#Riko fuck-face Moriyama

[quintessential-candles]

I FUCKING HATE RIKO MORIYAMA

[jeanmoreausautismstickers]

the riko apologist / the baby girlification of riko that has happened since tsc needs to be studied

[chryseiswriting-blog]

I want to know:

- Will Jean keep his ‘3’?

He said it is a point of pride to him, but it is also proof of Riko’s ownership and the hold he still has on our sad French boy even from the grave. Surely as he learns to fight back again he will want to change it…

And if he DOES change it:

- Will he pay to have it removed?

Or

- Will he pull a Kevin Day and cover it, and if so, what with?

For a 3 the only thing I can think of is a clover for luck… maybe a flower?

Too much beef with Kevin to choose another chess piece so what? Tell me? Someone please, put me out of my misery.

[dcvina-claires]

the year is 2006. you’re an avid fan of collegiate exy. kevin day recently transferred from the best team in the league to the worst after breaking his hand in a skiing accident. before the season starts, janie smalls attempts suicide. she’s a fox, so absolutely no one is surprised by this. however, this means that david wymack has to find a new striker. he picks up a neglected, unremarkable kid from millport. for some reason, this mysterious nobody thinks it’s okay to publicly humiliate riko moriyama, king of exy. apparently, neil josten and kevin day talk shit about riko all the time (this confuses you. kevin and riko are supposed to be best friends). not long after, seth gordon dies of an overdose. once again, it’s the foxes, so no one should be surprised, but something is… off. seth was clean, and it didn’t seem likely for him to throw it away. the foxes don’t get anyone to replace him. despite being short a player, they’re performing better than ever before. you don’t want to admit it, but neil josten can probably be credited with a lot of the foxes success. and something is off about that kid, too. he’s a 5’3 brunette with brown eyes, and then suddenly he’s not. he comes back from winter break with red hair and blue eyes, but more interesting than that is the number four tattooed onto his face, marked for the ravens, marked for the perfect court. the normal minyard twin murders someone in cold blood. neil josten is actually nathaniel wesninski. his father, the butcher of baltimore, tortures him and burns his tattoo off. the trojans throw away their shot at winning. kevin covers up his tattoo with a queen chess piece. he’s never been skiing, the theories behind what happened to his hand are endless. jean moreau transfers to the trojans. this isn’t helping with the abuse allegations. despite everything stacked against them, the foxes beat the ravens. the unhinged minyard twin shatters riko’s hand to stop him from murdering the mafia kid on live tv. for some reason, this is riko’s final straw and he kills himself. some people are blaming kevin, andrew, and neil, but you personally believe that it’s a tad bit dramatic to commit suicide after losing one game and breaking a hand. the rest of the ravens don’t seem to agree, as they’re all suddenly in the most fucked up game of “follow the leader” known to man. jean moreau is spotted being escorted from the foxes dorm room a bloody mess, but that’s only the beginning. one of the ravens stabs himself with a letter opener, another steps onto the subway tracks, and a third overdoses. it’s 2007, and you started saying that the ravens were in a cult as a joke, but you don’t know if it’s a joke anymore. you’re seriously starting to consider that your favorite sport was created solely as a front for the mafia

[awildtei]

I know this is not new information, but I've seen a fresh wave of people confused about what the fuck Andrew planned to do as a 5'0 man with a knife against the literal mafia, so.

I think the fact that neither Neil nor Kevin lost their faith in Andrew’s ability to protect them after he was attacked by Drake (unable to stand his ground against a single man with a bottle, let alone the Yakuza/Nathan with their guns) is the best proof we have that the deal was never about physical protection. This is confirmed by the way Neil never expects Andrew to save him from his father, in fact cuts him loose before Baltimore as soon as danger is truly near.

Andrew is a pretty self-aware character, and he wouldn't make promises he knows he can't possibly see through, so I think he knows what Kevin and Neil also know: what they need from him, and thus what he promises, is not physical protection.

To Kevin, he promises safety from the Moriyamas, and the way we see him enact that safety (at Kathy's show, at the banquet) shows exactly what it's about: when Riko starts getting into your head, when he makes you doubt yourself, makes you think maybe you should go back to Evermore, I won't let you. I will get you away from him, I will treat him like he's just some dude to remind you that you can face him without kneeling. I will be your spine until you find your own, I will stand my ground for you until you can do it yourself.

That's why the scene when Kevin gets to the dorm with his tattoo and Andrew's eyes show so much feeling is huge not just for Kevin but for Andrew: because that was the whole point of their deal, Kevin has found his spine, Andrew bought him the space and time to do it.

To Neil, he promises safety from the people hunting him down, and that means: I will give you something to build a life around (keys, drives to nightly exy practices, someone to lean on, someone who will listen without flinching). When you feel like running, I will be someone you can call to come pick you up. When you forget, I will remind you who you are: Neil Abram Josten.

Andrew stands between Kevin and Riko and between Neil and his father not as an impenetrable wall but as an obstacle in their vision: not shield but focal point.

(Makes me think of that scene in The Haunting of Hill House, Hugh holding Steven's neck to keep him from looking at the ghosts, saying, Look at me, just look at me, keep your eyes on me. That's what Andrew’s constantly doing --even literally, when Kevin is spiralling after Wymack tells the team about the district change and Andrew makes him look away from his broken hand and up at him).

[jtl-fics]

In honor of April Fools day I will talk a bit about an AU with my favorite fool - (Redacted) Smith that I will probably never write fully but have thought about a bunch of scenes for.

I call it 2 Fluent Freshmen.

Due to a clerical error at both the school and during the local government's push to digitize their documents Smith is noted down as being 2 years older than he actually is and (perhaps a clerical error or maybe no teacher can say if they've had him in class or not) Smith also has enough credits to graduate. Gran has passed away early and there's nothing for him in Washington other than more anxiety.

Wymack & Dan come to Smith when he is 16 and Smith takes the chance to escape from his family IMMEDIATELY. Sure the Foxes are the worst team and sure there's some drama going on with Kevin Day having joined them after his injury but a full ride scholarship is a full ride scholarship!

Smith is rooming with 2 upperclassmen and his only other fellow freshman - Neil Josten. He is not hiding the fact that he can speak Russian, he is hiding the fact that he is 16. Smith ends up pretty close to Seth and Allison due to sharing a dorm / position respectively and just doing his best not to get to close to crazy Andrew Minyard. He does get a bit close with Neil but it's not something he's trying to do.

He's trying to keep his head down and get through the year.

It's a little hard when he is sat on the couch with the Kathy Ferdinand show. It's a lot harder when Riko Moriyama shows up and doesn't realize he's there and just...sits in Smith's lap?? Smith remains as blank faced as ever and what the fuck is Riko supposed to do? ADMIT HE FUCKED UP?

Do you know how hard it is to intimidate someone when you're sitting in the lap of some dude? The answer is VERY. Kevin can't take him seriously at all, especially after Smith made a comment that Riko's ass was bony.

Riko goes after them the same but Smith doesn't really get that his anger is at Kevin. "Hey, I'm sorry I called your butt bony on national television. That was rude of me. You should try some squats though." and like what the fuck is Riko supposed to say in the face of some dude genuinely apologizing to him.

It buys enough time that no one is grabbed or slammed.

Seth and Allison drag him out to the bar that night and after a few minutes sitting with Allison Smith realizes that he actually does have to pee and oh god someone's trying to assault Seth! Smith calls upon the powers of Gracie Hart and Seth has a black eye and a concussion but he graduates.

Neil wants Smith to come with him to the Thanksgiving because Neil has latched on a bit. Smith ends up going and also ends up going upstairs to go to the bathroom because oh god he cannot handle Nicky's parents hearing him take an anxiety shit. He's making his way to the end of the hall and sees a penny on the ground so he bends over to grab it.

And Drake Spears is unbalanced from missing his swing and falls right out the open window to the ground below where he breaks his neck. Naturally, Andrew is watching this scene unfold from the stairs and just starts to laugh his ass off. Smith turns around after flipping the penny over (it was tails side up and therefore not lucky) unaware of what has happened.

Smith asks if Andrew wants to use the bathroom. Andrew insists that Smith goes on ahead. The Hemmicks keep asking if they saw anyone upstairs and Smith has no idea what they're talking about, Andrew does but plays dumb out of spite. A day later it's wild that Nicky's parents got arrested. Like they seemed so normal, how did they kill someone and dump him in the side garden??

The Winter Banquet happens and well...it's dark. It's dark and Neil has brown hair and brown eyes and Smith has brown hair and brown eyes. Riko is not the best at judging heights so he calls Smith to threaten him and tell him that he's joining the Ravens for a Winter Break training camp. Jean is doing the most anyone has ever done not to laugh right now.

Riko only realizes his mistake when he's finished threatening Smith with his father and Smith ruins it. Smith is elated to have somewhere to stay over winter break. He can't mention he has nowhere to go so he'd thought he'd spend the break homeless. Now here comes Riko Moriyama inviting him to a camp where room and board will be provided?

What a nice guy. To thank him Smith compliments the gains he's noticed on Riko's ass. "The squats are really helping you, or are you doing something else?" he asks.

What the fuck is Riko supposed to do? ADMIT THAT HE FUCKED UP? Tell Smith that he's been doing squats and leg lifts before asking that he hand the tickets back and go get Neil???

Fuck that.

He'll just turn Smith against the Foxes and-

Well Riko kept talking about Smith's dead dad and so Smith may have a slight misunderstanding about the full scope of this training camp. He may think that there is some sort of seance element to it at this point and he's kind of excited at the idea of talking to his dad. "I've never spoken to a dead man before, this will be fun." and it's delivered flatly with no expression.

Riko starts to wonder if maybe Smith is the Butcher's son? Did the Butcher have two sons? He's sweating all the sudden.

It does not help that Smith brings a Ouija board to camp or that his dad was a legit Butcher before he died so Riko's tentative questioning only sends him further into an anxious mess about if Nathan had twins and Riko, due to being kept away from the family business, might just not be aware of it?

Smith has a nice Christmas break.

The last scene I've got dinging around in the noggin is in Binghamton. Smith has been left behind at many a stadium at this point. There's a solid and fast rule.

Neil cannot get on the bus without Smith. They are buddies. This is the buddy system. So when the riot starts and Neil seems to be getting pulled away in the crowd?

Well Smith grabs his hand and pulls him towards the bus, "Buddy system."

The bus starts and they're on their way shortly after. Neil's an anxious wreck but that next morning he wakes up to the news that the Butcher of Baltimore died in an FBI raid the night before as well as his men.

Smith watches the news with Neil, "Wow, that's scary." as he sips some orange juice.

[lucky-slice]

Something that TSC has me thinking about is the contrast between Kevin and Jean after leaving the Nest.

Like Jean is very confused by being confronted by the fact that his treatment in the Nest (and the Raven's as a whole) is deemed as fucked up and weird.

But you don't see that same dissidence from Kevin. Part of that is that the timelines are off so we never got to see Kevin's acclimation into the real world and we never got Kevin's pov, but another part is how different their experiences were. And I don't mean like in terms of actual treatment in the nest.

Kevin and Riko were the only ones permitted to do press. They were out of the Nest and presumably talking to other teams / people outside of games even if it was still in a controlled environment. It is more than likely that Kevin was aware that the Ravens and the abuse against him was not normal even if he didn't view it as abuse. Riko was his brother and Tetsuji was not just his coach but also his guardian. He was very aware of his place and fully bought into the Raven mind set.

However, he had media training from a very young age for a reason; to lie his pretty little face off.

Which is why I think Kevin was probably very good at hiding his coping mechanisms and trauma. Obviously, we see him using alcohol to deal with anxiety attacks, but besides that, Kevin blends fairly well into what could be deemed as normal (at least by fox standards). Wymack explicitly states that Kevin does not talk about his time at the Nest. He only reveals what is necessary for Wymack/ the foxes to understand the situation with Riko and the Moriyamas and that's it. There are no hints of anything personal.

There was a post going around about Kevin doing night training partially because his body was accustomed to doing 16 hour days for the majority of his life, but how many other things was Kevin doing (whether subconsciously or consciously) to cope? Even something as small as allowing himself to wear colours other than black.

[ninyard]

do you ever think about how Kevin and Riko's relationship was set up for failure by the Moriyamas because what Riko wanted more than anything was a relationship with his birth family, the brother he wanted was Ichirou, but then he's given Kevin and Kevin is called his brother but that's because Kevin isn't even good enough for Tetsuji so he's given to Riko. Riko wants Ichirou but is told he isn't good enough for him and that he is only worthy of someone not good enough for even his uncle, of course he internalized that in fucked up ways. Like Riko was a bad person but he became that way because all the adults in his life made it so cruel was the only thing he could become

Like the perfect court was NEVER going to work. Riko set up the perfect court and he just presumed he was going to be on it, when he knew Kevin was always going to be better than him. Kevin was always going to be worth more than him. Even his own family seemed to afford Kevin more respect sometimes. Because Kevin was Kayleigh’s, at least. Riko was nobodies. He called himself number one because he was the only person that was ever going to do it. Nobody saw worth in him except for when he demanded it by making himself number one. By branding himself the best. Riko was designed to fail because Kevin was always going to come out on top.

So when he knew it was going to be said by Tetsuji that Kevin was better than him, no matter the numbers on their faces, he had to stop it. He couldn’t let it be said out loud. If Kevin was going to be better than him, fine, now he would never even have the chance. If Kevin can’t win, then it has to be Riko. The title of the best has to go to him, because the family have no choice. There’s nobody else to give it to now.

He is jealous, he is angry, he is desperate for approval. (He’s a piece of shit, he’s a piece of shit, he’s a piece of shit). But he needs power. He needs to own something. Because so long as Kevin Day is alive, he will never own Exy. So long as Kevin can play, it will never rightfully belong to Riko.

[jesperfaheys-defenseattorney]

I put in my notes on Kindle on the line of Wymack telling Jean he was never letting Moriyama/Riko touch him again, something about how protective Wymack is makes me love him so much. Like in this chapter Nora refers to the airport scene with Neil and Wymack and it just reminded me how strong and caring but not quite paternal yet still a father figure Wymack is for the Foxes and really any stray desolate child who comes to his door. He's so good. Obviously it'd be heartless to send Jean back, especially like this but even at all, but to be SO dedicated and to say it to Jean's face so blatantly and be like "fuck them fuck you I'm not letting them hurt you and you can hold me to it" it just makes my heart hurt? I love him sm.

[margareturtle]

I haven’t seen this in a fic yet (pls send me links if you have!!) so I’m doing it myself:

How Jeremy+Cat+ Laila find out about the 80% deal (set after the news about Jean’s family has already been released) (pt 1)

The gang is in the kitchen:

Jeremy: Jean, I’m telling coach to bench you for just this one match! You’re sick (or minorly injured). Just take a break and you’ll be back next match!

Jean: No! I’m fine! There are scouts for Court coming to this game!

Jeremy: yes and you’re just getting over the flu (or a twisted ankle idk)! Just take a rest, the Court scouts will be back next year!

Jean: I’m good to play! I need to play! I need to sign to court!

Jeremy: And I’m sure you will be! Kevin was just signed, no one doubts you will be signed as well ! What difference does a year make?

Jean: what difference does a year— I need to prove myself or they’ll think I can’t and— I can play! I will play!

Jeremy: no— I already told the coaches you aren’t playing— they’re in support

Jean: YOU WHAT? *panicking* they’re gonna kill me they’re gonna kill me

Jeremy: *softening* oh Jean it’s ok. You’re with the trojans remember. You’re not at the nest. You’re safe. Riko is dead. Tetsuji is gone. Everyone respects your right to a break. You’re free of the Moriyamas now.

Jean: You insolent fool! I will never be free of the Moriyamas!

Jeremy: ok Jean, I know it may feel like that sometimes. But you are free with us now. There are no more Moriyamas that will hurt you.

Cat: *thinking* well there’s Ichirou

Jeremy: *glares at Cat*

Cat: what? As smart as you are Jere you still haven’t learned to take the things Jean says at face value. He just said “I will never be free of the Moriyamas”

Jeremy: yeah but that’s not— Ichirou is a business man, all he cares about is money and his new fiance!

Laila: yeah but what really is the Moriyama family business? I haven’t really thought about it before but Ichirou looks rich af so it’s gotta be smth good…Jean you must now what it is.

Jean: *doesn’t respond to non questions*

Jeremy: Come on, this isn’t related to why Jean is so freaked out he can’t play today!

Cat: judging by his silence rn it def is! So what is it Jean? What’s the Moriyama business? You must know!

Jean: *stressed* it’s not important

Laila: clearly it is, now you can tell us or I’m happy to start guessing!

Jean: don’t—

Laila: let’s see it’s prob smth shady if you won’t say. Let’s see, do they deal in exotic Animals? Is Ichirou secretly tiger king?

Jean: No?! Just stop!

Laila: Or is it some business offensive to french culture? Oh no Jean, is their business in wine? Do they sell prosecco and call it champagne?

Jean: it’s not—

Laila: Oh or it has smth to do with why you learned so many languages while you were there? They’re secretly in the spy industry training to be spies??

Jean: of course not! Now stop asking I won’t tell you.

Cat: oh jean 😭 way to get us all more intrigued.

Jeremy: yeah let’s return to the topic of—

Laila: *who’s been thinking for a sec* pfft I know *sarcastically* Ichirou is secretly a mob boss too who has been in kahoots with—

Jean: *flinches*

Laila: your dad and neil’s dad which means—

Laila: Wait what the fuck?!! I was joking—I know the Moriyama’s business is just some boring corporate shit! But you just—What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK!! You only flinch when I land spot on I—

Jean: *lunges for a knife with one hand that Jeremy catches. Lunges for his throat with the other that Cat gets a hold of first*

Laila: holy shit. No way. What. You’re kidding— I can’t. I wAs jOkinG !! Do the foxes know? Kevin must know if you do—

Laila: *picks up Jeremy’s phone he left in the kitchen counter*

Laila: *calling kevin*

(Pt 2 call with kevin coming soon)

[swampthingking]

i’m excited for a million things in tsc, but right now i’m thinking about if/how nora will write the dynamic between jean and jeremy. (even if jerejean doesn’t happen, i anticipate jeremy’s kindness towards jean to be a part of the story.)

i can see jean wanting to push jeremy for a multitude of reasons. i can see jean feeling untrustworthy of jeremy’s optimism and wanting to push him, like, “there’s no way you’re really like this. i want to see who you are behind the cameras.” jean kind of starts prodding jeremy to see what makes him tick. what makes him snap. what he does when he snaps, what he says. if he’s violent. especially if they’re rooming together (my hc is that jeremy volunteers himself to room with jean. he trusts his teammates, but feels responsible as the captain for making sure jean gets settled). in that case, i imagine jean would either:

1, rile him up on purpose so he doesn’t have to anticipate when jeremy snaps, that way he can control when it happens. and once he knows the signs, he can protect himself in the future.

i think eventually, jeremy will get fed up at jean’s antagonism (because let’s face it, jean is going to be a bitch at some point or another and i cannot wait for it) but jeremy won’t react the way jean is expecting. maybe his face gets red, his ears turn pink. he starts to breathe a little heavier, maybe his fists clench, and jean is preparing to be hit. he went through jeremy’s things—knows he doesn’t carry any weapons—but jeremy lifts enough to pack a punch. so he waits. but jeremy just says, “i am not in the right headspace to have a conversation right now.” and leaves the dorm. jean doesn’t feel bad necessarily, just perplexed. a little pissed, honestly. like, “i put in all this effort to piss you off, and you just walk away?” and kind of wants to be hurt. exy and pain were the only constants in his life for years—they went hand in hand, that doesn’t just go away overnight. if jean pulled this shit at the nest, he would have been dealt with ages ago. not being hit is almost worse, because he at least was expecting that. he wasn’t expecting an emotionally intelligent, “i need space to think.”

eventually jeremy comes back, sees jean sitting on the bed, just waiting, and he says, calm and collected, “i can understand your transfer wasn’t ideal, but i’m not trying to make your life harder. i want you to feel safe. i want you to feel independent. and eventually, i want you to be happy, whenever you’re ready. but you’re not going to take your anger out on me, and you’re not going to take it out on the rest of the team.” and jean is just kind of??? stunned??? like?? is this a fucking joke?? but jeremy is just standing a safe distance away, with his arms crossed, waiting for jean to say something. so jean nods, kind of dumbfounded, still a little on edge, because what the fuck do you say to that? how do you argue with someone who saw through your bullshit plan and completely disarms you? and jeremy asks if jean’s eaten, if he wants to go get food with him, or if he wants to be alone.

or 2, jean will stay very silent and still and try his hardest to steer clear of jeremy as to not attract any attention to himself. make himself small and avoid conflict. “if i don’t make any noise and i am a ghost, i can’t be hurt. if i do nothing wrong, i can covet this minuscule, yet fleeting comfort. my bones just healed, let me prolong this feeling.” maybe jean doesn’t want to even try to push jeremy. maybe he doesn’t speak for awhile after he arrives at scu, doesn’t want to say anything to incriminate riko or the ravens or the moriyamas; the blind, forced loyalty still ingrained into him. i can see him just observing his new surroundings. analyzing his new team, watching how they interact with one another, being stunned at the individualism that’s normal to these people. they don’t need to be paired at all times— the raven buddy system doesn’t exist here. i can see jean kind of paralyzed and overwhelmed at all the places he could go if he wanted to, but not leaving his dorm very often at all.

and i can see jeremy just wanting jean to be comfortable. he could either:

1, watch jean, learning how he moves, what makes him startle, what he does and doesn’t like based off his body language. i can see jeremy picking up quickly that the nest was a horrible place, just based off his interactions with the ravens on the court, but also from the press. being so deeply disturbed to see the aftermath of the nest in the way jean reacts to loud noises. how jean shuts down after a trojan claps him on the shoulder. i wonder if, after a winning game, jeremy will try to talk to jean about it and say, “you played so well, are you proud?” and jean replying, “i’m relieved.” and jean didn’t know the gravity of the truth he gave away, but jeremy understands. can read between the lines well enough to understand why jean is relieved. so jeremy says, “well, i’m proud of you.” and jean doesn’t look at him, but he’s a bit too expressive to hide his feelings, and he fidgets when he’s nervous, despite how desperately he tries to tamp down his feelings, because burying them is easier than letting them seep to the surface.

or 2, he could accept that jean is going to take a long time to come around, if at all, and not really bother with trying so hard. i could see jeremy treating jean like every other trojan, just without the touches and hugs, as they all learned quickly that jean hates being touched. he tries to include jean, always offers for him to tag along, to join them in doing whatever they’re going to do. he wants the best for jean, yeah, but he doesn’t give him any special treatment. and maybe that’s what could help jean come around, just a tiny bit. even just joining jeremy to the cafeteria for dinner. even just sitting in the living room to do work, rather than in the bedroom. maybe being treated like everyone else would be beneficial to jean, seeing jeremy model positivity and reflecting that treatment back onto jean. and of course jeremy would be proud if/when jean came around, but there’s no expectations, and maybe that’s what puts jean at something resembling ease. that nobody expects anything of him and here’s no pressure to be any type of way, and for once in his life he can figure out who he is and who he wants to become.

anyway, sorry for the essay. i have ample thoughts about aftg in general, but tsc has kind of been on my mind a lot :)

[stabbyfoxandrew]

mafia restaurant? ^-^

WIP Wednesday (3/20) | Mafia Front Restaurant AU (Part 117)

After scarfing down some room service with the others, Andrew climbs into bed hoping to fall asleep quickly but alas, when has he ever? Instead of Kevin though, he finds himself thinking about Neil. The gorgeous phony waiter with a pistol tucked into his waistband, obvious mob ties, and numerous scars on his face. He’d had a thought the other day that Neil could’ve been an ex-Raven because the scars on his cheek line up with Riko’s insane perfect court nonsense. 

But… He doesn’t remember this guy. Andrew has a perfect memory for fuck's sake. Even if he didn't, he's sure he would remember auburn hair and blue eyes. Andrew rolls around to grab his phone and, into the search bar, enters, ‘edgar allan ravens exy roster 2007’. He finds the team’s lineup from his sophomore year and scrolls past several familiar faces. One, two, and three…

Four. 

That’s where the face tattoos stop. Huh. Andrew is familiar with Moriyama, Day, Moreau. But a Wesninski he doesn't remember. Andrew pauses on the image of a beat-down looking young man. And after giving him a long look, Andrew realizes it is Neil. Neil with a black buzzcut. With dead eyes. With smooth skin and a four inked into his cheek. 

Neil was number four on the perfect court?! So why doesn’t Andrew remember him? He searches the name and finds that Nathaniel Wesninski was often on the bench due to injuries sustained in games. Andrew wonders whether that’s true or just another ski trip.

The clock at the top of Andrew’s screen tells him it’s far too late to be conscious so he puts his phone down, content with what he’s learned. Neil was a Raven. That’s why he’s wrapped up with Kevin and Jean. It doesn’t explain his appearance or the name change, but Andrew supposes he can’t say much considering that he’s changed his own. Curiosity sated for the time being, Andrew rolls over and finally goes to sleep.

[willowbird]

for the fic prompt any trans Andrew thoughts? Or trans Neil or trans andreil lol dealers choice

DID SOMEONE SAY TRANSDREIL!?

But I would like to raise you... trans!Kevin. Because it has been STUCK in my HEAD for MONTHS now.

---

The knock on the door was heavy but sluggish - more of a crash or a thump than a knock at all. At first, David thought that it was some dumb kid being a jackass (even 5 star hotels had shitty guests), but then it came again. And again. And again.

Then, as David sighed and begrudgingly rolled off his bed to go to the door, he heard a thin, rough voice call through it: "Please... I don't know where else to go..."

David picked up his pace. He did not know what he expected when he jerked the door open, but the teenager standing there was not it - especially not in the state that they were in.

"What the actual fuck, Kaitlyn?

Kaitlyn Day, daughter of world-famous violinist Kayleigh Day and then adopted by Kayleigh's close friend Tetsuji Moriyama in the wake of her mother's death. David had known her for most of her life, albeit from a distance. He had been close with Kayleigh when they'd been younger, and although they'd had something of a falling out shortly before she became pregnant with Kaitlyn they had stayed in touch enough for him to have developed at relationship of sorts with her daughter.

Kaitlyn flinched away from him, actually stumbling backwards quickly enough that her shoulders hit the opposite wall.

"Shit," David cursed, stopping himself from rushing forward. Instead he lifted his hands in a steady, placating gesture and lowered his voice. "Fuck. I'm sorry kid. Don't worry I'm louder than I am mean, you know that. Come on." He stepped back into the room and held the door open for her, doing his best not to stare at the shadows under her eyes or the blood at the corner of her mouth, the bruises starting to form. David Wymack had seen his fair share bruised and battered kids, though, so maybe that was why it was almost more off-putting that, in addition to the physical trauma clearly on display, from the way she held herself to the blood and the bruises, her hair had been chopped off. It hung in uneven chunks around her face, and as she passed by him into the room David saw that there were some patches that had been so close to her scalp the blades had nicked the skin.

Swallowing his questions for the moment, David glanced quickly down the hall -- one way and then the other -- before shutting and locking the door. When he turned back around, Kaitlyn was standing clear on the opposite side of the room, hugging herself and chewing her thumbnail down to the quick.

David gave himself another twenty seconds to get his shit together, then he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Kaitlyn, what the fuck happened?"

Even though his voice was calmer now, steady, she still flinched. David grit his teeth against the bubbling of anger that churned in the center of his body -- a vat of blistering, protective rage that was getting closer and closer to boiling over every time she shirked away from him. Perhaps he did not know Kaitlyn as well as he might have if he and Kayleigh had been better to each other, if they hadn't fallen out in the way that they had, but he didn't have to be in the girl's inner circle to know that this... this timid thing before him was not her.

Kaitlyn Day was a fucking thunderstorm in human form. As captivating as she was terrifying, she was a musical prodigy that had been performing in huge, prestigious venues since she was three years old, first on the piano, then on violin, then flute, before stunning the world yet again when she opened her mouth and started to sing. International cross-genre acclaim was achieved when she was only fifteen, after she and her adoptive brother Riko diverted from classical music in a bold move to form a pop band.

She was an idol, with adoring fans on every continent.

She was also, David was remembering very suddenly and with a sharpness that hurt, an eighteen year old kid. She was a wildfire, but she was not invulnerable, and someone had hurt her.

"Kaitlyn," he said again, and he lowered his voice even further. He made himself as small as he could, sinking down to sit on the coffee table that filled out the small sitting area of the hotel suite.

Again, Kaitlyn's shoulders hitched up and her face turned, her brown condensing into a sharp v of discontent. When David opened his mouth to speak again, though, to plea with her to tell him what the fuck was going on and to demand she point him in the direction of the sorry fuck who touched her, her eyes snapped up to his and he finally saw that it wasn't only fear, it wasn't only pain. Burning right beside whatever trauma she was wrestling with was a bright, effervescent rage.

He snapped his mouth shut.

"No," Kaitlyn said. Her voice was rough, raspy. She cleared her throat and held his gaze as she said more clearly, putting in visible effort to keep herself steady to lift up her chin when her instincts were still begging her to duck it.

"No," she said again. "Not... Not Kaitlyn."

David frowned, confused. "What?"

Then she said, "Kevin."

Still not understanding, David shook his head. "Kaitlyn, what? Who is Kevin?" A thought struck him and he had to curl his hands into fists on top of his thighs to keep from standing. "Is he who did this? Point me in his direction, Kaitlyn, and I swear I--"

"No!" This time, her voice cracked, and there was a desperation in her tone that had David pulling back. Her eyes were wide, every muscle in her body taut. She swallowed thickly around the words he could see her trying to say. Her mouth opened and shut a few times, then she grit her teeth and growled, "No. Me. I'm not Kaitlyn. I am Kevin. Kevin."

Tears, a phenomenon that David had never before witnessed with Kaitlyn and had only ever seen once from her mother, welled suddenly in the girls eyes. Her face was flushed, tinged pink around the hurts. With her hair a chopped mess and her eye visibly beginning to well, the tears added a raw sort of wildness that was so far apart from the rigid control Kaitlyn usually adhered to with zealous enthusiasm that he fleetingly wondered if he was instead talking to a different girl entirely. A long-lost twin.

He shook his head, or at least he went to -- but he aborted the gesture mid-motion as the inkling of understanding tugged at him. He studied her, letting her words turn the lights on one at a time until the pieces finished falling into place.

Then he said, "Kevin." A question, a confirmation.

Jade fire eyes held his own and there was so much weight in that single stare.

After a long, tense moment where David didn't think either of them so much as breathed, the bearer of those eyes gave a single slow nod.

David took in a slow breath and nodded as well. "Alright. Okay. That's... good. Kevin." Slowly, so Kevin didn't think David's motive was violence, David pushed himself to his feet and approached. He lifted one hand and reached out. When the kid didn't flinch away, David rested it on his shoulder.

"Kevin," David said again, and because he was still holding the boy's gaze he saw the moment when Kevin's resolve shattered. The tears he had been battling back broke the dam. His shoulders slumped. His knees trembled. When he stumbled, David was there to catch him and he pulled him easily into his arms. He didn't pretend not to hear the sobs that came next, absorbed by his chest the same way the tears made their new home in the fabric of his shirt.

No, instead he wrapped his arms around him, around Kevin. He rested one hand on the back of his neck and squeezed gently and he said, "Hey, it's alright. I've got you, son. It's alright. I've got you. I'm here."

[sunriseabram]

fuck yeah nathaniel bodyguard AU! 🔪

Nathaniel Bodyguard AU | Part 6 | 27/12

Nathaniel couldn’t help but scoff at the ridiculousness of it all. It was undeniably true, factual and evident that he was nothing more than an object. He was a chess piece, a porn to Ichirou to utilise in whatever means he deemed necessary and do whatever he pleased.

Being born was a mistake that Nathaniel paid for every day of his life. He would always be a slave to the family, a servant bound by an inherited debt he’d never be able to repay. Until death knocked, Nathaniel would be the property of someone else. He belonged to Ichirou Moriyama and his family.

"I didn’t spend two years watching your back just for you to fuck off back to Riko,” Andrew argued.

Nathaniel couldn’t help but laugh in Andrew’s face. "God. Fuck no. I don't work for that obnoxious little prick. Quite frankly, he knows to stay out of my way, or I’ll fillet him like a fish and feed his insides to his uncle."

Andrew blinked at Nathaniel.

“You can’t say stuff like that,” Kevin hissed. “What if he overhears?”

>

[gaypomegranate]

I absolutely HATE how Kevin Day gets treated by the fandom like he’s this overly cowardly person that has no right to be traumatized because he didn’t have it as “bad” as characters like Andrew or Neil or Jean. Like??? First off, people’s traumas (even if they are fictional) shouldn’t be compared to each other??? Yes, there are DIFFERENCES in traumatic experiences and their severity but that doesn’t mean that peoples reactions to their trauma needs to reflect that.

Throughout the series, Kevin is trying to do his best and play a game that was the exact thing that was associated with his abuser. He was with Riko and Tetsuji for YEARSSSSSS and throughout the series he is trying to stand up against his abusers, people who have so much power that Kevin is aware of first hand, and people try to act like he is weak or cowardly and dramatic??? He does he succeed in standing up to them numerous times throughout the series, but even if he didn’t he is still directly facing the very people who he was essentially trapped with that caused him trauma.

His experiences in life differ from the other aftg characters (just like how EVERYONE does) which means that obviously his reactions are going to be different from others. Saying that he is weak or annoying or overly dramatic with his very realistic and real reactions to his literal abusers is just. so fucked.

Also, before going to the Moriyama’s Kevin was able to have at least a partially normal and loving childhood with his mom, and then getting that ripped away from him? That ALONE is enough to fuck someone up.

Anyways, you can’t compare traumas and peoples reactions to them!!! This turned into a massive ramble that doesn’t even make much sense, but in conclusion: I LOVE KEVIN DAY!

[achenetype]

content warning: graphic violence, drug and alcohol use, slight dubcon if you squint, death, a lot of death actually, vomiting, eating disorders, riko-typical abuse, riko is his own warning, the ravens kind of all love and fuck each other because who else will, self-harm mentions, explicit sex, thoughts of suicide, the riko/reader/kevin situationship is so intense (here's the playlist, btw) , graphic descriptions of injury/surgery, ravens-typical cult/grooming behavior

thinking about the ravens again. this team of athletes bred to be the best of the best, the bloodiest of the bloodiest. the fierce competition for the top spots (and by extension proximity to riko). i know parties in the nest go fucking CRAZY, like i know there’s someone on the team who always has drugs or alcohol and sometimes this well oiled machine of a team likes to lose its shit.

imagining being a walk-on, freshman year. you’d committed to edgar allan university for their pre-medical program, been offered the best scholarship offer of your life, and in your first biology class this boy with sharp cheekbones and a sharper tongue sits down next to you. he asks you for a pencil, which you give him, and he introduces himself as riko moriyama. over the next few weeks, riko convinces you to come to tryouts for the school’s exy team, and because you’re a little starstruck at the thought that riko fucking moriyama wants you anywhere, you agree.

you hadn’t played exy since your sophomore year of high school, but you’re strong. you can run fast. you’re not afraid to fight dirty. the ravens sign you only minutes after you bruise your knuckles punching the mouth guard out of another freshman’s teeth. you hadn’t even gotten settled into your dorm, so moving out and moving into the nest was no big deal.

riko wants every raven to know every other raven, wants to have a network of sleeper cells through the whole school. your team has players from every major, every background. rich kids, poor kids, every ethnicity you could think of. the ravens are all-encompassing. they’re family. they’re everything. you get paired with someone, a sophomore with an easy smile and skin just a shade darker than yours, and you feel amazing for the first time since leaving your hometown.

the first party happens after you win a match against a school from new york city. it’s in the basement of the nest, this long, catacomb-like chamber that the ravens have turned into their own personal den of sin. you barely register a drink being shoved into your hand before your pair partner is dragging you through a sea of people in black and red to a small table in a back corner. he gestures to the powder cut into neat lines on a silver tray, squeezing your hand, and murmurs, “go on.”

the coke burns your nose like you’d inhaled water, but sharper. worse. from across the table, riko grins at you. his hair hangs messily around his face, loose and curly, and you want to lean into his sparkling space and kiss him, but his partner is right there, their arms linked together and his head resting on riko’s shoulder, and the hivemind has been doing its job—everyone knows that riko and kevin are a thing, are exclusive. you don’t stand a chance, especially not as a freshie walk-on.

your partner claps you on the shoulder and whoops. the music is loud enough to drown out what he says, but something shifts in the air. you’re one of them now. one of us. you drink until your vision goes fuzzy and the pounding of your head matches the bass of the music.

you wake up for practice feeling like shit. it shows.

you’re sloppy, aching and hungover, hungry and tired. it’s unacceptable. really, you deserve it when riko slaps you across the face in the middle of the court and sends you back to your dorm. you deserve it when you open the door and see him standing there, see the knife in his hand. you deserve whatever he carves into your back, even though it feels like he’s peeling your skin off. maybe he is. you’d let him do it anyway, would beg for his fingertips to unsheathe you from the body you spent so long trying to hate and hurt and perfect into something unattainable.

you throw up for the first time in months that night. it becomes a habit. eating in the nest is something that one has to dance around carefully. the running joke is that there are two types of ravens: the anorexics, and the bulimics. starve or puke. the result is the same: lean, hollow things that break when you throw them at each other. riko invites you to smoke with him and kevin and jean, the french boy with silver bands around his neat rows of locs, and you pass a pack of american spirit cigarettes between the four of you until you’re dizzy and nic-sick.

you think kevin doesn’t like you that much.

you think it until he drags you into the showers one day after practice and kisses you, mean, like he’s got something to prove and you’re the only person he cares about proving it to. you should have known something wasn’t right, because the press of riko’s body behind you makes you jump out of your skin. he’s got one hand on your neck, turning you to kiss him while kevin mouths at your jaw and collarbones, and one hand under the sleeve of your jersey, tracing over the uniform lines that cover your arm.

he asks you what you use. “box cutter,” you say breathlessly. “i take apart razors or pencil sharpeners when it’s not sharp enough.” you’re not sure why you tell him so easily, or why kevin drops to his knees and licks a stripe up your forearm, his tongue rolling over both your scars and riko’s fingers.

the second party happens a day later. it’s not technically a raven party—it’s a sigma pi frat party, but every sigma pi brother is also a raven, so it’s basically the same thing. you get tipsy, hit a few people’s weed.

you can’t remember when the last time you saw your pair partner was. god, you must be drunk. he was in your room….not today, not yesterday. maybe a few days ago. a week. before practice.

you realize that he didn’t come back with you in the same moment that you realize you’re going to puke.

in the bathroom, you lay on the cold tile and think about what else you’d forgotten, or just been told not to notice. you knew you weren’t the only member of the team to get beaten after a bad play. you remember rubbing ice over jean’s bruises, watching victoria swallow a small white pill dry after meeting riko for a debrief.

you wonder how many layers of makeup are hiding bruises in this house. you think you’d kill yourself if you had to count. you think you might kill yourself anyway.

(no, you won’t. you have no reason to. you’re untouchable. you have good grades. you have family. you have the ravens. you wouldn’t throw that away by cutting too deep or emptying your drug stash into your mouth.)

someone decides to play spin the bottle and kevin’s hand closes around your wrist, drags you into the circle with him and riko and jean, and a junior whose name is something with an m, manuel or martin or mickey. a few other people take spots—victoria, a freshman like you, but she was recruited from a private school in connecticut—alexei, a sophomore backliner whose english was about as good as his passes—a pair of seniors who give you an up-and-down glance as they sit.

you can feel their eyes resting on kevin’s hand clasped around your arm, jean’s shoulder brushing yours. they could burn a hole through you and into the ground with how hard they stare when riko taps your thigh, signaling you to spin the empty wine bottle first.

it lands on jean and the two of you swap spit for around five seconds before he pulls away. you smile at him. he doesn’t return it. something dark and sick curls up in your chest. you think you might puke again, or at least cough up whatever rot has taken root inside of you.

jean spins, kisses victoria, and retreats to find another drink. victoria makes out with alexei for what seems like a frankly embarrassing amount of time. alexei spins, tripping over his words as he does so, and ends up drooling into manuel’s mouth.

manuel’s spin lands on kevin, who accepts a kiss on the cheek before nudging the bottle with his foot so that it points at riko.

watching the two of them feels like watching a pair of animals try to eat each other alive. kevin swings one leg over riko’s lap and riko very unsubtly rolls his hips, leaning in to kiss kevin fast and sharp and hungry.

you’re so hungry. the alcohol swaying like liquid nitrogen in your stomach has done nothing to make you feel full, make you feel satisfied. you just feel empty and sick.

it gets worse when kevin snakes one hand up to yank riko’s hair, moving from kissing his mouth to sucking bruises into his exposed neck. riko tips his head back and laughs. as kevin matches riko’s rhythm, riko reaches around and spins the bottle, one decisive movement

the neck of it points to you. you feel your face heat up. riko inclines his head towards you in silent invitation.

this is a test, you think through the buzz of weed and alcohol.

you take a deep breath and turn to your left, and riko’s lips against yours feel like lightning. you can feel kevin still mouthing at riko’s neck next to you, the movement of his hips stuttering as riko thumbs over your cheek and lets his tongue slide against yours. “cmere,” he murmurs. “stop holding back.”

you’re not sure what makes you bold enough to catch his lip between your teeth and bite, but the little gasp that comes from riko is indication that you’ve done something right. you kiss him deeper, messier, spit slicking both of your mouths before pulling away.

there’s blood dripping from riko’s lips and you’re satisfied in a sick, wobbling way. kevin separates his face from the crook of riko’s neck to stare at you.

silent invitation. silent test. everything the ravens do is unspoken. you’d think the entire team had some kind of telepathy.

you end up pressed between them. you’re dizzy—the world sways in time with riko’s hand on your thigh, kevin’s mouth between his legs. everything slows to a crystallizing point. riko laughs as he guides you and kevin together, watching the two of you kiss, watching the desperate movement of the two of you against each other.

riko laughs and it sounds like bells. riko laughs and everything is perfect. the bass of whatever song is playing is pounding in your ears, muffled by the door that you're not sure if anyone locked.

when you wake up the next morning, you feel dead. you wish you were when you roll over and see kevin and riko in bed next to you, fitting together like perfect puzzle pieces.

you decide to go for a run before your morning practice, tugging on your shoes and jacket quietly so that neither of them wake up. your feet thud against the pavement as you turn around one corner of the school.

your legs burn. the hickeys on your thighs and chest burn with them, dull flickers of pain that remind you with every breath of riko’s mouth and kevin’s hands.

you’re early to practice that day. and the day after that. you climb the ranks, taking #10 and then #8 and finally, finally, settling on #6. you're second-string, which means you get to play almost every game because red cards are beautiful and impermanent and fold in half like the hinge of a door opening. you are real. you are exactly where you are meant to be.

winter break comes and the ravens are taking a team trip to the southern exy banquet. raise morale, get closer. all that. you lie to your parents and say you’re road tripping with your friends, which isn’t technically false, but it’s not true either. you fall asleep on the bus, your head resting on kevin’s shoulder.

it’s the safest you feel for a long time.

"team trip" turns out to be a rather misleading way to say "working our athletes until they pass out or die." you scream the first time someone collapses during sprints. you cover your mouth with your hand when a forty-pound weight caves in someone's chest and you can see the splinters of their ribs. as a pre-medical student, you end up treating those who survive.

by the time kevin comes to you, shaking and mute with his hand cradled close to his chest, you don't flinch. you memorize the position of the bones: carpals, metacarpals, phalanges. you memorize the look on kevin's face when you walk him to the hotel room of another team's coach after rearranging the bones and tendons of his hand to make the damage look half unintentional.

you memorize the lie riko tells you to tell everyone else. skiing accident. too fast. accident. accident. not on purpose. accident, meaning no one's fault, meaning avoidable, meaning, meaning, meaning.

(when kevin is gone and the rest of the team is on the bus back to west virginia, riko tells you the truth. he tells you between kisses that he didn't ask for but you give anyways. he tells you if you breathe a word i'll fucking kill you in low, guttural japanese, the language you'd been learning to talk only to him and kevin.

you nod, and quietly tell him nani mo iimasen. you won't say a thing.)