#avimatrandlayne

[markantonys]

book 1: mat goes on a homoerotic roadtrip with rand

book 2: mat goes on a second homoerotic roadtrip with rand

book 3: mat goes on a heteroerotic roadtrip to save elayne's life, whilst having occasional homoerotic thoughts about rand

book 4: mat goes on a third homoerotic roadtrip with rand

book 5: mat finishes up his third homoerotic roadtrip with rand

book 6: mat prepares for a polyerotic roadtrip with rand's girlfriends, at rand's request

book 7: mat goes on a polyerotic roadtrip with rand's girlfriends

conclusion: Put Mat In The Polycule, So Help Me God

[butterflydm]

Chapters: 9/16 Fandom: The Wheel of Time (TV), Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rand al'Thor/Mat Cauthon, Rand al'Thor/Aviendha/Mat Cauthon/Elayne Trakand Characters: Rand al'Thor, Elayne Trakand, Galad Damodred Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mix of Show and Book Canon, Alternate Universe - Fate swap, Canon-Typical Violence, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory Negotiations, spoilers through book 6: lord of chaos, Mat is Rand's Warder AU, Perrin blew the Horn of Valere AU, Mat goes to the Two Rivers AU Series: Part 12 of voice in the back of my head Summary:

In Cairhien, Elayne Trakand governs the city as the Band of the Red Hand grows under Mat Cauthon's command. Rand al'Thor has sent out a public amnesty for men who can channel while, in private, he and his trusted companions must decide where to focus their attention, as rumors swirl about dangers in Andor and Illian.

Cairhien was so much quieter without Aviendha and Mat around, and the bed Elayne shared with Rand managed to feel almost empty with only two of them in it.

Yet there remained so much work to be done. Light, Elayne had believed that it would be decades before she would need to be this deeply involved in politics! Though perhaps that had always been naive of her. The White Tower had been as intensely political as Cairhien, and much less straight-forward than the Royal Palace in Caemlyn. Yet even there, she had expected to focus on her training and not on politics, as she would have been going home after she became Aes Sedai.

At home, Elayne knew every noble family by heart, could have recited names and lineages, how loyal they were to the Trakands, and what expectations they had of the crown. Cairhien was a messy tangle by comparison, even before their civil war.

[markantonys]

mat/rand/elayne/aviendha is a great polycule because they are all incredibly smart and competent yet also incredibly stupid and useless, each in a different way, and in the end they all balance each other out.

important diplomatic event? elayne negotiates 3 new alliances by the end of the night. aviendha causes an international incident. mat actively despises every diplomat there (except elayne) yet somehow ends up charming all of them. rand just wants to go home.

lost in the wilderness? elayne tries very hard to help out but she can't even read a compass. mat fusses about how bored he is and how they are never going to make it back to civilization (they've only been lost for 2 hours). rand insists the others should eat him if they run out of food (they've only been lost for 2 hours). aviendha completely ignores everything the other clowns are saying and doing and gets them back to civilization in one piece by hour 3.

trapped in a sticky situation of certain doom? rand and aviendha solemnly prepare to accept the embrace of death, and to sacrifice themselves so the others can escape. mat and elayne say "no one's dying today, idiots" and cook up a harebrained scheme to get them all out of there, and against all odds it works.

time to talk about feelings? elayne will volunteer to go first and will openly share every feeling she's ever had. rand is the best listener, but will volunteer nothing about his own feelings unless forced. aviendha thinks all feelings should be processed via the meeting of toh, not via discussion, and feels shamed whenever elayne tries to talk about something for which the toh has already been met. mat cracks jokes to deflect from his own feelings and ends up pissing elayne off because she is TRYING to have a serious conversation, and aviendha is also pissed off at mat for dishonoring elayne by making light of the matter, and then rand blurts out something troubling that makes the others forget their bickering in favor of unionizing to make rand go to therapy.

household chores need doing? aviendha refuses to waste water on something as trivial as mopping the floor. elayne is too busy with her queenly duties. mat is too busy bringing the kids to raid the palace kitchen for desserts way past their bedtime. rand goes into a househusband frenzy and gets the royal apartments all tidied up and the kids and mat tucked into bed after their sugar crash by the time elayne returns home from her duties (and of course he has a hot meal and a nice cup of tea waiting for her).

[markantonys]

this is one of my favorite tags anyone has ever put on any of my posts and my only note is that there IS one fictional man who longs to be made into someone's little wife even more than mat does, and that man is rand. therefore, they both need elayne and aviendha to wife them up [bangs gavel]

[markantonys]

elayne's first meeting of both rand and mat being while rand is bleeding out in mat's arms after mat accidentally stabbed him just makes EVERYTHING about matrandlayne so much better and funnier. every time elayne and mat argue about whose turn it is to take rand on a date will be like

elayne: remember that time *you* stabbed rand and *i* saved him?

mat: IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!!

rand: [just leaves to go on a date with aviendha while they squabble]

[markantonys]

elayne going “he’s my babygirl now and i will spoil him and nurse him back to health” as soon as she lays eyes on the cute peasant who brained himself in her garden..............dressing aviendha up in fancy clothes and making her blush by telling her how pretty she is...............being horrified when mat shows up in caemlyn dressed like shit and practically begging him to let her sic the royal tailor on him, and also paying for the production of his weapons of mass destruction...............polycule sugar mommy

[markantonys]

manifesting as many interactions as possible in season 2 between as many combinations of them as possible

[markantonys]

during the ebou dar subplot:

elayne wants to teach mat proper manners so that he can be a suitable companion for rand

mat wants to protect elayne because he promised rand he would

when they separate at the end, mat's promise to rand is carried on by aviendha promising mat SHE will protect elayne

mat spends a fair amount of time wondering and worrying about the state of the relationships between rand, elayne, and aviendha

aviendha decides it is very important to her that elayne make nice with mat

and elayne wants aviendha to be proud of her so that they can have a happy polycule, therefore, she decides that a happy polycule is dependent on her having a good relationship with mat

in conclusion, mat is so weirdly tied up with this polycule that he should just join it [bangs gavel]

[markantonys]

mat, aviendha, and rand have all got it so fucking bad for elayne

[markantonys]

relationship: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha (with a focus on mat/elayne/aviendha) rating: T length: 8.7k, complete summary: “Light, no,” Rand said. “If you tell Mat he’s experiencing a feeling even a moment before he’s good and ready to admit—to himself, let alone aloud—that he’s experiencing said feeling, he’ll just throw a fit and sink even deeper into denial. Stubborn woolhead.”

“Then we must endeavor to help him grow ready to admit it,” Aviendha said, undeterred.

The slightest hint of a smile touched Rand’s eyes. “I’ll settle for him and Elayne just being willing to sit in a room together by the time I next see them,” he said. “If you manage to successfully matchmake them, I’ll start to suspect you’re the Creator herself.”

Written for Polyship Week 2023, day 8. Prompt: free day!

[markantonys]

relationship: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha rating: T length: 9.7k, complete summary: Rand made a tearful little noise and drew his knees up into his chest, burying his face in them. “Two soulmates. And neither of them is Egwene,” he said. “What am I going to do?”

Mat was reaching to pat him on the back, and his hand froze when he caught sight of the very edge of a black letter, almost completely hidden by the curls at the nape of his neck; he was in need of a haircut. Mat seized a fistful of hair and pushed it out of the way, making Rand yelp. “What are you doing?”

“Blood and ashes, Rand,” Mat said in amazement. “You have three.”

Written for Polyship Week 2023, day 4. Prompt: soulmates

[markantonys]

relationship: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha rating: T length: 3.2k, complete summary: “Could you repeat that?” Egwene said, brow furrowed in bewilderment.

“Tell her that Rand would like to give Aviendha some feathers, but he won’t unless Elayne agrees,” Mat said, as if he were talking to a toddler. “Honestly, Egwene, it’s not that hard to remember.”

Rand was blushing like the sun, and even Aviendha seemed a bit flustered. What on earth was going on here? Why did Rand want to give Aviendha feathers, and why would Elayne care?

Written for Polyship Week 2023, day 3. Prompt: bedsharing, long-distance relationship, outsider POV

[markantonys]

relationship: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha rating: T length: 3.5k, complete summary: On the eve of the Last Battle, Elayne and Aviendha encourage Rand to be honest with Mat.

Written for Polyship Week 2023, day 2. Prompt: second chances

[markantonys]

relationship: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha rating: T length: 2k, complete summary: A year after the Last Battle, Caemlyn celebrates the Queen's wedding.

Written for Polyship Week 2023, day 5. Prompt: dancing

[markantonys]

relationships: mat/rand/elayne/aviendha (specifically, mat/rand connected to rand/elayne/aviendha) rating: M length: 7.5k (1 of 8 chapters posted) summary: Rand glanced down, looking startled. “Who’s that you’ve got there?”

“My…my daughter,” Mat said, after a slight hesitation. He knew this really was Rand now, and he trusted Rand with his life, but it was hard to trust anyone with hers.

Rand’s eyes widened, and then his whole face went soft. Mat remembered seeing that look on his…old face, every time he met someone’s new baby in Emond’s Field. “She’s beautiful, Mat,” he said, and Mat nodded in agreement. She was, of course, the most beautiful baby who’d ever graced the world. “What are you two doing here?”

Rand’s expression was more serious now. He’d guessed they were in trouble. “It’s a long story,” Mat said. “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”

After the Last Battle, Mat and Rand find their way home.

[butterflydm]

Chapters: 6/16 Fandom: The Wheel of Time (TV), Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rand al'Thor/Mat Cauthon, Rand al'Thor/Aviendha/Mat Cauthon/Elayne Trakand Characters: Egwene al’Vere, Min Farshaw, Nynaeve al’Meara Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mix of Show and Book Canon, Alternate Universe - Fate swap, spoilers through book 6: lord of chaos, Minor Nynaeve al'Meara/Lan Mandragoran, Minor Moiraine Damodred/Siuan Sanche, Minor Rand al'Thor/Min Farshaw, Minor Egwene al'Vere/Gawyn Trakand Series: Part 12 of voice in the back of my head Summary: In Cairhien, Elayne Trakand governs the city as the Band of the Red Hand grows under Mat Cauthon's command. Rand al'Thor has sent out a public amnesty for men who can channel while, in private, he and his trusted companions must decide where to focus their attention, as rumors swirl about dangers in Andor and Illian.

Min had gotten worse at doing laundry. She folded every set as if she had a personal grudge against it, using violent shakes that surely would leave wrinkles. It was clear that playing Moiraine’s maidservant was beginning to wear thin on her.

Egwene didn’t mind helping. She’d done a lot of household work back home and she’d come to the White Tower already knowing how to fold sheets and scrub floors. With a smile, she remembered how Elayne had needed to learn all of it step by step. Though she hadn't enjoyed the work, Elayne’s complaints had always been light and airy, with no real bite behind them. She missed her fancy soft bed back at the Royal Palace of Caemlyn enough that she’d mentioned it a time or two, but she never shirked.

For herself, Egwene had always found that doing this kind of work could almost be relaxing. It taxed the body but the mind was free to wander.

And more importantly, volunteering to help Min gave them time alone together, with no one else in earshot.