#me having feelings about Egwene? more likely than you think.

[toastandjamie]

Do you ever think about how after a few decades into the fourth age new novices will enter the white tower, and they’ll hear stories of the Battle Armylin, the woman who reforged a broken tower, protected them from Seanchen enslavement, and was key to leading and winning the Last Battle. They won’t know her, they’ll have never met her since she died before they were born. But the novices will reach nineteen years old and learn that the woman who bore the heaviest burden of any Armylin was the same age as them when she reversed baelfire and turned an entire army to Crystal. She was their age when her very body was turned into a beacon of light that destroyed one of the forsaken and helped give the armies of light a chance at victory. Do you think the white tower erected statues in her honor? Or a stained glass window? Or a portrait? Or is the only reminder of her quiet whispered stories in Novice and Accepted quarters, and a stained glass window of a rose behind the Armylin Seat filling a wound left on the tower from a distant memory of an attack on the heart of Tarvalon? Do the Aes Sedai who lived past that day call her Egwene Sedai? Mother? Egwene Al’vere? Do Novices beg Nynaeve Sedai to tell them stories of the Battle Armylin? Do Elayne’s children ask their mother about her in the same breath that they ask about their father the Dragon Reborn? Do the Al’vere’s keep a picture of her up in the common room of the Winespring that remains there long after her parents pass? Does Emmonds Field still talk about the girl from their village who became Armylin at nineteen and saved the White Tower? Is she only the Battle Armylin to them, or is she still that girl from the Two Rivers?

#wheel of time #wheel of time spoilers #major wot book spoilers #egwene al'vere #me having feelings about Egwene? more likely than you think.

[butterflydm]

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

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

From a screenrant interview with Zoë:

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

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

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

From one with Daniel:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kate Fleetwood with dragonmount:

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

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

The tiniest of s3 hints from Ayoola:

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

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

Madeleine talked to decider.com:

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

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

Josha talked to looper.com:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great answers from Josha in this one!

Screenrant also talked to him:

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

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

I'm really glad they asked him about Egwene!

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

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

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

Collider also talked to him:

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

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

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

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

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

#wot s3 speculation #wot speculation #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot s2 spoilers #wot 2x8 spoilers #wot book spoilers #the fires of heaven #we're supposed to get more interviews dropped tomorrow i think #but i am also leaving to go visit family for the holidays tomorrow #so i may or may not be able to look through them #depending on when they get released

[markantonys]

episode 5 thoughts!

heartbroken by no mat, but i was expecting it since min wasn't credited for this episode on imdb, and there was so much other amazing stuff going on, so i can cope. i do think they must be gearing up for a mat-heavy episode soon because his content has been so sparse thus far! we also didn't have lan this episode, which i'm good with since he got so much last week.

(minor imdb casting spoiler: ayoola isn't listed for ep6, so i'm guessing we may have no perrin next week. they definitely do have a lot of different groups to juggle! but IF mat & lan soon join the cairhien crew, we could condense things)

also sad at not much elayne, but again, the remaining episodes will probably be pretty big for her! same with egwene, that storyline didn't progress as fast as i'd thought it would in this episode, but OOF the preview for next week looks like A Lot!!

back to the beginning! falme looks SO COOL!!! and the opening scene with the seanchan was fantastic, it showed off so many different aspects of their culture in just a few minutes (namely their various Ceremonial Things and ideas of who's allowed to speak to whom)

lanfear just whispering "bitch" the second she revives killed me djkfjg what an icon. and we get confirmation that it is indeed the True Power that she used to revive herself.

Lanfear Unleashed is SO much fun oh my god, i love seeing her in full forsaken mode

moiraine telling rand that he can't sleep because lanfear will get him, girl don't tell him that he's going to internalize it and not sleep for the next 6 seasons. this season is really Wheel Of Time Origins: Rand's Various Emotional, Mental, and Physical Health Problems

elyas saying the ef5 aren't perrin's pack HOW DARE!!! i feel like they're making elyas even more standoffish/human-averse than he was in the books, which makes for an interesting dynamic and contributes to perrin's sense that his human & wolf sides can't coexist.

but hopper follows perrin!!!! the goodest boy!!!!!

AVIENDHA IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE'S EVERYTHING!!!!! although ngl her fake accent does sound a bit Fake to me lmao but i'm sure i'll get used to it after a few more scenes

hot dain bornhald is also here! he kinda compels me and i'm furious about it. if whitecloak why hot? in all seriousness, i can see already from his intro episode + the basics of his book story that he has the potential to be quite an interesting character if fleshed out more and given more screentime compared to what he had in the books, sort of a liandrin-and-alanna-like Main Secondary Whitecloak for us to follow

also he totally wants to fuck perrin you can't change my mind. buying him drinks and giving him a Cute Nickname, boy you ain't subtle! and then aviendha briefly hits on perrin later and also perrin stops her from killing dain. wake up babe, insane new WOT polycule just dropped djkfjfg

OB!!!! FREAKING!!!! SESSED!!!!!!!! with verin's detective subplot!!!! it is SO much fun, it delivers a ton of great exposition (namely about the black ajah), and it gives us a bigger peek into the brown ajah than the books ever did. i love this squad!! also katie leung was probably my first Girl Crush (not that i was aware of it) when i was like 8 so i was thrilled to see her show up here, god bless

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT GAVE US CONFIRMATION THAT GAWYN EXISTS IN SHOWVERSE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH when i tell you i came extremely close both to screaming and to falling off my bed!!!! i'd been hoping for a gawyn namedrop all season but having it here was SO unexpected! my current theory is that he'll be introduced in caemlyn next season along with elaida and galad, and all 3 of them will head to tar valon to look for elayne because they're worried after not hearing from her for a long time.

also now i want a fic where the wondergirls actually do get special permission from mommy morgase to leave the tower just so that they can attend gawyn's birthday party

anyway, someday gawyn and egwene are going to kiss with tongue onscreen and haters can die mad about it <3 oooh now i have a brand-new meetcute for them to look forward to since they didn't meet at the tower!

liandrin & nynaeve's convo in the ways was so good! they continue to do amazing work with that relationship and liandrin's character. AND WHEN SHE SUBTLY FREED THE GIRLS RIGHT BEFORE LEAVING HOLY SHIT i gasped!!!!! the LAYERS they have given this character!!! because yes she serves the dark BUT she still feels loyalty to her sisters (as seen in s1 too when she appeared genuinely upset over kerene's death) and can't stomach the thought of any of them, even the light-serving ones, being collared!

suroth saying with her whole chest "oh sure you're a forsaken but you're not even of the blood soooooo" god grant me her confidence. also another great illustration of the insane heights to which seanchan high blood take their superiority complexes. good god, what's tuon gonna be like?!

avi's fight scene was just as amazing as i'd been hoping and expecting!! 10/10 no notes. can't wait to see what she can do when she has weapons at her disposal!

and later avi tells us that she is out in the wetlands Looking For Her Man (that she doesn't yet know is Her Man) <33

moiraine saying "get rand some nice new clothes" and barthanes immediately offering to dress him, Sugar Baby Rand lives on! also, anvaere and barthanes definitely thought rand was moiraine's sugar baby after they cleared the warder possibility, you can't change my mind

also also, barthanes is so surprisingly sweet! i wonder if he'll still be a darkfriend, or if anvaere will be instead

lanfear making ishy dream about caressing rand's face in bed is something i will go insane thinking about every day until i die. like oh my god i don't even know where to START with unpacking that, so i won't even try djfkjg

like for real, they ALL BUT made it explicitly canon that ishy had/has a crush on LTT/rand LMAO it's what we deserve

and we get forsaken namedrops! moghedien, graendal, and "the boys." it could be that semirhage did still make it and lanfear just chose not to go on and on listing every single one (slash the writers wanted to give themselves some leeway in specifically naming forsaken in case they don't get enough seasons to deal with all of them), or it could be that one of the statues from last season was actually a man and/or stepin's statues aren't accurate, and we've got 5 men instead of 4 (in which case i'd imagine ishy, asmodean, sammael, demandred, and rahvin)

i'm gonna have to watch this ishy & lanfear scene again to pick up more because i was FAR too distracted by the initial homoeroticism to keep focusing lmao

aww i'm kinda sad not to get elayne & nynaeve hiding out in falme completely on their own, but for their sakes it's nice they've found (been found by) some Real Adults to help!

LANFEAR'S OUTFIT IN THE END SCENE LMAO this season really just went off the WALLS with horniness and kinkiness, and i am here for it. it's what rj would've wanted

now that moiraine and rand are indeed staying in cairhien after all, i really think we might get a cauthor reunion next episode!!!! fingers crossed!!!!

#wot #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot book spoilers #the wheel of time

[queenofmalkier]

In regards to the arrow removal, I think a lot of people are not considering the context in which Nynaeve made the decision. And I am here to defend my wife, obvy.

For starters - they're going to Egwene, who Nynaeve refuses to think of as anything but 100% FINE AND OKAY AND DEFINITELY NOT TRAUMATIZED. And Egwene can channel which means she can heal.

Nynaeve spent enough time in the tower to basically see the impossible compared to her knowledge of healing before. Suddenly a lot of her knowledge is irrelevant because the one power can fix things better than she can with traditional medicine. Nynaeve is stubborn, but she takes healing seriously. She'll always choose the best option.

That informs her decision. The most important thing is getting Elayne off the active battlefield and to Egwene for healing. The closest I can think of is Star Trek - you wouldn't treat a wound when in ten minutes it's going to be gone, you just need to get the injured person to the doctor.

(Side note but I don't believe she had anything on her to even treat a wound at the time, either, given the sul'dam costume.)

Now, I've gone through a lot of first aid training due to various jobs I've held, so I'm right there with everyone saying not to take it out! You do not take the thing out. Never, ever, ever. Pulling/pushing it out can cause more damage and more bleeding and no one but a medical professional should be touching that sort of injury. This is a modern approach though! Remember, context.

I've seen a lot of people talking about her breaking the shaft before pushing it through, but that would actually be worse. There's no way to cleanly break the fletching away, which means by tugging it through she'd be introducing splinters of wood into the wound. Also the breaking is in regards to arrowheads, not the fletching.

The fletching (feathers on the back) is not actually the dangerous part of the arrow. I've seen some people say it was a crossbow bolt, but either way, from what we were shown the arrowhead itself had exited Elayne's leg already. If that was the case, pushing the shaft through wouldn't actually be harmful to her. It would hurt like hell, but it wouldn't cause any more damage.

I tried finding some actual sources for this specific scenario, but unfortunately most articles are focused on removing the arrowhead and not the shaft (and were also paywalled, boo). The closest I found was information from U.S. Army Surgeon Joseph H. Bill who essentially catalogued American Indian arrows as a way to determine the best removal technique.

He advised not applying traction to the shaft due to the likelihood of the arrowhead coming lose and remaining in the body, but I couldn't find what he advised if the arrowhead had already passed through the body although I did find this quote "An arrow may be pushed out as well as plucked out."

I DID find this lovely gentleman giving a very in depth discussion on medieval arrows as well as removal techniques and some of those are shove it through and hope for the best. (He also mentioned that healing the infection was what doctors and healers handled rather than wounds which... wow. Remind me to never be a medieval soldier in case I ever get that longing.)

So, yeah. I trust Nynaeve was right about her approach to the wound, and I feel like this is a case of a modern audience not trusting her knowledge because of our own knowledge of how those injuries are approached currently. I do think the scene could have been improved (in that regard) if they had Nynaeve explain her thought process, but overall, we got the point: Nynaeve felt like an utter failure, she couldn't help her friend, she couldn't do anything with all her alleged power. What good is she to her friends?

#wheel of time #wheel of time tv series #wot prime spoilers #nynaeve al'meara

[highladyluck]

Season 2, Episode 4 Liveblog

Teaser:

Selene is so sanguine about her entire livelihood going up in smoke! It’s almost like this has happened before

Werewolf Perrin rumors have been crushed!

The problem with the Forsaken Ski Chalet is that there’s a Myrdraal infestation in the basement

It is a personal insult that the subtitles just say [chanting] when Ishy is clearly dialing up Lanfear (also if anyone can overwrite the audio for this scene with the dial-up modem sound I want to see the clip)

DARK PROPHECY IS A GO

Awww she’s an amateur artist

Dollars to donuts that ‘older sister’ is an Aes Sedai

It has to be so painful coming back home

Selene is so sanguine about her entire livelihood going up in smoke! It’s almost like this has happened before

How long, Selene? Exactly how long has it been?

I’m gonna need fanart/fanfic of the Forsaken Ski Chalet up near Kinslayer’s Dagger

Awwwwwwwwwww

The Accepted sleeves look AWESOME I know I keep saying that but it’s true! They’re little embroidered ombre flames

Alanna is like ‘I don’t do therapy, I only do sex advice’

Hmmmmm, that doesn’t sound like stilling aftermath, another point in favor of ‘shielded’

It’s good that they are namedropping Cads this early; she came out of nowhere in the books.

DARK, Alanna. Also I bet I know what that change in Moiraine was; the timeframe is right for it to be when Gitara died & she got her quest.

Moiraine is on the case!

Ooooooooooooh this is going to be FUN

DAMN so that’s why she wanted that specific red wine. This feels very on par with the books- Moiraine a step behind but trying desperately to stay in the loop and get Rand what she thinks he needs

Moiraine, damn

Yeah, no point letting him destroy himself until all value has been extracted from him :/

Elayne like ‘she’s been promoted’ lmao she would think it was just that

Oh Egwene, you have not even begun to feel like shit

Ooooh someone gave Liandrin her marching orders

FORESHADOWING

Awww it’s Hopper! Hi Hopper

Werewolf Perrin rumors have been crushed! It’s ok he is a werewolf in my heart, the way Rand is a ghost in my heart and Mat is a vampire in my heart. And by ‘in my heart’ I mean ‘in the subtext’

Huh, interesting thing with the visions

Perrin like ‘excuse me, why did I not get an instruction manual and personal tutoring, this is a shitty apprenticeship so far’

None of the Tower’s fucking business honestly (this is also why info about the Power doesn’t get shared but whatever)

Lmao Selene you lie about more than that

Her face when Rand says ‘you’d be surprised’ lmao, that’s a Lanfear Face (TM)

Oh honey you haven’t even broken the world yet

“[dice rattling]” IT’S MY BOY!!!

Is Min gonna have Mat kidnapped by the Seanchan and taken to Falme? I am INTRIGUED

I’m glad the show explores the rift in families created by the long lives of Aes Sedai

Liandrin says ‘Rescue mission! You love a rescue mission!’

Alanna does not like Dark Prophecies written in blood, I guess?

Ooooh there’s that Damodred spirit (political maneuvering)

“This is my room.” - Elayne

“didn’t ask, don’t care” - Nyneave

Egwene no no no you already have enough trauma you don’t need to go to Falme

Uh oh, always a bad sign when Ishy shows up in your dreams (I love that the non-ta’veren are getting Ishy dreams!) also at this point it should be obv to everyone that Liandrin is bad news bears, even if you missed the lying

Oooooh interesting, what IS In Cairhein?

The problem with the Forsaken Ski Chalet is that there’s a Myrdraal infestation in the basement

Lmao like she didn’t know

Selene doesn’t know anything about being seen as a monster, nope

Oh ok that bit about her soul is great

Rand is vanilla

What the hell

Wow that is the most awkward thing I can imagine happening between Rand and Moiraine, you’re gonna give him a complex about… killing… women… I see

I cannot wait to see Lanfear do some horror movie shit

YEAH

AVI NEXT EP!!!

#wheel of time #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #wot on prime s2 #WoT on prime spoilers #WoT on prime s2e4

[sparklyeevee]

Sorry I'm still thinking about how the ability to trust and obey a head of state, wholesale take on her priorities as your own, and do what's asked of you even when you don't have the full picture, is a huge part of the First Prince of the Sword's job, is something Gawyn was trained from childhood to do, is probably a big part of why the princes of Andor train with the Warders in the first place, and after what Elaida did to him, what she tried to do to the Younglings, he can't do it anymore. She literally traumatized him into being unable to do his damn job. He can't be Egwene's Warder, not effectively, when his instincts won't let him stop looking for what she isn't telling him. He can't serve Elayne when he sees a trap in her every order, for him and the men under his command.

It's worth noting here that what Elaida did with the Younglings, deliberately sending them into impossible situations because she didn't like them and no longer had a use for them... That's not what you might call a thing, in this setting. My partner remembers Carridin and Valda doing it once each, but Carridin is a darkfriend and Valda is...Valda. They're also both men, and neither is actually the head of an entire government. Other leaders, other heads of state, including Rand, are sometimes careless with their military forces, and the Light knows the Seanchan see people as disposable, but it's a long fucking step from carelessness to malice, and if the Empress, may she live forever, or one of the High Blood, found the continued existence of a specialist unit inconvenient and unaesthetic, they would be ordered to kill themselves, straight out. I don't think Gawyn ever actually tells anyone what she was doing, which suggests to me that either he didn't expect to be believed, even by Elaida's direct adversaries, or he didn't know how, he didn't have the language for it. Certainly Gareth Bryne didn't understand it, but that's no fault of Bryne's - Gawyn didn't even really try to explain, and Gareth Bryne isn't Lan, he can't just intuit what's really bothering someone. I think Rand might have gotten it - he knows a thing or two about not wanting to be used, and about not being able to trust people when they won't tell you what's going on - but circumstances conspire to make it impossible for them to talk to each other.

I'm not trying to blame anyone for not getting where Gawyn's head is at. It was actually kind of narratively important that someone just straight up fall through the cracks. It was kind of important that someone be refused language for what was done to them. It was kind of important that, in a series where the most common way to look after a suicidal person is to offer them a more useful, but also more time consuming, way to kill themselves, and just keep doing that until they stop wanting to die, that someone not get any help with that, and fuck up catastrophically trying to do it for themselves.

And this is kind of the context on Gawyn's desire to like, be more protagonisty than circumstances really allow him to be. There's a completely offhand observation in Eye of the World, when Rand and Mat are on the way to Caemlyn, about how farmers have only themselves to answer to if they sleep late. Gawyn doesn't understand how Rand is so comfortably able to exercise personal agency, to just do things without being told to or even getting permission. His limited understanding of the way the world is ordered, his very hierarchical way of thinking, suggests to him that a random sheepherder, all the way down at the bottom of the social strata, should feel more constrained, be more afraid of acting without external direction, and he can't for the life of him figure out how Rand does it, and he's jealous, which makes him angry, because Gawyn, due to the psychological damage he's taken, is no longer fitted for the life of service to which he was raised, and desperately needs to be able to do what Rand is doing. Not the Dragon Reborn thing, not initial caps Changing the World, but seeing what needs to be done and doing it without the direction or approval of any greater authority. And none of the people he tries to talk to about it even understand what he's asking, partly because they're all a little less clueless about how the world is arranged, and understand without explication that a farmer, who is empowered to just notice that a fence is breaking down and set about repairing it, is not going to face the same challenges in this area as the First Prince of the Sword, who commands armies but is always answerable to the Queen.

#gawyn trakand #wheel of time book spoilers #wheel of time

[foxingpeculiar]

This is about the WoT show—Verin, specifically—but I’m gonna take a minute to get there.

I read WoT for the first time around ‘98 or ‘99. I remember the year specifically because I remember having… it was either tFoH or LoC on my desk in freshman history and this dude looked at me with… impressed surprise? and said “you READ all that?” And in my head, that was one of those moments you have as a teenager when you start to realize not everyone thinks like you do.

Anyway, I stopped reading, I think in the middle of aCoS, because that was the last one I had (I think tPoD had come out but wasn’t in paperback yet). And like, that’s kind of a sloggy bit, especially if you don’t know how long it’s going to go on. So I was like “screw it, I’ll read it when it’s done.”

Cut to 14-15 years later, aMoL is out and my roommate is actively devouring it, which reminded me what I told myself back then, so I tell him I’m gonna start in on it. He offers me a few pieces of advice (eg: read New Spring after tFOH; it’s a nice breather and it’ll mean more).

But he also says he’s going to spoil one important thing for me. Because the series is so long and dense, and there’s SO much to pay attention to, he says, this particular bit is very subtle and too easy to miss, to not remember enough about it when the reveal comes to appreciate the genius of how well it’s done.

*spoilers to follow for show-only fans or anyone who has not completed… I forget which of the last books it happens in (I think aMOL, but maybe ToM) but it’s endgame stuff—obviously*

He tells me to watch Verin and spoils that she is, in fact, Black Ajah. (He does not, however, explain that there’s more to it than that, which left some surprise in it—I appreciate the way he did that; it was artful. I am obviously not being so elegant here). And that was one of my favorite threads in the books, watching that, which I would absolutely have missed otherwise (cos fuck man, 2787 characters!)

So I was excited to see Verin in the show. And this episode tells me I’m gonna get what I want out of that. I enjoyed her coming in with the very-carefully-calculated “fun auntie” vibe. I really enjoyed her iykyk conversation with Sheriam (*cough*), but the scene that really got me on board was Verin and Yassicca after spying on Sheriam’s log.

Cos like, Verin already absolutely knows what’s going on: where the girls are, who took them, and why. That’s the whole reason she’s doing what she’s doing, is to know things like that (or at least have very solid theories about them, as I believe the case is here). But she can’t tell anyone without explaining how she knows, so she has to put on this innocent face and guide the people around her toward what she wants them to know without them realizing she’s doing that. This includes both people in the light AND other black ajah.

And these are Aes Sedai, the craftiest, sneakiest, most manipulative people around (with the possible exception of the Cairhiens, but the Aes Sedai have a more widespread and visceral reputation). The point being that the standards for the kind of 3D chess she’s playing are particularly high, and yet NO ONE has a clue what she’s up to until she decides to tell Egwene.

So, with that in mind, I am struck by the kindness of the character in that scene—how gentle she is with this earnest little rabbit of a girl. When she brings up compulsion, you can almost feel her regret at having to mess with a naif’s whole worldview. (But only almost. It’s just beneath the surface.) She’s lying and manipulating with the worst of them, but she’s not a cruel or selfish person. And Meera Syal is doing a great job at loading all of that in there, which is a fine line to walk.

Anyway, that’s my fan ramble for today.

#personal #wot show spoilers #wheel of time #wot season 2 #verin mathwin

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 43: A Plan

I've believed in my own lies so strongly I made them come true. I promise that this time I rant much less about the Seanchan. I also promise that this chapter doesn't actually spoil all that much, but it's still spoils a few things for this book and the later The Wheel of Time series as a whole so you shouldn't keep reading unless you're ready for that.

This chapter has the a'dam bracelet as it's all about the plan to get Egwene away from captivity.

Feeling worse than useless, she picked up her skirts and ran, and Egwene’s screams pursued her. She could not make herself stay, and leaving made her feel a coward.

Shame you didn't kill Renna BEFORE she put the bracelet back on!

Nah I'm just messing Min. Shit sucks. This is a terrible way to get a POV section.

She was not accustomed to weeping openly, but then she was not accustomed to feeling so helpless, so useless.

Sadly, Min never does internalize the notion that she may have been a medium fish in Baerlon but that she's krill compared to the world's big players. Even more sadly, the fact that she is comparatively useless as a combatant never stops being relevant in her life. She shoulda pulled a Ty Lee and invented a knife style that just fucks up channelers or something.

“That color becomes you,” Nynaeve continued. “You should have taken up dresses long since. Though I’ve thought of breeches myself since I saw them on you.”

Nynaeve is pretty conservative at times but it's sweet that she's thought about how she has the option to wear pants thanks to Min.

Min hesitated a fraction before saying, “She’s as well as can be expected.” Min could see it all too well, if she told them what was happening to Egwene right that moment. Nynaeve was as likely as not to go storming back in an attempt to stop it.

And she's not even using her seeing powers to predict this future!

‘Give me a damane of my own on my deck,’ he says, ‘and I will sail this instant.’

Domon really does seem to be an incredibly adaptive man and a quick thinker. It's a shame he always stayed pretty background; I wonder what he might have pulled off if he'd had a chance.

“I wish Rand were here.” Elayne sighed, and when they both looked at her, she blushed and quickly added, “Well, he does have a sword. I wish we had somebody with a sword. Ten of them. A hundred.”

Keep it in your dress, Elayne. The adults are talking.

She touched her chest absently, as if feeling something through her coat.

KEEP IT IN YOUR DRESS, NYNAEVE. Good lord how is Min being the reasonable one about boys right now?

I hope one of you can think of something I haven’t; I’ve wracked my brains, and I always stumble when it comes to the a’dam, the leash and collar. Sul’dam don’t like anyone watching too closely when they open them.

General protectiveness of their ability to hold slaves, or furtive, subconscious acknowledgment of the fact that should destroy an empire?

A man’s ring of heavy gold floated above Nynaeve’s head, and above Elayne’s, a red-hot iron and an axe.

Well Nynaeve already has the ring so that's a terrible future vision, and this particular prophecy actually doesn't come true for Elayne because it relates to a cut version of how Rand loses his hand. Let's say it's got something to do with Manetheren and Perrin I guess. Or maybe it's a Fourth Age thing.

Many people had fled here from villages further from the coast. Min saw no point to it—they had leaped from the possibility of a visit from the Seanchan to the certainty of Seanchan all around them—but she had heard what the Seanchan did when they first came to a village, and she could not blame the villagers too much for fearing another appearance.

Safety in numbers and staying inside the region the Seanchan aren't likely to wage war against any time soon.

The inn had been hastily renamed The Three Plum Blossoms, but part of the word “Watcher” still showed through the slapdash paint work on the sign.

Betcha anything that three plum blossoms are an auspicious omen in Seanchan culture and that the innkeeper is already currying some favor.

“It’s all right,” Min told her, taking a place on the end of one of the benches at the table. “He only looks and sounds like a bear.” Elayne sat down on the other end, looking doubtful.

Min is of course pretty used to all sorts from her own inn days, and anyway if there's any omens around Domon they're likely ones that suggest decentness.

I did think I could spin a tale or two and be on my way, but now I think when I no entertain him any longer, it be an even wager whether he do let me go or have my head cut off.

I think Domon probably would be enslaved instead but yeah not a good outcome in any case.

Two gold rings hung on the cord. Min gasped when she saw one—it was the heavy man’s ring she had seen when she read Nynaeve in the street—but she knew it was the other, slighter and made for a woman’s slender finger, that made Domon’s eyes bulge. A serpent biting its own tail.

I told you your prophecy was dumb, Min.

But also damn Nynaeve is reckless and this Aes Sedai impersonation business is going to get so out of hand. Real Aes Sedai lie there though, where she tells him he knows what it means instead of the truth that she's earned the ring but isn't Aes Sedai.

Six damane they did put around her, stepping out of the alleys of a sudden. I did think she would . . . do something—you know what I mean—but. . . . I know nothing of these things. One moment she did look as if she would destroy them all, then a look of horror did come on her face, and she did scream.

Frankly I suspect they were overdoing it with six; the Seanchan have more powerful channelers on average, after all. I wonder if they've noticed it yet.

“Egwene said they have two prisoners,” Min said slowly. “Ryma, a Yellow, and she didn’t know who the other is.” Nynaeve gave her a sharp look, and she fell silent, blushing. From the look on Domon’s face, it had not furthered their cause any to tell him the Seanchan held two Aes Sedai, not just one.

I'm a little surprised Min is naive enough to mention this. You'd think with her life experiences she'd be much more guarded about what information she's willing to share, and with whom.

“With some people,” she said, “you have to be certain. If you show them one glimmer of doubt, they’ll sweep you off in some direction you don’t want to go. Light, but I was afraid he was going to say no. Come, we have plans yet to make. There are still one or two small problems to work out.”

Nynaeve is an icon and we will close out this chapter with a moment of respect for her.

#let's read #wheel of time #wot #robert jordan #wheel of time spoilers #wot spoilers #min farshaw #nynaeve al'meara #elayne trakand #bayle domon

[gunkreads]

S2E3 thoughts:

They absolutely fucking FACEPLANTED. Fully shit the bed. on the pacing for Nynaeve's arch challenges. I'm going to talk about this to distract myself from the loss of My Boy Uno. Let me explain:

The core of the arches is to stare down the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and beat the shit out of them. Aspiring Accepted are meant to look at the regrets, the wrongs, and the joys of a life they could've led and say "No, the ring and shawl mean more to me." THAT is the point. The way out (which astute readers and watchers alike may remember "comes but once") must come when there's a reason to stay in the dream for this to work.

That is not what they fucking did in the episode.

This isn't about divergence from the books, this isn't about my own personal preference; this is about the show establishing a concept and then just drop-kicking it backwards into a wastewater treatment pond.

First dream gets a soft pass. What the hell was she gonna do there? Go upstairs and get killed/kidnapped? I dunno, it was just weird and didn't set up the nature of the challenge very well.

Second dream, we see a problem. The way out only appears after we've implicitly established that there's nothing Nynaeve can do to help. What the hell's the point of that? Of course she's capable of walking away! The show used its visual language to explain very explicitly that Nynaeve can't Heal here and consequently can't do anything to help, then uses regular language to tell us she's not wanted there (bearing in mind that she doesn't really even know how to Heal at this point in the books, so it'd be an herb situation anyway). This is mostly how it goes in the books, sure, but because of the placement of the Healing attempt, there's basically nothing more for her to do at that point besides sit by Tam's side and watch him die. This would've been more potent if there was absolutely any inkling that there was more she could do to fix the situation.

Third dream is the faceplant. I'll tell you what should've happened and you'll agree with me: the arch should have appeared as she watched the boys die, then she should've had to go through it as she watched the Trollocs go into the house after her daughter. Waiting until almost everything was lost, then letting her try to carry her daughter to safety, makes it a non-choice. There was literally no incentive to stay.

There's genuinely nothing wrong with Nynaeve's characterization in this whole sequence. I actually love it dearly. I just think they went 0 for 3 on a very crucial part of the pacing of the sequence.

Anyway.

Mat's fun still. It's super weird how much less antsy he is than his book counterpart--or, at least, how much that antsiness is channeled into smaller physical tics rather than large-scale paranoia and anxiety. I haven't gotten a grip on what'll be driving him yet, but the show is doing a good job telling me that they'll set that up soon. They'd fucking better, at least.

I'm getting weirded out by the power dynamics in the Tower--unpopular or not, Liandrin has absolute authority over the girls in the books by virtue of her status, and turning that on its head in the show just so Egwene and Nynaeve can have more effective rebel moments feels super odd. I don't understand why they're doing it that way. Egwene's confrontation with Liandrin at the ring melter was more confusing than, like, cool.

Rand's plotline is wonderfully paced for a whole-ass different show. His whole shit is going so slowly compared to everyone else's (except Mat) that it's just jarring to cut back to him having made next to zero progress. Arguably the most jarring part is that his goals are unclear right now. I'm speaking from my girlfriend's perspective here, who has not read the books: how the hell did Rand track down Logain, how the hell did he figure out this plan, how the hell did Selene get them into that party, etc. etc. NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING because I'm thinking it too. I fucking know how, don't worry. And my girlfriend can wait to find out, don't worry. The problem isn't that these things aren't been spoon-fed to you, it's that everything else is. Rand's arc in this season is creating a lot of pacing dissonance; it's running so much more slowly and steadily than the other characters' lightning-quick plot sprints that it just feels out of place. Great in isolation, confusing in context.

Perrin's plotline was HRRRRRRGHGHGK

We don't talk about Uno. Do not say his fucking name around me for at least three weeks. I need some time.

#wheel of time on prime #wheel of time #wot

[thewholedamnboulangerie]

oh it's episode 5 time

ishamael waiting until suroth's already been punished BEFORE whipping out the horn aka the thing that could have justified the diversion... either he wanted to see her get punished or he is in fact not a smart man (it's the former)

OUUUGHHHHHHHH I LOVE HOPPER SO MUCH I WILL CRY I WILL SCREAM I WILL REND GARMENTS

we can and will feel normal about perrin picking up the hammer [nodding] (lying)

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH SHE'S HERE

OMFG AVIENDHA IS THE AIEL IN A CAGE FUCKING HELL I LOVE ADAPTATIONAL CHOICES

DAIN BORNHALD OH WE ARE FUCKING BITING

Lady 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

oooooohhhhhhh the fact that the ep is called Damane and it's the last plotline we're getting (...well. unless Mat or Lan - or Verin i GUESS, though I suspect she's more likely to pop up via Moiraine than by herself - shows up even later) idk idk i have thoughts about it i have feelings about it!!! idk what they are but i have them!!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH I STAND CORRECTED VERIN MY BELOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDD

omfg Katie Leung???? now that's a face i have not seen in a hot second

Suroth calling Perrin Ishamael's pet wolf really is. hm. yes. yes.

THE ABSOLUTE MAGNIFICENCE OF AL'DIVAL FADING INTO AVIENDHA'S THEME OOOHHHHHH IM KISSING EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SHOW ON THE MOUTH

PERRIN AYBARA DO YOU LIKE TO DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE EMOTIONS THAT I JUST FELT!!!!!!!!!!!

IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT TEL'ARAN'RHIOD IS GETTING NAMEDROPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS EPISODE SPECIFICALLY??? like. Egwene sure does have two (2) major character development arcs in book two and this episode is literally named after one of them AND NOW THE SECOND IS BEING MENTIONED??? hhhrrr.

(if it's been namedropped before and i've just forgotten don't tell me)

Barthanes... gdi why is my memory of this guy so full of holes. i shall huff and puff about it most grumpily i think

why do I also have zero recollection of Sheriam being Blue Ajah

GAWYN NAMEDROP GAWYN NAMEDROP

Verin's detective society of hot librarians oh i am eating this with a spoon holy FUCK i am truly not used to being catered to THIS SPECIFICALLY AND OFTEN AND VARIOUSLY

okay okay who had Suroth/Liandrin on their bingo card

LIANDRIN SETTING THEM FREE I WILL EAT THE ENTIRE SUN MOTHERFUCKER

ELAYNE THE STRATEGIST OOOOOOUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO I CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS THE EXTENT TO WHICH I FUCKING ADORE HER

VERIN AND LIANDRIN IN THE SAME SCENE IM GOING TO. FUMKIN. ESPLOTE.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA VERINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

MMMMMMMASKLDJFASKLFGJSLDKGJDFLH ISHAMAEL/RAND FOR THE BINGO BABEYYYYYYYYYYYY

WAIT STOP THAT WAS EVEN MORE FUN ASKLFJSDLKGJLKSFGJDFLKHJDFLGKHJFLGKH okay absolutely fucking obsessed with every single choice they've made about Portraying The Forsaken. they are so so evil and so so scary but most importantly they are SO SO FUCKING FUNNY

"Mat was born mine" ESPLAIN? ESPLAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LANFEAR'S DOMINATRIX OUTFIT I AM BUT A SIMPLE LESBIAN HELLO????????????????

#wheel of time

[lordgolden]

so you've read rote and cosmere how does wheel of time compare to those two (in terms of character, magic, writing, etc). Do you think if I liked both of those series I'll would like Jordan?

if I had to put them on a scale i'd put wheel of time right in the middle of cosmere and rote. the short answer is YES I think if you like both you'll love wheel of time as I think it occupies a middle ground between the two series.

for characters it's more like cosmere where there are a ton of characters and A LOT of them have povs (like 2,000 named characters and around ~10 people I would call "main" characters with substantial POVs though there are a TON of different povs from the smallest side characters to the main characters, heroes and villains) but I would say that they are written more similarly to rote characters than cosmere characters re: their depth, flaws, and realism. It has more character work than cosmere but of course isn't like, the character study that rote is but it comes close sometimes. If you enjoy Fitz you will definitely enjoy Rand and his story as the series progresses and the stakes get higher and darker. A lot of female characters too who have their own stories and place in the bigger picture and are incredible. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene are some of my favorite characters of all time. If you enjoy how unreliable of a narrator Fitz is then you'll like the characters every single one of the is an unreliable narrator as their own thoughts are colored by their perceptions of themselves, other characters, and the world around them.

Magic - more like cosmere. It's a hard magic system that you get to learn about as you go on along with the characters who are learning magic. Basic gist of it is that there are two halves of the One Power - Saidar for women Saidin for men - but Saidin was tainted by the Dark One so male channelers are dangerous and go mad when they use it. This results in women having a lot of power in the word because they have untainted magic. To use the one power characters "weave" the one power using different threads of it (earth, air, fire, water, spirit) together. The magic is very, very cool and comprehensive so if you like Sanderson's magic system you will like Jordan's it's almost scientific like his.

As for writing - if you mean prose, then again between cosmere and rote. Not as beautiful as rote but not as simplistic as Sanderson. If I had to pick one to compare it to I would compare it to rote not Sanderson. If by writing you meant plot the plot is more like cosmere traditional epic fantasy but while wot starts out pretty traditional with the classic hero's journey and good vs. evil showdown, it is a series known for subverting popular fantasy tropes and there are a lot of moral greys there too. Also the concept of Fitz being "the Catalyst" who can change the course of time is VERY similar to the concept of ta'veren in wheel of time. The world building surpasses both cosmere and rote for me. all of the different cultures are very fleshed out and you get to learn a ton about the world since you spend a lot of time in it.

I hope I answered all of your questions! Let me know if you have more. If you're still unsure, a good way to get a feel for the series is to watch the first season of the tv show on amazon prime :)

#hope this helps! #wheel of time #cosmere #rote #ask #anon #book rec

[butterflydm]

wot 2x5: damane (thoughts on darkfriends and other evils)

includes book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light

Very much looking forward to examining the scenes again when I rewatch this weekend, but my brain is just going... a mile a minute, so I wanted to put some thoughts down before I go to work today.

So we got to see Darkfriends Getting In Each Other's Way this episode, which is a classic. Hilarious, love it. They are selfish AF and each have their own agenda and mostly all hate each other.

(in theory, this should have been what separated Our Heroes from the Darkfriends, but in the books, Our Heroes ALSO all got in each other's way a lot so... I do feel like the show is maybe setting Our Heroes up to be more supportive of each other than they were in the books. but that is a side note. Back to the Darkfriends!)

The Clown Car of Black Ajah is already looking great! It cracked me up earlier in the season when poor Alanna was having a scene with tons of other Aes Sedai and every single other character who spoke in the scene was Black Ajah. You are Surrounded, my darling!

Thoughts: did Liandrin Compel Sheriam? (aka does Liandrin not know that Sheriam is also Black Ajah) Very possible! Sheriam and Liandrin have gotten in each other's way a couple of times this season. I was so glad that the show namedropped both Compulsion and Tel'aran'rhoid in this episode!

I have to say, that Liandrin was able to make it back to the Tower with her excuse does make me wonder if she'll be able to snag that coveted 'merger with either Alviarin or Galina' role (which would let her at least put off her Bad Book Ending for a while) after all. The problem is that if the Wondergirls make it back to the Tower at all next season, her cover is completely blown because Nynaeve knows beyond a doubt that she is shady AF.

Liandrin and Suroth absolutely despising each other and each of them fantasizing about the other one kneeling to them: chef's kiss, no notes. Liandrin fucking Suroth over in the last minute both because she immediately hated Suroth's guts and because she couldn't help but give Nynaeve a fighting chance: fascinating. I do think Liandrin was incredibly disappointed when she got the note that it was time to take the girls to Falme -- I mean, I don't think she gave a shit about selling out Egwene (and Elayne was an accident of fate) but as Nynaeve sussed out in the Ways, she absolutely wanted to recruit Nynaeve to the Black Ajah and get her on side that way.

Suroth's spikiness with Ishamael! (someone last night suggested that Ishamael is cosplaying as her truthspeaker, I think? which would make sense with how he's behaving) When she had her little tantrum and suggested that, sure, maybe the Dark One Chose him and all, but he's not BLOOD. Amazing. That's the arrogance that we expect from the Blood. Again, perfect, no notes.

Love love love that we are already getting the set up of a potential division within the Seanchan by explicitly having Turak say that they are here to fight the Shadow. The Seanchan Civil War that never happened remains one of my greatest disappointments with the books. To already be setting up some seeds for a reason for the Seanchan to split in half is great (a little while ago, someone suggested that instead of getting the Sharans, we would get the Seanchan being split in two, and I would heavily support that notion, for sure).

The show also seems to be (early on) setting up the idea that some people choose to believe that living under the Seanchan isn't so bad if you swear to their oaths... but making it clear what a selfish position that is. The New Innkeeper tells Perrin this, but then when Perrin asks about the old innkeeper, we learn that she's off following the caravan to Falme because her granddaughter was one of the girls kidnapped by the Seanchan. So New Innkeeper basically got a free inn out of taking advantage of other people's misfortune. Plus then we had Perrin very pointedly telling Aviendha (when she asked why he saved her) that people shouldn't be in cages.

(Because the Whitecloaks are ALSO 'evil but not the Shadow' much like the Seanchan are, or Aridhol was -- and, like the Seanchan, the show is already setting up the cracks of a potential division within the Whitecloaks in the future)

Verin: Investigator was also a fantastic thread. I love how she managed to get her fellow Brown Ajah Sister (I will look her name up when I do my rewatch) onto the trail of the Black Ajah just by implication. We can see the ways that she successfully has been sussing out who (else) might be Black Ajah by catching people in lies without letting them know that she's realized that. Starting the Black Ajah Hunters storyline this early can only do good things for that entire plot thread, I think.

So... Barthanes... probably a Darkfriend like in the books. Is Anveare a Darkfriend? I tend to lean on 'no' though it WOULD be funny if a Darkfriend was responsible for the Shadow's plans for Rand completely falling apart because Anveare couldn't resist spilling info to her big sister in order to impress her. (I do think that she and Barthanes might think Moiraine and Rand are hooking up tho; especially since they went off to share a bedroom at the end of the episode)

I am also intrigued by the fact that Fain is clearly still a Darkfriend in Good Standing with Ishamael, because we've definitely gotten Hints that the dagger is influencing him (the Fade nailed to the doorway). And Shadar Logoth was evil, but it was an evil that despised the Shadow.

I was also intrigued by Ishamael claiming that Mat was ~born mine~ -- because he had a shitty upbringing with crappy parents? because he was already in a bad enough place at the start of the series that he was stealing from other villagers? because... some other reason...?

I'm also trying to remember if Ingtar and Ishamael shared any Looks this episode (Ingtar definitely gave Loial some wtf looks and they both recognized Egwene when she showed up, obviously).

This episode did such a good job setting up the various 'bad guys' that will dominate the series going forward. Genuinely thrilled.

#wot 2x5 spoilers #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #the wheel of time #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #butterfly watches wot #wot book spoilers #a memory of light

[markantonys]

also, wotseries canNOT just drop "btw we suspect luke fetherston might be gawyn" as a footnote in their article about morgase's casting!!!!! what the fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!! you can't spring these things on me with no warning!!!!!

i remember when they first reported that luke fetherston was in s3 and i looked him up and was like "wow that is one absurdly handsome man 😳 i wonder who he'll play" and YALL IF HE ENDS UP BEING GAWYN-

but on the other hand: no fear "what if the 'galad trakand' on callum kerr's cv was actually meant to say 'gawyn trakand' rather than just meaning galad has the trakand name in showverse" one fear!!!! he has Jock Bro vibes that i don't think would suit my babygirl gawyn at all, but luke fetherston has galad vibes (at least for how i personally picture galad, though everyone surely has very different ideas of what the best-looking man in randland looks like!) and he does look a bit like josha, so what if the casting is actually flipped?

but then, i have an easier time picturing callum kerr (right) as a whitecloak and luke fetherston (left) as egwene's malewife than the reverse. and neither looks to me noticeably older than the other, so that offers us no clues. (they both kinda seem older than i would picture gawyn, though, but you never know how they might look in costume or with different hairstyles, etc.)

slight tangent but season 2's complete lack of reference to moiraine and anvaere having a brother, when they easily could have tossed in a mention to set up galad's arrival in s3, does make me wonder if maybe they'll cut out the trakand-damodred connection altogether and just make galad a full trakand sibling and morgase's biological son (and not related to rand). i do love galad and morgase having such a sweet and positive stepchild/parent relationship, but i wouldn't object to the show simplifying the family tree since galad being rand's half-brother never ends up mattering for shit; that connection is notoriously unsatisfyingly-handled in the books, so the show may have opted to cut it if they felt they couldn't do it justice. so, whether or not galad's actor resembles josha in any way might be irrelevant.

it is also very possible that luke fetherston is playing an entirely unrelated character (janduin or luc have been popular speculations for him given the josha resemblance) and that gawyn's actor is still unknown! wotseries has been wrong before. still, from what i can recall, they don't usually bother with such specific "we think X character might be played by Y actor" speculation in an official published article that isn't even ABOUT that character or actor unless they feel pretty confident about it...........especially since i have not once seen anyone posit luke as gawyn until now, so it's hardly like it's a popular fan theory they're just parroting...........

(and in even more important news, from a quick google search it appears that luke fetherston is queer, and i NEED to see a randwyn dynamic where gawyn is played by a queer man djkjfg the vibes would be IMPECCABLE)

#my mind is going a mile an hour!!!! #if i'm going this crazy over just a random nugget of gawyn casting speculation then what'll i do when the truth is actually revealed! #i'm trying not to let myself buy too much into casting spec before we have solid evidence #seeing as this is how we end up certain someone will be faile and they end up being Cousin No. 3 #but you guys KNOW how desperate i've been for even a morsel of gawyn hints!!! this article has sent me flying off the deep end!! #wot #wot show spoilers #wot book spoilers #gawyn trakand #'gawyn remains a mystery' oh he sure does

[kuwdora]

Multi-fandom Fic Recs

January 22 - What’s an underloved fic you loved in a fandom you don’t post much about? -@sargassostories

Oh, what a fabulous prompt, ty!!! I used to write so many recs back in the day and I’ve watched so much tv and read across so many fandoms over the years so this is far from comprehensive in terms of fandom reading spread. But it’s a good way to warm my reccing muscles up again. I always have more recs or can usually find some places with recs about that fandom.

Humor and Heart

Just Hear Those Slay Bells Jingling, Santa Clarita Diet. Abby/Eric. ~3k. Abby comes home from college on a break and just wants some time with her boyfriend but she just had to tempt fate. Laugh out loud perfect characterization.

Pain and Painting by foxtwin. Blackadder. Blackadder assists Prince George as he takes on a new hobby. This is one of the funniest, punniest wordplay fics ever. Blackadder fic writers are on another level!

Feel me like a steel knife by violet_pencil. Star Trek: Lower Decks. Mariner/Tendi. ~7k. Mariner is a trigger-happy baby and her heart is right between Tendi's sharp white teeth. The Mariner POV is incredible. I felt like I was joyriding through her brain.

Not a synonym for impossible by Siria. Elementary. Improbable was not a synonym for impossible. Joan and Alfredo discuss Alfredo’s crush on Miss Hudson, this is so cute.

Lest they be angels in disguise by singlecrow. Good Omens. Crowley, but Aziraphale/Crowley. 856 words. Buzzfeed, July 2019, "Top Five Off-the-Wall Theories About the Scary Instagram Plant Man.” Includes Instagram posts and internet gossip in this fic. 😂

There's a Fine Line Between Coincidence, Fate, and Jonathan Carnahan by celli. The Mummy. 483 words. Ardeth/Jonathon. Jonathan puffed up with outrage. "I will squander my fortune where I damn well please." 😍

This Dynamic

if loving you kills me by saiditallbefore. Wheel of Time. Nynaeve/Egwene. 642w. Nynaeve's eyes are warm and brown and full of life: so different from earlier, when Egwene had thought she was gone forever. ❤️🔥❤️

Finding Grace by Destina. Kings. Jack/David, Michelle/David. Post-series/futurefic. ~1300w. David's soul has three parts, and without all three, he is incomplete. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Porn

Gifts, Smiles, and Fingers by @daerienn. For All Mankind. Molly/Margo. ~200w. A single Tootsie roll can have a lot of impact.

Meet Me In My Dreams by LiraClayr007. His Dark Materials. Lyra/Will. Post-canon. 200w. It had been almost ten years since they’d said goodbye forever and closed all the doorways, but Lyra knew what Will looked like. He’d aged in her mind, day after day and year after year; she didn’t know how she could know, but she was sure he looked exactly the way she pictured him.

Learned Arts, by darthjamtart. Elementary. Moriarty/Joan. ~400w. Explicit. Jamie knows how to be subtle, but rarely bothers. Not with this.

Domina, Spartacus, Illithya/Lucretia, power struggle, submission “Domina,” Illithya whispers before pressing her lips against Lucretia’s bare, inner thigh.

Kissing Girls, Leverage, Parker/Sophie Devereaux, falling, twirling Parker used to think that kissing was a lot like falling. Sometimes, if she knew she was in complete control, if she had all her safety equipment ready to catch her, if she could see exactly where she was going to end up, then falling was more thrilling than sickening. Kissing too.

Impossible Words, Doctor Who, Jack/Ten, the l word He still can't say it, the words. Those words that make everything so impossibly complicated. He digs his fingers into Jack's skin, feeling it give, knowing he will leave bruises there, visible in the morning.

Caged, Mario Games, Bowser/Peach, kidnap Don't tell anyone, but Peach doesn't entirely mind being kidnapped.

Not Charity Work, Better Off Ted, Veronica/Linda, mentoring Veronica's hair is spread over the pillow, her face flushed and sweat covering her skin. "I'm an excellent mentor."

Soup on the Wall, Star Trek AOS/Star Trek: The Original Series, Chapel/Spock. dream, pon farr, crash To be certain, it was not Ambassador Spock's idea to be ferried to New Vulcan aboard the Enterprise.

Three Sentence Fictionathon (not always 3 sentences, still excellent micro-fics!)

Any, any, Cards Against Humanity as played by nonhuman species by archersangel. Star Trek: Voyager. Tuvok, post-canon.

Boimler and Mariner, Ill-Advised Decisions by silveradept for my Star Trek Lower Decks prompt of “look what you made me do!”

The Expanse, Avasarala/Amos, flirting by vialethe. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Narnia, if Narnia were written by Tolkien by arveldis. 😂 AND LASTLY:

These two ficlets are based on this prompt:

Based on this Tumblr Post where Sirens lure sailors to their death with offers of hot garlic bread, fast Wi-Fi, and $1000 Amazon Gift Cards.

An Informational Sign on the Coast by fallen_stage.

Netflix and Kill by syrena_of_the_lake

More Kuwdora Recs

+350 Porn Battle Recs, grouped by fandom, lots of crossovers and fandoms (dreamwidth)

+100 multi-fandom recs, grouped by whatever I read at the time and Yuletide reading marathons over the years (dreamwidth).

Even More Recs

Linky's Rec Post - A recs post by Linky on dreamwidth about communities that feature curated recs for fanfic, fanvids and art.

#kuwdora recs #fic recs #january posting meme #january posting meme 2024

[onaperduamedee]

Notes on Towers of Midnight

Starting with the penultimate book, the one with Egwene as full Amyrlin, with Rand post-Dragonmount, with Mat's katabasis to rescue Moiraine! I am vibrating with excitement!

"Mandarb’s hooves beat a familiar rhythm on broken ground as Lan Mandragoran rode toward his death." - happy to see that 20 years have taught lots to emo prince Alan.

Of course, Nynaeve's work paid off and now he's picking up Borderlanders.

Lan, you dunce, refusing to take Bulen because Nynaeve had tricked him is petty. Just accept the help without having him beg.

How nice of the book to remember Perrin actually had a rather neat arc about wolves before whatever leadership arc happened.

Glad we are properly addressing the Aram issue and Perrin's guilt.

"And yet you use them the same way." - and the penny drops. Even if this is war, violence is always worth questioning, especially after the last book and the new weapons emerging.

So the True Power is essentially the Dark Lord's Power?

Aran'gar, too busy making out with Delana to notice the impending disaster, is the true bisexual representation.

So the ravens and rats are used as spies through a weave that allows whoever compelled them to see through their eyes?

Graendal is by far the most clever of the Forsaken for putting together Rand's stratagem and an escape so fast. At least, Rand did get Aran'gar, but at the cost of Delana and everyone in that palace. 

Rand now thinks Graendal won't be a problem...

Hats off to Galad for stopping Asunawa's Children using their own rhetoric.

Galad/Egwene parallels now... That's especially interesting as it positions the Children as a mirror to the AS.

I didn't find that prologue particularly exciting tbh.

Not a good sign that the farmer that almost made me abandon TEotW is back.

Rand is sprouting flowers in his wake? That's cute. He seems much assured now, at peace. Which I am not completely sure about. He seems like a whole new character.

So we won't know why Annoura was meeting Masema because Jordan didn't write it down and Sanderson didn't know.

Well, Galad's power arc was over fast. No sooner had it started that the Children already rebelled and freed him. It's a bit disappointing.

Awwww Siuan likes Saerin now that she is freer to form bonds with all sisters. Her arc means so much to me.

Siuan hoped Egwene would name her Keeper and regrets the little time Egwene has now for her. My heart. Their relationship is everything.

It is so nice to see Siuan eager to continue what she started with Moiraine freed from the entanglement of power. I love that she still feels a pang of regret because the Dragon in the Tower should have been the culmination of 20 years of her work.

As much as I love seeing Siuan reflect on what she could not do as Amyrlin, I still think Sanderson is bungling her characterization with this quippiness and gruffness; Jordan wrote her as someone who suffered no fools, always one step ahead, but it translated into action rather than conceits.

Rand's acknowledgment of Siuan's help feels so satisfying. Yes, Egwene and the Tower united owe much to Siuan, as much before her fall as after. I hope the sisters will recognize her work more. She was a pivotal player.

Siuan showing such pride in Egwene... My heart.

"She must never forget that there was an entire world outside the White Tower’s walls. The purpose of Aes Sedai was to serve that world." - I am extremely curious as to how she will achieve that because the Tower is still wounded and people remain extremely distrusting of Aes Sedai.

"I’ve been struggling to avoid Aes Sedai strings of control. And yet, I allowed other strings – more dangerous strings – to wrap around me unseen." - Yep, I am at least satisfied by this acknowledgment even if I don't grasp what Sanderson is doing with Rand's characterization.

So Egwene is also immune to ta'veren pull?

I'm tentatively hopeful about the Egwene/Rand opposition. I've been saying for books that Rand should be as careful with the AS as he was with the Seanchan and now we're going to see why he should have played a long game with them. It will hurt.

“The same empty words over and over, Hopper sent.” - I am with Hopper. When will Perrin stop wallowing?

Perrin finally accepts that maybe he needs to learn how to work with his wolf self, Galad encounters Basel Gill's Caravan, and piecing together it's Perrin's army, Gawyn investigates what's obviously Mesaana's victims... It's too much dithering.

"Aes Sedai, for all of their cunning, sometimes seemed to have remarkably underdeveloped senses of self-preservation." - I continue to be extremely surprised by how prevalent a belief it is in this world, not only for AS but in general, that people should all be capable of killing and defending themselves.

Gawyn is a fool for believing that Egwene, the Amyrlin, owes him any explanation. The audacity of this man.

"Light, a Forsaken in the Tower seemed more plausible than Egwene being the Amyrlin Seat! " - Egwene, ditch him, please. Also, his argument for ordering Aes Sedai to take warders... He has the emotional intelligence of an oyster.

Perrin is infuriating. Thirteen books in, and he's still doing the whole “I don't want to be in charge thing”. Even Mat accepted he had responsibilities toward his people. 

I don't trust Bawler for peanuts.

How refreshing to be in Morgase's POV.

The Aes Sedai suggested they link with the Asha'man to give them strength. That's a really sensible idea that would save us a great deal of time.

WO: we're not like Aes Sedai

WO the next sentence: act exactly like AS

"For a man who claims he doesn’t like being in charge, you certainly do like giving commands." - Thank the Light Morgase called out Perrin for marrying her off with Tallanvor like that. Her agency has been constantly trampled for months.

Interestingly, both Gawyn and Perrin seem to resort to pairing off women to tie them up to men using excuses that sound an awful lot like preventing waste. I don't like that at all. Women are not loose ends.

Okay, but Lan is a bit ridiculous with his insistence no one should follow him. They will follow him whether he wants it or not. It's their nation too. They have a right to fight for it.

A Mat chapter! This will-they-won't-they-fight between Perrin and Galad was tedious.

"Of course, Mat did not look at women anymore, not like that. He did not think about her for him to kiss. Maybe for Talmanes" - Mat, you're bi. You don’t have to pretend.

"Light, he hoped that she had not left instructions for him to help someone in trouble."- That's hilarious. He is incapable of not helping people in need.

Mat is planning to deal with the gholam for real. That's good. It's time to conclude the various plots and this went on for long enough.

The description of Thom performing is exactly what we got on-screen. I am in awe of the writers' holistic approach to adaptation.

"We can’t leave her with them. Those snakes and foxes" - light, this makes me so anxious about the state they will find her in. Moiraine, please be okay. Mat was messed up after a visit with them and Moiraine has been held for months.

"but for an Aes Sedai, I kind of like Verin. And I’m a good judge of character, you know that." - awwwwwwch, too soon. I am emotional again. Mat is also taking his promise seriously.

Psst, if you need someone to open a gateway to the Tower, what about Siuan? She could help, even if she isn't strong enough anymore. Link with Leane?

The Mat and Teslyn scene was so wholesome, and her immediately helping him fight the gholam felt so satisfying. Wouldn't it be thematically relevant if he did free all the damane from the Seanchan? He may hate Aes Sedai, but he certainly earned their respect and trust.

"'I need to write a letter to Her Royal bloody Majesty Queen Elayne the prim.’

Joline sniffed. ‘Are you going to swear at her too?’

‘Of course I am,’ Mat muttered, turning to go back to Thom’s tent. 'How else is she going to trust that it’s really from me?'" - I laughed. I seriously love him.

Mat is such a dynamic character. He is dealing with Verin's instructions, with the gholam on his trail, with Moiraine's rescue, all at once. He interacts with many different people from different groups in a way that feels completely natural.

I don't understand: is Tam with Perrin now? He witnessed his son clearly breaking down, ready to kill him, then Rand disappeared and we're supposed to believe that Tam went back to Perrin in the meantime? Or were Perrin chapters before Dragonmount?

Lovely to see the Asha'man experiencing the joy of saidar through linking and having hope for a future now that saidin is clean. But I am now afraid Grady is a goner. That conversation feels ominous.

I honestly don't care for the Perrin and Galad plotline. I don't even think Perrin's Whitecloak arc needed resolution.

The writing for Elayne's pregnancy remains atrociously caricatural. I have no words.

I still feel so sorry for Cairhien. Elayne has 0 ties to Cairhien apart from a father who died young. Saying she is a legitimate choice for the throne is technically correct but so unfair to the Cairhienin. No self-determination allowed here, she's just another foreign leader seizing a land ravaged by famine and war.

Elayne thinking Mat and the Band are just mercenaries and forcing them to camp outside is excellent.

Mat's letter and Elayne's reaction were so cute! I am looking forward to their reunion. They need the support.

I like Sanderson's writing for Elayne better? I prefer the way he shows just how unconventional a ruler she is, and the increased snarkiness serves her character rather than breaking it like Siuan. The closer he writes her to Mat, the better her character works for me.

I far prefer Nynaeve's caution regarding Rand to Min's confidence.

Alanna vanished without a trace? Could she have been taken by a Forsaken?

Okay, it is ironic that Cads suspect Nyn of being BA even for a second. I doubt we will have much more big DF reveals after last book.

"Facing the end of the world with the Dragon Reborn completely out of control was one of them." - you don’t say, Cads.

"'As persuasive as you can be, Nynaeve,’ Cadsuane said dryly, ‘the Shadow has means to make people more forthcoming.’" - I would still bet on Nyn.

Yeah, I was suspecting it last book but the way Veins of gold unfolds is all the more frustrating now that this new Rand undoes every single obstacle created previously for Rand to surmount. It's an extremely convenient resolution.

"‘I thought I was being forged into a sword,’ Rand said, eyes growing distant. ‘But I was wrong. I’m not a weapon. I never have been.’" - excellent. I love the way this calls back to Moiraine's words about people being tools in TEotW.

"‘I am not only one of those fools, my friend, but I am their leader. Queen of the fools, you might say.’" - Egwene, I love you, with all my heart.

Her mastery of tel'aran'rhiod remains one of the elements I await the most eagerly.

I like the idea that Accepted should learn with the Wise Ones but I continue to find heinous the belief that WO training is better because it is even more brutal.

At least, Egwene sees that the WO would benefit from working with AS as well.

"'Do I really have you, Nynaeve?’ » - ooof the conversation between Nyn and Egwene is probably my favorite moment of the book so far. Their friendship never recovered from Nyn trying to assert authority over Egg after her captivity with the Seanchan and Egg threatening and hurting Nyn in reaction. This is proof of how frail that relationship still is. It doesn't mean they don't love each other, but what was lost can never be recovered, because their life followed different paths and some wounds, even unwittingly given, healed in a way that closed off an entire range of intimacy between them. It's a very real, adult, and raw sentiment and I love that Sanderson struck that balance of affection that's uneasy without being resentful. Egwene does need Nynaeve, and Nynaeve will always try to heal things. But this is as best as it can get.

Elayne's pregnancy is whatever in itself, but the way it's written so that Elayne becomes a liability who can't properly channel and a caricature of a pregnant woman is just so sexist, I am fuming. How the hell was this published recently?

Hurrah for the Wonder Girls meeting again though. 

(Don't worry Nyn, you'll get the Malkier throne) 

And I am super excited if Alviarin becomes Egwene's foil. She's one of my favorite antagonists.

The Asha'man's madness not going away after the cleansing of saidin is fitting, somehow.

The bubble of evil turning people into husks crumbling to dust reminds me of La Nuit des Temps. I love that body horror and I hope they keep this on-screen.

"Anything should be Healable, she told herself. Anything but death itself." - oh, Nynaeve... The fact she's probably not going to end up as a researcher in a brand-new medical institute is A Tragedy.

She cured the Madness!!! Hell yeah Nyn. I would have loved to see her work at it more beforehand, but I feel so relieved for the Asha'man. NYNAEVE.

No chance the AS are ever going to turn Nyn into anything she doesn't want to be. She's like Cadsuane in that regard. Rand doesn't have to worry. That's her thing; from the start, she's the one who changed the least and stayed true to herself.

"To be Aes Sedai is to be what you decide it is,’ Rand said, his stump still held behind his back. ‘Moiraine cared. You could see it in her, even when she was calm. The best Aes Sedai I’ve known are the ones who others complain aren’t what an Aes Sedai should be.’" - I agree with Rand, but he hasn't been in contact with enough Aes Sedai to make that judgment? I mean, that's the heart of his opposition to Eggy; they don't know each other. Also, it would have been nice to say that to Moiraine's face.

It's interesting because Nyn is also an unfitting mentor in the sense that she is very much a carer rather than a guide. Rand acts more like a guide to her than she does. She is too close to him to teach him, so what is left is essentially a position of minder.

It's a good twist and I'll be curious to see if the narrative doubles down on it or subverts it. Still, it creates this lovely intimacy between Rand and Nyn that makes Rand's trust in Nyn to defeat the DO all the more genuine and tender.

I had a suspicion the madness was closer to cancer than mental illness. It cannot always be healed. In Rand's case, it has spread too much.

I have reservations about Sanderson overexplaining the madness to the point of contradiction though.

"The Shadow’s Amyrlin.’" - that made me laugh. It's a cheesy line, but then the Forsaken are very Grand Guignol so it fits.

Glad to see Egwene is still working with the BA hunters and now they're preparing to sniff out Mesaana, hell yeah. I love that spy stuff.

Siuan is completely MIA though. I am distraught. If we don't get a scene where Egwene and Siuan make up, I am going to add this to the list of missing scenes I don't have time to write.

How much of Faile regretting her behavior is character development and how much is it Sanderson not vibing with her prior characterization? As much as I understand captivity would change her, it doesn't explain how she forsook a culture that required of her this jealousy. I'm not saying it's impossible, but that's why it would have been better to focus more on Faile's side of the story during the Shaido captivity. It's that character connective tissue that Jordan was skilled at and that was denied Faile strangely.

Faile and Perrin communicating? Sharing trauma? Faile compromising? Perrin accepting he's been running away from his issues? Is this a dream? More seriously, they grew a lot, even if it seems a bit sudden. The change isn't unwelcome.

Everyone is leaving Mat, including my man Juilin. Ironically, they feel safe in the Tower, but given that from Perrin to Rand the heroes are strangely tolerant of the Seanchan, I get it. 

So Mat does intend to convince Tuon to free the damane? Right? Right?!?

The gift to Joline was cute. He does care about them. It's awkward and his inner thoughts remain childishly sexist, but he did improve.

I wish Mat wasn't making so many fat jokes at Vanin's expense. I don't see the point. We already know he's callous and kind of a jerk.

Still not a fan of Mat's lack of empathy for women though: Thera is not a mouse, but someone who's been enslaved and traumatized. And Sul'dam are not like Rand: he never enslaved people and tortured them into obedience. I get the point he's making but the parallels only reinforce the fact he feels more empathy for the slave masters than their victims, which has been a recurring theme with the Seanchan.

Yes, I love Mat. Yes, I think this writing choice is callous.

Seanchan slavery is 100% slavery: the fact it is part of their culture doesn't make it less so. In Mat's culture, it should be abject and he's just uncomfortable with it? Does it reflect the North/South attitude toward slavery before its abolition in the US?

I talked too fast about the gift. He now goes back to pranks? That was something he did in book 1, ages ago. Why?

I am not sure about the way Sanderson writes Mat.

"And what about the people around you? Give you no thought to the danger you could cause them?’" - Birgitte is right to point out the flaws in Elayne's reasoning. I despise such dismissiveness of the people in danger for Elayne: it isn't kind or smart.

It's bugging me and bordering OOC for her: there's a difference between being protected by people willing to die for her and taking fool risks. The BA fiasco happened because there were risks that Elayne dismissed ON ACCOUNT of her invincibility.

Am I supposed to cheer for Elayne as she manipulates the Kin into accruing more power and tries to monetize channeling? Like Faile and feudalism, this is not a political improvement at all. What is going on with her?

"And they liked to pretend the entire world could be polished up and cleaned the same way, people defined and explained in one or two words." - they're white conservative Christians, what do you expect?

Strange purple walls in the wolf dream now?

At least Perrin is taking lessons from Hopper. It's been books since I've cared about him and it's genuinely disheartening. 

I don't care for battles unless they're written in a very specific literary way, but Ituralde being rained on by Draghkars is kind of a horrifically grotesque image that I appreciate.

So the Blight is overflowing with Trollocs and Ituralde is the only thing keeping them out? Tarmon Gai’don needs to come now!

"Berelain pursed perfect lips. Light, but the woman was beautiful!" - just kiss her and be done with it

"Faile could only guess how much juggling, political double-dealing and sheer cleverness that must have required." - make. out. with. her.

About the Faile/Berelain showdown: a) I love that Faile is smart enough to realize she cannot outsmart Berelain and that the solution will come from Berelain, b) I loathe that we are still in this silly sexist love triangle beneath both women, c) why do I feel like getting Faile to pretend to be her friend is exactly what Berelain wanted but she was waiting for any opening to work Faile, d) they should make out and start a ménage à trois with Perrin.

"Well, there’s this rumor that says you stepped into death’s domain to challenge him and demand answers to your questions" - I like the way Sanderson is using stories around Mat, there with the extremely detailed cover stories, here with the extravagant and sometimes horrifically exact rumors.

Awwww, Mat doesn't want to be embarrassed in front of Talmanes! Talmanes and Tuon are his special nobles.

I've missed Birgitte and Mat's friendship. They're genuinely so wholesome together and if the show doesn't give us this relationship, I'll riot.

Elayne could attack the Two Rivers, bargains to keep the dragons for herself, and hires the Band to use against Cairhien?!? Is she a belligerent ruler always looking to expand her land? This feels like A Turn in her character and not an organic one.

Nynaeve Aes Sedai testing! I wasn't expecting it to come this soon but hell yeah!

"'To show that I am worthy,’ Nynaeve said." - you tell them! Of course, she's already AS

The test itself is ridiculous and brutal but we already knew from NS. It's just even worse because no AS respects Nyn.

"But I would never be myself again if I abandoned him. The world changed when I married him." - Feeling ambivalent about this line. On one hand, a lovely line about her devotion to Lan. On the other, the context and phrasing give off an unfortunate "I don't need a career when I have a man" aftertaste to it.

"And yet, so many of us do it without families. Without love, without passion beyond our own particular interests. So even while we try to guide the world, we separate ourselves from it. We risk arrogance, Egwene. We always assume we know best, but risk making ourselves unable to fathom the people we claim to serve.’" - Partly excellent line that feels like the culmination of an arc for Nyn except we didn't really see said arc so it's underwhelming.

And again, the suggestion that Aes Sedai are cold, frigid women because they don't have family: they do?!? But Nyn is obviously thinking of a straight nuclear family here, not found families.

It's bizarre this is the argument used, with so many other things wrong with the AS.

"Do not press me. In the morning, I swear the Three Oaths. I’m free of them for one more night." - that was a rad threat and At Last Nynaeve has Lan's bond! It was a bit sudden and I thought Lan would be more involved in the process given what happened last time. I hope we get at least a conversation about it when they meet again.

Seonid is so cute with her report to Perrin. The AS are efficient civil servants when they have actual good leadership. 

I am both relieved and pained Morgase is learning just now about Rahvin. That's a cold way to realize one has been under compulsion.

Bawler has something up his sleeve, good or bad. I wish Perrin was more cautious around him.

Ituralde's chapters are genuinely demoralizing. He and his armies are merely cannon fodder to slow down the Trollocs. Neat indictment of war still.

Oh Morgase, that poor, poor woman. She never felt truly loved by Thom or Gareth, and Taringail was a manipulative jerk. The way Tallanvor talks to Morgase is a bit too insistent and self-pitying though. Give her a break.

I admit that knowing how much of a jerk Taringail was it's good to know Gawyn has a father figure in Gareth.

I loathe the way Sanderson writes Siuan. She lost all of her sharpness and power. I want to weep. She acts like mid-books Min toward Rand.

Gawyn exasperates me but I have to admit he is an interesting character in the way he knows and understands so little about what is happening around him. He is pursuing a grey man or something incredibly dangerous, not knowing what it is. He disobeys Egwene and destroys her plans. He's an idiot whose actions always amount to anything.

At last some Moiraine rescue planning!

"No trades, Thom, no bargains. We go in fighting and we don’t leave until we have her." - this made me emotional. Truly, why does he care so much and talks about her as a friend now?

Hell no, Birgitte died in the Tower of Ghenjei!?! 

"They can’t all end in victory. Gaidal and I don’t deal well with happy endings anyway. Better for us to burn out in glory" - this is some ominous foreshadowing for certain stories. Also, there is a real risk that Birgitte's cycle of rebirths has been broken by her being pulled into the real world. Loving this thread of memories fading or being injected into different characters' minds with death as a threshold.

Mat and Birgitte's friendship is genuinely the loveliest.

"They feed off what we feel. They like Aes Sedai in particular, for some reason. Perhaps those with the One Power taste like a strong ale." -I am going to be sick. What are they doing to Moiraine?

Meanwhile, Elayne is onto another chaotic plan without backup AND invoked Min's viewing? She's going to be captured again and people will die, am I wrong? 

Like clockwork. 

I don't even know what to say about what happened in the dungeon.

So, Elayne nearly died, lost the black sisters, nearly lost Mat's medallion and Mellar left with a partially working copy. Impulsive is an euphemism at this point.

Elayne deserves all of Birgitte's ire. Pretending to be a Forsaken is a skit, not a plan.

This is the chapter where Gawyn, Elayne, and Lan are competing for the most bullheaded.

Birgitte has a tough job: she's losing her memories of Gaidal (and possibly of childhood) and taking care of Elayne is harder than walking straight into Shayol Ghul.

I've face-palmed so much about Elayne that it circled back to admiration. I get it: she's the clown queen, the M. Hulot of the monarchs, the Jacques Clouseau of the rulers. Her buffoonish recklessness is so daring it has morphed into wisdom.

"Or was it some part of him? Was it possible that that was what caused him to become a wolfbrother in the first place?" - he's doing the math at last.

I mock him but it feels good to have a chapter that's purposeful with Perrin's arc. No tergiversation, minimal poetry. Just a character coming to a conclusion.

"Bandar Eban has suffered enough beneath the hands of outsiders. Today, she will not know the hand of a conqueror." - I am loving Rand coming to terms with the fact he's been acting like Napoleon for the past few books under the guise of stabilization.

I do wish he would realize that the Seanchan's orderly ruling comes from enslavement and slaughter of a minority. That's why fascism is attractive to some, with promises of empowerment and security for a selected few.

Not terribly fan of the overtly messianic slant of Rand using his ta'veren abilities to uncover unspoiled grain and rousing people as if they were unable to organize without him, but it is comforting to know he is inspiring people.

"Who was he to forbid those who wanted to fight?" - at least Perrin stopped patronizing women for learning to fight. 

I spent the entire time of the Galad-Perrin meeting wondering when Morgase would be uncovered: the reveal did not disappoint.

As fun as the reveal was, the Perrin-Galad standoff is nothing but stalling. The trial with Morgase undead as a judge feels like padding so that Perrin has something to do before the LB. And Morgase has no authority. It is silly.

Darlin is a smart, careful ruler, and I appreciate that. I do wish Egwene would not go behind Rand's back like that, but he isn't leaving her much of a choice.

"Aes Sedai would, unfortunately, be Aes Sedai." - this is why seeing Egwene handle them is so satisfying.

"They were busy reacting to things she’d done months ago." - Clever girl. She's Siuan's girl through and through, playing 4D chess when everyone is squabbling. 

Egwene deftly lets the Hall vote her in charge of the DR alone. She's so sharp.

"Traditions that hitherto have been used only for treachery, backbiting and division" - YES honestly between Egwene and Nynaeve, if the Aes Sedai cannot reinvent themselves, they're a lost cause.

Eggy set another trap for Mesaana. I live for that spy stuff.

Seeing Perrin in the wolf dream again reminds me that the fight with Slayer reads like something out of Dragon Ball Z.

Light, the Perrin and Ituralde plots are not doing it for me. So close to the LB, it's plot fluffing.

Berelain is defending Morgase because she's a real one and understands people underplaying the damage done by patriarchy.

The gag of Alliandre being attacked by her three knives, and Berelain by the dagger hidden inside her dress during the bubble of evil is perfect.

The Galad and Morgase conversation is interesting: on one hand, I appreciate Morgase's input about justice; on the other, it is written like Sunday school morality. Perrin did kill those men for killing wolves and for them, wolves are only animals. Good luck trying to explain to them, without sounding like a DF that wolves are sentient creatures. It’s still the law of retaliation.

"How often did Guardsmen get the honor of carrying their queen, anyway?" - oh yeah, Sanderson is fully taking the mickey out of Elayne. I think he's exaggerating her traits to make her seem too ridiculous, but that's just me.

"'The world just changed, Elayne,’ Birgitte said, shaking her head, long braid swinging slightly. ‘It just changed in a very large way. I have a terrible feeling that it’s only the beginning.’" - Birgitte lived through so many wars. Witnessing Elayne enter what's obviously a belligerent path as a ruler must be crushing.

Perrin facing a nightmare in the shape of the Dragon Reborn, telling himself it isn't real: not subtle, but potent.

Rand looking like a statue on top of Dragonmount is a sweet allusion to Rand seeing himself as a story now.

Wth happened with that Rand vision in the Wolf Dream? Was it a flashback to Veins of gold? A flash forward? Why has Tam gone? Can we get a Rand chapter? 

Mat threw away his medallion and ashandarei to save Talmanes?? It's love, I tell you.

The fight against the gholam? The battle cry in the old tongue for the fallen? The Kin's gateway for the gholam to fall through? Epic. 

"The white in her hair did not detract from her prettiness at all." - Mat never disappoints when it comes to appreciating older ladies.

I hope Ituralde still takes on the Seanchan after the LB because he's skilled at guerilla warfare and using him as cannon fodder here is a shame.

So Cads retrieved Alsalam! Love the irony of someone with her reputation saving a ruler for once.

The tragedy of all these battles is that the most important fight will be between the Dark One and Rand. The rest is a distraction. It's a necessary distraction to allow an after, but it's still a consequence of a lack of unity and planning beforehand.

Ahhhhhhh Siuan is back in action, meeting the Sea Folk, teaching tel'aran'rhiod, setting the trap for Mesaana... And she's gone just like that.

Why can't we have longer Egwene scenes and particularly longer scenes with Egwene and Siuan?

"I am a tool that the White Tower must use" - Curious how the EF5 integrated differently Moiraine's words from TEotW: "A tool is not demeaned by being used for its intended purpose" 

And by curious I mean she's profoundly haunting the narrative and still affecting the main characters.

"She’s so concerned with being strong, with being the Amyrlin, that she doesn’t have room for anyone who won’t bow to her every whim." - he is so allergic to having a girlfriend who has more authority than him, please grow up.

Gawyn proved useful by discovering the assassin is a Bloodknife and then immediately after turned incredibly petty toward Egwene. He's nothing if not consistent. 

I hope we see Bloodknives on-screen: they have the potential to look horrifying.

I was hoping Perrin would reveal his nature during the trial. With Mat's legendary reputation growing, it's gratifying to see the three boys being out in the open with their abilities. 

Curious about the trap being set around the camp.

Hearing Perrin talk about what it feels like to be in someone else's shoes: he too fails to step in the Whitecloaks' shoes when it comes to defending his killing. In the eye of the law, it's not an argument either.

Also, the whole TGH road trip with Moiraine where Perrin’s single-mindedness was particularly egregious.

Okay, the trial was fun. I liked the testimonials and they didn't go the easy route with the sentencing. And Morgase got to rule a last time, while Galad got to take on her mantle for a moment, rather than Elayne or Gawyn.

I doubt Galad will sentence Perrin to death though: a lot of characters (his siblings) have been telling us how hard or cruel he is and so far, aside from joining the Whitecloaks, he hasn't done anything as bad as Gawyn, on the contrary.

"'We’re not children, Mother,’ Siuan said dryly.

‘No, you’re Aes Sedai – nearly as bad at following directions.’" - I love them.

"'See to your safety tonight,’ Egwene said. ‘I would not lose you.’" - and Siuan's smile in return. Their relationship is everything.

"Holding Nynaeve back from attacking, that would have been the difficult task." - Nyn's grin at the prospect of blasting some Black Ajah had me hooting. Let Nyn kill people.

Egwene bloody al'Vere, schooling the Wise Ones and the Sea Folk, leading the Aes Sedai, uniting them all and helping the AS forced to teach SF in the same breath. Why in the world would she choose the Green with negotiating skills like hers is beyond me. HER MIND.

"The women you thought you would find are nothing more than a dream, Amys. Real life is often more disappointing than dreams, but at least when you find honor in the real world, you know you know it to be more than a fancy." - I love this so much. The "adults" are as much at risk of glorifying experience as the youths. And the Wise Ones especially who have positioned themselves as grownup AS are not immune to this bias. Accepting change applies to them too.

"I will not tie you in bands of steel. I’ll use lace instead." - her lucidity regarding what she is doing is so enjoyable to read. It echoes the profound sense of justice AS have that got twisted with time into empty reverence toward punishment.

Perrin is bringing the ter’angreal that disrupts Traveling to tel'aran'rhiod Tar Valon of all places while Egwene is fighting Mesaana in there? I am screaming. He's generally quite careful and this is such a risky move.

"I can’t leave her to do it alone, he thought. I have to help her. From within her shadow." -

Gawyn is a fool but he did give the singular best description of why I would want to be a Warder. It's about service and reverence, being a rock.

Perrin being more experienced than Egwene at ter'aran'rhiod, despite having far less training, and stopping balefire is utter bullcrap though. 

"It seemed she’d managed to become an Aes Sedai. That was good; she deserved it." - okay, I forgive Perrin for trapping everyone in tel'aran'rhiod. That was sweet.

As an Egwene fan, I hate she's been collared again, but as a parallel lover, I adore that she is caught by a Forsaken, given she controlled Moghedien for a time.

Egwene bloody al'Vere: unbreakable doesn't begin to cover it.

Egwene neutralized Mesaana, Perrin tricked Slayer and destroyed the dreamspike, Graendal has a Hail Mary. Light, these chapters are so exciting.

My greatest complaint is that we never saw Siuan and Nynaeve fighting. Let them obliterate BA!

Oh, and Gawyn is bonded to Egwene. If his change of heart concerning Egwene's rank keeps, I'm okay with it. He's a misguided and lost youth, which is why he pretty much enrolled in a militia, but he can redeem himself.

Better keep away from those rings though. More Chekhov's guns.

Tom Bombadil, excuse me, Nakomi, raises a good point about Aiel hardness and punishment as a way of life, but the Aiel are not only war and a hard life? It's a culture. People live in hard climates everywhere and their culture is built around. The loss of a culture would rather come from their displacement or an invasion, not from losing the original purpose of their nation? So yes, Aiel in the Wetlands risk losing part of their culture. But not those in the Waste.

Uh, they made a power-wrought weapon. I don't like this. I prefer Le Guin's approach to war.

The Galad-Berelain thing truly comes out of nowhere though. Good for them and I actually like Galad. This still wasn't well prepared.

The Perrin's come-to-Jesus moment regarding leadership took so long to arrive, it doesn't land for me the way it could have two books ago. Although AT LAST he's accepted his role and we can be done with this arc and go back to the Wolf Dream.

Did Berelain and Faile really think Perrin would attack the WC after going to such great lengths to avoid a fight!?? They're both smarter than this.

Hot take: the Trakand siblings are like that because they manage to have both mommy AND daddy issues. Galad is like that because he's just mommy's boy.

Bukama mention! I didn’t write about New Spring but I LOVED that book. I should re-read it.

"He’d been outmaneuvered. Curse Nynaeve. And bless her, too." - The thing is, Lan's commitment to death is so entrenched, has been for so long, that he has to be maneuvered around to be kept alive. If there was more time, he could get help and heal. That's why I am so invested in seeing onscreen Nyn grasping the depth of Lan's trauma and Moiraine's actions a little better after their marriage. Nyn obviously sees Moiraine’s view now, but I want more about the minutiae of their relationship.

To me, Lan's trauma was way over Nyn's head when she married him, although being Nyn she adapted quickly and came up with this alternative to keep him alive. Nyn coming to terms with the reality of her marriage with someone of Lan's baggage would be such a compelling arc for the show.

Hopefully, he'll start therapy after the Last Battle: he's been traumatized when he was a kid, a teenager and a young man, and 20 years of a long war alongside Moiraine, who's equally FINE, didn't leave him time beyond surviving. It's a process.

Lan is making progress: he sees reason and accepts to lead the Malkieri to battle at last. This book should have been called "Men accept their responsibilities."

Perrin got Galad pledging for him? I like that. It's a neat tie to his conflict with the WC. 

Sanderson is not that much better at romance honestly. The marriage between Morgase and Tallanvor felt rather rushed and insincere to me. She also deserves better.

Elayne sees her move for the Sun Throne as uniting nations rather than conquering: sure Jan. Light, I pity the Cairhienin.

Mat and Perrin's reunion is so moving: we got little of the EF5 as friends. They are still kids, no matter how burdened by responsibilities.

Elayne reuniting with Morgase and Galad was so cute and what a reward after everything they all went through. I am so happy. 

Does Morgase feel flatter? Same issue as with Siuan. Less sharp and more cardboard Morgase than actual Morgase.

I snickered at Dyelin's reaction: my gal was ready to strangle Morgase to stop Andor from toppling into another war of succession.

Aviendha remains so pure of heart. It's worrying that so much of Aiel culture is centered on Rand indeed.

Androl seems like a cool dude. If he is the way to flesh out the Asha'man, I am curious, even if I have doubts about introducing characters so late in the game.

Eh. I wanted to see the BT given more substance but this division is just rehashing the WT plot.

About the long-awaited Perrin and Elayne confrontation: at least the Two Rivers will get some autonomy from Andor? It feels like politics distracting from the Last Battle, even if it's well-done politicking. It should have happened sooner.

Each time I am reminded Tuon enjoys breaking damane I want to weep. And now they have Traveling. Fuck Beonin so hard. 

"The White Tower was doomed." - you wish. As long as Egwene is standing, she's gonna eat you.

Now Perrin knows about the Moiraine rescue mission. It's happening lads! SOON.

It’s easy to forget Moiraine was also present for the encounter with Noam, which caused Perrin so much trauma. They all have ties to Moiraine.

Wait, Avi is seeing the fall of the Aiel and the Seanchan victory over the Wetlands, the White Tower fallen, Cairhien burnt (again), the Seanchan using Elayne's weapons, the Aiel cast out and defenseless? WHAT. Avi's descendants broke the Dragon's peace and engaged in an all-out war with the Seanchan, and their endless war eventually broke the Aiel as people? What. Please tell me Avi will change the future. This is too bleak.

Wait, didn't Moiraine also see different futures in Rhuidean? And she said they were not certitudes, only possible paths? 

Also, did Rhuidean just stop working? Or are the columns not responding to Aviendha as a symbol for the decay to come?

Bribing the rich is better than killing the poor in an invasion, but it's still conquest, Elayne.

Glad to see the Cairhienin nobles are still as corrupted as everyone else. Nobles!

"Tell them that I was wrong. Tell them that we’re not weapons. We’re men." - I love Rand and I love that he is realizing this now, but Light, was the way Rand did (not) deal with the BT truly one of his greatest mistakes.

Rand Sedai! I love that!

The implication of the title, rather than Dragon Reborn, is so juicy: he chose the path, he passed the test, he took the vows.

Interesting that of all the people he credits for helping him be who he is Moiraine is here and Egwene is not. They’re going to clash hard.

The Borderlanders slapping Rand because of his imperialist approach to leading is understandable. He is saving the world, but to pretend the way he is doing it is the right one is ridiculous. Although much like wielding saidin, there was no map.

"But … well, she was proud of him. Grudgingly proud. A little." - Oh Cads, we know. You don't have to hide.

Now, it is extremely interesting that Rand sees the Borderlanders' prophecy as risky given all the other prophecies and viewings he HEAVILY relied on.

Elayne: I'm not a conqueror

Also Elayne: talks about Cairhien exactly like a conqueror.

Light, I genuinely dislike everything Elayne stands for politically. Rand at least has moved past the imperialism, Elayne's arc has been about embracing it. Please, tell me she grows out of it soon. Is her belligerence the Damodred "taint" Moiraine was so worried about?

Setalle and Mat are such a good duo. Mat's begrudging affection for AS is quite endearing.

Mat saying he doesn't like Aes Sedai because he doesn't like women telling him what to do is a) very Mat, b) frustrating, and c) very meta.

Pevara is completely trapped because Travelling is impossible and the Asha'man did something to Tarna, everything's fiiiiiiine.

I still really like Pevara too. She's the definition of a brave fool. Can she be played by Alex Kingston?

"Light, but he wished he could let them stay behind, on their farms, to live in peace while the storm raged elsewhere." - And now he's in Moiraine's shoes: there are causes that require EVERYONE to take responsibility in the world.

"’Her’ meant Moiraine. But what had the snakes and foxes done to her?" - DON'T SAY THAT I AM ALREADY DREADING/ANTICIPATING ZOMBIE!MOIRAINE

The Eelfinn world reminds me of the library's description in The Name of the Rose. So twisted and odd.

"The Aelfinn were for questions; the Eelfinn granted requests. But they twisted those requests, and took whatever price they wanted." - So Moiraine had already encountered the Aelfinn in Tear. I am taking notes.

MY GAL IS HERE SHE'S HERE AND ALIVE

And half-naked, of course.

What do you mean the show isn't a faithful adaptation? It already managed to get Moiraine naked twice in one season, which is an improvement on the 0 naked or walked-on while brushing her hair half-naked Moiraine we got in TEotW.

"Unapologetic, unyielding. And selfless." - I am crying. She is such a force of nature. I have missed her so much and she was gone for so long. I don't even care that she is a damsel in distress here. I am such a sucker for katabasis.

"Noal had tossed his torch aside and gotten out a drum to try to soothe the Aelfinn. That had not worked, and so Mat had turned to the exploding cylinders and nightflowers." - The image is frankly hilarious. When music doesn't work, explosives will do.

"‘If you ever meet a Malkieri,’ Noal said, ‘you tell him Jain Farstrider died clean.’" - Ah! I love this. Mat is surrounded by people of legends come back to life or raconteurs. And Moiraine was already a legend among the Aes Sedai.

I love Mat's thoughts on honor. It's a foolish notion but if it allows some people to live, let them have it. 

Also, do those chapters feel different than the rest of the Sanderson books? The writing reminds me of the Ways.

Seeing the way Egwene leads in comparison with Rand... If he just explained his plan about the Seals, the alliances wouldn't need to be this fraught on the eve of the Last Battle. I guess that's something he also picked up from Moiraine.

I was right, Taim is doing something to his detractors. Is it compulsion or something more sinister?

Oh, Mat remembers Moiraine as far more cold: he was a self-centered boy, he's just seeing her as a human being now.

You bet she's a bloody legend like Birgitte and Jaïn. Aes Sedai were convinced she was still alive and disguised as a Green in LoC.

Of course, Moiraine is depowered like Siuan, and Leane, and Morgase... I hate this.

Give it to Moiraine to recall her torture, voice completely even, unflappable mask on. I want to scream. Why is she like this?

"Sometimes I wished that they would drain me quickly and end my life." - I am in pain.

So she asked for the angreal as part of the deal with the Eelfinn. What were her other two requests? Could she ask to get out, to survive, to die? 

Oh, I am already losing it thinking about Rosamund Pike taking hold of this in the show.

"Light! She had known what she would have to go through, and yet she had still pulled Lanfear into that ter’angreal? Maybe Mat was not the hero here, and maybe Noal was not either." - several people can be heroes at once in different ways but yes, yes Moiraine is a bloody hero

"'Moiraine blinked in surprise. ‘You did what?’

‘It was an accident,’ Mat said lamely, hunching down.

‘You accidentally married the Seanchan Empress?’" - I want Moiraine catching up on everything she missed to be a running gag.

"'Ta’veren,’ Moiraine said.

Somehow, he had known she would say that. Light. Well, it was good to have her back. Mat was surprised at how strongly he felt that. Who would have thought it? Affection for an Aes Sedai, from him." - I have missed her so much. Also, Mat and Moiraine are now the unexpected begrudgingly fond relationship I was needing.

Is Moiraine in shock? Throwing away an angreal? Moiraine "not being able to channel is worse than death" Sedai? Asking Thom to marry her? The last time they met they had a rather aggressive battle of Daes Dae'mar? Is she okay?

"You think they can make one of those color-changing cloaks with some patches on it?" - I laughed. I honestly like Thom. The groundwork for a relationship, let alone a marriage, is just not there. Also, don't make decisions like this after months of torture.

Also, the reveal that Thom and Moiraine had feeling all along for each other - with very little build-up but tbh on par with Lanaeve in book 1 - would have MUCH more impact with Siuan in the show since there's a reason their relationship is secret.

"Moiraine would get her tea after all." - That's a cute closing line.

Honestly, Perrin meeting with Noam/Boundless and understanding his becoming a wolf was a choice is far better a resolution than anything on leadership we got for him.

So Verin was warning Mat about the gateway in Caemlyn in her letter. Cool cool cool

And Rand now knows Lanfear lives. I am looking forward to another confrontation with Rand more experienced and mature.

So, the prophecy of the shadow explicitly talks about Mat, Perrin, Rand and Noal but who the hell is "the First Among Vermin"? Padain Fain?

I vastly preferred TGS, but it still was fun. It definitely belongs to the lower half in my ranking, mostly because some plots feel like they’re here to give characters stuff to do before the Last Battle (the stand-off between Perrin and Galad). But it concluded Perrin’s arc and set up some interesting stuff for the Last Battle, mainly between Egwene and Rand.

The gender dynamics in terms of plot were rather disappointingly on the nose: the men fight incredible battles, described at length, the women meet to talk about scheming or have catastrophic fights where the men teach them how to do the stuff. It's not great, especially after the last book.

Rand was also conspicuously absent, and Mat, Nyn and Eggy stand out quite clearly again. The best part was hands down the Moiraine rescue mission: the urgency of the chase, the oddness of the Tower of Ghenjei, the thematic convergence of so many elements for Mat’s arc and finally, the glee at having my gal Moiraine back on the ring. I still can’t get over the fact that Mat, whose arc has been all about luck, tactics, stories, Finn and fleeing AS, ends up rescuing an AS from the Finn using his luck and wits with the help of two legends made flesh and a storyteller.

I do think it’s hilarious that we finally get to infer who killed Asmodean from a throwaway line by Myrdaal HR.

Onto the Last Battle!

#The wheel of time #wot book spoilers #wot first timer #towers of midnight #wot book review #wot book journey #remblai #and I am done with the notes #I can now start A Memory of Light!

[luckhissoul]

continued from ( xxx ) @agoldenlily

finally they start walking. it was starting to get cold and it was good to get moving. even if she randomly chose a direction for them to go in. he was supposed to trust something like this? walking this way or that way - blood and ashes, this wasn't the best escape plan. at least the gateway had gotten them away from ebou dar, away from the flaming seanchan. but where would they go from here? he wasn't sure. light, but they needed a better plan than wandering this way or that. they needed something solid. he'd eventually have to go find the band, hopefully still with egwene. but first thing he had to do was get elayne back to camelyn. the bloody queen of andor out here wandering without anything but him to protect her!

and with the pain in his hip and - light, where were all his knives? he had a couple in his boots but his jacket was sadly depleted of them. he felt uncovered, uneasy even. he doesn't know where most of his stuff is at, he feels a little disoriented. pressing her a little closer to him, tucking her there against his side. he's not leaning on her. he's keeping her close so she doesn't run off and do something stupid. he had to keep her there. the bloody woman would probably run off and do something stupid, completely reckless.

and if he were to say anything of course she'd bring up that she had come all this way. but she owed it to him, didn't she? after everything, hadn't she said that herself? tht she'd save him one day. well, he hadn't thought it'd involve all this mess, with the seanchan damane probably having sensed her channeling. and this trek through the bloody fields of andor with no destination in sight. next time he'd just as well not take her help. he would be better off, wouldn't he? but at least right now she's not waving this in his face.

instead she's talking nonsense. saying that he could have some of this land! well, she could keep it all herself. he didn't want her bloody land or her titles. light, he just wanted a moment's rest which seemed to never be coming. the pattern wouldn't let him. elayne bloody trakand wouldn't let him. the worst thing was that she actually thought that he'd be tripping over himself to help her just because - well, he'd rather not think of it. but there's a small part of him that still lingers back on what she had done to wake him up. he shakes the thought from his head.

"if i did that you'd expect to win every time you came by. it'd be bad for business." he says with a small laugh. he stumbles on his step though. and he has to let her go so that he doesn't drag her down any. he winces as he presses his hand to his hip. stopping, light, but he didn't want to stop. he could make the walk. hadn't they said that walking around a little every day would make it better. well, this was going to be one long bloody trek, he'd be healed up in no time.

he stands straighter, not wanting her to notice. light, help him but could the bloody woman fuss. and when she did she got this look in her eyes. it was no good being in her good graces, no bloody good at her. so he smiles against the pain. well, it might come off a little more like a grimace. she wouldn't notice. "and you can't say i owe you." he says, a slight shrug of his shoulders. he reaches his hand out ad does something he knows that he's going to regret. his knuckles brush the side of her face. warm even against the cold, soft, he remembers - no, it would do no good thinking about any of that. "you said it yourself, you owed me one. maybe i arranged this whole world of mess just for you."

#v; back through the city #agoldenlily