HANNIBAL X ANDREIL LETS GOOOOOOO

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.

Touch

the dorm room beds aren’t made to fit two, but they make it work 🧡🔑

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Do you ever cry because of a book?

Angry baby

And lads and one abject bitch

Andrew is proof that Nora Sakavic is a brilliant writer

I will probably make more posts about this because it is something I feel so strongly about. I have seen SO many people wishing we'd had Andrew's POV but I am so glad we didn't. As a writer, I am ashamed at how long it took me to understand the GENIUS of Andrew's character. When writing a story, there are precisely THREE ways to relay what your characters are thinking and feeling to the reader: 1. Dialogue 2. Internal Monologue 3. Descriptions of Expression/Body Language And you need to do all three really well to make it real, natural, and believable. You have to trust your reader to understand what you're trying to say without outright saying it. This task is made all the more difficult when you don't have #2, the internal monologue. Secondary characters are ONLY understood through what they say and what emotions they show on their face and in their body language. To write a character that BARELY speaks and is INFAMOUS for having an expressionless face is the greatest show of RESTRAINT I have ever seen in a writer and it worked SO beautifully. The number of times we desperately want to know what Andrew is thinking and feeling and I BET Sakavic was twice as desperate to show us, to tell us straight out "ANDREW IS INFATUATED!" But she didn't. She stuck so perfectly to Andrew's character and GAVE US NOTHING and TRUSTED us to read between the lines to find truth. That's not even to mention the entire time Andrew was on his meds. As a writer, we want nothing more than for our readers to KNOW our characters the way we do. I can only imagine how infuriating (but also delightfully challenging) it was for Sakavic to write Andrew knowing most of what he was doing and saying was because of the meds and his promises. I could scream this from the rooftops. Sakavic deserves so much praise for this alone. I won't EVEN get into Neil's character and the relationship dynamics between every single character and every other character too. Andrew is literary genius, imo.

pov: neil testing his camera for the first time

neil's face softening in sleep as he lays on andrew's chest and andrew content to just watch him reblog if true 👍

hi this is part 2 of my pieces for the @aftgreverse !! there's a lot :D

here's the link to the fic written by the wonderful @sheithbeefsandwich !!!

the first chapter when the boys explore a haunting house :D

they're being smart!! figuring out what's written in the notebook :D

neil :D

neil :(

and!! the first kiss :DDD