#Teslyn

[wot-tidbits]

Thank you for providing us with mental images for many secondary Aes Sedai who have never (or at least once-twice) been drawn before.

I spent a month of my life on this, so I kindly ask you to give an opinion about my work

[mrsdaqota]

Forgot to post it, Teslyn requested by @anira-naeg

[luxolin]

No spoilers please, but I really hope Pevara is as trustworthy as she appears because I am very excited to see a Red that isn't comically evil or stupid

[bestaessedai]

Best Aes Sedai: Round 1.5

Soooooo Myrelle and Liandrin have tied!

These ideas are sort of modeled around what @thelockedtombsexywoman did with their tie. Let me know what you all think!

[ancalagonthegolden]

Mat’s arc in book 9 is irritating (aside from a few good scenes).

I hate how Mat is humiliated in nearly every chapter. He blushes in every chapter due to people’s comments and laughter about his clothes or his relationship with Tylin. He compares his situation to that of a damane several times. The queen demands to have sex with him both day and night. She constantly punishes him (switching, pink ribbons). He is afraid of her and like damane enjoy at the same time some "gifts" she gives to him.

He enjoys bedding Tylin in the same way damane enjoys being petted on the head by a sul'dam. Like Teslyn says, she enjoys the candies that sul'dam give her not because she wants candies, but because she feels joy in pleasing sul'dam.

[normallyiminsane]

Just when I was beginning to warm up to Tuon, she does that to Teslyn! Of all peo - Teslyn! -_-

[alectology-archive]

while it’s important that rj understood how prolonged exposure to trauma would mess with you psychologically on various axes - mental, emotional, spiritual, physical - it’s also very significant that he put in the work to question and explore how people could go about healing and recovering from their experiences with a realistic attitude.

sometimes they don’t heal - they don’t understand that they need healing, dismiss their instincts, or manage to bury all the complicated emotions they’re feeling. it’s seen when mat suffers from a severe case of survivor’s guilt whenever he survives a battle, and this is observed more obviously when he escapes from ebou dar without managing to save all the windfinders; he also doesn’t have the vocabulary to express why the abuse he suffers at tylin’s hands feels wrong, and his cultural background and his tendency to lie to himself prevents him from examining why this is the case. rand is simply incapable of dealing with the sheer physical, mental and emotional stress he’s subjected to without a support system to back him up - support that he’s specifically unwilling to ask for because he doesn’t want to be put in a position of vulnerability just like mat and has a very unique relationship with the level of autonomy he’s afforded and the abuse he may be subjected to as a result of his madness - and resorts to unhealthy coping mechanisms and internalises traits that also serve as an allegory for ideologies that toxic masculinity directly feeds off of; he reacts to aes sedai very badly although he eventually unlearns that instinct; he’s extremely suicidal, and lews therin works as an indirect metaphor for depression. egwene feels the need to be in a position of power whenever approaching a certain relationship (be it romantic, platonic or otherwise) after her time as a damane, and is often uncomfortable with setting down her guard unless she trusts the people she’s working with; rj has a very complicated track with his depiction of corporal punishment but he also touches on how it enables people in power to take advantage of it to abuse the people under their control through egwene’s arc. rand specifically laments how the sort of stigma and alienation that male channelers face will never really go away because of the fear ingrained into popular belief, and that’s also a very accurate depiction of how certain mental illnesses are received by society.

but rj puts in the extra work to explore how people who have access to support systems and are on the receiving end of patience and compassion are able to get on the path to recovery. he has nynaeve & co deal with the problem of deprogramming egeanin, the sul’dam and damane who’re thoroughly brainwashed by the seanchan. juilin is able to help amathera recover by being very sympathetic to her situation and protecting her from difficult situations that could trigger her ptsd. rj specifically spends a significant amount of time letting joline, teslyn and edesina slowly encourage the seanchan channelers to entertain the idea of their ability not being a curse and to even train to control it at the white tower. the maidens are able to get a read on rand’s discomfort with the dark and small spaces post dumai’s wells and are kind enough to always leave a light on in the dark for him; they also push rand to take his meals and care for himself. the asha’man are explicitly recognised as a group which needs to unlearn some of the toxic ideas encoded in the founding principles that rand introduced. rand himself is recognised to be in dire need of help again in the latter half of the series, although we never got to see the culmination of that arc, unfortunately* - but I have a theory that his arc as a hero is tied very closely to his ability to recover from the various traumas he’s subjected to.

wheel of time takes a very realistic stance on mental health and ptsd. more significantly, it recognises that trauma might not necessarily bring about a positive transformation in a person. and that’s okay.

*cadsuane’s arrival is the only one I can’t get a clear read on, and feels so obviously doomed to disaster from the very beginning given how her personality clashes with rand’s and with her introduction with the intent of controlling rand and never respecting his opinions or autonomy - but given how she’s criticised by the narrative, I’m inclined to believe that min’s reading might have potentially been fulfilled in a bittersweet way as her readings often are. if rand learned how to embrace his humanity again, I can’t imagine that she would have ever had a part to play in it that involved compassion or understanding.

[helpitsaskingmequestions]

Continuing the process of niche petty nitpicks of Wheel of TIme  there were some narrative choices for the  7 Ajah that make them (imo) uncertain in a way that I think could have been smoothed out in a way to make more narrative sense in terms of motivation, size and narrative framing. 

Reds - 

The Reds at least have a clear purpose in and out of the narrative as Aes Sedai that hunt male channelers & an antagonistic force against Moraine (Blue) and Rand (Male channeler). They’re problems largely come in how the text largely frames them as Narrative Heels but for Pevara & to some extent Teslyn and Silviana, all of whom are introduced fairly late. Even then, the Reds are largely characterised as 90s misandrists,n keeping with Alanna’s framing of the Reds as ‘hating men’ because that's what should define a group of women, how they relate to men. Then comes the size of the Reds - it’s been noted that there are less people who can channel being discovered, in part due to the Vileness and the culling of men who can channel by the Reds (and also Cansaune) yet the Reds are the largest Ajah. That the Reds have the strongest numbers is imo a very blunt object solution to 1) making the Blue’s more like an underdog and 2) have a large ground for Black Ajah. 

Changes that I think would have made the Reds more palatable from a worldbuild perspective 

Expand the purpose - the show did this, effectively making the Reds magic cops, which provides a more concrete cause for Reds to devote themselves to - hunting wayward Aes Sedai, men who can channel and Dark Friends. It would also help explain why there are so many Black Ajah in the Red - what better way to hide from the cops than to Be the cops?

Let them have Warders - there was no reason for them not to have warders, female or male or otherwise. 

Shrink their size - have the Reds be in the middle of the pack in terms of numbers, or else have them have a high casualty/fail rate that can be explained by difficult weaves & Black Ajah sisters etc. There is no logical reason for them to be that big. 

I mean ⅕ of all Aes Sedai Robert?

Don’t define them by ‘hating men’. Robert I am in your walls

Non-antagonist Reds early on - whether Pevara or Teslyn, just some calmer Reds, who do genuinely want to Hunt Dark-friends. Use the Wonder Girls time in the White Tower not just as a box tick, explore the Ajahs more.  

Show - on page - what a male channel who succumbed to the Taint looks like. The books give (imo) hints describing the Breaking but its not seen on page & I feel that this concrete example of why male channellers are cut off from the Source, why the Reds hunt them, and why people fear Rand/male channelers would be important considering we get a lot of on page stuff (Logain, Thom re his nephew) about the pain of gentling male channelers

Browns 

Ah the Browns. Clean direct purpose. Narrative letting them fulfil that function. Ajah of Verin, the Best Character in Wheel of Time (no arguments to be taken on this point. I am simply Correct). I find very little to be changed with the Browns, though I do think that there should have been an exploratory division if this is the Ajah of knowledge. 

Also not entirely certain why the White/Grey/see Ajah colours post is separate from the Brown beyond the fact RJ was a physics major 

Best Ajah - should have had an Indiana Jones Brown/Orange sister finding Age of Legends stuff

That the Browns get warders makes the fact the Reds, a physical division actively fighting people, not having Warders more insane. Robert WHY

Should have schools/ travelling schools as well 

Why no Browns in Rand’s nerd school Robert?

Yellow

Much like the Brown, a wonderfully defined Ajah, with a clear purpose in and out of universe.

Let them be nicer to Nynaeve

Black Yellows should have been allowed to go full Dr Moreau

Imagine fresh monsters

Green

The Green Ajah - the Battle Ajah. imo Robert Jordan’s favourite Ajah considering 2 out of 3 of the Wondergirls chose the Green (even though Egg should have been Ajahless its fine I’m calm so Calm) and the Green get to ‘love men’ because as the narrative has made clear, how these groups of women from this administrative magical institution feel about Men is what is important. Also a fun experiment - check to see what colours get positive associations in the books - generally it’s blue, green and white (listed as Lan’s favourite colours for instance). The Greens are also an unfortunate victim of the Gender Stuff in WoT- the Battle Ajah don’t get weapons, but they can have lots of Men who can have weapons. Because they Love Men. 

Changes

Let them have weapons Robert ffs 

Active preparation for the Last Battle; should have the third most number of advisors/relationships in nations as Greys(Purples) and Blues. 

Why are they ignoring the Borderlands? This is their Job 

I think the show made a good case for the Greens and the Reds going to nab Logain

So why are the Greens more allied with the Blues than the Reds - other than Author Caveat

Elayne and Egwene shouldn’t have been Green. Neither should Cadsuane.

More Black sisters in the Green - if the Green are going to be fighting in the last battle it should be chock full of enemy agents  

Blue

What do the Blue do? They Hunt After Causes - but what does the Mean? No Really what does it mean, apart from being Vague and because RJ couldn’t say ‘they’re the Good ajah’ even though they only ‘like men’. Other than their complete lack of purpose, the Blues get a good history, a good selection of the Good/Great (Moraine) to the bad (Sheriam). The Show made a good change in making the Blue’s the spies of the White Tower, giving them a quasi opposing ideological approach to the head-first reds, and making the Alliance of Greens and Blues make more sense considering how much they would need to work together. 

If Egg must have an Ajah she should have been Blue 

The fact that blues removed the 2 Red Amyrlin’s, there should have been more arguments amongst the Ajah’s about how justified they were/the justice of that 

Lean into the Reds being Cops and Blues being spies/activist/journalists/internal affairs with a habit of exposing/attempting to expose other sister’s misbehaviour 

Have Blue sisters attempting to uncover the Vileness in a way that actually sets it up as a mystery to be solved, not another plot thread among thousands

I have a Bee in my Bonnet about the Vileness  if you couldn’t tell 

Make the Blues less of an protagonist situation - oh they have the second smallest numbers But the Most Amyrlins and a lot of influence because they’re the opposite of the Reds 

Grey/Purple Ajah 

They have purpose If only the narrative would let them fulfil that purpose. Instead Elaida is a Red so political advisors can be any colour so why?

Also why are they always bad at their jobs

Should have been the largest Ajah change my mind 

White/Grey Ajah 

SO

I understand they have a purpose 

I just don’t understand why/how it is different to the Brown’s search for knowledge 

They’re apparently philosophers as well so it's not a STE(M) v Arts situation

Why Robert 

You didn’t have the Seven Ajahs have the Seven colours why are they Here? 

Because Alviarin being White and the Head Black was a fun twist? 

You did that colour twist with Lanfear already 

What this Ajah needed was a major character who wasn’t Black

Like Give Rand an advisor who is this Ajah during his spiral 

Or Give Egg some prominent sisters of this Ajah? 

Have their theoretical magic that they do have an impact

Or give them the prophecies / religious theorisation - aka a reason for them to be in this story at all 

Black Ajah

There is no Black Ajah what are you talking about 

[amemoryofwot]

Ah hah you’ve activated my special interest! I would argue the coup is actually Alviarin’s (and Mesaana’s) doing way more than Elaida’s, who was just a convenient, covetous figurehead. Alviarin was the one who approached Elaida first after all, plus the only Black Ajah member who knew all the other members.

Basically the non Black sitters who voted to depose Siuan were particularly rebellious or cantankerous to start, and eventually most of them came to regret their decision to support Elaida. There were only four of them that were swayed, out of 14 non Red non Black sitters total. The Reds of course supported her because of the Ajah alignment, although it is unfortunate because Pevara and Teslyn are shown to be quite reasonable in the later books. The four black Sitters made up the rest of the split.

The Black did know the Dragon had been reborn from Gitara’s Foretelling, which is why they undertook the Vileness, killing many Aes Sedai and gentling any man they could find without trial.

For the Shadow this is like the BEST time to overthrow a world leader and install a puppet

[hxans]

A hero of the bloody horn, I love that so much for Uno. I hope fans who were big mad about his death are satisfied.

It is morning, and my thoughts may be disjointed, but ahh, I really loved the finale and I wanna watch it all again because I'm sure I missed stuff because I was too busy flailing.

Obviously, as a Mat fangirl, I loved him in this episode. We got to see him be clever! He had his moment, the desperation to blow the horn, and then we find out he is a hero of the horn, I love that for him! "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain" HE SAID THE THING ahhhhhhh omg it was beautiful.

And then he fucked up, but it was fated and also not his fault and it delivers great angsty moments for us and a meet-cute for Rand and Elayne so we can't be mad.

Also, I don't know if it's their intent, but I do hope they're sort of setting us up to have Padain Fain be Mat's biggest antagonist aside from the Forsaken, like Dain/whitecloaks will be Perrin's. It would make their eventual confrontation at TLB make more sense if, like, they've been cat and mousing each other across the continent for a while there. Especially with that dagger connection.

Also, is Mat going to lose the dagger again? Or will it be entrusted to Aes Sedai and Fain nicks it again, idk. I do absolutely love baby's first ashandarei, but I hope we'll still get the upgraded one from Rhuidean (and everything else he gets there).

Poor Egwene getting her braid cut! That was an unexpected bit of violence, but I also love that she still had to be threatened into doing what Renna commanded. And how she went from being marginally okay with wreaking violence on whitecloaks to horrified at civilians caught in the crossfire and literally spitting the dummy. And I know the books emphasize like, be the bigger person Ewgene and let Renna (& Seta) face the justice of being discovered by their fellows, but yeah that scene was incredibly satisfying anyway.

It does make me wonder for future storylines, having two of the three sul'dam that were used getting killed off, will we still get Bethamin, or will that be cut, idk. Maybe they will cut Edesina, Joline and Teslyn to just one of them.

Also, uhhh, Nynaeve in sul'damn get up and being full of wrath awoke things in me that has me feeling less straight than I thought I was. Um. (r.i.p. tumblr user mogehdien I can only imagine how much you're not coping with that plus the epilogue)

I didn't even catch about Lanfear blasting Moiraine through a doorway until others noted it, but that was a beautiful touch.

I very much liked how the beginning of the season talked about how separated they're weakened, together they form a shield wall, and how true that showed in the final confrontation.

Rand vs. Turak had me cackling. Boy was like, we ain't got no time for that and shot him.

Are we for sure that Suroth is dead? I saw bodies hitting the water but there's always the possibility someone could retrieve her and she was not as dead as we thought...

Also, Moghedien, oh she looks so fun. I love her already.

I wonder if her warning Lanfear off Rand will inspire a certain disguise? Hiding not only from him but them while trying to keep an eye on things.

[highladyluck]

These Are Jokes But I'm Serious About Them

Part 4 of my Reference Posts series! A lot of my meta comes from overthinking a joke I or someone else made. So here's a bunch of my humor posts! Categories:

Tuon

Mat

Mat/Tuon

Crackships

Other Characters

The Forsaken

The Seanchan

Collaborative Threads

Other

Tuon https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/718751918372093952 rip to marath'damane but I'm different

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/728450353532731392 Tuon expected more T&A from this venue

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/644042651297054720/gaslight-you-would-be-much-happier-with-us gaslight gatekeep girlboss Tuon

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/648671292772548608/wheel-of-time-characters-with-really-bad-vibes-an Bad Vibes

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/641321330898305024/tuon-athaem-kore-paendrag-learned-how-to-have tuon worked hard for that Resting Bitch Face

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/680980440022155264/tuon-i-can-accept-fantasy-racism-analogue-but she draws the line at deadnaming

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/648536558392262656 Every day I yearn to let Tuon loose in Sindhol

Mat https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/645645666073329664/rand-learns-about-duty-perrin-learns-about-duty Mat learns about consequences

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/735067522906406912/how-different-characters-see-the-horn-of-valere horny jail

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/634319567943057408/highladyluck-cant-stop-wont-stop-making-memes Matrim's hierarchy of needs

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/628837621924347904/i-was-listening-to-everybodyhatesrand-and-this slaps roof of car meme

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/648758256815259648 that's Semirhage, Mat

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/729741390014201856/mat-cauthon-stays-winning which ta'veren is most likely to rescue you

https://www.tumblr.com/matgpt/734538049234599936/this-is-a-joke-i-highladyluck-am-taking-too

^^^@matgpt

Mat/Tuon https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/654655938337341440/average-wheel-of-time-character-weddings-take matrimony cauthon is an outlier adn should not have been counted

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/719124935156596736 is this peak unselfawareness?

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/689981331323699200/i-am-sick-of-people-saying-tuon-is-not-a-good Fun date activities

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/687603938369929216 Mat stop wiping food grease on your coat challenge

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/681188672884932608/readers-reacting-to-mats-found-family-former Readers react to Mat's Found Family

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/643572113966596096/mats-type-is-sharp-powerful-and-a-constant Mat’s type (seed of Knife Wife Theory)

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/724752030229479424/tuon-is-a-possum-and-mat-is-a-raccoon-and-they-can she plays dead, he steals shit: mat/tuon is possum/raccoon

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/652015329573273600/have-a-care-with-joline-teslyn-said-suddenly Please don't take my man, Joline

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/648129393534894080/luckily-she-did-not-insist-that-he-repeat-the Mat and Tuon's 'we hate books' moments

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/644044503126343680/manipulate-mat-scoured-his-mind-for-a-way-to-keep manipulate mansplain malewife Mat Cauthon

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/680558204205318144/not-to-belabor-the-point-but-its-literally-her "war criminal pussy got me acting unwise" - Tuon

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/660317779262603264/highladyluck-i-had-this-thought-at-4-am-so-youll Selkie Tuon

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/635527252787052544/wheel-of-time-playlist Mat Cauthon/Tuon Paendrag: The Soundtrack

Crackships https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/644251995646148608/i-normally-just-skim-all-the-mat-povs-in-the my obsession with Mat/Lanfear started here

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/647718286825521152/this-blog-has-decided-to-just-accept-the Mat/Lanfear: why it's great

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/686188130139815936/will-you-go-to-prom-with-me-i-dont-see-that-i Mat/Lanfear: the promposal

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/642764801123270657/new-crackship-dropped-lanfearmachin-shin-heres Lanfear/Machin Shin

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2491589/1/Reversed-PolarityLanfear/Galad

Lanfear/Galad

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/711714475702681600/how-egwene-feels-about-tuon-one-part-biting-and Tuon/Egwene: "this better not awaken anything in me"

Other Characters https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/683956447513591808 https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/677988150318137345/gawyn-died-doing-what-he-loved-mistakes-egwene https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/650073894289637376/im-not-saying-im-happy-about-egwene-alveres https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/674561140557299712/its-because-shes-guinevere Egwene's taste in men is bad for a reason

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/644957397525381120/gaslight-she-was-accepted-yet-had-pretended-to gaslight gatekeep girlboss Egwene

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/666300626416943104/wot-on-prime WoT on Prime trailer characterizations

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/657900986823786496/the-fires-of-heaven-chapter-3-rand-the-other Rand’s haunted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43838274 Filk: Al'Thor by Asha'mouth (All-Star by Smash Mouth)

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/649744699383578625/holding-out-for-a-myrddraal Filk: Holding Out For A Myrddraal (Holding Out For A Hero from Narg's POV)

The Forsaken https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/633004240710795264/filk-forsaken-piano-man Filk: Forsaken Piano Man

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/692703927546822656/made-a-silly-forsaken-playlist-on-a-whim-enjoy Forsaken Mixtape

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/669555859951665152/how-all-the-forsaken-react-to-their-votive How the Forsaken react to their votive statuettes

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/646632938617913344/gonna-die-on-this-incorrect-hill-nakomi-is Nakomi is Lanfear (DO NOT TELL ME THE REAL ANSWER I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW)

The Seanchan https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/713689734793297920/robert-jordan-was-homophobic-when-he-gave-all-the why must the people with the gay haircuts be evil

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/737369117802266624 horrible Seanchan step pyramid my beloved

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/730402655921438720/it-is-a-cardinal-rule-of-wot-that-if-you-try-to The ocean is not a garbage disposal

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/707377199050801152/queenofmalkier-thank-you-for-reminding-me-about I just want to ride a weird beastie

Collaborative Threads

https://www.tumblr.com/gunkreads/651012677526798337/i-had-time-to-make-this-one-these-are-just-who Is every woman in WoT the same? No. Are they all girlboss? Yes.

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/676001137418272768/elayne-is-absolutely-that-friend-who-would-help WoT Hide The Body Thread (You'll want to go through all the reblogs on these, the point is that multiple people took my prompt and ran with it)

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/693617346414362624/ways-mat-cauthon-is-like-gollum-cursed-magic Gollum comparisons thread (You'll want to go through all the reblogs on these, the point is that multiple people took my prompt and ran with it)

Other https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/649985056414334976/mat-rand-perrin-nynaeve Wheel of Time characters as my collage art

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/670515289962774528/998-ne-wisdom-conference 998 NE Wisdom Conference

https://highladyluck.tumblr.com/post/644508952623792128/how-do-you-go-from-our-holier-than-thou-neighbors Be careful or you'll stain the Age Lace

https://www.tumblr.com/highladyluck/731074582215294976/unpopular-opinion-the-sharom-is-incredibly-stupid The Sharom is Not Safe For Work (for more details see gunk's Age of Legends OSHA trilogy)

[anira-naeg]

Different sisters. Part 1

[birgittesilverbae]

who's your favorite wot character?

primary characters

1. Egwene has been my best girl for almost twenty years

2. Elayne

3. Rand

secondary characters

1. Siuan

2. Aviendha

tertiary characters

1. Birgitte

2. Egeanin

3. Verin

4. Mesaana

5. Teslyn

6. Bashere

[cannoli-reader]

It's not like he doesn't deserve it:

"They do need friends, Master Cauthon, as do you...They are on dangerous ground and blind to what lies beneath their feet...telling them to abandon this nonsense before it is too late. Foolish children who go too far can find themselves punished..." Mat wanted to back away...Instead he put on his most insolent grin. It had always landed him in trouble back home, but it seemed appropriate. "They see pretty well, I'd say." Nynaeve badly needed to be snatched down a peg or six, and Elayne even more, but he was not about to stand by and listen to this woman talk Nynaeve down. If that meant defending Elayne too, so be it. "Maybe you should abandon your nonsense."

-- A Crown of Swords, ch 16, A Touch on the Cheek

This is a situation where Mat loses nothing by nodding agreeably and saying "Yes, Aes Sedai, I agree, I will absolutely tell them that, don't you worry," and even do it, knowing it's not going to actually stop them or hurt them to pass on what Teslyn and Joline say. But you don't get to insult or belittle someone from the Two Rivers in front of Mat Cauthon.

It's not the first time either. The man who refused to bow to Siuan in Fal Dara, when he was surrounded by a troop of Shienaran soldiers and their lord doing so, knelt to Egwene and hailed her as "Mother" just the book before the above encounter.

...they were all ignoring the woman they had named Amyrlin. Egwene might as well have been alone; she looked alone. Knowing her, she was trying very hard to be what they had named her, and they let her walk alone, with everybody watching. To the Pit of Doom with them, if they think they can treat a Two Rivers woman that way, he thought grimly.

-- Lord of Chaos, ch 44 The Color of Trust

And bear in mind, "knowing Egwene" does not mean Mat is all that thrilled about the knowledge thereof. The book before this, he and Rand mention her loyalties seem to be more to her Aes Sedai and Wise One mentors, with Mat saying she's left the Two Rivers further behind and regrets it less than either of them. Mat and Rand know Egwene, and they are not happy about the choices they know she made, but she's still a Two Rivers friend, even if she no longer extends that loyalty reciprocally.

Hell, the whole reason Mat is in place for any of the events referenced in these posts is because Rand thought Egwene might be in trouble and sent Mat and the whole Band, primarily to get Elayne, but the safe extraction of Egwene is no less a priority. Egwene also comments that Mat seems to be willing to respect her wish to stay in Salidar, but not Elayne's, citing a promise he made to Rand. Egwene & Nynaeve are Two Rivers women. They want to stay with this lunatic cause, that's their choice. But Mat promised a friend from the Two Rivers to get Elayne safely to Caemlyn and that's what he's going to do if he has to fight the whole Salidar faction and Gareth Bryne's army. And while protecting her and Aviendha from each other, because he can see Rand cares about both of them.

And even before we were allowed into his head, we had instances like Mat, despite being possessed by the Shadar Logoth dagger, protecting Rand during his channeling illness and procuring food and shelter for him. Despite his evil-induced paranoia and desire to kill "Shiaine" when she tries to stab him, he lets Rand talk him out of it. When Perrin comes to the realization that he can help the pursuit of Fain's gang and the Horn & dagger, but it will mean accepting the ability he fears, his wolf-powers, his distress shows on his face, and Mat, despite being preoccupied with the fact that his life depends on retrieving a dagger they now have no way to track, notices Perrin's expression and offers to make him an herbal remedy. Outside of Falme, at the weakest he has been so far in the series, when Rand tells him that he should go ahead with Verin to get Healed, instead of returning to the town to look for Egwene, because he can't afford to waste any time, Mat, with his hands shaking from his infirmity insists "Saving Egwene isn't wasting time."

"Two Rivers Folk" is the best relationship in the series.

I would usually consider myself Mat Cauthon’s #1 defender and fan but then I remember Rand exists and I realize I’m a distant second place.

Tuon told him about how Mat literally kidnapped her and he straight up went “oh well, you probably deserved it. I’m sure he had a reason.”

Rand looks at Mat and goes “he’s just a silly little fella :)” and ignores all his crimes. Mat could stab someone out of nowhere and Rand’s first question would be “Mat! Are you hurt?” And the second “what did that guy do to you?”

[luxolin]

I only just met Teslyn but my god she's so my type that it feels Robert made her specifically for me

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Guarded by the SEAL BY Amy Gamet

A  H.E.R.O. Force Novel

 Choices…sometimes we choose and sometimes someone else chooses for us…

Living with the aftermath of the choice is not always easy but…

We can’t go back in time and choose differently and…

If given the option to do so…would we?

 This was a book that took me away and let me forget my life as I stepped into the tense situation Wyatt, Teslyn and Ivy faced in this story.

 What I liked:

*  Teslyn: survivor, difficult backstory, finally free and thriving, caring, supportive, may have PTSD, protective, strong, responsible

*  Wyatt: ex-Navy SEAL, works with H.E.R.O. Force, team player, strong, lethal, protective, dependable, had issues with his father

*  Ivy: five years old, living in a difficult situation, suddenly orphaned, on the run with her sister Teslyn, adds to the story

* That the outcome of choices made can have a huge impact on lives and the fallout can be huge

* The way Teslyn stepped up to take care of Ivy

* The chemistry between Wyatt and Teslyn, Wyatt’s patience, and the way the two seemed to want what was best for the other

* Seeing some of the H.E.R.O. team and also the wisdom Ghost shared with Wyatt near the end of the story

* The mystery solved regarding who was behind the murder of the mother of Teslyn and Ivy

 What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Knowing that the homelife and mothering Ivy and Teslyn grew up in is all too common in real life

 Did I enjoy this book – yes

Would I read more in this series – definitely

 Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC – this is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

    BLURB

 Wyatt agrees to help a woman in jeopardy, not knowing how dire the consequences of that choice would be...   Teslyn McGregor had been estranged from her mother for years when a sudden phone call and a plea for help set a disaster in motion. I’m scared, Tessie. Promise you’ll take care of Ivy if anything happens to me. Teslyn races across two states, her entire world exploding when she finds her mother’s home ablaze and her terrified five-year-old sister hiding nearby. She calls the only person she believes could help — her friend Rayne’s boyfriend, Ghost — but he’s on a mission and asks a friend to help in his place. Former Navy SEAL Wyatt Sorensen should be on a HERO Force mission hunting down a notorious criminal in the mountains of Colorado. Instead, he’s driving across two states to help a woman he’s never met, her panicked voice on the other end of the line summoning him simply: Ghost said you would help me. Ghost. A Delta Force soldier, more like a brother to Wyatt than a friend. If Ghost sent this woman to him, he would do everything in his power to protect her. Wyatt sends a teammate to Colorado in his place and meets the woman at a safe house, but her Jeep matches the plate number on the AMBER alert he passed on the highway, and she’s carrying a little girl who seems uncomfortable in her care. How can he trust this stranger who appears to be guilty of kidnapping, and is wanted for arson to boot? Teslyn must convince Wyatt of her innocence, even with the forces of evil in hot pursuit. Sparks fly between them as they unravel the web of lies surrounding Ivy, but when the HERO Force mission in Colorado goes horribly awry, can Wyatt forgive himself for coming to Teslyn’s aid and sending a teammate in his place?