In my first ever effortpost, two months too late for Librandstov 2020 and a little too early for the upcoming one I'd like to address the utter inability of the Supreme Court of India to criminalise a human rights violation and it's choice to engrave Indian inceldom into the fabric of our constitution.
This is the first part and attempts to make clear the laws surrounding marital rape.
Being married in India implies consent, this means the simple act of tying the knot gives ones partner unfettered legal sexual access to them, with an exception to minors, which is a recent development as a result of the 2017 case Independent Thought vs Union of India. Prior to this the exception to section 375 (which defines 6 cases where sexual activity is considered rape) read as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”, it now mercifully reads as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape”. The fact that legal loopholes exist for minors to be legally married is a matter of discussion for another day.
To get a better idea of our judiciary's general attitude to the issue of Marital rape may refer to the infamous Phulmoni Dasi case where an 8 year old died of excessive bleeding due to violent sexual intercourse with her husband, he was convicted not for rape, and only for a period of a year for ‘causing grievous hurt by doing a rash and negligent act dangerous to life’. The following judgements were also made with regard to this case:

1. “The branch of the law which has no connection with this case is the law of rape.”
2. “The law, it is true, is exceedingly jealous of any interference in matters marital, and very unwilling to trespass inside the chamber where husband and wife live together, and never does so except in cases of absolute necessity.”

These points serve to highlight the callous nature of the judiciary when it comes to the issue of marital rape.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in its definition of domestic violence, includes among other things, sexual abuse which defines as, ‘any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman’. The definition here does not specify the acts that constitute sexual abuse.
On the other hand, Section 375 exception 2 absolves a husband from any crime if he happens to rape his wife. Both these laws seem to be contradicting each other because rape can be said to be a ‘conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or violates the dignity of a woman’. Both the laws make it absolutely ambiguous and need to be fixed. Interestingly, a legislation against marital rape came into being without actually calling it ‘marital rape’. Thus, the hesitance to interfere into the sexual life of a married couple and to name it after a heinous crime as such of a rape.
In the previously mentioned PIL, Independent Thought vs The Union of India the constitutionality of Exception 2 of Section 375 was questioned. It was argued that the exception discriminated between married girl child and an unmarried girl child as the latter would be considered rape and the former is not. Well, there lies discrimination even when a married woman is not protected against rape from her own husband. It is a failure to understand two very different concepts—‘consent to marriage’ and ‘consent to sexual intercourse’. They both cannot be used interchangeably or as synonyms. If anything else, an adult woman understands better the act of someone sexually assaulting her. Thus, it is equally important to protect married women above 18 years of age against the crime of rape. It is absurd to have a law in which, one part protects all women from sexual violence but at the same time permits marital rape of a married woman by her husband.
Through various judgements of the Supreme Court, it is now clear that right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes right to privacy, sanctity of female and to make choices relating to sexual activity. Section 375 Exception 2 stands against these very basic human rights and is contradictory in nature to the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. And yet, it is still clung on to a law that absolutely defeats its very purpose to protect women from rape, which needs to be struck down as unconstitutional.
Lastly but not in the least, we consider section 9 of the Hindu Marriage act, it states:

"When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply, by petition to the district court, for restitution of conjugal rights and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly."

When we first read it we see that it means to act as a law against abandonment, however it has more often than not been misused to make a wife return to an abusive husband and even brush off marital rape, an example being the Supreme Court Case, Smt. Saroj Rani vs Sudarshan Kumar Chaddha. The Supreme Court upheld the views put forth by the Delhi High Court, stating that the objective of the decree was only an inducement for the spouses to live together, and that it did not force an unwilling wife to engage in sexual relations with the husband. The aim was only to bring about "cohabitation" between spouses, and therefore, it was only focused on "consortium".
The judgement showed the utter lack of understanding of nuance possessed by the Supreme Court of India and set a terrible precedent as the wife, hence legally compelled to return to cohabiting with her husband could still experience marital rape and be unable to pursue legal security from him.
The above discussed laws can only be termed as disgusting and are in dire need of improvement, along with societal changes to the exceptionally patriarchal family structures that enable our judges and lawmakers to continually turn a blind eye to this obvious violation of human rights. These laws are not simply a consequence of the time in which the constitution was framed but a reflection of society and its view of women in this country as of today. This will be covered in the second part of the post.

As Biden is elected, the culture war against transgender individuals heats up. While losing in the national government Conservatives put a new focus on pushing out anti transgender bills at the state level. So far in 2021 13 states have introduced bills to remove rights of transgender individuals mostly focusing on minors. Most notably the majority of these bills are cookie cutter with select wording replaced. These practices are common at the state level with usually think tanks pushing out a template bill which state legislators then can just fill out the blanks.
This practice is being pushed right now in hopes of overwhelming ACLU, HRC and other pro LGBT organizations and hope to push this anti LGBT practice into the political mainstream.

Chase Strangio, deputy director for Trans Justice at the ACLU. “At a time when perhaps bill-drafting and government might be slowed down by the states due to practical constraints because of COVID, you have well-resourced anti-trans groups that are drafting these bills and shipping them out to states. And they’re moving incredibly quickly.”

Over the coming months more and more republican states will push these same bills so today I decide to take a look at one of these bills to dissect what is really in them.

Definitions and their meaning

https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0831-03000.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3UJafL9DNTpzbWztQ2lnRX3YdG-2kD0rQGUu3MlErvnjF5WsVLZt3fSyY
I decided to start with North Dakota with HOUSE BILL NO. 1476. These bills have to have definitions to attempt to exclude trans people with the idea that future medical treatment won't be able to curtail. You can no longer ban trans women base upon estrogen levels because the last 50 years allow trans women to be biologically identical in appearance. So they settle on the one thing Medical Science can't change. Under this bill this is the following definition for the genders.

1."Biological female" means a person who was born with female anatomy and with two x chromosomes in the person's cells.
2."Biological male" means a person who was born with male anatomy and with x and y chromosomes in the person's cells.

Notice that these definitions say "At Birth" so that in case medical science learns to change chromosome they can still enforce these laws against trans people base upon their presentation before their gender identity developed. Also notice how much this bill also targets intersex people in the crossfire. If a person isn't born with the correct chromosomes or with the correct chromosomes but lacks the "proper" anatomy they too are at the mercy of the North Dakota Legislators.

"Community standards of decency" means standards based on the reasonable observer perspective which are violated by appeals to the prurient interest or the patently offensive to the extent the appeals harm the general decency, safety, health,and welfare of the community. Acts of licentiousness are antithetical to this standard.

Now this is silly but also scary for trans people. Calling gender and sexual non conformity as "patently offensive to the extent the appeals harm the general decency, safety, health,and welfare of the community." This also harkens back to a dark era in trans history when trans people were arrested under "impersonation" or "public indecency" just for expressing their gender. This practice continues to this day with NYPD recently arresting a trans woman under "impersonation" charges and the widespread practice by police to profile all trans women as sex workers To call trans people and all other lgbt people "Acts of licentiousness" shows how far this bill is trying to enforce a gender and sexual conformity that never existed.

"Conversion therapy" means a therapeutic practice in which a licensed mental health expert, acting under authorized consent, assists the expert's client in realigning the client's sexual preference to cultivate attraction for individuals of the opposite sex who have corresponding reproductive anatomy.

Notice I titled this "anti LGBT bills" and not "Anti Transgender Bills" which most of the media uses. This is why, bury deep inside these bills are Trojan horses aimed at gay people wrapped in an anti transgender packaging. Why would a bill aimed at Transgender people, marketed as "protecting children" from Transgender "influences" would also include language about how "therapy" to convert people's sexuality? It is the same reason why there has been a focus on trans people by conservatives since 2015. There has been recent push to for transgender issues to be the new culture war. With transgender rights being seen as a wedge issue on the belief that Transgender rights are less popular then gay rights. If this bill was an anti gay bill and marketed itself as such it would be seen as national outrage. But since we have been desensitized to these anti trans bills they can push for conversion therapy for gays without raising any national news stories by sugarcoating it as an anti trans bill.

"Drag queen story time" means a nonsecular event where men dress up as women and display an inherently sexualized performance targeting minors with the purpose of promoting and normalizing the faith-based beliefs and practices that stem from the secular humanist religion. The term describes an event that targets children and promotes licentiousness in attempts to justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state from the reasonable observer perspective

Lets begin from the obvious. There is never a requirement for drag queens to be men. Female drag queens Cis and Trans has existed as long as drag queens existed. Secondly there is nothing inherently sexual about drag queens that isn't inherently sexual about the female presentation. Yes it might be bizarre, colorful and out there but its never been inherently sexual. Of course with any fashion trend it could be presented in a sexual nature and media tends to latch to that but they are more often as conservatively dress as you expect any woman to be.
Finally I need to talk about WTF is the " targeting minors with the purpose of promoting and normalizing the faith-based beliefs and practices that stem from the secular humanist religion." Painting LGBT acceptance as a religion isn't new in conservative circles, but what is new classifying it as a "secular humanist religion" as a way to ban it from public schools and government settings "in the name of fairness". I am sure evangelicals have no problem with child indoctrination into religion... as long as it's their religion.

"Emotional appeal" means a method of persuasion through sentiment, not logic,designed to create an emotional response. "Nonsecular" means faith-based, not proven, predicated on naked assertions, or emotional feelings, not self-evident objective fact. "Reasonable observer" means a person of ordinary prudence who views a policy or action from an objective standpoint in the context of the state's longstanding practice and through the lens of self-evident neutral, natural, and noncontroversial transcultural morality.

Facts and Logic, Love how they say that things are rational just because "Thats the way we always done it"

"Nonsecular self-asserted sex-based identity narrative" means an unproven faith-based identity implicitly religious moral stance that is not predicated onself-evident neutral truth and is a story that provides the individual with a sense of purpose and serves as a commentary on sexual practices, sexual preference, faith,morality, and life. The term includes expressions and speech that are controversial,sexualized, questionably moral, questionably plausible, and have a tendency to erode community standards of decency and promote licentiousness.

Wew very loaded definition. Lets start with the title of "self-asserted sex based identity". Transgender advocates are NOT and I repeat NOT talking about sex identity, but gender identity. Sex base identity should only be you and your doctor. What you present yourself as is your gender identity. Now for most of you the two seems linked because you never had to deal with a gender identity different from your sexual one. But trust me its there. Tell me how many hyper masculine guys you know feel uncomfortable with the idea of you putting makeup on them or anything borderline feminine. Next it is important to state that gender identity IS NOT SEXUAL in any means. Most trans people wanted to be their desire gender before they develop their sexuality. I knew I wanted to be a girl since I was 3-4 years old and it is now believed to be the age of which people develop their gender identity. The conservative attempt to fetishize trans people and to state they are sexual is so they can try to push it underground and limit the exposure of trans issues with laws about "public decency" and "we gotta protect our children"

"Nonsecular marriage" means any form of so-called marriage which does not involve a man and a woman and is inseparably linked to the religion of secular humanism. The term refers to so-called marriages between more than two people, persons of the same sex, a person and an animal, or a person and an object.

Again we see the painting of being LGBT as akin to a religion despite it being involuntary. Again this is to try to justify banning these things from a public funded setting by saying it violates the first amendment because the state is enforcing the religion of.... being... gay. Also again if this was marketed as an anti gay bill this would probably be a wide spread and national outrage but again this is buried deep in the legislation so people and the media outside don't see that the anti trans bill is also anti lgbt bill.

"Secular humanism" means a faith-based worldview that is also referred to as postmodern-western-individualistic moral relativism or expressive individualism, and antitheism, and is often the mirror opposite of theism. The term refers to a religion which has a doctrine of worshiping man as the source of all knowledge and truth. The term includes a belief system that is centered on the unproven assumptions there are no moral absolutes and no one moral doctrine should be used as the superior basis for law and policy. The term includes a series of unproven faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that suggest that morality and truth are man made convention sand that at the heart of liberty is man's ability to define his own meaning of the universe. The term refers to a religion that tends to promote licentiousness and to justify practices that are inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state.

This is a double dose of "Non Religion is a Religion" and "Without a higher power there is no morality"

"Sex reassignment surgery" means a nonsecular medical procedure where a person undergoes cosmetic surgery to cause the person's physical appearance to more closely align with the person's nonsecular self-asserted sex-based identity narrative.

"A nonsecular medical procedure" carries more undertones then you thing. Not only are they are claiming that sex change is some how a religious practice, but also gives the grounds for medical providers, doctors and insurance to deny such coverage by stating that they simply preforming or supporting these actions are against their religious beliefs. Also calling such surgery as "cosmetic" is a common tactic by Republicans to try to justify it being denied by insurances, medical providers and doctors and justify its ban on anyone under the age of 18.

"Sexual orientation" means a mythology, dogma, doctrine, ideology, or orthodoxy that is inseparably linked to the religion of secular humanism. The term includes self-asserted sex-based identity narratives that are often predicated on a series of unproven faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that are implicitly religious and have a tendency to erode community standards of decency and promote licentiousness. The term is synonymous with gender identity.

Note that they are tying Gender Identity with Sexual Orientation. This time they are also explicitly claiming that sexual identity is a choice, thus have no requirements of being respected.
This might seem alot to write just about definitions that this bill defines but the whole issue is around definitions. It is so important to this bill it takes up half of the bill just to define everything. Also for me it shows the clear cut motive behind this bill. Of course some of you might see this bill as nothing but a product of ignorance then malice. But everything here is written carefully with great consideration with multiple meanings and implications hidden in each definition.

Lets get into the Bill Itself

First part I am going to ignore, it basically said that State of North Dakota shouldn't support LGBT issues because being gay is a religion. The second Part is more interesting and more damning than that.
Under the second part of the bill the State and agents of the states are banned from the following:

• Issuing or recognizing a marriage license that does not involve a secular marriage;

ban gay marriage

• Appropriating, distributing, or awarding public funds in a manner that directly or indirectly respects, promotes, or endorses the plausibility of nonsecular self-asserted sex-based identity narratives, sexual orientation orthodoxy, or nonsecular marriage ideology;

ban from saying LGBT people exist

• Appropriating, distributing, or awarding a grant of public funds to cover the cost of sex reassignment surgery;

ban state grants from covering sex changes, as trans people are more likely impoverish in America this is a well place dagger into trans healthcare

• Prohibiting or unduly restricting conversion therapy;

ban protecting people from a predatory abusive practice

• Displaying a flag that promotes nonsecular self-asserted sex-based identity narratives or sexual orientation orthodoxy in a manner that would be unconstitutional for the same state actor to display a flag that respects or promotes the edicts of an institutionalized religion;

bans flying the gay flag/trans flag

• Promoting the use of puberty blockers, especially to minors;

This one is dangerous for two things. Puberty Blockers are a major part of modern transgender healthcare, but more importantly people with some cancers use the same drugs to treat their cancers. They too would be caught in the crossfire.

• Permitting a person who was born as a biological male (or female) to change the person's gender to female (or male) on the person's birth certificate, driver's license, or any other official government form;

The biggest issue for transphobes is that its next to impossible sometimes to tell who is trans or not. Thus every anti trans legislation carries this in them to try to make it so its possible to tell who is trans or not by their IDs. Basically IDing trans people.

• Assigning or housing an inmate who was born as a biological male in a ward or cell designated for inmates who were born as biological females;

This is bad for obvious reasons

• Mandating pronoun changes.

Bans the state and state employees to ask people to use a different pronoun... uh huh
But you might be asking "WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN". Don't worry this bill carries special rules banning the public schools of North Dakota from the following:

• Exposing students to a curriculum concerning nonsecular self-asserted sex-based identity ideology or sexual orientation orthodoxy unless the programming is part of a sex education program and only after a student's parents have:(1)Intentionally opted their child into participating in the programming in writing; or (2)Received a warning from the school or department of public instruction that the messaging could expose their child to licentiousness and one particular religious worldview.

Gotta sign a waver so Timmy can be told gay people exist

• Permitting a student who was born as a biological female (or male) to participate in sports designated for biological males (or females);

Getting another Mack Briggs situation

• Permitting a person who was born as a biological male (or female) to enter or use a locker room or restroom designated for biological females (or males);

Again with the bathroom bills, they know that its less awkward for trans people to go to their prefer restroom but they want to bully trans people back into the closet

• Mandating pronoun changes
  
• Hosting or sponsoring drag queen story time for children or similar programming.
  

Uhh huh.... These events are hosted by Libraries not by schools but go off I guess. Kinda shows how addicted to culture war these people made these bills are.
The rest of the bill goes into punishments if any of these laws are broken. But towards the end is a tack on manifesto on why gay marriage should be banned in North Dakota. Again they front load the bill with anti trans rhetoric then slip in the anti gay stuff in the end. I don't have time to get into but you can read it for itself. Finally the last paragraph closes the bill with the following.

It is not proven or disproven whether sexual orientation is predicated on immutability and genetics and is therefore a matter of religious faith that falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the establishment clause balanced with the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and section3 of articleI of the Constitution of North Dakota.

YIKES

Why should I care?

Few reasons, first this legislation, this language is the norm at red states as more and more conservative think tanks push out these "model legislation" for state representatives to copy. They know these bills won't fly at the federal level so they are spamming these at the state level hoping that some of these states pass these bills and many have. The reason why I covered this bill point by point is because the lawmakers and the think tank people who made these bills don't want us to care or know what is in this bill. They just want to market it as a bill that "protects children from transgenderism".
The next question of course is why should we care if the courts are going to shoot it down anyways. Yea this bill if passed won't make it through court scrutiny but that safeguard only exists if we actively preserve it. American right know this too and they have been working their damn asses off trying to pact the courts to their favor. Without the courts there would be nothing stopping red states from passing such regressive and dangerous policies to the LGBT. It is critical for LGBT people everywhere that we preserve the courts to prevent state overreach.
Finally I am frustrated in how these bills are covered. Even left wing media has been calling these "Anti transgender bills". That's what these lawmakers want. That's why they front load these bills with anti trans arguments then throw in the anti gay in the end. I feel like people just look at the title and first paragraph before writing their articles. Make not mistake these are the same anti gay bills they made before gay marriage. They just put the trans stuff first because hating trans people is more popular in America then hating gay people.
I hope by making this post I open your eyes on what is currently on the floor of a dozen states in America right now. These bills only pass and survive due to the inaction of the people who support the LGBT. Remember to call your representatives if you live in these states and volunteer time to prevent this discrimination from being accepted in society
I haven't really written an effort post in a long time so I am rusty. Ill probably write another one on these anti trans bills. Maybe a proper R1 on the High Court ruling or the criminalization of being trans in the US and UK. Thanks for your time <3

I'd like to address the utter inability of the Supreme Court of India to criminalise a human rights violation and it's choice to engrave Indian inceldom into the fabric of our constitution.
This is the first part and attempts to make clear the laws surrounding marital rape.
Being married in India implies consent, this means the simple act of tying the knot gives ones partner unfettered legal sexual access to them, with an exception to minors, which is a recent development as a result of the 2017 case Independent Thought vs Union of India. Prior to this the exception to section 375 (which defines 6 cases where sexual activity is considered rape) read as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”, it now mercifully reads as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape”. The fact that legal loopholes exist for minors to be legally married is a matter of discussion for another day.
To get a better idea of our judiciary's general attitude to the issue of Marital rape may refer to the infamous Phulmoni Dasi case where an 8 year old died of excessive bleeding due to violent sexual intercourse with her husband, he was convicted not for rape, and only for a period of a year for ‘causing grievous hurt by doing a rash and negligent act dangerous to life’. The following judgements were also made with regard to this case:

1. “The branch of the law which has no connection with this case is the law of rape.”
2. “The law, it is true, is exceedingly jealous of any interference in matters marital, and very unwilling to trespass inside the chamber where husband and wife live together, and never does so except in cases of absolute necessity.”

These points serve to highlight the callous nature of the judiciary when it comes to the issue of marital rape.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in its definition of domestic violence, includes among other things, sexual abuse which defines as, ‘any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman’. The definition here does not specify the acts that constitute sexual abuse.
On the other hand, Section 375 exception 2 absolves a husband from any crime if he happens to rape his wife. Both these laws seem to be contradicting each other because rape can be said to be a ‘conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or violates the dignity of a woman’. Both the laws make it absolutely ambiguous and need to be fixed. Interestingly, a legislation against marital rape came into being without actually calling it ‘marital rape’. Thus, the hesitance to interfere into the sexual life of a married couple and to name it after a heinous crime as such of a rape.
In the previously mentioned PIL, Independent Thought vs The Union of India the constitutionality of Exception 2 of Section 375 was questioned. It was argued that the exception discriminated between married girl child and an unmarried girl child as the latter would be considered rape and the former is not. Well, there lies discrimination even when a married woman is not protected against rape from her own husband. It is a failure to understand two very different concepts—‘consent to marriage’ and ‘consent to sexual intercourse’. They both cannot be used interchangeably or as synonyms. If anything else, an adult woman understands better the act of someone sexually assaulting her. Thus, it is equally important to protect married women above 18 years of age against the crime of rape. It is absurd to have a law in which, one part protects all women from sexual violence but at the same time permits marital rape of a married woman by her husband.
Through various judgements of the Supreme Court, it is now clear that right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes right to privacy, sanctity of female and to make choices relating to sexual activity. Section 375 Exception 2 stands against these very basic human rights and is contradictory in nature to the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. And yet, it is still clung on to a law that absolutely defeats its very purpose to protect women from rape, which needs to be struck down as unconstitutional.
Lastly but not in the least, we consider section 9 of the Hindu Marriage act, it states:

"When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply, by petition to the district court, for restitution of conjugal rights and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly."

When we first read it we see that it means to act as a law against abandonment, however it has more often than not been misused to make a wife return to an abusive husband and even brush off marital rape, an example being the Supreme Court Case, Smt. Saroj Rani vs Sudarshan Kumar Chaddha. The Supreme Court upheld the views put forth by the Delhi High Court, stating that the objective of the decree was only an inducement for the spouses to live together, and that it did not force an unwilling wife to engage in sexual relations with the husband. The aim was only to bring about "cohabitation" between spouses, and therefore, it was only focused on "consortium".
The judgement showed the utter lack of understanding of nuance possessed by the Supreme Court of India and set a terrible precedent as the wife, hence legally compelled to return to cohabiting with her husband could still experience marital rape and be unable to pursue legal security from him.
The above discussed laws can only be termed as disgusting and are in dire need of improvement, along with societal changes to the exceptionally patriarchal family structures that enable our judges and lawmakers to continually turn a blind eye to this obvious violation of human rights. These laws are not simply a consequence of the time in which the constitution was framed but a reflection of society and its view of women in this country as of today. This will be covered in the second part of the post.

I'd like to address the utter inability of the Supreme Court of India to criminalise a human rights violation and it's choice to engrave Indian inceldom into the fabric of our constitution.
This is the first part and attempts to make clear the laws surrounding marital rape.
Being married in India implies consent, this means the simple act of tying the knot gives ones partner unfettered legal sexual access to them, with an exception to minors, which is a recent development as a result of the 2017 case Independent Thought vs Union of India. Prior to this the exception to section 375 (which defines 6 cases where sexual activity is considered rape) read as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”, it now mercifully reads as “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape”. The fact that legal loopholes exist for minors to be legally married is a matter of discussion for another day.
To get a better idea of our judiciary's general attitude to the issue of Marital rape may refer to the infamous Phulmoni Dasi case where an 8 year old died of excessive bleeding due to violent sexual intercourse with her husband, he was convicted not for rape, and only for a period of a year for ‘causing grievous hurt by doing a rash and negligent act dangerous to life’. The following judgements were also made with regard to this case:

1. “The branch of the law which has no connection with this case is the law of rape.”
2. “The law, it is true, is exceedingly jealous of any interference in matters marital, and very unwilling to trespass inside the chamber where husband and wife live together, and never does so except in cases of absolute necessity.”

These points serve to highlight the callous nature of the judiciary when it comes to the issue of marital rape.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in its definition of domestic violence, includes among other things, sexual abuse which defines as, ‘any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman’. The definition here does not specify the acts that constitute sexual abuse.
On the other hand, Section 375 exception 2 absolves a husband from any crime if he happens to rape his wife. Both these laws seem to be contradicting each other because rape can be said to be a ‘conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or violates the dignity of a woman’. Both the laws make it absolutely ambiguous and need to be fixed. Interestingly, a legislation against marital rape came into being without actually calling it ‘marital rape’. Thus, the hesitance to interfere into the sexual life of a married couple and to name it after a heinous crime as such of a rape.
In the previously mentioned PIL, Independent Thought vs The Union of India the constitutionality of Exception 2 of Section 375 was questioned. It was argued that the exception discriminated between married girl child and an unmarried girl child as the latter would be considered rape and the former is not. Well, there lies discrimination even when a married woman is not protected against rape from her own husband. It is a failure to understand two very different concepts—‘consent to marriage’ and ‘consent to sexual intercourse’. They both cannot be used interchangeably or as synonyms. If anything else, an adult woman understands better the act of someone sexually assaulting her. Thus, it is equally important to protect married women above 18 years of age against the crime of rape. It is absurd to have a law in which, one part protects all women from sexual violence but at the same time permits marital rape of a married woman by her husband.
Through various judgements of the Supreme Court, it is now clear that right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes right to privacy, sanctity of female and to make choices relating to sexual activity. Section 375 Exception 2 stands against these very basic human rights and is contradictory in nature to the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. And yet, it is still clung on to a law that absolutely defeats its very purpose to protect women from rape, which needs to be struck down as unconstitutional.
Lastly but not in the least, we consider section 9 of the Hindu Marriage act, it states:

"When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply, by petition to the district court, for restitution of conjugal rights and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly."

When we first read it we see that it means to act as a law against abandonment, however it has more often than not been misused to make a wife return to an abusive husband and even brush off marital rape, an example being the Supreme Court Case, Smt. Saroj Rani vs Sudarshan Kumar Chaddha. The Supreme Court upheld the views put forth by the Delhi High Court, stating that the objective of the decree was only an inducement for the spouses to live together, and that it did not force an unwilling wife to engage in sexual relations with the husband. The aim was only to bring about "cohabitation" between spouses, and therefore, it was only focused on "consortium".
The judgement showed the utter lack of understanding of nuance possessed by the Supreme Court of India and set a terrible precedent as the wife, hence legally compelled to return to cohabiting with her husband could still experience marital rape and be unable to pursue legal security from him.
The above discussed laws can only be termed as disgusting and are in dire need of improvement, along with societal changes to the exceptionally patriarchal family structures that enable our judges and lawmakers to continually turn a blind eye to this obvious violation of human rights. These laws are not simply a consequence of the time in which the constitution was framed but a reflection of society and its view of women in this country as of today. This will be covered in the second part of the post.

https://i.imgur.com/UCNvDsT.jpg

Examples

For anyone wary of delving into a large primer on a metal adjacent genre, below are a two examples of both classic and modern dungeon synth. While albums are a more complete example, I have narrowed it down to two songs.

• Depressive Silence - "Forest of Etenity" (1996)
• Hedge Wizard - "More True Than Time Thought" (2014)

Dungeon synth is fascinating if not a little cryptic in its history and existence. If any of the above two examples are interesting or the concept of grim musicians making fantasy synth, then I urge you to travel further.

Introduction

Dungeon Synth is a style of at-home made fantasy synth. Despite it being a modern incarnation, its history is rooted in the 1990’s black metal scene, when its members created ambient synth projects and circulated those releases through tapes. These black metal side projects laid the groundwork for dungeon synth’s atmosphere and ethos regarding aesthetics, production, and distribution. Dungeon synth is primarily a solo endeavor with one person writing, playing, producing, and distributing the music. Today, it has become a diverse genre and cottage industry with tape labels, forums, festivals, and an international fanbase devoted to its history and development. Branching out from its beginnings to include a spectrum of sound, dungeon synth has transitioned beyond its dark ambient beginnings to a sound that includes neoclassical, new age, medieval, and even chiptune music. The space between fans and creators, since its beginning, has been small, leading to an intimate scene that exists today almost entirely on the internet.
This aspect of a virtual community and scene has shown itself unintentionally resilient within current events. The process of creating music in isolation and sharing it with an international fanbase through virtual albums and mailed media is something that has been unaffected since the wake of a global pandemic. Livelihoods of the creators and parcel service interruptions aside, dungeon synth, along with other virtual genres, has the potential to be a blueprint for future musical scenes that exist without in person contact. This divorce from the physical aligns with dungeon synth’s escapist aesthetics, as its thematic storytelling offers an at home journey that is safe and socially distant. Dungeon synth offers a window into a potential future where music exists between people through small portals separated by distance and realities.
I have been writing, reviewing, and cataloging the history of dungeon synth since stumbling upon its existence in 2014. Initially perplexed by its discovery, I began sharing the strange records I found with everyone I knew, marveling at this small scene of people making fantasy synth. What may have started as fanciful irony, has since evolved into a deep love for a genre of music I found almost by accident. Since that time, I have become an advocate of the genre, writing primers for its history, retrospectives for its albums, and organizing compilations for its creators. It is my hope to codify a roadmap for people who may not know of its existence but would love it if they did. Dungeon synth has a unique history among its creators, fans, and the space in which it exists, as it defies conventional classification -- continuing to make music in far away places, for far away people.

Part I: Forest of Eternity (1990-2000)

The use of the words "modern" and "classic" is easier to refer to with dungeon synth’s history two largest waves of interest with "modern" in referring to dungeon synth’s revival since the 2010’s and "classic" to refer to dungeon synth as it existed in the 1990’s. It is at this point, I am supposed to tell you the easy and linear history of dungeon synth forming from black metal side projects. Artists like Mortiis and Burzum would combine synth with fantasy aesthetics and sell it to black metal fans. That can be the answer and you can move on to the music, but I would be untrue to myself if I made it that simple. Genres and subgenres have a strange way of forming and even stranger ways of being written about. With enough time and hindsight, writing about music becomes easier since enough distance is created to make connections. Not only is dungeon synth still being created and its modern history has yet to get to a place where reflection can occur, its creation and foundations are still being connected. While bands like Old Tower are revered for their worship of classic dungeon synth and the term “Old School Dungeon Synth” signifies a proximity to black metal and perhaps a relevance to a core philosophy, dungeon synth’s roots are tenuous.
Classic dungeon synth never had a connected scene of influence outside of cassette trading circles. It has no documented motivation nor easy narratives to tell a tale of creation. Classic dungeon synth just existed collectively and independently in the mind of its musicians with their releases, which were then resurrected by fans and archivists decades after their original releases. Before 2011, dungeon synth as a concept and even name did not exist; rather it was a nebula of likeminded music under the name “dark dungeon music,” “neoclassical,” and/or “medieval” that was sorted with other dark ambient, darkwave, and experimental electronics. Dungeon synth did not begin as a named genre until one of its fans, Andrew Werdna, started "The Dungeon Synth Blog" in 2011 to promote the type of music made by Mortiis, Wongraven, and related artists. The creator of that blog coined the name and collected the material he found interesting and fit his view on what the genre should be. This arcane way of genre creation lays at the foundation of dungeon synth and its existence would not be if not for fans like Werdna archiving and connecting the dots.
Dungeon synth, in its classic sense, exists due to the will of its fans who are uncovering more and more releases, which in turn, reshapes its history over and over. One of the releases that will be discussed, The Sleeping Green by Lunar Womb, is a construction of a late 90’s release that was shelved and lay dormant on a harddrive for almost 20 years. This release, which is popular today, would not exist if not for the then current interest in modern dungeon synth. On a personal note, I even have a working theory that classic dungeon synth was a DIY adoption of the fantasy ambient that was created in the 1970’s with Kosmische Musik, and continued in the 1980’s with new age electronic music. As more releases are discovered, Dungeon synth’s history is becoming dotted with records that fit more into the history of electronic music than the birth of black metal.
One of the more popular early dungeon synth releases (one that is even tagged as dungeon synth) is 1991’s Master of Dragons by electronic composer Jim Kirkwood. Kirkwood was a UK musician who made a series of fantasy ambient records in the early 90’s. Master of Dragons would be an interesting starting point for dungeon synth as it has the aesthetics and sound for an origin story. As far as I know, Jim Kirkwood had no connection to the 90's black metal scene, rather his self released fantasy ambient records were just an extension of Berlin School electronics. It is my belief that dungeon synth in 10 or 20 years will have a more formalized history and for now exists as a genre that is being written as we speak. Its history is being constructed almost simultaneously, which makes writing about it strange if not incredibly exciting.
As of now, we have a roadmap of black metal musicians who made synth albums that were a long form version of the interludes that would prelude or act as an epilogue to many black metal demos. Additionally, we have dark ambient musicians who would release synth based records in the same trading circles as black, death, and thrash metal records. These are all well known parts of classic dungeon synth and is the sound tagged as “Old School Dungeon Synth.” It is a world of gloom where there are instances of wonder and magic but it is all cast in a haze of morose shades.

Classic Dungeon Synth Recommendations

Compared to the scope of modern dungeon synth, the boundaries for classic dungeon synth are smaller and more homogenized. There is a spectrum of dark and light and produced and raw, as we will see with modern dungeon synth, but the variety between these early releases is going to be more similar than different. This is due to the prevalence of home recordings and the proximity to black metal and dark ambient. Additionally, even in the most light releases there exists a sense of loneliness and solemnity. There is never (at least to my knowledge) levity within these releases, as the journey into synthscapes from black metal and metal minded musicians was a serious affair akin to meditation rather than something for a gaff. This is the bleak world of dungeon synth before it even had a name and its creators were the grey lords of escapism. For brevity, I included the highlights, If this type of sound is the thing you have been looking for, enjoy your journey through the lower worlds.
Mortiis - Født til å herske (1994)

Håvard Ellefsen, better known as Mortiis, is a project which is almost synonymous with classic dungeon synth, or at least the history of dark medieval synth. Mortiis to few was the bassist for the black metal band Emperor from 1993 to 1994. Mortiis to many more was a milestone in the development of what was then called dark dungeon music and a waypoint for future composers to model their sound. While Mortiis would make a variety of music, it is his “Era I” records or the releases that span from 1993 to 1999 that would become the center of reverence. Født til å herske (Born To Rule) is a 53 minute song split into two parts ,which brings the listener into a world of cold and uncaring passages that snake around the undercroft of a long abandoned castle. Between shadows and sunlight, Født til å herske is dramatic in its approach to cast emotion and atmosphere in a macabre play. The interplay with the keyboards and mixing is something that is both commanding and immersive. Mortiis' instance on the repetitive melodies that make up this song is a cornerstone of classic dungeon synth, as the music becomes a meditative chant used to transpose oneself to distant places. Mortiis would go on to explore different styles in the 2000’s before returning to his legacy as an alumni in the wake of the dungeon synth revival. The 2020 record Spirit of Rebellion is a reworking and recording of the 1994 record Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, which was inspired by his 2017 performance at the Cold Meat Industry 25th anniversary event (explain this a bit). This music means a lot to its creator and, though a lot of Mortiis' image is the punchline to internet jokes, Født til å herske and the majority of Era I is a testament to the power of this sound.

Depressive Silence - Depressive Silence II (1996)

Depressive Silence is perhaps one of the most popular if not most celebrated early dungeon synth projects. This is perhaps due to the fact the band started as a parallel project to the melodic black metal band Mightiest. Members Andreas Kreiler (Ral) and B. Schmidt (B.S) were both guitarists / keyboardists who created a synth entity for the 1995 split with Mightiest. While Depressive Silence’s second release Depressive Silence II is perhaps the more iconic release, with its cover almost being symbolic of dungeon synth. In the haze of mist and fallen ruins exists the whispers of entities that offer no guidance or reassurance. Depressive Silence II is a solitary adventure with an opening that could be one of the banners for classic dungeon synth. Both Ral and B.S. would go on to make one-off projects with a final release in 1997. These releases all happen to be some of the best music made in this time period. Solanum ‎– Spheres Of Time (B.S) and Gothmog - Medival Journeys (Ral) are essential and worth exploring for anyone interested in this time period.

Wongraven - Fjelltronen (1995)

Wongraven is the work of a Satyr well known as Sigurd Wongraven from the Nowegian black metal band Satyricon. Fjelltronen stands as the only release from the project outside of a 6 band split with Darkthrone, Neptune Towers, Storm, Isengard, and Satyricon: Fjelltronen’s history is rooted in Norweigan black and folk metal and its sound reflects this atmosphere with a 32 minute escape into fog ridden lands stalked by choral chants, soft acoustic guitar, and piano melodies. The success of Fjelltronen, and Wongraven in general, is the nebulous nature of the sound as it does not rest on a sole genre but rather gather a cadre of similar styles under a banner of grim atmosphere. The cover for Fjelltronen is a cropped image of "Til den grønne ridder'' by 19th century Norwegian fantasy painter Theodor Kittelsen. Not only was the same image used by black metal act Carpathian Forest for their EP Through Chasm, Caves and Titan Woods but Kittelsen’s works were also used by Burzum, Satyricon, and a host of modern dungeon synth artists. Fjelltronen remains a staple in classic dungeon synth as its bridge to black metal both in style and spirit.

Jääportit - Kauan Koskematon (1999)

Kauan Koskematon is the debut full-length from Tuomas M. Mäkel also known as Jääportit. While Jääportit lacks a black metal connection, it makes up for it with a strong foundation in the substyle of winter synth as well as a consistent output during the dark period of the 2000’s. On the project's website, Mäkel writes the inspiration for the project centered around the work of Mortiis as well as darkwave and neoclassical works from Arcana and Dead Can Dance. This nebulous origin produces itself in one of the most modern sounding records. Jääportit could exist in 2020 and be lauded for the approach to frozen landscapes, which are iridescent in the moonlight. Kauan Koskematon’s embrace of drone and regal melodies exist in icy embankments and would only be underscored by the artwork from Aslak Tolonen (From the Finnish neofolk band Nest). Winter synth would go on to become one of dungeon synth’s most popular substyles which, even though it borders on the edge of existence, is still a style that draws in listeners with an invitation to a glacial court.

Burzum - Hliðskjálf (1999)

For better or worse, Burzum is entwined in the history of dungeon synth. Burzum, also known as Varg Vikerness, was a Norwegian black metal project that not only produced milestone records for the scene but also found his way into some of the more horrific acts that would cast a veil of murder, racism, and antisocial behavior over this entire black metal genre period. While in prison for the murder of Øystein Aarseth, Varg Vikerness, with limited synthesizer and recording privileges, composed two dark ambient and medieval records based around Norse mythology. Dauði Baldrs, along with the follow up Hliðskjálf, would become some of the most famous records not only in the dungeon synth scene but also the greater black metal world as a lament from an infamous and imprisoned villain. Hliðskjálf would be the more complete record with melodic passages as well as retaining its icy sense of being. Hliðskjálf also saw some prototypes for modern dungeon synth, with songs like “Die Liebe Nerþus.” Hliðskjálf, and its predecessor, makes for easy talking points within the history of dungeon synth, yet the actions of its creator both before incarceration and during asks a lot from the listener when listening to the music. For some it is too much and to be honest, the history of dungeon synth can be experienced with or without the two records of Burzum.

Secret Stairways - Enchantment of the Ring (1997)

Secret Stairways was the solo project of US black metal musician Matthew Davis. Davis would lend his talents to the 90’s black metal project Blackened Chapel as well as the gothic darkwave project Twelfth of Never. Secret Stairways was his somber synth project that saw releases in 1997 and 1999. Both album's music was backed by the same sense of melancholy that would haunt most of Davis’ music, but a sense of twilight wonder with 1999’s Turning Point reached the zenith of production for these self released projects. Enchantment of the Ring has become iconic for its production and sense of wonder which creeps across the ground like fog. For most, Secret Stairways would reach a wider audience decades after its initial release and years after the suicide of Davis in 2011. Both Secret Stairway releases now stand as a shrine to its creator, who seemed to be a mage capable of marrying melody with a lingering sense of loss and grief.

Corvus Neblus - Chapter I - Strahd's Possession (1999)

Fans of the Greek black metal band Macabre Omen might recognize the name Alexandros Antoniou. In fact, on this subreddit we had an AMA with the artist who casually mentioned the Corvus Neblus project in conversation. Though Alexandros Antoniou sort of dismisses the project as a fanciful side project, Corvus Neblus and its two demos are high quality in terms of melodic dungeon synth. With heavy ties to the RPG universe, specifically the Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft campaign, Chapter I - Strahd's Possession not only showcases the musician's immersion in the synthscapes but also the embrace of high fantasy for a vehicle of escapism. Though this record is, perhaps, most popular due to its connection with the artist and wouldnt have been found otherwise, Corvus Neblus is a high watermark despite the casual attitude of its creator.

Lunar Womb - The Sleeping Green (1999/2015)

Lunar Womb was a project started by Henri "Trollhorn" Sorvali known in other circles as the guitarist and keyboardist of the pagan metal band Moonsorrow and keyboardist for Blackened folk metal project Finntroll. The Sleeping Green was intended to be the third demo for the composer, following two other dark ambient releases (released on Meat Hook Productions who also released Moonsorrow records as well as Sorvali’s other project Woods of Belial). For various reasons, the third demo was shelved until 2015 when Sorvali found the tracks and intended artwork for the record. Additionally, 2015 was also the time when dungeon synth was experiencing it’s modern revival, which led Sorvali to remaster the tracks and release the long awaited demo. The Sleeping Green is caught between two worlds, as it was originally intended to be from the late 90’s but has now had the benefit of cleaner, more modern production. It is now we can hear Sorvali's vision, which combines the folk melodies heard on Finntroll and Moonsorrow releases with the atmosphere of what would later be called dungeon synth. The result is a sound that is both enchanting and immersive, and is the best soundscape Lunar Womb produced, as it saved an unintentional blueprint for modern dungeon synth.

Neptune Towers - Caravans to Empire Algol (1994)

I initially did not have Neptune Towers on this list but later added it for reasons I will mention. Neptune Towers has the obvious connection to black metal with it being the solo side project of Fenriz of black metal act Darkthrone. While Neptune Towers, much like Wongraven, was featured on splits with other black metal bands and was released on labels with other black metal acts, its sound is perhaps the least dungeon synth of this list. Owing more to drone, kosmische Musik, and berlin school electronics, Caravans to Empire Algol worships the work of Klaus Schulze and perhaps makes the tenuous connection from the dungeon synth of the 1990s with the far out Berlin school electronic of the 1970s. Whatever the case, it is a good place to begin allowing the transmission of other worlds to wash over you with a sound that is unnerving yet hypnotic and showcasing a sound that is just sci-fi that just wanted to wear black.

Part II: The Age of Wonder (2011-Present)

Dungeon Synth, in the modern sense, began with the advent of a stable internet. Not only were blogs, social media, and a reliable streaming service and marketplace the tools composers needed to reach a global audience, but they were also the same tools used to unearth, digitize, and disseminate the obscure and forgotten releases from the 1990s. While the nascent idea and aesthetic of dark keyboard music carried on in various dark ambient, neoclassical, and medieval records in the 2000’s, dungeon synth as a focused style did not exist until the appearance of internet blogs that not only collected older releases but codified the aesthetics and proper name for the genre. The work of blogs like Asmodian Coven and eventually the Dungeon Synth Blog allowed a new generation to not only discover older releases but also be inspired to make new records.
The mid 2010’s saw a boom in dungeon synth as interest grew across social media and online forums. This boom was a revival of the classic sounds of the 1990’s as well as an inclusion of melodic ambience. While high fantasy and nature were always a part of dungeon synth’s aesthetics, the modern era is when artists embraced the escapist themes for their records, taking on theatrical personas and dedicating full releases to fictional narratives. This shift in style would provide an avenue for new creators and fans to travel and deviate from its classic roots.
Dungeon synth composers differ from other musicians in that the barrier for making the music in the style was low and its reach was only anchored by an internet connection. Composers had no need for touring or even working with other people. These composers only needed a computer, internet, and imagination to be a musician. If one wanted to take a release from the writing, composing, recording, and even manufacturing of the marketing media, they could do it all without leaving their room. This cottage industry spread among creators, who all varied in their levels of professionalism, but were connected by social hubs such as Facebook, Bandcamp, and online forums. All in all, Dungeon synth is similar to other internet centric microgenres whose scene and community exist entirely in a digital space. Dungeon synth, much like other microgenres, has a pitch to newcomers based on sound and aesthetics. It is alluring but also poses a unique question: 'Do you want to listen to Dungeon and Dragons music made by people in cloaks playing synth in their bedroom?' The answer was a resounding 'Yes' by many and the dedication to the tabletop hobbies by fans embraced the style into their folds. Dungeon synth had an aesthetic and the boom of home releases would only strengthen its legacy.
Dungeon synth is a style of music that has grown quickly throughout its modern era, showcasing the evolution of a music genre in an expedited timeline. Its precursors, foundation, watersheds, and experiments, which usually take years and decades to be established by a genre, have been collapsed into only a few years. This rapid progression can be attributed to the ease of virtual engagement of the community, as well as at home production of its albums. Albums could be made within months, causing a flourishing of new ideas, which would cause reactions to the evolution at an exacerbated pace. Criticisms, tensions between stylistic tastes, and feuds between the scene could be waged easier, leading to an accelerated collapse or synthesis of ideas. This drama of a small scene that went through a surge of popularity and cracked under the influx of new fans is not unique among genres, yet dungeon synth went through it in a matter of a few years as opposed to the decades it normally takes. This exceleration has matured dungeon synth to leap forward in its evolution, and has led to one of the best periods in perhaps its entire existence.
Dungeon synth continues to be fascinating for many reasons. One is boring while the other is fanciful. The boring reason is that the musicians live in an age of reliable internet and with a low entry for making music, this leads to a consistent output of new material. Combine this with a continual fanbase that is just discovering the sound and you have a continual wave of consumers. The more fanciful reason is that dungeon synth offers a sense of magic to its listeners. Dungeon synth offers a style of music and scene whose intimacy between artist and listener feels like a relationship, and the subsequent journey is more like an adventure both of you are undertaking. This relationship between art and artist is something I find particularly powerful, as each release is like a chapter in an ongoing story that both us as the listeners and them as the creators are unaware where it will take us. We are all players in this story and we will go to far away places.

Modern Dungeon Synth Recommendations

For this primer, and for the purposes of introductions, I revised a nine point alignment chart that was created on a Dungeon synth forum. Musician RævJäger made an alignment chart modeled after the Dungeons and Dragons character alignment, which is set between two spectrums of dark/light and produced/raw. Since the sounds of modern dungeon synth are much more varied than the 1990's, directing people towards a type of sound is more viable and potentially useful. Modern dungeon synth, while almost entirely removed from its black metal roots, has a sound for almost anyone ranging from fanciful tavern music to nihilistic noise.
These nine albums are what I feel were important at the time of modern dungeon synth's boom, as well as ones that fit neatly into an alignment chart. This chart is not perfect, and there may be better choices or questionable placement depending on interpretation, however it is not meant to be definitive rather a playful introduction to a style and might help people find the right sound that would interest them. Those who are versed in these nine albums might find Part III of this primer more helpful.
Lord Lovidicus - Book of Lore Volume I (2015) [Produced/Light]

Book of Lore follows a line of better known releases from Lord Lovidicus. 2010’s Trolldom and Quenta Silmarillion are perhaps this artist's most well known releases due to their placement in the early history of modern dungeon synth. Book of Lore sees the same focus on medieval fantasy but begins the artist's ascent to the production the music deserves. Lord Lovidicus always wanted to sail in the cloud of production and, combined with the artist's love for Tolkien lore, Book of Lore is fantasy ambient minus the rough edges. While the bedroom aspect is present, the music blurs between worlds with a sound that is approaching bliss. I could think of few other releases that quest for the same level of production that tries to transcend the bedroom setup.

Fief - - I (2016) [Neutral Light]

Fief is a wonderful artist to start with in dungeon synth as it is a very popular sound among fans. In fact, Fief may be one of the most popular dungeon synth artists, which is no surprise given the string of amazing releases. Rather than a direct narrative, Feif's five albums are vignettes into a medieval world that might or might not have any sort of fantasy elements. This is a long campaign in a low magic world that is filled with just as much danger and excitement as other more dragon-filled narratives. I feel Fief is popular due to both accessibility with the production as well as a charm in its minimalism. This is tavern music for the weary traveler and while there are few patrons, the hearth is warm and roaring.

Chaucerian Myth - The Canterbury Tales (2016) [Raw/ Light]

I have written a lot about Chaucerian Myth and the artist's debut The Canterbury Tales. I wrote an introduction to the album for the CD reissue, which is on the inside flap. To put it simply, The Canterbury Tales was a watershed moment for dungeon synth as it took the growing modern scene and its bedroom recording, married it with English literature, and cast a drama into a 3.5 hour epic. An unofficial soundtrack to Chaucer’s collection of stories published in 1483, each of the tales is scored by the sounds of fantasy synth. The Canterbury Tales was a fantastic release from an active member of the Dungeon synth community, which set a new benchmark for intensity and devotion to the craft. In terms of atmosphere, there is little space between Fief and Chaucerian Myth. The difference lies in the length and scope of The Canterbury Tales, as these songs are cast in near 20 minute epics that wander sometimes lost in the tomes of history books. This is passion amid piles of books and its charm is undeniable.

Sequestered Keep - Wandering Far (2017) [Produced Neutral]

There is a joke among dungeon synth fans about the prolific, bordering on oppressive, release schedules some artists use. The years between 2015 and 2016 saw 14 releases from US based Sequestered Keep, which would have fit into this trope if not for the fact that all of it was outstanding. Wandering Far was the only release of 2017 and, for me at least, it was a grand declaration of magic and somber distance. Sequestered Keep aims in the same direction as Lord Lovidicus but collects the shadows as much as the highlights. Much like the album covers, Sequestered Keep offers rolling landscapes that are filled with as much joy as they are with sorrow. Sadly, 2018 would see the last release from this artist, so Wandering Far as well as the finale, The Vale of Ruined Towers are now monuments to the legacy of this artist.

Erang - Another World Another Time (2013) [Neutral]

For many, Erang was their first exposure to dungeon synth. This came through a compilation video put out by this French artist simply titled “2 hours 30 minutes of Dungeon Synth, Medieval Fantasy Music by Erang.” It was a simple video that provided 2 hours and 30 minutes of background music for reading, playing games, or whatever the user wanted. I feel there is something omnipresent about Erang as the music seems to touch every aspect of the sound. Another World Another Time catches the artist as they climb out of the classic dark ambient sounds of Tome I-IV to to craft a world of imagination and wonder. If I could offer any one record which I feel captures the variety in dungeon synth, it would be this. Additionally, 2013-2015 would see some truly fantastic works from Erang and this release is indispensable in one's journey into dungeon synth.

Til Det Bergens Skyggene - Til Det Bergens Skyggene (2011) [Raw Neutral]

Til Det Bergens Skyggene is a German artist who is also the operator of Voldsom Musikk -- a label specializing in black metal and dark ambient. Til Det Bergens Skyggene is a project that was responsible for 5 releases in a few short years before ceasing. The third and self titled release has grown in legacy in the dungeon synth scene for its reverence to the classic sound of the 1990s. With a focus on texture and ambience, Til Det Bergens Skyggene, the album, moves at a glacial pace across a landscape of fog with only shadowy outlines of trees and ruined structures. If limbo or the desolate landscapes of the afterlife had a soundtrack it would most likely sound like the track “Skog, Natt Og Stjerner.” This is a record that does not approach pleasantly and, in fact, it does not approach at all. Rather, Til Det Bergens Skyggene walks ever forward through the growing opaque wall of fog uninterested in anything but the crawl of time. It is aloof, magical, and completely uninterested in being accessible.

Murgrind - Inheritor Of The Forest Throne (2015) [Produced / Dark]

Inheritor Of The Forest Throne was the second record for Murgrind and a step forward in terms of production from the dark and classic sounds of 2013’s Journey Through The Mountain. Clear and grand sounds dominate the production, combined with a constant reminder of scorn and sadness. This marriage between the dark and production clarity was mirrored on the cover as it depicted a vast forest devoid of foliage and oppressive in its presence. Murgrind would set a new standard for production, and send a reminder to people that, despite the DIY nature of the music, professionalism and craft could still be revered.

Thangorodrim - Taur-nu-Fuin (2016) [Neutral Dark]

Taur-nu-Fuin was a monumental record on its release. I remember when it came out there was something that changed about the scene as its release pointed to a new benchmark for direction. With it’s cover, which worships the aesthetics of second wave black metal, to the sweeping labyrinthian sounds, to the obscure Tolkine lore, Taur-nu-Fuin was a champion of the classic sound that lay in the graves of Mortiis and Wongraven. With four songs and a running time of 50 minutes, Thangorodrim is intense in its need for commitment. This is not background music rather a passage into corridors that lay far out of the reach of sunlight. I would urge people to listen to this release for nothing else than to experience classic dungeon synth in a modern incarnation.

Old Tower - The Rise Of The Specter (2017) [Raw / Dark]

In terms of optics, The Rise of the Specter was perhaps one of the most famous modern dungeon synth records in the 2010’s. The Rise of the Specter’s cover was briefly used as the header for the 2017 Bandcamp article “A Guide Through the Darkened Passages of Dungeon Synth.” This was eventually changed to a more generic stone arch but, for a while, the hooded figure was a guide for newcomers into the world of dungeon synth. The Rise of the Specter and its ruminating sounds made sense for people as it worshipped the classic style of dungeon synth. This was Mortiis in 2017. This made sense as dungeon synth, for many, was the sound of dark passages and people in cloaks. It was mysterious and arcane and, above all else, dark. Old Tower was one of dungeon synth’s largest success stories as The Rise of the Specter led the artist to a deal with Profound Lore and a 2018 concert at the Roadburn Festival. Old Tower, for all intents and purposes, is the largest spokesperson for dungeon synth outside of its small community and to many, including myself, is the perfect spokesperson to the world beyond the small scene.

Conclusion

The above primer represents the start of material I am putting together for a dungeon synth book / series of articles regarding the collected history of the genre. These profiles are being collected on my blog as "The Book of DS." My blog will also be the continuation of some subjects related to dungeon synth including its connection with the Berlin School electronic scene as well as the dark period of 2000-2011 where this sound existed in the shadows.
Part of my fascination with dungeon synth is its emerging history combined with the proximity of its creators to community. Most if not all of these creators are people passionate about music who are more than ecstatic they found a community that shares their love for fantasy ambient. If you have read this far and know everything in the above primer then you can move onto a continuing primer that you will hopefully find more recommendations. If not, then we will discover them together.

Game Changers is probably the most complex season I’ve broken down so far – I’ve got about twice as many notes as usual to prove it – and Sarah’s win is incredibly intricate to analyze. There also seems to be a ton of misinformation about it; there’s at least a handful of facts/opinions I’ve seen repeated on the sub ad nauseum that are easily debunkable. I’m not sure why Sarah seems to inspire such hatred or praise, but I found it really interesting to do this deep dive. There’s just so much that didn’t make the edit, and so much that was misrepresented by the show or by fans after it aired.
I definitely come down on the side of believing Sarah played a really strong game, but it is one of the most unique performances in Survivor history. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a game quite like it.
*For simplicity’s sake, in this post I will be separating two aspects of the social game; when I say “social game”, I’m only referring to the relationships that are made and used through the point when someone is voted off. That does not include jury management – which I’ll just refer to as jury management.*
Big Reputations
It’s impossible to talk about Sarah’s success without mentioning how fortunate she was to be a virtual nobody entering a season called Game Changers. It was infamously a top-heavy cast, making it virtually impossible for some players to succeed and much easier for the “wtf?” casting choices to go far; and Sarah was definitely a “wtf?” casting choice.
In her defense, though, this is an advantage at least half the cast had. By my count, there was roughly 10 nobodies and 10 big threats:
- Nobodies: Sarah, Troy, Brad, Zeke, Michaela, Hali, Caleb, Debbie, Sierra, Varner
- Big Threats: Tony, Sandra, Aubry, J.T., Malcolm, Ciera, Andrea, Cirie, Ozzy, Tai
As you can see, the list isn’t cleanly divided; Varner wasn’t a nobody but he wasn’t a threat, and Tai was perceived as dangerous because of making it to the end and the Kaoh Rong 4, but he wasn’t exactly a “threat” that people were eager to take out.
While Sarah clearly had a huge advantage coming in, I do think over time it’s been blown a bit out of proportion; I completely agree that players like Tony, Sandra, Cirie, and Aubry were basically drawing dead from Day 1 (Cirie does an unbelievable job getting herself into a potentially winnable position because that never should’ve been possible), but players like J.T., Ciera, Andrea, and Ozzy all had plenty of friends and playing room on the cast. Most of them made mistakes within the game that cost them, not their prior reputations going in.
Especially because most of the big threats were taken out before the merge. Only Cirie and Aubry were left of the truly big names at the merge. By the time the game began in earnest, the playing field was in large part leveled.
What really gave Sarah the biggest advantage was not that she was a small name; it was that her gameplay this season stood in direct contrast to her gameplay from Cagayan. Aubry put together a dossier on the whole cast, of which Sarah only had one line:

Doesn’t like people who lie³

Because everyone assumed Sarah would stick to her straightforward and honest approach from Cagayan, she got away with a lot of early game moves that would’ve been impossible for someone with a bigger target to pull off; and people truly believed her when she swore on things like her family.
On RHAP, Sarah talks a lot about how much she intentionally leaned into this¹; part of why she played so fast and loose with her word is because she knew people would implicitly trust her based on her previous season. In her RHAP interview, Aubry was incredibly impressed at how Sarah played into her persona; saying she intentionally played dumb in groups, only letting her strategic acumen shine in one-on-one conversations³. Which is a strategy Sarah explained in her RHAP interview¹; playing dumb in groups kept the attention away from her, while making people think the one-on-one bonds with her were special. And it should be mentioned that Sarah began openly flipping on people at F12 and did so consistently through the F7; the jury is consistently floored no one is catching on^{20,22,23,24,25,26,27}. There was a ton of opportunities for people to vote her out once it became clear that she wasn’t playing the same game this time, but they never did; that speaks volumes to the bonds Sarah was making.
And on the topic of Sarah’s low threat status coming in, it’s worth noting that Sarah was easily one of the biggest threats coming into Winners at War – arguably the biggest threat based on answers given in pre-game press – and she managed to go all the way to F4, never being voted out. Based on that success alone, it’s impossible to say that the only reason Sarah succeeded in Game Changers was because of her lowered threat level.
Pre-Merge
Similar to the way Jeremy had such a huge advantage heading into the merge of Cambodia, Sarah was very lucky that almost everyone from Original Nuku made it to the merge; J.T. was the only Nuku to go home in the pre-merge, leaving Hali, Michaela, Troy, and Aubry as the only Manas.
Especially for a player like Sarah, this is a huge advantage; she had Day 1 alliances with Sierra, Cirie, Andrea, Debbie, Tai, Ozzy, and Zeke; by avoiding Tribal for the first 16 days, she was able to keep juggling all of them through the merge, making it to Day 24 before she had to turn on one of her own.
She also got really good draws on both of her swap tribes; on Tavua, she swapped with Zeke, Andrea, Ozzy, Cirie, and Troyzan. This gave her plenty of time to firm up her bond with Zeke, which is crucial to her post-merge success, as well as with Andrea, Ozzy, and Cirie, who all had complete faith in her going into the merge.
And on Nu nu Nuku, she swapped with Andrea, Zeke, Ozzy, Tai, Sandra, and Varner; this gave her an Original Nuku majority, and Sandra was the biggest threat in the game so everyone was focused on voting her out. Getting to stay with Andrea, Zeke, and Ozzy gave her even more time to develop trust with them because they got to vote together twice.
Of course, Sarah didn’t just rest on good luck; as I already mentioned, she immediately started making alliances with everyone she could on Day 1. She had tight alliances with almost everyone on Nuku before the first swap on Day 7, which set her up incredibly well no matter whose tribe she ended up on; in any combination of Nukus, she would be at the core of the alliance.
And once she swapped on Tavua, she immediately reached out to Troy; in his interview with the Survivor Specialists, he said that he was closest to Sarah on the swap tribe, and that Andrea and Cirie didn’t reach out to him⁴. This gave Sarah more options than anyone else; she was close enough to trick Troy so he wouldn’t play his idol, or she could use him and her connections with Ozzy and Zeke to take out Cirie^1,2.
While Sarah was lucky to have the challenges and Tribal Councils break her way (with tribes she wasn’t on staying Nuku strong), she was also doing everything she could to maximize her win potential. She played a flawless pre-merge, building strong bonds with every person she started or swapped with, and angering no one. Her low threat level going into the game definitely helped to keep her off of people’s radar, but she also made no social or strategic blunders that would have drawn attention to herself. She was set up so well that going into the merge, she had tight bonds and alliances in so many places she could basically do whatever she wanted.
Luck definitely gave her a good draw, but it was Sarah’s skill in creating bonds that set her apart so much; her biggest competition after the merge (Brad, Sierra, Andrea, etc.) also had all the advantages of starting on Nuku, but weren’t able to accomplish what Sarah was.
The Merge
This is the point in the season where Sarah’s game really starts to take shape, and also where some of the biggest critiques will start to appear; the most negative summation of her game would go something like she was always just voting how someone else told her to. And that wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate, but like I said at the start, there was a lot of moving parts in Game Changers and that’s an oversimplification.
At the merge, all of the Nukus came back together and it was very important that this vote be against an Original Mana²⁹; that’s why Hali and Michaela became the targets, even though they weren’t the biggest threats (Troy had pre-gamed with Brad and had grown tight to Sarah at the swap so was adopted as a Nuku, and Aubry was incredibly open about hating everyone she started with and wanting to flip tribes³). Because of Sierra’s belief that Hali had the idol, Michaela was originally going to be voted out. But Cirie wanted to keep Michaela as a number for when she broke away from Brad/Sierra, and flipped the vote around near the end of the day, sending Hali home.
In Sarah’s RHAP Deep Dive¹, she says that she preferred the target stay on Michaela, but Cirie wanted Hali gone. So, technically, Sarah was only doing what Cirie told her to; but that misses a lot of thought Sarah put into this vote. As she explains on RHAP, while she favored keeping Hali over Michaela, it didn’t really make a difference; to everyone except Cirie, Hali and Michaela were interchangeable players. By acquiescing and letting Cirie get her way, Sarah was able to have Cirie completely on her side heading into the next vote, where she knew she was going to flip away from Cirie/Andrea over to Brad/Sierra¹. And it speaks to Sarah’s game that she was one of the few people Cirie was being honest with; Cirie didn’t want anyone to know she was saving Michaela, which is why she votes for Michaela at this Tribal, so she was telling the Brad/Sierra faction that she was worried about how splitting the vote would go. But as Sarah confirms on RHAP¹, she knew Cirie was trying to save Michaela here because Cirie told her.
As I’ll show walking through all the votes, when Sarah was “just doing what she’s told”, it was largely because she had the most and the strongest relationships on the island, and was able to be more flexible than anyone else because of this. By letting her allies call the shots on votes where it didn’t matter to her, she managed to lessen her own target while also making her allies feel safe with her, which made it easier for her to flip during future rounds.
The Ozzy Blindside
Beginning here, Sarah flips for basically 7 straight rounds; which is the greatest streak of ping-ponging in Survivor history (the only person who could compete is of course Tony in Cagayan). Digging into the specifics of how Sarah was able to pull this off speaks extremely highly of her as a player.
Coming out of the Hali vote, a fracture had appeared in the super-majority alliance; Cirie, Andrea, Aubry, and Michaela were on one side, with Brad, Sierra, Troy, Debbie, and Tai on the other. Both sides assumed they had Sarah and Ozzy, and the Cirie/Andrea side also assumed they had Zeke.
The Brad/Sierra/Debbie faction landed on Ozzy as their target because he was caught feeding information to the Cirie/Andrea side; depending on who you ask, the story varies a bit on exactly what went down. According to Debbie, Ozzy told her right before the merge that he was gunning for Brad and Sierra, and that’s why she targeted him here¹². According to Sarah, the Brad/Sierra side heard Ozzy talking to Andrea¹. I think Sarah’s story is probably the more accurate one, because it makes more sense with the timing of how the votes went down – Debbie/Sierra/Brad are all seen being very chummy with Ozzy leading into the Hali vote, and he was a large part of how the target ended up on Michaela before Cirie worked her magic.
Simultaneous to all of this, Andrea and Zeke’s relationship was blowing up; and that’s where Sarah’s social game really starts to shine. Contrary to popular belief, Zeke did not just randomly decide to ruin a relationship he could count on. What really happened is that Sarah decided to flip because Cirie and Andrea were too obvious with their alliance – they would go off into the woods and come back with marching orders^1,2. Sarah wanted Zeke to flip with her, so Zeke went to Sierra and Brad with his pitch^2,36. This backfired horribly, with Sierra immediately running back to Cirie and Andrea.
This speaks to Sarah’s social game for 3 reasons: First, Sarah had already come to Sierra planning to flip on Cirie/Andrea, and Sierra kept this secret, showing they had a meaningful bond at this point. Second, after the Ozzy blindside happens and Zeke receives votes from the Cirie/Andrea side, the whole thing blows up in an incredibly public way, leaving Zeke on the outside of both alliances; but because he was so tight with Sarah, he didn’t throw her under the bus to save himself², instead letting Andrea put all the blame on him. Third, it speaks to the bonds Sarah had created with Cirie and Andrea that neither of them ever suspected her of flipping on them^30,31; even after she voted against them that Tribal, they had no idea she was the one pushing to flip in the first place. Which is why she’s the one they approach at the next round, trying to flip her away from the Power Six instead of trying to recruit Tai.
And while this is another vote where Sarah was technically “following orders”, again it’s much more complicated than that. The episode presents it as Debbie’s decision, but Debbie herself wouldn’t take credit on RHAP and said it was a group decision among the Power Six¹²; and Debbie is not the kind of person to play humble, if it was her move, she would’ve taken credit for it. Sarah wasn’t the first person to throw Ozzy’s name out, but he had been on her radar for a while; she didn’t want to let a challenge beast go deeper into the game, especially because he was in tight with Andrea and Cirie¹. And we know she had already planned on flipping before Ozzy became the target, because she already told Zeke who had gone to Sierra^1,2. So it is entirely incorrect to suggest that Sarah didn’t have agency here; it just made the most sense to go with Ozzy. And again, this is an example of her strategy to play dumb in groups^1,3; because she had tight personal bonds with Cirie, Andrea, Zeke, Tai, Troy, and Sierra, she had no reason to object to Ozzy being the vote, and doing so would’ve just drawn attention to herself. By going with the flow, she managed to flip without drawing any attention to herself, which is pretty incredible.
Flipping Again
Considering she had just flipped against the Cirie/Andrea side, it may seem counterintuitive for Sarah to immediately flip back to them at the next vote; but that’s exactly what she did.
Heading into the F11, five of the “Power Six” - Brad, Sierra, Troy, Tai, and Debbie – thought they were going to stay loyal until the F6; and part of why they felt this way was their complete, 100% faith in Sarah. At the Reward challenge, Brad says he specifically left Sarah and Brad off his team because he completely trusts them and wanted someone to be his “eyes and ears” back at camp. And Debbie says this:

There’s not a line drawn in the sand, there’s a line drawn in concrete. Because now that we have Sarah, myself, Sierra, Troyzan, Brad, and Tai, we are a six that are not going to be blown away by the wind or the tide.

This sentiment of an “unbreakable” six is repeated by Brad, Sierra, Debbie, Tai, and Troy multiple times through the episode. They never saw a flip coming.
But Sarah was never on board with that. The morning after Tribal, she gives this confessional:

As much as people want to think the line’s drawn in the sand. Well I hate to break it to people, but the tide comes up pretty quickly, and that line gets washed away pretty quickly.

It really speaks to the depth of the bonds Sarah was able to make with players that no one ever saw her duplicity coming – even though she had just turned on Andrea and Cirie, and left her closest ally Zeke out of the loop the night before at Tribal.
Sarah flipping (again) here also shows off one of the things that makes Sarah’s game really stand out this season – she was the only player who was consistently able to work with, and subsequently connect, players from opposing sides. Once the Ozzy vote happened at F12, there really was a line drawn in the sand – for everyone except Sarah. Andrea⁵, Aubry^3,35, and Cirie^9,32 all had no working relationships with Sierra, Brad, Debbie, or Troyzan, and Zeke had pretty much no relationships at all besides his connection to Sarah². Part of why the Power Six felt so comfortable is because none of them had relationships with the bottom 5, which gave the bottom 5 very few inroads to potentially swing the game. The one exception was Sarah, who managed to somehow be in tight with the Power Six and have incredibly close bonds with Cirie^9,32, Andrea^30,31, and Zeke^1,2 – who says in the episode right after Tribal that his only option is to vote with the Power Six because of his blowup with Andrea, but ends up voting with Andrea this round because Sarah asks him to². And while she didn’t have quite that level of bond with Aubry and Michaela, she was still tighter to them than most anyone else; Aubry said she was “willing to risk my whole game” on Sarah³³, and Michaela said the only two people she could talk with the whole merge were Cirie and Sarah³⁴.
I also want to emphasize here that Sarah already had plans of flipping again immediately after the F12 Tribal Council. This was not an instance of someone in the majority being wrongfully taken in by the desperate pleas of those at the bottom; she was looking to make a move, the only question she had was when to make the move. In the conversation the episode shows between her and Cirie, Sarah is the one to bring up the potential of flipping when she asks Cirie who she thinks is in charge and who would look best in front of the jury. And in Cirie’s confessional describing the conversation, she says that Sarah already knows it’s a move she wants to make; it’s just a matter of pushing her to the point of actually committing to do it.
The reason Sarah was considering waiting to flip was because of Sierra telling her that she was in her F3; which Sierra has confirmed in exit press was true¹⁴, though she could never firmly decide if she was going to go all the way with Brad or Sarah. This gave Sarah reason to hesitate, because she didn’t want to flip too early and ruin a good relationship; that’s why she says in confessional that Survivor is a “numbers game”. Debbie throwing her name out to Aubry is what pushed Sarah over the edge; she knew she was in tight with Sierra and Tai, but didn’t want to risk that Brad and Debbie could take her place in a potential F3¹.
Again, this is an example where Sarah didn’t pick the target; but it is entirely wrong to say she “followed orders” here. As this bonus confessional of Aubry’s shows³³, a huge part of why Debbie ended up being the target was specifically to appeal to Sarah, who was the only member of the Power Six that Cirie, Andrea, and Aubry felt they could flip. Sarah was in such a good position here that she didn’t even have to throw out a name; people were jumping at the chance to do it for her.
Zeke
I think Zeke’s vote-off at F10 is what really cemented the impression for Sarah’s detractors that she just following other people’s lead throughout the season. That analysis misses a lot that went into this vote.
The fighting between Zeke and Andrea was much worse than the show suggests; Sarah¹, Zeke², and Aubry³ all said that you could hear them screaming at the well all the way back in camp. And they blew up at each other several times, it wasn’t just the night they got back from the Ozzy vote. Living with the two of them was becoming deeply uncomfortable, and beyond just the personal element, both really wanted the other gone since it was open knowledge that they had been gunning for each other.
Sarah and Zeke’s original plan was to vote Sierra off at F10, and get numbers together to take out Andrea at F9². But once Andrea won immunity, she put her foot down that Zeke go at 10; as she says in the episode, knowing you’re safe when you’re going to war with someone makes a huge difference.
Sarah was extremely hamstrung by the fact that Andrea had immunity. As she notes on RHAP^1, she would have had a lot more bargaining power if she could’ve been pushing for Andrea to go home instead of Zeke, but instead Andrea winning immunity meant that all Sarah could push for was a member of the minority alliance going home. And Sarah did have support in keeping Zeke; as this confessional from Aubry lays out, both Sarah and Michaela wanted Zeke to stay and Aubry was on the fence not sure which side to fall on³⁵.
Sarah decided she was okay with Zeke going for two reasons: Zeke pulled her aside and said he was okay if she voted him out^1,13, and she knew how important it would be to have someone campaigning for her on the jury. Going out as the Mayor of Ponderosa in Cagayan, Sarah had a front row seat to the entire jury experience; and as the victim of Kass’ game-changing (™) flip, she also knew how pissed potential jurors could get after a move like that¹. By sending Zeke out after Ozzy and Debbie, she knew she would have someone openly fighting for her to those already bitter, as well as a buffer between two bitter jurors and people who went to Ponderosa neutral¹. And this strategy paid off tremendously; in Zeke’s first “Thoughts on Tribal” video, he says that Sarah was playing a great game but was worried that she was angering too many jurors²². But at F8, once him and Sierra are now on the jury, he says that he hopes people in the game mistake Debbie’s negative attitude toward Sarah as reflective of the whole jury and make the mistake of leaving her in the game, where she would be one of the jury’s favorites at FTC²³.
So while Cirie and Andrea got their way over Sarah this round, it is far from being as simple as “following orders”. Andrea winning immunity made it impossible for Sarah to go after her real target, and she only gave in on voting off Zeke because she had two very good reasons to do so.
Getting the Legacy Advantage
At F9, everyone in the majority alliance (Andrea/Cirie/Aubry/Sarah/Michaela) was set on voting off Sierra or Brad; it was just a question of which one would go. Cirie wanted the vote to be Brad because she was worried he was going to go on an immunity run, and because they never got along^26,32.
Sarah was originally leaning towards voting Brad off too; she was close to him through Troyzan^1,4, but was much closer with Sierra. After Sierra shared her information about the Legacy Advantage, Sarah felt confident that she was solidly in Sierra’s F3 plans, especially with Debbie gone.
Sarah didn’t change to targeting Sierra until after the Family Visit, when her husband Wyatt suggested she should vote Sierra off now to get the advantage as early as possible¹. I’ve seen people use this to discredit Sarah’s game, but I don’t agree with that analysis; she was always going to make a play for Sierra’s advantage, she just wanted to keep Sierra in the game until after she had taken out Andrea, which was a long-term goal of hers. And the vote always would’ve ended up on Sierra anyway, because Brad wins immunity. Sarah’s husband giving her advice had literally no effect on her game.
It was Sarah’s phenomenal social game that put her in the position to get Sierra’s advantage. This is what Sierra had said in confessional:

Sarah has been my closest friend. Not even alliance, friend

Sarah did such a good job cultivating this alliance that Sierra was still choosing her over Brad, even though she’d voted against Sierra the last two tribals in a row.
And it was Sarah’s idea to put on a show as the votes were read at Tribal Council; while Jeff showed votes for Sierra and Andrea, Sarah was intentionally making eye contact and giving Sierra thumbs up after each one¹. As soon as the tide turned, Sarah turned on the waterworks; looking genuinely blindsided and devastated to see Sierra go. Sierra confirmed in her exit press with RHAP that this is what sealed the deal on who she was giving the Legacy Advantage to; Sarah looked shattered, whereas Brad looked stoic, so she believed it was Brad who flipped¹⁴. This is a testament to both Sarah’s social game and acting skills. This is what Sierra said as she gave away her advantage:

I will be giving it to Sarah. She was honest with me and real with me out here and deserves to win this game

Blindsiding Andrea
This move belongs 100% to Sarah, and she got several people to work against their own best interests to pull it off.
While the edit presents it as Cirie’s idea to take out Andrea because she was talking about getting rid of Sarah, that’s only half the story. Sarah had already pitched Cirie on voting Andrea, but Cirie was hesitant to make the move so early. Sarah baited Andrea into admitting she only wanted to keep Cirie to the F4, and then took that information back to Cirie^3,5. That’s what pushed Cirie over the edge; because in that moment she thought only Sarah (of the players who actually had control in the game) was willing to take her to the F3.
This was a mistake for Cirie because Andrea had no connection to Brad, Tai, and Troy, and knew she couldn’t go to the end with them⁵. Whereas Sarah was the closest person in the game with those three and planned on using them down the road. This is the first vote where she starts trading physical goods; knowing she was going to blindside Andrea anyway, she offered to give her bracelet to Troy as a good-faith gesture to show she was willing to take out one of her own to save him and Brad¹.
Part of why it was so easy to blindside Andrea here is because Sarah had developed such a close bond (the other part is that Cirie had also developed a tight bond with Andrea). This is what Andrea said in exit press:

I was very surprised that they didn't show how close I felt with Sarah. It seems like watching the show that I don't even have a relationship with Sarah, but Sarah and I played together from day one, and from the first day I felt super close with Sarah and Zeke and Cirie. I thought of Sarah as a sister. We bonded. I really, really liked her, so it was weird looking at what Sarah said about me, it was odd. Because I really, really enjoyed her out there and I had no idea she was coming for me the entire time basically post-merge.³⁰

Non-Transferrable
Oh boy is there a lot to get into here.
The first thing I want to make clear is that Sarah was absolutely correct here, and it was Cirie who had the wrong read. Sarah, Troy, and Aubry told the exact same story in exit press^1,3,4, which gives it complete credibility in my eyes.
According to them, this is what happened: Aubry was trying to get herself, Tai, Brad, and Troy together to vote Sarah. But Tai didn’t even want to talk about it; trying to convince him it was the right move, Aubry got him to play the game where on the count of three they’d both say who the biggest threat was, and they both said “Sarah”. Tai immediately looked guilty, and ran to tell Sarah; Aubry watched him go, and booked it to Cirie to try and beat Tai to the punch. Both Sarah and Cirie came away believing the person they talked to, and reached a deadlock; trying to convince Cirie she was right, Sarah agreed to give her the steal-a-vote as collateral.
But Cirie still believed Aubry, and in a genuine attempt to help Sarah’s game³² decided to steal her vote at Tribal.
A lot has been made about the fact that it was Troy, not Sarah, who pointed to the “non-transferrable” line on the advantage. But people who get caught up on the semantics of that don’t understand one key fact: Survivor is basically a lawless land with no rules. Sarah was using the actual definition of the word steal, which would have allowed her to let Cirie hold the advantage but not play it. Whereas Probst was using the “possession is 9/10ths of the law” definition. There is no precedent in Survivor history that would have made it clear whose definition would have been the technically correct one, and I think it is entirely reasonable for Sarah to have assumed her legal, police officer definition of the word “steal” would be correct. But I’m sure the producers had never even considered this scenario to begin with – it speaks volumes that Jeff 1) didn’t know ahead of time that the advantage was non-transferrable 2) didn’t even notice the first time Cirie read it aloud that it said non-transferrable, and had to have that pointed out to him by Troy, which led to Cirie reading the note again. Going all the way back to Cook Islands, the producers have intentionally left a grey area when it comes to rules like this; most likely so they can decide to pick whichever would be more entertaining in the moment. Even Palau has an example of how loose Survivor rules are; Jeff tried to get Ian and Tom to change to one foot in the final challenge, and Tom was only able to shut it down when he threatened to sue CBS over it.
And all of this is really a moot point because Sarah did know the advantage was non-transferrable – we literally watch her read those words aloud on-screen when she gets it – she just didn’t think it was necessary to point that out because she believed “non-transferrable” and “cannot be stolen” were synonymous. If it actually came to the point of Jeff saying Cirie was allowed to play the advantage, I’m sure Sarah would’ve put her foot down on the issue. The only reason the story’s been spun as “Troy saved the day!” is because Troy is the one telling the story and consistently bends over backwards to give himself credit for the smallest things.
While it was technically a mistake for Sarah to give Cirie the advantage, considering the choices Cirie made with it, I don’t hold it too much against Sarah. First, this was the complete wrong move for Cirie to make – from having the wrong read on Aubry to not properly thinking through the consequences – and Cirie has made so few mistakes in 4 seasons of Survivor that I can probably count them on one hand, so it would be irrational to assume Cirie would do something so irrational. Second, Cirie was doing this only because she thought it was in Sarah’s best interests³²; it’s not like she was trying to use Sarah’s advantage against her. She made this move thinking it would solidify Sarah’s place in the F3.
Once everything went pear-shaped, the target landed on Michaela for a few reasons: Brad and Troy really wanted her gone; when Sarah whispered across Tribal for them to vote Cirie, they looked hesitant, but nodded eagerly when she threw out Michaela’s name. Even though Sarah could’ve pressed the issue and made it Cirie²⁵, she decided it made more sense to vote out Michaela because she was a threat to Brad winning immunity¹. In an example of Sarah thinking incredibly well on the fly, she gave Troy her bracelet again as a showing of trust, really building up the idea that it meant something to her and that it kept her honest¹.
While some people might critique how she uses the vote steal, I think it was the right call; as she says on RHAP¹, she had to use it once everyone knew she had it. When she pitched Tai on voting off Michaela, he looked hesitant; by taking his vote she removed the possibility that he could team up with Michaela, Cirie, and Aubry to vote her off.
Final 6
This is another vote with a lot of moving parts, but I’ve done my best to piece everyone’s story together.
Cirie, Aubry, and Tai all voted Sarah (3), Sarah and Troy voted Tai (2), and Brad voted Aubry (1). There’s only two explanations for the votes to breakdown like that: 1) Cirie pulled off another 3-2-1 2) Sarah, Brad, and Troy knew they were going to be safe, and split their votes accordingly. But there’s a couple complications with both of those theories.
Let’s start with the 3-2-1 theory; it’s pretty clear this didn’t happen. Here is Cirie’s words:
We were voting Sarah out. That was it. There was no 3-2-1. I’m not really sure why Brad voted Aubry.³²
This is backed up by Sarah’s F6 interview with RHAP, where she says she was surprised to get 3 votes at F6 because she thought Tai wouldn’t vote for her¹⁷; she says nothing about thinking she had Cirie’s vote, and there’s no way that she thought the votes would split 2-2-2 because her side was voting Tai, so they could not have explained that plan to Tai. And based on her RHAP deep dive, it’s pretty clear she was out on Cirie as an endgame ally after the vote-steal debacle¹, which is backed up by Cirie’s exit press³².
That leaves us with Sarah, Brad, and Troy all knowing they had immunity and splitting the votes because of this, which is Sarah’s version of events; according to her, she told the guys about her Legacy Advantage at the F6 reward, and Troy told her and Brad about his idol¹. The problem with this is that Troy doesn’t think Sarah knew about his idol^4,17 (he did seem vaguely open to the idea that he’d forgotten, though). I kind of think Troy must either have forgotten or be lying, because if Cirie wasn’t pulling a 3-2-1, there is literally no other reason for Brad to vote Aubry. Sarah has also been incredibly open in exit press – admitting to pre-game alliances (WaW) and that she was shocked to get three votes at F6 – it doesn’t make sense to me that she’d make up a lie here (because why lie about intentionally splitting votes but then not also lie and say you knew you’d get 3 votes?)
Regardless, there’s one thing for sure: Sarah knew she would be safe no matter what at F6 and played accordingly. She had no idea she would get three votes at Tribal⁸, assuming Tai was still on her side¹⁷. I don’t really think this matters, though, because it’s pretty clear the only reason Sarah played the way she did this round is because she knew she was safe; throughout the whole season, she went out of her way to make the person going home feel safe, but says she didn’t talk to Tai the whole day¹⁷ – clearly a symptom of her knowing she would be safe. It’s really impossible to say what would have happened without Advantagegeddon, because so many players only made the choices they did because they knew they were safe.
Final Four
Sarah had set herself up well enough that she had at least a 75% of making FTC; she made sure to get Brad’s wedding ring and Troy’s bracelet at F6 so they wouldn’t turn on her – and they trusted her enough to agree to the deal at this point because she’d done such a good job giving them the bracelet twice before. In reality it was meaningless to her; it cost 7$ and was easily replaced¹.
The only way they would vote against her is if Tai won immunity. But I think she still had a strong chance of making it to FTC if Tai won immunity (at this point even the jury assumed Brad would win the FIC⁹, though, so this was a very remote possibility); him and Sarah had an incredibly close bond, and Tai is famously easy to sway. This is what he said in exit press:

The only thing I could do was work with Sarah, to make fire. That was my commitment to her.³⁸

Of course, this is said in the context of knowing Brad and Troy won’t take him, so it’s hard to know if he would still feel this commitment to Sarah if he won immunity; but on RHAP, Sarah said that Tai told her he wanted to go to the end with her¹.
Jury Management
Like I said at the top of the post, there’s two parts to Sarah’s social game: the relationships she builds and exploits in-game, and then the way players feel after they’re voted out – jury management. Before I get into her jury management, I want to call attention to her social game; which really is phenomenal.
We see that Sarah connects immediately with Cirie on the first day, and Ozzy¹¹, Debbie¹², Sierra¹⁴, Zeke^2,13, Andrea^5,20,30, and Tai³⁷ have all confirmed they were tight with Sarah from Day 1. Troy has confirmed she connected with him as soon as they swapped to Tavua⁴.
She also had a ton of options when the merge rolled around; Sierra¹⁴, Andrea⁵, Cirie⁹, Tai¹, Troy⁴, and Brad all had her in their F3 plans. Sarah appears to be so wishy-washy in her decision making because she had so many choices; she could vote out anyone in the first handful of post-merge rounds and still be left with several different F3 plans.
Almost everyone on the jury left the game thinking they were Sarah’s best friend^{11,12,13,14,15,20,25}. This is how she described it:

The person [who got voted out] would walk in and they would go, “who do you think voted you out?” And my name wouldn’t come up and they’re like, “No, it was Sarah!” and they’re like “What?!”⁶

This is backed up by several of the “Thoughts of the Jury” segments^{23,24,25,26,27}, as well as Michaela’s “Playing with Champions” interview before WaW⁷, and is further evidenced by Sierra giving Sarah the Legacy advantage after she was voted out.
Where Sarah’s social game gets dicey is her jury management. The incredibly close bonds she forms with people makes them highly unlikely to turn against her, but it makes the sting of her betrayal that much worse once they’re voted out. Several people on the Game Changers jury felt incredibly burned by Sarah, and weren’t shy in saying so.
There’s a few specific things in particular that seems to have really caused people to be hurt by Sarah; both Ozzy and Debbie list her as the most painful betrayal, and specifically cite the fact that she swore on her son’s life^11,12; which Aubry also mentioned in her deep dive on RHAP³. Andrea brings up that Sarah went out of her way to spend time with her on the day she went home, which Andrea felt was rubbing salt in the wound²⁵; in her Jury Speaks, she says she feels “gross” about Sarah, and openly wonders if she’s a sociopath²⁰.
BUT, with all that being said, I think the degree to which Sarah was in trouble in front of a potential jury has been greatly overstated. There’s a few key misconceptions I want to set straight in this section – while there was a group of people extremely hurt by Sarah, she had a strong and incredibly vocal faction campaigning for her, and never would have lost to Brad even if he was nice to Tai at F5 and F4. I’ll run through the entire jury to back up these claims. That's gonna have to go in the comments section, though, because I've maxed out the word count.

Two days after the invasion of the training center by their supporters, Marseille knew another rocky day on tuesday as André Villas-Boas resigned, invoking disagreements with the direction regarding the sporting decisions. So it's with a total serenity that the team was back on the pitch in Lens, a team they lost against two weeks ago.
Not a lot top matches to follow this matchday but it was interesting to see if Paris managed to make up for the upsetting loss in Lorient last sunday and if Lille and Lyon could capitalize on it.

Appetizers

• Deprived from the confrontation in Marseille last sunday, Rennes had the opportunity to take three points against the fellow Bretons from Lorient. And it started that way when Martin Terrier opened the score early in the game. But as usual lately, Rennes didn't manage to be dangerous enough to get a second goal and were punished by a late equalizer from Quentin Boisgard. Now 8 points behind Monaco (though with a match to play), Rennes' potential CL spot seems far gone. As for Lorient, it's another good result for the Merlus following the upset against PSG four days ago.
  
• After four wins in a row by a one goal difference, Lille finally managed to make the score blow up. The victims were Bordeaux who after a good sequence had the unfortunate luck of playing consecutively Lyon and Lille. One more time, Yusuf Yazıcı scored an important goal early in the second half before his north american partners Timothy Weah and Jonathan David added their contributions.
  
• The fuckup of the day has to be credited to Strasbourg who were on an easy path to getting three points, ahead 2-0 at the 83rd minute against a team, Brest, who had lost their last four matches. Unfortunately for the alsatians, they were not able to hold the result. First it was Gaëtan Charbonnier who reduced the gap, then Jérémy Le Douaron after four minutes of additional time who gave a precious point but more importantly who stopped the dark series of the Bretons.
  
• Much like against Bordeaux last friday, Lyon suffered in Dijon, though more on an attacking point of view this time, but gathered the essential. Rudi Garcia, who coached Dijon for five years, can thank Paquetá who scored the sole goal in the middle of the first half, keeping Lyon two points behind Lille and one ahead of Paris.
  
• Speaking of Paris, the club from the capital had to make everyone forget about the loss in Lorient, "an accident" according to Mauricio Pochettino. Once again facing the last team in the ranking (that still got twice as many balls in the penalty box as PSG), this evening was much easier for the parisians, even though they were still deprived from Marquinhos, Navas and Verratti, on top of Neymar, suspended. Di María finally provided a noteworthy performance with a goal and an assist, before Mbappé, the other struggling parisian, lobbed Reynet beautifully in the second half.
  
• Six wins in a row for Monaco, clearly the most in-form team of the league. But this one has a special taste as it was during the Riviera derby against the ever struggling Nice and their new-look central defense (Todibo-Saliba). Two Ben Yedder goals (including a missile of a free-kick) sandwiched the Lees Melou equalizer. The bad news for Nice, the 10th defeat of the season aside, is the injury of Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, an awful ACL rupture, his second in 14 months and the second of the season for Nice after Dante a few months ago.
  
• Arkadiusz Milik must wonder where he set foot one week ago. At least he would have if he didn't come from Naples. Anyway after 30 minutes against Monaco where he couldn't do much, the Pole was in the starting eleven for the first time and he managed to be on the scoresheet tap-ining the second OM goal of the day right before half-time. The thing is, life isn't supposed to be easy for Marseille at the moment. And the fact that they had two central defenders playing as midfielders shows that on top of everything else, they also were lacking players. And the second half was to the advantage of Lens who took only 20 seconds to get closer before equalizing 15 minutes later. In the end the 2-2 almost looks like a disappointing result for the home team who completely dominated the last 45 minutes and could have scored a lot more.
  
• Records are meant to be broken and Nantes hired the right man to do just that. After becoming the first Nantes coach not to win in his first five matches, Raymond Domenech doesn't want anyone to take his title so another draw made the tally go up to six (and in total 14 consecutive matches without a win for the Canaris). This time, it was Saint-Étienne who had the opportunity to take points. It took a long time for les Verts who were down for 20 minutes after the Kolo Muani goal but Mahdi Camara managed to equalize.
  
• Oddly enough, only the top 4 won their matches yesterday, widening the gap between them and the rest.
  

Main Course

Matches

Home	Score	Away
Stade Rennais	1-1	FC Lorient
Terrier 14'		Boisgard 83'
FC Metz	1-1	Montpellier Hérault SC
Sarr 47'		Laborde 70'
Girondins de Bordeaux	0-3	Lille OSC
		Yazıcı 54', Weah 66', David 89'
RC Strasbourg	2-2	Stade Brestois
Thomasson 8', Aholou 70'		Charbonnier 83', Le Douaron 90'+4
Stade de Reims	0-0	Angers SCO
Dijon FCO	0-1	Olympique Lyonnais
		Paquetá 22'
Paris Saint-Germain	3-0	Nîmes Olympique
Di María 18', Sarabia 36', Mbappé 68'
AS Monaco	2-1	OGC Nice
Ben Yedder (p) 28', Ben Yedder 51'		Lees Melou 47'
RC Lens	2-2	Olympique de Marseille
Sotoca 46', Medina 61'		Thauvin 37', Milik 45'+3
AS Saint-Étienne	1-1	FC Nantes
Camara 57'		Kolo Muani 36'

​

Table

#		Team	Pts	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1		Lille OSC	51	23	15	6	2	40	15	+25
2		Olympique Lyonnais	49	23	14	7	2	47	20	+27
3		Paris Saint-Germain	48	23	15	3	5	53	14	+39
4		AS Monaco	45	23	14	3	6	46	32	+14
5		Stade Rennais	37	22	10	7	5	31	24	+7
6		FC Metz	35	23	9	8	6	28	21	+7
7		RC Lens	35	23	10	5	8	34	33	+1
8		Angers SCO	34	23	10	4	9	29	34	-5
9		Olympique de Marseille	33	21	9	6	6	29	24	+5
10		Girondins de Bordeaux	32	23	9	5	9	26	27	-1
11		Montpellier HSC	29	23	8	5	10	35	42	-7
12		Stade de Reims	28	23	7	7	9	30	31	-1
13		Stade Brestois	27	23	8	3	12	35	43	-8
14		OGC Nice	26	22	7	5	10	24	31	-7
15		RC Strasbourg	25	23	7	4	12	32	36	-4
16		AS Saint-Étienne	23	23	5	8	10	22	36	-14
17		FC Nantes	19	23	3	10	10	22	37	-15
18		FC Lorient	19	22	5	4	13	27	43	-16
19		Dijon FCO	15	23	2	9	12	15	32	-17
20		Nîmes Olympique	15	22	4	3	15	17	47	-30

​ 1-2 Champions League group stage
3 Champions League qualifiers round 3
4 Europa League group stage
5 Europa Conference League play-offs
18 Relegation play-offs
19-20 Relegation to Ligue 2
​

Goals

Player	Team	Goals	This week
Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain	15	(+1)
Boulaye Dia	Stade de Reims	12
Wissam Ben Yedder	AS Monaco	11	(+2)
Memphis Depay	Olympique Lyonnais	.
Kevin Volland	AS Monaco	.
Ludovic Ajorque	RC Strasbourg	10
Karl Toko Ekambi	Olympique Lyonnais	.
Andy Delort	Montpellier HSC	9
Tino Kadewere	Olympique Lyonnais	.
Gaël Kakuta	RC Lens	.
Moise Kean	Paris Saint-Germain	.
Burak Yılmaz	Lille OSC	.
Habib Diallo	RC Strasbourg	7
Franck Honorat	Stade Brestois	.
Gaëtan Laborde	Montpellier HSC	.	(+1)
Florian Thauvin	Olympique de Marseille	.	(+1)
Yusuf Yazıcı	Lille OSC	.	(+1)

​

Assists

Player	Team	Assists
Jonathan Bamba	Lille OSC	8
Florian Thauvin	Olympique de Marseille	7
Gaëtan Laborde	Montpellier HSC	.
Andy Delort	Montpellier HSC	6
Memphis Depay	Olympique Lyonnais	.
Ángel Di María	Paris Saint-Germain	.
Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain	.
Kevin Volland	AS Monaco	5
Romain Perraud	Stade Brestois	.
Junior Sambia	Montpellier HSC	.

​

COVID Championship

(May not be 100% accurate)

Team	COVID cases
AS Saint-Étienne	19
OGC Nice	17
RC Lens	14
FC Lorient	13
Paris Saint-Germain	.
Montpellier Hérault SC	11
FC Nantes	10
RC Strasbourg	9
Lille OSC	.
Olympique de Marseille	.
Olympique Lyonnais	6
AS Monaco	.
Dijon FCO	5
Nîmes Olympique	.
Stade Rennais	.
FC Metz	4
Angers SCO	3
Girondins de Bordeaux	1
Stade Brestois	.
Stade de Reims	.

Dessert

Top 3 Goals of the Week

#	Player	Match
1	Wissam Ben Yedder	AS Monaco vs OGC Nice
2	Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain vs Nîmes Olympique
3	Pape Sarr	FC Metz vs Montpellier Hérault SC

​

The Toulouse Corner

It's been a month and a half since we discussed about Ligue 2 so it's more than time to give you a complete update.
First of all, much like its big sister, the league is very close at the top with seven teams having a decent chance to go up at the end of the season. A group that now contains Valenciennes who have been the most consistent team since the new year with 4 wins and 2 draws, allowing them to gain four places in the ranking.
At the top, the first two teams lost on tuesday : the leader Troyes fell in Clermont, another contender for the promotion, while their local rival Auxerre, who despite two losses in a row previous this match are still in the battle, were beating Toulouse to make up for it.
Troyes is an interesting case. Now coached by the former Toulouse and Marseille player Laurent Batlles, the team, which is now under the City Group banner, has been under the spotlights lately due to their playing style and the tactical system put in place by Batlles, a 3-4-3 diamond that attracted some attention from the spanish press that compared it to the old systems used by Johan Cruyff at FC Barcelona and Louis Van Gaal at Ajax. The coach denied having been inspired by them, saying he's just setting up a system favoring his players' strengths but nevertheless, it's not often that Ligue 2 is looked upon by the foreign land (besides the usual english and german raids during the transfer windows).
If we except the recent loss in Auxerre, Toulouse have been extremely consistent and definitely look like a promotion team. Indeed, they had not lost since early november, an epic accident that I related here. In the meantime, the Violets have aggregated 10 wins and 3 draws with the same good players still leading the team (Spierings, Van den Boomen, Adli).
Paris FC however still suffer from inconsistency perfectly displayed by their last game against Niort. The parisiand lead 2-0, then 3-1 before letting two goals in, conceding another frustrating and preventable draw. The team that looked like a train heading towards Ligue 1 a couple of months ago is unfortunately further and further from the goal.
At the bottom, Châteauroux are now the Lanterne Rouge despite a 4-0 two days ago against Chambly. Ahead of them, Pau which won their last two matches and are maybe on the path of salvation, but more notably and shockingly Guingamp with an appalling 22 points in 23 matches. The Bretons who lost in additional time in Grenoble have won one match in the last 3 months and a half and could be an unexpected candidate for relegation in National 1, a level they have not been at in the last ten years.
The complete Ligue 2 results
Ranking
​

L'Équipe Team of the Week

https://imgur.com/a/FSN0tbk
​

Quotes

Christophe Galtier, Lille coach :

It is the victory of a group, those who start the match, those who finish, and those who are unfortunately in the stands who are also behind the group. It is a great satisfaction to see a state of mind like that. [...] I exchange, I share and I also impose many things on my players, with a lot of humility, demands and ambition, which is not synonymous with pretentiousness. Do you know why it's a winning coaching ? Because I have good players at my disposal.

Franck Haise, Lens coach :

The score was not hyper logical but the players were present until the end. There is a little disappointment not to put the third goal in because the second period is totally in our favour, even if I don't forget that Marseille had a big chance at 2-1. I'm not surprised we're at this level because we've been working on this for months but I'm pretty happy with what the players are producing and have been for a while.

Christophe Pelissier, Lorient coach :

It is often said that you don't change a winning team. Against Paris I had changed seven players, I changed six today, because I've been telling the players from the beginning that it's not a team that's going to be successful, it's a group. On Wednesday at half-time against Dijon (down 2-1) we almost had one foot in Ligue 2. One week later, we can hope. [...] We had a lot of headwinds between the results and Covid. The rain will come back, but for the moment we are taking advantage of the good weather.

Wissam Ben Yedder, Monaco forward :

Since Toulouse, I don't think I've scored a free kick. I was feeling good about this beautiful play combination. I am very proud because it is also the winning goal. I'm used to scoring more in the box and being on the lookout for the second ball. This goal is important. It allows us to win this 100th derby.

ThePr1d3, Rennes supporter :

Rennes is the exact opposite of the beltway. It circulates very well but it's never dangerous.

​

Next matchday

Saturday 06/02, 17:00
FC Lorient - Stade de Reims
Saturday 06/02, 19:00
Olympique Lyonnais - RC Strasbourg
Saturday 06/02, 21:00
RC Lens - Stade Rennais
Sunday 07/02, 13:00
Stade Brestois - Girondins de Bordeaux
Sunday 07/02, 15:00
AS Saint-Étienne - FC Metz
Nîmes Olympique - AS Monaco
Montpellier Hérault SC - Dijon FCO
OGC Nice - Angers SCO
Sunday 07/02, 17:00
FC Nantes - Lille OSC
Sunday 07/02, 21:00
Olympique de Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain
Thanks a lot to Hippemann and NotMeladroit for all the clips and the tables ! For more news about the best league in the world (except for the other four) and to improve your french, come and subscribe to /Ligue1.
All feedbacks are welcome !
Previous matchdays :
Season 2020-2021
M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - M7 - M8 - M9 - M10 - M11 - M12 - M13 - M14 - M15 - M16 - M17 - Mid-Season - M18 - M19 - M20 - M21 - M22
Season 2019-2020
M12 - M13 - M14 - M15 - M16 - M17 - M18 - M19 - M20 - M21 - M22 - M23 - M24 - M25 - M26 - M27 - M28