Off To Adventure (loosely defined)

Then Primus Tachonis walks in and slams out instantly-recognizable 9th level spell Power Word Kill, which can only be cast by a character level 17 or higher.

(hannan himself, also at least that old, an active druid this whole time, couldn't have been more than about level 12 or the PWK wouldn't have worked, and i'd guess that he was somewhere more in the level 5-7 range)

and then just in the overture we saw primus use two 7th level spells on the same day (upcast bestow curse on murray, plane shift to find occtis) and a level EIGHTEEN sorcerer ability (umbral form, to steal raimond davinos' skull)

(and while i agree with you wholeheartedly that nothing shows the level of power more than the casual use of power word kill, the 5th level telekinesis on your sister just to make a point is also nothing to sneeze at)

brennan was not at all kidding when he said trying to push amariya cormoray (who is not the head of her house and not yet on primus or yanessa or otto's level) down the stairs was like starting a fight with a dragon

You may need to learn how to set up your paints and such… but this is what people did, live, while the show aired. That’s what the show was for. I had family members create lovely works of art they enjoyed, which I still have on my walls, because William Alexander and Bob Ross both said:

SCREW METICULOUS CLASSICAL ART PRACTICES — JUST GRAB A PALETTE KNIFE AND BIG OLD BRUSH AND PAINT!

They freed a whole generation of people who were taught to paint detail and realism and exact representation of reality — people who largely gave up this kind of thing because it got tedious.

I watched the joy of family members as they rediscovered art as a messy fun spontaneous half hour activity.

I keep coming back to 'the things I THINK you want me to do.'

Occtis isn't doing the things Julien is telling him to do, he's trying to get ahead of that and do the things he THINKS the other man wants him to do.

That speaks strongly to how he's been treated in his family, and how he has learned, as many people who grew up abused and around volatile adults do, the hypervigilance and people pleasing that can keep you safe.

And here's the really crazy thing... I think Mr wisdom score of 8 clocks it in the moment. And I think that's because Julien does the same thing... or at least did when he was younger and smaller.

I'm not saying Raimond was as abusive as Primus clearly is, but I think he was volatile enough to keep Julien on edge, hyper aware of those moods and wary of when the anger might come out.

'so that you'll stop trying to kill me'. Julien hasn't actively tried to kill Occtis. But the fact that THAT was the genuine fear in Occtis head, combined with what they saw of Primus shortly there-after, I really think made Julien actually look at what has been going on between them. He was much softer right after, comforting him and drawing him away from his family to safety.

Julien may only have one gear in his head but right now it's turning for Occtis.

Which does make me wonder, once that gear has finished it's work... what will Julien think about Vaelus' actions? That she wasn't trying to kill Occtis, but just either didn't think of him or didn't care that his life could be collateral damage to her actions?

it's been a while

This was supposed to be a little fun doodle before bed. I was supposed to go to sleep 4 hours ago. I LEARNED DAVINCI RESOLVE FOR THIS!!!!

(I fear Thaisha is a fucking badass and this scene has me in a chokehold. Aabria knocked it out of the park with this one.)

I might do some edits at some point but I am simply ✨too tired✨ to care. I hope this sparks joy in some of the Critters and may the Light shine on you☀️

Bonus of the individual frames: