#this is so Liandrin coded

[meyonherown]

so this happened:

The whole sequence was such quality I didn't know which part to draw. But something in the audacity of the 'link with me' and Liandrin's belief in her power against all these other Aes Sedai chilled me to the bone (or got me hot ? hu).

Sadly the end result is the opposite of what I wanted to portray. My decision to make each Ajah's colour the background was surely the wrong way to proceed (as I was aiming for something dark and malicious). But I love the details of Liandrin's outfit, echoing the blood stains on her face. 

[wheelwheelwheel]

To the anon who asked for my thoughts on Egwene's wardrobe, tumblr ate the ask before I could answer it so hopefully you see this post :(

One thing that really stands out to me about Egwene's outfits in season 3 is that she does not fit the pattern of color-coding that virtually all the other Aes Sedai characters have (including Nynaeve and Liandrin’s Black Ajah group) where they generally wear the color of their Ajah for all of their scenes. Unlike Nynaeve who has been color coded from the first episode, Egwene’s outfits vary between being multi-colored (in season one) and being dark colored and monochrome (since season 2) outside of the Novice whites. As I mentioned in this post I think it's a very interesting choice that a lot of Egwene’s outfits in season 3 include elements of her damane outfit from season 2.

The main outfit that Egwene wears in the first half of the season is this black top with leather accents and a harness that goes up to her neck over it. To me this look invokes the damane collar as well as Lanfear’s all black Tel'aran'rhiod outfit from season 2. We know that at the beginning of this season the Seanchan and Egwene’s trauma from being a damane is on her mind, especially due to her repeated nightmares, and I believe that is why we see this influence in her main outfit. As for Lanfear, she is literally influencing Egwene’s mental state at the beginning of the season by using Egwene’s trauma against her and causing nightmares that are making Egwene more sleep deprived, more paranoid, and more distrusting.

We see two other variations of this base outfit, her coat from the first episode that she also wears on the way to the Waste and the shawl that she wears specifically on the journey to Rhuidean. In my opinion the coat, which is dark but appears multicolored, invokes Brigitte’s outfit from the books. To avoid too many book spoilers I will mostly just say that she is a character who is very protective of her friends and has a strong connection to Tel'aran'rhiod, both of which are things that can also be said about Egwene. Her shawl is very similar in style to the one she wears once she starts training with the Wise Ones, but it looks like it is a different fabric and is a slightly darker color.

After Egwene starts training with the Wise Ones she switches to her second half of the season outfit. This outfit is notably lighter in color than what she's been wearing so far with a white blouse and a lighter tan shawl over it. Notably, this shift occurs around when Bair and Melaine start teaching her about Tel’aran’rhiod and how to protect herself. Because of that, I believe that the shift in outfit colors also indicates a shift in her mental state as well as a visual cue to show that she is no longer being influenced by Lanfear.

Overall I think there are very interesting things being done with Egwene’s costuming this season. I believe the change on the color and style of what she's wearing over the course of the season indicates the level of influence that Lanfear has over her. I am also very curious to see her outfits in further seasons to see if she ends up getting the Ajah color coding after all or if this is an early hint at her path being different.

BONUS: Egwene's Amyrlin outfit. This outfit appears twice this season, once in her Accepted’s Test (where she is also wearing a braid) and once the first time she consciously enters Tel'aran'rhiod. What I think is the most interesting about this outfit is that while it is still obviously an Amyrlin's outfit, it is a very different style than what we see on Siuan (and later on Elaida). The other Amyrlin outfits usually have a lot of decoration and added sequins or beading but Egwene’s is simpler and most of the decoration is from the repeating flame pattern on it. Also notable is that this outfit is yet another example of Egwene picking an outfit with a collar

[hahnspoetrycorner]

i’m SOBBING

liandrin and lanfear would be such good parents!!!! AAAAAAAAAAA

And I know it can't be positive//What if it's positive? - Lanfear/Liandrin

A/N: Quick fic just because.

She’s pacing as she waits. Lanfear watches the woman from the shadows until it’s clear what’s going on. Liandrin’s hand drops to her stomach, pressing flat. It’s this, the small moment of understanding that pushes her to step out, move closer, wrap an arm around Liandrin from behind and let her lips find the woman’s ear.    “Are you sure?”    “I....”    Liandrin’s breathing hitches and she nods, her voice low.    “I can feel it.... feel... her.”    “Come then, come away, come home with me...”    "I can’t just disappear Lanfear I’m not... I’m not you...”    “When they find out... they will disown you, you just got welcomed back...”    “I know.”    Liandrin’s breathing hitches and she turns slowly as she pulls away from Lanfear.    “If I come with you I.... I’d never be able to come back.”    “Do you want to?”    Silence, time ticks past, Liandrin’s eyes close.     “No.... not without you.”    Later, months later, Liandrin watches her former friends from the shadows as she raises her child, the little girl is blonde, dark eyed and full of fierceness, the absolute perfect blend of her mothers. It’s not what she planned, but it feels... right.

[cannoli-reader]

My Notes from Watching the Wheel of Time Show, season 1, episode 6

Originally posted on 12/10/2021. Possible spoilers for any or all WoT novels.

I skipped watching this when I went to Prime Video for that purpose, because an episode of "The Expanse" had dropped. This might have been the first time since 1992 that I have ever prioritized other media over new WoT content.

1:30 - Is this a Belter in the world of WoT? The hammock and hut suggest poverty, but those are some fancy tattoos for a child.

1:48 - Li’l Siuan is from a primitive fishing tribe, rather than an urban dock district

2:31 - Okay, that looked like a city in the background, so maybe their hut is in the Fingers of the Dragon. Probably not an important distinction, but it’s a thing about Tear that the High Lords exercise tight control over the area, and would not likely allow people to settle in the Fingers, for no other reason than to prevent anyone getting an navigational advantage over their own pilots.

3:15 - “A wise woman knows the breaking point of her line,” is a very interesting comment, given that’s a lesson that Book-Siuan utterly failed to learn her entire life.

4:14 - Always with the tragic backstories.

5:20 - I guess this is a cheap way of having her sent to the Tower, without having to hire an actor to play the authority figure or a group of extras to play a mob who compel her departure.

8:27 - Liandrin’s actual braids make an appearance!

8:41 - I can’t but notice they have yellow-washed the canonically Arabic, Leane Sharif, and at best are subbing in the background character with a hijab and no lines.

9:45 - I wonder if those are Accepted uniforms, or if this is supposed to be some sort of female guard force.

11:33 - This is a good way, I guess, of expositing the Tower’s grasp on the world is slipping, and they even found a natural way for someone like Logain to demonstrate that knowledge, without compromising too much the concept of proprietary channeling information or Tower secrets. And the fact that outsiders generally don’t make much, if any, distinction between Ajahs is already undermined by their propensity for color-coded garb.

11:36 - I wondered in the trailer why Leane looked so pissed. That explains it.

11:59 - “I am not so easily fooled” says Siuan, commenting on Logain’s factual statement (I assume it is; why bring it up otherwise, unless you’re looking to shit on the books just because). Do they realize this is not making her actually smart?

Also, that silly wing thing on the front of her ridiculous dress looks like it might be the Amyrlin’s stole.

12:35 - Logain is to be kept captive until he “lose(s him)self entirely to the madness”. Gentling stops you from going mad. That’s the justification for doing it, as opposed to just killing them on sight.

14:00 - Not for nothing, but Liandrin has a point. That it is what she wanted to do anyway does not change that fact.

14:09 - Siuan’s reference to the rules of engagement doesn’t make much sense here either, since killing is on the list and Liandrin has already pointed out that they managed not to resort to the last extreme. This just looks like a bureaucrat passing judgment on actions taken in the exigencies of combat. And considering we spent a whole episode on the tragic response to the consequences of Logain’s breaking free, we really should be considering Logain lucky to be alive.

But having the normally smooth and cool Liandrin’s voice breaking and sounding stressed and panicky seems like the show is trying to say she’s wrong and Siuan is this supreme font of wisdom and fair-mindedness

17:00��- Liandrin is really coming across as speaking truth to power, even if she is being portrayed as a troublemaker.

18:58 - My general motto with regard to the Tower ITB is Voltaire’s ecrasez l’infame. Siuan’s tirade suggests the show version won’t be much better despite the girl-power vibes I get from everything else about it.

21:20 - The subtitles call the innkeeper in Tar Valon “Basel Gill”. A character defined in the book by his devotion to the Queen of Andor and his loyalty to friends, including charity to a couple of friends of friends, has been repurposed as a Tar Valon innkeeper who charges high prices to the same kids Book-Gill took in and fed for the sake of a mutual friend.

21:53 - “It’s nice to see you, too” snarks the guy who has done nothing to make contact with Rand and Mat for a whole episode while he was preoccupied by personal bullshit instead of the candidates for savior of the world.

22:00 - I suspect Barney Harris is being replaced, because his moans of sickness sound more like there should be another person in the bed with him.

23:30 - So much better done ITB. No reason I can see for the changes, aside from Moiraine being the clear authorial favorite. They give her the lightning reflexes to stop Mat’s attack, and made Rand an encumbrance who distracted Lan from being the one to catch Mat.

25:16 - So Mat has to be watched lest he touch the dagger again, says Moiraine, after leaving the room to the person who followed her out. Even if the dagger is on Lan’s person, they still left it in the room with Mat, and we can’t really say this version of Lan is as good as a safe for holding objects secure, given how differently he has been portrayed from the Book version.

25:36 - Moiraine would absolutely say something like this. The problem is, the show seems to be on her side, when ITB (and on the show) she has given them little reason to trust her. How are the Two Rivers people supposed to trust she would not have treated Mat as an impediment to her mission and offed him like the ferry?

26:45 - Okay, Maigan’s agreeing with me about Siuan, but on the other hand, she’s also denouncing a Green for speaking on behalf of a Red, just because they had fought together and she believed the Red to be in the right. So it’s a crazy whacky world, when Aes Sedai display integrity? Sisters choosing the truth over factional rivalries is the equivalent of dogs and cats living together?

27:15 - One of the pseudo-feminists’ greatest whines criticisms about the book series is the frequency of nudity. Now, we are not subjected to descriptions of the women’s bodies, and it is seldom in a sexual context or with gratuitous sexual connotations for ordinary nudity, but, fair enough. Women get undressed a lot. But on a TV show, with a female writer and director, where actual human beings have to get undressed and partially display their bodies in context that encourages the viewer to see them as naked, we get an inserted bathhouse scene (not to mention an inserted sex scene and a prior bathing scene with similar display of female bodies, in the pilot), where women are striking poses & lit so as to draw attention to their uncovered skin. ‘Rules for thee and not for me’ feminism.

28:33 - Okay, why is she keeping their survival a secret? That’s pointless even for Book Moiraine.

29:05 - Please don’t give us more melting scenes for these rings.

29:15 - That angle, for a second, made the crease of Perrin’s shoulder look like Egwene’s buttcrack.

29:22 - How did they get Perrin here if the damage is so bad?

29:57 - They are doing a good job of keeping the camera on Egwene’s right profile and the other side in shadow to conceal Madeline Madden’s nosewart.

31:00 - Moiraine is leaving the kids alone, in two separate establishments, with no trustworthy supervision.

31:42 - ITB Moiraine does not think of the Two Rivers folk as friends, no matter how benevolent her actions, because she knows she might have to do something horrible to them for the greater good. She never even indicates any care for, or affection toward, them in her stream of consciousness. Show-Moiraine, whose treatment and behavior toward them has been considerably less benevolent and friendly, on a mere month’s acquaintance, most of it spent apart from all but Nynaeve, has even less reason to use that term.

32:04 - Okay, Lan’s going to stand watch, but over whom? They are in two different places and neither group knows the other is alive.

32:16 - She’s leaving them unattended to get laid?! I am just assuming. As I may have said previously, the sector of the fandom toward whom this show appears to be pandering tends to ship Moiraine and Siuan, so that's how I take the "give her my love." Only now the shippers are going to whine that we are deprived of the implied poly relationship with Lan and presumably Siuan's warder, too.

33:12 - Oh, so they have Traveling. What’s the nonsense limitation they are going to claim for why they have not used whatever this is for something more important than secret-sexy-times meetings?

33:24 - I bet Siuan’s dad could have afforded a second rowboat for the price of all those tattoos. Edit: 'kay, she got some as an adult.

34:05 - And now celibacy is a thing for the Amyrlin? And Moiraine’s “when have we ever followed the rules” in this context is not about going around petty restrictions or thinking outside the box or doing what must be done, so much as “rules don’t apply to us, because we’re all we care about.” While I might not agree with a rule of celibacy in this case, the point is generally to demonstrate the priority one places on the institution that requires it. So being Amyrlin is important, but Siuan & Moiraine hold themselves and their feelings more important. Which is super hypocritical considering the level of supremacy she is declaring in the Hall.

36:20 - Okay, the Dragon’s soul being split up is dumb, because it makes them all partial people. A soul IS a person. Bodies are just like clothes. This is the reality, even if you don’t believe in souls and use the word merely to mean the essential component of a person or concept or object. So, best case scenario, what they are saying is that the most important thing about the Dragon is his power and status. What he is, not who he is. And never mind that’s 180 degrees in opposition to the message of the books, for every character.

And if they are not actually doing this, and there is only the one Dragon Reborn, this is a stupid diversionary speculation.

36:33 - “You think I’ve forgotten that?” Moiraine asks in response to Siuan’s admonition that they will be stilled if anyone else discovers what they are up to. Um, yeah, Moiraine. It looks very much like you forgot that, since your immediately prior line of dialogue was suggesting that you tell lots of people what they are up to, and create the conditions for that to happen!

Moiraine: We should tell lots of people Siuan: If anyone finds out, we will be punished. Moiraine: Did you think I had forgotten that? Me: Well, since you don't seem to remember your own immediately previous statement, that's a fair guess.

36:37 - Is it weird that their post-coital garments are different than what they were wearing to bed before Moiraine came to Siuan’s room? Especially since Moiraine is wearing something more revealing than what she had on when she approached her sexual partner?

38:50 - Sacrificing a bunch of people for a stupid plan to beat the Dark One through a loophole is pretty in-character for Siuan.

39:41 - Why does Liandrin keep describing things wrong? “Nursed back to health” is not remotely an accurate way to describe Healing.

40:02 - I don’t know what’s dumber in this fan-fiction adaptational change: the Reds doing horrible things to men suspected of fooling around with their Ajah sisters, and the implication that the Red Ajah has explicit anti-male policies (nearly every non-Darkfriend PoV Red ITB has male sexual partners), or Moiraine overlooking a Darkfriend meeting place by underestimating Liandrin. Or worst of all, the Reds would not do anything to a mere trysting partner, therefore Liandrin’s association with him is a serious crime (such as treason or Darkfriend stuff) and Moiraine is in sole possession of this knowledge of Liandrin, but is letting it go unreported for blackmail purposes.

40:18 - Loial’s shoes are clearly just to make him look taller. With little success.

40:45 - Moiraine is as giddy as a YouTube fan reviewer at her encounter with Loial. Why?

41:22 - Nosewart! Fitting it gets a moment in the spotlight as the show is doing a bit of metatextual snarking. It’s not clever to bring that sort of thing up without a good answer, because it just looks like you are mocking the work you needed to crib from in order to get a job yourself. See, no one would pay for a show entirely from the mind of the Coffee Fetcher for the Good Seasons of Game of Thrones, so Rafe needs a best-selling fantasy novel series to get that level of attention. It’s not clever of him to use his show to criticize much more successful writers.

And the obvious answer to the issue of the throne and office holding the same name is that the point is the woman is subsumed into the office, that in her official capacity she is acting as the institution, not the person. Furthermore, it’s only confusing to morons, as a person and an inanimate object will almost never be discussed in the same practical context. Telling a servant to clean the Amyrlin Seat is unlikely to result in a feather duster being applied to Siuan, and describing the actions or policies of the Amyrlin Seat are unlikely to cause one to confusedly assume the chair has become animate. Unless nosewarts are a symptom of some sort of brain disease.

41:30 - One unfortunate consequence of the loss of royalty and whatnot is that people keep trying to make up stories of it without having any idea how it works. The Amyrlin Seat would not request an audience with a peasant girl still in her fake-Scottish skirt. All they had to do was copy the book dialogue where people receive a summons to an audience with the Amyrlin, not a request for an audience. And if the point of the change is to show the Tower as somehow egalitarian, the entire rest of the episode has epically failed in that regard.

41:40 - Nosewart.

41:40 - Also, Nynaeve’s question of Lan is really really dumb. I’ll just write it off as an honest attempt to show Nynaeve’s attitude of constantly questioning and refusing to be dictated to and charitably just assume the writers are simply incompetent to execute that depiction through dialogue.

41:57 - Is it possible for TV women to describe their actions without humble-bragging?

42:08 - Stating that Siuan waits for only one woman, when the Amyrlin is, by her own words, the highest ranking person in the world, just invites speculation as to whom she waits for, and how Moiraine is so certain of that fact. For someone keeping so many pointless secrets, Moiraine sucks at intrigue.

42:48 - A het man demanding that the two attractive young women come closer would be seen as creepy. So why not the equally gynosexual Siuan?

42:45 - Nynaeve does not bow. Actually, ITB, Nynaeve would make a half-hearted effort but get it wrong, because she could not care less about crap like that. But this is okay.

43:02 - If that was an allusion to Egwene’s nosewart, it was extremely rude, Siuan! And stop trying to steal my joke across the fourth wall!

43:16 - Egwene visibly deflating when Siuan names Nynaeve is the best thing ever to appear on a screen!

43:20 - And they immediately ruin it with Nynaeve’s stupid response. How is that even an insult, let alone a burn? Nynaeve would not expect people to be impressed with her strength, but she would also not mock the Tower for being weak, because she cares about the person, not their strength. Her “comeback” demonstrates exactly the reverse.

43:54 - Nynaeve does not use bad words! Not “ass” in the real world or “smoke” in WoT! And she’s not deliberately rude. She thinks “Go away, we don’t want your help” is being polite, but she doesn’t try to offend people for shits and giggles, especially powerful people who could make trouble for her or her companions.

44:53 - Egwene silently turning to go in support of a friend from back home, especially turning away from a person of power who is tacitly offering power or the chance to effect significant events, is even more OoC than the Nynaeve & Siuan stuff.

45:03 - In my headcanon, that reaction shot of Moiraine, as Siuan saying “The Wheel does not care…” is her biting back the comment that the Wheel can’t care anymore than it can want.

45:42 - Nosewart! It’s like she’s leading with it!

45:46 - Egwene: “…what do we need to do?” Siuan: glances at Moiraine Me: I hope she’s not proposing a foursome.

46:03 - Please, not another ring-melting, please.

46:30 - Last episode, Moiraine said Tar Valon and/or the Tower is not her home. So what’s with the waterworks, especially when her imminent sentencing in the Hall has been prearranged? If Siuan is the great love of her life it hurts so much to leave, instead of a Friends With Benefits deal, why’d she say that last episode?

47:28 - More than ¾ of the way through 1/8 of the season and we’ve got nothing from this episode except a sex scene. It makes me extremely suspicious of the intent in the slow, lingering close-up shot of Moiraine kissing the Amyrlin’s ring.

48:09 - Siuan is saying a lot of stuff everyone in the room should know already. And if this is a sacred object, why use it so casually? If she is already bound to speak only the truth, why not simply make her promise to do what she’s told? If that Oath was not binding on her, why bother with another go-round?

I’m not even going to bother with the colossal deviation from the books of using the Oath Rod for an ordinary punishment.

49:38 - Why is her ear gilded?

And what is the point of all these compliments? Not the time or place, especially if the whole point of her sentencing is to conceal their relationship and collusion from everyone, especially the Hall. Siuan’s fall is going to literally be Moiraine’s fault, with this pointless shipper-fan-service dialogue.

53:06 - Are Moiraine’s tears blinding her to the giant samurai hiding behind the hill?

53:50 - Ordinary Shienarans call Loial “Builder” out of respect for his people having built their lost city. Moiraine calls him Loial and treats him like a kid because A. he is and B. it keeps him in line. And IIRC, it was made very clear ITB why he is called that. I feel like a WoT Novice will be expecting him to finish whatever that structure is behind Moiraine.

54:02 - Why are Perrin & Egwene accompanying Loial with whom they are onscreen for the first time? Why is the group not together, instead traveling so far apart Moiraine cannot see the different elements of the group across this wide stretch of clear ground?

54:09 - Why is Perrin smiling? What or how does Perrin feel about anything, when he has had no dialogue in this episode, and before it, was last seen lurching out of the Children's camp?

54:27 - Rand & Egwene’s reaction suggests they have not actually been in contact offscreen this whole time, so again, why is Loial with her and not him?

55:09 - Even if the horses can’t go into the Ways, you could take the luggage off, in case you need it, or at the least, take off their tack. That’s not a good way to leave horses unattended.

55:16 - Is there a point to changing it so horses can’t survive the Ways, besides saving on the horse budget?

56:21 - The fandom defense of Moiraine’s secrecy, that she could not trust the Two Rivers folk is exceedingly stupid and not in keeping with her other actions and behavior toward them. Having her claim that she was keeping secrets because she could not trust them, but now has come to know them after a month+ apart (and being unconscious before and throughout Shadar Logoth) is even dumber.

57:07 - Egwene would never for a moment entertain the idea that the Dragon is anyone but her. And in the face of her own apotheosis, she would not have much thought to spare for the fates or cost of others. Not necessarily out of malice, just considerations of power, status and advancement take up a disproportionate share of her attention.

57:26 - Loial’s expression is like “Um, have I just agreed to help a psychopath plug the Bore with teenage bodies?”

57:50 - If you need to channel to use the Ways, isn’t that largely defeating their point in the story?

58:24 - Why did we need three different reaction shots of people who can’t see what Moiraine is doing?

58:49 - “It’s too late to turn back. Whatever happens is beyond our control…” Does that include the choice to turn back? Because that kind of feels like a dumb answer to the half-facetious question about changing one’s mind.

59:02 - “The Wheel Weaves as the Wheel Wills” says the person who pedantically denied any such agency to the Wheel a few episodes ago.

1:00:10 - Can’t wait to see how this latest “improvement” is going to play out. It’s funny because just the other day, a browser feed had an article saying how the show has improved on the books by not keeping the cast separated for so long.

[geek-and-destroy]

This is a Verin Sedai simp blog now - Wheel of Time Read

This is post 11 in The Wheel of Time Read - see the previous post - covering chapters 18-42 of book 2.

A few days ago, I started reading The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan’s sprawling fantasy series. And - you know what skip this intro shit, I have some explaining to do.

So. I usually like to go like 5-10 chapters before I post an update to this thing. I had midterms this week so I thought I wouldn't get enough time to read or write. But guess what.

Like the excruciating allure of saidin, the book called to me. I'm pretty sure I flunked an exam or two in the process, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. (Yes, I have now started using this phrase as a way to skirt personal responsibility. No, I will not stop.)

Robert Jordan, I feel, is making full use of the ungodly amount of pages at his disposal to slowly dissect every aspect of the sprawling world he's laid out. I have to say, the 'I have won again, Lews Therin' part with the glimpses of different AUs was well fucking done. Has to be one of my favourite parts of this series so far, along with Moiraine's Manetheren speech way back in book one.

And it was so great getting there, too! SO! MUCH! STUFF! First, there was the big statue that activated Rand's saidin, (another well-written scene btw) then you had the whole thing with Rand being treated as a lord - growing into it, even - and Daes'daemar. I love how Rand just doing nothing played into his supposed mystery, getting major clout just by sitting on his ass. Well, he didn't really sit around the whole time in Cairhien. He went and met Thom! (side note: I was kinda disappointed he didn't stay dead, honestly - an impactful death is yet to occur in WoT - but the character has much more in him than that. Guess what, though. The one real, impactful death has been Thom's protege girl, who was kinda fridged tbh. There's only so much fridging you can avoid in such a huge series, I suppose. Some characters exist solely to further another character's story, it's just like that sometimes.) The feast at Barthanes' mansion, Machin Shin, Barthanes' death, the stedding!! Loial is the hottest, most valid Ogier ever, he must be protecc at all costs. The Portal Stone to Toman Head, way out in the west. It's a lot.

... Rand's going to be blamed for Galldrian's death, isn't he? Since he went to prime rival Barthanes' party over Galldrian's. Whenever he declares himself/is outed as the Dragon Reborn, that is. Oh, well. I'm willing to bet Thom had a hand.

There were also exotic Domon and Fain POVs showing an entirely different culture from the one we've seen so far. Even Shienar was similar to the mainland civilization. I'm soorta iffy about the whole damane thing. It's interesting, changing the power dynamics of channelers, but with an adaptation being made, I'm worried about its potential fetishizability. At least Turak dude seems like an interesting character. And guess what? Another matriarchy! Again, with patriarchal systems and trappings intact, but hey. Will we get to meet this Empress? I hope so.

Meanwhile, Egwene and Nynaeve! In Tar Valon!! Meeting Elayne and Min! They don't hate each other! Delightful Aes Sedai lore galore! empty boi Logain strolling around, making me pity him. Nynaeve choking the Amyrlin was also great. Rage-activated magic, is Nynaeve the Hulk? She wears green in the show, too - is Hulk-coding a thing now? Anyway, I am gushing over all of these dynamics.

All except two, that is. Firstly, every young woman is still inexplicably attracted to Rand. I suppose I'll have to live with it. Rand certainly isn't a wish-fulfilment character, so that's a bit better. A bit. But I really don't like MC attraction syndrome that plagues much of fiction. And secondly - man, I so didn't imagine Liandrin to be an actual Darkfriend. She was an antagonist, definitely. But I thought she would be the 'good intentions + zeal' type antagonist who realizes how her methods are helping the Dark One rather than defeating him and then dies in a heroic sacrifice. Her being a Darkfriend somehow takes away from her villainy. She becomes a less interesting villain this way. Bleh.

But enough about those others. It's time for the real best character.

I love her, your honour.

Verin, you fucking beaut. You non-good-looking, sharp, amazing wise beaut. If Robert Jordan (or Sanderson) kills her, I will lose it. Moiraine who? Nynaeve who? I only know Verin. Whoever underestimates her or calls her book smart can kindly die mad about it. Fuck off please, we don't need you here. That includes you, Moiraine and Siuan Sanche. You give her all the respect in the world or you will suffer.

I'm really glad to know that the whole 'Brown Ajah wouldn't survive five seconds in the real world' stuff was from the characters as opposed to the narrative. At least that's the case for Verin. Even though she hasn't faced Darkfriends and/or Trollocs directly yet, (in front of our characters, that is) she's shown great real-world smarts and none of the characters would survive without her. Plus, she understands the value of keeping Rand's secret, and chides him when he uses too much of saidin. In most stories, she would've been the 'curious to the point of madness' type one who would encourage Rand to channel just to study it, but nope, not Verin. Also:

"And what I learned after nearly being caught by the snows in the Mountains of Mist and freezing my way across Almoth Plain – was absolutely nothing."

Oh, she's definitely been places, seen things. I can't wait to see her in action and absolutely steamroll Moiraine and anyone else in terms of efficiency and conflict resolution. No, she probably won't be using big, flashy magic, but everyone will be safe as well as closer to the goal. I'm a Verin simp now. Deal with it.

(Moiraine also had an interesting little side quest with the bits of prophecy, but I don't remember much of it rn, so yeah. Hopefully, we'll see her on Toman Head.)

[iliiuan]

They destroyed all of their characters.

Elayne, who in the books is genuine and reads the room like the back of her hand, is reduced to a petty spoiled child who insults the person she ostensibly wants to become friends with, and then projects her personal issues onto said friend.

Egwene, friend to all of Randland, powerful in her own right, decisive and steadfast, is reduced to a romantic filler who is so insecure that she can't handle her mentor soaring.

Nynaeve, fierce defender of the EF5, Healer, politically adept, and in possession of a very deep-seated moral code is reduced to a petulant child who can't be bothered to follow the rules, who ignores the people she's ostensibly trying to help.

Bode Cauthon, tattletale extraordinaire, is reduced to a sniveling victim.

Moiraine, whose only goal in life was to find and guide the Dragon Reborn, who takes charge of every circumstance and sacrifices herself, is reduced to a petty woman who can't work through her own trauma.

Liandrin, who chose evil because she wanted power, is reduced to a victim who blames her choices on life circumstances.

Jafe doesn't have a clue what feminism is, because he's reduced all of the female characters to caricatures. It's so gross.

I was waiting to see how it would be written to judge it but the Nyn-Eggy jealousy plotline is not working for me so far.

Questions of faithfulness aside, it's all the more bizarre that Egwene is 6 years younger than Nyn and was supposed to be Nyn's apprentice. We do see Nyn sneaking out and skipping chores, forgetting it's Bel Tine and generally not wanting to be here while Egwene is invested in becoming an Aes Sedai. The conclusion that should be drawn from this isn't that Egwene is jealous, but that she is feeling isolated in an isolating environment and that Nyn, who said she came for her, isn't helping because she's too wrapped up in her own pride to accept that this isn't the path for her. Egwene doesn't need protection, she needs support.

Thankfully Elayne will provide that, but yeah the jealousy angle is silly and doesn't even fit the show setup.

[quillyfied]

Because it’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to, here’s a detailed list of the things I love and don’t love about the Wheel of Time series so far (starting with I LOVE how jam-packed each episode is, makes them seem so much longer than an hour, but also I DO NOT LOVE that they’re releasing them in three-episode chunks, how DARE they force me to go back to waiting for weekly episodes like some kind of 90s peasant). Needless to say, this will be chock-full of spoilers for both the TV show and the book series, so approach at your own risk.

Things I love:

- The CASTING. Everyone is doing so well and I can’t think of a single cast member who isn’t pulling their weight to make this an incredible production, even the background characters (Dana the Darkfriend in ep3 in particular was sparkling, adored her performance from beginning to end). They all work so well together and are great at the delicate moments of tension and the larger gestures of conflict and comradery too.

- The music. It’s so not what I thought it was going to be but the folksy guitar and the dark drama of it really compliment the series. I have mixed feelings about the look of it so far—it all looks amazing, especially the costuming and the locations, but also it just feels like a vague gritty grey-brown dark drama when the books never felt that way to me. They were at least a more vibrant and colorful gritty drama, but we’ll probably have to wait until we get out of the wilderness and into Robert Jordan’s excessive descriptions of everyone’s outfits and dresses and jewels for that.

- Channeling! It’s got a little bit of an ATLA vibe, which I’m into, and is an impressive ethereal visual for the amounts of power Moiraine is handling while fighting Trollocs (who look AMAZING btw, so unsettling). The way they’re describing it and handling it as opposed to the books is interesting too, though it’s early so we’ll have to see how exactly they’re doing it. The show hasn’t gone into how there are two halves to the One Power, and how the threads of Power they make into weaves that become spells are elemental-based, but that might still be a bit much for this early in the series (or at all; the elemental-based threads are also tied a bit into the binary gender split of the One Power, with women being more proficient with air and water and men with earth and fire and both with spirit, so if they’re getting rid of the gender differential it would make sense to also further simplify and get rid of the elemental threads, too. Saves them the trouble of color-coding the threads, which, while cool and also possibly tying into the EXCEPTIONAL opening sequence with the Pattern being woven so chaotically, would take up more animation time. Though we do also lose a bit of what makes Nynaeve such a powerful and exceptional channeler and why she’s Rand’s first choice in helping him cleanse the male half of the One Power, but it’s been three episodes, can’t tell what all is being written off yet this early in the game). We just get Liandrin’s badass and creepy monologue right before she Gentles Logain, hinting at the taint on the Power that comes from men touching it. Are they doing away with the gendered halves of the Power? Are they introducing it later, when Egwene enters the White Tower? WHO KNOWS?? I’m excited to find out, because already changing up the gendered role of the Dragon (or at least the expectation surrounding it) from the books is a change I can get behind.

- How the Emond’s Field villagers start fighting back against the Trollocs. The Old Blood runs strong in the mountains, indeed. Listen there were many times when I just started crying bc I was so excited and pleased with what was happening, and that moment when Daise Congar picks up a pitchfork and the villagers join her in stabbing a Trolloc to death was incredible. Y’know, side note, I also love how the show is taking the challenged gender roles from the books and just augmenting it—they’re doing a delicate dance with the gendered nature of the magic system but in everything else, it’s very clear that gender doesn’t mean much (meaning, women aren’t oppressed or subjected to sexualized violence on the same level as other fantasy series and this was true in the books as well—such a wealth of complex and nuanced female characters equal with the nuanced and complex male characters. And somehow they’re doing it MORE in the show. Incredible. And! AND! Introducing normalized queerness much earlier!! FANTASTIC).

And now, for the things I don’t quite love:

- Perrin’s wife. Okay, I’ve mostly worked through this and found my way back to being content to see where it goes, but introducing a completely new character, Laila, as his wife, and then having him accidentally kill her, did NOT sit right with me at first. Felt too close to fridging, in a series that really didn’t need it or benefit from it. However, after talking to some other folks, I’m making my peace with it and the possible implications it could have on the plot later when Perrin’s book wife Faile shows up in fixing a lot of the problems I had with what their relationship goes through in the books. My only persistent complaint is that they introduced Laila but then we didn’t get much time with her at all beyond a sense that she’s awkward, a relentless fighter, probably loved Perrin but had a hard time verbalizing it, and was friends with Perrin’s friends too. Idk she seemed cool but we didn’t get enough time with her for her death to be as impactful as it could have been. (Also it just hit me last night while trying to fall asleep that the “I know” that Laila whispers in Perrin’s nightmare echoes the “I know” she says after Perrin tells her he loves her and THERE’S an added layer of sadness I didn’t need, thanks WOT Prime.) Also it’s a little weird to keep bringing up her name in connection with Nynaeve’s as people they lost during the Trolloc attack because it felt heavy-handed in trying to remind the audience of this rando side character we should also feel sad about losing; Mat’s little monologue about the knife Laila made him and giving it to Perrin had much more impact in getting us to retroactively get to know her and like her more. For book fans, anyway, who would already have an emotional connection to Perrin and feel for him, Laila is a discordant note. I’ll live with it, I’m curious to see where it goes, but I’m not particularly pleased about it either.

- Rand and Egwene’s relationship. Like. Okay. Okay. I get why they had Rand and Egwene sleeping together. I just don’t like it. Also taking Aviendha’s cheeky little “I heard men fall asleep afterwards bc they’re lazy” comment from the books after she and Rand hook up (Rand’s actual first time, I want it known, several books in) was a nice callback but giving it to Egwene and Rand…eugh. I’m sorry, I’m forever attached to the books’ choice of Rand and Egwene having, like, cute little kid crushes on each other and how that relationship between them morphs as they leave home and meet new people and gain new experiences until they finally have to have the awkward “I know in another life we would have gotten married and been happy but now, I no longer have a crush on you, sorry dude, let’s be good friends instead” talk. I get what the show is going for, building the tension between them to something more hard-hitting and emotional as their relationship falls apart, but (and maybe this is the asexual perspective in me speaking) I don’t think they needed to have sex to accomplish that. I’m forever grateful we didn’t get the full scene of it, though, THAT is a vibe I want to stick around because it’s my favorite part of the books, how there’s no sex scenes, just fade to black moments. Sex is normal and part of adult life but that doesn’t mean I want to watch it happen, personally!

- The language. Okay, yeah, I get it, the language they use in the books would sound silly out loud and might not fit with the blood and gore of the world, but that’s another thing I preferred from the books, how we had this complex adult world but without copious swears and sex. And to be frank, having the words most used being piss, prick, shit, and bastard fits, and bitch, but the first time someone throws the C word in there I’m going to have to pause and take a minute to sigh and massage my head because I really don’t think the Wheel of Time world NEEDED that. I just disagree on a visceral level that you need sex and strong language to convey that this is a Serious Adult Fantasy World. People are getting eaten alive by minotaur-like creatures with human eyes and beast faces and the violence is only going to get more bloody and more creative as the stakes and the powers get higher and higher, that’s pretty adult on its own tbh. (And please keep in mind these are just my own personal preferences, I’m a wimpy baby and know for a fact that if I didn’t love the books so much that the violence would be way too much for me to stomach and continue watching, bc there’s a huge difference between reading it and seeing/hearing it, yknow? But. Love the books. Want to see where the show is going. So I’ll suck it up.)

- Mat’s backstory and family changing. Just seems unnecessary tbh. I get that his parents being dysfunctional drunks gives him more reason to want to go back and protect his sisters and causes more plot drama but it also seems like a change made to just make it grittier and I don’t appreciate that in the slightest. Idk, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have the Emond’s Field Five all come from good, healthy homes, and from my refresher on the WOT Wiki, I completely forgot that Abell Cauthon is up there with Tam al’Thor on list of Good Concerned Dads (Who Are Also Proficient At Weapons), and it SUCKS to lose that in favor of Mat, renowned gambler and drinker and tail-chaser, come from a broken home wherein his dad is a renowned gambler, drinker, and tail-chaser giving his mother ten kinds of grief. While we’re on the subject of changing backstories again, Nynaeve kinda got Rand’s backstory a bit, didn’t she? And Rand never learned that he was adopted while dragging his injured father through Trolloc-infested woods. Look I GET IT they’re going to change things from the books, but why change these particular things tho XD It’s only been three episodes, I’m sure their reasons will become clear in time, but for now…blegh it’s different I don’t like it weh weh weh.

Overall I think we’re getting a labor of love and devotion (…and apparently a casting change for Mat come Season 2?? Why???), which comes through in every aspect and soothes over a lot of the stuff about it I’m not enjoying much, and I’m excited to see more!

[hathorahbrightwing]

Whisked Away

Slowly he awoke, her keen sense of hearing noticed his yawn and stretch as he woke. She smirked, knowing it would not be long before he joined her on the terrace of her private estate. An estate that she had somehow managed to keep a secret from everyone…even Jan. Tempakuron was not even aware of it until a few weeks after their first kiss. She smiled with a softness that seemed so unlike her as she recalled that afternoon, though in all truth these past few months he had changed her in ways she never would have thought possible.

“Where in the light are you taking me woman?” he shouted over the whipping wind as his teeth chattered from the cold. All his plate and furs proving inadequate for the coldest reaches of the Storm Peaks. Her refuge, her sanctuary away from the world she now knew, her safe house, and her chosen location for solitude. When she had heard of the fall of Arthas, she practically ran here, as if she needed proof of his demise. While scourge still peppered the landscapes and terrorized the creatures they would easily fall and posed little to no real threat. She could not contain her smile as they marched closer and closer to her hidden home. Nestled high above the snowy plains just east of the Terrace of the Makers and North of Camp Tunak’lo she found it to be a perfect location. Though Tempakuron seemed to disagree as he mumbled complaints under his breath, he hated the cold but she loved it. Something about the delicate flakes of snow falling from so high, undamaged and creating a blanket over everything in sight to make it all the same. Making everything…equal.

After a hike of nearly half an hour they reached the gates. Gates standing only about eight feet high, made of what seemed pure dark iron and steel, embellished with small cobalt blue stones hidden within the curls of the iron work.

“We’re here…” she took in a deep breath, she had never even told anyone of this place much less brought them here but they were in a rather precarious situation. She a death Knight, him a paladin and engaged to a High Priestess. IF anyone were to discover them who knows what punishments might befall them both. As they approached the front doors two men came out from the shadows, startling Tempakuron. As he went to draw his blade she held out her hand sternly telling him to stop, and of course he paid attention slowly fed the long golden sword back into it’s sheath.

“Have the preparations been made?” she asked the man on the left

“Yes, my lady, preparations have been made and you have provisions to last upwards of a month.” He bowed his head and kept it down.

“Very good, none are to pass those gates without my say so. Put up the wards and have Velnnah oversee it all. Nobody leaves, nobody enters is that clear?” she said sternly.

“Yes madam”

Tempakuron stood in surprise…” My lady...?” he asked her inquisitively as he raised a brow. This was news to him, she had always been so reserved and private, he never had known much about who she had been before her undeath. She simply gave him a glance over her shoulder with a small shrug, as if this was nothing. As he looked about slowly forms and buildings revealed themselves from the shadows. Rangers and hunters on the rooftops and terraces with bows, rogues along the perimeter, various plate wearing men and women patrolling the expansive grounds. To his right a small Mage Tower could be seen, standing maybe four stories tall. Such unique architecture, the building itself made with dark blue stones, though on each new level there was one ring of red. Frost and Fire perhaps? As they walked forward many buildings could now be seen. To his left what looked like a large greenhouse…here in the Storm Peaks! An intricate stone walk way below his feet lead to an estate greater than his own, standing only three stories tall but made with large black stones, peppered with more blue stones. Various terraces seeming to connect to rooms on the inside with beautifully made rod iron bars, that seem to copy the great gate with their intricate design and gems. Smoke billowing from 3 different stacks from the roof of the estate, that signify fires burning inside to shelter the inhabitants from the cold. As they approached the front doors he noted a crest to the right laid in stone. Fantastically made honestly, work like this would have taken many weeks. Two phoenixes are depicted, with a large shield in the middle hiding the point where the bodies of the two mythical birds’ bodies connect. The bird on the left is a bright red, with cobalt blue eyes. The face depicted as almost angry or in pain, and as he looked down he noticed the talons, the one on the left held a single rose with black petals. Homage to the name Hathorah had once taken. The bird on the right however was different, blacker but still with red hues mixed in. It’s eye fel green like most other Sin’Dorei, and in it’s talon it holds a small rose stem covered in black thorns. On the shield in the middle was the crest itself, a traditional depiction of a proper and noble house. One that would only be bestowed to those with noble blood in their veins, there was no mistaking. This was the crest of Brightwing. The letter B in the middle of the shield in gold, with a dark blood red background and back outline written in an old English style. How she managed to keep this place so hidden even from him was beyond him, though he had come to learn she was never one to be predictable.

With one forceful push she flung open the doors of the estate, warmth escaping into the cold air as the snows blew in to the foyer. As they entered a woman he had not even seen closed the doors. Hathorah walked past the grand staircase and into a room on the left, as he walked in he was welcomed by the warmth of a fire.

Quickly he took a seat in front of the fire and opened his furs to let in the welcome sensation of warmth. The numbness of the cold fading. The cold of course did not affect her in such a way, she was after all undead and had spent much time in Northrend while under the command of the Lich King. As he warmed by the fire she watched as he took in the room. This was her study, a place she would often write. A place she had often written of him.

“Hathorah…how long have you had this place?” he asked quietly as he looked over his shoulder.

“About a year now, since before my attack. “she replied quickly.

“And the crest…who is the other half?” he pointed to the same crest that had been outside that was also above the fire he sat in front of. She sighed heavily, even though it was him she hated to give out her secrets.

“My brother…younger brother. While I was known as the Black Rose he is known as the Black Thorn. We are very close him and I, you will meet him with time. He isn’t one for the cold. He is back in Eversong.”

“Well you are always full of surprises aren’t you. Here I thought you came from a quaint house and came back after your liberation to nothing…. now I find that is rather far from the truth.” He looked around in awe. Finally, stopping as his eyes fell on to her.

“My Father was Erovan Brightwing” she said hesitantly “My real name is Lor’Nei, and I now hold the entire Brightwing estate aside from what my Great Uncle holds as Ranger General.”

Tempakuron sat there a moment as if he had no words to say. Of course, being in the order of light he had heard the name Erovan Brightwing, he had been well known for his feats of courage in the face of such incredible odds. Facing down the scourge with only a single battalion and his daughter at his side. His daughter as well had made a name for herself, though she had not made it into the order, she had great promise and had she lived she would have rivaled Lady Liandrin herself in due time. In the great hall there was a plaque that had been commissioned in honor of those servants of the light that had fallen to Arthas and the scourge as their death and dismay over ran the Sin’Dorei. Her name and that of her father had been on that list.  She will never forget the look on his face as he learned her true heritage.

“Daydreaming again I see” he quipped as he walked out to the terrace wrapped in heavy furs.

“Just memories is all…did you sleep well?”

“I did thank you, will you be alright up here alone?”

She scoffed “Alone? Temp I have a damn battalion with me. I will be fine. I will be back in a week.”

They had agreed to return separately so they did not raise suspicion. They had to be cautious. Jan had some ceremony for the priesthood in Silvermoon to attend with Tempakuron at her side. While it pained Hathorah to know they would be reunited she was content that nobody knew where he had actually been these past three weeks. For all anyone else knew he had been on a meditative training excursion in the Northern reaches of Winterspring. By now most people were used to Hathorah disappearing for weeks at a time, she was after all quite private.

As she re-entered her master bedroom he has just latching the last bits of his armor on. These past few weeks had been so wonderful, they both hated that it had to end. Now they would be back to sneaking about, exchanges coded letters and private messages. Watching Jan enjoy her fiancé in public while Hathorah was left to only to private hideaways and lies. She hated lying to her friend, but in the end, he had given her a piece of herself back. She felt more like Lor’Nei with him. More like the living.

He placed a soft kiss on her cold lips and lay his forehead to hers.

“I will see you in a weeks’ time…for the love of the gods woman do not make me track up here alone to get you.” He teased playfully. After a few moments he tore himself away and walked out the door, meeting with Velnnah, her best magister in the mage tower to be transported back to Eversong. Now left to her own devices for a week. What would she do? She sighed heavily, as she walked back onto the terrace and sat silently.