#tfc meta

[aroadamparrish]

Knives in All for the Game

Knives are a risky and unreliable form of self defense. The common wisdom is that the winner of a knife fight gets the reward of dying in the ambulance rather than on the ground. Knives are close range weapons, and even if your opponent is unarmed you can injure yourself if you are not experienced. It’s no wonder that after experience on both ends of knives and guns, Neil would prefer a gun as a weapon. It’s also no wonder that in the entire series, knives are never used in actual combat.

Despite the whole knife boy aesthetic that Andrew has, AFTG really doesn’t claim that the knives help him in violent situations. He threatens people with his knives, but he uses brute force to inflict damage. Even so, the knives seem more integral to Andrew as a character than his physical strength (which Neil, our narrator, sees as almost a consequence of Andrew’s temperament). Maybe it’s because Neil’s history with knives inflates their prominence, or maybe it’s because of what the knives represent to Andrew…

The sheathes for Andrew’s knives are physically woven into his armbands—which I believe he wore well before receiving the knives from Renee. The armbands serve a primary purpose of protecting Andrew’s privacy and vulnerability. The knives, then, are linked directly to protection.

Nonetheless, Andrew’s knives never protect Andrew himself. It seems a bit of a metaphor, that the knives—which he uses to protect those he cares about—are hidden by the same armbands which hide the part of himself he will not even bare to his own family.

Within the context of AFTG, Andrew’s use of knives stands out. Most of the time, knives are associated with torture—specifically when Neil is restrained or unable to defend himself. Knives are an object of fear for Neil, not necessarily due to fear of harm or death, but due to the helplessness that they have become tied to. Andrew, on the other hand, uses his knives as instruments of autonomy, rather than harm.

[nettedtangible]

An idea I love is when the Foxes become a more well-respected team in the league, Wymack starts talking to them about being “role models” and that they have all these young fans now who look up to them. And Neil is just horrified.

Then the Exy league organises this like, pre-game warm up meet and greet thing where they do some drills and games with the kids of the local teams in the area.

Everyone expects to have to keep Andrew away from the kids but he’s actually fantastic with them. He’s blunt and honest but he does try very hard and they absolutely love him.

Neil spends the entire time running away from the children and hiding behind Wymack (he tried hiding behind Andrew but Andrew was actually getting along with the little demons)

Kevin hates it but the kids LOVE him, they think it’s hilarious how grumpy and angry he gets and they keep falling over themselves laughing anytime he yells. They keep asking him to “do the grumpy voice” he starts yelling in French and they think it’s just about the funniest thing that’s ever happened.

Dan and Renee are keeping the whole thing on track, actually running through the drills and teaching the kids with endless patience. Dan has a little mini me girl who’s like 10 and the captain of her team and just wants to be Dan so bad so Dan gives her a whistle and she’s just shadowing her all day, blowing her whistle whenever Dan tries to get someone’s attention.

Aaron and Allison hang back and only very reluctantly interact with the children.

Matt is the equivalent of a climbing gym. He has about 4 children hanging off various limbs at any given time and a little 6 year old has taken up permanent residence on his shoulders.

Nicky loooves it and teaches the kids all of bad words and gets them to play pranks on Kevin- which results in Kevin yelling at him and he and the kids falling over laughing.

One child seems to be really isolated and quiet. Neil sits with this kid so Wymack will stop yelling at him to get involved. They don’t talk at all but Neil gives the kid some gum and the kid manages a little smile.

[feelingthedisaster]

The King's Men's plot structure is genius.

TKM has been critized a lot for not following the conventional plot structure, because it doesnt end inmediatly at the resolution of the climax, like they taught us in class. But it actually has a reason behind it and it think that is what makes AFTG unique and Nora Sakavic an amazing writer. I'll explain.

So, we all know AFTG has a lot of chess metaphors, however i think it doesnt contain the metaphors, it is the metaphor. Each character represents a piece of the board (Riko king, Kevin queen, Neil pawn, Andrew knight, etc) and exy is the chess, but but but, a chess game not only involves the pieces, the game cannot exist without someone playing, the chess masters (which would be Kengo, Ichiriu, Nathan and all the mafia stuff).

So, AFTG is divided into two plots happening at the same time: what happens on the chess board (exy season) and what happens outside it (the mafia mess).

Of couse, the climax has to be about the outside out, because who cares which one of pieces move in which way if the players are pointing guns at eachother under the board? The guns are more more important. So who cares? The pieces on the board care, the ones that are being played with. And who is the narrator? The character that represents the pawn, the less important figure of the entire room.

Yeah, the 'outside of the board' plot is over half way into the book, but it doesnt matter because that happens outside the board, the chess game has not ended yet. The pawn cannot go back to rest in the box until the game is over, until the king dies. The book cannot be over until the chess game our protagonist is a piece of ends. The books have to end with the king's (Riko) death and that is exactly what happens.

If this isnt excellent writing and one of the best examples of know the rules so you can break them, i dont what is.

[stick-ball]

Happy Women's Day to all who celebrate

[scholliski]

I’m betting some dude sarcastically bet for the foxes to win while drunk of his ass and still gloats about it every day to his buddies

[foxstens]

does anyone remember where it says what the perfect court is

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

i know where the "aaron grew up with [insert awful thing here]" takes come from, but i want to highlight that nicky says tilda only started abusing him when they moved to SC and isn't this it's own brand of terrible?

tilda never being a loving, caring mother, but never negligent. feeding him, taking him to church every so often, letting him do kid's stuff as far as it didn't bother her too much. we even know she took him with her on a date to an exy game.

then they find out andrew and his life is now awful. they find andrew and he hates aaron. his mother moves them across the country and his twin is in juvie. tilda gets angry just by looking at his face and now *she* hates him too.

he doesn't know anyone at school and his mom hits him at home and begin taking those pills and his uncle preaches about the importance of family at church and his cousin is gone to germany...

and everything was fine six months ago. and then they met andrew.

[achillean-heartbeat]

Now that i think about it,,, isn't Matt... the first male to ever show healthy skinship and physical affection to Neil? like... EVER???? OH MY GOD????

i love the hc that Andrew completely understands the difference in the relationship with touch that Neil and him have. He understands that Neil is touch starved and that physical touch is a need for him. (Do you think he noticed that since the beginning? since he was fairly touchy with Neil throughout the story compared to anyone else?) I think he would never get in the way of letting Neil get what he needs, especially from the foxes. Especially if its something he knows he won't be able to properly provide for Neil. 

(I also think that this way of thinking about Neil kinda pushes him to maybe? hopefully? start viewing the concept of a support system a little bit more than apathetically.)

Back to Matt and Neil. I really wanna see if Neil ever reaches a point where he actively goes out of his way to seek from comfort from Matt. (We know both Matt and Dan are very keen on comforting the lost kitten of the team. Re: Nora saying: "[Neil is to the foxes] That cat that hides under the stoop and stares at you like Can I please come home with you but who turns tail and runs as soon as you try to befriend it.") 

We know Matt would comfort him with a warm cup and a welcoming seat for him on their sofa, without a second thought. But the question is, would Neil ask for it? Or, how long would it take for Neil to start to know how to ask for it?

I think that how it begins is that Neil finds himself needing that kind of comfort, finds himself on his former dorm's doorstep, but doesn't know how to go on from here. 

I think that Matt, emotionally smart and empathetic Matt, wouldn't need a second look at Neil's face in the doorway to know what he needs: a hug, an ear to listen, touch, warmth. 

I think that after that happens, Neil has a talk with Matt. At first, Neil's initial reaction that he can't shake off is fear that someone was able to read something in him that he himself wasn't able to detect. But the secondary reaction is comfort in knowing Matt, his friend Matt, knows him so well that he would know how to help, even if Neil himself wouldn't know.

I think that Neil genuinely asks Matt how he knew what he needed, how he knew he was gonna feel better after that. Because he did. At that question, Matt's heart squeezes painfully as he realises he is the person that is going to teach Neil how friends comfort each other this way. And as he does, he sees something in Neil's eyes that squeezes his heart yet again.

And that is why i think Neil and Matt's friendship is very underrated. i love them so much.

[satanic-foxhole-court]

Knowing Nora it was probably intentional that in each book someone was intentionally hit with an exy racket on screen (three times). Its in the similar vein of how the books mention of two intentional deaths in a car makes us question Kayleigh Day’s death in a car and if it was an accident

[freddyspizzaheroes]

Welcome to Night Vale | Pathologic Classic | José Saramago | Hera Lindsay Bird | Christina Marie Brown

[muscatos]

Andrew Minyard: a one-man army or debilitating mental illness?

Short answer, Both. The idea of Andrew single-handedly, and successfully, standing up against an entire crime syndicate is a swoon worthy thought, but is simply just that, a thought. The reality that andrew doesn't and can't do as such is a much more refreshing take, one brought about by a young adult having been crushed by those around him from birth onwards, intense and borderline crippling mental health issues creating an idea that he will keep those close to him, by force if necessary.

This creates a three-dimensional character that you both want to hug and strangle in equal measures, a man so utterly traumatised from his body not belonging to himself quite literally forcing the erasure of his emotions one by one in order to survive, in contrast to an adult that will and does hurt those around himself in a calculated and malicious technique to keep them under his control and thumb. This begs another question in the relation to excusing his behaviours on the basis for mental health, though that's another story.

Does Andrew truly believe that he can protect these people and come out unscathed or does he just have no self preservation, a death wish displayed through fighting a battle he knows he can’t win? Though technically speaking, the man doesn’t have any will to live for himself, at least initially, instead creating bonds to tie him to others and force him to keep doing something. However in this case Andrew truly believes that he can protect both Neil, Kevin, and Aaron to the completion of their deals, the seriousness of which he takes these deals is proof of this enough; this idea that he genuinely believes such a thought a thought is somehow more worrying than potential suicidal tendancies, how does someone believ that they can single-handedly take on the yakusa without even a partial influence of grandiose delusions. It must play a role in his decisions, in part at least.

Even if we do idolise the idea of an all-formidable safety net for the other characters in the protection Andrew Minyard provides, the opposite is much more likely, of which I personally find such characterisations of him an incredibly compelling story to read.

[castielscarma]

Who is this Dean Winchester that just takes all of the pain and horror, and love and wins and losses and just grows and condenses it all to gems that he narrates at the beginning of each episode? Is he in Heaven (no, I think he figured out something was fishy quite early), or is he writing in his own journal post Cas, pre nail ((my hated))? Right now I'm going for the later. Ugh, the thought of Dean's death still pisses me off...

Anyway. I love how in some ways TCF (the core four) are much more chill and healthy than tfw (there are caveats ofc lol, we just saw John in an earlier episode go rampage on an immortal god but you get what I mean ; )), they do seem to have this notion that not all monsters are bad. Tfw came to that realization years later, and it's weird that John instilled that in them when we see this John being on board. Also, this episode is chef's kiss as it forces Mary (through John and his encouragement for her to just look) to deal with her trauma, to at least start to acknowledge it, and for her to start healing and protecting her inner child. And it's refreshing to see that Mary has so much support and that she is willing to go there and we are not even halfway through the season. Dean did that too (but it took him decades) and Jack was instrumental in him actually acknowledging that and trying. Kinda ironic that Dean IMO really started in earnest to heal his inner child when he became a dad. But maybe that's what was needed. When he himself was a father he could finally start to really deconstruct all the damage his *own* father had done to him.

So far even though we have high stakes with the Akrida and all humanity at risk... I still feel like it's lower stakes than Supernatural had. Maybe it's because Mary and John and the rest of the gang are still quite new to me (it's not surprising, 15 years' worth of episodes creates a stronger attachment) and I'm not as emotionally invested. Or maybe it's because I find the Winchesters so far.... more... pg13. It's not so angsty and filled with pain. Maybe it's because it's rather hopeful with its message so far. Found family is important. Not all monsters are bad. Facing your trauma will release you and make you grow. There is always hope. Being bi is OK even if you're a hunter.

[gh0st--friend]

girl help im getting addicted to the hermitcraft online tcg. i get obliterated by prankster decks like every other match but! im currently running a mono miner deck, which isnt bad as long as your stocked up on item cards....and dont get unlucky with draws and u fail to pull a single one of them

[feelingthedisaster]

something about kevin and the queen. the queen (kayleigh) dies, but a pawn once it gets to the other end of the board (the end of his career), can turn into the queen, resurrect her.

something about seth and the pawn. one must sacrifice it to win the game.

something about riko and the king. the most powerful figure that doesnt do any of the dirty work, that needs to die for the chess match (the story) to end

something about neil and that pawn that makes it to end. unimportant enough to not kill it, important enough for being the reason of the win

something about the king's men being called the king's men. the king lost all his pieces (all his perfect court transfering to other teams) and all that is left for him is to die, ending the game and consequently, the books

[stick-ball]

The Sunshine Court by N.Sakavic + The Tyger by W.Blake

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears

And water’d heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:

What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

[scholliski]

there’s always some sort of discourse floating around about this topic but despite that I do thoroughly enjoy that the aftg fandom can be divided into their niche sub-fandoms, there are people who almost entirely stick to writing about, talking about and drawing the Ravens or the perfect court, those that lean towards the Trojans and make their content surrounding that, and even within the foxes there are those that focus on the upperclassmen, the upcoming freshmen, or the pre-canon seniors; I really think that it makes for a well rounded fandom experience where even the most niche topics and characters are explored and analysed in such depth and everyone eventually finds their own calling within the fandom