#dena (wot)

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 26: Discord

Gather around everyone and I'll tell you a tale. It's a tale of my reactions to someone else telling me a different story in book form. Many book form, to be technical. And I already know the story, so my reactions will be very spoilery for all the books. Every book. If that's gonna be a problem, plug your ears or something I guess.

This chapter has a harp icon because it's Thom time! I'm as happy as Rand is to see him.

Rand, I may have been too hasty in leaving Stedding Shangtai the way I did. When I do go home, I may be in a great deal of trouble.

Not sure why you couldn't just lie about being a young Ogier from Saldaea or something, Loial. You all can't keep that close a set of tabs on each other. Or is the unbearded look a dead giveaway?

When they came pounding through the common room, Rand winked at the innkeeper, then laughed at his startled look. Let him think I’m off to play his bloody Great Game. Let him think what he wants. Thom’s alive.

What is it about needing to keep a low profile in inns that makes Rand so reckless? First Baerlon and his channeling sickness, now this when he doesn't even have that excuse.

The innkeeper was a woman with hair as white as Thom’s, and sharp eyes that studied Loial as well as Rand.

Innkeeper size, and therefore loyalty, uncertain.

The slender woman sitting cross-legged on the bed with her skirts tucked under her was keeping six colored balls spinning in a wheel between her hands.

Dena meanwhile has to be small so that Jordan can fit her into the fridge more easily.

“I have never heard of a woman gleeman,” Loial said.

And this frankly makes Dena's fridging all the more exhausting. Why are there no gleegals anyway? Surely there'd be a good source: women who go to the Tower to become Aes Sedai and then get put out again when it's clear they're not worthy but who don't want to go back home now that they've tasted the world. Especially since this world seems to be pretty low on sex work, you'd think that gals who don't have much else in the realm of prospects would pick up the job.

But also, it's infuriating that Dena is intro'd in this way and then killed off and then we never have any other woman who tries to take up the mantle later. One can hardly blame Thom for being in a hurry to pick up a lady apprentice given what happens to Dena and the events of the next few months, but by the time he ended up in Ebou Dar it should have been going again. It's a wasted opportunity.

They hang a scrap of painted canvas behind them, supposed to make the audience believe these fools are in Matuchin Hall, or the high passes of the Mountains of Dhoom. I make the listener see every banner, smell every battle, feel every emotion. I make them believe they are Gaidal Cain. Seaghan will have his hall torn down around his ears if he puts this lot on to follow me.

And here's another apparent revolution in the world's culture that doesn't seem to go anywhere. Theater exists; there's a play held in Andor much later, but apparently Gleemen will stay the preferred style for now. I suppose after the circus it's probably for the best we didn't pick up a subplot of players.

“She listens to a tale once—once only, mind!—and she has it right, not just the words, but every nuance, every rhythm. She has a fine hand on the harp, and she played the flute better the first time she picked it up than you ever did.”

Yes yes, we all know she's too pure for this sinful Earth.

She’ll be court-bard to a king or a queen before she’s done.

Okay but for real Thom, there's only so many monarchs in the world and I doubt many more nobles besides their immediate subordinates could afford court-bards so what are all the women in the world who aren't mind-bogglingly talented supposed to do in the performance arts? They can't all just give up their dreams and move on. Why are they absent?

“Your clumsy sheepherder’s fingers were never meant for the harp.”

There is something very sad in Rand not being meant for the sophisticated forms of art (and science) that he'd really rather be a part of than conquering.

There is even a lord in the city has what he claims is the Horn locked up inside his manor. He says it’s a treasure handed down in his House since the Breaking.

You know, I'm willing to believe that this lord really does have a 3,500 year old horn in his basement. Obviously not a magic one, but still. Stranger things have happened.

“Moiraine says it’s the Horn,” Rand said. Thom’s mirth was cut short.

Thom takes Moiraine as gospel even now.

“I don’t suppose you are talking about simply riding to Shienar and handing the Horn to—who?—the King? Why Shienar? The legends all tie the Horn to Illian.”

I suppose this must be one of those myths that grew in the telling. That or there was some confusion with a Foretelling and the sea that the Horn gets tossed into is off of Illian's coast.

“Thom,” he said at last, “are there any books that have The Karaethon Cycle in them?” Easier to call it that than the Prophecies of the Dragon. “In the great libraries,” Thom said slowly. “Any number of translations, and even in the Old Tongue, here and there.”

Thom of course has to answer slowly because Rand's question has given him a heart attack and he needs to take deep breaths. This might well be one of the more terrifying moments of Thom's life, having a young boy taken from his home on suspicion of channeling asking about the Prophecies while waving the sign of their imminent fulfillment around. Or at least this would be the case if Thom was taking it at all seriously (he's not, not yet).

For a moment, Rand could only gape at him, and when he could speak, his voice was unsteady. “The sword makes five. Hilt, scabbard, and blade.” He turned his hand down on the table, hiding the brand on his palm. For the first time since Selene’s salve had done its work, he could feel it. Not hurting, but he knew it was there.

Moiraine of course thought she was fulfilling prophecy but as Rand points out the coat counts for nothing, though funnily enough the sword and the coat are echoes of the later, true markings: the sword setting Rand on his path away from home and the coat being Moiraine naming him among the candidates as the real deal.

Thom's got to be happy Rand's denying it though.

I suspect Aes Sedai would want to make events fit the Prophecies as closely as they can. Dying somewhere in the Blasted Lands would be a high price to pay for going along with them.

Thom's a very kind mentor for actually telling Rand straight out what the price of being the Dragon is and suggesting that if he's just doing it for the Aes Sedai that it's time to do something.

“Then why ask about the Prophecies? Why send the Ogier out of the room?”

One of the problems of being an expert player of the Great Game is that when a novice shows up and starts blundering around, you're going to mistake his idiotic moves for strategic ones. Thom correctly identifies Rand's got an ulterior motive for his behavior and skips right past the obvious, simple, and true answer in favor of a conspiracy theory.

“I’ve learned a few things since we parted, Thom. They will come for whoever blows the Horn, even a Darkfriend.”

I'm not sure you've learned that at all Rand, and I suppose we should have taken Thom not knowing that detail as warning enough that it wasn't true.

“Owyn held it off almost three years. He never hurt anyone. He didn’t use the Power unless he had to, and then only to help his village. He. . . .” Thom threw up his hands.

The taint on saidin was an absolutely masterful counterstroke if you think about it. The perfect way for the divisive paranoia of the Shadow to worm its way into the minds of Light aligned individuals. Thom knows that Owyn was a danger to society but he still tries to make excuses out of love.

If Moiraine’s let you go, then you are well out of it.

While Rand outplays Thom through naivety, Moiraine outflanks him legitimately.

“A clean break is best, boy. If you’re always coming around, even if you never mention it, I won’t be able to get the Horn out of my head. And I won’t be tangled in it. I won’t.”

A cruel move by Thom, but one can hardly blame an old man for trying to refuse the call. One can blame the Wheel for how refusing the call plays out for him though.

Ruefully, he realized he was considering whether to tell Zera the truth or let her continue thinking as she did. All it takes is to think about the Great Game, and I start playing it.

Politics as a whole are a rather infectious way of corrupting the Light too, and the fools do it to themselves. It's no wonder part of Rand's coming is resetting the whole damn board on the players.

Coat or no coat, Rand was still only a shepherd. If he had been more, if he had been what Thom once suspected—a man who could channel—neither Moiraine nor any other Aes Sedai would ever have let him walk away ungentled.

Frankly, I think Thom's very much hiding in denial here like Rand does. He has to know that the facts don't add up in any way that's good but he pretends he can send Rand away and not have to worry about it.

Ah well. We have to part ways here too. See you next chapter!

[iviarellereads]

The Great Hunt, Chapter 26 - Discord

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Harp icon) In which I try not to think about something any harder than I strictly have to.

PERSPECTIVE: Rand hurries back to his rooms upstairs at the Dragonwall inn. Loial and Hurin pop their heads in from the adjoining room and ask what's happened. Rand says Thom is alive, and Loial recognizes the name. Rand invites Loial to go meet him, and Loial declines politely. He doesn't want to meet any other Ogier who might know he ran away from home. Hurin offers to watch the Horn, the common room was full of people just wanting to pump him for information about Rand anyway. Rand finally drags Loial out, winking at Cuale as he leaves.

They find Thom's inn without problem, and the innkeeper says yes, his room is on the upper floor. Dena will likely let you in. They head up, and a feminine voice says to open the door themselves. Inside, a young woman, not much older than Rand, is juggling six balls. She asks who they are and what their business is. Rand says he's come back to return Thom's harp and flute, and to visit. He hasn't seen him in a very long time. She confirms that she's Dena, and they can wait here, but she must practice. She's going to be the first woman gleeman.(1)

Rand is just about to say he should wait downstairs when Thom enters, and greets Dena with a dramatic, and very long, kiss, to the point where Rand starts to wonder if he should leave just before they cut off.(2)

Thom starts complaining about the owner of the performance hall hiring "players", who put a scrap of painted fabric behind them and pretend to be the heroes of the songs. He, Thom Merrilin, makes you see every banner, smell every battle, feel every emotion, makes you believe you ARE the hero! The players are a cheap trick, and they were put on the stage right after him. It's an insult!(3)

Dena finally gestures to Rand and Loial, and Thom gives her some coin and tells her to get out for a while, her knives are done, she should go pick them up. After she leaves, Thom says she'll be a bard one day. But, they have the instruments? Rand hands them over, and the cloak. He explains how he used the flute to earn his rooms and meals. Thom knows, he stopped at some of the same inns and had to make do with juggling and simple spoken stories without his harp.

Rand asks Thom if he still wanted to be part of the Great Hunt, for real, to make new stories about it. Loial makes to ask Rand if he's sure, but Rand shushes him. Thom is skeptical of what Rand is implying. It would depend on what part he'd play, and of course they'd never make it into the stories without having been in Illian for the blessing… Rand tells him straight out that they have the Horn, and Thom laughs in his face, guffaws, even unto aftershocks of laughter. He stops laughing at once when Rand says Moiraine said it was the real Horn. Well, at least they had the sense to keep it secret. Half the world would be on edge waiting to take it from them if they'd said anything at the gate. They have kept it secret, and Rand needs a friend who knows the world, to help him get it back to Fal Dara without losing it again.

Thom thinks about the Last Battle, and what it will mean. The grain barges sustain this city, stop those for just a week and the people will revolt. The nobles will think Tarmon Gai'don is just a ploy in the Game. No, he won't go. Rand asks Loial to leave them alone for a bit, and Loial goes to learn the local dice game he saw downstairs. Rand hesitates, then asks Thom if he has any books with him about the Karaethon Cycle, trying to avoid calling it the Prophecies of the Dragon.

“In the great libraries,” Thom said slowly. “Any number of translations, and even in the Old Tongue, here and there.” Rand started to ask if there was any way for him to find one, but the gleeman went on. “The Old Tongue has music in it, but too many even of the nobles are impatient with listening to it these days. Nobles are all expected to know the Old Tongue, but many only learn enough to impress people who don’t. Translations don’t have the same sound, unless they’re in High Chant, and sometimes that changes meanings even more than most translations. There is one verse in the Cycle—it doesn’t scan well, translated word for word, but there’s no meaning lost—that goes like this. “Twice and twice shall he be marked, twice to live, and twice to die. Once the heron, to set his path. Twice the heron, to name him true. Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost. Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay.” He reached out and touched the herons embroidered on Rand’s high collar.

Rand protests that the sword makes five, with the hilt, scabbard, and blade. And he doesn't mention the one burned into his hand from that sword. Thom agrees that they do, then mentions another part of the prophecy.

“Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed. Once for mourning, once for birth. Red on black, the Dragon’s blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul. In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow.”(4)

Thom doesn't see how a day could dawn twice, but so much of the prophecies don't make sense. The Stone of Tear can't fall until the Dragon holds Callandor, but the Sword That Cannot Be Touched is in the heart of the Stone, so how can he wield it first? He muses that Aes Sedai would want to fit the prophecies as closely as possible regardless. Dying would be a high price to pay for going along with them.

Rand says no Aes Sedai are using him for anything, and there are none with him now. He won't be used by them, he wants nothing to do with Aes Sedai, false Dragons, the Power, or... Thom catches that and they talk about about his nephew, Owyn. He held off the madness for three years, but in the end, he was starting to go mad.(5) Thom only helped Rand because there was Aes Sedai involvement in his situation before. He's earning more here than he has in any village, Dena seems to really love him and he's surprised enough to love her back. Why would he leave all that to go deal with Darkfriends and Trollocs? The Horn of Valere is tempting, but not that tempting.

Thom picks up the flute case and presents it to Rand, saying he might need to earn his keep again, someday. Rand tries to say what inn he's staying at, but Thom cuts him off. A clean break is best, or he'll never get the Horn out of his head. Rand leaves.

PERSPECTIVE: Thom is accused of playing the Game of Houses again by Zera, the innkeeper. She doesn't believe Thom when he says the boy is a shepherd from the Two Rivers, but she does say the Game has gotten much more dangerous in recent years. There are even murders for it. Thom should stop performing at so many lords' manors, they'll use him as soon as they can figure out how. She suggests he settle down, marry Dena, forget Daes Dae'mar. He thanks Zera for the advice, but knows he could never burden Dena with such an old husband. And she'd never be a bard with his past following her. He asks Zera to leave him to prepare for that night's performance.

She gave him a snort and a shake of her head and banged the door shut behind her. Thom drummed his fingers on the table. Coat or no coat, Rand was still only a shepherd. If he had been more, if he had been what Thom once suspected—a man who could channel—neither Moiraine nor any other Aes Sedai would ever have let him walk away ungentled. Horn or no Horn, the boy was only a shepherd. “He is out of it,” he said aloud, “and so am I.”(6)

=====

(1) And on the first read, you'd think that would be where the "I don't want to think about this too hard" would end. Alas. We have finished the chapter. On the subject of JUST this, surely if this world were as matriarchal as RJ seems to have wanted to imply it is, there'd be no gendering of professions… but we haven't seen a single woman soldiering except for the Aiel, and now we learn barding is also gender locked? Right. (2) If Rand is close to 20, Dena could be anywhere from 20 to 25, and on the one hand that's a perfectly acceptable age to make your own choices about who to spend your time with, even a man who's at least 60. But, this is part of a pattern. Look at Lan, who must be at least 45 or 50, and Nynaeve, at 25. Recall that Thom was having an affair with Morgase around the time Taringail was killed, Taringail who was also much Moiraine's senior, having been married to the previous daughter-heir before her, and that was when Moiraine was perhaps 25. Basel Gill described Thom as "in his prime" which, let's be honest, from an older man, that never means anything under 40. And here, Thom is playing both mentor and lover, not a combination without its pitfalls and power imbalances. Funny how Dena is his main argument for staying but he won't marry her. I'm sure this is totally legit and not at all a setup for something. At any rate, this isn't the first time RJ gave us an age gap with fucky dynamics, and I'm sorry to say it won't be the last. (3) And they didn't even have actors? Nobody staged plays or reenactments of anything, ever? I'm just sayin, we've had plays since ancient Greece at least, plays shouldn't be anything new to this world… but it DOES offer a sort of context, doesn't it? This world is in a period of upheaval, of rapid social change and progress as the apocalypse looms. Keep that in mind, even as awkward as these setups are. (4) A nice bit more of the specific prophecies to do with the Dragon. Rand's already got one heron mark, to make him start acknowledging that he is the Dragon. "Twice the heron, to name him true" so it seems likely the other hand will get a matching burn, probably close to when he declares himself. But what of the Dragons? And, note how Rand is asking some of the same questions Moiraine did, so soon after they were mirrored narratively with saying the same line. (5) Not a very long timeline for Rand to get this whole "battle for the end of the world" over with. (6) And that holds just about as much water as a straw.

[yevrosima-the-third]

You know what just occurred to me. Mat went to Tar Valon. Someone said, maybe he meets Thom Merylin there. Maybe Thom went to Tar Valon to see what became of the boys and the two of them do meet up... And Mat becomes his apprentice so we get the traveling and performing part many people seem to have loved in the books (I did, at least). And they decide to go to Cairhien, because neither of them wishes to remain close to Aes Sedai because that's where Mat joins the people searching for the Horn - probably just Perrin and Loial in the show - and Thom could kill the Cairhienin king, like he did in the books...

Which leads me to: Thom had a moment in the second book when he was in Cairhien and all like I'm gonna live a good under the radar life now and look, there's this girl who loves me and I love her... But she got killed off as a consequence of him reconnecting with Rand and getting tangled up in the great game... And I'm just thinking... They could have Mat take her place

[usernamesuggestionsarefunny]

Oh, no, Dena! :( So sad, Thom was so excited and happy with her

[ofthebrownajah]

Okay so we have some unconfirmed casting announcements thanks to Redanian Intelligence.

Keira Chasna as Young Siuan Sanche

Darren Clarke as Basel Gill and Izuka Hoyle as Dena

Jennifer Preston as Mistress Grinwell and Phil Snowden as "Steve" (a placeholder name?)

Seems we'll be getting more of TGH than we initially thought, and with the addition of Young Siuan, some of New Spring too

[tellywoodtrash]

ishqbaaz 23-28.11.18 lb

23.11.18

LMAO WTH IS THIS REALLY BAD CGI JUGNU/TAARE/WHATEVER AND MOON AND LIKE.... COME TF ON.

like i appreciate the sentiment and all but man, it looks really terrible. esp. compared to what arnav and asad and all did.

abbbbbbbe yaaaaaaaar stick your tongue in her mouthhhhhhhhh instead of giving an astronomy lesson

nani is also disappointed i think. ke akele mein hai phir bhi kuch kar nahi rahe the.

lmao shivaay's wary look at bhavya and her police waale skillz.

team ki adla badli. chalo.

dadi is into gender segregation.

cute.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhh i don't like this song.

lol everyone else looks better than shivika.

eye-fucking to the max.

lmao.

these two fuckers. tum logon ne paanch saal enjoy kiya na? now let them also get their jollies.

oh boy om has his phone. let's hope anika isn't planning to sext.

lol khanna truly is the hanuman to shivika's ram/sita huh.

ok fwd fwd fwd.

lmao rikara are real clingy sleepers huh.

ok om is chatty too. how tf does gauri get any sleep whatsoever?

aw it was cute how they jumped into each others arms.

ok fwding all this dadi/nani bhoot bakchodi.

waah kya imaandaar chowkidaar hai guest house pe.

god she's so impressed by such janky bs.

generic chand toh mere saamne hai waala line.

ok fwding through this puerile naach gaana bs.

LMAO THE GUESTHOUSE HAS THE OFFICIAL GMAT REVIEW GUIDE. (that book has haunted my hopes and dreams and life and i never fucking wanna see it again. ever.)

26.11.18

nose touch. cute.

abbbbbbbe yaaaaaaaar. locked in nonsense.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOO “DHRUV TAARA, DHRUV TAARA; ABHI DHRUV TAARE KI TARAH WAHIN PE EK JAGAAH PE KHADE RAHIYE!!!!!!!”

god he's so annoying.

phone toh om ke paas hai na?

uske liye bhi daant padi.

billu still trying to maarofy chance.

REJECTED.

waah prinku is veryyyyyyyyyy enthu.

kahnna bhaiyya bhi bade chamak rahein hain.

haaaaaaye sahil got so big. i'm a little emosh.

i kinda love the dadi/nani brotp? like nani is so awesome she makes dadi tolerable.

damnnnnnn, girls look reaaaaal good.

lolololol bhaiyya chori ho gaye.

man i'm really really gonna miss these two.

“aaj kal ke naujwaan shaadi se bohut katraate hain.” pft.

“kahin BHAAAAAAAAG toh nahi gayi????”

lol her delivery of that line was really good.

ugh this girl is just too perfect.

oh these two made their peace.

om is this close to having an aneurysm.

lmaoooooo these two idiots. GOD I'M REALLY GONNA MISSSSSSSS ALL THIS PLATONIC FUCKERYYYYYYY. MUMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

“humari ladki bhi bohut hi sundar lag rahi hai; jab taiyyar hokar aayegi na toh aapke bhaiyya nazar bhi nahi aayenge.”

“nazar toh abhi bhi nahi aa rahe.” SNORT.

abbe iski germany aur finland ke glass ka main........

lmao rudra and gauri and their bs diversionary tactics.

nani is literally like bro idgaf about the ruvya love story. just like the rest of us, lmao.

.......... how is this the love story? why were they hanging out together in the first place?

mansi says "rudra" in a veryyyyyyy odd manner. it's always bothered me.

ugh boring, fwding.

so ruvya got married first?

lmao nani is legit like WILL YOU PPL LET ME WITNESS THE SHAADI OF MY GRANDSONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

yas rikara story time!!!!!

UGH THESE FUCKERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS AND THEIR EYE SEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

dost????????/ u wot m8????????

gauri's like bitch i don't have dost feelings for your dumb super-bang-worthy ass.

THE WAY HE PULLED HERRRRRRRRRRRR.

SHIFTY LOVE EYES.

ok that was a very hurried and not smooth proposal but it got the answer we all wanted so yay.

LMAO SAME ENERGY

“haalaat.... jo hain, agar uske badalne ka main intezaar karte raha toh zindagi katt jayegi humari. toh main haalaton ko badalne ka mauka nahi dena chahta, main bas tumse itna pooch raha hoon gauri ke, kya tum is rishte ko doosra naam dena chahti ho, shaadi karogi; haan ya na??”

oh man more like it. it wasn’t perfect-perfect, but it was entirely them and ughhhhhhhh my heart. i might retcon a little bit of this in my headcanon post but for the most part, keep it the same.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i love them so much i am cryinggggggggggggggg.

LMAO RUDRA BAITING DADI AND HER FALLING FOR IT TILL NANI WAS LIKE BISH STFU

yeah i'm really gonna miss these two fuckers.

27.11.18

maaaaaaaaaaaan i really missed leenesh's comedyyyyyyyyyyyyy. aw mannnnn it's the last few days offfffff ittttttttttttt. sniff. sob.

hahaha rikara are experttttttttttttt blackmailers aren't they.

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKER'S ROOF LASER PROOF??????? DOES HE LIVE IN A UNIVERSE WHERE ATTACKS FROM DR. EVIL ARE IMMINENT???????

indian jugaad: anger your wife to the point she screams at you so loud that the aas paas waale come running in to investigate.

lol ruvya mein mallika ki rooh aa gayi and they're becoming bhagode dulha/dulhan.

“pehle asli dulhan bhaag gayi, ab nakli waali bhi bhaag gayi?” snort.

lol isn't that anika/gauri's shawl type thingy from some past outfit?

this fucken cutie.

LMAO CAN'T THESE PPL SEE THAT SHIVAAY IS SUDDENLY TALLER??????/ AND THAT ANIKA IS SUDDENLY SMALLER?????????

this fool and this phone waala dukhda.

same, anika. #same.

the couple that engages in subterfuge together, stays together.

LMAOOOOOO RUVYA BHI AA GAYE.

hahahahahaha om's death glare at rudra. pakde jaana <<<<<<<< showing stink face at baby bro.

snort.

“bhaaga kyun?”

”main darr gaya tha!!!!!”

“TOH AAYA KYUN????????”

“anika bhaabi ke wajaah se!!!!”

“TERA GALA GHOT DUNGA MAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

some anon sent me an ask yest about how this was the shittiest ep ever and tbh anon, idk wtf you're talking about coz this is comedy gold and i've missed this kinda shenanigans.

lol both their faces at the wives.

lo finally yeh dono bhi aa gaye.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE WAY ANIKA JUST THREW HIM UNDER THE BUS

phone waala rant idhar bhi. everyone is alarmed.

chalo ab jao and get this shit over with.

haan haan theek hai. achche lag rahe ho.

omkara fullllllllllllly checking out his bride too.

marital perfection my dudes. fucking amazing.

ugh cute cute cute.

gauri doing the gattbandhan OML i'm cryingggggggggg. she never got to do it on allllll the other times. she did this timeeeeeeee. snifffff. i’m so emotional you guys.

ugh his heart eyes even when she’s not looking.

congrats you two!

but noone will ever be as perfect as these two. ugh. my heart. my fucking heart.

le. lag gayi nazar.

ouff fwding nani/dadi nonsense.

OH GOD THESE IDIOTS AND SUHAAG RAAT ADVICE.

i am shivaay, like... jfc literally fuck off you idiots.

i love how omru are completely convinced that shivaay is terrible in bed. lmaooooooo matlab, did tia tip them off or like.... where's this knowledge coming from?

omfg ghaaspoos khaate hain toh stamina hoga nahi. jfc they're really not pulling anyyyyyyyy punches.

OH GOD ENERGY DRINK WHY DO THESE FUCKS TRY TO DRUG THIS MAN BEFORE HIS SUHAAGRAAT ATTEMPTS IN EVERY UNIVERSE

wow prinku's suddenly bouncing all over the place.

ab yeh naya chooza kaun hai????

ok gareeb hai. par kuch aur bhi shady hai. abbe yaaaaaaaaaaar.this prinku has worst taste in men in every universe. seedhe seedhe gauri ko wife kar deti toh koi masla hi nahi hota.

28.11.18

i have gauri's exact same face. ewwwww, that's what she's wearing for her suhaag raat?????

lmaoooooooooo gauri just pulled her pallu off.

(and bhvya’s scandalized face lololololol.)

suhaag raat pe salwar suit. hey raam.

ok i'm fwding all this churan confusion bullshit coz i know he's gonna end up having dadi's whatever.

what the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk are these girls even putting on her.

actual picture of shivani shirali and her ~~~~creative fashion process.

ok why's there a random scene of sahil stealing a watch???????????????

yeah fwding all this shivaay's stomach issues nonsense.

gosh these assholesssssssss.

oh pait problems suddenly forgotten.

ok and they're back and i'm fwding.

ASLKDJLKJWALKDJSLAD KUNDI LAGAA LIIIIIIII YAS PLS LET THEM BE GETTING IT ON TOOOOOO

THE WAY HE’S BURYING HIS FACE INTO HER NECK I AM DED I AM FUCKING DED HERE LIES TT WHO WAS KILLED BY THE SLIGHTEST AMOUNT OF ROMANTIC AFFECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO BEAUTIFUL ASSHOLES

ugh just the way he's looking at her with allllllllll the loveeeeeeeeee in the world MOTHERFUCKKK I AM DECEASED

pfttttttttt. "energy drink".

“kabhi apne pati pe toh taras khaa liya karo.”

TUM DONO MUJHPE TARAS KHAO AND JUST BANG PLS

chiffon ki sari huh. so there was nothing complicated for omkara to sort out on his suhaag raat, lol. gauri you wily minx. apne time pe you got yours pretty easy aur di ko pehna diya the fabric version of a rubik's cube.

BEDROOM EYES TO THE MAX I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT THE OTHER TWO AND THEIR SUHAAG RAAT (WAISE BHI WOH UDHAR KUCH KARNE KI HAALAT MEIN NAHI HAI) PLS JUST GIVE ME THESE TWO BANGING.

yuck i don't wanna hear ruvya talking about their suhaag raat. it feels sick and wrong and i am fwding.

CHIFFON WAALI SARI AB BHI HAI MERE PAAS ADSLKFJSLKFJLDSKFJ

oh hooooooooooo do i have to watch ruvya to get my rikara kicks??????????? bohut naainsaafi hai. imma focus only on the right part of the screen.

SHE'S ON TOP I REPEAT SHE'S ON TOPPPPPPPPPPPPPP CANON PROOF THAT SHE’S ON TOP.

idhar saara mood chaupat hai.

LMAOOOOOO his face seeing her try to figure out how to take it off.

oh you come do it if you're so good at BASIC PHYSICS. bada aaya einstein ka pota.

pftttttttttttt.

ok ainvayi sap. hattaaaaa be. karna hai toh kar. udhar rikara are already on round two, with him on top.

lmao draupadi ki sari hai kya, it's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

abbe yeh dupatte ke neeche waala romance toh dekh chuke hum, in the OU. kuch toh naya karte.

lo ji. tellywood confirmation of sex. haath are intertwined = money shot.

meh, overall 4/10. that sex scene in OU the day after anika found out about her dad was way hotter.

oh idhar nani dadi are on their own trip. cool. cool cool cool.

great, looks like gauri might have to prevent jiju from pounding on yet another one of prinku's boy toys tomorrow.

[suechoiart]

Internship Week 1

I started my internship Tuesday with a meeting to discuss the beginnings of The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s “What’s Out There?” Nashville project with Anna and Dena. Since then, I’ve been independently doing research at the Nashville Metropolitan Historic Commission. Their office is located in the Sunnyside Mansion in Sevier Park.

My responsibilities this summer are to research and write about thirty-something landscapes in Nashville. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working with an incredible team of three main people in Nashville: Ann, Judson, and Christine. I am also regularly in touch with Dena from TCLF, whose office is located in Washington, DC (Dena called in for the meeting on Tuesday). I think the organization of the project looks something like this:

Basically, the “WOT” project and this internship position is sponsored by The Cultural Landscape Foundation. I was chosen by “Team Nashville” through the recommendation of Nashville Civic Design Center (whom I submitted my resume to...hrm hrm), Through Team Nashville, I have a vast connection to many resources - the most prominent right now being the Metro Historical Commission (whose conference room I’m crashing). We’re still figuring a lot of things out, but the plan is to visit these sites and meet with owners, directors, board members, etc. of these different sites to understand their history and future first-hand. 

So far, I’ve really only scratched the surface on MHC’s resources. I decided to focus on one site, Centennial Park, and just opened up a few books at MHC and started my research on 18 sites of consideration (!). Turns out, pre-twentieth century Nashville features a fairly tight circle of people and events (I’m looking at you, Hardings and Jacksons!), and one influences the other influences another, ... 

Anyways I’ve developed an elementary but extensive understanding of the history of Centennial Park. The information I’ve gathered exclusively from pre-1900s (and one source giving a general overview of its evolution 1900-1970) so it does not account for anything that’s happening at Centennial Park today. Regardless - the texts I’ve read have stated that the Park maintains its integrity since the 1879 Centennial Exposition (also basically the birth of Nashville’s public park systems) ... So, I’m almost there?

Anyways, from this research, I will write a 200-300 word description of the landscape about its historic/geographical significance and its design evolution over time (if applicable). My goal is to have a few samples for Team Nashville to look over - so we can have build a set of standards for “WOT Nashville.” 

So far, I’m really enjoying just learning about all these places. I’m from the area but never bothered to learn or check out most of the landscapes. The ones I’ve researched  so far are intimately related to the beginnings of Middle Tennessee history (the Donelsons, James Robertson, Andrew Jackson, etc) -- it feels like I’m finally paying due diligence as a “Tennessean” and a “Nashvillian.” 

I’ve spent a lot of time alone this week, but it seems like I will be spending more time with Ann and Judson and we will coordinate in-person meetings and site visits. (More pictures!) Next week - I also want to get into the various clippings and loose hardcopies of information on the sites! I’ve only checked out published books so far, so I am excited to incorporate all sorts of miscellaneous information into my research. 

[bartonsedai]

WoT with Bae, TGH ch. 23-33

The next set of thoughts, predictions, and general feelings from my boyfriend’s Wheel of Time read.

 ~ He has done nothing but ask for Perrin since his last POV chapter.  ~ Was vaguely annoyed by Min, Elayne, and Egwene becoming friends so quickly and cheesy.  ~ He thinks Min's viewing that Elayne would have to share her husband means she'll marry Rand , but he will still be very close to Egwene.  ~ He was so ridiculously happy when Thom finally reappeared. He was literally shaking with excitement.  ~ To contrast that, he was not pleased with Selene's reappearance. He pouted the entire time she was with Rand, brief though it was.  ~ He has been really convinced this whole time that Hurin is going to die, and I have no idea why he thinks that.  ~ I have no way to convey to you the sounds of agony he makes every time I start reading a Rand chapter. I have to wait like 10 minutes every time so he can get his annoyance out.  ~ He's been predicting for a while that they would lose the Horn (probably due to Rand's stupidity) and was both satisfied and frustrated when they finally did.  ~ He rolled his eyes all the way through Verin's foreshadowing speech about the giant sa'angreal. He thinks Rand's going to use them with Elayne (or maybe Egwene) at some point.  ~ Was amused in an exasperated way at Rand at the fancy party. Especially all the noblewomen flirting with him.  ~ That Lord Turyk "seems like a nice guy."  ~ Thinks Selene is related to Barthanes in some way, his sister, or maybe his wife.  ~ I said I liked Dena, so now he thinks she'll join the party with Thom.  ~ He is very sure this whole operation is going to go horribly wrong.  ~ "The Seanchan seem pretty okay."  ~ He doesn’t get how the Seanchan can be so ordered and lawful, but then Egeanin just totally steals from Domon.  It makes absolutely no sense to him, and he will not shut up about it.  ~ He originally thought they were going to drop Mat off at Stedding Tsofu (or “Tofu” as he insists on calling it) so he could be shielded from the ill effects of the dagger while they retrieve the dagger and Horn.  ~ Apparently, he hates the Ways.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 34: The Wheel Weaves

What's in the box? Some people already know and some people don't. As a general rule, if you're in the "don't" category and you hate spoilers, you shouldn't keep reading. If you only know cause you're reading The Great Hunt or you've seen season 2 of the show but you don't want spoilers past that point, you also shouldn't keep reading. I spoil everything.

This chapter begins with the Wheel icon because big things are happening, like assassinations and discovery of the Horn.

He had meant the choices to be a private comment on their stupidity, never dreaming any of them might listen, much less be intrigued. Intrigued in a way. They had demanded more of the same, but they had laughed in the wrong places, at the wrong things. They had laughed at him, too, apparently thinking he would not notice, or else that a full purse stuffed in his pocket would heal any wounds.

Another sign of how divorced the nobility in this country is from the commonfolk and by extension reality. They have two very different storytelling cultures and little overlap on anything. And yet Thom's bitterness about this has a hint of hypocrisy - he complains they thought he wouldn't notice their mockery even as he had thought they wouldn't notice his.

He was still not sure what he had intended to say. Rand was gone with his friends, and the Aes Sedai. It left a feeling of something not done.

The important thing is that you tried, and of course that now you can be extra angry at yourself for what happened because you delayed.

She rolled limply onto her back, staring up at him, glazed eyes open wide above the gash across her throat. The side of the bed that had been hidden by her body was dark and sodden.

I mean, what is there to say? Girl had great potential as a person and as a character and all that matters, to the point where she certainly stops getting mentioned after only a book or two, is that she spurs Thom to act now.

“The Game? I’m not mixed up in Daes Dae’mar! Who would want to kill me for the Great Game?”

Thom's protestations ring even more hollow. Where Rand's naivety is excusable, Thom's speaks only to how out of practice he is. Dude met with someone everyone thought was a lord, is performing for other lords, and thinks he's out of the Game? He basically chose to keep playing.

And there has been a woman, a lady, I have seen more than once while asking after him.

Lanfear meanwhile is so contemptuous of the Third Agers that she doesn't even care to disguise herself properly among them, I guess. I'm surprised she doesn't just spy herself though.

“If you mean Barthanes, you’re too late. Everybody’s talking about it already. He is dead. His servants found him this morning, torn to pieces in his bedchamber. The only way they knew it was him was his head stuck on a spike over the fireplace.”

Forget who killed Asmodean, who the heck killed Barthanes? It probably wasn't Galldrian; killing a random is one thing but having his rival brutally eviscerated is another. It couldn't have been Fain, he was already gone. Ishamael or Lanfear might have done it by way of the gholam, but what would piss either of them off enough? The Horn going to Toman Head is hardly Barthanes' mistake and doesn't really interfere with Lanfear's desired outcomes at all. Plus if they did use the gholam, what did it get up to all this time between now and its first appearance?

“These aren’t Barthanes’s men, Thom. At least, that one isn’t.” She nodded toward the fat man. “It’s the worst kept secret in Cairhien that he works for House Riatin. For Galldrian.”

This vaguely points at Galldrian being responsible for Barthanes' death as well I suppose, but like I said the method seems entirely out of character.

“Perhaps you had better think about leaving, too. It looks as if someone is firing the granaries.”

I'm also going to rule out the rioters as an unlikely suspect on the grounds that Barthanes' death is probably the inciting incident for them, not the first, implausbly well-hidden step. But seriously. Who did it?

*considers Verin for a moment*

Nah. She's the least suspicious person alive.

The pack horse bearing his precious burden bumped his leg, and he kicked it in the ribs without looking; the animal snorted and jerked back to the end of the lead he had tied to his saddle.

So obviously the part that immediately follows this about how Fain fed the horse's previous owner to the Trollocs is way, way eviler, but let's just appreciate exactly how dedicated to unpleasantness Fain has become.

Men gathered more information on the invaders, as if they actually believed they would eventually do something with what they knew, but they sometimes tried to hold back. Women, by and large, seemed interested in going on with their lives whoever their rulers were, yet they noted details men did not, and they talked more quickly once they stopped screaming.

I kind of don't buy this? Random women from every village are being taken away and never seen again. I'm not a woman myself but I don't think it's a stretch to say that such actions would put most women on edge for fear of the Seanchan coming back and taking more tribute, since they don't know about the damane selection process yet.

The people hurried about their business with eyes down, bowing whenever soldiers passed, but the Seanchan paid them no mind. It all seemed peaceful on the surface, despite the armored Seanchan in the streets and the ships in the harbor, but Fain could sense the tension underneath. He always did well where men were tense and afraid.

1) I'm very sad that this element of the occupation disappears in later books it rings a lot truer; everyone should be afraid.

2) Is Fain saying thinking this in the sense of looking back over his career as a Darkfriend and how he always did better scaring them with peddler's tales, or is this the sum total of his evil reflecting on Aridhol, the Ways, and more? Both?

Women went in and out of a house across the street, women linked by silver leashes, but he ignored them. He knew about damane from the villagers. They might be of some use later, but not now.

Seriously: what use can Fain be imagining for damane, considering his current power set?

He was always confident, but never more than where lords feared an assassin’s knife from their own followers.

This is definitely more all of the evil within Fain than his own experiences, as we have no reason to think he was ever an assassin in his backstory.

“I have seen chests such as this, chests from the Age of Legends,” the High Lord said, “though none so fine. They are meant to be opened only by those who know the pattern, but I—ah!”

Major points to Turak who easily sidesteps Fain's plans entirely by accident. As much as I loathe the Seanchan, I despise Fain more.

Still holding the Horn and the dagger, Turak looked at the cabinet, then away. He said nothing, but the other Seanchan snapped quick orders, and in moments men in plain woolen robes appeared through a door behind the screens bearing another small table.

For all the shit I've given the Cairhienien nobility, I suppose I also need to offer them some credit for at least not expecting their servants to interpret their every facial gesture. Rich people on every continent desperately need to get over themselves.

Fain could stand it no longer. He reached for the dagger.

Fain isn't anywhere near as slick as he thinks he is, considering he went about thirty seconds without trying to nab his precious. Fucking Gollum does better about this stuff bro, learn from him.

“I am to sound it.” Turak’s tone was flat. “And break the White Tower. Again, why? You claim to obey, await, and serve, but this is a land of oath-breakers. Why do you give your land to me? Do you have some private quarrel with these . . . women?”

And again, we see that Fain's schemes immediately crash and burn when given the briefest exposure to people who know what schemes are. He's just like all these nobles in his own twisted way: he's gotten so used to having the Darkfriends jump when he says jump (or die) that he doesn't understand why no one else will willingly be his puppets.

Turak was silent so long that Fain began to wonder if he needed further convincing; he was ready with more, as much as was required.

Pro-tip for those of you who find themselves in situations where you need to lie: less is actually much better than more. We can thus conclude that Fain isn't even good at lying, despite the fact that he's spent his whole career as a liar!

“But, High Lord,” Fain protested, “you must—” He found himself lying on his side, his head ringing. Only when his eyes cleared did he see the man with the pale braid rubbing his knuckles and realize what had happened. “Some words,” the fellow said softly, “are never used to the High Lord.” Fain decided how the man was going to die.

I myself am rooting for neither of these fellows, both so awful in their own right. And note again how the Seanchan veneer of civility disappears at a moment's notice without warning. There's no way a populace can happily adopt the Seanchan customs as a whole, not without rebellion after rebellion breaking out.

He had not even known of the existence of an Empress until Turak mentioned her, but access to a ruler again . . . that opened new paths, new plans. Access to a ruler with the might of the Seanchan beneath her and the Horn of Valere in her hands. Much better than making this Turak a Great King.

It's funny that he thinks this is an option for him, when his best case scenario is that he ends up doing exactly what Semirhage will do and thus completely destroys his advantage and his worst case scenario is that Semirhage shows up and starts experimenting with an absolutely fascinating case study.

If I kept the Horn of Valere, all between myself and the throne would think I meant to be first hereafter, and while the Empress, of course, wishes that we contend with one another so that the strongest and most cunning will follow her, she currently favors her second daughter, and she would not look well on any threat to Tuon.

I'm sure that name won't be relevant later!

“The Empress’s Listeners may be anywhere,” Turak continued. “They may be anyone. Huan was born and raised in the House of Aladon, and his family for eleven generations before him, yet even he could be a Listener.”

Secret police: a surefire sign that your civilization is doing just great for itself and won't collapse under its own bloodlust in fifty years or less.

At the Court of the Nine Moons, in Seandar, one such as you could be given to the Seekers for a shift of your eye, for a misspoken word, for a whim. Are you still eager?

I'm sure that Nine Moons thing won't come up again anytime soon either.

And again we see more evidence that the only reason the Empire is holding itself up is its consistent expansionary policies that consistently deliver it new victims to burn through. If the Empire's borders were ever truly stable it would collapse immediately under the tyranny of Seandar.

A young man, but vile in the Shadow beyond belief, with a lying, devious tongue. In many places he has claimed to be many things, but always the Trollocs come when he is there, High Lord. Always the Trollocs come . . . and kill.

Fain is not even a good Aes Sedai liar, since Caemlyn is still doing just great for itself at the moment, as are a variety of the places he passed on the road to it.

Fain let the grimacing Huan pull him out of the room, hardly even listening to the snarled lecture on what would happen if he ever again failed to leave Lord Turak’s presence when given permission to do so.

Considering that Fain was allegedly giving good information about a coming threat, this seems like another really shitty policy on the part of the Seanchan. The illusion of order that is easily cleared away by chaos.

Sadly, the illusion of time is less easily cleared away and ours is up because the chapter is done. Next time: Steddings!