Previously on The Magicians...
The following books have been removed from circulation for revisions...
They're filling in the endings of our books.
I'm sorry about your friend's books, but...
Just go while you still have the chance.
Technically, I have sexually transmitted lycanthropy.
The other Josh told me something terrible
was going to happen to him.
It was called "The Quickening."
It's going to happen to me, too.
- I'm... - A full-on goddess.
I'm not connected to anything anymore.
My dad and I used to build model airplanes.
You got your hands on this, and it ended up in 20 pieces.
Magic's gone. I went into remission a week later.
You turned your back on what happens to your dad.
It's a voicemail from my mom.
Will you sit here for a minute?
Yeah.
I know Bacchus. He's a friend.
Then you'll poison him.
You know what's incredible? How you can be such a good friend
and such a terrible friend at the exact same time.
Gods are so tricky.
They took this part of me that knew things.
How long has he been there?
Since we got back from Fillory.
- He brought you back? - I was as surprised as you.
- Meanwhile, you are baking. - Condolence muffins.
For Quentin?
His dad just passed away.
And a bullshit yuppie pastry is gonna help him with that?
A muffin is not a pastry. It's a quickbread.
What the hell is wrong with you?
I had to help The Monster murder a friend of mine, and I'm not happy about it.
From the looks of it, neither is he.
Well, I don't get why he's depressed.
He got what he wanted.
Where's Darth Eliot?
She's gonna get us all killed.
I have examined this over and over again,
and it still won't reveal itself to me.
Why can't I remember anything?
I don't know. Total drag, I get you.
But that's kind of what goes along with a human body.
Aches, pains, can't remember shit.
And since you're done with your whole deal, I was thinking...
What deal are you talking about?
We led you to Bacchus.
You killed him.
- So now that we're done-sies... - Don't speak to me of done-sies.
Only Bacchus is done-sies.
I'm just saying, you got your vengeance.
Might wanna try another body.
Maybe a non-human one.
I don't know.
See if it helps with the whole remembering thing.
I'm good.
Fuck.
You look like you could use a big ball of carbs.
Jesus tits, this is a good ball of carbs.
I thought you were pissed at me.
Oh, I'm not gonna pretend I'm happy about Bacchus,
but I'm still sorry about Eliot.
Josh? Are you okay?
Oh.
Oh...
You want me to come?
I'm gonna miss the funeral.
I missed everything leading up to it.
There's nothing you can say to my mom that'll change that.
Well, I could say that it's not your fault.
The way she sees it, she's the grown-up
and I'm still making the same kid mistakes I always did.
- You break things. - I break things.
Parents are the worst.
What about you?
Oh, you know.
I was gonna look through all the stolen books
Marina has stashed around.
See if I could find out why I'm indestructible
yet can't do magic.
What about Penny? He still, uh, sweating you?
- He's not sweating me. - Oh, right.
He's just following you around with that "I'm totally into you,
"but I'm not gonna say anything about it" vibe.
- Quentin. - What? I'm just saying.
Maybe he could help you with the research.
You're a dick.
I am a dick.
Hey, uh... Penny 23. Look at that.
That sounded real natural.
Why are you skittish as fuck?
Am I? That's... No.
What's in the bag?
Oh, nothing.
- You got blood on your face. - What?
Yeah, look in the mirror.
Oh, no, no, no, no, don't.
It's not what it looks like.
Oh! It looks like a dead animal.
Okay, maybe it is what it looks like.
- Is this 'cause of The Quickening? - I don't know.
- Well, it's something. - Look, I don't know what to do.
Well, I was pretty damn clear about one thing, wasn't I?
- You stay away from... - Hey, guys.
Julia. Hey.
Hey, did Marina stash any books in here?
- What? - Uh... Books? No, I...
- I think in the... Yeah. - The other room?
Yeah, just not in the subject I'm looking for.
About god problems.
You know, like, where did they go for magical medical advice?
Why don't I help you look, you know?
- Uh, what about the Maenads? - The... The Maenads?
The followers of Bacchus'.
They're kind of high priestess/nurses of the gods.
They were always at Bacchus' parties
and when he would get too wrecked, which was always,
they pulled him out and gave him a divine B12 shot or...
Wait, wait, so The Monster killed Bacchus but didn't touch the Maenads?
They're probably still in Fillory.
They were pretty attached to him.
Oh, I... I can take you.
Yeah, that'd be great. Um, thanks, Josh.
Yeah.
You get this Quickening bullshit figured out right now.
Okay.
I didn't think I passed it on. You never said anything.
Oh, I'm sorry. Were you waiting for me to tell you?
You never disclosed your status
to me in the first place.
Because you were
so understanding, I thought you knew.
Uh, it was a little bit of a low point for me, that night.
Oh, well, great to hear.
I don't mean you.
I was going through a bad divorce.
You're the first person
who really seemed to get what I was going through.
Fine, whatever. Look... Look, I just need your help.
What is going on with me? With us? The Quickening?
Well, I don't really know everything.
You're a goddamn cryptozoology professor. What do you know?
Lycanthropy is technically a curse.
Transformations are tied to the lunar cycle
and behavioral changes are mostly non-lethal,
except during The Quickening.
Well, that sounds pretty, pretty bad.
Oh, luckily, it only happens every 30 years or so.
In the 48 hours leading up, all lycanthropes experience urges
starting in the form of nightmares or even waking dreams.
What is the curse trying to make me do?
Have traditional sex with an uninfected person
- or kill them. - Jesus K. LeChrist.
The urges increase as the moon moves towards its aphelion.
The climax, as it were, and the lycanthropic high point
of lupinity or wolf-ness.
I took your class, Helen. I know what lupinity means.
Why can't I just lock myself up in a cage
until The Quickening passes?
Because that won't satisfy the urge.
You need to have sex or kill or you'll rip your own guts out.
That's how the curse is ensured to spread.
It's quite clever, actually.
Oh, yeah, real clever
how I'm going to rape or murder someone
in the next two days, no matter what.
If you try to suppress it, it's always possible you'll do both
or commit suicide.
Just, you know, to have all the options on the table.
What the hell am I going to do?
What... What are we going to do?
- Have you considered Tinder? - What? No.
Because I have a really, really bad STD
and that sort of kills the desire to sleep with anyone.
- So forget... - Mmm-hmm.
Wait.
Did you do that?
Yes. And it worked.
- That is why I am not going crazy right now. - Huh.
Oh, you are very charming, Josh.
I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone
to dance with before, you know,
the wolf makes a choice for you.
Good luck, Josh.
The Librarians don't know I've been living here.
Apologies for the mess.
Oh, and, uh, for how I brought you here.
I didn't mean to be rough.
I just wanted to get you out of sight before you got caught.
You do remember me, don't you? I'm Christopher...
Plover.
You're the child molester who's directly responsible
for Martin Chatwin becoming The Beast.
I also wrote some very popular books.
How did you end up here anyway?
Oh, that's a long and boring story.
The important thing is we can help each other.
- See, I need an extra pair of hands. - No.
And yet I know very well that you could use my help.
You're trying to escape The Order, aren't you?
From the looks of it, we both are.
You didn't leave with Santa Claus. Why not?
- I get sleigh-sick. - You can say what you want.
But I know the real reason... Oh, please don't touch that. Please.
The real reason you stayed behind.
You were looking for your book, yours and your friends'.
Do you have them?
The books are in the Revision Room.
But I happen to know where that is.
So you help me with my little something, and I'll take you there.
Deal?
I don't know why your father made so many of them.
He liked planes.
A creative outlet.
He's dead, Mom. We can stop criticizing him.
I didn't want to be here at all, you know, but there was no one else.
Molly is furious.
You know how she felt about Ted.
I know, I'm sorry, I...
I was traveling and my phone died and I...
You're the only millennial I know
who isn't buried in his phone 24/7.
Are we going to do this again?
What was wrong with him, huh?
People make friends. That's normal.
He was normal. I divorced him, he was so normal,
so where are his goddamn friends?
There was no one at the funeral.
I don't know.
Did he ever date?
Never mind. I don't want to know.
Okay, so we pack these boxes.
Yeah, unless you want to keep all this junk.
I found a guy upstate. He'll take them off your hands,
but you have to get it done by tomorrow.
- I... I got it. - Okay, just, um, be careful.
Don't break anything.
Christ on a goddamn communion wafer.
It's like I'm caught in a real-life game of marry-fuck-kill,
only "marry" is off the table.
- What are you gonna do about it? - I have no goddamn clue.
Why do you think I'm sitting here with my head in my hands,
the traditional Hoberman despair position?
Okay, then here's a plan.
We're going to fix this bullshit.
I don't want to add to your problems, Margo.
So 'cause of that, you're gonna sit back
and just let this shit happen to you?
Huh?
This ain't prom night,
and the only thing I know for sure
is you're not going to fix anything if you nutsack out on me.
I won't nutsack out.
Good. That's what I want to hear.
Because we are going to find a way out of this thing,
or we're gonna die trying.
I'm starting to see why no one's ever beaten this curse. It's like herpes.
Cockroach-in-a-nuclear-war-level impossible to stomp out.
Well, I found some shit on a ritual from an Indonesian tribe.
It's supposed to prevent supernatural transformations.
Or maybe cause them. My Indonesian sucks.
Uber alert.
You know, these surge prices are really getting out of...
Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Okay, surge prices piss me off, too, but are you all right?
I've always been upfront about my L-positive status
with any potential partners before anything happens.
- What's that have to do with Uber? - Isaac wasn't.
Oh.
So how many people did Isaac do doggy-style?
Just one, and I'm going to go warn her now.
Uh-huh. Yup! What a Monday!
So this book is used to help me locate
different worlds via a cooperative spell?
It is called The World Book.
Yes, I can read. So it's like the encyclopedia.
- More like an atlas. - What world are you looking for?
One where I can be happy, where I can belong.
No, it's not what you think. I'm not interested in that.
I just want to go somewhere where I can do no harm.
I'll never do that again. I swear on my life.
Yeah, well, I don't know if I believe you.
I spent years being tortured by Martin,
plenty of time to think on my actions
and regret them.
Did you never unintentionally hurt someone you love, Alice?
I never molested a child.
But, yes, I've done things I regret.
- Don't you deserve happiness? - No.
Oh, come on, don't be so hard on yourself. We all deserve it.
I don't think you do.
I don't particularly care what you think.
You need my help finding the Revision Room.
So either you help me with this spell,
or you're on your own.
- Who are you? - Hi, uh, I'm Josh.
I'm Isaac's friend.
Isaac.
He hooked up with you that one time.
Oh.
Right.
Look, it's a really bad time right now.
Oh, uh, no, Isaac really wanted me to talk to you about something,
and it's kind of an emergency. So can I come in, please?
How do you know Isaac again?
Oh, uh...
He and I met at Jewish camp.
This is kind of weird. I mean, why did he send a friend
instead of, like, calling me himself?
- He's got, uh, laryngitis. - So he can't text?
And he broke all of his fingers.
Anyhoo, I've got to talk to you about Isaac's problem,
which he's embarrassed because he came down with something,
and he's afraid that you might have caught it from him.
- Caught what? - Oh, just a
herpes-like thing.
- He gave me herpes? - I believe I said "herpes-like."
Well, what the hell is it?
The only way to know if you got it is to sort of
go through the symptoms and see if you've been experiencing them.
Okay, Josh from Jewish camp,
I'm going to discuss genital warts
and discharge with you 'cause we just met.
Jesus Christ. Fuck my life!
Look, have you maybe not been feeling yourself lately?
Not really. And I'm beginning to wonder
why I let you in, in the first place.
Great, and, uh, have you maybe been having dreams
that are weird and violent?
Maybe.
Right, well, this last one might sound a little crazy,
but have you maybe been unable to control yourself around guys?
Get out of my apartment.
Oh, wait. No, no, no. This wasn't me
- trying to freak you out. - Seriously, get out!
Okay, please, just let me help you. I just want to help.
It's been a really hard couple of days.
I've been totally freaking, like...
- What's wrong with me? - I know what you mean,
and it's completely normal,
and I assure you, this is not your fault.
That's so good to hear. I mean,
how could I even do that to someone else?
It's a total mess in there.
- Uh, a mess? Uh, where? - Mmm-hmm.
- Jesus tits. - It's not that bad, is it?
Is it possible for an entire forest to do the walk of shame?
Seriously, nature is not supposed to be this sticky.
Uh-oh.
You think she's who we're looking for?
- Whoa, whoa! Wait, wait! Don't! - Why not?
Because you have something to live for?
I'm a Maenad. The god that I'm here to serve is dead.
I literally have nothing to live for.
But thanks, thanks for the less than basic understanding
of my life's purpose.
No, no, no! Wait! Don't, please. We need your help.
Shoshana.
We need your help, Shoshana.
Hmm?
Peach Schnapps.
Bacchus left that for the talking bears to find.
Okay, so how about a toast?
Right? Ba... Bacchus would've wanted us to drink.
God, like, so much. Yeah.
Okay, so to Bacchus.
To Bacchus.
- Oh, God, it smells like pee sangria. - I don't give a shit. Drink it.
- To, uh, Bacchus! - Bacchus.
Whoo!
Oh, that's good shit.
Um, I was a goddess and I gave away my power,
and now I can't use magic. Only I'm indestructible.
So maybe you can help me understand what is going on.
You were a goddess?
Yeah.
If all these other Maenads
hadn't run through the poison wine like a bunch of bitches,
I wouldn't even be in this situation!
Well, maybe if you help us, we can...
Oh...
I'm sorry. What are you... What are you doing?
I'm trying to read your aura.
Maybe we can just get the pine cone out of my face?
- Okay. - That's what I thought.
Inconclusive.
I do know a ritual that could help diagnose you further.
But, um, it's pretty intimate.
Um, okay. I can live with that.
Yeah, the only thing is I... I can't perform it.
Uh, why not?
Well, I don't believe in you.
I can help interpret,
but you need someone who believes in you,
okay, who worships you,
body and soul,
to perform the ritual.
Anyone come to mind?
Fine, I'll help.
Jesus R.R. Christ.
An innocent girl is a murderer
'cause I couldn't get to her in time.
Oh, put your tit back in your training bra, wolf boy.
We don't really know how innocent this girl was.
Sleeping with her Uber driver
sounds like she had a death wish to begin with.
- You're not helping. - Drink.
- Is this a potion? - It's alcohol.
Good enough.
While you were busy with your domestic issues,
I managed to translate this Indonesian ritual,
and good news is this is first-year Brakebills
multi-culti elective crap.
So we can definitely pull it off without breaking the magic bank.
Only prob is finding one exotic ingredient.
Uh, what type of exotic are we talking about here?
We need a living Komodo dragon so we can cut out its heart,
and I heard a rumor Kanye keeps one in his New York apartment.
- That sounds on-brand. - Let's go.
Uh, wait. I have to give you something.
It's loaded with silver bullets.
The Quickening has started to do weird things to me and...
Well, if I wolf-out,
you might need to stop me.
It's not gonna come to that.
I promise.
Now come on. Let's go steal Kanye's lizard.
As you can see, rather hard to get in unseen.
Not if you can bend light.
Regardless, stealing the books isn't really
the biggest issue, is it?
If the Library discovers they're gone, they're gonna come after you.
Yeah, but if they read my book,
they'll know exactly where I'll be.
Yes, but what if they read your book
and still had no idea where you were?
What are you proposing?
When I was writing The Wandering Dune, I was also studying magic.
Now, I kept blowing deadlines
until I found a spell for automatic writing.
Now, you feed it a premise and it constructs an airtight storyline.
I gather they use it in Hollywood all the time.
That explains Netflix.
How does this spell work?
Why, we steal the manuscripts, pull the endings,
cast a spell on them, and then replace them
just before they take them away to bind them as books.
Voilà. Oh, you'll be very surprised
how your stories turn out.
Let me guess.
You'll show me how to do the spell if I help you with the World Book?
Well, that only seems fair, doesn't it?
Look, do you want my help or not?
Mom, I told you I'd have this done by tomorrow, so just...
Jesus.
Hello?
I found these in your dead father's fridge.
They're not quite what I'd hoped they'd be.
You finished with the killing yet?
With the, uh...
What?
Your father's dead. I thought, perhaps, you'd get angry and kill things.
That's what I'd do.
It's not really what people do.
Nowadays, anyway.
You're not going to kill anything?
Interesting.
Frozen peas?
Nope. No, thanks.
Let's go, then.
I'm bored of this food.
Can I just have a few minutes to finish this?
This is important to you?
Yeah, it is.
This is a very interesting game,
the loving your dead dad game.
I don't understand it.
It's not a game. It...
There must be someone who's important to you,
who you... Who you miss.
I don't remember.
But perhaps you're right.
I could learn something from this.
I'll let you play this game.
I will sit still, and I won't kill anything
and I'll watch you while you...
You think about your dead father?
Is that what you're doing?
Yeah. Kind of.
This is the weirdest thing I've ever done.
But maybe it'll be fun.
I... She wasn't lying. This is pretty intimate.
Yeah, well,
you're not the one who has to strip naked and be anointed with oil.
Are you sure you want to do this?
I don't really see another way, do you?
Wait. Um...
Maybe there is another way? Uh...
Something a little less painful?
- Painful? - Not painful. Um...
You know I'm not broken, right?
I'm not some flower or a delicate piece of glass.
I'm a person, and people heal.
Yeah, look, I... I'm just not very comfortable with the way
this is going down, you know?
Yeah, well, this isn't really about you.
So maybe you could just get over yourself.
I'm trying.
It's nothing you haven't seen before.
Ta-da.
I guess I should start.
- I guess you should. - Yeah.
I do what I want Don't do what I'm told
What I'm told
Been riding on the edge
With your heart in a chokehold
Heart in a chokehold
Maybe I'm a lost cause
I...
What's wrong?
I, uh...
I got to go up front.
Won't do what I'm told
Are you asking if you can touch my boobs?
I am asking you if I can touch your boobs.
You can touch my boobs.
Just don't break them.
Ha-ha.
You should know You should know You should know
Oh
What?
No, it's just... It's cold.
Oh, I'm sorry. I can warm it up.
I don't know how to give you my love, babe
'Cause I'm too good at messing it up
Maybe I could change
By now you should know everything is strange
It's weird for me, too, you know.
Give you my love
I don't know how to give you my love
You ready to wash my feet?
- Now what? - Scream!
Now eat it! Uh...
It's not bad, actually.
I told you, vulnerable is not technically endangered.
I think I'm going to be sick.
Don't you dare throw up that lizard heart.
We killed a vulnerable creature
to save your ass.
It better not be for nothing.
Not to mention that is not the way I thought I'd meet Kanye.
It's actually less messed up
than the way I thought it'd be.
Oh, yeah.
You want me, Josh?
You know what would be hot right now?
If you just took me right here in this car.
- Stop the car! - What is it?
Pull the car over right fucking now!
No, no!
Son of a clit!
The ritual didn't work.
Oh, is that why you screamed and ran out of the car?
Just let me in, okay?
Why? So you can wolf-hump me to death?
No, I wanted to do things, but you're safe now, okay?
- It passed. - How?
I kind of turned a tree into a werewolf,
if you know what I'm saying.
Oh, got it.
It's not a permanent solution.
But it's enough to keep the urges off
until we get to where we're going.
You mind telling me where that is, maple dick?
Brakebills.
I thought this would be interesting.
It's not.
I'm almost done. Just...
A little while longer and then we can go.
- Why did you do that? - Slightly more interesting.
No.
Stop it!
I don't understand. Your father is dead, right?
So these belong to you now, do they not?
Yes, they belong to me.
What is your point?
Why are you doing any of this?
Because I told my mom I would, okay?
Jesus Christ, I can't believe I'm having to explain this.
Why does your mother have such strange power over you?
Because once, when I was a kid,
I broke an ashtray.
And now she still fucking thinks
that I break everything.
Because...
Basically, your parents never change how they see you.
No matter what.
So if they can't change how they see you,
then why does it matter?
Because sometimes I think she's right.
Things break around me.
Alice, my dad,
all of goddamn magic.
Then break them on purpose.
They're your planes.
You can do what you want with them.
Maybe you'll feel better.
I don't mean to be rude,
but here I am helping as promised without an assurance you'll do the same.
Jesus, you're relentless.
Okay, fine. I'll help you with your spell.
Yet you seem to hate yourself for it.
I mean, you can understand my worry.
I don't have to be happy about it.
A word of advice.
If you want to survive, stop torturing yourself.
Maybe you could do with a little more self-hatred.
And fewer Mr. Rogers vests.
You think that what you've done and who you are, are the same thing.
When they don't match up, you hate yourself.
Alice, they'll never match up.
You don't know anything about me.
I know what it feels like to be unable to change
no matter how much I want to.
Children don't care if you contradict yourself, you know?
Perhaps that's a bad example coming from me,
but I'm just trying to help.
Please just stop doing...
What is it?
The end of Quentin's book.
He's going to die.
Isn't that how all books end?
His ends next week.
And as requested,
the water my feet were bathed in.
That's pretty murky.
Okay, judgey.
What's it mean?
It's too early to say.
This is very interesting, though.
I thought you said you didn't have any power.
- No. I don't. I... I can't do magic. - Those aren't the same.
Oh, this,
this is real weird.
You weren't bullshitting me
when you said you were a goddess, were you?
No, but how... How can I be a goddess if I don't have any power?
Maybe you think you don't, but...
I have never seen anything like this before.
So we're good now?
You're not gonna kill yourself?
No, I can't now.
I have a new deity to follow.
Oh, boy.
I think you're overreacting.
I could've sexually assaulted you or ate you.
I don't honestly know how things would've turned out.
It's no reason to give up. There's got to be a solution.
I've got, what, a couple hours before The Quickening takes over,
and I'm sorry if that makes me a wimp or whatever,
but I don't want to rape or murder anyone.
Oh, come on.
There are plenty of people who deserve to be killed.
I can think of a half dozen at Brakebills alone.
If you can just keep your twat together,
I'm sure I can get at least one of them down here.
I mean, Todd totally owes me.
- He doesn't owe you his life. - Doesn't he?
I can't do it, Margo.
Well, you can't do nothing,
because you'll die in this cage.
At least I can live with that.
I mean, not live exactly,
but you... You get what I'm saying.
This is bullshit.
You're just throwing your life away.
I was thinking more like noble sacrifice.
Screw your noble sacrifice!
What is it with you boys and your noble sacrifice?
I'm not gonna let you do it.
Well, it's not your choice.
You can't fix me, okay?
Some things are just broken,
and there's nothing you can do about it.
Said the quitter right before he quit.
You think I want to die? Of course I fucking don't!
But... But I don't see a way out of this, and frankly you not giving up
is making what I have to do harder.
You want to do something stupid?
Fine by me.
What the hell are you doing?
Something stupider.
This isn't a joke, Margo. I... I'm not going to be able to control myself.
I might kill you or...
- Or... - Or what?
Fuck me?
Margo.
This curse isn't curable.
I don't want you to go through this.
- The... The Quickening is... - Why not?
Because...
I like you.
I like you, too.
And I'm not gonna lose another friend today, okay?
I can't make you kill someone,
but I can consent.
Damn.
The Quickening makes you a really good kisser.
I know.
That was more cathartic than I thought it would be.
It was kind of fun, wasn't it?
It feels good after you deal with death, doesn't it?
A little.
Still hurts,
but eventually it hurts a little less.
Uh-huh.
I'm going to need your help to search for more gods.
You'll be more useful to me if you feel better,
so you should know that your friend Eliot is dead.
You can smash more things if you want.
And then we'll go get something to eat.
Sound good?
I cannot believe you just did that.
I rocked your world. Get over it.
Oh, no, you... That was great.
It's just you can't have sex now with anyone
who isn't L-positive without infecting them.
You know, so...
Since when is P-in-the-V sex
the pinnacle of what one or two or three or five
or an animal can do together?
I mean, it's not even on my top 10.
I guess I see your point there.
All the same,
what are you gonna do about The Quickening?
How... How are you gonna handle that?
In what, 30 years?
No way I'm gonna live that long.
And if I do, Todd totally owes me.
You're joking, right?
You're joking.
So what is this? This is...
This is just casual, right?
We're not... You know?
I saved your fucking life, bitch.
Casual that.
Thanks, Margo.
I'm sorry we couldn't
figure out a way to help,
you know...
I am, too.
I would have done anything to save him.
But I think he might actually be gone.
I felt the moment his soul died.
It only hurt for a second.
I promise he didn't suffer.
You'll come around.
I know it.
Let's take it right back
Hello?
But we never look back
No, we only look forward
To all the new pain
And violence that we blame
No, we never look back
No, we only look forward
Hello?
With all our fate
Hearts broken from the start
Is anybody there?
Margo!
Only to be held tall
By the writing on the wall
We don't need no premonitions, no
Let's take it right back
To where it all began
But we never look back
No, we only look forward
To all the new shame
And waste of what we gain