#SO glad to have brio back

[johnnylandslide]

BACK IN BUSINESS

"I'm home, honey! Sorry, the trouble in Tural took a bit longer to fix than I expected, and it's still probably going to blow up again pretty soon, but for now I'm back!"

"You don't have to apologize for saving the realm, love! It's just a business trip, essentially. Oh, speaking of which, Godbert is hosting a charity gala in a few days; would you like to do me the honor of being my plus-one?"

[gege-wondering-around]

Not-wednesday Wip

soooooo, @dontcallpanic and @seaweed-water were soooo kind and tagged me to do this, so without a second thought i poured out whatever came to mind so, let me know if you like this so i'll know whether to pursuit this work or not (i prob will, yet it's be good to know what you think)

so so so, after all of this has been said, i can also say how both their works are amazing and how glad i am to be able to read both your works on this site; you two are amazing writers and i'm glad to be called a writer by both your sides.

so here we go:

They say there’s nothing sweeter in the word than a good mixture of love and acceptance, but sometimes people preferred the way obsessive and dangerous connections felt; a brio running down the spine, creating a deformed smirk on one’s face after something that would’ve made everybody else’s mind go in survival mode. But it wasn’t their case. Stiles always had a peculiar interest in sharp objects, mutilated bodies and myths; it was well known by then that it wouldn’t take too long for him to become the next great sage or spark given the supernatural luring him into the woods almost every night, or some evil but caring wendigo in the forest in which Derek lived. The trees were timid in his presence, curving above him in a silent bow, ‘we greet you once more’ was fearfully expressed in the shaky manner of their branches and falling leaves; Stiles was walking with a high chin and a deer head in his arms, blood soaking his clothes while a shy tray of saliva hanged by his lips mixed with the animal’s blood. Flesh putrid and grotesque, he didn’t once avert his eyes from the sweet present his lover had gifted him that late evening and let him find in front of his Jeep once he had parked it in the Preserve’s parking lot; it was the highlight of Stiles’ day, he was in desperate need to get the flesh away from the bone and enchant the skull with the cursing words Deaton was reluctant to share with him. Oh, Stiles had to cut off one of his arms to get the informations he needed but Deaton was fine, he made sure of it; he still needed a few more information the Druid could provide him, hopefully without having to cut off another limb, forcing the sweet boy to get rid of it with a chainsaw and some trash bags; he would have to stop by the butcher on his way back. Still, the pretty deer head Derek got for him was just perfect. Huge antlers, thick coat, absent eyes… It was just perfect, exactly what Stiles knew Derek could provide for him and the Nemeton; he had to get to it quickly, just in time to rip out the meat and wash the skull in the river nearby before the alpha would arrive and finally put those long fangs of his in his neck… He was ecstatic just at the thought of it; those long, sharp fangs able to cut through skin and end up drenched blood, able to kill, would finally sink in his neck and claim him. He couldn’t wait much longer, he had to get the skull to the Nemeton, so that the essence of the tree could be back in a sweet and beautiful alteration of the classical wendigo Stiles always loved. So he ran. Whistling trees, chiming spirits, dying birds and finally, even the alpha’s stomps could be felt in the ground on which he stood by the time he was a few dozens meters from his destination; by his side, in the corner of his eye he could see a colossal black wolf ran along his movements, intentionally going slower to match his pace with the boy’s. Derek was by his side like he promised he would be. Oh… Stiles was so lost in the way Derek had bared his fangs at him the first time he set foot in the forest. The black wolf was two meters tall and four and a half long, pitch void and restless muscles, bloody claws and even bloodier eyes, red as the full moon in its crimson shining; Stiles had been in love with the creature ever since and knowing that such a being reciprocated his feelings was a devilish feeling. Ah… He wanted to be the alpha’s emissary, his claimed lover even. His everything. No matter the cost.

so so so, i hope you enjoyed this!

no pressure tags @dontcallpanic @patolemus @seaweed-water @oldefashioned @demonicfaerie @hellameyers and whoever wanna share their little work!

[crownspeaksblog]

I just rewatched the brio intimate scene in 4x06 and when first watched it i was so annoyed at having a dean scene right in the middle of it that i really didn't think about it (plus i fast-forwarded alot in season 4)..

but now i watched again and fucking dean is riding his bike, he's smiling, he's happy, there's a sense of freedom and lightness.. and then his ankle monitor starts flashing and he's pulled back to the reality of his life, that he's under the secret services control and goddammit if this is not exactly what beth feels at that exact moment with rio!!!

Deans feeling are so easy to read in that scene and they're 100% used to parallel beths feelings. Sure what's going on with beth is a little more complicated she's trying to distract rio, trying to hide the wire, trying not to get caught but she's also free and light and happy with him!!! Ahhh!!!

I was really annoyed when i first watched the scene, i did not give a fuck about dean but now I'm so glad that they edited these two scenes like this especially because i felt like the show didn't do enough with showing beths feelings for rio (it's still not enough but it's something)..

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Hey hi hellooooo 😁😁😁 do you have any fic recommendations that continue the brio bedroom scene in 2×9. I wish we had seen more lovin' and pillow talk 😭 thanks in advance ❤

Helloooo 👋!!! How are you, Anon? So glad to see people still reading and enjoying Brio fics. 🥰🥰

Ok so I’m terrible at recommendations because I always forget what I already read or forget to include someone’s amazing work. So please comment if anyone has additional recommendations! But on this ask I recruited assistance from an expert. @abi1821 has read and re-read pretty much all the fics. She’s my encyclopedia. My fic reference guide. So here’s what we came up with between us:

Splinter by Daydreamstew is a big comfort fic for me. It’s 2.09 reimagined but still containing some of that angsty heartbreak and sadness that we know Beth felt in those moments. But it softens it. So romantic. 🥰

Tryin' to Even the Score by convolutedConcussion is one I remember reading a while back. If you find catharsis through Brio finally talking, this is your fic. They have a discussion more honest than they ever did in canon.

The Ottoman by Niham87 is another one I read a long time ago and remember finding the callback to season 3 really funny and cleverly placed. From my recollection, this is primarily smut. I am pro smut! Brio have a great time and I can see why she’d joke with him about that ottoman. 😉

when the party's over by rebellking is one I hadn’t read before. It’s a @abi1821 recommendation. It’s another reimagining of 2.09 had Rio followed Beth into that shower. Looks to be a smutty one-shot with Rio taking back some of that power Beth stripped him of with her dismissal.

Comforting Haze by brokensatellites isn’t exactly a continuation as a detailed description of the events of 2.09. It’s still the canonic ending, but it gives Beth some humanity through her decision to hurt him. It’s romantic and beautiful and still tragic. Also recommended by @abi1821.

Transatlanticism (I need you so much closer) by Flashindie is one I haven’t read yet, but recommended by @abi1821. It looks to be set in the aftermath of 2.09, and knowing Flashindie’s writing caliber, it will be a stellar work.

Let us know what you think and if you have other recommendations you’d like to add. Like I said, I’m so bad at remembering what I read and where. I need to get organized and make notes on these things. Happy reading!

[savoytrufflephd]

On resenting children and choosing family…

OMG, the term starts again on Monday. My time for having brain space to publicly obsess over HIUH is coming to an end. (I will continue to privately obsess in my own head, of course – HIUH lives there rent free.) But there was so much more to say!

Anyway, let’s do Kastor and Nikandros…

By contrast to all the amazing canon parallels, I am fascinated by the roles that @thickenmyblood has Kastor and Nikandros are playing in HIUH.

I mean, in canon, the two characters are very straightforward. Damen loves Kastor and Kastor is completely disloyal and prepared to kill Damen to get what he thinks he deserves. Damen loves Nikandros and Nikandros is completely loyal and would lay down his life for his true king.

But again, these are roles best suited to a pseudo-historical world of kingdoms. In each canon relationship, Damen, as the Crown Prince, holds a particular power (for Nikandros to cede to and for Kastor to resent and seek to destroy).

The absence of these royal dynamics in HIUH allows Damen’s relationships to Kastor and Nikandros to be delightfully more complex. And the two relationships/characters parallel and contrast with each other in interesting ways.

In terms of their relationships with Damen:

They each have the closest perspectives on Damen’s depression since all Damen does in the months after the breakup is go to work and sit around Nikandros’ place.

They have known Damen the longest of anyone left in his life.

They each present relationships that Damen must work through in his process of introspection (though Damen does not know this about Nikandros initially).

They can each, for their own reasons, be incredibly dismissive of Damen’s feelings.

Interestingly, in terms of their characters, the other thing they have in common is that the source of some of their most problematic behavior is their resentment of a child.

Kastor resents Damen for having been favored by their father and not only chooses to blame Damen along with their father, but also assumes that, as a much younger child, Damen would have been able to perceive and understand their father’s favoritism.

Damen ignores him. “Dad didn’t force anyone to stay at the house. They worked for him, and he paid them for their work. Not everyone takes the holidays off. It doesn’t mean dad was exploiting them.” “I never said he was. I said he was paying them to play house with you.” “What?” “He was too busy with work,” Kastor says, “and you were a half orphan. Do you actually think Hera, Chryses, and Brios wanted to be there? They had families too. They stayed because dad paid them, because he didn’t want you to grow up unbalanced.” A snort. “Not that it worked out too well, in the end.” Damen’s legs have gone numb. He thinks of standing, of walking out, but can’t muster up the strength to do it.  Kastor goes on talking as if nothing’s happened. To him, it hasn’t. “You know, after we had lunch the other day I kept thinking about Hera and all your nannies. Every time I went over to dad’s house, you had something new. A toy, a bed, a fucking babysitter. It used to make me furious. But now?” He pours what’s left of the wine. “Now I just feel sad for you.” Kastor is drunk. Has been for a while now. He looks less like their dad like this, which Damen is glad for. It’s always made him feel strange, the way Kastor can transform into someone older, with more authority, with just a gesture.  The polite thing to do would be to leave, quietly, and pretend this has never happened. Never bring it up again. Deny it, even, if necessary. Damen knows this. Damen has done this once before, for Laurent. He never brought up what happened at the company function all those years back. He should do the same now, for Kastor. “Why did it make you furious?” Damen says. “You were too old for toys, and you had a—you didn’t need a babysitter. Your bed was bigger than mine.” “It’s not about the fucking bed, Damianos.” “What is it about then?” Kastor’s hand goes pale around his glass, then back to normal. If he squeezes that hard again, the glass will break. “I can’t do this,” he says, as he pushes himself away from the table. “It’s—I’m not fucking doing this.” Damen stands as well. He feels like someone stuck on the wrong side of a mirror, his choice narrowed down entirely to another person’s. “Do what? We’re just talking.” “It’s never just talking when it’s you.” The table between them seems to wobble, unsure of whether to shrink or stretch. Damen thinks this might be the closest he’s ever been to Kastor.  “There’s nothing sad about having people work for you,” Damen says. He thinks that might be what Kastor was getting at earlier. Some internalized class shame. “They spent the holidays with us because they were paid to, yes, but that’s the way the world works. Would you go to work if you didn’t get paid to do it? Dad firing nannies because he was indecisive or something isn’t inherently—” “Indecisive. Dad, indecisive ? You’ve officially lost your mind.” They’re almost shouting again. This time, Damen doesn’t care. “If you would just explain what you mean instead of having me guess your fucking riddles like we’re ten years old, then maybe I wouldn’t sound like I’ve lost it.” “You’re insane,” Kastor says, even louder than before. “You’re just rewriting things to make them suit your craziness. Dad wasn’t indecisive about your stupid nannies, Damianos. He kept firing them because you called them all mom and wanted them to practically live with you. It freaked him the fuck out. And honestly? I don’t blame him. You freak me —” “Daddy?” Kastor steps away from the table. All of the sudden, he is like a man changed, reformed. Even his voice comes out different. “Did we wake you up, sweetheart? Uncle Damen was just leaving.”

(Also, intriguing little snippet re: Laurent just snuck into that passage.)

But anyway, it is wholly unreasonable for Kastor to expect Damen at the age of having nannies to have recognized how his behavior based in the absence of an involved parent had been interpreted by adults and influenced their actions. And it’s very dismissive of Damen’s experiences growing up (which, to be fair, Damen dismissed in himself for a long time before Neo).

Kastor definitely stopped therapy too soon!

Nikandros, meanwhile, has lumped Nicaise (who came into Damen’s life at the age of eleven!!) in with Laurent as a toxic and manipulative force in Damen’s life.

It’s obvious now to Damen that Laurent had been wrong at the coffee shop, wrong to assume Nicaise was on a crusade to spend more time with Damen. Nicaise has been inviting Damen places—Berenger’s houses, Laurent’s own apartment—because he knows Laurent will be there. Because he wants Damen and Laurent to be together again. Damen ignores the prickling sensation in his chest. It doesn’t exist, he tells himself, because why would he be upset to find out that a teenager doesn’t actually want to spend time with him? Nothing about what they’ve been doing has been normal. Nicaise isn’t normal.  Nikandros’ words, years old, come back to him now. That kid doesn’t care. He’s not going to call you in five years on Father’s Day. Like a parent’s scolding, the memory has come far too late to be useful.

Nikandros is doing the mouth thing, that soured-up expression he can’t hide when he wants to say something but knows he shouldn’t. Aktis calls it his bitch face. Damen breathes in. “Just say it.” “Do you talk about Laurent?” He does, sometimes. But it’s not a thing, it’s not often. It’s always in passing. Still, saying no outright feels like cheating. “I mostly talk about Nicaise.” The mouth thing worsens. Nikandros gets up. “I’m gonna get you more water.” “Don’t bother. I’m not thirsty.” “I am,” Nikandros says, and disappears into the kitchen. The sound of rushing water travels from the kitchen to Damen’s ears, but it’s not loud enough to drown out Nikandros’ voice. Damen doesn’t know what he’s muttering about, the words low and cut off, and he doesn’t care enough to ask. It’s not hard to picture Nikandros, standing in front of the sink, glass of water in hand, saying—well, what he’s always said. That kid doesn’t care. That kid’s fucking trouble.

“You just—you fucking love it.” Nikandros is walking again, half a circle, then back, then half a circle again. “You fucking love being his dog. He calls, you answer. He asks, and you drop every single fucking thing for him.” The thread stretches, wobbles. “I do.” “And for what? Are you that desperate to play daddy?” Damen doesn’t reply. Nikandros scrubs his face with both hands. “Damen. Damen . I’m—do you think he’s changed? Is that it? He hasn’t. People like him don’t change.” People like him. “Why don’t you like Nicaise?” “What?” “Nicaise,” Damen says, calmly, slowly, numbly. “You’ve never liked him. Why?” “Are you being serious right now?” Damen tips his head to the side, waits. His hands are not tingling anymore. “What is there to like? That kid’s a fucking brat,” Nikandros says. “You can’t even take him to a family dinner without him making a scene, and he’s, what? Eighteen? Come on.” “Did you tell him that? Did you call him a brat?” Nikandros’s mouth thins. He looks like Kastor. “Damen.” “Did you?” “Answer me this. Have they been asking you for money again?” “What?” Damen says. And then, as the thoughts trickle down: “ Again ? What the fuck does that mean?”

An exhale, defeated. “I don’t want to fight with you. That’s not why I called.” “Maybe I do,” Damen says. “You told me you’d stop. Time and time again. You said you’d stop bringing him up, bringing Nicaise up. But you won’t. You can’t.” “You bring them up,” Nikandros says, “all the fucking time. What am I supposed to do? Smile and nod along, like it doesn’t make me fucking sick? Like the way they take advantage of you isn’t wrong?” “We’re not even together. We’re not together. Do you hear the shit you’re saying? How is he taking advantage—” “Is the kid there?” Damen holds onto the counter. “It’s none of your business if he is.” “So, yeah, he fucking is. It’s Friday night, and you’re stuck home babysitting that deranged little shit when he’s not your responsibility anymore. What? Is money tight? Can’t he pay for a fucking nanny? It’s Friday night, and he dumps his kid on you, and then he gets to go out and have fun, which is what you should be doing. What’s next, huh? Is he going to make you pay for his college tuition? Make you buy him an apartment when he drops out? Damen, if you let him, he’s going to fucking milk you—”

Nikandros’ reaction to Nicaise makes me very angry! That’s why there are so many excerpts!

Okay, so we know now why Nikandros hates Laurent—and he wasn’t entirely wrong (though he wasn’t that right either)—but Laurent and Nicaise are not one undifferentiated person. And the difference between the responsibility Laurent and Nicaise bear for their behavior based on their ages is HUGE.

Nikandros has chosen a completely unreasonable interpretation of Nicaise’s trauma-induced behaviors. If a kid is struggling that much at that age, it’s not because they’re inherently unkind, uncaring or manipulative – it’s because of something they’ve experienced that they have not been able to process!

Nikandros has also (perhaps to be protective) minimized and belittled Damen’s desire to parent Nicaise. I think we can see Nikandros’ influence at the beginning of the story and in the time just before the beginning of the story after the breakup. At that time, Damen does not believe he is allowed to still parent Nicaise and has preemptively protected himself by not pursuing contact with Niciase post break-up. What Laurent and Nicaise have sometimes interpreted as Damen’s lack of care is actually, I believe, Damen in denial because he thinks he cares too much and that he is no longer able to give or express that care.

I think all this also gives us reason to reinterpret something else. In Chapter 19, I believe not for the first time, Laurent points out that Damen kept Nicaise compartmentalized from other parts of his life. Laurent takes this to mean Damen is embarrassed by Nicaise and doesn’t want Nicaise for the long haul. But if we think back to Damen’s initial description of why he didn’t want Nicaise to wear feminine-coded things, we see that it is a well-meaning but highly problematic effort to protect Nicaise from harm.

“Okay, then what was the problem? What made the things Nicaise wore girly?” “They were covered in glitter and sequins. He had this pair of shorts he loved, and they had this… pink patch sewn into one of the pockets.” Damen rubs his hands on his thighs again, not liking how damp they are, how tight his skin feels. “To school, he wore normal clothes, but only because I insisted. On the weekends, he’d just play dress-up. At fourteen.” “Let’s go back for a second,” Neo says. “You keep mentioning school, Damen. Was that your main concern? The fact that Nicaise would be teased by his classmates for wearing certain things?” “Yes.” Neo nods. “So you thought you were helping Nicaise prevent bullying of some sort.” Bullying. Damen tries not to roll his eyes. “Yes,” he says again, because it’s true. “Then what was the issue with Nicaise wearing those types of clothes at home during the weekend? No one was going to bully him there.” “Are you honestly going to tell me that’s normal?”  An awkward silence settles over them. Damen thinks he shouldn’t have used that word. Laurent had practically banned him from saying it at home, wouldn’t even hear Damen out if ‘normal’ was part of the argument, but this isn’t home. This is Neo’s office, and so Damen should get to say whatever he wants.  “What do you think would have been the normal thing to do?” Neo says. The confusion Damen is feeling must show on his face, because Neo adds, “What I mean is… What sorts of clothes should Nicaise have been wearing at fourteen?” “I don’t know.” “You can’t think of anything?” “Er,” Damen says. “Jeans?” “Good, jeans. What else?” “I don’t know what kids wear these days. A t-shirt? Sneakers?” “Okay. Now, what did you wear as a kid?” That was over a decade ago, Damen wants to say. What does that matter? Why can’t they talk about what’s actually important here, which is Laurent dating a fucking stranger?  “I guess the same things. Jeans, t-shirts. Gym shorts.” “Could it be that maybe what you think is normal for a fourteen-year-old to wear is just what you used to wear at fourteen?” Damen blinks at him. “I have nieces,” Neo says, “and they dress horribly, in my opinion. Fashion is very fast-paced. Most of the time it doesn’t survive the passage from one generation to the next.” “This isn’t about fashion.” “What is it about then?” “Nicaise is confused,” Damen says. “He needs stability. Rules. A schedule. Playing dress-up is fine when you’re six and a girl, but not when you’re… At fourteen, shouldn’t his main concern be finding a girl he can ask out on a date?” Neo picks his coffee up again. Three short sips this time. “You used the word ‘confused’. What do you think Nicaise is confused about?” “What he wants.” They’re running out of time to reach a conclusion. Damen feels wrung out, like something that’s been squeezed far too tightly and then left alone to decompress.  “What should he want then?” Neo says. The question hangs heavy between them, not accusatory but prodding. It feels like there are fingers scratching at Damen for answers, trying to slip under his skin and examine there too. All Damen has ever wanted is for Nicaise— “To be happy,” Damen says. “It’s like he keeps picking misery over being okay. He should just… make the easy choice, you know. Being a teenager is hard enough, why make things even more complicated by trying to stand out like that?” “Maybe that’s what makes him happy.” Damen snorts. “Right. Because being picked on at school is awesome.”

So now we think about Damen’s friends and what he implicitly (if not consciously) knows about them. He knows they will judge Nicaise, so he keeps Nicaise away from that judgment – less to protect himself than to protect Nicaise. But now, through therapy, he has learned both that his actions were hurting Niciase and that he genuinely desires (and maybe deserves) to parent Nicaise and to parent him well.

Which circles us back to Nikandros. Previously, Damen ignored Nikandros’ comments about Nicaise to keep the peace, and mostly kept the two apart. He also allowed his own desire to parent Nicaise to be belittled. Now that is no longer good enough. He needs to actively defend Nicaise and his feelings for Nicaise, and he does this by ending his friendship with Nikandros.

(Granted, he could have tried to articulate this more clearly and directly to Nikandros to at leave give Nikandros a chance to rethink his stance…) But breaking with Nikandros is Damen breaking with his old behavior and affirming his commitment to Nicaise.

Nikandros also serves as an unhappy mirror on Damen’s old dismissiveness around Laurent’s mental health. When Nikandros speaks, Damen is sometimes hearing Nikandros’ judgment, but he is also hearing his old self.

“Let’s drop it then. Never talk about him again.” “Fine.” “Good.” “Perfect,” Damen says. And then, “He’s not mentally unstable. Just because he has to see a therapist, it doesn’t mean—” “We said we were going to drop it,” Nikandros says. “You can’t just make things up and expect me not to correct you.” “Damen, you were the one that kept going on and on about his medication and fucking shrink appointments last year. Not me, you . So can you just be honest with yourself for once?” Damen thinks about leaving. He sees himself standing up and making his way downstairs, exiting the pub and getting into his car, then driving away. He sees himself ignoring Nikandros’ texts tomorrow. He sees them not speaking for another month or so. But then Damen also thinks about what Nikandros has said, about how it’s true. He should come to the gym with me, Damen had said last year, instead of just chugging down three pills a day. It can’t be healthy . And, Yoga could help. You know, the stuff Jokaste and her friends do. And, I wish he’d stop shit-talking me to his shrink. He’s so fucking crazy sometimes I — “You’re right,” Damen says. “We should just drop it.”

I think this offers us one possible answer to a question that Neo poses about the difference between the two relationships which interests me:

“How did you decide to set those boundaries with Nikandros? What made you do it?” Damen rolls his left ankle. It sends a rush of blood to his heel, his toes. “I don’t know. It just… happened. We started disagreeing on things.” “Would it be fair to say you identified some things that bothered you and that was what prompted you to take the measures that you took?” “Yes?” Neo nods and nods. Not a good sign. “Have you not felt that way about other people? Like they were crossing a line, like they were aggravating you…” “Er,” Damen says. “Kastor? We’ve been doing pretty well recently. He doesn’t boss me around; I do more stuff for the firm.” “So, what exactly is the difference between Kastor and, let’s say, your uncle?” “My uncle called me a faggot.” “Kastor has shown a tendency to call you things, too.” “I’m,” Damen says. “Why are you comparing them?” Neo’s pen lifts from the paper. “I’m trying to understand your thought process. What makes someone worthy of a second chance or, sometimes, several chances. What doesn’t.”

Why does Damen seemingly give up completely on Nikandros, while he and Kastor start to make forward progress? I have a few theories:

First, as I just said, I think Nikandros reminds Damen of his own failings, which makes him harsher on Nikandros because he is very angry at himself for hurting Nicaise. Kastor may feel Damen has many failings, but they’re not very fair assessments and Damen hasn’t taken on responsibility for being a clueless kid (nor should he).

Kastor doesn’t hate Laurent or Nicaise (he actually communicates with them when Damen isn’t) and actually seems to recognize Damen’s parenting role before Damen fully does.

“Do you still talk to Laurent?” Kastor does not look surprised. If anything, he seems relieved. “Ah,” he says, because Kastor’s always been one to gloat. “Yes. Sometimes.” Sometimes. Damen hasn’t talked to Laurent in weeks, not since Nicaise staged their little reunion, and before that months had gone by without a single text or call or voicemail. But Kastor and Laurent talk sometimes. That’s good to know. “Why?”  “We’re not friends,” Kastor says, which only makes Damen feel more out of place. Does he think Damen doesn’t want them to be friends? Does Damen not want them to be friends? “Or anything, really. We text once in a while, mostly about Galen.” Damen frowns. “Galen?” “Nicaise asks for pictures of him. He refuses to accept my mom’s friendship request on Facebook, so I send Laurent photos of Galen that he can show Nicaise. On occasion. It’s not a thing.” “Why not text Nicaise directly?” Kastor snorts. When he runs a hand through his hair, messing it up, he looks too much like their father. Damen ends up looking away. “I’ve blocked his number. The little shit kept spamming me with that photoshopped picture of—” “The rabid beaver,” Damen says, smiling despite it all. A bitter hurt starts to spread in his chest, suddenly unleashed. “That’s nice of you.” “You sound surprised.” I am, Damen thinks. Instead, he says, “I need to ask you something.”

Kastor pushes himself away from the door. “We’re going then. Next weekend, or the one after that.” “Just us two?” “No. Galen’s coming too.” Damen frowns. “Isn’t he a little young to go fishing?” Kastor frowns back. “What? Why?” “How’s he supposed to hold the rod?” “I’ll buy him one for kids,” Kastor says. Then, already halfway out of Damen’s office, “Do you.” “Do I…?” “Do you want to bring someone.” Iris? Kyra? What is Kastor talking about? “Like who?” Damen says. “Is Jo going too?” Kastor’s eyes roll and roll and roll. “It’s a boys' trip.” “I’m not,” Damen gets out, awkward and confused, “seeing anyone right now.” “For fuck’s sake, I’m talking about Nicaise. ”

3. Also, Damen and Kastor have ways of improving their relationship that don’t require head-on confrontation of their issues. Once Kastor actually tells Damen how much he’s working, for example, Damen is able to agree to take on a larger share of the work. This isn’t the deep source of Kastor’s resentment, but establishing greater equality in their working relationship serves as a proxy solution.

By contrast, there is no temporary way forward for Damen and Nikandros without Damen both admitting the ways in which Nikandros had a point about how Laurent treated him AND confronting Nikandros about his judgment of Nicaise.

4. I think that throughout this fic Damen has been struggling with the idea of family. He starts the fic with a strong sense that being biological family is a bond that has to be respected in some way. They shouldn’t speak ill of their father. They should honor their father’s relationship to Makedon. Kastor is his brother and so he can treat Damen however and Damen will just take it.

This extends to a sense that family cannot be chosen. Damen doesn’t get to parent Nicaise if he’s not with Nicaise’s guardian. Damen cannot try to fill the whole left in his life by his biological mother (and his father’s distance) by cultivating a relationship with someone else’s (Nikandros’s) mother.  

And I feel like that may be related to Damen not trusting that people not biologically related to him won’t just leave because they have no formal obligation to him. So I think for Damen, Kastor will always be in his life. But if it comes down to Nikandros or Nicaise, he’s decided to choose Nicaise. (Though again, I hope he will rethink that and approach Nikandros with more honesty. And that he can flourish with a better understanding of chosen family and of what he deserves from the people he cares about.)

Bright side of his rigid family ideas: He gets to cut off Makedon once Kastor points out (if rudely) that he isn’t actually biological family.

Kastor puts his chopsticks down. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. Makedon has always hated Vere. He was the one that threw the biggest fucking fit when he found out dad wanted to move to Delfeur, and back then it was still Delpha. There’s no way you didn’t know that.” “I knew, but he—” “And anyway, why do you care what some old fart thinks of you?” Damen closes his mouth, opens it. “He’s our uncle.” “He was our father’s best friend,” Kastor says, managing to make even the simplest statement sound like a lecture. At least he’s used the right pronoun this time. “We’re not related by blood, and even if we were I’d still think he’s an idiot. Maybe even more, actually.” They only have fifteen minutes left of their lunch break. Any moment now, Marianne will knock on the door and ask him or Kastor or both to sign some papers, to send an email, to make a call. Damen wishes she’d come in right now, before he says something he’ll regret. “You sound so,” Damen starts, and stops. He’s so tired of feeling stupid; he’s so tired of not knowing what to say. “I didn’t know that’s how you saw things.”  “What is that supposed to mean?” Dad’s words sneak out of him: “Family is family.” “According to whom?” Kastor says. He doesn’t sound playful anymore, or sarcastic. He hasn’t moved, and yet Damen feels as though Kastor has gone away, replaced by a stranger that looks like him. “Daddy dearest? Was being nice to Uncle Mak on the will? I must have missed it.” Damen clenches his jaw so hard his molars ache. “Don’t.”

Anyway, I don’t have a great wrap up to this post, but I really appreciate the complexity of HIUH Kastor and Nikandros and the depth it adds to the characterization of Damen as he navigates his complicated relationships with each of them and the meaning of family.

But don’t resent children! Seriously. Stop it.

[finelinens1994]

ur so idgaf-pilled its awesome. i think you and brio have influenced me the most with the idgaf war bc every time i get mad abt smth i go "do i Want to wallow in it or would i rather complain abt annoying facebook videos/play a shooter game". same thing with the problematic stuff!! i look at it and go "is it problematic bc it contains [subject], how it depicts [subject], or do i not like it bc it contains/depicts [subject]"

i just think it's sooo important to feel your emotions and then take a step back and think about them and where they may be coming from, so that they don't control your actions without any thought. obviously i'm only human so i'm prone to emotionally-driven decisions and outbursts as well but it's something worth practicing regardless. we can't just all walk around being controlled by our feelings at all times!! and our feelings are often not the most important factor in a given situation anyway!! far from it!! and i'm glad you're trying to put more thought into how you approach "problematic" materials :) that makes me really happy. proud of you buddy

[werewolvesandaccordions]

Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is that what Brahms did save and publish were some of the greatest pieces of music from the 19th century, so perhaps we should trust his judgment that the early stuff wasn’t as important. Somehow, the first piano trio didn’t get the same treatment, even though he had considered subtracting it from his published oeuvre. Instead, he revised it decades later, brushing, rearranging, and polishing the work. And I’m glad that he didn’t get rid of it, because this trio is one of my favorite pieces that is full of gorgeous moments. The opening melody is among the more beautiful melodies I know. Slow, songlike, and pastoral, the piano plays it over a simple accompaniment. Then, the cello joins in harmony. The two play around until the violin joins in, and the three restate this main theme with as much exuberance as you can imagine. The accompaniment in the following rush of joy is built out of fragments of the main melody, a device that Haydn and Beethoven used for most of their works, and one that will later become an obsession for Brahms. The next section is a bit more shadowed and mysterious, a strange gloom compared to what we just heard. Difficult passages keep the texture dense, until we break out into a stormy third melody (!). Then, after a pause, the repeat takes us back to the opening, making the exposition surprisingly long. After the repeat, the development shifts us into a meandering transition with an emphasis on rising scales, before bringing the stormy melody again. This transitions into a revision of the main melody that makes it more mournful over restless piano notes. More drama comes through, and finally the sun breaks out and we get a mighty restatement of the joyous opening. After the recapitulation, the main theme is stated one more time in a very peaceful and dreamlike haze, until the coda finishes with strong optimism. The scherzo is fun, based on a jittery theme, and we hear the piano do a lot of impressive runs and figures. The ‘trio’ section is more peaceful, a theme that is pushed to an intensity before coming back to the opening. The movement ends peacefully, which helps set the mood for the slow movement. It opens with a choral like passage in the piano. The keyboard is in dialogue with the strings until they come together. The cello sings out an autumnal melody. Through repeats, the piano starts to become idiosyncratic, and then it plays slight elaborations under the strings restating the melody. It passes by in a dreary mood until a more resolved coda. The last movement takes us into b minor, a strange shift, and the cello plays a chromatic melody over fleeting piano arpeggios. Again we get the intensity with rapid chords and a deep sonority as it develops. A second melody helps contrast the darkness by being thinner and more relaxed. After the repeats, the main dramatic theme is thinned out over more arpeggios, but we soon come back to the slamming chords, and in a stormy rush we are thrown into the final bars, emphatically ending in the minor. It isn’t common for works in this era to start major and end minor, so that kind of touch may have been something the young Brahms decided to do out of novelty. Either way, the revision makes the work more “to-the-point” and its youthful intensity remains. Despite the joy in the opening movement, most of the piece has a darker, more disturbed atmosphere. It is strange to pin down. Movements: 1. Allegro con brio 2. Scherzo 3. Adagio non troppo 4. Finale: Allegro molto agitato.

mikrokosmos: Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is…

[tinas-art]

Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is that what Brahms did save and publish were some of the greatest pieces of music from the 19th century, so perhaps we should trust his judgment that the early stuff wasn’t as important. Somehow, the first piano trio didn’t get the same treatment, even though he had considered subtracting it from his published oeuvre. Instead, he revised it decades later, brushing, rearranging, and polishing the work. And I’m glad that he didn’t get rid of it, because this trio is one of my favorite pieces that is full of gorgeous moments. The opening melody is among the more beautiful melodies I know. Slow, songlike, and pastoral, the piano plays it over a simple accompaniment. Then, the cello joins in harmony. The two play around until the violin joins in, and the three restate this main theme with as much exuberance as you can imagine. The accompaniment in the following rush of joy is built out of fragments of the main melody, a device that Haydn and Beethoven used for most of their works, and one that will later become an obsession for Brahms. The next section is a bit more shadowed and mysterious, a strange gloom compared to what we just heard. Difficult passages keep the texture dense, until we break out into a stormy third melody (!). Then, after a pause, the repeat takes us back to the opening, making the exposition surprisingly long. After the repeat, the development shifts us into a meandering transition with an emphasis on rising scales, before bringing the stormy melody again. This transitions into a revision of the main melody that makes it more mournful over restless piano notes. More drama comes through, and finally the sun breaks out and we get a mighty restatement of the joyous opening. After the recapitulation, the main theme is stated one more time in a very peaceful and dreamlike haze, until the coda finishes with strong optimism. The scherzo is fun, based on a jittery theme, and we hear the piano do a lot of impressive runs and figures. The ‘trio’ section is more peaceful, a theme that is pushed to an intensity before coming back to the opening. The movement ends peacefully, which helps set the mood for the slow movement. It opens with a choral like passage in the piano. The keyboard is in dialogue with the strings until they come together. The cello sings out an autumnal melody. Through repeats, the piano starts to become idiosyncratic, and then it plays slight elaborations under the strings restating the melody. It passes by in a dreary mood until a more resolved coda. The last movement takes us into b minor, a strange shift, and the cello plays a chromatic melody over fleeting piano arpeggios. Again we get the intensity with rapid chords and a deep sonority as it develops. A second melody helps contrast the darkness by being thinner and more relaxed. After the repeats, the main dramatic theme is thinned out over more arpeggios, but we soon come back to the slamming chords, and in a stormy rush we are thrown into the final bars, emphatically ending in the minor. It isn’t common for works in this era to start major and end minor, so that kind of touch may have been something the young Brahms decided to do out of novelty. Either way, the revision makes the work more “to-the-point” and its youthful intensity remains. Despite the joy in the opening movement, most of the piece has a darker, more disturbed atmosphere. It is strange to pin down. Movements: 1. Allegro con brio 2. Scherzo 3. Adagio non troppo 4. Finale: Allegro molto agitato.

mikrokosmos: Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is…

[dariaandjanelanefanboy]

Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is that what Brahms did save and publish were some of the greatest pieces of music from the 19th century, so perhaps we should trust his judgment that the early stuff wasn’t as important. Somehow, the first piano trio didn’t get the same treatment, even though he had considered subtracting it from his published oeuvre. Instead, he revised it decades later, brushing, rearranging, and polishing the work. And I’m glad that he didn’t get rid of it, because this trio is one of my favorite pieces that is full of gorgeous moments. The opening melody is among the more beautiful melodies I know. Slow, songlike, and pastoral, the piano plays it over a simple accompaniment. Then, the cello joins in harmony. The two play around until the violin joins in, and the three restate this main theme with as much exuberance as you can imagine. The accompaniment in the following rush of joy is built out of fragments of the main melody, a device that Haydn and Beethoven used for most of their works, and one that will later become an obsession for Brahms. The next section is a bit more shadowed and mysterious, a strange gloom compared to what we just heard. Difficult passages keep the texture dense, until we break out into a stormy third melody (!). Then, after a pause, the repeat takes us back to the opening, making the exposition surprisingly long. After the repeat, the development shifts us into a meandering transition with an emphasis on rising scales, before bringing the stormy melody again. This transitions into a revision of the main melody that makes it more mournful over restless piano notes. More drama comes through, and finally the sun breaks out and we get a mighty restatement of the joyous opening. After the recapitulation, the main theme is stated one more time in a very peaceful and dreamlike haze, until the coda finishes with strong optimism. The scherzo is fun, based on a jittery theme, and we hear the piano do a lot of impressive runs and figures. The ‘trio’ section is more peaceful, a theme that is pushed to an intensity before coming back to the opening. The movement ends peacefully, which helps set the mood for the slow movement. It opens with a choral like passage in the piano. The keyboard is in dialogue with the strings until they come together. The cello sings out an autumnal melody. Through repeats, the piano starts to become idiosyncratic, and then it plays slight elaborations under the strings restating the melody. It passes by in a dreary mood until a more resolved coda. The last movement takes us into b minor, a strange shift, and the cello plays a chromatic melody over fleeting piano arpeggios. Again we get the intensity with rapid chords and a deep sonority as it develops. A second melody helps contrast the darkness by being thinner and more relaxed. After the repeats, the main dramatic theme is thinned out over more arpeggios, but we soon come back to the slamming chords, and in a stormy rush we are thrown into the final bars, emphatically ending in the minor. It isn’t common for works in this era to start major and end minor, so that kind of touch may have been something the young Brahms decided to do out of novelty. Either way, the revision makes the work more “to-the-point” and its youthful intensity remains. Despite the joy in the opening movement, most of the piece has a darker, more disturbed atmosphere. It is strange to pin down. Movements: 1. Allegro con brio 2. Scherzo 3. Adagio non troppo 4. Finale: Allegro molto agitato.

mikrokosmos: Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is…

[hushilda]

Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is that what Brahms did save and publish were some of the greatest pieces of music from the 19th century, so perhaps we should trust his judgment that the early stuff wasn’t as important. Somehow, the first piano trio didn’t get the same treatment, even though he had considered subtracting it from his published oeuvre. Instead, he revised it decades later, brushing, rearranging, and polishing the work. And I’m glad that he didn’t get rid of it, because this trio is one of my favorite pieces that is full of gorgeous moments. The opening melody is among the more beautiful melodies I know. Slow, songlike, and pastoral, the piano plays it over a simple accompaniment. Then, the cello joins in harmony. The two play around until the violin joins in, and the three restate this main theme with as much exuberance as you can imagine. The accompaniment in the following rush of joy is built out of fragments of the main melody, a device that Haydn and Beethoven used for most of their works, and one that will later become an obsession for Brahms. The next section is a bit more shadowed and mysterious, a strange gloom compared to what we just heard. Difficult passages keep the texture dense, until we break out into a stormy third melody (!). Then, after a pause, the repeat takes us back to the opening, making the exposition surprisingly long. After the repeat, the development shifts us into a meandering transition with an emphasis on rising scales, before bringing the stormy melody again. This transitions into a revision of the main melody that makes it more mournful over restless piano notes. More drama comes through, and finally the sun breaks out and we get a mighty restatement of the joyous opening. After the recapitulation, the main theme is stated one more time in a very peaceful and dreamlike haze, until the coda finishes with strong optimism. The scherzo is fun, based on a jittery theme, and we hear the piano do a lot of impressive runs and figures. The ‘trio’ section is more peaceful, a theme that is pushed to an intensity before coming back to the opening. The movement ends peacefully, which helps set the mood for the slow movement. It opens with a choral like passage in the piano. The keyboard is in dialogue with the strings until they come together. The cello sings out an autumnal melody. Through repeats, the piano starts to become idiosyncratic, and then it plays slight elaborations under the strings restating the melody. It passes by in a dreary mood until a more resolved coda. The last movement takes us into b minor, a strange shift, and the cello plays a chromatic melody over fleeting piano arpeggios. Again we get the intensity with rapid chords and a deep sonority as it develops. A second melody helps contrast the darkness by being thinner and more relaxed. After the repeats, the main dramatic theme is thinned out over more arpeggios, but we soon come back to the slamming chords, and in a stormy rush we are thrown into the final bars, emphatically ending in the minor. It isn’t common for works in this era to start major and end minor, so that kind of touch may have been something the young Brahms decided to do out of novelty. Either way, the revision makes the work more “to-the-point” and its youthful intensity remains. Despite the joy in the opening movement, most of the piece has a darker, more disturbed atmosphere. It is strange to pin down. Movements: 1. Allegro con brio 2. Scherzo 3. Adagio non troppo 4. Finale: Allegro molto agitato.

mikrokosmos: Brahms – Piano Trio no.1 in B Major, op.8 (1853, rev. 1889) Brahms was a notorious perfectionist who held himself to incredibly high standards. The downside of this is that many early works were dropped into his furnace, so who knows how many hours of music we’ll never get to hear. The upside is…

[mego42]

a birthday rec post!

for @foxmagpie​’s birthday i’m celebrating her beautiful brain with five of my fav of her fics. If you haven’t checked them out i highkey recommend you fix your lives post-haste bc like my taste in people, my taste in fic is impeccable (though i am open to counterarguments if you guys have others you want to add on).

Snapshots: Photobooth

gOD this fic is so cUTE

i say fic but it’s tech an anthology of delinquents future snippets and this is just one chapter and while i’m here i heartily rec all of it

truly a galaxy brain concept on megan’s part, she’s tormenting us with a(n exquisite) slow burn in delinquents but also giving us the goods so we know what to look forward to

i love having my cake and eating it too, is what i’m saying

especially when the cake is as sweet and delightful as this one

look it’s a really neat trick to be able to write rio as a giddy sap of a teenage!! person and still have it feel totally in line with his adult canon self somehow idk how she does it but i’m so glad she does

Subjunctive

i’m gonna start us off by promising you guys i think about this fic an extremely normal amount

i also want to disclaim that i know beth gaming a douchebag named parker in a bar isn’t an homage to buffy bc megan’s refusal to watch is a source of endless torment BUT no one can stop me from taking it as one

anyway

i think one of the things that gets me with this fic is how neatly and efficiently it weaves in beth and rio’s (brief) history with the exact right amount of pining that i’m fully on board and rooting for them to get together not just hook up but it doesn’t take away from the bouncy, light, fun feel of the fic

plus oh my goD is it sexy

now elizabeth

who gave you the right????????????

Missed Call

the way this fic stresses me out

weird opening to a rec, i know but hear me out: the mounting tension is a perfectly paced build that sets up the culmination to hit like a hammer

it’s also a really excellent study in how isolating fear and stress can be and how even the most well-intentioned comfort can be the least comforting thing in the world and idk maybe that’s a weird thing to rec about it too but i think that’s so real and messy and i love how the discordant note of it plays into the tension

i know it’s not meant to be but it plays as an excellent counterpart to back to our cocoon which is only not on this list bc i made the stupid ass decision to stick to five but you should def consider that recced as well

I Will Collect and Capture You

look if you haven’t read this fic yet idk what to tell you

i really wanted to stick with stuff i hadn’t recced a bunch before but i love this one too much to leave it off but since i’ve yelled about it a bunch already i’ll be brief

while it is technically a wip, each chapter feels like a complete standalone arc so if you’ve been sitting on this one, stop making bad choices

features peak brio mess and jealousy and a metric fuckton of angst, but also weaves in some tenderness and humor and a hefty amount of god tier smut

truly this fic has it all

Crush

THE WAY I LOVE THIS FIC

look, i am not usually an OC person when it comes to fic, i’m here for what i’m here for, you know? but mar and elena are apparently the exception to that rule

it’s also a testament to how rich and in-depth the delinquents verse is that it can support such a built out, fully realized side-quest style fic for two characters who, while fairly close to the central plot, aren’t remotely the focus of it

also i know this fic is all about mar and elena getting together and do not get me wrong, they are the absolute cutest and everything about their story makes me scream, the part of this fic that really makes my heart go haywire is the mar and rio of it all

idk precisely why but i am ridiculously invested in rio having bffs on ruby and annie’s level and gOD does the relationship with mar megan’s crafted deliver on that like whoa

everything about their relationship from the literal reality of it to the way that rio’s an indelible part of mar’s mental landscape is pitch perfect and so, so precious to me

(and LOOK i KNOW that is not LITERALLY THE YEARBOOK DRAWING i am AWARE it should be a DUGOUT i TRIED MY BEST)

ily babe, i hope you have an amazing day 💖

[copiouscouples]

GGAW2021 DAY 1: Favorite Brio Scenes

First Domestic Spat

This is the first scene I watched where I was like “Hello” there’s more to this relationship than Rio shamelessly ogling Beth. They’re both feeling some type of way. 

Beth is feeling betrayed and angry because she thought they’d reached a point where they didn’t play games like this. She thought they were getting to more equal footing. 

Rio’s feeling some type of way because A) seeing her emotional is making him emotional and he’s realizing that that’s not a very boss like response to her anger; he’s in danger of catching feelings and he KNOWS it and that’s why he’s like this is done and B) Beth is putting words into his mouth with all her talk of when’s he gonna come and murder her and he high key feels hurt that she thinks he would do that.

And the 🍒 on top? Rio calling Beth Elizabeth. This scene is just beautiful and angsty and I love it. 👩‍🍳💋

Beth’s Pleased Smile

This moment is just cute. Beth is just tinkled pink when Rio says he’s going to up the drop because she delivers. After he leaves, she just can’t stop smiling. Ahh, for them to be newly crushing on each other again. 🥰

Does Nobody Windex That Mirror?

Y’all had to know I was going to include this scene. I mean, it’s iconic. It’s the scene that sailed a thousand Brio shippers over the edge. When I first saw it, I was in shock. Like it’s season 2. Isn’t this scene like 2-3 seasons too early? Aren’t the writers gonna drag this out? 

Looking back, I’m so glad they didn’t. This was a great moment to show their dynamic, who they are separately as well as who they are together. On her own, Beth is just desperately wanting to be something, to have power, to be bad, but not murderous bad. On his own, Rio is smart, good at reading situations and people, adaptable, and more comfortable with who he is than Beth. Beth just wants to be understood by somebody. Rio just wants someone to be on his side. He’s content with who he is as a person, but he’s lonely. 

Here we see how in tune they are with each other. Being able to nonverbally communicate like that is a top-tier level skill. Plus, this scene was just 🔥❤️‍🔥🔥

The Great Panty Debate of 2019 🩲

This scene has everything. A spirited debate on what to call a woman’s undergarments, Rio’s musical laugh, Dean getting dragged, Rio offering to white knight and get Beth’s money back, Beth voluntarily opening up to Rio... 

The Scene Where Rio and Beth Make Up Their Own Rules To 20 Questions

The chemistry and tension in this scene is palpable. You can feel it through the screen. It starts off with Rio being his regular ol’ Cheshire Cat self, taunting Beth with his riddles, but then we glean some pretty interesting insights into what’s in their heads. Interesting how Beth’s first question is about Rhea....and whether she’s his ex-wife or not... And on Rio’s side, we find out that he’s not ever expecting Beth to pay off the body. No, he’s expecting her to work for him indefinitely. I wonder why he’d want that... 🤔

Amidst the banter, we got the delicious sounds of them calling each other by their given names. 

Now, even though this scene ended as frustratingly as possible with Rio kicking Beth out, I still love it. I love seeing Beth being so transparent in her feelings for Rio. She’s practically begging to be kissed. Of course, Rio is still hurt from the previous booting from her boudoir and her blocking his calls. Plus, I think he believes that she’s bad for him, that’s she a weakness. But I don’t believe for a second that deep down he didn’t want to kiss Beth. He’s just exercising some extreme self-control fueled by his anger and resentment here.

[septiembrre]

Really enjoyed your nuanced post about respect for Latinx characters on the show. Why do you think there’s such a divide between the respect Rio commands from the majority of the audience versus the how the show treats him? I have empathy for all the characters but the longer the show goes on, Rio is the standout “main” character that receives the least amount from the show itself. I’m interested to see how this shifts with the introduction of Nick as the bad egg, but was thrown by bill kreb’s response that Beth will never soften to Rio because of the situations he puts her in. And not that #brio is the entire show but Beth is the person/lens who we see Rio through, so her opinion/attitude is by default the one that matters here (petition for first person Rio POV). I’m not totally sure what I’m asking hahah but would love your thoughts on any of it if you wanted to share. 🧠

Hi Anon! 

When I got your ask yesterday I realized that damn it, I finally needed to track down this post I wrote last April in the middle of Season 3 airing. Back in the day (lol, a year ago, but a year in pandemic terms, okay?), I didn’t tag anything in purposefully -- I mean I only meagerly tag things now -- and thought I had lost it forever, but I’m so glad I found it. I didn’t do all that emotional labor for it to fall into the Tumblr abyss. 😭I fucking transcribed something from a Youtube video (so extra.) 

It’s weird reading it now because so much it still feels salient. I hate that. But, even though it’s time-stamped from a year ago, I think it still gets to your question: 

Why do you think there’s such a divide between the respect Rio commands from the majority of the audience versus the how the show treats him? 

1. I think there isn’t enough support for writing Latinx characters on the show. I wonder if there are any Latinx writers on the show, and if there are, whether they are junior writers/what their power looks like in the writing room. The conversation doesn’t have to stop at writers either, just how many Latinx creators allowed to have voices in the decision-making involved in the show? 

2. I still think MM lacks the traditional star power to have Rio’s character get more narrative weight. I think there are certain things within his control, pieces he can lobby for and effect -- but not larger narrative choices. While Rio is the fan favorite, MM is still the least prolific, known of the cast, hasn’t paid his acting dues to get higher billed, etc. I do laugh tho every episode when MM is billed right above Lidya Jewett the actress who plays Sara, Ruby’s daughter, who has barely been in this season (but kudos to her and her ppl for advocating for her billing spot). 

Importantly, MM doesn’t seem to have allies in the three leads. For example, I would argue Reno’s professional relationship and friendship with Retta and Matthew’s relationship with Christina (lol, Matt seems to be a set favorite) have very much paid off for both of them (especially Matt). It feels strange to watch classic work dynamics play out like this on the show bc you would think it would be more effected by NBC’s bottom line. But I’m getting that classic workplace read, that your job standing is based on who you’re allied with and who is your advocate. And this is just pure speculation, my personal read, but I think there are also vibes of ~unconscious bias~ discriminatory stuff around MM being a Latinx actor from a working-class BIPOC community layered in all of this. 

I don’t want to fully get into the subject of MM but I feel like this ask would be incomplete to not mention the following. Something else that stands out in this situation is MM’s public shade towards the show, and social media presence overall. *sigh*  At this point, I can’t imagine MM hasn’t been come across as unpalatable to his castmates. From the little glimpses we get on social media it hasn’t looked pretty. However, as much as he makes me cringe, I see his work vibes, and I feel a sad echo of my own experiences as a brown Latinx person trying to get my white coworkers to recognize my fuller humanity. 

Anyway, NBC’s gripe is that Good Girls doesn’t make them enough money and the thing is we know how it could. With a few tweaks (not making GG the Rio!Show but giving Rio more narrative weight, putting him in even one substantive scene with Annie or Ruby for example) Good Girls could more easily get renewed, be more popular etc. I don’t think shifts like this would have to compromise the integrity of the story Jenna Bans originally wanted to tell with the focus on the three female leads. There can be more effort put into the Latinx representation without it breaking the premise of the show.  

But, on the bright side in Season 4, Rio has a new scene playmate~ Little by little we are populating Rio’s world, and we finally have someone he can work against one-on-one in scenes independent from Beth. Love for that for him!~* Idk, I’m still skeptical about this Nick storyline. I really enjoy aspects of it, but I feel like it’s pinging a radar re:poorly thought out representation in a way I haven’t fully processed yet.  

Thanks for the ask! (I will take no further questions about MM at this time.🙈)

[michelleelizabethtanner]

I love your takes sm!! I feel like so many brio fans are just rio fans in disguise because the hate that Beth receives is insane to me.

Do people not see that (despite him being hot and just the right amount of flirty and very occasionally tender) Rio holds the power in the relationship for about two seasons and a half?And I’m not hating on Rio either! His actions make sense from his pov but so do Beth’s. A lot of the time Rio uses her feelings and insecurities against her in the first few seasons, sure he encourages her and believes in a side of herself that no one else does- he didn’t get a lick of fucking hate for that- but when Beth makes a decision for her family (Ruby and Annie included) she gets hate for not “choosing Rio”, but I know for a fact she would get hate if she didn’t as well and would be called some iteration of the “boy crazy” insult. And I’m not one to defend the shooting storyline, but Rio really fucking pushed her, when there’s even a little bit of tenderness in their relationship, he can’t help but ruin it. Like after the bathroom scene he went and destroyed deans car just to tip the power scales. It’s like she gets punished for him not wanting to deal with his feelings on their partnership.

Season 4 is one of my favourites because, despite all their history, he’s the one to put his faith in her, much like she did in season 1 and 2, but instead of doing the same thing he did to her- generally manipulating and using this against him- she’s a bit kinder and does choose him. Includes him in the people she’s protecting and vice Versa. Sure she teases him- which I love their dynamic in s4 just being her teasing him and him having to just take it because nick has posed a threat to the security of their already fragile relationship.

I’m not sure where I was going with this- I just love them and need a season 5

Hey! Thank you for all the likes and for the follow! I’m so glad my takes work for you. 🥰 I adore Beth Boland. I’m a fan of imperfect female characters all-around, but something about Beth is just so relatable to me. The ways in which she takes back her power are so human and so understandable, despite the preposterous situation. I love Rio, too. They’re so similar to me. They don’t see their own social power and power over each other. I think Rio does realize it more than Beth does, as you mentioned. He knows he’s in control with her, and he continuously reminds her of it. Until she upended all that and equalized their playing field.

And you’re right, Beth got a ton of hate for standing up. I can see how objectively it’s “unfair” and blah blah blah. But as you mentioned, what choice did she have? I had a long ramble about their shifting power dynamics in this post, where I awkwardly tried to explain that men often kill women over hurt feelings. And Beth knew she’d hurt more than his feelings. So of course she had to shoot him! It was either him or her, in her mind.

I mourned a s5 that could have been for a long time. So much so, that I spent a year and a half writing my own. Lol! I did finally let it go and moved past that empty feeling about the conclusion. If nothing else, I have this suspicion that a s5 would have been frustrating and not as fulfilling as we all hoped. So maybe it’s better to leave it in our imaginations.

[dragonturtle]

No. 2 in the prompt thing.

Brio (obv) and Rhea (bc I miss her!).

Please and Thank you! 🧡

Thank you 🧡 this one was really difficult aaaaaaah but always hype. Hope you like it!

2. Oh My God. You're in love with her.

(Set in, you guessed it, post-canon)

"Pop! Ey, watch it!"

But Marcus is far from his reach, his son's not so tiny frame running from his mom's kitchen to his room. Dealing with a preteen has been an interesting experience to live given he once was one himself, so he's damn aware about what his kid is going through. He may not be the best mentor in the world, but since things have been running smoothly with business, ain't no more disappearing into thin air for him.

Yet, they were always difficult days. Today was one of them. They got into an argument in his car about a new console he wanted and Rhea and him agreed they weren't going to buy one. Even if he worked his ass off to spare on anything his family needs, he ain't gonna spoil the kid. Playground never gets easy, you gotta learn to compromise in life. And they can give him one, for his birthday or Christmas, but not when Marcus demands it. Things don't work like that.

So, he dropped him by Rhea's and when it was their time to say goodby, he passed by him without saying it, his son's immaturity making his jaw clench.

"What happened?" Rhea asked him, drying her hands with some paper towels after finishing washing some dishes. He's standing by her kitchen island, his back turned to the tv, now passing some cooking show.

"You know, me being bad fucking cop 'bout the thing he can't keep asking for." He shrugs, rolling his neck to release some tension.

"I'll talk to him again, don't worry."

She came to stand by his side, one of her small hands in his shoulders, bright smile and he's glad they doing this together, that coparenting with her has been a fucking blessing. And he's musing things in his brain about the importance of family in his, why the fuck not, when a too well known voice is speaking through the tv.

Elizabeth's eyes in close-up, blonde hair framing her face a little longer than when they met all those years ago, hands moving up and down explaining how a new community center for the elders will benefit the town and he's suddenly giggling remembering the real reason why it's a good idea because business, sound coming from his mouth so loud he can't do it anything to stop it at this point.

Rhea's gaping like a cartoon fish, the hold on his shoulder suddenly tightens, a look of disbelief painting her features.

Shit. They haven't talked about her in a long time, so long it feels like another life, whatever he does with his business never a topic in their conversation. Rhea knows they work together now, that's all. But never talked in deep about this. Last time they did had been, well, it was when he came back from being practically dead and Elizabeth made her way into her and his son's life. If it was messy back then, with all of his rage threaten to spill everywhere, now that things are good, when nobody is trying to kill the other anymore, and they--

"Oh My God. You're in love with her. That's why she is where she is."

And if it ain't this the most offensive fucking shit he'd ever heard in his life, he doesn't know what other thing could be.

Before he can say anything, Marcus comes running to the kitchen and almost tackles him to the ground, arms around his waist, holding him tight.

"Thought you left. I wanted to say by, dad. Oh-- isn't that Jane's mom? From the park?"

And he feels like he can't run, can't explain himself, can't justify things that ain't true. Rhea's prying eyes not leaving his face and he better deflect this by laughing, mocking his baby mama ridiculous affirmation by ruffling his son's eyes and saying his goodbyes before going for the door.

"This got nothing to do with love, ma." He finally says, his hand holding the doorknob.

"Tell yourself that, Christopher."

Rhea's voice drilling his ears way after he closes the door, his teeth biting his bottom lip with too much force. And when he realizes what he's doing his face feels numb, his mouth the only barrier keeping his telltale heart from falling off his body, notifying everyone of the things he clearly ain't ready to say out loud.

[mbop123]

This man should just do an AMA at this point hahah.

Beth and Rio really need to start communicating, like now. But who sent the plates to Beth? Someone needs to ask krebs.

They really do, haha, and I know people disagree with me on this, but my interpretation was that Rio sent the plates to Beth. The fact that it came after him pointedly saying that he was sending Beth a gift felt direct to me, and Nick clearly not knowing about Rio killing Lucy earlier in the episode gave me the impression that Nick actually isn’t that across the specifics of what it is Rio does, and is in particular divorced from the Paper Porcupine operation.

The plates were delivered to Beth’s house, not to PP, which could be designed to imply that it was Nick, but I don’t think so. I just think Rio wouldn’t do deliveries direct to PP without Mick as the delivery man because there’s too much risk in it being opened by somebody else. He doesn’t seem to have any such qualms about delivering to Beth’s house directly though between the dubby and the body parts in s2.

What do you guys think?