#kevin and i talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time

[neildramaqueenjosten]

*Mic drop

Neil “Dan I said please I tried to be nice” Josten.

He did in fact say please not once but twice Dan.

The Raven King, Chapter 6, Page 83 is my favorite page in the whole series.

[therapy-requiring-crow]

Neil: *breathing*

Kevin:

[puppysdog]

sorry for being back on my aftg shit andrew is hanging around and i have brain rot

[ivyinne]

Neil: daddy issues

Jean, an intellectual: father complex

[d4rkshad0w]

“you know i get it—”

i will have flashbacks whenever someone says this from now on

[spraypaintstainonawhitewall]

i still think its hilarious how neil went 'kevin and i talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time' because they literally never do. he just made that up and dragged kevin under the bus as well for no fucking reason other than to be dramatic.

[joejhang]

it's been said before but the FUNNIEST thing about the "intricate and endless daddy issues" line is the fact that's it's not even true. like neil straight up made it up for the plot™ like no wonder kevin was freaking the fuck out because "kevin and i talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time" and they don't??? kevin was probably TWEAKING OUT and neil just kept going.

[inafieldofstarflowers]

I just re-read The Foxhole Court and for the first time I noticed the parallels between Wymack’s speech about Kevin’s time at the nest and THE Riko roast in book 2:

Wymack: “[Tetsuji] raised Kevin to be a star” // Neil: “Being raised as a superstar must’ve been really, really difficult for you”

Wymack: “Kevin isn’t human to them. He’s a project” // Neil: “Always a commodity, never a human being”

Wymack: “He put a lot of time and money into kevin’s development on the court. As far as Tetsuji is concerned, Kevin is valuable property. Any profit Kevin makes is rightfully the Moriyamas’” // Neil: “Not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court”

Wymack: “Kengo and Ichirou mostly keep to New York and couldn’t give a flying fuck what Tetsuji and Riko do” // Neil: “Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time”

In my opinion, this is significant for two main reasons.

First, as Wymack says, “Kevin doesn’t talk about his time at Evermore,” so Neil didn’t get this information from HIM. This is part of why the “Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless Daddy issues all the time” is so funny, because you know Kevin is sitting at that table losing his MIND at being implicated in this, but this speech means those claims are based on something.

Second, and I think more importantly, Neil is turning everything Wymack told him was true of Kevin onto Riko. On the Kathy Ferdinand show, Neil implies that Kevin is better than Riko, and that Riko knows it and is scared of it—“people are finally going to know which one of you is better. They’re going to know how premature [the facial tattoo] was.” In the Riko Roast (TM), he’s continuing to make that insinuation by basically saying “hey, all those things you think about Kevin? All that dehumanization? It’s true for you, too. Only Kevin got out and you’re still there, and we see that and talk shit because of it.” He’s not just knocking Riko down, he’s building Kevin up while he does it, because in this scenario, Kevin is one of the people on the outside seeing how pitiful Riko is, while Riko is just a guy everyone thinks is annoying, and who should just shut up.

[sunriseabram]

Neil, who won't look in the mirror because he looks like his father, Josten: Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.

[jortenthusiasst]

"I'm a top" "I'm a bottom" okay well you know I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.

[kevindayscrown]

"Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless Daddy Issues™️ all the time."

My man Neil really said, "I'm dragging you down with me," with no hesitation. He made up a whole lie just to spite Riko, and I think that's beautiful.

[inkstainedwhisper]

Anyone: “Yo-”

Me: “You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you're worth a damn off the court—yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it's not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you're physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don't think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone."

[macaulaytwins]

don’t care + didn’t ask + you know, I get it. being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. so please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.

[be-queer-do-arson]

The whole Riko Roast is a masterpiece but in particular the line "Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time" gets me every time because no the fuck they do not!!! Neil just made that up for the drama!!!! He thought hmmmm... what will make this fucker the angriest and then he held nothing back. Neil threw Kevin's ass right under the bus without a second thought just to see Riko's face twitch. Iconic.

[sylviabit-thehand]

Yikes so sad 😞 Alexa, play you know I get it being raised a superstar must be really really difficult for you. Always a commodity never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re a damn off the court- yeah sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know that it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please shut the fuck up and leave us alone.

[otdiaftg]

Nicky digs his fingers into Neil's thigh under the table, a silent and desperate reminder to keep his mouth shut. Neil leaves half-moon marks on the back of Nicky's hand with his fingernails and counts to ten. He only makes it to four before Riko opens his mouth again. "What a coward," Riko says with exaggerated disappointment. "Just like his mother." Neil stops counting. "You know, I get it," Neil says. "Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you're worth a damn off the court —yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time." "Neil," Kevin says, low and frantic. Neil ignores him. "I know it's not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you're physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don't think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone." Jaws drop up and down the line; Raven symmetry shatters as they stare at Neil in stupefied disbelief. Riko's expression could have frozen hell, but Neil was too upset to be afraid. He'd have a nervous breakdown later. Right now he leans forward and looks down the table at Dan, who sits with her face buried in her hands. "Dan, I said please. I tried to be nice." "Matt," Dan says, almost choking on his name. "Matt, Coach. Get Coach. Oh my god." Matt leaves as fast as he could.

Day: Saturday, September 9th Time: 5:45 PM EST