all for the game backlog post: how suicide is used in the plot of the first three books

orignally posted on tumblr here on Oct 30th, 2025

kinda insane that the reason neils able to join the foxes in the first place is because of a player attempting suicide prior to the start of the series and then the series ends with a staged suicide that allows neil to live how he wants with the foxes as freely as he can

thoughts from Mar 23rd, 2026

i still havent read the golden raven, just the sunshine court, but suicide is used as a plot device differently in the books after neils pov. jean attempts suicide after rikos death (the stage suicide mentioned above) and the ravens start killing themselves once theyre out of the nest and back in their normal lives because they cant handle the reality of what theyve been put through having been for nothing. its an interesting contrast to neil, who doesnt understand the motivation behind suicide (something he outright tells the reader in his narration when nicky tells him he was suicidal in high school). even still, jean isnt actively suicidal despite everything hes been through, he just attempted because of the shock and grief that hit him in the wake of his abusers death (rikos staged suicide). the two parts' takes on suicide are interesting to compare