its still so fascinating to me how neutral and relaxed ryou looks when he talks to riku. you peel back the mask of sadism and playfulness and anger and resentment and all you're left with is a face that could've been in the background or in a cutaway idol fan reaction shot. just another person with a distinct design to differentiate from other named and unnamed characters.
which he can't be! cause it will kill him to be less than. but it's a tricky case with riku. he knows they both need the recognition. riku is an idol, which makes riku bad, but riku is also just like him, and riku is only doing it because of his bad brother, which makes riku good. and recognition from a good idol...
thats why he pulls his mask back for riku and shows him. another mask. he can be safe, he can be normal and compassionate. he can sympathise, hold riku's hands in a gesture of empathy. he can have a connection with riku.
provided nobody else shows up. provided nobody else sees the ryou that he invented just for riku. a kind, brotherly ryou.
and momo sees it. momo cuts the connection. ryou's mask falls back on, to be noticed by riku, who already had heard of the bad, scary ryou, but was almost willing to accept the "real" him. almost. just like an idol, he doesn't step in or do anything to make momo see.
to make momo see that he tries. he reaches for the grapes to have his hands slapped away or the vine grow out of reach no matter how far he climbs. he makes promises and waits five years for the grapes to fall, to have them still hanging, telling him that he should've done more, been more.
and he can. he will make these grapes fall. as if the wind just took them and smashed against the ground into a barely recognizable mush.
after all, now he has his own grape vines to care for. to make sure they grow exactly how he wants them to.