I'm actually quite proud of Armand right now. Openly admitting to Amalia the reason their relationship was always strained was because he'd always been jealous of her and her relationship with their father is such a great character moment for him.
One thing season 4 is definitely delivering is some much needed depth and exploration of the Sadida Royal family. And I find myself fascinated (not only because Amalia is my favourite character and I have a soft spot for her people).
Personally, Armand is a character I have a lot of trouble having a clear stance on. I don't hate him, and it's true his motives become clear and even understandable once you give them some thought, it's just that Ankama does a wonderful job at making him both outwardly dislikable given his abrasive personality and some of his most questionable actions.
For example, season 3 Armand and season 4 Armand are almost like night and day. Maybe it is indeed that his new role as king has forced him to be more responsible and emotionally mature, but the vibes between L'assamblée and Falling Down are completely different.
In season 3 he just oozed contempt for his sister, and his actions towards her reeked of ulterior motives. The fact that Aurora has been described as manipulative (even her hairstyle is meant to hint at her true nature) and was purposely placed in between the two siblings as a visual nod to how she's keeping them apart doesn't help matters.
Which is another factor to take into account: Aurora's character and the role she plays in the siblings' deteriorating bond.
Even if so far she seems to genuinely love Armand, I really can't bring myself to trust Aurora. Not only because of all the behind-the-scenes facts I already mentioned, but because her actions are just sketchy and clearly veered to the betterment of the Osamodas rather than the Sadida.
First of all, her contempt for Amalia is genuine and she legitimately seems to be planning to send her away to keep her from interfering with her plans. After all, this is literally what she had to say about her sister-in-law:
"Ne vous en faîtes pas mon prince, nous finirons bien par redresser cette mauvaise herbe."
Translation: "Don't worry, my prince, we'll get this weed straightened out in the end."
(I haven't watched the English dub, so my apologies if the translation doesn't match the official version).
There's also the fact that, despite being the new Sadida Queen, her intentions in season 3 clearly laid in the benefit of her own kingdom, the Osamodas. Such is reflected in her choice of suitors for Amalia:
She intended for Amalia to marry Ashdur, her own cousin, thus, strengthening the Osamodas' hold over Sadida politics. In fact, it becomes quite clear Aurora's choice in suitors, only supported by Amalia implying back then her sister-in-law had already tried the same thing with her brothers, was much less about the future of the Sadida Kingdom and more about the Osamodas' sake.
After all, while arranged marriages between royal families isn't anything new, usually the sensible and even most strategic thing to do is for rulers to"spread" their children and marry them into different families around the world. That is exactly what Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabela of Castile did with their own children, they married them off to the royal families of England, Portugal, and Austria.
With that in mind, having both Sheran Sharm children marry Osamodas royalty just seems dumb, doesn't it? It all comes to show Aurora is more concerned over solidifying her power over the Sadida Kingdom than its actual well-being.
Which is why I'm still going to keep my guard up regarding her character until the season ends. After all, we still have 9 more episodes where everything can go up in flames.
But going back to Armand, even though he is in love with his wife, his treatment of Amalia in L'assamblée is leagues better than it was in season 3. Unlike most of his appearances and his interactions with his sister, where he kept treating her like a child who didn't know any better (what she just so happened to accuse him of when presented with Ashtur, as a matter of fact), here not only does he finally open up to his sister about his insecurities and his reasoning for his behaviour towards her, but he offers her support in the wake of their father's passing and even invites her to attend the assembly with him.
He is entrusting her with responsibilities befitting a queen, not a child.
Their relationship is finally healing.
As I said earlier, despite the undeniable depth behind his character, it's difficult to really side with Armand in plenty of occasions. Not only because of his difficult personality and flaws, but because it is so much easier to sympathise with Amalia.
And I'm not talking exclusively about the fact that, as one of the main characters, we've been by her side throughout everything, witnessing her true selfless, responsible, and brave self, but the fact that her position within her own family certainly tugs at our heartstrings.
Amalia is the youngest sibling, the princess. For all the sheltering and privileges that can get her, it also became her gilded cage. And for the most part, not even her family was a safe haven.
Queen Sheran Sharm died when Amalia was probably still a kid, whereas Armand was most likely already a teenager. As King Oakheart revealed back when he explained to Amalia it had been Armand who insisted they let her go, the queen's death shook their entire family, making the king and prince unintentionally turn their backs on Amalia during a time she needed as much affection as possible. And so, her royal duties became stifling, her royal upbringing unbearable. Thus is the reason for her wanderlust.
And then we have Armand's reason for not always being fair to her: jealousy. He resented her for being Oakheart's favourite, despite constantly going off to adventures while he remained in the kingdom by his side. Now, as I said, this was a great character moment for Armand, one that also belies his character development. However, it doesn't change the fact that, while easier to relate and sympathise with him, we still sympathise with Amalia more or have been doing so for far longer because we knew the effect this had had on her.
We all have been someone's scapegoat to their frustrations with a third person, we have all been treated unfairly by someone who, for whatever reason, couldn't solve their own issues with the person they had problems with in the first place and took it out on us. This is the crux of Armand and Amalia's strained relationship: for years, Armand took his frustrations and insecurities out on Amalia instead of having an honest conversation with their father.
That's why it's easier to sympathise with Amalia, because we know that, deep down, for all her flaws, she was never at fault for how their relationship turned out. Because we can understand her frustration and pain when, even with their dying father, Armand still chose to listen to his wife over her and try to marry her off instead of being there for each other when they both needed most. As Amalia called him out for before leaving with Yugo, he still chose politics over family. Everything involving Armand and Aurora is about politics.
But now that they are at least beginning to rebuild their relationship, I sincerely hope things get better for them. Unless their original intentions back in 2017 have changed, I seriously fear Ankama will still use Aurora to complicate things further between these two.
Please, Ankama, I'm literally begging you. They're all the family they each have left, don't let their relationship be ruined forever.
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Tourist Trapped: Smallest Emo Rythym Guitarist Falls Into World's Largest Bong Roadside Attraction, Fans in Uproar
41-year-old rythym guitarist and father, Frank Iero, was found this Tuesday morning, miraculously uninjured but inexplicably stuck at the bottom of one of America's lesser known tourist attractions, the World's Largest Semi-Smokable Bong.
While bandmates and friends seem somewhat desperate to save their guitarist, fans seem content to pose at the scene for selfies and autographs - the latter being understandably more difficult to accomplish.
"He was small enough to get in this mess, you'd figure he'd be small enough to get out of it," frontman Gerard Way told the press at the scene of the incident. "Ah, well. He's got air, he'll be fine."
To ensure the guitarist does not go hungry, the remaining members of alternative emo rock band My Chemical Romance have come together to provide sustenance.
"See here," said Ray Toro, lead guitarist and cupcake connoisseur, "We've got all these chip bags, right? He loves these - but the trick is getting them in there. So we're kind of just chucking them in the air the best we can and hoping they'll make it in."
As he said this, bassist Mikey Way demonstrated for the assembled crowd, while his ever-supportive brother cheered him on in the background.
"That was a ten-pointer!" the frontman declared, the lucky bag of Doritos making its landing on the head of the presumably disgruntled Iero.
"Yeah," Way continued, squinting against the sun as he observed the scene. He took a long, contemplative sip of his Starbucks latte, then nodded. "He's alright in there."
While Way seems mostly unconcerned, rumors are circulating that a petition is in place to attempt to smoke the man if it receives 420 signatures in a 69 hour time frame.
In the meantime, a small gang of fans have posed the idea of assembling a crane outside the bong - not to rescue Iero, but to deliver his guitar to him so he can perform for the crowd, even in his time of distress.
Although this is certainly a trying time for the guitarist, some have expressed doubts as to what exactly the man was doing in order to have fallen into the monstrously oversized vessel in the first place.
"He went, 'I'm gonna blaze it!' and just fuckin' bolted," Way said to the press. "I've never seen him climb like that for anything. He was really goin' for it."
Foul play is not suspected.
Iero could not be reached for comment.
More to come as events unfold.
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do you know any writers that characterize stiles similarly to you? im in my possessive/protective macho man derek and kitten stiles era 😭
I feel like I'm about to talk about, like, the obvious choices here but I have a memory of a goldfish as in I don't remember authors' names, I just remember the plots of the fics
So, uh, groundbreaking, I know, but standinginanicedress, especially Tax Evasion series, Cut to the Bone and Helen of Troy, like I can't not mention the person that raised me to be the author that I am.
Next, Dexterous_Sinistrous, another legend genuis, I'd put them to the vibe you described.
If you want spicy, then SinQueen69 like damn the things this author puts Stiles through…
I don't remember reading this person's other fics but Hung the Moon by nrnyx altered my reality, and Derek is so soft with Stiles in this
Again, groundbreaking. SORRY
Thus, stereks, let's help our comrade in need! If you know fics with unhinged Derek and soft kitten Stiles, please, rec some!
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