#it's being sad about rand al'thor hours

[ofthebrownajah]

What I'm noticing on this reread is that Rand does have a lot of people who genuinely care about him but he just can't see it cause he's so consumed by his own misery

[asmodean-deserved-better]

correct me if i'm wrong (and i want to be wrong on this one) but i think that elayne, aviendha, nynaeve, lan and mat all never learned that rand had been kidnapped

[ofthebrownajah]

It's not just one person who teaches Rand unhealthy coping mechanisms, it's multiple people.

Moiraine: You're being too nice, feeding the poor isn't gonna win you Tarmon Gai'don. Also presents herself with cool Aes Sedai serenity, shows little emotion (which he emulates)

Lan: Death is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain

The Aiel: You must be harder than the Three-Fold Land itself

Rand internalizes all of these ideologies and forges them into this mask he hides his true authentic self behind cause he's convinced himself that he can't be who he truly is as a person to save the world, that his authentic self wouldn't be someone people can rally behind. He suppresses his entire identity behind this mask in a desperate attempt to be what the world expects him to be

[ofthebrownajah]

Thinking about Rand and Egwene's conversation and him saying he doesn't want to lose her. I think he's afraid of how she'll react to finding out he can channel. I think he's afraid of everyone abandoning him when they find out