#they should put disclaimers in the beginning of episodes like that because-

[visualtaehyun]

Pronouns, curses, and cake crimes 🍰

Finally here with the in-depth version of my rambles plain reactions from the other day. Title brought to you by @jeffsatyr cause I love that turn of phrase in his post here so much!

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏 color-coding characters again: Mut, Rak, Prin, Meena

Rak's lovely relatives

คุณเพิ่งด่าไอ้เด็กเหี้ยนั่นว่า เอาเวลาว่างไปหาอะไรใส่หัว ดีกว่าเสือกเรื่องของคนอื่น ผมไม่อยากเป็นคนเหี้ยครับ /khun pheerng daa ai dek hiia nan waa ao wehlaa waang bpai haa a rai sai hua dee gwaa seuuak reuuang khaawng khohn euun. pom mai yaak bpen khohn hiia khrap/ = You just told off that nasty brat, that [she should] use her free time to find and put something in her head instead of prying into other people's business. I don't want to be someone nasty.

My translation is probably too mild but I wanted to highlight these two aspects: 1) He continues to call her a child (เด็ก /dek/), even though Rak told him last episode that Prin is older than Mut lol and 2) he uses the same curse word twice (เหี้ย /hiia/), once to describe her despicable behavior and then to distance himself from it - and hilariously ends that statement with a polite ครับ /khrap/! -> เหี้ย /hiia/ is used as a curse word but originally refers to a type of lizard

แมงดา /maaeng daa/ = can mean pimp or (male) prostitute or gigolo; lit. a horseshoe crab

It comes from how male horseshoe crabs will cling onto a female's back during mating season, taking advantage of its mate, and is therefore used to disparage men who benefit off of women financially.

Pronouns galore!

Connor and Rak use ฉัน /chan/ and นาย /naai/ in both directions -

Kom uses ผม /pom/ and apparently just คอนเนอร์ /Connor/ -> polite formal 1st pers. pronoun as Kom is younger but he seems to call his older boyfriend just by name which could indicate familiarity, equal standing in their relationship, or maybe it's just because Connor is a foreigner and thus prefers having his name used??

with Rak, Kom uses ผม /pom/ and พี่รัก /phi Rak/ -> polite yet familiar

Mut and Kom use กู /guu/ and มึง /meung/ in both directions, same as Vi and Rak -> rude, familiar pronouns; they're around the same age and have been friends for ages

Mut calls the girls คุณ(ไข่)มุก /khun (Khai)Mook/ and พี่วี /phi Vi/ -> really shows the difference in closeness!

Special interlude

I've seen enough people talk about this inspired subbing choice here to figure it might be interesting to read about:

โคตรพ่อโคตรแม่รู้สึกดีเลย /khoht por khoht mae ruu seuk dee loei/ = It feels fanfuckingtastically good [...]

-> โคตร /khoht/ refers to one's ancestors or lineage but is used as a vulgar intensifier. Adding พ่อ /por/ = father, and แม่ /mae/ = mother, onto that just makes it stronger by swearing on both sides of the family tree I guess lol (A translation in the same vein might then yield you something like 'It feels so motherfucking good' but I love what MMY's translator went with!)

Rak's actually-lovely relative

ตาเค้าเอง /dtaa khao eng/

-> เค้า /khao/ is a cute informal 1st pers. pronoun, her friend Ing-Ing uses it as well For context, it's most often used in Thai QL by 1) characters who wanna be cutesy with their partner, like Sun once or twice in 23.5 or Tan, consistently lol, in We Are, or 2) by characters who are sweet and cute to begin with (mostly women tbh). Anueng in Blank or Pleng and Wan in the upcoming GL Affair also come to mind.

ว่าไง สาวน้อยของน้า /waa ngai, saao noi khaawng naa/

-> น้า /naa/ = uncle or aunt, specifically the mother's younger sibling 'Uncle' only shows up in the subs here but he always uses it as a 1st pers. pronoun with Meena. Also spot the sweet and soft tone he uses here with his niece uwu

แต่น้ารักห้ามเอาน้ารักตอนที่น้ารักอายุ 13 มาเทียบกับมีนาตอนนี้ /dtaae naa Rak haam ao naa Rak dtaawn thee naa Rak aayu 13 maa thiiap gap Meena dtaawn nee/

For her age, she is quite perceptive and clever and it seems her mom and/or uncle (and maybe grandma too?) made sure she understands the full scope of their family drama. Nina, the actress, is a few years younger than that and looks it too tbh so I'm glad she mentions Meena's age for us. She calls herself by name and him uncle Rak น้ารัก /naa Rak/ which, adorably, sounds close to น่ารัก /naa rak/ = cute/lovable, there's a difference in tone though!

พี่จะทำให้เขา ต้องรัก พี่ /phi ja tham hai khao 'dtaawng rak' phi/

-> ต้องรัก /dtaawng rak/ = must/have to love; Tongrak's name He's said this several times in previous episodes but it specifically threw me back to this scene from ep. 3 🥺

คนอย่างผม ใครจะไปกล้าขอคุณต้องรัก /khohn yaang pom, khrai ja bpai glaa khaaw khun dtaawng rak/ = Someone like me, who would dare to ask Khun Tongrak (/you). ...which could also be read as: = Someone like me, who would dare ask you to have to love [me?].

The word she uses is หน้าด้าน /naa daan/ = boldfaced, shameless, which is surprisingly rude lmaooo

The พี่ /phi/ came and went and now she addresses him exactly the same way as her uncle Rak - น้าหมุด /naa Mut/ hehe

Oh and hey, here's a crazy thought-- Mut and Meena have about the same age gap as Mut and Rak, he might even be closer in age to her than to Rak! In the novel, Rak is 30 going on 31 and judging by Kom being 19 in Love Sand, Mut can't be much older than 20, maybe early 20s.

Submission

วันนี้คุณว่าง่ายกว่าปกตินะ /wan nee, khun waa ngaai gwaa bohk-ga-dti na/ = Today you're more docile than usual.

-> ว่าง่าย /waa ngaai/ = docile, obedient, submissive, compliant, to listen If you've seen more than one Thai drama, I expect you've encountered the word ดื้อ /deuu/ before which is most often subbed as 'stubborn' but can mean 'to not listen, disobedient, obstinate, defiant, resistant' so this word here is just about the opposite of it!

อยากทำก็ทำ ผมเป็นของคุณอยู่แล้ว /yaak tham gaaw tham. pom bpen khaawng khun yuu laaeo/ = [If you] want to do it then do it. I'm all yours.

-> อยู่แล้ว /yuu laaeo/ at the end there can express certainty or completion so this could also be translated as 'I'm already yours' if that makes any difference to anyone but me lol

[cvetok1105]

My personal Weatherman – Taikan Yohou

The main characters – Segasaki and Yoh.

I'll disclaim in advance that there will be no plot in this dorama, but that is the beauty of it.

Segasaki is a weather presenter and Yoh draws eromanga. They met at university and fate has brought them together ever since.

Yoh has no money to pay the rent, so Sagasaki offers him a place to live together, but in return Yoh has to agree to everything they ask him to do.

For me personally, it's a little bit of a red flag (Segasaki can easily forbid Yoh to meet his friend in a cafe, and Yoh just has to accept it). I'll be honest, this relationship is weird, and in real life Segasaki is the kind of guy who should be fucked off, not even his godlike beauty could save him.

As I mentioned before, the eight episodes revolve around the relationship between the two main characters, we are included in all of Yoh's thoughts the whole time, the narration is almost all from his point of view.

Nevertheless, their chemistry is visible even to the naked eye, which is not surprising: the first thing they did when they moved in together was hook up. There is a peculiar problem built around this too, as Segasaki decided that they would only have sex before sunny days. Why?

It's a question that everyone was curious about, and the answer is pretty prosaic. Everything revolves around the weather (it's not for nothing that one of the main characters is a meteorologist).

– Hey. Why can’t we do it when it rains?

– Huh? Because you said so. When you first moved here and we did it. 

– Huh?

– So you won’t have trouble with laundry. 

I think I've rewatched it about eight times. It's hard for me to explain, but I was touched by literally every action, every look, every touch and misunderstanding.

Of course, Yoh had no idea that he was not just a servant to Segasaki, but the most precious person to him. And Segasaki is not good at using words, which is why we were stuck in the same place for a very long time.

But every interaction they had, the painfully ridiculous date, the dialogues - it all made my heart ache. It clearly states in black and white: Yoh fell first, but Segasaki fell harder.

Fanfact: when rewatching, I decided to start not from the beginning, but from the middle (first from the fifth series to the eighth, and then from the first to the fifth). And I was right! Exactly in the middle we start to be shown flashbacks of the characters' meeting, to which very nice and interesting references were made in the first episodes. Of course, when watching them for the first time, it is easy to just not notice them. So my idea was not as stupid as I thought at first.

– Put this in some Tupperware. I’ll eat it all. You’d better not eat any. This is mine.

I’m the only one who has to know that this carry tastes bad. He did the best to make it. That made me happy. That fact is all I need. 

I'm very sensitive to this work, it deservedly became one of my favourites, because despite the simplicity of the plot, the characters are incredibly natural and beautiful in their "ordinaryness".

Yoh is a master of making things up (just like me), Segasaki is a expert at hiding his feelings and thoughts, he is sure that everything is clear to everyone (I can see your thoughts in the subtitles, you idiot. But Yoh can't read minds). As a result, Yoh didn't know they were dating for quite a while, when for Segasaki their relationship was obvious.

There aren't many characters in this dorama, but there's no need for them. We do fine with two goofballs who can't figure out the nature of their feelings until the last minute, while being stubbornly jealous of each other.

[nerves-nebula]

Hello. I have never seen an "teenage mutant ninja turtles" show, comic, or movie. The characters however, appeal to me. If any one show or movie would suffice, where should I begin? Other sources have not been helpful.

OHHH GODDD OK WELL. OK SO. the thing is that different iterations are SO different i'm not entirely convinced that comparing them to each other is very ?? helpful?? a lot of people these days get into tmnt through the 2018 animated show Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles. HOWEVER, that show only has like 2 seasons and is not the end all be all of the tmnt universe.

it's kind of hard for me to advise you to watch or read any one specific piece of tmnt media to get into it, because I kind of just already knew about it the entire time growing up?? like i never really actively watched it but i was generally aware of the concept for my entire life.

and i'm not sure exactly ABOUT the tmnt characters interests you, so i wouldn't know where to point you.

with all that as a disclaimer here's some of the more popular film/tv shows (I'm about as lost as you when it comes to the comics to be honest)

ROTTMNT/rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. it's the newest series as far as i know and it has fantastic animation. it's very funny and lighthearted most of the time and the boys even get magic powers (eventually) it's the one that really got me into tmnt. this one kind of switches around the roles of the characters. Usually you'll see Raph being depicted as the rash one, or the one with anger issues who strikes out on his own (and i still think thats true to an extent in rottmnt) but he, as well as Leo, are definitely portrayed in a different way than normal in rottmnt. which i like tbh it's fun. (i could write a whole essay about how their characters are different but also kind of the same in rottmnt vs other media but that would take all day)

TMNT 2012 series. The 2012 series is very influential as well, and heavily beloved by many. I haven't seen all of it yet, but it's biggest drawbacks (to me at least) is its very 2010's american childrens show style of comedy which can come off as uncomfortably cruel/annoying if you aren't ok with it. it's also an early years CGI animated show, so sometimes things don't look as good as they could. STILL it's definitely interesting and i like the dynamics between the brothers there so I'd give it a chance.

TMNT 2003 series. honestly i havent heard a lot about this one, but i really like the style and ive watched a few episodes of it, and it's definitely solid, sorry i can't say much more than that.

TMNT 1987 series. also can't say much about this one but it is hella goofy from what i've watched of it. it's also the original cartoon series i believe, airing as a sort of "saturday morning cartoon" situation.

TMNT 1990 movie. this one is part of a trilogy of tmnt movies, but i've only seen the first and a half movies. I really enjoyed the first one, it was a fun time and kind of campy, and the guy who plays casey jones is cute. this one is live action and the turtle costumes can look off putting to some people, but personally i liked them.

im sure people in the replies/reblogs of this post will add their opinions too haha

[robin-writes-and-such]

Update on my crisis about the Magicians- this is going to be a rant

(SOME POSITIVES SOME NEGATIVES)

I just finished season five

What the fuck

What the fuck was that

SPOILERS BELOW CUT

Disclaimer this is all just my opinion, no hard feelings to anyone who thinks differently.

Im sorry but first and foremost- the Charlton Eliot pairing. The ONLY reason they were put together is to have Eliot be with someone emotionally available. To have a happy ending. Except ZERO CHEMISTRY. AT ALL. This is partially because I’m a die hard Queliot supporter, but STILL

Part of this as well is that I watched the whole show in just a few days, so the whiplash of Eliot and Q’s entire arc DEFINITELY has not worn off

Also on the subject of Eliot, WHY CAN HE NOT HAVE ANYTHING. They literally took all of his friends away LAST MINUTE. I thought he would have a complete arc, where he begins to learn to love himself through his friends and slowly starts to heal and all of this would lead to a beautiful conclusion but NO???? SERIOUSLY? They just- man I’m so upset.

It’s clear that I’m a big Eliot fan here, but I also have opinions on non Eliot related things

Such as

Penny and Julia

I understand the alternate timeline stuff but- it really doesn’t make sense. It felt so instant and forced, as well as the whole pregnancy thing? I don’t know I just found it strange.

I knew already that I probably wouldn’t be too fond of the final season, considering one of my two favourite characters was- well, dead and gone- but I didn’t expect to be this angry about the conclusion

THAT SAID

I would love to hear positive opinions on the fifth season from anyone who has them

I will start

Eliot and Alice coming to terms with Q’s death was beautiful, I think both journeys were portrayed very well.

The musical heist episode was great, so was the apocalypse time loop episode.

Eliot being able to talk to Charlton in his head as a kind of conscience was very interesting and I enjoyed the dynamic- NOT AS ROMANTIC INTERESTS but I digress

I think Kady growing into her own was a very good arc, well executed and enjoyable.

I really liked the elaboration on Fen as a character, and having Josh not just be a random party guy.

WITH THAT SAID I will begin rewatching it promptly so this will definitely not be the last magicians post on this blog- at this point should I just make a side blog for this..?

Thank you for reading or skimming my rant 🙏

[ryosei-hime]

Moxxie’s Abused Body Language

Obligatory disclaimer: This is my interpretation of the subject at hand. Nothing I say within should be taken as an attempt to state what is and is not canon. If your views or interpretation differ, this is not an attack on you personally or those who interpret things differently from me.  

So, with that out of the way, this post’s focus is primarily on Moxxie’s character and how the Spindlehorse crew managed to convey a lot about his childhood abuse through the use of body language in season 2, episode 3.

It’s very easy to see that Moxxie begins to show signs of fear from the moment he realizes where they are. He becomes physically and vocally distressed to the point that he actively fights getting out of the helicopter before Blitz pushes him out. He’s literally shaking here.

Even Millie’s presence isn’t comforting him. In fact, he becomes even more nervous when Crimson takes her hand and watches them very carefully. He knows what Crim is capable of and he knows he won’t hesitate to hurt Millie. Neither being a woman nor technically family is enough to stop him.

A lot of Moxxie’s body language during the introduction of Crim is very obvious. He hunches a lot. He has a lot of darting eyes and fiddling motions. He becomes quieter and more withdrawn than usual. He’s noticeably uncomfortable the entire time.

Even Blitz picks up on it. Once they’re inside, he’s much more subdued than usual throughout the rest of the night and seems to be focusing on assessing the situation. 

And, of course, you can see that Millie knows something is wrong from all this as well. She’s in tune with her husband’s feelings. In the scene where Blitz and Crim are talking, Millie’s eyes follow Moxxie’s as they dart, looking where he’s looking to track the source of his distress.

Anyone who has been raised in an abusive home recognizes certain tones when used by their abusers. We can hear that tone when Crim says “Moxxie, I raised you better than that.” This is a warning tone. This is a threat to get back in line and know your place before they put you in it. Moxxie obeys this underlying command quickly, habitually falling back into appeasing his abuser to avoid his wrath.

I believe he does this not only due to his own trauma reaction but also in an attempt to keep Millie and Blitz safe. If he sets off his father, he knows both of them would come to his defense and that could lead to them facing the same fate as his mother. I personally believe Moxxie is well aware that her attempts to help him as a child resulted in her murder, and he would do anything to avoid the same fate for Millie. 

However, we all have our limits, things we can’t help but stand up for even in the face of abuse. You can see that Moxxie cares a lot about his identity as a bisexual because he actually speaks up against his father’s past treatment of his relationship with Chaz despite the potential costs. He’s indignant that Crim would spend so long making him miserable for who he is only to turn around and pretend to accept queerness just for the sake of money when he wouldn’t make that effort for the sake of Moxxie himself. It’s clearly a very sore spot for him.

But the minute things turn to guilt tripping about abandoning the family, Moxxie sinks down into his seat in shame. Familial duty and obligation like this is something that’s hard to shake as a child of abuse. No matter how much you understand on a logical level that you don’t owe the people who hurt you just because they gave you life, it sticks with you. And when you add the mafia and its sense of duty on top of this, it’s gotta be staggering.

So, Moxxie is immediately obedient when Crim decides everyone will be sleeping there that night. He’s been successfully put back in his place with fear and guilt. Hoping that if he can just get through this ceremony without causing a stir, he can leave in peace and never be bothered again as he’s been promised. He’s so convinced he can give his father what he wants and make him go away, that he’s a little caught off guard when called back to continue the altercation. 

And then Crim hits him.

I want to take a moment to talk about the surprise on his face here. One might think this means that Moxxie wasn’t heavily physically abused as a child, because the blow surprised him. But I don’t believe that’s true. Even when you’ve become used to being hit, you still react to sudden strikes this way. Especially if your abuser is one that’s hard to read. Crim strikes me as the quiet until he’s not kind and it’s hard to predict when that kind of abuser will strike. It’s also likely been years since Moxxie has had to deal with anyone hitting him in a domestic situation. So, of course he’s shocked by the sudden blow. But we’ll come back to that.

Panic begins to set in as Moxxie realizes, as far as he’s concerned, he can’t possibly concede to his father’s demands to marry Chaz. An instinct to do whatever needs to be done to appease the abuser has kicked in. He wants to give Crim what he’s asking for but can’t. And he knows being his son doesn’t mean he’s safe from his wrath.

Again, even in this moment, he speaks up for his bisexuality. And this is obviously an old argument that’s just become tiring at this point for the both of them. They slog through it like a well worn groove. But Crim doesn’t have the patience to run that track for long right now because money’s on the line.

He’s not playing this game with Moxxie anymore and Moxxie will be made to know it. Crim reminds him what he’s capable of.

The first thing shown in the flashback sets up how Crim feels about Moxxie’s relationship with his mother. He thinks she’s making him weak by seeing to his needs (cutting his food) and not demanding he do things for himself. She’s actively standing in the way of him preparing Moxxie for the life he’s chosen for him.

In my opinion, he does think he’s doing what is best for Moxxie considering the world he’s growing up in and the path Crim has chosen for him. Abusive parents often do in these situations. Each time his mother stands in the way of preparing Moxxie for that life, Crim sees it as both a disobedience towards him (which is already unacceptable) and a hindrance to his progeny, a source of pride in his world. He can’t have a weak son or it’ll reflect poorly on him with his associates.

So, of course the only thing to be done to save his own pride and his son’s life as Crim has planned it, is to remove this obstacle and get back to teaching his son to man up and become what’s expected of him - which is, of course, to become a carbon copy of Crim. And I feel like their designs being so similar really helps to underscore this desire of Crim’s whether or not that was done intentionally. 

We see evidence of physical abuse toward his mother during the flashback. In my opinion, she’s likely protecting Moxxie from suffering it himself as mother’s can sometimes manage to do in these situations by taking on even more abuse of their own. So, it’s possible there was very little to no physical abuse for Moxxie until his mother was gone.

But it’s shown onscreen that Crim has no problem hitting Moxxie even as a child. As far as I’m concerned, this is when Moxxie’s physical abuse from his father likely starts in earnest. But Moxxie probably learns that as long as he obeys him, he can avoid this abuse. So, I believe he would have been able to decrease the amount of abuse he received in time by being more obedient. 

I wanna take an aside for a moment to back up - or maybe better to say go forward - to his past with Chaz. In that flashback, Moxxie is shown being painted nude and his body has no white marks. One might question whether or not he actually received physical abuse based on this fact but to me it has no bearing on the issue. 

For one, smart abusers often try to find ways to do so that don’t leave marks. And Crim is the head of a mafia family. If he were to go around openly beating his kid, it would reflect poorly on him. Not because anyone in the organization would care about the actual abuse. But because it would make him look brutish and stupid for allowing it to be seen by everyone. That sort of leader just doesn’t last long and can be a danger to the longevity of the organization itself.

For two, imps get white marks from more extreme injuries such as gunshot wounds and broken arms. It seems that the skin has to be broken or theoretically burned to leave an actual mark. At least from the evidence we’ve seen so far. 

Given these two points, whether or not Moxxie was physically abused doesn’t really hinge on how many white marks he has on his body as far as I’m concerned. We’ve seen plenty of imps take blunt force trauma that didn’t leave them covered in white. 

If I were to speculate on the trajectory of his experience with abuse overall, he likely received none to very little as a child before his mother’s death, a lot after her death with it decreasing as he learned to obey and avoid triggering his father, and barely any as a young adult. 

I believe that reaching that time of almost no instances of abuse once he’d become what his father wanted possibly left him a little more comfortable than he could have otherwise been during the first part of this episode.

And yes even with all the fear and nervousness that I’ve pointed out, I do think there was a sense of security in the possibility that he could appease Crim in the end. Now Crim is telling him in no uncertain terms that he will kill them all if he doesn’t get what he wants. 

He knows this isn’t an empty threat. Those who suffer abuse at the hands of their family know the difference between warnings and promises.

I don’t think I really need to go over this scene. Moxxie is disgusted as he should be.

But this whole circus clown of a come on, definitely leaves him worse off once Chaz is ejected. The terrible price he has to pay to protect his loved ones has been thrust into his face, as it were, immediately, giving him no time to process first. 

Once he does get some time alone to think about his situation, he has something of a breakthrough. I really appreciate the growl in this scene because I don’t think we very often hear Moxxie growl. We usually get hisses from him instead it seems. And I think it helps portray the depth of his anger over what his father is demanding of him.

As far as Moxxie knows, his father has promised that all he has to do is marry Chaz. He wasn’t told he had to stay. So it would be easy to just comply and leave. That’s the safe route. But doing so would, presumably, violate vows he’s made to Millie. It would compromise the integrity of his relationship with and devotion to her.

This is important enough to Moxxie to fight for. Scrolling through his pictures of Millie not only made this clear to him, but I think it also helped to remind him that he left once before. He can leave again. He doesn’t have to be pulled back into the life that he worked so hard to escape. He doesn’t have to compromise what he wants from life to appease his abuser anymore. 

This is a very brief moment but it’s also a very important and powerful one if you know what you’re looking at. It’s so, so easy for abusive family to cause regression when they manage to wiggle back into your life for one reason or another. Family reunions, funerals, weddings. They will take those moments to grab you by the ankles and start pulling you under again. 

And that’s when the consequences and stakes aren’t even this high. But Moxxie won’t let himself be dragged back down and I really appreciate they gave him that moment no matter how brief. 

And even though they don’t go through his thought process for you to see that, you hear it in his speech the next day when he stands up to his father. I honestly appreciate that Moxxie threatens Crim the way he does here. It not only shows he’s regained confidence in himself and his skills, but he’s also speaking Crim’s language now. He’s putting himself on equal footing with him, insinuating he’s as much of a threat as Crim is to Moxxie.

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of this moment: that having Moxxie zapped and forced into the wedding regardless makes his standing up to his father fall flat. And I would agree with that a little but for the fact that there’s still time to bring that confrontation back around to completion. As season two and Helluva Boss as a show is still ongoing, there are plenty of episodes left for Moxxie to follow through with his threats and support this breakthrough with actions. Crim is clearly coming back, after all.

I also think, however, that having that moment at all is still very important to character development. Simply because there was no physicality to back it up, doesn’t mean the emotional journey that led to it was entirely worthless. Moxxie still had very important character development here. When he left the first time, he simply disappeared and did not confront his father. But now he has. And that makes a big difference. 

When he returns to his life, it’ll be with a different mindset and a different kind of confidence. He’s no longer running from his father, hiding from his duties, or obscuring parts of himself from his loved ones. He’s truly stood up and taken his life fully into his hands. And now there are parts of himself he can share with Millie that he couldn’t before. This can only bring them closer and make their marriage more intimate.

In the same way, he now has a point of connection with Blitz over their daddy issues, which brings them closer to fulfilling that true friendship Truth Seekers hinted at. One step at a time, Moxxie and Blitz come closer to understanding one another.  

All in all, I loved this episode. It does a good job of handling the subject of abuse and associated tragic backstory without sensationalizing or downplaying it, both of which are extremely easy to do in a comedy-drama mash-up. But I personally feel like they managed to hit the sweet spot between the two.

[torashisama]

WoT 207 ''Daes Dae'mar'': A detailed theory-analysis

DISCLAIMER :

This explanation is a detailed one. It is a deep dive into the season taking into account the point of view of all the relevant protagonists and antagonists of the game of houses that took place in Cairhien before our eyes in S2E07.Therefore, It's seemingly endless. If you don't enjoy reading or simply does not want to take the time to read, listen and watch all of it. You can check the following links to find the initial (shorter and less detailed, also outdated but still relevant) version of this explanation:

FOREWORD :

Excuse any eye piercing mistakes I might make or clunky phrasings you might notice, I'm French and ADHD's a bitch.

I've seen a lot of confusion about how Lan figured out about Moiraine. So, I analysed his POV throughout the season and those of the relevant characters in all of this so that it's clear for everyone as understanding part 1 is the central and fundmental part of this theory. It would be best for everyone, if there was no confusion.

PS: THE SCENES ARE IN HYPERLINKS FORMS BECAUSE I CAN'T PUT MOST THAN 1 VID PER POST, also forget about the backlinks. I forgot that the url would change if I went back to the different scenes after posting so that it'll stay like this but they won't work. ( no even sure they'll be necessary, i added them in case it was, so it'ss not an issue)

Let's theorise now, shall we ?

Part 1. Lan's and other relevant characters point of views throughout the season

E01 : A taste of Solitude

Here, his point of view is not important as it's mostly about how the bond being severed for the last 6 months affected him. What we can still point out from this episode is that at the beginning, Moiraine finally understands what the broken piece of Cuendillar at the Eye of The World meant. She understand thanks to the poem that was written on the back of the one that Bayle had, that all this time Ishamael was freed not defeated.

And that, at the end, when she first tried to leave without Lan, they ended up getting hurt and almost dying then getting rescued from the Fades who were following Bayle Domon by Verin and Tomas. ( (educated guess thanks to E08)Lanfear used him to get to Mo trough the fades, Moiraine was supposed to die before she had the chance to intervene.)

E02 : Strangers and Friends

After the Fades attack, Moiraine and Lan have been healed.

She's cold and leaving for the "docks", Verin tells her that Adeleas and her will accompany her and suggests that she goes to the White Tower first. She agrees. Later, at night, seated around a campfire listening to Verin, Adeleas and Tomas reminisce about their youth, Lan and Moiraine gets to do the same and remembers the first time they met each other. Sometime after, it's time for them to say goodbye and go their separate ways. Lan, while Moiraine is distracted, searches her saddle in which he finds a worn out piece of paper that is laced into what appears to be a thin thread of leather, before he can take a look at it, Moiraine comes back and he hides his findings in his cloak. They talk.

"I should have sensed the Fades were coming. I should have… I'm sorry. "

"Do you know when I actually decided you'd be my Warder?"

[…]

"You'll go to the Tower and I'll continue alone."

[…]

"We didn't defeat the Dark One, we set his strongest lieutenant free. The Forsaken are 3000 years old. They're the strongest channelers that ever lived, and Ishamael may be waking the others. What they can do with the One Power make the Aes Sedai look like tavern magicians conjuring birds from their sleeves. I mean, he cut me off with a flick of his wrist."

"But it takes eight Aes Sedai to cut someone off. Alone, he couldn't, no matter how…"

"You have no conception of the power they wield. "

"Well, then tell me.You and I walk this path together. […]"

"We've never walked this path together. You've never seen the forest for the trees because I have never shown it to you."

"You can't push me away."

"Rand's alive."

"No. You said he was dead."

"You assumed."

[…]

"I took an oath to defend you. "

"And without the bond, you're unable to fulfil that oath."

"I'm still your Warder.""

"No, you failed me.""

[…]

"I am not letting you walk away from me again."

"I know. Alanna will see you to the Tower. I'll have her take your bond by force if I must."

Lan from his last conversation with Moiraine before Siuan, Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon becomes relevant factors learns that :

He had been chosen as her warder because she thought "he'll ultimately will be fine if I die"

She wants to leaves him behind again

They did not defeat the Dark One at the Eye but only made things worse by releasing his strongest lieutenant, a forsaken: Ishamael a.k.a Ishy.

Ishamael is most likely than not on a quest to release the other ones.

The forsaken are so much more stronger than the Aes Sedai that the difference is hilarious to think about.

Ishy apparently stilled her by himself.

Mo's betrayed his trust for the last 6 months by lying the Aes Sedai way ( purposefully misleading him) about Rand's death.

She thinks that he failed her and isn't her warder anymore.

She never thought of him as her equal.

She'd betray his trust again by letting Alanna take his bond by force (violate him) so that he'd let her leave alone on her suicide mission.

E03: What Might Be

This episode is unusable as Lan only appears as a part of Nynaeve's trial in the arches. However, we can still count the day or days passing in this episode to try and know how long it's been since Moiraine and Lan have been separated.

I've found that it's only been a day since they left each other by the end of episode 3.

E04: Daughter of the Night

When we first see Lan again since he's been forced to leave with Alanna, He's already been 2 days and 1 night away from Moiraine. This episode will be the 3rd day and 2nd night.

During the day, he's with Alanna and instead of heading straight back for the Tower they pay a visit to Alanna's family.

He eats with them ( lunch ) then he leaves the table to go take a piss, he expected Maksim or Ihvon as before but this time it's Alanna that came to see him. They talk.

[…]

"a warm memory. Something worth living for. And at that point… "

"So we're going to skip all of that.,I don't think you're gonna kill yourself. Your bond wasn't ripped from you. She took it. So have you decided what you're going to do now?"

"Have I worn out my welcome? "

"The three of us, we are going back to the Tower tomorrow. Will you come with us?"

[…]

"I wish you could've known Moiraine before. "

"Before what? "

"Something happened to her. About years ago now. A year or two before she bonded you. One day she was simply… changed. The way water becomes ice, and you look at it and wonder how it was ever water before. "

"Was she happier, then?"

"I don't know. I don't know if she's ever been happy. "

Later during the day, in the afternoon, he talks with Maksim.

[…]

"Moiraine has left the bond masked for… the last six months or so."

"I thought I was the only Warder who could go that long. When Alanna first bonded me, it was miserable for everyone. I didn't like having an audience in my head, and she didn't like the show. So, the three of us talked it through, and we decided that she would mask her bond with me. Except in battle. And bed."

"Does the Tower know about this? "

"Have you ever known a marriage that is exactly the same as another? I know the others will tell you…you can't go back to Moiraine. But I'm proof that you can. If you want to."

And finally, at night he talks with Ihvon.

[…]

"It's something she said. You keep saying it to yourself over and over. A thousand cuts for her one. People don't understand that we quiet ones… are quiet because the conversation's always… playing out in our own heads."

"She said that, all these years… Mm…she never considered me an equal. "

"Of course not. We are not their equals, Lan. We're not supposed to be. An Aes Sedai can… call down lightning, raise mountains. The rest of the world only sees their power. We see their weakness. We remind them that they are not gods."

"I wouldn't think that… Alanna needed a reminder."

"Yeah, well, she knows we want the same thing as her. "

"What's that? "

"The triumph of the Light over the Dark. And dessert after. "

"What about Moiraine? What does she want? "

"Maybe that's the problem. I don't think I know anymore. "

While they're talking, Maksim who was meditating with them but left them alone before they started talking, found the old and worn out piece of paper that Lan previously took from Moiraine. He shows it to Alanna, who reads it and immediately understand what it could mean about Lan and maybe Moiraine too. Is he a dark friend ? Are they dark friends ? Later during the night, while Lan is asleep, Ihvon joins them and they talk it out, outside the house, Ihvon then reads it and they figure out that it's a prophecy in the Old Tongue about a forsaken, specifically about the Daughter of the Night, Lanfear. They're not sure of what to think yet, but they now suspect Lan.

E05: Damane

In this episode we do not follow Lan, Alanna, Ihvon or Maksim. There's is no point of view for them while they're travelling together but we can add 2 nights and a day to the counter. It's been 4 days and 4 nights away from Moiraine and as many days and nights spent with Alanna and her warders for Lan. However, we do get Verin's point of view.

After just arriving at the Tower, she asked after Nynaeve and Egwene but it turned out that they were nowhere to be found. Not in their rooms, not doing chores or in class and somehow, it was the same for the Daughter-heir of Andor, Elayne. They seemed to have disappeared so she went to see Sheriam Sedai, the current Mistress of Novices to try and understand where they could have vanished.

[…]

"Why, Verin Sedai. I was unaware you'd be visiting us."

[…]

"Uh, what can I do for you, Sister?"

"I was hoping to have a word with two of the girls in your care, Egwene al'Vere and Nynaeve al'Meara. Do you know where I might find them?"

"Uh, they are likely busy doing their chores. "

"In fact, they aren't. Nor are they in their class, nor in their rooms. And, um, also the Daughter-Heir of Andor is nowhere to be found."

"Is it possible they may have left Tower grounds?"

"The Daughter-Heir? It's worth taking a look, don't you think? "

"Oh. Uh… Oh, goodness, yes. Here it is. A visit to Elayne's home in Caemlyn. The three were signed out just the other day."

"That seems worth remembering. "

"It is. I, um…I don't know how it slipped my mind, frankly."

"It's quite unusual".

"That it is."

[…]

"Oh, yeah, I have another question for you. I was in the library asking after a book, Meditations on the Kindling Flame? Oh, yes, I've been meaning to return it. It's in my room, actually. Do you need it? Just for a short passage on the Amyrlin Tetsuan, uh… if you could. "

Verin went to the library before going to Sheriam and asks Nomy and Yassica about the "new very powerful Novices".

We don't actually see this happening, but since she went to the tower knowing about Moiraine's adopted kids and particularly about Rand, she must have wanted to meet them as opposed to being able to meet the Dragon Reborn himself ( being bothered by her insatiable curiosity again). She learns that they are nowhere to be found, knowing what link they might have with the Dragon Reborn, she finds suspicious that just after Moiraine got attacked by 3 Fades and went looking for the Dragon Reborn, again, that her girls would appear to have left tower grounds with no one knowing about their departure. With these information in mind, before going to see Sheriam, she takes some precaution to ensure that she discovers the whole truth if for some reason Sheriam was not revealing it all. Knowing all of this, we can deduce that she had the following course of action:

Go to the Library and asks her fellow trusted brown sisters about the girls, after she tells her that it seems like they're not in the tower anymore, She asks them to help if she suspects that Sheriam, might not be telling her the whole truth during their talk.

ask about a book she borrowed and did not return yet, so that they can use it's mention as a signal and use it as a diversion (Meditation on the Kindling Flame).

Look for Ny, Eggy and Elayne

Ask and look around for them

Go to Sheriam and ask about the girls disappearance and determine whether it would be wise to use the backup plan.

Signal to Yassica that they're following the plan, that their conversation is coming to an end and that they'll soon get out of her study.

Distract Sheriam long enough so that Yassica retrieves all of the supposedly useful information.

Meet Yassica to talk about her findings.

Get the names of every Aes Sedai who left the tower in the last few days because it seems that a weave of compulsion was used on Sheriam (so Black Ajah).

Get the prophecies about the DR for Moiraine ? (not sure that she ever did)

Liandrin cross examination

Liandrin successfully fails

[…]

"I, um, I thought you were in Jurene hunting a young man suspected of channeling. "

"Luckily it was nothing."

"Hmm. "

"But… I did… bring back some white asparagus. If you'd like some. It's a delicacy from the village. You can only… "

"Procure them there and only at this time of year. "

"Yes."

[…]

"That's strange. Novices shouldn't be allowed to… "

"Well, they've, uh… they've gone to a name day ceremony in Caemlyn. "

"I'd heard on the road back that a royal envoy going to Caemlyn was attacked south of here. "

"By whom?"

"Uh, a soldier at the inn. He said it was… bandits or Whitecloaks. But if the girls were with them… Come, we must talk to the Keeper immediately. Those girls are worth more than gold itself. Hurry."

Even though her suspicions about Liandrin are at an all time high, I think that she did go with her to go "talk to the Keeper". It's the last time we see her before Cairhien.

E06: Eyes Without Pity

It's been 4 days and 4 nights, Moiraine got to Rand the night before and finally separated him from Lanfear. Defeated and her plans for the Dragon Reborn interrupted.

MOIRANE AND RAND

[…]

Lanfear: "But, if you actually want to work with me… I have one condition. "

Moiraine: "What did she say?"

"I have to go."

"Where? Did she tell you where… "

"No. Away from you. That was her condition. If she sees us together again, she'll kill you".

Lanfear, goes to Liandrin who she's been prying on in the World of Dreams. They talk.

[…]

"Ishamael said he'd freed you, but I…"

"Tell me, why do you work for him? For Ishamael? You hate men. With one exception, it seems."

[…]

"Men hurt us… betray us, and still, we love them. You swore your oaths to keep him alive, but this is not life. "

"I know. "

"He's holding you back. The last tie to the girl you used to be. The girl who was beaten and starved, and forced to marry before she bled. "

"I know. "

"And that's why I'm here, to do what you can't. A gift only one woman can give to another."

[…]

"You swore your oaths to the Dark, not to Ishamael. You cannot take them back. It's impossible. But there are many paths to walk through the night."

(optional but recommended) : Torashi's thoughts about Lanfear and Liandrin

Liandrin ends up switching sides at the end of this conversation. She will now aid Lanfear, not Ishy and Lanfear gives her the task of killing Moiraine (it's the 2nd assassination attempt). She needs to get rid of her but can't kill her herself because she wants Rand to trust her and believe in her and her cause.

Meanwhile, Moiraine is in Cairhien with Rand and at some point she attempts to write a letter in response to her "Dearest Siuan" to update her on the situation and finally tell her the truth about being stilled but she can't. At least, not yet. Only, she did not expect Lan to overtake her.

Lan's point of view (during night 4)

It's night, Lan, Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon are travelling. We don't know where exactly they're going but we can expect them to be going towards the Tower as it was what was planned. All this time spent with them, Lan has been pondering on the idea, that, maybe, Moiraine, really is not stilled but something else. He does not know what but he needs to at least dissipate his doubts. On the other side, Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon still suspects Lan of being a Dark Friend. During their trip, they purposefully choose to stop at a Forsaken temple to observe his behavior and judge him. Lan having these doubts in the back of his mind, wants to get to the Amyrlin seat, Siuan Sanche, who happens to be Moiraine's secret wife. He needs more information on the forsaken and needs to know where to find Siuan, so that she can help him dissipate his doubts ( he understands the old tongue- he understood what Ihvon meant by "Blood calls blood") and help him find how to help Moiraine.

Alanna : "Here's as good a place to stop as any. I'm dying for some tea."

Lan: "This is a temple to the Forsaken. Interesting choice."

Maksim: "Shelter's shelter. "

Lan: "We'll need the Amyrlin's permission for me to return to the Tower. Moiraine's banishment applies to me until our bond is formally removed from Tower records."

Alanna: "The Amyrlin won't be back for another few days yet. She's returning from a visit to Caemlyn."

Lan: "Forsaken. Do you believe they had powers the Aes Sedai have lost? Weaves this Age has forgotten?"

Ihvon: "They were the generals of the Dark One's army. The things they did, our Aes Sedai would never even consider."

Alanna: "What you're willing to do changes depending on what you're faced with."

[sometime later Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon are supposed to be distracted, having fun in their tent. Lan attempts to leave but they were watching him all along. He's cornerded by Ihvon and Maksim then trapped in the One Power by Alanna.]

Maksim : "It's rude to leave while your friends are sleeping."

Ihvon: "Ruder still to use your weapon against them."

Lan: "I don't want to fight you. "

Maksim: Rejection's a relatively new experience. You'll have to forgive me for asking, but… where are you going, old friend?

Lan : That is my business.

[…]

Alanna: "The Amyrlin did not banish you from Tar Valon. You know that. You wanted me to tell you where she is. Why?"

Lan: "I need to find her."

Alanna: "What do you want from Siuan Sanche ?"

Alanna: "You will tell us the truth, al'Lan Mandragoran. We will kill you were you stand if you don't."

Lan: "We found the Dragon Reborn."

[Lan goes to Siuan to tell her the truth about her wife, so that she can help him check whether he was right to doubt a forsaken's ability to still someone alone and help her.]

It's the last time we see them before the new day starts. They had all night to talk to each other, research (if needed) and come up with a plan.

DURING DAY 5

-MORNING

Lan is preventing Rand from leaving to go to Falme, alone, without Moiraine. He's accompanied by Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon.

Moiraine sends Jonas to give a letter to a trusted sister of hers of the Blue Ajah so that she can "get it where it needs to go" (To Siuan I suppose). She apologises to Barthy and he hugs her, they're interrupted by Anvaere.

"The Amyrlin Seat is here, in Cairhien, with 14 Aes Sedai, and she's demanded an audience with you."

Liandrin's in Cairhien, thanks to her, we know that Siuan summoned them without disclosing why.

"The last time the Amyrlin Seat called 14 sisters to meet with her in Cairhien, we installed a new king on the Sun Throne."

"Well, maybe this Amyrlin is a little more frivolous daughter."

"Hmm. "

"We'll have to wait and see."

In this part, we learned that :

Lan was suspicious from the moment that he learned how Moiraine got stilled by Ishy.

He doubted what his next step should be and thanks to Ihvon and Maksim, he knew that he had to get back and COULD go back to Moiraine.

He needed to get to Siuan before so that she could help him get back to Moraine and check whether he could have been right or not about her not being stilled.

He told Alanna about Rand and never disclosed that Moiraine could not channel or that Siuan and her were working together or that they are lovers.

He went to see Siuan, they talked and planned an intervention to save Moiraine from herself.

Lanfear used Domon to get to Moiraine trough the fades to kill her before she could do anything about Rand. (educated guess when informed by E08)

Lanfear rallied Liandrin to her cause and tasked her to take care of Moiraine for her. (educated guess when informed by E08)

Verin now knows about the dragon and is going to the Tower to look for prophecies about the dragon for Moiraine.

Verin suspected Liandrin of being Black Ajah and of being able to use the weave of compulsion and left with her to "go see the keeper"

Siuan, Lan, Alanna, Ihvon and Maksim went to Cairhien

Siuan summoned 14 Aes Sedai there but did not disclose the reason why and demanded an audience with Moiraine

Lan prevented Rand from leaving without Moiraine for Falme accompanied by Alanna, Ihvon and Maksim.

Part 2. Liuan : Their off screen talk

Thanks to part 1, we can be assured that Siuan was the one who showed up at Cairhien and not the Amyrlin Seat. It was about Moiraine not the mission or Rand. They were secondary motives and afterthoughts. All that mattered when she saw Lan, was Moiraine. It would have been five days since she answered to Moiraine from their previous letter and she still did not have an answer, so she was already worried. In E06, when Moiraine attempts to write to Siuan before Barthy interrups her. It either was the first letter from E01 or a follow up one that Siuan sent out of worry. Lan showing up alone, probably was horrifying. As for Lan, is sole purpose and worry from the night Moiraine got "stilled" and they lost their bond was to help Moiraine, support her, be close to her again. Basically as he said:

Moiraine: "I don't know what you think you'll gain from this."

Lan: "Hopefully, everything we've lost."

Now onto the talk.

credit: @aflawedfashion

What we can deduce from E07 and the previous episodes we just deep dived into is that Lan told her more than she had just been stilled. He confirms that he went to Siuan doubtful near the end of episode 7 when he says :

"It never made sense to me, Moiraine. What you're feeling? Ishamael didn't still you. Not even a Forsaken could do that alone. It is a shield that he's tied off, which means… "

scene

He just told her what he tried to say from E02 (except this time he knows what it is if not stilling and how to fix it), but she wouldn't listen to him.

scene

So, between Liuan this is what he must have said:

Siuan, At the eye of the world, Moiraine actually fought a forsaken, he was not defeated.

She was mistaken, a few days ago she realised that we released him. We were wrong, we,lost at the eye of the world.

She's lost her ability to touch the source but she said that Ishamael stilled her alone. I don't think she's been stilled, Verin Sedai said that most stilled women ended up dying and that her behavior was not aligning with what's usually expected. After she told me that he stilled her alone I strongly doubted that she really was, I thought maybe it was something else, I told her but she brushed me off. Are they really that strong ? Can a forsaken really still someone alone ?

She's been casting me out for the last six months so I only learned about all of it 4 nights ago when she left me behind to go find Rand. He wasn't with us, she let me assume he died and let him leave.

She forced me to stay back with Alanna Sedai and her warders by threatening me of letting her take my bond by force. They were to take me back to the tower but before Moiraine left me I took a poem she had in her saddle, it was about Lanfear. Ishamael released her, Alanna Sedai found it and cornered me earlier as I was trying to get to you to confront me about it. She wouldn't let me go, she thought that I was to harm you and a dark friend, she was ready to kill me so I had to tell her about the dragon reborn so that she'd let me go.

Lan told her and knew everything she needed to know to be able to help her wife as she's always been doing. Only, this time, Moiraine would have to stay out of the loop. She's emotionally unstable and is not in a place where she could allow herself to think of such a possibility anymore, giving her hope for no reason wouldn't make for anything good.

optional but recommended : Thoughts about why Liuan decided to keep Moiraine out of the loop

We now wonder, what did they plan ?

Part 3. Liuan : The Plan

Before diving into this part, we need to know what might have happened between them beside their talk.

What can we deduce happened ?

Lan tells her everything and Siuan comes up with the plan and tells him what he'll have to do and they'll obviously use Rand as a pretext (well, Siuan will).

(I used to think that she could have not know as soon as he'd tell her since Moiraine herself did not think that a Forsaken wouldn't be able to do that but after further research and taking into account the fact that Lan immediately suspected it and that Moiraine judgement was clouded by her emotions, I now think that Siuan knew as soon as he told her. Anyway, whether she needed to check or not they had their plan which was not about the dragon in case you forgot but about Moiraine.)

Now, onto the discussed plan:

Siuan explains :

Lan you'll :

Get the boy, try to make him understand that he'll be fine but do not tell him the truth, we can't trust that he won't talk to Moiraine or that nobody will spy on you. I'll meet him and try and do the same and use our meeting as my main motive for coming to Cairhien, also, we'll need him to unshield her as I can't see Saidin (men half of the One power).

You'll check with Logain to know if we were right about her being shielded, we have to be sure before attempting anything.

Check if she ever wanted to kill herself if you have the chance.

Everything may not go as planned so be ready not to reveal that there's more than me meeting the boy and follow along with whatever I do.

This is what you'll have to do to un-shield her if we were right

If we get attacked you'll take her there. This will be our escape route in case we ever need it.

As for Alanna and her warders they'll be on the look out.

Most importantly, keep her safe, be careful and stand by her.

Siuan

I'll

Summon 14 Aes sedais and take them with me to Cairhien since we have 2 Forsaken on the loose trying to get him, they'll be useful in case we get attacked.

Meet and talk to Moiraine and distract her from what you'll be doing.

Meet the boy and try to make him understand that i'm on his side.

Alanna, Maksim and Ihvon

Look out for the Forsaken

Alert

Backup

Goals

The goal is to help Moiraine and that is it, probably discuss their next course of action regarding the plan since she might be stilled (which she can do with no problem since she doesn't know for sure that she isn't). As i've stated before, Rand and the mission in this case were the after thoughts as it is Siuan that decided to go to Cairhien and not the Amyrlin Seat.

Moiraine: "Siuan said you were leaving. Where were you going? "

(While they're the same person, they are not the same characters, Siuan isn't the Amyrlin Seat and the Amyrlin Seat is not Siuan but only a part of her, I thought the show made it clear enough but I'm reminding you all again anyway as i've seen that a lot (even other theorist and siuaraine shippers) seems to think that Siuan really went to Cairhien to take Rand away from Mo, cage him and stuff as if they did not show us that it simply was not how it worked between them and that she simply was not her position at all. Most misunderstood and underappreciated character sincerely (those who voted Hopper, i'm looking at y'all). Anyway, SHE IS NOT THE AMYRLIN SEAT AND THE AMYRLIN SEAT IS NOT SIUAN BUT ONLY A PART OF HER.)

So, Siuan shielding and putting Rand in a cell was improvised as he was leaving without Moiraine knowing and she needed him to be around anyway.

Daes dae'Mar : The Game of Houses, Liuan's plan put into practice

House Sanche-Mandragoran

Siuaraine meeting in the Sun Palace

Goals :

Meet and talk to Moiraine and distract her from what Lan will be doing.

Use meeting Rand as her main motive for coming to Cairhien.

[MOIRAINE] Mother. [SIUAN] Leave us, Daughter. She's no threat to me. [LEANE] I'll be right outside, Mother. [SIUAN] Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you'd been stilled? Six months of letters, Moiraine. And not one word about this…this violation. [MOIRAINE] Well, what else did Lan tell you?

[MOIRAINE] That you threatened to let Alanna take his bond without his permission. You know he told her. That you found the Dragon. (half truth and deflection, she knew about the forsaken and talks about it later,)

[MOIRAINE] Why are you here, Siuan?

[SIUAN] I've let you carry this burden for years, love. You've given everything for it. From here on out, I row beside you. ( half truth, because she also was there to help Lan check her powers)

Moiraine: [SCOFFS] (not convinced)[gets hypnotised by Siuan's touch]

[SIUAN] It's time I met Rand al'Thor. (deflection)

scene

Lan takes Rand and prepare him to meet Siuan

Goals:

Prepare him to meet Siuan :

make him understand without telling him the truth that Siuan is on his side. Even though she's the Amyrlin. ( for the reason mentioned before but also, it's Cairhien)

[LAN] Tuck in your shirt. [RAND] What does the Amyrlin Seat want from me? Is this a trial? I saw what she did to the last man who called himself Dragon. (scared) [LAN] Is that why you ran from the Eye of the World? Why you hid here? (wonders why he left and questions if it was because he was afraid about sharing Logain's fate) [RAND] I left to protect the people I love. (angrily answers, offended by the assumption) [LAN] Don't be so selfish. You were born to protect this world. Every person in it. Not just the ones you love. (reminds him of his responsabilities as the Dragon Reborn)

Listen to me. The Amyrlin's a smart woman. She's a good woman. (reassures him about Siuan) And she comes from humbler beginnings than you. (she's not what she seems) [RAND] Does Moiraine know you're doing this? (asks about the only Aes Sedai he kind of trust) [LAN] There's one rule above all others for being a man. Whatever comes, you face it on your feet. ( ignores and teach him what his answer should be to the fear he's currently feeling)

Put this on. Give me your blade.

Heron Dips the Wing. You've been learning sword forms. (proud uncle moment) [RAND] I've learned a couple of things. [LAN] Keep the sword. (let him keep his sword as he is still stressed)

If the Amyrlin's afraid of you, it won't be for a sword. (build his confidence up)

If you're going to use one of the forms, use Cat Crosses the Courtyard, keep your back straight, every muscle loose. As if hung from a wire at the top of your head. (teaching moment)

Go. The Amyrlin waits.

scene

Siuan meets Rand while Mo'an are talking

[RAND] As you've summoned me, Mother, so I've come. I stand ready. [SIUAN] Do you now, boy? Lan has prepared you, I see. What else did he tell you? [RAND] That you aren't exactly what you seem. [SIUAN] Most people are not. In this world, it is wise to guard your truths, but not us. Not today. (she won't lie, since she can't but she's going to aes sedai her way out of his questions not to reveal blatlantly that she's on his side) I have questions for you. Answer truthfully.

[LATER]

[RAND] And then what? [SIUAN] You say you've been careful. How many times have you channeled? [RAND] Not many. Not deliberately. [SIUAN] You will continue to channel, as sure as roe makes fish. You can't help it. And if you don't learn to control it, you won't live long enough to go mad. (INFODUMP) [RAND] What kind of a choice is that? (when did she give him a choice exactly, please ?), (ignored question) Dying or going mad and killing everyone I love? (ignored) What if I'm tired of being a spoke in the Wheel? (acknowledged) [SIUAN] You're not a spoke, boy. You are the water that turns the Wheel itself or dashes it to pieces. (answers)

Do you know what Tower law says the Amyrlin must do if she finds the Dragon Reborn? (question and attemps at making him understand) [RAND] Gentle him? [SIUAN] Gentle him? No. How do you fight the Dark One without the One Power?

Some of my Red daughters would want that, I suppose, but… (beware of the reds basically) we are meant to cage you. (teaching, infodumping)

Keep you shielded, channeling only when we want, what we want. And when we go to fight the Last Battle, you will be the greatest weapon in our arsenal. But not our general.

This is not a conversation. (yes it is) You already made your decision. (indeed, 20 years ago dumbass) You made it before you ever met me. (how do you know? she made it looking in your other mom eyes the day you were born and ruined their retirement plans, BEHAVE RAND)

I won't live in your cage. (did she say SHE, would cage you or that the Amyrlin was MEANT to cage you ? she infodumped, you stupid boy)

(she had no other choice but to shield him as he was getting hostile, then Mother got mad, i can't blame her I would have too (actually I did), because how can you be so dense, mistaken and dumb, like why would you think you'd be able to do anything against the Amyrlin Seat, when you know nothing about channeling- je souffle (I sigh), je souffle, je souffle. Il fatigue(he tires).)

scene

Six months you've known what you are, and… you've learned nothing.

Six months! Huh?

She taught you nothing. (she's mad, and it takes a lot to get her to snap according to New spring so leave my girl alone, Mo took the decision alone, said nothing and did teach him nothing also from an objective stand point, she's not necessarily talking about chanelling. She's been over their whole discussion since he pulled a Nynaeve while asking about being tired of being a spoke or whatever )

A single Aes Sedai can handle you like baitfish. ( just an astute and accurate observation made with an iconic fish metaphor)

[SIGHS] (me too)

We would've been so much better off if you were a girl. (i'm sorry not sorry to the men who got butt hurt by this comment but she's right, had it been possible it would have been so much better and it's an objective truth, she basically stated a fact so get over it)

scene

Mo'an talk during Rand and Siuan are talking

Goals:

Check if she ever wanted to kill herself ( symptoms of stilling basically)

Do not to reveal that there's more than Siuan meeting Rand

[MOIRAINE] I don't know what you think you'll gain from this. [LAN] Hopefully, everything we've lost. [MOIRAINE] Leave. I have nothing to say to you. [LAN] I have a question for you. And I hope someday you'll forgive me for asking it. ( a single question huh ?)

After you were stilled by Ishamael, has there been a time… in all these months when you thought about ending it? [MOIRAINE] killing myself?

I read the Tower records. (keep that in mind,take a mental or physical note.) There have only been two women in history who were cut off who didn't. Most did it within the year. [MOIRAINE] No, I didn't. (Rand & Moiraine getting offended by Lan's perfectly reasonable and logical assumption)

Not for one second.

Because I know that protecting Rand, guiding him, that is the only thing that matters. More than me, more than you. More than anything. [LAN] That's what I thought. (happy Lan)

[MOIRAINE] And this whole thing you're doing with Siuan, it puts all of it… the Last Battle,the fate of the world… in jeopardy. (Yes, it's true but do I need to remind her "when have ever followed the rules?" or simply that these two never let her not take care of herself? WHY DID SHE EVEN EXPECT THEM TO CARE ABOUT THE WORLD IF SHE WASN'T FINE ? SUCH A DEPRESSED LOVABLE AND ANNOYING PUFFERFISH).

I apologise for my lack of professionalism,

It will definitely happen again though,you've been warned.

What isn't she telling me? (was not convinced by Siuan earlier, just hypnotised)

You have to trust someone at some point, Moiraine. You can't do this by yourself. You can't. And if it's not going to be me… then I thought it might at least be her. (deflect)

scene

Siuaraine, Mo'an, Liuan fight (+ red haired misbehaving toddler)

Goal:

distract Moiraine so that Lan can do his thing

improvised: shield rand and prevent him from leaving, as he's shown that he's ready to be hostile and harm, he's caged and to be kept shielded by Leane who knows nothing but that she has to shield him.

[SIUAN] Let them through. [MOIRAINE] Release him, Siuan. ( Mo, you don't even know what he did) Now. [SIUAN] No. We tried our way, Moiraine. -> true

And we nearly lost everything. -> true

The Tower's laws have stood for , 3000 years.-> infodumb

It's time we obeyed them. -> it was time from the moment they became accepted, it was already time in their hut when Moiraine was asking when did they EVER followed these rules. [LAN ] This is not what we agreed to. (true but he also remembered that bro was leaving alone when he found him and will stay quiet and follow along from now on)

[MOIRAINE] The Reds will gentle him.

[SIUAN] Not while I hold the Seat. -> true, even if she really wanted to follow the rules, she wouldn't let them.

[MOIRAINE] The Tower is filled with your enemies. -> true, she knows

You're this sure of your power? -> true, and siuan stays quiet because she can't Aes sedai her way out of this one

We each had a task, Siuan.

I was to find the Dragon Reborn. You were to get the Tower ready to support him. Or have you forgotten that day? -> something here snapped in her brain people, Moiraine angered her with this one and she loses her temper ( which is, AGAIN, hard to do according to New spring in case I needed to remind you)

[SIUAN]

Of course I have not forgotten.

But you were supposed to be with him, ready to shield him if he starts to go mad.

Yet here you are, stilled. (still isn't sure and it's what it appears to be so she can say it, and she is pissed)

You can't control him. -> true

You can't guide him. -> true

Can you imagine, Moiraine, if one of the Forsaken got their hands on him? (she gave herself away there, remember in the first meeting when I referenced this ? )

He's no more ready now than he was before you found him. -> true

You left the fate of the world to chance… -> true, she let him leave at the eye when she was not sure of what the fight they just "won" meant + she never told her that he left because she couldn't tell her why she let him leave and there was no other reason than she couldn't protect him anymore from the dark and himself and it was best if he laid low + it meant that telling, and admitting that she'd never touch the source again could be delayed

… for your pride. -> so yes but for those not agreeing with her statement there, we do not care, she just need to believe something to be able to say it. IT DOES NOT MATTER.

Tomorrow, when Queen Galldrian returns, we shall announce him as Dragon here in Cairhien… with Sisters by our side to show he is under our control. -> he's supposed to leave with Moiraine as soon as she's unshielded if they were right, no one knows about Rand but them and those who learned about it this season and it's one of the possible choice they could have made by actually having a conversation about what to do if Moiraine hadn't come in there after Lan told her to trust, ordering Siuan around, wanting to hear nothing else, when she didn't even know why he was shielded (he deserved the time out sincerely.)

Prepare him for what is to come.

I think she was saying this to both of them, and it had a double meaning.

Lan: Still on board, even though things got heated carry on with the plan, just lost my temper. ( would explain why the camera shows him and not Moiraine even though the whole conversation had been only between Siuaraine)

Mo and us: yeah i'm apparently ditching the plan we sacrificed 20 years for, and the one I came up with Lan, last night, without a discussion, just because i'm pissed after I told you her earlier that I was there to support you her. Yes, that is right, this is what is happening.

scene

Since there had been no objection, no attempt at bargaining or anything, just plain old silence. Siuan thought Moiraine had dropped the ball. She let her be, and Moiraine chose to stay with Rand. ( good because she'll still be distracted even though they're mad at each other right now) Had Moiraine been imprisoned too, she wouldn't have been allowed to be in the same cell, and Siuan would have disclosed that she had been stilled to Leane but she did not. Siuan trusted her, still, even though they just had a fight about their kid and knew that she had been Aes sedaying her way out of transparency for months. So,to her everything was mostly going according to plan but then Rand happened and introduced another player to the game that was currently unfolding before our innocent, untrained eyes and unaware minds.

House Lanfear- Al'Thor

Goals:

Get rid of Moiraine

Get Rand to Falme alone

[RAND] What is happening to me? [MOIRAINE] You've been shielded from the One Power. [RAND] Um… it feels… [MOIRAINE] As if you've lost everything you ever were and everything you could possibly be. Don't worry, it's temporary. She has to channel to keep the shield in place, but when it drops, you'll feel yourself again. [MOIRAINE] Siuan said you were leaving. (off-screen first meeting)

Where were you going? [RAND] Falme. Egwene is there. Ishamael has her. [MOIRAINE] Lanfear showed you this in the dream world? [RAND] I know they want me to go there. But why Falme, of all places? [MOIRAINE] The Dragon is supposed to proclaim himself there. "Bannered 'cross the sky in fire." [RAND] They want everyone to know who I am before they try to kill me. If they need me in Falme, then they certainly don't want me being held prisoner by the Amyrlin Seat.

He happened, and Moiraine broke Siuan's trust there once again by indulging in it.

As Justine Juel Gillmer( S1E06 and S2E07 writer) pointed out and explained : Moiraine feels like she lost Rand to Lanfear, operates without a clear path to follow for the first time and is all alone. She focuses only on Rand, nothing else matters (as i've pointed before myself too, during Mo'an's talk). (in the bonus)

So, she does nothing else than what she felt she could do : She stays by his side and tries to win him back. She says nothing,let him and indulges in his tendency to call on Lanfear (the dark) for help, thinking that she would be able to outsmart her even though she knows that she wouldn't have been able to see their interaction in the world of dreams, she trust Rand to give her all of the information that she'd need to know if something was wrong and Rand ends up asking Lanfear. A fair price to pay to gain some of his trust back: trusting each other and only one another and further harming the trust Lanfear made sure they would build while she was away and unaware. Without realising it, she built trust in one of her relationship, while harming one of hers too.

She breaks the trust that Siuan chose to still have in her, even though she knew that she was not in the right head space right now because of the shield, by actually trying to escape when she had dropped the ball earlier.

scene

Meanwhile, Liandrin is working on fulfilling the mission she has been given by Lanfear in episode 6. […]

[LIANDRIN] I remember her at that age. You have the look of her, you know. [BARTHANES] Why are you here, Aes Sedai? [LIANDRIN] To deliver an order. (from Lanfear) [BARTHY] What does our master ask of me? ( he assumed it was from Ishy or the DO) [LIANDRIN] Remove her from the board. [BARTHY] She is my aunt. [LIANDRIN] Exactly. Even she will be unprepared for this. Do it today. She's being held in a cell in the palace. (Lanfear or you got this one wrong Liandrin, she's in there voluntarily.)Oh. And if your mother suspects anything… take care of her, too.

scene

Meanwhile House Lanfear-Al'Thor,

[LANFEAR] You didn't even make it out of the city. ( she knew already) [RAND] I need your help. I'm in a cell in the Sun Palace. The Amyrlin's holding me. [LANFEAR] I know. [RAND] Can you get me out? [LANFEAR] Hmm. Isn't Moiraine with you? Surely she could do something. [RAND] Maybe she will. Maybe I won't need you. [LANFEAR] Oh, I do like it when you try to manipulate me. [RAND] Can you get me out or not, Lanfear?

scene

On the other side,

House Sanche-Mandragoran

Goals:

check with Logain to know if they were right about her being shielded, They have to be sure before attempting anything.

Alanna and her warders will be on the look out.

[ALANNA] Through there. What did he say? Does the Daughter of the Night walk in our world? [MAKSIM] Forsaken. Dragon Reborn. I miss the farm, Alanna. I even miss your cousins. [ALANNA] Come now. Did you expect we would fight the Last Battle against an army of kittens?

[LOGAIN] I would offer you a match, but.. stones is a gentleman's game. Tell your master that I'm still waiting for her to keep her promise. Or you can just run me through with your blade now, save her the trouble. [LAN] I can do better than that. You can see male weaves. What do you see when you look at Moiraine? [LOGAIN] A desperate, lonely woman who has given her life to a cause… beyond her understanding. [LAN] A half a year in an asylum, and you're a madman still. [LOGAIN] Madness is expecting a straight answer from the man you helped lock away. There are weaves on her. From a man. Thousands of strands pulled together, held in place, but nothing being channeled into them. [LAN] How is that possible? [LOGAIN] I don't know, it's just like…

scene

House Lanfear-Al'Thor

[PEOPLE SCREAMING IN BADASS LANFEAR ANNOUNCING HER ARRIVAL]

Meanwhile House Sanche- Mandragoran,

[ALANNA] There's a fIre. In the Foregate. [LOGAIN] The key. [LAN] You think I've forgotten what you did to Kerene and Stepin? You will get this key when they take you back to the White Tower. There are two Brown Sisters that are desperate to study a man who can channel.

[LAN] Go. (to Moiraine) [LANFEAR] 3000 years pass and I'm back to this.

scene

And another player comes in, unexpectedly,

House Damodred

Goals:

Save Moiraine

Save the name of House Damodred

Save herself

Get yourself absolutely adored by the Fandom in one action

[BARTHANES] You're sure my aunt's alone? [SERVANT] As you asked, my lord. And a sedative in her tea. She should be asleep already. [BARTHY]] Good. [SERVANT] Would you like me to open it, Your Grace? [ANVAERE] I didn't think you would do it. [BARTHY] Mother. No. No! No! No. [ANVAERE] Why? In Light's name, why? [BARTHANES] I did it for us. I did it for you, Mother. For our family name. Why do you think that we've risen so far so fast, Mother? I am to be king. And you would throw it all away for what? For-for her? Mother, Moiraine doesn't care about you. She trust no one. She cares about no one. She… She will leave this place, and she will not give us a second thought. [ANVAERE] I know. But there are two things my sister understands better than anyone. The difference between right and wrong, and how much harder it is sometimes to do what is right. [BARTHY] Mother. Mother, please. Mother, please. You can't tell the queen. You can't tell anybody. [BADASS, HEROIC ANVAERE] I already have. [CRYING BARTHY] Mother. Mother. Mother! No! Mother! Mother!

scene

House Lanfear-Al'thor

Goals:

release Rand while Lanfear's being the perfect diversion

give him the map leading to the Waygate.

[VERIN] The city's burning. The Amyrlin requires your strength to protect Cairhien. [LEANE] I've been told to watch the boy. [VERIN] This is an order, Leane Sedai. (from Liandrin or Lanfear?) I'll take his shield. [LEANE] Don't let her get close to you. (still doesn't know Mo is "stilled") [MOIRAINE] You are very clever with your words, Sister. (did not realise that she couldn't have known she'd need help) [VERIN] The Dragon Reborn. I'd say you've spent long enough in Cairhien, wouldn't you?

There's a Waygate hidden in the city. (how did she know she'd need to plan for this from the morning she arrived in Cairhien ? Lanfear or Liandrin but really just Lanfear has if not herself she'd give the order trough Liandrin) [MOIRAINE] That's just a rumor. [VERIN] With a grain of truth. An Ogier Stedding once stood in the inner city center. Cairhien families built right over it. Here. [VERIN] Where will you take him? [MOIRAINE] Falme. Toman Head. [VERIN] "Above Toman's Head shall he proclaim himself bannered 'cross the sky in fire." ( here's the reason you might be looking for if not for compulsion by Liandrin when she followed her to "go see the keeper") You plan to have him declare himself the Dragon Reborn. The Wheel weaves.

scene

House Sanche-Mandragoran

Goals:

If we get attacked you'll take her there. This will be our escape route in case we ever need it.

Alanna: Backup

[LAN] Good work. We'll take him from here to the Waygate. ( did not take the map or hear them speak, Verin and Thomas followed as he had the same destination than the one they had planned for Rand) Just make sure that we're not followed. [ALANNA] You're not alone in this any longer, Sister. But you need to hurry. This city is not safe. I hope you're worth this, boy. Light be with you. [LAN] Let's go.

sceane

Meanwhile, Siuan isn't worried about the dragon reborn being protected by a single abled Aes Sedai when she knows that it probably is one of the Forsaken, she carries out her duty as Aes Sedai and Amyrlin Seat with the utmost calm. She even seemed bored of it for a second. Then again, in the utmost calm and collected manner, she sees the only Aes Sedai supposed to be shielding the boy and doesn't pannick and order that they rush there and find him, NO, she calmly ask who's shielding her son and it's only when she hears Verin's name that she's not okay anymore, suddenly she needs time to process what she just heard and then leave in a rush.

[SIUAN] Link with me. [LEANE] I'm here, Mother. [SIUAN] Who's shielding the boy? [LEANE] Verin Sedai. You… you sent her. [SIUAN] Lead your Sisters and heal the injured. That boy must not leave the city. -> something is wrong I have enemies I did not expect and doubts to clear he mustn't leave before they are cleared. [EXHALES]

All the while, Lan is still oblivious that something is wrong and is just following the plan.

[LAN] It should be somewhere. There. (did not use the map) [MOIRAINE] You'll have to channel into it. Split it open with sheer force if you have to. [LAN] No, he won't. You're going to open it. [MOIRAINE] Just do it. [LAN] Look at Moiraine. With the Source. [MOIRAINE] Lan. [LAN] Not just your eyes. What do you see? [MOIRAINE] Don't. [RAND] It looks like a knot tied together. [MOIRAINE] That's im… It's impossible. (see, this woman really wouldn't allow herself to even think about it, Rand tells her he see them, yet she won't believe it)

[LAN INFODUMPING BECAUSE MOIRAINE IS STILL BEING STUBBORN ABOUT HER "STILLING"] There's a story from the Age of Legends about the Foresaken's powers… a skill that's been lost for thousands of years… to tie off weaves and leave them in place. It never made sense to me, Moiraine. (reminder that it is proof he went to Siuan with doubts about this) What you're feeling? Ishamael didn't still you. Not even a Forsaken could do that alone. It is a shield that he's tied off, which means…

[MOIRAINE] It can be removed. (finally) [LAN] Yes. [RAND] What do I need to do? [LAN] You don't have the skill to untie this knot. You'll have to cut it. [MOIRAINE] I trust you. [LAN] Go on. Cut through it. [MOIRAINE] I feel it. I feel it. Thank you. Thank you. [LAN] I am sorry it took me so long to do my duty.( it took you 4 day and nights but go off king)

scene

House Sanche-Madragoran + House Lanfear-Al'Thor

Siuan arrives, shields Rand as he was super dense and leave Lan alone.

[LAN] Stop! No!

Siuan yeets Lan to the side, she does not have the time to explains and maybe he lied to her too.

[SIUAN] Close the Waygate, Moiraine. Now. -> she needs a proof You lied to me about being stilled. -> the aes sedai way obvi

[MOIRAINE not suprised to see her as she knew they were hiding something from her, and she must have her coming with her Siuan tingle.] No. I cannot. -> ok cool you didn't but you know she doesn't literally mean lie -.- I've been more truthful with you than anyone else. -> this just means that she told her the truth more than to anyone else, not that she told her all of it. Moiraine speaking in codes is tiring sometimes.

[SIUAN reminds her, in an attempt to convice Moiraine to close the Waygate herself. ]

We failed, Moiraine. -> They did fail together At the Eye of the World, you failed. -> She did fail at the eye. The stakes are too high to fail again. -> stating facts

Close the Waygate. -> she asked

[MOIRAINE being the bratty bottom that she is] also where was she going ? SO dramatic i swear, she turns around and start walking to the Waygate as if Siuan was just going to unshield Rand and let her leave because she said no) No. [SIUAN] I don't want to force you.-> but I need and have to know.

You swore to obey me on the Oath Rod. An unbreakable oath, bound by the One Power. -> Moiraine knows , she knows she voices it because she doesn't want to have to use it, feels cornered and is trying to convince and brace herself for whatever will come of it if Moiraine ends up forcing her to use it. A real betrayal or she just violated her wife because of this damned Mission. Both, horrific for her.

Siuan… -> surely Moiraine understood after hearing this what was really going on for Siuan. She doesn't know if she can trust her anymore. For Siuan, surely Moiraine understood why she insisted so much and was ready to do what she never even though about as a possibility or as something that was anything but just wrong ( throwback to Lan's bond in the first suiaraine meeting)

Close it. -> this one feels like she's desperate at this point for her to close it there, not the same intonation at all, she's bracing herself for what is coming. No more feelings, no more asking, no more plea, no more bargaining, she has too know before it's too late, she orders. Even though, that's the intent she puts behind the intonation we can still see it on her face, hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes and in the way she moves.

[SOFTLY] Siuan… -> this one must have felt like a ruse, the same way Moiraine first rejected Siuan's touch because she knew what would happen. The facade would break into pieces and she'd give in. Here, Moiraine softly calling her name, almost like she's begging, after she's been warned, after her herself showed how much she just needed her to at least close it did not feel like something she could allow herself to hear so she cuts her off and the rest is history.

Moiraine Damodred… [MOIRAINE] No, if you have ever loved me, don't do this. [SIUAN] … I command you… … to close the Waygate.

House Lanfer-Al'Thor

[MOIRAINE surprised to even see Lanfear as she thought she escaped having to deal with her, when Verin freed her. I believe that she pieces things together here, not all of it but just enough to understand what she couldn't believe happened to her from Siuan, the last person she'd think would ever do this to her just the moment before she arrived, they did not talk but she understood]

Lanfear.

[LANFEAR LAUGHS]

[MOIRAINE] She's too strong, Siuan. Don't. No. [LANFEAR] I told you the next time I saw you two together, I'd kll her. [RAND] You're not going to touch her. Not if you want my help.

[LANFEAR] Every day you grow more like Lews.

Lucky for you, a broken Amyrlin is more useful to me than a dead one.

[SIUAN] Moiraine, please. (go)

[LAN] Moiraine, please. (come)

Highly recommend you watch this scene in particular

Conclusion

All along Daes Dae'Mar was being played, and we failed to realise that in the current game of the houses we were witnessing, there were 4 houses.

House Lanfear-Al'thor

Lanfear

Verin

Tomas

Rand

Liandrin

Barthanes

House Damodred

Moiraine

Anvaere Damodred (unknowingly)

Siuan

Lan

Alanna, Ihvon & Maksim

House Sanche-Mandragoran

Siuan

Lan

Moiraine Damodred (unknowingly)

Alanna, Ihvon & Maksim

House of The Dragon

Goals: different for each person but utltimately related the Dragon.

Rand Al'thor : leave Cairhien, to go to Falme to free Egwene

Moiraine Damodred : Help Rand, avoid Lanfear.

Siuan Sanche : Help Moiraine, Protect her and Rand from the Forsaken

Al'Lan Mandragoran : Help Moiraine, Protect her from the Forsaken and secondarily Rand.

Alanna Mosvani : Help the dragon reborn/ Moiraine

Ihvon : Help Alanna, the dragon reborn/Moiraine

Maksim : Help Alanna, the dragon reborn/Moiraine

Verin Mathwin : Help fulfill the prophecy

Tomas: Help and assist Verin

The Daugther of the night, Lanfear : Seperate Moiraine and Rand, Kill her, Get Rand to Falme

Liandrin Guirale : Kill Moiraine, Help Lanfear

Barthanes Damodred (unkowingly) : Help his house regain it's lost glory

4 houses playing against each other and for each other at the same time. What went wrong ? Everything. Who won ? No one. What was left of what was before ? Nothing.

I wanted to be a little dramatic. On a more serious note, they all lost and won something, except for Barthanes.So that is all.

To sum it all up, everything that went down with Siuan and Moiraine was genuine and real, Lan and her had a plan all along, everything was going fine until the other players of this game of houses started to place their pawns on the board to try and win the game. In the end, as they were all playing for each other and against each other at the same time no one really won.

On the first board,

Moiraine regained her powers, but still has to deal with Lanfear, Siuan is hurt and in a precarious position for both herself and their mission because she did not listen to Lan and trusted her.

Lan regained Moiraine's trust but Lanfear is still a threat and Siuan.

Rand is still manipulated and a pawn in someone else's game, no matter how much he thought he wasn't anymore because of Lanfear.

Siuan is heart broken that she had to do this to Moiraine, even though her plan still worked and Moiraine regained her powers which is a win but then again did she really win, when she's lying on the floor, hurt and surrounded by enemies, even in the tower, where she was supposed to be at her safest and strongest ?

Lanfear gets Rand but Moiraine isn't dead and she even have to deal with Lan now, as she said in E08, they're dead weight.

On the second board,

Liandrin being Black Ajah is known because of Elayne, Eggy and Nynaeve but now, even Anvaere.

Verin is black ajah and known ( or least suspected to be) because of Siuan (thanks to Leane), because she knows Verin couldn't have known about her plan to help Moiraine or known that she'd ever need to escape. Tomas goes with Verin.

Alanna and Maksim seems to have lost Ihvon.

Thank you for reading, answering the poll, carefully listening and watching. Leave a comment and tell me what you think about this theory-analysis of episode 7. I'd love to hear your opinions, answer your questions etc…

Well, it is finally over.

Onto the next one now,

Here..."Daes dae'Mar theory-analysis : What has been proved so far ?"

[crayolacolor]

simon infinitytrain?

send me a character and i'll list the below things about them | accepting!

HELLO ANON. i do not know if you'll ever see this because it took me ten years, but here i am, answering you.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT THEM:

fun fact: simon infinity train is the reason i have a disclaimer about me getting attached to tragic antagonists in my pinned post. so you can probably make an educated guess what i like about him.

he's just. such a well written character. i love how his negative character development was contrasted against grace's positive character development. i love how the writers did a really good job of making him infuriating and sympathetic at the same time.

i'll go more into my thoughts on him in a later section, but yeah, the tl:dr is he really just is my character type hahaha.

he's just a really complex character and imo the writers nailed that.

LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THEM:

okay well, this answer changes depending on if you mean from a writing perspective or a 'him as a person' perspective. from a writing perspective, 100/10, no notes. i can't think of anything i disliked.

from a PERSON perspective. episode 6 makes me want to murder this man <3 i want to put tape over his mouth every time he speaks in that episode. it's somehow WAY worse than when he's just straightup being an over-dramatic anime villain at the end of the season.

FAVORITE LINE:

oh there are many. i need to rewatch again. but the ones that live in my brain rent free are ALL after his downward spiral begins:

"teamwork begins with two people trusting eachother. but you? you're no person." dramatic effect. extremely traumatizing for everybody who's ever watched this show. 10/10

"i liked what we had, but you made me do it! you betrayed the apex. and you betrayed me." again, dramatic effect. really gives you a feel for what's going on in his head, i think. 10/10

"why would i ever want to change if i'm always right!?" iconic. i think this is the one people remember the most from him, along with the one from ep 5.

BROTP & OTP (combining because my answer is the same for both):

grace. lol. full stop. hopefully i don't have to explain that i am VERY AWARE that their relationship was unhealthy in many, MANY ways. that is what i like about it. i'm a huge fan of messy relationships in fiction. i am a self proclaimed angst fiend.

the tragedy of it all is 100% the appeal of it for me, from either a platonic OR romantic standpoint. i love that. and yes, i do ship them to an extent- but NOT in the "i think they should have gotten together in canon" way. again, the angst is the appeal!!

i admit i do also enjoy aus where they fix their relationship, but not INSTEAD of the canon, more so in ADDITION to the canon. i think it's a fun alternate route to explore, but i deeply adore what the infinity train writers did with them in the show and that will not be changing.

NOTP:

literally any of the protags from the previous seasons. y'all, simon and grace are 18. you can't be shipping them with the 13-14 year olds. please stop. (nobody here! i mostly see this on ao3, honestly.)

RANDOM HEADCANON:

i think simon has been back to the cat multiple times in secret.

i really like the theory that he got some of the apex's tech from her. the main thing i have to support this is this line from the episode where he returns to her cabin in book 3:

"i knew you'd have something. you always do."

particularly i think there's a good chance he got the unmodified gravity boots from her (and likely modified them himself) and possibly also the number tracker.

UNPOPULAR OPINION:

oh i'm sure a lot of what i've already said has been an unpopular opinion, haha. i'm one of those people that's so in the middle in a debate that both sides of it have reasons to disagree with me.

i really like simon. he and grace are my favorite characters in the show. there are parts where i feel really bad for him, and parts where i want to yell at him and hit him over the head with a very large stick.

i see his death as a tragedy in universe, but also a really good writing choice on the part of the infinity train crew.

i don't think they secretly had a scheme to make us dislike him. i think it was written in such a way that it makes sense that some people would have a viscerally negative reaction to him, and others wouldn't. he's a very complex character and that's good writing!!!

i think the tragedy was the point, which is something both people who like him and people who hate him seem to completely overlook in a lot of cases. it's either "woohoo! simon died!" or "killing simon was bad writing he should have been redeemed >:/" not "oh this is really sad but i love it from a story perspective."

i don't think he was "irredeemable", per-say. the fact is, he was faced with a pivotal choice in episode five, and he picked the wrong one. he chose to double-down. i love that. i really do. i love the downward spiral. it's painful in the best way. i would not change the canon show for the world. again, 100/10, no notes.

but i can also see a universe where he made the right choice. i was writing a fic about that, once. (which admittedly has some characterization issues which i would fix if i tried it again.) i think it was possible. and i think that's a fun route to explore too. not a better route from a writing standpoint, but a good one.

i have so many more thoughts but this has already gotten really long, and i have two more questions to go, lol. but if you want to hear anymore you're free to send me another ask about it!

but, for now, moving on.

SONG I ASSOCIATE WITH THEM:

someone else on tumblr pointed out that "the moon will sing" by the crane wives is a good fit for simon @ grace and now i can't unhear it.

and, finally, FAVORITE PICTURE OF THEM:

anime villain simon my beloved.

[azure-firecracker]

Hello! For your TXF ask game (great idea btw!), please may I ask the following:

N - Now you’ve been given a pen and a chance to write your own episode. Describe it!

I - If you could change one thing about the show, what would it be? Why would you change it, how would you make it better?

Thank you :)

Ooh two fun ones! Thank you! It got long so I put my answers under the cut lol.

The ask game is here.

N: Because I am never done fixing the Season 2 kidnapping ratio.

This episode takes place sometime between One Breath and Irresistible. Throughout the episode, the viewers can see Mulder’s apparent fear for Scully whenever danger arises, and he throws himself in front of her to the point of recklessness whenever danger appears. The terror that her abduction has left in him is very raw. Scully, in this episode, is more reserved (à la beginning of Irresistible).

A cult is targeting victims who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens. They’re found alive - for all intents and purposes - but they’ve simply ceased to function. Scully determines some fancy medical condition as the cause of death, but Mulder is convinced that it’s abduction-related. The more the investigation goes on, the more he becomes convinced that Scully is the next target.

At one point, they follow some trail of evidence and they find one of the cult members who begins doing some sort of magic ritual. Mulder panics and tries to get Scully out of there, but he ends up getting her hurt (nothing major) and the cult member escapes. Scully and Mulder fight about her needing protection or not and Mulder’s paranoia - stuff they never talked about but should have.

Scully, at this point, discovers that one of the victims was actually delusional and had never been abducted at all. She begins reviewing some medical files again and notices that parts of the prefrontal cortex of every victim has been damaged (magically but damaged). She puts it together and realizes that the common thread between the victims isn’t the abduction but their belief. She rushes off to find Mulder - but he’s gone! Because he ditched her and went off to find the cult by himself! Without realizing he was a target!

Anyway Mulder is doing a voiceover as he drives off to the middle of nowhere to find the cult and it’s all about how sorry he is for everything and how he doesn’t want to leave Scully but he can’t lose her again (think End Game email coded). BUT the cult does this spell thing to make his car drive off the bridge and they drag him (unconscious) out of the river.

(Did we really think I was writing this without a damsel in distress Mulder moment?)

Anyway Scully puts together the cult’s location somehow and goes after him. She gets to do a high-stakes negotiation with the cult leader when Mulder is literally about to be ritual sacrificed and they’re going to drain his life force out of him (scary!). By the way he’s conscious but very out of it. She convinces the cult leader to let him go but the rest of the cult goes bananas and she has to fight them. Slay.

Anyway she wins and then she kneels down, face full of worry, as he opens his eyes, and they don’t say anything but they do hug.

We get a post-climax resolution to their fight where Scully is playing doctor and they’re talking about protection again and Mulder says he never thought she couldn’t handle herself but he was scared of losing her again, and Scully says don’t you think I feel that way too when you do stupid stuff like this? Anyway it’s not completely resolved but it’s a heart to heart. There’s probably a forehead kiss in here too.

But the last shot of the episode is Mulder leaving the office and Scully, who has been very calm and collected, if defensive, this whole episode, starts shaking and sinks to the floor as one single tear slides down her face.

Fade to black.

Would you watch this episode? Let me know in the comments!

I: TBH the Season 2 kidnapping ratio is my answer for this but I’ll talk about something else.

Disclaimer: I talk about racism and cultural insensitivity in this section. I am white, half Jewish, American, and I know a little bit about folk music. Please listen to fans of color on this subject when they speak on it, with more weight and attention than you give me.

The cultural episodes. The episodes that center a non-white or “other” culture in some way, and are usually done with good intent but poorly executed. First of all, get some goddamn writers of color in the room. And second of all, don’t bite off more than you can chew. These are nuanced issues, yes, but you have 45 minutes. Pick an argument and stick to it.

Kaddish was the only episode that did this well in my opinion. The episode had very strong themes of antisemitism, and its message on antisemitism was clear - it’s bad. Plus, the score actually used accurate Yiddish music instead of that goddamn flute.

Burn the flute.

Episodes like Teliko, Hell Money, and El Mundo Gira all tried to make similar points about marginalized groups, but the execution fell short because the marginalized groups in question were both villains and victims. There’s nothing wrong with having that nuance, but 45 minutes of a tv show that’s mostly about campy sci fi adventures is not the place for it. The result of this dilemma is that it’s unclear whether these episodes are trying to make a political point or if they’re just being lowkey racist.

So. If you MUST do these “cultural episodes.”

Pick a simple message and stick to it. Immigrants are being abused and it’s bad. Racism is bad. Antisemitism is bad. Etc. Etc. Your writers room has shown that you do not have the capacity for anything more complex.

Do not make up folktales for the purposes of your story. Use real ones or have the villain be something else.

If you’re going to have characters speak in a non-English language, cast actors who are fluent in that language (looking at you El Mundo Gira).

And for fuck’s sake, actually research the traditional music of the cultures you’re talking about and get rid of that fucking flute.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[ace-sher-bi-john]

Highlights of Today's Episode (Basically John and Sherlock both being my patronus at the same time):

John putting less and less effort into his disclaimers.

"That would be fabby fab" - Dr Jonk Watson, 2024

Sherlock explaining linguistic concepts used in neurotypical conversations and John not even beginning to understand a word of what he said.

Jonk: This boat is awesome! We should live here!

Sherlock: I agree! *pumps out sewage*

"Ta"

John singing, forgetting he's recording a podcast "I'm living in a box. I'm living in a cardboard box" - My patronus, right there!

Oh hi oh!

Sherlock telling Mariana that John wishes to "present her as his sexual partner" so they can participate in swinger culture.

"This episode better make sense! You better not be making this up!" - Poor Mariana thrown in the deep end with zero context

"Can I just climb aboard please Mr. Murderer?"

"It's my birthday!" "What are you? Twelve?" "Just do it!"

"World class wife! Worldy. 10/10 wife, would recommend to a friend!"

Sherlock constantly bringing up his birthday like he's Rapunzel. "Also it's my birthday... Just so you know :)"

Sherlock and John having really soothing voices, as usual. If I was trying to sleep (it's 12:42am est as I am writing this), their voices could lull you to sleep. Very calming!

Sherlock getting a birthday party and completing the mission in record time because of course he does! Sherlock is a happy boy.

[onlyhereforghosttrick]

No time to say goodbye - A PMD2 Oneshot

Yup that's right! Did you think I was joking? No I was NOT! It's here, it's done, and I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before we actually get into stuff, small disclaimer; this fic contains the following:

Canon non-compliance

PMD2 Main game spoilers

PMD2 Post game spoilers

PMD2 Special episode spoilers somehow probably

Fan characters [all of which are mine] and canon characters alike

A writer who has no idea what he's doing

A beginning that came out better than the middle

and the eighth deadly sin: Acknowledgement of the fairy typing in the context of a pmd game that isn't super.

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy and I hope it hurts you at least somewhat! [but like in a good way]

Makoto reached into his bag, a sense of urgency on his mind. Come on, where did I...? His thoughts were cut short and replaced with another jolt of panic as growls came from the two passages surrounding the room he was in, telling him one thing: They were closing in on him fast. His fears were quickly confirmed as the Sableye entered the room, one from each entrance, but apparently not quickly enough- as he quickly pulled out a Totter orb, slamming it towards the ground and closing his eyes to the ensuing flash.

The two staggered around slightly, confused by the bright light, and Makoto took a moment of pause to catch his breath... before quickly dashing past the passage one of them had previously been blocking. And there, on the other side were the stairs to finally lead him out of this place. It seemed he had been taking too long, though, as the Sableye had both recovered while he was climbing the stairs and were now catching up to him. Taking out the other item he had withdrawn from his bag, a blast seed, a quick spark was all it needed before the explosion was already started. Taking his last few steps through the stairs as the explosion began to now echo from behind him, each step passing through distortion after distortion until...

"HUHHHH" Makoto let out a loud gasp as he practically fell through the exit to the mystery dungeon, seemingly startling his two companions that were waiting for him to catch up on the other side. He quickly picked himself up, walking over to them. "Alright, note to self, detonating a blast seed in an attempt to cave in the exit to a mystery dungeon so you can't be followed is probably my worst idea." He brought the bag he'd been carrying around to check it again quickly. Okay, oran berries, heal seeds, reviver seeds, a few luminous orbs, apples... should be good to go.

The two he were travelling with were mons he had more than enough time to familiarize himself with. ...Well, he wasn't really sure how much time he had known them since time had been stopped for a while, but the point still stood. The two were Minami, the Grovyle he had been raising from a Treecko before all of this started happening, and Celebi, a shiny little whimsical time fairy who had for some reason decided to help them. "Well, that's your fault for misjudging their power." Celebi reminded him. Since he was a human and not a pokemon, he couldn't understand what they were saying. Instead, she had somehow managed to learn to talk to him via psychic messages, and while he wasn't sure how it worked, it made communication a lot easier, so he didn't bother questioning it.

"That, and you should try not splitting up next time. You have no idea how nerve-racking it was to imagine how poorly you would fare for an entire 12 floors with those Sableye following you." She kept putting an unnecessary amount of flair into her wording, and while that did distract a bit from the intention, he could tell her concern was genuine. "Yeah, alright, no suggesting splitting up next time, I got that. Not like we'll need to." I responded, taking my bag off my shoulder and handing it to Minami. He was the one who usually held it anyways, I just took it because dungeon items were really the only way to defend myself since I didn't have the combat techniques either of them had. "But anyways, we should get-" A shrill howl pierced past my words, a reminder of why we had to keep moving. "...going, before they show up." I finished.

In addition to the usual chasers of Dusknoir and his Sableye army, their actions had recently reached a new audience, who were somehow twice as eager to get rid of them. Two of them, both dark-types, and apparently both with names too. Makoto wasn't sure why Celebi told them that, but he supposed it made referring to them easier. The first was a Zoroark named 'Feysara'. He was very clearly the more tactically oriented and leader-y of the two, although they still managed to best him most of the time regardless. The other was an Umbreon, apparently named 'Aigiel'. Stats-wise she was a bit worse off, but sheer brutality and execution made her arguably the more dangerous of the two. Once, when talking, Celebi made a comment about 'thinking Umbreon was supposed to be an evolution tied to friendship' that he hadn't been able to make heads nor tails of. And sometimes... neither of them seemed to see it, but he thought he saw a third pokemon lurking in the shadows behind them sometimes.

Another howl cut through the lifeless trees, this one closer than the one before it. "We have to go." He quickly snapped, getting up from the slight lean he had gotten into and heading towards the next clearing. "Are you both ready?" Minami gave a nod and quickly jogged over to him to follow, but Celebi...

"I'm staying behind." That wasn't the answer he expected to hear from her. Apparently his confusion was obvious, because she quickly began explaining. "I can take them. It's not like I don't have fairy type moves or anything. Besides, someone should probably need to hold them off while you two go do what needs to be done. The passage of time is just in the clearing up ahead, and I trust you know exactly what you're doing." Makoto paused, hesitant to just leave her behind... but this was what she wanted, so he supposed it was best not to fight her over it.

"Alright. Just... tell us if something goes wrong." He accepted her wishes , continuing forwards towards the Passage of time.... towards their last hope to save the future. I can't let their sacrifices be in vain.

---------------------------

Stepping into the clearing between the continuing treeline, Celebi wasn't wrong- the passage of time was right there. Not saying a word- partially because they wouldn't be able to understand each other if they did- the two exchanged a nod, and walked forwards.

It was oddly calm as they stood before the passage, as it formed an odd rippling pattern. Walking forward into it, a sense of distortion- similar to that of the mystery dungeons, albeit somewhat different, surrounded them. Makoto knew they couldn't be held off forever, so he really just hoped that Celebi was right about them not being able to follow them through.

A rustle echoed from the trees behind them. They kept going, but Makoto figured he might as well check. Looking back, he saw Aigiel- they must have broken away from fighting Celebi, but likely only them if Feysara wasn't with her. He kept walking, until he heard something else... and turning around again... his heart stopped for a moment as he saw a Dark pulse, aimed right at an unaware Minami.

Time seemed to slow and distort as he took one step after another, pushing him out of the way... only for time to catch up again, just in time to feel the pulse impact into him and send him flying backwards.

The momentum backwards never quite stopped, just slowed enough for him to start falling instead. He saw Minami pause, before rushing ahead. He understood, though- hestitating now would make it all for nothing. And as he continued to fall, Makoto's consciousness failed him... for the last and only time.

---------------------------

When he awoke again... the sun was shining down on him as waves crashed against his unmoving body. Everything hurt. It felt like he had just been slammed in the stomach, although by what he wasn't sure.

Who was he...? He couldn't quite remember. One name came to mind, which had to be his... 'Makoto'. And the fact he was a human ...but nothing else seemed to appear to him. Was that... really all he remembered...? As his eyes adjusted to the sunlight shining down on him, he quickly realized there was someone else there: A nervous-looking Eevee.

As she seemingly realized he was both awake and had noticed her, she started rambling at impressive speeds. "A-are you okay? You were washed up here and you hadn't been moving and I was starting to get worried and- and-" He wasn't sure how he was understanding her, but asking that could wait. "O-oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet," She interrupted herself, "My name's Aigiel. What's yours?"

[yolowritter]

Hello there everyone, and welcome back to part 2 of this Au! So, I'll put forth a quick recap from last time and let everyone know what's happening in the rest of the story, yeah? Cool, now let's move right along!

Disclaimer: I’ve been gone from Tumblr for a while now, due to myriad of technical issues + prioritizing AO3 and IRL work. It’s a long story, but not to worry, I am now back and will actually remember to post frequently. Anyway, on with the AU!

As a reminder: The premise here is that Lila's grandmother (from the embassy mom's family, since until they explain this 27 mothers thing Lila has going on I am going to ignore it) once lived in Paris in the 1940s, and befriended Fu and Marianne as they were hiding the Miraculous away. Long story short, during that scene in S5 where they're escaping, Grandma Rossi gets the Fox Miraculous and helps them do so, eventually returning to Italy before Fu has deemed it safe enough to return for it. Many years later, she ends up revealing Trixx to Lila and passes the Fox onto her when her granddaughter says she's going to Paris, and tells her to be very, *very* careful with it. Lila immediately proceeds to nearly out herself with the Volpina incident. But don't worry, it's fine, she manages to get out of that situation without too much trouble. Now she's offered to be Adrien's friend, and so has Marinette. In the meantime, she's also waiting for a good oppurtunity to transform again, and try to convince Ladybug and Chat Noir that she is not a supervillain. For details, check the previous post.

Anyway, onto the rest of the show! Things stay the same for a few episodes, or...almost. Because Lila is friends with Adrien now, and by proxy Marinette who is putting her crush aside to make sure Lila isn't getting him in any trouble by also being Adrien's friend, our beloved...anti-heroine? Yeah, sure, why not? Our beloved anti-heroine happens to also get to know Alya and Nino failrly well, discreetly using Alya to get info on Ladybug and Chat Noir under the guise of helping with her blog, and Nino just for the playlists. Listen, Lila's taste in music ain't the most varied, so if there's good tunes in Nino's lists, she wants to have them too. Anyway, her friendship with the group develops more and more as she basically tries to be on her best behavior. Now...like I said last time, Lila isn't exactly the most moral person, or has any problems about absolutely (verbally) clobbering someone (meaning Chloe, most of the time) who is annoying her. And since Paris' Perfect Princess™ also happens to be a bully and screams at the same amount of decibels as a banshee before *anyone* has had their morning coffee, Lila joins up with Marinette and Alya to make sure nobody puts up with Chloe's BS.

As a consequence of this, she develops genuine friendships. I know, how horrible! But Lila isn't quite sure *how* friendship works, aside from her just holding back her snarky comments and being generally nice to the girls. So...as Marinette slowly begins to trust her more since Lila seems to just...not be going after her crush, our anti-heroine is left grappling with what exactly it means to even have friends in the first place, and if her bonds with the gang are even real considering she's mostly pretending when around them. This all comes to a head when Alya invites Marinette and Alya for a sleepover at her house...and cue the Sapotis episode to screw up everyone's night. Low and behold, there's no Rena Rouge to help LB and CN out, and since Alya ran off looking for her sisters, and Marinette is "missing" (AKA Ladybug atm), Lila finds herself alone at the house. Now, logically, she should wait this out until the heroes deal with the Akuma, since it's none of her business. Then again...there's *something* nagging her in the back of her head, a kind of itch that just makes her want to go out there do something instead of being stuck inside waiting. Could it possibly be that she's grown to care for Alya and doesn't want to see her upset? ...nah, probably the boredom! On she goes to transform and jump out the window!

Oddly enough, she notices her costume has changed a little bit since the last time. It's still very much Volpina, but this time she looks a bit more like a real fox. Slightly fluffy, swishing tail, tiny bits of fur on her ears and the ability to flick them at will (yes I will be using this to show her emotions, since I find it adorable when Chat does it), and her fangs are a bit more pronounced. Does this reflect Lila's feral nature as a total chaos gremlin? Absolutely it does! Trust me, she's a troll and it gets so much better! Anyway off she goes jumping around rooftops trying to find Alya, until eventually she comes across Ladybug, who is just kinda jumping around seemingly for no reason (She's trying to get to Fu's place without being seen by the Sapotis). Naturally, Lila jumps ahead of her and peeks her head out from behind a chimney. Ladybug yelps so hard that she physically staggers back, and Volpina finds this incredibly funny. So do I Lila, so do I... After a short moment of Marinette doing a double take, she kinda looks at Volpina with confusion. It goes something like this:

Ladybug: "Wait...Lila?" she asks, confusion evident on her face.

Volpina: "Nope, name's Cerise!" she quickly corrects her, a wide grin on her face. "I- wait, I wasn't supposed to say that! Uh...sorry!" the fox heroine yelps back, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The name's Volpina! The real one this time, promise!" she sing-songs with a tiny bow.

Ladybug: "You're the real Fox Holder?" Ladybug raises an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.

Volpina: "Yeah, Trixx absolutely adores me! So, how can I help ya miss Bug?" she asks, a chaste grin etching itself on her face. She seems almost feral, and Marinette decides to look her over.

Ladybug: Her lucky charm flashes over Volpina's form, and Ladybug examines her. It...looks like Lila's Akumatization, but also not? Her hair is a tad more orange, almost like there's faded highlights at the end of her bangs, and Volpina looks more *real*, like an actual fox rather than just a girl in a costume. "Uh...any chance you'll help us with the Akuma?" she asks again as the girl keeps flashing red in her vision, indicating she's the solution to her lucky charm.

Volpina: Volpina *grins*, flicking her tail at Ladybug. "Oh, I'll be happy to! Lead the way!" she chuckles playfully, almost like she's having fun with all this. Still Marinette jumps ahead of her, leading Lila back into the fray.

Cue the Sapotis-Land illusion and the Akuma's defeat, and Volpina hiding away the moment the fight is done so Ladybug and Chat Noir can't ask her any questions. Lila makes it back to Alya's place just in time, and jumps through the window, flopping on the couch just as the other girls also come back. She naturally makes herself look like she's been lounging around, and Marinette doesn't suspect her.

Worth mentioning that Lila was just pretending beforehand, and that Cerise is gonna be her supposed "real name" as Volpina, to throw off suspicion from her being Lila. Since Cerise doesn't actually exist in this AU (just like Lila's other 200.000 identities), it'll just be a cameo. From that day on, Lila joins Akuma fights every now and again, slowly growing into the Ladynoir banter and proving herself as an ally of sorts, while still blue skidoo-ing away before they can ask her questions. Look, she's in the *process* of crafting a new identity, this stuff ain't easy! After a couple weeks, she ends up eavesdropping on LB and CN while they're having that convo in Glaciator, where she tells him that she's got plans and whatnot. Ladybug leaves like normal, but Lila smells a wee bit off stupidity in the air, and decides to teach our dear furry a few things about how scheduling works. Low and behold, Lila actually ends up giving really good advice to Chat Noir even while actively trolling! Isn’t she miraculous? Anyway, I’ll need to go into waaaaaaay more detail about this in the next part of this AU, but I will save the specifics for part 3!

I’ll see you all soon, but until then, Stay Miraculous!

[bailey-orphic08]

Sander Sides Season Two Finale: Thoughts and Wants

    Okay, so if you’re here, you likely know how Sander Sides is doing. It’s broken all our hearts and all we can do is write fanfiction and theories as we slowly edge our way to the season two finale. Emphasis on slowly because anyone who’s been part of the fandom for at least a couple months knows Thomas is insanely slow when it comes to releasing new episodes. So slow that the last true Sander Sides episode was more than two years ago, and that was an Asides video. For two years we have been waiting for a follow up to Working THROUGH Intrusive Thoughts! But us Fanders don’t judge. Thomas is an adult, so should be allowed to take as much time as he needs for the sake of his health; and while he takes his sweet time, we have time to craft theories on what this season finale beholds. And that’s why we’re here today.

    Hello, I’m Bizarrio, and today I will share my predictions of what I think—and want—to happen in the Sander Sides season two finale. Quick disclaimer, the only two things we know for certain about the finale is that there will be a lot of songs and that it is planned to be four parts long. So there is no way I’ll be able to guess everything that’s going to happen. Anyways, I’ve stalled enough, let’s get to the part you’re here for.

The Structure

    Four parts is a lot of parts, but I think I’ve made a formula that the finale could follow.

    The first part will introduce the first problem, a simple problem that would be addressed in any Sander Sides episode, from dealing with an issue Thomas has to answering a question about life. In part one, the sides will try to find a solution to said problem. But as the episode goes on, it gets more and more clear that their action and the way they treat each other is stemming from something far deeper than this simple issue. And at the end of the episode, this is confirmed when one of the sides does something drastic, whether it be blurting out something they shouldn’t have or even physically hurting another side.

    This leads to part two, where everyone tries to discuss the real problem. In this part, they will try to find the problem and what’s causing it. After finding the problem, they will make a solution that leads to one of the sides being unhappy, which will lead to that side breaking down, causing the events of part three.

    In part three, the actual cause of the problem is revealed. And this side’s problems will be on full display, showing a level of despair we haven’t seen of him to this point.

    Now knowing the real root of the issue, the fourth and final part would be about Thomas and the other sides comforting the side in their breakdown. They would then find the true solution to the problem. And after they find this solution, Thomas gives his final speech about what he’s learned, kisses Hello Fresh’s feet, and shows us the end card, where we can finally prepare for season three.

The Plot

    So that’s what I think the structure will be, but that’s not a plot, so who’s it with?

    Well, for starters, the finale will likely focus on one side, and based on recent events, I think that this side will be Roman. Roman’s insecurity has been present since the very beginning and has only gotten worse. And throughout the entirety of season two, he’s been forced to compromise his wants or admit that he is in the wrong, especially in more recent episodes. So I feel like it would be suitable for the finale to be about him. I feel like with the structure I set up, he wouldn’t be the main focus of part one and a portion of part two, but the rest of the parts would definitely start to focus on him, putting him in full center.

    And since the finale is Roman centered, the first problem in part one is gonna have a lot to do with him. And that problem will be about Nico.

    I think the first conflict will be Thomas trying to decide if he should make a move on Nico. This could be anything from taking him somewhere to straight confessing. I don’t really know, but regardless, Roman is absolutely rooting for Thomas to go for it. Janus and Patton on the other hand, think that it would be a terrible mistake.

    Janus thinks that Thomas isn’t in the right headspace to start any relationships, and should be focusing on himself. And from what Patton said about Nico in the five year anniversary, we can tell that he isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of him. I assume that he’s likely scared of the heartache that would occur if the relationship failed. And after some recent—and totally uninfluential not upsetting—events, I feel like he would also see the merit in Thomas focusing on Thomas.

    Things look bad for Roman(and they will be later)but it’s okay. He’s not outnumbered, for he has a very smart, and very cool guy on his side, who also believes that it is reasonable for Thomas to take this chance: Virgil.

    When confronted with the issue, Virgil sides with Roman almost immediately, which is a huge shock to everyone. Virgil says that Thomas should get it over with because Thomas has no way of knowing how much time he has, so if he doesn’t do it now, he may never get the chance.

    So yeah, part one would mainly be Roman and Virgil vs Patton and Janus as they try to convince Thomas why he should or shouldn’t make the moves on Nico. Patton and Janus’ argument is that it’s the wrong time to do it, while Roman and Virgil’s argument is that this may be the only time. And Roman and Virgil will be absolute couple goals as team up and absolutely obliterate Janus—figuratively. 

    Also, all the multiple-part episodes so far have involved going to another side’s room. And since this is a Roman centered finale, he’ll take Thomas and the other sides to his room to prove his point about taking risks, and that’s where they’ll be for the rest of the finale. I imagine his room to be vibrant and shiny, covered with shades of red and pink, white, and gold. It’s also very cluttered and messy, with discarded papers and costumes scattered all over the ground, and posters, artwork, and Thomas’ biggest accomplishments hung on every wall. So much stuff is in there, it almost feels claustrophobic. And the different rooms have different effects based on the side it represents. I think that Roman’s room would cause Thomas and the other sides to lose touch with reality, and become fixated on their desires.

    *Insert song about time and when you should and shouldn’t take chances.*

    But things aren’t all well, for as the episode goes on, the argument gets more and more tense, especially Virgil’s argument. And at the end of part one, Virgil blurts out something along the lines of, 

    “Of course it’s a bad idea! But which is worse? Losing one friend by making a bad choice, or losing all of your friends to him?” Virgil would be referring to Janus of course. This shocks everyone—especially Roman—and reveals Virgil’s true intentions.

    You see, there was more to Virgil’s quick decision than just time. In fact, he never thought Thomas should do it at all. The real reason he was telling Thomas to do it is because he didn’t want Thomas to listen to Janus. It’s clear through every interaction he and Janus have that Virgil hates him, and doesn’t believe that he should be trusted ever. And from recent episodes, it’s shown that Virgil has even started resenting Patton. So I feel like Virgil would be much more happy if Thomas listened to Roman than Patton and Janus.

    Then in part two, they discuss the real problem. After discussing this, Virgil finally accepts that it would be better if Thomas didn’t confess his love, and that it doesn’t make Thomas a bad person to listen to Janus this time. And it seems that everyone is satisfied…

    But wait.

    What about Roman? He’s not satisfied. He didn’t get what he wanted. Time and time again, Roman has given up on his desires, making compromise after compromise for Thomas’s sake. And once again, he’s the one who has to sacrifice his happiness. He’s the one who gets the short end of the stick. He’s the one who gets called out for his poor decisions. And do they even care? They act like they care, but it’s only really for their own gain.

    Nobody understands. Nobody cares.

   Tired of this cycle, Roman snaps. He kicks all the other sides out of his room, putting all focus on him. And in part three, Roman makes a pitiful final attempt at convincing Thomas to confess to Nico. And all of his insecurities are displayed.

    *Insert absolutely heartbreaking song about how everything Roman does is for Thomas and how he feels worthless because his contributions seem less important and even more harmful than the others.*

    Near the end of part three, or the beginning of part four, the other sides return. Or maybe Roman brings them back? Or maybe he never kicked them out in the first place and he shut them up a different way? I don’t know. But the sides are there. And in part four, they all comfort Roman, claiming that he is important and helpful, and that they wouldn’t be where they are now without him. Patton apologizes for misleading him, and Janus apologizes for taking advantage of him. And I think it would be cool if Virgil had a beautiful speech about Roman, similar to Roman’s speech about him in Accepting Anxiety. Considering that Virgil was Roman’s final straw, and that he hasn’t tried to be nice to Roman as Roman has to him, I think it would be a nice way to bring things all together.

    *Insert song about how everyone will always love and appreciate Roman and how he is just as important as everyone else and how Roman and Virgil should totally kiss when this is over.* 

    And after everyone says what they want to say, and Roman starts to feel better, they go back to Thomas’s living room. Thomas comes to a compromise that makes everyone happy, and he finishes the video off with what he’s learned: Acceptance and the merit to taking risks.

    And then he tells us about Hello Fresh and how it’s the superior way of eating.

    Wait a minute. I think I’m forgetting someone. Someone who’s really important to the series, and could add some really interesting—and even logical—points to the argument…

    Oh yeah, what about Remus?

Remus and the Orange Side

    If the finale is centered around Roman, then Remus has to be there by obligation. A main theme within it would be Roman’s insecurity, and we know that Remus is one of his biggest. So it simply wouldn’t make sense for him to not be there.

    In the finale, Remus is just gonna be himself. He’s not gonna pick a side or provide helpful information. No, he’s going to make the same discomforting jokes and taunt everyone, making them feel worse than they already do, especially Roman. 

    As entertaining as he is though, I don’t see him actually contributing to the plot, other than making things worse. I don’t even see him apologizing to Roman in part four. At most, he’ll begrudgingly apologize for killing him after Janus looks at him sternly.

    What I do see however, is some major foreshadowing. When Remus isn’t making inappropriate comments about the situation or blatantly insulting Roman, he’ll try to bring up completely random things that have absolutely nothing to do with the conversation. Thomas and the other sides will brush it off as Remus being his usual self, but those remarks will actually be information of the orange side, and foreshadowing of what he will do in season three.

    Speaking of the orange side, what will he be doing?

    Honestly, I have no clue, which is why I haven't talked about him so far. It’s pretty clear that the orange side is linked to anger and negativity in some way, and likely has the ability to take control of others when they're upset. And you can’t exactly say Roman’s content during the finale. So it would make sense for orange to reveal himself at this time.

    But apart from what he could represent and one of his abilities, we know absolutely nothing about him. And since we don’t know his personality or even his goals, I can’t tell you how he would act in the finale.

    Additionally, I also think that a lot has happened in season two so far. The series has grown to be really complex with all its different plot points. And this finale is definitely going to be the effect of all this complicated commotion. So adding the orange side into the mix might make it too complicated. I’m not saying that it couldn’t work or that Thomas can’t make it work, I just feel like the orange is an issue better left to address in season three.

The Other Stuff

    There’s also a couple of other things I want to talk about that didn’t really fit in with the other stuff, but weren’t big enough to earn their own section, so I put it all here.

    Firstly, I find it very possible that there will be a common analogy in the finale. I’m referring to how Logan and Roman used visuals to prove their points in Why Do We Get Out of Bed In The Morning?, and the whole video game theme in Putting Others First. I think it would be cool if it had a cartoon theme where every side has their own art style. Though, for the finale, it might be more fitting to reference different musicals, since Roman is deeply obsessed with theater. And it would explain why there’s so much music in the finale. But that’s more of a cool idea than an actual prediction.

    Second, I’d like to talk about Dark Roman, or Roman becoming an antagonist. I don’t think he can become a darkside, since the dark sides are just parts of Thomas that he hasn’t accepted as good yet, and Thomas already knows that Roman can be a positive influence, even if Roman doesn’t feel like it. That being said, I can definitely see him dealing with not being Thomas’s hero by doubling down on the antagonist thing, and becoming a “villain.” It would also be a good way to involve the orange side.

    However, I also feel like even if Roman really tried, he wouldn’t really be that big of an enemy. He may be trying to embrace his evil side, but at the end of the day, he still cares about the other sides and especially Thomas. And I feel like this care for them would hold him back from doing something truly evil. Besides, we already have an evil Roman! And I feel having one of those around is plenty enough.

    Also, I think Thomas’ living room should still be messy, showing that he still hasn’t cleaned it after Working THROUGH Intrusive Thoughts.

    And Janus should get his own song. It could be about literally anything, just give him a song. He’s earned it.

    So, yeah. Those are the things I think will and want to happen in the Sander Sides season two finale. Of course this doesn’t fill in every detail, it would be impossible to guess everything that will happen. And there’s no way everything I’ve said will actually happen. So I’d like to see your thoughts too. Anyways, that will be all, so goodbye every-

    Wait. Wait. Hold on a second. I’m forgetting something. Something I’ve seemed to ignore despite being very important to the series. Something that’s been here since the very beginning, and has been a part of some of the best moments in the show. Something all the fans have grown to love…

    What about the end credits!

The End Credits

    The end credits have shown us some of the cutest scenes within the whole series, and have provided some really interesting foreshadowing and tension as well. So we have to talk about them!

    The end credits of part one will be all the sides berating Thomas for leaving on such a cliffhanger. He’ll try to reassure them by saying that part two will come out really soon, but absolutely no one will believe him.

    The things I’ve said so far have been speculation or headcanon, but this one is actually correct. After all the time we’ve waited, it would be such a missed opportunity to not make the joke. So this will be the first end credit or else. No, no, I’m kidding… Or am I?

    We’re at the second end credit, and at this point, I’m sure you can tell I’ve been leaving someone out… And it’s Joan!

    No, this joke has gone on for long enough. As you can tell, I’ve been avoiding Logan. And it’s not just because I don’t see him having a place in a Roman centered episode. In fact, I do see him in it.

    He would call both sides irrational, and propose a compromise. (The same compromise they make in the final part…) But he would be ignored as the other sides try to talk over each other. And it would be especially bad this episode. So much that he would quit trying and leave the conversation, similar to how he did in Moving On and Putting Others First. Only this time, no one will be there to notice or care…

    And that’s where the end credits come in.

    The second end credit will show Logan right after he leaves to his room. He starts to talk to himself about how frustrated he is about being pushed aside so often. He talks about feeling unwanted and possibly unneeded as Janus is slowly taking his place as the voice of reason.

    The third end credit continues his monologue, showing him grow more and more upset. 

    We finally reach the fourth end credit and Logan is completely furious. But his monologue gets cut off when Remus enters his room, he of course immediately masks his anger. He tells Logan about everything he missed and how they came to the exact same conclusion he was trying to push, only to be ignored. This breaks Logan’s composure, and he starts lamenting all his frustrations to Remus. Remus interrupts him, claiming that the root of the issue is that he doesn’t stand out enough, and that all he needs to do is be as loud as they are. They then turn to Logan’s door as they hear footsteps; Remus smiles. We see a glimpse of the man at the door. Perhaps we see an orange-hazed silhouette, or a pair of shoes we have yet to see. Or maybe, just maybe, we even hear his voice,

    “I can help with that…”

Conclusion

    And that’s everything I think will and want to happen in the Sander Sides season two finale, for real this time.

    And as I said before, almost anything can happen, so I’m bound to be wrong about something. Thomas has also said that he plans to to get at least parts one and two out by the end of the year, so we’ll get to see any day now.

     And in the end, while I may not know exactly what will happen, I do know that this finale will leave us laughing, crying, and absolutely hyped for season three. I am so excited for the finale, and I know I’ll love it, regardless of what happens.

    Goodbye everyone.

[soildmud]

reading inky mystery

good morning y’all, it is currently 3AM right now and i have developed some very strong opinions about inky mystery that i need to projectile vomit onto the internet. this is gonna be like a book review so i have some disclaimers/warnings:

#1: this “review” is not intended for the author, TAP, or anyone directly involved with the writing of IM. this is readers-only!

#3: i will most likely say very few positive things about the fic so if you don’t want to see negative remarks about your fav fic/story, maybe don’t read this. and also if you can’t handle strong language.

#4: i have not read all of IM, and there is a reason why. i will explain later on but i don’t need anyone to try and avoid spoilers. i don’t care for this fic enough to worry about that. talk to your heart’s content, i want to hear what y’all have to say!!!!

#5: i still enjoy inky mystery and its concepts and the overall story ideas. i think it’s fun and a cool spin on the original qftim au (an au that had so much potential and such shitty execution) and love how the fic has created an entire community around it! don’t get this twisted, i got nothing against IM or TAP.

now i’m gonna put the “review” (more like a rant) under a cut so as to not take up space on people’s dashes more than i already have lol—have fun!!

with such an interesting and promising premise, inky mystery has so far been a frustrating disappointment. i started reading it a while ago (had to stop because of school) and picked up again last night, hoping to get further into the fic and reach the parts that seem to be much more compelling than the exposition. i’m only on chapter 20 and already want to just stop reading it altogether. the more i progress through this the more i think to myself, “is this fic even worth reading 2.5 million words and 335 chapters?” as i’ve come to the beginning of chapter 21, i’m starting to think it most definitely is not.

obviously the biggest criticism is the length. there is absolutely no reason for why this fic is like 3 times longer than the fucking BIBLE. twelve “books” for what? to leave us in the same spot of the plot for the fifth time in a row when the conflict could have been resolved in almost half a chapter? the over-explanation of everything and the placement of practically useless dialogue is excruciating. i don’t understand how having chapter long bits of the warner shenanigans was necessary; i get it was meant for comedy but i don’t think they should dragged any longer than like a paragraph. their dialogue gets old incredibly fast, and it’s just a hinder to the fic’s flow. and before anyone says anything—I HAVE WATCHED ANIMANIACS BEFORE. in fact, i used to be obsessed with them and watched every episode until it stopped airing in 2014. i know they’re supposed to be the way they are in the fic but Holy SHIT DUDE. SHUT THEM THE FUCK UP ALREADY.

listen. i know this was originally written in 2017, but if you’re still updating this into 2024, at this point you need to remake the whole fic and shorten it. the way the author is updating the fic with basically filler makes me feel like they care more about creating content for their readers rather than actually writing a coherent narrative. you don’t need to take down the OG fic but there has got to be a way to shorten it so it doesn’t take literally a week straight to finish the fic in one sitting.

anyways. apart from that, i need to say that the writing style is so juvenile in a way that feels aggravating. i read the most recent chapter to see if anything changed and while it certainly improved in small ways, i feel like TAP still hasn’t learned how to not make sentences like four words long and dialogue sequences that don’t make up half the chapter. i also feel like the narrative is just…holding the readers hand and explaining every little thing like they expect the reader not to have any media literacy at all. i don’t need to know explicitly that boris and bendy are tired from walking for hours, i knew that from your narration mentioning their legs aching and them getting mucky from clambering in the forest.

next, i hate the random inclusion of unnecessary characters. the way the two detectives seem to only show up when it’s convenient and how the warners were used basically like a deus ex machina is frustrating. don’t introduce so many characters with so much detail and then have them show up like twice. i don’t know how to explain this because it’s almost 4AM now and my brain is foggy but god. when those two fox characters were randomly introduced at the end of idk what chapter to have a completely useless conversation with the detectives i felt so annoyed. i don’t know if they have any real significance later on in the story (and i don’t mean that they show up to say hi later) and honestly i cannot be bothered to find out if they do, but if they don’t, that entire section of the chapter was fucking stupid. let your MAIN CHARACTERS learn information from other sources for the love of god.

in the end, i don’t know if i’ll ever finish Inky Mystery, at least not anytime soon. i had fun at the start and now i’m just annoyed and frustrated. also, to the wiki people, PLEASE MAKE CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND SHIT—IT WOULD BE A DREAM FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON’T WANT TO SIT THROUGH 2.5 MILLION WORDS FOR PLOT AND STORY!!!!

also, i am not claiming to be a better writer or have superior knowledge to TAP. i think TAP is good at writing, but has some flaws that really limit their full potential. i myself am an amateur writer with no training or anything, but i am a reader, so that’s why i’m yapping.

ALSO ALSO, i am not doing this to shit on TAP or IM or anyone who likes this story and everything. like i said, i actually like IM and really want to get into it so i can make fanart and everything, but it has been a struggle and i want to voice that because this is my blog and i use it like a virtual diary. i will continue to skim and push through IM, and will most definitely use it as a learning tool for my own au, SITP.

again, this review was made with zero malice in mind. however if anyone wants to say anything i’m 100% open to conversation, and if this reaches TAP’s screen somehow, please know i’m not trying to be a hater!!! i love your ideas and the community you’ve created, promise!!!! i’m done now cus i’m tired and need to sleep so bye to anybody who read through this beast of a post lol plus i don’t have the energy to write all i wanted to say. sorry if there’s any mistakes i’m falling asleep as i write LMAO

bye!!!!!!

[theintrovertbean]

About Dorian and where I stand

I think it's time I voiced my actual opinion of Dorian. Partly because I need to write this down for myself to better understand my own feelings, and because of some of my posts, it might be hard to understand where I stand. Nowadays, I know it matters. Yeah, I gave it a chance. No, it didn't make me a Dorian enjoyer, but even though it makes me cringe sometimes, I don't think it's the worst thing to ever exist.

Disclaimer: This is my opinion to which everyone is free and more than welcome to add their own. I will address both good and bad things about Dorian, and I am going to criticize it. I also have to add that while I've been playing The Arcana for five years, I was gone for a while and missed out on a lot, especially the part when Dorian bought the game, so I'm not your all-knowing narrator. This is not a personal attack against anyone, whether they have a positive or negative opinion about Dorian. No drama here, just opinions and even some advice. Now let's begin.

I think the concept of Dorian is good, but it could be much better executed. The company makes some questionable choices, like now with the 3D figurines or when they posted those tales of the M6. I think the vast majority can agree that those tales felt like a living nightmare. That's certainly what they felt like to me, and I would prefer to ignore their existence. With the figurines, their quality is the issue. We do want the figurines, and we'd love them, but they don't look right, and I hate to say this because someone put effort into creating them (because, apparently, they're not AI-generated). Plus, I think it would be nicer if we could choose to get them painted. I'm aware that painted versions will be available too, but it would have made more sense to release both versions at the same time.

There are nice people on Dorian, I've met a few, so I don't think that liking Dorian automatically makes someone a bad person. It's simply not everyone's cup of tea. In many cases, for very understandable reasons. However, the people I actually communicated with were (and still are) very friendly and supportive. And tbh, there's no harm in enjoying the content that gets posted there. Unless it's something that promotes problematic ideas.

When I wanted to post a story there, I got loads of help, which I'm very thankful for, but some things make me wonder if I want my content to be put on Dorian. Ultimately, I've decided to do it, and I'm about to release the first episode. I know there are people on Dorian too, who would like to read some good Nadia content (not sure if I'm the right person for that, but there's no harm in trying). However, this is not a decision that I made lightly. I spent a lot of time wondering if I should do it. It's a personal moral compass thing, plus I know that there are people in my following who don't like Dorian. No, I am not going to abandon my blog. Everything I post on Dorian I plan on sharing here as well, one way or another. Right now, this is more of a test than anything else. And if somehow I end up becoming rich from the Dorian money, I can spend it on Arcana merch (/jk).

Dear Dorian, Arcana main 6 boobie mousepads when?

Seriously, my main goal is to spread the gospel about our goddess Nadia, wherever it may be, and I've had a few people encourage me to bring some content about her to the Dorian platform to show the Countess some love. But, know that when it happens, it's not because I'm such a big fan of Dorian. On the contrary, I'm quite critical of it, and anyone who has ever spoken to me knows that too. Anything I post on the Dorian platform will be purely out of my love for Nadia, my fellow simps, and the joy of creating.

Now, let's talk about Dorian's target audience. It's definitely not me nor the vast majority of The Arcana fandom. From what I've noticed, most of us are young adults, but Dorian is more attractive to people who are around their thirties. The adult adults. No hate to those people, hurting you is not my intention, and you did nothing wrong. It simply feels like Dorian is less focused on us younger people, partly because we are not very likely to pay them any money. However, an adult with a stable income is more likely to afford digital currencies. I understand that Dorian needs money too, or else they wouldn't be able to pay their creators, but it would be nice if they could do something in favor of the young adults as well.

Connected to the target audience, I have some things to say about the heart system too. If someone isn't familiar with it, Dorian uses hearts to unlock paid scenes. They use it for spicy content as well, but it's not exactly the best way to keep minors from accessing them. Yes, there are minors on the Dorian app too, I've seen a few. As soon as someone downloads the app, they get free hearts and they don't even need an account. Dorian is a social media platform with streaming features and by joining/starting a live stream, users are able to access all paid content, spice included. Having spicy content is not the issue, but making it so available is. I know, I know, places like Play Store and App Store allow this, it doesn't go against their rules. But, look into your heart, and ask yourself if it really is okay. If it's possible, I'd like to encourage Dorian to at least make their users (whether they are registered or not) confirm that they are over the age of 18 or let them add their date of birth when they use the app for the first time. This way, they could add a feature that automatically hides adult content from underage users. It's not much, but I know some people who would feel better.

There are things on Dorian that I genuinely enjoy, like the current event, The Arcana Love Quest. I've seen people say that it divides the fandom and makes it seem like one person is a much better fan than the others, but as someone who actually participates, I don't feel that way. However, I get where these come from because it does seem off from the outside. (Rip Nadia guild, we didn't make it to the next round, but it was fun.)

Now the "negativity". There have been countless people who voiced their opinions about Dorian, and they often didn't speak too highly of the company. I didn't see it myself, but from what I know, there was even something about comments getting deleted by Dorian and people getting blocked. Of course, there are people who simply hate. In those cases, I understand they want to shield themselves and pretty much everyone else from witnessing those vulgar remarks. However, civilized, constructive criticism isn't something they should censor or ignore. It's impossible to satisfy everyone, but they have to try and listen because even though criticism doesn't always feel nice, it's for everyone's benefit. By listening to what people say, Dorian could improve.

The Dorian app itself tries to be too many things at once. Instead of adding new features, I think it would be better to make it more stable and easier to control because it can get glitchy and confusing at times. However, I have to give their support team credit because I had issues with the app myself. I filled out a ticket, and they solved it for me. They were civil, kind, and responsive, so I really can't complain about that.

And about what they're doing to the official The Arcana app. It's upsetting, I know, but since Dorian owns it, we can't blame them for advertising themselves on it. Some people make a living by working for Dorian and/or posting content there and that is something I respect because this is literally how they pay their bills and put food on their tables. However, it's starting to get out of hand and anything more would be too much. Like the Dorian app, it wants to be too many things at once. To make the "Tales" button smaller than the Dorian stuff next to it is something that doesn't sit right with me. Also, half of the "Dailies" page is now about Dorian. There's also an entire page for streams, which is kinda unnecessary because if I want to watch a stream, I'll use the actual Dorian app for it anyway. Also, as soon as I open The Arcana app, I get like, three pop-ups about Dorian, which honestly reminds me of using illegal websites for watching movies.

There is also something else I wish to say. We can't blame Nix Hydra's mistakes on Dorian, and we can't expect Dorian to post content like Nix Hydra did. As I mentioned before, Dorian is a social media platform. Yes, we got Arcana tales once, but that's not what Dorian is for.

In conclusion, The Arcana is cursed like Lucio's wing. Do I regret giving Dorian a chance, tho? Honestly, no, not really. At least I have seen both sides of the coin. Dorian is not the worst, but there is a lot of room for improvement. My advice is to listen to not only the praise but the constructive criticism too. There is potential in Dorian and if they did a better job, then maybe they could turn other people's and my head too. For now, I remain somewhere in the middle.

[fixinglitg]

My issues with BONNIE (so far)

Hey again.

So today I'm gonna talk about my issues with Bonnie's character now that we're halfway through the season (Eps 16-18 were the latest releases in case you haven't seen so far, there are 33 in total) I'm gonna divide this into categories so if there's something specific you wanna read about the go ahead and skip to that part. I will add a few positives at the end not to seem SO negative, but I do have a good few complaints, mostly after the recent episodes.

As per usual,

DISCLAIMER: this is just my opinion, and you can disagree with me if you'd like to. How I feel about a character doing something might be different for you, and we all have our own preferences.

Now that's out of the way, let's begin.

DESIGN:

Ofc, this part isn't Bonnie's fault, but I personally think her design is borderline horrific.

Her body is a little weird, but mostly okay for the main part compared to Rafael's odd arm situation. But the main part is her head.

Thick brows? Love. But for this character design, I just don't think she's pulling it off.

The hair? It's giving "hmm, this character needs a stereotypical lesbian haircut, but we should make it worse." Like people can pull things off like that and there's probably so many pretty women with this hair. Again, I just don't think it's working out for her.

Her lips. Okay, why does it look like this poor woman has asked for the Kardashian? What plastic is in her lips? Thick lips, again, great. On the right person.

I think her character has good individual features for people in general, but putting them all together onto her and designing it that way doesn't look attractive for me.

There are so many better re-designs I've seen on Reddit, so I'll link a couple now:

Wolfcut Bonnie | Sprite Edit Bonnie | Min Bonnie

Like come on Fusebox. It wasn't that hard to fix her without changing the details too much as these edits show.

OUTFITS:

I mean, why is her fancy outfit literally a bin liner. Like what. I thought MCs style was pretty tragic in recent seasons, but Fusebox actually did this woman dirty with the outfits.

I'm not sure if they played to have her more boyish or what, less feminine seeming, but the outfits just aren't doing it. And I only need one link this time to prove my point.

Bonnie Outfit Edit

Like these outfits are such an improvement?? And it's not even like the creator chose to change the entire thing, they literally kept the basis of it. I- yeah. I don't even wanna talk about this for long, because it hurts as much as Bryson coming out in that one sleeveless top.

So all in all, it would be hard for me to like a character when I don't find them attractive physically. Both their own body and the style of clothing. However, I feel like it'd be unfair to not give a character a chance if they're written well. Yeah, about that...

PERSONALITY:

So I wasn't sure what to title this part, but you'll understand what I mean as soon as I get into this.

At the start of the season, you're able to determine whether or not you wanna have women as an option. Obviously I have no idea if the female LIs still take interest in you (trauma by Dana) if you say you're straight, but I wouldn't exactly put it past Fusebox to disregard that choice immediately.

But as I was saying.

Why is it when I say "oh yeah, I'm into women" the female LI IMMEDIATELY THINKS I'm into her. Like, no babe, sorry but I'm not the one for you.

And I hate that I've rejected her so many times, and put little to no interest in her (sometimes I would say "oh my head's a mess" etc because the other options didn't feel right for me) to the point where it's getting a little annoying to see that stupid ass lip biting sprite, and her trying to flirt with my character when I've said N.O. Of course, other characters do have that issue in the past (and maybe this season, I have no idea because she's the only person I've really rejected) but this is so frustrating to me.

I get shooting your shot but she's missed 50 times and won't stop.

The next thing I really hate might seem little but it's really grinding my gears.

Image by u/thebarbied. Additional text under the post saying "I've never told this girl I was interested in girls so idk why the girl is like this." So I'm assuming OP said they were into men/straight, which means she might be worse off wlw MC.

The thing that annoys me the most is the fact that she looks upset by not being chosen. Now I understand that there could be some people who actually chose her. Or some people that would want to take her instead of their casa partner.

HOWEVER.

When you're like me and have rejected her several times, she has no right to look this upset.

And for me, it felt a little off-putting. It's the hideaway. THE HIDEAWAY. Majority of the time, the hideaway usually involves some sort of sexual thing. Especially in these recent seasons, I feel like Fusebox has really been pushing the kinky side of things onto us with the box of things (massage oil, whipped cream, blindfolds, maybe I'm remembering wrong but I swear there was handcuffs in S6).

And to just have the mere thought of someone being upset for not being picked to go to what I love to call "the sex room" even after being rejected by myself multiple times just makes me uncomfortable.

Now of course, I'd like to add that maybe that wasn't her plan at all and she'd just wanna talk or something.

But let's be honest for a moment, we all know Fusebox. They definitely would've given us the same options of "go all the way, do bits, snog, cuddle/talk" or something along those lines, and I just FEEL the disappointment from not choosing anything but cuddle/talk.

Yet again, I will state that this can be the case for all LIs, or not the case at all, but these are just my thoughts and feelings and this is how I see things at the time of playing.

I just feel like she's getting disappointed over nothing. Like she expects to be picked despite all my choices.

And I'll even link a few posts to people complaining about Bonnie and her character never going. Sidenote: these also include some other characters that I'll touch upon in another post

u/Towerofterrorr wanting Bonnie to leave them alone | u/Emotional_Lobster778 Bonnie Rant | u/Ok-Level_99 telling Bonnie to give it up | u/Smithiexx hated her | u/Dontaskmyname98 wants to be left alone as well | u/twoofakindfinds says "Major ick and also major red flag"

I just wanted to add these so that you could see that other people also think Bonnie is kinda... Icky and creepy I guess.

It is a disease Fusebox give most female LIs though. The "women who are supposed to be bisexual but are constantly in friendship couples with men and beg for the MC to change her mind" bullshit.

Posts by u/Ok_Level_99 (same post as the one listed above in my example)

And this is why I don't like pushy characters. Like I've said before, if you've stated the fact that you do not give a shit about them, why are you still trying? It's just embarrassing by now. Do you WANT me to file a restraining order against you? Like seriously?

I get being jealous and all, but this is honestly the most unattractive thing you can do when someone isn't interested. It's the fact that she STILL believes she has a chance.

And I'm honestly just repeating myself by this point.

There was a lot more I could've talked about, but I decided to leave it there. I think I'll come back to this and make another post of some other shit happens in the remaining 15 episodes.

Hopefully I won't have to deal with this much longer. I just wanna go back to the OG boys.

[history-detective]

BlackStar ~Theater Starless translation

Season 1 – Episode 9 (Last Chapter):

Common Chapter 1-5 - Open the gates to darkness.

(Kei, Menou, Rindou, Maica, Yakou, Sinju)

Kei: --This is the outline of the next performance.

Kei: As mentioned earlier, we are considering establishing a new Team C.

Kei: Consider that this performance period will also serve as a test performance for Team C.

Maica: Something like off-Broadway?

Kei: It's safe to say so. Have you heard about Qu being transferred to C?

Rindou: We also understand that. The starting lineup has already been assigned.

Kei: Fair enough.

Yakou: So, is that "Borderline" guy really going to do it?

Yakou: Isn't it too arrogant to fire someone if they don't earn the predetermined points?

Sinju: Well that's true......but Starless is like that.

Menou: It's because it's an unreasonable store to begin with. It can't be helped.

Maica: It's just a matter of crossing the borderline.

Yakou: ..........Are you all convinved?

Sinju: As for the dismissal, Haseyama has said it before.

Sinju: Kei was able to negotiate a deal that saved us from being fired.

Menou: So, have you decided who will do what yet? We're doing a show for another team.

Menou: Different members than usual, a different show than usual. I'm looking forward to it.

Maica: You don't have enough screws as usual.

Menou: Fufufu, I mean it's seems like fun.

Kei: The allocation to each program has been roughly determined.

Kei: However, Heath says he won't sing, so the singer is still being adjusted.

Rindou: Does that mean there is one spot open for Singer? Then- is it okay if I run as a candidate?

Kei: I don't mind. I was considering having you sing.

Yakou: Well, if it's that easy to decide, please consider me as a candidate too.

Sinju: If Yakou is a candidate, I'd be fine too, right, Kei?

Menou: Wow, everyone is so proactive.

Maica: Won't Menou piggyback on it?

Menou: I'm not a pattern person. I want to act, so I'll leave the singing to you.

Kei: .....Hmm. Now, let's use Rindou as a singer.

Yakou: Wasn't that a quick decision? I didn't even try.

Kei: You just rode on Rindou's backside [T/N - Kei is implying that he only put himself forward because Rindou did]. There is no need to consider those who are not prepared to come forward.

Yakou: ......Kuh.

Kei: You have no objection either, Sinju.

Sinju: Ah, yeah, I'm sure I took advantage of it. It's okay, for me.

Maica: But, isn't there an option for Kei to sing?

Kei: Team K's singer is Yoshino. It's not me.

Menou: Indeed, I see. In that case, Kei is divided.

Kei: Of course.

Maica: Also, Yoshino and Akira have been around for a long time, so they perform most of the programs.

Maica: Isn't it too advantageous for the both of them?

Kei: That's right. I admit that there are advantages and disadvantages. So are you going to get off the stage?

Maica: Don't joke around. Who will be there? I'll show you that I can win.

Sinju: It will be me! Because I want to stay in Starless.

Menou: Well, I guess I'll have to try anyway. Hehe, I'm looking forward to it.

Yakou: I don't think I'll enjoy something like this exam.

Sinju: So, should you stop?

Yakou: ......I'll do it. I'm sure I can do it. Can only one person escape?

Kei: As long as I am on stage, I won't allow anyone to pollute it. Go in with that determination.

Menou: ----Rindou? What's wrong? You've not spoken.

Rindou: Oh.....that. Well, Kei.

Rindou: All the other teams already know this story.

Kei: Ah. I've explained it all. And?

Rindou: No....I was just wondering how the other teams reacted.

Kei: I had some trouble with Team B, but not much else.

Rindou: Team W too?

Kei: Ah, it seems like Kokuyou is "going to ride". Is that okay?

Rindou: I understand. Thank you very much.

Rindou: Team B also decided to "take a ride". We cannot back down here.

To be continued.....

DISCLAIMER – This is not an accurate translation! Please do not steal. Please let me know of any corrections and what I translated wrong- I may have just written what I think works best, but if you think otherwise, let me know. :)