#josha is great I love josha

[caracarnn]

While I do have show verses I will be TAILORING THEM basically au versions of the show bc Rand - is just...Rand won't be the Rand you see in the show. The Dragon is not the friends that you made along the way and Rand also didn't fck off to Cairhien to work in a mental health facility. He is v much Channeling and grappling with his own sanity at this time and he did fight his own battles. He also wasn't all HELP ME PLS to a fckn Forsaken. Just so show watchers know. It's a show verse but an AU show verse. ahem. He also cannot be shielded by ONE aes sedai and he isn't just a plot device for everyone else.

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

Things Rand learns about Moiraine in the course of five minutes in 02 x 05:

She is from Cairhien.

Her family is RICH. Like marry the Queen rich.

She has a sister and a nephew.

That weird lady who told him the Hunt for the Horn isn’t real and how the rich people in Cairhien disdain the people in the Foregate is her sister.

(Maybe that she’s a Damodred, but I don’t think of Rand as a real history buff so idk if that will mean anything to him.)

She hasn’t seen her family in 20 years.

They don’t know Lan.

Things Rand knew about Moiraine before 02 x 05:

She once had trouble channeling when she was learning to be an Aes Sedai.

(Maybe that she is a lady from a fallen house - depends if he believed/remembered that comment she made to the whitecloaks.)

[butterflydm]

More s3 hints from interviews (day 2 & Josha!)

@markantonys linked me to a masterthread of More Interviews (twitter.com/GradeKangusBeef/status/1736788980006330448), which I have scoured for more s3 hints, lol. The twitter thread is being updated as they appear, so I definitely recommend the thread as a whole.

From a screenrant interview with Zoë:

Are there any future events or character moments from the books that you know about that you’re excited to get into?

Zoë Robins: Yes, definitely. I’m going to have to tread very carefully, but there’s a moment in season three that I think Wheel of Time book readers will be very, very happy about. It was incredibly exciting to shoot. I think that’s all I can say.

Guessing this will be the Nynaeve-Moghedien confrontation! The word 'exciting' makes me lean that way -- though we may get other key scenes from the books like Lan giving her his ring, not sure that would count as 'incredibly exciting to shoot' and would more likely be described as tender or sweet.

From one with Daniel:

One thing that is less present in the show so far compared to the books is Lan being kind of a mentor figure for Rand. Is there a chance we’ll get a little more of that as the show progresses?

Daniel Henney: I would say that I personally would not bet against it. I'm being shipped off in two months to a place very far away to shoot some really incredible stuff where I have to be in very good shape. I'm eating tree leaves and protein shakes, and I'm in a double training schedule right now, which could include some of the stuff you're talking about.

Another hint that we'll be getting Lan training Rand next season.

From a Dónal one from screenrant; this isn't about s3 but it's sweet:

Dónal Finn: It's great. I love the character very much for that reason. It’s a very human experience that when you're watching, you can go, “I can identify with that, because that person is trying to use levity and humor and lightness to make ease of someone else's difficult situation.” Even though it often can feel like he's kind of punching up or trying to jeer at Rand or something, he knows that it comes from a place of, like, “God, there's so much hard stuff going on for Rand in every day of his life that he needs somebody to do that.” Otherwise, when we meet him in Cairhien, if he doesn't have that—if he doesn't have Mat at that place—he may not laugh, and that's just really crap for your best friend.

I love this point here. I don't think I even realized how miserable as a baseline Rand was this season until we got that contrast of his reunion with Mat. We may be getting that dynamic continuing into s3.

Kate Fleetwood with dragonmount:

KF: Lots of things happen in Season Three... yeah… they sat me down and were like, “This is what we are planning for you in Season Three.” I was, whoaa! Ok…

Very vague, but interesting! I wonder if Liandrin will be a tug-of-rope between Moghedien and Lanfear next season, because Lanfear snagged her from Ishamael but Moggy might snag her from Lanfear.

The tiniest of s3 hints from Ayoola:

AS: A combination of things, I think like, it’s the writers and it is Naomi, my dialect coach, and I kind of spoke about that, it is that humor that the Aiel have that's kind of, can catch you off guard and isn't necessarily funny to everyone but they find it amusing… just where that hits I think and just kind of the situations and we're able to play with that and bring that in.  Also, Aviendha is kind of a little bit more cheeky than some of the other Aiel that we will encounter and kind of her humor is very much part of who she is. Just kind of playing around with that, and it just, it just came out and felt right.

We're gonna meet some serious Aiel in s3. Not a surprise, but good to hear!

Madeleine talked to decider.com:

So far what we know about next season is it’s going to be hugely inspired by The Shadow Rising. We’re going to see Rhuidean and Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene is now coming out of being a damane. You know, is there anything about her experience with the Seanchan that might influence how she handles, say, another hard, foreign culture like the Aiel? Absolutely. Look, I think even from Season 1, we see that Egwene’s truly been a novice of the world and is fascinated with what is out there and what other people can teach her and what other cultures can teach her. I think she’s sort of taken little bits of the Two Rivers, the White Tower, the Seanchan… And, you know, she goes on this journey to the Aiel Waste and ultimately will, no doubt, learn a lot there as well. So I think she’s just like a big sponge for the world and wants to learn. 

Confirmation that Egwene is going to the Aiel Waste, which makes sense, given that's her TSR plotline. Also, Egwene as a big sponge for the world and constantly learning is just... absolute 100% Egwene.

Josha talked to looper.com:

For Rand, Season 2 was about finding himself and realizing that he can't run away from it. He needs to do it with the people he loves. Season 3 is finally time for facing what he has to face. He's owning that prophecy more, and we see glimpses of why Rand is the Dragon Reborn and why he'll end up where he needs to end up. As that evolution's taking place, what do you do to get into character as this character is evolving? I'm very lucky that I have 14 books, which I have read, and that has given me a lot. I really understand Rand, and it's a lot of things. It's the conversations I have with Rafe [Judkins], the directors, and the writers. It's playing with all these amazing actors. It's the sets. Everything feels so real, and at the end of Season 3, we go to South Africa for two months, and being in that environment, all those things added up together, that helps you to get into the character.

Very exciting! We know that South Africa is Rhuidean, I believe, so very exciting to hear.

Also, Season 3, that keeps on going, and that is a very interesting area to explore because Lanfear is the Devil, and you can't love the Devil. It feels at times that Lanfear is the only one that really understands Rand, and because Rand is often very lonely in what he feels and sees, it seems like, at times, he can't express it to anyone else, and she's exactly what he needs — but she's the devil. That was very interesting for us to explore, and I secretly hope that Rand and Lanfear marry, but I don't think that will happen.

lol @ Josha. Anyway, yes, they're going to be exploring Lanfear trying to tempt/manipulate Rand more in s3, sounds like, so she isn't going to pay attention to Moghedien's warning for too long.

Again, without spoilers, what's next for Rand and the Emond's Field Five heading into Season 3? What can we expect? That's a good question. What can you expect for Season 3 without getting into spoilers? Well, they're together again. There is way more togetherness than in Season 2. That's exciting. It is fun to follow all of you guys, but there's a lot more momentum when you're all together. That's also quite hard for them, because these main characters all need to become something eventually. Because they are so close, it also creates some inner conflict. Rand, for example — if someone has been to your first birthday parties, it is very hard to become the most powerful channeler in the world and also the most dangerous man in the world, because they know your parents and they know who you were. That is one of the struggles they're facing now that they're together at the start of Season 3.

I would like to paste that last sentence from his first answer directly into the brains of everyone at reddit who believes that s3 is going to start with everyone all split up into separate plotlines and we're not going to get any group interactions.

Great answers from Josha in this one!

Screenrant also talked to him:

How do you interpret Rand’s relationship with Egwene in season 2? It’s romantic in the first season; do you feel like there’s a thread of that still there?

Josha Stradowski: I think a thread of that romantic relationship is definitely still there, because it gives this feeling of home for the both of them. They have been to each other's birthday parties. I think that is, on a human level, very [much] what they both need. But I think it also might transition to something else; more like a brother/sister kind of love. But that’s season three, maybe.

I'm really glad they asked him about Egwene!

Rand only reunites with his friends from the Two Rivers at the end of the season, and we haven’t seen how they are around him [after] knowing that he’s the Dragon yet. Can you say anything about what that dynamic is for season 3? Are they afraid of him?

Josha Stradowski: I think for all the main characters, they get what they need, and that is each other, but for all of them comes the internal conflict that they also feel like they need to become something else. It's like this growing pain, and I think Rand has that quite a lot. I feel like he wants to be there for his friends, he knows that he needs to be there for them to protect them, and the other way around as well, but he also needs to become the most dangerous men alive. How can you do that with someone that knows your dad, or the girl who kissed you for the first time? I don't know if that's Egwene, but in my head it is. So, I feel like they all struggle with this growing pain, but you see why they are friends, and you see why they are together; why they are the main characters of this story.

More that implies that we're going to be seeing EF5 interactions before they split up.

Collider also talked to him:

I've been reading the books, as well, and I think that's one of the sadder parts of Rand's journey, as you see how he's viewed through other characters, and the sadness of them reconciling their memories of him with the person that he now is kind of forced to become. Speaking of love relationships, though, I talked to Ceara and Rafe about Rand and Elayne's first meeting. What was important to capture in hinting at what this relationship is going to be, as well as the surprise of that connection? It feels like these are two people looking at each other for the first time and thinking, “You're going to be someone special.” STRADOWSKI: Yes. And that's what I take away, quite often, from the books as well. I have that with Selene, for example. There are a lot of moments where Rand can't get a word out of his mouth because he's so in shock at the beauty of this woman in front of him — and we didn't really have that with Selene, not like that in the TV show, but we did have it for Elayne. It's, like you said, a hint of what it could be, but I feel like it's subtle. It's a gradual thing which needs to be organic, and we might have some of that in Season 3, but I can't spoil that.

He talks a lot more openly about Selene/Lanfear in general -- which makes sense, because that's the relationship that was on the screen in front of us, while the Elayne relationship is gonna have a lot more spoilers involved -- but we get this hint here and I like hearing that the plan for Rand & Elayne is to be gradual and organic (which will be a big contrast to how the Rand/'Selene' relationship was introduced).

I will point out that Josha seems pretty careful overall about spoilers, mostly talking about things pretty vaguely and with ambiguity, so it feels like part of why he's talking about Lanfear so much is because she's one of the few things he's allowed to openly talk about at this point.

Lan training Rand is something that I think fans are excited to see, so I'll ask you the same question that I asked Daniel: can we look forward to that in Season 3? STRADOWSKI: What did Daniel say? He said he's back on the Warder diet, but then he also referenced your recent Instagram post and said that he needs to trim up to stand next to you. STRADOWSKI: Well, you can tell him I'm on the Dragon diet. Like you said, I'm also very excited to finally see some Lan/Rand swordfighting. I think it's time.

It cracks me up that Josha feels out how much Daniel might have spoiled before he says anything.

[markantonys]

thinking more about the garden scene, rereading it has just made me want even more for the show to do a "rand and egwene trespassing in the caemlyn palace and meeting gawyn, galad, morgase, and elaida" version of it in early s3! because gawyn is adorable in the book version, but mostly exists as an extension of elayne and a helpful infodumper to explain to rand and the reader what's going on while the other 4 caemlyn characters are carrying the scene.

so in a version of the scene where elayne is not there (as i'd imagine she'd go straight from falme to tanchico, which is pretty nearby, while the rest of the gang could pass through caemlyn in their longer travels), that automatically brings gawyn more into the spotlight and makes him an independent and more noticeable character during that whole sequence. now gawyn alone is defending rand (and egwene) from galad, morgase, and elaida, which would be a strong and memorable first introduction to him as a character. (it would also be a great meetcute for gawene <3 and i'd love to keep the book vibe of gawyn being so kind and friendly to rand and having a huge crush on him when they first meet bc it makes the forthcoming events all the more angsty.)

and in general, the book version of course has elayne as the focal point of the caemlyn sequence, so in the show where the audience already knows and loves elayne from other scenes, an elayne-less caemlyn sequence would be a great opportunity to let the other 4 caemlyn characters shine more. seeing gawyn, galad, morgase, and elaida argue over what to do with these trespassers, without elayne present, would do a lot to shed light on all 4 of them as characters and on the various relationship dynamics between them, which would be really good because the gawyn-elaida dynamic will be key to understanding his role in the coup later in the season (maybe we see him being willing to stand up to galad for the trespassers, but then being kinda cowed and backing down once elaida gets involved), and both gawyn's and galad's relationships with morgase are very central to their individual storylines and motivate a lot of their behavior down the road (more so than elayne, who ofc loves morgase and mourns her death, but doesn't really have those feelings as a main motivator for her behavior).

also, i've gone back to reread the wotseries articles about the shohreh aghdashloo (elaida) and olivia williams (morgase) casting leaks, and uncovered a couple interesting tidbits about the caemlyn filming!

both actresses were spotted on a set that is almost certainly the caemlyn palace (filmed inside a real-life castle with andor's banner hanging up)

wotseries believes that since this set is a location shoot 200 km away from jordan studios, not too much time will be spent there in s3 as frequent shoots there would be inconvenient

this filming occurred in late may 2023 and was for sometime in the first 2 episodes of the season

this all supports my theory of a one-time caemlyn trespassing sequence in approx 3x02! however, wotseries didn't report anything about josha or madeleine being spotted on this set, or about galad's actor or any potential gawyn actors being spotted. but that definitely doesn't mean none of them were there, maybe some or all were but just weren't leaked. on the other hand, i could also imagine maybe there's just one brief caemlyn-set scene of morgase telling elaida to go to the white tower and ask about elayne, and then G&G are introduced later when tagging along on elaida's trip and none of them meet our main characters during this season (or even just gawyn tags along with elaida while galad is instead introduced as a whitecloak in perrin's storyline, though personally i think it's important to galad's story for him to NOT be a whitecloak at first and then become radicalized out of worry for elayne). or it could be that there are multiple scenes in the caemlyn palace but some were filmed on a studio set and this location shoot was only used for a particularly grand room like the throne room or something. many possibilities and such little concrete info to go off of yet!

anyway, overall, i think that first introducing the rest of the caemlyn crew to the audience via their interactions with main characters we already know could potentially be more interesting than introducing them in a vacuum as a totally separate storyline (and indeed, most of the new characters in s2 were introduced via preexisting characters meeting them, iirc). and i think that it would be really great for rand and egwene to get a chance to meet the caemlyn crew before they get tied up in other storylines for the foreseeable future, since elaida and gawyn, in particular, are quite important to both rand and egwene later on (or rather, rand is important to gawyn but not vice versa djkfjg poor gawyn). but only time will tell if i'm onto something here or if i'm way off base!

[eiochevart]

For context: Josha asks what you discovered in the temple in the depths beneath the Great Plateau, and Link explains the new ability to her.

I just love this interaction so much??? Because, like, I know it can be interpreted however you like, but to me it just seemed super affirmative of my little headcanon that Link uses sign language. It makes sense that suffixes like “auto” wouldn’t be common in totk era Hyrulean, so he would have to finger spell it out for her, and then add the sign for “build”. I can really imagine Link standing there and signing with his hands!

[mashithamel]

The opening credits are gorgeous and the music is great. A couple of things I love in particular:

The Breaking, symbolized by the snapping thread.

Does this look like “veins of gold” to anyone else? And Josha’s name is right there. He’s fifth on the list—I mean, you’re going to start with Rosamund Pike of course, and you’re not giving away who the Dragon is in the opening credits. But very nice timing.

[lord-of-khaos]

If you’re on the fence still about The Wheel of Time Season 2 after some disappointments in Season 1, I made a little super cut of the (pre-strike) interviews with the cast about why you should watch Season 2.

Spread the word, tune in, it hits streaming at 12am UTC on September 1st!

(Not a paid person, just a fan who wants to see the show, writers, actors, and creatives thrive)

Video Transcript below

Transcript:

Daniel Henney: I think something I'm not nervous about necessarily, but we have been for a bit been a long time in between seasons so that's something that you all guys can help with just getting the word out and making sure people tune in and watch the show, we think it's a really great second season,

Daniel Henney: We do feel like it's a more complete season, it looks more like the show we want to have kinda out there. The pacing is better, the tone is better.

Madeleine Madden: Pacing wise and tone wise, we do get to sit with the characters a bit more, which I think is you know what we love about this series. You get to know these characters so intimately

Marcus Rutherford: I think season 2, the scale has just gone up a huge notch. The characters are a bit older. the script seems a bit more mature and the world seems a bit more lived in. And I think that naivety that we have in Season 1 has started to go away. So I think the danger is greater the villains a lot more scarier and it's a lot darker. I think the kind of show is starting to find a kind of a real maturity.

Daniel Henney: Season 2 is much more what we envisioned the show looking like aesthetically. The pacing, the tone, its a little bit darker, the characters are given more time to breathe. You're seeing an overall, sort of, collective exhale, this season, while still maintaining a sense of urgency. The Darkness, the battling all that, but I think it just feels little more complete.

Rosamund Pike: Anyone who's watched season 1, you know, season 2 just kind of deepens everything and takes us into these character dimensions, and allows us this great canvas to work on so.

Josha Stradowski: And then season 3.

Rosamund Pike: Yeah, season 3 just goes mad! Just exploding everything. Season 3 we're just being as free as we can I mean. Season 3 pushes every boundary out there at the moment.

[totkdaily]

Day 77: To the Surface, and Higher

I find a lightroot, after taking a convoluted route - it sits just higher than the mine, so I have to reach it from the top of the forge chimney.

It's high enough to spot a couple more lightroots… but I miss the skies, and the sun. I'd even take rain over this eternal darkness. I've been down here four days. It's time to report back to Josha. 

It's a murky morning back at Lookout Landing. It's still worth it.

I should change into something more respectable than my barbarian armor before I go see Josha. 

Josha LOVES the autobuild power. She wants to show me some other stuff they've found in the Depths. She has a schema stone, and asks me to use it to fix Robbie's balloon. Easy. 

Once she calms down, I tell her about Kohga. I figure someone should know. She thinks he might have something to do with Zelda's disappearance - but I know that stone took her into the past. Plus, he just isn't that smart. 

She tells me of another statue trail the survey team have found, at a chasm in the Forest of Time to the south of Hyrule Field. Is that on the Plateau? I would like to revisit that place.

These statues apparently lead further southwest than the original trail - this isn't the route to the mines I just came from, is it? Possibly, since she also mentions the Lanayru chasms that lead to the trail the construct mentioned - though it's the Kakariko Village chasm, not Hateno. Zora statues that lead east. Hmm.

I give the poe statue some poes in exchange for a jacket and the location of another of its kind. It's to the east in the Depths - seems many paths lead there. Maybe next time I'm down there.

Now that Robbie's balloon is fixed and Josha's research is progressing, Robbie is heading back to the Hateno Lab - I should join him there for some Purah Pad upgrades. But first, I want power. I want to cash in these crystallised charges. I want to go to the Great Sky Island. 

The crystal refinery is right by the Southern shrine, and I have enough charges to double the energy I can carry. Well, that didn't take long. Maybe I should join Robbie at the lab after all. 

I check my map and realise i still haven't visited the tower for the region almost directly below the island - Sahasra Slope Skyview Tower. I glide across from the sky island - but the top is closed.

At ground level, Billson is at the door. He says it won't open - and also could I fetch him some mushrooms from the caves below. Below… I wonder if I could find a way in through those caves. 

As I look down for caves, I see a bizarre rig. Some bokoblins have built on top of a Talus - and made a Battle Talus?? Fortunately I still have my flux core weapon, and from this height I dispatch it easily. If I'd come upon it from ground level it would have been a different story… 

There is a cave here! That's promising. I find the right spot to ascend pretty quickly, but I take the time to explore first, kill some horriblins and take all their stuff, before I head up to the tower and remove the sticks that were blocking the door. Then it's time to launch into the deepening night sky. 

It's only as I begin the launch that I see it. The Blood Moon. 

I launch through the red clouds, as they build and then fade. Below, I can see that the bokoblins’ Battle Talus has returned. 

I drop down to the North Necluda Archipelago and land on a promising looking Zonaite deposit. I find another Sage's will! That's four. Next time I'm near a Goddess statue I can find out what they do. 

There's a few things up here. A device dispenser. A map to something I’ve already found in the Depths. Another to something I haven't. A korok. A shrine in need of restoration.

[caitlynnrosespn]

Ok. So I have seen a lot of theories about a possible Just Dance movie and who could play who. Now, first off after JD2018 there was going to be AN ACTUAL JUST DANCE MOVIE, but it was put into hiatus once they couldn't find a writer, so if they were to bring this project back, here's my fan casting. Also keep in mind I'm assuming the film is animated. Also assuming it just focuses on the main story mode lore.

So first of course, Wanderlust.

I think Pharrell would be a great Wanderlust. He has a very expressionate and passionate voice, and he already has experience voice acting. Plus, I think it would be a really cool circle back to the fact that one of Jessy's first maps was a Pharrell map. Also it'll make more sense when I say who I would fan cast as Sara.

Next, Sara.

Other then the fact that I would let this woman hit me with a truck, Tori Kelly is a very talented voice actress. She has the shy and hates the spotlight but has so much more to her voice down. And her pre established chemistry with Pharrell? OH MY GOD THEY WOULD KILL IT. I'm literally watching Sing 2 while writing this lol but I would DIE to see these two in these roles.

Next let's do Mihaly.

A. Ivory Aquino is an amazing actress B. Also an amazing trans activist. In my head they were the easiest to cast as Mihaly because that's just who I see playing them.

Brezziana next!

You probably know her as the voice of Amethyst from Steven Universe, but I soooo agree with @anja-the-sane-sibling about this one, she would make an amazing Brezziana.

Ok this one... i'm not set on. Anja said the voice of Ash, from Fantastic Mr. Fox, and while I agree 100% the actual actor is... really old. This is another actor (Josha Stradowski) who I think could could ace it, but you guys have any other suggestions that would be great:)

(also he looks like younger mikeal to me:P)

For Nightswan... I have two in mind.

My first choice:

Do I really have to explain??? But there's a reason why I think she may not work which you see later.

So option 2:

This woman. Is majestic. She's got a great voice for Nightswan, either with her English accent or her American accent, both would make for a spellbinding Nightswan (also she has worked with Josha and their interactions together would be AMAZING) also for those who don't know this is Rosamund Pike

Ok for the four captured dancers, first, Liza:

No explanation needed. This is a must anyone else would actually be blasphemy

I Don't Care P1:

It's just the vibe I get you know? i can't explain it it just works please dont judge

Sweet Sensation P2:

OK PLEASE STOP JUDGING I had no idea who would work so I put her here plus it would be kinda fun to have her involved ya know? either her or:

ALSO DON'T ASK i just think it could go either way you know??

Temperature P1: (i'm pretty sure he was player one?? idr)

Anthony Ramos the love of my life also i think it works you know???

Ok, so for The Traveler...

First option:

He gives Traveler vibes to me, which is mostly due to the goatee I think??? Idk but if his ex played the main baddie it would wither be a. really wrong to get them both involved or b. really fucking hilarious for them to play rivals. but if not him then:

and while we're at it let's just have lin write the music too

no jk but after hearing him as the chief in Moana he could be a great Traveler!

Also two option for Si'ha, sorry!!! I will just go ahead and say both would kill it, it's just I can't decide between the two

so either:

issa rae (who could have my babies)

or

lauren velez (my computer wont let me do special characters rn)

oh wait i forgot discoball

ya know what?

he could manage (someone make a perry the platypus meme with nightswan and discoball please

and that wraps it up for main cast!! thoughts?

[cdragons]

Crass Family Moodboards & Headcanons

These are moodboards and headcanons for the Crass Family in my Snowbaird AU story, "Feathers & Threads Soaked in Red." I also plan to make some for the Snow Family and the Covey in District 12. If you are curious after reading these, please visit this page and read the story!

Icarus Magnus Crass - played by Richard Madden

Icarus Magnus Crass is the Head of the House of Crass. He was an only child and had an extremely strict upbringing.

Before his current position as Secretary of Defense, he was the youngest soldier to quickly rise to the rank of General.

Icarus was groomed to be the next president by his father should the elderly President Ravinstill have an "unfortunate" demise

He lived an extremely isolated childhood - his education consisted of private tutors before attending the Academy & University

His only comforts in his childhood were Sephia Rose & his piano

Had a long-term engagement to an obscenely wealthy heiress before he went public of his relationship with Sephia Rose and was sent to the military

When he married Sephia Rose, in his vows he told her: "I was born to love you."

He would often use the secret tunnels to watch Sephia Rose sleep when she first came to the manor - he had never met anyone so different and pretty.

Icarus is someone who had every opportunity to grab power, but he chose happiness. In choosing love, he lived a fulfilling life with a wife who he loved more than anything and was blessed with children he would give his life for in a heartbeat. He is who Snow could have been if Coryo had just been medicated.

Sephia Rose/Kore Hayes - played by Haley Bennett

To the Capitol's Elite, she is Kore Hayes. But to herself and her family, only then can she be Sephia Rose.

She and Icarus have built a life together in the capitol, where she is the mother of three children with all Covey names.

Sephia was very scared of Icarus when they first met as children - she didn't know if she was safe around Capitol children.

But she and him quickly got along after he would show her his piano and even play a song of an old lullaby.

Before she founded her clothing brand "Lis et Rose", she modeled for some of the most exclusive clothing brands in the Capitol and even found ways to model her own clothes.

When Icarus enlisted in the military, she presented offerings in the garden to pray for his protection

During the war, she would write letters to Icarus every day while he was on the war front, and she always place a kiss at the end of each letter.

SHe made sure that he children knew all her Covery's skills, including how to garden and cook.

Sephia Rose lived an incredibly harrowing life. But her resilience for hope had helped her find light in the darkest of tunnels. She never lost touch with her roots and often told her children stories of her childhood. She is grateful every day for the love that blossomed between her and her husband.

Laurus Orion Crass - played by Josha Stradowski

Laurus Orion Crass, or Laurie, is the firstborn to Icarus and Sephia Rose and heir to the Crass House and fortune.

Because of his position, Laurie always had a lot of pressure placed on him due to society's expectations for him to be a military man like his father.

He knows that he is very fortunate to have such incredible role models for parents who only gave him support and love while teaching him how to exercise caution

He was a premature baby by almost 4 weeks and had to be placed in the ICU due to his lungs not being fully developed and still sometimes has asthma attacks

Before his godmother died, he would often play at her office whenever he visited due to his health issues as a baby, and this inspired him to want to become a surgeon.

He learned the piano from his father, and it would serve as a great way for them to bond when he came home from work.

He is very proud of the name his mother gave him - Laurus, which means victory, and Orion was his dad's favorite constellation.

Laurie is not a fan of Casca Highbottom - he noticed at a very young age that the Dean would always stay too close to his mother whenever they came in for parent-teacher meetings.

Laurie Orion is no stranger to the Capitol's dangers and hypocrisies and makes it his personal goal to fulfill his godmother's wish of establishing clinics in the districts before her "death." He may or may not have a crush on a particular girl he met in District 4. He is Sejanus Plinth if the boy had some goddamn impulse control.

Agalia Iris Crass - played by Annalise Basso

Agalia Iris Crass is the second eldest and only daughter of Icarus and Sephia Rose.

Because of how much she looks like her mom, her father had always been very protective over her

Agalia was born right before the war broke out - just enough time for her father to cry at her birth.

Ambition + Moxie - she has dreams of becoming a principal ballet dancer by her early 20s.

Her endless curiosity and good heart remind Sephia Rose of Kaety Amaryllis - Aggie often wishes she could remember her godmother.

Like her brother, she takes a lot of pride in her name - irises symbolize hope and valor, and Agalia means joy.

She first remembered dancing at five when her mother sang Lavender's Blue to her baby brother.

She designed and made all her costumes since her very first recital and even crocheted all her sweaters and cardigans.

Aggie Iris is the kind of girl who will fool you with her sweet smile and pretty eyes only to tear you apart with her spitfire spirit. While she despises the inhumane nature of the Hunger Games, she still has a little bit of anger towards the rebels since they "killed" her godmother. While she doesn't remember what she looks like, she swears that she can hear her voice every time she plays her music box.

Arcturus 'Arthur' Lucus Crass - played by kid on pinterest

Arcturus Lucus Crass, or Arthur, is the second son and youngest child of Icarus and Sephia Rose.

The sweetest kid you will ever meet in the history of the world - he's also the most likely to accidentally wander off (his parents got him a leash)

Nature kid with the greenest thumb - he will spend hours on hours with his mom in the greenhouse

Out of all the kids, his temperament and behavior most resemble their mother.

Every animal will fight to the death to protect this kid - every single one of Dr. Gaul's mutts loves him.

Speaking of animals, he has a penchant for walking in public like any animal from ages 2-6, and the leash only encouraged him.

Fell in love with crocheting when he did it with Aggie and Sephia Rose - now he has a playground equivalent to the black market for his toys.

His name was in dedication to his birthplace - the grove filled with amaryllis flowers in his family's garden his mother made to honor her Lillycat.

Arthur Lucus may be a bit naive, but he is not stupid. He's his parents' son after all, and although he is young he does know that there are people who want to hurt the people he loves. But he has a heart so big he loves the whole world, and he even has a fairy godmother who tries to help him in a distant wood when she can.

Tagging: @ethereal-athalia, @valeskafics, @aphroditesmoon, @mitsuki91, @tatumrileyslover, @asa-do-your-thing, @arcielee, @agir1ukn0w, @imsofuckingdonewiththisgoddamn, @dreaming-for-an-escape, @musical-theatre-gay

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[rawliverandgoronspice]

Just gonna throw out an issue I got with botw and totk, and maybe some else will recognize it too: All the more... love interest like female characters feel kinda simpery. Like if they're written to be romantic into Link or another male character, they'll be completely besotted by them in a very obvious way. Not saying they don't have any other personality besides that, but it's still a very big and noticeable part of them, all blushing and starry eyed. Example: Yona, Paya, Zelda, and kinda Sonia. Them being into a male character Sidon, LinkX2 and Rauru respectively feels like a really big part of how they're portrayed, it's like a personality cornerstone of them. Meanwhile the males, even if they are canon with the female character, Sidon and Rauru, just feel a lot more like their own personality and character still stands above their partner. (Though Sidon's writing is pretty weak in totk) But even other male characters with a slightly bigger role, eg Tauro or Kass, just don't get portrayed at all like they care abt romance, even if in Kass'es case he's married? It's only the named girls with a bigger role in the story, and who "fit" into the sweet cute girl trope. Kinda hard to explain, but it just feels like most of the girls are the exact same trope of "cute and small-femme" aka "easy waifu material".

I agree, and I'd extend your list to Mipha as well, which I kind of always felt very "??? okay" about (I think the fandom has done fun things with her and what's hinted of her relationship with Sidon is heartwarming, but her actual characterization is very very barebones).

But I also want to add that it's kiiind of a Zelda honored tradition --not a good one, but Ocarina of Time is straight up unbearable in that department imo: every cute girl that interacts with Link is so extraordinarily into him, and it's very effective in sending the message that the game is for a certain audience first and foremost (young boys). And even as far as BotW/TotK, characters like Paya and Mipha are written to be interacted with, not to be discovered; they're not written like characters you could project yourself onto but as receptacles to your own projection onto Link.

I agree that girls are defined by their romantic lives in pretty extreme ways (*banging my extremely bruised up gerudo pan once again*), and the rare "main" girls who do not behave like this (thinking of Purah, Impa, Riju, Buliara, Josha, Mineru, Cece) are all detached from romantic subplots --but it doesn't save a lot of them from the small-femme/easy waifu archetype.

(can I throw the Great Fairies into the pile of "female characters Zelda is weird about"? I don't know. I feel..... conflicted emotions about the Great Fairies, always have, always will. But. They exist.)

(I once pretended to be a Great Fairy to surprise a friend by wrapping myself in vines --I was clothed-- and then banged my knee against a tree stump when bursting out from behind it with the horrible laughter, it hurt really bad, anyway)

[gunkreads]

S2E2 thoughts:

Perrin was having a grand ol' Shienaran adventure, and arguably a pretty fucking good time, until. Y'know. I love how hard they're kicking his whole ass off already. Perrin is a character who's most interesting when he's both miserable and forced into action, and this season is setting that up well so far.

Mat? Chef's kiss. Min bromance is a great way to start off, honestly, and gives her something grittier to do than be Elmindreda. That arc wouldn't work either with her modified show characterization (much more world-weary) nor with the overall tone of the show (much less Looney Tunes). Also, the much-gifsetted "shut, latch, lock, bolt, walk away" thing was stellar. The show is retooling Mat to be more of a legit rogue rogue, rather than just The Most Stressed Man Alive, and it's a pretty neutral choice to me. It's still fun, just different. I like new Mat, just not any more or less than old Mat.

Elayne? Very fun introduction, appropriately cringe. Elayne is a cringe type girl and they did not disappoint. She doesn't know what type of story she's in yet! She thinks she's in, like, Arthuriana (which, technically...) but no! She's about to learn just how hard Sheriam swings. Hopefully she stays silly, because god knows this show could use it. The grittier the show gets, the more ridiculous I expect Elayne to be, because she's truly THE iconic clown.

Nynaeve? Well... once I got over my confusion about the completely new plotline for Liandrin, I thought Nynaeve's presence in this episode was kind of lame. I think I kind of miss the very kinetic way she was kicked around the Tower in the books; the show seems to be taking it a lot slower and more seriously, which is just much less fun for me. It's not.... bad. I just really liked the wacky shenaniganery in the Tower in TGH.

Egwene? More Class President vibes, kinda like it. It's not 100% a direction I'd have chosen, but it seems to capture a type of character trajectory that I feel can cross all the same important themes that I liked of hers from the books. On Egwene's note, actually, I've noticed that they're really trading a lot of the Wonder Girls' red-faced shouting for more... I don't wanna say "whining", but like... griping and moping. It's not bad, it's just much less intense. Again, the show is so much less slapstick than the books, especially around the Wonder Girls, so this is just tone compensation.

Moiraine and Lan? Whatever, I honestly don't give half a shit about what they have going on. Their scenes are entertaining in a vacuum, but I sure as shit was never waiting for the episode to cut back to them. I guess the writers are trying to carry over the whole Stepin nonsense from S1 and use it as a setup for this, but the problem is that Moiraine and Lan's early-S2 arc makes Stepin redundant. They're just doing it again, but twisting it this time. I get that it's supposed to make this one more poignant, but... fuck, I'm not doing my Stepin rant again.

Rand? meeeeeeehhhhhhhhh. The in media res opener didn't really do it for me. I like the mental hospital choice, I like the Selene setup, I like the way they're pacing the madness moments by letting Josha do all the heavy lifting. Seriously, actually, the way they have his madness episodes build up so subtly, as if it's just Rand making conscious decisions, then have it all explode and become clear is really good. On the other hand, I can't actually give too much credit to the Selene setup, since I don't think they've established Rand as a person enough for a new viewer to realize how out-of-character he's acting. I blame the Stepin arc.

Alvaro Morte? Still the MVP.

Two episodes in, S2 is doing a frankly comedically better job pacing its different plotlines than S1 did. It's actually embarrassing to look back at S1 and realize how fucked to death the pacing was.

And yadda yadda, this is one of the best-looking, highest-quality, best-acted shows I've seen in actual decades or maybe ever. In terms of overall production quality, I feel like Elayne if they hadn't taken all her pillows away.

[bluesdesk]

I didn’t like the Zonai in totk, they look so out of place.

Why did we need another specie more powerful than Hylians? Hylians are the people chosen by the goddess! They must be the best with magic and dragons and so on.

OoT stated that Rauru was the very first sage and was alive wen the kingdom was founded. If in totk we jad THAT Rauru it would have been better, as well as a Sheikah sage instead of Mineru, Mineru could be a Sheikah imstead of Rauru's sister, and pass her power to Josha for example!

Totk and botw are probably meant to be soft reboots, but as someone who enjoys all the games and storyline talk, there's really something off with the plot/characters. The story and the gamesplay are so great, but why the Zonai?

I would have loved to have more Skyward Sword references, that game is my favorite and I think nintendo cares about it too since we had the hd version!

[butterflydm]

wot 2x5: damane

okay, wow.

Every plotline just had my complete attention every time we were on it. I feel like we learn so much and pushed so much forward.

No Mat, but I did brace myself beforehand for the possibility.

@markantonys - your boy got namedropped!

We are starting to get the cracks between the various factions of the Shadow forming -- Liandrin and Suroth felt absolute contempt for each and Ishamael and Lanfear aren't particularly fond of each other either. Also, Josha getting to just lounge around in bed as they create images of Rand for each other, lol, not a bad day's work there. (and more Old Tongue!)

My mind is racing, there's just so much.

The Wondergirls plotline here was really the set-up for what we're going to get next episode, it looks like, but I really loved it. Liandrin waking the girls up and undoing Nynaeve's (and only Nynaeve's bond)... very interesting. Again, like I mentioned, showing the cracks between the various Darkfriends who do not actually like each other very much.

They did SUCH a good job showing us why Lanfear is terrifying. The way she casually hurt the innocent bystanders (even when they were trying to be kind and help her!).

Rand had a lot of mindfulness and thoughtfulness in this episode. Processing things. And Moiraine was actually telling him useful information, which is what he has always wanted most from her. Moiraine and Anveare's relationship also continues to go so well.

(Also, Lanfear going full dominatrix on Rand in Tel'aran'rhoid is... probably a bridge too far, darling, but it suits her personality; and the sharpness that we see in Lanfear now that she's not pretending to be Selene)

Verin in the White Tower... noticing some oddities about the way some of the Sisters are behaving. I love how much her fellow Brown Sisters love her. <3

Perrin's whole plotline was great, even before we got to Aviendha (speaking of! Aviendha! She was fantastic!). Everything with him confronting Elyas about how Elyas only cared about saving him and not about his friends because they're not his 'pack' and his conversation with Dain was really good, and then Aviendha! We've only had her for a few scenes but we got to see so many sides of her. She got to be helpful and curious and deadly and funny.

I am really looking forward to rewatching this episode on the weekend and digging into all the scenes. There was so much. I did not even cover a tenth of it here. Not even a fraction.

[markantonys]

ironically enough, i watched it last night and even though i'm not a racing fan, i loved it!! it was a lot of fun and had me rooting for jann the whole time

and yes, josha as nick was amazing!! he had only like half a dozen scenes, but he killed it (and looked good every second) he and jann were so enemies-to-lovers coded, i wished we'd seen them interact more

oh nice!!!! yeah i'm in the same boat, i know nothing about racing and have no interest in it (i don't even like doing regular driving lmao rip) but i loved the movie! jann was such a great protagonist, i love him <3

watching josha play a villain was so much fun, i'd love him to do more roles like that! seconded on wishing they'd done more with the Rivalry™, their handful of interactions were top notch but i wanted MORE. that moment when jann was like "you could've killed me and yourself" just floored me with how he is so Good that he's also worried about NICK getting hurt by his own bullshit. also a very good moment of grabbing your rival by the shirt and getting all up in his face to yell at him, u know how it is. they should make out about it, not least because jack's live slug reaction to them dating would be the funniest thing in the entire world dkjdjkfjg

[thenukacolachallenge]

more things i have noticed about the depths in totk, bc i am secretly Josha’s understudy:

-canyon mines are where it’s at for zonaite mining. the big mines are all depleted(thanks Kohga and Yiga, yall suck :c), but the canyon mines, which tend to be at the same coordinates as mountain peaks, just in the depths, typically have a decent cache of zonaite ore deposits, and they seem to respawn with regularity. i assume with the blood moon, but i haven’t fully tested that theory.

-obviously any big monster camps typically are also around a ton of zonaite ore, but that requires fighting monsters. which, sometimes you just wanna peruse the depths in peace, you know? also, FROX. every frox not only has zonaite deposits growing out of its back, but also is usually around an otherwise unmanned cluster of ore.

-once you get the yiga clan outfit from their three new surface hideouts, you can literally just walk into every yiga hideout, including all the ones in the depths. it is INCREDIBLY satisfying to just walk in and merc everyone while they think you’re an ally. the fact that kohga himself is the only one able to see through the disguise is hilarious to me. also, there’s a FUCKTON of extra bananas, arrows, and brightbloom seeds in all the boxes and barrels in these hideouts too.

-the yiga hideouts also have a ton of interesting autobuild schemas! i’m definitely going to be employing some of these in the final fight against ganondorf when i finally do that. also, one of them has a fishing trawler, and i’m super interested in trying that out. i fucking love fishing in this game but it can get tedious unless you spam lightning arrows, and that’s a bit more costly in this one than it was in botw. (update: the fishing trawler absolutely fucks, use it)

-when you unlock all the bargainer statues, you gain the ability to buy back rare weapons you’ve gotten in the game, like magic rods or stuff like the Fierce Deity’s Sword. i keep most of my rare weapons on a weapon stand in my dream home, but for those of yall that use them, they’re not just one-time objects and that’s lovely.

-i highly recommend unlocking at least two great fairies and upgrading the depths clothing set and the mining clothing set at least twice. the depths set gets an extra heart of gloom resistance, and the mining set gets an upgrade called “shining steps”, which basically gives you the ability to “leave” some light on the ground where you walk. it’s insanely useful if you’re low on brightbloom seeds!