#no wonder he needs Kant helps

[scrumptiousstuffs]

Me everytime Madam Lilly or this motherfucker himself come on my screen

(And Keen - I do not trust him at all)

The Heart Killers EP6

[youryanderedaddy]

Oleander

Summary: Nine months ago you killed a man. Now you're sharing a drink with his brother. Life works in mysterious ways. tw: female reader, implied murder, captivity, dub - con, hate fucking, degradation, cruel reader

Sometimes you wonder if you’re a good person. It’s nice, almost, to lose yourself in meaningless philosophical battles in your own mind - it reminds you of high school, of balding teachers making you read Kant and Plato, raving on and on about dead men that will never come back to agree or disagree with the countless pages they made you write about them. It’s easier now, though - easy to lose yourself in semantics, to water down hundred years of morals and ethics into a simple question. Am I, the way I am, the way I’ve always been, good? 

These thoughts always come back when the liquor hits your system. You can’t believe Devan let you drink with him tonight. He must be getting lonely, you realize. Your hands are too shaky and slippery to hold the glass, and you end up spilling half of it over your chest anyways. Your shirt soaks the liquor quickly, and the sharp smell of sanitizer makes you feel as if you’re running through a cold hospital corridor. If you squint, you can almost imagine the needle poking at your vein to draw fresh blood. 

Devan watches you with odd fascination - as if you’re a child learning how to walk, and takes a sip straight off the bottle. Were you any less drunk, you’d be disgusted, yet now all you think about is how he’s drinking more and more of the bitter medicine, leaving less for you. And you need it. God knows you need it.

“Messy, murderous slut.” He mumbles under his breath, reaching out to you with a disoriented shake of his hand. “You ruined my fucking life, you know?” He manages to take a hold of your elbow. You flinch impulsively but his hold, in all its drunken angst, is unrelenting.

“You ruined your own life.” You intend your answer to be playful, but it comes out venomous. Maybe you both need some sleep - too bad the bottle is still half full. You pour yourself some more. “You’re 27 with no education, job or any support network. Even your parents don’t call you anymore, because, well… what even are you without him?” You let yourself get closer to the man - so close you can see his eyes illuminate in fear. His skin is warm like concrete melting under the sun. Tonight you are cruel. Tonight you are free - even as the tears fall down your freezing cheeks. “Admit it.” You inhale so quietly you barely feel your lungs. “You fucking love it.”

Even as his hand connects to your cheek in an audible slap, you can’t help running your mouth off. You are absolutely intoxicated - and the sting feels like a kiss to your lonely, untouched face. How long has it been since someone held you?

“You fucking love that your brother died, deep down. I mean, it’s the perfect excuse, isn’t it? You finally have a reason to be this fucking miserable.” Your smirk, filling up with glee - just like a child torturing a helpless ladybug on the ground, it’s so wrong yet feels so right. ”Besides being a lousy loser, of course.”

“How fucking dare you!” Devin flips you over with ease, throwing you on the ground. There is a raw, animalistic sadness in his big black orbs bleeding into his rage, and it makes it impossible to be scared. Even as his thick fist wraps itself around your throat, it’s hard not to burst into laughter. All the good hazy feelings take over logic and now the bleak feels like a big joke of nature. “Joe was… He… He was…” Everything, he tries to say, but his voice breaks into a pained howl and his breathing shallows before the word can roll off his colorless tongue. For a passing moment everything stills.

“It’s all your fault.” Your captor hisses weakly, his hand trembling around your warm inviting flesh. “I should have killed you that first day… that first night.” His fingers dance around your throat, carefully avoiding your jugular. “It would have been so easy. You do have a beautiful neck.” His voice lowers. “It wouldn’t be hard to–” He squeezes again - tight, tighter, and you see stars. “Maybe then I’ll finally be at peace.” He’s staring at you, intently, but it’s himself he’s talking to. 

“Oh, please.” You roll your eyes. You can feel a certain fullness in your sides and a dull pain tugging at your collarbone from suffocation - but your mind can’t wrap itself around a single coherent thought other than to hurt him. It’s like the more you hurt him, the more it hurts inside you. “You can’t kill me.” There is no sass in your tone, no mischief - just plain cold acceptance.

Devin stops in his tracks to stare you down as if you’ve lost your goddamn mind. Then he laughs. He laughs so much his hand slips off your throat and you can finally breathe again.

“And what makes you so sure?” He finally collects himself enough to ask, leaning towards you. If anyone were to see you now, they would think you’re two lovers about to elope. “Because…” You avert your face away from his watchful eyes - there’s something about them, a wild flame that makes you sober up quicker than you’d like. “I’m the only person you hate more than yourself. If you kill me, the game is over.” You give him a sad smile. “And you’re all alone again.”

The man grabs your chin, forcing your lips to pucker up like a doll’s. “Like I need a fucked up bitch to keep me company.” He says, yet he keeps moving your head up and down as if he’s inspecting you for damage. As if he cares if you’re bruised, as if his fingers want to feel you for just a second longer. “Then let me go.” You bite back, and you watch his face go dark like a night sky. “No.” The boy - man shrieks, holding onto your arm for dear life. It hurts… but it’s also warm and tight - like an embrace, but not quite. “You deserve to suffer.” He quickly adds, pulling you closer to him. “Then torture me.” You add more fuel. “Do something. Anything.” You sink your teeth into his knees. “For once in your shitty miserable life do so–”

He kisses you. 

You don’t know how to describe the kiss. It’s neither passionate, nor aggressive. It’s desperate, yet it lacks strength. It’s a rushed thing. It’s a memory reminiscent of summer - in a quiet village, after an atom bomb. His lips are the flowers that eventually bloom before they’re stomped by soldier boots. You’re the half - lit match that turns it all to ashes. Your bodies are meant for destruction, and that’s why they fit together perfectly. 

“Let me have you.” He almost pleads once you separate, breathless, on the brink of insanity - as if he isn’t already there. His hands are on both sides of your waist, squeezing so hard it hurts, unstable fingers ready to grab and grope at any shape malleable enough. 

“No.” You wince, but your eyes remain cold and challenging. “Fuck you.” Devin replies, roughly spreading your thighs apart. “Fuck you.” He repeats as he rips into your throat, dragging his teeth against your sweet spot, making you really feel the sharp points tearing into your soft vulnerable skin. The thought of leaving his mark on you makes his stomach turn - and it terrifies him. You try not to look down, but you hear his belt hit the ground and soon his pants follow suit - and then you sense it right against your entrance. Sticky slick whiteness coats your white panties as it drips from the purpling tip so full it might burst by the friction alone.

His hard length rubs along your wet slit and with clenched teeth you anticipate the burn of the stretch, the way he’ll rip your underwear from you, your last protective shield - but it never comes. Yet you see it move in and out, in and out of you rhythmically. You can feel his warm breath on the back of your neck, his rasp groans into your ear, his hands moving your torso back and forth like a carousel. You finally look down. 

He’s fucking your thighs - through your panties, no less. 

“Hold your legs together.” The man barks at you, but his voice is so needy you can’t help giggling even as he manhandles you around like a ragdoll. “T-tighter.” You squeeze your thighs snuggly against his cock - and you hope it hurts him more than it hurts you. You throw your head back, leaning on his shoulder as you jeer gutturally, letting it all out in systematic bursts of laughter that sound more like black cigarette coughs. Or puffs. “God, you’re so pathetic.” You lazily stroke his shaft as it peeks down your stomach, oozing with pre - cum. “I bet your brother would have fucked me like a real man.”

He moves your head to the side with a brute slap, kissing you sloppily anywhere but your mouth - but it still does the trick of shutting you up. “Too bad he’s dead.” He leaves a trail of wet pecks down your throat. Your stomach is sticky. You feel disgusting. “Guess you’re mine now.”

You roll your eyes.

“Dream on.”

[ropebunnykant]

alright, we're on the third and FINAL part of me picking the boat scene to bits. you can find part one here and part two here

where we last left off, kant was going towards jumping in the water but he stopped and then we get this question from bison.

and the thing that gives me chills about this moment, aside from the absolute terror and pain on kant's face, is how softly bison asks this. almost like it's a genuine question. like he's offering help because kant is in a tough spot. but it's not a genuine question because he's trying to help - it's a threat. he's telling kant if he doesn't jump, bison will push him.

however, it's also quite an interesting question when you think about it in the context of love and their relationship. i talked a little bit about the setting choice in comparison to the fadel and style confrontation scene already, but lauren @sunsetsover once again had some wonderful additions which you can find here. basically, the difference in locations represents a lot of things, like openness and their intentions, but it also has to do with wants. bison wants love, has always wanted love, and he wants kant to prove to him that it wasn't all fake - even if right now he believes it was. so the question of if you want to jump or fall, it can also go back to how this all started for kant. he fell for bison, against every one of his intentions and instincts, he fell for him anyways. no matter how much he fought it, no matter how much he tried to stop it, he couldn't stop himself from falling for bison. but now, in a way, he's getting a chance to actually choose it. he's getting a chance to jump into love, to let himself die and prove to bison he did love him.

and he's going to, god he wants to do this one final thing for him, but he looks at the water and all he sees is himself, drowning as a child, crying out for his parents. and you can SEE IT in the last screenshot, you can see that kant is not THERE, he's not looking at the water in front of him, he's seeing the water from when he was a child and was drowning and it's HEARTBREAKING. you have to watch the scene yourself again and look at the sheer terror and heartbreak on his face in those few seconds because got it's just. it's so painful.

but bison doesn't know, or he doesn't care, and he wants kant to jump, so he yells at him, he shouts at him to do it. he's so angry and hurt and he needs to see kant do this.

so kant goes again, but he hesitates again and he looks at bison, like he's begging for him to change his mind. but it only takes a second for him to know, to realize he won't. that he will have to do this. that doesn't have any other choice. that this is the only way to prove himself and to try and make it up to bison, if he even can.

there's a moment of silent communication where bison nods his head towards the water to once again force kant to jump in.

so kant braces himself, pulls every ounce of courage he has left in him, and he climbs up, bison still yelling at him, and he jumps.

i'm gonna link you to a giftset the last few moments of the scene here that jay @kantpattanawat made because i think everything with bison in it is MUCH BETTER seen in motion and i also don't wanna run out of image space again sdkjsfdf

but kant jumps. terrified out of his mind, he jumps. for bison, for himself, because he thinks he deserves it, because he doesn't think he can save himself anyways. because at least this way he can show bison he chooses him. that he does love him. because bison threw his heart into the ocean and kant is going to sink to the bottom with it.

but bison didn't actually think he would. you can even see it on his face, right before kant jumps, that he's questioning if he actually will. and when he does, you can see the panic in his body language because holy shit kant actually jumped. and he shouts after him, like he's an idiot for it, and maybe kant is! but he did it for bison didn't he? because bison asked? and isn't that what bison's always wanted? someone that loves him enough to choose him, to listen to him?

so bison will jump in and he'll still make kant prove himself again, but i think this is the moment bison really forgives him. this is the moment he realizes kant was serious back in the hospital. that maybe it wasn't all lies. this is the moment their love story can really start.

[respectthepetty]

The Heart Killers' Colors? - Ep. 9

I'm ignoring a lot in this episode like Kant being considered a daddy because I have my own color agenda, and I cannot let the actual story get in the way of me and my dreams!

But Red Rascal Bison has a red rosary, and as a Catholic who is obsessed with color coding, I think this is specifically for me. I am now convinced that someone at GMMTV is reading my diary, and to whomever that is, I LOVE YOU!

I also still believe that Style is a Red Rascal as well.

But since he is wearing his Black Brooder Fadel's clothing, I'll come back to that argument later.

Because Style decides to thwart my color-coded agenda and picks green to wear instead of red! Come on, my dude!

This is not the first time he has worn green (which I think is Kant's actual color), but now he is also wearing stripes . . . so is someone going to jail? No! Let me erase that thought! Nobody is going to jail. This is not HIStory 3: Trapped.

But I got red eventually! Just not how I wanted it.

I can only trust Black Brooder Fadel because Kant and Bison are living "Livin’ la vida loca" in *squints* gray and purple. What the heck?!

All that matters is Black Brooder Fadel is light as the heavens themselves as he is confronted with the simple fact that he cannot bring himself to kill nor see his little angel of a man harmed.

And Style is covered in Fadel's black as if Fadel himself gave Style his color to live.

But before I can dig deeper into that, I want to take a second to appreciate that Keen has always worn glasses, so @doestheqlcharacterkeeptheglasses, I think we have a chance that Keen might keep his glasses because they certainly aren't helping him shoot.

Also, I need to stand in my truth — I actually trust this woman. I'm a horrible judge of character when it comes to women (my dating history is the perfect example of this), but I trust Mother and I think she hired Fadel's last boyfriend rather than killed him. I'm an optimist who likes 'em a little crazy. What can I say?

I mentioned this before when Fadel and Bison were shown with their parents, but I like that Fadel has always been a Black Brooder (my man is consistent!), but Bison was more brown before he was red, and Keen was neutral.

Mother is probably the devil, but all of her sons weren't as settled in their colors until years into the game.

So I know why Fadel went fully into the darkness, but I wondered why Bison went red. Perhaps he didn't turn red until he decided to rebel.

But back to my consistent Black Brooder! He is quickly coming to terms with the fact that he is willing to give Style the shirt off his back (which he has several times, literally, as he has given Style his clothes to wear and he took his shirt off to stop Style's arm from bleeding), so Kant telling him to go to the beach as a ploy to see Style while Fadel is shirtless is the exact visual I need to make my point!

Fadel started lightening up with his ex but with Style, Fadel has put on white. For Style, the man who loves to show off his body, Fadel has given him his clothing.

And Fadel has only turned red twice.

~for love~

But Fadel is not alone in his love! Style is willing to go into the darkness for Fadel. Style is willing to submerge himself in Fadel's darkness. Style is willing to travel to the darkest of depths for Fadel. No matter how many Style + dark examples I come up with, the case remains, Style sees exactly who Fadel is and doesn't turn away.

So I'm glad his Red Rascal brother and Green Guy brother-in-law can witness this monumental event of Fadel accepting love (because Kant is a Green Guy because that is green on his body or even yellow but NOT blue so I'm not effing with that Blue Boy nonsense no más!)

Because a Black Brooder needs an angel to save him from himself every now and then, and Fadel has that perfect balance in Style.

Keen could have that type of love too but he is too busy being jealous because men have trash priorities.

Like trying to get his man to heal from his trauma of almost drowning after his parents died in a plane crash instead of worrying about the police officer who is probably after both of them now.

But Fadel is look too fine in that *striped* black shirt for me to care about anything else including Style wearing blue (possibly because he has officially tamed his man and not because people are going to jail)!

And Bison is looking all bad reppin' New Mexico (I see you, prim!)

So the men can float off into the sunset with my consistent Black Brooder wearing black, and Style, who I think is a Red Rascal, wearing red.

While Bison wears what I think is his man's green color and Kant, once again, disappointing me by never sticking to the damn color agenda!

Kant stays sitting at the kids' table with these two.

My enemies

[cornflowershade]

so i also agree that the tone shift to the lilly scene was super abrupt, and the scene itself felt kinda rushed and then glossed over— it didn't have time to breath lets say— BUT considering that the scene is there, I wanna talk about what I do like about it! The cool bits!

this scene showed up right around the time my mind was literally wondering about her. We had no conclusion about her previously, didn't see her go to jail or even hear that this happened. For all we knew she had gotten away. Considering she was a main villain in this series, it would've been kind of weird to just have her disappear off-screen and never be mentioned again. (If they didn't bring her back then it should've been swapped with a nice little line of "oh yes she went to jail.")

The FEELING I got when Fadel and Bison walked in there and the guards took their guns. The looks on their faces. You could see, feel, the disadvantage they were at. Because they've just gone through all this time in prison and they don't want to go back!! she has them at a disadvantage because you know they would risk everything by shooting her. They are fully aware.

The moment when things are getting tense and Bison says "I'll kill for you again. I'll do anything you say just let them go" — with like, tears in his eyes???? Do you realize how much this tore at my heart??? He's bargaining for Kant's life here at the expense of everything he's ever longed for himself. Despite everything he's gone through to get out. For dramatic effect I choose to believe that he meant this line seriously (or, I guess, that he had tears in his eyes because saying that even without meaning it was just so painful. But I'll take the more dramatic version.)

Then Lilly agrees to this deal. On a condition that Fadel and Bison poison Babe and Style's dad. I really had to think about this one for a while, because I was trying to figure out her logic. She agrees to letting their boyfriends go, provided they kill their boyfriends' loved ones first. Yes it could simply be as a form of punishment towards Kant and Style for exposing her... but noooo it's more than that. She's accepted Bison's deal of working for her again (supposedly. I mean she has no one else right now, the lady's lost everything so. I guess she could've been planning to kill the boyfriends right after anyway but imma take this at face value right now). So yes she agrees HOWEVER, if she's gonna take that deal, she needs to be certain they won't be able to leave her again. By asking them to kill their boyfriends' loved ones, she's asking them to do perhaps the one thing their boyfriends wouldn't be able to forgive, essentially force-cutting those ties so they can't run back. So they wouldn't even feel like they had the right to run back. And by leaving Style and Kant alive, she would have eternal leverage—listen to me or I'll send someone after them.

They meet at a family dinner table. I mean. The symbolism of it all. (It's been noted that Keen is very obviously missing from Family Dinner, but going beyond the fact that no one cared in their 'family' about him lol... it kinda makes sense. I don't think Lilly would be too surprised that he disappeared while she was in jail. He's probably far off without a trail to follow. She ALSO doesn't know, is not even slightly aware, that Keen also had a boyfriend and also helped betrayed her. No one told her this so he's simply not on her revenge list.)

Bison and Kant have repeatedly had the back and fourth of Bison saying he wants revenge and Kant saying "don't kill 🥺" -- and honestly, I was always kinda on Bison's side?? Okay hear me out. While again the aftermath of this wasn't dealt with at all (I mean at that point I figure Kant went... 'welp, nothing I can do now') I can't help but enjoy seeing the killers in a show about killers do their thing. Kant has always had a very optimistic view of Bison. He's said "i can't imagine you killing anyone." Despite having Bison quite literally threaten his life. He loves Bison but is trying very hard to think, Bison would never murder anyone. Continues trying to think that way for a very long time. Even though he is, objectively, wrong. Kant has seemed to be a believer in, "the power of love can make my boyfriend never do murder again!" and I don't mind that he was wrong. Hoping for Bison to get out of bad-guy-world without stooping to any murderous lows almost feels like a pipe dream, idk. Like back on the island, I remember Bison looking at Kant like 'he just doesn't get it'. Also, not achieving revenge through murder was always posed as Kant's wish for Bison, not Bison's wish for himself. Let the boy enjoy his newfound ability to make life choices lol. He had that dramatic line in ep. 11 "We'll make killing her our last masterpiece." C"MON. What a line. I can't be mad that he came through to deliver on that. And so they do. She killed their parents to steal that role in their lives, and now they kill her—with her own poison used against her—right at the end of the 'family dinner table'. Worth noting that Bison and Fadel did give the law a chance to deal with her, too. Like, they did give their boyfriends' way a chance. It's only when that didn't work that they went Okay guys, we need to be practical here and optimism won't save us. We tried your way now we try ours. She's gonna keep coming back if we don't end things here. Also Kant having to watch Bison kill someone and face up to the fact that yes, this is a thing that he is capable of. He was in fact a hit man this whole time. AghH!! Again we don't get to see this be processed sadly and then have another startling cut to them cuddling in bed. But at least what that does show is this: Kant saw what Bison is capable of—after all that internal denial going on for 12 episodes—and went Yes, I Still Love Him. And they both move on from it together.

roofie gang full circle!

By using the poison, Fadel and Bison manage to choose the one sneaky route that can't really be traced back to them. Not shooting her isn't just to 'make her suffer a more painful death,' it's to protect themselves. They're not going back to jail for this. As usual, Fadel is the one who formulates the logical plan, and then Bison delivers. (Though yes it would've been cool if Fadel got a turn to do the poisoning. Actually my thought on this is that they could've fed it to her together. But also it checks out that it was Bison.) Lilly has nowhere to run. She could try, but there's two of them and they both have guns. She's surrounded and as she said herself, by this point she has basically lost everything. And so she dies. (We do see her choking guys, I don't believe not seeing a dead body is supposed to imply she survived this.) They are finally free.

For a show about hit men, they actually don't do a lot of killing. They didn't even kill the guy Lilly ordered a hit on [who exposed the truth about her to them], as he was shown to be alive later on when Kant & Style gave him over to Christ. So, what have we seen them do? We had a flashback to their first kill—okay. But what about present day, how many murders have there been? From start to finish in the series. The answer is two. Exactly two. At the start of the first episode and at the end of the last. One hit for Lilly, and one hit for themselves. There's something poetic about that.

There might be more but that's it off the top of my head. So yes, I think this scene could've had more room, could've taken it's time more and perhaps been longer? It could’ve hit harder. And YES it was certainly tonally abrupt... Would I have missed it if it wasn't there? Okay, not really. Would it be interesting to see some fallout from it? Sure (actually it's a great opportunity for some fanfic haha). BUT... I dunno. All things considered I do think it was pretty cool. I’m not mad that it was there and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. (Honestly the part I enjoyed least was probably Iceland DONT KILL ME OKAY. I love kantbison and the tickets scene was so sweet and perfect and needs to be there but the actual greenscreen Iceland part was kinda boring to me 😭 replace that screen time with some fallout idk. most controversial thing I’ve said in this whole post. Sorry I’ll leave)

[magnoliapromenadegalleria]

THOUGHTS & WATCH: THE HEART KILLERS EP 6

-Other mother is so devious, there's no way she'd let Fadel and Bison have a life. She's going to try and put them in the dirt as soon as they aren't useful. But God, she's such a good villain, and her eyebrows are immaculate. #womeninmalefields

-Style is being so scary, please!

-"I'll get over it" Fadel has never gotten over anything ever.

-The garage is messy? You two have done it at a grief support group, and an abandoned farmhouse, let's be so for real right now.

-"You've been in my turf. Let me be in yours" Ugh! This man

-KITTY!

-You're trying to convince me Kant isn't falling deep? All that smiling at his phone was unnecessary.

-"These hitmen hate just as hard as they love" Capt Crunch have you ever heard of just doing things for the plot? And shut up, you sent in a criminal who can't do crime.

-We love an arcade date.

-"The only sport I do is swimming" THE FORESHADOWING IS FORESHADOWING.

-James do you know you have thirty minutes? Thirty, thirty, yes!

-Fadel is smiling. The earth is healing.

-Awww Style helping his dad at the garage is so sweet.

-WHO'S THAT FINE MAN AT THE GARAGE WITH THE CURLY HAIR?!

-Style is such a good son.

-Not the roleplay!

-Style is getting over the whole "the man I have been harassing for weeks and has agreed to be my boyfriend is a hitman" thing fairly quickly. I know that's right!

-"Small and pretty" That's the best way to describe Kant's scary cutie patootie boyfriend.

-"Occupational hazard" okay but which one?!

-"My parents were murdered." You see what you miss when you act a fool at the grief group Style?

-No previous lovers? Hm. I could see if that isn't the case, Style being hurt by the lie. You don't reminisce at the bar you slow-danced with someone.

-Fadel don't like Kant AT ALL, it's hilarious.

-Style said Kant got to go with God on this one because this is too much!

"He scares me. But I like his rough romantic side"- I know that's right Style, love your hitta!

-Style could use the boyfriend card until it's maxxed out, and Fadel would give him an extra line of credit.

-The fact that Fadel essentially says he can't reign Bison in once he's truly loose? Kant is in so much danger, it's delicious!

-Style should not find the undercurrent of Fadel's threat hot, but he does. That is his man, you hear me?!

-You can't convince me Bison doesn't know that something is up, he's too perceptive!

-Bison brought a gun to a stick fight...to be fair he did warn James to leave him be.

-Why would you touch the blood Kant?! You don't need to touch it to know what it is!!!

-"What was the gunshot for?" The plot. Fadel and Capt Crunch have never heard about doing something just because you can.

-The difference between Style and Kant is Style can readily admit that he's half-way down bad for Fadel, while Kant is trying his damndest to resist it. Too late, red threads gotcha b!tch.

-Fadel, you put on the stupid couple shirt, and you like it!

-Of course, Style cropped his shirt.

-I'm taking it off right after" he says like that's not the intent.

-Fadel is going to be so mad once he finds out that he's been deceived by Bison, Style, and Kant, yet the only one in any real danger of getting maimed by either brother is Kant...welp!

-Bison is not dumb. He may not know exactly what's up, but he knows something's up. Afoot if you will.

-Style is lucky he got that 80%

-Kant is so pretty, but baby does not think....You don't want your trigger-happy boyfriend to hurt people, yet you make up a lie that will make him want to hurt people? Not the brightest star in the sky, are we bud?

-Don't worry Fadel, you're going to want to put Kant through a wall in a few episodes. I personally think ep 7 or 8.

-I wonder if there was a part of Kant that didn't want to believe Bison was actually a stone-cold killer until the chalkboard confirmed it.

-Of course they have cameras dodo!

-Kant looks terrified. As he should

-"I love every story on your body" Shut uppppppp! These brothers and their cute lines!

"I'll do that when you're ready. You can judge then." It's so funny because, like, honey. HO.NEY. The trial has already taken place, the jury came back in with their verdict, babe. You're it for Style's crazy-tailed self.

"One day, I'll be your 100%" PERIODT! Manifestation! is key babe!

Previews -The cop that promised to drop Kant's criminal history is seemingly going back on his word??? Le gasp! The unadulterated shock that a man who sent a low level former criminal to infiltrate with a hitman ring against his will and with zero resources is going back on his promises has my falbbers gasted/s

-I don't think Babe is going to get hurt. If anything, I think whatever happens is going to make Kant free fall hard into falling for Bison.

[transmutationisms]

along w ur plato post uve also mentioned disliking marxist syllabi that make you go chronologically just to understand one author (ie greek philo - hegel - marx)

i was planning to go down this route this yr to combine both my long overdue dive into theory and philosophy, and i actually found this to be less overwhelming than immediately diving into say, continental philosophy or critical theory. i wonder then what other route you'd suggest for philosophy? (since for marxist theory youve pretty much alr answered it in a past ask)

are greek philosophers still "useful" to read for beginners or is it much better off to start with contemporaries? is this a case of "we've actually been doing the math curriculum wrong this entire time" or is it just personal preference. help

depends what you're trying to accomplish, but if someone's in my inbox asking how to get started reading theory or philosophy then i think it's a) unhelpful, and b) needlessly deferent to received ideas of 'canonicity', to perpetuate the notion that there's a single correct order in which to read, and it begins with the same 20 ancient greeks writing about geometrical forms and elemental tetravalence. like, it's worth remembering what's missing from a typical global north university's philosophy syllabus: perhaps most obviously, reams of islamicate scholarship and centuries of dialogue between 'western' and 'eastern' writers often suppressed in favour of a 'dark ages' narrative that just sort of jumps up to the 'renaissance'... and there are so many other, egregious, historically unjustifiable lacunae like this.

it's noble enough to want to know where an idea comes from or what its genealogical lineage is, but to try to discover this by reading through a list drawn up by classicists or philosophy departments is dangerously optimistic about the politicking that shapes and perpetuates such lists. even just reading the works that an author is openly citing or arguing with is lacking: what about, say, hegel, whose idea of freedom and enslavement developed partially in response to reading newspaper coverage of the haitian revolution? he didn't exactly announce that in the text! to read the phenomenology of spirit as merely the next intellectual step after kant is deeply distorted; for that matter, kant's own intellectual influences came not only from a supposed philosophical canon but also from the scientific and anthropological discourses underpinning his biological theory of race and defence of racism.

my issue with the "read chronologically" approach isn't that it's bad to follow a topic over a process of historical change. it's that these received lists of 'canonical' thinkers are artefacts of their own social and historical contexts, and are both produced to certain ideological ends, & then appealed to later in order to enforce and even naturalise those ideologies. if what we want is the context to understand what hegel or marx or adorno were really talking about, we need to engage with the texts as historical documents and with the histories as products of imperfect, biased, and ideologically laden human labour.

i'm not here to tell you not to read whatever you were planning to read. for one thing, sometimes the intellectual influence named in the syllabus is a useful one (there are certain questions about marx and marxian ideas that are easier to understand and answer if you have read at least a little bit of hegel). but, in the context of the overwhelming gatekeeping of knowledge, and the hegemonic use of ideas about canonicity and the 'right' way to read 'classics', if someone asks what they need to do in order to read xyz, i'm pretty much never going to default to "start by reading plato". read things that are interesting to you, however old they are; read about their authors; make liberal use of online resources like the SEP if you need a crash-course on certain concepts or jargon. you certainly don't need to be afraid of reading one text to better understand another. i just don't think you need to be beholden to that mode of reading, either, especially not in a context where the common wisdom on whose work belongs in such a genealogy is predicated on centuries of colonial and imperial scholarship and disseminated by institutions structurally positioned to defend the idea of an enlightened and ennobling western intellectual tradition.

in a certain twisted way, these 'standard' (to whom?) or 'traditional' (since when?) reading lists are often presented as the shortcut to the 'correct' understanding of landmark texts or authors—only, this is a 'shortcut' that considers ideas as disembodied from their real contexts, relating only to one another in an intellectual realm and developing in more or less linear fashion often to some teleological end; and, by dint of the sheer amount of material involved, it's also a 'shortcut' that many people will never actually traverse. i don't have an inherent problem with reading chronologically. i just don't automatically defer to these kinds of syllabi, and i think dethroning them could do us all a lot of good.

[ae-azile]

Emergence: Chapter 6 Preview

Read full series here:

https://archiveofourown.org/series/4597729

Style isn't sure why Fadel wants him to pick the movie. Movie night hadn't even been his idea. But Fadel encouraged it, and so did Bison and Kant. They practically pushed him into the walk in closet down the hall and closed the door behind them. 

They probably don't want him around anymore. They might be talking about how annoying he is, as well as how much they hate him. Bison and Kant are laughing at Fadel agreeing to say yes to an engagement. Fadel is wondering how to get out of being with Style at all. Maybe Fadel will break up with him. He might have suggested Style choose the movie so he has time to pack up his things and leave. Where will Fadel go? He can't go back to Bangkok at the moment. Maybe he will go to another island and camp out, all to cut contact with him.

Style quickly wipes the tears from his eyes and pushes those thoughts out of his brain before focusing on what movie to watch instead. The DVD selection is pretty impressive, as is the book collection, but it's dated. It's clear that Bison hasn't really added to the collection after his parents died, despite visiting as an adult. That makes sense. People don't really buy movies anymore. When they do, it's almost always a digital copy. But like the movies, Bison’s television is dated too. No streaming for them, so this is what he has to work with. Most of the movies are family oriented films from the 90s and the early 2000s. Other than a few horror movies, romantic comedies, and some award winning films, there aren't too many that would normally appeal to their age group. That makes sense too. Bison’s parents probably bought most of these movies to have on hand for vacations to entertain their son.

Of course, he might end up watching the movie alone. Fadel is probably gone. Kant and Bison are laughing at him. But still, a movie might distract him from all of that, even if he watches it alone. Not many of these particularly appeal to him. He has already watched a fair amount. He needs to decide on one that is worthwhile. One that Kant and Bison can find interesting enough to forget how stupid and worthless Style is. 

They probably won't find a princess movie appealing, but Bison has more than most would have had as little boys. Maybe he secretly likes princess movies, or at least liked them at one point. Normally, Style would skip over them. But when he sees Anastasia, he thinks it could be a good choice. A productive one. Since Fadel has already left, he can beg Kant and Bison to watch it too. They didn't want to swim with him, so he might struggle with them saying yes to this too. Maybe he can pay them to watch it and spend time with him. If they agree to that and watch the movie, Style can explain Fadel’s situation with his biological family. It's just like Anastasia. Fadel might not be royalty, but he has a rich, prominent family who misses him and thinks he is dead. Fadel may know who he is, but he doesn't know that he is loved and missed. Even though Style is no longer important to Fadel, he will still try his best to help him from a distance. He will need Kant’s and Bison's help with that, especially if Fadel refuses to see Style again. Kant and Bison probably want to do the same, but they still love Fadel. They might put up with working with Style long enough to reconnect Fadel with his family-

“Style?” Fadel asks, opening the door, “You pick something?” 

Style jumps at the sound of Fadel’s voice and looks at him in shock. Fadel tilts his head curiously, glances out in the hallway, then closes the door again. This time though, he stays in the room. 

“You okay?” Fadel asks, coming over to stand next to him. 

Style studies him, then takes a deep breath, “I thought you would have left by now.”

“...Huh?” Fadel asks, after a beat, “Why would I leave?” 

“You know…” Style says, trailing off, “I just figured you would head out.” 

He would be stupid to remind Fadel that he hates Style.

“No,” Fadel says slowly, “Can I ask why you thought that?” 

Style shakes his head defiantly. Fadel watches him, then shakes his head too. 

“I’m not accepting that answer,” Fadel says, “You're being weird-” 

“So just leave, then!” Style snaps, “If you can't hate me that much, then run away. I know that's why you had me pick the movie. You couldn't stand being around me, so you shoved me in here!” 

Fadel seems to be speechless as he gapes at him. He isn't even denying it. 

Style lets out a groan, looks away, and hands Fadel the movie, “Whatever. I’ll go ask Chet if I can stay with him! Watch this though. You may learn something-” 

“Style,” Fadel cuts in as he grabs his arm.

“What?” Style says, pulling away. 

“Why would you think that I can’t stand being around you?” 

Style forces himself to meet Fadel’s eyes, “You pushed me in here!” 

“I didn't push you.” 

“You did!” 

“I thought you would like to choose the movie!” 

“Liar!” Style shoots back, “You all wanted to talk shit and complain about how much you hate me!” 

Fadel sputters at that, “That isn't true!” 

“It is!” Style says, his voice cracking as he looks away again, “Why didn't you take the time I was in here to leave?” 

“It never occurred to me to do that,” Fadel tells him.

Style inhales, then waves him off, “Well, I put the idea in your head. Go on. Leave.” 

Fadel lets out a huff, probably because he hates Style. 

“You didn't do shit. The only person’s head who is affected by anything you just said is your own.” 

Before Style can counter Fadel’s claim with his flawless logic, he finds himself being picked up in a fireman’s carry. 

“You're throwing me outside, aren't you?” Style asks, “You're going to make me sleep on the boat.” 

“I’d rather you didn't,” Fadel says, “I would like to watch a movie with you. I had you pick it so I could make the living room more soothing. You’ve been on edge since this afternoon. I started looking around for some candles with Bison while Kant brought some pillows down to make sure you're more comfortable. We are hoping those things will help.”

“Help what?” Style asks, “Help you forget the fact that you hate me?”

“Relaxing lighting is supposed to help with ADHD symptoms, along with anxiety and depression,” Fadel says. 

“I don't have any of those things!” 

“You literally told me you have ADHD on the way down here.” 

Style did say that, but he isn't going to admit that right now. 

“Whatever is going on in your head - regardless of the reason - isn't good. And it is so far from the truth. You just came to the conclusion that everyone hates you. But I don't hate you, Style. No one here does,” Fadel says, sounding tired, “I am in love with you. Even when you're like this.”

“Like what?” Style presses, “Reasonable?”

“You are anything but reasonable right now,” Fadel says, “You are emotional and your brain is pessimistic, perseverating on intrusive thoughts, and working in overdrive because you are unmedicated.” 

Style lifts his head up in outrage, “Those meds do nothing!” 

Fadel doesn't answer him. He just throws him on the couch before he sits next to him. Fadel brings his head over to kiss it before picking a candle on the coffee table up. 

“This one is lavender,” Fadel says, “I read that candles can help people with ADHD meditate so they can feel calmer and more grounded. It is supposed to be more beneficial if there is a soothing scent. The mediation method is called trataka. Maybe try it for five minutes? You just stare at it and clear your mind. I’ll do it with you.” 

Style gives Fadel a hard look, then blows out the flame. Fadel immediately seems discouraged and crestfallen, which does make Style feel bad. A part of his brain is telling him to stop acting like a jerk, that Fadel just wants to be supportive and help him through this, even though Style is fine and Fadel is misguided at best and hates him at worst. 

There is also a bigger part of his brain telling him that Fadel is being condescending. Maybe he didn't take an opportunity to abandon Style, but he is treating him like a child.

“I was just trying to help,” Fadel mutters, then shrugs his shoulders and puts the candle back down on the table before pulling a lighter out of his pocket, “Whatever. I’ll do it without you.” 

“You're just going to stare at fire for five minutes.” 

“Yeah, why not? I’ll even do it for ten.”

Style rolls his eyes and shrugs flippantly, “It’s very moth-like of you. But that's your prerogative, I suppose. Would you like me to set a timer?” 

Fadel just looks away sullenly and focuses on the candle flame instead. Style takes Fadel’s phone and sets one anyway. He wants to see how long Fadel will last. He seems to be committed. One minute in and he hasn’t looked away once. If Style were obedient enough to participate, he doesn't think he would manage more than fifteen seconds. It just doesn't appeal to him. But if it appeals to Fadel, then fine. Style will be supportive. 

“The wings are ready,” Kant says, coming into the living room with a platter, “Bison and I mixed some different sauces so there is a variety. We cut up vegetables and popped some popcorn too-” 

“Shhh…” Style says, putting a finger to his lips, “Fadel is becoming one with the flame.” 

“And Style is mocking me because of it,” Fadel says. His voice sounds slightly strangled. When Style bends forward to get a better look, Fadel’s eyes are suspiciously shiny. 

Seriously? He's crying because Style won't join whatever fucking regulation approach he looked up? If he knew it would bother Fadel this much, he would have just sucked it up and done it. But giving in and doing it with him now would feel like a defeat, even though Style doesn't know what he would be losing by participating.

“Um…” Kant starts as he looks back and forth between them before his gaze settles on Style, “Hey, maybe take it easy on him. He loves you a lot and he is concerned-” 

“And whose fault is that?” Style asks, sitting up, “Fadel wouldn't be worried about shit if you hadn't told him about the meds!” 

Kant inhales sharply, “Considering you aren’t acting like yourself, he would have been extremely confused. He deserved some context as to why.” 

“I'm fine.” 

Kant takes on a hard expression, “You were hyperactive and reactive this afternoon, and now you're being an asshole.” 

Style sneers at that, “You would be too if your friends and boyfriend were talking about how much they can't stand you behind your back.” 

“That NEVER happened.” 

“I'm not stupid!” 

“You're right! You're not!” Kant says, then taps his own temple, “You're fucking smart, Style! You can figure out how to fix practically anything that breaks, pick up any job in the world with little to no training, recall an almost disturbing amount of facts on anything you are at least somewhat interested in, and can win someone as closed off as Fadel over within weeks and have him wanting to MARRY you within months. So not only are you smart, you're loved and have a partner so devoted to you that he is taking it upon himself to research ways to help you through this. So use your head and try to think. Why would we be talking shit about you-” 

“Because you hate me!” Style cuts in. 

Kant scoffs and puts his hands on his hips, “You are obsessing on your intrusive thoughts and your once dormant depression is digging up a slew of negative feelings you apparently have about yourself. It ends up making you paranoid. That usually doesn't happen until later. Sorry if letting you pick the movie set it off early.”

Style stands up at that, “I'm paranoid?! How am I the paranoid one when you keep convincing yourself that Bison hates you and that I'm dead?!”

Style forces himself not to groan when Kant’s eyes glaze over before flitting around, as if Style just reminded him of an impossible possibility.

“Bison doesn't hate you, and I'm not fucking dead!” Style says, snapping his fingers in front of Kant’s face.

Style can see it the moment Kant becomes more aware.

“So you expect me to believe that, but you can't believe that we love you and weren't talking shit about you?!” Kant asks, raising his voice. 

“You have evidence that I'm alive because I'm standing right in front of you!” Style says, gesturing at himself, “And you were cuddling with Bison instead of swimming with me and Fadel in the pool, so he obviously doesn't hate you.” 

“And you were making out with Fadel in the pool!” Kant shoots back, “So how does he hate you?! Why would he? Can you please be rational for one minute?” 

Instead of answering, Style sulks back over to the couch and sits down. He isn't engaging in this. Kant is emotional. He'll just wait him out.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Heart Killers day! Feed me, please!

Nothing tells you things are not right more than a sad and quiet Style.

But also there's no way Fadel or Bison can handle a full stop in contact, they're gonna break for sure.

Lol, normally I love our boys in glasses, but those frames on Khaotung are enormous!

With Joong, may be having some thoughts about a story of a mild-mannered office worker who strips at night...

... just me?

Oh, I'm glad they're not just killing first - ask questions! Get the truth!

With her own hands?

Oooh, no wonder she trained them as hitmen, if she started out the same way.

Also glad Fadel gave this guy a few whacks, he's still the kind of dude to hire a hitwoman, so there's no way he doesn't deserve it.

I do love the consistent characterization of our boys. Bison gets enraged right away, Fadel compartmentalizes until he can process and let it out. Bison is run by emotion, Fadel is driven by logic.

Nooo, Fadel tears hurt so much!

This does have to hurt so badly. It is wild how we can all go through things with people where in hindsight it seems obvious how they are manipulating us, but at the time, you normalize it and make excuses.

Oof, this meeting with Lilly where literally everyone is lying to each other while being so surface-level pleasant...

Also, I'm not remotely on Lilly's side in this case, but damn would I love a series where a young woman becomes a hitperson for hire, leverages what she learns to build power, adopts some orphans to train as her squad, and takes down a bunch of powerful men.

Why size differences are adorable.

Also this is giving me FirstKhao vibes more than KantBison, lol.

Haha, knew they would break so quickly!

Omg, not Kant listing his duplicity as a qualification.

Shameless.

Lolol, these boys are so whipped, and I love it.

Such a perfect encapsulation of their relationship:

But also I love that we have all four of them working together. Way too many shows do the "I will push you away for your own good" thing, and I need more series to say, "nah, I respect the agency of my chosen life partner".

These two turn so many frames into straight up art.

(Not to minimize the cinematography & direction, but the prettiness sure helps!)

Haha, Bison has a costume kink.

Um, Fadel, you maybe should have mentioned Keen was the shooter before this moment.

A moment of appreciation for this fit on Pepper!

Rawr.

Haha, not Kant and Bison consistently switching up who's horny in the moment. So Bison is turned on by outfits, Kant is turned on by competency.

Lilly, if you want a good-looking caddie, you got gorgeous right there! Though I do appreciate that she's not dumb, and wants to be in control.

God, First looks giant here.

These plans definitely fall under the category of "romcom hijinks" more than any kind of solid strategy. But I don't mind.

C'mon Keen, see the light!

Omg, not the Titanic debate making it to Thailand.

Not me wishing Bison had said the "draw me like one of your French girls" scene.

They are so fucking cute.

An empty pool would not be my choice of makeout spot, but they make it work.

Oh, poor Fadel. He just keeps getting hit.

You boys are wrecking me!

And this is why Style is so perfect for Fadel...

because he can say, with pure authenticity, "I love you, not despite who you are, but because of you who are".

And for the first time in his life, Fadel can completely fall apart in the safety of someone's arms.

I'm fine. Super fine.

Uh, wow... all the things happening next week!

[accuratepicuresofanthropologists]

Franz Boas

Franz Boas was not the father of American anthropology. But the fact that so many people think he was shows how thoroughly his relentless energy transformed the discipline as we know it today.

Boas around age four

Boas was born in Germany in 1858. He grew up in the shadow of events that happened a decade earlier: The famous ‘Revolutions of 1848’, when people across Europe demanded an end to imperialism, monarchy, and the poverty caused by the Industrial Revolution. Boas grew up in a household of “forty eighters”, and became deeply committed to the ideals of liberty and progress which drove the revolutions. As a young man, Boas received a rigorous education and spent most of his free time outdoors, exploring the natural world. Like his idol Alexander von Humboldt, Boas combined a romantic wonder at nature's rich diversity with a naturalist's love of science, rigor, and classification.

Boas was Jewish, but not because he wanted to be. His parents were wealthy merchants for whom 'progress' meant shedding the ancient superstitions of the past. He didn't have a choice: Germany had given Jews the right to vote and own property, but remained an antisemitic place. Boas was labeled a Jew by others. So he learned to be fearless: In college when he was insulted he demanded a duel. He and his opponent would don goggles to protect their eyes, and then use their sabers to try to slash open each others’ face. “With the damn Jew baiters this winter one could not survive without quarreling and fighting.” He wrote his worried parents, reassuring them. “I remain unmolested since every student here knows that I would not be shy to defend my affairs with the sword.” He was not exaggerating. "He bears the mark of his German university training literally," the Maori anthropologist Te Rangi Hiroa noted, "in a somewhat disfiguring scar across his face". Indeed, one of the first things people noted about Boas were his scars.

Although he was academically gifted, Boas ended up doing a Ph.D. in the unprepossessing university of Kiel. His sister Toni was ill and the Boas family was tight-knit: He went to go live with her. The result was a miserable experience writing a Ph.D. on the color of seawater. His main discovery was that it was incredibly hard to measure the color of sea water. Later on, when he studied how perception is shaped by culture, these insights would come to help him. At the time, he was miserable.

Then love struck: Boas fell head over heels for Marie Krackowizer, a German-American lady whose family of “Forty Eighters” had fled to the US. She loved him too, but they could not be married until he got a job. For that, Boas needed to “habilitate”, a level of education above a Ph.D. He decided on a trip to the arctic, where he would study the influence of geography on Inuit people. He paid for it by writing an account of his travels for a German newspaper, and with a gift of money from the man who would be his principle benefactor in years to come, his uncle Jacobi. His parents insisted that he take along the gardener, Willie, so that he wouldn't be alone.

Boas posing in a German photography studio for an image to share with people demonstrating what his life had been like in Baffinland.

Boas spent a year in Baffinland, an island in the far, far north of Canada. The trip was unbelievably dangerous: Ships had to dock at the edge of the ice and then people would walk across the ice to the island. In the winter it was -40 degrees. Luckily Boas was energetic, focused, and driven by huge energy. He was the sort of person who was disgusted at himself for only working 20 hour days. He did research during the day and read Kant at night. Above all, he came to see Inuit people as people. "The more I see of their customs, the more I realize that we have no right to look down on them," he wrote to Marie in a letter that was spattered with the blood of the raw seal liver he had been eating.

Boas's trip was a success. He habilitated and married his sweetheart Marie. Together they created a loving and warm family. Professional success eluded him, however. Antisemitism made it difficult for him to find a job in Germany, so he moved to the US, where Marie’s family was — there were more opportunities there and Franz was also attracted to America as a land where his political ideals of liberty and freedom were more realized than they were in Germany.

Franz and Marie's wedding portrait.

Unfortunately, Boas found that there were few good jobs for geographers in the US. What people were interested in was Native Americans. Back in 1879 (when Boas was still in school) anthropology as a modern discipline was born in the United States. The goal was to understand the 'natural history of mankind', which in the US meant the origins of Native Americans. Were had they come from and what were they like? Previous answers -- tenuously derived from the Bible -- were clearly inadequate in light of new theories of evolution.

So Boas retooled himself as an anthropologist. He made multiple trips to the Pacific Northwest, a region that he is most closely associated with today. Still, he struggled. He got a dream job as a professor at Clark, a brand new university — only to have the university close down after a few years. He organized anthropological exhibits at the World's Fair at Chicago, hoping it would lead to a permanent position, but it didn’t. It was a dark time for Boas. His third daughter, Hete, was born in Chicago, caught whooping cough, and died in his arms. She was ten months old. Finally, Boas took a job at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and started teaching part time at Columbia. Finally in 1899, at the age of forty, he got a permanent position: He was now a faculty member at Columbia.

"Boas with the George Hunt family. Left to right, standing: David, George, Lalaxs'a, Mary (Ebbetts), Jonathan and Franz Boas. Sitting: Marion and Lucy. From row: Mary and Stanley" from Franz Boas: An Illustrated Biography

At Columbia, Boas was cutting edge. At a time when Harvard and Yale were just beginning to update their medieval curriculums, he had a Ph.D., the new research-focused degree that had made German universities world famous. Boas made history by being the first person in the US to offer a Ph.D. His students included Ruth Benedict, Edward Sapir, Margaret Mead, Robert Lowie, Alfred Kroeber, and many others.

Boas was also a tireless organizer, sitting on boards of journals, foundations, and associations. These positions allowed him to control funding and direct it to students. He was also a close friend of the millionaire feminist and activist Elsie Clews Parsons, who herself funded an entire generation of anthropological fieldwork. Boas worked his students very, very hard but also showed them tremendous loyalty. Boas not only lent money to students in times of need, in one case he signed on as a guarantor of a student loan, agreeing to pay it if the student defaulted.

Boas around the time he began working at Columbia.

True to his principles, Boas believed in meritocracy: If you could do the work, that was all that mattered. As a result he trained a generation of female students at a time when many universities didn’t accept female students at all. He also had few illusions about how much a white person could learn spending their summers on a reservation. For him, the best anthropologist was an insider with scientific training. As a result, he mentored scholars like William Jones (a Fox Indian) and Zora Neale Hurston.

 “Elsie [Clews Parsons] and colleagues at. Lounsberry, mid-1920s. On the porch, Elsie (in shadow on left) talks with Pliny Goddard; on the steps are Margaret Mead, Esther Goldfrank, Franz Boas, and Mrs. Nelson”. Via Deacon’s Elsie Clews Parsons. This picture illustrates the close ties Boas had with his students.

In fact, Boas was an uncompromising opponent of racism. Famously, in May 1906, he traveled to Atlanta University at the invitation of W.E.B. Du Bois and gave a speech claiming black people were biologically equal to white people. This was not a small thing in the Jim Crow South. Four months later, 25 black people were killed in Atlanta in a riot against black people that turned into a massacre. Then in 1909 Boas and a team of twenty researchers made 13,000 measurements of the children of immigrants to see whether they inherited their parents’ ’racial’ features. To his own surprise, Boas found that they didn't -- height, weight, and other factors were the result of the environment, not heredity. His students did similar research. Margaret Mead wrote a paper demonstrating the black people in the Midwest (where there was a strong public school system) did better on standardized tests than poor southern whites: schooling, not race, seemed to determine intelligence. Southern politicians repressed the study.

Boas’s relationship with indigenous people was more complicated. He was not a champion for Indigenous rights. He considered Native Americans conquered by the US and on the verge of cultural and biological extinction. His goal was 'salvage': to make a record of a disappearing culture the same way we have a record of Ancient Greece and Rome. He worked with many indigenous informants like George Hunt, who he paid to write letters detailing their customs. This relationship remains an object of scrutiny today: Did Boas exploit Hunt? Was Hunt Boas’s teacher and mentor? How much should someone be paid to write descriptions of salmon fishing in 1900 anyway?

Whatever we think of Boas’s relationship with Indigenous people today, at Columbia no one thought Boas was a friend to white people. He was considered a dangerous radical who had to be canceled. Not only did Boas attack the racial foundations of America, but when the US entered World War I, Boas was became a public enemy for opposing the war. Remember, this was a time when people where lynched for being German in the US. Columbia stopped paying him. They kept him from teaching undergraduates. They took space away from the department, leaving him with just his office. Boas was, essentially, canceled by the right.

What’s more, Boas's life was beset by personal tragedy. In addition to the death of his ten month old daughter in 1894, in 1924 his daughter Trudel died of polio. In 1925 his son Heini was killed in a car accident. Then in 1929 his wide died in a hit and run accident - the driver who hit her was never found. Boas's misery was palpable even before Marie's death. In 1927 he wrote to his son Ernst:

"I have not the light spirit of others and when I do not work, or else am intensely occupied with something else I can think of nothing but Trudel and Heini. They are there when I get up in the morning and when I stop work at night they are there… If I do not work these thoughts would destroy me." [L-Z v2 275]

Franz Boas featured on the cover of the 11 May 1936 cover of Time Magazine. In his old age, Boas's fight against racism became popular in America again as the US prepared to fascism in Europe.

Late in life Boas received the recognition he deserved, becoming a world-renowned scientist. In America, his anti-racist thinking became more and more recognized as America geared up to fight fascism. In Germany, an event was scheduled to give him an honorary degree. The degree was canceled and his books were pulled from the library and burnt by the Nazis. His last great work of activism was to help Jewish and leftist scholars flee the Nazis and get visas to come teach in America.

When Boas retired, he handed Columbia a gift: despite its attempts to derail him, he had created perhaps the greatest department of anthropology in the United States. And yet here failure dogged him. He had hoped his students Alfred Kroeber and Edward Sapir would come to Columbia to continue his work. Instead they stayed at Berkeley and Yale. His successor became Ruth Benedict, but she was then pushed aside by the administration and replaced by first Ralph Linton and then Duncan Strong.

Boas suffered many setbacks in his life, but he also overcame many obstacles. He lived an extraordinary life: Born before the Civil War, he lived to see the Pearl Harbor bombings. He trained the anthropologists who went on to start departments at Yale, Berkeley, Oregon, and many other places. He produced his famous “six foot shelf” — enough books on Kwakwakwakw that is longer than I was tall. After his death, his grandchildren and George Hunt’s grandchildren had a family reunion, and Hunt’s great grandchildren study anthropology in University. Despite his incredible age, Boas did not live to see just how influential he would become. Although he did not know it at the time, he became one of the few people Boas did not quite Although he may not have recognized or admitted it, he had in fact become one of the most important anthropologists in the world, and left an indelible imprint on the discipline for generations to come.

Sources: This was drawn from Rosemary Lévy-Zumwalt's two volume biography of Boas. The quote from . The reference to 1879 as the 'founding' date of anthropology comes from https://www.jstor.org/stable/658142?seq=1 . The Te Rangi Hiroa quote is from Na to Hoa Aroha volume 3. The blood stained letter is from George Stocking's "From physics to ethnology", p. 148

[hurlumerlu]

14. 20, and 21 for and the taste of ash (and/or the original french version!)

14. My favorite line from this fic was [xyz]. What inspired it?

I think you're supposed to chose the line amlhlgf. But if it had to be my pick? It wouldn't be the same one in french and in english. In french it's "Quand j’étais petit, j’espérais qu’il revienne." (When I was little, I used to hope it would come back.) that Babe says about the bird. It's not inspired by anything but the desire to tie several ideas driving the fic: Babe as the #1 factor in everything Kant does, Kant's determination to protect his brother from the world having unintended consequences and perhaps not being what the kid actually need (especially now that he's old enough to clock the lies), a sentimental hope vs a practical reading of the situation. I needed it to come from Babe because he's brave enough to voice that silly hope while Kant isn't (and maybe that's one thing Kant did right) and I needed all that here so I could transition to the ending. My favourite one in english is "You did the right thing." It wasn't inspired by anything, just a slightly smoother translation of the sentence in french (a more litteral one would have been You were right to do so). But I love the irony of it, Kant always being trapped between two wrondoings anyway, and his love for his brother and desire to do right by him being specifically what ensnares him in lies. The other Kant would disapprove.

20. What is something you wish more people noticed about this fic?

Barely a peep about my slight use of the lexical field of faith! I know I kept it very light, but guys, it was my tribute to Bison's shirts :/

21. What is something you didn't expect people to notice or gravitate towards in this fic?

Ok I know I just complained about people not commenting on the whole religious thing but when @deliriousblue helped me translate, she said (paraphrased) "I noticed that you used le désirait in french, but demanded it in english and I'm wondering why. if you're going for devotion wouldn't desired it work better?" and honestly when I asked for help I expected just a quick glance at it, not for her to remember what I had written in french, notice the difference, and worry about whether it fit the vibe or not. I was very touched. (also I think she was right: I did chose désirait for a reason).

Thanks for the ask ♥

(Behind the scene fic asks)

[nnnn99999]

After watching thk ep 1 way too many times I have decided how I feel about the characters so far and how I read them so far.

Bison genuinely terrifies me. His expression when he was pushing his murder target's face to his stomach was so intense. He looked so disgusted yet also so pleased. Like he gets high on the power he holds in that moment. He has no control over his life or emotions. He is so trapped by his circumstances and the people around him and he seems to be fighting to escape that control all the time. I am genuinely scared of what he will do when he eventually loses it. He is not naive, he knows how the world works, he knows it too well. But instead of accepting his fate, he chooses to hold onto hope for freedom. He is indulging in fantasy, but he is fully aware of that. He knows what he is doing. He knows Kant is not all that sincere, at least not yet. But he longs for an escape from his own reality so much that he is willing to ignore all the warning signs and pretend that everything is fine. The genuine moments of connection and intimacy between the two is probably the reason Bison is willing to give Kant a chance. He will probably go full psycho when he eventually finds out about Kant's deception. I am very interested to see how this character unfolds over the course of this show.

Coming to Kant, I am still unsure how I feel about him. He is definitely a loving and responsible brother. But he is also deceptive, cunning and manipulative. How much of what he says and shows is real? We are left wondering alongside Bison. But one thing for sure is that he definitely has some genuine fondness for Bison. Had he not been intetested, he would not have taken this whole gig that serioisly. He is sly, but he is also sweet. Very confusing. And I love that about him.

Everyone please leave my man Fadel alone for like 5 minutes and let him have a break. He is tired. He is working two jobs. His younger brother is unhinged. His younger brother's crush is duplicitous. His younger brother's crush's best friend is annoying af but hot, making Fadel question his own sanity because why is he attracted to that insufferable jerk. Just let him take a nap. He needs it. Watching Style break down his sky high walls will be so much fun.

Style is the icon, the diva, the fabulous glue that holds this show together. He is so far removed from the other three that you wonder why is he there again? The other three are hiding dangerous secrets, meanwhile Style is living life like an open book. The other three are literally criminals, meanwhile Style is busy romancing cars. He is annoying and overconfident but also so unapologetically himself that it becomes endearing. He so genuine that you can't help but love him. He is definitely my favorite character so far. I love him the most.

[theredpharaoah]

I could write an entire essay about the janky “morality” of “morality bites” and how it stems from a world of white supremacy, patriarchy, imperialism, and heavy policing. Cal Greene killed his girlfriend and got off( I wonder why…) and so Phoebe decided to do what the law didn’t do and I do not blame her for that. To me, protecting the Innocent should’ve always included punishing the guilty. And then this whole situation makes no sense considering the later seasons. Matter of fact, most of the stuff that happened in the first couple of seasons don’t make sense when you consider the later seasons. Where tf are the cleaners? And if not them; The Elders and The Angels of Destiny? Good and Evil can’t do their jobs in a world where evil is exposed. And then Chris was sleeping with his charge a day after he met her too? That’s not allowed. Y’all was frothing at the mouth over Piper and Leo, but Patty/Sam and Chris having casual sex wasn’t even addressed. Also the spells for personal gain? And so tf what? They can never go above and beyond in their careers because they have to fight demons and warlocks. Unless The Elders finna cut them a check they need to mind they damn business. Yes, we got mystical duties but we’re in the material world, not frolicking in the damn clouds. Miss me with that “no personal gain” shit. It’s literally just like The Watchers Council and The Slayer. And Leo with this whole “Phoebe has to pay for her crimes” to set everything right shit was pissing me. So what, the entirety of the heavens ascribes to utilitarianism? What if The Charmed ones were more inclined to Kant’s moral philosophy? Y’all gon tell them they wrong? How? Go and ask The Elders that for me Leo. I’ll wait.

And can The Elders please be serious? Them making a man step on his dog’s crap that he’s leaving in their driveway, necessitated traumatizing the sisters? The Elders were hugely abusive. They damn near treated the Charmed Ones like slaves tbh. I just KNOW Grams wasn’t going for that shit. Grams was doing whatever the fuck she wanted, and it seems like almost all of their ancestors did the same. They should’ve just ignored The Elders tbh. And The Elders or Tribunal or whatever being able to take away the sisters’ powers seasons later was bullshit. The fact that they had so much power over the sisters completely undermined the Warren Line lore. It would’ve been a far greater statement if the sisters had to constantly choose to be good, with no one there to threaten consequences if they didn’t. The Elders being introduced as just ancestral spirits or The Mighty Dead of the good side that helped the sisters would’ve been way better. Leo could’ve been a fairy lover or something idk. Or, they could’ve just not made The Elders their bosses. Angel this, Angel that, but they’re supposed to be Wiccan. Make it make sense. Chile, lemme grab a drink.

[white-light-on-my-prism]

What would a starting XI of your favourite players look like? They don't need to be the best at their position just your favs

Okay so... FINALLY. FVCKING FINALLY we've made it. After so many days/probably weeks that I've lost count, we kinda have a team.

Ngahgajagsgj I've put something together with the help of my wonderful discord besties, college friends and... my dad (embarrassing, I know) and I've taken COMPLETE advantage of the fact that there are no criteria whatsoever for the players to qualify in the XI. Also, I'm sort of a post WC footie fan... (brb hiding my face rn; it's not completely true but it's complicated). Bottomline is, my ball knowledge is much less sexo than most of yours' here, so please pardon any faux pas that I might have committed. Fair warning, my reasons for choosing the ones that I have chosen are frankly ridiculous.

In attack we have Leo and Ney. Gosh how I miss Neymessiball! So there's certainly no need to explain why I've put them here together. Alongside them, there's Sunil Chhetri, who has recently secured third place internationally in the list of highest scoring football players for their respective NTs, only behind Leo and CR(iminal activity)7. He's from my country, India, and I'm quite proud🥺

In midfield we have Kante because I like him, Rodri because I love him, Luka because I LOVE him, and Alex because... he's the husband of Perrie Edwards from Little Mix, aka the only footballer I knew existed [other than Leo, Ney and CR(iminal activity)7] before I actively started following football.

The defence trio features Ramos, cause duh, he's Ramos, and Lisandro cause he loves dogs, but also because he's in La Scaloneta and I'm totally normal about them right?? There's Virgil, cause he shares his name with the Roman poet Virgil who wrote the epic 'Aeneid', which I have a complicated mix of feelings about but all of those are quite overwhelming.

I was bursting my skull open trying to decide between Dibu and Bounou as keeper, but then I thought fvck it I already know a keeper personally who's damn good, and imma put her in my XI because it's my XI and I do whatever the hell I want. @ispeakmorelanguagesthanyou come see your name in there bestie I love you🤍🫂.

That was it! @seedlessmuffins I'm so sorry for the late dear, I hope you didn't mind. Take care<3.

[curious-about-dramas]

The Heart Killers EP10 - (text) reaction

I both love and hate that this is episode 10 already.

It feels like it lasted longer - and I think it's because the episodes last longer and I feel that they are packed of things happening (it is also possibile that I may be in too deep).

But the fact that it will end in 10 days now is so sad. JoongDunk and FirstKhaotung are respectively my first and second most liked Thai CPs, and this was from before this series. And I usually really like P'Jojo's vision and also we're out of high-school/university. I feel like I'll never get another series that has all these ingredients, that I love so much separately, all together.

I'll enjoy it as much as I can.

PART 1 / 4

They didn't show the kiss in the ocean at night from the last EP, but they showed the one on the boat LOL. Fandom sure has eagle eyes and JoongDunk will always be joondunking.

I just saw a tag with PORSCHE written on it - like seriously, Fast & Furious, Harry Potter, and now Porsche with edits requested on Twitter using One Direction songs … have you literally created this show for me specifically, P'Jojo?! You also got my 2 most favorite CPs in all of Thai BL (my 3rd being FortPeat which is not GMMTV).

The boyfriends are still trying to change the brothers' mind, this time with real words unlike EP6. The outcome is the same though. Sigh!

Also part 1 is 24 minutes long … I love that it's longer than normal.

"Don't jinx it, dude." He literally took thge words out of my mouth. It's kinda obvious that all the talk from Fadel & Bison was mostly for Style, because Kant looks much more defeated and surrendered; also, is that some stubble on First's chin?

I like that they're doing research on their own, to find the truth … but why mother, Bison?! Please, Fadel, do it on your own.

New identities - the lawyers photos? Yep, the very same. BTW I recognized Joong from his voice alone (just like my 1D boys; but also, please help me).

Why do I get the feeling that those 2 company names are very much tied with them specifically? The music's also changed. I was kinda waiting for either Fadel or Bison to pull the gun on Ruerat as soon as Bison pocketed the check. I guess they want him to know first.

Oooh, our sweet like crazy phycho Bison. See, this I was expecting.

"Who sent you? // It doesnt matter who sent us! (…) Why did you kill MY parents?" Oh sweetie! He's too emotional because it's his parents; you wouldn't think he's actually a professional cold-bloded serial killer.

Oh, he knows Lilly! Interesting. I kinda hate that I've read the novel at the moment. I think they will keep this part as is, so basically I've spoiled myself.

Fadel was soo sexy pulling that gun from behind his back, ngl. I get you now, Style, I really do.

Ooh, ok, this is slightly different then, Lilly worked for Ruerat. But then how is he involved the parents' murder? Because if she worked FOR him, then she killed FOR him. Right? So, don't trust Mother, absolutely, but also kill Ruerat.

I think more answers are needed though; kidnap anyone? Oh, so this is why Fadel is so frustrated in this abandoned place with Bison.

"What even was real?" -- good question. It's all different now, who's supposed to be their target. Also, why aren't they followed again by a shooter? Why was Fadel shot at only when with Style? Joong looks so young though with lighter colored clothes, he doesn't look like Bison's older brother here, although he's still behaving like one.

Bison is really easy with blaming Mother, she has been suppressing him all along with being a hitman, so I guess it's easier for him to believe Ruerat. I see Fadel is more hesitant. Maybe learning about a certain someone disappearing 2 years ago will help him decide? (But also, I hate that he still has to learn about that. I wonder if it's this episode or next.)

"Should we kill her? She taught us to kill bad people. What she did to us was beyond evil." Yeah, karma's a bi*ch.

I see Fadel still trying to contain psycho Bison, but he is at a loss for words. He looks like he couldn't tell left from right.

Yeah, she knows them really well. They will have to think outside the box on this one. Again, my novel spoilers mind aargh! I've never regretted reading a book, but with this one I'm very close, really. the novel was so short and simple compared to the series, but the main points of the story are still the same, that's why I feel like the novel was basically drama spoilers, nothing more.

The boyfriends at the same restaurant as in EP6, still talking about the brothers' last mission. This time they really cannot do anything.

That is a staged kill, right? Also, it is kinda funny projecting murder proof photos in a normal conference room in a normal business building.

Aaaaaaaaand there's the spider web tattoo. Mystery solved.

Keen learning what is the only way out of this life doesn't look promising. But who knows? If he really isn't that good with guns …

Babe is back! My guess is all those novels he's reading are what's making him so romantic.

Bowling all alone, watching others be together … oh, Kant. It's a memory, Bison jumping in Kant's arms!

Ooh, look at little Bison hiding behind the courtains. Did he mean to show himself or did he have bad luck with Kant turning at just the perfect moment?

"Nothing hurts more than not seeing you." Ooh, looks who's being cheesy and romantic! Good job, Kant!

I wonder why he's not telling Bison and Fadel about the police and whatever evidence those have. Like, Kant is/was sure the brothers would end up in jail, so why isn't he telling them these things? Still, I love his determination in helping Bison.

Man, Dunk is flexing so much with those 2 tyres, LOL. He said Fadew, right?

He's saying the exact same things as Kant … it looks the same as in EP7 when Fadel & Bison went after Style & Kant after learning that they were the snitches. Mmmh.

PART 2 / 4

"When I'm in, I'm all in, body and soul" while smirking at Fadel. Ooh Style, please never change! I was wondering in the 1st part why there were so little quotes that I wanted to write down -- it's because Style was missing from most of it.

"I'm not saying it to be cool, I'm saying it to be yours." Ahahaha. I guess someone REALLY missed Fadel, missed bickering with Fadel. KantBison just laughing on the side, so beautiful.

Bison is leaving Style to Fadel. I mean, it makes sense, but also, poor Fadel. Although this division of chores feels interesting - Style has seen Keen twice already; well 3 times if you count the thrift shop, but then he didn't see his face. Maybe this will trigger some memories?

C'mon brother-in-law, it's just you missing. -- me translating Kant

That is not proper hitman investigation behaviour, Bison! I love it. Although, he hugged Fadel to death when he was teasing him about having a boyfriend, so I guess it's standard Bison behaviour. Exactly, focus, guys! Also, did they steal a real taxi?! I mean, Kant can, right?

FadelStyle are so suspicious, it's sadly funny.

Why didn't Fadel mention that Keen shot them before?! Style almost gave them away … again. They were making a lot of noise, especially in an empty place like that. What kind of place is it though? Like, how is Keen the only person eating there?

That kiss was soooo smooth, it's Kant's turn to not be serious on the job. Cunning First looks interesting.

Style trying to be unconspicuous while wearing RED screams so much Bison. At least it's not a crop top, right? Please use the fire alarm behind Fadel and not try with room service or some other stupid idea, Style. Cunning Dunk doesn't look nearly as interesting as First … and i'm kinda betting there's a reason for that.

Absolutely, equal rights for men and women - and to me it creepy from both. I am not a fan of "Stifler's mom" kind of adults.

And I just can guess who is a young, handsome caddy. What?! Mother doesn't fall for it? Smart lady.

First looks so tall near that other lady. He's helping her very much like how he helped "Shorty in red" in EP1, right? Is Bison jealous on the side instead of hiding?

Style looks so smart with that outfit. Dunk's gonna kill it as Kamin, I just know it. They've gone with room service, of course. At least it's not Keen who's answering. But also, isn't Fadel aware that Keen knows Style's face? Why risk it like this? Ooh, look at me being right.

PART 3 / 4

So, so far we've had Bison, then Fadel, and now Kant playing "hosts". Will we get 4/4, like we did with the bum grabs? I mean, fair is fair.

Bison being far all by himself, while trying not to be suspicious is kinda funny. Lilly seems really good at being vigilant, wonder how she doesn't recognize her own son.

Fadel is kinda provocative, maybe thinking he knows Keen, mmh. Also, watching FadelStyle kneeling on that red carpet/whatever - I mean 3 bows and they're married, according to period Chinese dramas, vey fitting since it's Chinese New Year today.

Ooh, see, GPS on the car, I knew it! Thank you for confirming it.

Right, because Keen was also an orfan like Fadel and Bison. Ok, I dig it. Still, I don't understand then -- were they failing at stalking … on purpose? Was the goal to actually recruit Keen or is this just a way out? Fadel is too calm, Style too. OMG, look at Style - good job!

Ok, so I know this is a BL, but like everyone is gay here. Keen's boyfriend, Fadel's boyfriend, Bison's boyfriend - I mean Mother, you sure knew how to pick them.

So, the simplest theory then - Mother had him killed, Keen knew, but by how's he's telling it, it doesn't feel like he had anything to do about it. I do find it weird then that Fadel wasn't more suspicious about his ex ghosting him.

"Do you love him more than your Mother?" A good question, indeed.

Style got his little revenge kick. Good for him, he's got to live with a scar too, now.

PART 4 / 4

Where is this abandoned pool though? Both Fadel and Bison know it. Also, abandoned, but there are lights and electricity, oops.

The police is still mysteriously missing. And it's missing since they escaped the hospital. Didn't the captain realize Kant is back? And if he/Kant is back, after either kidnapping or being kidnapped by Bison, then maybe he knows something?

"Put this on me." Ooh, he still has it. Ok, he recovered it, but still. It is meaningful for them.

And now Titanic - so many western references. So this makes Bison Rose, right? Well, he loves red, so it's very fitting. EDIT: someone on Twitter mentioned that both FK weren't even born when Titanic came out, ouch.

"I prefer reenacting another scene, though. // Which one? // The one in the car." Yes please, Bison, we haven't had an NC scene since forever, especially between you and Kant. Kissing every single finger, so sexy. Also, FirstKhaotung can kiss, man. I gotta check something though, let me watch it again. Yeah, missed opportunity, but still very much 1000/10. EDIT: why do I even try, really. I should know by now I am blind. Thank you, random person on Reddit for pointing out that this is (finally) a full blown kiss, tongue and all (55:05). You go, Bison!

I love how it's Kant leaning on Bison here, trusting him, (role?) playing with him. This is what I appreciate most in M/M -- they're both men, there is no woman, which means there are no gender norms and/or social prejudices to be bestowed on them. They get to choose how they want to live their love, in everything, every single time.

Fadel is mourning his ex. It's fair. He thinks he's scary and let's be real, it's true. If we - normal people in real life - were to meet a hitman/serial killer I don't know how many would still stay, how many wouldn't be afraid. Style is not the norm.

The way Fadel looked at Style for a moment, like asking - Are you really still here? Why? "I don't want to have any expectations just to be disappointed." I mean, given his history and his job, it's the sanest way to live.

Yeah, the fact that he didn't even suspect his ex disappearance is … a bit odd. I guess he trusted very much the people that knew about him, like Mother and Keen, but not his ex. I do wonder if Bison knew about him. Two-ish years is a long time though, he probably knew.

Joong is crying so beautifully here … oh sweetie. "Please just leave me." What?! NO!!!!

I love the absence of music, it's just JoongDunk now. Again, like in EP5. And Style is saying the same things as in EP5, just this time Fadel also sees that Style knows what he's saying because he knows the whole truth and it very much still on board.

He really is Fadel's soulmate 100%. I love that they found each other, it's amazing to watch.

That hug, man … yeah, I'm crying too.

And the preview - confronting Mother, ok, I like this, but why does it look like she's about to cry? What is trying to pull on them? Oops, I called the police apparently. Also, why are they all wearing -- those colors are too dark and too serious, even Bison has red and black. "Why not just get married?" Yeeees, absolutely, say it louder Style's dad. Two proposals then? So the lovey-dovey is next week, not this one. I do wonder if there's some time skip - it changed to abruptly from police stopping them to being in love and talking marriage.

[ae-azile]

Emergence: Chapter 3 Preview

Read entire series here:

By the time 4 pm rolls around, Style wouldn’t say that Bison and Kant are good, but they are…co-existing. That is the best word Style has for it. But still, it's progress. He wants to be encouraging.

“Hey,” Style says quietly, pulling Bison to the side, “Things seem a little bit better, yeah? You played video games together while Fadel and I cleaned out the pool.”

Bison doesn't directly answer Style’s assumption and rolls his eyes, “I still don't see why we need to fill up the pool in the back. The beach is right there. My parents barely ever bothered.”

“We’re doing it because I said so,” Style says, stomping his foot.

“Just because I had scrub brushes and a working pool vacuum doesn't mean I have everything else,” Bison says, “I can’t believe you got Fadel to do most of the work on that when we don't even have the supplies to make sure the water is safe.”

Style shrugs at that, “Fadel and I found a place that sells pool supplies on the coast. They are open until 9. We’ll take care of everything. We should probably check on the jeep anyway. You know how he is about his jeep.”

“Still a risk,” Bison says, his eyes narrowing as he crosses his arms. Before Style can answer, Fadel walks up in an apron, looks between them, then stands next to Style before putting a gentle hand on his back.

“What's the problem?”

Bison sighs, then gestures at Style, “You are seriously letting him drag you to the mainland considering how we left Bangkok?”

“He gets cooped up.”

“That isn't an excuse!”

Style holds back a smile as Fadel pulls him closer, “The jeep has different plates. I changed the registration tags, and we parked it in a secure area anyway. That being said, I want to make sure it wasn't tampered with. We checked every time we stopped for trackers, so no one would have been able to follow us down here. We aren't on any wanted lists-”

“Which is confusing and doesn't make sense!” Bison says, “Considering what they have-”

“Is circumstantial.”

As both Fadel and Bison turn to him in bewilderment, Style clears his throat.

“My aunt is a lawyer!” Style says, “I worked for her one summer that I stayed with her. I know a lot!”

“What the fuck, Fadel?” Bison says, “He has connections to law enforcement-”

“Oh, please!” Style interrupts, “She is a defense attorney! She is an advocate for clients who were manipulated, abused, and controlled from a young age!”

Bison’s face screws up, “That doesn't describe us!”

Style opens his mouth to argue that point. He wants to, he truly does. But Bison clearly isn't at that level of awareness yet. Style doesn't even think Fadel is, although he is a lot closer. Style doesn't want to push Bison too hard or speak ill of “Mother”. Despite Bison’s attempt at speaking ill of his aunt, Style isn't going to do the same thing.

“Whatever,” Style says, “But you should take comfort in knowing that she would be willing to be held in contempt of court in order to help you if she ever became your lawyer! So don't speak ill of my aunt. She's a bad ass!”

“He is on our side, Bison,” Fadel says, “He just wants the pool for Kant’s sake. To help him get used to the water again.”

“He does okay in pools as long as it isn't too deep,” Style says, “We thought we would get more groceries as well. Mainly things that we can store in the freezer in case we stay for a while.”

Bison stares at Style in a scrutinizing manner before letting out a huff, “Give your lists to me. I’ll send the neighbor to get everything. He's worked for my family for a long time and is loyal.”

Unlike you. The words are left unsaid, but Style still hears them. Part of him wonders if Fadel feels the same-

“Style is loyal or he wouldn't even be here!” Fadel snaps, “He would have run off back when I told him to leave!”

Nevermind.

“I will never betray either of you ever again,” Style says solemnly before putting his arm around Fadel’s waist, “I’ve already made it clear that I am proposing to Fadel as soon as I clean this situation up for all of us and we can all live normal lives. We already talked about this, Bison. Remember the plan.”

Fadel glances at Style before sending a sharp look to Bison.

“Don't you dare encourage the plan Style is talking about.”

“You don't even know what I told your brother!”

Fadel turns back to Style, “I can guess, and it's still a no. You aren't putting yourself in a dangerous situation like that.”

At least Fadel isn't saying Style is doing it to cheat on him. And more than that, Bison isn't confirming that was the plan they discussed at all. In this regard, Bison is reasonable. He realizes it may be the one true path to victory. Style just has to get dicked down by some manipulative cop old enough to be his father one time.

Or a couple of times, depending on if he finds any dirt on him the first time. If he has to go back again, he definitely won't enjoy it, but he will go back to make sure the fucker completely discredited and sent away for decades. Style is willing to do that for Fadel, and Fadel isn't appreciative about it at all.

But he doesn't want to argue about it now. Despite Fadel’s frustrations with the current topic, he has been very clingy and has had a desperate need to be in Style’s space. Style doesn't mind, but he wishes Fadel would express why he is feeling so vulnerable right now. Style doesn't want to push because that could be asking for a push right back. So instead, Style just had him clean the pool out. Fadel didn't even glare at him. He did it without complaining once.

“Are you going to give me a list or not?”

Style snaps himself out of his thoughts and sees Bison waving a notepad in his face. Style takes it from his hands and lists down the pool chemicals and supplies before moving onto groceries and clothing requests.

Bison takes it once he is finished before giving Style a fed up look, “You said pool stuff.”

“Amongst other things,” Style says, then gestures down at himself, “Look at me, man. I'm wearing Fadel’s stuff. It is too big on me, and I need at least a few crop tops anyway.”

“You don't need crop tops.”

“He does.”

The stern words come from Fadel as he steps towards his brother menacingly, “If you don't find a way to get him some, I will prep the boat and head out myself.”

Bison steps forward as well, “Are you threatening me over crop tops? Your own brother?!”

“I didn't threaten you,” Fadel says, his voice a dead calm, “It’s just a fact.”

“You're so fucking weird now! Why?!”

While Bison’s concern and question are both valid, all Styles can do is stifle laughter into his palm. It's an easy question to answer. Style brought out Fadel’s weirdness. They match each other's freak. Bison should be aware of this by now.

“Fine,” Bison says, then points a finger at Fadel, “But you of all people should know this is still risky! You would normally be the first person to point that out!”

“There is barely any risk,” Style says before Fadel can answer, “Even less, now that you are sending the neighbor. But even if you or Fadel went, there isn't a warrant out for your arrest.”

Style looks at Fadel at that point and tilts his head, “See what I mean? If this cop wasn't dirty, he would have put something out. He has filthy, ulterior motives, I know it. Just let me prove it or put him in a position that makes him even dirtier.”

“Stop,” Fadel says, but then pulls Style in for an unexpected hug. Style lets out a surprised sound at the gesture but puts his arms around Fadel until Bison grumbles about them being weird before walking away.

“Seriously,” Fadel says, lifting Style’s head just enough until they meet each other’s eyes, “I'm not letting you put yourself in a situation like that.”

Style finds himself briefly transfixed by Fadel’s intense, furrowed, sexy eyebrows before remembering that his future fiancé spoke to him, “Hmm?”

“It's too risky, Style. It's dangerous. He could try to arrest you for something you didn't do-”

“I would like to see him try!”

“He might be more dangerous than you think.”

“I don't underestimate how dangerous he is,” Style counters, “That's why I need to incriminate him and make sure he is no longer a problem.”

Fadel shakes his head before pulling him a little closer, “He could take the bait-”

“That would be the goal.”

“And then he could really hurt you,” Fadel finishes, “I would be pissed off at you if you…seduced him and went home with him. Whatever you say you're going to do. But I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he really ends up hurting you. I…never want you to get hurt like that ag-”

Fadel cuts himself off, before looking a strange mixture of anxious, protective, apologetic, hurt, and still betrayed despite Style not actually going through with this plan yet. He is obsessing. Style thought he was the obsessive one in this relationship. But here Fadel is, getting all worked up not only over something that hasn't happened (yet), but over the worst possible outcomes and over what Style told him. That shit is old news. Style is really fine and he wishes Fadel would stop fucking thinking about it. Style needs to make it clear it doesn't matter to him.

“Whatever,” Style says, standing up straight, “If something like that would happen, that's all the more evidence we could use against him.”

Fadel stares at him in disbelief, as if he can't even understand what Style just said. It takes approximately seven seconds for his face to turn red as he shoves Style away from him before he walks towards the back door.

Great. Style meant to make a logical point, not piss Fadel off. He should probably think of a way to apologize. Maybe he can write a love song, make a beautiful landscape painting of the beach, or build a life size sculpture of Fadel out of trash washed onto the shore, seashells, and old fishing supplies-

“Come outside.”

Style scoffs and sees Fadel sulking at the open sliding door, “I thought you were mad at me!”

“I am.”

“Okay, so I should wait until you cool off a little and find a way to make it up to you before joining you,” Style says, “How do you feel about sculptures built with recycled materials?”

Going by his expression, Fadel doesn't feel much about sculptures built with recycled materials at all.

“You can make it up to me by coming outside with me,” Fadel says, before becoming more upset, “And by never saying something like that again!”

“Hm,” Style hums, then gestures at him, “You still seem mad-”

“I want you outside with me!”

Bison is right. Fadel did get weird. But since Style is the main reason for this, he takes responsibility by following Fadel outside in order to help him clean and prep the grill.