#he has joined both my army in game and my army of children

[raving-raven-writing]

Recom Headcanons

So, some of this is from my mind, but some of these headcanons I'm sure are based off others' headcanons I've seen. Also, some of these headcanons may actually be written in terms of some of my fics that I have written for Avatar. Particularly if you have read my story Lost and Found or any of my Recom Smut series. @hellpmeimobsessed You asked me to tag you, so here you go! Warning: Some of these headcanons may contain mention of past abuse/past child abuse/past sexual abuse, and may also contain content in terms of what the character enjoys in the bedroom Brown: -Was SAed when he was younger -Loves karaoke, even though he might be a bit tone deaf -Enjoys cuddling naked with his partner -Did modelling for a brief period of time before he decided to join the marines Fike: -....I got nothing for him, sorry. No hate to him, just don't have any at the moment.

Ja: -Was raised by his grandparents -Seeing the EMTs work on his grandma sparked his interest in wanting to become a medic -A sensitive soul, rather quiet and reserved -Enjoys movies, most genres except for horror; is a bit of a baby when it comes to the scary movies -Has minimal sexual experience compared to some of the others; but has always wanted to titty f**k his partner -Him, Prager, and Lopez are close

Lopez: -Is a masochist and will openly admit to it -Comes from a large family, a middle child of five. Very close with all of them. -Has problems with authority figures, always having to hold his tongue so he doesn't get himself into trouble -Very protective to those he loves or is loyal to -A rather horny drunk...this may or may not be how he and Ja got it on Mansk: -Has a light sensitivity, hence the sunglasses all the time. But also uses the sunglasses as a layer of protection of being perceived by others -Sits somewhere on the autism spectrum but was never diagnosed, comes across as just being "socially awkward" -Gives off the "strong and silent type" vibe -Was sexually abused by his uncle as a child well up until his late teen years -Definitely a mama's boy - The younger of two kids. Has an older sister named Nora -Turned to cooking as a way to cope with his trauma--found he had a gift for it and just kept at it. But also enjoys making others feel good by being able to give them a good meal

Prager: -Is a pothead -Grew up with alcoholic/drug addict parents, but was eventually fostered by an old teacher who took him under their wing -Likes most types of card games and board games -Stress cleans -Enjoys rollerblading and skateboarding -Easy going/go with the flow type of person--both in day to day things and in bed Quaritch: -Grew up on a farm -Raised by an abusive/alcoholic father and a mother that fell ill when he was in his teens -The oldest of three children---lost connection with his siblings when he left to join the military -His relationship with Paz started as her simply flirting with him based on a dare, but eventually turned into a fling as Miles was impressed by her boldness -Smokes when stressed but turns to alcohol as a bad coping mechanism if given the opportunity -Enjoys camping and hiking and being able to be out in nature so he can reflect upon life and to be able to get more in touch with his emotions -Likes to take charge in bed, but Paz is able to persuade him into being a sub in some situations Wainfleet -Has a bit of a crush on the Colonel. He thinks it isn't obvious, but some of the others see it -Is a switch in the bedroom. But prefers to be the sub when he is with his girlfriend, Mina. -Makes jokes constantly despite the fact that he struggles with his mental health--saw being the funny man as a way to make others like him -A middle child of three; has an older brother who is also in the military, but joined the Army branch, and a younger sister, who died when he was about thirteen -Grew up on a farm, although not many people know this -Grew up being rather sensitive and a "cry baby" as his brother dubbed him. Was a big mama's boy and her death damn near broke him -Smokes when stressed

Walker: -Likes to scrapbook in her spare time -Her and Z-Dog have flings with one another, but neither of them would label themselves as an "item" -Likes to sit down with a good book on a stormy day and curl up by the fire with some comforting snacks Warren: -Gives off the "strong and silent type" vibe -Has a crush on Mansk (initially unrequited?) -Is gay, but no one knows this (at first) -Is very much a wallflower, people forget he is there sometimes -In sexual relations, is very straightforward and a take charge type of guy--but makes sure that he is never rough with his partner

Z-Dog: -Grew up in a house full of men. Her mother left when she was young, so she just had her dad and her three brothers -Was very much a tomboy before realizing that she liked girls more then she liked men -Her father was a mechanic so she knows her way around a car -Enjoys physical sports like boxing and kickboxing -Chews gum as a way to manage her anxiety as well as to curb any emotional eating Zhang: -Is one of the three "strong and silent types" (with Warren and Mansk being the other two) -Rarely smiles -Enjoys shibari (Japanese rope bondage) and 69ing -Looks mean since he has a "resting bitch face" but can be quite gentle and doting with his partner -Joined the marines as a way to rebel against his parents since they wanted him to become a doctor or lawyer or engineer.

That's all I got for now. Might eventually develop some headcanons for Fike and might add on to what I have here. Hope you enjoyed reading!

#recom headcanons #headcanons #avatar fanfiction #avatar atwow #avatar recoms #miles quartich #lyle wainfleet #recom mansk #recom ja #recom prager #recom lopez #recom brown #recom warren #recom fike #recom walker #recom zdog #recom zhang #spicy headcanons #everyday headcanons #fanfic writers #writers on tumblr

[monsterspet]

Had a thought about Captain Price

A/N: Don't we all?

Going to need you to trust me on this.

So - as of MW3 John's age is set at 38 in the year 2023. We also know he joined the infantry at 16 - then onto the army properly at 18.

John would have been 16 in 2001. In the UK. Which was when arguably we were still in the midst of a teen pregnancy epidemic across the country. Things have significantly improved since then.

I know you know where I'm going with this but just stick with me.

Now - for those of you who are maybe from outside the UK I can tell you now that recruiting kids right out of high-school has always been a bit iffy here in the public eye. Even more so when that kid hasn't even sat their A-levels at 18.

John dropped out of school to become a military man. That's just a fact. Which you can totally do from 16 - but most schools discourage it heavily.

English teens do not drop out of school to join the army if they have other options. We have apprenticeships or college if they don't like the traditional school route. And both of those can lead on to University courses.

John's only other option was to work - likely for minimum wage which I believe was like £3.50 an hour back then. It may have even been less given he was under 18.

Admittedly the army is good money for a kid that age. Especially if you don't see yourself going down a more traditional employment route.

But in what world would Price be so eager to earn good money fast? We know he's a smart guy - we've seen it in game. The man could have easily gotten into Uni. This is where we veer off the rails into glorious fanfic girly nonsense and I apologise.

Say he got his then girlfriend pregnant. We know he's a sensible guy - and we know he has a strong sense of responsibility and loyalty to the people he cares about.

He's obviously going to support his child and the mother of his baby. That's just in his nature.

He joins the military in order to be able to provide for them both. Now admittedly that means he's away from both his little family and everything he knows but let's be realistic - most teen parents don't stay together long term. I know so many personally where they don't even make it to the due date.

But if he's bringing a baby into this world he's damn well going to make sure it's taken care of.

Which leads me to my next point about what Price is like as a man in basically every fic he's in.

This man does not just radiate "Daddy" energy - this man is a Father.

Endlessly supportive of his boys in the unit, and fiercely protective.

He is willing to do almost anything to keep not only the 141 safe but the people back home as well (we see this in game as well when he drags in the Butcher's family to interrogate him).

We all know this man is wearing socks and sandals on holiday. We all know he's manning the grill at the BBQs. We all know he can't get up out of a chair without the iconic "Dad groan".

He is also far too good at putting up with the nonsense we write about Soap and Gaz in particular. They're the unit children and they certainly put John through his damn paces. Which he seems to put up with - with remarkable ease most of the time.

This man is a "weekend Dad". He sees his kid briefly when on leave or every other weekend depending on whether or not he's deployed. We've seen no evidence of a ring.

Now admittedly when you're running secret missions across the globe you don't want the enemy figuring out you have something at home to lose but this gives us some really nice single-dad!Price opportunities and I'm going to run with that.

But - assuming he had a kid at 16. That child is now 21/22. Prime age for the military. And roughly the right age for a steamy workplace romance with one of the other 141 members? Maybe?

I saw on here a while back this great series where Soap was in a secret relationship with Price's niece (I cannot for the life of me remember the creators name and I'm SO SORRY) and I raise you:

Secret relationship 141 x Price's!child

The angst - the steamy forbidden romance - the angry Dad energy - the potential SLOWBURN.

It's all right there for the taking.

Even better if we get some daddy issues from Y/N because John was never around. Like they didn't even tell him they were signing up in the first place. Maybe they don't have his last name and suddenly turn up under his command. The DRAMA.

I swear one day I'll actually have the time to write all these fics.

-Pet x

#call of duty modern warfare #mw x reader #cod x reader #captain john price #task force 141 #141 x reader #single dad's are hot af #that man is a FATHER

[clarkes-and-god]

"Doll, are you sure your parents are going to like me? I mean, it's my first time meeting them, and if we don't get on, I don't want to be imposing myself for the entire weekend."

"Of course they will! They've heard so much about you, and they've been wanting to meet you for ages now, don't worry. They're so excited to finally meet you, especially my dad."

"What, so he can shoot me? I don't know, Mira, I just want to make a good impression, it's important to me and I don't want to mess it up with them."

"Don't be silly, my dad's not like that, honey. If he didn't like you, he would have told me, believe me. They'll like you, I promise."

"Hey sweetheart, welcome home! How are you two doing?"

"Hi Mom! Hi Daddy! We're doing good, Farris is so excited to meet you!"

"That's great to hear! You kids come inside, and we can be properly introduced."

"How's school, sweetie? Is everything going ok, nothing too hard?"

"It's great, Daddy, I can't believe I'm about to graduate! Farris is graduating at the same time, and then he'll be a fully qualified solicitor. You should ask him about it, I'm so proud of him, it's hard work."

"Daddy, I'd like you to meet Farris. Farris, this is my dad. Farris is from Willow Creek, and he's studying law, like I said on the phone. We met at the Christian Society that he runs, and I've met his family and they're lovely people. His dad is Maximus Montague, one of the politicians who passed that tax reform, the one that reduced your taxes."

"Pleased to meet you, sir. I've got to say, your house and Oasis Springs is absolutely beautiful. Mira is such a sweet girl and I'm excited to get to know you and your wife, from what Mira's said you both sound wonderful. And I'm glad you like my father's work, he's an inspiration to me, especially now I'm graduating."

"It's great to have you here, Farris. I'm happy to know that some of your generation still has ambition and wants to keep up the family legacy, you know? My son, Carter, wants to go into the military and I'm glad he has a goal, but some kids these days just want everything handed to them on a platter, being communists and on food-"

"Hi honey! I'm Mallory, Mira's mom. It's so great to finally meet you, we've heard a ton about you! Tell you what, why don't you and Markus go to the living room, I think there's a football game on the TV. Me and Mira can fix some snacks and then we'll come join you."

"Oh, thank you ma'am, that sounds great. You're very, uhm, welcoming."

"Does Farris like chocolate chip cookies? Me and Charlotte made some yesterday, I can put them out on the coffee table."

[whispering] "He does, Mom, but don't you think you might have come off a little intense, hugging him like that? I mean, don't worry about it but I don't think he was expecting it."

[whispering] "I'm sorry, honey, I'm just so excited for you. You're growing up, graduating, and you have a proper relationship now. And he seems great, him and his family, I don't want to make a bad impression, you know? But I'll tone it down if you think that'd be better, sweetie."

"So, Farris, tell me about this solicitor thing. What type of law are you going into? I'm a Captain in the Army myself, so I can't say I know much about all this academic stuff."

"Corporate law, sir. It's a good career but not the most interesting to talk about, mostly just writing contracts and the like. But you're a Captain? That's a very honorable career, sir, and I bet the day-to-day is much more interesting than law. And you said your son wants to go into the military? That's fantastic that he wants to continue your legacy."

"It is, I'm very proud of all my children. Dolly's doing fantastic at school, and she's got all her new, respectable friends from that Christian Society of yours, and I have to say you've made a good impression of yourself, too. Birdie, her sister, has just gone off to Britechester too, I doubt you know her but she wants to be one of those teachers that helps delayed children, in wheelchairs and stuff. I had my concerns about my girls going to college, but my wife convinced me otherwise and they seem to have been doing great. It's not like they're doing anything inappropriate for women either, a nutritionist and a teacher. Then my boy, Carter, wants to join me in the military, like you said, and he's doing excellent with his sport at school, too. He's on the football team, very impressive for a freshman. And my little one, Charlotte, isn't the most academic, like myself. But she's a pretty girl and she's doing excellent in her pageants. She's just the sweetest little girl too, you'll probably meet her today."

#fundie sims #quiverfull sims #fundie snark #fundie simblr #modest sims #satire #homeschool sims #markusmallory #dolly+farris

[onaperduamedee]

Notes on A Memory of Light

Loving the symbolism of metal melting in the rebel Andoran camp. Infighting is useless now. Only the Last Battle is important. 

Talmanes started showing more empathy because of Mat. That is adorable.

Ah, the Trollocs are locking people inside Caemlyn and the city is now burning. Everything's fine. 

Isam POV? And an insight into the people actually surviving beyond the Blight in Thakan'dar? I like that. Fantasy and science fiction excel at creating groups of people so completely devoid of humanity that they can be slaughtered by the thousands for the sake of heroism and epic battles - Trollocs, the orcs, stormtroopers. RJ didn't go beyond alluding to clans and a language for the Trollocs, and his DF are notable for their shallow motivations. Here, we get an insight into Isam, who grew up in violent lands and turned to the dark because there was nothing else.

"There was a softness to the man equal to his genius—an odd, but inspiring, combination." - oh Talmanes is "in love" in love. 

"My people live with a grave misconception of the world, Bayle. In doing so, they create injustice.” - I'm listening. Maybe Leilwin can join Ituralde and Aludra in the rebellion to destroy the Seanchan after the Last Battle.

"Nynaeve al’Meara was what, back in Seanchan, one would call a telarti—a woman with fire in her soul" - A raging sun! 

Nyn gives Leilwin a deserved earful for losing the a'dam. So far her attitude was "I did a whoopsie and need to save my ass." She wants redemption, she needs to work for it.

Leilwin's submission to Nyn and the AS... People in power cannot imagine a world without submission. If they are not in power, someone else will be and surely treat them as bad as they treated others.

Does it bother me that Leilwin is doing this primarily as a point of honor rather than genuine contrition and empathy for the victims of the empire? Yes. But at least she's not a danger anymore.

It's interesting to be reminded that Aviendha was very much meant to "train" Rand so that he understood and served best the Aiel's interest. And now the WO want her back to spying/sleeping with him. She changed; she's not going to do that.

If I were Aviendha I would just not have Rand's children instead of changing one name to game fate, but for the WO it is primordial that Avi has his children to tie him more to the Aiel. They're just as embroiled in the Game of houses as the other nations.

Bair is my favourite of the Wise Ones. (I think? Their personalities are too similar.) She's right to go investigate Avi's visions. 

"Talmanes couldn’t reproduce Mat’s blend of insanity and inspiration" - That's an accurate description of Mat. His stupidity is his genius.

"The Black Tower is a dream. A shelter for men who can channel, a place of our own, where men need not fear, or run, or be hated." - so, the BT took disenfranchised men, isolated them even more and turned them into weapons: yes, it's the army.

I don't know what to do with that Androl plot. I like that the Black Tower's politics are at last explored, but it should have been done much sooner. We're on the eve of the Last Battle; we don't have time for that.

Taim is Turning people now? This is so very bad. Also, Asha'man are recognizing that Aes Sedai are scholars above all, not soldiers, unlike Asha'man.

Aludra is the best, saving the dragons as she did, guiding refugees. Such a fun character.

Moghedien not wanting to overuse the spider motif on her clothes made me snort. I missed her. 

Moridin rescued Lanfear by killing her so that she could be resurrected? That's a way to do it. 

That platform over a sea of doomed people on fire!

Of course Graendal is punished by being made ugly and both the remaining female Forsaken are under the thumb of Moridin and Demandred: groundbreaking 

So Taim has been raised to one of the Chosen. Light, did Rand fuck up with the Black Tower.

Aww, Talmanes wanted to taunt Mat more before dying. Their relationship is really endearing.

"They’re not bloody Aes Sedai on wheels. We can’t make a wall of fire." - Aludra is hilarious. Please be in the show. I see her as Nikki Amuka-Bird.

Wait, are we really losing Talmanes? Is Moiraine coming back with Mat to heal him? 

I enjoyed this prologue. It didn't read at all like the last prologue of a 15-books long series, but the Talmanes/Aludra Caemlyn resistance was quite enjoyable

“The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, Perrin. We’ve become what we needed to become.” - Like Egwene is Siuan's, Rand is Moiraine's, through and through.

So Rand spies on Elayne and Elayne spies on Rand and Avi spies on Rand... No comment. YKINMKATOK

"Siuan would have killed for this ability, [...] How many more plots could that woman have spun if she’d been able to visit others as quickly, quietly and easily as this?" - I just love how often Siuan is in Eggy's thoughts. How relatable.

"This is not a decision he should be allowed to make alone." - Eggy is as cross with Rand for deciding without consulting his allies as she is about the plan itself. Last time, LTT failed precisely because he decided he could do it on his own.

HELL YEAH NYN CAME THROUGH AND SAVED TALMANES! Also the show did her explosive weaves already. I love these details. 

Interestingly, Moiraine must be a pretty strong healer if Nynaeve considers healing a poisoned wound like this difficult.

"I may be Amyrlin, Nynaeve, but I am still Aes Sedai. Servant of all. My strength will be of use to you." - I continue to be baffled by the existence of fans who hate Egwene. She's now linking with Nyn to help her heal the wounded.

Rand has grown a lot. He clearly sees that he cannot do this on his own and he needs to actually explain what he does for his allies to agree to his plans. 

Also you're damn right Perrin, Egwene is the smartest of you lot.

Light, I'm still pissed about the Kin. If really they must be tied to someone, I would rather they were to Nynaeve than become an army transportation service for Elayne. Not everyone needs to answer to a monarch and the Kin used to be free!

Rand thinks about people as tools, but also says he sees the people under there as well: this is a callback to Moiraine's words at the end of TEotW and TSR. I cannot stress how much Moiraine has impacted Rand's development, good and bad.

Bookcloaks: Moiraine isn't one of the main characters, she shouldn't be featured that much in the show

Moiraine: still shapes Rand's thinking after being absent for 8 books, as well as having ties to the other EF5

Have we read the same books?

How the hell did Caemlyn end up invaded though? If Elayne learned anything from the dungeons it's that the Shadow was planning to attack. There were mercenaries outside Caemlyn that she could have used as reserve. I truly don't get what her plans were here.

That said, major kudos to Elayne for not rushing in recklessly to save Caemlyn and accepting the city is lost for now. It seems she did heed Birgitte's advice. They do not have time to fall for that kind of diversion now.

"Oh my, Androl. You really don’t know anything about us, do you?”

“Honestly? No. I’ve avoided your kind for most of my life.” -  I am very fond of narrative devices allowing the big story to be told through a small window. Also, their banter.

“Let me explain something to you, Asha'man. This is my fight. If the Shadow takes this tower, it will mean terrible things for the Last Battle. I have accepted responsibility for you and yours; I will not turn away from it so easily.” - oh wow, it’s that servant of all mentality coming out at last.

"We exist to make certain that men who can channel do not accidentally hurt themselves or those around them. Would you not agree that is a purpose of the Black Tower as well?” - I'll take more of that nuance about the Reds thank you. Delicious.

"It’s been over a hundred years now. I miss my family, but they’d be dead by now even if the Darkfriends hadn’t killed them.” - there's something about Aes Sedai as curators of the Light, even incredibly flawed ones, that makes them so moving. Also, glad the books are acknowledging that longevity is truly a burden.

Light, Androl refusing to stop channeling with Pevara while they were linking was stressful.

They bonded each other? They have access to each other's thoughts? I was not expecting that. That's a way to even the scales between AS and Warders at least.

Look, I LIKE what Androl and Pevara's story is doing thematically, I LIKE the added nuance to the Reds and the Asha'man, I LIKE their chemistry, but this feels so disconnected from the main plot. Everyone is at the Field of Merrilor right now.

"Only if we had blood feud, Elayne.” - oh, their descendants will if Avi's vision is to happen.

Aviendha is definitely written weirdly around Elayne, but even another author cannot erase their gayness.

Please, no more polycule nonsense. I never thought I would say this but there's actually something worse than love triangles and it's badly done polycules. Light, I hate the way this four-way relationship is written and truly pity Rand.

They ARE rescuing Logain! I love a good breaking and entering. Also Pevara is a boss of the Vandene tradition.

Wait, how did the Oaths let Pevara answer that the captured Asha'man could not hear when she had released her shield of air on him?

Seeing Emarin trick Taim's goon is entertaining and it makes me want to read more about class in this universe: there seems to be a divide between bad and good nobles, without questioning how the good ones still wield the same weapons except they're good so it’s okay.

"If Lanfear still lives… might Moiraine as well?" - she's haunting Rand, I tell you. Lanfear is pretty much immortal and he still hopes. 

"We are drawn together, you and I. Time after time after time." - Moridin/Ishy's obsession with Rand is so queer.

"You’d rather not exist than continue to be you. You must know that he will not release you. Not ever. Not you.” - I would have cried. Rand has learnt to use words as weapons and they are sharp. The meeting with Egwene will be something.

As cute as using saidin to wash Avi is, I have such an allergic reaction to the way their relationship is written. 

I really like Rand's words about the AoL and what it means to have the memories of a dead man. I wish he would chat with Mat.

Did no one think it was necessary to warn Egwene earlier of the time for the Very Important Meeting?

I snickered at Egwene approaching Roedran, who has no idea what's happening, and intimidating him for giggles.

Rand's display with the tent was so dramatic. I love him.

"Even Elayne had gobbled up another country when the opportunity presented itself. She would do so again." - so the expansionist angle for Elayne is very intentional on BS's part.

Light, Egwene's reflections on imperialism and Rand. I cannot wait to see Madeleine Madden, who is Aboriginal and comes from an activist family, deliver this. It's going to be magnificent. 

"Would you appoint an emperor, someone to rule over us all? Would you become a true tyrant, Rand al’Thor?” - Egwene is taking no prisoner today.

Rand came prepared with the Dragon’s Peace! In exchange for his life, a non-aggression pact, the control of the Seals and the armies?

"You came, told me what you were going to do and walked away.” - That he did and it wasn't the smartest move. He has to work WITH her: she's the Keeper of the Seals. 

I love this chaos and back and forth. This is going so terribly.

OH BLOODY HELL RAND JUST EXPLAIN YOUR PLAN LIKE YOU DID TO PERRIN WHY ARE YOU ASSUMING SHE WON'T UNDERSTAND

Wool-headed idiot. Egwene may be too unbending, too unwilling to take risks, but Rand is doing such a bad job at presenting his plan.

"Light, Egwene. You can still do it, like the sister I never had—tie my mind in knots and have me raving at you and loving you at the same time.” - awwch, these two. It's the other deliciously rich relationship I am looking forward to on-screen.

"The Seanchan are our worry now, aren’t they? Peace can never exist so long as they are there.” - someone listen to Alliandre. This is The Issue.

Egwene is right: this is such a mess.

Egwene calling Berelain a lightskirt: not this again, shut the fuck up

"As you wish this of me, I will sell it to you in exchange for a legacy of peace to balance out the legacy of destruction I gave the world last time.” -  is it peace? The harm's been done already, some by himself. Not the way to sell his plan.

"His frown died as soon as he saw the person who entered.

Moiraine." - Lads, she's here!

I am tearing up.

WHY are we in Perrin's POV of all people? This is silly.

I AM SCREAMING Perrin was about to go hug Moiraine before Rand approached her.

Darlin probably going "Caraline?!? Is this real?"

"The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, Rand. Have you forgotten that?”

“I…”

“Not as you will, Dragon Reborn,” she said gently. “Not as any of us will." - I need a moment. I'm too emotional.

The running gag of Roedran not recognizing Moiraine, and Egwene or Grady flicking him, is just priceless. 

SCREAMING Sanderson is downright writing Moiraine as mischievous again. This is too funny. She had become so desperate before the docks.

"That is a relief, as I believe I was on a path to stilling, if not execution, before.” - Moiraine is such an unintentionally funny character. I've missed her too straight answers. 

I love the hidden pride in her respect for Egwene.

"Don’t you dare tell Lan about this,” she growled.

“I would not dream of it,” Moiraine said [...]

“Insufferable woman,” Nynaeve grumbled as she wiped a tear from the other eye. " - it's okay. It's only Nyn hugging Moiraine in my eye.

"The only one we know for certain will not walk away from this fight?" - I was incidentally thinking before she arrived that the only way to convince his allies was to make them understand he was their champion of the Light, not their general.

"Grady would know her only by legend, of course, but tales of Moiraine had spread among those who followed Rand." - she deserves it, honestly. Also, I love the idea of Moiraine gaining a reputation like Cadsuane's. It's only fitting.

"The last Age ended with a Breaking, and so the next one will begin with peace—even if it must be shoved down your throats like medicine given to a screaming babe.” - I love her so much. Why does she always end up babysitting leaders?

Hello, Moiraine's solving the issue of how to get the allies to agree to a unified army and break the Seals. She's a skilled negotiator.

So Rand appoints the people who had a habit of enslaving Cairhienin and pillage countries as enforcers? Yay.

"Then not much has changed, has it?” she asked lightly. “I believe you have often resisted doing what you are supposed to. Particularly when I am the one to point it out to you.” - Their relationship was SO fraught before, now it's so tender.

How did everyone agree that Elayne should lead the armies? I'm all for lady generals because there are NONE, but did everyone in the room forget Elayne is an Aes Sedai?

Oh wow, screw you Rand, so hard, for throwing the damane under the bus.

Again, Rand invoking order as a reason why the Seanchan empire isn't so bad is alarming. He would not be the strongest soldier against fascism, I guess. I am genuinely angry with him.

Lan thinks surprisingly often about Moiraine in his POV. Interesting. 

The assault on Tarwin's Gap moved me and it was a relief to see everyone join Lan, but it also reinforces my sadness for how thoroughly it means Rand had abandoned Ituralde.

"I’m always careful,” Elayne said absently" - stares into a camera as on Abbott Elementary 

"I won’t have one group presuming to keep to themselves and fight alone. You’ll accept our help.” - Rand was right. She's good at handling egos.

Why is Siuan not intervening at all on behalf of the AS? She's just here as Bryne's escort? I hate this. 

“To fight alongside Aiel. A day I never thought I’d see, in truth.”- aww Ituralde will get his glorious homoerotic battle after all.

"Tensions are high, but you kept us together, smoothed over bad feelings, prevented us from napping at one another. Good work" - That's exactly how Elayne dealt with Nynaeve and Egwene back in Tear. Nice. Her reaction to Bryne's pride is so cute too.

Underneath all the tonally shifting fluff of the succession arc there was a perfectly compelling arc about leadership, much more efficient than Perrin's. I maintain that the biggest problem with the Perrin and Elayne leadership arc was editorial.

Oh, the Ogier decided to join the fight. I'm not terribly fond of the idea that everyone should be able to fight. The Gardeners were daunting precisely because they were Ogier, fighting. The be-all and end-all of bravery isn't fighting.

Elayne, if you trust Perrin, you can trust Faile, don't be silly. 

“That man,” Elayne said, “is never where he needs to be.”  “And yet,” Perrin said, “he always arrives there eventually." - Perrin's defense of Mat is actually quite endearing.

"The Seanchan are the enemy,” Elayne said. “Mat doesn’t seem to understand that, considering what he’s done." - I'd say Mat understands it as well as Rand or Perrin, both of whom fail to see the Seanchan as true enemies. So there's that.

Why are they going to such lengths to get and hide the Horn? They have Travel? Did I miss something? Why would they need Faile to transport the Horn covertly? Someone can just do what Rand does with Callandor and Travel to hide it?

Anasai of Ryddingwood is one of Moraine's favourite poets and then this bit: "Each of her poems was written as an elegy. This was for her father. She left instructions; it can be read, but should not be spoken out loud, except when it was right to do so. She did not explain when it would be right to do so.” - I have thoughts and feelings: artworks in fiction tend to be very forward with what they say about characters. This is no exception. Moiraine is someone who kept as close a watch on her feelings as on her mission. She left no explanation to Lan about what she did. This elegy is also a reminder of her letter to Rand, a man destined to die, who she believed in beyond her disappearance. 

Also Lan and Moiraine talked about poetry?!?

Elayne also wants to have one of her children on Saldaea's throne. Why am I not surprised? 

Bashere is an idiot if he thinks that Elayne telling everyone she is having the DR's children would be wise. Not only are soldiers not entitled to this, but it will create ground for Elayne's opponents to overthrow her later: Rand is still feared by many and it will be seen as an access for the Aiel to 2 Westland thrones. 

Of course, Elayne just does just that immediately after.

Androl and Pevara's tale is more gripping that the LB preparations on the various fronts: it's fresh, it's different, it's a little bit deliciously weird with the double bond. We've already seen so many of those big battle strategizing talks.

"Were all Aes Sedai like her? He’d assumed they had no emotions, but Pevara felt the full range—although she accompanied it with an almost inhuman control over how those emotions affected her. " - woof the dehumanization of Aes Sedai still has a bright future ahead.

I'm genuinely having fun with Androl and Pevara's plotline, even for short scenes. I wish we spent more time with them because so far the different battlefronts are not doing it for me and there's not enough Egwene.

"He handed Mandarb off to a groom, holding up a finger to the horse and meeting his dark, liquid eyes. “No more biting grooms,” he growled at the stallion" - that was hilarious and perfect. Horsegirl Lan is here.

"Take care, Lord Agelmar. It almost sounds as if you are calling me selfish.” “I am, Lan,” Agelmar said. “And you are.” - Oh the burn, Agelmar is setting things straight with Lan. Tell him. His character development is long overdue.

Love the way Agelmar used the "Duty is heavier than a mountain" line against Lan: Lan has been running toward facility and away from responsibilities. Reclaiming Malkier was an excuse to die and Agelmar sees through him. Tenobia and Lan can both play at war for their personal heroic views.

Eggy chapter! My heart sings. 

"She was glad she had allowed the Hall to take a larger role in the war; there was a great deal of wisdom to the Sitters, many of whom had lived well over a century." - Yep, you don't have to like them to use them.

So the Amyrlin has to authorize weddings? For sisters I imagine? Or is she like a mayor in Tar Valon? 

Egwene will set up the hospital in Mayene? That's bold. It's a secluded and small nation though, so more vulnerable.

"Of course, every Seanchan was close to being a Darkfriend." - it's telling that it takes Egwene who's been enslaved and tortured by the Seanchan to label them correctly. They are a rot. And a lot of the male characters lack empathy towards AS in general so that doesn’t help.

I'm sure Leilwin swearing fealty to Egwene is supposed to come full circle but yeah. I'll hold off most of my comments until the end of the book and I see how the Seanchan arc concludes. I am skeptical so far.

I don't care for Rand and Elayne's romantic/strategic interlude. He's been with her for a grand total of 2 weeks? But they are obviously deeply bonded because they are having children together. I need the show to make them much more believable as a couple.

Also Lews Therin's memories being an advantage... Uh. Were characters beside Rand so definitive before about settling the debate whether Rand's voices are really LTT or madness? It's a HUGE gamble on their part to trust LTT’s voice. He went to great length to hide it because he doesn’t know what the voice is. 

WHY is Rand explaining again ta'veren?

There must be far more behind Rand's miracles than what he believes? He hasn’t chosen yet because he hasn’t been truly challenged. He does still affect the world negatively. The prophecies are about him saving or destroying the world after all. This implies the DO would have performed miracles had Rand fallen to the Dark. 

The Rand/Elayne date is one of the most bizarre and stilted romance scenes of the books, and there have been a number of those. It may be the point though? They don’t really know each other beyond a crush.

It's interesting to hear Elayne recognise that her shrewdness is mainly social capital.

"After all,” Elayne said, “I can defend myself, as I have proven on a number of occasions.” - she still doesn't get it, gdi. Birgitte needs to recruit Agelmar so that he gives her the talk.

"It is extremely unfair for me to have to deal with you. I wasn’t certain you’d noticed"- Birgitte has the sharpest of tongues and I adore her for that.

Oh Uno is alive and swearing!

"Birgitte hated battle planning, something Elayne found odd in a woman who had fought in thousands of battles" - yeah... How odd that a person who's seen so many battles would hate the clinical preparation of slaughter beforehand.

The only solution was to destroy Caemlyn to root out Trollocs. Elayne was so right about setting everything on fire.

Hell yeah, Birgitte robbed a queen. As she should. She would get along fine with Moiraine "I'm no lady" Sedai.

Birgitte is one of my favourite characters because she's probably the most anti-war and anti-military of the lot. It's not twee rejection on her part either: she saw firsthand the damage done by this sort of escalation. The danger is grave.

"Don’t you see?” Elayne said. “There won’t be war any more. We win this, and there will be peace, as Rand intends." - this is starting to sound like nuclear arms race. It'll lead to something horrific like the Choeden Kal being used in battle.

Yesssss Egwene getting approval from the Captain-General! She's been accepted as a Green, unofficially!

The Gateway weave used to spy on the Trollocs is clever. And I love the implications that the Greys will perfect them in the future.

They send Siuan to fetch rope. I will bite Sanderson. The show had better correct this.

Woof at Egwene insisting the Aes Sedai would not be used as reserve. She's right. They have trained all their life for this. This is their purpose.

"The Rahad had fought off every invasion so far. Light. Rand should have just hidden there, instead of going up to fight the Last Battle." - I like that. Wouldn't it be nice if the Rahad led the rebellion against the Seanchan?

Mat's acceptance of the Seanchan colonialism remains the most egregious aspect of his character. I hate it so much. And of course we get a happily married Seanchan-Ebou Dari couple because why not.

I was about to be pissed at Moiraine for saying compassion is a weakness but she has a point when it comes to Rand. Compassion toward an enemy bent to destroy others is violence to others. And Moiraine paid the price up until a few days/weeks ago.

"It will not matter,” Moiraine said. “You will face him, and that will be the time of determination." - yep, Tolkien set the big battle as a distraction because the fight would not be won there. The show cannot keep all these battlefronts.

Awwww Rand kept a gold mark as a reminder of Moiraine. Moiraine must be a mess inside.

Interestingly, Rand not seeing a reaction on Lan and Moiraine after they meet again could very well be his inability to read them, simply. I hope we'll get more than that. This is insufficient.

"Elayne taught me to rule, but you… you taught me how to stand" - Rand saying this and then making exactly the mistake Lan would make is ironic in the best way. Also Rand, you spent a few days making out in Tear: that's not a political education.

For real, even Lan is telling him to listen to Moiraine, so of course Rand tires himself in a futile attack against Taim and Trollocs that accomplishes nothing because so many leaders in these books are utterly selfish heroic fools.

I keep on being astonished that what Elayne did to Birgitte isn't considered a violation as big as what Moiraine and Alanna did. And said violation is having terrifying consequences on her personhood even if Elayne couldn't have forseen them. I get she felt she didn’t have a choice, but I’m uncomfortable with the fact that RJ introduced a concept that’s akin to rape and then created an exception where it’s okay to bypass consent.

"It was all right to be reborn, fresh and new. But to have her memories—her very sense of self—ripped away? If she lost her memories of her time in the World of Dream, would she forget Gaidal completely? Would she forget herself?" - genuinely, the tragedy of losing progressively all of her memories is one of the most poignant in the books. And she's alone in figuring out that she has most likely being cast out of the Horn and won't be reborn. It's terrifying.

Lanfear meeting Rand in his dreamshard to manipulate him one last time. Compassion is not a weakness, Moiraine is wrong about that. But Rand should be aware that it's one of his levers and the Forsaken and the DO particularly will use it.

The relationship Rand has with Lanfear, his ex from another life 3000 years back, is more captivating than the one he has with any of his current love interests. I stand my ground. I cannot wait to see them on screen with a current reading too.

"down deep, it was not Lews Therin who made up Rand’s core. It was the sheepherder, raised by Tam. " - he loves his dad so much, he’s the most powerful channeler alive and his greatest pride is being Tam’s son. 

How satisfying to see him stand up to her and be confident in who he is without being consumed by anger or guilt.

"Do not cut off your foot for fear that a snake will bite it, Perrin Aybara. Do not make a terrible mistake because you fear something that seems worse." - Edarra is so right, but Perrin will not listen and will still succeed because ta'veren.

"Within the embrace of saidar she could see the signs of color that the Shadow wanted them to ignore. The grass wasn’t all dead; there were tiny hints of green, slivers where the grass clung to life. There were voles beneath it; she could now easily make out the ripples in the earth. They ate at the dying roots and clung to life." - Eggy's an uncommon embodiment of hope: deeply traumatised, impossibly fighting, but always hoping. Her hope is bitter, righteous and real.

"He was the manifestation of the land itself." / "she felt as if she were one with the land itself" - The parallels between Rand and Egwene... If ever there was an argument to be made about the Dragon's soul being split, here's your proof.

"Egwene—afire with the One Power, a blazing beacon of death and judgment—was the cauterizing flame that would bring healing to the land." - and another parallel. Also dear light, the Green Ajah led by Egwene in battle are a sight to behold.

The Elayne side of the assault is a little vacuous and the only way to fill it is to have Elayne discuss the tactics and positions in Fal Dara. I don't care if Elayne is the armies' leader. It's getting repetitive.

At least, Egwene's side provides the novelty of Aes Sedai actually fighting. And Lan's side... No, I'm not that interested in Lan's side either. 

Even Tam is made Lord. I can get behind nobility being abolished through making everyone nobles.

Fain killed Perrin's family! I wasn't that invested in the Perrin/WC arc but it provides great drama. 

"Light protect the wetlander who dared tamper with ji’e’toh." - so naming the Aiel enforcers of the Dragon's Peace is a good idea how?

"I’m going to a place you cannot, my friend,” Perrin said softly [...] “I’m sorry.” 

“You’ll go to the dream within a dream,” Gaul said, then yawned. “Turns out I’m tired.” 

“But—”  

"I’m coming, Perrin Aybara. Kill me if you wish me to remain behind.” - This whole scene is so gay. Gaul is Perrin's Sam. They are going together to a Black Tower to destroy a magical artifact and slay a monster. Gay Gandalf exists. I love this.

"[Nynaeve] had been speaking with Moiraine and for once, she didn’t smell a twinge hateful. Something had happened between those two women." - wait, he was there for the hug so something else happened. Do I need to also write this?

Of course, Perrin is still adamant about TAR. I really like his despair at inaction though. And it's been touched on in the show already. 

"This isn’t evil, it’s just incredibly stupid.” - Light, it feels good to see the boys back together.

Loving the description of the storm as a black hole with Rand at its center in TAR. 

So it is a dream spike in the Black Tower. Nice. 

What is Lanfear doing in the Black Tower in TAR? What is Graendal doing in the BT in reality? I AM STRESSED

Toveine was Turned? These poor women. They were force-bonded, imprisoned and Turned to the shadow.

Androl weaving just a wide enough gateway to deflect balefire is supremely silly, but I don't care: it saved the day and alerted his friends.

Androl is such a refreshing character: he is surrounded by incredibly powerful protagonists whose dilemmas mainly revolve around keeping control and not hurting people. And you've got Androl who doesn't have enough power to abuse.

The contrast between Perrin naturally trusting Asha'man and distrusting AS is hilarious given that Asha'man nearly killed Rand even before Taim had started Turning them. 

Wait, Lanfear is helping Perrin? What is going on?

Lanfear is a fascinating character when she's not seen through the crazy ex lens. Perrin sold the WO Shaido to the Seanchan, Rand conquered nations in the name of peace: it's always about power. Lanfear chose the DO but Rand could just as well destroy the world if he doesn’t choose right.

Oh wow, poor Gaul. He will be forced to take in a second woman when marrying Chiad. What a tragedy. 

Seeing Androl defeat Taim's people with gateways only was fun. As a writer, it's clever to introduce regularly fun new uses of magic.

The chapter opening on Mat dangling from a balcony to get into the palace. I am laughing. Typical Mat. 

"He had not survived this long by taking fool chances, luck or no luck" - why are they like this? The self-awareness of a periwinkle.

Mat's thoughts on Rand and Perrin's heroism... He's arguably the one of the three who's the most loyal as he will be dedicated to strangers and people he hates, even if he spends his time saying he won't help his friends.

“We really are high up, aren’t we?” “Normal people use stairs.” - be glad he didn't arrive by stolen raken because he would do that. 

"Tylin and Nalesean can have a little dance together about that." - that loyalty again. Tylin hurt him badly.

"The secret, it turned out, had not been to harden himself to the point of breaking. It had not been to become numb. It had been to walk in pain, like the pain of the wounds at his side, and accept that pain as part of him." - a little better. I am still bitter about Veins of gold. It was ill-fitting to the rest of his arc and failed to acknowledge his mental health. 

"Nothing is too fine for you,” Rand whispered. “Nothing.” - oh my heart. This Tam and Rand scene will kill me.

Rand gifts the sword to Tam and practices with him: it's just a lovely character scene that strikes the right balance between awe and love. The way the fight helps Rand mourn his hand gives depth to a loss that was mostly ignored. Beautiful. If anything, this scene should have had the impact Veins of gold had. Mourning the person he was and cannot be again is an important step in healing, much more than his realization on love, that's not wrong but doesn't address his loss.

Rand and Mat united by the realization that moss lives.

I really like that Tuon is a practiced martial artist and in a completely different martial art too. 

Tepid take: grey men are overused and they lost their mystique a while back.

Mat is so cozy with Tuon: it's too depressing. I had hope he would keep his ambiguity concerning her, drawn to her but also positioning himself as a shield between her and the harm she can do. It seems we lost that. 

Also Tuon's voice is off.

"Loial, son of Arent son of Halan, had secretly always wanted to be hasty." - awwwwww, everyone knows he loves humans and would rather spend his time with them, it's okay. I love Loial's classic antihero arc. He's the Bilbo of this universe.

It's still disheartening to see all these characters - Loial, Elayne, Egwene - become bloodthirsty and revel in violence. And these long descriptions of mutilation and slaughter are justified by the Trollocs' dehumanization. They're props.

"Did you know that I used to spend hours in thought, trying to discover what that mind of yours was conjuring? It is a wonder I did not pull every hair from my head in frustration.” - wth, why are Mo and Rand so cute together now?!?

“It was not merely stubbornness that drove you; it was a will to prove to yourself, and to everyone else, that you could do this on your own.” She touched his arm. “But you cannot do this on your own, can you? " - like in TSR, he's his people. I’m quite proud it’s something I clocked as early as TDR.

Also one of the reasons Moiraine is such a compelling mentor for Rand: she's the same. She's so used to distrusting everyone but herself. Considering the short trailer for s2, the resemblance will be explored in the show soon.

"That said, I am one of the oldest people in existence.” 

Moiraine smiled. “Very nice. Does that work on the others?” - they're killing me. She knows him. And they're on the same wavelength now that Rand has stopped fighting who he is.

"You are still a wide-eyed sheepherder at heart. I would not have it any other way. Lews Therin, for all of his wisdom and power, could not do what you must." - OH MY HEART I AM A PUDDLE Siuan and Moiraine were after all his first believers.

The discussion about Rand growing! Killing the DO (and Rand finally realizing that because Moiraine disagrees it doesn't mean she is controlling him)! Their banter about Cadsuane! THE GENTLE CHIDING! The tea! I WAS NOT EXPECTING SUCH TENDERNESS FROM THEM HOW

“Merely seeing if that still worked.”

“I never fetched you tea,” Rand protested, walking back to her. “As I remember, I spent our last few weeks together ordering you around." - this is seriously one of the loveliest scenes in the entire saga. Also, it’s important to remember that this Moiraine is greatly diminished: she lost most of her powers, is behind on so many events and spent months being tortured. This isn’t only about Rand’s growth; it’s about Moiraine’s perception of her power.

"Thank you for your advice. Now, and always. I don’t believe I have said that enough. I owe you a debt, Moiraine.” 

“Well,” she said. “I am still in need of a cup of tea.” - Okay, their relationship might rival Egwene and Siuan's. I'm fiiiiine

"Sometimes, she wished that weaving were easier to understand." - I always love the contrast between how others perceive Moiraine - in control and mysterious - and her POV where she is just an exhausted ball of confused despair and doubt.

Four paragraphs of Moiraine POV? Really? This is a joke, right? Also when do we get to address what happened to her in the Tower of Ghenjei? Or is it going to be like with Egwene and Nynaeve and only men get to have their trauma acknowledged?

Lan's fight scenes remain so repetitive: I read them out loud to go through them. It's 50 ways to slay your Trolloc:

You just slice up the back, Jac.

Twist in the sword, Cords.

You don't need to be clean, Seaine.

Just take the Blight back.

"If I could round up each woman in the Borderlands and put a sword in her hands, I would. For now, I’ll settle for not doing something stupid— like forbidding some trained and passionate soldiers from fighting." - Lan has no time for sexism.

Yep, now Taim is fighting on the Borderlands front because there aren't enough channelers there. Makes sense. This is bad for them. This makes me really excited to watch the show build up to this point, because the BT was not doomed from the start: Rand fumbled their management quite badly.

Mat gets into a bragging contest with Rand the moment they meet: feels so right. Also while being held by Tuon. They're just dumbass boys with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I laughed at Tuon's guards inefficiency though.

"You look nice, by the way. You’ve been taking better care of yourself lately.” 

“So you do care,” Rand said. 

“Of course I do,” Mat grumbled" - their banter is so fun. I've missed this kind of levity between old friends.

This makes me think: how did Moiraine learn about Mat's memories? Did they chat about it on the way back from the Tower of Ghenjei? Did Moiraine deduce it like she deduced so many things? Did I miss this?

Rand reasoning Tuon out of her unconditional claim on the land is so satisfying. She walked straight into that one and he gained such finesse and authority since the start. 

Mat notices Rand's humming because Tuon is a beautiful woman. Nice.

There he goes again with the Seanchan making life better for the people. Tell that to the Atha'an Miere, the Aes Sedai and the people who lost their land to the settlers. I love the blossoms around Rand being such an argument though.

“By the way, I saved Moiraine. Chew on that as you try to decide which of the two of us is winning.” - I AM DECEASED

So Rand gave away entire nations and abandoned the damane to the Seanchan. He sentenced them to at least 100 years of servitude. I'm fuming. This is such a triumph of imperialism and fascism shaking hands on the fate of the world because their strength is needed. The tragedy may be the point, but I don't think two white US authors can write about this with enough nuance.

The way Egwene leads on battlefield is so distinctive and her: it's so organized and effective. And Siuan talks! One sentence, but still. She's in charge of... Intel, I guess? Perhaps she's working in the closet where they also put Nynaeve.

Leilwin's argument about the Seanchan is very "not all cops". To gain Egwene’s trust, she could start with recognising her role in the Seanchan culture of slavery. Her nation's wealth is built on the dehumanization of part of the population. Don't get me wrong, I feel it's a realistic depiction of someone from an oppressor class trying to make amends but it's vexing because it's the last book and very little seems to indicate even the start of a change in the Seanchan mentality.

Oh, Gawyn is absolutely going to activate the Bloodknives' rings. It's going to be horrific. 

Awwww, Rand reveals himself just before leaving a battlefront to give his soldiers hope. I love that detail.

"Rand saw a gray-haired woman approaching. And behind her, a smaller figure in blue stopped and pointedly turned the other way." - that's so bloody funny after NS. Cadsuane is probably the only being Moiraine fears.

Cadsuane clocks Rand's gifts to his loved ones because he thinks he's dying. Rand pointing out he won't give her one because he doesn't care about her is PERFECT. 

Oh, Cadsuane thinks there is still a chance he survives too? Intriguing.

"You have cracks in you, Rand al’Thor, but you’ll have to do.” - She's so proud of him but she's incapable of saying it.

The Asha'man are free! But, boy does it sting to realise that Rand did nothing to help them. Zilch. He just felt bad for them.

"Lan knew what it was like to be chosen, from childhood, to die [...] to be pointed toward the Blight and told he would sacrifice his life there. Rand al’Thor would probably never know how similar the two of them were" - Oh YEAH. I like that. It would have been nice to see any of that acknowledged earlier through a Lan POV, but you know, at least it's there. Still, we get it now, after the narrative hits us countless times with how important Tam has been to Rand in shaping him. The point is that Rand ultimately isn't like Lan because he had Tam (and Min and Nyn and Lan and Mo), which is very bittersweet for Lan. To say nothing of the fact his quest for hardness instigated by Lan almost broke Rand, and the world with it. Rand, thankfully, is not his mentors.

We're getting so many horsegirl Lan moments. I love it.

Hello lord Baldhere, fellow queer. 

Okay, where is this going with Agelmar? They ARE all tired. Agelmar is right. As long as they are together to shoulder the burden, it's all good.

Does Nynaeve get something to do at some point or is she going to be as underutilized as Siuan? This is getting ridiculous. 

Cairhien is defenseless and full of refugees? jfc The great generals are making mistakes left and right.

I am in love with the image of the tempest eroding the cities and mountains in TAR. It's so poetic. 

Yesssss, the cracks into nothingness are a result of excessive balefire. I was waiting for this to happen! Consequences! I love them.

Egwene's goodbye to the WO was sweet, although it makes me afraid some of them won't make it.

"You are Galad’s brother?” - There's no drama like Damodred-Trakand family drama. Rand's insistence that he's NOT related to Elayne is quite awkward.

The ribbon for Egwene is v moving. I adore their relationship, with all its tension and incomprehension. It's a realistic depiction of friendship put through the grinder of responsibility and adulthood. It's tragic but sweet.

OH MY GOD THE SEALS ARE FAKE! NOT THIS LATE IN THE BOOKS 

"You’d be real funny without any fingers,” Mat growled. - Mat is such a jerk to servants. But that's also an excellent threat to use against men who can't keep their hands to themselves

Mat being fitted for new Seanchan garbs is giving me major NS vibes. 

Light the fact that Mat has no issues being married to someone who now OWNS Ebou Dar... It's character assassination at this point.

"If I’m going to look ridiculous, I might as well do it with style." - I hate it because he still has such zingers. 

Still not tired of the fight on the AS front. I enjoy the way Sanderson writes magic battles more than non magic battles.

"It was the middle of the Last Battle, and the woman still took time each morning to do her face." - and she's right to do so. It's called "dress to kill." I love Leane and Egwene is better than such patriarchal nonsense.

Oh my gooooooooood the Sharan attack on the AS camp? Romanda being burnt on the spot? SIUAN? Yukiri? Leane? NO! They came out of NOWHERE. This is catastrophic, bloody hell.

So Thakan'dar is... Mordor? 

"Better that one people should end than the world fall completely under Shadow." - Avi is probably the most selfless among the main-adjacent characters, but still so angry about what this sacrifice means for her people.

Ituralde cementing himself as the best general by asking the right question: Rand killing the DO could take days, weeks even, not just a few hours. Also I don't know why it made me giggle to imagine them all spying on the forges like that.

Honestly, Avi's development as an Aiel able to see the strength of wetlanders and the fact they may not all be foolish is very satisfying. She’s so much more open-minded. I would love for her to take on a more ambassador-like role after Tarmon Gai'don, not just a WO.

"You would have the Seanchan join Egwene’s battlefront?” Moiraine asked, aghast. “Is that wise?” - SCREW THIS as with Mat, the level of violence that Rand is enacting on channelers by forcing them to work with the Seanchan is mind-boggling.

Siuan POV! Thank the Light Yukiri and Siuan escaped. And a contingent of AS and soldiers! Please tell me Siuan is now getting an intrigue as the new interim leader who regains some of the respect she lost during the schism from the AS?

Blood and ashes, now Siuan's hiding her despair at the number of AS lost by claiming they were treating her badly anyway. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. She's still the Amyrlin at heart.

Siuan's faith in Egwene is killing me.

"The Black Tower men claimed that only a few of their number had joined the Shadow, and that the channeling had been the result of an attack by the Black Ajah." - oh I love this, the BT is as skilled at obfuscating their mistakes as the WT.

The whole thing with Lyrelle coming full of prejudices and contempt is nice. She's a bit the butt of the joke here, but it's important for the Asha'man to get this moment of assertion and empowerement. I hope they get to confront Rand too.

"Well, men have a choice in their fate, and weapons do not. Here are your men, Aes Sedai. Respect them.” - I LOVE that. Now, release the AS you force-bonded.

Also, Pevara is in love ? Moiraine and Lan were really the exception, uh?

"The Black Tower has learned to survive without him. Light! It always survived without him." - Rand as the absent father who abandoned his children while Logain becomes the BT’s father and paid the price is honestly a phenomenal choice.

Re: the Sharan, I'm very confused about the book introducing this late a completely different culture with its own channeling prejudice. 

Leane is alive! MY GAL. Also will be used as a messenger. Don't hurt her. 

Bao is Demandred, right? 

Yep

Gaul and Perrin hunting Slayer in TAR and finding Graendal... It's entertaining ngl? I like it better than the endless fighting and there's always the mystery of wth the Forsaken are planning.

And wth is Graendal planning with Bashere?

I hope the show radically changes how TAR behaves because the flying and fighting could look so silly on-screen. The show has done so well so far with the magic.

Lanfear is far more interesting now that she hates LTT.

Ituralde was right. The Bore distorts time. The people in Shayol Ghul could spend hours there while weeks pass outside.

As shocking as the Sharan invasion is, like the Seals, it feels like last minute plots introduced not to reach TLB yet.

Well, it didn't take long for Gawyn to be stupid and to wear the Rings. And he did that for scouting? 

The detail of Egwene using her Two Rivers tracking skills and removing her shoes to sneak out of the Sharan camp is PERFECT. Her roots!

"My authority is not drawn from my power to channel, she told herself. My strength is in control, understanding, and care. I will escape this camp, and I will continue the fight." - this reminds me of what Mo told her in the show about power.

Egwene is so used to keeping AS calm that she cannot alert Gawyn through the bond so she resorts to remembering the most traumatic event of her life, her captivity with the Seanchan. I NEED the show to adress sooner the depth of her trauma.

"Egwene had been younger then, but no more powerless than she was now. It would happen again. She would be nothing. She would have her very self stripped away. She would rather be dead. Oh, Light! Why couldn’t she have died?" - this part… Egwene was 17 when the Seanchan took her and she spent 2 months in captivity being tortured, used as a weapon and dehumanized. Her time prior to the Waste is ROUGH and even after she learns to control herself, she's haunted, often panicking when she fears losing autonomy. A lot of Egwene's actions can be understood as her not receiving any help from authority figures, the Tower, her mentors, her friends after hugely traumatic events and stepping into that role of protector, of Mother, for herself and others.

Leilwin saved Egwene from the Sharan! I actually really like that. Also I like even more that this didn't turn into another captivity arc. The next character getting captured will be tossed into the Bore.

Avi leading the assault around Shayol Ghul is nice. There's not enough female generals in these books. 

"A woman in blue, small of stature but not of will." - you're right Avi, Moiraine is a giant in will. Also, Smolraine my love

Rand walking into Shayol Ghul with Laman's sword is a choice that I love for Moiraine-related reasons. Also wearing a replica of the coat Moiraine had had made for him and a Two Rivers shirt. These are really nice details showing his growth and the influence of his two first and final mentors.

"Fortuona represented order, and she had married chaos himself. What had she been thinking?" - you made your bed, now lie in it and perish 

I take great pleasure in watching Mat insult the Blood at every opportunity.

So peach blossoms are an omen?

"Fortuona could swoop in and all of those damane would be hers. Hundreds upon hundreds. With that force, she could crush the resistance to her rule back in Seanchan." - Not only trusting Tuon is immoral but it is also stupid. Well done Rand.

I don't have much to say about Elayne's front. Things are bad, like in the North. She still insists on joining the fight and it's pretty static, so I guess it's a matter of time before she does something reckless.

"Yes, he was going to lose. But with these resources, he’d do it with style." - Ituralde is like an older more Seanchan-hating Mat and I love him. And Ituralde respects Sea Folk, which is a rarity among the characters.

Oh good, Ituralde has nightmares about Maradon, that doesn't make me even more distraught about what happened there. 

"The longer you fought, the more you saw the enemy as being like yourself." - I keep saying this but he's my fav general.

The way Sanderson writes battle scenes and which ones work or don't for me remind me of John Rogers' advice on writing action scenes: "Don't write action sequences. Write suspense sequences that require action to resolve."

“Light. It was good to see Egwene’s face." - do not hit me with Siuan and Egwene feelings now. She cares so much. 

Doubting Egwene is really Egwene, Siuan asks Egwene where they first met and Eggy recollects Siuan LIFTING her from the ground.

"You bound me with Air on our trip down the river from there, as part of a lesson in the Power I have never forgotten.” - both Eggy and Siuan were powerless prisoners denied empathy because their existence was a transgression and this rocks.

I bloody hope Egwene doesn't trust the Seanchan: even if Tuon gave her word, and for Mat only too, you bet Galgan and others haven't. 

Interrupting Rand's fight with Moridin to switch to Lan's POV ? Really? Really!?!

It's very important for people to understand that everytime a character gets into an overly detailed description of troops' movement my brain pictures more or less this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2F&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjg2NjQsMTY0NTAz&feature=emb_share&v=oskCypnfoA8

Light, the mistakes being made on the battlefield left and right. What is this mess? 

I feel so bad for Ituralde who's been at this for months. 

Is Perrin seing the Finn in TAR near Shayol Ghul? What are they doing here? Following Moiraine?

Uh, that is now the second time TAR is now used to make people brain-dead and uh. I don't like this. 

Perrin is using the Dreamspike to keep people from using Gateways near Shayol Ghul? But wasn't that already impossible so close to the Bore?

So... A few minute inside the cavern is HOURS just outside. Rand is going to come out and he'll have grandchildren. 

This Gaul/Perrin outing is rather fun tbh. 

I was not expecting a Tuon and Egwene confrontation but here we go.

"The Seanchan damane were not free women; they could not choose to fight. From what she’d seen of the Sharan male channelers, they were little more than animals themselves." - Interesting distinction, and poverty also pushes people to the army.

"it would be better if I see you not as marath’damane, but as a queen among the people of this land.” “No,” Egwene said. “You will see me for what I am, woman. I demand it." - oh, we WILL discuss how queer and militant Eggy is written at some point.

"So long as I am free from your collars, I prove to every man and woman who draws breath that you are a liar.” - Her very existence is a transgression, a proof of the Empire's lies. Light, I love Egwene. 

Mat's little wave to Egwene was so cute.

Egwene taunting Tuon with Mat's ta'veren pull was funny but I maintain that Tuon is ta'veren herself. 

"Be more specific,” Egwene said. “Tell me with your own voice, woman." - why the hell didn't she choose Blue? She reminds me so much of Moiraine and Siuan.

Bloody hell, the Seanchan got the Sea Folk on Tremalking as well. I want to scream. The Sea Folk were slaughtered in Ebou Dar for resisting. 

Tuon also wants to send missionaries in Tar Valon like the proper coloniser she is. Classic.

Egwene is doing such a better job than Rand at handling the Seanchan. She's actually renegotiating his terms and getting people released. 

This is also why Rand's attitude toward Egwene is so perplexing: the AS are powerful tools, particularly for negotiation, use them!

"Do you realize that every one of your sul’dam, your precious trainers, is herself a marath’damane?" - I was waiting for her to deliver that blow and she did! Such an incredible showdown. Egwene is a skilled, passionate orator.

How very Mat to treat this again as a both-sides issue. It is nice that he did step up to protect Egwene from Tuon, who had openly threatened to enslave and break Egwene personally not 5 minutes ago.

Tskk, Bashere isn't a DF: he's been manipulated by Graendal, you fools! All of this could have been avoided if they'd left a sizeable army in Cairhien or evacuated the city. 

Siuan has an angreal as well, not a strong one, but she uses it to help! MY STRONG GAL

"Did she think he’d let a woman forget her oath? It didn’t matter to him whose company she kept. An oath was an oath." - I am sorry Bryne is creepy and his relationship with women is why it doesn't surprise me Gawyn sees him as a father figure.

And now Min will meet Tuon as a messenger because that woman is more skeleton key than character. 

I was bracing myself for Min's inevitable repugnant and somewhat favorable views on Seanchan and lo and behold.

With Min speaking of her visions within earshot of Tuon and Tuon snatching her, it strongly suggests that Tuon is ta'veren, right? She is a descendant of Hawkwing after all and was able to resist Rand's ta'veren pull.

Here's the the thing: Agelmar being manipulated is good drama but the chess move upon chess move upon chess move are getting repetitive. 

Loial growing roots from the ground in battle with singing is just a fantastic image.

So Min should stay with Tuon to advise her and nudge her in the right direction. If she can do that without becoming like Mat, good. 

Bryne also made several mistakes: Graendaaaaaaaaal!

"You are a soldier!” Lan bellowed. “Act like one!” - character development for the ages. 

If Tenobia dies, what does it mean for Faile in the succession line?  

Poor Agelmar though. It's a harrowing ending for him. All the great generals made puppets in their armies’ slaughter.

It was only a matter of time before Mat became the true leader of the armies, so Tuon's move to name him their Seanchan general was expected. And given what's happening with the other generals, he’ll replace Elayne soon.

"Mat had tried to make her say she saw a hat floating around Mat’s head. That would persuade Tuon to stop trying to get rid of his, would it not ?" - okay, I laughed.

“With that, thousands of bottoms hit their saddles, producing a slapping sound that reverberated across the legion, and each soldier sat at attention, eyes straight ahead" - ass cheeks clapping like a Seanchan legion does have a ring to it.

Min, Mat, Rand... They spend more time admitting that the Seanchan are organized and train well than condemning their atrocities. It's so bizarre. 

Mat took a damane prisoner. I'm just... I want to cry. They are killing my boy.

Not really fond of the way that the great generals were all ousted by random men rather than Egwene (shrewd politician with expertise in Dreams), Siuan (an actual spymaster and Bryne's partner) or Elayne (the armies' leader trained in the Game of Houses).

Elyas is in the Wolf Dream!

Also five days since Rand walked into Shayol Ghul... Hello, this is long. I want them to come out and it's been 3 years. 

Yay, for Perrin figuring out what happened to the generals on his own even if it's too late!

"Nynaeve closed her eyes. Moiraine stared straight ahead as if determined not to look away, no matter the price." - I don't know who's braver for it. I love them. 

Rand's POV are too short! Obviously it's bc of the Bore but it's frustrating!

"We sent ourselves,” Logain said." - nothing more satisfying than seeing a character I suspected could become legendary live up to their potential. I am so proud of him. 

Of course, Androl is the miracle with his impossibly large gateways.

Elayne's wonder at the full circle is bittersweet: Aes Sedai, Asha'man, we're here at last and it's glorious! But also it's a reminder of how binary the magic system is. It's still so exciting and gratifying as a symbol of healing!

"How do you handle so much of the One Power? How do you keep it from consuming you alive, burning you away?” - between that and what Androl did when he tapped into Pevara's power, it's probably a good thing he isn't more powerful bc he has issues

"Three thousand years ago the Lord Dragon created Dragonmount to hide his shame. His rage still burns hot. Today… I bring it to you, Your Majesty.” - the gateway straight into the heart of Dragonmount is the most badass feat of channeling.

"One miracle, my Lord,” Androl said, voice soft, as if strained. “Delivered as requested. That should hold them back for a few hours. Long enough?” - he's the Avi of the Asha'man, so wholesome.

Uno survived the attack by stripping to swim in the river! I love his weird little experience.

Min answering “Oh. Yes. I suppose you have" to Eggy because she forgot about her captivity with the Seanchan is so callous. This, plus her attitude towards Siuan during FoH, her dismissal of Birgitte after the poly-bonding and Rand in the context of the polycule? Nope. Don't like. Past a certain point, her IDGAF attitude becomes jerkiness, like Mat.

Ituralde's disoriented POV! That was missing in this corruption arc. And he exited dragged away by wolves! 

Egwene reflects on Mat treating her like a painting but always saving her, and concludes that of course she trusts him: it's a real, moving moment showing they still care deeply about who they were, but most importantly who they became.

"People who started to drown didn’t yell, or sputter, or call for help. They just slipped under the water, when everything seemed fine and peaceful. Unless Mat was watching." - that gets me okay. He looks after his friends.

"So which was this? Was she drowning or not?" - I love how much Sanderson is embracing Egwene's trauma and how it affects her ability to assess the risks she's taking. She has been drowning for a while and no one has noticed.

"It was better than her fighting for the Shadow, wasn’t it?" - Mat will not even remain in my top ten if this goes on. The argument that people enslaved are somehow saved from a worse fate is a white-supremacist one.

Demandred with his orientalist cosplay and raving about the Dragon is starting to feel like the most ridiculous of the Forsaken. He's a formidable enemy but he's the most buffoonish of the Forsaken by miles.

Tuon uses Min's visions exactly like Elayne, believing they are a protection against death, except she straight up sends people to their death.

For the twist, I hope Min is massively wrong about one prediction before the end.

"That fellow spent entirely too little time looking at women. He was shy around them, Talmanes was." - leave him be, he's gay. I will fight Sanderson because he labels random characters as gay and the gayest characters (Elayne, Avi, Talmanes) are not.

At least Min stands her ground: people should not be executed for intentions but light, is she naive about this Seanchan counselling and how she can both survive this ordeal and truly help the Seacnhan’s victims. This is way over her head. Mat, for all his foolishness, is better equipped.

How long exactly has Elayne been pregnant at this point? It feels like it's been 3 years, but logically she's 6-7 months along? The show better do away with it or shift timelines. It's not like BS is writing in-depth about motherhood anyway.

I'm no army tactician and even I could have told them that the solution was to have one front rather than 4. 

Trom's uniform soaked through with blood is such good imagery. The Children of Light are dressed like Red Sisters.

Galad has such an interesting arc as a zealot starting to see nuances of grey. Both Gawyn and Galad basically entered militias, and Elayne herself is depicted as rather expansionist in these last books. Could it be Elaida's influence? Bryne’s?

Tam and Elayne are wrong: this wasn't a victory. People are not a price to pay for peace. I'm surprised that Tam thinks that, even if I do see the point in giving meaning to death. Galad's desperate protest thats it is a lie is quite moving and true to the character.

"If you knew my life,” Slayer said, “you’d howl. The hopelessness, the agony… I soon found my way. My power. In this place, I am a king.” - I do hope the show keeps evil Lan. It's important to depict why people who chose the dark did so.

Laras is managing the Tower and novices while the Aes Sedai are away! I love the way this is echoing the beginning of NS with the Aiel war. Also Faile ending up with the Horn for safekeeping is PERFECT. Full circle. She deserves to be the protector of the Horn.

"the Six-Story Slaughter and Hinderstap" - Iove that the Band has lore. 

Aravine's past is too much of a secret not to be important soon. Where's Bawler when you need him?

I'm sorry Olver's uncles are giving me such strong found family feelings. I love the Band.

An attack was to be expected on the caravan getting the Horn but dear Light, Berisha sent them to the Blight as an escape? Faile has the worst luck.

So the red-veiled Aiels are all the male channelers the Aiel sent out to die. That's absolutely harrowing actually. The ostracization of their own created their own monsters. Avi understands just how much of a reckoning the Aiel have coming.

Cadsuane MVP with that heart-stopping weave. I'm surprised she could even do that since Avi was the one in danger. Sanderson seems much more lax with the third Oath.

Why are they not using the copies of Mat's medallion to protect the generals?

Setalle suspects Berisha might have sent them there with intention, good or bad. Is it even possible Berisha overshot her Gateway? 

Of course Faile figures out Setalle pretty quick: she's so sharp and I love her for that. Setalle being an Aes Sedai who burnt out though… OOF

"The Horn of Valere, lost in the Blight. A nightmare." - That's ironic since it started there.

Sarene was taken by Graendal? For what? Is Graendal the one who took Alanna? Where is Alanna? 

Light, the Aes Sedai are getting slaughtered.

The Blight is FUN. I love a good horror setting. 

Liking this Avi/Cads combo. They're not unlike one another in their one-mindedness and it makes sense they would protect Rand against the Forsaken trying to get to SG. Although I'm surprised none showed up so far.

Not Vanin and Harnan stealing the Horn! 

"I am not spending the Last Battle clinging to a rock! she thought. Not the same one the whole time, at the very least." - Nyn is as pissed as I am about Mo and her being relegated to glorified batteries.

Alanna is trapped in Shayol Ghul because of Moridin, bleeding out? WHY DID NO ONE THINK ABOUT THIS BEFORE? HE’S BONDED TO FOUR WOMEN WHO COULD ALL BE CAPTURED At least Nyn will save the day. 

I LOVE the fact that Merrilor is situated at the fork of two rivers. It's perfect.

I'm also glad everyone saw reason and made Mat the commandant general at last. He's worth 100 great generals. Elayne is good at organizing people but we need the genius of a single mind. 

Also, unrelated, but does Mat have memories of women? IS HE THE DOCTOR?

I love this moment between Eggy and Mat before the battle where they act like an odd mix of siblings and leaders, even if Eggy still sees him like a rambunctious little brother and he like a girl pal to protect. It’s a rare last moment of ingenuity before the end of the world that doesn’t feel naive either. They’re both changed and there is no coming back.

The Last Battle chapter gets an epigraph from Loial! 

Deafening the guards with thunder to save them from Draghkars was very clever. Well done, Elayne. 

"Why was his hat banded with pink ribbon, though?" - I would love for anyone to address Mat’s rape properly. This is so disturbing.

Mat is right to keep his plans to himself though. Between DF, Forsaken using compulsion and dreams, Turning, the Seanchan plotting, I would not trust anyone... right, I'm beginning to feel like Moiraine. Mat must certainly think like her now.

The joy of this part comes from characters meeting each other or working together for the first time: Setalle and Faile, Uno and Talmanes, Lan and Tam, Avi and Cads... 

Demandred is still bellowing for Rand. This got old fifty pages ago.

Like Birgitte, like Moiraine, Logain’s POVs are a rarity but his mind and experience are endlessly mesmerising. He IS a bad guy, turned to the light to help, except he wouldn't have been a bad guy had people known how to handle male channelers in the first place.

"When every breath had encouraged him to find a knife and slit his own throat." - Like Owyn. The strength it took Leane, Siuan and him to go on in TFoH stupefies me, truly. 

Logain is in charge of recovering the Seals from Taim feels so RIGHT.

"Was this what you wished for, his mind whispered, when you raised the banner of the Dragon? When you sought to save mankind? Did you do it to be feared? Hated?" - his role as false Dragon is so interesting: how was he different from Rand? But in the end he is leading the male channelers to battle and facing the Dark One’s armies.

Logain realizing he cannot be sure of Gabrelle: buddy, you captured and force-bonded her. Did you really think she would not do anything to survive? 

Tam POV! Why are we getting so many random men's POV? I like Tam but come on, this is a lot of the same types of character. 

Pevara and Androl remain very cute, okay? I love their banter and fun things are happening magic-wise with them. That double bond could lead to an abolition to the binary magic system and I am here for it.

Coincidentally, Mat and Talmanes have a secret language of their own. Band lore, again.

I love the carrier raken system set up. It's so dramatic but effective. 

HOLY MACKEREL the opening credits of the show are actually a depiction of what Rand's mind conjures when he tries to picture the Pattern during his fight with the DO?!?

Rand's first vision is basically how Isam and the people in Thakan'dar live currently. 

Dreadlord Nyn would be terrifying and so twisted. I do love that even in this dark reality Moiraine is enough of an outcast to be executed.

Of course, Gawyn heads up straight toward Demandred without telling Egwene or anyone. In a way, the devolution is pertinent: he promised to obey Egwene, but the call for heroic sacrifice is too great. Toxic masculinity will kill him. It’s well done.

"Siuan nodded, approval—even pride—in her expression. Egwene was Amyrlin; she had no need of either emotion from Siuan, and yet it lifted a little of her grinding fatigue." - have I mentionned I love them with all my heart? Truly prime duo.

And another Rand/Egwene parallel: Moiraine "found" them both in the Two Rivers. In their search for the DR, Siuan and Moiraine also found the one who would break and save the White Tower and guide them to the Last Battle.

"And if a woman were to wish for a legacy, she could not dream of greater than one such as you. Thank you." - okay, now I'm crying. Siuan went from losing everything, her name despised, to finding the greatest legacy in Egwene. Egwene is Siuan’s.

I'm glad Egwene sent Siuan to do what she does best for once, finding spies, studying people. 

I really hope the show embraces their relationship with all its thorns and fondness because it's a fantastic mentor/student one between women.

Demandred is so obsessed with Rand he cannot conceive anyone but Rand leading this assault: it seems such a preposterous blind spot for someone supposedly clever. 

Faile plans to sneak into the supply station and use the enemy's Gateway? Hell yes! She's so smart. 

So Perrin is recovering in Berelain's palace with Uno. That's such a delightful combination. And Luhann saved him!

Right... Perrin left Gaul in the Wolf Dream, didn't kill Slayer and didn't stop the generals save maybe Ituralde... 

The Asha'man and AS still have so many prejudices. It'll take some time after TLB before they truly understand each other.

"I’m trying to read that thought,” Pevara said. “Did you just… compare me to an old strap of leather?” - Androl, gilf lover. They are Adorable together. 

I am still wondering what the hell their story does in this book but I like them.

If Androl and Pevara are the ones to find the Seals, I'll be okay with that. Their plan is so goofy, fooling around with mirrors of mist in the enemy camp. At least they are together and none of them is pretending to be a Forsaken.

Graendal took Rhuarc? What is going on with the Forsaken who are not Demandred? Where's Moghedien? Cyndane? There are too many threads flying around.

Seanchan is still part of Rand's utopia? I get it, he wants them to be part of tomorrow's world, and not all of them were slavers, but still, it's so tone-deaf because as they are, they slaughtered, enslaved and dispossessed countless people.

Awwww Perrin's granddaughter, the Ogier, the school! Rand's dreams about building a better world are so HIM. 

Silviana was prepared to take on Gawyn's bond?! Egwene's inspires such devotion, it's a bit dizzying.

"It’s like a hole inside of me, Elayne. A deep, gaping hole. Bleeding out my life and memories.” - Birgitte's fate is so absolutely heartbreaking. Her despair is hitting hard as well because she’s been so strong.

Giving the medaillon to the WC IS unwise, but who cares about the after? No one.

Mat running away with Tuon is not the same as dismantling the Seanchan Empire. That's only letting another Empress take her place. 

Oh bloody hell, Siuan's saved Min by stopping the heart of a Sharan channeler! That was hot.

And of course now she runs into a burning building to save Mat like her uncle Huan did for strangers. ... Siuan... no I knew it was going to happen but Light that was sudden. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment.

I also hate deaths caused by the idiot ball. RJ's Siuan would not have made such a gamble; only Siuan "dumbass energy granted by BS" Sedai would. This accomplishes nothing. It's a pointless "she should have listened to Min" moment.

"how could affection thrive beside the burning passion that was his hatred for Lews Therin? " - gay. that's so gay. The Forsaken are just a bunch of raging queers. 

This diffraction of POV is grating. Too many short POVs succeeding.

"The man would hold back and deliberate, worrying over his decisions, until boiling forward in a reckless military action." - accurate, but that was Lews Therin, this is Rand. 

I say the thing about POV and my guy Juilin turns up. Go Juilin!

The WC used to butcher AS's corpses and cut them into pieces for fear they would rise again like vampires? I did not need that information. Scalding take: the AS were never respected; they were feared because they were not considered human.

Did Pevara need to out Emarin in the middle of a break-in? 

Galad carrying his brother's body, hoping to save him, thinking that Elayne hadn't loved him. You know what, Gawyn was a fool and the tragedy is that he reverted back to his childish self 

and it costs him is life.

Oh fuck, Egwene losing the bond is rough. She's absolutely drowning now.

Tam as it all started, fighting. 

I'm confused, wasn't the threat that the DO would break the wheel and end everything? When did it become a tyrant robbing people of their morality?

"Ride out there and die for really no purpose? Or come try to keep me alive for your Empress." - Mat is Moiraining Karede into not wasting his life. How fitting. He did start seeing people as tools too. Nyn is the only one left who don’t.

"I had long wondered,” Lan said to Tam. “About the man who had given Rand that heron-marked blade. I wondered if he had truly earned it. Now I know.” - That was cute. 

"Siuan.… Siuan had always been so strong." - Strongest person Eggy knew.

Thank the Light Birgitte is here because Elayne still has 0 sense of self-preservation. 

I adore the idea of Galad facing Demandred! The irony of Demandred dying by Rand's brother blade, unable to channel at him! 

Oooooooh Loving Nyn healing Alanna with needles and herbs because Rand is leading the circle. Moiraine is just chilling apparently? 

(what if Moiraine felt Siuan die and is in shock? I know it's not that but listen...)

Bashere and Deira were this close to invite Mat to a threesome because he yelled at them.

"Only they would probably hear it all the way up in the Blight, too." - That's funny because the Horn is currently in the Blight!

Loial! I'm still so gutted that the Ogiers of all people had to turn into beasts hacking at Trollocs for TG. There are other ways. 

Aww Teslyn and Mat reunion on the battlefield! Why does Mat have so many wholesome relationships with women?

"Egwene al’Vere can grieve,” Egwene said, standing up. “Egwene al’Vere lost a man she loved, and she felt him die through a bond. The Amyrlin has sympathy for Egwene al’Vere, as she would have sympathy for Egwene al’Vere, as she would have sympathy for any Aes Sedai dealing with such loss. And then, in the face of the Last Battle, the Amyrlin would expect that woman to pick herself up and return to the fight." - That hurts. And the echoes with Rand and LTT!

"I forget how young she is.” - she is so bloody young. 19? 20? 

Egwene bonded Leilwin!?! EGWENE MY GOD STOP FOR A SECOND YOU CANT SOLDIER ON THROUGH A TRAUMATIC EVENT BY RETRAUMATISING YOURSELF

The Androl disguise used by Taim on Androl to kill Logain is a bit silly, but I'm okay with Pevara and Androl taking on the Wondergirls and Mat-Thom mantle of shenanigans. The rule of cool prevails.

"Together, their forces moved upriver in the night, leaving behind the fighting Andorans, Cairhienin and Aiel. Creator shelter you, friends, Arganda thought." - Rand, with Moiraine's help, really did it. He united all nations in this fight.

WHY are we even getting an Arganda POV here? We are drowning in men POV. 

"You surrender when you’re dead. Many a man has been given less.” - Not NS feelings. Look, we're not getting a Lan/Moiraine convo, so I'm taking what I can.

Here for Rand's utopia turning into a nightmare where people's agency is removed. The S1 finale is also echoing SO MUCH of the Last Battle. It's so satisfying. Mat wondering who's setting Sharans on fire. Probably Eggy and Vora's ter'angreal.

Aravine?! A former DF? Who tried to escape?!? And fell back to the shadows?? SO MUCH IS HAPPENING 

Olver stabbed the channeler?!? I wasn't expecting to like Olver as much as I do but Mat's son is such a brave little guy.

Leane fighting! I agree it's so satisfying to see how strong and united the Aes Sedai are now after fumbling for so long. 

Egwene came through and is unleashing Hell on taim and his channelers! 

Talmanes is in a cave rebuilding dragons with Aludra? So many chess pieces around.

Bela is the MVPest of them all. 

HARNAN AND VANIN WERE TRYING TO STEAL MAT'S TABAC JUSTICE IS SERVED 

Faile killed Aravine and gave the Horn to Olver! And is using herself as a decoy?!? Light, I love her, she's so quick.

Love Logains's thoughts on vengeance and how empty it is for him now: he is arguably at the height of his glory, leading the Asha'man into TLB. What could revenge bring him? 

Logain Ablar, keeper of the Seals by interim. I like the sound of that.

"Egwene led an assault the likes of which had not been seen in millennia." - I'm so proud of and so afraid for her. I get why she chose the Green now. She has the heart of Aiel, she's justice on the battlefield itself.

Light, Egwene is facing Taim now, a newly raised Forsaken. This leadership triangle between Taim, Logain and Egwene, where Eggy and Logain swapped roles, is delicious. 

Eggy is so sharp for redirecting lightning with iron rods like that.

A little bit of closure for Ila and Raen! Also we get insight into the Tuatha'an in relation to the Aiel: if the Aiel are struggling to envision a future with the the Dragon's Peace, what of the Tuatha'an in the middle of all-out war?

Bela died! Olver has the Horn! Is this rugby? 

Major kudos for allowing Egwene to be this angry and unhinged on the battlefield. I've said it before but she has a rather masculine arc, despite being depicted as very feminine. I love that.

Hurin is also fighting for Rand! 

Light, Berelain has a good head on her shoulders because I would be overwhelmed in her place. 

Galad lost a hand like Rand! This truly is the chapter of all the payoffs and parallels.

Annoura saved him, burning herself out for a WC! It's also so loyal of her. My Berelain/Annoura shipping dreams may not be dead. 

Rand is watching everyone die! Bashere! Deira! Hurin! Rand weeping for Siuan! Nonononon I don't want to cry now.

That "Aes Sedai ridgecat"? He's talking about Egwene? This is so funny. Taim cannot even contain her and needs the help of Demandred's ter'angreal to deal with her. I get such a kick out of seeing them underestimate her.

Of course, it's Mellar who kidnapped Elayne. HE BEHEADED BIRGITTE?!? And now he's trying to cut out Elayne's babies? I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM WHY 

However horrific, that would have been an interesting twist to Min's vision, ngl

"OUR ACCOMMODATION IS NOTHING?" - that made me laugh. The phrasing is just peculiar. 

Yesssss, give me Rand being tempted by nothingness: he has suffered so much. Nothingness would be peace for all and himself.

The way Min uncovered the spy and the compelled Seachan general was really neat. Siuan would have been proud. 

The Aes Sedai falling dead because the others who had saved them had been balefired? How did the world even survive the Breaking?

Eggy bloody countered balefire?!? She's healing the effects of balefire on the land? THE FLAME OF TAR VALON 

She released Leilwin just before... I'm sobbing, crushed. 

Light but that description was beautiful and peaceful. She did find peace.

She took all the Sharan channelers with her. They lost half the Aes Sedai. HALF. It's too much. How is this fight still going? Don't you dare saying that Aes Sedai aren't servants of all after that.

"Not without Egwene, her Two Rivers stubbornness, her iron backbone. Not without a miracle." - YOU SAY IT MAT SHE WAS IRON. 

Also, he was tasked with saving her from the AS... She saved them all. 

The miracle will be Olver.

“I sure am growing tired of that man,” Mat said. - we all are. He's frankly annoying. 

"He pretended that he would still write the story. There was no harm to such a little lie." - Awww, Loial. Also, it's sadly reminiscent of Jordan.

So Lan learned nothing and decided to go fight Demandred on his own, leaving his army leaderless in a suicide mission as foolish as Gawyn’s and Galad’s. What he said Tenobia shouldn't do. What Agelmar told him was selfish. 

I'm glad he got his pivotal badass moment, but that's still a regression for his character?

"I am just a man,” Lan whispered. “That is all I have ever been.” - The man who as a nation.

I'm not entirely sure it's fitting as he has no real connection to Demandred and isn't an underdog, but Demandred is also such an awkward villain.

"How could a man just… let go? Wasn’t that letting go of responsibility? Or was it giving the responsibility to them?" - Rand learnt from Tam that loving people is sometimes letting them go. It's an epic about growing up and parenting truly.

"Am I not allowed to be a hero, too?" - that broke me. Rand is no longer dreaming about Iliana, no longer hearing LTT. He is hearing Egwene's voice. My sobbing had stopped at that point and it came back with a vengeance with that line.

I know the woman cast down from her throne is Morgase, but listen, it should be Siuan. She was instrumental in finding and supporting Rand and it cost her the Amyrlin Seat, her powers, her life. This is her story as much as Moiraine's.

"It was about a woman with a secret, a hope for the future. A woman who had hunted the truth before others could. A woman who had given her life, then had it returned. That woman still fought." - stunning. I love Moiraine a normal amount.

"It was about a woman who refused to believe that she could not help, could not Heal those who had been harmed." - you bet Nyn will never give up protecting and helping people. I love her so much. 

The man who lost his family is Perrin, right?

"It was about a woman who would not bend her back while she was beaten, and who shone with the Light for all who watched. Including Rand." - A literal beacon of light. Her journey was glorious. I'm not even cross it ended how it did. It was a good ending.

"It was about them all." - I am fine. Such a satisfying conclusion to an ensemble saga. The Forsaken may have been there to make him give up, but there were always people fighting, sometimes alone. It all comes back to Moiraine's seminal TSR speech: "I fight for you,’ Moiraine said before Egwene could open her mouth, ‘as does Egwene.’ A look flashed between the two women. ‘People fight for you who do not know it, any more than you know them. You do not realize what it means that you force the form of the Age Lace, do you? The ripples of your actions, the ripples of your very existence, spread across the Pattern to change the weave of life-threads of which you will never be aware. The battle is far from yours alone. Yet you stand in the heart of this web in the Pattern. Should you fail, and fall, all fails and falls." - The Shadow Rising, C57 It's always been about them all.

Birgitte was not cast out the Horn and has her memories back! That's a hell of a miracle. The Heroes at last are called by Olver! I'm good with him sounding the Horn. It feels satisfying enough and Noal came back as a hero to save him.

Re: Elayne losing the bond, is this how Moiraine experienced the bond snapping though? Because between what we know of Egwene and Elayne's experiences, I dread to think what it was like to go through that while being tortured.

"But you’re still my friend. Will you ride with me?” - That was cute. I'm sad she never got to see Mat again. 

Oh Light, I forgot Darkhounds existed. There is something as too many Shadowspawns at once and this is what my brain is experiencing.

Avi, Cads and Amys against Graendal? That's a showdown for the history books. 

"I’d feel like I needed to bloody move to another country, [...] one where the monarchs don’t have pudding for brains.” - tbf, Elayne is young and reckless. She’ll grow out of it.

MAT USED THE PEOPLE FROM HINDERSTAP TO FIGHT! BLOODY GENIUS OF A MAN

And Grady is unleashing the river Mora on the battlefield... Good for him for making it this far. 

Androl and Pevara are such chaos agents, ignoring Logain’s orders like that.

Moghy was the servant Seanchan spy! And is now disguised as Demandred. I'm listening... 

Light, the gateway and dragons combo to fire securely on the enemy is a smart move. Magic is meant to be used in fun and new ways each time.

I'm glad Sanderson didn't forget how ridiculously strong Talaan and Alivia are. Alivia is also a trained soldier. 

Avi killed Rhuarc under compulsion? Avi will need to process so much once this is done, she's going to need a lot of support.

Alviarin is still kicking and shooting for the Chosen seat. You do you. Rand is a trap though, I bet it's Pevara. 

It is Androl! And now they are prisoners in the Stedding. I like that. It's like a kinder Bore and sets up Ogiers as guardians.

I love the image of Merrilor partially turned into a field of glass and about to shatter. 

I love that Logain isn't good. He's still seeking more power, dominance. But when he's told refugees are dying... The BT has responsibilities now.

Master Luhann's pep talk to Perrin was interesting in the way it recalibrates his arc: by making it about fear of oneself rather than leadership rejection, it complements the wolf arc rather than being a stepping stone on his wolf journey.

Sometimes what people consider an AS answer makes me think none of them have ever talked to anyone. I don't know what Perrin wanted Masuri to say here. 

Thom spent TLB sitting on a rock outside Shayol Ghul, composing, smoking tabac. Perfect.

"She stared at the end of the world, with grit and determination." - That's Moiraine for you. 

"Rand deserved it. Moiraine, too. This would be her victory as much as it was his." - And Siuan's. It's been their fight for 20 years.

I still can't believe Moiraine and Nyn have so little to do. It's a waste of their characters. I get what they do is crucial, but like with the Cleansing, they are batteries. 

I clapped at the Black sister pretending to be Cads, getting stabbed by Thom and thrown into the DF pit.

The storyteller figures - Moiraine, Loial and Thom - are fascinating in their different journeys: Thom as the storyteller who ends up writing a story; Loial as the antihero living the story to record it; Moiraine as the storyteller trapped in a story.

Poor Grady being traumatised by the rage zombies from Hinderstap. 

So Fain dissolved part of himself into Shaisam and now he's something akin to Mashadar? Not weird at all. 

I can't believe Mat did get to ride a to'raken.

Why is releasing the bond so easy now? Everyone does it. 

Driving Slayer. Beating. Pounding... What. Perrin, that’s gay.

Okay, the last fight between Perrin and Slayer was cool. The hopping between Wolf Dream and reality was new and dynamic and eerie.

The wolves are heroes too? Okay. This is becoming a little too kitchen sink for me. 

Clever, clever Avi for using the gateway to destroy Graendal because she cannot walk to escape.

Mat is Mashadar-resistant? And killed Fain. I'm cool with that. The confrontation itself was a bit underwhelming but it makes sense Mat is the one. 

At least Perrin grew enough to choose Rand over Faile. Responsibilities, they are tough.

They tricked Moridin and are now controlling him? I can't believe I accidentally guessed part of the plan. 

And the True Power is the key to resealing the DO! Yesssssssss that's fitting considering its exploitation started all this.

Graendal is now under compulsion and following Avi? That's a bit random. I see it's supposed to be comeuppance but it's also accidental and she won't be even aware of being punished. Like Mesaana, it's just another powerful woman depowered rather than killed.

Asha'man are treated with more respect than the AS ever were after one battle? Good that the story ends on this high for them, but it never addressed the treatment of Aes Sedai as monsters declawed by the Oaths and their dehumanization.

Logain broke the Seals as Eggy asked! What a bloody satisfying conclusion for him. 

It figures that Lanfear compelled Perrin because he could not have been that naive. 

Hey, I hope Perrin saying he still hates Moiraine is a bloody act.

Tepid take: breaking a woman's neck and then remarking she's beautiful? Gross. Even if it's arguably the lingering compulsion, it's a sexist dehumanizing trope. 

Yes, Rand understood he could not kill the DO and resealed him. He WAS wrong.

Moiraine saving Nyn's life and pulling her out of the cave when Rand went nuclear. Feels good. Feels organic. 

"You did well, Rand. You did well.” - Nope. My heart. Moiraine believed he could save the world and he did.

“I left… to save you,” Nynaeve whispered. “I only came along to protect you.” “You did, Nynaeve. You protected Rand so he could do what he had to do.” - Nyn accomplished so much but still protecting Egwene and Rand would have been enough.

"It was the Fourth Age now, wasn’t it? Could an age start in the middle of a day? That would be inconvenient for the calendars, wouldn’t it? But everyone agreed. Rand had sealed the Bore at noon." - asking the right questions here. I love Loial.

Ituralde survived! And is convinced by Yukiri to be king? 

Avi, Min and Elayne are sensing Rand, that's why they're not worried. Although why they are not masking their reaction is beyond me. If Nyn is already onto them, more will be.

Aludra is rebuilding the Illuminators' guild with dragoners! That's a great way to rehabilitate soldiers. 

So Moghy was taken by the Seanchan? That's quite underwhelming. The Seanchan are basically a bad women dumping ground at this point.

All things considered, Perrin had a good arc. It got lost in the middle for ages but the foundations of it are solid and the story can easily be adapted with minor tweaking, contrary to Mat's arc that got completely squandered.

Perrin finding Faile was really moving though. Also if he was able to retrieve her alive from a heap of corpses, Moiraine doing so for Siuan is entirely possible and Nyn can save her. Min can be wrong about ONE vision.

Birgitte's last gift being to spare Elayne from her increasingly belligerant path is fitting but yeah, I'm not hopeful for the future of Andor's neighbors even with the Dragon's peace. Elayne was ready to privatise the Horn as she did the Kin.

So Rand swapped body with Moridin. How disappointing. Alivia's big role in his death was... Providing him with clothes and money so he could slip away? Cads figured it out, which means Moiraine did, and Nynaeve suspects, so she will know.

I don't get why Min, Avi and Elayne showed no emotion at all during the funeral if the goal was to keep his survival a secret? It's bound to raise suspicion. Also why Rand is not sure they will follow him? Is he not planning to see his kids?

To have him reborn as a non-channeler centuries later, without insight into what the future would be, would have been better. This undermines his speech about the nature of the Wheel giving second chances: his rebirth is a freak swap accident.

And again, nothing about the trauma Rand faced during TLB. He saw his friends die and was exposed to the Pattern itself: he's completely fine. Not even affected by the True Power exposure Moridin was suffering from. It's a bit underwhelming. Big reset button agaon.

"The wind blew southward, through knotted forests, over shimmering plains and toward lands unexplored. This wind, it was not the ending. There are no endings, and never will be endings, to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was an ending." - I love beginning callbacks.

About this open ending: 1. I am okay with the Aiel's fate remaining uncertain. The ball is in their camp and I think Avi is the best leader they could hope for to transform and survive. Rhuidean showed a possibility, otherwise Moiraine would have slept with Rand.

2. Also okay with Cads as Amyrlin. They need a strong leader to rebuild so naturally they turned to the past but the AS were also changed enough by Egwene to have been set straight in their ways. The collaboration on the battlefield is proof enough of it. AS don't have a choice but to follow Egwene's path as well. Between the heavy casualties suffered during TLB, the BA executions and the sisters taken by the Seanchan and now trapped by Rand's peace, there are probably 100-200 full sisters left. The majority of their contingent is now AS in training picked up by Egwene. They have no choice to follow Eggy's path to survive. As for they alliances with the Windfinders and the WO, the same happened to them: killed, burned out or enslaved. Hundreds of Shaido WO have been lost to the Seanchan and the Shaido was the largest clan. To survive, they will have to rely on Egwene's terms. The Seanchan never agreed to let go the captured damane go if they wished as Egwene bartered either. You can be sure that the Seanchan won't forget that Egwene agreed to let missionaries into TV and across the nations. Tremalking should be free though, as Mat witnessed the agreement. But yeah, the Seanchan are now a threat channelers will have to contend with. So I assume that Cadsuane, who doesn't want to be Amyrlin and has never followed any of the rules, will fuck off as soon and fulfill her obligations as little as possible. Perhaps the Amyrlin Seat itself will disappear for a more horizontal structure?

3. Could it be that the girls seem not to care about Rand because he's not ta'veren anymore? They aren't pulled to him and thus truly have a choice in not following this new Rand on adventures while they have duties here. They grew to like each other, but Rand was ta'veren. So now they can re-learn to love him if they wish? It’s such a bizarre ending. It doesn’t make sense for them not to at least fake their reaction to protect him.

On the book overall: This book will definitely get merged with ToM because technically it was only battles. I agree with the criticism that Sanderson got lost in the battle scenes and prioritised unnecessary POVs to the detriment of established characters in need of resolution, like Moiraine or Nynaeve. Certain arcs get an unfitting and abrupt conclusion like Lan’s and Siuan’s, Lan randomly surviving and Siuan randomly dying. Elayne’s arc is also underwelming because she’s commander general when it doesn’t really make sense and gets replaced by Mat halfway anyway. I disagree with the criticism that Androl was unnecessary though because it was a solution to the Black Tower Jordan problem that should have been dealt with much earlier. The fact that Lan, Moiraine and Siuan didn’t meet again after literally starting this quest 20 years ago is a sham. The Seanchan though… Their fate is so timid considering how big of a threat they are? It’s implied that maybe Min could nudge Tuon in the right direction, with Mat’s help, but Tuon isn’t the Empire and what of the previously captured channelers, conquered lands, massacred Athan’an Miere. Structurally, it does feel like edited notes with a blend of important resolution scenes and BIG BATTLES, so it may be my least favourite of the Sanderson books?

I still enjoyed it, with major caveats regarding certain arcs. It was a feat to finish the saga considering the amount of stuff to conclude. I’m still a little overwhelmed by the book, days after finishing it, so it clearly did something right. If anything I have more elements to discuss for ages.

#the wheel of time #wot book spoilers #wot first timer #a memory of light #wot book review #wot book journey #this is rough and obscenely long yet incomplete #this is the longest saga I have ever read in english entirely #I'm a little proud #remblai

[cosmic-eye]

Since I got notes on that one post, here are my thoughts on how the main villains of the Psychonauts series relate to Raz. I'll try my best to be clear and succinct.

Psychonauts 1 - Morceau Oleander, Raz's parallel

The first thing we really start to learn about Raz is that he feels like an outsider in his family because he's psychic. This, and that he wants to become a hero so he can prove his worth.

Cut to later in the game, where we learn that Oleander felt worthless to his family, wanting to join the army/air force/navy/etc to prove to his family that he's not worthless. This is the reason he joins the Psychonauts.

We learn through Raz's interactions with Ford how his father hates psychics and was possibly trying to kill him with all the circus training. This is later shown to be Raz's misconception, and that Augustus loves his children and is doing what he thinks is best to protect them.

And then through Oly, we find out that his dad killed his favorite rabbit, claiming that they're good for nothing but food. And Oleander understands that because of his small size, he too is good for nothing, fearing the day his dad turns his butcher's knife on him. While it's not explicitly stated in the game, it's pretty easy to infer that Oleander is wrong and his dad isn't the monster he sees him as.

Speaking of monsters... The final bosses of the game are Oleander's dad, Raz's dad, and Oleander & Raz's dad (twice). Oleander & Raz are so much the same person that their greatest fears can combine seamlessly. They both see their dads as evil caricatures of the real thing with teal/green skin and actively trying to murder them.

Oleander is Raz's future if he were unable to patch things up with his father/family.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin - Caligosto Loboto, Raz's fear

By now, we've already learned all we need to about Raz at this time, so there's nothing new told to us in this game. What is revealed is Loboto's backstory, specifically focusing on his parents.

We get to see a dollhouse recreation of Loboto's childhood. Here, through Loboto's eyes, it's shown how his parents feared/hated what Loboto was. They refer to him as "devil child" and "little monster." We see the parents discuss Loboto and make the decision to have him lobotomized. While his mom is initially concerned the procedure will hurt him, she ends up stating that she doesn't care.

This is always done while Loboto is within earshot, whether the parents realize it or not.

The only time his parents are shown interacting with him positively is when Loboto is only an infant and before they knew he was psychic. They like the idea of him, not who he really is. This is what Raz believed his family felt about him, and now he gets to see what that actually looks like.

Loboto's life is Raz's nightmare.

(I realize this is shorter than the others, but we don't get a ton of canon info about Loboto)

Psychonauts 2 - Gristol Malik, Raz's opposite

(I've posted about this before btw)

Now this one is especially interesting to me, because, unlike the previous villains, these two characters have almost nothing in common.

Again, by this time, we've already learned much about Raz & his past, but wait! Now there's stuff to be added. Towards the beginning of the game, we get to meet Raz's family and see their dynamic for ourselves. We also get a little more insight into how they live.

After three games total, we can easily jot down a ton of information about Raz. For starters; he is psychic, is poor, has a rough-but-close relationship with his family, is mature for his age (or at least tries to be), genuinely cares for others & enjoys helping them, highly admires the Psychonauts, and can be a little reckless but is usually trying to do the right thing.

Again, unlike with the previous two, we don't get a proper introduction to the villain until the climax. (Yes, he's there the whole time, but pretending to be someone else and we barely hear anything about his true identity, especially if you're not looking at the tiny details.)

But, in true Psychonauts fashion, when we met Gristol, we get to know everything about him. And very nearly everything we learn directly contrasts with Raz. For example; he is a non-psychic, is extremely rich, has no positive relationship with his family (or really anyone else), is immature, doesn't care about others & only cares about what he wants, despises the Psychonauts, and tries to be calculated in his decisions while not caring who gets hurt in the process.

Just about the only thing these two characters share is their Grulovian blood.

Gristol is Raz's foil and the only villain he couldn't help.

Final thoughts

Every single one of these villains is so well thought out in relation to Raz. I hesitate to say which is the "best" villain of the series because I think they all have their part and each plays it perfectly. I also have to mention that none of the villains feel like recycled versions of another villain, each having a unique role and motivation.

#psychonauts #'gonna keep this short' yeah right #long post #hope i made sense at least #please send your thoughts about this too #let me know if i missed any details #razputin aquato #morceau oleander #caligosto loboto #gristol malik #i probably could still go on about this subject though

[the-other-bird]

Thoughts and musings and stuff about episode 4

- I like that it was relatively calm in comparison, kind of a breather after the emotional turmoil of the first three episodes

- a thing I adore and always adored about Ellie is that she doesn't let Joel get away with being a closed off dick or treating her unfairly

- the scenes from the game all melted my heart, Bella and Pedro are perfect

- the scene of them sleeping in the woods, Joel watching the trees, then we see Ellie and she turns and suddenly Joel is standing there guarding there little camp was almost like a little jump scare, but it's not something evil but the protector. Loved that.

- I like how Bill and Frank kinda keep influencing everything, not only long term with Bill's letter but also "small" things like Joel's shirt, their bedrolls and also Ellie's gun being the same Frank had, when he went out while the raiders attacked

- perfect capture of Joel being able to be absolutely ruthless to survive and protect others

- Joel immediately forgetting about "let's keep our pasts to ourselves", when Ellie asked about Tommy

- the suspicion that Tommy was the one on the army joining immediately after highschool was right

- I really liked Joel's reaction to Ellie saving her, that he didn't get angry, but more helpless about this unfair reality of children having to act like that. I think his harsh reaction in the game stems from the same anger and helplessness, but I liked that he tries to support her here and talk more, even offers to talk about her past, again breaking his "let's not talk about our pasts".

- Joel telling Ellie not to be an idiot and keep that gun in her pants bad me grinning because game Joel always wears his gun like that and I keep making fun of it, so that's a nice nod.

- the scene with both of them laughing was so perfect: like when was the last time this man was able to laugh about something silly like this? Beautiful.

- I'm already far too attached too Henry and Sam. I will just tell myself again that nothing happens to them, but they end up in Jackson living their best life

- Joel thinking Tommy has fcked up again and he's in some danger, when in reality he's in Jackson, settled down, married (btw I can't wait to see Rutina Wesley as Maria, super excited)

#the last of us #the last of us hbo spoilers #the last of us hbo #tlou hbo spoilers #long post #text post

[icharchivist]

Right, because I remember that Mako influence changes your eyes and it's why Sephiroth's have that striking color

But I guess the change wasn't that severe for Cloud. Still, there's something about being altered physically by the ordeal in a way you can't ever take back, even if it's just something as small as the colors of your eyes changing slightly. Knowing you'll never be the same every time you look in the mirror...

That's not completely like that but i can only explain it with some spoilers so i'm sorry for that--

starting out vague, every SOLDIERs get infused with Mako and have their eyes change color as a result. The exposure to Mako for a regular Soldier shouldn't be too high, but it will show in the eyes.

Zack is the example of a regular case:

And in that level, you're right about the horror itself: on paper, SOLDIER sign in knowing they will be changed beyond repairs. But also the propaganda at the time means SOLDIER's glory was too good to pass by.

(both Zack and Cloud joined the army when they were still teens after all, and the implication of the endoctrinent needed for this to happen is there in the game)

Shinra does a full propaganda in order to get young people to happily sign for the battle lines, and they get changed by the Mako that will degenerate their bodies, making them even more reliant on Shinra. It's a cursed existence and one where you can never go back to yourself. you signed your life away with the devil and he won't take refunds.

but ^this is for typical cases, which applies to Zack, but neither Sephiroth nor Cloud are typical cases

Sephiroth's eyes don't look this way because of Mako, even if it influenced it, but because of Jenova cells

(picture of young Sephiroth also to drive my point)

which is why his pupils are shapped like cats and why when he takes over Cloud's mind Cloud's eyes still change even further

because Cloud isn't just dozed in mako, he's been injected Sephiroth's cells too in the way back, which is why Sephiroth can actually mindcontrol him

Like in theory Cloud's Mako case should be more severe because he spent 4 years of his life in a Mako Tank, even by Soldier's standards he's much worse (Zack also spent 4 years of his life in a Mako Tank but his body rejected the experiments, both Mako and cells, which is why he's more regular)

Advent Children gives us the clearer look at that with close up on Cloud's regular eyes as he's imbued in Mako:

and when Sephiroth takes over:

and even further explanation under the cut depending how much you know:

Sephiroth was made in a lab. He's not a regular dude. His parents were scientists for Shinra and there was a whole project about trying to create the perfect Soldier by imbuing them with Jenova cells.

Jenova is, huh, this:

when Shinra found her, they believed she was a Cetra, and the Cetra are a group of special humans who have a magical connection to the Lifestream. This connection works like a door between the world of the living and the deads, and Shinra believed that like that, by exploiting Mako and unlocking the power of the Cetra, they would actually be able to find the Promised Land, where the riches of this world would be able to leave for after having ruined life on earth for everyone else.

But Shinra was wrong. Jenova was no Cetra. She's an alien, a calamity that fell from the skies, and is the being who exterminated almost every Cetra. (the only living Cetra left is Aerith). It's her thing to cause chaos, to mind control everyone around her, influencing their wishes in order to get what /she/ wants, which is ultimately to destroy this planet.

Unaware of all of that, the Shinra scientific division did work a lot on Jenova cells, and usually people who were injected those cells would reject them. People who has been imbued with Mako could eventually take on the cells, but become consumed by the power of Jenova and turn into puppets to her wishes, mostly dying.

Eventually Shinra came to do scientific experiments on children who were yet to be born, and i'll spare you this whole plotpoint and what it entails, and only will mention that: Sephiroth is the only successful experiment.

and his birth mother realized the folly of their actions after she birthed him and ended up disappearing, while his birth father only ever treated him like a lab experiment.

Sephiroth grew up in the Shinra labs. He was an experiment first and formost, a child soldier, he was always enhanced by the Jenova's cells.

he was told his mother was named Jenova, and it's discovering the lab the Alien was experimented on that had Sephiroth connects dot about his existence and have him snap deciding to "free his mother from this existence".

But there's a strong implication in the Original Game that Sephiroth gets consumed also by the mind control of Jenova. Jenova appears to you in ways that would make it easier to manipulate you, and anyone in the known can tell Jenova looks like Sephiroth's birth mother. How much is Jenova's manipulation weighing on Sephiroth's brain? How much is it his actions and how much is it the alien? is there even such a hard difference, if he's just so willing to give everything to his mother anyway?

Sephiroth believes himself part Cetra because of the bad information he has and it's why he especially targets Aerith too. He believes the planet belongs rightfully to his mother and he will bring it to her on a platter. And well. This world only created him to be a weapon anyway, a monster, so monster he shall be since he can't escape his fate.

The thing is that when Sephiroth initially snapped, both Zack and Cloud tried to stop him and Sephiroth was believed dead after a battle where Zack and Cloud almost lost their lives.

Being displeased with having lost their most perfect experiment, Sephiroth's father, the head scientist of Shinra, Professor Hojo, took Zack and Cloud's bodies and decided to just experiment on them instead. After all, if they could take down his perfect creation, maybe they could survive being made into Sephiroth's replacement.

But Zack has been a Soldier for years at this point. He has had his Mako injections quite a bit, and because the experiments were about giving Sephiroth's cells in Mako, Zack fully rejected the experiments made on him.

Cloud, however, has never made it to Soldier. When he was experimented on, he was just a regular dude, an infantry guy working for Shinra. He took very badly on the experiment and was left in a vegetative state.

both Zack and Cloud were locked into tanks of Mako and Sephiroth's cells for 4 years before Zack managed to break the tanks and have them both escape. Cloud remained in a vegetative state for 6 months, until he woke up just in time to witness Zack's death.

While Cloud rejected the cells, they ended up really taking in on him. He became a successful experiments only afterward, and it's one of the element that ended up making him so mentally unstable, on top of regular trauma.

in the Original Game, Sephiroth takes a while to realize Cloud is tailing him, and recognizing him, but once he does, he also feels that a part of himself is into Cloud. That, technically, Cloud has been forced into becoming a sort of clone of Sephiroth.

Sephiroth used his influence on the Jenova cells to control all the ex-Soldiers who had some of those cells inside of them -- and Cloud as well. He turned them all into puppets. And he broke Cloud's mind to make him his, because Cloud has so much of Sephiroth carved deep inside of him from the experiments, that Sephiroth sees Cloud as an extention of himself, as a tool he can use and abuse.

in the Original Game there are various moments of pure horrors where Sephiroth takes over Cloud's mind and Cloud will just do everything Sephiroth pushes him to do. Which is why Cloud is the one to trigger some of those horrors while he's being mind controlled.

in Advent Children, we get introduced to 3 more "successful" Sephiroth clones, who all see Cloud as their "big brother", as they are all children of Jenova, obviously. But all of them know Sephiroth is the golden child, and the whole plan is to bring Sephiroth's back, which is something that could hatch out of Cloud as well because he still has so much of Sephiroth inside of him.

tl;dr

Cloud never made it to Soldier, so his Mako eyes aren't because he signed his life away. His Mako eyes are also the result of more abuse from Mako than any regular Soldier has ever gone through, from the fact he defied Shinra and Sephiroth.

But Sephiroth's own eyes aren't because of the Mako, but because of Jenova.

And it's important because we see on Cloud the differences when his eyes are only Mako infused, and when Sephiroth, and therefore Jenova, hack inside his brain.

Neither Sephiroth nor Cloud had any choice in this whole "signing their lives away". Sephiroth's life was never his to start with, and Cloud was punished for fighting against a system already in the way back.

Zack is the one who signed his life away and ended up regretting it, seeing how the others Soldiers turned into monsters and realizing he's become a weapon in a game of war he didn't even understand. And he could never return to a life away from Soldier. He wasn't even given a chance to have a life afterward.

Cloud wanted to sign his life away, but never got to this point. The choices were made for him. He's being changed against his will over and over again, his body constantly violated and used without him to be able to do anything about it. And he can't return to normal, he can't return to a life before the trauma. He can't ignore what happened to him. Not again. He can't ignore who it made him become. Else he'd just open himself up for it to keep happening.

Sephiroth never had a choice in all of this. He has no normal to come back to. So if they robbed him of any possible future, he can do the same, can't he?

and they will all get to remember exactly how much was taken from them just by seeing themselves in the mirror. There is no way to return to how things were before. Now they just have to move forward with their scars.

........... so im very passionate about this topic so sorry i had to infodump on all of this but, listen, i, i love ff7 okay,

#ichareply #anonymous #ichafantalks ffvii

[nirahsaooc]

Diablo IV Speculation

After viewing the release date trailer that came out the other day I’ve been mulling over possibilities about Inarius and Lilith in the game.

“I am here to kill demons and chew bubblegum, but I ain’t got no mouth to chew bubblegum with.”

Firstly, I don’t think Inarius is going to be a good guy for us in game at all. He and Lilith created Sanctuary and brought on the Nephelam. But Inarius’s main goal in creating Sanctuary was to escape the Eternal Conflict and avoid being discovered by the High Heavens.

The release trailer really gives me the vibe that Inarius is just out for blood and potentially wants to set himself up as the ruler of sanctuary again as he was in the past.

His army has a symbol that emulates the sun, fire, light which makes me think its a rebuilt Cathedral of Light.The faction he created during the Sin War to fight against the Prime Evil’s Triune.

The priestess in the trailer was depicted as essentially a devoted Fanatic(Least in my view). To the point that she is walking barefoot on ground that is burning hot and so devoutly believes that she is protected that she literally starts to kneel and pray in front of the Armored Soldier’s Tower Shields as they start butchering demons with lances before they reach her.

Like this is not behavior that a good Angel like Tyrael would encourage, he’d probably be telling her, “Hey, I appreciate the attitude, but put some shoes on and stand behind the shields not in front of them.

However this does not mean that Lilith is going to secretly end up being a good guy either. As we don’t actually know what her full motives are. We know that she has manipulated Inarius from the start, but does seem like she did fall in love with him at some point like he did with her.

But her motives for creating sanctuary with Inarius was not to permanently escape the Eternal Conflict, as while Inarius tired of the conflict and sought escape. She hated how her father Mephisto and his brothers were leading it, she saw it as pointless as a victory might stand a day, a year, a hundred years but in the end gained ground would be lost as it was essentially a permanent stalemate. She was looking for another way to end the eternal conflict, and we do know that she saw the Nephalem as a means to an end to do just that. So while she did regard them as her children and went on a rampage over the prospect of their destruction. We also know she saw them as tools she could manipulate to her own ends.

-------

So my current theory is both Inarius and Lilith are going to have a Lover’s Quarrel throwing their armies at each other trying to come out on top while wrecking the world even more. And our character along with everyone else on sanctuary is going to be caught in the middle of it and we may end up having to deal with both of them.

Also just to throw it out there, somehow Diablo is going to return and we’re going to have to punch him as well. Because its Diablo 4 and there has not yet been a Diablo game that doesn’t have him in it. Where there is a will there is a way and Diablo has the will. Though this could be a catalyst for Lilith and Inarius to join against him maybe, as if Diablo came back even if its as himself solely and not the singular Prime Evil like in D3, then its unlikely Inarius or Lilith could stand against him by themselves since he is a beefy fellow as one of the three Prime Evils. And we know Lilith hates the prime evils so she wouldn’t really want to side with him willingly.

#Diablo 4 #Speculation #Might be wrong and if I am oh well #The enjoyment from speculation isn't from being right or wrong its just from mulling over the possibilities.

[denimbex1986]

'“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

—From the Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita

There are just a handful of movies that have made lasting impressions on me. Stephen Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” Gregory Peck in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The apocalyptic film “On the Beach,” directed by Stanley Kubrick, and “Philadelphia” with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are two more. Each was the kind of film that comes back to me in quiet moments of reflection, scenes repeating, drama building, memorable lines standing out. The recent movie “Oppenheimer” directed by Christopher Nolan joins that list.

As one who grew up in the shadow of potential nuclear war, the development of the atomic bomb during World War II certainly impacted my view of the world. The use of the bomb on two Japanese cities was something that I took for granted as a necessary measure to end that conflict. In my growing-up years I was mentored and influenced by veterans of the war. There was no question that they appreciated President Harry Truman’s decision to use the bomb against Japan. That was the prevailing view of those who lived then, including my parents. It made sense.

More recently there’s been increasing debate about the use of the atomic bomb against targets with many innocent civilians. It is being framed by some as a moral failure of the United States. It’s understandable that generations that are far removed from the war have this feeling. In the movie, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, expresses reservations about what he has created, giving the impression that even those who worked on the Manhattan Project were morally conflicted about what they were doing. I have no doubt that this was true for some of them.

Presuming to judge the actions of those who developed the atomic bomb by contemporary standards is, however, dangerous. The decision to drop the bombs should be viewed in the context of that time. Today, we have the luxury of debating the issue without any firsthand experience of total war. Few veterans of World War II are still with us to bear witness to the war’s absolute brutality. Later conflicts like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan were all managed with at least an eye toward trying to limit civilian casualties. Indiscriminate bombing of cities is now classed, rightly so, as a war crime.

But World War II was different. Innocent citizens became targets. Beginning with the Nazi blitz of London and the eventual allied retaliation against German cities like Berlin and Dresden, the conflict eased the restraints on just about every method of warfare save poison gas. National survival necessitated a no-holds-barred approach against the enemy. It was more than the armies in the field that were fair game. It was everyone on the other side—men, women and children.

The experience of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa demonstrated the Japanese willingness to die rather than surrender. The prospect of invading the home islands conjured up scenes of mass casualties on both sides. That there was a racial factor in the decision to use the atom bomb seems beyond doubt. Few Americans had ever visited Japan. There weren’t many living in this country. Their culture was a mystery. After Pearl Harbor, Japan became a hated enemy. Atrocities against captured Americans produced a visceral loathing of the Japanese. War posters characterized the Japanese as some kind of subhuman species. This conscious act of dehumanizing them no doubt made it easier to use the bomb.

I don’t think anyone denies that the use of atomic bombs against Japan was a horrible thing. Was the decision a war crime? Opinions are going to vary on this. But to a young marine who had just survived Okinawa and was being prepped to invade Japan, the use of the atom bomb was welcomed. To families that lost men in the Bataan Death March, it was justified. We can only hope that nations that have nuclear weapons will look at what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and draw the conclusion that using them is beyond rational consideration.'

#Oppenheimer #Bhagavad Gita #Pearl Harbor #Schindler's List #Philadelphia #On The Beach #To Kill a Mockingbird #The Manhattan Project #Cillian Murphy #Christopher Nolan #President Harry Truman

[without-you-iam-undone]

Hello & Welcome to my new series: Unhinged AUs

Today's pairing: All For The Game x The Locked Tomb

I'm basically just putting the AFTG characters into TLT so hee hee

If you haven't read The Locked Tomb, it's basically a pair of people from each of the 8 planets (Venus - Pluto) send a necromancer & cavalier (knight) to the House of God (Mercury) where they will learn the secrets to becoming his new disciples. It's insane because (SPOILER), in order to ascend to God-adjacent-hood the necromancer basically has to consume the soul of their cavalier. This makes it so that the necromancer's soul can leave the body while the cavalier's soul protects it. There's so much more to it than that but I'm just not gonna explain :) From here on out, there will be TLT spoilers.

Neil: Necromancer of the 9th house, adopted Reverend Son Andrew: Cavalier of the 9th house, Neil's homoerotic rival, actual child of the royal family Aaron: another failed necromancer from the royal family. Joins the army instead to prove his worth. Nicky: still their cousin, little necromantic talent & no interest in training

Riko: Necromancer of the 2nd House, only important bc Ichirou did not display necromantic talent (he went on to be a very important general & works very closely w/ God so he's still the pride of his house), raised by his Uncle Kevin: Cavalier of the 2nd house, born in the 6th house and displayed necromantic talent in psychometry but never told anyone about it, Riko's pet

The story would go a lil something like this:

Just like in TLT canon, the 9th house would be running out of options and desperate for a necromantic heir so they sacrifice 200 children & attempt to harvest the energy to ensure a child with necromantic capabilities. This time, though, it fails and twins Andrew & Aaron a born. It's a devastating blow to the royal family because they sacrificed literally every other child (except Nicky) for this.

About a year after this, a tiny spaceship crashes into the surface and inside is wittle Neil. As the only other child on the planet, he gets taken in and they raise him to do chores and shit. The plot twist comes when, around the age of like 6 or 7, Neil gets in a fight with Crux (the Marshal of the 9th House) and accidentally raises a skeleton. A FULL SKELETON! UNTRAINED! It falls apart as soon as he realizes what he's done bc it was raised in anger but that's more than anything the twins could do.

After much internal debate, Neil is officially adopted as the Reverend Son and the twins are just kind of... there. Both of them feel useless and start training with Aiglamene (Captain of the Guard) so that they can make something of themselves.

Fast forward to the twins being like 20 and Neil is 19. Aaron has left the 9th House to become a soldier in God's war. They never hear from him again. The letter comes in requesting the presence of the House's necro & cav so Andrew gets appointed as Neil's and off they go to the House of God. The two of them have hated each other all their lives, fighting each other tooth and nail over every last thing but they have their single dark secret.

Much like Harrow in TLT, a couple years after Neil is adopted, Andrew attempts to commit sewerslide by opening the tomb while covered in Neil's blood. He finds the body and then just... doesn't die??? The prophecy that he's devoted his life to protecting is... wrong!?!??! He comes back to tell his parents but he's never really the same (he now feels and sees the body following him everywhere). His parents hang themselves and both he and Neil panic. They manage to fend off the parishioners for a week, telling them that the Reverend family has locked themselves away to pray while Neil frantically studies up on how to reanimate bodies. He successfully manages to puppet the bodies and will keep the act up until he can find the "right time for them to die". Andrew and Neil never tell a soul.

At the 1st House, they go through the trial expected of them to discover the secret to Godhood while battling "The Sleeper" who's been killing off the participants. Their only ally is the 2nd House. Riko is a slick and slimy bastard that neither of them trust but there's something about Kevin that keeps them around. It's through Kevin's psychometry that Riko finds out how to attain Godhood and, almost immediately, he fucking just... eats him. Like nom nom crunch slurp eats the motherfucker. He attains god status and also gains Kevin's psychometry.

There's this huge final major fight where Neil & Andrew will be forced to fight "The Sleeper" who's actually a rouge disciple and none other than Kayleigh Day and Andrew kills himself so Neil will finally consume his soul and be God. Neil and Riko are forced to team up and kill Kayleigh.

Now Neil & Riko are both Lyctors and joins God's disciples. Neil lives every day with the crippling guilt of losing Andrew. He also starts hallucinating this strange pretty lady following him everywhere. With consuming Andrew and his sole, Neil also got his mental illness :) The other disciples have a great disdain for the two of them, which, is later revealed to be because the disciples knew God before he'd become god. Nathan Wesninski was the head of a murderous gang on what's now the 3rd House. He kind of just... developed necromantic talent from being surrounded by all the deaths he caused and, after causing a nuclear war (This is canon. God literally started a nuclear war and ended life across the solar system) he revives everyone and wipes their memories. He made his old lieutenants his first set of disciples and, after 10,000 years they're starting to get their memory back. They realize he should not have this much power and turn on him. That kind of leaves Neil and Riko on their own while the adults plot to kill God. Riko makes... advances :) I have nothing more to say about that.

We eventually find out the truth that Neil is the actual son of God & watches as the disciples turn against his father. God, however, is invincible so he just kills his disciples and offers Neil a deal: Become his heir and be spared. Neil becomes the Prince Undying and fights in his father's war.

On a planet in a galaxy far far away, we find the remaining Lyctor candidates who managed to not get killed. They've joined the revolution, led by Aaron, to take down God. The whole thing is incredibly hard on him because, his only chance at winning this war is Andrew. Or... someone who looks a hell of a lot like him. Andrew's body is here on this planet with no memory of anything and he's just vibing. Apparently, the soul-eating thing that makes Neil a lyctor didn't go as planned. Instead, it appears that he and Andrew split their souls and recombined in each other's bodies. The halves that happen to be in Andrew's body just don't remember anything.

The whole plan to take out God is to bring Andrew and Neil back together which should rip the souls out of the bodies and force them to recombine... hopefully. After an absolute eternity of batshit insane hijinks, Aaron finds a way to bring Neil close enough to Andrew that their souls can do the thing. It doesn't work. In fact, Neil is nothing like the person he used to be. Even so, Neil says that the answer is in the tomb. Neil, Aaron, Andrew, and a couple of the people from the revolution return to the 9th House where they open the tomb and, finally, the soul thing happens. It turns out, Andrew wasn't fully insane. Instead, the Body in the tomb is God's cavelier, Lola. They were the only person to correctly complete the soul transfer which made them both immortal unless you kill them both at the same time. When Andrew entered her tomb, she attached a piece of her soul to him which was why the soul consumption never fully worked. Andrew's soul was ripped in half, leaving half in his body with the Body's soul and the other half was in Neil. Now that Lola's soul has been restored to her body, it makes space for the rest of Andrew to get ripped out of Neil and they're two separate people again. Neil then turns on the revolution people that helped him get in and reveals that he and Riko are partners... take that however you want. They gang up to kill Lola but she beats their asses into the ground without sparing a thought.

Awake after being locked away for 10,000 years (for being a murderous lunatic), Lola rushes to kill Nathan. He can't die unless she kills herself so he just smiles and welcomes her home :)

#all for the game #aftg #aftg au #neil josten #andrew minyard #gideon the ninth #the locked tomb #tlt spoilers #the locked tomb au

[blackjackmagi83]

Cloaked In Gold (5)

-

Masterlist

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Female Original Character

Summary: Ellarianna, a young woman born with rare healing abilities, has been requested by the royal family to attend to King Viserys in final hopes of curing his disease. While tending to, a certain one eyed dragon found particular interest in such a rarity, drawn by her mysterious hiding and power. Charmed foolish by her glowing presence, there is more behind Ellarianna that he has yet to see, dancing a dangerous game between dragons that will only end in heartache and betrayal.

Warnings: Lots of swearing.

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Hope you enjoy ♡

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The Red Keep quaked with a mix of joyous appraising and confliction, filling the halls with liveliness as the King awoke. No longer decayed as a breathing corpse and hunched with a twisted spine, he walked without the help of his cane or another, head held high with his crown. Selfishly triumphant against his disapproving council. 

The witch had done it most gasped like crows bickering along lines of crops, both frightened and astonished to bear witness of a miracle. 

The king, soaked in the glory of his return, declared a feast in celebration. Festivities of dancing, music and so many platters of food it could feel an army of a thousand soldiers.

All but one was pleased and Viserys would not allow displeasure among his subjects, especially someone as dear to him as her. But he had to find her first.

Ellarianna had scattered at first light when word of the festivities came to her ear, leaving no evidence of her whereabouts behind. Servants were ordered to search the keep high and low, down to the crevices even the rats had not pleased to go but all came back empty handed, “Apologies your grace but there are no traces of the girl you seek.”

The embers crackled within his blood, sparking the dragons fire, a growled demand sending another to search the rest of the realm even if it meant postponing the celebration. If not for her he would not be sitting among the court in the iron throne, therefore without her no such event would take place. 

Another took the place in front of the throne, Criston Cole, lowering their head in respect, "My King, the woman you seek has been rumored to be in Flea Bottom but has refused to come at your request."

"That stubborn child." Viserys muttered senseless words under his breath, irritation lacing his tone, "Refusal is unacceptable in this matter, go retrieve the girl at once Ser Criston." 

"Yes my King." 

Another voice joined, "I shall accompany him." 

Viserys shook his head at his second son, "There is no need my son, Ser Criston is more than capable to go alone." 

"No disrespect to Ser Criston or your grace but I have some doubts about that. I have more knowledge of the details of Flea Bottom. Surely he will need my expertise in order to find the girl."

Viserys gave him a questionable stare, scowling at the thought of his children spending time in such filth right from under his nose but shook his head in dismissal for the time being, "Alright but Aemond-" The prince met his eyes, "Behave yourself."

The young prince's lip quirked at the corners, "Of course father, I always do."

─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────

Flea Bottom had been as much as Ellarianna expected. The stench of slaughter animals and human excrement washed along the streets stung at her nostrils with a pungent, nauseating odor. Beggars lined the walls with their hands held out, repeating the various pleas for spare coin to those who passed, praying it would be the day of giving and the chill no longer would consume them that night. Ellarianna dropped a coin to each. 

It didn't take long for the whispers to start with her arrival to the congested town, both receiving and pursuing of her own, following her with steps so close they nearly nipped at her heels. The taking had begun its call to those unworthy as they pointed with sneers and distrurbed eyes, ravenous for its destined souls.  

"Witch."

Unworthy

"I wonder what's beneath that veil-"

UnWorTHY

"Probably the face of a horse with a crooked nose and teeth-"

UNWORTHY

A tug at the base of her cloak pulled the taking to a halting silence, spotting a child less than six had taken a liking to the veiled woman's hair. Twirling the strands between stubby fingers, the child peered upwards, fingers moving to inspect the edges of the lace resting below Ellarianna’s shoulders.

"May I braid your hair my lady?" Her voice was like a chirping dove, freshly picked from its shell, feathers mere fluffy whisks with darkened skin. 

Worthy

How precious life could be, she thought, a hand raising to pet at the sun kissed cheek, "It is quite long, you may need some help."

The child beamed with innocence, tugging her onwards to rest among a bed of hay, bringing forth a crowd to watch as stray children twisted the golden locks in a vast braid tied at the bottom with leather, adorned with plucked flowers residing within the creases.

"How do I look children?" Ellarianna trailed a milky hand along the braid, soft petals tingling her fingertips. The buzzing of a bee nestled deep within a plucked dandelion, rolling within its pollen before settling for a rest on her bare shoulder.

"You look eternal my lady."

"Like a proper noble woman." 

"Yes! Like rapunzel."

"Rapunzel is not real Vialyn!"

"Take that back!"

"Never!"

A heavenly giggle flowed from the veil, infecting those around with luminous admiration as the woman basked in the radiance of the playful children. Ellarianna resolved their bickering in a form of dance, kicking up straws of hay as she pranced on muddied soles, toes gripping the soft soil beneath to aid in her balanced movements. The children joined at her side, learning the dance with vivid focus, snorting at each other when they failed their attempts. Few viewing had less than a smile on their faces as they mucked about, opinions shifting on the woman they judged so harshly only moments prior. 

"Distraction does not charm you my prince." 

Prince Aemond had found the presence of Ellarianna with little difficulty as she was swarmed like a queen to its hive, buzzing with excitement as she danced in twirls and outlandish poses with the peasant children. Rather difficult to stay hidden with such a profound following.  

"I am not distracted, I am consecrating." Aemond brushed passed without another word, internally flustered at his caught interest.

He hadn't wanted to admit the mythic woman caught his attention the moment she stepped through the throne room, poised in the embroidered cloak and silked gown, with bare toes peeking beneath. Her face hidden behind the laced veil had stirred a curious nature so strong it begged to rip it off at their first encounter but held his better judgment before it bit him in the ass. A scorn from his mother or father was intolerable enough as it was, he had no desire to deal with the irritation further if caught harassing an honored guest but as his eye laid on the fluid form, speaking in an exotic tongue of descriptive motion, he wished he had exposed the mystery beneath. Leave her beauty bare for his eyes to revel in.

Amused, Ser Criston followed closely behind, discarding his kingsguard armor to dress as a common peasant, watchful of the crowd as the cloaked prince approached. Ellarianna felt his intense presence beside her and paused, panting for clear breath as she turned to face the one eyed prince.

"The King has called for your attendance little minx." 

The tall legs she had made an acquaintance with the night prior carried a slender form strapped in leather and a woven tunic, replacing the Hightower green cloak for rich navy, chained beneath his chin in attempts at concealing his true identity. But the leather patch rested above his left eye, remnants of the scar peeking through down to the hollows of his cheek, betrayed it along with the wisps of Targaryen hair that peeked at the sides of the hood. Far more handsome than what those have offered of him. Ellarianna caught herself flushed at his direct stare as if there was no veil at all.

"Is he ill, my prince?” 

Ser Criston stepped forward, lowering his voice to a more hidden volume, "No my lady, but he has requested you most urgently. We have come to escort you back."

"If he is of good health then I am not needed. I shall spend the rest of my day here but I appreciate you for keeping me in your thoughts, though I can get by on my own thank you." Ellarianna turned back to face the children but they had scattered, petrified of the one eyed prince. 

The raspiness of Ser Criston's voice trailed in her ear, a hand hovering her elbow, "If you do not come willingly then force will have to be used my lady. I don't believe either of us would like to make a scene among the people." 

Ellarianna sensed Aemond's rigidness, his hand shifting to grasp firmly on the pommel of his sword for support. A warning for not only Ser Criston but of those who thought to interfere, maybe even a part of it to herself. Challenging the minx to a chase for the dragon’s afternoon entertainment. 

"There is no need, I am willingly."

The tension eased slightly at her compliance, Aemond’s hand dropping from the pommel as Ser Criston led the party of three back towards the Keep. Ellarianna offered conversation but neither men held more than a few words, all of which were of disinterest drifting into a state of numbed silence. Cautious and doubtful of her obedience, Ser Criston hovered over Ellarianna the rest of the walk as they departed from the town, Aemond trailing behind the two, watching the trail of flowers carry from the streams of golden strands into his leathered palms. 

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Part 6

#aemond targaryen #prince aemond #aemond one eye #aemond fanfiction #aemond imagine #aemond x you #aemond x oc #aemond the kinslayer #viserys targaryen #king viserys #criston cole #original female character #house of dragons #house targaryen

[pandaspwnz]

I just recruited Brûz and I love him, he’s my son

#shadow of war #brûz #brûz the chopper #he has joined both my army in game and my army of children

[philliamwrites]

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave {Masterlist}

And as the Titans begin to march, no matter how scared you are, you will not look away. Because there is love in every ending.

❀❀❀

When Wall Maria fell you lost everything: your home, your family, your childhood friend and first love. Haunted by his memory, you promise yourself to enlist for military service so that one day you can kill the Armoured Titan.

But feelings change, children grow up and you've known early on that someday dreams end. Now finally in the army, all you want is to survive the next three years and join the Garrison Regiment to find some peace and quiet within the walls.

That is until Eren Jaeger steps into your life with his purpose that blasts through rooms like a wildfire, hot and bright and beautiful, but also the sort you want to watch from a distance.

He won't let you stay away though, and once you're completely entangled with him, he will never let you go.

Until he does.

Pairing: Eren Jaeger x fem!Reader

Warnings: unreliable narrator, canon-typical violence, blood & injury, mild gore, slow burn, swearing, canon divergence, platonic jean & reader, angst, betrayal, enemies to friends (w/ benefits) to lovers, falling in love, falling out of love, fix-it while also making things worse, a.o.t.2 game elements,‼️18+, later: explicit sexual content!!‼️(i'm talking about all that good mean!dom eren stuff), warnings are listed at the beginning of every chapter

A/N: No words. Just Eren living rent free in my head. I'll try to upload every second Sunday.

Just DM me if you wanna be on the taglist!

○ ao3 link ○ SWYAATL playlist ○

[01]: Unsre grüne Au

• wc: 5.8k • warnings: mature; blood, mild gore, angst, death of family & loved ones • summary: He takes your hand, so warm around yours, and places the ring in your open palm. It’s cool against your skin. “This is how you know I’ll always come back. Because when we grow up … we’ll get married.” You stare at him as though you’ve seen a god and that god shares Emil’s name.

[02]: Dear Emil

• wc: 7.3k • warnings: introduction to PTSD and trauma, mourning the death of family & loved ones • summary: But just like one loose thread could unravel everything, the past day has completely disintegrated the foundations of this future. Now that it crumbles between your bruised, shaking fingers, do you try to rebuilt it? Or do you forge something new from the broken pieces even though that means cutting your hands bloody on the remains?

[03]: army⇒G♂

• wc: 6.1k • warnings: canon-typical violence • summary: “And what about you?” the boy says, suddenly swirling to you and you jolt in your chair. He sees you; sees you with striking, sharp eyes the colour of an empty bottle struck by sunlight. The colour of a dark, deep lake after a storm. “Didn’t you say you want to kill the Armoured Titan? You’re from Shiganshina too! You know what I’m talking about, right?” Put into the spotlight—no, on the offering table for slaughter like that, you do what you do best: you run.

[04]: τέλος

• wc: 8.5k • warnings: slight bullying, swearing • summary: Eren is like a pair of hot tongs; no one is sure where to put him or how long he would take to cool off, but if they just dropped him he might light the world on fire. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you.” You’re giving up. Let someone else put on kid gloves and mark out a careful perimeter of how safe it is to approach him. Armin volunteers, turning the crank to set Eren down again and inspect his wound, but Eren pushes him away, and you wonder how often Armin has burnt himself trying to help him.

[05]: первый снег

• wc: 10.2k • warnings: bullying, swearing • summary: The impact of his hard, toned body against yours sends you both flying. He’s got you on your back, elbow pushing into your throat. You swing with one arm, but Eren anticipates it and easily catches your wrist. You stare daggers at him. “Now this,” he says quietly, shaking your fist gently, “this is what you do. You fight back. You can only win if you fight back.” “Get off me, Jaeger.” “And don’t tuck your thumb into your fist.”

06: 飛べ

• wc: 8.4k • warnings: none • summary: You stare at Eren, unable to respond. Furious, angry Eren is easy to handle—there is no logic or reason behind anger, only hot-whipping emotion that can be easily excused and needs no further thought. But this vulnerability is so much more complex and profound, you want to look away. There is a forlorn, lost look about him, but his eyes search your face as if he might find himself there. Like you could be the answer. It’s like Eren’s forgotten Reiser’s lecture last week: You don’t give answers people want to hear. “We aren’t fairy tale heroes and knights. We can’t change the world…” Eren, you want to say. “Jaeger.” You immediately see in the shadow that falls over his eyes that you’ve lost him. “You’re only one person. What difference can you make?”

07: Apple Seed

• wc: 12.2k • warnings: canon-typical violence, explicit depiction of a dead body (none of the main characters), vomiting (not reader) • summary: You wait for Eren to let you go. He doesn’t. He looks conflicted over something—desperate even, but whatever he wants to say appears to be stuck in his throat. His tongue darts out and swipes over his lower lip, leaving it pink and glossy. You blink, dazzled. What is it that you want from me? you want to ask, but the answer frightens you.

08: 金継ぎ

• wc: 6k • warnings: PTSD, grieving a loved one's death • summary: He’s right, and as you take a look around camp, at the people you’re spending the next two years with, you fall a little in love with every single one of them: Jean, Jeanie, who is so protective of his honesty and pride, but gets even more protective when it comes to you. Mina and Marco who have turned M into your favourite letter because they both know that a gentle fire by the chimney is better at keeping one warm than burning down the whole house. Reiner and Bertholdt, two sides of the same coin: where Reiner is fierce, Bertholdt is yielding and together they are invincible. Mikasa and Armin, one shield and spear, the other a brilliant mind that will one day change the world, and together they are Eren’s right and left hand, the first his blade in hand and the other the one concealed in his sleeve. And Eren, even Eren Jaeger, who always looks at you like he knows you are so much more than all your scars and fears.

09: The Melancholy Heron Stands

• wc: 7.6k • warnings: descriptions of a wound • summary: “Yeah, yeah, we’ve had this already. You’d rather do nothing and then complain about it later.” His words drop like a cleaver. Something sharp and painful rises up the back of your throat. You swallow it down, squaring your jaw to mask your hurt. You tell yourself not to cry, not at the hands of someone like Eren who ploughs through a field towards his destination without a care for the flowers he tramples on. Who listens in on private conversations meant for the night and darkness only, and butchers at your vulnerability with his violent idealism. You change your mind. Emil would have liked them all, except for Eren.

10: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (pt.1)

• wc: 8k • warnings: DARK CONTENT! READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Minor character death, blood and gore, attempt at sexual assault (male —› female), implied child abuse, implied childhood sexual abuse • summary: It wasn’t common for you to doubt or question Emil. You trusted him with a ferocity that was nearly dangerous: if he’d said “Jump, I will catch you,” you’d jump and perform a pirouette mid-flight. Yet, this was different. This felt like a secret with sharp teeth and gnawing starvation for freedom. And it would wreak havoc. You didn’t know why, but you felt it. You felt it would destroy everything like the earth rumbling and splitting open, the very foundation of everything that you had known crumbling.

11: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (pt.2)

• wc: 8.2k • warnings: description of a decomposing body • summary: “If anything,” Eren says, and you can hear Armin’s quiet plea “Please stop talking, Eren,” because he knows Eren better than he himself, and if there is a chance to resolve the conflict without it blowing up, Armin will always throw himself in as canon fodder, “if anything, she got fucked up because you tried to run away. Because you tried to abandon us.” Jean goes still beside you like a statue. The glass shard nearly slips from your cold, clammy fingers and you bite your lip, tasting dried blood on your lips. “At some point,” Eren continues, “you’ll have to stop making excuses and stop running.”

12: Raised by Wolves and Voices

• wc: 8.1k • warnings: none • summary: “Wouldn’t that be something.” Jean sniffs, his breath coming out in white plums. “Erasing events from the past, making stuff never have happened. You’d have to be, like, God or something to do that.” “I don’t know. I get you’d want the unpleasant stuff gone, but it’s what makes you the person you are today, right? Even all the bad stuff, I don’t think I’d want that just taken away from me.” Especially without you knowing.

13: The Horror and the Wild

• wc: 9.6k • warnings: defence against an animal (no worries, the animal doesn’t get hurt too bad, definitely doesn’t die), injury, animal attack, self-suturing • summary: You scramble for your knife, digging through the snow until your fingers grasp the hilt. Pulling yourself up to your knees has never been this difficult, but thanks to the rigorous training Shadis has put you under after all those years, you stand on shaking knees, determined that you’ll see this through to the end. You’ll make your place in this world. You’ll fight for it, no matter who the opponent is. You’ll burn so bright you’ll blind them all—you’ll fight for yourself, and if that little, crying girl from five years ago screams for help, you’ll take her small hand and never let go, and you whisper to her “You are no longer a helpless child, you are the horror and the wild, and all the stones and kings of old will hear us screaming at the cold.”

14: The Happy Years (Upload: TBA)

• wc: ??? • warnings: none so far • summary: TBA

○ Masterlist ○

#aot x reader #aot x you #aot x y/n #snk x y/n #snk x you #eren jaeger #eren jaeger x reader #eren jaeger x you #eren jaeger x y/n #eren x reader #eren x you #eren x y/n #eren yeager #eren yeager x reader #eren yeager x you #eren yeager x y/n #swyaatl

[selkiewife]

Theon Month || Day 5: Flaws

In my opinion, Theon’s worst flaw is the way he views and treats women, children, and smallfolk at the beginning of the series. What makes this flaw truly interesting is that it is directly caused by his insecurity over being a hostage for half his life. Let me explain: 

A lot has been written about how Jon and Theon are foils. However, their individual circumstances are also kind of foils to each other as well. Though they are both outcasts, the nature of their positions are radically different. I’ve written before about my theory that both Theon and Jon developed certain personality traits and suppressed others based on how they feared to be perceived. For example, because of his society’s intense prejudice against bastards, Jon’s fear is being seen as a usurper of his true born siblings: 

Bastard children were born from lust and lies, men said; their nature was wanton and treacherous. Once Jon had meant to prove them wrong, to show his lord father that he could be as good and true a son as Robb.

~ A Storm of Swords, Jon X

In order to combat this negative image and fear of what he might become, he allows his empathy to thrive and he always puts his siblings needs first (his actions when they found the direwolves for example) while suppressing his natural ambition. This is shown by how much he struggles over wanting Winterfell when Stannis offers him it:

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger . . . he could feel it.

~ A Storm of Swords, Jon XII 

Just as Jon allows his natural empathy to thrive and suppresses his ambitions, Theon does nearly the opposite. This is because while Jon is cast in the “treacherous bastard” role in society, Theon is cast in the role of “weak hostage.”

The whole castle, from Lady Stark to the lowliest kitchen scullion, knew he was hostage to his father's good behavior, and treated him accordingly. Even the bastard Jon Snow had been accorded more honor than he had.

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon I

The position of hostage is position of weakness because hostages’ lives can be forfeit at any moment based on other people’s actions. A hostage, therefore, has no real agency of their own. A hostage’s lack of choice and lack of agency is similar to being a woman, a member of the smallfolk or a child in Westerosi society. Even though Theon is a highborn man- he is still stuck in the role of child hostage at the beginning of the series. He is stuck as Jon and Robb go on to take their place in society. Robb becomes King in the North and Jon joins the Night’s Watch, while Theon is still being used as a bargaining ship, similar to a woman being offered in marriage. In fact, the way Arya and Theon are talked about during the War of the Five Kings is very similar:

Arya’s proposed arranged marriage in order allow Robb’s Army to cross the bridge on the Green Fork:

"Also, if your sister Arya is returned to us safely, it is agreed that she will marry Lord Walder's youngest son, Elmar, when the two of them come of age."

Robb looked nonplussed. "Arya won't like that one bit."

~ A Game of Thrones, Catelyn IX

Ned intending to negotiate over Theon for Balon’s fleet:

“I want a careful watch kept over Theon Greyjoy. If there is war, we shall have sore need of his father's fleet.”

~ A Game of Thrones, Eddard IV

You would think that perhaps Theon would use this experience to develop empathy for people who are in a similar position of lacking agency or any control over their lives. Instead he takes the opposite approach and attempts to use his privilege of being a highborn man to show that he is not a woman, not a child, and not beneath anyone else. Because what Theon fears most of all is being seen as weak. And he takes out his fear on the people his society views as weaker in order to feel strong and feel like he is in control such as the way he treats the captain of the Myraham and his daughter (neither of who ever are referred to by their names):

He put an arm around the captain's daughter. "Summon me when we make Lordsport," he told her father. "We'll be below, in my cabin." He led the girl away aft, while her father watched them go in sullen silence. The cabin was the captain's, in truth, but it had been turned over to Theon's use when they sailed from Seagard. The captain's daughter had not been turned over to his use, but she had come to his bed willingly enough all the same. A cup of wine, a few whispers, and there she was. The girl was a shade plump for his taste, with skin as splotchy as oatmeal, but her breasts filled his hands nicely and she had been a maiden the first time he took her. That was surprising at her age, but Theon found it diverting. He did not think the captain approved, and that was amusing as well, watching the man struggle to swallow his outrage while performing his courtesies to the high lord, the rich purse of gold he'd been promised never far from his thoughts.

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon I 

Again, you can see all the posturing at play here. Even though he spent the last ten years as a hostage, he is not weak or afraid. On the contrary, he is a great Lord, making smallfolk and women do his bidding. They are the weak ones, not him. 

This fear of being seen as weak is only exacerbated when he returns to Pyke. And When Balon belittles him, it is markedly gendered: 

"Did Ned Stark dress you like that?" his father interrupted, squinting up from beneath his robe. "Was it his pleasure to garb you in velvets and silks and make you his own sweet daughter?"

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon I

And then later in that conversation when he begins to question whether or not Theon bought his necklace with the iron price or the gold:

You blush red as a maid, Theon. A question was asked. Is it the gold price you paid, or the iron?"

"The gold," Theon admitted.

His father slid his fingers under the necklace and gave it a yank so hard it was like to take Theon's head off, had the chain not snapped first. "My daughter has taken an axe for a lover," Lord Balon said. "I will not have my son bedeck himself like a whore." He dropped the broken chain onto the brazier, where it slid down among the coals. "It is as I feared. The green lands have made you soft, and the Starks have made you theirs."

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon I

Balon calls him a woman and treats him as a child- backhanding him when Theon protested him burning Robb’s letter. And both Asha and his Uncle Aeron dispute his claim that he is the heir.

I am heir to Pyke and the Iron Islands."

"As to that," his uncle said, "we shall see."

The words were a slap in the face. "We shall see? My brothers are both dead. I am my lord father's only living son."

"Your sister lives... And you are a great fool if you believe your lord father will ever hand these holy islands over to a Stark. Now be silent. The ride is long enough without your magpie chatterings."

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon I

He scarcely welcomed me, his own blood, the heir to Pyke and the Iron Islands."

"Are you?" she asked mildly. "It's said that you have uncles, brothers, a sister."

~ A Clash of Kings, Theon II 

So the image of himself he has created in his head to prove he is not weak and defenseless- “I am a man! I’m an heir and thus important! And I have a family that is awaiting my glorious return!”- All of that has been brutally torn apart when he returns home. This makes him want to prove that he is not weak even more- and now, to also prove that the Starks did not make him theirs. So he captures Winterfell, becomes a prince where he was once a prisoner and begins his downward spiral that ends in his awful crimes against Mikken, Palla, Farlen, Kyra, The Miller’s Wife, and the Miller’s boys. 

This is why the transformation he goes through with Jeyne is all the more significant. She is a girl and she is not nobility. She is not important to anyone for her own identity. She is also exactly the type of person that Theon would have dismissed in the past or used for his own gain. But because he cannot bear to see her suffering, he helps her. In showing empathy to her, he saves himself as well. I think this is so moving because in a way, it reflects hope for the world of asoiaf as well. The heroic characters of the series are the ones that are seen to care about the smallfolk, slaves, women, and children. And Theon can be seen as a symbol for the brokenness of the world of asoiaf- both corrupted and victimized by patriarchal feudalism, yet finding salvation, resiliency, and strength through helping someone as “insignificant” as Jeyne Poole. In this way, what originally was Theon’s greatest flaw in A Clash of Kings is now his greatest strength in A Dance with Dragons.

#theonmonth2022 #theon greyjoy #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #a song of ice and fire #jon snow #the captain's daughter #jeyne poole

[endofthelinegang]

𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐥𝐨𝐤𝐢)

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ loki x fem! reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ headcanons about dad loki and his children

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ cursing, fluff

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ i came up with this on the fly, i had one in mind and it spiraled into so many more

join the gang!

- p- i imagine loki only wanting like one or two kids but then is like "i could have a little army of people" and has like 5-6 kids. every so often he's just like "why? why did i do this? the description of little army is just a bit to accurate for my liking." whilst they are literally playing the floor is lava and wrestling each other and throwing pillows everywhere.

- these little fuckers are evil to both of you, mischievous behavior is in the blood. for example if one of them loses a tooth they make a plan. one of them will run into whatever room either of you or both of you are in and act all panicked saying "their mouth is bleeding!" which obviously gets everyone up. there is blood whichever parent is looking for an injury that the kid that lost the tooth is like "i lost my tooth!" they will just sit there laughing.

- love to scare other people in public, like a bunch of wednesday adams walking around. not a fan of other people anyway but find it so much funnier to just be little shits. i imagine one kid being social and the others being like "absolutely fucking not you sticky beasts."

- speaking of these kids are so clean, like never having to fight them to take a bath or shower. cannot stand to be covered in anything that isn't nice clean water. unless they're pulling a prank and making a huge mess absolutely everywhere.

- loki helping them pull pranks on each other. neither of them realize that their father is on both sides of the huge mess. you don't either. but then when the cat comes out of the bag he's just like "i don't pick favorites"

- these monsters will let you put them to bed and act all tired. but the moment you and loki go to lay down and sleep or do other things (yknow wink wink) the door is slammed open and every last one of them is in bed going "i'm not tired." and will NOT go away.

- morning children. morning children. will not go to bed early but will wake up at like seven o'clock. but don't think they'll wake you up they will sneak out of the bed and make it look like they did something bad. so then the two of you panic and run into the living space and they're all reading or coloring calmly.

- if loki picks up and carries one child all of the other ones will climb on him like a tree. cannot walk without them attached to him. their number one excuse is "this is your fault for wearing green."

- normal game night?? who said that was a thing?? you could be playing freaking candyland and there will be alliances, undercover take downs, and bets going down all over the place. it's absolute chaos. if loki looses it's like bully fest, will not live it down for at least a week unless there's a redemption round.

- fixing his daughters hair, he is so good at braiding and brushing their hair. will literally be watching a movie (family movie night) and have one of his little girls his lap not realizing he's even braiding her hair.

- play nights, and by that i mean literally taking a book that's scripted out as a play and giving everyone characters. making little props out of stuff around the room.

- loki singing them lullabies when they don't feel good or are having nightmares that they don't think they can go to bed afterwards.

- playing music together jokingly and seriously. usually seriousness turns into absolute chaos. but yes on the instrument closet that is the only truly organized closet because who wants a fucking saxophone landing on their head.

#loki imagine #loki x reader #loki #loki x female reader #loki x y/n #loki fanfic

[violentmouths]

Heeeeeellllllooooo in theeeeeere...

So good to see old friends and readers, now my blog isn't always gonna be about Devil May Cry as I do like these deep dives whether you do or not. I've been in depression since early December but I'm feeling grander than ever! I'm happy to say that Uncharted 4 and RE8 helped a lot.

But I'm not gonna talk about the whole RE8 game...

I just wanna talk about one specific character...

Karl Heisenberg

First off, I love his name! Instead of being spelt with a C, it's spelt with a K! And the lastname alone is just fucking sexy!

From the information I've gathered (my observations, Wiki, and YouTubers), I couldn't help but find myself infatuated by him:

- He was kidnapped and subjugated to the Cadou Parasite Experiments (said in the Wiki and his diaries).

- Kept himself cooped up in his factory to work on his inhumane experiments for his rebel army (introvert, maybe?).

- Has a grudge against Mother Miranda.

Alright let's get this out of the way, I LOVE his appearance, he looks so rugged up and I just love it!

From his trench coat, to his hat, to his shades?! So adorable (nope, not hot... adorable...) especially when he says:

To be honest and blunt, he stammers and stutters before he starts yelling, an example of him not liking to be interrupted, which happens three times; by Angie, Moreau, and that experiment with the propellers ( can't think of his name at the moment).

Let's be honest, no one likes being interrupted when speaking...

Back to the Dive-in...

I was listening to a YouTuber called  Video Game Sophistry, who said that Karl Heisenberg was supposed to actually be a pair of TWINS, they'd both do brain experiments on their mother while his father was supposed to look like Karl during his boss fight... As well being the ruler of the land, not Mother Miranda... But capcom discarded that idea (glad they did)...

His body is made of electrical organs that are connected to his nervous system where he can pass and control electricity throughout his whole body, allowing him to control magnetic fields which moves the metal!

Mother Miranda didn't see Heisenberg as a good enough vessel for her daughter. Only seeing him like an experiment, which he mentions in his diary.

"She took me. Took us. To be her children. She locked us away in the village. Decades of serving her. Can you even understand that humiliation?"

- Karl Heisenberg

It is extremely clear that his life was taken from him, but it's his next line that made me think...

"I'm not my siblings. I want nothing more than to be free of that bitch."

- Karl Heisenberg

Wanting to be free, eh?

Sound familiar?

Yeah, Karl and Zoe have some things in common:

- Stuck with their 'families' for years

- Want nothing other than being free.

- Relying on Ethan to help them

Unfortunately Heisenberg dies before getting his wish... Zoe doesn't...

Gonna skip to the scene when Heisenberg explains his plan to Ethan... I don't know how, I don't why no one looks to the left...

But I did...

In red, BOLD LETTERS next to Donna Beneviento and Salvator Moreau's pic says and quote:

"BSAA COME!!"

Why does he want the BSAA to come to wherever he lives? Does he want to join them? Does he work for them secretly? Also, how does he know about Chris...? As well as American Ground Beef (That part makes me laugh as well as question him)...?

Like:

- Did he ever travel to America?

- Did he ever eat something that had ground beef in it (not all ground beef is used for burgers, guys)?

- Was he going to travel to America if he gotten free? Maybe keep a low profile?

We'll never know...

Another thing I've discovered while scrolling through the comment section of YouTube vids that have Heisenberg in it was that it didn't look like Heisenberg actually died, most of the time the characters would calcify and crumble... But he just exploded! No calcification, no nothing just... BOOM!

Someone also said that his 'form' looked like armor rather than a transformation... Which I had to agree on, it does look like armor!

The transformation even looks like a Splendid Royal Moss Caterpiller ( VGS even says it himself) which was supposed to move faster than the other Lord's transformations.

I was personally thinking he'd turn into a mechanical horse thus to his symbol, but, oh well!

Alright this is getting too long, hope you liked my deep dive, I'll probably do more, I kinda wanna talk about Ethan and Heisenberg in the next one...

See you soon...

#re8 theories #resident evil #resident evil village #karl heisenberg #deep dives #it's jus' observations #just obsevations #but wowie #lord heisenberg #re8 village #im back on my shit