#to; who the fuck is nicte batan

[20000milesabovetheocean]

it’s so entertaining to imagine alder’s point of view of tally’s opinion of her at the end of season one through season two

like, at the end of season one tally does NOT like alder but then alder earns tally’s respect and the whole biddy thing happens, the connection is broken , tally still has that uhhh crush (lmao that fucking infirmary scene 👀)

after the debiddying they only really talk one on one when tally asks to mentor penelope until tally barges into alder’s office in the middle of the night to yell at her

y’know?? i like to imagine she was at least a little bit thrown

#let us not forget that is the same moment alder also finds out tally’s been dreaming her memories #i bet that conversation was a wild ride for alder #sure they saw each other a couple times in passsing if i’m remembering right #but i don’t believe it there was ever enough time for alder to pick up on tally’s change in attitude #tally went from: i missed you so much i feel like a part of me is missing 🥺🥺 #to; who the fuck is nicte batan #also raelle and abigail’s reactions to tally always defending alder after 2x01 to her suddenly being suspicious of everything alder does #is also fun to think about #motherland fort salem #talder #motherland freeform #motherland: fort salem #sarah alder #tally craven #mine

[strangesmallbard]

Top 5 Unwell Female Characters

SCREAM. is there anything on this earth like a phenomenally unwell female character…this list changes every week, but as it stands:

1) dr. evelyn caldwell from “the echo wife” by sarah bailey. morally fucked woman scientist who creates and destroys human clones for corporations, and spends several hundred pages trying to convince you she’s not becoming her horribly abusive dad. has a tense, homoerotic relationship with her own clone. incredible opportunity to recommend the echoe wife by sarah bailey btw! best divorce book i’ve ever read. perfect for anyone who loves reading about unlikeable female protagonists, dubious medical ethics, and mediations on generational trauma.

2) elliot and beverly mantle from the new dead ringers remake. they are a package deal for uhhh. a reason. elliot is charismatic, narcissistic, and obsessed with impregnating her twin sister. in one scene, she crawls on a counter on all fours to eat dinner. beverly wants to be normal so badly but her cognitive dissonance game is constantly at a nuclear level. sometimes pretends elliot is dead and literally attends a grief group about it. and they’re both rachel weisz

3) cersei lannister from asoiaf. omgggggggg just deeply unwell on all levels. where do i BEGIN. fucks her twin brother because she perceives him as the male version of herself, with all the access to power that comes with being a nobleman in westeros. she murdered her friend at age 11. she’s haunted by a prophecy of her children’s deaths and her own. her favorite kid is JOFFREY. slaps hood of cersei’s characterization, you can fit so much gender and power theory in here. she teams up with evil dr frankenstein. she arms the faith, who are historically super anti-incest, right after rumors of her incestuous relationship circulate. who’s doing it like her

4) nicte batan from motherland: fort salem - i literally just met her but TFW your 300 year old girlfriend steals your DIY magic to do war crimes and you immediately form a terrorist organization to murder non-witches about it for 30 years. then you flirt with her new girlfriend while you’re both stuck in witch prison together. love her. cannot wait to watch more.

5) elphaba thropp from the wicked books specifically. i love the musical but they absolutely remove some of her unwell swag. she feels so guilty about fiyero’s death that she seeks out his WIFE and kids, then occupies her castle tower to do ominous witch stuff for 15 years. also takes her son with fiyero, to live with fiyero’s wife and kids, except she spent the first 7 years of his life in a nunnery, where she took a vow of silence and never officially claimed him as her son. she’s canonically a social justice warrior with a husky, sensuous singing voice and a great sense of humor. obsessed with her in every way

#explosionshark #ask

[tallycraven]

now i need you to write a small ficlet of raelle actually kissing tally and tally being like "whoa what the hell" but kissing back and them talking about how lonely they feel without syclla/gerit and bonding :')

HAPPY RAELLY DAY HERE YOU GO!!!

WRITTEN IN LESS THAN AN HOUR, UNBETA'D, DEFINITELY NOT PROOFREAD. I'M HERE WITH MY CLOWN NOSE LET'S GO.

Tally spends the morning after the Paragon reception with a pounding headache and an even worse heartache. She’s always been an empathetic person but there’s something distinctly different about legitimately feeling as if she were linked to Alder on the night of the Martyrdom.

It’s a bundle of horrible awful theories and secrets and feelings that Tally doesn’t even know how to begin to untangle.

So, she sits.

Legs crossed, head down, deep breaths.

Old calming techniques she picked up at home when arguments with her mom became too much.

She’s in the middle of trying to name the feeling that Alder felt when she watched Nicte Batan walk away when Raelle comes into the room with a cup of tea for her.

It’s a welcome relief to have her best friend next to her; Raelle’s freshly showered and every bit of the definition of soft.

Tally finds herself reaching for Raelle’s hand after breathing out her frustrations and instead asking for Raelle to share her night—hoping to find distraction in Raelle’s soft voice and charming pride.

The smile that paints Raelle’s face when she almost puffs up proudly at the memory of blowing stuff up in front of military brass.

There’s a moment of silence and Tally’s reaction is only a breathy, “Wow.”

She kind of wishes she was there to see it.

The moment passes and Tally finds that Raelle’s just looking at her.

Empath-be-damned, Tally can’t get a read on what Raelle’s thinking. Only that the hand under her own has tensed just the slightest as Raelle grips her own knee and bites her lip, brows knitted together in thought.

“Rae?”

Tally’s voice seems to break whatever trance Raelle was sitting in and she straightens her back and shakes her head as if to brush off the thoughts crowding her mind.

“Sorry,” Raelle laughs, focus dropping to their hands and gently flipping her palm up to link their hands. “Is it stupid that I kind of wish Scylla were here to see it? It’s—”

“It’s?”

“It’s her seed, after all. The one she showed me.” Raelle looks embarrassed.

Tally kind of finds it cute.

She shakes her head and smiles, gripping Raelle’s hand back.

“No, of course not, Raelle. She meant a lot to you. It’d be silly to not be thinking about her at a time like this, right?” Tally reasons. “Sometimes I think about Gerit, too.”

She feels Raelle’s grip tighten in her hand.

“Yeah, but fuck him.”

The softness of the moment has been replaced by a firm frown on Raelle’s face. It catches Tally off-guard, the way Raelle stiffens and seems to zero in on Tally; though her gaze seems to be landing somewhere south of Tally’s eyes.

Tally laughs softly, “It’s fine, Rae.”

“No, you deserve better.”

And Tally knows she, herself, agrees. She knows that what Gerit did was unacceptable and that she deserves to find a person who is willing to give all of themselves, honesty and affection first, into a relationship with her. But she also knows that she leaned into it. She let herself live in a fantasy world where she could let her lust drive her without thinking of the repercussions and aftermath of it all.

It was kind of her fault, too.

She just wanted to feel that softness. The warmth that comes from being someone’s sole focus.

Tally’s been quiet for long enough, bottom lip caught between her teeth, that she doesn’t notice Raelle shifting closer to bring her free hand up to Tally’s jaw.

Her breath catches in her throat and she looks up to see blue eyes regarding her with a sense of carefulness that exceeds what gentle could even begin to define.

There seems to be a question in Raelle’s eyes, but Tally’s brain has taken off at a mile a minute into outer space; it’s doing loops around the rings of Saturn when she realizes she’s leaning in too.

And then they’re kissing.

It’s soft, careful, delicate, smooth, and so warm that Tally thinks her heart is going to plop right out of her chest and in between them.

Her brain comes to a skittering halt somewhere over the endless, endless blue of Neptune when she pulls away.

“Wait—”

“I’m sorry!” Raelle cuts her off, already falling back and scrambling away.

Tally realizes that’s one of the last things she wants and reaches out, hand grasping into the fabric of Raelle’s tank top.

“No!” The panic in her voice is scrambled by the sudden deep rasp that accompanies it.

Time stops and they’re just looking at each other.

“It’s okay.” Tally whispers, eyes unable to help themselves from darting back and forth between her best friend’s eyes and her lips. “Is this okay?”

Raelle looks like a statue; she’s carved from marble and the light’s hitting her so perfectly that Tally’s afraid that, in the panic of the moment, they’ve been hit by a wave of rogue work that’s frozen the two of them over.

And then she nods.

Tally nods too, because she’s not sure she can do anything other than mirror Raelle.

There’s a bundle of something joining the mess of feelings inside her — tunneling and twisting itself into the tangle — and she knows that this is only going to lead to trouble, but she can’t find it in herself to care too much as she burrows herself into Raelle, pushing and pressing against a warmth that she can’t define.

In the afternoon, the two of them will rush to the infirmary to find the third of their trio in pain. In the afternoon, they’ll awkwardly stand by each other and send shy smiles and silent agreements between each other. In the afternoon, they’ll deal with the aftermath of whatever this is.

But for now, as Tally drags Raelle into her lap and feels her hands (shaking ever so gently) wrap around her friend’s waist, she’ll let herself sink into the blissful blankness of being Raelle’s only focus.

#asks #anonymous #raelly #jenn writes #BIG SHRUGGIES FAM IDK LET'S GO

[mfs-research-institute]

I was reading the theory about Nicte and the spree and couldn't help remembering episode 1x03 when they check their family history on the tapestry and Scylla says that hers is "more complicated & there's more to this family bullshit" As far as I'm aware, she's been using her real name when answering the call etc. so why would she say that? I feel like she must be linked to Nicte somehow, maybe blood related? I wish we'd have more backstory & maybe flashbacks of her life.

We love talking about Nicte and what her history may be! Here are some thoughts on your questions:

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@queerscifinerd: I had a gut feeling that Scylla and Nicte might have a connection since episode one! And I've seen at least one other person on tumblr with a similar theory (sadly can't remember who or have a link ). Either a family connection, be it close or distant or Scylla's parents knew Nicte/where good friends with her.

If it's a familial connection, I'd say it's through Scylla's dad because of their different last names. I'm pretty sure that Scylla Ramshorn is Scylla's actual birth name because the army already knew who she was (probably had records of her in some way?), so she used that for her cover at Fort Salem because the risk of her using a false name was too high maybe. 

But WHY they had records is the question. Because the military apparently knew who Scylla's family is, I'm pretty sure they defected recently (maybe her parents even defected together with Nicte! That would be interesting!) and the reason why her family is not on the flag is because maybe the military immediately purges family's from the flag as soon as they start dodging (which would also explain how the Imperative lost track of all these witches). 

However I'm 50:50 on the theory of familial connection btw Scylla and Nicte and each episode leaning more towards that IF Nicte and Scylla's parents knew each other they were probably friends  BECAUSE I'm pretty sure that Nicte, wherever she is right now (because there is no way she is dead, come on), is probably hiding out in the Cession and is most likely also from the Cession because the actress who plays Nicte is Indigenous Canadian!!! I don't think that that casting choice is a coincidence!!! Tl:dr; Team Ramshorns knew Nicte as a family friend. 

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@captainjeclid: Alder seemed pretty fucking hellbent on the fact that Scylla should've been rotting in prison and was mad as hell she wasn't. So maybe if she knows how the [Ramshorn] line progressed, there could be a definite possibility in them being related [to Nicte]. And like Anacostia said, it didn't sit right with her that Alder just wanted to throw Scylla away… so that might indicate that Alder's actions were out of the norm for dealing with defectors.

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@smallfrost: Let me first admit that I didn't realize Scylla actually said "no" to her family being on the flag but even forgetting the exact response, my gut feeling about that scene was that Scylla was just avoiding telling Raelle about her family. Not that the Ramshorns weren't necessary physically on the family tree flag. Remember, that scene was pre Scylla telling Raelle about her parents being dodgers - so at that moment, Scylla was just trying to gaslight Raelle and pull her away to further her own mission/agenda. It is very possible that if Scylla placed her medal on the flag, a Ramshorn family would appear but with a weird configuration which would make Raelle suspicious, possibly alienating her and setting Scylla back. So all in all, I don't think Scylla has any relations to Nicte. Her parents were also not Spree, but dodgers. I won't say I can't imagine them crossing paths at some point but I'm leaning more towards they don't know each other [yet - I definitely think Scylla and Willa are going to meet Nicte at some point this season, or discuss her if she isn't still alive].

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@jalehh: Scylla’s exact words from 1x03 were: [is your family on this thing?], "No, my family history is complicated. You know, there is more to the place than this family bullshit. Come on."  [smallfrost: "lollll I forgot that part, thank you"]. Smallfrost has a great point, though, that Scylla was still avoiding to tell that her parents were dodgers, but I also want to note that she was trying to get Raelle into other parts of the exhibit - mainly the one with the Camarilla / Burning Times theme.

I strongly doubt that Scylla is in ANY way related to Nicte Batan. She might know her as a legend or hero or something like that, but not personally. I doubt that. 

That said... I too wish would get to see more of Scylla's past. 

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@maplecroft: I think it may simply be that Scylla’s parents (at least, if not more relatives) defected from the Army and didn’t serve, so there would be some sort of gap or something indicating this on the flag. OR Scylla didn’t know for certain if there would be some sort of gap/indicator and just didn’t want to risk it. She doesn’t tell Raelle about her Dodger parents until later in the episode when Raelle confronts her.

I mean, Raelle wouldn’t have even known who Nicte was. (And there’s no indication Scylla knows, either, for what it's worth.) So even if Scylla was related to Nicte, it literally wouldn’t have mattered because Raelle wouldn’t have been like “oh that’s the Spree founder” or whatever. She wouldn’t have thought anything about it.

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Thank you for the ask! As always, if you would like to join the conversations on our Discord, please shoot us a DM for an invite!

#motherland: fort salem #motherland fort salem #nicte batan #scylla ramshorn #mfs spree theories #mfs theories #mfsri nerds answer

[mfs-research-institute]

I know this is not the case, I mean until this point the information we have got from the series is that Alder may be responsible for the surge of the spree but not directly. Yet isn't it a little bit fucked up that in someway Alder ( or the witches in general) needs the spree and the caramilla to justify their existence, like if they don't exist, if there is not a tangible enemy, witches are not necessary and sometimes I think that Alder plays a major game manipulating the perception of these enemies with the purpose to keep the army necessary, cause civilians are the true and biggest enemy of witches and maybe ALders the only one who knows exactly what happens when civilians turn against witches.

Oooof this is a loaded question! Let's see what people are thinking:

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Dan on our Discord: My first instinct is that isn't that the basic vibe of all major conflicts? Both in the MFS Universe and our own timeline? Armies only exist to 'protect' nations from other countries and vice versa, which only in turn creates more conflict in its own fucked, self-sufficient cycle.

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@Jalehh: Yes, Alder and her actions in Liberia (forcing dodgers to conscript, them resisting, Alder deploying Sgt. Nicte Batan's new work and making surrendered people kill themselves) seem directly responsible for the formation of the Spree to me.

It also seems like America in this 'verse still has colonies (the showrunner called the conflict in Liberia a colonial war) and is a major player in world politics with India and China being at different stages of rivalry. Even if there aren't open wars among nations, and no asymmetrical conflicts like with the Spree, a well-maintained military will help to secure a powerful position on the world stage... plus you never know who wants to be the next bully on the world stage. Si vis pacem, para bellum. Pretty sure there would be enough to do for witches... even if it's 'just' training exercises or civil aid works done by the military or some 'good' old gunboat diplomacy.

Of course, it would be nice to prepare for peace and maybe transform the witch army into a peace or technical relief corps. But, being the Army/Armed Forces seems to have given at least some witches quite some power - Alder and Petra Bellweather come to mind and with the past they had (Burning Times) - and anti-witch sentiments still very widely accepted, I understand why they would be afraid to give that up. Plus, witches in the army are organized and no longer scattered all over the land... which makes them a bigger target, but also allows for a strength and unity that would otherwise be lost.

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@baby-horse: Same coin but different side - I wonder if the civilians want to keep the army around, purely because it puts (almost) all the witches in one spot; easily handled. I think it's mutually beneficial, but not necessarily for the obvious reasons.

That kind of answers the question as to why the civilians don't just abolish forced constriction for witches, since they're so upset about their 'daughters' being taken. Because the obvious answer to "not our daughters" is to just get rid of that law. But once you do that, then witches would be in the community, which is Bad News.

I guess the question of 'what happens when the world discovers they no longer need witches' is being answered this season. Spoiler alert = it's not good for witches.

--

@crazyintheeast: Personally, I was wondering about a different direction. If civilians would actually be in favor of witches. We know little about the general attitude of people. Yes of course there is the Camarilla and we know of others bigots like the guy who got into Tally's face. But we have also seen another side. The man who proudly gave Tally his ticket, the women who came to Raelle for healing and were extremely grateful, the large parades in honor of witches. Even with the protest against them I felt that only some of them were actual bigots while the others merely hated the army and didn't want their daughters enslaves.

I would find it really interesting if a significant portion of the civilian populace is actually in favor of witch liberation. Some out of moral principle because they oppose slavery but also many out of purely practical reasons. Imagine if instead of being limited to the military they had Fixers in every hospital who could save countless lives. We already know that witches assist in disaster areas but they could do even more if allowed. Witches actually being a part of society instead of being isolated in the military could be something that many want.

But also, I was left with the impression that China and not Spree are the main adversary and not all nations are in The Hague. I am not exactly sure, but I always saw Spree as merely assisting local witches in various countries rather than leading themselves. Similar to how CIA would train various guerrilla fighters and try to destabilize countries.

But I could actually see a full-blown civil war emerging. The current situation in the MFS strongly reminds of the historic situation of the Ottoman Empire where their slave army had become so powerful that they had serious influence on all rulers. And when new technology emerged the Sultan used the new tactics to attack his salve army and eliminate it.

Although, considering the existence of the Hague, this may even grow into a World War if Wade is removed from Alder’s influence and Silver becomes president. Maybe he’ll try to use the Camarilla and other troops to eliminate US witches? And without nukes to go full MAD this could be a massive war that has been building for a long time.

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Thank you for the ask! As always, if you would like to join the conversations on our Discord, please shoot us a DM for an invite!

#sarah alder #nicte batan #VP Silver #motherland fort salem #motherland: fort salem #mfs theories #mfsri nerds answer #mfsri #mfs research institute