#2.08 What was Meant to be

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

OKay going to keep my liveblog reactions in one post this time

AGE OF LEGENDS FLASHBACK

Eyyyyyy aes sedai symbol

THANK FUCK THE OPENING IS BACK

What the fuck are the white cloaks doing

Oooooh my god I thought they were attacking the white tower, they’re trying to oust the seanchan, now I get it

Aksjcbaskjcbhskcjabscjs Lanfear just yeeting them through a portal

oh hell yeah traveling

Aviendha my beloved

Hopperrrrrrrrrrrr

Ishamael’s outfit is so good

This Lanfear and Ishamael scene is so goooooood

BATTLE TIME

Fucking Renna!!!!!!!

Get that knife away from her

NOT THE BRAID!!!!!!!!!!

Damn this torture scene is rough

Nynaeve is such a badass this episode

Finally rand in his Jedi outfit

Padan Fain you bastard!!!! Leave my boy alone!!!!!

Moiraine and Lan alone on a beach having to talk about their feelings

HA! Fucking called it about what Moiraine meant about the equals thing

Loving this Moiraine and Lan reunion

This rebonding moment is so good I love how they’re doing the weaving

AIEL V SEANCHAN LET’S FUCKING GO

LOIAL MVP

LOIAL I LOVE THIS SCEEEEEEEEEENE

DON’T CALL HER A GOOD GIRL FUCKER

LET’S FUCKING GO RAND!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck yeah my boy didn’t come to fuck around get fucked Turak

OH NO INGTAR DON’T DIE

God Fucking Dammit

Another Borderlander down, rip

Do on again!!!!!!

Oh fuck are they freeing six forsaken at once??????

What the fuck was Ishamael doing?????

Poor Mat he is Suffering

YES MAT WITH A MAKESHIFT QUARTERSTAFF

Ahhhhh Ashandarei foreshadowingggggggg

HELL YEAH MAT

Egwene resisting doing collateral damage!!!!!!!

Ta’Veren Egwene moment

OH MY GOD NO ELAYNE FUCK

Can we please get the Maidens fighting pleaaaaaase

MAT PERRIN REUNION

HELL YEAH EGWENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KILL HER EGWENE LET’S GO

FUck yeah that scene ruled

He’s got shit hair but he’s alive ahdksajfhkadhlasdalsfdjaslkfjlsfjasljdlaDSKJALSFKHA

Egwene and Rand Reunion!!!!!!!!

EGWENE NO

OH NO RAND OH FUCK NO FUCK

I AM STRESSED

Shut the fuck up ishamael

MAT PLEASE BLOW THE HORN NOW

oh my god poor elayne

ELAYNE TALKING HER THROUGH IT!!!!!!!!

YAY HOPPER

OH FUCK NO

Okay I knew it would happen but still upset

MAT BLOW THE FUCKING HORN

YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ahhhhh i love this choice for mat’s memories

UNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

FUCK YEAH MAT LET’S GO

Mat speaking the old tongue, i am fulfilled

UNO TO THE RESCUE

Mat spear fighting!!!!!!!! It’s my favorite

YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BREAK THE FLETCHING OFF FIRST

Nynaeve and Elayne bonding still good

RAND I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU

Poor mat, he tried his best.

YAY EGWENE LET’S GO

POWERHOUSE MOMENT UP AGAINST A FORSAKEN

Moiraine and Lan slowly walking up the coast

LAN FINALLY GETS TO FIGHT TOO!!!!!

Lan catching an arrow and stabbing someone with it asdkjasdkasdnaslfbakfjasf

ELAYNE RAND MEETING

HELL YEAH MOIRAINE

Askkdhasldashdlsadn Ishamael talking to lews as he dies

Moiraine destroying the whole fleet adkhadlaksdnlasdnasldkajsdlhkS

DRAGON REBORN TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE BOUT TO SEE MOGGYYYYYYYYY

YEAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHE IS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gay.

The spiderweb weave was so gooooooood

A PERFECT FINALE THAT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN’T WAIT FOR SEASON THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[casualavocados]

It's time to toss the dice!

Dónal Finn as MAT CAUTHON in THE WHEEL OF TIME 2.08 | What Was Meant To Be

[thewheeloftimesource]

THE WHEEL OF TIME - “What Was Meant To Be” 2.08

[behindfairytales]

MADELEINE MADDEN as Egwene al'Vere The Wheel of Time, What Was Meant to Be (2.08)

[zegrasdrysdale]

[ sneaking into vegas ] j. drysdale

part one !

paring : Jamie Drysdale x fem!!reader

summary : (Y/N) flies into Vegas to surprise Jamie for his first NHL game in nearly a year

warning(s) : none

author's note : listen, this was supposed to be a little thing but it turned out to be over 2k words so … i got a little carried away

༺═──────────────═༻

She was supposed to be across the country in New York, but when her boyfriend told her that he was going to be playing in his first NHL game since he got hurt last year, she couldn't resist getting on a plane to go watch him.

Especially after she saw who Anaheim was going to be playing for their season opener. (Y/N) knew that she needed to be in Vegas for that game. Even if that meant leaving New York a week early.

Jamie doesn't know she's coming. As a matter of fact, she tells him that she's going to be in her temporary office catching up on some work all day so he doesn't suspect anything when she doesn't reply to him all day because she has an eight-hour travel day ahead of her.

Her flight leaves at nine in the morning and she won't be getting into Vegas until two in the afternoon pacific time. That leaves her nearly five hours to check into the hotel that the Ducks are staying in while they're in Vegas for the game, get something to eat, and head to the arena without alerting Jamie to where she is.

Should be easy since she knows that Jamie will be at morning skate from eleven until two then will take a nap and eat before he heads to the arena at five. He has things that will keep him busy so she can sneak into Vegas.

On the contrary, Trevor knows that she's coming in and has a whole plan to keep Jamie busy if he decides not to take a nap after morning skate. They've been working together for the past few days so make sure the surprise goes smoothly. He's supposed to pick her up from the airport as soon as he's done practice.

(Y/N) has never watched Jamie play a game of NHL hockey. They met after he got hurt last October and started dating in February. She's very excited to be in the arena for his first regular season game back from injury. She doesn't care if she's the only Ducks fan in the place. She'll be making sure she cheers loudly for Jamie and his teammates.

At two on the dot, the plane lanes at Harry Reid International Airport. When (Y/N) gets off the plane a few minutes later, she texts Trevor and lets him know that her flight has landed. He replies and says that he's waiting for her in his rental whenever she grabs her suitcase from baggage claim.

A few notifications come through while she's waiting for her bags. All from Jamie throughout the morning.

j ♡ - 10:04 am hope you have a good day at work. will miss you. hope you can catch the game tonight if you aren't working super late

j ♡ - 10:49 am forgot to say that i love you so ... i love you 🩷 gotta go to morning skate so talk to you later

j ♡ - 2.08 pm z ditched me if you're not busy for a short call. i don't think i'll be able to sleep before the game so call me if you have a few minutes

She looks at Trevor and asks, "Do you think he'll be suspicious if I call him really quick? I think he has some pre-game nerves and I told him I'd only work until dinnertime, which is what time it is in New York."

"I don't think so," Trevor replies. "It'll be like you're calling him on your way back from work. Just don't get all cute and everything. The two of you make me sick when you get all lovey-dovey with each other. I already hear it from Jamie every day."

(Y/N) sticks her tongue out at Trevor as she clicks 'call' on Jamie's contact. Trevor lowers the music so she can talk on the phone.

It rings three times before Jamie picks up. "Hi, baby," he breathes out when he answers the phone. "I've been needing to hear your voice."

"Hi, Jamie baby," (Y/N) replies. Jamie's nickname causes Trevor to make a face as he drives. She swats at his shoulder. "How was morning skate? You just got done a little bit ago, right?"

"Yeah," Jamie says. "It went good. I think it went well. I feel pretty good about playing tonight, minus the fact that we're playing Vegas and I got hurt playing against them last year. I'm just nervous about playing them after last year."

She frowns. "Hey, you'll be okay," she assures him. "You're going to play so well tonight. I know you will. No matter what happens tonight, I'm proud of you. I'm excited for you to get back on the ice, and I know your teammates are too. I'm pretty sure Z has missed having you on the ice with him."

"I've missed being on the ice with them, but what if I do something wrong?" Jamie questions. "What if I give up the puck and they score on the giveaway? What if I fall and land on my shoulder wrong? What if-"

"Jamie, stop," (Y/N) interrupts. "None of that is going to happen, okay? Not intentionally. You're working yourself up and you shouldn't be because this is what you're good at. You wouldn't be in the NHL if you weren't good at hockey, baby. There's a reason you're playing for Anaheim at the professional level. Do what you do best tonight. Your teammates are there to pick you up if you need them to until you get comfortable. Stop freaking yourself out."

They pull up to the hotel and Trevor parks his rental away from the main entrance so none of the Ducks players see (Y/N) and report to Jamie that his girlfriend is at the hotel. "You're right," Jamie sighs. "I'm sorry to bother you with this while you're at work."

"I'm actually on my way back to the apartment," (Y/N) tells him. "But even if I was still at work, bother me with this any time. I'll never be mad if you want me to call you because you're nervous for a game."

"I don't deserve you, (Y/N)," Jamie says. "I truly don't. I love you so much."

The comment brings a smile to her lips. "I love you more," she replies. "I'm pulling into the parking lot now so I'll talk to you later. Maybe you can get Z to bring you something to eat if you can't sleep."

Jamie laughs and says, "If I bug him enough then he'll definitely bring me food. I'll let you go though, get settled in for the night. I'll talk to you after the game."

"Call me after," she tells him. "I don't care that it'll be after one in the morning. Call me and tell me all about the game. I'll want to hear all about it and how it went."

"I will," Jamie replies. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The line goes dead after that and (Y/N) realizes that she has a small smile on her lips. He won't have to call her after the game. She'll be waiting outside the locker room when he gets done showering and getting dressed after the game.

Trevor gets out of the car and mumbles, "The two of you make me sick." She laughs and gets out of the car after him.

He grabs her suitcase from the trunk and hands it over to her when it's on the ground. With Trevor following close behind, (Y/N) walks into the hotel. She checks into the room that she'll only be in for about four hours total because Jamie is going to make sure they're together that night, and she doesn't want him to kick Trevor out of the room.

It’s been a few weeks since they’ve seen each other so she wanted to make sure there was a room they could stay in together.

Trevor walks her to her room, which is a floor below the Ducks’ rooms. “We’re in 504,” he tells her. He hands her the extra key to his and Jamie’s room while she hands him the extra key to her room. “I’ll let you know if he sleeps, which I doubt but I’ll let you know.”

“Make sure he stays calm and remind him that he knows what he’s doing,” (Y/N) tells him. “Don’t let him freak himself out.”

“I’ll just distract him,” Trevor replies. “With food or with an activity that he likes to do. Maybe I’ll take him to a casino for a bit, I don’t know. I’ve got him though. Until you take over after the game.”

She nods and Trevor walks up to his and Jamie’s room. With a sigh, she opens the door and lets herself into the room.

Her suitcase with the jersey she’s wearing to the game is left right by the door and she goes right to the bed. She sets an alarm for five so she wakes up after the Ducks leave for the arena. She’ll leave a half an hour later so she doesn’t run into Jamie when he’s on his way out the door.

After a long day of traveling for the surprise tonight, (Y/N) is fast asleep almost right after she puts her phone on the table to charge.

༺═──────────────═༻

T-Mobile Arena is one of the nicest arenas that (Y/N) has ever gone to. Most of the people are nice. She gets a few looks from Golden Knights fans because she’s in the Drysdale jersey that Jamie gave to her. She loves the jersey, and she promised him that she’d wear it to the first game he plays in after his injury.

That game is tonight.

She makes her way down to her seat with the other Duck wives and girlfriends, and they’re all excited to see her. Some of them meet her for the first time, but they’re all super nice.

The puck drops a little after seven, and (Y/N) spots number 6 almost immediately. He glides around the ice like he’s flying, and she’s mesmerized by it.

(Y/N) has watched practices and Jamie work with Trevor throughout the past few months while he recovered from his injury. That is nothing compared to what she’s watching right now.

Vegas gets on the board first with two seconds left in the first period, and the fans erupt around her and the other wives and girlfriends.

Then they score again with five minutes left in the second period.

Then they score again six minutes into the third period. It’s not looking very good for the Ducks at this point. (Y/N) finds herself frowning because she knows that they wanted to be a better team this season.

About thirty seconds later, the Ducks get themselves on the board with a goal from Mason. Their little group celebrates the goal.

(Y/N) knows that Jamie had the puck before Mason put it in the net. His first point in over a year in his first game back from injury. It causes her to scream a little louder in celebration. Her mouth hurts from smiling. She swears the smile doesn’t drop until the final horn blares through the arena, signaling a 4-1 Vegas win.

Not the best first game, but it’s only game one of 82.

After the game, (Y/N) finds her way down to the locker room where the Ducks are. She leans against the wall right outside and waits.

She can hear Greg Cronin on the other side of the door talking to his team about the game. She didn’t think they did terrible, but they’re in there getting lectured like they gave up ten goals.

Yeah, Jamie might be really excited to see (Y/N) when he leaves the locker room. Especially after getting a long lecture from his coach.

He played a good game, and she’s proud of him. She’s happy that she decided to hop on a plane and come out to Vegas to watch Jamie play. She’ll be even happier when he comes out of that locker room in a little bit.

Cronin leaves the room with a heavy sigh and doesn’t even acknowledge (Y/N) standing in the hallway. She doesn’t even care.

A few minutes after Cronin leaves, Trevor sticks his head out into the hallway. “He’ll be right out,” he tells her. “He’s hitting the showers really quick before he leaves. I don’t think he’s in a good mood but when he sees you, that’ll change.”

She nods and Trevor disappears back into the room.

Just to mess with Jamie a bit, she takes a picture on her Instagram story of the giant Vegas logo and geotags T-Mobile Arena. Jamie has her notifications on so he’ll see that as soon as he checks his phone.

Ten minutes pass and (Y/N) is getting antsy. She knows that he doesn’t take very long showers so he’ll be coming out of that locker room any minute.

Several Ducks leave and greet her as they pass while she waits for Jamie. Troy pops his head back into the locker room when he sees her and says, “Hey, Jimmy. Someone’s here to see you.”

“Who?”

“You’ll see.”

(Y/N) shoots Troy a smile as he walks down the hall to get on the bus.

The door opens and a very confused Jamie Drysdale walks out of the locker room. His eyes land on (Y/N) and he runs up to her. She smiles as Jamie hugs her around her torso and lifts her off her feet.

She giggles and wraps herself around Jamie. Her legs are around his waist and her arms are around his neck. He buries his face into her neck and she puts her nose in his wet hair.

“When did you-”

“Earlier today,” she says into his hair. “Worked with Z to make sure you didn’t see me when I got in. When I saw you were playing Vegas in your first regular season game back after injury, I had to come out and watch.”

Jamie sets her down but doesn’t let her go. She looks up at him and he looks genuinely surprised to see her. Good to know Trevor didn’t blab and ruin the surprise.

“I can’t believe you’re here in Vegas,” Jamie breathes out. “You saw my assist in person?”

She smiles and nods. “I saw your assist in person,” she replies. “I’m very proud of you, Jamie baby. First point in a while. I told you that you had nothing to freak out about. You’re a talented player. I had no doubt that you would be amazing tonight. Maybe even pick up a point or two.”

The smile that Jamie gives her makes her heart flutter. This is the smile she has missed and wanted to see after this game ended no matter the result.

Jamie pulls her against him by her waist and presses a feather soft kiss against her lips. “All I could think about after that assist was how I wish you were here to see it,” he admits to her. “You were actually here to see it.”

“Mhm,” she hums. “I made the right choice. I’ve really missed you. I wanted to surprise you today.”

“Consider me surprised.”

She gets on her toes and instigates a deeper, more frantic kiss when she presses her lips to his. She kisses him the way she’s wanted to kiss him in the three weeks since they last saw each other.

Her fingers curl into the hair on the back of his neck, not caring that it’s wet. Jamie has a grip of his jersey on her waist that’s keeping her from going anywhere. As if she would go anywhere right now.

This is where she wants to be. She doesn’t want to go anywhere else.

“Ew, can’t the two of you wait until we’re back at the hotel to suck faces?” Trevor voice asks. It pulls them apart. “You’re away from each other for a few weeks and all of a sudden you’re both a fan of PDA. It’s gross.”

Jamie turns his head and (Y/N) looks over his shoulder to see both Trevor and Mason standing in front of the locker room door. “It’s not my fault you have no one to suck faces with, Z,” Jamie retorts. “Imagine being across the country from your girlfriend then tell me you wouldn’t suddenly be a fan of PDA.”

She buries her face in Jamie’s shoulder to hide a smile. Trevor rolls his eyes and says, “You’re sleeping in her room tonight. I am not giving up ours.”

“Don’t worry,” Jamie says. “I was already planning on it.” He turns his attention back to (Y/N). “I wouldn’t want my teammates to hear the things that I’m going to do to (Y/N) tonight.”

Yeah, sneaking into Vegas was the best idea she’s ever had.

༺═──────────────═༻

MASTERLIST | part two

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[wheeloftimecentral]

JOSHA STRADOWSKI as RAND AL'THOR in 2.08: what was meant to be

[hq-screencaps]

The Wheel of Time 2.08 What Was Meant to Be ↳ 3,694 1080p logofree screencaps

[riordanness]

i’m not a rini shipper (i love ricky’s love for nini but not them as a couple iyk what i mean) but watching the breakup scene in 2.08 makes me fucking BAWL my eyes out.

the way ricky refuses to cry because he just wants to be able to comfort nini. the way he’s willing to do anything for this girl. the way they both have realised that they aren’t meant for each other anymore. the memories they both share. the way ricky finally lets himself break down in big red’s arms.

i fucking can’t

[roadandruingame]

RaR Musings #20.1: Reworking Proficiency

So, in the Add-Up-And-Divide system, you'd roll (attribute)d10 + (Proficiency1+Proficiency2)xSpecialization. The Xd10 represented high, but random, influence, whereas proficiency and specialization represented flat, and guaranteed influence. But, as we've covered before, that's a lot of math, and dice rolling, to do often, and ends up not being a lot of fun.

The new Outcome dice system says "Roll a d10, that's 50% Fail, 50% Win. Getting +/-1 from threshold makes it close, and gives you a bonus/additional cost, while getting +/-5 from threshold gives a significant failure, or significant success. Proficiency slides the threshold down, increasing the Win window, while situational penalties and requirements Increase The Difficulty, widening the Fail window."

The new Exertion system from Musings #20 also recovers an amount of points on every 10 spent whenever you take a moment to breathe and walk off the activity you were doing, based on your proficiency.

But, jackofal characters who have a ton of Proficiency1 skills only recover 2 points on the 10. It feels bad, and while it lets you make more tactical plays using the guaranteed numbers, it's too low to feel good, but high proficiency is too high to make sense too.

Since character attributes have shifted away from being a high-but-random influence, to "+/- 1 for every point your character's attribute exceeds/fails to meet the required amount" (aka, a flat but guaranteed influence), maybe proficiency should trade places with it, and become the high-but-random influence?

It sounds counterintuitive. Already, feedback is that proficiency should be a consistent and guaranteed reward, not random, but there are some things we can do about it.

Roll a die for your proficiency: Prof1 is a d4, Prof2 is a d6, Prof3 is a d8, Prof4 is a d10, Prof5 is a d12.

If two active proficiencies apply, roll for each, and take the higher.

If specialized, roll double for each die, and take the single higher.

This means that instead of Prof1 = 1, Prof1 = 1-4. Prof1+Prof1 = 2d4, take the highest, which is a 62% chance of a 3 or 4, instead of 2. Instead of Prof5+Prof5=10, it's 2d12.

If Prof1 has a 25% chance of earning a 1 and 2Prof1 has a 6.25% chance of earning a 1, that's a massive 75-93.75% buff to jackovals. Comparatively, 2Prof5 only has a 43.75% chance of getting a 10 or higher. That said, 2Prof5 only has a 1.38% chance of earning a 1, down from 8.3%, and even Prof5+Prof1 drops that 8.3% down to 2.08%. So, even though randomizing proficiency sounds worse, it's actually a massive increase for non-specialists.

__________

As a quick aside, a cursed idea: What if you rolled EVERY proficiency stage. Prof5 isn't just 1d12, it's also 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, and 1d4, and take the highest. It's actually very good for insulating you against poor rolls, and rolling two of every one of those for 2Prof5 is insane, but it significantly increases the likelihood that you actually collect a value representative of your skill.

Specialization would be even more insane, doubling all those dice again.

I'll try to playtest this with some groups, but I can't imagine that it'll be very popular.

But, when applied to the idea of the Exertion pool, it's actually not bad. Even 2Prof1 gives you a solid chance of 3-4 refund on Breather, up from 2, but I wonder if anything below 5 points refund is considered a waste.

It might also be the issue is how many Exertion points you actually get. 30 points means you can only Exert three times before you're out, and if you only refund 5 points each time, that's only 15 back. That's an exertion down to 5, Breather back to 10, and exert down to 0, and you're done for the next (checks watch) 36 hours. Jesus.

So maybe I double back? Maybe Exertion IS the sum of your Physical stats? Or maybe 30x your Endurance instead of 10?

This system was mostly meant to be the default state without any skills or other modifiers in play. What if, earning a Physical-based skill, gave you an additional +1x multiplier? So Endurance 3 x10 would be 30, but if you earn a Physical skill, that's x11, up to 33? Being a warrior who picks 5 Physical skills would be x15, so up to 45, and they would recover ~26 points resting per day instead of 21. Ten physical skills would be x20, so 60 Exertion. What would happen if it was Physical-Sum, having a baseline ~7, or 70 points? Five physical skills would be x15, or 105, ten physical skills would be 140. At minimum, Physical3, you're looking at 3x10, and at maximum, Physical15, you're looking at 15x10. But with those kinds of numbers, what do you even need to exert yourself for? Almost everything should be a cakewalk, being a dragon maybe? What value would rerolling the Outcome die even give you at that point? Would even moving be considered a tiring activity?

Rewind a little. What if, Endurance scaling, but +10x multiplier? Endurance 3x10 30 would become Endurance 3x20 60 with just one physical skill. Bad idea. What about a +5x multiplier? 3x10 30 would become 3x15, 45, with one physical skill. Five physical skills would be 3x35, 105, and ten physical skills would be 3x60, 180. That also sounds high, that's superhero shit.

So, work reverse: What number DOESN'T sound high? How many times should a normal person, and a hero, be able to exert themselves before a Breather is necessary, and what amount of effort is required before you're feeling the effects the next day?

Should negative amounts of exertion be possible? Spirit Points work that way, for now, where a character can have 3SP, 0, -3, -6, -9, -12, and -15, with a penalty at each stage. It suffers from the same issue as what the exertion system used to do, where having a permanent penalty isn't really fun, but SP recovers quickly and can only dip into negatives via supernatural means, so it's probably fine.

Rewind again. What if repeated exertion cost escalating amounts? 10 first, but then 20, and 30, etc, until you stop? It helps chew through resources faster, that's for sure, and is another layer of why a non-martial character can't hold a candle to a true athlete. The bigger the pool gets though, the more numbers you have to add up when taking a breather. If a breather is meant to take a round though, it gives you something to do? Your turn isn't 'wasted', you're doing something, even if it's book keeping.

If that's the case, maybe a +2x multiplier. 3x10 30 becomes x12 36, x14 42, x16 48, whereas 2x10 is 20, x12 24, x14 28. Actually, that sounds low, I don't think I was accounting for how explosive having higher Endurance actually is. Maybe a physical skill just, gives you +10 exertion pool? Gain a skill, earn the resource to cast the skill an extra time, learn more skills to cast any of those skills an extra time. Mana and Spirit could probably benefit from this too. Even if you're not planning on using that skill, it represents bonus stats.

But maybe +10 is too high. A lvl 5 martial character can know 5-10 skills, that'd be 5-10 extra exertions, which feels like a lot. Getting +5 per skill means you have to actually pursue physical skills for the extra exertion. Alongside class features that can grant bonus exertion, that might be more reasonable. It's gonna rely heavily on how much you get back from proficiency during a breather, though. See the randomizer statisics.

As per usual, I'm gonna have to test it in action. It's... not easier, exactly, but it is a positive system rather than a negative one, so that makes it easier to remember and more fun to engage with. We'll have to see.

[kit-middleton]

I was watching Teen Wolf episode 2.08 last night and… did I miss when Derek became on first-name basis with Chris?

I will also have thoughts on Gerard Argent (who I’m still calling Colonel Tigh because fuck I hate that name… Gerard) and his Shakespeare references.

I had been thinking of Peter and Derek as Claudius and Hamlet (my head canon is that Claudius and Hamlet were close and Hamlet Sr was a bit cold and distant, so Claudius’ betrayal would be extra hard to take), then Gerard casts himself as “poisoned king to Chris’s Hamlet” and I’m like… what? What does he mean? He’s either:

1. Hamlet Sr, in which case he’s already dead. I wish! (Not that that’s less trouble on this show.)

2. Claudius, which would be the poisoning king, not poisoned king and in that case I’m on board, kill him Chris! But then that would mean Chris is his stepson? Which means the dead biodad is likely to pop up and be even more troublesome so… no thank you.

Please don’t quote Shakespeare if you don’t know what you’re doing.

(Okay, fuck it, we’re doing this now!)

The Romeo and Juliet references are wrong too! The whole point of R&J is that they’re “two houses, both alike in dignity” and that the reasons for the feud are lost to time. They’re meant to be the same! So the whole werewolf and hunter thing does not fit. Especially when one side has very legitimate reasons for their hatred and the other side is just racist or speciesist. Ugh.

I don’t even remember what their Othello references were about, just that it was dumb and didn’t work!

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

What If...? 2.08:

I finally get an interaction between Scott and Peggy and it's about eclairs. This isn't what I meant by "crumbs," but okay, I'll take it.

Loki's gushing about Iago was glorious and absolutely 100% true.

[casualavocados]

#5-min diy crafts to avoid touching an evil possessive dagger by mat cauthon

THE WHEEL OF TIME 2.08 | What Was Meant To Be

[insomniactalks]

I’m finally on my summer break (at least till the end of August, when I’ll start classes again) so I’ve got plenty of free time to express my thoughts on the show, starting with this post! The thing I wanna talk specifically about is the very end of the episode (3.01). 

I will not deny that this scene deff looks like foreshadowing for the rest of Portwell’s journey in S3:

First things first, how cute was Ricky in this scene? He rushes to camp to spend the rest of his summer with his friends after his breakup with Lily. And the way he says these two lines? So adorable! 

Given the framing here, and the fact EJ talks about how “nothing is gonna ruin our perfect summer t/g” then shortly after, Ricky enters the scene and stands in the middle of the shot deff makes it seem like Portwell’s perfect summer just might be ruined. I know how it looks. But I just don’t think that’s gonna be Ricky’s intention, nor do I think he’ll completely ruin EJ and Gina’s summer (tho he may temporarily.) I wanna point s/t out before talking more about this moment. We have to keep in mind the scene that immediately precedes the scene above:  

EJ was just handed a shit ton of responsibility for the rest of his summer by Dewey. He’s been promising his girlfriend and the rest of the Wildcats the best/greatest summer ever b/c that was always his intention and he really meant it. EJ had no plans to be the director for a high-stakes musical and take on the role of someone who was doing it for 40 plus yrs. He just wanted to spend a fun-filled summer making memories with his friends and girlfriend, before life threw him for a loop. It’s implied in 3.01 that EJ convinced the Wildcats to go to Camp Shallow Lake by making them promises on what to expect (which he fully meant at the time until the moment above happens). EJ even tries to reason with Dewey on why he shouldn’t direct the musical (I mean, look at the poor boy’s face!) He desperately wants to get outta this situation he’s found himself in to no avail. Dewey’ gotta pin this responsibility on someone, and EJ just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Not only is EJ a counselor-in-training, which comes with its own set of responsibilities, he now has to shoulder the task of directing Frozen the musical and prove s/t to himself, Dewey, Corbin, his father (Cash), the rest of the campers, and even Disney Plus. All he wanted to do was make this the best summer ever, and now he has to juggle a lot of tasks all at once. This show probably has to be perfect or the best so that EJ can prove to everyone he could do it. That he’s not a failure at this. There may not be time for mistakes or slacking off, which brings me to my next point.

I know the first gif looks like the start of the EJ/Gina/Ricky love triangle for the season, but you have to keep in mind what leads Ricky to camp in the first place. He just broke up with Lily, the person he chose to spend his summer with instead of his friends b/c he thought that would make him “feel free.” Obviously Ricky realizes the error in his ways and rushes off to Camp Shallow Lake to be with the Wildcats. He sings this in “Finally Free” (which is such a good song btw. Been stuck in my head the whole week!):

Ricky really wants a fresh start so that he can feel free, finally. And he states the way for this to happen is to “break away” from the “broken hearts.” Last summer, he broke up with Nini b/c of the relationship drama b/t his parents. Then, he admits to talking to some girls over that time, even if he was talking about Nini to them (1.01 I think?). Nini makes her boundaries clear in 1.04 (I believe), then Ricky has an interest in Gina (1.05-1.07). By the end of S1, he and Nini are back t/g, until they break up in 2.08, and a few weeks later, maybe over a month or so, he calls up Lily by the end of S2. He goes into the summer with a new girlfriend, who ends up betraying him. For 2 seasons straight, Ricky’s dealt with a ton of relationship drama in regards to his own romantic relationships and his parents’ deteriorating one. For the rest of his summer, Ricky wants desperately to “break away from the broken hearts” cuz he’s done with all that drama in his life. He wants to finally feel free and more like himself (outside of his romantic relationships). Which is why his two lines at the end of 3.01 are so telling (and just overall adorable!): he’s seeking comfort in his friends, even if he’s in an unfamiliar environment. Ricky is fresh off a break up with Lily and he decides to drive to camp. Unlike in S1, when Ricky auditions in the first place for Nini, to prove to her he’s not over their relationship, Ricky drives to camp for himself, not for anyone else. It’d be one thing if he showed up to camp for Gina, which would heavily imply the love triangle aspect, but that’s not his intention. He rushes into the scene and says, “Do you have room for one more?” pauses then “Group hug?” Both statements imply the 3 of them having to work t/g as a team this season more than ever. The boy wants to get away from all the girl/relationship drama in his life. It just doesn’t make sense for Ricky to be a part of someone else’s relationship drama now. I’m not saying he won’t play a part in the bumpy road ahead of EJ and Gina this season, I just think it’ll be completely unintentional and accidental. Why escape his own relationship drama this summer to now join in on someone else’s? I don’t think Ricky wants any part in that (he just wants to spend time with his friends, it seems.) He rushes into camp, stumbles across the first 2 ppl he sees, which happen to be fellow Wildcats, and poses 2 adorable questions to them: “Do you have room for one more?” and “Group hug? cuz he’s just happy to see them and be there with the rest of his friends. That just might be his best shot at feeling free, which is what Ricky is after. I love that he poses these questions to both EJ and Gina, cuz he’s happy (and slightly nervous) to see the both of them. He had been spending most of his time with Lily, so seeing some familiar faces was probably comforting for him.    

Breakin' away from the broken hearts

No more mistakes, no more empty starts

I'm finally, finally free, finally, finally 

Last point, I think EJ’s issue with Ricky this season may have more to do with Ricky’s reliability as a performer, not so much Ricky and Gina’s friendship. I’m not saying Gicky spending time t/g won’t play a part, I just think EJ being the director for this musical that has a lot riding on it may fear Ricky won’t be up to the task as a lead. EJ was present for both of Ricky’s auditions in S1 and S2, so he knows that process doesn’t always go well for him. Ricky showed improvement when he finished the whole musical in S2, but EJ and the rest of the Wildcats had to help him along. With Val casting the show, maybe EJ feels a little uneasy with not only Gina and Ricky playing romantic leads, but also with Ricky as the lead in a musical EJ has to direct. The show has to go on without a hitch, and if Ricky doesn’t take it as seriously as the rest of the cast, EJ may take issue with that. Ricky wants a summer of fun which might just clash with EJ’s need to make the musical perfect. If Ricky goofs off too much, or doesn’t take rehearsals seriously/ try hard enough, EJ might feel frustrated with that, with him. That’s where EJ 1.0 might make an appearance, until EJ is reminded of what’s really important (literally like Mitchie and Troy in Camp Rock 2 and HSM2). Remember how their friends reminded them of what’s really important about their summers? Even tho Mitchie and Troy (and EJ!) lost their way for a minute there? Yeah, I see the vision... Totally fine if you disagree with my take on where the season is headed. These are just my thoughts given each of their character arcs and the storytelling aspects of the show.

[behindfairytales]

ROSAMUND PIKE as Moiraine Damodred The Wheel of Time, What Was Meant to Be (2.08)

[anthony-sharma]

Six of Crows Reread - Ch. 17

Chapter 17: Jesper

_

“Jesper prowled the deck, climbed the rigging, tried to get the crew to play cards with him, cleaned his guns. He missed land and good food and better lager. He missed the city. If he’d wanted wide open spaces and silence, he would have stayed on the frontier and become the farmer his father had hoped for. There was little to do on the ship but study the layout of the Ice Court, listen to Matthias grumbling, and annoy Wylan, who could always be found labouring over his attempts to reconstruct the possible mechanisms of the ringwall gates.

Kaz had been impressed with the sketches.

“You think like a lockpick,” he’d told Wylan.”

For Kaz to hand out compliments like that (even as strange as his compliments are) Wylan must really be remarkable. Of course, Wylan doesn’t take his compliment as a compliment (because it is no compliment to be considered to have a criminal mind, but...)

“And you don’t belong here, either.”

“I beg your pardon, merchling?”

“We don’t need a sharpshooter for Kaz’s plan, so what’s your job – other than stalking around making everyone antsy?”

He shrugged. “Kaz trusts me.”

Wylan snorted and picked up his pen. “Sure about that?”

I like it that even though Wylan is usually more quiet and peaceful than Jesper, especially when it comes to externalizing his thoughts, he’s also not over standing up for himself and putting people “in his place” so to speak. Jesper, up until this point, has being annoying Wylan so much, that it’s nice to see the roles reversed a little bit here. 

“Every crew member called greetings and well wishes, and Jesper could sense Inej perking up with every cheer of “The Wraith returns!” Even Matthias gave her an awkward bow and said, “I understand you’re the reason we made it out of the harbour alive.”

“I suspect there were a lot of reasons,” said Inej.

“I’m a reason,” Jesper offered helpfully.

Yeah, well, Jesper was also the reason they were ambushed in the first place, but anyway...That’ll come to light later on. 

“When they reached the foredeck, Inej leaned on the railing and looked out at the horizon. “Did he come to see me at all?”

Jesper knew she meant Kaz. “Every day.”

Inej turned her dark eyes on him, then shook her head. “You can’t read people, and you can’t bluff.”

Jesper sighed. He hated disappointing anyone. “No,” he admitted.”

This is so Anthony/Kate coded! Like she basically asks the same thing at the end of episode 2.08 of Bridgerton, when she asks if Anthony’s been there to see her and they answer no and she looks so dissapointed, but it ended up being that he didn’t see her because he couldn’t bear the thought of her not waking up and that was basically Kaz’s thought process in this same scene. If they end up including this part in the future SoC spinoff, I wonder if anyone will make a gifset paralleling these two scenes. 

“I don’t think he did. Van Eck writes to Wylan every week, and Wylan doesn’t even open the letters.”

“What do they say?”

Inej leaned back carefully on the railing. “You’re assuming I read them.”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course I did.” Then she frowned, remembering. “They just said the same thing again and again: If you’re reading this, then you know how much I wish to have you home. Or I pray that you read these words and think of all you’ve left behind. ”

I remember reading this part for the first time and thinking how decent Van Eck seemed to be when it came to his son, given that he was writing him letters that Wylan simply refused to read. However, reading it again, knowing why Van Eck was doing it just seems like a slap in the face. “If you’re reading this, then you know how much I wish to have you home” But since he’s not reading it because he can’t read, he’s basically saying that he doesn’t wish to have him home and reinforces how much of a douchebag he is. 

“So what are we doing here?”

Jesper turned back to the sea, feeling his cheeks heat. “Hoping for honey, I guess. And praying not to get stung.”

Inej bumped her shoulder against his. “Then at least we’re both the same kind of stupid.”

I love these little moments when they both bond on how they wished Kaz could show a little bit more appreciation for them, but doesn’t. 

Next up, we see how Kaz was been faring with Inej being up and about and refusing to approach him (and vice versa).

[amchara]

Hiya! I saw some posts about Shadow and Bone on your page and I just finished S02E03, and wanted to talk about it, so here I am annoying you 😁

I just don’t get the “Alina has to pretend to marry a prince to get support”. I know it’s to create some angst between her and Mal, but it completely turned me off watching any further. So I guess my question is, is it worth continuing to watch? Am I missing another decent reason why that storyline had to be there? 🤔

Hey! No problem at all. I am definitely happy to chat Shadow and Bone.

You know what- I always knew that I was going to continue to watch Shadow and Bone but I'll admit that it was at the exact same point- 2.03, where I was like... eh, this is dragging a bit.

In my opinion, it gets better as you go through the season and builds to a very exciting and captivating conclusion. But I do think there are highpoints in the season depending which characters/storylines you prefer.

For eps 2.04-2.06 there's more of a focus on the Crows (Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan and Nina), with a couple satisfying scenes as well in 2.08.

If you're more into the Alina, Mal, Nikolai, Darkling characters, I think 2.06-2.08 is really where their storyline shines, particularly 2.07-2.08. I am not the biggest Alina and Mal book fan (though it has been years since I read their books) but I really enjoyed seeing their story come to life onscreen.

Now, to address the 'pretend to marry the prince for support'.

Dude- honestly don't even worry about it. Yes, there are a few pining looks but they're never sustained and that er- love triangle (if it can be even called that) never really develops further, though there are some unrequited feelings on the part of one party. I don't want to say more because spoilers- but feel free to message me and I can spoil the whole thing.

Spoiler-free: I came out of the season shipping more Nikolai/Mal and Nikolai/Alina/Mal, because there are so few feelings of jealousy and there is mutual respect and friendship between all three that I think you'll be fine if you're looking to avoid relationship angst there.

As to why they went down that route... I think two reasons, one- it was in the original books (though that storyline is- er, you probably wouldn't be a fan) and two- it's meant to contrast Nikolai with the other royals in his family, to show that he considers Grisha to be people and not just tools in their army. The fact that he would form an alliance with Alina helps support that.

Whew- sorry for the essay! I would encourage you to keep watching the season but obviously up to you- but if you do, definitely come back and tell me your impressions.