Op Is Asking The Right Questions

Jean is not making it out of the viseral homoerotic codependent friendship 🗣️‼️

i'm rereading tfc right and i'm at the part where neil leaves his duffel bag in the dorm and i'm just confused why he didn't take out all the clothes and then take the bag with the binder to the store?? i know he said that he wouldn't be able to handle taking everything so why didn't he just leave the other stuff?? and be like yeah i needed something to carry my new stuff with.

jeremy-neil mutual dislike (or at least mistrust) makes even MORE sense after tgr because they are both liars. neil josten was a carefully constructed persona who slowly became real; jeremy knox was a real boy who crafted himself into a persona. neil has spent his life running and clings to the first home he finds; jeremy has spent his life trapped and is not allowed to stay in the place that feels like home to him. neil has always been ready to run; jeremy has always stayed. neil’s smiles come out sharp and dangerous, they are always honest and rarely purposeful, but when they are he knows the effect they have on people; jeremy’s smiles are often calculated, they are a bit too big to be believably sincere if you know him, and they are bright and shining and so tired. neil knew there was a price on his head if he resisted and refused to give in, jeremy is self-destructive because there is a weight on his shoulders. i think they recognize pieces of themselves in each other and immediately feel unable to trust that (especially when it comes to something they care about as much as jean’s healing).

foxes🦊

hehehe

my final piece for this year's big bang :DDD it was so much fun working with @eloquent-apollo (whose fic is linked below if you wanna read how the boys got in this situation)

Sex and/or romance aside, this is one hell of a compliment to give someone whose bathroom window you just climbed out of.

GFHEHFDFJGDJFGKDFKGD

sketches of andrew and neil i made while listening to aftg audiobooks 😳😳

I think my favourite element of the writing in aftg is how Riko's downfall is utterly, entirely, beautifully self-inflicted.

Riko is power hungry, a glory seeker, jealous, cruel, vindictive and unable to share the spotlight. His worst actions and features come back to haunt him over and over in a way that is *incredibly* satisfying from a readers' perspective.

-Riko breaks Kevin's hand. Kevin leaves to become one of the foxes' best players, training them into a team worthy of finals and bringing them to victory with the game's final point

-Riko moves the Ravens to the southern district, placing his team directly in the path of the team that will eventually beat him

-Riko terrorises Kevin on the Kathy Ferdinand show, angering Neil into taking a stand against him (...which causes Andrew to re-evaluate Neil's worth, which leads to their deal, which leads to Neil staying with the Foxes...and so on)

-Riko kills Seth, who becomes a driving force for members of the team, particularly Alison, to beat the Ravens

-Riko setting Drake on Andrew further angers the Foxes and motivates them to beat him; Aaron in particular.

-This also results in Andrew sobering up sooner than he otherwise would have, arguably making him a stronger player and helping the Foxes reach finals

-Kidnapping Neil over Christmas break and forcing him to play as a backliner gives Neil an intensive course in Raven teamwork, drills, etc. Which Neil then teaches to the Foxes.

-Oh, and my favourite. They force Neil to play as a backliner against Riko. The very move which Neil then uses to block Riko from scoring in the final. Fantastic. Ten out of (jos)ten.

-Incidentally, beating the shit out of Neil and putting him in a different position causes the Ravens to vastly misunderstand/underestimate how Neil's abilities as a player have developed

-Forcing Neil into his natural appearance and helping his father find him leads to the most unifying moment for the Foxes of the entire series; the Foxes rally around Neil, and finally become one functioning, dedicated unit.

-and god, just when it seems like it couldn't get any better; Riko destroys Jean, taking one of his team's best players off the court before the match can even begin

Riko set almost every moment of his team's defeat into motion months before their match even began; the consequences of his cruelty not only weaken the ravens but fashion an opposing team which is stronger, more unified, and more determined than ever to beat Riko.

And it doesn't end with the match; Riko attempts to kill Neil, serving Ichirou all the justification he needs to dispose of his brother on a silver platter.

Riko Moriyama's fate is self-inflicted from start to finish, in the most deeply satisfying way possible.

Out of touch, out of time.