#aftg rant

[lemonzestedtea]

i know everyone is allowed to have their own headcanons but there is just something about people ignoring neil's demisexuality that puts me off. this boy won't find anyone attractive at first sight, even if it is andrew. in fact, in the books he hated andrew at first, remember? he wasn't even into andrew until well into their truth for a truth game, he needs a strong emotional connection to someone for attraction to even come into the equation, so can we stop ignoring that?

#did we read the same books :/ #as smn on the aro spectrum #the erasure of neil's demisexuality makes me upset #yes everyone is allowed to have their own headcanons!!! #but why do we need to erase a character's canon sexuality for that? #neil josten #all for the game #the foxhole court #tfc #aftg #aftg rant

[stick-ball]

Hi! I'm about to end my whole career!

Here goes the Riko rant that dear @capcavan asked, demanded and begged for.

You know, I get it.

So here's the thing. I get it, Riko sucks. He is the bad guy we all got hung upon. Why? Because he is a rival for our protagonist. He is an angsty, young guy, born into wealth that came from money laundering and human trafficking. It's despicable, the Ravens are bullies and he himself makes lots of bad things happen. Yeah sure, I get that, whatever.

Being raised as a superstar must've been really, really difficult for you.

But I want to really dig deeper right now, this is a Riko rant after all, and you need to really know your fighters. So, to start: a huge trap in toxic families is that the children, even when grown up, will refuse to identify their parents and guardians as negative and toxic people. Not even outside influence can really sway them, usually. Kids that get away from a sinister situation can later tell they were abused, that it wasn't right, but still, they don't get the specifics of what and why, and they are doomed to repeat the same abuse and call it good. Call it right. And sometimes that's substance abuse, sometimes thats domestic abuse, sometimes that's racism and sexism and xenophobia they will grow into believing as the way the world works. Sometimes, thats nepotism and sadism. Only thing that can help is therapy and an environment removed from the control of the original abuse, lots of therapy, lots of space, years of it. A perfect case of a typical toxic family is Aaron.

A perfect case of that could also be Riko.

And here you can call bullshit because Neil had such a fucked up, abusive father and he *knew* it was wrong. Yes, he knew it was wrong for his father to hurt him to the measure he went. Why? Because his mother protected him, because his mother feared his father, not adored him. Because his mother took him away and kept running. A mother, a role model a child feels very strongly about, subconsciously.

Riko was taken from his mother. He was pushed aside by his father and left in the care of a family member, who was easy to glorify for an impressionable child. Because he was a legend. In fanon I often see Tetsuji's character taking a very background role in everything, and sure, he seems pretty background to Neil, because every bad guy seems background to Neil in comparison to his Father - besides Riko, who is the one dangling that threat in front of him. Tetsuji just wants his property back, Riko is playing with fire though. So yeah to us, reading the story, Tetsuji is a total asshole among many such men in the book.

But to Riko he must've meant almost everything for a long time. A crucial thing about Tetsuji is, he is a sadist. Oh sure, sorry, it's only called sadism when done against his team, right? Against Jean or Kevin or Neil? When it comes to Riko, who was in his care for all of his formative years, it was just strict childbearing right? He is a Moriyama after all, so he is evil from birth.

Yeah, I must've mixed something up about Riko being beaten to unconsciousness several times being mentioned in extra content. You think that was a one, two, third times the charm occurance?

Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough.

I always wondered how sarcastic Neil was saying this. I mean, he definitely meant to land a punch where it would hurt. And he actually knew Riko as a little kid, so he knew more than most.

Stockholm syndrome is very common among victims of childhood abuse. I would know, anyway. It's like the most logical option - the survivior is living in a dual reality. These people are my family, the care for me. They provide for me. They want me to be the best. They also abuse me. They hurt me, but it's for the best. Hurting me is a expression of love. I am grateful to them.

I often wonder how many people who read the books know what a commodity is. A commodity, in the most basic terms, is a basic good that can be used in ccommerce to interchange with goods of the same type. A commodity is not a king, or a queen, or a bishop or a knight, or even a rook. It's a fucking pawn. It's cannon fodder.

Riko is worthless to his family. Riko is just a tool to Tetsuji to generate profit. Riko wants to be worthy to his family. Riko most likely loves his uncle and is ready to do the most insane thing if only it gives him the one thing he desires, which is being seen as worthy by his family.

Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.

Then there's grooming. Grooming is more obvious when it's done by a stranger who sees the child randomly or in some intervals of time. It's much harder to resist when it's constant. To Riko, Tetsuji is a good person, he is a hero, he is his family, he cares for him, they have a common goal. Riko wants to be what Tetsuji wants him to be. There is a price to pay for it, of course. There is a price for everything. But the price doesn't matter. Riko wants to pay the price he has to pay, to be what Tetsuji wants him to be.

And the thing is, do you think Riko learned how to use his money and crime connections to control others? How to gain power through fear and pain? You think spending his whole life locked in a fucking stadium he taught it to himself how to break people in body and spirit? That torturing them was his special interest? Or maybe are you forgetting that amongst valid responces to trauma, besides fight, flight and freeze there is also fawn? Don't you think it's much more likely, being groomed and enamoured with his captor (bcs thats what Tetsuji is to me, their captor) he impersonated him to the best of his ability? That he learned every leaf in the book from him, because he was his only connection to the family, to his father, to his brother. He was a legend, the creator of exy. Wasn't he always trying to be worthy of him? To be good enough to be loved and wanted? To be great full enough?

I am not saying this absolves him of any of the things he did, but people do insane things under lesser influence, things they would never do otherwise. And I am not talking of people groomed from early childhood, I'm talking of sane adults, being dragged into dangerous and destructive ideologies.

I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit.

Because it isn't, is it? The things HE does ARE his fault, definately. But the reason why? That is not that easy to pinpoint. And Riko is so unstable it hurts. He is so far removed from real life he is completely incapable of conversation. He is a child brought up in a grave, but...

Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago.

To me Riko is besides all other things, wasted potential. All the things he dreamed of? He could have had them. He was talented, he was determined and had a lot of courage, but all of that was utterly wasted in the violence and malice he was soaked in. In all the violence and malice he created in return.

So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.

The most interesting thing about All for the game though is, that in every other book Riko dying would've been the big bad wolf being defeated. But here, that's just a bleep on the radar. Because Riko was a product, not the producer. What I love about All for the game is it shows none of the madness and evil in life started or ended with me or you, with Riko or Neil. Not even with Keylight or Tetsuji. Fuck it did not even end with Nathan dying. It all ends how it begun. With a deal with the devil made in the back of a car, bought with blood money.

#i said what i said and you can cry about it #no vacuum storylines here thank you good-night l #this one is gonna make me so popular with enemies of the state i can feel it #riko moriyama #riko moriyama headcanon #aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #aftg headcanon #aftg rant #trauma discussion

[yourcrumblingsaikiisnotmyproblem]

yk it's weird

I haven't really paid attention to the extra work written by Nora Sakavic other than what I found in fanfictions and tumblr

so when I see the mentions of how Andrew is a misogynist. It kinda throws me off. Cause see, I love Andrew. I will literally fight for that fictional made-up dude but I am someone who can't stand misogynists (which includes my own brother most days lmao)

I'll be honest I'm curious about it but I'm not gonna read the extra parts, cause tbh? I wanna protect this, he's not a real person and he can be imperfect. If according to the fandom (and me) Andrew's trauma can get better, Neil's trauma can get better, then so can Andrew's ideologies.

What makes it weird for me is the fact that when I see people bashing Andrew over it (a character I love but people are justified to bash since he's allegedly misogynistic) I wanna defend him.

And it makes me think am i defending the character I love or am I defending something wrong (like a bigoted Republican might)?

Anyway it's too deep of a theory for 4am but I feel like at the end of the day, I love Andrew Minyard despite knowing more than a few awful things he has done within canon (violence, drugging, wee-bit murder) but it's the idea that he becomes better in the future

Because he is 19 YEARS OLD, and no teenager is perfect, hell most humans aren't, but it's the idea that Andrew who has women like Bee and Renee in his life as a constant will someday become a better person.

I think what makes it weirder is that I never outright saw the misogyny in the canon itself. It could be wishful ignorance and me writing it off as "Andrew be raging" (insert the almost choking Allison-our queen- to death scene) but again I don't need people to prove he is misogynist. Cause it's a fictional character that can always get better.

#again people are free to disagree here #its just my personal take #im aware its denial #BUT ITS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER SHARON #aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #twinyards #andreil #kevin day #tfc #foxhole court #renee walker #aftg rant #aftg shitpost #all for the game #all for the gay #nora sakavic

[allforth3pain]

Ya ever think about that scene in the King’s Men where Andrew almost chokes out Allison?

Ya ever think about the possibility that Andrew really didn’t recognize Allison and just saw her as someone who slapped Aaron? That blind rage made him not even realize what he was doing? That when Renee tried to remind him that he was choking Allison that he really didn’t know that? Ya ever think he just was traumatized by seeing Aaron being abused and anyone he sees hurting his brother he just freaks out, out of touch with reality and no real idea of who he is actually attacking? Or hell maybe Allison reminded him of Tilda and so maybe Andrew is once again a teenager and attacking Tilda because he couldn’t do it when he actually was that age but now he finally could defend Aaron?? Ya ever think the only thing to snap Andrew out of this trance was Neil? Hearing his voice got him back to reality and he realized that Allison wasn’t his birth mother or just noticed who she was in general. Ya ever think about that?

Cause I do

#all for the game #aftg #aftg rant #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #allison reynolds #renee walker #neil josten #andreil #twinyards #aftg headcanons #the kings men #the foxhole court

[somesalami]

Guys, I need to know.

Is Exy secretly Hurling? 🤔😆 Is hurling Exy? I need answers.

#Aftg #All for the game #Hurling #Is #Actually #EXY #What the hell is this sport? #Aftg rant

[ch1ck3nnugg3t]

OKAY YALL I have a very serious question so you know how Aftg takes place in south Carolina right but not once in that book did I read anyone saying y'all and now I don't know if I'm being stupid if it's not in there but I was writing this thing and I was like okay yall but then in my head I was like do they even say that!!

#aftg #Aftg rant #questions #i have questions #it's so random #but like I fell like it's not #did anyone else wonder this

[chaoticas-hell]

Wymack: since I can no longer bribe Andrew with sobriety and booze I've decided to bribe him with the next best thing

Wymack: Neil.

#wymack: after having to listen to Andrew rant about his crush for hours this is the best thing I could come up with #wymack: it was his fault for being so obvious to everyone but Neil #aftg #neil josten #andrew minyard #all for the game #andreil #the kings men #tkm #david wymack

[bisexualchaosdemon]

I wonder how Andrew feels about Aaron being the one to kill Drake. Andrew went to such great lengths to protect Aaron from Drake, only for Aaron to be the one to protect him from Drake in the end.

#and i could go on a whole other rant about exy giving him the tools to do that #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #twinyards #aftg #all for the game

[thisuserdead]

Thinking about how Neil and Andrew both helped each other to build a possible future for themselves both as individuals and as a couple.

They just came into each other's lives and completely upended them by offering honesty and trust.

Andrew offered Neil stability, protection, a home ("you gave me a key and called it home"), the prospect of not having to run anymore, of actually achieving his dreams and not ending up dead in a ditch at 18. He helped Neil build a new identity from the ground up that was just and truly Neil. (Not to discredit the part that the other foxes played in the last part!!)

In return Neil gave Andrew something to live for in the form of fixing his relationship with his cousin and brother so that he wouldn't end up alone after graduation. He made Andrew care about exy enough to make it into a career (even if it's just a little bit). He gave Andrew understanding when everyone else brushed him off and was prepared to go against everything that he's ever been taught about getting close to people, about saying the truth, about telling people who he is and just trusting people.

Andrew also gave his trust to Neil every time he did what Neil asked him to, every time he offered Neil a hard truth. Trusting that Neil wouldn't use it against him, wouldn't tell him it was all a misunderstanding. My boy put his stone cold lump of a heart in Neil's hands and trusted Neil not to squeeze.

Don't get me wrong, they're not beating the codependency allegations until they've lived apart. After Andrew's graduation. It's difficult, it's hell. But if Nora's ec says they make it, then I have faith that by the time they're living together again, their nothing will have turned into something else just as precious if not more.

#all for the game #anyway #emotional 1am rant over #half of this probably doesn’t make any sense #i just had to get this off my chest #they're in love your honour #and i love them #aftg #andreil #the foxhole court #tfc #neil josten #andrew minyard #anyways #i'm going to bed now

[allfortheslay25]

I gotta say the weirdest thing about how I draw Neil has got to be that I never draw him in the clothing aesthetic I believe he wears

Like I either draw him in Fox merch or pajamas or tfc style BUT NEVER the clothing aesthetic I constantly visualize him in

Like I just realized this today cuz checking all my old art, not one of those doodles got the 70s American himbo aesthetic AND THATS EXACTLY THE KIND OF CLOTHES I THINK NEIL WEARS

For anyone who doesn’t know what I’m talking about 👇

I think the closest I got to it was lifeguard Neil

This knowledge is breaking my mind

I mean I’ve been trying to just land on a final design idea for Neil (idk if anyone’s noticed but I draw him different every time I doodle him) and I have yet to draw Neil in the 70s himbo aesthetic like he deserves 🥲

#aftg #neil josten #rant post

[prince-peachie]

The way it’s just fandom culture to fixate and ship two characters who show up for two seconds in a book

#honestly wouldn’t have it any other way #Jean falling asleep listening to Jeremy’s voice #but also because this Neil character is boring to him #he’s such a grumpy French man #but he loves his golden retriever boyfriend #jerejean #ultimate ship #sunshine and grumpy trope #it just hits different #aftg #all for the game #aftg headcanon #if you reshare this post it will make me melt #especially adding tags #I feel sometimes like my art #doesn’t really work in this fandom #and it’s discouraging #JUST RANTING DONT ACTUALLY READ #anyway here is softness #in a book that isn’t soft #oops

[yourcrumblingsaikiisnotmyproblem]

Can we talk about this?

Like I know it's not one of their most thrilling moments sure BUT idk why it really matters to me

Andrew had literally through been so much trauma at this point. Dr*ke and Pro*st along with coming off drugs which I'm sure is not an easy process as Nora showed it for Andrew but like-

EVEN after all that Andrew came back with the same trust. He trusted Nicky to tell him or update him on things but then with Neil he trusted the fact that he would keep their promise, that he wouldn't go against their game.

In the grand scheme of things, truth-for-truth isn't the most important thing against mafias but Andrew expected/trusted/hoped that Neil would respect their game and their promise

And Neil-

Neil gets it.

After everything Andrew has been through and Neil had learnt, he understands why it's important to Andrew.

#okay bye im done #andreil #aftg rant #aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #aftg shitpost #kevin day #idk why i tagged Kebin but why not #nicky hemmick #aaron minyard #aftg foxes #the foxes #andrew minyard deserves better

[yourleftpinkytoe-blog]

I really want to address some shit that’s been on my mind recently. (This could be applicable to all fandoms but I’ll be taking specifically about the aftg fandom)

I really don’t like how some of you talk to people regarding shipping. Like I get not liking a ship. I myself can’t stand Andrew and Neil being shipped with Kevin. i always pictured Neil and Kevin having like a sibling dynamic and maybe Andrew thinking Kevin’s hot but nothing ever comes from it. Now I know I don’t enjoy content that contains this ship. So what do I do, I IGNORE IT. Rather than harass people for enjoying something I’m not a fan of (like some people) I just don’t interact. It’s not hard to scroll past something if you don’t like it.

I’ve seen so much shit discrediting and shit talking people who just don’t share your opinion. Like with ReneexJean, bro from the text we have it’s basically canon. Why are some people (cough cough jerjean shippers cough cough) just dismissing it so hard. Like just say you would rather read about two male characters WHO HAVEN’T TALKED EVEN ONCE ON PAGE then the border line canon straight ship. (Ik ik but tsc hasn’t been released yet im only talking about what we currently have canon wise)

No hate to jerjean I’m just using it to make a point. But I could also bring up the stuff with Thea and Kevin. They are canonically together. If you don’t like it FUCKING IGNORE IT. You don’t have to shit talk Thea because you don’t want her with Kevin. You don’t have to harass people who ship her and kevin. You can just scroll past it.

Idk why people feel the need to make everything about them but Holly shit I’m so tired of people not understanding the concept of not being an asshole over fictional people.

Don’t even get me started on how some of yall talk about Nora. Like bitch. SHES THE GOD DAMB AUTHOR. She could write anything about her characters and it doesn’t matter how much you bitch or moan that shits canon. Ignore it if you hate it that much but don’t harass her or talk down to her for literally giving us more information about the characters we love.

Some of yall are just so entitled and it makes me want to rip my hair out.

Anyway :b here’s some silly Kevin art I did in class<3

#sorry for ranting #but this shits been on my mind #aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #andrew minyard #the foxes #neil josten #andreil #all for the gay #nora sakavic #i love nora #jerjean #jean x renee #aftg fandom #fandom discussion #kevandreil #aftg kevin #kevin day #kevin day fanart #renee walker #jean moreau #jeremy knox #thea muldani

[vyl]

Tsc spoilers

Andreil wrecked me in such a beautiful manner during the course of this book; seeing everything unfold under Jean's observing eye was everything I could have asked for.

Here comes the yapping session for the following situations noticed.

Having someone watch the way Andreil look at each other and act when the other is around has such an intimate level that I understand Jean for not wanting to intervene at any point. “being in each other's gravity” was such a beautiful way of looking at it, because it didn't signal a necessity nor an obligation, like the ravens' partnerships have been

Everything about their relationship screamed choice and even Jean notices it easily; he didn't compare it to Kevin and Andrew's closeness, that had been impacted by the Nest and buddy system. They were there for each other because they wanted to be there, and I imagine that being hard to imagine for the little French man

Furthermore, Jean's perspective on the finals that Foxes vs Ravens went through was so significant. He was watching it from a bird's eye perspective, rendered useless so far away from them and condemned to only watch. He knew no one had time to get to Neil; he knew he was about to die right before his eyes and no one could have stopped Riko from outright live tv murder because even the ravens were too scared to fight him off.

Seeing Jean describe Andrew's intervention as “all hell was at his heels” did something to my heart. Andrew was willing to risk it all for the sassy stricker and nothing was about to stop him, not even the consequences of his own actions, if Ichirou decided to retaliate instead of getting rid of Riko.

If even oblivious Jean could describe it like that, how obvious is Andreil's relationship from the outside, even with them being careful about it? Does everybody see them being tender only with each other? Are they cooing like I am at them? Because we've seen the way they acted at the mountain cabin, but that was before the finals or way premature to Neil being free.

I hold these moments here <3

#aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #the sunshine court #nora sakavic #all for the game #jean moreau #jeremy knox #andreil #lgbtqia #palmetto state foxes #edgar allen ravens #bookblr #yapping #rant post #kevin day

[purpleshadow-star]

Pic context: Talking about the exy stadium at USC considering the fact that USC is a real school

I love how Nora just invents things in order to avoid complications with real-life things.

Like, using USC's football stadium as the exy stadium too would take a lot of work to figure out how that would be possible. Solution: invent a new stadium!

Having the characters play a real sport that already exists would mean looking into all the rules and regulations and history, etc, and there could be multiple elements of the sport that work against the plot of the story or complicate it in some way. Solution: invent a new sport!

I mean, it gives her full creative control over what happens in the story, and we as readers get to learn about a cool new thing without feeling the need to fact-check every element. Tbh, it makes so much sense to me.

Like, go off! Make stuff up! It's your world. We're just reading and enjoying and becoming obsessed with it!!!

#also the fact that palmetto state university is made up #it's based on an actual college but it doesnt actually exist lol #and again i think that makes sense #it allows us to become immersed in this fiction story even though it takes place in our world #i think having these elements unique to that world also makes it easier to go along with the plot #like imagine if neil was being hunted by his serial killer father and the yakuza while attending the university of south carolina #and playing hokey or lacrosse or smth #the made up stuff helps woth the immersion imo #anyway i just wanted to point out how funny it was that her solution is to make stuff up #like makes sense 100% work smarter not harder #tbh if the series wasnt centered around a fake sport i prob wouldnt have read it 💀 #like im just being real here #so thank you nora for going through the trouble of creating a whole new sport #bc im sure that was the final thing that convinced many people to read it (i.e. me) #anyway rant over #aftg #all for the game #nora sakavic #the sunshine court #tsc #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #exy

[chaoticas-hell]

Todays useless thought that gives me great joy is Andrew, high off his ass, pacing Wymack's living room at 3 am ranting about the new guy he has a crush on and Wymack being forced to listen to it

#wymack is the only father figure Andrew has so he has to listen to Andrew's ranting about his crush #wymack is all too aware of Andrew’s crush on the new mouthy recuit #its funnier bc Wymack is Andrew’s coach who keeps saying he doesn't get paid enough to deal with the teams personal problems #aftg #neil josten #andrew minyard #all for the game #andreil #the kings men #tkm #all for the gay #the foxhole court #tfc #david wymack #the raven king #trk