So I've been thinking hard on why the fandom as a whole has such differing ideas as to how much Kevin was abused, and how he was abused, and even his standing within the Moriyama family. And then I did a lot of rereading, and saving of quotes (for a number of posts I want to make). And I think I've found the issue.
Sidenote: I won't be touching on the implications of sexual abuse with Kevin in this post but I have a separate one that outlines Kevin as an SA survivor if you'd like to read that as I think this goes hand in hand tbh.
Kevin's background, standing and trauma isn't consistent. It actually changes, both in what we know, what is implied, and the tone.
And I have a theory, well, two really: the first is that this is a result of edits that has left the series inconsistent, and the second is a way to interpret canon.
The change in how Kevin's trauma and position is framed happens at the end of The Raven King. The first person to voice the difference is Jean (and it actually is immediately contradicted by Riko). The second time is Kevin himself, in the beginning of The King's Men. Which happens AFTER Christmas and Riko called Kevin while Neil was at Evermore.
After that every other mention of Kevin's trauma and status is via Jean. And Jean's take on Kevin and Kevin's life and situation is not only coloured by his own feelings, but also has massive gaps in it.
It's very clear that beyond Jean's complicated feelings towards Kevin there has been this narrative presented to Jean by Riko and Kevin, or possibly by Riko and not denied by Kevin, that Kevin is not only above Jean in every way but that Kevin is part of the family. And that Kevin does not suffer like he does because of some kind of status. The possession Riko has on Kevin, to the extent that Jean having feelings for Kevin sends Riko into a malevolent spiral, seems covered up by Riko's apparent homophobia and their "brother" status. That Kevin has clearly been brutalised, by everyone including his own contradicting accounts, is then redirected in order to claim he isn't a pet or property or on that same level. This change to the narrative could be Riko trying to claw Kevin back, or destroy his relationships, or possibly it's Riko trying to make Kevin feel worse. To gaslight him and say hey, remember all that has happened to you? It's not how you remember it. It wasn't even that bad. But Jean who you left here, and Neil who you let come to me??? They not only have it bad, they have it worse than you ever did. The media story that we are brothers, that's the real truth.
And... I think it worked. Because not only does Jean say it in weird fragmented contradictory statements but Kevin does too after his Christmas call with Riko.
The other thing that gets me is that Jean repeats throughout his series that he DESERVES what he gets, and even when he gets past that he still reiterates that he is property and that's all he is and this is all he can have.
How much of that rhethoric has Kevin grown up on too? The same amount in all likelihood. Kevin would not have told anyone what he was going through and what was done to him, especially if Riko said he was not allowed to. Kevin wasn't allowed to have anyone outside of Riko, he was not allowed to have relationships of any kind and often wasn't even allowed to be in a separate room. The closest he got to not being leashed was occasionally allowed to be alone with Jean. This is something Jean actually throws back in Kevin's face when Kevin says he doesn't understand why Jean liked the Ravens. Jean throws a number of things at Kevin and it becomes clear that the dehumanisation of Kevin extends to Jean as well: Kevin was strong, better and indestructible to an extent. Kevin wanted so desperately to shield and take care of Jean in the Nest why would he have ever told him to what extent he was being hurt? Jean needed to believe in Kevin to survive, and Kevin knew that. But Kevin thought once they were both out Jean might realise he isn't that person. Jean hasn't. Jean is still clinging to Kevin as one to measure against. And Kevin is still battling what he was told his purpose was, what he was told he deserved, that he must have triggered the pain inflicted on him and in his name in some way, even if just that Riko's obsession with him was somehow his fault.
Throughout the series it becomes clear that everyone (not including the older adults) dehumanises Kevin, but the closest to not do are Andrew and Jeremy. They're not perfect but they hold Kevin up to less standards and care more for his wellbeing than those around them.
Anyway below are all of the mentions that I could find on Kevin's position and abuse, or rather specifically more his physical abuse, because as we know Kevin had a myriad of experiences since he was 9 under the Moriyamas.
Riko and Kevin spent their formative years at Evermore with the Ravens instead and were considered the team's unofficial mascots. When they weren't being coached by Tetsuji, they were coached by the team, and tutors were brought on-site so they wouldn't have to leave the stadium for school.
Kevin and Riko grew up in front of cameras, but always with Exy as a backdrop and always together. Until Kevin transferred to Palmetto State, he and Riko were never seen in separate rooms.
Wymack dragged his thumb along the back of his hand, tracing the path of Kevin's injury. "Kevin doesn't talk about his time at Evermore, but I could tell it wasn't the first time Riko or Moriyama laid a hand on him. It was just the first time Kevin was smart enough to pack his bags and walk away. So much for family, hm?"
"I thought they were ready to let him go. But Tetsuji didn't take Kevin in out of the goodness of his heart. He raised Kevin to be a star. He put a lot of time and money into Kevin's development on the court. As far as Tetsuji is considered, Kevin is valuable property. Any profit Kevin makes is rightfully the Moriyamas'."
Wymack gave him a pitying look. "Tetsuji never formally adopted Kevin. Do you know why? Moriyamas don't believe in outsiders or equals. Tetsuji took Kevin in and took over his training, but he also gave Kevin to Riko-literally. Kevin isn't human to them. He's a project. He's a pet, and it's Riko's name on his leash. The fact he ran away is a miracle. If Tetsuji called tomorrow and told him to come home, Kevin would."
"You were supposed to be like me," Kevin said [to Neil]. "You were a gift, another player for the master to train."
It wasn't just Riko Kevin was afraid of. In twenty minutes he'd be facing his entire former team. The Ravens' coach, Tetsuji Moriyama, took Kevin in after his mother died. He'd raised Kevin to be a star but never let Kevin forget he was just Riko's valuable property. Neil didn't know much else about him. The one time Kevin mentioned him he'd slipped and called him "the master". Neil didn't need to hear anything else after that.
Any animosity Neil felt toward Kevin for forcing him onto this show evaporated. He couldn't be angry when Riko was here, not when Riko was to Kevin what Neil's father was to him. Petty anger had nothing on this full-fledged terror.
Neil watched Kevin wilt beneath the weight of his brother's —no, owner's—fury and kissed his survival instincts goodbye.
He'd hated and worshipped them all his life, jealous of their successes and desperate for them to excel. Now it seemed he'd been wrong all along; Kevin hadn't escaped either. No matter what they did or who they became, maybe they never would.
He'd grown up a frightened nothing and no-one when he could have been raised to be a Raven and future Court. Neil loved Exy so much he had to resent being cheated of that chance. But all Neil had to do was look at Kevin to know he would have hated that life too. He'd have learned from the best and played for the best, but he would have been a caged and abused wreck. Maybe he'd spent eight years running for his life, but at least he'd been free.
They needed to stay poised and perfect for interviews and stray photographs. Armpits to knees, however, were free game. If they fucked up, he'd [Tetsuji] fuck them up.
You will be perfect. You will do it again until it is perfect.
You will do it again until it is perfect.
If it is not perfect you will not eat, you will not sleep.
You waste everyone's time. You make a mockery of this sport. You are disgusting. You are a disgrace.
This was hell and they were in it together.
Together but not together, because Riko and Kevin knew from day one that they would never be equals.
Kevin didn't just learn Exy at Evermore; he learned how quickly to avert his eyes when Riko was angry and how to bite his tongue on everything he wanted to say.
Kevin hated being Riko's pet, but at least Riko was easy.
Riko was a safer bet than the master was, since Tetsuji was impossible to please no matter what they did.
He stayed close enough that his leash wouldn't choke him and followed Riko to the top.
Riko was never kind to Kevin, but he was-for a while, at least-manageable.
"I can't believe you put up with this," Neil said. "At least Kevin ran. What's your excuse?"
"I am a Moreau," Jean said, as if Neil was being stupid on purpose. "My family has belonged to the Moriyamas since before they came to the United States. There is nowhere else for me to go, just as there is no place for you but here. Kevin is not like us; he is valuable but he is not property in the same sense. He escaped because he had family to run to."
"I am going to love hurting you," Riko said, "like I loved hurting Kevin."
"Lie down," Riko said again, "and put your hands on the headboard."
Neil stretched out on his back and reached over his head. Jean caught his hands to guide them to the right place. Neil felt wood under his fingertips and grabbed hold. Jean let go of him only to snap cold metal over his wrists. Neil tried to look but the knife in his mouth wouldn't let him move. Riko felt him tense, though, and withdrew his blade. Neil looked up and regretted it immediately. Metal cuffs locked his hands to the headboard. [of Kevin's bed]
He didn't realize how close he was to drifting off until Kevin's subdued French startled him awake.
"I know what he's like," Kevin said. Neil looked at him, but Kevin was studying his hands. "Riko. If you want to talk."
It was the most awkward and uncomfortable thing Kevin had ever said to him. Kevin was known for his talent, not his sensitivity. Consideration and tact were as foreign to him as the German the cousins spoke. That he tried at all was so unexpected Neil felt it like a balm to every bruised inch of his skin.
"I know what he's like, but I can't-" Kevin made a helpless gesture. "Riko was cruel but he needed me to succeed. We were the heirs of Exy; he hurt me but there were lines he would not cross until the end. It was different for Jean. It was worse. His father owed the Moriyamas a great deal. The master paid those debts in exchange for Jean's presence on our court. He was property, nothing more. You are the same in their eyes."
"I am not property," Neil said in a low voice.
"I know how he sees you," Kevin said. "I know it means he did not hold back."
Kevin had been a ward of the Moriyamas for most of his life: spending most of his early summers with Riko while his mother traveled, then moving in for good once Kayleigh Day was removed from the equation. Once the cage doors slammed, he was forbidden to put even a door between himself and his beloved, loathed brother Riko until the night Riko finally threw him away. He’d grown up with the master’s unforgiving violence, the first body upon which Riko could practice his fledgling cruelties.
The frequent public appearances demanded of the Raven pair could stay Riko’s knives but not his malevolent hunger; most of Kevin’s scars were branded into his heart and mind.
“I am a Moreau,” Jean said, too sharp. “I know my place even if you’ve forgotten yours.”
“The only Ravens who were allowed no-contact status were Kevin and the King, when they had upcoming media tours and events. I am unaccustomed to it. I will be better.”
Kevin had been with Riko for far longer, navigating the precarious line between beloved brother and punching bag. It didn’t matter how much Riko hurt him; they’d spent too many years completely wrapped up in each other.
“No wonder they’re so nasty all the time,” she said. “They’re not allowed to be human.” [said Laila about the Ravens]
Anyone who wanted medication outside of being immediately treated for an injury had to put in a written request, and Josiah would approve it if he was feeling charitable. Ibuprofen was always his go-to, as useless as it generally was. Jean knew he had stronger pills in stock, but for the most part those were saved for Riko himself. Not cost effective to coddle the rest of the team, Jean assumed, since the Ravens were endlessly injured. Certainly not worth it to waste that medicine on Jean.
He [Jean] couldn’t stay in these thoughts, so he said, “You stole Kevin from us.”
“You called him yours to Riko’s face. ‘My things’,” he reminded Andrew.
“The Nest thrives on violence, but every punishment doled out is calculated and executed with purpose. Unsatisfactory times on drills, missed shots, failure to block a striker or failure to outstep a defenseman, there is always a triggering factor.”
Jeremy refused to listen to this.
“There is nothing that justifies what happened to him.”
Kevin opened his mouth, thought better of it, and looked away. Jeremy honestly wasn’t sure what was worse: that the Ravens thought themselves right for hurting Jean so horrifically, or that Kevin knew what their excuse was.
At last Kevin only said, “Silence is the only way Jean has a voice. He does not have to participate in his own downfall. It is not kind or fair, but it is the best we can do.”
“He deserves more than that,” Jeremy said. “You know he does.”
“He deserves peace. That’s why he’s here.”
“It is more than he has ever gotten.”
Jeremy studied him in silence. “And what about you?” he asked at length. “They’ve wronged you too, more than I think you’ve let on. A couple sly words in spring,” he said, tapping his fingers to the back of Kevin’s hand, “but nothing since then. I would’ve guessed it kindness, to avoid starting a fight while Edgar Allan grieved Riko’s death, but I don’t think that’s it anymore. You won’t fight them either, will you?”
“I have no reason to fight,” Kevin said. “Everything I want and need still lies ahead of me; it is a waste of time to look back so long as that holds true.”
“Justice is not a waste of time.”
“I don’t care about justice. All I want in life is to play the perfect game.”
“You are supposed to be better than this,” Jean said, a quiet accusation.
“You have always known what I am.”
A soulless puppet who survived by hitching everything he was to his dream, or so Jean had believed, until the day Kevin leaned in and asked to learn French. It was the first hint he still had a personality of his own, that some part of Kevin Day existed separate from Riko Moriyama. It was proof that surviving Evermore was possible. Jean simply had to let go and stop fighting. Now they were both free—of Riko, at least—but Kevin would still do anything he could to avoid processing the horrors of the Nest. Jean shouldn’t hold it against him, seeing how desperately he was struggling to keep his own nightmares at bay, but Kevin had always been the stronger of the two of them. Kevin’s defenses had been unshakable up until Riko broke his hand, and then they’d shattered to dust. Why he’d turned to vodka instead of rebuilding those walls, Jean didn’t know. Maybe there was too much rubble to build atop, but Jean didn’t have to like this solution. If he was this far out from Riko and Evermore and he still couldn’t face what he’d been through or what he’d done, what hope was there for Jean?
“You are supposed to be better,” Jean insisted.
“We are what they made us,” Kevin said. “It is unavoidable.”
“They have always been boorish assholes. I never understood why you liked any of them.”
“You wouldn’t,” Jean said. “Your world revolved around the two of you; you didn’t have any space or time for them. But I knew them.”
“Or thought you did,” was the cool response.
A knife at his throat; cruel fingers in his hair. “Queers do not belong on my perfect Court. I will bleed this out of him within a week.”
Stupid, beautiful Kevin had tried his best to defend Jean. After all, he was blindingly obsessed with the Trojans; it was reasonable to assume Jean would also find a Big Three team captivating. He’d only dug Jean’s grave deeper with that argument. Riko hadn’t even known Jeremy was a factor then—it wasn’t the Trojans he’d caught Jean staring at with such unsubtle and idiotic devotion. Riko hadn’t wasted his breath correcting Kevin, not wanting to give him any more reasons to protect their worthless third wheel. Jean hadn’t tried either; what good would it do to confess to such an oblivious fool?
Edit: forgot this from the 'David' extra chapter of the Special Editions.
"You've already told us what happened to your hand," David reminded him. "You've told us who the Moriyamas are, both branches of them. What could you be holding on to still that would drive you this far away from her?"
"No. Don't ask me that." Kevin waited a beat as if expecting pushback, then reached for the bottle.
