tea--goblin

Latest Posts by tea--goblin

What I find really interesting in Mockingjay 2 is that Haymitch doesnt carry any weapon or wears armor even when he is on the front line

Wot and critical role crossover in this economy!

Perrin: and what is the Dark One attracted to..?

Lanfear: he feeds off... insecurity

Perrin:

Rand: Oh God...

Mat: We're fucked

The girls: (cackling in the back ground)

Nynaeve: its okay

Mat: Well i for one welcome our dark overlords

Nynaeve: its okay, ill talk to him

Egwene: We're so fucked

This!

It's actually incredibly frustrating to me that I see so many people insisting that Siuan's death only happened, and only happened like THAT, for shock value and for Moiraine's angst. I do get that coming from people who aren't familiar with the things that happen in the books, especially since Moiraine and her reactions to it were focused on (which, it would be weird if it wasn't?), but I see people who I feel should definitely be picking up on some specific things about that scene that they didn't.

And let me just get out of the way, that I'm not trying to argue with people's feelings and opinions. I have no desire to make you like something you didn't. I have no desire to change people's mind. If you want to never watch the show again because of this, that's for you to decide. I don't want to change anyone's mind unless they want me to change their mind, and honestly, this isn't even me trying to make people ok with this. I'm not ok with this, if I'm being honest, but I am pretty sure I see what's happening, and I want to see it fulfilled. Like I have no interest in convincing anyone this is ok from a racial standpoint, from a queer standpoint, from a character standpoint or anything. This post isn't about that. This post is about explaining what I see this all being about only, because I've seen no discussion on this at all.

This post will immediately contain major book spoilers under the cut, so if you don't want to know, stop where you are now.

But Siuan's death being like that wasn't about Moiraine or shock. It was about setting up what's to come.

Egwene al'Vere, the Watcher of the Seals, the Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat.

And to say that, I don't necessarily mean its about Egwene, no. It's about Siuan. It's about how Siuan is going to stay there, haunting everyone even after she's gone because they're going to see her ghost in every single thing Egwene does the second the rebel Aes Sedai declare her Amyrlin.

Look at the first thing Siuan does whenever she's faced with Elaida after being stilled and beaten. She gets to her feet and stares down Elaida. Siuan looks absolutely wrecked while Elaida is put together, clean, regal to the point of gaudiness in her Amyrlin dress, trying so hard to put her newfound authority on display only to be immediately defied by the person in a shift that she tried to beat into submission and break.

Siuan gets up, looks her in the eye, and gives her speech (which I will get into in a moment) which is not just for Elaida to listen to but for every other Aes Sedai in the room and all of the ones that will hear about what happened here after. She is openly defiant to Elaida and proclaiming herself for the Light to her last, no matter what they have obviously physically done to her to make her change her story or grovel or beg. She is trying to get them to stop the path they are going on before its too late, and it seems like they don't listen because nothing is done to change what would happen. Nothing is done to stop her execution.

But you know they were all listening. You can see that Elaida is visibly shaken by this, but you also know that Elaida won't do anything to change her ways. Every other Aes Sedai in the room though? At least the ones that aren't darkfriends? They will remember this, and they will have a long time to sit and see everything Siuan Sanche just warned of coming true because they did nothing to stop Elaida's coup. Because they let this woman who only loved power use the weakest interpretations of the law to get rid of her predecessor and see that it only led to more and more chaos within the tower and without. There is going to be more Aes Sedai deaths. More Aes Sedai infighting. More death and destruction outside of the tower because of the Aes Sedai not intervening or choosing to intervene in the ways Elaida dictates.

They are going to have years to see this (because tv shows extend the timeline) and they are going to have years to waste away in their regret and pity as the shadow takes further hold of the tower and they can see nothing but threats surrounding them.

And then what will happen?

A young woman who proclaims to be Amyrlin will be captured by Elaida and brought to task. A woman that Elaida will try to break and make submit.

But this young woman is the same person who upon being beaten and dragged into cells by the Seanchan immediately stood up against her captor and defied her the second she was able to do so. This is the woman who promised death upon said captor even when she appeared at her lowest and most broken. This is the woman who has fought the Shadow and the Forsaken personally, who we will see stand up to Elaida, look her in the eyes, and defy her in exactly the same way that Siuan Sanche did all of those years ago. And by now the Aes Sedai will see that Siuan Sanche was right and her ghost is here to remind them of that.

Now let's look at Siuan's speech. I'm not gonna go line for line in the entire thing, but let's look at the content. First thing she says is that she loves Moiraine, which I think is where a lot of the claims for the "this is about Moiraine angst" comes from. But what does she do immediately after saying that she loved Moiraine, that she would die for Moiraine? She rats Moiraine out. She tells them everything that she and Moiraine had been doing, implicating Moiraine in a crime that up until this point they only could speculate that she was involved in. And she does this, because its how she needs to get the Hall to listen. To understand that they have been working for the light, that they have been working to find the Dragon and make him ready and all that they have been doing is to fight for the light, and all that the Hall should be doing is fight for the light.

She would die for Moiraine, but she will and has also given up Moiraine the second it looks like that is what the Light needs.

And then we have Egwene who loves Rand. Sans Lanfear's interference, I don't think Egwene would have been ready to give up Rand on her own yet if that's what she needed to do. But do you know when she did? In the arches. We see a future where she will be able to do exactly that and its the same future where she is the Amyrlin Seat.

Siuan explains the visions. Siuan tells them that their power doesn't come from tower, from the Seat. It comes from them and their actions and that the light shines through them by these actions. She more or less tells the Aes Sedai sitting there to leave the Tower, to disobey Elaida, the Amyrlin Seat. She tells Elaida to her face that she defies her.

I wonder who else might have such feelings about where Aes Sedai loyalties should be and would be willing to say as much to the Amyrlin Seat herself in front of other Aes Sedai. Who else would recognize the state of the Tower and be able to verbally acknowledge it while Aes Sedai are scared to whisper it.

The parallels to what Siuan and Egwene are doing/will later do have been there the entire time. We can see them the entire time.

When Egwene becomes Amyrlin and is taken prisoner by Elaida, she will be there with all of the context Siuan has laid down in her final scene. She will be there defying Elaida exactly as Siuan did and said to do, and just like Siuan we know she cannot be broken. We have seen that she cannot be broken. She is the physical manifestation of Siuan's final prophecy that she cannot burn. She is water itself. The daughter of the river, and let us not forget the very first time we see Egwene al'Vere of the Two Rivers.

Late night though

Moiraine probably knew this was one of possible futures

I was manifesting this scene from season 1

The Wheel of Time Season 3 Countdown Day 5: Favorite Dynamic

I'll stand watch until you return... Give her my love.

Lan Mandragoran & Moiraine Damodred & Siuan Sanche

The Wheel of Time character types:

The Dumb Puppy - aka - Serial Imprinter - aka - Won't Get A Single Break From Now Until the Final Heat Death of the Universe... Or After.

Tiny and Angry - aka - The Sleeping Berserk Button - aka - The One They're Not Gonna See Coming Until She Rips Out All Their Throats.

'If my middle name wasn't Spite it would be Fuck You' - aka - The Duck Mother to the Very Dumb Baby Ducks - aka - Will Spend at Least an Episode a Season Inside a Tragic Romance B-Plot - aka - Had The Braincell, Temper Made Her Lose It (she contains multitudes).

The Violent Sunshine Character - aka - Would Sucker Punch a God for a Homie She Met Two Hours Ago.

If Evil, Why Hot?

The word 'Nap' isn't in her vocabulary but it should be - aka - Can't Have 'One Nice Thing' for More Than Two and a Half Minutes - aka - Allergic to Feelings.

'There's a big sign that says Don't Touch The Red Button... I'm gonna touch the Red Button.' - aka - Who is This... Self Esteem You Speak Of? Never Heard of Them.

Voted Most Likely to be Adopted by a Hundred Random Strangers - aka - The Wolves Would Like Him to Get the Braincell but it Fell on the Ground and the Ground is Lava.

Doesn't Get Paid Enough for this Shit - aka - Clinging to the Last Braincell With the Tips of His Fingernails - aka - 'I can't believe I of all people am willing to have a single goddamn conversation here.'

'Fine I'll Do the Babysitting But You Owe Me So Much Booze' - aka - The Aunt That Once Forgot You In the Mall - aka - The Aunt That Gave You All the Safe Sex Tips and Traumatized You For Life - aka - The Aunt That Would Absolutely Bury a Body No Questions Asked.

This is so beautiful

Moiraine confessing to Lan that in the thousand thousand futures she’s seen that there isn’t a single one where she survives to the last battle which she and Lan have dedicated the last 21 years of their life to, holding back tears thinking that all their work has been for nothing.

And Lan responding with “well you aren’t dying tonight bestie, drink up!”

That’s real love right there

Moiraine really went to Egwene and said "it's 1am, I'm drunk, and I NEED to call my ex."

And Egwene said "sure, use my phone."

Would you fall in love with me again is so Vaxleth coded

I made a lurk character and gave her coat full of aromatic spices

“why do you still use tumblr?”

listen— i have to keep track of my hyper fixations somehow

orym is hozier and dorian is chappell roan. no i will not elaborate.

critical role ships as hozier songs

vax / keyleth : francesca

percy / vex : work song

pike / scanlan : foreigner's god

fjord / jester : nobody

beau / yasha : as it was

caleb / essek : from eden

imogen / laudna : NFWMB

orym / dorian : like real people do

ashton / fearne : dinner & diatribes

specific lyrics that i feel like represent the pairings under the cut!

vax / keyleth : francesca

how could you think, darling, i'd scare so easily?

my life was a storm, since i was born, how could i fear any hurricane?

if i could hold you for a minute, darling, i'd go through it again

it was too soon, when that part of you was ripped away

i would not change it each time, heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i

percy / vex : work song

when my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth, no grave can hold my body down, i'll crawl home to her

and i was burning up a fever, i didn't care much how long i lived

but i swear, i thought i dreamed her, she never asked me once about the wrong i did

if the lord don't forgive me, i'd still have my baby and my babe would have me

in the low lamplight, i was free, heaven and hell were words to me

pike / scanlan : foreigner's god

she moved with shameless wonder, the perfect creature rarely seen

her eyes look sharp and steady into the empty parts of me

wondering who i copy, mustering some tender charm

breaking if i try conveying, the broken love i make to her

fjord / jester : nobody

i'd be appalled if i saw you ever try to be a saint, i wouldn't fall for someone i thought couldn't misbehave

but i've had no love like your love from nobody

if i had the choice between hearing either noise, the excitement of a thousand, or the soothing of your voice

and on the other side, why should we deny the truth? we could have less to worry about, honey, i won't lie to you

beau / yasha : as it was

and in a few days i will be there, love, whatever here that's left of me is yours, just as it was

the lights were as bright as my baby, but your love was unmoved

tell me if, somehow, some of it remains, how long you would wait for me and how long i've been away

the shape that i'm in now, your shape in the doorway, make your good love known to me or just tell me about your day

and the nights were as dark as my baby, and half as beautiful too

caleb / essek : from eden

there's something tragic about you, something so magic about you, don't you agree?

honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago

innocence died screaming, honey, ask me, i should know

there's something broken about this, but i might be hoping about this

a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree

imogen / laudna : NFWMB

give your heart and soul to charity, cause the rest of you, the best of you, honey, belongs to me

ain't it a gentle sound, the rolling in the graves?

if i was born as a blackthorn tree, i'd wanna be felled by you, held by you, fuel the pyre of your enemies

ain't it the life of you, your lightning of the blaze?

orym / dorian : like real people do

i will not ask you where you came from, i will not ask and neither should you

i know that look, dear, eyes always seeking, was there in someone that dug long ago

honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do

ashton / fearne : dinner & diatribes

i knew well from our first hookup, the look of mischief in your eyes

your friends are a fate that befell me, hell is the talking type, i'd suffer hell if you'd tell me what you'd do to me tonight

honey, i laugh when it sinks in, a pillar i am, upright

now that the evening is slowing, now that the end's in sight, honey, it's easier knowing what you'd do to me tonight

oh, let there be hotel complaints and grievances raised and that kind of love

RIP Glorian Shieldheart you would’ve loved Chappell Roan as Joan of Arc.

It's so funny being a shipper when you're aroace it's like you're an anthropologist, like hey fictional blorbos who live in my head let me study your bonds under a microscope and take notes on what happens when I throw Valentines Day into your enclosure

Do you ever think about how Orym got his sword from Will, his shield from Derrig, and his armour from Dorian. Like this man is fully kitted out by the people he loves 🥹

RIP Glorian Shieldheart you would’ve loved Chappell Roan as Joan of Arc.

Priory of the orange tree

just finished day of fallen night and it resparked my hyper fixation so here’s this

Tané: gods always speak in mysterious riddles

Nayimathun: I just said, “you are enough”

Tané: I may never know what they mean

Come on Vox Machina, go free your boy!

only liam could make a character so emotionally repressed it takes a pep talk from a formerly emotionally repressed liam character to convince him to confess his crush

I love the idea of Essek picking up on whatever Dorian and Orym had going on, calling Dorian a heartbreaker, leaving, and then proceeding to tell his partner all about these pining boys. Eventually his partner, Caleb, sees these two and thinks "oh ja I see what Essek was talking about" and proceeds to give one of them a pep talk about making a move on the other.

Once Caleb finds out Dorian and Orym got together, he's going to tell Essek all about it.

Still not over the Poppy War because how could I?

First it is 'you need to succeed academically or be subjected to a life of misery in a forced marriage'. Then it's 'you're worse than everyone else because you are from the South where people are stupid and you talk weird and you have no inherited arts and you're poor.' When that's finally over and Rin is getting used to being at Sinegard, when she's getting used to being taught by Ziya and enjoying being a shaman Sinegard gets attacked, her friends murdered, Nezha crippled. 'Oh by the way you are also the only other survivor of a genocide on a martial race, the only other guy is your commander'.

Before the war is well underway she gets to deal with the massacre of Golan Niis, a traumatized Kitay. 'Yeah there were sex slaves, they were seen as less than human , we threw babies into boiling cauldrons'. 'Oh yeah we are also experimenting on the poor martial special savage southeners to learn the source of their heavenly powers'

Then it's 'the only other Speerly dies, we will call you The Last Speerly as the sole survivor of your race' and immediately after it's 'trauma and the desire to win the war and protect your people will make you do unspeakable things, even commit genocide yourself.'

Second book is a liiiitle easier, but not much, because 'you are getting so addicted to opium to deal with the effects of having to call the fire that you cannot fight anymore' , 'the source of your strenght is your friend, without whom you will not be special' are very close together. Then it's 'foreign people are trying to invade your lands because they deem you inferior' and 'a scientist is abusing you solely because they can, because she doesn't see you as human. Then there is a whole ass war, just before 'you are betrayed by the ones that mean the most to you, like literally a blade in your back' and 'you are now disabled, missing the hand of your swordarm'

And then the grande finale, of course. 'Civil war against former ally' and 'Trifecta coming back to life, my teacher being a war criminal' immediately into 'the scariest one of them trying to kill me the second he wakes up, just like he did with the rest of my people'. Then that war drags on, including 'Cold marches that kill half my army' and 'going back to South to fight with the people whose roots are yours as well' and 'subjecting people to the trauma you went through yourself just to win the war'. Couple that with 'large famine and banditery terrorizing the countryside' and 'large refugee crisis' and 'i don't recognize my family anymore'. When you think it's all over you're hit with the 'no one here trusts me' and 'I thought this person was betraying me but she took an arrow to the head for me', just before 'I need to kill myself for the greater good' and 'my friend does not want to live on without me.' To top it off we need 'oppressors will try to erase us, and we need them so badly we will let them try' and 'Nezha is all alone in the world'

O and you find out as well 'he loved her but betrayed her' and 'duty trumps romance'

Man, look at that list. No wonder I was devastated after that, it's just blow after blow after blow.

the clear cut parallels between rin, nezha, and kitay and the trifecta never fail to make me sob. like speer and mugen, the second poppy war and the third poppy war. riga loving and betraying daji, nezha loving and betraying rin. the friendship between jiang and daji, the friendship between rin and kitay. both groups leaving only one of them to rule. their shared complicated love and loyalty and hurt between each other. jiang and rins final moments of clarity. they followed right into their predecessors footsteps and didn’t even know it. both groups were supposed to be unstoppable forces but ended up being torn apart by each other.

gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss but it's actually daji, jiang, and riga in the same exact order.

This physically hurts

i mourn the history that left with Rin’s last breath.

— no one will remember her as the girl who passed the Keju with only two years of studying under her belt

— no one will remember her as the girl who punched the Dragon Warlords son or the girl who defeated the Dragon Warlords son in the trials and won

— no one will remember her as the girl crazy enough to pledge to lore

— no one will remember her as the girl who had to endure torture in a Mugenese lab

— no one will remember her as the girl who gave the “broken” girl the chance to fight again

— no one will remember her as the girl who destroyed and saved her best friend

— no one will remember her as the girl who had to fight her whole life till the very end. all they’ll remember is a girl on fire, with so much rage, that it almost destroyed the country.

she saved nikara, she burnt it, and she gave it a second chance.

the mighty nein - critical role

this is a place where i don't feel alone. this is a place where i feel at home.

So, just 35 minutes into exu downfall Brennan already has made a bird reference

Aoer is for lovers