#and the provider but also the first scene we see is him threatening his brother with a knife and having to perform violence for respect

[bird-inacage]

The Heart Killers EP7: The Boat Scene 'Do you want to jump or do you want to fall?'

So yep, joke's on me. I was so wrong about how this scene may unfold and the episode in general. Credit to Jojo for keeping me on my toes. I wanted to dedicate a post to this, both for the fantastic performances but also the great character beats here.

BISON'S RESOLVE FOR REVENGE

I kept wondering just how resolute Bison would be. I thought that if he saw how upset Kant was about him getting hurt, he may waver. But it actually seemed to have the opposite effect.

Bison is understandably livid at Kant. I think a portion of that rage is intensified because it's with himself. The betrayal cuts deeper due to his own negligence. He should have known better, and Fadel warned him as such. As the confrontation unfolds, Bison's steely resolve veers towards agitation and restlessness. A twitch. An itch beneath the skin. An almost defiant urgency to squash any margin for hesitancy or doubt - that the sooner this is over with, the less risk there is for him to have second thoughts. Khao does a wonderful job of trickling out only the tiniest of hairline cracks in that resolve, to keep us guessing.

Forcing Kant to jump could also be a test for remorse. 'If I tell you to jump, will you do it or will you fight back or even beg for mercy?' If Bison wanted Kant dead, he could have done it already. We see him consider all the brutal ways he could do so. And yet the one he chooses is actually the least hands on. Watching Kant enact his own demise seems to be a testament to something Bison wants an answer to: a confession perhaps. 'Are you sorry for what you did? Do you regret it? Do you feel bad for me? Was it worth it?' and most importantly 'Do you love me? Did you ever love me?' When someone hurts us, we often want them to admit to their wrongdoing. To take responsibility for the damage they've caused as it gives validation to our pain.

Kant is debilitated by fear, but he's also resigned to his guilt. It's been chasing him this entire time. So he doesn't deny or rebuff what Bison's saying. Doesn't try to deflect or swerve like he's done before now. Neither does he put up a fight for his life. He displays a bedded in helplessness, an acceptance that something you saw coming has finally caught up to you.

When Kant does jump, it seems to take Bison a second to register what's happened. The fact that Kant doesn't come back up. The realisation that Kant may actually drown and die. And he panics.

KANT LAID BARE

(This is my cue to gush about First's acting). I loved his choice of line delivery in this scene. How quietly he speaks. How small, tired, broken and subdued this makes Kant appear. It's such an unexpected but phenomenal choice. It provides a complete 180 to Kant's usual brand of flirty showmanship. That's isn't to say that version of Kant is entirely false but he's definitely been playing up the 'perfect boyfriend' bit. To be as smooth and charming as possible, and to say all the right things to win Bison's heart. This is the first time Bison is seeing Kant stripped of all that bravado. And what's left underneath? Just a man whose desperately afraid.

The sheer terror that First portrays here is so layered and visceral. He doesn't just capture that primal fear of death, but there's so much more you can read into outside of the little he does say. Underlying all that physical and mental torment is trauma, a childlike desperation that renders him completely at a loss.

He didn't have a choice when Chris threatened him to become a pawn. He didn't have a choice when it came to choosing between his brother or Bison. He didn't have a choice to walk away. And now he doesn't have a choice in how Bison wants his revenge. I've talked about the loss of control and agency with these two characters quite a bit, but this is the epitome of having your autonomy entirely stripped from you. Kant is both paralysed by his fear of drowning, but also by his guilt and knowing that he brought this on himself - having sealed his fate when he agreed to the job in the first place.

"I promise when you wake up, the version of me you'll see is the real me." What happens when you strip a person of all their defences? You get down to their rawest form. And now we're seeing it.

Thank god the pair reconcile next week, because this was absolutely agonising to sit through. Firstkhao have done it again, but did we really expect any less?

You can keep tabs on bird-inacage’s BL meta directory for my other long-form posts around The Heart Killers, which I’ll be updating in real time as the show airs.

[kandadze]

FoF rewatch ep 2: or, Heroes, assemble! (gifs and loose thoughts)

(The 30 images limit is annoying lol I have way more gifs I wanted to use but oh well.)

Having a spotty short-term memory really works in my favor lol I get to rediscover moments that I somehow forgot existed, like ZYZ fake-gagging at WX's endearment for ZYC (activating ZYC's Annoyed Cat mode). Just how the turntables, oh Great Demon...

(The way ZYC grabs his sword at the second sneeze...)

The vow scene establishes that not only is ZYC's Cloud Light Sword the only weapon that can truly kill ZYZ *dead*, killing ZYZ with it is also the only way to prevent a new malicious energy vessel from being born. Absolutely no pressure, ZYC.

It's fascinating that even at this very early stage, ZYC's hate is not *blinding*. It's intense, enough to squeeze tears out of his eyes (also can we just appreciate how openly ZYC expresses his emotions? He seems so closed off and stiff otherwise, and at the same time ... ::gestures at his tears::) but it's not all-consuming. ZYC asks questions and listens attentively when the demon responds, even seems affected somewhat when ZYC mentions being a vessel for the malicious energy. At the same time, he won't hesitate to swear an oath on his very soul to avenge the deaths of his family. And ZYZ looks at him, his would-be executioner, as if he was his savior... Right from the get-go, we're being alerted that nothing is quite as it seems at the first glance.

There's a certain smugness to WX in her early dealings with ZYZ that grates on me just as much on the rewatch. Sure, there's the fact that she's smart and can hold her own against him, and watching them banter and call each other's bluffs is pretty delightful...

And then there's her threatening to kill herself just to get a piece of information that he already refused to provide and is not vital to the issue at hand. I can just imagine how utterly stupid and wasteful that must've looked like to him, even if he didn't already have a vested interest in her wellbeing. You're lucky that he does care (and that this particular cell wasn't blocking his powers, or at least not enough), girlie!

On the first watch, the scene with ZYC sitting at The Table of Brooding and looking at the tokens for the remaining members of the team with a clear apprehension was, at least to me, just pretty (look at that view! Look at his eyelashes! Ahem.). On the second watch you go, foreshadowinggggg!

The Table of Brooding *and* Poignant Conversations:

Our second glimpse at baby!YiChen and I realize that most of the memories we get to see of him are set in winter. It's a great touch, visually placing that sad, broken kid in a season that appears as dead, cold, and empty as his heart used to be; at the same time it seems to imply that even years later, a part of ZYC is still frozen and alone in that snowy landscape. ::hugs baby!YiChen::

This is such a great shot:

I unironically love how some things did not get any clearer on the rewatch, like the whole Ying Long prophecy/ curse is still confusing to me. If ZYZ is over 30,000 years old then that would mean that for just as long there was only one "evilest demon" to kill; if there was any other demon that was killed by a Bing Yi descendant *after* Ying Long, it should be recorded somewhere, but there's no mention of it ever (correct me if I missed something). Soooo the only "evil demon" killed by the Cloud Light Sword that we know of was Ying Long, literally in prehistoric times when the world was still being formed. And Fan daren is not of Bing Yi lineage... how does he of all people know about the prophecy in the first place? (did humans even have speech that far back? How was the prophecy even heard/ understood, not to mention recorded?) How does he know that it's accurate, and that it's a curse?

Even our swordsman appears confused, but at the same time what he mostly cares about is that, curse or no, it means he'll get to avenge his brother and father. Even if he finds it odd that the demon *wants* to die so much he goes as far as to extract an oath from him. (This surely is not a set-up for a tragedy of Greek proportions, nothing to worry about ZYC)

Another moment that I forgot about, which once again proves that this whole show is like getting lost in a gallery - there's stunning portraits, landscapes, and still nature wherever you look.

To continue with the foreshadowing, once we get to meet PSJ for the first time, she's, as someone already rightfully pointed out, *blindfolded*. It's an absolutely brilliant, if small, detail that means so much more once you get to know this character.

Case in point for Bai Jiu and his silver needle...

(Also, it just hit me that they show him seeing patients at the Jixin Clinic... can we say more foreshadowing???

Which actually begs another question... how has ZYZ *not* recognized the place??? Did he literally erase all of his memory of it - together with what happened here - from his mind?)

Even the way WX and ZYZ went about recruiting PSJ and Bai Jiu foreshadows what their respective dynamics will be - WX will flirt like whoa and PSJ might be a grump, but she'll be there to catch WX whenever the goddess needs her; and ZYZ, as much as he seems to enjoy teasing Bai Jiu, will remain endlessly patient and gentle with him at the same time.

(Bai Jiu could've had another, more mischievous elder brother in ZYZ is all I'm saying, had it not been for we all know what(s), as well as his hero-worship/ fixation on ZYC...)

Case in point, the whole scene of Bai Jiu arriving at the Demon Hunting Bureau:

Then we have this - hilarious to me - moment when we get reintroduced to ZYC via Bai Jiu's admiring eyes, but all ZYC seems to notice is ZYZ:

ZYC had Bai Jiu at 你好 (not that I blame him lol)

(On the rewatch, this totally reads as hero-worship/ teenage crush, and I love love the found brothers story we get with these two, and *also* can you imagine how much the shipping potential would've increased had we gotten an older Bai Jiu, as was supposedly planned? I guess even GJM was not able to make *that* happen...)

How fast does WX go from snickering at Bai Jiu to running to PSJ's side once the archer arrives?

(Love this outfit on PSJ, it's one of my favorite color combinations)

Our heroes, assembled!

ZYC and ZYZ, doing what they do best (lol, or at least one of the things they do best):

We also get introduced to ZYC's third mode, Petty Little Bitch:

And finally, sorry WX, but you're supposed to be the one with book smarts in this ensemble... Even on the first watch I knew that the way they were made to "sign" that martial order was sus af, but she didn't even blink, or look at the damn thing again till the hidden message started appearing?

Anyway, this is long enough as it is lol The first two eps were definitely building blocks of our squad. Time to raise the stakes in ep 3!

[pianokantzart]

The Dog Scene from The Super Mario Brothers Movie

Thank you @scribeprotra  for permitting me to unleash this. Followup to this post: X

First of all, this scene is the first time we get to see Mario do actual plumbing, and it establishes that this business isn’t just a pipe dream (ha ha). Mario is actually a really skilled plumber. He sees the problem, knows what to do in an instant, and wraps it all up in less than a minute. So later, when all of Brooklyn is flooded, and Mario laughs that the hired workers “aren’t even looking in the right place”, we can believe he knows what he’s talking about.

Then, comes trouble: Francis The Dog, Mario and Luigi’s first real adversary... a kind of tutorial boss fight. Foreman Spike was antagonistic, but he was all talk. He would bully, threaten, and get aggressive, but he wasn’t going to throw the first punch. Francis, however, is out for blood.

We see an echo of what happened earlier when they confronted Spike. Mario stands between Luigi and danger, pushing him back, ready to defend him. However, unlike Spike, Francis doesn’t walk away, he goes for the throat, and it throws both brothers off kilter. 

Luigi, while anxious and fearful, proves he’s not a man of mindless panic. When Francis comes at him he’s yelling for Mario’s help, but he himself is climbing to higher ground while grabbing the nearest available object (a toilet brush) to defend himself. This pattern continues for the rest of the movie: though he isn’t much of a fighter, his survival instincts are quite good. 

Mario, on the other hand, immediately turns combative when Francis goes after Luigi. He draws the dog’s attention, and they skirmish for a bit before Mario finally seals Francis off inside the shower. Mario is not exactly a warrior yet, but he definitely has good fighting instincts. 

Of course, let’s not forget Luigi holding off the jet of water with the mirror foreshadowing him holding back Bowser’s flames with the manhole cover. That’s been talked about before... I want to talk about THIS shot:

Mario is holding out a wrench like a sword, Luigi is holding up the mirror like a shield. That is them in a nutshell, and why they work so well together: they are sword and shield, offense and defense, impulse and caution, working together to balance each other out.

When Francis leaps at them, they instinctually hold on to each other for dear life, but still manage to duck out of the way at just the right moment as the dog accidentally flings himself out the window behind them. 

Despite the dog being a violent threat, he is also a beloved pet to the homeowners. So what does Mario do? He throws himself out the window after Francis. 

He trusts Luigi won’t let him fall, and he doesn’t. There was no time for a plan to be discussed, they were simply on the same wavelength. 

IN CONCLUSION: The dog scene is what introduces the audience to the very different ways Mario and Luigi react to danger. It also shows us how tight their bond is, and why they work off each other so well, even beyond the emotional support they provide each other. The one downside is that the scene hints at a really cool fighting dynamic that we didn’t have time to properly explore in the film. The next time Mario and Luigi are fighting side by side they’re effortlessly mowing down enemies with the power star, and the sword-shield dynamic is lost. But I’m very excited to see the future of how they work as a team now that we’ve established the setting and set the two up to become heroes. 

[forever-1895]

CALLING ALL Since I First Saw Your Face fans

Let's work together and post as many supportive things about this story so hopefully the author sees and feels motivated to update!

In case you don't know, Since I First Saw Your Face by Stavia_Scott_Grayson on ao3 (@artemisastarte on Tumblr) rewriting the Sherlock Holmes books from the point of view of Holmes. It very realistically develops the relationship between this iconic duo, taking into account the events which would have happened at that time in history (e.g. Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, Jack the Ripper 1888, etc), and the period typical homophobia is shockingly well researched. Even the concerts Holmes & Watson go to actually happened at the times stated in the story.

At the start of each chapter, there is a painful (3rd person) recording of the time Holmes spent abroad toiling after Moran (the late Moriarty's right hand man) during the hiatus (after faking his death at the Reichenbach Falls); about how he wishes above all to return to England and see Watson again, whom he misses in extremity.

Holmes receives news from England via Mycroft (his brother), which updates him about the state of affairs in England. Apparently, Watson has been wasting away after his wife's & Holmes' death. Mycroft tells Holmes that if he doesn't return quickly, Watson may be no more.

However, Holmes cannot return, as some things still need sorting out. He does however, ask Mycroft to send Watson The Sigerson Papers, an account written by Holmes under the name of Sigerson about the things he experienced in Asia. Watson notices that Sigerson is a lot like Holmes, and asks Mycroft whether his beloved is still alive.

However, even after finding out Holmes is still alive, Watson's condition doesn't improve. He feels betrayed. 3 years of hell, and Holmes was lying to him the whole time. He still loves Holmes, but all the same, he is not pleased.

Mycroft sends to Holmes about this, and Holmes is torn between homesickness and the fear that Watson will no longer like him. Holmes bides his time in Asia, until one day a letter from Watson arrives, telling him that he knows that Holmes is scared to return for fear of how he might react, and that though he is angry, he still loves him and wishes more than anything to have him back.

After a section detailing Holmes in Asia post-hiatus, there will be a recounting of events years ago, starting from when Holmes first met Watson, who was very weak and ill after returning from the army. Holmes takes a liking to him almost instantly, though he tries not to show it. Holmes describes moving in together, and even pays their landlady (Mrs. Hudson) to provide extra nutritious food for Watson so he might recover faster.

Holmes helps Watson get over his Soldier's Heart (PTSD, I think), Watson accompanies Holmes to cases, Holmes plays the violin for hours on end just for Watson's enjoyment, they go to concerts together, and support each other when one is feeling depressed.

All while this happens, Holmes tells us of his struggles of hiding his sexuality and desire from Watson, the struggles he has fighting his drug addiction, and the struggles of being an invert (homosexual) in the late 18th to early 19th century.

We also have some VERY tense scenes for when Watson is being too kind to Holmes and Holmes is about to let his feelings pour out his mouth like a waterfall, but fear of rejection holds him back.

It builds up to Holmes & Watson first meeting Moriarty at a concert, and then all the trouble starts from there.

Moriarty is constantly trying to cause distress for Holmes, first sending an anonymous letter to the police accusing of the two of sodomy, a terrible crime at the time period, taking advantage of multiple female murders and framing Watson for having committed them, and though disproved, it shows how close Moriarty can get to Holmes without even appearing; it's always one of Moriarty's goons who does it for him.

Moriarty threatens Holmes to end his association with the good doctor at another concert some years later or he will never cease trying to condemn Watson, and sooner or later, he'll succeed in ruining him.

All this unfolds while Watson is chatting animatedly to a Mrs Forrester and a Miss Mary Morstan in another area of the concert hall...

And that's what's happened so far. There's a LOT more, but I don't have time to write it all 😝.

In conclusion, post-hiatus: Holmes is still in Asia pining for Watson, Watson is pining for Holmes in England, and pre-hiatus: Watson has just met Mary, and Moriarty is stirring up a ruckus. SO NOW DO YOU SEE WHY WE NEEEED AN UPDATE? IM DYING HERE!

and to make y'all feel better, in case you haven't read it yet, Watson does reciprocate Holmes affections

[mahmod12345]

The Story of a Displaced Gazan Family:

Our story began on the morning of October 7th. I had woken up as usual to get ready for school, while my father Nidal, as always, was up early to go to his construction job, and my mother Amani was preparing breakfast for us. But that morning was different; it wasn't like any other morning. Barely an hour had passed before the sounds of massive explosions echoed everywhere. The peaceful morning transformed into a horrifying scene, as if the entire city was shaking beneath our feet 💔.

Within moments, Gaza turned into a sea of fire and smoke. The sky was filled with aircraft, and shells rained down on every corner. There was no time to think or make decisions—every moment held danger that threatened our lives 😞. My father was talking with our neighbors, then he returned to us, his voice filled with worry: "We have to leave immediately. We’ll go south, where it might be safer."

We hurriedly gathered whatever essentials we could—some clothes, some food—and carried my little brother Ahmed, who was just five years old. My mother held him close, as if shielding him from the world 🌍💔. My sister Sama cried silently while holding my hand, and my brother Mohammed looked scared but tried to hide his fear.

The Journey South:

The journey was long and difficult; we took rugged paths and tried to avoid areas that might be targeted. Other families were also fleeing, each carrying their own story of suffering and fear 😔. Children were crying, mothers exchanged worried glances, and fathers silently searched for safety. After hours of walking, we finally reached a southern area where some makeshift tents were set up for shelter. We had to start over, but this time, our home was just a tent that barely shielded us from the harsh summer heat or the cold winter nights 🏕️.

Life in the Tent:

Life in the tent was harsh and difficult 💔. It was small, not enough to meet our basic needs. During the day, the sun blazed intensely 🔥, and we tried to hide from its stifling heat. At night, the air was cold, and we huddled together for warmth. We had no electricity, and the only blankets we had were those distributed by aid agencies 😞.

In the first weeks, things were extremely challenging; we barely had access to clean water, and sometimes we had to drink contaminated water, which led to health issues 🤢. We suffered from diarrhea and fevers frequently, and our bodies grew weak, especially my little brother Ahmed, who developed a persistent cough and high fever 😥.

Health and Skin Issues:

Over time, red spots and severe itching began to appear on our skin. At first, we didn’t understand what was happening to us, but soon we realized we were suffering from skin diseases due to the lack of cleanliness and insufficient water to bathe regularly 💔. Both my skin and Mohammed’s were covered in itchy sores that caused us intense pain 😢.

My mother was worried about all of us, especially Sama, my fourteen-year-old sister, who was developing severe allergies. She tried not to tell my mom about the pain she was feeling, but sometimes she would wake up at night crying 😭. We missed seeing a doctor; in this area, only one doctor visited occasionally to give out some basic medicines, which were not enough for our condition 💔.

Psychological Struggles:

It wasn’t just the physical suffering that we endured; fear and uncertainty loomed over our lives. I would wake up every night to the sound of Mohammed screaming in his sleep 😰; he constantly dreamt of scenes of war and bombings, and these dreams turned into nightmares that haunted all of us 😟. My mother would whisper words of comfort, though she too was struggling in silence. She tried to hide her tears from us, but I could feel her pain and her helplessness to protect us from everything happening around us 💔.

My father, Nidal, was always trying to find work in the south to provide us with some food, but each time he returned disappointed; work was scarce, and the situation was hard 😞. He looked at us with eyes full of sorrow and pain, especially when he saw my little brother Ahmed pleading for a small piece of candy or a toy to ease his suffering 😔🍬.

Life Without Hope:

The days passed slowly, each day bringing a new challenge. I tried to find hope in anything—a conversation with our displaced neighbors, or a small laugh from my brother Mohammed when he tried to forget. But everything around us reminded us of our harsh reality: the dust covering our faces, the increasing illnesses, and the hunger that never left our bellies 🍂😔.

I started feeling that life was slipping away from us, and that the world had completely forgotten us. We hoped this war would end soon, so we could return to our home, which is now destroyed. But as days passed, those hopes began to fade 💔. The idea of going back became a distant dream, and staying in this tent became an inescapable reality 🏕️.

Conclusion:

Today, as we live amid this suffering, all I can do is share our story and try to hold on to a glimmer of hope. We may not have a home, we may not have enough food or healthcare, but we still have each other ❤️. My mother, my father, and my siblings are all I have, and I will stay strong for them, no matter the hardships.

[sokkastyles]

Am I the only one who finds Azula stan’s insistency that the mental institution was abusive and that Zuko only visited her because she wanted something out of her? Not only are these claims poorly founded in the canon comics, they try to use it to accuse Zuko of letting Azula be abused and how bad of a person he is. Any thoughts?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO

They don't like that Azula is being held accountable for her actions, so they try to make her the victim. That's also why I don't believe them when they say they want redemption for her. Or at least, I don't think their conception of a redemption would actually be one.

DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim and offender) is one of the main reasons it is extremely difficult for abusive people to change. Because if they can make facing the consequences for their actions into the "real" abuse, it means they don't have to do it. If Azula was abused in the institution, it provides a convenient explanation for why she hasn't gotten better. It's not that she has a problem, it's that other people need to be nicer to her!

This is also why I push back so hard against the idea that Zuko or even Iroh need to help her, especially when the "help" focuses on what they did wrong and how they didn't care enough about her feelings. It completely takes the responsibility off of Azula for the fact that she hurt them. And once abusers figure out they can do this, that cycle tends to continue if allowed. Which means that any help they provide to her can be twisted into another way that she's a victim, so that she can continue to abuse them.

And I say "them" because if Iroh were the version of the character some of Azula's stans seem to want, someone who feels endlessly guilty for his "crimes" against Azula, that would be abuse. Because his crimes are things like getting her a gift she didn't like, which she burned. Notice the DARVOing yet? Another crime was helping Zuko, which is used to justify her nearly killing him.

People love to pretend that Iroh is endlessly forgiving with Zuko and that it's a double standard that he isn't with Azula, but the fact that Iroh is NOT forgiving of abusive people is one of the main reasons he could help Zuko.

Can you imagine if Iroh was to the type of person to make excuses for Azula? For Ozai? That would not help Zuko, because one of the things that Zuko needed was to be told that it was okay to prioritize himself and to feel hurt. Iroh helped Zuko realize he was abused by telling him that the way his family treated him was not okay, and one of the ways he did that was by consistently trying to protect him from Azula, who tried to take him back to his abuser. Azula stans trying to twist that into a form of abuse of her, or evidence that Iroh has a personal vendetta against her is transparent abuse apologism.

I mention this because the thing about this kind of abusive behavior is that it's a pattern. Azula complaining about the indignity of being in the asylum, complaining about the food, acting like her brother is mistreating her by trying to make her comfortable and trying to include her in his search for their mother, these are all part of the pattern of DARVO. If Azula had better food, she would find something else to complain about. Not that we should believe Azula that there is anything wrong with the food in the institution to begin with. Azula fired a servant over a pit in her cherry, remember? "Oh, but that was during her breakdown." Okay, how about her very first scene when she is at her peak and threatened her men because they didn't want to sail straight into dangerous tides? This is something we see Azula do over and over again. I don't know why we're still acting like she's a reliable narrator.

[natimiles]

Come a Little Closer | Chapter 1

Summary: You’ve settled into life at the mansion, forming a tight sibling-like bond with Mozart and embracing your new family. However, as you start dating Arthur, Mozart’s protective instincts go into overdrive. MC's arrival provides the perfect opportunity, and you decide to set Mozart up with her to put an end to his glares and pettiness towards Arthur.

Words: 2083

Pairs: gn!reader/Arthur; f!MC/Mozart

Tags: swearing; drinking; spoilers from Mozart’s and Arthur’s route, mixed in one big bowl of salad; lots of pet names (because I love it); MC is the one in-game, but different story for her arrival; sfw. Also: Mozart being petty; reader and Arthur being adorable and chaotic; suggestive scenes because we have Arthot as one of the main characters; Arthur simps hard over you.

Notes: since we have MC and reader, and I didn’t want to give them a name: YN = reader; MC = the in-game. Kinda obvious, but anyway.

When you arrived at the mansion, your life turned upside down. At first, everything was awkward, from being in the 19th century to meeting historical figures that were now vampires — and that were nothing like you expected, like Jean. Then, bit by bit, you warmed up to them and them to you. Even though you were closer to Mozart and considered him your older brother, you felt like the whole mansion was one big family now. Everybody was friendly to you, and even Jean and Isaac grew accustomed to your presence and actually talked to you sometimes.

What you didn’t expect though, was to grow closer to Arthur.

He was a playboy, flirting and trying to touch you every possible time. It drove Mozart crazy, he'd spend a good 2 hours grimacing in disapproval and bad-mouthing the writer. Well, Arthur tried to bite you in your first month in the mansion, so you can’t really blame your brother for being wary of the writer. But it’d been a while since you arrived at the mansion, and he didn’t try it again. He was still flirty, but he was really nice to you.

Except when his ‘perv mood’, as some residents called, talked louder and you got really annoyed. Not about the flirt itself, but because you knew it was meaningless.

But it all changed one morning when you went to his bedroom to deliver his breakfast because he said he was too busy with his manuscript. As soon as you opened the door, his face formed that smirk and he began flirting with you; he thought you’d roll your eyes, playfully threaten to call Mozart, or even ignore him, since that’s what you usually did. However, you weren’t in a good mood that day, and it was too early in the morning for him to start with his offers to bite you and make you experience pure ecstasy. You decided to try something to shut him up.

You placed the tray on his coffee table and approached him. “Say, luv,” you said in a purr, emphasizing the pet name. You placed one hand on his desk and another on the back of his chair, bringing yourself to eye level with him. “If I were to accept your offer… How would it be?”

“What?” His eyes widened. 

“Care to tell me how good you’d make me feel?” You slowly measured him up and down. “And don’t leave the details out, I wanna have something to daydream about at night, when I think about your fangs on my… body.” You bit your lip, shooting him the best sultry smile you could.

“I-I…” You could almost see his brain short circuiting. He blinked several times, opening and closing his mouth, but nothing came out. He didn’t understand what was going on. That’s not how you used to react! Seeing you up close and this bold made him nervous, for some reason he didn’t understand at the time.

“Mmmm, that’s what I thought.” You raised a brow and chuckled, standing up. “Don’t bite more than you can chew, luv,” you emphasized the pet name again and his heart skipped a beat. “Try again when you know the answer.” You winked and left the room, leaving a stunned Arthur behind.

He didn't need to know that your legs had nearly buckled when you closed his door, forcing you to lean against the wall to prevent a potential fall in the middle of the hallway. You'd had enough of his attitude, but you couldn't deny he was attractive. Surprisingly, it seemed to work as he fell silent. You just hoped it would last.

It didn’t take Arthur more than two days to name what he felt when you cornered him in his room, but it took him some time to convince himself that he should say something. He tried to avoid you whenever he could, as if you were the plague. And when he couldn't leave the room before you saw him, he'd just put on a fake smile. What was he supposed to do, anyway? He was a mess; he tried to drown his insecurities with a different skirt every other night; a failing doctor and…

“Fuck sake,” Theo cut his rambling by hitting his head so hard that the writer feared he might need to stay up all night, watching for signs of a concussion. They were drinking and playing in the parlor in the mansion when Arthur began to sulk. “I thought you were smarter than this. Or do you just like playing dumb and getting hit in the head? I can do that again to see if your brain starts functioning properly.” He lifted his hand to make a point.

“I don’t,” Arthur said with a pout, his eyes narrowed. “I just think…”

“No, you don’t. Right now, you’re not thinking. If you were, you’d see it’s clear as the fucking day how there’s some kind of tension between you two. And not just because you’re running away like an asshole, it was there even before. You just don’t want to open your fucking eyes and see.” Then he began to curse in dutch.

Stunned for the second time in the same month, Arthur just listened as his friend scolded him for being an idiot. They called it a night soon and he went to his room, sighing the whole way and trying to figure out how he’d speak to you. He was never like this; he never felt this insecure about someone before. Maybe Mozart glaring at him everytime he tried to even look your way helped his anxiety, or maybe he still couldn’t get your words out of his head. Maybe he still thought he didn’t deserve you… Well, he’d have to try.

The heavens liked to help him sometimes and he finally got the chance to approach a couple days later. You were thankfully alone hanging the washed sheets in the sun; your overprotective brother wasn’t around and he could talk to you in private. He’d have to be fast though, he couldn’t risk Mozart seeing him and ruining everything.

“Hey, YN,” he called, and you turned, startled. You hadn't noticed him approaching until he was just an arm's length away. “Do you have a moment?”

“O-oh, hey…” You tried to smile, but it looked strained. You couldn't stop thinking about the last time you talked to him. You coughed to try and hide your embarrassment. “Y-yes, um, is there something you need?”

“I’d like us to talk about our last conversation,” he said and your eyes widened, thinking he was there to do what you asked. “It’s not what you’re thinking.” He chuckled. It was amusing how he could tell from your fidgety body language what was running through your mind. Oh, his urge to tease you was fighting to be released, but he’d hold his tongue for now.

“Ok… What is it then?”

“I thought about a lot of things, and I’m not kidding it was a lot of things… And, well… You know I’m not going downtown with Theo anymore,” he said, a mixture of statement and question, praying that you’d noticed the change in his demeanor. 

“Yes,” you nodded. “Theo pointed it out to me and mentioned that you were trying to be a decent person, for some reason.”

“Of course he did.” He forced a chuckle and ran his hands through his hair. “I guess there’s no better way to say it, so… I like you.”

There was a good 10 seconds of silence and you didn’t move or blink or react in any way, except if he considered your widening even more as a reaction. Arthur was starting to get worried that he fucked everything up, somehow. 

“W-what?” Your voice trembled and you blinked several times. Arthur was not relieved that you finally said something. It wasn’t the reaction he had hoped for. “You… like me?” you asked, your voice filled with shock. He simply nodded. “Is that why you’re… Is that why Theo told me you stopped drinking with him and going after women downtown?”

“Well, I didn’t ask him to tell you anything, if that’s what you’re wondering. In fact, I told him not to say a thing,” he sighed and ran his hands through his hair again, and you followed his movements with your gaze. “But yes, I realized I like you, and you deserve someone decent and, you know, better than me; so I started trying to be a better person.”

“Avoiding me for almost three weeks?” You raised an eyebrow.

He laughed through his nose. “You won’t forget it, will you?” You shook your head, and he flashed a sheepish smile; that was a new side of him you hadn't seen before. “Sorry, I was... confused, trying to deal with some internal issues. But I’m here now, and I won’t run away or hide from you anymore. I’ll be proper, treat you with respect, and do my best to make you happy. Do you think you could find it in your heart to give me a chance and go out with me?”

“I-I…” Your throat felt dry. You gazed into his eyes for a few seconds and all you could see was honesty; for the first time, there wasn't a trace of teasing or flirting, only his genuine feelings. “Yes.” You managed to force your voice out.

And the smile that formed on his face was exceptionally beautiful. “Thank you. I promise not to make you regret it, luv.”

“You better not, luv.” You smiled back.

xxx

Mozart noticed something had happened to you, though he wasn’t sure what. All he could gather was that you seemed nervous. You spilled his drink all over the table during dinner, but his quick reflexes saved the glass. You faked a laugh at Dazai’s teasing of Isaac. And now, as he played his new composition, you weren’t paying attention; your gaze was fixed on the floor, and your mind appeared to be miles away.

He narrowed his eyes and stopped playing, turning his whole body in your direction. You didn’t realize he had stopped until he cleared his throat. Startled, you looked up with a smile on your face.

“A-ah, it’s really beautiful, Moz.”

“Is it, now?” He raised his eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it be better if you were actually listening?”

Your breath hitched and you looked guilty. Gripping your hands tightly on your lap, you suddenly found great interest in them. “Sorry.”

“What happened, YN? Did someone hurt you?” He asked, sounding worried. “Do you need me to-”

“Arthur asked me out,” you blurted and bit your lip.

“Ugh, the audacity of some… people, if we can even call him that,” he said, rolling his eyes and scoffing. “I swear that scoundrel knows no boundaries-”

“I said yes.”

Silence. 

“Was?” 

“I said yes.”

“I understood what you said,” he said, clearly astonished. “I’m just bewildered to learn that my sibling could be this foolish. Did you hit your head? Did he threaten you in some way?” He looked serious and genuinely concerned, as if he believed such a situation might have occurred.

“No, and no. He said he likes me and asked if I could give him a chance.”

“You do remember he tried to bite you before, right? On your first night here, just to scare you; and then outside the music room, thinking I romantically liked you and attempting to make me jealous. Do you recall all of that?”

“Yes,” you mumbled. “But I think he deserves a chance, Moz. And I kinda did something to him too, so I guess we’re even now.”

The colors drained off of his face. “What did you do, YN?”

“Don’t look at me like that; it’s nothing to be worried about.” You told him what happened that morning weeks ago, and he grimaced.

“You’re gonna be just another one and end up hurt.”

“I won’t. He seemed really sincere.”

“He might be lying to take advantage of you because of what you did.”

“I know he isn’t.”

“You’re really gullible sometimes.” He sighed.

“Mmm, maybe I am,” you said and shrugged. “But I’ll never know what could’ve been without trying, right?” He tried to say something, but you cut him short. “I know you’re my older brother, like really older," you laughed and he snorted. “And I love you, but I really want this. I’ve made my decision.”

“Worst decision ever made in your life.”

This idea came up while chatting with 🥀 anon. We were talking about Mozart and a sibling-reader dynamic, and we thought it would be funny if the reader started dating Arthur and they tried to set Mozart up with someone so he stops being overprotective and petty. And then I did a fucking fanfic about it. Bear with me.

If you think you’ve ever seen the scene with Arthur anywhere, you’re right! In Friends, Rachel does that to Joey and he just freaks out “I don’t wanna, I’m too scared”, HASIEHASUIEHAS.

Crossposted on AO3.

Masterlists

Read: Chapter 2

[lyledebeast]

Captain Vidal vs Colonel Tavington

Long ago, I rewatched Pan's Labyrinth (2006) with the intention of comparing its villain with from The Patriot's. Then and also in last week's rewatch, I was surprised to find even more similarities than I expected. In no particular order, some things these two men have in common: rooting out rebel forces, child-killing, torturing, speech-making, and shaving. So, why is it that Vidal is the most terrifying movie villain I've encountered in my adult life while Tavington is my babygirl? There are three reasons.

Vidal is crueler to his enemies than Tavington.

Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) sees the rebels as vermin to be exterminated. Within about ten minutes of his first appearance he brutally and unexpectedly murders a young man with a wine bottle in front of his father for having Communist propaganda, and then murders the father. He seems to relish torturing rebels and attempts to do so on two occasions. In the first scene, Vidal addresses the man in a conversational tone while showing him the implements of torture he plans to use to get him to talk and explaining the effects he believe they will have. He taunts the man, who suffers from a speech impediment, that he will let him go if he can count to three without stuttering. He also makes a speech to Mercedes, but it is interrupted when she attacks him with the knife we saw her sew into her apron earlier. Although Vidal views the rebel man with contempt, he faces him during his speech. Mercedes is only able to escape because Vidal is so little concerned about her as a threat that he makes the whole speech with his back to her. Like Tavington, running his mouth gets him into trouble.

Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs), in spite of claiming to find "real pleasure" in his victim's suffering, is prepared to ride away from his first encounter with the Martin family without killing anyone. He metes out Martin's punishment for having aided rebel soldiers, threatens him and his children with his pistol, and seems content until Thomas ignores the warning and rushes to free his brother. After one rebel dies under torture, Tavington offers his companion a chance at more riches to add to his stolen ones if he gives up the information. I think Tavington is lying here and would kill this man even if he had accepted the offer, but that he is trying to get out of torturing him too provides a sharp contrast to Vidal, who is clearly mixing business with pleasure.

2. Vidal is crueler to those close to him than Tavington.

Vidal's men are as rattled by his murder of the farmer and his son as the audience, and yet he lays the blame for his actions at their door: "Let this teach you to search these fools before you come bothering me." He berates them similarly throughout other scenes. Tavington is clearly annoyed that the lieutenant he replaces as the highest ranking officer at the Martin farm does not know who carried the dispatches handed directly to Tavington in spite of having arrived two whole minutes before him, but he does not reprimand him. Tavington's second in command shows signs of being afraid of him both during his interview with the wounded soldier and after the first tortured militaman dies, but Tavington never behaves towards Bordon in ways that justify that fear. After Tavington's men follow him into Martin's trap, he does make some attempt to stop the charge and mitigate the damage he caused.

The sharpest contrast, though, lies in Vidal, unlike Tavington, having members of his own family on hand to mistreat. Initially, he seems to show some concern for Carmen, his wife and Ofelia's mother, but it quickly becomes clear that this is only a facade. When Dr. Ferreiro tells him that Carmen should not have traveled so near her due date, Vidal responds, "a son should be born where his father is," and when she falls dangerously ill, he tells the doctor to save his son, even at the expense of his mother. Vidal is indirectly responsible for Carmen's death, and, of course, very directly responsible for Ofelia's, but one particular incident of cruelty really resonated with me on this last rewatch. At the dinner party Vidal hosts, one of the officers' wives asks Carmen how she and Vidal met, and she explains that her late husband had made his uniforms. Vidal apologizes for her and says, "My wife is uneducated, and she believes these kinds of silly stories are interesting to people." If he is embarrassed at having married is deceased tailor's wife, perhaps he should not have married his deceased tailor's wife? Embarrassed or not, he saw a polite exchange between two women and said, "What in the fuck is that? I hate it!" Carmen is not a wife to him but a broodmare, and Ofelia is simply a nuisance. The only person he really cares for is his son, though even that care is questionable.

3. Vidal's evil actions are backed by evil principles

While Guillermo del Toro's heroes in this film are communists, the film is so much presenting communism in a favorable light as it is absolutely skewering fascism and the kind of masculinity that goes with it. Tavington and Vidal's attention to personal grooming initially appears to be a similarity, but closer inspection reveals the differences. The scene where Tavington shaves in the creek sets him apart from his own men, who are socializing with each other, but also the more rugged militiamen who cannot be bothered with such superficial concerns (and yet remain barefaced nonetheless . . . somehow). Vidal, though, is shown shaving on several occasions. And shining his boots. And cleaning his watch. As any second wave feminist can tell you, it's not about the final effect but the work it takes to produce it. Vidal is reproducing a rigid, militaristic masculinity like it's his job, which in some respects it certainly is. It is also a family legacy.

Both films provide stories about the villain's fathers, but while Tavington's is told by him in a scene of surprising emotional honesty given his usual propensity for lying his ass off, Vidal's is told by an unnamed man at the aforementioned dinner party. When he describes General Vidal breaking his watch in battle so his son would know at what time he died, Vidal replies, "That's ridiculous. My father never owned a watch." If you want to dispel a rumor, telling an even more ridiculous lie is not the way to do it. It is not a rumor, though, and Vidal confirms that when he hands his son to Mercedes at the end of the film and holds up his watch, saying, "Tell my son when his father died." In his eyes, this child is less a child than a replica.

Vidal's masculinity is one rooted in violent domination of both women and men that he sees as less than himself. He wants to pass these traits on to his son. As he explains to Ferreiro, "That boy will carry my name and my father's." Tavington also seeks to subjugate the local population, but like his shaving, this does not set him apart from the film's heroes in the ways the filmmakers intended. Vidal is evil because he's a patriarchal fascist in a feminist fantasy/drama. Tavington is evil because he's British in an American nationalist propaganda piece. I would argue that Vidal "works" better as a villain simply because Pan's Labyrinth is a better-written, smarter story than The Patriot. Of all the insights comparing these films has brought me, my favorite has to do with fatherhood. While Roland Emmerich sets it up as a virtue in and of itself. del Toro reminds the audience that being a father does not necessarily have to do with being selfless and caring. On the contrary, it can be narcissistic. Caring for one's own children carries little weight if it does not also entail caring for other people's children, as Mercedes does when she takes Vidal's son from his arms and when she tries to protect Ofelia from him. She breaks the patriarchal cycle when she responds to Vidal's final demand with, "No. [Your son] won't even know your name."

Indeed, it has been a real struggle to write this post without digressing onto the topic of how well-written and amazing the heroes of Pan's Labyrinth are in comparison to The Patriot's, but that's another post!

[horizon-verizon]

Show!Criston is Dornish. In the first episode, there’s a scene where he takes off his helmet at the tourney and Alicent has this almost horrorstruck expression and exclaims “he’s Dornish” while she and Rhaenyra are gossiping. Since Dorne is not a part of Westeros at this point, it’s meant to be viewed as unusual that a Dornishman showed up to a Westerosi tourney.

*EDITED POST* (12/12/23)

Anon refers to this post.

Look, this is why I don't care for this show aside from the larger criticisms about it's racism, sexism, etc. Claims of either/both "The text of Fire and Blood is unreliable so I won't think of researching the lore" and "I will use what I 'remember' of the lore to make my own story". If we are really doing the "these are two canons" nonsense, this is why I say you cannot look to HotD for accuracy or telling you what the ASoIaF lore is. Because I went back to look at three separate scripts for episode 1, and this anon is correct that Alicent calls him Dornish as soon as she sees him (more at end).

The show leads us to think he is Dornish because he says in episode 2 that he is from the Dornish Marches, whose inhabitants are marchers and if you didn't know your ASoIaF lore, you wouldn't know that the Dornish Marches are not considered Dornish territory at all. Those who live in the marches are called "marchers". Marchers and the Dornish have fought each other for centuries and really hate each other.

And yet the "Narrator" section of a episode 1 script online that I've found calls Criston a "Dornish" knight, so in the show, Criston seems like he's supposed to be Dornish. However, in all the scripts for episode 2 AND while watching the episode, it's made clear that Criston comes from the castle Blackhaven, which is not in Dorne! Until GRRM comes out with new information or someone provides proof that Criston or his father emigrated from Dorne, Criston is supposed to be a Stormlander and a Stormland marcher at that, even in the show.

There was a time when I thought Criston was Dornish in the original story--would have identified as such--until I went back and researched.

Unofficial(?) Episode 1' script's Narrator Portion (SOURCE):

During old king Jaehaerys Targaryen’s reign, tragedies took his sons’ lives, leaving the succession undecided. A Great Council convenes to choose Westeros’ future ruler. Jaehaerys’ grandchildren, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and Prince Viserys Targaryen (Rhaenys’ younger cousin) are the candidates. Westerosi law gives a male heir precedence over a female, regardless their birth order and Viserys is chosen. Nine years into King Visery I’s reign, the Triarchy, an alliance formed by the free cities of Essos, threatens the kingdom, wanting to seize the Stepstones region. Viserys must also restrain his brother Daemon’s brutality as the City Watch commander in King’s Landing. Viserys, certain that pregnant Queen Aemma will bear him a son, holds a tournament to celebrate the impending birth. During the event, Dornish knight, Ser Criston Cole defeats Daemon in a competition while Queen Aemma and her son die in childbirth. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower, proposes that Viserys’ only living child, the young princess Rhaenyra, be named heir to the Iron Throne. After a dispute with Daemon, Viserys proclaims Rhaenyra as the next ruler.

Possible that this was just a draft, as the officially released script for the pilot episode shows only Alicent calling him Dornish and no mention of his actual heritage. (SOURCE)

It's possible that the writers tried to show, through Alicent's pointing Criston out, that his looks lend to "outsider" and thus a sort of racial or ethnic pressure (or plain xenophobia) in his characterization. Show!Alicent could, in the universe, just mistake him for Dornish because he looks like their idea of Dornish.

However nothing follows up here to build from that element into his actions and how people treat him later on, and if it's not on screen nor even something the characters themselves hint, use, etc, it doesn't exist in the story's universe.

[sopebubbles]

annyeong!

just finished chapter 9 🫠 first of all, what’s up with Eli? i mean suddenly show up and became this overprotective and caring brother? yet at the end he threw her out just because his fiancé asked him to? is he an alpha? because he is hell act like a sap, asshole sap just like his fiancé.

honestly i do understand that he care for her little sister. deny all you want but you can’t change who you are originally. so i guess within him, as lykos, he just cannot see his sister in trouble that’s why he tried to save and provided for her. yet his fiancé freaked out and he also willingly threw her out and that is really a dick move. wish you happy life Eli, until your sap pregnant and got lykos hah serve you right- (im sorry for being salty)

the fluffiest part has come to show though, yoongi and yn!!! that is so heart wrenching yet fluffy yet soo soo ugh. no words can describe how im feeling right 😭

well, soon after, yoongi and jk probably going to take her home. aww can’t wait for that!!

but, i wonder- it just me thinking okayy, um what if,- (author-nim don’t take this to heart or in you wip okay! it just me wondering in my wild thoughts instead of studying for my test tomorrow- sigh, i’m 22 yet still going to class for test— btw!!! ) after all is well, and yn get to be in pack as yoongi’s omega, and what if, suddenly yn got pregnant instead of hoseok. you know as we all know that hoseok and jin has been trying for kids yet yn and yoongi get first?? it would be hella dramas and i’m just wondering okay author nim- you don’t have to wonder or put it in your wip you know- just wonderrrr ㅋㅋㅋ

all is well, and i really lurve the update! got me excited for next!! oh question, how long this lone wolf series would be? 12 chapters? 14 chapters?

luv u ! - 🫧

About Eli: he is a beta. Really there's no other way he would be able to pretend so well. I think he genuinely wanted to help her, but only as long as it didn't threaten his own security. He grew up the same way she did and is also very damaged, so don't hate him too much.

That scene where she goes to him and calls him alpha has been in my head for so long. I'm so happy it's it there now. It's everything to me. She will be in get proper home very soon.

Ah so about that. As I've hinted at with her fear of breeding, mc will not be getting pregnant, at least not anytime soon at all. Because of her past, that would be extremely traumatic for her. But that doesn't mean kids won't come up 👀

I have no idea how long it will be!! Most likely the following chapters will be a bit shorter just because they are going to be fluffier. I kind of really pushed their separation into as few chapters as I could bc I don't want it to last too long. Now I think I'll do slightly shorter chapters and we can just snack on the fluff for a long time.

Thank you so much for showing my little universe some love. Good luck with your exam!!

[smoreal]

Doc Drop - The one where sonic amy and tails are about to watch the Mario movie bc it’s all I can think about :)

Sonic leans back in his seat, cradling the bag of popcorn in the crook of his arm and drinking noisily from the Mario cup in his hand.

“Honestly, you’d think he’d have created the first video game adaptation with the amount of people in line out there.” He mutters around the straw in his mouth.

Amy gives him a warning love tap on the shoulder, glaring at him. “Sonic! That’s no way to show support for a friend!”

Sonic grins sheepishly. “Aw, c’mon, Ames, I was only kidding!”

She narrows her eyes and takes some of the popcorn from his bucket. “Sonic T. Hedgehog,” She warns, wagging a finger at him, “we are going to show support for our friends and enjoy the movie.”

Sonic gives a relenting shake of his head right as Tails shuffles in front of them, crossing to get to his seat. He’s donning a Luigi suit, much to Sonic’s earlier conflict. Bright, giddy, blue eyes look onto Sonic in excitement only to pout and level him with a frown.

Oh boy, what now?

“Sonic, where’s your hat?”

Chaos.

“Tails, I never agreed to—”

“Found it!” Amy chirps, pulling the infamous red hat seemingly from out of nowhere. “Here you go, Sonic.”

He gives her a deadpanned look, glances at Tails’s pleading expression, and sighs. He accepts the hat with a mumbled thanks and sets it on his head, relenting again to appease his best buddy.

Ecstatic, Tails settles into his seat, adjusting the denim straps of his overalls with a big smile on his face and shakes a box of Reese’s, silently offering some to Sonic. “I’ve heard they’ve got a ton of references to the games and even the consoles! I wanna see if I can manage to find them all the first watch!”

Sonic accepts the Reece’s, munching on them quietly and raising his brows in mild interest. He’d also heard about the many nods to the classics and was sort of curious to see how often they’d fit something in.

Most of his curiosity stemmed from seeing whether watching this was going to be worth the time; sitting down for so long watching his (technically) oldest rival have all the fun onscreen wasn’t how he imagined a fun night to go.

“Oh! Did you hear there are post credit scenes?” Amy pipes up, flapping her hands in Tails direction, nearly whacking Sonic on the nose. He smirks and sits up, providing her more space. “I think they said there was two, hang on—” She turns back into her seat, pulls out her phone and types with a speed rivaling his own.

“Ooh, a post credit scene!” Tails says, before taking a second to finish the reeces in his mouth. “I wonder if it’ll tease the next movie like yours did, Sonic!”

Sonic huffs, snickering at the possibility. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was better than mine. Doesn’t take much to beat that ‘Shadow Reveal.’”

Amy elbows him and he breaks out into an apologetic laugh. “Right, right! Supportive, got it!”

“Someone sounds a little threatened.” Tails sings, grinning mischievously and taking his turn to elbow at Sonic.

“Oh, please,” Sonic says, swatting his elbow away without heat. “As if the old man could outsell me. I’ve got two movies already!” He defends, realizing a moment too late that he just played into his little brother’s hands.

Tails laughs and takes a sip from his own (Mario Kids Snack Pack) cup. “You’d be surprised! They’re predicting that it’ll be the biggest opening for a game adaptation.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” Sonic asks confounded and frowning at the big screen that is now littered with… ducks… Okay.

“The movie analysts or critics or something.” Amy says rolling her eyes. She reaches over Sonic again, this time to enthusiastically share the contents of her screen to Tails. Sonic scoots into the corner so his seat to get a peek as well. “Look! TWO credit scenes AND they have some of the user scores out now!”

Tails gasps behind a hand. “I knew the user scores would be higher, but not by THIS much!”

Sonic grins, scrutinizing the list of red and yellow reviews. “What, the critics said it was bad or something?” He scrolls to the top, catches the words ‘disappointment’ and ‘empty,’ and chuckles.

Amy gives him a solemn nod and turns her phone on silent. “I read through a few of the articles and they were kind of harsh on it. Said that it was too fast paced and unoriginal.”

“Huh.” He says, trying to appear neutral, but the shit-eating grin seeps through and before he knows it he’s full on grinning. “Fast is not how I’d describe Mario.”

Tails shakes his head good-naturedly. “I’ve watched a few non-spoiler reviews and they all said that the movie’s best enjoyed if you know the games. I’m guessing the plot is simple and it’s more focused on action, and maybe a little character.”

“Hah, now we’re talking.” Sonic says, adjusting in his seat and watching the previews with more earnest. “I like a good action movie.”

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol. 1) #12: Survivalists

Read Date: June 10, 2023 Cover Date: September 1987 ● Writer: Peter Laird ● Pencils: Peter Laird ● Inks: Peter Laird ● Letterer: Steve Lavigne ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read:

● scary how relevant this issue still is ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: The story begins with Michelangelo shooting an apple off of Donatello's head with a yumi, à la William Tell. This is Mikey's way to prepare a fruit salad—but Don has grown tired of the exercise and the pair join their brothers, Splinter, Casey and April, who are having a picnic out in the woods near Jones Farm. As Mike and Don sit down to feast, a man comes crashing through the bushes and lands face first in their bountiful blanket.

The intruder's glasses are lost and he frantically asks where they are. Unfortunately in the next breath, one of the turtles steps on the glasses. Casey is enraged by the man and grabs him by the collar, threatening to pound him. April gets Casey to cool his jets and put the fellow down, and he explains his predicament. His name is Michael Murphy, he's a physics student who was kidnapped by a group of survivalists five weeks ago. The group, who call themselves the "Committee to Rebuild American Patriotism" (C.R.A.P.), wanted the student to build them a nuclear bomb that they could use to start a war with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Don asks Michael if he built the bomb and the student replies that he had to, or C.R.A.P. would have killed him. Murphy pleads with our heroes to help him when he is shot in the chest by a sniper. The wound isn't fatal but it is bleeding badly.

600 yards away we see the survivalists. Their leader, Skonk, is unhappy that he only wounded Michael. As his men congratulate him on a fine shot, Skonk decides that they'll have to kill everyone—including the people in turtle costumes and their "dog."

Casey and April take Michael to their car to get him to the hospital while the turtles cover their backs. Don and Mike take out two of the extremists while Splinter faces off with Skonk. Splinter fares well against his much larger opponent, but the madman escapes by throwing debris in Splinter's face. Skonk bolts for C.R.A.P.'s bunker.

Meanwhile, Donatello has already reached the survivalist's base. Don cautiously maneuvers the camp and escapes a booby trapped door by planning ahead. Donny finds the bomb in the basement of the building.

Raphael and Leonardo take out the two remaining members in a creek. As Raph drowns his opponent, Splinter and Mike arrive and their father orders Raph to release the man. Raph replies that he was just having some fun and lets the man up, quickly knocking him out. Splinter calculates that only Skonk remains at large and they head out to find him.

C.R.A.P.'s leader has made it back to his base and grabbed a radio control detonation device. He climbs to the roof of the bunker and awaits his adversaries. Splinter tries to talk sense to the survivalist, but the man is determined to set the bomb off. Just as Skonk is about to push the button, Don arrives on the scene and yells for his family to take cover. Skonk sets off the bomb and the bunker explodes!

Later the protagonists are sitting on a porch discussing the events. We learn that Michael Murphy is in the hospital and doing well, but the other survivalists escaped. Splinter believes that Skonk was the heart of the movement and thus the others will not provide any threat. Splinter also congratulates Don for his quick thinking—by removing the plutonium core of the bomb, Don was able to make the destruction it caused relatively harmless. April asks Don why he appears to be sad, and Don states that he regrets that someone died and that he does feel some sympathy for the group's basic aim, "After all, in this world plagued by terrorism and poised on the brink of nuclear armageddon… who doesn't want to survive?"

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Survivalists)

Fan Art: TMNT by AdamWithers

Accompanying Podcast: ● Shellheads - episode 23

[lillysbitchfest]

“The whole Daemon having spies in kings landing thing went over your head”

“Any information he received would be second hand”

Try again.

... are you... are you acting like Daemon should be treating this like a court case???? He's not a 21st century American prosecutor putting on a murder trial. I mean what the hell dude! You really think that he should take their innocence on principle over the people he pays to deliver information on what is going on??? You are stretching so far to make this idea work in your head it's hilarious! Valaryian weddings allow for a HUSBAND to take more than one WIFE. Don’t need to try again. Nailed it the first time.

Well you are TG so I shouldn't be surprised to see the default misogynistic take here. There is no evidence that Valaryian tradition only allowed for polygamy. In fact Saera Targaryen's words suggested you are wrong. Also, as a person born outside of wedlock, I can assure you, I don’t care about that. I care about the treason associated with it as it makes Rhaenyra’s claim invalid.

No, see you brought it up when it had nothing to do with anything. If you felt like Daemon had some problem with Rhaenyra's first three sons specifically because of the bastard issue that could have made sense. But that wasn't your argument, even going so far as saying his sons are bastards too so- again you are just bringing it up to be disparaging suggesting you have some deep seated issue here that isn't about "the treason" but perhaps some issue with women and sexual autonomy? Consider it. As far as evidence: Look how Daemon acted while his wife was in labor. Rhaenyra left her heir in charge and Daemon steam rolled him. Clearly doesn’t care about them at all if he won’t even listen when the ‘queen’ names them acting regent.

What are you talking about? Daemon did listen to him. When Jace came in Daemon was planning to leave for the Riverlands, he didn't go. He didn't make Jace go patrol the skies like he suggested- he stopped his plans, and took Jace out making the Kingsguard swear to Rhaenyra and to Jace as her heir. Again, even if he didn't want to listen to a Jace, or even didn't listen to him, which he did, how would that suggest he wanted to kill Jace? Didn't care about Jace? What the fuck are you talking about? We also see how he handled Rhea. He was married for how long before the divorce rock? Obviously not opposed to killing anyone in his way, provided he can get away with it.

So all your examples for your argument are from the show, which is weird but hey let's go with this. I'll agree Daemon will kill people he doesn't like or care about without any guilt- Daemon made no secret that he hated Rhea. None. Where are the scenes of him making no secret that he hated Luce? ... I'll wait but I don't think there are any.

B&C is really easy to understand. He doomed Helaena and her daughter to a fate worse than death. Helaena watched her son die. She had to chose which son was taken, and they took the other. They threatened to SA her daughter. Her daughter watched her twin brother be beheaded in front of her. Both women ended up exiting through a tower window. His actions definitely killed them both. It just took a while for it to play out. First they were tormented by what happened.

So now Daemon is the Dragon Dreamer? Because he would have to be to know that was how that would play out. How could he have KNOWN that B&C would drive Helaena to suicide and not say jumping on Dreamfyre and coming after him with Aemond on Vhegar? How did he know Helaena's psychology well enough to predict that? He couldn't have. It wasn't good political play. Period. It doesn't make sense as a political play unless you want to ascribe very specific psychic gifts to Daemon that worked only this one time... Glad you agree that your “entertaining chaos beauty” is a complete coward. Seeing this is why I decided to reply to you at all because- That's not what I wrote. It was "entertaining chaos beasty". You have such a strawman of what a person who is a Daemon fan must be like in your head you cannot imagine that I wrote that he was a beasty- you made up a typo that wouldn't happen. U and S are not even close to each other on a keyboard. It's so funny to me that you have to misquote me to make arguments against me- you're like a creationist or something. Amazing. P.S. - The "cool" was sarcasm. I don't see what immoral acts have to do with bravery really. Bravery is believing something needs to be done that you are afraid to do and doing it anyway. Those acts can be deeply immoral, and if they were scary then the person was brave. This idea of making cowardice something we pin to immoral actions no matter what is weird really. Hiring assassins isn't really on the brave vs. cowardly axis. Also it ignores that bravery is virtue meaning a third prong between cowardice and recklessness... Daemon exists more in the reckless category than anything.

B&C and Helaena discourse is on a rise and yall know that's my roman empire so i WILL be giving my two cents (for the thousandth time😼)

First off, B&C

I see a lot of people claiming B&C was the Greens fault, but when you take a second to think you will see that nothing the Greens did as a whole caused B&C. It simply would not have happened if Aemond (1 singular green) had not killed Lucerys for taking his eye. (i believe this excuse comes more from a "well you reap what you sow this is what you get for usurping rhaenyra" mindset rather than thinking ALL the greens are directly to blame for B&C but whatevs) People argue it was Aegon's fault, too, because he celebrated Luke's death with a feast, but that's actually a headcanon. F&B states Aegon celebrated Luke's death, but it skips over any offense it caused Rhaenyra and Daemon. It only says that after learning of Luke's DEATH (not the feast) Daemon sends a letter telling Rhaenyra Luke would be avenged. It was not the feast it was the boy's death that led to B&C.

People also have been saying B&C was necessary and it simply wasn't. Jaehaerys was entirely unrelated to any issue regarding Luke, therefore it wasn't even really avenging him. Luke wasn't actually avenged until Aemond (his killer) died. B&C was not necessary to avenge Luke—it was more of an intimidation tactic on Daemon's behalf.

As for Helaena, people are saying she should've taken her kids, flown to Dragonstone, and bent the knee as per Rhaenyra's peace terms.

That's kind of just dumb lol. Rhaenyra's terms were not individual, she wanted ALL of her siblings to go to her and bend the knee, not just one. If Helaena went to Dragonstone by herself, Aegon would still be Rhaenyra's enemy. Helaena and her children, Aegon's heirs, would become high profile hostages.

Also, Helaena is the queen of the Green Faction. She was crowned by Alicent alongside Aegon. Nothing in F&B implies she's NOT in support of Aegon. If anything, she's passive. She councils him against his stupidity, but that doesn't mean she's a secret supporter of Rhaenyra.

The Greens also happen to be her closest family. Her mom and brothers—people she grew up with. If I remember correctly, she used to visit Alicent in the Tower of the Hand with her children every night. She and Aegon shared a bed until her son was killed. She was described as a happy girl, and if she was miserable, she still clearly held love for her family.

Rhaenyra, however, is a stranger to her. Not just a stranger, but also someone that would mock her mother and her siblings at court.

She had no reason to go to Rhaenyra when the war began.

People are also quite weird about the topic of her suicide, but seeing as suicide is a real issue in a way that usurping, sending assassins after a child, and feeding a boy to a dragon are NOT I won't address that. You are weird if you be laughing about suicide tho ngl.

FINAL PSA: A lot of yall like to go "I love Helaena, she so sweet and gentle and innocent and kind and cute and she's the only green I love BUT..." Yall dont like Helaena and yall CAN admit it. She's a fictional character you dont have to pretend to like her just because you have a moral superiority complex.

[korranguyen]

Let’s talk about Azula & Ozai’s psychological abuse for a second. (Part 2)

Now, about Azula.

(Part 1 is here)

I want to start off with the last scene from the previous post, along with the assertion that Ozai’s love praise is based on the condition of doing exactly what he says, acting exactly how he wants her to act, and embodying what he wants accomplished.

“Don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?”

This scene occurs simultaneously with another scene, where Azula employs the exact same kind of emotional blackmail to get Sokka and the rest of the Gang where she wants them to be. (Ironically, away from her father to protect him)

“Where. Is. Suki?!” *

*(not written verbatim to the script, I didn’t copy this part down)

To me, the purpose of this sequencing is to tell us that Azula is 100% parroting her father’s behavior.

Has she seen him do this before? Has he done this to her? We’re not quite sure, but we definitely see where she gets this mentality from:

AZULA: Well, what choice do I have?! Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.

In the past, I have hypothesized that Azula’s behavior could be the result of a genetic personality disorder (likely conduct disorder/CD) that was ignored in light of the success her resulting voracity brought her. (Sidenote: I strongly disagree with any schizophrenia diagnosis because of the age of onset & a distinct lack of any characteristic schizophrenia symptoms outside of her psychosis—but that’s not what this post is about). But between this post and what’s in the scripts, I’m inclined to avoid pathologizing her behavior because she is acting exactly how she has been conditioned to act.

First of all, she obeys her social norms she has been taught to a tee (at least the social norms of the Royal Palace, lol) and doesn’t have a problem handling authority or impulse: both things she would likely have a problem with if she did have CD. If anything, it’s Zuko who struggles to do these things (which is another topic for another time).

Yes—she has a marked lack of empathy, shows a disregard for others’ well being, and is extremely threatening and manipulative for anyone her age. But her father encourages thinking of others in this way, encourages treating others this way, and provides a bounty of direct examples on how to manipulate others.

Yes—she treats her brother and uncle like shit, but you know who inundates her with commentary about them as though they are shit? Her father.

Yes—she is an active colonizer and conqueror (unlike her brother), and seems to find satisfaction in these exploits. She single-handedly strategized how to overtake Ba Sing Se on her own, and she spearheaded the Omashu resistance, usurped control over the loosening stronghold from Mai’s father, and renamed the city in her father’s honor. But does she take joy from conquering land because she enjoys it, or because she knows it’s news she can report back to her father and win a helping of praise?

Both are possibilities that are not mutually exclusive, but we know for a fact Ozai praises over this kind of thing. He mentions it in his reunion with Zuko:

FIRELORD OZAI: I am proud of you, Prince Zuko. I am proud because you and your sister conquered Ba Sing Se.

Zuko beams with happiness.

This expression is different from what we see onscreen at this moment, which is restraint mixed with fear (and I’m personally glad it was changed because that reaction would've been OOC at this point), but I wanted to share the WGAW script here. Because in order for the writers—in this case, Aaron Ehasz—to envision Zuko beaming with happiness when his father praises him for conquering Ba Sing Se, that signifies that that kind of pride and reward must mean a hell of a lot to the kids. And we see how this could quickly turn into anticipatory satisfaction every time Azula finds a new region to dominate. Like a Pavlovian dog.

Also... Azula literally named Omashu “New Ozai” to honor her father. If you really needed to hear her need to impress her father ooze at the seams of her accomplishments.

On a sidenote, the perfectionism that dominates Azula’s personality right up to her downfall? Also 100% a trauma response.

I’m not saying that all of the malevolent things she has done throughout the series must have been either an attempt to please her father or a result of his bad parenting. But we should acknowledge the possibility that these could be workable reasons for a huge chunk of her role as an antagonist.

So, if the Azula we know for most of the show is the one who’s desperately trying to pretty herself up to her father just as much as Zuko was in Season 1, then who is the Azula beneath all this?

While I’m generally critical of The Beach and the quality of its writing (it is the only episode written by the WA—and I’m happy that she was able to shoot her shot at an entire episode regardless), I appreciate that it gives us an opportunity to see how Azula treats Zuko when their father’s approval isn’t on the line.

The siblings are sent off from the Fire Nation palace so their father can plan his nefarious bullshit on his own. Now that they’re both shut away from their father’s shadow, they have a brief chance to (unsuccessfully) integrate into a normal teenage society, and behave as normal teenage siblings would to each other. And although the way she perceives Zuko as “pathetic” doesn’t go magically away, Azula is genuinely sympathetic towards Zuko—perhaps even moreso than Mai when he shared similar concerns about change with her only four episodes before. For all their time apart, Azula knows exactly where to find Zuko, and even shares a moment of mutual recognition with him on how much their environment has been poisoned.

AZULA: Come on. Come down to the beach with me. This place is depressing.

To add onto this, the WGAW script for The Beach indicates that Azula was sincerely mystified to hear that Zuko was angrier than ever. Not prodding, not malicious... just curious.

AZULA: (sincerely mystified) Why?

So... How much is Azula being Evil, or Mentally Ill (which needs to stop being conflated with violent) —and how much of it is a fourteen year old kid simply trying to keep up an image to her father and fearing the slandered fate of her older brother like the Plague?

We never know, because Bryke doesn’t give a shit about these questions.

Just to clarify, I’m not writing all this to absolve Azula of her actions. She has hurt a lot of people, and the fact she was an abuse victim or conditioned to behave this way doesn’t change the impact it had on others—just like Zuko only being interested in the Avatar didn’t change the fact he burned Suki’s village. I just want to point out why writing in a fourteen-year-old, troubled, abused child like this

AZULA: (SPINE-TINGLING, MADWOMAN’S LAUGH)

and this

As Katara and Zuko watch with pained faces, Azula finally snaps, going from feral animal to bumbling crazy person.

(again, emphasis is mine)

is absolutely fucking unacceptable and a disservice to her character. And honestly speaks a lot for Bryke’s misogyny throughout and beyond the Avatar world.

[violexides]

so i finished turnabout succession, meaning i’ve watched all of the cases in aa4 excluding the first case - which i am considering watching at some point but likely in the distant future, seeing as trucy and klavier are not yet introduced in it and i already know the plot of the case. many thoughts on ace attorney 4 but i am just going to talk about klavier gavin real quick because. i need to.

[if you don’t want spoilers but are still reading these posts i’m REALLY going into spoilers so like. guys please]

i really wish Capcom had done more with klavier both in the sense of backstory but also in the sense of future games, since iirc he only appears once or twice in dual destinies and not at all in spirit of justice. what i CAN say though is that despite all this, they gave an amazingly written character to us - even if he, again, only predominantly exists in three cases.

i really cannot get over the tragedy of each one of them, though. turnabout corner, where he faces off and loses in a trial - his first trial returning to prosecuting - to the disciple/employee of his older brother. who aforementioned employee had imprisoned for murder. and he’s extremely kind compared to other prosecutors, willing to help out, and also among one of the most well-prepared ones. he’s fun and melodramatic and he doesn’t throw a fit at losing.

and then you IMMEDIATELY go to fucking turnabout serenade, where he has a concert in which basically everything goes wrong for him, including the performance not meeting his high standards and someone literally dying DURING HIS CONCERT. in which his guitar ALSO set on fire mid concert btw. and he’s very emotionally attached to them. and then you find out all this, on top of the fact that it was not only his second guitarist but his BEST FRIEND of at LEAST seven years who committed the murder. someone he deeply trusted, and he has to be the one to take him off the case and put him on the stand.

and then THREE MONTHS PASS, and he is put on the trial for the jurist system, a system created by phoenix wright. he knows from the start that despite his desires for a simple case, it’s going to be complex because of wright’s involvement. and then it turns out that the current murder provides insight into the events of seven years ago, a trial he had prosecuted on in which he got someone disbarred with information he shouldn’t have had and became CONSUMED WITH DARKNESS FOR SEVEN FUCKING YEARS to the point that he LEAVES THE PROSECUTION JOB TEMPORARILY. and then he is told, by apollo justice - former employee of his brother, frequent court rival, person who put his best friend AND brother behind bars, and current employee of phoenix wright the attorney that KLAVIER HELPED DISBAR - that the events that transpired seven years ago, when klavier was SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, were manipulated by his brother. 

and he STILL wants to believe in kristoph. and that’s what gets me - we know next to NOTHING about these guys’ history. and yet we see it in everything - klavier and kristoph finishing each other’s thoughts as klavier fights harder than ever against apollo in the cross examination, klavier and kristoph showing superficial levels of affection that sink deeper for klavier but fall apart at the top level for kristoph, the respective distrust and resentment they have for one another, the fact that kristoph tells klavier to CALM DOWN and CALLS HIM USELESS and implies he’s IRRATIONAL over and over and OVER again even trying to THREATEN him into not saying anything - up until the moment that klavier says that it’s time for them to empty their family closet. 

up until the last line said in the court trial for kristoph gavin - in which klavier looks his brother in the eye and says “you are not needed anymore.”

and then it shows post credit scenes in which he’s like hey lol the gavinners are breaking up but i’m excited to go back into court again soon ^_^ LITERALLY HOW YOUR ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN RUINED BY THIS MAN . OR I GUESS LIBERATED . I HATE GAY PEOPLE 

anyway I love klavier gavin and we should have gotten more of him in later games but for now i’m going to go uhhh read fanfiction. or no shit i should do homework. read fic AND do homework. yeah :] 

[sxfik]

let's talk about han seo, hockey and his relationship with vincenzo!

disclaimer: probably more unorganized than usual lol but i had a lot of thoughts on this. feel free to add on!!

hockey has been a connection to han seo that we have seen throughout the drama. hockey is a traditionally masculine sport, and focused on team building and brotherhood between the participants. hockey is also a violent sport, often very rough on the body and rigorous. the show utilizes hockey as a symbol of masculinity, and a representation of brotherhood, especially for han seo.

from very early on, hockey sets the dynamic between the brothers: the ice is a punishment and a reminder of han seo's relationship with his brother who uses hockey as a punishment for his brother's mistakes as well as a way to let off steam. the first notable utilization of hockey was prior to jun woo's reveal as han seok. we watch as han seo explains himself to han seok and han seok repeatedly hitting the puck into his stomach when angry and unsatisfied with the answers. this is the first real relationship we see between the two brothers. han seok uses han seo as a punching bag in order to let off his anger that he feels on a day to day basis and as a reminder to han seo of his place beneath him.

we can use this scene to infer about their relationship in their childhood. Mr. Nam has mentioned that han seo was abused by his brother as a child and has gone to therapy his whole life. as a young adult, he turned to drugs and partying and it is implied that he has wound up in the police station many times. han seok has used han seo as his punching bag and han seo molded his personality and actions in order to avoid provoking his brother. han seok has constantly reminded han seo that he is beneath him, both in blood along with intelligence and stature, and in order to satisfy him, han seo leveled himself down.

it’s important to note that this is certainly not true about han seo. we have seen that han seo picks up on situations much faster than han seok thinks (gummy bear scene), but refuses to let his brother notice as it can result in more abuse. the only reason han seo comes off as a bumbling chairman is because he isn’t as “cunning” as vincenzo or jang han seok.

it's also important to note that while there have been moments of a cordial relationship between the two, it is still an abusive relationship. even after moments where han seok has shown kindness to han seo, it is no excuse for the abuse that han seo has suffered. it is also not a reason to say that han seok is caring brother despite his abuse as he does not care for han seo beyond preserving him as an escape out of jail or death.

it's safe to say that han seo has never had a real brotherly relationship neither has he had a role model in his life and it shows in the early episodes. we see han seo mimic han seok's hockey tactics and throw pucks at his advisors (idk what to call them tbh) and even force the board members to drink spicy food without water (maybe this was a way han seok punished him when he was younger). han seo mimics his brother and attempts to be like him in these episodes. that is also why he sends thugs after cha-young and vincenzo: he is attempting his brother's scare tactics but it is clear to see that han seo is not the one for strategizing and well, being a villain. furthermore, we have noticed han seok's attachment to hockey sticks and how he deals out punishment (i.e. killing the prosecutor with a hockey stick, defending himself against intruders with the hockey stick, smashing in the car window glass with hockey stick) and han seo has bound to pick up this toxic relationship with hockey, and as an extension in the way he views his relationship with his brother.

we see this change as we watch the scene where han seo and vincenzo are on the ice together. both are stood opposing each other but in the same pose and in hockey gear. this establishes them as equals as both are equipped with the same armor and the same attack sticks. both of them have an equal chance at the puck. it heavily contrasts the scene we see where we see han seok, fully in armor and equipped to attack, and han seo in the lone suit with no protection or means to attack him back. we also note that when han seo scores, we see a genuine smile on his face and as vincenzo threatens light heartedly to "come here" and makes a move towards him, he playfully skates away. this is similar to how many brother's play on the playground together as kids: competitive but never cut-throat or attempting to maim each other. we also note han seo asking from approval from vincenzo, like a little kid would from their older sibling, asking if they did good, and vincenzo responds like an older sibling with playfully underplaying their contribution. we also see vincenzo granting han seo good advice to use/train his brain and asks him about his studies, the same way an older brother checks up on a younger one.

we can note that han seo feels comfortable around vincenzo in a way we don't see with his brother. vincenzo makes a move to throw a puck in his direction when he drops honorifics but we don't see han seo flinch in the same way that he does with han seok. even when vincenzo makes moves towards him, or gets closer he doesn't flinch, he just glides back. it shows that han seo trusts Vincenzo in a way he hasn't before. he also shyly thanks him for the advice and expresses a certain love to vincenzo, beyond just the admiration that everyone has for him (aka the vincenzo effect).

of course, we see han seo skate toward vincenzo and losing control but vincenzo catches him. he is caught off guard as he is caught though which might be telling us that han seok would have never made a move to protect his brother like that. even though i've seen many people criticizes the usage of "is this love" during that sequence, i don't believe it's used mockingly like adrenaline is. "is this love" is the song used when vincenzo develops a serious relationship with someone, most notably cha-young. what this song is doing in this scene is establishing a sibling relationship between vincenzo and han seo and noting that there is a specialty to their partnership, just like how cha-young and vincenzo's relationships are special.

most importantly (and what breaks my heart), han seo asks vincenzo repeatedly whether he will kill him. while this fear is warranted as han seo has aided han seok in many ways prior to him seeing the light and teaming up with vincenzo, we also know that han seo was fearful for his life with han seok. han seo walks on a thin line with han seok and never knowing when his life was going to end at his hands. han seok continually teased him and threatened him (we can infer this from the gummy bear and "are you going to kill me like you killed our father" and when han seok held the knife to his neck). not to mention, han seo now carries a watch gifted by han seok: a reminder that han seok has control over his life. han seo is continually fearful of when his brother will murder him and take that watch as his next trophy. except this time, we can note that han seo says something along the lines "i know you won't but i can't help but feeling uneasy." it really enforces how far han seok's abuse has hurt han seo. even with reassurances, he is still fearful that his brother, or someone he views as his brother will take it away from him.

it's important to note that hockey is a sport that emphasizes team building and brotherhood also encourages a little rough housing. han seok and hockey vs. vincenzo and hockey are the two opposite ends of what hockey is supposed to be as a sport. han seok and hockey empahsize the violence, and rough nature of hockey, where han seok is using the puck and the hockey sticks as weapons to attack defenseless people (han seok, those prosecutors, that poor car and also zumba snake choi and mr. han). han seok uses it to crush down han seo instead and leaves behind the team aspect. vincenzo on the other hand focuses more on the team building and brotherhood MORE than the violence, their scenes focused more on vincenzo giving advice and building han seo up rather than crushing him and pushing him down. we see han seo actually scoring and both of them being playful with each other, building a rapport with each other.

in episode 18, we can note that han seo is acting more and more like vincenzo (like how in the earlier episodes han seo acted like his brother). when revealing his hand in han seok's demise, he acts similar to vincenzo, leaning in and explaining how he pulled the rug from underneath his feet. we also see a new kind of boldness, a fire behind his eyes we don't see before this moment when he speaks to han seok. the same sport that was used to torment han seo has provided him the support and advice he has needed to turn his life around. i believe that having a genuine support system for the very first time has provided han seo the platform to change and grow, as well as gain confidence in himself and his abilities. in episode 19 and 20 i want to see han seo and vincenzo grow together and evolve into a relationship where both are comfortable and able to give mutual support and love to each other.