#termina lathalia

[ozbian]

Lady Amariya / Termina must have been the one to tell the Halovars about Hal being involved in the Pariah Blades heist, she was the only one who knew about both the Blades being missing and Hal's involvement

Given the timing, she must have literally caught up to Zabani as she was leaving and told her they can loop the Council in to support the arrest

I reckon Amariya just wanted the Blades, but Termina agreed because she wanted to draw Bolaire out of hiding

[ozbian]

Termina asking if Bolaire was alright, and then the way Luxadora paused in her cries to be let out before doubling them...

It sounds like Termina could hear Luxadora, and maybe that headachey feeling Bolaire got was Termina or Amariya trying to talk to Luxadora directly, and Luxadora paused because she heard something and then started calling more loudly

Taliesin proposed that Bolaire might be able to speak to Termina through the void, and Brennan immediately consed the quences

[shepherdfeathers]

🏺Your Anti-divine Pantomime! 🎭

I'm so glad nothing bad has ever happened to any member of the Panto family, and they all lived happily ever after

Lady Termina, Vessel of No Thing

[flowersforvax]

fascinated by the Termina-Amariya situation because how was she able to switch so seamlessly between messed up killer mask and believably talking to Lord Cormoray as his daughter. that seems like a wildly different situation to Bolaire putting them im a box.

also! off-screen Termina is having a Killing Eve-esque horror thriller toxic yuri adventure with Amariya's ex-lover, trust

[bettedavises]

Who's gonna introduce Termina to Tsul'rekshi???

[ozbian]

Some thoughts on what happened with Lady Cormoray and the Masks

Bolaire's response to getting caught by Lady Cormoray is definitely similar to how he responded to the other Schemers during the episode 4 confrontation - there's something that can verify my trustworthiness but it's not here (Thimble / paperwork), there are perfectly reasonable explanations for whatever you have on me (Thjazi was blackmailing me to do things for him / I was trying to give the blades back), you have something I want which also benefits you (allyship against the shadows / my position in the Archenade), I need you to trust me so let me show you some trust, here are some of my secrets which are coincidentally located in an isolated and sound-proofed enclosure, and then ... Something happens.

I wonder if the masks were made with a playbook of stock scenarios and basic plots that can be adapted and fleshed out to suit the situation on the fly, like a god-slaying commedia dell'arte/improv troupe, and Bolaire falls back on these in times of stress

In episode 4, Bolaire gets the Schemers to follow him into the Vault and they all settled, and from then on Bolaire is answering questions, firstly giving his response to Thjazi's letter, then providing more and more detail about what he is. Azune is the first to accept what he's been told, and later Murray and Hal imply acceptance through further questions. No one makes a hostile move, no one makes a dramatic declaration, there's no cue for Bolaire's next step, except to answer their questions. It's the problem of being a one person improv troupe, no one else to move the story along. The scene doesn't move forward until the interruption of a Fool and her Dog, played by Lady Cormoray and Temoday Wurnst, and Bolaire runs off to go see what they want.

This time around in episode 23 we have Bolaire playing the part of the servant, good-hearted and foolish who really has been trying to do the right thing, really, and he manages to draw Cormoray into the secret vault, and there was that moment at the top of the stairs where Bolaire teetered on dropping the act and breaking the suggestion by making an aggressive move, but that insight check let's him know it's not going to work so he goes passive and reactive, answering questions, and Cormoray is in control the scene, *she* is the one that focuses in on the box - sitting on his desk by the way, in the exact place that the Schemers had had their discussion a few days ago - and Bolaire tells her that it's his personal property, and when accused of stealing Hal asserts they're talking of a family heirloom, and she does a villain's speech and reveals her plans to take everything, and she literally says that Hal had bitten off more than he can chew right before opening the box...

It's like by casting that initial suggestion, Bolaire pulled Lady Cormoray into his play, and then at the top of the stairs, when he decided not to attack her, he gave up control and played along himself, and when Cormoray called on Hal, Halandil the Bard declared it a discussion of inheritance, putting Cormoray firmly in the wrong, and through these interactions the narrative solidified into Bolaire as the wronged servant, Cormoray as the thieving master, and Termina as the Consequences.

I wonder if Termina would have reacted that way to anyone who physically opened the box, or if she was pulled by the scenario Bolaire had started into playing her part