plan his entire Exy career now,” Nathaniel snapped.

As if Riko didn’t already have a leash on him; as long as the prick had control of Nathaniel, Andrew would ‘behave’ until he figured out a way to break his soulmate free. “At least I should get a better pro contract this way,” he said in a deadpan manner. As if he cared about such a trivial thing.

“Not funny.” Nathaniel’s brows drew together as he reached for but didn’t touch Andrew’s left cheek. “I didn’t want this for you.”

Foolish Nat, one of the very few people (besides Nicky) who seemed to give a real damn about Andrew; he found himself mirroring his soulmate’s gesture and, when Nathaniel gave a solemn nod, cupped his hand on that sharp, tattooed cheekbone. He didn’t know if he was the one to shuffle forward or if it was Nathaniel (perhaps both), but they soon were so close that he could feel Nathaniel’s warm breath against his lips, could see the flecks of grey in those pale blue eyes, could think of nothing but finding out how soft his soulmate’s full bottom lip would feel-

Then jerked back when Jean cleared his throat in a loud manner.

Nathaniel’s cheek felt hot beneath Andrew’s calloused palm, but he didn’t run away; instead he glared at Jean and barked out something in Japanese which made Jean shrug. “Should I leave?”

Andrew shook his head. “I’ll go.” At the quickly masked hurt on his soulmate’s face, he shook his head again as he gave a light caress to Nathaniel’s cheek before he forced his hand to fall aside. “Nicky’s supposed to call me, and it’s already late enough in Germany.” His cousin was an emotional moron, but what else was new?

“Okay.” Nathaniel gave him one of those slight smiles which made his chest ache and would haunt his dreams (in a good way, at least) all night; Andrew forced himself to leave and put up with a call from his overbearing cousin once back in his own room, who asked too many questions about Nathaniel and rehab. He knew Nicky was worried about him and wanted him to be ‘happy’, but the call left him drained enough that he was grateful to go to bed afterward.

(Even if he dreamed about fending off an army of faceless creatures who wanted to take Nathaniel away from him.)

It was a good thing he went to bed early, because he (and a grumbling Ben) were woken up by Akagi, who dragged him off to get tattooed first thing in the morning. Andrew didn’t think he’d ever get another face tattoo, but it was small and over with quickly, and he received many envious glares when he showed up for the morning workout with a telling bandage on his left cheek.

His teammates’ displeasure only grew when he pulled on his new uniform, but there was nothing they could do when Tetsuji nodded in approval. At least, nothing too overt, not when he was tucked into his goal. Federov and Adams were rough once again with Nathaniel, but a few well-aimed return throws convinced them of their folly in regards to targeting Andrew’s soulmate.

Aaron caught up to Andrew on Sunday, when his tattoo was uncovered; he came to a stop in the hallway and gaped at him for several seconds before he shook his head. “What the fuck. Are you so into Wesninski that you had to get matching tattoos or something?” he asked with a slight sneer which seemed forced.

Andrew gave his twin the finger. “It’s how many men I killed in rehab.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” There was a bitter twist to Aaron’s lips for a moment, yet like always, he avoided the huge elephant in the room (so to speak). “Despite me reminding him about how much of an asshole you are, Nicky sent a bunch of gifts for you. I’ll bring them next time.”

“Okay.” Andrew waited to see if there was anything else then nodded in goodbye; as he walked away, he heard his twin mutter about how he wasn’t going to be as much of a ‘sap’ when he found his soulmate.

Andrew had already picked up a gift for Nathaniel, he was just waiting until after the game with the Bengals on Friday when they would be alone to give it to him soulmate. When they would be alone, no Jean and no drugs… he felt an unusual mix of anticipation and nervousness fill him whenever he dwelled on it. He’d thought about what could possibly happen between them if Nathaniel had any interest, now that he was off the drugs (when it was clear that his… that whatever it was between them wasn’t a part of the medication), and he had an idea of how it could proceed in a manner which would ensure that they both were willing.

They just needed a bit of privacy and space.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get that chance, because the Wednesday before the game, David Wymack reached out to Tetsuji to let him know that Kevin was staying with him and unwilling to return to Edgar Allan, that he wanted to buy out Kevin’s contract with the Ravens, which set off an already unstable Riko (it seemed the prick had been waiting for Kevin to return any day now). The psychopath strode out on court and began tearing into his own teammates, smacking their legs and backs with his racquet for any perceived infraction (imperfect form, holding their racquet wrong, etc.). For once, Nathaniel was wise enough to duck his head and stay out of the way… until Riko targeted Jean.

All it took was one swing of Riko’s racquet crashing down on Jean’s left shoulder and Nathaniel leapt to his partner’s defense, yelling in Japanese at Riko. The prick whirled around, his eyes wide enough that their whites could clearly be seen and a ‘smile’ pulled taut on his face, as he swung at Andrew’s soulmate. Nathaniel ducked the first attempt to hit him, but took the second blow as he acted like a human shield to protect his stunned partner.

Andrew was in motion as soon as he realized what his idiot soulmate was doing, uncaring about the consequences. When Riko raised his racquet again to bring it down on Nathaniel, Andrew smacked his own into it, which knocked it out of Riko’s hands. He should have stopped there, he knew, but the prick had dared to hurt Nathaniel, had been unwilling to stop, so Andrew hit him again, enough to send him crumpling to the wooden floor as he cried out in pain.

The prick out of the way, Andrew knelt next to his dazed soulmate, his arms draped over him in a protective manner, and didn’t let go until he was dragged away by several people.

*******

SO CLOSE. You gotta feel sorry for Jean, stuck with these two idiots while Jeremy is across the country and oblivious about him (I mean, Jeremy suspects, but Jean won’t let him know for certain for his own protection).

One more part, I’ll get it out soon (would I not give you a HEA??? Well, for the most part). Though I want to answer a prompt and I’ve an Old Guard idea/snippet which should be out in the next day or two.

Hmm, the earl grey tea cake which is baking smells wonderful...

#aftg #the real thing fic #andreil #andreil soulmates #raven!andrew #raven!neil #it's getting serious now #aaron minyard #jean moreau #riko moriyama #the ravens #protective andrew #one more to go

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aftgficlibrary · 7 years ago

Text

Soulmates

Apparently it was meant to be (Note: this post was long so it for now only includes completed fics. Will be updated when others are completed)

last updated: 31 January 2019

Coming Home by wesawbears (T | 1,235 | 1/1)

Kevin, Jean, and Jeremy are all born with two soulmate marks instead of one. It takes them a while to find each other.

Falls by nekojita for ApprenticedMagician (M | 7,002 | 1/1)

Nathaniel ends up at Edgar Allan/the Nest after all, and what helps him through everything (Tetsuji's abusive demands, RIKO, being pushed to his limits to be the best) is often the dreams he has of the young French boy whose name is embellished on his wrist - Jean. The boy whom his mother told him to never mention to anyone, especially his father.

So what happens when that boy ends up at Evermore one day?

A soul mate/Neil/Jean fic for apprenticedmagician on Tumblr for ATFG_Exchange's winter gift exchange.

Your Face by lanalua (T | 1,464 | 1/1)

Each of Andrew's drawings of his soulmate is different: different haircut, hair color, eye color... That can't be good.

this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart by giucorreias (Not Rated | 483 | 1/1)

it's the small details

I felt your pain when you were gone byElfo98 (G | 3,533 | 1/1)

Another Soulmate AU where Neil and Andrew can feel each other's pain and how the Foxes find out.

Or: my take on the Baltimore incident because I can't seem to get enough of it.

Paint Splatter Freckles and Godly Go Fishby Issylang for quensty (G | 1,115 | 1/1)

"When Jean was younger, much younger, he would sit in his mother’s lap while she traced the sun on his left shoulder blade and sang love songs in soft French. He would stare at the black heart on her wrist, the one that perfectly matched his father’s, and imagine the little girl that shared his sun. When Jeremy was very little his mom and dad would corral him and his older sister into the living room after dinner. With a child in each lap, they would recount the history of soulmates; how Zeus, in fear of their power, had split the people of earth in half, and they were destined to spend the rest of their lives in search for their other half. How, in a moment of kindness, Zeus had marked the pairs, so that they could follow their symbol to their other half." Just a cute, short Jerejean Soul mate au.

Marked by beautifulmagick (G | 1,164 | 1/1)

Neil Josten's soulmate mark is on his shoulder. Andrew can never forget that.

Empty Kiss by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot) for ApprenticedMagician (M | 1,987 | 1/1)

Based on a Tumblr prompt for an empty kiss.

met you in the dark (you lit me up) byharrytomlinsonwhoops (M | 3,085 | 1/1)

it starts like this:

the elevator doors are closing, and aaron, after seeing one of the cheerleaders inside, doesn't bother running for it.

she holds the door for him anyway. she's got curly hair, and dark brown skin. her eyes are a bright green that he doesn't expect when she stares down at him. she's half a head taller, but he finds that he doesn't mind looking up to her.

"hello," she says, her eyes lighting up, and aaron thinks: oh. oh no.

a memory unrepressed by orphan_account (T | 7,387 | 1/1)

“So, what, you think I’m real, you’re real? That we’ve somehow… I don’t know, astral projected to this place?”

“I don’t know what I think,” Thea said slowly, a strain on her voice as if she hated to admit it.

“Well, the sun is– Fuck.”

“What?” Thea looked around as well, then froze.

There was no sun. There were no clouds. No shadows. It was indisputably light out, as if it were day, but the light seemed to have no source.

Groaning, Dan buried her face in her hands. “What is this, I don’t like it.”

let me love the pain you're going through by MadHatterNO7 (T | 1,526 | 1/1)

Neil remembers his mother saying, "Soulmates don’t exist. They aren’t real. They are a burden that would get you killed."

Neil supposes he knows why.

His mother's soulmate was never his father.

Watermark by fairietailed (T | 4,689 | 1/1)

He hops into the kitchen on one foot, catching his mother before she carries the bowl of peas she’s holding into the dining room.

“Jeremy?” Her eyebrows pull together in concern at the look on his face. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” he says, sticking out his foot. “I think it’s my soul mate?”

In which bruises and scars from your soulmate appear on your skin, and Jeremy's skin is a myriad of colored stains.

What are you scared of? by shipsgalore (T | 1,704 | 1/1)

“I couldn’t -- you weren’t supposed to be real. I didn’t think that I would ever have somebody love me, Jeremy. I’m just broken. I’m broken and you can’t love something that’s broken.” He wants to take his hand out of Jeremy’s, to end this entire discussion, but the burning of his nerve endings is welcoming. He wants to feel this every day of his life.

hard to find by jaylocked (M | 3,199 | 1/1)

Jean has learned to hate the letters on his ribs.

He can remember a time before, back when he still had the sky above him and his future before him, when the letters fueled his insatiable, childish imagination. But then he lost the sky, lost his future, lost his language, and the letters changed.

accept yourself by jaylocked (T | 6,498 | 1/1)

In which Jeremy Knox tries to figure out what soulmates mean in a world of divorced parents, sappy best friends, Exy, and scowling, abused backliners.

My Own by hazelNuts (T | 728 | 1/1)

Andrew doesn't believe in soulmates, so what's the point of having a soulmate mark?

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine by A_Nobelmonster (Not Rated | 839 | 1/1)

Prompt: Andrew and Aaron are platonic soulmates that can feel each others pain.

Pain by ke_xia (M | 810 | /1)

There’d been a point once, when Andrew was a boy, that he’d been told stories of soulmates and had had grand visions of finding his own. Sharing a soul with one person who could feel your pain and whose pain you felt in return- now that felt like true love. And a soulmate had to love you; that was their entire reason for existing. Not like his mom or his dad, whoever they were, nor any number of the foster parents he’d gone through, nor any of the “brothers” and “sisters” he’d had throughout his few years in the system. No, none of them had ever loved him, but there was someone out there, someone who did even though they didn’t even know him yet.

/Graphic Depictions Of Violence /Rape/Non-Con

Exactly by jostenminyard (onceuponahundred) (G | 783 | 1/1)

A soulmate au where all the foxes (minus Nicky). But Neil broke his because its dangerous to love. Andrew broke his because fuck love. Aaron broke his because Andrew made him as part of the promise. Dan broke hers because of the man hating thing. Matt's broke on accident while he was high. Riko forced Kevin to break his. Renee broke hers in the gang. Allison broke hers to piss off her parents and the "I chose this one" thing. Seth broke his because he wasn't gonna let a clock decide his life.

a new kind of grace by starfleetbanana (T | 1,997 | 1/1)

'“You got it wrong, Josten. She keeps me on a leash” She said and left Neil to his own very dramatic and tragic existence.

Allison was fearless and, even though Renee had a soft spot for her foxes, she was deadly and sharp-edged. They fit together like a Swiss knife next to a gun'.

Soulmates AU where they see in black and white until they meet their soulmates and stop seeing colours when they die.

we're here to see the colour grey bystarfleetbanana (E | 2,143 | 1/1)

Neil had grown up sure he was the kind of person who’d never get to see in colour. There were people who spent their entire lives without knowing what colour was like, and he’d already accepted a life on the run wouldn’t give him a chance to even figure out who had made his entire world change.

Soulmates AU where they see in black and white until they meet their soulmates and stop seeing colour when their soulmates die.

when the world turns grey bystarfleetbanana (G | 1,972 | 1/1)

Allison had never seen colour in her life until she'd stepped into the Foxhole Court. But then Seth Gordon died. He’d died and she’d kept dancing in the middle of the dance floor with one of his friends while the colourful lights swirled around them. She’d drunk a blue cocktail and smeared her dark red lipstick on a napkin.

Soulmate AU where they see in black and white until they meet their soulmates and stop when their soulmates die.

with the lights on by starfleetbanana (T | 1,801 | 1/1)

'Medical professionals classify hysterical blindness as “conversion disorder,” a condition that causes you to show psychological stress in a physical manner. While there are many causes of this disorder, most of them point to some type of anxiety or other psychological trauma that triggers this temporary blindness'

'When the haze went away he tried to focus his vision on something more familiar. Everything that surrounded him was a deep shade of black that threatened to swallow him up, and it didn’t take him long to notice he was at Castle Evermore.'

Part of the Soulmates AU where you see in black and white until you meet your soulmate and stop seeing colours when they die.

your crown of thorns holds roses by quensty (T | 4,444 | 1/1)

Three days after he signs his death sentence to Palmetto State, five after Andrew Minyard sends him flying breathless to the ground, Neil's gaze snaps to the locker room mirror and stares, frozen, at the word threat scrawled along his spinal cord in terrifying, heavy bold.

All in all, he isn’t thrilled about the situation this puts him in, but, based off the negative connotation, it isn’t one-sided either. On the bright side, at least this means his soulmate doesn’t harbor any grandeur delusions about him.

Like fields of poppies by A_Nobelmonster (M | 3,340 | 1/1)

Soul mate au . Andrew has always had more dark soul marks than most adults see in their life. He's used to it. Used to a life based on survival . And then he turns fifteen, a red dot appears. the color of a romantic soul mate. Suddenly the thought of living for the person that gave him his mark is the only thing keeping him alive. Just one chance to know the poor fucker meant for him. As usual It's more than he bargains for.

/Rape/Non-Con /Underage /Self-Harm

To die by your side would be such a heavenly way to go by A_Nobelmonster (T | 494 | 1/1)

Short drabble about the beautiful pain of a fictional person made real by his friends love.

/Major Character Death

The Story of My (Loveless) Life byconstellationsofsentences (G | 3,281 | 4/4)

If there's one thing Jean hates more than Riko and the rest of the Ravens, it's his soulmate and their inability to listen to anything but Taylor Swift. Jean thinks his head's going to explode.

starring Jeremy and his basic white girl music.

when the lights go out by flybbfly (T | 1,705 | 1/1)

Neil wakes up gasping in a bed next to Andrew, unsure if in this lifetime they love or hate each other, are meant to murder or save, and Andrew rolls over and presses closer to Neil in his sleep. His armbands, some form of them omnipresent in every lifetime, are poking out from beneath a pillow.

one of many by Saul (T | 2,859 | 1/1)

They first meet in their dreams.

It isn't as miraculous or smooth a transition as the How To Be Fated: A Guide on Soulmates made it out to be.

The mirrors of our skin. by IceBreeze (T | 862 | 1/1)

When night falls, they remind themselves of who they are.

Ask the Messenger by Metis_Ink (T | 32,614 | 5/5)

Jeremy Knox and the soulmate.

Guest starring: Exy, a transfer student, generalized anxiety, older sisters, drunk lesbians, bread, cake, a shed, the beach, the absence of Hennessy, Star Wars, Renee Walker, self-taught smooth talking, gratuitous French, No. 1 Trojans fan Kevin Day, relationship drama, general drama, the power of Friendship, questions, answers, team spirit!, and, of course, romance.

Bleed for you. by IceBreeze (T | 860 | 1/1)

When you meet your soulmate, you get a nosebleed. It makes every meeting messy and leaves little room for subtlety.

in this world, there's no such thing as soulmates by kwritten for growlery (G | 801 | 1/1)

for the prompt: what disasters we live

Now I'm Covered in the Colors by alaynes (T | 9,752 | 6/6)

Nathaniel Wesninski is six years old when his first soulmate mark comes in.

A name was just a name until you said it by maeusetod (Not Rated | 5,106 | 1/1)

Andrew Minyard did not believe in fate, but for a moment it seemed fate did believe in him.

Colours by Q_Jem_Bee (T | 2685 | 1/1)

Colours were splashed across your skin at another being's touch: They were the colour of your soul.Neil's was blue, but no one knew that. No one was going to know.

Careful Hands by fairietailed ( M | 13,797 | 4/4)

“You’ll probably never meet them,” his mother said one day at a diner in Texas. It caught him off guard.

“What?”

“You’ll probably never meet them,” she repeated, nodding in the direction of the lilac bruise splashed across his forearm. “Your soulmate. You’ll most likely never live that long.”

“I know,” he said, and hoped that she believed him.

–

In which bruises and scars from your soulmate appear on your skin, and both Neil and Andrew paint each other like a canvas.

/Violence

Crystal Clear by exactly13percent (superagentwolf) ( T | 3,114 | 1/1)

Your crystal is your heart and soul, manifested. You must keep it safe. Neil and Andrew don’t have typical crystals. For one, they aren’t whole. They’re little pieces, broken by years of wrong. But Kevin’s magic shop brings them together, and they figure maybe broken doesn’t mean destroyed.

Marked by justdk ( T | 2,488 | 1/1)

Neil Josten does not believe in soulmates

Empty Kiss (Filling the Void Remix) by Dancyon ( T | 1,604 | 1/1)

Neil sometimes wonders where it all went wrong. (In the quiet spaces between his breath and Andrew’s, he already knows.)

Soulmate au where Neil should really know better.

/Violence

Life After the Fire (The “Like Fields of Poppies” Remix) by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot) for A_Nobelmonster ( T | 2,542 | 1/1)

very first touch leaves a mark, a colour on another’s skin, marks of love or hate, family or anger, friendship or lust. Neil is the boy without colours on his skin, with scars instead of marks. All he wants is to leave his mark, to be real, to be remembered.

/Violence

written in the stars by cloudtalking ( T | 2,095 | 1/1)

this is the boy that turned andrew’s world from night to day. the boy that turned shades of gray to blinding colors, and never seemed to notice nor care.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!!!!

paint my skin in painful truths by Dancyon ( Not Rated | 1,115 | 1/1)

a world where every time someone touches you, they leave a tiny tattoo that represents you and them and your future. Neil doesn’t remember a lot of good touches, and he doesn’t have a lot of happy tattoos, but with Andrew by his side he thinks he might like himself a little bit more.

This is mostly fluff with some angst, because this is still me.

Black and White until Tonight by booksareourlove for queenofseventeen ( T | 508 | 1/1)

His mother told him colours weren’t real. His mother told him she had never seen the colours of the sky. His mother told him that they were broken. People like them weren’t meant for something as delicate as colours. As soulmates. Colours weren’t real but he would still like to imagine the colours of the sky.

The world is black and white until you meet your soulmate. For some, seeing colour is not like jumping into water, but rather walking through mist until you realise it’s actually raining and your clothes are soaked.

stay as long as you need. by lolainslackss ( T | 2,995 | 1/1)

The soulmate timer counts down to your soulmate’s death. Apparently, Andrew’s soulmate doesn’t have long to live.

in pieces by archieknight ( G | 6,146 | 1/1)

Was it this difficult for everyone, or were they all just so broken that their pieces couldn’t fit the way destiny wanted anymore?

paint my body gold by cave_canem (T | 12,050 | 1/1)

That winter, Jean comes close to his soulmate for the first time in years. He knows this because his side is burning where the mark is branded in his skin. It’s pain unlike anything he’s ever felt: pulsing with his heartbeat and glowing through the skin; almost soft with something like a forgotten childhood memory.

never an empty room by cloudtalking (T | 6,510 | 1/1)

for @kevinyard: a trans neil kandreil soulmate au

soulmate (noun): a person or persons with whom one shares a soul with.

visit (noun): 1. an act of going or coming to see a person or place socially, as a tourist, or for some other purpose. 2. when a soul is stretched thin and snaps closed, causing one to see and be seen by their soulmate

/Graphic Depictions of Violence

A Home, for the Holidays by zen_fox (M | 3,321 | 1/1)

Three Christmases, in the lives of three soulmates.

good game by unrain (T | 1,996 | 1/1)

I don’t like you, but I can’t deny that your shot was a game winner sprawls around Kevin’s throat.

Neil’s words are a fucking joke in comparison. It’s not quite the death sentence that is a simple hi or a hello—which is a soulmark that’s kind of pathetically tragic to have in this day and age, because it just makes everything a trillion times more difficult and is basically the equivalent of your soulmate kissing you goodbye and saying see you never. But Neil’s words are pretty damn close to being that pathetically tragic. If only his soulmate wasn’t so unimaginative and dull.

Speak easy to me by The_time_it_takes (Not Rated | 3,370 | 1/1)

between hoping and believing by cryptidkidprem (T | 47,332 | 16/16)

Jean convinced himself a long time ago that he doesn't have a soulmate. Or maybe he just wants to believe that. Things would be easier if he was destined to be alone. It will at least hurt less when he inevitably winds up that way anyway.

And then there's Jeremy, who's been dreaming of meeting his match for years. For some reason, Jeremy seems determined to convince Jean that sometimes he might actually be able to have the things he hopes for, and that soulmate or no, Jean Moreau has people who will stick with him.

You're a flashlight in a dark room by trubenblack (Not Rated | 1,712 | 1/1)

The foxes in a world where everyone has their soulmates name written on them in their soulmates handwriting and the stories of how each of them dealt with them.

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c-valentino · 8 years ago

Note

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

#Thoughts on Riko Moriyama #riko moriyama #kevin day #tfc #aftg #thoughts #c.val rambling #anon asks

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