#the moriyama family business

[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)

[allfortheslay25]

Please never stop talking about Siren Neil and Mermaid Andrew, they truly keep me going 🙏🏻 I would love to hear more HC’s on them, especially about Andrew’s relationship with the other Monsters!

Here’s the Monsters and some backstory of how they came together (I was too lazy to finish Kevin, Robin, and Neil)

Andrew was abandoned by Tilda (along with Aaron) when they were born. Tilda came back for Aaron and Andrew survived by himself by pure luck. Tilda had abandoned him in prime predator territory and he could’ve been eaten by anything from sirens to sharks

Unfortunately, Andrew was found by random mermaids who raised him until they could find someone to trade him off to. Andrew was then being abused by the creeps who bought him until they lost him to some bandits. Andrew bounced from bad person to bad person until eventually a pod took over the territory he was last staying at. This was Cass’s pod

Cass adopted Andrew and for a while everything was fine. But Drake became a problem and Andrew decided to endure it since the pod was better than living with bandits and going hungry. Eventually, their pod came across the same one Tilda was apart of and the two pods decided to fuse in order to reunite two brothers.

When a pod fuses, they go about it slowly by trading first the young men (that way they don’t bring dangers of adult men or risk the women and children) Andrew was too hostile about it so the other pod refused to let him come over first and they wouldn’t give up Aaron in case the fusion of the pods failed

Andrew eventually convinced Luther to let him join their pod instead of sending Aaron (using ‘bonding’ with Tilda as an excuse) Andrew realized how abusive Tilda was and made a deal to protect Aaron. That’s when he orchestrated Tilda’s death (luring her into a hostile dolphin nest where they battered her to death)

Andrew then decided to start his own pod and only convinced Luther’s pod by having Nicky go along with them. So Nicky, Andrew, and Aaron looked for a territory far from their home.

It wasn’t far enough and Drake often followed after Andrew when he was alone. Andrew couldn’t risk Drake getting to Nicky or Aaron so he took them into Moriyama territory—or at the very least, a territory they had been eyeing

Riko was too disorganized to take over the area so Andrew took half from him. Only he had the balls to do such a thing and no one, not even Drake, could follow into his new territory in fear of being eaten or attacked by the Moriyamas

They lived in peace until Andrew met Kevin and then Neil. Kevin was supposed to scare them off but Andrew constantly humbled him and his act of mercy made Kevin decide on leaving them alone. Eventually Kevin was dragged back into their mess by Neil and Kevin hid within Andrew’s to hide from Riko after he went too far.

After all five of them had finally settled into a pod, Andrew met Robin where she struggled to get used to a pod dynamic with her family. It wasn’t Andrew’s business at the time until Neil met her too and became attached. Andrew then integrated her into his pod where she was more comfortable due to how small it was (she was overwhelmed in her previous pod)

[hyperboleigh91]

Watch Jeremy's family be big-time mobsters on the West Coast (where they front as politicians), and they're furious with Jeremy for playing Exy instead of joining the family business, but Jeremy ends up joining them anyway when he finds out about Jean's 'deal' with the Moriyamas so he can get Jean (and Kevin and Neil) out of it by giving his family's protection.

[ivyinne]

I feel like I'm in the minority here but I just feel like... I don't like Stuart. And I don't mean I think he's boring or reprehensible or a badly written character, I specifically mean that I don't think his relationship with Neil is as affectionate or parental as people make it out to be.

Fanon Stuart is overwhelmingly portrayed as someone who cares about Neil. Being actively involved in his life, sometimes to an unhealthy extent. Fanfics even go so far as to have Stuart fight for Neil if he ever incurs the Moriyamas' disfavour — and I love that relationship. I love that exploration, I love seeing a Neil who at least has his mother's family in his corner.

But in canon, we hardly have any evidence to support that version of Stuart. All of their encounters have an element of business to them; Stuart rescues Neil from Nathan but that wasn't what he came down there to do — he came there because he just really, really disliked Nathan. Finding Neil was unexpected, and the first thing Stuart did was leave him there as a distraction for the FBI.

Still, it's not like he could have helped things on that front. The same way he tells Neil he can't protect Neil after the whole deal with the Moriyamas has been struck — it's just not something that can be helped. In TSC, Stuart comes to meet Neil to walk him through a plan designed to protect the Moriyamas — because that's who Stuart has allied with, and that's who Neil belongs to. It's a business transaction with a common denominator, and I see very little evidence that these two have the sort of relationship fanon maintains they do.

I know there are crumbs here and there to indicate that they do have a positive relationship, I just don't think they consider each other family, or that there is even any uncle-nephew bonding going in. Neil orders the hit on Grayson, and Stuart treats it like it's a query from a stranger. Really, Stuart? It's your organisation and you're not even gonna offer your own nephew a family discount?! I know Neil has his blood money but he's spent so much of it — and he's a student!! Who has pledged 80% of his future earnings to a crime family!! Maybe just do him a solid this once?

I think it's best explained by this example — in the EC we came to know that the Moriyamas will eventually end up getting rid of Stuart in favour of another leader within the Hatford set-up, and that before doing so they will ask Neil if he's going to be a problem when it happens. And Neil will be pretty broken up about it, but he's certainly not going to be a problem.

Which is the crux of the matter: as the canon dynamics stand, Neil and Stuart's relationship is simply too regulated by a careful balance of politics and crime and power for them to ever view each other as family. They operate in fucked-up contexts and their normal interactions are too much the product of belonging to crime families and knowing the price of necessity. Do I think they're callous about each other? No. But there's certainly no overflowing familial warmth there either.

I love that fandom explores the potential of what their dynamic could have been. But I don't think it's canon. Feel free to share any disagreements or alternate reading you have of the text, though, because I'm really open to changing my mind! And I'm also really curious about why a large part of the fandom has interpreted Stuart as having such strong pride and attachment over Neil in the first place.

[tara-the-star]

elodie and jean moreau thoughts

when jean left home, he never got to say goodbye to her, he left thinking elodie would hate him for no longer protecting her from their parents' abuse. she was ten at the time and jean was convinced he was leaving her to face hell alone.

jean tried to fight against riko and tetsuji's abuse, perhaps clinging on to the hope that one day, one day he might just get to see elodie again. but of course, he could hold on to that distant memory for only so long. so he put his head down, he gave up any hope he had and accepted whatever the nest had in store for him. he buried all his memories of marseille, concluding that they should remain in that past, whether good or bad. It wasn't like ravens were allowed to have families anymore.

except

jean left the nest. his memories stayed buried after years of repression, but for how long? eventually when he did start remembering him, he could feel those memories tainted by the mental scars of his mothers abuse, though the physical marks had long since faded under the remnants of his time at the nest.

it had been so long since jean even saw elodie, he doubted that she was the same girl he had unwillingly left under the questionable care of his father's violent business and mother's unpredictable temper. so jean didn't dare think of reaching out to elodie, fearing that she would hate him for abandoning her.

but that didnt mean he stopped caring for her. when stuart mentioned that his family was going to take the hit in the moriyama's stead, jean only wanted to know what would happen to his sister. and then he found out that she faced the same fate as him, and in his words, that moment felt worse than anything riko had ever inflicted upon him.

and then, just like that, the only person he loved, who loved him back uncondtionally was dead.

his baby sister, a mere child, was dead because jean was unable to protect her from their parents' wrath. at the end of the day, his love couldn't shield her from them because they were moreaus. born to serve. it was written in their fate to exist solely for others. and if they lost their lives in the process, there was nothing they could do about it.

and thats why elodie moreau would never cross the age of twelve, ten in jean's memories, to which her existence was limited to. but the mind is a fickle thing. jean would eventually forget the exact hue of her eyes, the exact sound of her voice, the way she smelled curled up next to him, her favourite colour, and finally, inevitably, her.

[aledethanlast]

"Oh exy doesn't make sense as a sport." "Oh the Nest is too unrealistic." You fools. Don't you see. Exy is a high contact sport that went from street games in backwater Japan to having dedicated stadiums at every college in America within twenty years. There's only one explanation.

Exy was an underground gambling turned money laundering scheme that went legit.

Think about it! Why would Tetsuji be in Japan when a larger yakuza family gave the Moriyamas the boot before he was born, if not to attempt to reestablish a hold. When he and Kayleigh create Exy, it's as an avenue for under the table gambling that isn't already regulated or controlled by another group.

Then exy gets popular, and they say actually, you need a bigger court. And thinner racquets. And better safeties and thicker armor and and and AND you can buy alllllllll that right over there. Capitalism at work.

And then it's fucking tulip fever baby. Every investor and entrepreneur wants a slice of this brand new sport. A whole new league of teams to own! Imagine! They can't throw money at it fast enough. Your state's department of education is suddenly forking over several million dollars for new equipment cause we gotta get the kids into SPORTS. Your university are proud to announce the construction of an exy stadium where they said they were gonna build a new Sciences building for like. A decade. The ERC have salaries in the millions before the first championship match.

By the time Tetsuji walks into the President of Edgar Allen's office and tells him he's building them a stadium, and he's gonna be the coach, and you're gonna stay out of my business, the President is just happy he didn't have to openly grovel for the privilege.

[deeppenguinstudent]

Jerejean but Jeremy sacrifices his future by actually taking part in the family business after finding out Jean actually belongs to the moriyamas to buy him off from ichirou

[capcavan]

Renee+Riko meer AU

That's why you don't skip arm day lore or smh

Koi!Riko uses Japanese "一" as "1" Has blackened teeth, the front teeth got filed down to give him more normal appearance The real Moriyama family business was merfolk poaching. Through the generations, they gathered wealth beyond belief controlling the market. But as time went on, the mers became scarse, and in some places, extinct. To stop the terror, a curse was put onto the family it's ramifications unknown - The effects will stay dormant as long as no more than 1 son will be birthed for each generation. The danger was never acknowledged, yet the men, wary of the danger, kept the line controlled. The women were killed, had a second pregancy been suspected. Till Kengo Moriyama refused to kill his wife. The man refused to continue century of irrational fear, and his wife was spared to carry their second baby to term. The pregnancy was not normal. The woman grew weak and the body inside her needed to be cut out - having grown too big to allow for natural birth. The blood loss made her fall into a coma, saving her form the sight of monster she gave life to. Riko was not a boy, not a human, just a serpent like monstrosity ... a mermaid. Struck by grief and anger, after the loss of his wife, but unable to just kill off the child, Riko was kept hidden at the ground of Moriyama property, in a shallow pond that stretched alongside one of the long walls of the residence. The pond was barely 3 feet deep in places, making him unable to swim as he grew bigger, with only one deeper area beyond red bridge that let him hide from the sun and prying eyes. Merfolk are rare, the most exotic species one can have. A symbol of status, a rare commodity. Renee is newly hired hitman for the Moriyama family. She quickly takes liking to the family's pet, and teached him new tricks. Will it lead to unplanned escape? Yes, yes it will.

[emry-stars-art]

tell us about the royals au!!! (im on my knees. please.)

Ohhhhh my friend you have started me on a RANT I hope you’re ready!!!

I don’t know that I’ll ever actually write it so I’m not too worried about spoilers, and the wonderful people in my dms (which are still open btw) bouncing ideas with me are always going to come up with great ideas so I’m putting WIP in big red letters, things are subject to change! But for now, some ideas. Most of what I have will be under the cut, but if you want to know more about a specific part/have any questions please I’d love to chat :D will link to the art/posts I have so far!

(In this au I’ve been referring to Neil as Nathaniel at first and then Abram (hello names as a plot device), and everyone else right now is some version of their name)

Kevin and Nathaniel were raised at Evermore castle, Kevin to be in direct competition to Riko/see which of them might claim the throne (not thought out yet), and Nathaniel as the Moriyama’s attack dog, born and raised to take his father’s place as such. The two never met in person, but Nathaniel knows and recognizes Day because of course he does, and Day knows the name Wesninski means a very, very dangerous person. Essentially the top assassin on the continent.

But as we do, Day decides he can’t/won’t handle the treatment anymore, whatever the last straw may be, and runs off to Palmetto in a kind of desperate chase of the stories his mother used to tell him when he was little. He knew she loved that kingdom. Somehow he finds Wymack - the twin’s royal advisor - or Wymack finds him, and once Wymack realizes who this kid is and has reason to believe he’s not here on Evermore business, he puts Day’s incredible talent and training as a tactician/commander to work as his pupil.

Meanwhile Nathaniel is still at Evermore, mistreated and learning from his own failures and mistakes until he’s nearly as good as his father at the family business.

I don’t know how long Nathaniel plans it, but he either plays the part for long enough or his skill is so undeniable that when the Moriyamas have plans for the Palmetto Kingdom, they send him and one other accomplished fighter to kill the king. Nathaniel goes quietly and decides he’s not coming back if he can help it.

So instead of killing the young king, Nathaniel’s panic has him turn on his partner at the very last second, stopping them just before they can get to the king. He takes them somewhere far away and does what he does best, leaving no one to report back to the Moriyamas. From then on it’s a waiting game to see how long the family will wait before they send someone after him.

Day’s followed them, and Nathaniel turns around from the body and sees this man he hasn’t seen in years, alive and safe away from Evermore. It’s as elating as it is crushing - because Day heard his partner call him by name, and there is no way Day will ever let a Wesninski walk away alive. Not if he knows what’s good for all of them.

Except Day doesn’t kill him, even when Nathaniel asks him to. (Better Day than Riko, Nathaniel knew that even when they were all stuck at Evermore). Instead, he takes Nathaniel back to the twins/Wymack, gives him a little bread, and they sit until he can pry out an explanation. (See the comic of this first meeting here.)

Day and Nathaniel spend most of their time together because Day refuses to let Nathaniel out of his or Wymack’s sight until he proves not a threat to the royal family, which proves an issue because between Andrew’s rotation of personal guards (he never gets along with them well enough that they stay/aren’t fired) Day is Andrew’s guard, which sometimes means Nathaniel is stuck a lot closer than Day would like. But after a long, long time, Day and Wymack decide Nathaniel was serious about the whole “runaway” thing and isn’t playing spy (maybe there’s some dramatic event/Nathaniel protecting a twin that convinces them or maybe it’s just a lot of little things over time). Andrew, after a rough spat with the latest guard, is again in need of a new one. Finally Day just asks “is there ANYONE you could possibly pretend to get along with that can do the job” and Andrew knows Nathaniel is dangerous he just doesn’t know exactly how or why (but oh he is curious) so maybe he just straight up says. “Wesninski.” And Day has to go “…. Fine.”

So boom. They knew each other superficially before, but now Andrew and Nathaniel are spending most of their time together and miraculously - no arguments. No spats. Day thanks the gods there’s no physical altercations (that’s probably what got the last guard fired so quick). Nathaniel is just a mystery with shady ability to tell the truth and Andrew can’t help his curiosity. Good old fashioned andreil :D

From here the timeline becomes essentially nonexistent, I have no idea when these things happen in relation to each other but so far they’re all things I like and want to include!

1) there’s plenty of games and competitions at Palmetto, we love a good tussle, and Nathaniel usually does quite well - he’s not good at playing fair, but his underhanded methods are not technically illegal and usually he can use his preferred weapon - dagger rather than sword. He does well except for the one time an opponent accidentally says/does something that was constantly said or done to Nathaniel while “training” at Evermore, and he comes back to Andrew and the tent he watched from in the beginning of a panic attack. Andrew doesn’t know anything about Nathaniel’s past at this point, but he knows a panic attack when he sees one. In trying to talk him through it, Andrew realizes that yes Nathaniel is scared of being hurt, but he’s more afraid of hurting others. Nathaniel won’t let Andrew call him by name, he flinches every time Andrew says it. After, Andrew asks what he should call him instead, and Nathaniel finally asks to be called Abram.

2) Balls! Masquerades! Abram doesn’t have many outfits, he wears the regular issued uniform to every event. Andrew will not stand for this. Abram always wears clothes that cover him fully, which is fine, Andrew can work with that. He’s still seen Abram in a tight shirt or two. So he commissions one of the most knowledgeable people in the court (we’re thinking it might be Allison, she’s a noble but she’s great with textiles/embroidery/etc) and gets Abram a new outfit. It still covers him, its still protective material, but it looks better. (Find Abram in a corset here). Andrew handles it totally normal and rational in his head when he sees Abram actually wearing it of course.

3) Day probably assumes for a little while that Andrew and Abram have got a more or less normal guard/charge relationship, even thinking it’s slightly antagonistic considering this is Andrew we’re talking about. (This doesn’t fit the timeline, but here’s a mini comic of one of Day’s misunderstandings hehe)

4) king Aaron! He became king at 18/20/whatever age we decide this universe deems old enough because he is in fact the elder twin here. I imagine their parents have both been dead and gone for at least a few years at this point. Dan is Aaron’s guard and she and Abram hit it off great as coworkers and friends. More on the uncertainty of the twins backstory later. (Drawings of Aaron and his queen Katelyn here!)

5) the angst. The Moriyamas should have heard from the Wesninski boy months ago - something somewhere went wrong. So, naturally, they go to collect their property. If they get away with it, we can imagine how it goes. What I don’t know is if the twins, Day, and Wymack know for sure he was kidnapped or if they have a little nagging in the back of their head that wonders if he’s only run away from the castle or if he’s run back to Evermore with everything he’s learned.

When he’s recovered, Day doesn’t let Andrew too close too often for a while. If Abram forgets where is for even a second too long - waking up from a nightmare, having a flashback - it’s long enough for it to be fatal to whoever might get too close to Abram. It’s already almost proved fatal for Andrew, after Abram played normal so well that Andrew let it slip - he forgot Abram was taken back to Evermore for them to finish making him into a thoughtless weapon, and they’d nearly succeed. He wakes Abram too quickly and ends up extremely lucky Abram recognizes both his voice and the way Andrew didn’t call him ‘Nathaniel’ or ‘Wesninski’. There’s really a huge amount to possibly be covered about this point so I won’t go into detail here - but if you like hurt/comfort you know where to find me 👀

6) the biggest thing we haven’t figured out is Andrew. Either he was kidnapped at a young age and only recovered in his teens, or the elder King Minyard didn’t much care for his second son. Though I’ve always liked the idea of Mr. Minyard being a good man who died shortly before the twins’ birth and their mother just couldn’t handle the grief or knowing that the twins look like him. Anyway a lot of the twins’ issues after both of their parents are dead are the advisors or other people around them that try to take advantage of their youth and inexperience for their own gain, without realizing that both Aaron and Andrew have had to grow up much too fast, each for their own reasons. They can usually see right past the tricks. It’s why they both trust Wymack so much - he’s one of the few adults that are truly there to help them, and not make decisions for them.

Im sure there’s more I missed, but this is long enough as it is lol. People have asked about the Trojans/Jean in this au, and I’d love to include them! My brain’s instinctive response is that Jeremy is some sort of high end noble/royal of a faraway kingdom, and Jean (always last to leave the nest, im so sorry baby) somehow gets over there, but I don’t have an idea of his or anyone else’s roles yet. Renee could even still have a hand in him getting there if we really want.

So I’m still writing snippets and drawing over here lol but i promise I don’t bite if you want to talk :D

[joanofexys]

here is your reason to talk about emeryk wesninski 👉👈

Emeryk Wesninski my beloved (not really. I also forgot he existed and debated killing him dead again instead of confronting my embarrassing ocs)

If it isn’t obvious he’s intended to be Neil’s brother, which I’m probably gonna skirt around as much as possible due to my own shame lmao

Emeryk Wesninski:

25 years old

he/him

queer idk he’s not gonna sit there long enough to slap a word on it

played striker

was supposed to start on the Ravens lineup with Emiko their freshman year

dropped the sport for academic and familial pursuits (also cause he was not about to major in fucking business)

We’re gonna pretend I know why the hell I decided having an Em (Moriyama) and Em (Wesninski) was a good idea cause I did create them at the same time but honestly? fuck if I know.

Pretending I can do math I think there’s a six year gap between Neil and Emeryk. Or at least it’s around there. So when Mary and Neil went on the run Emeryk was 16 years old and pretty deeply involved in his father’s business. Not that he enjoyed it. He and Mary knew there was a far smaller chance of success survival with three of them instead of two and Neil had the better chance. So he told her to just him and go, with only a little resentment.

Emeryk escapes some of the worst parts of his father’s work through a series of deals with the Moriyama’s, specifically Ichirou. He and Ichirou aren’t far apart in age and now he of course wonders what the hell was doing, but he would rather have indebted himself to Ichirou over Kengo. And he knew one day Ichirou would be in charge, he just didn’t expect it to be quite so soon.

So instead of getting sucked in deeper (to the Wesninski’s business at least), he’s able to somewhat save himself. He enrolls in Edgar Allan University at 18 and doesn’t sign a contract to play with the Ravens. Despite it he and Emiko still become friends and he has some, albeit limited, interaction with Kevin, Riko, and Jean.

He studies criminal justice and goes on to study law. All of it, of course, being put towards working for the Moriyama’s. But at least he’s not actively killing people.

He spends a lot of his time covering up any tracks Mary and Neil leave behind. Whenever he can find them, he knows that means someone else will, and he does his best to remove any sort of paper trail or hint to their existence. Even if it’s just confusing Nathan’s men. Anything that gives them enough time to create a new identity and move.

He’s not exactly happy about it but he does feel like it’s part of what he agreed to years ago. So he lets the resentment build and does it anyway.

And when Neil shows up at Palmetto, seemingly not even trying to be subtle, he is so fucking pissed. Everything’s undone. He can run his mouth and mess things up as much as he wants but he knows it’s only a matter of time.

By the time Baltimore occurs Emeryk is so far removed from the Wesninski’s and so deeply involved with the Moriyama’s that he doesn’t even see it coming. At least not fast enough. When Stuart reaches out to him he reluctantly agrees to work with the FBI, temporarily, to find Nathan.

That’s the first time Neil and Emeryk see each other in years. Emeryk’s pretty sure Neil doesn’t remember half of it, blacked out from pain. And he sure as fuck wasn’t going to stick around to visit him in the hospital. He gets out of there with the intent of talking to the least amount of cops he can.

He forms a bit of a relationship with Neil after that. Mostly “don’t talk to cops”, “seriously get a fucking lawyer”, “have you considered not running your damn mouth?”, and the like. But ultimately he doesn’t give a shit what Neil gets up to. Not his business (though he can’t help but keep a worried eye on him to make sure he’s not getting into too much trouble. He spent too long doing it to stop. And if it has the added benefit of seeing his brother happy and healthy, somewhere he can call home, no one else to needs to know)

While Emeryk didn’t wind up a full blown serial killer he’s still a worse person than like Emiko. He’s very much out to save his own skin. He’ll always go with his best chance of survival. For now that lies with the Moriyama’s. But if a better opportunity ever presented itself he’d take it in a heartbeat.

And idk that’s just a little bit about Em (Wesninski) who I made 4-ish years ago and forgot about until now

[foxufortunes]

The Umineko au really grabbed me and took hold do I want to write it or do I just want to draw some men in fancy suit in a semi-realistic oil painting style?, so some more thoughts (vague spoilers if you haven't read the game or any of its media):

The Moriyama family, and associates, gather on Kengo Moriyama's private island just off the coast of Japan (because he's extra like that) because Kengo's health is declining and they need to make official arrangements for his inheritance and passing his businesses. For the first time since his parents divorced eight years ago, Nathaniel "Neil" Hatford returns to the annual gathering with his mother. As a Wesninski, he's technically considered a part of Kengo's inner circle and Mary is determined to see Neil get what's been promised to them.

Kengo actually can't stand any of them, has gone a lil bit insane (or has he?) and would much rather use them all as human sacrifices to resurrect the witch who gave him his family fortune (Kengo Moriyama, Top Dad).

Andrew "murder witch" Minyard, obviously, here to commit magical murder and be both overwhelmingly tragic, and an absolute asshole. Loves ice cream and black tea, has a thing for using locked room mysteries and the contrapositive. Not a fan of broken promises or (arguably) proportional revenge plots. When he speaks it red it is the truth and witches always keep their promises.

Neil "you're not a witch, you're just a murderer" Hatford. Thought this was going to be a murder-free vacation to hang out with his friends (and Riko) turns out there's a lot of murder. But not magical murder. Neil refuses to believe in magic to the point of ant-magic, obviously on an island of known murderers, criminals and generally evil people (and Kevin) a human is responsible. Big fan of "but you can't prove a negative" arguments.

He's so sure of this he'll deny the miracle of everyone being reborn and mouth off to the murder witch and start a time loop cosmic horror meta plot where amateur detective Neil uses bad chess metaphors, very questionable logic and too much time play Ace Attorney to try and prove magic isn't real (despite being in a magical meta timeloop, don't think about it too much Neil) through a murder mystery ttrpg while trying to figure out who the fuck Andrew actually is and why he's determined to murder everyone on the island with no remorse.

One loop Riko channels his need for acknowledgement into actually, solving Kengo's game, finding the fortune and gaining magic, only to go on his own magical torture them endlessly rampage. Because if you can just bring people back from the dead, no harm done, right? And a little bit of magical torture never hurt anyone if he can just bring them back to life, as long as the final death is gentle, it's all fine.

Also turns out ending that game didn't end him and now there's another murder witch running around, except this one like torture. That's mildly concerning.

Kayleigh Day being such a badass Andrew accepts and honourable duel with her.

Mary is Rosa (I will not expand).

Natalie-Renee Wesninski, casually chats with Andrew who considers her his apprentice witch. She's pretty chill with all this because she knows it's for the best. They'll be resurrected in the Golden Land once Neil has stopped being so stubborn, after all.

And then the Trojan witches turn up and want in the on the game.

[swampthingking]

I saw your post about jeremy paying off jeans debt to moriyamas and im screaming

OBVIOUSLY jean would not want that because he feels like hes just being bought by another person (but a more healed jean might not. Depends on when it happens tbh)

And omfg,,,, yeah jeremy is probably very rich since he has a butler and a personel chef (which I find are VERY expensive in america for some reason. Especially such good ones) his family even has connections to congressmen. So to think he could probably pay off the mafia is a bit exaggerated, and it would take millions (jeremys entire bank account probably)

And its so,,,,, UGH can you Imagine how it would go. Neil would probably have to be present to help handle it (neil is officially jeans agent to handle mafia business imo)

Amd jeremy being free would also cause and existential crisis. What was jean going to do with his life was jean now jeremys puppet would jeremy still be nice to him now that he has control over jean what does he want to do now.

It also raises the question of what jean would think of exy now that he isnt obligated to play it.

(Sorry this is a lot lol)

this became so much longer than i anticipated BUT

do not apologize I LOVE THIS

ok so. jean would definitely not want jeremy to buy his freedom.

because…what is ‘freedom.’

i think the jean now, that we’ve met after tsc1, would be fucking pissed if jeremy bought his freedom. i think he would not feel…safe? around jeremy? because— now that he owns me, he can do anything he wants to me. i think that it would put such a rift in the precarious trust they’ve built. even at the end of tsc, jean tells jeremy “i trust you” and immediately thinks i have no choice but to. and then is like wweeeeelllll that doesn’t exactly feel true though. so i think jeremy doing that would be like a ‘what the fuck, was not expecting that’ moment.

but jeremy. jeremy. we have seen that if he has the means to do something, he will do it. let me push away my familial issues and answer lucas’s call. do you feel safe with your brother? he would have picked lucas up. he would have found somewhere else for lucas to stay. i will focus on others’ problems so i do not have to face my own. i will be your partner. i will buy two twin beds and move into your room.

so, sorry, to backtrack: i think jean will eventually tell jeremy the full truth. i think jean won’t be able to stop himself, same with his other confessions—i didn’t ask. they didn’t know. jeremy asks the right questions with so much care that jean’s mouth starts moving before he thinks through what he’s supposed to say. jean subconsciously feeling safe enough to speak freely around jeremy, cat, and laila is a WHOLE other thing but i digress

and jeremy will go into “fix-it” mode. will call kevin with the idea. and kevin will be like “do not fucking do that” and i think neil will somehow get involved (especially if jeremy went through with it anyway. neil will go just to make sure jeremy does not, y’know, get fucking killed. also? how do you contact the mafia?). jean will also tell jeremy “do not fucking do that.” 1, because. this is the. this is the fucking mafia. they could absolutely kill you. they could say, “aaaah. yeah, you can buy jean’s freedom, but [insert damning terms that indebt you to us.]” and you can’t just…deny the mafia. it’s a suicide mission. and 2 because…jean doesn’t think he deserves it. he’ll think he’s not worthy of it. i don’t think he would be able to fathom the word ‘freedom.’ i think he would think of it, exactly like you said, as being bought. passed from one owner to the other.

and, if jeremy did it, he would reassure him. would be like “no you can make your own decisions. you can do what you want. you can change your major. you can play exy for fun or go pro by choice.”

and jean, i think, would just crumble. he obviously doesn’t like being owned (who does) but that’s all he’s had for 5 years. that’s all he has survived by. i am jean moreau. i belong to the moriyamas. imagine the mantra that has kept him alive for 5 years just…not being true anymore. he would be going from who am i without the ravens? to who am i without the moriyamas? like you said, what a fucking existential crisis.

i genuinely think it would fuck up their dynamic. i think jean would feel like he owes jeremy something. and jeremy would tell him he doesn’t. but i don’t think jeremy would quite…trust jean in a romantic sense. like, is he just initiating [romantic or sexual act] because he thinks he owes it to me? or even as a friendship, honestly. is he just agreeing to [friend activity] because he thinks he has no choice but to listen to me?

so jean wouldn’t be able to trust jeremy because he would feel owned, and that’s trauma baby. and jeremy wouldn’t be able to trust jean because he would feel like jean is, well, trauma responding. fawn, freeze. agree, acquiesce, repent.

so yeah it is grounds for LOTS of angst and … i’m having many thoughts.

maybe these thoughts would change after tsc2 comes out, but either way, i definitely do not see jean being particularly grateful or thankful. i see it as jean being like “you are a fucking idiot” and “why would you do that to yourself” and “why would you do that for me”

oh hey and imagine if they have the “what were you thinking, why would you do that” conversation and a love confession happens. and jeremy is like “bc i fucking??? love you??? [or something]” and like??? it would be so conflicting for them BOTH because jean [in the case that he does love jeremy back]: do i say i love you back. do i push him away for his own safety. but i don’t want to be ungrateful (and get punished), and jeremy: oh god. he’s going to think he needs to say it back. how will i know how he actually feels.

and i almost forgot about the money part of it ok—

yeah so i think the only way ichiru would accept jeremy’s deal was if they calculated how much a pro exy player’s salary and multiplied it by… let’s say a 10 year career? that would put jean at roughly 30ish when he retires? i think they would be like “ok, pay us for what we would have gotten for jean’s career.” (if they even entertained the thought).

dude i cannot even conceptualize how much money that would be. millions upon millions. and i guess jeremy could pay them in increments? but? idk. i did the math for like if jean made a million a year but my fucking brain. hurts. so i can’t get into that

but YEAH!!!

oh the angst. especially if jean said “there is no fucking way in hell you are doing that” and jeremy said “okay i won’t” and did it anyways …..

there’s also the thought that jeremy just…didn’t tell jean he had bought his freedom. if he just let jean live thinking he was cut loose. but then. the guilt jeremy would feel, keeping that information from him. jean has never been able to make his own decisions, and here he is, building a life for himself and not even knowing the real reason why he’s able to do so.

would they just be able to talk and move past it and rebuild that trust? would this be like some kind of fuckin shakespearean tragedy???

in this hc i just have to believe that they work past it and communicate because. holy shit this is messy

[gautierprotectionsquad]

**The Sunshine Court Spoilers**

I finished the book on the 14th of April but waited to post about it until more people have read it.

It's sooooooo goood. I love these characters. This lived up to my hype.

It was so funny of Nora to introduce Jeremy as having caramel brown hair and I just KNOW she added the scene of Jeremy bleaching his hair for us. Only to have his friends make fun of him for being a ken doll lmao.

I think jean/jeremy shippers will be satisfied with this book. We get so much more information about everyone, their backstories, family situation, and what they look like.

There’s a variety of queer characters and relationship types in TSC and, while limited, better poc rep compared to the foxhole court. The larger casts of characters help. We have a canon trans man character (Xavier) and a nonbinary character (Cody) which i was really happy about.

I spent a good chunk of the book theorizing that the raven suicides weren’t suicides but covered up murders as part of the Moriyamas cleaning up but that didn’t pan out. I suspected that jean’s sister was sold but didn’t think she got killed off. I hope it turns out she faked her death. I also suspected and was RIGHT that the book would end with jean counting the things he’s grateful for like Renee taught him.

The way Jean has been spilling his secrets and unintentionally opening up about his trauma around Jeremy meanwhile Jeremy has been tight lipped about his home situation. I love the way Jean just LOVES people even though he does not want to, even people who do not deserve it, even people he just met. And we finally get to see what everyone’s outsider perspective is on the whole ravens situation.

Everyone cares about Jean SO much. Also I love the way Nora writes romance where the romance is barely there in the first book bc the characters are busy dealing with other shit. Unlike tfc where you don’t really expect it until it’s there and Neil is largely oblivious, it’s obvious Jean and Jeremy are into each other and they both are aware of each other’s interest and their own but they also both know Jean’s too fucked up for that right now. I’m excited to see where they go and how things develop between them so that they are ready for a romance.

My favorite quote: “You are the captain of the sunshine court. In no universe could you be anyone’s villain.”

I still can’t believe Nora came back after 10 years to give us a new aftg book. Crazy. I’m so excited for the next book.

Reading tsc has rewired my brain. I feel like my brain was fried with special flavoring.

[no-spices-just-pisces]

Foxes Gang Au part 1

The Foxes, Ravens and Trojans were rival gangs on the Palmetto territory

The Trojans came to an begrudging peace with the other two gangs as long as blood wasn’t spilled

They were the ones that wanted to do their business without being at each other’s throats, thanks to their leader Jeremy Knox, whose ever present smile had a subtle treat to it only the trained eye could notice

The Foxes and Ravens were notorious for their rivalry, no peace would ever be settled between them

The Ravens won in numbers and resources but the Foxes won in heart and ambition

Even with so little members, they fought like they had everything to lose, they were a family, pulling each other to the top

The tension between them was always well known on the streets of Palmetto

Dan Wilds, leader of thee Foxes cared about her members like her own blood, always putting their safety first over money

Riko Moriyama, leader of the Ravens, was the exact opposite, sacrificing and torturing recruits left and right for the sake of profit and his own personal satisfaction

Their bad blood only increased as Riko’s second in comand, Kevin Day left the Raven and joined the Foxes after Riko left him broken handed on the streets after a job went wrong

Still, the Ravens took offense as if the Foxes stole their property from then, and war started

The first move was when Fox member Seth Gordon was shot in the chest in the middle of the day by a Raven

The second move was when Seth’s girlfriend, Allison stabbed the Raven in the chest 17 times

Foxes were restricted from walking Palmetto’s streets alone from then on

The Trojans made their statement of neutrality known, but there were whispers stating that they would take the Foxes’s side if things went too far

No one would have thought that the factor that would settle the war between the two gangs would come in the form of a 5 feet 3 redhead with attitude problems

Nathaniel Wesninski grew up around violence, being thought from an way too early age that his he would grow up to inherit his father’s crime empire and rule over Baltimore with a hand of steel

His mother didn’t want that future for him, so she ran away with him in the middle of the night when he was 11

They had been on the run for 8 years until their father had caught up with them and took away the only person who ever cared about him

He managed to escape his father a second time, but barely

Without his mother his life didn’t look like it was going to last much longer, his father would eventually catch up to him again

Nathaniel, now under the identity of Neil Josten, ran to Palmetto, the last place he had been with his mother before they ran away, remembering the power that place held, hoping he could find someone more powerful than his father to either protect him or kill him first

His salvation came in the face of Ichirou Moriyama, who didn’t take Neil under his protection because of his heart, but in need of a mean to tighten the leash he had on his younger brother

Riko had too much power in Palmetto, being given that territory by their father, since he could never interfere in their business

Neil, being recognized by Ichirou, was sent in the heart of the gangs’ war to survey everything happening and report back

This was against everything his mother had wanted for him, but this offered him protection against his father, so it worked

[moondal514]

I read rarepair fics sometimes and so I thought I’d spotlight a few of my faves in the AFTG fandom (I am choosing to define “rarepair” as pairing with under 100 fics tagged with the pairing on ao3 as of this date)

everything you think you know by djhedy/ @djhedy

Matt watched Andrew out of the corner of his eye. He was moving around the small kitchen, purposeful, but slow, like he had all the time in the world. Like he didn’t know Matt felt like he was going to explode at any second.

Andrew pulled out a mixing bowl, and Matt said, “What are ya making?” Andrew’s hand stilled, and Matt quickly shut up and looked away before he heard the bowl hit the counter.

He thrummed his fingers on the counter top, closed his eyes, and said, “Look. What. What do you want me to say?”

Matt Boyd/Andrew Minyard. This is my personal fave AFTG rare-pair so of course this fic has me swooning

i've shed my skin too many times to count by vertigo

When Ichirou Moriyama was born, his mother knew he was something special.

Stuart Hatford/Ichirou Moriyama. Let me tell you I had exactly 0 thoughts about Ichirou Moriyama before I read this fic but now this is the version of him that haunts my personal AFTG canon

Curtain Call by mostly_maudlin/ @mostlymaudlin

If there’s one thing Allison believes, it’s that Kevin Day knows when he’s good at something.

Kevin Day/Allison Reynolds. A dynamic that’s like dynamite perfectly captured by Rory’s impeccable characterization

the light at the end of the tunnel is another tunnel by animediac/ @jaywalkers

The years-long process of ‘getting better’, as his doctor had put it, was not about completely healing, and instead about learning new habits and accepting that his body, his first home, would never be the same – that he would never live in it without fighting it in some way. The best he can hope for is to make it his own.

It’s difficult to love something that doesn’t love you back, but Kevin had spent a childhood living like that.

—

The truth of adulthood: most of it is just learning how to live with things. Kevin's just lucky that at least two of those things are good kissers.

Kevin Day/Katelyn/Aaron Minyard. A brilliant and genius take on Kevin with chronic pain

Warning Signs by puddlejumper99/ @writingpuddle (WIP)

Mary Hatford could kill a man and fleece his corpse without flinching. She knew the family business inside and out. She was born for this life, she had trained for this life, and she wanted it with all of her being.

There was just one teensy little problem.

---

Or: Mary finds out she will not be inheriting the family business, and turns to the wrong person for help.

Mary Hatford/Nathan Wesninski. A fascinating take on Neil’s parents and what exactly they got up to before Neil was born

[only-god-canstopme]

one of my fondest hc is that i truly truly believe that the hatfords are either scottish or northern english. and a much smaller gang than the moriyamas/wesninskis in general. it just makes more sense to me.

i like to think that the hatfords are more working class,not in wealth but culturally, and that mary wanted more than that. she grew up wanting to be amongst higher society, to be rich and boast about it too. and when she got the opportunity to leave with a man who offered that lifestyle, the glamour and shimmer and appeal of old dirty money, she jumped at it. she left her family behind, thinking she could do better than them. and she told them that too. she thought she’d be more than she was with her family, be an equal to nathan in his business and at home.

and she was, until she got pregnant. and then suddenly she was a mother, instead of a person. the one who caused a problem by getting pregnant. now nathan had something he had to deal with, to get rid of so he could continue his work with the moryiamas. the cruelty she’d been exempt from till this point was suddenly turned on her and her son. Neil became the only thing she had. and she had to risk everything for him.

and once it all went south, the shame and the guilt, and the belief that the hatfords couldnt deal with problems this big, ate away at her until she was on an island of two. her and neil. and while she loved him, she really loved him, neil had torn her away from the life she had made for herself. from the position she deserved to have, among the prestige and wealth. so she resented him.

what she didn’t know, was that for her, her family would’ve made themselves bigger. for neil, they increased their base and standings in uk and made themselves important to the moriyamas. they extended business overseas. they would’ve fought for her had she asked.