#wheel of time
elayne being put on bed rest and then ordering her guards to carry her massive four poster bed around the city is the most “i’m royalty and i know it” move ever
she’s ridiculously extra and i love her for it
if there’s one thing i’ve come to understand after finishing the books is that bela the shaggy brown mare was the true hero of the series
Tag yourself. I’m Elayne shouting “How dare you! I am the Daughter-Heir of Andor!” Whenever somebody does something that pisses her off.
wheel of time AU where everything is the same except every single POV character joined Valan Luca’s circus at one point
Rand’s breakdown/depressive episode in ACoS always felt weird to me because Rand says he locked himself in his rooms for days because of something that objectively, unambiguously didn’t happen. It just doesn’t make sense. What makes sense though is that Rand is a way more unreliable narrator than usual, specifically because he is convinced that he can’t trust himself.
So it went like this: Rand has been rescued from the Tower Aes Sedai just a couple of days ago (and a lot of other unpleasant things happened during this time) and he is not in the best place mentally right now. Cadsuane shows up and makes him confront the idea that he already might be going insane. Then he sleeps with Min and avoids her for normal Rand reasons. After that, during a staged fight with Perrin he actually gets so mad he nearly kills him (which is also somewhat debatable). And then he locks himself in his rooms.
Three main things would be on his mind right now: that he might be going insane, that he is not in control of himself enough to not hurt people close to him, and Min. And he is ruminating in these thoughts for days, without getting any actual sleep. So it is no wonder that in a couple of days, with enough doubt, self-loathing and sleep deprivation, he convinced himself that he assaulted Min. He doesn’t remember it that way but it doesn’t matter to him.
Was it how RJ intended this to be read? Who the hell knows, probably no. Do I refuse to read it any other way? Yes, absolutely
no i’m still thinking about this like
between falme and the rahvin battle in caemlyn
just, the number of times rand immediately, unthinkingly, without hesitation gives up parts of himself for his friends’ lives and well-being. and we knew this about him, it’s been a major trait of his since book one, but as the stakes escalate and his sacrifices become bigger and bigger and his loved ones have no way of knowing what he’s done for them and he doesn’t tell them! and it just makes the way his relationships fall apart so much more painful because he’ll bleed and bleed for them as he both actively and unknowingly pushes them away and it’s just it’s a lot!
Rand is such an interesting character and I love reading his arcs in wheel of time. Especially at the beginning when Rand is struggling against destiny and people’s expectations and definitions of who he is meant to be.
One of his biggest conflicts comes from people trying to fit him into a neat little box.
WoT Meta: Lanfear, Mania, and the myth of Endymion
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to Lanfear and her symbolic relationship to the moon and lunar mythology in general. Jordan was really good at weaving in mythological references, both subtle and overt, and Lanfear isn’t really an exception. Were initially introduced to her under the alias ‘Selene’, which naturally brings up the idea of the Greek Moon goddess, and raises her most famous myth: that of Endymion.
The story goes that every night the moon goddess Selene, when crossing the heavens, would see a slumbering shepherd (Endymion) and be entranced by his beauty. Aware however that it was the fate of all mortals to die, she held her distance, and loved from afar until finally she could bear it no longer, and went to Zeus. When asked what she wanted however, Selene stated that she wanted to be able to gaze at Endymion forever, and so Zeus placed Endymion into an eternal slumber from which he would never wake, but nor would he would age. Selene satisfied, took Endymion as her own, and bore fifty children by him.
It’s not a reach to point out the parallels between this myth and Lanfear’s own love for Rand but the interesting thing about this is that, is how it touches on the Greek concepts of love, in particular the distinction between Eros (romantic love born from physical attraction that becomes spiritual attraction) and it’s is twisted twin, Mania (a love which prioritizes ownership of the subject, and control, over their well being). Now the Greeks had a LOT of concepts of love (Agape the unconditional love of humanity, Philia platonic love between friends, Storge love of family, etc) and they’re was a lot of nuance in the way they talked about Eros and Mania specifically, because the Greeks understood how thin the line between the two could be, as illustrated by this myth: when Selene chooses to treat Endymion as an object rather then a person, her love becomes one of Mania, rather then one of Eros.
This neatly parallels the situation with Lanfear, who despite her constant claims of how deeply she loves Rand/Lews Therin Telamon, cares much more about controlling and owning him, then she does about his happiness or well being. Like with Selene and Endymion she wants to be with him, but not because of who he is as a person. Her regard for him is all for factor outside of his control (i.e who he was in a past life) and so centers her will and her possession of him above all else.
This contrasts very sharply with Rand’s other relationships, where both he and his partners want what is best for the other, and a great deal of the conflict is born on them disagreeing on what is best. This is most obvious with Min, where Rand recognizes that being around him is dangerous and because he loves her and wants her out of danger tries to send her away, while Min who knows that the best thing for Rand is to have people who can care for and support him at his side, wants to remain. The same shows up in his relationships with Elayne and Avihenda, though a bit more subtly: that same core conflict of wanting the best for the person you love, even at cost to yourself, demonstrates that their love is inherently unselfish and prioritizes the good of the other over what is best for them personally.
My first foray into Wheel of Time fanfiction
Unexpected - Chapter 1 - mashithamel - Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan [Archive of Our Own]
In a story with lots of little tragic moments throughout, one thing that always hits me are the male channelers who exiled themselves to the Steddings during the breaking of the world.
It was noble and brave (they needed to remove themselves before they went mad to protect their loved ones and to keep themselves from contributing to the breaking). But one by one they left the Steddings. I think this was probably a really complicated thing that was probably both brave and selfish.
Brave, because they weren’t mad (yet), and maybe they could do something about the terrible things happening. Some, if not all, were Aes Sedai who probably felt a professional as well as moral responsibility to *do something* for humanity. Maybe the madness was gone. Maybe, somehow, it wouldn’t affect *them*. Maybe they could be the one to reverse it. And they couldn’t do any of that from the Stedding. How could they just watch the breaking and not at least try?
Selfish because in the Stedding they are cut off from the One Power and that causes it’s own set of problems. It’s addictive. Is it really living, once you’ve used it, to never use it again? Even if it means going mad in the end? But also they would have been lonely and isolated in the Stedding. Even with Ogier and each other, and maybe some brought families, exile and quarantine are hard to bear forever.
There is still debate three thousand years later—was this good, because if all the male channelers had been out at once maybe the world and Pattern would have just ended; or did it just prolong the Breaking and drag the agony out?
I think it resonates with our experiences with the pandemic. Was it better to “flatten the curve,” or did that just drag it out and should we have just let it rip? Or would letting the virus run unchecked have been too devastating for our society (moreso than it already was)? We all had to deal with quarantine and lock down, and for some this was horribly isolating and painful. It may have been the right thing to do, but it came with it’s own consequences.
How long could any of us have lasted in the Stedding, under those circumstances?
(To be clear, I’m a doctor who took care of covid patients and still does—we barely managed to not collapse our hospital system with the approaches taken. Vaccines work, social distancing and masks worked, and covid kills people. But the global experience of lock down, quarantining, and the isolation it produced are all very real too.)
In my headcanon, “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons is Egwene’s anthem (not least of all because of the rainbow on the cover art). And I say this as someone who hated Egwene on my first read through (and am remembering it all over again now). But this is her song.
Sample lyrics:
I was dreaming of bigger things and
Wanna leave my own life behind
Not a “yes sir”, not a follower
Fit the box, fit the mold
Have a seat in the foyer, take a number
I was lightning before the thunder
Who do you think you are?
Dreaming ‘bout being a big star
I love this story from The Great Hunt, about a man who loses himself to the wolf side. I’m sure it will get cut in the show, but I hope they manage to slip an element or two from it in.
It’s a shocking thing for Perrin to see, as he’s fighting his own connection to the wolves. But I love that he lets him out of the cage. And I especially love that the man’s brother just really cares about him and ultimately wants whatever is best for him. It’s a sad little story about really good people, and is one of so many little things that gives this series its heart.
I love how Lan’s reaction to coming across Perrin surrounded by dead Whitecloaks and an empty cage where an Aiel had been is to:
1. Consider killing Faile
2. Be more concerned with whether Perrin can be tied to it than the fact of what he actually did
3. Complain about how much it’s going to cost to get them out of this one
4. Mostly seem disgusted that Perrin couldn’t hold off until they’d had a good night’s sleep
Holy cow, Lan was ready to straight up murder a random villager
LoC Prologue:
“Messana’s face darkened. Her road to the Great Lord began when she was denied a place in the Collam Daan all those years ago. Unsuited for research, they had told her, but she could still teach. Well, she had taught, until she found how to teach them all!”
Heh. Messana turned to the dark side because she was denied tenure
WoT reread:
Although Moiraine is the one who desperately wants Rand’s trust and ear, Lan is the first to have it. He recognizes Rand’s strength and respects him:
Lan sees something of himself in the Dragon Reborn: a young man burdened with a destinty that seems bound to end in his death, dealing with expectations and pressure from all sides, trying desperately to hold onto a sense of self. He earns Rand’s respect, and Rand recognizes his value and counsel.
Too bad Lan leaves him there with some truly terrible advice:
but Lan is going through some Stuff just then, so I’ll give him a little grace.
I like the little hints of forshadowing in the show. So many things to look forward to!
The Women’s Circle picking up whatever weapons are to hand to defend their village (I can’t wait for the Battle of the Two Rivers):
An Aiel in a cage:
A Birgitte doll protects a little girl while she sleeps:
Moiraine discusses releasing a man from the Warder bond with Alanna:
Nynaeve helps Lan leave her for a deadly quest (omg, “Will he ride alone?” Is going to be an epic scene):
While stuck at home recovering from covid, I’ve been listening to an EotW reread. It’s particularly delightful as they face-palm their way through all the Lan/Nynaeve stuff they completely missed the first time (*everyone* misses it the first time).
It really is all there, when you reread it.
From the first time he realizes she’s something special:
And she realizes she appreciates his approval:
The point where (IMHO) he really starts to fall for her:
He says her name for the first time, with just a hint of hesitation after:
He wants to keep her safe:
She recognizes that she trusts him:
And wants his approval:
By that point, when she may be in danger he is almost ready to disobey Moiraine to find her:
(Love how he catches her arm here)
And she’s happy that he’s pleased to see her:
And yet after that we’re still surprised as if “I should have known you would be a king” and “you are as beautiful as a sunrise….I will hate the man you choose because he is not me” came out of nowhere.
That’s some good storytelling.
