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astrogre · 5 months

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What gifts to buy for each Venus sign

Christmas is among us, my favourite season and time of the year. Venus is the planet of love, by nature it can display what we like to receive from others but if you don’t know their Venus or the house it’s in you can try to look at the persons Sun sign instead but Venus is ideal.

A gift based on their:

Sun sign will make them feel seen and like you know them well, it will be a gift they may appreciate

Venus sign is all they’ve ever desired it’s the pinnacle of their ideal gift. Especially as Venus represents how we like to receive and experience love

Aries/ 1H Venus

Gym membership, running shoes, thrill seeking experiences like tickets to bungee jumping, rock climbing, a skydiving event, gym outfit, tickets to their favourite artist, tickets to festival, cool lighter, archery classes, tickets to sports games, a shirt with their teams logo or merch from their favourite artists, scissors set, cooking tools, hair styling products like hairspray, hair dye, Fitbit/apple watch, knives set, sports gear, heavy bass headphones, tickets for those room smashing experiences, take them clay pigeon shooting, family destroying board games like Risk or Catan, diy tattoo kit, diy piercing kit, theme park tickets.

Aries Venus are by nature thrill seekers, Aries is ruled by the head and has 1st house influences, they can certainly appreciate something that ignites passion, they are impulsive and quick by nature to pursue what they desire. They need gifts that match their decisive nature and to let out that pent up energy they have in them, I honestly think experiences are the best for them. Or a box of hair dye for their impulsive moments

Taurus/ 2H Venus

Hire a chef or take them to a really good restaurant for a 5 course meal that serves orgasmic food and has impeccable visuals/atmosphere OR you can even arrange a 7 course homemade meal with the finest of recipes! , fine jewellery adorned with a gemstone, culinary experiences, cooking classes, kitchenware, go to fragrantica.com and find a high quality perfume to give, premium home decor, art, antique items, antique furniture, comfortable cosy clothing, hot water bottle, gardening tools, plants, selection of seeds for their garden, diffuser, essential oils, desserts like baklava/ferro rocher, luxury goods, wellness retreat subscription, day at the spa, tea set, comfy velvet winter pillows and bed sheets

Oh my Taurus natives, they know how to break a bank for Christmas and if not they can enjoy luxury on a budget! They enjoy the finer things of life of course Venus ruled, they know how to induge in pleasures and satisfaction. Due to the earthy influence they have a green finger and a natural affinity with plants and gardening, they may love flowers or want to grow plants themselves. Taurus venuses are rather easy to gift, if you know them they usually have a vice, it may be sleep, food or pure laziness, get them something according to their vice and they will treasure it.

Gemini/ 3H Venus

Really cool stationary, Spotify subscription, comedy show tickets, books from their favourite genre, a notebook, Grammarly subscription, cards against humanity board game, Duolingo subscription, multiplayer games, home kit recording studio, language learning stuff, calligraphy classes, kindle, portable car charger, Bluetooth speaker, karaoke machine, suitcase, travel accessories, a musical instrument, sealing wax kit, creative hobby supplies, microphone, podcasting equipment, audio editing software, a car, vr headset, Nintendo online subscription, Netflix/HBO/youtube/crunchyroll subscription

Gemini rules communication, short journeys and social engagement. Blessing these natives with tools to enhance their pleasant hobbies will make them swoon in gratitude, if you want to get them something make it engaging and whimsical. These natives are ruled by mercury and always welcome something that requires the mind.

Cancer/ 4H Venus

A cooking set, baking set, comfort food, commission artwork of the family, family photos, some really nice home decor, a keepsake/musical box adorned with velvets and soft materials that will store sentimental objects, a locket necklace, family recipe book make a recipe book of all their favourite foods and some foods you know they’d like, soft fluffy blanket, the family heirloom, hand crafted quilt, hand painted ceramic mug, animal crossing game, sims 4 game, games relating to the home, bring and fly in family that are far away as a surprise and cook their favourite meal together, household utilities, lush bath products, a personal chef for a day, a personal butler for a day, custom family tree art, ancestry DNA kit (please be careful though once you use them they keep your data and if they get hacked your information is out there), home movie night, comfy slippers and pyjamas, family board games, this christmas make them Christmas dinner this time.

Cancer rules the home and there’s nothing more appreciated by a cancer Venus than things that remind them of this. They are by nature expressive and nurturing, this time let them be pampered!

Leo/ 5H Venus

Hair care products, gift card for their favorite store, make them an edit no joke like a TikTok edit that makes them look really cool, one of those light up mirrors or a pretty handheld one if they don’t have one already, book them a photoshoot together if they don’t like the camera maybe post them on your social media and show affection for these bold natives, theatre tickets, bold sunglasses, luxury watch, good jewellery, VIP experiences like backstage passes or reservation to exclusive invite only restaurants, designer clothing that is a prestigious brand they love, commission style artwork, make them a playlist of songs that reminds you of them, fine wine, personalised fragrance creation that allows them to create their own signature fragrance, personalised makeup makeover, hire a stylist for them

A perfect gift for Leo’s need to have an element of self expression, luxury and incorporate their personality that garners attention from peers. They need a gift that makes them feel special, something tailored specifically for them that cannot be gifted to anyone else. Personalised gifts do well either this placement too. When I think of these natives I just think of that Meghan Trainor music video “Me Too” watch that and you’ll get their vibe.

Virgo/ 6H Venus

Skincare products, a blender for smoothies, lots of cleaning products, multi purpose aesthetic storage containers, Quora or chat gpt subscription (these guys like to be well informed), give them scientifically researched bath products that have all that vitamin breakdown qualities, make them a notion template to help them plan, quality office supplies like a desk organiser or chair, practical fitness gear like a yoga mat, a fitness tracker, get them a personal nutritionist, tailored meal prep services, bookshelf organiser system, a stylish briefcase, home office makeover (BUT PLEASE GET THEIR PERMISSION FIRST), online course subscription, digital subscription to news feed, you can never go wrong with practical things, an ikea haul, Costco membership, minimalist decor, multi vitamins, a precision watch, set of labelling and sorting tools, a neat tidy chess board, get them a nice little pet, honestly for some reason whenever I think of Virgos I think of matcha. Get them something matcha based.

Virgo Venus natives need gifts that resemble their routine and organisation, they can be rather difficult to purchase for since they have such a specific taste in mind. Gift cards are practical for them but they really need something that allows them to be more prepared. Take them out for comparison price shopping like say if you want to get them a sofa tell them you’ll take them out to Costco, Amazon, ikea, and compare the best ones. They are also very clean and efficient.

Libra Venus/ 7H Venus

Trending Make up like the fenty hot chocolit heat lip gloss, Korean skincare products, beautiful piece of art, a wedding ring 😏, bouquet of flowers, take them to a beautiful botanical garden, fashionable accessories like a silk scarf, books and courses on design, take them to a couples romantic date, a couples workshop, write them a love letter, museum date, tickets to an art exhibition, fine dining, an astrology synastry reading, if they’re single set up a blind date with someone who you KNOW they would like (make sure they’re handsome/pretty), couples retreat, love coach Patreon subscription, pottery/painting classes, relationship podcast subscription, relationship psychology books, fine fragrance/cologne

Libra is ruled by Venus and 7th house, all things related to love beauty and pleasure align with this native, even if they are single they have a natural gift for delving into relationships. Make sure that whatever gift you give them it is pleasing and sensual

Scorpio/ 8H Venus

Intimate gifts, a psychological crime documentary playlist like Epstein island documentary or YouTubers who speak of renowned cult leaders, personalised astrology reading, a dark seductive fragrance, dark artwork, dominance and submission guide book, shadow work journal with a lock on it, dark poetry and literature, escape room adventure tickets, monopoly game, dungeons and dragons game equipment, bdsm accessories, personalised erotic art, leather/latex clothing, bonding activities, empowering books like 48 Laws of Power, martial arts training, taxidermy, personal development workshops, intense workout equipment like a punching bag, chess, daggers, locks on their door or for their belongings like installing a lock for their drawers, buy them a ring camera and subscription, wine tasting experience

Give them something sultry and deep, it has to be psychological and empowering. They are not impressed by superficial gifts that mean nothing to them. They really like gifts that allow them to explore their nature and the darker aspects of existence.

Sagittarius/ 9H Venus

A scratch off map that allows you to scratch off countries you’ve been to, a surprise holiday where you take them abroad, Duolingo subscription, a wanderlust journal for them to document their experiences, passport accessories, an electric guitar, drums, take them to a fireworks display or do one at home for them, a telescope, a drone, binoculars, philosophical books or religious books based on their own beliefs and religion, running shoes, horse riding in the sunset experience, musical instruments, motivational and positive affirmations book or make some for them yourself, a book collection of all their motivational and positive messages they have said, a compass, pay for their tuition for a course they’ve always wanted, traveling stuff like suitcases, pillow for travelling, a portable flask, a disposable camera, a Polaroid camera, a tent, tickets to a cultural festival, hiking gear, skiing gear, camping gear, sketchbook, a donation in their name

Sagittarius Venus and 9H venuses love the concept of exploration whether it be in the mind or physically, the best gift you could give them is one that allows them to take in so much culture, information and experiences.

Capricorn/ 10H Venus

Customisable credit card (CUCU is a good site for this), a nice power suit like business attire, vintage pocket calculator, cufflinks or a tie, formal shoes, pay for their CV to be analysed by professionals in their industry, elegant timeless clothing and jewellery, make them business cards, get them a corporate slave (an assistant will do), pay for business class flights for their next trip abroad, project management courses, tickets to Ted Talk event, take them to and big them up at networking and entrepreneurial opportunities, a sleek desk, submit their work for trophies and awards, quality furniture, Starbucks or their fave coffee place gift cards, a fountain pen, personalised desk name plate, professional photoshoot, designer accessories like a Swiss watch, leather wallet, cheque book, pay for a professional calligrapher to design their signature, time management software

Our sweet cap Venuses and 10Hers need their professional acknowledgment, give them anything timeless and a way for them to better themselves. They love being the best of the best so give them things that support their ambitions.

Aquarius/ 11H Venus

A 3D printer, high tech phone, a gamer console, smart home device like Alexa, chat gpt subscription, AI art pieces of them, rubix cube, VR headset, bespoke one of a kind art piece, tickets to a science technology conference or musem, networking events, phone case, futuristic home decor, membership to an niche club their interested in, mini indoor garden like a plant terrarium, pay for an astronomy stargazing experience for them, alt clothing, goal setting journal, a camaraderie for their friendships can be a bracelet for an example, tickets to a unique workshop according to their niche interests, video editing software, a unique invention prototype for the industry their interested in say if it were cars then a mini Tesla or something, volunteer together, design software, film festival tickets, social cause merchandise, unique fashion piece, astronomy kit, an AI boyfriend or girlfriend, take them a Ted talk.

Always remember the specific niche interests of these natives they like things that are very niche and so sometimes asking them is actually the best thing to do. But make sure it’s something they’re passionate about not all of these natives live tech but they certainly are innovative.

Pisces/ 12H Venus

Seashell necklace, watercolour paints, fantasy book collection, their favourite mangas, handmade artwork, stained glass window art, dream interpretation book, flowerpedia book, vinyls, yoga mat, contact lenses, tickets to their favourite artist like mitski or the sort, create a playlist for them that’s about fantasy and imagination, they might like Disney consider taking them to Disneyland, windchime, subscription to mindfulness app, astrology book, go to the aquarium together, windchimes, art supplies, a dream journal, sound healing instruments, pay for their spiritual retreat, zen garden decor, a mystical music box, water fountain, take them to a mesmerising body of water, prayer mats, diary, write them a heartfelt letter of how amazing they are, take them to a nature retreat, wearable art

Dreamy imaginative gifts would be perfect for these people, they need gifts that allow them to appreciate their escape world where they have a reality that’s just better than here. Give them things that are as beautiful as their inner world.

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butterflydm · 7 months

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wot deeper dive 2x8: what was meant to be

So excited to take a scene-by-scene look at this epic episode. This post will be dealing only with show spoilers and there will be another post later on that includes spoilers from the books.

I really loved season one, but season two has been richer, deeper, and so emotionally powerful. Have loved it so much. Posts that I'm planning to do in the next few weeks: I want to do a post covering each main character's s2 journey, I'm gonna do some speculation for s3, and I've got some posts planned on the imprisonment/control themes and the 'alone-vulnerable; together-shieldwall' theme that was so beautifully realized in the finale, and more.

But that's for the future.

For now, let's get into the show-only deep dive!

I don't think I really talked about the opening scene in my previous posts about the episode, but I really enjoyed it! I hope that future seasons continue the theme of having the final cold-open of the season be something from the Age of Legends.

2. What they did with showing the close relationship with Lews Therin and Ishamael really plays well with how Ishamael feels a kinship with Mat and thus believes that Mat is vulnerable to the same kind of philosophy and influences that Ishamael fell victim to -- he sees that Rand and Mat are close in the ways that he was close with Lews Therin, and thus believes that Mat being Rand's downfall is what is most likely to tip Rand over to the dark (alongside Egwene, who is our modern-age Lanfear counterpart imo). I really love what they've done with this relationship and with how Ishamael essentially tricked himself into believing that he understood Mat when he was really projecting himself onto Mat, just as he's been projecting Lews Therin onto Rand.

And we get the symmetry of Ishamael asking for death here and being denied, and then Rand killing him at the end of the episode, like he wanted.

3. We get confirmation here that LTT sealed the rest of the Forsaken first and Ishamael is last. This is where we get another name drop: Sammael. So the names that we have for sure are: Moghedien, Graendal, and Sammael (plus Ishamael and Lanfear, of course).

4. It looks like the other Aes Sedai here are all men, which ties us into the discussion/argument that Lews and Latra were having in the 1x8 cold open.

5. "They say this seal is so strong, not even I could break it." And while the seals do appear to be weakened by this modern point in time, we saw the effort that Ishamael went to in 2x4 to break out Lanfear. He did that six more times in this episode before he went to confront Rand. He was worn out, y'all.

I do think it's interesting the ways that Ishamael's nihilism interacts with his behavior with Rand. Once he realizes that Rand is here, he knows that his plan for turning Rand to the Shadow has essentially failed. Because Rand's friends have come to help him, and because of Lanfear's betrayal, Ishamael knows that it's over. And part of him is grateful when Rand kills him, and relieved. He doesn't really believe that he's going to reach Rand on that tower and turn him to the Dark -- that's why he sets two back-up plans into motion: a) releasing the Forsaken and b) trying to get Rand gentled.

6. Lews Therin's resigned apologies to Ishamael here for trapping him into a Fate Worse Than Death vs Mat's frantic apologies to Rand after he accidentally stabs him with the dagger from Shadar Logoth -- Lews Therin has been forced into this because of Ishamael's choices, while Mat was tricked into hurting Rand (both here and back in 2x6, when he 'abandons' Rand).

And I love the pan-up and the reveal that the "Eye of the World" was the place where Rand and Moiraine were tricked to go in 1x8 to free Ishamael from his seal.

7. I missed the credits! Though I absolutely understand the team prioritizing getting a little more screen time in each episode, since they were forced to choose. The golden threads bursting out when Josha's name appears always give me chills.

8. Our episode proper starts with the Whitecloaks planning their attack on Falme. The way that the Whitecloaks get introduced with that fade-in from light is very intriguing. I'm not a military expert but Bornhald's strategy sounds pretty solid to me: non-military expert, lol. We can see that they're hiding in the jungle for now, and they plan to make the assault as quick as possible because they have to take out the 'witches' first or any assault is doomed.

The Whitecloaks estimate there are 28 damane with the Seanchan at this time.

I really like how we see the Whitecloaks' ranks shown by how their armor is designed. The costume design on this show has been so striking, this season even more than s1. There's an almost stained-glass quality to the bands on the armor, which helps enhance that 'church/inquisition' vibe that we are going to also get with the children swinging incense.

9. "But we have something they don't."

haha, you don't know how long it took me to realize that Bornhald was implying "we have the Light on our side". Which, funnily enough, the Seanchan ALSO believe! Both sides believe that they are the ones fighting in the name of the Light, not suspecting that here comes Rand al'Thor with the steel chair (of the Light).

But I really love how drenched this episode is in light, after a season that has been very dark (emotionally and frequently literally).

10. "The Watchers on the Waves called for help, letters to every queen, every king in the world, to the Amyrlin Seat herself, begging, but no one came."

This 100% explains the reaction of the people of Falme at the end of the episode, imo. They have been begging for help and no one has come, so they gave up hope and are just doing their best to survive each day. And then the Seanchan are driven out in a matter of hours and they see that huge-ass dragon on the tower (and this version of the story does have people knowing what a dragon looks like -- the book that Rand looks at in season one with the Karaethon Cycle has a dragon sketch in the pages (at 17:38 in episode 1x5 -- there is SO MUCH subtle lore in 1x5, y'all) -- so they know what it means when they see the dragon on the tower). They know exactly who saved them from their recent oppression.

It also ties into a theme from the books, where the different nations are so wrapped up in their own problems that they don't see the big looming apocalypse that is coming for everyone. Everyone was so busy with their own problems that they ignored the messages from Falme.

11. "These strangers are slavers and murderers. We fight them because we must."

Where's that "Heartbreaking: the worse person you know just made a great point" meme? lol. honestly, that's something that the show has been doing really well! Even people who are doing terrible things are not 100% terrible and are capable of making genuinely good arguments. And they believe in themselves and their cause. The Whitecloaks and the Seanchan are both scarier when we are seeing the True Believers in the cause.

12. And Dain brings up the prophecy here that "in Falme's greatest moment of need, the Dragon will return to us" which really gives me "King Arthur" vibes (which is fitting! one of the cool themes in the book is heroic archetypes and how the wheel turns myth into legend, and we also see the Heroes of the Horn bringing that theme into the show in the major way in this episode). So, once again, the people of Falme are going to know exactly who to credit for their big rescue and seem pretty primed to become strong supporters of the Dragon Reborn, given the information that we've gotten about the city.

Bornhald dismisses prophecy in general as "the lies of long-dead witches" and we intercut into Lanfear leading Rand & co through the Ways, which is a beautiful transition. That was excellent.

13. A lot of characters have mentioned the Falme prophecy but I don't think anyone has mentioned it to Rand, specifically. He's not coming to Falme to fulfill prophecy -- he's coming to try to save Egwene. Much like Mat's reaction to Rand was very much colored by how he abandoned Rand at the Waygate, Rand's reactions with Egwene are colored by how he abandoned her at the end of s1. We know why Rand made that choice, of course, but now he's seeing the unintended consequences of that choice.

14. Lanfear's full plan gets revealed over the course of this episode, not in a super in-your-face way, but clear enough to put all the pieces together of exactly how long she's been planning to screw over Ishamael and the rest of the Forsaken (... since the moment she woke up and learned that LTT's new incarnation was around). Some of the details of this plan go into spoilers, so I'll put it in the later post but, in brief: she's manipulated various pieces on the board to use Ishamael's own plans against him -- trapping Egwene and Nynaeve in Falme was an Ishy plan, but Lanfear was able to use Egwene's presence in Falme as a way to get Rand motivated to want to go there to rescue her and, incidentally, fulfill a teeny-tiny prophecy. After Rand killed Ishamael and was proclaimed the Dragon, she was planning to have Doman dump the rest of the Forsaken in the ocean and then she would have plenty of time to manipulate seduce her dearest Lews Therin Rand into loving her again.

And it almost worked! Well, I don't think seducing Rand a second time would have gone as well as she was hoping, but most of the plan really worked out for her.

15. It looks like the show just revealed here that Lanfear also has the Talent of being able to see fellow channelers even when they aren't embracing the Source. ("I can see it in you.")

I love Lan protectively trying to step in front of Moiraine even though he has zero chance against Lanfear. It's giving real "bless him, he tries" vibes.

Lanfear just yeeting them out onto the beach cracks me up.

It also was really great in terms of how it set Moiraine up not as one of the main players fighting in the battle, but as support from the side, smoothing the way. When Rand and the rest of them come down from the tower and are greeted by the grateful people of Falme, none of those people will know that Moiraine and Lan had anything to do with Rand's success. It feels like such a natural progression of her role -- in s1, she was the driving force that led them all to the Eye of the World... and that ended up being a massive screw-up. This time, they all find their own ways to Falme, and none of our main six young heroes are there because they're planning on fulfilling prophecy or fighting the Last Battle. They're there to save one of their own (first Egwene, and then Rand). "Think not of glory but of salvation". They didn't quote it, but the thought is there in the action of what happened in the episode.

16. "How can you think I'd ever trust you again?"

"I'm the only one who actually cares about you, Rand. Everyone else -- Ishamael, Moiraine -- they just care about what you can do."

Lanfear attempting to use her manipulating wiles on Rand. Of course, at the end of the episode, he's going to get a big reminder that she's incredibly wrong and there are a bunch of people who care about him for who he is, but even in this moment, he doesn't look like he's falling for it. And Rand didn't walk away from his friends at the end of s1 because he believed that they didn't care about him. He walked away from them because he believed that he was dangerous to them.

(and she tried to use this tactic on Rand in 2x6 as well, but she failed there too, though she may believe that she succeeded, because Rand does still extend trust to Moiraine in 2x7 when she asks him why he was leaving Cairhien and he tells her everything that he knows/believes, including very much implying that he thinks Lanfear wants to kill him after he's been proclaimed Dragon)

Lanfear lost Rand's trust when he found out who she really was and that she had been manipulating him for months. And I think she's massively underestimating what she would need to do in order to earn any of that trust back.

17. After the Maidens warn Perrin that they are getting Bad Vibes and are pretty sure that today is going to be filled with people getting killed, Perrin asks Hopper to stay behind, trying to keep him safe. Oh, Perrin, that never works. And Hopper has just as much right to be in the fight as you do.

18. Lanfear accidentally screws over her own plan because she can't bring herself not to gloat before her future husband Rand kills Ishamael. This is the big moment when we see how much Ishamael and Lanfear's plans are diverging from each other (and Ishamael sees it too). Ishamael had been planning to play the long game with Rand, keep him away from Falme until he was ready to be turned to the Shadow. Now Lanfear has jumped the gun and brought Rand at a time when Ishamael only has two of Rand's friends in hand (Egwene and Mat) and even those two have not been broken yet. He's not ready for Rand to be here! There's still so much work to be done!

19. After this conversation, Ishamael is aware that he's potentially fighting a losing battle. But he doesn't give up -- he sends in Fain to try to accelerate Mat's corruption; he prepares Suroth for the possibility of gentling Rand. He won't give up without a fight.

Ishamael does sound so intense when he talks about how Rand isn't going to "choose us".

20. ...is Lanfear wearing a dragon earcuff? I think she might be wearing a dragon earcuff/earring. That is not subtle.

I like that it seems like Lanfear believes that she's tricked Ishamael, at least in part, just like she believed that she'd tricked Rand a lot more successfully than she had (since he was very much still lumping her together with Ishamael when talking to Mat and Moiraine).

21. ...I don't ever really have much to say about the fighty-fight part of battles. The image of the Whitecloaks galloping out of the incense/fog was pretty cool.

22. Nynaeve really does have a very rough go of it in this episode. While she does manage to help, that help is in the realm of "get Elayne to the tower so that Elayne can do something". And while I understand the frustration from her fans... her block needs to actually be a problem for us to understand why she wants to get rid of it. This episode made her block a problem, one that she wasn't able to overcome at the last second when it was desperately needed. Much like Mat's low ebb this season was intentional so that we could get the amazing high of the Horn scene, Nynaeve is entering a low ebb. At the beginning of the season, she was showered in praise and special attention that she didn't want. Now she wants the power that had earned her all that praise and she can't reach it (this is similar to how Rand's lack of training needs to actually be a problem so that we understand why he needs to get some training).

23. Oof, it's hard to watch Renna with Egwene. We do get clarification that the dark facepaint is for going into battle.

Renna cutting off Egwene's braid... much like the tree she forced Egwene to burn down, she's trying to attack something that she knows brings Egwene comfort.

Egwene's eyes when she's feeling at her shorn braid. Baby!

24. I've been finding it interesting to think about What's Up with Padan Fain. So far this season, he's stayed within Ishamael's orders (to our knowledge) but when Ishamael orders him to give the dagger to Mat, we hear the whispers of it calling to him. Once Ishamael is dead, does that free Fain to follow the call of the dagger? Because when Mat was under the influence of the dagger, he still was not a fan of the Shadow. Different kinds of evil. The evil of Shadar Logoth scared the Trollocs enough that they weren't willing to chase our people into the city. I will keep an eye on future developments!

25. Poor Mat has been having a Fucking Time of it. First, he has to watch Rand leave, knowing that he's apparently fated to kill his best friend with an evil dagger. Then he gets hit on the head and wakes up across the continent? With a scary lady who insults him? Then ol' flame-eyes is here and his eyes aren't flame anymore and Mat is just so exhausted and tired and he takes this tea that gets REAL trippy and depressing and tells him that he's destined to be awful forever. And then he's locked up alone in a room. And then... Padan Fain shows up???? With the dagger from Shadar Logoth?????

The one Mat is destined to kill Rand with?

Like... he has been having a time of it.

26. Oof, hard to watch Nynaeve torturing Seta. I understand why Elayne needs to keep looking away. Nynaeve wants so badly to find Egwene and save her. We actually get a lot of ruthlessness from the ladies in this episode -- Nynaeve with Seta; Egwene and Renna; and Moiraine's willingness to "kill a thousand innocents if there's even a chance [Rand] will live". But I think the show did a good job of showing you why each of these characters is driven to be so ruthless at this moment in time.

27. Rand confirms with his own eyes that Egwene is here in Falme, as he sees her and the other damane being led out of the kennels. And he sees the gag in her mouth -- I wonder if part of the reason for that part of the costuming was to make it easy for Rand to see from far away part of the indignities that are being forced on Egwene (obviously, he also saw what horrible conditions she was enduring in her cell back when Lanfear showed him Egwene, but now he knows for certain that what Lanfear was showing him was true).

28. Mat and Fain's conversation with Fain here is interesting because I think Mat is figuring it out -- so many people keep telling him over and over that he's destined to do the stupid thing; that he's worthless; that he's going to be like his dad; that he abandons his friends. Padan Fain is saying the exact same thing that Liandrin was saying (you abandoned your friends for the dagger). Having his old peddler from back home showing up to say the same things that the Aes Sedai who had kept him captive for months had said... that's kinda suspicious, bro. That kinda seems like someone else is supplying the script, bro. Because Mat is not in the same kind of despair here when he's listening to Fain as he was when he was listening to Liandrin. He's paying attention to who the messenger is (and who sent the messenger), not just the message itself.

The first time through watching this scene, it can feel like Mat is trying to convince himself when he smiles at Fain and tells him that he's not going to touch the dagger. But... he doesn't touch it. Instead, he inspects the room and comes up with a plan to escape that doesn't involve touching the dagger. It wasn't just bravado, when he was talking to Fain. He meant it. All these people, they keep telling Mat that they know him better than he knows himself. That they are the ones who really know his inner darkness. That they can guess what he's going to do next.

And Mat... he decides right here, I think, that he is going to prove them wrong. Maybe he WAS always terrible in his past lives? Well, then he'll fucking do better in this one. He makes the decision to do better BEFORE he learns that his past lives weren't rotten, and I think that's so important.

29. Moiraine and Lan's scene here is very sweet. I think this was a really sweet capstone to Lan's journey through the season and an affirmation of Moiraine trusting and allowing Lan and Rand to help her at the end of the last episode. Though the main culmination of the "alone we are vulnerable, together we are a shieldwall" comes in the fight against Ishamael, Moiraine has been very much a parallel with Rand this season in how she's been pushing people away so that she can face the danger alone, so her literally allowing Lan to share in her burden is a lovely little illustration of that same point. Plus the weaves and music here are just gorgeous. I really do love the intimacy here, between a man and woman who are fundamentally connected but not in a sexual or romantic way.

Meanwhile, Lan's journey goes back to a similar point as Mat's, I think, in that he accepts the idea that Moiraine views him as inferior and says he wants to help her anyway, before he gets rewarded with learning that she sees him not as an equal but as better than her. "Okay, what if this horrible thing, this thing that I don't want to believe could be true... what if it IS true and then I keep on doing the right thing anyway?"

Though I've never had the issue with Lan's storyline that I feel like I've seen some other book readers have. The only time his story felt 'slow' to me was through my first watch of 2x4 and even that changed when I did my rewatch and saw how much we were getting told about Alanna & her Warders and how it was leading up to Alanna getting folded into all the big plans. But, yeah, my main interest in Lan was never how many enemies he could kill per minute and the show has made him a much more interesting character to me than the books did.

30. I suspect all this 'getting the Horn' stuff might have been expanded on if we'd gotten ten episodes but there's enough information there to make it clear that Lanfear (as 'Selene') gave them the Horn so that her future devoted husband Rand would get his special toy before he fought Ishamael. Heists can be fun but we did get the info a couple of episodes ago that the Horn was barely being guarded, so that also tracks with it being easy for a 'slave' and a 'guard' to be able to sneak in and grab it.

...the Seanchan uniform actually looks really hot on Ingtar.

31. Perrin finds out here that Egwene is in Falme, and he instantly pivots to that information -- Egwene has been captured by the Seanchan; we have to help Egwene. We know that Perrin has been worried that all of them being isolated away from each other makes them vulnerable and here is proof! Obviously, if Egwene is here, then she has to be the priority over the Horn.

"The Horn of Valere summons the dead heroes of the past. It's the key to the Dragon winning the Last Battle."

Yeah, the show was very clear about what the Horn does. Even if you miss Ingtar's line on an initial watch, a rewatch would instantly clear it up (especially with the knowledge of what it does when Mat uses it). The fascinating thing is that Ingtar NEVER SAYS that the Dragon needs to use it, but that's clearly what Perrin assumes (and a lot of show-only reactors assumed it too, and were surprised by Mat being able to use it).

I like Loial's little speech. He shames Ingtar right out of his determination to leave the city with the Horn.

32. The way that Renna and Egwene's power struggle comes to a head in this episode was really effective I think.

We see Egwene not being able to bring herself to attack until she sees the Whitecloaks, and she takes care to place her fireball where it will only hit Whitecloaks and not any cilivians.

33. I have to admit, the view that certain book fans have that Rand did nothing in this episode are baffling (Nynaeve didn't do 'nothing' either, but both she and Rand ARE going to, I'm sure, seek ways in the new season to do more because they were both clearly frustrated by being 'blocked' from what they wanted to do). Rand did less than he wanted to do, because he got shielded -- motivation for him to want to search out some training next season, because there were several moments this season when his lack of training has been pointed out! -- but in both the Turak scene and the Ishamael scene, Rand ends the fight almost effortlessly (once he's free to do so, in the Ishy scene).

Turak and his guards stood literally no chance against Rand -- he raised his chin and looked, and over a dozen people died (but only the ones with weapons, not the Voice who wasn't a threat). I'm sorry, that is power. The idea that Rand indulging in a sword fight would have shown more power than what he actually did is ridiculous. He would have been a cat playing with a mouse instead of just killing it (and every show-only reactor that I've watched so far has had a BIG reaction to Rand doing this).

We've been shown throughout this season with the Forsaken that the less effort channeling takes and the more casual that you are with it, the more powerful you are. And that's exactly what Rand shows in this scene. Not only does he create and send the projectiles, they are precisely aimed to only target combatants.

Which means that Rand gets to see another aspect of Seanchan culture here -- the main slaves of a High Lord kills themselves when their lord dies. It really does show how deeply the brainwashing goes in Seanchan culture. And you can see that Rand is disturbed by the violence that he just did, but he has to move on, so he does.

34. I really do love how Josha embodies the physicality of Rand's channeling. He does move to channel but it feels very natural, like an extension of himself. It was that way in s1 as well. Rand channeling just... idk it hits different for me than any of the other channelers we've seen, as beautiful as the weaves can be.

35. "The Forsaken fought amongst themselves as much as they fought the Dragon," feels like a very important note for s3 -- the six Forsaken that Ishamael released are not going to be going after Rand together. Just as Lanfear ended up undermining Ishamael's plans, with the goal of killing him, getting rid of the other Forsaken, and living happily ever after with Lews Therin Rand, the other Forsaken will each have their own agenda too. So it's not complete doom and despair that they've all been released.

36. So even as Lanfear is making plans to dump the rest of the 'Chosen' in the ocean, Ishamael is busy at work releasing each of them, one by one. We learn here that Lanfear has been manipulating events in Moiraine's storyline from the very beginning of the season.

Ishamael brushing the dust of the remaining seals from his hands as he talks to Suroth: a+, lol. But to make matters even worse for him, he learns here that Turak is dead and the Horn has been stolen. And everything was looking so rosy for him before Lanfear showed up!

Ishamael's "shit, Lanfear betrayed us" back-up plans:

step 1: free the rest of the Chosen

step 2: get Rand shielded ASAP

step 3: Maybe seeing Mat and Egwene in dire straits will be enough to turn Rand to the Shadow? (it's confirmed here that Ishamael made sure to have Egwene ordered to the tower where "the whole city can see her")

*fails*

step 4: okay, we'll gentle him and then work on breaking him once he's less dangerous

*fails*

step 5: maybe I just kill him?

*fails*

step 6: well, guess I'll die. At least I screwed over Lanfear on my way out. The rest of the Forsaken will have to handle things from now on.

37. I love Mat working out a way to use the dagger without touching it. Also it kinda cracks me up that he ties the dangerous thing to a bedpost because... um... Lanfear tied Rand to a... I think that's maybe only funny to me. lol

We see here that Mat understands how the dagger works, probably a lot better than Ishamael did or Fain does. It nearly killed him last season! He's aware of how dangerous it is... but also how useful it can potentially be at the moment.

And I love that Rand's stubborn 'ACTUALLY, Mat is amazing and one of the best people who has ever lived, so jot that down' attitude from 1x7 gets proven correct here. Rand knew Mat better than anyone else, from what we saw at various points in s1, and now his certainty that Mat Is Good, Actually gets to be proven (including, very importantly, Mat himself... until the Accidental Stabbening gives Mat a brand-new guilt complex).

38. We can see here that the fireballs coming down from the damane in the tower are hitting ordinary citizens as well as the Whitecloaks -- not everyone is being as careful as Egwene.

She sees it too -- that's what makes her spit out her gag and refuse to help anymore. And this moment (among some others) really sells why this addition to the costuming works because Egwene actively and literally reclaims her voice here.

And the Whitecloaks attack on the tower work, killing many of the damane and sul'dam at the top of the tower.

39. While earlier, we saw that some of the Whitecloaks were helping pull civilians out of the way, once again, not everyone on their side is being that careful -- the Whitecloak archers shoot Seta, dressed as a damane, but they also shoot Elayne, dressed as an ordinary citizen. Both the Seanchan and the Whitecloaks are causing innocent people to get caught in between them and die.

And I do think it's clear here that Nynaeve is overwhelmed and scared, not angry. That's why she isn't able to reach the power. Her block is now officially a problem for her, one that she has a very good reason to try to get it fixed next season. This is a similar lesson to what they've been showing us in Rand's storyline: raw power isn't enough. You also need control, or other people will be able to control you.

40. And that ties into what Egwene does too -- both Mat and Egwene think outside the box in order to find clever solutions to their problems in this episode and not be limited to what their captors thinks they're capable of. They both choose an unlisted option.

She seizes control over herself and her situation, because she understands her power now. Egwene, Mat, and Moiraine all reclaim themselves after having gone through a long, rough period of being put in a situation where they feel inadequate and broken down.

And Egwene figured it out by being clever and putting together the information. We also get more confirmation here that only channelers can see weaves.

41. Reunions! Mat and Perrin's reunion here is very sweet. It's also much more straightforward than the more complex and fraught (though just as sweet) relationship between Mat and Rand. Perrin and Mat share a good long hug! Mat holds his shoulder for a moment! But when the hugging is gone, they pull away from each other and don't constantly stay all over each other like Rand and Mat were in their initial reunion scene in 2x6 (or like Rand and Mat will do in their upcoming scene, post-stabbening). So I love that we see that Mat and Perrin are very good friends and they love each other and... and it's not quite the same as Mat's friendship with Rand.

42. Poor Egwene really is so burnt out, emotionally, by her experiences and so traumatized, and we can really see how exhausted she is by everything that happened. She needs some real processing time.

I'm glad that we got Rand's apology to Egwene here, even if I think she's maybe only half-processing it at the moment.

43. I love how quickly Mat gives out the info of "Rand is alive, he's here, he's headed to help Egwene" to Perrin here. And that he takes another dig at Rand's hair, lol. When Rand regrows his hair, Mat gets the credit for it, lol. I also miss Rand's curls, Mat! You are not alone!

44. Ishamael is talking here like he's knows that it's over. He does not expect his appeal to Rand here to work -- like he told Lanfear, it's too soon. Egwene isn't broken. Mat isn't broken. He doesn't even HAVE Nynaeve or Perrin in hand. "Maybe next time it'll be different," Ishamael says, because he already knows that his primary goal of turning the Dragon to the Dark has failed.

I love the echoes of this scene to the one from the cold-open.

45. "You're his only hope" vs "betrayer of hope". I talked about this in one of my earlier posts I think, but the contrast still hits me hard.

Here we have Ishamael, blaming Lews Therin for his fall to the dark (and the stories say that it was LTT's 'fault' that Lanfear turned to), but it wasn't LTT's fault. It was Ishamael's choice. And it's Mat's choices that make him different from Ishamael.

But, yeah, this is another of those things that just gets extra weight to Mat and Rand's friendship vs Mat and Perrin's or Rand and Perrin's.

46. Dain and Perrin meet on the battlefield and get to fight back-to-back for a moment. I think everything with Perrin & the Whitecloaks & Hopper is well-done, but it's tough to talk about. Hopper does get a lovely send-off, as he see him leaping the way that he did when he told Perrin his name. Also, the tension between Dain and Perrin the next time they see each other (narratively, they have to see each other again, with all this set-up) is going to be fantastic.

Hopper's last sending to Perrin is so beautiful. And it's so easy to understand Perrin's rage here, just as it was easy to understand Egwene's need to kill Renna.

47. I like how Elayne (in agony!) is doing her best to help Nynaeve get to a place where she can help Elayne. She really takes charge of the situation and is able to bring a level of calm to it, even when she's under significant distress herself.

Nynaeve is trying so hard to channel here and she can't even embrace the Source. I do think that her 'block' probably got some reinforcement when her most recent use of the Power directly led to Ryma's capture.

(speaking of Ryma, since we don't see her in the tower or on the ships, it's entirely possible that, as a brand-new damane, she was still in the kennels and can get freed after the battle here is done; I would like that for her very much and - if they do decide to have the Wondergirls go back to the White Tower, Ryma could be the one to take them there, as she delivers the news about the Seanchan. That's one of the few reasons that I can see for the Wondergirls to think it will be safe for them to go back to Tar Valon, after they hear Moiraine's news, tbh)

But, yeah, I'm glad that Nynaeve can't just Bruce Banner "I'm always angry" at her problems. That her block is now something that is causing her distress in times when she desperately needs to be able to channel.

48. Mat blowing the Horn is such a beautiful moment. Time slowing and the music changing and the effects of how the Heroes appear. This is a moment of intense despair for everyone and Mat blowing the Horn here turns everything around. I think they did a really good job in making this the turning point of the episode. Mat blowing the Horn did bring back the hope of winning. It didn't win the battle, but it gave back hope. Instead of Mat being ~just like~ Ishamael, he is instead Ishamael's opposite. Instead of betraying hope, he creates it.

And it's such a joyous moment. Mat gets to have his self-worth affirmed by an outside source, gets to feel connected to something bigger than himself, after feeling alone for most of the season. It's really beautiful.

Just... gorgeous. And when Mat remembers and is able to get that validation that he is not destined to be a 'damn prick', just like his father, that he isn't rotten to his core... witnessing him going through that moment is so lovely. Cannot say enough good things about it, A+ television.

49. We also see that, after Mat says that he 'remembers', that he's handling his weapon differently, more familiarly, and he can now speak the Old Tongue. So we can see the impact that remembering his past lives has on him.

And, of course, we see here that Uno is one of the Heroes of the Horn! It's a nice hint to viewers who maybe weren't listening to Ingtar earlier that the Horn brings back the dead. Because we definitely all saw Uno die.

50. And, of course, being magically-fast ghost warriors, the Heroes absolutely can make sure that they only target active combatants and that no civilians get caught in the cross-fire.

Uno saving Perrin. <3 And then lending him a magic shield! Useful! I'm guessing it probably also fades away after the Heroes do.

And once the arrow is out of Elayne's leg, everyone is on their way to the tower.

51. Rand is able to push himself to his feet, despite the effects of the shield on him, and tell Ishamael, point-blank, "I will never serve him. In a thousand lives, I never have. I'm sure of it."

Ishamael knows that his main plan is a bust. It's only back-up plans and failsafes from here on out.

52. Mat's throw is a really good throw! Unfortunately, Ishamael is a trickster too, and it goes right through the illusion of him. This moment is incredibly traumatizing for Mat who only literally just now regained his sense of self-worth -- while we are going to end up with our heroes triumphing over Ishamael and the Seanchan and saving Falme... they all end up damaged and traumatized by it.

Mat just clutching onto Rand here in the wake of accidentally stabbing him. Oh, wow, it really gets to me. And Rand's anger is 100% (and very appropriately and accurately) focused on Ishamael.

And Ishamael is so distracted by this moment that he doesn't realize that Egwene has gotten up from where he threw her.

53. I love how delicate Elayne's healing weave is. And the wound left behind looks very nasty. And Rand getting healed by Elayne and then seeing the sun shining in her hair. What a way to be introduced to someone for the first time! They save your life like that and are literally wreathed in sunlight.

54. Moiraine and Lan getting on the same (ruthless) page when it comes to supporting Rand/the Dragon. And we get to really see Lan let loose with his fighting as Moiraine lets loose with her channeling.

55. I was honestly a little nervous about the idea of them actually doing a sky battle because I could not possibly picture how that would not be cheesy. I trusted the show's team but... I was nervous. What the show did was not at all cheesy. It was heartfelt and epic, but not cheesy.

I love how everyone works together to make it work. The team did such a good job of playing out this theme of having the characters be isolated and showing how that made them vulnerable, and then rewarding us with this beautiful coming together. They can be there for each other and protect each other.

And I'm confused about anyone feeling like this takes away from Rand because... they all contribute so that Rand can strike the final blow -- because Rand is the only one who could have done that part. Moiraine freed Rand from his shield and Elayne healed him, Egwene and Perrin were able to block Ishamael's attacks, but Rand absorbed Ishamael's attacks into his own weave to strengthen it, and then he wove the One Power directly into his sword and we can see the results -- instead of getting back up again, Ishamael crumbled to dust.

Ishamael himself was aware that he had lost as soon as Rand was unshielded, imo. He makes another attack after that, but it's clear that he knows that he lost. There's a reason that Ishamael's first big move in the scene with Rand is to get him shielded by the damane. That's the only way he even has a chance in this fight and he knows it. Egwene isn't able to go on the offense against, Ishamael in any way and we can see what a toll it's taking on her to hold up her shield against him - holes develop in her shield before Perrin shows up.

Minor Cauthor note: I love how after Rand gets rocked by being unshielded and he realizes that Mat got pulled away from Mat, he grabs Mat's hand again. Cute, even in the middle of a pitched battle.

56. Our poor traumatized babies! Let's count up the trauma:

a. Rand felt shielded and helpless for much of the fight and now has a wound in his side that Elayne wasn't quite able to heal. He's also very aware that his lack of training is causing big problems. And he's got a heron brand on his hand now.

b. Egwene is deeply traumatized from her time as a slave.

c. Nynaeve spent this entire battle feeling helpless and her only contribution was bringing Elayne here so that Elayne could heal Rand. Nynaeve may even blame herself for the state Rand's wound has been left in, wondering if she could have healed him fully if she'd had access to the Power.

d. Perrin just lost his new wolf BFF in a traumatic way.

e. Mat stabbed his best friend with an evil dagger (after spending months being psychologically tortured).

f. Elayne has a pretty nasty leg injury. Also, she has to be the most confused person here, by a mile. She likely knows about the prophecies and the Dragon Reborn as general concepts but had absolutely no clue that she was accidentally stumbling into the middle of them. She's gonna have so many questions.

57. But this whole section really is beautiful. Just... I love the fire-illusion dragon so much. Moiraine is always So Extra, all the time.

58. This is the first time any of them have seen Rand channel! Even though they can't see the weaves, they can see Rand walking through Ishamael's attacks without flinching, they can see his sword glowing red, and Ishamael turning to dust. And they heard Ishamael call him "Lews", probably.

It's also another incredibly intimate stabbing, though in a different way than Mat 'stabbing' Rand was. He looks directly into Ishamael's eyes the entire time and, afterwards, he stays focused on Ishamael until he's turned to dust.

59. Yeah, Falme looks pretty all-in on the Dragon Reborn. He saved them from the Seanchan and (given what the dude in Atuan's Mill said) he also saved them from the Whitecloaks. At their greatest hour of need, the Dragon really did come to save them. We also get the confirmation here that these Aiel Maidens, at least, believe that Rand is the Car'a'carn that they've been searching for.

60. At this point in time, Lanfear is feeling pretty damn happy with herself. Step one of her plan was a complete success! Ishamael has been taken care of. Lews Therin Rand has been publicly proclaimed the Dragon! Her happy ending is within her grasp!

Then, as Lanfear is basking in her victory... she discovers that Ishamael took action when he realized she was betraying him. We meet "softly, softly from the shadows" Moghedien and see her stand toe-to-toe with Lanfear. All of the Forsaken are now loose.

Love the vibe they've given to Moghedien.

We can see here that those conflicts that Moiraine talked about between the Forsaken are clear and present. Lanfear and Moghedien are definitely not on the same page when it comes with how to deal with the Dragon.

Moghedien says that "him" and "all five of them" are now the other Forsaken's business and that Lanfear is to stay away from Rand in particular.

And she vanishes before Lanfear is set free and our last words of the season are Lanfear saying, "Light help you, Rand al'Thor."

Interesting in two ways! Acknowledgement of him as Rand, not Lews Therin, and calling upon the Light to aid him. I feel like it does a good job of setting up some very clear issues for the next season.

Hope we have a shorter wait this time!

#butterfly watches wot #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot 2x8 spoilers

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percheduphere · 6 months

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LOKI SEASON 2 - END GAME THEORIES PART 1

This is going to be a super long post that will need to be divided into 2 parts due to the 10 image posting limit. Here's what I'll cover:

Part 1:

1.) The Original Timekeepers

2.) Trust as a Theme

3.) Social Intelligence is a Leadership Skill

4.) Mobius's Presence Through Food - Food is Socializing ... and Friendship

Part 2: (read: here)

5.) Mobius's Plotline

6.) Sylvie's Role

7.) John = Mobius?

8.) The Original Timekeepers & Time Paradoxes

THE ORIGINAL TIMEKEEPERS

I am 99.99% certain that the original 3 timekeepers are Loki, Mobius, and Sylvie, and that we are in a time paradox by which the future influenced the past. The lore and set design have repeatedly highlighted that there have always been THREE timekeepers.

More than once, the camera has held on the TVA seal for an extended period. The seal above is from the past, when HWR was in power.

This seal is from the future:

In both cases, the image of the seal remains the same. The dagger represents Loki, the hourglass (drawn like a mobius strip) represents Mobius, and the mask (that looks like shield but isn't) represents Sylvie, who can enchant. The papers covering the text appears intentional as well, a nod to the comics, "Loki: God of Stories".

And the writers, cunning folk that they are, are counting on the most avid fans to be too busy looking for scenes supporting their ships to realize that the end game is for Loki, Mobius, and Sylvie to trust and care about one another enough to protect all time(lines), always. Please note that I'm not an anti. I love shipping! It's fun. But an awareness of shipping is also a useful tool to keep the audience distracted from the narrative and cinematic hints that are right in front of our faces. These three need to become a team. The shots below (adored by Lokius fans, including me) foreshadow this in 2 ways:

First, that Loki's character has progressed to the point that he trusts and supports Mobius. Second, that both shots are imbalanced. There needs to be a third person on Loki's other side to balance both shots' composition. The Heart of the TVA is missing its 3rd timekeeper: Sylvie.

This shot is significant for several reasons, all of which are thematically connected. Despite there being two people on either side of Loki, the shot is still imbalanced. Loki is slightly closer to Mobius. In this scene. Sylvie is positioned at a distance, demonstrating lack of trust in both of them.

TRUST AS A THEME

Stepping back for a moment, S1 predominantly focused on Loki and Mobius developing trust in one another:

By Season 2, that trust is well-established. Sylvie hasn't had enough time to build trust with either them. She continues to operate in a survivalist mindset. Her history justifies this: she's relied on herself since childhood. But not having anyone to trust is not the path to happiness, nor is it to the path to success when in the face of an annihilation event. Sylvie is still emotionally and psychologically where Loki was at the beginning of S1.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE IS A LEADERSHIP SKILL

I'm an older fan. If you've ever worked for a medium to large employer, the different types of managers that exist become apparent.

1. The micromanagers, managers who do not trust their staff and consequently create a tense environment that can become toxic where no one trusts one another.

2. The absent managers, managers who delegate and disappear, leaving their team feel uncared for.

3. The blurred-line manager, who's friendly and approachable but doesn't hold others accountable and doesn't know how to create and implement plans at a high level (out of fear of upsetting anyone), making their team feel frustrated with in-fighting and lost in terms of what the main goal is.

4. The authoritarian, a manager who follows the book to a T, is rigid, punitive, and has no compassion for individual circumstances.

5. The leader, a manager who takes the time to know team members individually, change their management style based on individual needs, keeps an eye on the big picture and ensure actions are taken toward it, holds people accountable but also makes time to make sure people are getting along.

Renslayer, Brad, and Sylvie tearing Mobius down are foreshadowing, plot set-up, and red herrings. Mobius is not a perfect leader, but he is a strong one by virtue of having exceptional social skills, which Sylvie doesn't have because she's never had real friends before. It's not her fault. However, it is imperative that she move beyond this.

And Loki, who has developed compassion, self-awareness, and personal accountability through Mobius's friendship and love, extends those things to Sylvie. He is gentle when he confronts her. He shares his experience with Thor because he knows where Sylvie is at mentally. But he also doesn't force her to come with him. He leaves her with the free will to choose.

MOBIUS'S PRESENCE THROUGH FOOD - FOOD IS SOCIALIZING ... AND FRIENDSHIP

In S2E4, Mobius's presence and influence are heavy in scenes in which he is not there. The pie scene is one of them, with the flickering lights and sweets sitting forlornly behind glass symbolizing that Mobius's sense of self (very much grounded in trust and hope in others, even if they are broken) is wavering. And as @charcubed noted in their INCREDIBLE meta here, everything goes wrong from this point. Why?

Having pie together was an opportunity to build trust and friendship with Sylvie.

None of them have the technical know-how to help OB, Victor, and Casey. The best thing they could have done is get out of their hair because too much overseeing leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to mistakes. Mobius knows this. What can they do in the meantime? Stress eat and integrate Sylvie as a member of the team.

Note that every moment Mobius makes to eat or drink is not only a moment to de-stress, it is also a moment he uses to bond with others and get to know them better. Renslayer (and later Loki, because he's become close enough to Mobius to know what comforts him) uses this method, too.

S1 - Whisky scene with Renslayer

S1 - Cafeteria scene with Loki

S1- Salad scene with Loki

S2 - Cracker Jack scene with Loki

S2 - McDonalds scene with Brad

S2 - Pie scene with Loki

S2 - Hot cocoa scene with Victor

Knowing what people want and care about is critical to motivating individuals, and yes, this talent can be used as manipulation when the situation calls for it.

Socializing over food is also a means of feeling less alone. We tend to eat with people we trust and care about (a tradition meant for family, found or otherwise), or at the very least want to get along with.

The second scene where Mobius's presence is felt despite not being there?

What does Victor dobwith the hot cocoa?

He gives it to D-90.

Victor gives it to D-90 out of a sense of comradery, a basic human desire to share something nice with someone and maybe make friends.

But this moment leads to tragedy. As @charcubed explained, Mobius separating from Loki led him to comfort eat via hot cocoa. The hot cocoa caught Victor's interest. D-90 goes with Victor to check out the machine. D-90 is pruned, and Victor is separated from the team. This causes a delay in getting Victor prepped and out onto the Loom gangway, which causes the temporal radiation to build up so high, it's impossible for Victor survive. The Loom consequently explodes.

PART 2 HERE!

Thank you to @bebx and @mobius-m-mobius for responding to my asks which consisted of end game theories for Loki Season 2 (here, here, here, and here), and for @wowwwmobius for supporting my thoughts. Your replies got me to feel brave enough to post everything I've been thinking in full!

#loki #mobius #sylvie #lokius #sylki #loki season 2 #loki series #loki s2 #mobius m mobius #loki spoilers #my meta #my theories

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hallmark-movie-fanatics · 4 months

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Hallmark Ratings - 2023

So here's a look at the ratings for most of Hallmark's 2023 programing. No info on what the numbers were for stuff aired on Hallmark Movies Now of course, and I don't have the numbers for what the Love Club movies did when aired on the Hallmark Channel.

1 - A Merry Scottish Christmas (CTC) - 3.33 2 - A Biltmore Christmas (CTC) - 3.12 3 -Christmas Island (CTC) - 2.62 4 - The Wedding Veil Expectations (NYNM) - 2.48 5- Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up (CTC) - 2.38 6 - The Wedding Veil Journey (NYNM) - 2.29 7 - The Wedding Veil Inspiration (NYNM) - 2.28 8 - Holiday Hotline (CTC) - 2.27 9 - 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost (FIL) - 2.25 10 - A Heidelberg Holiday (CTC) - 2.18 11 - Holiday Road (CTC) - 2.13 12 - Sealed With a List (CTC) - 2.10 13 - Sweeter Than Chocolate (Loveuary) - 2.06 14 - Catch Me If You Claus (CTC) - 2.05 15 - My Norwegian Holiday (CTC) - 2.03 15 - Christmas on Cherry Lane (CTC) - 2.03 16 - A Not So Royal Christmas (CTC) - 2.02 17 - Love in Glacier National: A National Park Romance (NYNM) - 1.98 17 - The Wedding Cottage (SIL) - 1.98 18 - Navigating Christmas (CTC) - 1.97 19 - Christmas in Notting Hill (CTC) - 1.92 19 - The Secret Gift of Giving (CTC) - 1.92 20 - Everything Christmas (CTC) - 1.90 21 - A Paris Proposal (Loveuary) - 1.88 22 - Welcome to Valentine (Loveuary) - 1.85 22 - Magic in Mistletoe (CTC) - 1.85 23 - Never Been Chris'd (CTC) - 1.80 24 - Where Are You, Christmas? (CTC) - 1.78 25 - Flipping for Christmas (CTC) - 1.77 26 - Joyeux Noel (CTC) - 1.74 26 - Our Christmas Mural (CTC) - 1.74 27 - A Picture of Her (SIL) - 1.73 28 - Mystic Christmas (CTC) - 1.72 29 - The Santa Summit (CTC) - 1.70 30 - The Dog Lover’s Guide to Dating (NYNM) - 1.68 31 - Checkin' It Twice (CTC) - 1.68 32 - Made for Each Other (Loveuary) - 1.62 33 - A Pinch of Portugal (SIL) - 1.59 34 - Fourth Down and Love (FIL) - 1.58 35 - Love’s Greek to Me (JW) - 1.57 35 - Christmas With a Kiss (CTC) (Mahogany) - 1.57 36 - A Royal Christmas Crush (CIJ) - 1.56 37 - Hearts in the Game - 1.54 37 - Round and Round (CTC) - 1.54 38 - Field Day (FIL) - 1.53 38 - Under the Christmas Sky (CTC) - 1.53 39 - Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance - 1.51 40 - A Safari Romance (SN) - 1.50 41 - Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance (FIL) - 1.49 41 - Notes of Autumn (FIL) - 1.49 41 - Letters to Santa (CTC) - 1.49 42 - Game of Love - 1.47 43 - Aloha Heart (SN) - 1.46 44 - Making Waves (SN) - 1.45 45 - Retreat to You (FIL) - 1.43 46 - The Professional Bridesmaid (SIL) - 1.40 46 - The Wedding Contract (JW) - 1.40 47 - Take Me Back for Christmas (CIJ) - 1.39 48 - A Winning Team - 1.38 48 - Love in the Maldives (SIL) - 1.38 48 - When Love Springs (SIL) - 1.38 49 - Never Too Late to Celebrate (SN) - 1.37 50 - Wedding Season (JW) - 1.34 51 - Christmas by Design (CTC) - 1.31 52 - Friends & Family Christmas (CTC) - 1.30 53 - Make Me a Match (JW) - 1.23 53 - A Very Venice Romance (FIL) - 1.23 54 - Dream Moms - 1.18 55 - Napa Ever After (SN) (Mahogany) - 1.09

1 - Miracle in Bethlehem, PA (MOC) (DaySpring) - 1.91 2 - Heaven Down Here (MOC) - 1.38 3 - To All a Good Night (MOC) - 1.35 4 - Mystery on Mistletoe Lane (MOC) - 1.30 5 - A Season for Family (MOC) - 1.19 6 - Curious Caterer: Grilling Season - 1.18 7 - Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas (MOC) - 1.13 8 - My Christmas Guide (MOC) - 1.09 9 - A World Record Christmas (MOC) - 1.06 10 - Family History Mysteries: Buried Past - 1.01 10 - Ms. Christmas Comes to Town (MOC) - 1.01 11 - A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery - 0.99 12 - The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango - 0.87 13 - Curious Caterer: Fatal Vows - 0.86 14 - The Cases of Mystery Lane - 0.82 15 - Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery - 0.79 15 - Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major - 0.79 16 - Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New - 0.74 17 - Unexpected Grace - 0.69 18 - The Blessing Bracelet (DaySpring) - 0.66 19 - The More Love Grows - 0.63 20 - Mystery Island - 0.59 21 - Come Fly With Me - 0.58 22 - The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost - 0.57 23 - Guiding Emily - 0.56 24 - Big Sky River: The Bridal Path - 0.52 25 - A Lifelong Love - 0.43 26 - Spring Breakthrough (Mahogany) - 0.38 27 - A Nashville Legacy (Mahogany) - 0.31

--- Season One --- Episode 1 - Mothers and Daughters - 1.44 Episode 2 - Scar Tissue - 1.54 Episode 3 - I Don’t Want to Moss a Thing - 1.39 Episode 4 - What’s My Age Again? - 1.56 Episode 5 - Don’t Dream It’s Over - 1.31 Episode 6 - Building a Mystery - 1.52 Episode 7 - The End of the World as We Know It - 1.57 Episode 8 - Lovefool - 1.43 Episode 9 - The Day the Music Died - 1.61 Episode 10 - Not All Who Wander Are Lost - 1.74

--- Season One --- Episode 1 - Legend of the Fall - 1.31 Episode 2 - Rodeo and Juliet - 1.04 Episode 3 - The McMurray Curse - 0.94 Episode 4 - Estella - 1.16 Episode 5 - When It Rains… - 0.94 Episode 6 - Your Cheatin’ Heart - 1.19 Episode 7 - Ride of Die - 0.90 Episode 8 - Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace - 1.04 Episode 9 - Truths Laid Bare - 0.84 Episode 10 - Andalusians - 1.02

--- Season Ten --- Episode 1 - Carpe Diem - 1.93 Episode 2 - Hope Springs Eternal - 1.72 Episode 3 - Oh, Baby - 1.69 Episode 4 - Great Expectations - 1.88 Episode 5 - Life is But a Dream - 1.95 Episode 6 - The Heart of the Problem - 1.81 Episode 7 - Best Laid Plans - 1.76 Episode 8 - What Is and What Never Should Be - 1.84 Episode 9 - Deep Water - 1.97 Episode 10 - All Dressed Up - 1.96 Episode 11 - Long Time Running - 1.98 Episode 12 - Starry Nights - 2.29

#ratings #hallmark channel #hallmark movies & mysteries #hallmark movies #hallmark original series #hallmark history

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formula1hottakes · 1 year

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Drive to Survive 5 Watch Guide

Episodes 1-4: Skip. These are boring af. Netflix, what are you doing? Boring Ferrari flops. Mick being too nice and optimistic for his own good. Guenther being Guenther. It's tired. It's played out.

Episodes 5-6: Watch. The Piasco, Alonso being Alonso, some good behind the scenes business shenanigans, and Daniel's fate being sealed.

Episode 7: Angry watch. Horner calling Checo a servant to the team and also saying he's in the senior years of his career at 32 (Ma'am, Alonso is right there! And I am right here as a 32-year-old senior not taking too kindly to that kind of language!). Also Netflix playing up the loving husband and father angle at the EXACT GP that Checo had his cheating scandal at? lmfao incredible.

Episode 8: Watch. Pierre & Yuki nonsense. But absolutely NO mention of that truck on track during Suzuka. I wonder if the FIA made Netflix take that out??

Episode 9: Watch if you care about the Costcappen scandal. Seeing some of the looks of genuine worry on Christian Horner's face is worth it. Also Alonso getting a selfie in after Max wins the championship when nobody else wants to go near the team lmao. Alonso is just iconic.

Episode 10: Watch for the 5 seconds of Ocon/Alonso banter. They are cutthroat and I live. But then you can turn it off.

Things you won't see in Season 5: Any discussion of Checo's cheating/crashing on purpose. Anything related to Williams, Alfa Romeo, or Aston Martin - not even a proper introduction for Zhou (him being China's first F1 driver) and no story about Valtteri's big move. No proper send-off for Seb.

#drive to survive #dts s5 #formula 1 #f1 #formula one #netflix #fernando alonso #oscar piastri #checo perez #esteban ocon #pierre gasly #yuki tsunoda

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loveforlandonorris · 5 months

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🏁 Lando finished P5 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

⏱️ Time: 1hr 27m 26.908s (+24.284s behind Verstappen in P1)

And that's a wrap on the 2023 season. It's been an amazing year for Lando with so much to be proud of. Sadly not a podium in Abu Dhabi, but still a phenomenal performance from Lando that secured P4 for McLaren in the Constructors' Championship 🧡

Lando started pretty well, passing George and Oscar by Lap 5 to move into P3. He was called in to box in Lap 15, but sadly the team did a terrible job. It took 5.1s to change his Medium tyres for Hards, which was a slow enough stop for George to pass Lando in the pit lane. He later boxed for more Hards in Lap 34 and came out in P10, but slowly worked his way up the grid, and by lap 42, he was in P4.

Positions began to fluctuate, but the worst moment of the race came in lap 47 when Pérez began driving dangerously close to Lando round a corner, deliberately leaving him no room which caused a collision and forced Lando off the track and onto the escape road.

Fortunately, Pérez was penalised for this, but only given a 5-second penalty, which didn't actually help Lando by the end of the race. When Pérez crossed the line provisionally in P2, there was a gap of more than 5 seconds between him and Lando, so he couldn't finish any higher than the P5 he crossed the line in.

Though he definitely deserved to finish on the podium, this result doesn’t in any way take away from the incredible season he has had. 7 podiums, 6 of them P2s, a Sprint Pole and 5 Driver of the Days is truly amazing. I couldn't be prouder of him and the season he's had. Sadly, only 1 point stopped him from sealing the P4 in the Drivers' Championship he deserved, so he finished P6 with 205 points, with Alonso and Leclerc taking P4 and P5 with 206 points.

As much as I'll miss him, I hope he can rest well now & spend quality time with his family before the next season. He's given us a season to remember, and I am sure we'll see him on the top step soon. But for now, I couldn't be prouder of him. We love you, Lando 🧡

#lando norris #landonorris #ln4 #mclaren #abu dhabi gp 2023 #formula one #formula 1 #f1

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slitherred · 9 months

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Humor me for a moment here...

It’s been 9 years and I still believe they should’ve kept Obito alive.

If they can pardon both Orochimaru for his human experimentation, Kabuto for his war crimes, and Sasuke for being a dumbass, they can think of an excuse to make Obito a functioning individual of society and have him face the fact he was the cause of most world-altering events in the span of the entire series. I think killing him is a coward’s way out, and he didn’t deserve the peaceful ending he got.

And Instead of Boruto, we could’ve gotten a series focused on Kakashi in his Hokage era. The man is as popular as Naruto and Sasuke, and I’m tired of anime shows that base sequels on the “new generation.” It’s been done too many times. I believe Kakashi is beloved enough by the fans that this idea would be profitable like the original.

Plus, Kakashi has had enough trauma to make a script three seasons long. You can cover stories about losing people, dealing with grief, depression, PTSD, clan politics (what’s it like to be the only person left in a clan that isn’t the Uchiha or what were the consequences of owning a sharingan as a non-Uchiha), being a former child soldier, being a burnt out child prodigy, etc. instead of being relegated as a Hokage that blew up the moon once.

Listen. Imagine a series where Kakashi finally spoke with a Yamanaka therapist since his emotional crutch wasn’t the ideal hero that he thought. Imagine a series where the big bad villain acknowledges the pain he left in the world and actively tries to do his best every day in a place where everyone wants him dead. And imagine Mr. Worldwide, creator of 1000 Years of Death, Kakashi Hatake, trolls the world with Obito “Tobi” Uchiha.

Imagine the shenanigans! We can finally see what these two can do as a pair after it was hyped up in the Kakashi Gaiden arc but fell flat in the 4th Shinobi arc. If these two can frustrate people in their immediate vicinity as individuals, picture them working together and in a position of power. It would be glorious!

Click Keep Reading for extra filling:

***

Address Neji’s death by having Gai be nice to everyone, except for Obito. Obito understands his anger and, due to guilt, stupidly comes up with an “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” approach by being his sparring partner i.e. his punching bag.

Kakashi is Stressed™ managing his two best friends. This will also test Gai’s capacity for forgiveness (and finally have a storyline about him that isn’t about youth, challenges, and taijutsu). Meanwhile, we can also have a role reversal where Kakashi is the one helping Gai out of unhealthy coping mechanisms and grief.

***

To calm down people who see Obito as a threat, they seal most of his chakra so that he can perform basic techniques, enough to complete unpaid B to S rank missions as part of his “community service.” His Sharingan, both of them, will be inaccessible so he can no longer perform hacks. In secret, only Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura, AKA the heroes who ended the war, are trusted enough to be able to unseal it (they can have matching tattoos for this, other characters think it’s just an OG Team 7 thing but it’s a key lol). So if a major threat like, say, the Otsusuki comes, and Naruto and Sasuke needs an extra boost to turn the tides in their favor, there will be an epic scene of Team 7 (minus Sasuke) unsealing Obito’s chakra, and his eyes slowly bleed into red and spins into Mangekyou. He charges into the battlefield with Susanoo in Mokuton armor.

(Bonus scenes of Kakashi partially unsealing his chakra so that Obito can use Kamui to buy the Hokage precious “reading material” from other nations. Obito loudly complains about his chosen book topic.

Sakura asks Obito to bring her medical plants from different parts of the world.

Naruto pleads with Obito to take Sasuke and him to the Kamui dimension since they are no longer allowed to spar in training fields due to excessive property damage.)

***

Naruto gets frequent Hokage training with Kakashi. Obito is there to keep him from falling asleep by constantly challenging the policies and ideals set by former Hokages.

Naruto watches Kakashi and Obito debate and then later argue topics until they end up burning the original handbook to rewrite their own.

(Naruto is surprisingly good at editing and quickly finding loopholes in writing. Later, they visit the memorial stone to pray for Jiraiya.)

***

Part of Obito’s new job description is to be the Hokage’s 24/7 bodyguard (if he’s not out doing missions). It’s partly because the Anbu commander who usually handles the ninja president’s security is tired of Kakashi’s antics, and partly because the people are more comfortable if one of the war heroes is beside the Major Threat™ all the time. Obito has to constantly juggle between keeping them away from both his and Kakashi’s enemies and making sure the Hokage isn’t late to any meetings. Somehow, the latter is harder than the former.

Obito wonders how an ex-terrorist became a glorified secretary.

***

Obito and Yamato acknowledge their history in the 4th shinobi war. Surprisingly, Yamato forgives but doesn’t forget.

They compare notes on their solution and regularly train in the Forest of Death. The forest became five times larger and deadlier. The chuunin exams became harder.

***

Kakashi tries to diplomatically pass anti-violence, and pro-mental health laws, and raise funds for the orphanage and veterans. Meanwhile, Obito uses his talent in gaslighting and gatekeeping to out-manipulate the elders into losing debates.

It would be satisfying to see Danzo’s best friends disappointed and angry while Kakashi does his eye smile thingy. Behind him is Obito sticking his tongue out because he secretly never grew up.

(I can’t believe the elders are still alive in Boruto, like wtf.)

***

Remember the time Obama hired an Anger translator? That, but it’s them.

***

Sukea and an “unknown” anbu that suspiciously looks like Tobi messes with the kids wanting to know what’s behind Kakashi’s mask. Sukea creates the intrigue to unite the kids into a single goal and trick them into practicing teamwork. Not-Tobi does the subtle sabotage.

***

If the children ask Obito his backstory, he replies with, “That’s classified.”

If they ask Kakashi, he keeps telling them different ridiculous stories until Obito becomes some kind of myth to the kids.

“The Hokage said he was an orphaned circus performer and he got adopted by a vigilante to save us all from a demonic tree!”

“Woah! The Hokage said he protected us from a moon alien by challenging her to a dance-off!”

***

Tobi and Sukea annoying their way into infiltration missions.

Their backstory: Sukea is a photographer and Tobi is an aspiring actor. They got lost on the road to life and whoops accidentally stumbled upon this secret base. Can we have directions to the nearest artist convention, please? And that dead body was already there before we got here, what do you mean?

***

Adults are afraid of Obito. Teenagers think he’s lame for being a nerd that knows too much history. Grandmas still like him. Kakashi still makes fun of him for being a crybaby. Naruto makes fun of them both for being old. Sakura makes fun of Kakashi, Obito, and Naruto for being weirdos. Ino makes fun of Sakura for being teammates with the weirdos.

***

They visit Rin’s grave yearly. Kakashi keeps thanking her for slapping Obito back to life.

***

The Hokage gets invited by the academy to discuss the origins of Konoha. Obito keeps correcting him like, no, that’s propaganda bullshit, this is what happened.

He made twenty-eight kids and their instructor cry.

(He had also discussed in length how Madara Uchiha can't pee when strangers are near him. That he's still bitter about not being a better stone skipper than Hashirama "God of Shinobi" Senju. That he had an annoying habit to ramble and then laugh like a loon. And he has a face on his boob. Kids, when a centenarian ancestor offers you to help fix the world, say no.)

***

It has been apparent to all paper desk ninjas that to expedite their documents to be stamped and signed by the Hokage, it needs to go through their bodyguard so the bodyguard can bully the Hokage into prioritizing their paperwork.

In retaliation, Kakashi uses his knowledge of Obito’s history with handling Akatsuki and Kiri’s financials*, then points out major flaws in Konoha’s fund allocation, making Obito frustrated enough to audit everything for him. Despite being a mastermind manipulator, he falls for it all the time.

Tsunade visits the office and could not believe the lack of paper towers. Kakashi takes all the credit. Tsunade is impressed. “Damn, kid, I should have made you Hokage years ago!”

*Flashback: Back in his time as a villain, Obito had to audit Akatsuki’s expenses because Kakuzu is known to allocate part of their funds to his account. As for Kiri, Obito was puppeteering the Mizukage and to be convincing, it means doing the Mizukage's job. Realizing the role was a drag, Obito’s dream of becoming Hokage was buried in piles of paperwork and died six feet under.

***

Obito is still helpless when it comes to old people in need.

But at least now he can force Kakashi to help.

***

After discussing in length about Sasuke’s trauma from the Uchiha massacre, and Obito’s trauma as the black sheep of the family, they start working on rebuilding the clan’s name.

They’ve also found a rule in Konoha that once a clan has more than one person, a clan head should be identified.

No one wants to be the new clan head. It’s too much mind-numbing work even if the population of the clan is just two so they started arguing. Obito argues Sasuke is the son of the former clan head, and Sasuke argues that Obito is older than him, and has experience with “handling foreign affairs” (if you can even call it that).

This doesn’t get resolved until Sasuke marries a poor soul who gets voted by them to become the new clan head. Sasuke ends up in multiple divorces.

***

Kakashi starts using his father’s tanto again. He stops being the Copy Nin and starts being the new White Fang of Konoha.

***

On the anniversary of Sakumo's death, Obito uses his monologuing skills to aggressively defend Sakumo's last mission. Backed up by Team 7 with Yamato and Sai, they are fighting for Sakumo's grave to be transferred to the resting place of the heroes as he deserved.

Kakashi covers Obito's mouth once he starts insulting the council and elders. "Will of fire, my ass! You preach about teamwork and nakama, but easily sacrifice one of your own for the sake of a mission. You're all hypoc-!"

Naruto pitches in. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum, dattebayo!"

Needless to say, they are finally realizing that, oh god, there are two Narutos now and they will never know peace until this gets resolved.

***

The series ends once Naruto becomes the Hokage. Handing over the hat went off without a hitch…

Except for Kakashi being two hours late. Kakashi and Obito were busy retelling Naruto’s life to Kushina’s grave.

***

What do you think?

#kakashi hatake #obito uchiha #naruto

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danglovely · 10 months

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Ranking Taskmaster Series

15. Series One

Even the worst series of Taskmaster is really good. The show hadn't figured out how to maximize the in-studio dynamic yet, so it comes off a little awkward. Tim Key constantly trying to cheat and Romesh Ranganathan obliterating a watermelon is still good television.

Best Task: Eat as much watermelon as possible.

14. Series Three

Alex and Greg are always consistent, so series quality becomes highly dependent on how memorable the tasks are and how how good the cast is. This series was a bit forgettable on both counts, but I'll never forget Rob Beckett's surprise for Alex.

Best Task: Communicate to your teammates the names of these films, books or TV programs.

13. Series Six

Iffy cast chemistry and tepid task designs. The standout moment comes because Lisa Tarbuck thinks showing love means making someone sit in a cake. Long live Team Funk (Alice never agreed to that name).

Best Task: Get the highest score in darts.

12. Series Four

This is definitely an unpopular opinion. This series has so much going for it with Hugh Dennis trying to find a loophole in every task and Mel Giedroyc naturally being the victim of three solo tasks due to relentless optimism. While the moments are good, I'm not sure the whole amounted to more than the sum of its parts.

Best Task: Put as many different things in the bathtub/Seal the top of this bathtub with cling film/Fill the bathtub with water.

11. Series Two

A shorter series and one where the show was still finding its footing. It probably would be lower if not for Joe Wilkinson. The first contestant to realize very early on that he wasn't going to win brought us Potatogate, a lovely scramble platter, and the knowledge that there's strength in arches.

Best Task: Place these three exercise balls on the yoga mat on the top of that hill.

10. Series Seven

Another unpopular opinion, it really speaks to the quality of the show that I have potentially its most popular season so low. James Acaster refusing to acknowledge Alex, Jessica Knappett falling off the stage, Phil Wang's pendulum. What brings this series down for me is twofold: (1) Kerry Godliman's constant indignant anger at perceived unfairness and (2) Rhod Gilbert's abuse of Alex and Greg -- funny at first, wore a little thin after awhile. Rhod still managed to steal the series with the finest workaround on the show.

Best Task: Tie yourself up as securely as possible.

9. Series Fifteen

Fifteen seasons in, it feels like show doesn't benefit from the contestants having watched so much Taskmaster. Mae Martin knew every trick coming in, and they built a lead that was as expert as it was uninteresting to watch.

Best Task: First to complete a line or four corners wins.

8. Series Nine

A lot of intriguing stuff going on here. This is a cast that just genuinely likes each other, but it also brings some of the most contrasting energies to the table. Ed and Jo are polar opposites in scale of competitive energy while David can always be counted on to find the worst way to approach a situation. The only reason this series isn't higher is the lack of standout task design.

Best Task: Put the most gold rings on this drumstick.

7. Series Thirteen

This is the first series I ever saw and it's a gem. Every contestant almost feels understated in how brilliant and hilarious they are. Judi Love is the best last-place of all time; Bridget Christie is the wild card we never knew we needed in our lives.

Best Task: Get the most ducks in Alex's basket.

6. Series Fourteen

I always seem to prefer the contestants that come in last over those that come in first. John and Fern were so fun and Dara was so weirdly intense. This would normally make for a mixed series if they hadn't completely exploited that dynamic by putting them all on a team with each other.

Best Task: With your hands on those hips at all times, put the most sand in the shopping trolley.

5. Series Ten

Johnny Vegas and Daisy Mae Cooper are top tier Taskmaster contestants, but I really love this series for the location tasks. Printworks is just a dark and amazing setting. Plus, Mawaan tried to fill an egg with helium in hopes that it would float.

Best Task: Complete the most tasks. There is one task behind each door.

4. Series Twelve

Couldn't this series let everybody win? We have an Alan Davies Wow Monster, Desiree pulling off the worst task performance of all time while always looking collected. Victoria learned how to ride a bike on national television and Morgana showed why being chaotic is a strength. I welcome any number of new revelations from Guz in the lab.

Best Task: Pop the balloon.

3. Series Eleven

Mike Wozniak elevates the series by himself. Lee was a big get for the show, Jamali's antagonistic relationship with Greg is fun, Sarah and Charlotte are delights. However, Mike is a unique pleasure and any series with him in it is bound to be one of the best.

Best Task: Say the word "metronome" between every tick of this metronome.

2. Series Five

This is what many believe to be the best series of the lot and they're not wrong in doing so. Bob Mortimer and Sally Phillips are legends for obvious reasons. Mark and Nish pleasantly bond over the underdog roles (despite Mark almost winning). Aisling brings her own level of unhinged energy. The tasks are on point and this cast just jives. It's a tragedy it didn't get ten episodes.

Best Task: Eat one item, throw one item, balance one item. 1. Series Eight

My favorite series is one of the least popular for one reason: Iain Stirling's competitive rage. This doesn't bring me down though -- The show has a hypercompetitive contestant almost every season (you could argue Lou Sanders was even more so) and everyone there seemed to genuinely like Iain (He and Lou are friends and Paul said he received an unfavorable edit on the podcast).

But mostly it just can't overcome all the good. It is a unique delight to watch Joe Thomas constantly be baffled by his own existence; the trainyard is the best location task setting the show has ever done; Paul Sinha in a phone booth. Throw in some unique Japanese theming and some peak task design -- at least for me, Series Eight reigns above.

Best Task: Get as close as you can to Alex without him noticing you.

#taskmaster

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vallygirl285 · 5 months

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#alona tal #seal team #seal team season 7

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thenerdygirlexp · 2 years

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#SEALTeam Strange Bedfellows S6Ep7 Preview via @stacyamiller85 @SEALTeam_pplus @SealTeamWriters

SEAL Team returns for Season 6 on September 18, 2022 exclusively on Paramount+. (more…)

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#Seal Team Season 6 #Strange Bedfellows Season 6 Episode 7

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italeteller · 8 months

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Is there any modern isekai anime you think are actually worth watching? Or is it all just the same toxic wish fulfilment garbage at this point?

Fear not anon, there's actually some good modern isekai anime still! But first, some hearsay:

-While I didn't personally vibe with it, I've heard a lot of good things about Re:Zero, but I've also heard a lot of bad and cringe things about it, so it's up to you I guess

-Ascendance of a Bookworm is another I don't know anything about, but I've heard good things

Now for the ones I have actually watched:

-My next life as the villainess: all routes lead to doom! is a 2021 isekai where a teen girl dies and gets reborn into the world of her favorite dating sim, but she's in the body of Katarina, the awful rotten-hearted villainess, and to top it all off she's 7 years-old.

Katarina soon realizes that, if her new life progresses the same as the game's, all she's got to look forward to is banishment or death, because game!Katarina is a major bitch so nobody loves her, and she starts taking measures for her inevitable doom: she learns to farm so she'll be able to procure food is she's banished, tries her hand at magic and swordfighting so she'll be able to defend herself, and other stuff like that

She's also a naturally nice person to everybody in the game so all the boys and girls end up falling in love with her, which she completely doesn't notice because she's dead certain that the game has to go on the preplanned route so she has no idea everybody who's supposed to romance and/or befriend the game's protagonist wants to jump her bones instead.

It's a pretty fun series, and while it's no benchmark of storytelling, it does have a few genuinely good plot twists and heartwarming moments. I wish it would end up as a proper bisexual harem, but I knows the odds aren't good, sadly.

Also, if you do watch it, stick to the first season. The second season is bad. Like Bad bad. Makes you regret the time you spent watching it-Bad. There's a movie coming on December, which I hope is good and redeems the franchise, but if not, the first season is good

Saihate no Paladin/The Faraway Paladin is another 2021 isekai where a random dude gets reincarnated as a baby in the ruins where a great evil is sealed, and gets adopted by three undead: a skeleton warrior, a mummy priestess and a ghost wizard. They raise him, teach him to fight, magic and miracles, and then send him off to the world when he turns 15. It's a pretty decent story, it has a slow start, taking some 5 episode to properly set up the MC's circumstances and goals before his journey, and it's got a second season coming on October so if you wanna catch up, you'll get more content soon

My only problem with it is that it should be a fantasy anime. The isekai part is... I mean it's there, it seems like there will be something with the gods and the different cycles of reincarnation, but it could very easily have been a fantasy story and lose nothing. The main character having been a random japanese man before reincarnating doesn't really add anything, so idk if you wanna count it as an isekai or not

Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita is a 2022 isekai-that-should-have-been-a-fantasy where another random japanese dude is reincarnated into a magic sword. He immediately goes "welp, time to discard everything about my previous life and be the best sword I can" and begins slaughtering monsters to grind levels. He eventually becomes a super OP weapon and that's when he gets found by his future master, a preteen catgirl slave whose caravan is escaping from a two-headed zombie bear

The catgirl gets the sword and kills the bear, the sword uses his telekinetic powers to kill the slaver by snapping his neck 180° degrees, burns the slave contract and they team up. The sword restores the girl's name, Fran, which she had lost when she became a slave, and Fran names the sword "Teacher", and they set out to grind levels so that Fran may evolve - because she's a member of the Black Cat race, which is the only race in that world that can't evolve, which is why they're discriminated and sold as slaves, and Fran wants to prove her race can evolve after all

This one I have a love-hate relationship with. It does a lot of the shit I hate on other isekais, but it also does a lot of things I like. Yes, Fran is ridiculously OP with little effort thanks to being able to share Teacher's skills, and she breezes through most challenges effortlessly which is often anticlimactic as hell, but she's got an actual tangible goal and a personality so she's already more interesting than your average isekai MC. There's no romance and almost no fanservice, and when there is it's always with the adult women in the series, so that's another bullet dodged

But on the other hand, the slavery plot is introduced, and then dropped almost entirely except for a bunch of obviously evil people who all get punished, and meanwhile everybody else is super nice to Fran and nobody brings up the fact that hey, she was a legal slave until not too long ago and her race is still being enslaved and nobody's doing anything about it, ain't that fucked up? No? Nobody wanna say anything? Idk, it's a fun romp but it's also very power-fantasy-trash at the same time. It's got a second season confirmed in production, maybe that will do something with the slavery plot

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady is a 2023 series that should really have a shorter name, my god. It's another should've-been-a-fantasy isekai and it's. Hmm. It's got some amazing first episodes, but then they tried to cram A LOT of plot into the rest and fucked it all up. A lot of stuff makes very little sense, character motivations are all out of whack, and you get the feeling that they really needed another cour, or at least 6 more episodes, to fit it all in properly

It's one of those series that you can see the potential it had, how great it could've been if it had been allowed, and it makes you kinda sad that you'll never see it unless you go to read the light novels. The reason for this rush is that the studio wanted to end the series on the end of the third light novel, which is where the main girl gets together with her girlfriend as a canon, explicit, openly gay couple, which is a deeply respectable, dare I even say admirable goal, but I still wish it had had more episodes so it hadn't had to sacrifice the rest of the series for it

The Executioner and her Way of Life is a 2022 series, the final pick of the list, and the one I like the most, so of course it's only got one season and no confirmed sequel because god hates me, personally

The main character, Menou, is a teenage priestess from her world's church, and she's also in charge of killing all the japanese people who get isekai'd into her world. Menou doesn't enjoy the killing and feels guilty for it, but she knows she must do it to stop the ridiculous powers the isekai'd are given from bringing ruin to her world. One such power is the one that turned her whole village, people and buildings alike, into ash when she was little. She was rescued and raised by Flare, the world's strongest warrior, whose power is only matched by her mental instability, which she gladly passed to her apprentice

The story proper begins when Menou meets Akari, the new japanese teenager in town, and finds out Akari's power prevents her from dying. Thus, Menou takes Akari on a trip across the continent to see the sights and find a weapon strong enough to kill her before Akari goes nuclear. Akari, meanwhile, is ecstatic, because she doesn't know Menou wants to kill her, and because she's down horrendous for her from the moment their eyes meet, loudly and openly fantasizing about the romantic adventures they'll have and telling her stuff like "you're the only one for me" to her face

As the series goes on, you start to notice there's something very, very wrong with Akari

Another such character is Momo, Menou's junior who is also loudly and openly in lesbians with her, very annoyed that Menou spends so much time with Akari, and also very off in the head. I hope you're seeing a pattern here

The final character in this delightful ensemble is Asuna, the princess of the realm and the most well adjusted character in the series. She's a wandering knight who loves a good fight and develops the most hilarious crush on Momo, who wants nothing to do with her and is constantly antagonizing Asuna, attacking her, ambushing her and throwing her into deadly traps, only for the princess to walk it off and offer to buy her a drink. It's honestly hilarious

And there you have it, my personal isekai reccommendation list. Hope you find at least one that suits your tastes

#Anonymous #anime #isekai

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