diff --git a/component-library/components/video-message/video-message.hugo.html b/component-library/components/video-message/video-message.hugo.html
index 910398e..a9586d8 100644
--- a/component-library/components/video-message/video-message.hugo.html
+++ b/component-library/components/video-message/video-message.hugo.html
@@ -52,9 +52,12 @@
 	{{ $iconRounded := .iconRounded }}
 	{{ $iconStyle := .iconStyle }}
 
+	{{/* gutter 0 suppresses the g-* class entirely (with-guard treats 0 as unset),
+	     preserving the v1 message rhythm: default horizontal gutters, no vertical gap */}}
 	{{- partial "assets/card-group.html" (dict
 		"page"         page
 		"list"         $list
+		"gutter"       0
 		"class"        "border-0 card-icon card-icon-secondary"
 		"cols"         $cols
 		"padding"      "0"
diff --git a/layouts/partials/assets/hero.html b/layouts/partials/assets/hero.html
index d95fcf2..6fea222 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/assets/hero.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/assets/hero.html
@@ -43,8 +43,9 @@
      Only applies to horizontal orientation; stacked uses $scale for the image wrapper instead. */}}
 {{ $imgColWidth := 12 }}
 {{ if eq $args.orientation "horizontal" }}
-    {{/* heading.width is filled by the argument engine (default 8) at any nesting depth */}}
-    {{ $imgColWidth = sub 12 $args.heading.width }}
+    {{/* keep a local fallback: heading.width carries no engine default (suppressed
+         at the type level so section titles and images span their columns) */}}
+    {{ $imgColWidth = sub 12 (or $args.heading.width 8) }}
     {{ if lt $imgColWidth 1 }}{{ $imgColWidth = 1 }}{{ end }}
 {{ end }}