#I decided to only do book quotes and lyrics to justify my creative choices

[highladyluck]

Wheel of Time Playlist

Mat Cauthon/Tuon Paendrag: The Soundtrack

Direct link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1LWolFwiwWQtcnQV7zceMj

30 songs, 1 hr 43 min. This is my take on the canonical arc of Mat Cauthon and Tuon Paendrag's relationship, told largely through swing music and 80s power ballads, with a few surprises here and there.

I put a lot of time and thought into this so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! There are spoilers in the playlist and track listing for Winter's Heart through A Memory of Light, since this is meant to mirror the narrative. It's organized mostly chronologically, though a few songs cover multiple books, or reference scenes placed slightly out of order, to better alternate points of view.

The order will be preserved if you have a paid Spotify account. (I know that's not ideal; I tried for several hours to get this into 8tracks through a series of increasingly convoluted methods but wasn't able to, as I don't directly own the music used.) If you can't listen to it in order, I've got the track listing under the cut so you can at least see what I was trying to do.

Track List:

1)      Royals (feat. Cory Gray) – Jake Coco, Corey Gray

“I’m no lord. I’ve more respect for myself than that.”

And we'll never be royals (royals)/

It don't run in our blood

2)      Almost There – Anika Noni Rose

Behind her veil, she was merely the High Lady Tuon, of no higher rank than many others of the Blood, but in her heart, always, she was Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag, Daughter of the Nine Moons, and she had come to reclaim what had been stolen from her ancestor.

Ain't got time for messin' around/

And it's not my style

 3)      Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man – Sammy Hagar

“I’m a gambler, not a soldier. A lover.”

I ain't good looking, but you know I ain't shy/ Ain't afraid to look a girl in the eye

 4)      Primadonna – MARINA

 “She is my wife! Your bloody Daughter of the Nine Moons is my wife!”

Would you get down on your knees for me?/

Pop that pretty question, right now baby

 5)      Been Caught Stealing – Richard Cheese

And Mat and the others galloped out into the storm, carrying with them three Aes Sedai, two of them escaped damane, and the kidnapped heir to the Seanchan Crystal Throne, while behind them a far worse storm broke over Ebou Dar.

Walk right through the door/ Hey all right!/ If I get by, it's mine/ Mine all mine!

 6)      Luck Be A Lady – Frank Sinatra

“As soon as I can figure out how to send you home safe and sound, I will. I promise.”

[...]

“So long as you keep your promises, I will neither escape nor betray you in any way, nor will I cause dissension among your followers.”

Let’s keep this party polite/

Never get out of my sight/

Stick with me baby, I'm the guy that you came in with/

Luck be a lady tonight

 7)      Holding Out For A Hero – Bonnie Tyler

“Do you remember Hawkwing’s face, Toy?”

I'm holdin' out for a hero 'til the morning light/ He's gotta be sure/ And it's gotta be soon/ And he's gotta be larger than life

 8)      Play The Game – Queen

“I’ve changed my mind, Toy,” she murmured, placing the white stone carefully on the intersection of two lines near the center of the board. “You play very well.”

All you have to do is fall in love/

Play the game, everybody play the game/

Of love

 9)      Poker Face – Lady Gaga

Despite himself, Mat began to laugh. He threw his hat down on the floor and laughed. With everything, all his efforts, he did not know this woman at all! Not a bit! He laughed until his ribs hurt.

Can't read my, can't read my/ No, he can't read my poker face

 10)   Young Dumb And In Love – Mat Kearney

Her big eyes were dark pools a man could spend a lifetime swimming in. Her rare smiles could be mysterious or mischievous, and he prized them.

I'm talking much, and you don't make a sound/

The prettiest face and those rock-a-bye baby browns/

All I've waited for's come true/

To be young and dumb and in love

11)   Zebra – The Magnetic Fields

She was still beaming. Her big eyes shone. “She’s a very fine animal, Toy. A wonderful gift. Either you have a good eye, or you were very lucky.”

“I have a good eye, Precious,” he said warily. She seemed more delighted than even the razor called for.

so there's one thing I crave/ when my days become ho-hum and blah/ I want a zebra

 12)   Steppin’ Out With My Baby – Fred Astaire

He grinned at Tuon, who gave him a slight nod. He had missed this, dice in a common room or tavern, coin on the table, wondering how long his luck would hold. And a pretty woman at his side while he gambled. He wanted to laugh with pleasure.

Steppin' out with my honey/

Can't be bad to feel so good/

Never felt quite so sunny/

And I keep on knockin' wood

 13)   Mack the Knife – Louis Armstrong

Tuon nodded approvingly. The bloody woman was dying to see him get into a knife fight!

[...]

To him, the world consisted of his two knives and the men crowding each other to get at him, and his knives sought the places where men bleed most heavily. Some of those ancient memories came from men who had not been very nice at all.

You know when that shark bites

With his teeth, babe

Scarlet billows

Start to spread

Fancy gloves, though

Wears ol' Macheath, babe

So there's never, never a trace of red

 14)   Rescue Me – Fontella Bass

“If one army is out to kill you, then they probably all are, and there are too many soldiers between here and Ebou Dar. But don’t worry; I’ll find some way to get you back safely.”

[...]

His boot slid in a patch of blood, and as he staggered, he knew he was about to die.

Abruptly Tuon was there, left hand seizing the young woman’s wrist—not the wrist of the knife hand, worse luck—twisting so the arm went stiff and the girl was forced to double over.

Come on, baby, and rescue me/ 'Cause I need you by my side

 15)   Too Close For Comfort – Eydie Gormé

He bent his head to hers. She was far from the first woman he had kissed. He knew what he was about. Surprisingly—or then again, perhaps not so surprisingly—she did not know. She was a quick pupil though. Very quick.

Be wise, be smart, behave my heart,/ Don't upset your cart/ When he’s so close.

 16)   Fever – Michael Bublé

She laid fingers against his cheek. “I thought so,” she said in that slow honey drawl. “You’re feverish. Some of your wounds must be infected.”

[...]

Mat blinked. He gave her a kiss that had to have curled her toes, and all she said was that his face was hot?

When you put your arms around me/ I get a fever that's so hard to bear/ You give me fever when you kiss me/ Fever when you hold me tight

 17)   Burning Down The House – Tom Jones, The Cardigans

Karede felt as if Hartha had kicked him again. No, not Hartha. Aldazar. What madness was this? Cauthon looked like a man watching an arrow fly towards his face, knowing he had no chance to dodge.

“Bloody Matrim Cauthon is my husband. That is the wording you used, is it not?”

This had to be a fever-dream.

Watch out you might get what you're after/

Cool babies strange but not a stranger/

I'm an ordinary guy/

Burning down the house

 18)   Love Is A Battlefield – Pat Benatar

“The next time I see Seanchan, I expect it will be on the field somewhere, Tuon.” Burn him, it would be. His life seemed to run that way no matter what he did. “You’re not my enemy, but your Empire is.”

“Nor are you my enemy, husband,” she said coolly, “but I live to serve the Empire.”

Both of us knowing/ Love is a battlefield

 19)   Empire – Alpines

Tuon straightened her back. She had not thought to become Empress for many years yet. But she would do her duty.

[...]

Fortuona was empress.

 I'm building an empire/

I'm building with my body and soul/

I'm building an empire/

So little time and so much to do

 20)   Distant Stations – Andrew Bird

Stay well, you curious man, she thought, glancing back at the balcony, northward. Do not dig yourself into trouble deeper than you can climb to freedom. You are Prince of the Ravens now. Remember to act appropriately.

Wherever it is you are.

[...]

Thom finished by making a wavy line through the center, as one did at the start of any game of Snakes and Foxes.

[...]

Mat crouched beside a fern, unseen by the dozen or so Deathwatch Guards who stood in a ring around Tuon as she went through a series of fighting stances.

 It was a triangle/ With soft, round edges/ And a split down the middle of one corner

I waited for you/ But I never told you where I was/

I waited on the steps for you/ And I hid in the bushes whenever a car pulled into the parking lot

 21)   Black Coffee – Sarah Vaughan

I should very much like to have him back. She froze; she hadn’t meant to admit so much. She found her own emotions curious, however. She had felt safe with him, ridiculous though it seemed. And she wished he were with her now.

Black coffee/ Feelin' low as the ground/ It's drivin' me crazy/ This waitin' for my baby/ To maybe come around

 22)   Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps – Cake

“Love?” Tuon sounded surprised. “Perhaps we will come to love each other, Matrim, but I have always known I would marry to serve the Empire.”

[...]

“And do you love me?” he asked, forcing the words out.

 You won't admit you love me/

And so how am I ever to know?/

You only tell me/

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps

 23)   Best of You (with Elle King) – Andy Grammar, Elle King

“When you saw me,” Mat explained, “with a dagger in hand—as if to throw at you—you didn’t call for your guards. You didn’t fear I was here to kill you. You looked over your shoulder to see what I was aiming at. That’s the most loving gesture I think a man could receive from a woman. Unless you’d like to sit on my knee for a little while…”

 'Cause the best of me loves the best of you/

And all the rest, I can see right through/

You trust in me and I'll trust you too/

'Cause the best of me, loves the best of you

 24)   Dance Me to the End of Love – Leonard Cohen

“I’m not going to sit on your knee,” Tuon said, pulling one arm out of her robe, exposing her breasts, “though I may allow you to sit on mine.”

 Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on/ Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long/ We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above/ Dance me to the end of love

 25)   Roll the Dice – Annie Vincent

Order in one hand—something known, something she could measure—chaos in the other. Chaos in the form of a one-eyed man who knew Artur Hawkwing’s face.

Had she not just told Selucia she would bet upon him?

Roll the dice (C'mon)/ Take a chance with life, just roll the dice/ This will be your time, so roll the dice/ And nothing's gonna stop you now - no, no, woah

 26)   Short Skirt/Long Jacket – Cake

She was something incredible, though. He felt a thrill each time she gave orders; she did it so naturally.

 I want a girl with a mind like a diamond/ I want a girl who knows what's best

 27)   They All Fall Down – XY Unlimited

“A last stand,” Mat said softly. “All of us, together, at a one place where the terrain favors us.”

 One by one the soldiers stumble/

See them as they stand and tumble/

You're here with me

 28)   Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off – Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

“I’ve had it with you,” Knotai said, waving a hand at her. “You and your bloody Seanchan rules just keep getting in the way.”

“Then I have had it with you as well,” she said, raising her head.

[...]

“I suppose you give me the opportunity… perhaps the mandate… to follow what my heart would choose, whether or not it is wise.” She stood. “General Galgan, gather your troops. We return to the Field of Merrilor.”

 For we know we need each other/ So we better call the calling off off/ Let's call the whole thing off!

 29)   Never Knew I Needed – Kathryn

“Well, I guess I’m off the hook, now. You have an heir.”

“I have an heir,” Tuon said, “but I am the one off that hook. Now I can kill you, if I want.”

Mat felt his grin widen. “Well, we’ll have to see what we can work out. Tell me, do you ever play dice?”

 You are the best thing I never knew I needed/ So now it's so clear, I need you here always

 30)   Twin Human Highway Flares – The Mountain Goats

All he had to do was convince Tuon to forsake her throne and run off with him.

  You turned to me and asked me if I'd always be your boy/

As we drove across the river into western Illinois/

And on the railroad bridge, half a mile of solid steel/

Wheels were spitting out sparks, scraping at the rails

[cajunroe]

Answer all the space asks!

hahahah, nonny. thank you!

Comet- What are you currently frustrated about?hahaha, well my i’m having a crisis because i’m in over my head in my grad classes and it’s only the first week and now i’m completely second guessing my entire program bc i feel like i’m out of my depth entirely and if i switched my program to the english program i would at least know more and be able to actually feel comfortable in learning and not spending 6 extra hours on a 300 word assignment to make sure it’s somewhat okayBlack Hole- What are you most afraid of?failure…you can see why the above is a natural disaster waiting to hitGalaxy- Do you have any nicknames? What are they?i call myself a dumbass bitch literally every day of my life; one of my nephews calls me tati Star- What song(s) do you feel describes you?ohh, sleeping sickness by city & colour (nearly anything by city&colour really) habits by findlar, hmm….right now…somebody kill me from the wedding singerMoon- Are you currently reading any books? If so, what book(s)?aside from textbooks…i’m reading lost gods by bromPlanets- If you could go anywhere, where would you go?denver to see my best friend bc i need her hugs rnMercury- Describe your aesthetic.absolute disaster inside, absolute disaster outside.Venus- What’s your favorite tv show?ugh, too many. i list what i’ve rewatched the most: supernatural, the golden girls, the following, justified, band of brothers, the pacific, generation kill, longmire, psych, monk, the punisher, a lot of othersEarth- If you could be anyone else for a day, who would you want to be?joff bozos so i could literally give all his money to meMars- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?my ability to make decisions because i can’t decide one thing. i’m a mess yoJupiter- If you had to pick one color to use for an entire week, what color would you choose?blackSaturn- How far would you go for those you care about?tbh much farther than they would ever go for meUranus- What would you say is your greatest achievement?still being aliveNeptune- Describe yourself in one sentence.simultaneously the best and worst person depending on when you meet herPluto- If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would you meet?my soulmateConstellations- If you could have one talent, what would you want it to be? (can be magical or not)teleportation…or if everyone is getting powers, then the ability to absorb powers alla sylar styleAsteroid- When you die, what do you want to be done with your body?cremation??? like idrc imma be dead and gone broAquarius- What’s a topic you enjoy learning about?history, english, digital media, film, languages, linguisticsAquila- Do you prefer to read books or watch movies?both at the same timeAries- What is something you enjoy doing?sleeping Auriga- If you had to pick one villain from any media, who would you rather have to face and why?loki bc i’d distract and befriend he’s fancy boy ass with good wineBootes- If you could have any animal, wild or not, fake or not, which would you want?direwolf - fluffy and deadlyCancer- How do you want to be remembered?i don’tCanis Major- How many friends do you have?people that i truly call a friend: 5 or 6Capricornus- What’s a song lyric that you relate to?“and i’m afraid, to sleep because of what haunts me. such as, living with the uncertainty that’ll never find the words to say which would completely explain, just how i’m breaking down”Cassiopeia- What’s your favorite quote?every word out of my dumbass mouth is goddamn gold so jot that downCygnus- If you could go back to any time period for a couple days, when/where would you want to go?any time i was with my best friend that passedGemini- Do you have any siblings? How many?three. two sisters and one brother.Leo- If you could change the way any movie was made, which movie would you change?the l*st j*diLibra- If you could talk to your past self, what would you tell yourself?life will always be hard, more than you could ever imagine, but there are small moment where you’ll feel pure joy and happiness that will make it all bearable.Lyra- Would you rather be feared or loved?“i want people to be afraid of how much they love me” -me -michael scottOrion- What’s your favorite type of weather?fall. i want it to be cold enough for layers but not too cold that i can’t spend hours and hours outside. there’s enough sunshine to show the leaves changing color but not too much to rid of the brisk air.Pegasus- What’s your favorite music genre?indie, lo-fi/bedroom pop, alternative, etc. Perseus- What’s your favorite movie genre?drama, action, romance, comedy - in that orderPisces- Describe someone you love without saying their name.the most supportive, compatible, and understanding person i know. able to call me out when i’m being the worst version of myself and appreciate me when i’m at my best. knows my traumas and secrets and desire and still loves me. my chosen sister. my other half. my best friend. Sagittarius- What do you do when you don’t feel well? What do you eat/drink?ginger ale, saltines, apple juice, and chicken noodle soup. my go-to sick watches are the twilight zone, gentlemen prefer blondes, anything vincent price, and all-time favorite: who framed roger rabbitScorpius- If you had to pick someone to betray you, who would you pick?myself or my sister, i’m used to bothTaurus- What makes you feel comfortable?cold room, warm bed. coffee. cake and pastries. the feeling after putting on fresh clothes after swimming or playing in the snow. homecooked meals. the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin.Ursa Major- If you had to pick any job to have, what job would you want?sad it before, say it again, maxixmum pay for minimal effortVirgo- What do you value the most- artistic ability/creativity, musical ability, athletic ability, intellect, or work ethic?none. ability to be kind, humble, and compassionate.Neutron- Are you more of a leader or a follower?leader when i need be. follower when i don’t want to lead.Supernova- How do you feel about yourself?the greatest love/hate relationship in the history of the world.Supergiant- What’s something you like about yourself?my sense of humor. my ability to love beyond my means. i love my own company.Red Giant- Would you get into a debate/argument with someone if you heard them saying something you disagree with or know to be wrong, or would you stay silent?GET INTO ARGUMENT. i have no restraint and i’m not going stand by and watch someone make a fool of themselves.Red Dwarf- What’s your favorite smell? What smell makes you feel most comfortable?my candles. my skin fresh out of the shower. the smell of home cooking. cinnamon and pumpkin. ((gasoline)) juniper, jasmine, honeysuckle, white wine, spices, i could go on foreverProtostar- Give a random fact about yourself.i am more stressed about my life choices now than when i started this.