#commander rand

[whothehellisspock]

Say what you will, Janice Rand is a badass who takes her job seriously. A powerful alien might just destroy the ship any moment now? Well, she has a job to do and nothing is going to stop her.

[the-ears-make-all-the-difference]

[chernobog13]

Everyone showed up for the pajama party!

[a-cat-in-toffee]

[fun-k-boards]

Unnamed Romulan Commander my beloved 💞

these r fun :)

[Description: A Tiered meme, titled “if I was a worm, would you still love me?” Below is a table with two columns; the first column listing different answers to the question, and the second holding characters from the classic era of Star Trek who fit the response. They are as follows:

“Absolutely fucking not,” with pictures of Lieutenant Kevin Riley, Yeoman Janice Rand, and Mirror!Marlena Moreau

“You are not a worm shut up,” with pictures of Dr McCoy, Spock, Sarek, and T’Pring

“I would eat you like the fish,” with Scotty.

“depends what type of worm??” with pictures of Uhura and Nurse Chapel

“yes :) <3″ with pictures of Captain Kirk and Amanda Grayson

“I would build you a home in a jar. with a little house. talk to you every day,” with pictures of Sulu, Sybok, and The Romulan Commander

“what if we were both worms… and we kissed…” with a picture of Pavel Chekov

/End Description]

[shoreskept]

𓂃 ଓ ; @huijarii wrote ;

[ 𝐆𝐀𝐙𝐄 ] for bronya?

the qlipoth fort is warm as ever, the low drone of geomarrow so constant a sound that bronya has long since stopped hearing it. she sits at the supreme guardian's wide desk, in a chair she has still yet to grow into, finger tapping idly atop a stack of paperwork she has leafed through no less than thrice.

it does not get any less heavy, the shadow hanging over her, though lately she has begun to wonder if it is only she herself that can still see it.

the gravelly voice of a guard draws her gaze, pulls her mind from within itself and reminds her to straighten her spine as she rises and lift her chin. in a voice too loud for the room's quiet— that of a soldier, which ricochets off of the room's high ceilings and threatens to make her flinch— he announces the arrival of this afternoon's only meeting.

ah, bronya dips her chin in a curt nod, a silent grant of permission to continue, this.

strange requests come across her desk frequently, such is the nature of her station. people seek an audience over just about anything, or even for nothing at all. remiss as bronya is to turn away a civilian in need, there are instances where she hasn't a choice.

but every now and again, something unexpected will catch her eye. such had this, delivered by the hand of none other than seele herself, a request to which bronya had received quite a few raised brows upon accepting. her miraculously empty book for its date, however, had squashed any argument that her time would be better spent elsewhere.

and she is, admittedly, most curious.

heavy doors are pushed open on silent hinges, a silvermane guard on either side and two trailing their guest as he steps beyond the threshold. bronya is careful with her eyes, waits until the doors are shut and her men are at ease before it is lowered.

pale grey settles upon striking emerald, her expression carefully levelled as she considers the feline curve of the man's features.

" you are dismissed, " she announces— a command that is answered after a beat of hesitation. the room empties of guards, the door slow to shut behind them. bronya does not look away from the man once.

a beat before she takes her seat once more, before her guardian's expression thaws, curiosity betrayed in the tilt of her head.

" to what do i owe the pleasure, mr. koski? "

[theguyinthemathexamples]

From the Beauty, to the Creation

— to celebrate my beloved Argenti coming home after i first lost to Bronya (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

— C/W : trying a new fic format, extremely self indulgent, possibly ooc 😞, spoilers?, my first sahsr/sahsrau fic‼️

Being the vessel of an Aeon that was thought to have long since passed was no easy feat, as it required other Aeons to set their sights on you first.

Some call Them the Aeon of Creation, others the Aeon of Fate; the IPC have yet to decipher their time of arrival, much less their motives. Though, most theorize that they materialized long before the first atom had started moving, only to stay dormant in a state akin to hibernation after setting the universe up for self replication and ever expansion.

(more utc‼️‼️)

Their presence felt like home, a warm embrace, maybe even a light in the dark, or perhaps a form of escapism. Everyone is sure of one thing: once you accept Their calling, and accept the Astral Express's conductor's invitation, there will never be a way to turn back.

To others' eyes, a faint string can be seen reaching the heavens itself, tracing down a vessel, caressing their whole beings like a forced blanket thrown at their face.

An almost addicting bliss could be felt after these possessions, before that moment of ethereal release comes crashing down. Though, those that are used to always moving around — those with more stamina — don't usually feel this drawback as much as the others.

More often than not, the feeling of being watched and dazed dissipates and a feeling of fatigue sets in — intense tiredness, and even a slight chance to feel dizziness, had been reported from these... events.

But most importantly, a voice could be heard. A voice that many described as one which contained a thousand choirs, perhaps millions.

Among those was Argenti, a man of excellent talents that walked on the Path of Erudition, though claims to walk that of Beauty. One of the most recent vessels, per say.

He first felt this presence after accidentally hitting the Astral Express with his own ship, the "One and Only", he called it, the faint strings caressing the being of three out of the six Trailblazers.

To exude such a warm, calming aura around one at all times is truly a magnificent display of beauty, he thought.

The second time, however, it was quite a sudden moment. A strange letter was penned to him, claiming that it could make his goal of spreading the Beauty, if he used the golden ticket provided inside, a dozen steps closer.

The weirdest aspect was that he kept hearing faint whispers around him. Was this how vessels gained an invitation?

Though, feeling hesitant about this strange letter, he chose to send it instead to the Commander of the Silvermane Guards, Lady Bronya Rand, so that someone else could experience such a wonderful event.

The letter warned him that he must accept this invitation, were he to receive such a letter once more.

Third time's the charm, as they say, as not only did Argenti get another letter not too long after, the voices were much louder this time. They were more persuasive, more hoping and, most importantly, more enticing.

The letter beforehand told him of the earlier warning, and this one did not hesitate to emphasize it in the second paragraph.

And, left with no other choice, he had to accept this invitation. He truly didn't expect getting treated with such warmth and excitement seeping through every vein in his body.

He briefly caught sight of the Aeon in all their glory — was this a sign that his fate towards meeting the Beauty was slowly coming into fruition?

Being blessed by two Aeons, even briefly catching their attention, was a feat unlike any other, but being chosen as an active vessel by one? What a truly great achievement.

Along with the Trailblazer that caught him, four others stood behind them. A master swordsman that went by Yanqing, the owner of Neverwinter Workshop, Lady Serval Landau, the Commander of the Silvermane Guards he'd given the invite to earlier, Lady Bronya Rand, and a child that waved at him who called herself Lynx Landau.

Quite an interesting group of people, but a beautiful bond of friendship swirled among them nonetheless.

Slowly, he could feel himself getting stronger, even more so than before. This mysterious Aeon had gifted him so many things already, yet it doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

From the creations of the acolytes of the Aeon of Remembrance, Lightcones, to relics which were created from anomalies caused by the Antimatter Legion, and more — all were given to him to make him more powerful.

It was as if meeting and becoming the puppet of this Aeon could make you undeniably better than your former self, even after you thought you were already at your peak.

The world doesn't revolve around you? The creator of the universe lovingly revolves around me 24/7, thank you very much.

In a place unknown, a black haired Stellaron Hunter sneezes, causing two others beside him to sneak a small glance.

He merely huffs, averting his own gaze away.

... Ignorance is often bliss.

This is my first time writing my beloved so I'm sorry in advance if he's ooc 😞😞

I hope you all liked this cuz i def liked making it hehe

Next on the agenda? My thoughts on sahsr/sahsrau :DDD

[mrmistopher]

As much as I 100% agree with everyone who argues that we should have gotten more screentime for the women of TOS (Commanders Chapel and Rand) or for Saavik and David, I feel the character who got done dirtiest by the movies was Dr. Marcus.

She was such an interesting character, both in terms of her relation to Kirk and her goals with Project Genesis. She absolutely could have grown and been one of the best TOS era characters ever if given more development in future films, but no. We don't even see her in Search for Spock. The movie where her damn son dies. And she didn't even come back in Undiscovered Country?? The movie where David's death is a pivotal piece of Kirk's character arc??

Apparently she was supposed to appear in Search for Spock, but they snipped her out of the movie seemingly for budget cuts, and because she was "extraneous" which feels like such a shitty thing to do to the character, in a movie with a plotline set on Genesis (which she created) that features the death of her son. Her actress, Bibi Besch apparently was very disappointed that we never got any sort of closure with Marcus, and she's damn right! Apparently she was supposed to be in Generations but was cut out because... idk we can't have nice things?? (Also not the movie's fault, but the fact she passed on only two years after being cut from Generations feels so unfair to Besch. Rest in peace.) Also nobody bring up Into Darkness. I haven't seen it, but I already know they did her real dirty in that one.

[electronickingdomfox]

USS Enterprise decks

Updated part 1 here

Updated part 2 here

This post got me thinking about the actual location inside the ship of several areas. Sure, there are many blueprints and reference books that have published complete and detailed layouts of the Enterprise. But ultimately, they're interpretations of different authors, filling in the blanks, and they often disagree with each other.

So this is a list of the bare minimum of facts. All the deck locations that can be gleaned from TOS episodes. Beyond that, it's up to anyone's imagination.

*Feel free to make additions or corrections to this post. This is only in reference to the original ship as seen in the series, not taking into account the refit ship from the movies, or alterations/retcons introduced in later series.

Saucer section (primary hull)

Most locations seen in the series belong to this section (as deduced from the curved corridors). The first version of the Writer's Guide tell us it has 20 decks. The later edition (season 2 onwards) reduced the decks to 11.

Deck 1

-Bridge: Obvious from a simple inspection of the ship's exterior. And also confirmed by the Writer's Guide to be in this deck.

Deck 2

-The Romulan Commander's "guest" quarters: Spock tells the turbolift to bring them to this deck, before leaving her in detention, in "The Enterprise Incident". I don't think we ever see other location said to be here (maybe she got the whole deck for herself; lucky!).

Deck 3

-Recreation room 6: Rand offers Charlie to come here, in "Charlie X".

-Recreation room 3: Spock says Bele is chasing Lokai in front of this place, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".

-Crewmen's lounge: Same as above.

Deck 4

-Environmental control: Scotty says power's been shut down here, in "The Ultimate Computer".

-Living quarters: Kirk confirms this, in "The Ultimate Computer".

Deck 5

-Sickbay: Kirk brings Spock to this deck after ordering him to report to sickbay, in "Amok Time". He does the same with Elaan of Troyius. Strangely enough, most blueprints place sickbay in deck 7 instead.

-Kirk's quarters: Confirmed in "Journey to Babel", which also shows the cabin number (3F 121). The same number was first seen in "The Conscience of the King", but without specifying the deck.

-Recreation room 3: Spock says Bele is chasing Lokai in front of this place, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". May be a script error, since a moment ago he had said this place was in deck 3.

-Transporter room: As Lokai seems to run directly here, we may assume it's also in deck 5 (though there are probably many more transporter rooms throughout the ship).

Deck 6

-Briefing room: Sargon calls McCoy from here, in "Return to Tomorrow". May be the same briefing room from other episodes.

-Guest rooms: Bele and Lokai are assigned quarters here, in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".

-Living quarters: Kirk confirms this, in "The Ultimate Computer".

Deck 8

-Auxiliary control: The android Norman hijacks the controls here, in "I, Mudd".

-Evaluation laboratory: Seen on a plaque, in "And the Children Shall Lead". Kirk and Spock arrived on this deck in search for Auxiliary control, so it should be in deck 8 as well.

Deck 12

-Janice Rand's quarters: In "The Enemy Within", after seeing Rand attacked by evil Kirk, a crewman reports they're in deck 12. The number of her cabin is also visible (3C 46).

-Kirk's quarters: In very early episodes ("Mudd's Women" and "The Enemy Within"), Kirk's quarters were here, instead of in deck 5. Since the number of saucer decks was reduced to 11 in season 2, the change makes sense.

Deck 14

-Transporter room: In "Dagger of the Mind", Dr. Van Gelder is locked in this deck, after arriving inside a cargo box.

-Personnel Director office: Seen on a plaque during Van Gelder's escape.

-Science Library: Same as above.

Unknown deck

These are some locations, likely from the saucer section, but with unspecified deck. There are plenty of such examples, so this isn't an exhaustive list.

-Impulse engines: The Writer's Guide confirms that the impulse engines are in the primary hull, in case of saucer separation. I think the impulse engines are only seen in "The Doomsday Machine", when Scotty is working aboard the identical Constellation. Though they look just as a reused set from Engineering.

-Spock's quarters: The cabin number is seen in "Amok Time" (3F 125). Possibly, it's in deck 5 near Kirk's quarters, considering the similar numbering.

-McCoy's quarters: Only seen in "The Man Trap" (I think), which also shows the number (3F 127). Again, it's probably near Kirk and Spock's cabins.

-Mudd's quarters: The number is barely legible, but looks like 3F 125, in "Mudd's Women". This happens to be the same as Spock's cabin. The likely explanation is that they didn't have a design for Spock's quarters so early in the series. The fun explanation is that they evicted Spock just to make room for Mudd.

-Uhura's quarters: Seen in "The Tholian Web", and adapted for Elaan in "Elaan of Troyius".

-Scotty's quarters: Seen in "By Any Other Name".

-Life Science Section - Botany Department: Seen in "The Man Trap".

-Gymnasium: Seen in "Charlie X".

-Officer's mess: Seen in "Space Seed".

-Botanical garden: Seen in "Is There in Truth No Beauty?".

-Briefing room: Different from the usual briefing room, it's seen in "Space Seed" when they decide Khan's fate.

-Biochemistry lab: Seen in "The Deadly Years".

Since I've reached the picture limit, the continuation with the Engineering hull sets will be in another post, here.

[trekmupf]

Pro

Action immediately starts (can't even get married in peace uff)

the crew working like a well oiled machine during that crisis

Another episode that shows Kirk as a great leader during a crisis and his morals and ethics as a person as well as the burden of his position

The racism towards Spock (today a bit heavy handed but back then good work) and the way it's shut down immediately by Kirk, who trusts Spock

Kirk calling the meeting to gather all possible info of his crew before making a decision

Kirk openly admitting the troubles of his positions and his very real feelings about his struggle with the responsibility to McCoy as his friend, and McCoy helping him the best way he can; they both know he can't decide for him, but he can support him; but also the knowledge that the people he can be vulnerable in front of and the times he's allowed to show this side of himself are so rare and limited

Shatner's vulnerability in this scene blows my mind

the inclusion of Stiles is well done: he represents partly generational trauma but also the inability to let go of old conflicts over generations, which clouds his judgement

the tension throughout is great: from the red alert in the intro to the unknown threat and revelation of the Romulans until the very end. the silent scenes are excellent and parallel the time between avalanches during a war

the almost impossible choice of what to do and the real possibility of starting an intergalactic war is so heavy, terrifying and relevant throughout time; the way the different characters bring different viewpoints to the table (practicality, morals etc.)

Politics and universe set up! Introduction of the Romulans, the cloaking device and the shared ancestry of Vulcans and Romulans; Establishes the history between the Federation and the Romulans as well as the current situation with the treaty and neutral zone

Interesting choice for the audience to see the Romulan perspective of the fight, which gives us the opportunity to understand them, empathize with the “evil” enemies

This way we also get the parallels between the Romulan Captain and Kirk the responsibility to their people and crew, the way they think and plan; they're so evenly matched until the very end

Mark Lenard's acting and Shatner's compliment each other's so well

it would've been easy to make a good guys / evil enemies storyline here, especially with the Romulans starting the conflict, but instead the narrative, acting makes it about the tragedy and pointlessness of war instead, which is especially underlined with the death of the Romulans in the end; There is no real winner in war

Kirk offering to save the survivors, but respecting the Romulan captain when he explains why he can't

the fact that Starfleet answers Kirk when it's all over and he had to carry this entire burden underlines the pointlessness of it all

Good scoring

Con

Yeoman Rand is sometimes just there to be the damsel women

Counter: red alert during intro

Quote: "I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend" - Romulan commander

Moment: The commander saying goodbye and exploding his ship

Summary: Excellent episode with a deep anti war message showing giving insight into how the crew works under heavy pressure, how the characters compliment each other and work together in universe but also a narrative level, the trust of the trio in each other and a deeper understanding of what makes Kirk one of the best Captains of Starfleet

Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[sleepynegress]

A COMPREHENSIVE & AUTHENTIC UHURA LOVE/HISTORY POST

The above is where Roddenberry 1st employed Nichelle Nichols [click to watch the full clip]. It was a military show based on Roddenberry's own experiences, the episode is called To Set it Right (I highly suggest reading the wiki article about it).

You should note two other actors, whom he later pegged for Star Trek are in the episode.

They dated briefly and then became good friends way before Trek came about.

Miss Nichols was already an accomplished singer and dancer who performed regularly w/ Billy Eckstine and Duke Ellington

Roddenberry's 1st show, The Lieutenant, was canceled/pulled from the air before these scenes bluntly dealing with racism could air (there's blackface as punishment for the racists at the end of the show, in a case of 'he 'a little confused but got the spirit' for the times, so tw)

He created Star Trek to try to soften the blow of all the social messaging he wanted to insert from his military experience. Star Trek was basically, a submarine drama placed in a sci-fi setting. He made it diverse on purpose because the military helped him travel and serve with all kinds of people. Roddenberry was inspired by that.

Uhura was the first person to read for Spock and in fact, helped to shape the character with her reading and based many of the traits of Uhura (formerly Uhuru) on Spock.

She was basically a glorified secretary. She played the part with poise, joy, and the 60's style womanism she got to play out for those times... Everything from her mini-skirt (which Nichelle herself called very comfortable) to her smile, and teasing lines, and quips were about her playing "big" in a small role. She made every moment, every look, every line, and movement count:

Roddenberry cracked jokes about the fact that the network never figured out that Uhura was fourth in command.

Nichelle was the only main cast member who was not salaried. She was paid by the hour. This attempt at marginalization actually resulted in her being the highest paid at times, because of the long hours.

Nichelle was not let in the front entrance at times, her fan-mail was kept from her, and she grew frustrated with the constant cutting of her scenes, lines and storylines. This is why she justifiably attempted to leave. The bigots in production did not like her being there (and if we're being real, were it not for Janice Rand's actress Grace Lee Whitney having gone through so much and thus losing her job in the 1st season...Uhura might have had even LESS presence)

The lost context in MLK convincing her to stay was that YES she was minimized and could make more money and be more fulfilled on broadway, but her symbolism and presence meant so much at a time when Black women weren't on TV unless as a racist caricature cleaning a house, and even that was rare...that she stayed.

One of her best allies was DeForest Kelly, who threatened to quit if they fired Nichelle. George Takei was her absolute best friend on the show and in life (she served as his Best Woman at his wedding).

There was an unfilmed episode in which Uhura and Deforest would have played reverse roles in "racial dynamics" on a planet they visit

Spock and Uhura were originally supposed to kiss in the alien mind control episode, but Shatner demanded to do so for the publiicity.

Her work to recruit marginalized people as astronauts, as in personally going to colleges and talking to candidates after the show is a staggering achievement that arguably is the most potent of any castmember in any of the Trek series post-show. Sally Ride, Guy Bluford (she personally recruited the 1st woman and 1st black astronaut), Mae Jemison (the 1st black woman credits her for inspiring her to become an astronaut).

Uhura did finally command the ship in the animated series. She would not have gotten to voice the role, but for Leonard Nimoy making it an obligation that all the original actors voice their parts for him to come on.

Scotty and Uhura in the film was definitely a pair the spares situation, in which both were the leftover senior citizens with the writers just going "why not?"

it was beyond insulting and she did protest about the scene where she's bumbling through a giant translation book to speak to klingons for laughs in trek 5 ...but her best moment IMO is her pulling a gun on the young ensign in the transporter room in Trek 3...sadly her ONLY scene in the damn movie.

Miss Saldana got to play to MANY corrections in JJ Abrams rebooted Trek, from being amazing at languages to having an actual life & love, to confidently turning down Kirk at every turn.

FUN FACT!! Both JJ and Bob Orci both expressed disappointed shock that the love story between Spock & Uhura got more hatred from fans than BLOWING UP PLANET VULCAN.

another FUN FACT!! The love story between Spock & Uhura is what grabbed the old school Star Wars fan (JJ Abrams) enough to come aboard to direct. Yep. JJ ships Spock & Uhura.

Zoe's iteration became the 1st version of Uhura to speak confidently in Klingon

Celia Rose Gooding becoming Uhura brings around a lot of Uhura's qualities full circle, IMO. As she is also from theatre (like Nichelle) and has a beautiful singing voice as well as the charm. Zoe's iteration was sharper, and much more protective, professional, & mature, about her life and love.

Celia Rose has the youthful curiousity and stars in her eyes and had vulnerability from her first intro... I loved the eagerness the crew showed to being in her orbit, seeing the glow of her talent and being drawn to that, to have a part in nurturing that.

As I've said... Celia IMO has the most dazzling smile, giant warm brown eyes, fantastic curves, and an energy that feels essentially Uhura, & that is all light, joy, a bit of uncertainty, -from the light singing (!) and the growth to her joy in discovery... I'd love to see her writing move away from serving and be more about her wants needs and growing in friendships/loves.

But Celia is a gift and is perfectly cast.

Essentially Uhura = femininity, graceful carriage, gorgeous smile, excellence in engineering and translation (canon!), ability to sing and play the Vulcan lyre, sharp womanist wit, love for her U.S. of African-Kenyan culture and being beloved by all crew...

When Miss Celia hummed those gorgeous notes to the alien entity on that comet?? That Solidified that she IS Uhura IMO.

I 100% think they fucked up by killing Hemmer, because that mentor-mentee relationship was giving marginalized coming together and bonding over everybody else's bullshit and I was here for it...it was giving me Data and Geordi updated...and since then, IMO they've lost track and given us the same kinda backwards wingwoman role BS, that people who like to pretend to be her fan shoehorn her into.

...but I have high hopes that they'll course-correct.

All this to say ALL OF THE ABOVE is Uhura and anyone calling her ugly, bossy, pushy, annoying, whatever is just sad little hater who doesn't know wtf they are talking about.

[abardnamedreginald]

im a wolf-demon-salamander-grey treefrog-katydid-cricket-luna moth-klingon-trad vampire-cat-romulan-harry potter wizard-gnome-drow-orc-wood elf-high elf-werewolf-twilight vampire-chihuahua-android-bard-druid-sorcerer-d&d wizard-lotr wizard-mind flayer-kraken-owlbear-genetically modified human-andes mint-harry potter merperson-h20 mermaid-great white shark-raven named nevermore-amontillado-sewer clown-animatronic-ink person-reality bender-ringwraith-chicken-fairy-telescreen-multibear-manic pixie dream girl-d class-horcrux-dragon-unicorn-pegasus-among us crewmate-among us imposter-game master-sharpie king size marker-dwarf-dragonborn-toothbrush-rock-paper-scissors-lizard-vulcan-politician-god-phone guy-icebreakers ice cubes pineapple-a doctor not a miracle worker-troll-ent-poodle-rabbit-Bear.-orange zombie-purple zombie-green zombie-professor plum-col. mustard-in the library-with a knife-hoola dancer-fish-villager-pelecan-defense against the dark arts professer-mafia boss-peep rabbit-peep chicken-gymnast-hairbrush-philosopher-music freak-school teacher-kidnapper-police lieutenant-farmer-trash can-dumpster out back-turtle-tribble-my little pony-kratt brother-high diver-pearl diver, dive, dive, deeper-chef-fire-earth-water-wind-wasp-bee-hornet-yellowjacket-mud dabber-grasshopper-rattlesnake-armadillo-cowboy-flashlight-starfleet science officer-harlet-elephant-gater-muppet-emo-goth-preppy-teabag-loser-sucker-mouse-rat-a puppet-a pauper-a pirate-a poet-a pawn-and a king-father albert-the pope-a nun-pastor jeff-gambler-metalhead-death rocker-the grim reaper-angel-lighthouse-paw patrol dog-hobbit-starfish-sponge-crab-squid-shrimp-jellyfish-chipmunk-hammerhead shark-nurse shark-humpback whale-blue whale-orca-sexual harrassment panda-south park character-jakoffasaurus-scrabble board-ouija board-pillow-toilet paper-period pad-tampon-baby diaper-elderly diaper-martian-touch tone telephone-starfleet operations-starfleet command-kirk-spock-bones-sulu-chekov-uhura-scotty-yeoman rand-KHAN!!!-mudd-the uss enterprise-the uss reliant-botany bay-v'ger-valeris-saavik-sybok-surak-sarek-the abbreviation 'idk'-sheldon-leonard-penny-howard-raj-amy-bernadette-mary cooper-george sr-george jr-missy cooper-meemaw-tam-dr sturgis-dr linkletter-dr jack bright-dr clef-dr gears-dr kondraki-dr mann-dr iceberg-dr crow-dr rights-dr sherman-scp 049-scp 3008-scp 4231-scp 166-scp 682-scp 2521-scp 590-O5 6-bill cipher-stanley pines-stanford pines-dipper-mabel-wendy-soos-schmebulok-gideon-mcgucket-dipper goes to taco bell-sheriff blubs-deputy durland-tad strange-andy taylor-william afton-michael afton-elizabeth afton-crying child-henry emily-charlotte emily-dave miller-jack kennedy-dee kennedy-peter kennedy-steven stevenson-aragorn-sam-frodo-merry-pippin-boromir-legolas-gimli-gandalf-faramir-denethor-sauron-elrond-thranduil-harry-hermione-ron-voldemort-pettigrew.-moony-padfoot-prongs-snape-edward-bella-alice!!-carlisle-charlie-cthulhu-greg heffley-pennywise-bendy-sammy-norman-jack-alice (susie)-allison-henry stien-joey drew-bruenor battlehammer-raskolnikov-heather-heather-heather-veronica-jd-kurt-ram-martha-kurt cobain-david bowie-freddie mercury-hozier-mitski-lemon demon-jack stauber-tally hall-hamilton-burr-jefferson-madison-washington-phillip-angelica-eliza-peggy-king george iii-king henry viii-ben franklin-catherine of aragon-anne boleyn-jane seymour-anne of cleves-katherine howard-catherine parr-dracula-𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂-evan hansen-conner murphey-john adams-raymond barron-fred randall-jane doe-ocean-noel-mischa-constance-ricky-karnak-vergil-alternate-thatcher davis-ruth-dave-cesar-mark-adam-sarah-jonah-evelyn-gabriel-trump-biden-sunny-basil-kel-aubrey-hero-mari-vanessa (the mean girl that kinda likes u)-tux the linux penguin-perry the platypus hybrid princess...dont fw me

[chernobog13]

Everybody’s ready for the pajama party!

[asha-mage]

Robert Jordan finished WoT AU 😈

[Send me a potential AU and I'll answer with five things from that story!]

ahahaahahaha, you bait me so zorpi! This is more a 'things I reasonably can guess from my many read through the series' more then anything else, but-

Based on Perrin's portion of the Jordan written ending their was clearly meant to be a moment where Perrin had to choose between Faile's safety and the fulfillment of his duty- and choose his duty, trusting in Faile to protect herself and make her own choices. This is also pretty clearly what Malden and the battle with the Shaido was meant to set up: Perrin realizing that his obsessive desire to protect/love Faile was as much flaw as virtue, and that true love would be trusting her strength and courage. In Jordan's ending I would guess that this would likely have manifested having a choice between leaving the Two Rivers force at the front lines to go rescue Faile, who is carrying the Horn to Mat, or else stay with the Two Rivers Forces and trust Faile- choosing the later. Thus his racing through the battlefield in the aftermath, and finding Faile still alive in the carnage, would be his arc reaching it's conclusions, being rewarded for his trust and faith in her.

Mat was, I suspect, supposed to play a much larger role in the negotiations to get the Seanchan into the coalition against the Shadow, serving as leverage and pressure to get Tuon to the table and to agree to the terms- I also suspect based on his reticence regarding the Empire from when he and Tuon part in KoD, he was supposed to be a lot more reluctant/put off on the idea of commanding the Seanchan forces, and it was originally supposed to be Tuon's idea and/or part of her compromise- she'll join, but her army will follow Mat, not the Dragon appointed supreme commander.

I think we would have gotten a lot more Gabrelle, Toveine, and Logain as our Black Tower PoVs/the counter coup against Taim- Toveine was already being set up in this role in KoD and prior, and it would make sense as a means for her to 'redeem' herself of the Vileness, and it fits with Jordan's usual 'closing of the circle' that one of the Red Sister who helped with the slaughter of the men who could channel, would be one of the first and strongest converts to the Black Tower's cause.

I think we where supposed to also a get bit more thematic conflict/contrast between Graendal and Rand in Arad Doman. In general the political situatuion in Arad Doman feels very....off from how Jordan normally works politics. I think the broad beats (destruction of Natrin's Barrow, failure to stabilize the region, Rand abandoning Bandar Ebon to starve at his lowest moment) would be the same, but it feels very strange things like the merchant council politics and Graendal's broader parallels to Rand (especially in that moment- as she /also/ crumpled under impossible standards and failure to live up to perfection as Rand is currently inthe process of doing) would be far more dug into.

Finally, I think we would have had a least one major reunion scene with the original Emond's Field 5- I know this is something Sanderson wanted to do and tried very hard to manage but didn't quite fit in, which I think is sad. It really feels like their is a missing moment in there, where Mat, Perrin, Rand, Egwene and Nynaeve where all supposed to sit down and reflect on how far they've come and how before the final battle. It especially feels like something that would have been appropriate from either Nynaeve and Rand's perspective.

[pandemoniumonwheels]

I promised more meta of why I think what happened between Moiraine and Siuan this season was Siuan's game, not an actual breaking. So buckle up, we're talking about Rand and why his moms were arguing in front of him.

I believe the meeting between Moiraine and Siuan, the one in front of Rand was staged to a certain degree. I'm not sure they were able to discuss details in the previous meeting, but the general idea of Rand not trusting Moiraine, not trusting Aes Sedai is not that hard to communicate, even if there are people that might be listening. Anyway, they made the scene quite believable, but at the same time Siuan said everything Rand was afraid Moiraine was.

To Daes Dae'Mar ot not to Daes Dae'Mar?

The moment Moiraine enters she commands Siuan (the Amyrlin Seat nonetheless) to release Rand. Siuan says "no". And then Moiraine accuses Siuan of not being able to protect Rand from the Reds. Which Siuan dodges rather unconvincingly. She starts talking about some rules they should obey. But she never specifies the rules she means. We only assume it's about caging the Dragon. And so does Rand, because that's what they were talking about, but Siuan never confirms that in any other way. I bet there're multiple rules that are equally old, like facing the Dark One's powers in the Last Battle for that matter. Which is interesting since the episode is called Daes Dae'Mar...

After that Moiraine explains to Siuan what were their tasks in a way that even someone who hears about it for the fist time would understand. Coincidentally they have someone like that kneeling on the floor, listening to the conversation. Moiraine goes to the very personal question, we can see Siuan is taken aback by suggestion she might have forgotten that day. Their argument looks quite real at that point.

Then it's Siuan's turn. She makes Moiraine vulnerable in the eyes of Rand, revealing Moiraine was stilled, and incapable of using her power on Rand. Rand that is at the very moment shielded form the One Power by an Aes Sedai who moments earlier informed him any Aes Sedai would be able to do this to him. Any, but not Moiraine.

She goes even deeper. You can't control him. You can't guide him. Everything that Rand is afraid Moiraine is trying to do to him, she's incapable of doing right now, She's no threat to him. It's no accident the camera focuses on him during this part of Siuan's speech. At that moment he realized he can actually trust Moiraine, because there is nothing she can do to him. She can't use her power to control him. And by supporting him she is going against the White Tower rules (about which he just has learned thanks to Siuan). So there is no reason for her to cage him in Tar Valon. Siuan made herself a villain, she took all Rand's fears upon herself, and left Moiraine free of them. And it works so well. Rand not only helps Moiraine to get her powers back, he stands up to Lanfear protecting Moiraine, deciding to take her with him. In exactly the same situation, before his meeting with Siuan, he dumped Moiraine and decided to do what Lanfear told him. All it took to change that was two conversations, one with him and another between Moiraine and Siuan that he witnessed.

It's in the title

Just look at it. How conveniently it all worked out at the end. Moiraine is chasing Rand all over the continent, trying to make him see reason, but he is stubborn, he does not trust her, he feels betrayed by everything she does, even if it is to help him. Then he meets Siuan in the episode called Daes Dae'Mar. Siuan that is the Amyrlin Seat. Which should make her one of the best in the game of houses. She balances on the knife for so long, she mastered the way of lying without telling a single lie. So, after a conversation with that very person, in this very episode, Rand changes his attitude towards Moiraine.

Rand needed to see that Moiraine is no threat to him, he knew her, he could believe that. He would never believe that the Tower and other Aes Sedai are on his side. But that wasn't necessary. All that was needed at that point was for Rand to trust Moiraine, to have her with him, because otherwise she would not be able to complete her part of the mission. And I do think it would be too much of a strech to assume it was all an accident, and not an actual, cunning plan of two masters of a Daes Dae'Mar.

The main post

[zvaigzdelasas]

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted down a bill 11-86 that would have required President Joe Biden to withdraw U.S. troops from Niger.[...]

The State Department formally declared a coup in Niger earlier this month, suspending most U.S. assistance. However, the U.S. still has roughly 1,100 troops stationed in Niger. U.S. Africa Command in September repositioned assets and personnel away from the capital Niamey to Agadez, a drone base roughly 570 miles away. The U.S. first stationed troops in Niger in 2013 as part of its counterterrorism mission across Africa, citing as the legal justification the 2001 military authorization Congress passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to target al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Four presidents have used the 2001 military authorization to justify more than 40 military operations in at least 19 countries across the globe, including Niger.

But Paul’s resolution, which the Senate voted down, stated the 2001 military authorization does not apply to Niger.

26 Oct 23