#Armand does not understand why his behaviour is inappropriate.

[jayktoralldaylong]

Seeing Lestat again in Season 2 really reminded me how much Armand broke him. No one has been able to make Lestat cry the way Armand makes Lestat cry. And that's saying something cause his abusive parents and Magnus came before Armand, but no one has matched Armand's level of crazy.

And I think it's because the other tortures were...brief?

He ran away from home, the abuse from his parents stopped. Magnus died and that stopped too. Armand, meanwhile, has decided to dedicate the rest of his immortal existence to torturing Lestat. It has become his favourite pass time.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Even the scorned women are learning work from Armand. 💀

Everything about Armand just messes with a person's mind.I t's the way he's not even chasing Lestat around for me. 😭😭😭

He really like "I'm old enough to be your biggest problem by staying in the same spot for 5 centuries." And he was right. 💀😭

I hear the next season is gonna be The Vampire Lestat and oooooh boy. 💀💀 People are about to discover just how terrible Armand can be. Baby's name gonna be dragged in the mud when the secrets get out. Gonna see if he can gaslight his way out of this one.

(Who am I kidding? Bro was torturing Louis and Daniel AND still had us feeling sorry for him. He can gaslight his way out of anything.)

[geekgirles]

The Osamodas' Projecting and Shortsightenedness and Their Consequences

For a while now I've been thinking on what I think is the Osamodas' true Fatal Flaw, the reason why their manipulations fail to affect Amalia (aside from their true intentions being practically see-through), and chapters 6 and 7 have only served to confirm my suspicions.

The Osamodas' greatest weakness is their utter lack of understanding of their enemies/targets, in this case Yugo and Amalia, but moreso the last remaining Sheran Sharm.

I had already begun to suspect Aurora at least knew nothing of Amalia because of her debut in season 3. More specifically, her choice in suitors for the Sadida Princess.

Just look at the two of them. While Aurora looks smug and so sure of herself and her decision, Amalia is wholly uninterested and annoyed, even bored. Which already anticipates how much of a failure this dinner is going to be.

If introducing solely her relatives to Amalia didn't make her true intentions transparent enough, that is to say, to strengthen her family's hold over Sadida politics rather than trying to find a suitable partner for her sister-in-law; then the way Aurora describes Ashdur to her certainly does, as well as it illustrates how her and her family's understanding of Amalia is entirely superficial and mistaken.

Before introducing Ashdur, Aurora tries sweet-talking Amalia into the ambush (because that's the only way to describe forcing an unsuspecting person to meet up with someone during what should be an intimate family dinner) by saying:

"J'aimerais vous présenter quelqu'un qui a beaucoup de points communs avec vous."

"I would like to introduce you to someone who has a lot in common in with you."

Except that's not really how things are, are they?

Ashdur's introduction was short and anything but impactful, and yet it perfectly encapsulated the type of character he is: a brainless beauty. Yes, his muscular physique usually means he is at least conventionally attractive, but during his introduction all he does is pose cockily and flex, quite literally. The fact that Aurora has the nerve to say he and Amalia have a lot in common when that's all he does already highlights what the Osamodas princess truly thinks of her sister-in-law: in Aurora's eyes, Amalia is nothing but a pretty face.

By contrast, Amalia already has Aurora and her true personality pinned down, no matter how much she tries to hide it behind fake pleasantries and an emo haircut. As evidenced when she wastes no time pointing out Armand and Aurora had already tried the same thing with her brothers, or when she accurately deduces Ashdur is her cousin.

Whereas Aurora is incapable of seeing past her own twisted perception of Amalia, it's plain to see the latter only needed some time around her brother's wife and maybe one attempt at roping her into an arranged marriage to be able to accurately pinpoint the kind of person she is: a manipulator with no respect for her or her people and who only thinks about her own nation and position in court.

And this incapability to see Amalia for who she truly is is very clearly widespread all over the Osamodas royal family. As they all seem to look down and disrespect her even when such behaviour is wholly inappropriate.

(I'll never forgive the Osamodas King for having the nerve to openly refuse Amalia's request to send and ask for help when it was her kingdom that was about to be overridden by Wakfu-draining monsters).

But the funny thing is, in a very roundabout way, this all is sort of Armand's fault. As my friend @alittlebookdust once pointed out, due to his inability to let go of his jealousy and bitterness until their father passed on, Armand was very open in his own contempt of his little sister, even in front of other people, which goes as far as the first season.

Despite being overjoyed to see his sister return after months of absence, Armand was still not above reprimanding and looking down on her to the point of Amalia breaking out in tears in front of Eva and, unbeknownst to them, Master Joris. And back then their relationship was arguably better than the low it reached in season 3 and early season 4, since despite everything Armand was still the most torn up over her disappearance and didn't hesitate to be affectionate with her even in front of the court.

A stark contrast to his reaction upon her return from Inglorium, when he went as far as to neglect to inform her their father had passed away, instead cruelly getting her hopes up.

But I'm going on a tangent here. The point is, due to his lack of restraint over his own emotions, Armand's behaviour became key in shaping the Osamodas' view on the Sadida princess. They didn't see a fellow royal and warrior who is willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of her kingdom and the world, but a foolish, spoiled little princess who'd much rather go on some adventure than look out for her people. And so, they treated her accordingly because Armand never did anything to stop them.

You know something's wrong when your wife openly calls your little sister, whom you love despite everything, a weed and you don't do anything to stop her or have her show some respect at least out of respect for you and your family. Or when your father-in-law spits he doesn't take orders from her and the most you can do is tell him to listen to her, instead of pointedly reminding him he is an outsider with no sway over your kingdom daring to talk back to your princess and protector.

Even in season 4, despite mending fences with Amalia, Armand could go back to screaming and treating her less than ideally at the drop of a hat, such as when she brought up Yugo after the assembly or when he made light of their expedition to find out where the Nécromes came from. This last instant being a particularly glaring example because he had just defended Yugo as a trusted ally that could mark the difference between their survival or extinction to his father-in-law.

And at the same time, this exchange between in-laws also proves how the Osamodas failed to properly read even Armand, arguably one of the few allies they had in the Sadida Kingdom (besides the traitors from the webtoon, that is).

From their interactions, it's clear to see the Osamodas King expected that, by marrying his daughter, Armand would become easily influenced and maleable, someone he could mold into fulfilling his agenda. Throughout their entire conversation, all the Osamodas King does is belittle the Sadida Kingdom and question Armand's choices, while the latter smartly and effectively counters his people are better suited for war and hold a higher position within their world (by virtue of hosting the Tree of Life and, therefore, their survival being key in that of the other Twelvians) than the Osamodas.

And the fact that Aurora actually berates Armand for defending himself and his kingdom against her father's ill-concealed insults already comes to show she was sent to the Sadida Kingdom not to become his queen and partner, but to sway him to their side.

The Osamodas thought they could turn Armand into their puppet through a political marriage, but his own royal upbringing, pride and love for his kingdom proved them wrong.

And their being incapable of seeing past what meets the eye or, worse, their own prejudiced, arrogant assumptions might be what will inevitably prove to be their undoing in the webtoon. Because once again they're making assumptions, this time about both Yugo and Amalia, without really knowing either of them.

I'm still inclined to believe they're the ones behind Yugo's poisoning, even if I'm open to twists. Mainly because the way the story is going, it can either be revealed they're not responsible, or they can be feigning ignorance to try and turn the Sadidas against Yugo and Amalia only to later on be revealed as the masterminds after all.

Let's not forget how chapter 6 was not subtle about the fact that there are most likely traitors in the kingdom that've been reporting back to them, or how the Osamodas King very ominously said they must make sure Yugo loses the Sadida's support...all before it's revealed Yugo's poison isn't just extremely harmful to the point his survival is all thanks to his god-like status, but so maddeningly painful it's actually causing him to lose control of his powers and wreak havoc.

If I'm right and they are indeed behind this, then their impulsiveness and incapability to foresee their opponents' next move, only expecting the kind of underhanded tactics they would pull, is going to come back to bite them and put a damper on their plans.

Because by poisoning Yugo, the love of Amalia's life and all the family she has left, they've done the last thing they wanted, let alone needed.

They've pushed Amalia past her limit.

She was ready to entrust them with her kingdom.

They had won! Amalia truly held what she believed to be her brother's wishes in such high regard she was willing to try and honour them, despite how painful or wrong it seemed to her.

They expected her to hold onto power almost as desperately as they're trying to do, which, in their mind, justified going to such lengths just to get rid of her and her husband, the saviour of their world. Except that's not Amalia, that's them. So by poisoning Yugo, by failing to see Amalia would indeed do what she considered best for her kingdom and honour her brother's legacy, they have essentially signed their death sentence.

And even if by some miracle they were innocent, their actions, both past and present—Aurora's contemptuous and manipulative treatment of Amalia, their betrayal and abandonement against the Nécromes, their trying to drive her away from her people by usurping the throne, their refusal to even admit they did something wrong and apologise for their actions, always justifying themselves or shifting the blame—, already speak louder than words. Because Amalia has no reason to believe their innocence, meaning now she will hold onto the throne and fight them tooth and nail, with everything she has.

No matter what happens next, whatever fate befalls the Osamodas, they have no one but themselves to blame.