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New spring (2021)

WoT Reread: New Spring Chapter 1

I suppose this is the first installment of the reread. The way I’m going to write it is I’ll have bullet points for anything I think of while the chapter is going, and if I have anything that occurs to me at the end, I’ll put it in a paragraph. Since this book specifically is involved with the fanfic that I’m writing, I’ll probably talk a little about that as I go. I am going to do this a chapter at a time, if only for my own sanity.

I love this series, but I will get salty. Just a warning.

Chapter 1: The Hook

· It may not have the traditional Wheel of Time opening, but it still starts with a wind.

· I originally read/listened to (I’m doing this on audiobook so I can write and I did it on audiobook the first time so I could listen while driving and at work) right after Fires of Heaven, so this was my first experience with Lan POV.

·Bukama

·I’ll admit this starts out with a lot of description and I zoned out for it

·Wow. It’s so strange to think of Lan having bought into the idea that Aiel were darkfriends. At least, he was raised by someone that thought that.

·Okay so Lan doesn’t think that and calls Bukama on it.

·A lot of this is Lan casting shade.

·There was an extensive conversation about borderlander etiquette which I found fascinating, but remember little of. What I did remember when I listened to it was that a lot of it seemed to be very conscious of the chain of command (which makes sense given what we learned about Sheinaran ranks) and to make sure that you are extremely aware of who you are talking to. This possibly could do with the idea that you could use the information to track them down to see if they’re lying, make connections if they aren’t but are a darkfriend, and make sure that the person is not a Fade.

·I remember that the first time I read this, I was convinced that Lan was being betrayed with the military maneuver. It was that or the other commander was so unaware of the intricacies of borderlander culture that he didn’t realize probably sending Lan to his death was a bad idea. I honestly don’t remember if I was right or not.

·I probably should not have started listening to this while in a brain fog. It’s been that kind of day.

·I love the addition that some of the army are cursing stubbed toes. I too would curse stubbed toes if I had to stay moving in formation.

·I could do without the extensive explanation of what a hammer and anvil is. My brain is not equipped for this.

·“Some men would die in their beds, but since boyhood Lan knew he would not.” Thanks Lan.

·I’m trying to imagine the moment being one of these people that are basically going “what the fuck” in their heads while Lan gets shouted at by the Aiel. It feels like it would be hilarious.

So this chapter felt like a lot of set up, probably because I’m pretty sure this is the first Lan chapter in the entire series (don’t quote me on that). It would make sense that RJ would try and get into Lan’s head so that people who were ecstatic for it would soak it in. I have two problems with it: it is heavy on the ‘beginning of a Jordan book’ isms where everything is described in excruciating detail and also I’m not as interested as I thought I would be. I remember not really enjoying Lan’s chapters in this book, and part of that is the non-consensual ‘relationship’ that shows up later. My limited experience in cultural anthropology will come into play later when I discuss that, because I have a lot of feelings.

The rest of my lack of paying attention comes specifically from the fact that the fanfiction I am writing neither starts at this point nor really features Lan. I’m actually at the point where I’m not sure I want him in it. Not to do with him as a character, but I’m having trouble putting him in somewhere. We’ll see.

WoT Reread: New Spring Chapter 2

Next installment! This chapter definitely had a lot more comments from me. I think I’ll also include a quick summary from now on in case someone comes across this and forgot what happened.

Chapter 2: A Wish Fulfilled

Moiraine and Siuan serve tea to Tamara and Gitara and end up hearing the prophecy of the Dragon’s rebirth. 

·My babies! Moiraine is on my top ten list (sorry Siuan) so it’s always exciting to see her and I also see so many parallels between baby Moiraine and baby Rand (my increasingly unapologetic fave) , so that’s always fun. The biggest trouble I’ve had is trying to grasp her voice and creating the right amount of slightly petulant and wisdom born of experience. Weirdly, the show is making that so much easier.

·Moiriane thinking about things in order to give us exposition about the Tower. Also I’m so amused that Moiraine wants to join the war just so she knows what is going on.

·Okay quick thing: When I was reading Gathering Storm I was on a server and we discussed the lack of experience that the head of the Green Ajah had and it bothered me that Egwene was showing so much more composure that the HEAD OF THE GREEN AJAH. Someone pointed out that in this book it was mentioned that the Green Ajah never saw war (I’ll wait until something reminds me). BUT! Moiraine just said that the Amyrlin and her Keeper did not seem to be bothered because “they had certainly seen the aftermath of more battles than any general”. While this does not mean that they fought in those battles, the implication seems to suggest as such. I’m super confused. What the hell Jordan?

·A lot of description given for two people that are not going to survive this book.

·Once again, we must know too much about women’s dresses and jewelry and their breasts. I love these books, but I will be giving a lot of eyerolling literally any time he brings up problematic gender dynamics, which is all of the time. I think someone in a discord server put it once that if he wrote these books today, he would have probably written that part differently, and I agree. That doesn’t make it less frustrating, especially since a lot of the more interesting parts of his writing (commentary on institutions and power) suffer greatly from the fact that many of these institutions are solely run by women. For instance, instead of making it a commentary of institutions (whether military, political, economic, or academic) in general, he unintentionally (and I think it was unintentional) made commentary on women-run institutions. Just getting this off my chest before we keep going, but I will be frustrated by it multiple times. Just know that I am frustrated out of love for these books and how much better I know they could/would be (also my reason for being super excited about the show, which has been doing a better job of this so far).

·Ha! It’s called a wish fulfilled because Moiraine wants to see a foretelling and she definitely will.

·Okay so it just explicitly said that no Aes Sedai have taken part in battle since the Trolloc Wars. What the hell Jorday?

·I do get it, since they are trying to be impartial and taking part in battle would be taking aside. At the same time, this goes back to the weird gendered stuff and also irritates me because now we have a Battle Ajah with no practical experience. Again, I get the idea of an institution resting on its laurels and being something in name only, but we once again run into the issue of what is meant by the narrative and what actually comes across given the nature of the world. RJ created a patriarchal society where women just happen to be in positions of power instead of matriarchal one and sometimes he likes to remind me of it. I promise I do get less salty and I do love these books, but weirdly this first iconic chapter is getting me in my feelings. At least I’m getting this out now so I have less to say later.

·As some who is 5’0” (152 cm), I feel the frustration with other people being irritatingly taller. I feel it strongly.

·Moiraine and Lan clearly both truly bonded over being horse girls. Hell yeah.

· Moiraine being uncomfortable with someone reading erotic fiction and then confronting her about why she can’t read it seems to hilarious. I feel like Moiraine later in the series wouldn’t have bothered or would have just said exactly why she shouldn’t.

·The foretelling! Only a few minutes on page and Gitara has by far one of the most dramatic moments in the series.

·I appreciate Moiraine being in shock in this moment. I can’t imagine being in a position where someone with authority over you that seems almost mystical in their own right (given the way Moiraine thinks about Gitara) just drops dead. The denial and disbelief are there in spades.

Be careful what you wish for indeed. Definitely some food for thought. We’re still not quite where I’m starting, but I feel like a lot of this chapter is helpful both to get Moiraine’s perspective and also because this moment is technically the inciting incident of the series. A prophecy about the end times is said and because of it our Gandalf goes out to see it fulfilled in a way that keeps the world going rather than end it. There was a LOT of discussion of the culture of the Tower which could be very helpful if someone chose to read this book first (although I would not personally recommend it; too many spoilers). I definitely like where my initial placement of it in the series was, because I feel like it was a good primer for the increase in Tower politics that would be coming in Lord of Chaos.  

WoT Reread: New Spring Chapter 3

Practice

A lot of exposition happens. We learn about the Tower, Siuan and Moiraine’s relationship, the Aes Sedai test, and Moiraine and Siuan’s new quest. A whole bunch of Aes Sedai are introduced and I remember only a couple of them.

This chapter was surprisingly long.

·RJ using Moiraine being in shock to give us more exposition. I actually find this rather interesting and a good way to choose to do it.

·Disregarding my issues with the way it is presented, Moiraine teaching classes is definitely giving me thoughts about how sometimes professors do less teaching than TAs. I was lucky in that didn’t happen often, but all of by labs were TA taught.

·Siuan is already sure she is going to be Aes Sedai ASAP.

·I do feel bad for Siuan here. She wants to travel and understand the world around her, but we know that she will be confined to the Tower while Moiraine sees the world instead.

·Moiraine has already pegged Siuan for leadership. She does have a certain bearing that lends itself well, but it does show that she has a good insight into people.

·I do like how much emphasis they are putting on Siuan actually being the ‘smarter’ of the two (although that is relative). There is a certain amount of elitism that still exists in the world where people who are poorer for some reason are not as traditionally intelligent or interested in academic learning and Siuan is wiping the floor with the other novices and accepted in the Tower. This stereotype is less prevalent in media today, but I still see it being rampant outside of that.

·Ah, the prophecy. Also when I started writing, I kept forgetting what exactly Moiraine kept referring to Rand as, only remembering that she called him something distinct that I hadn’t heard used at all elsewhere. The word is ‘boy child’. I will definitely be using that because I find it funny, unlike the word babes, which was used liberally by RJ and Sando and made me pull my hair out.

·Moiraine goes to Siuan’s room~

·Sorry if this seems like there isn’t a lot of commentary. It’s the beginning of a WoT book so there’s a LOT of description and exposition about world building. It’s not bad, just not great for commentary.

·Moiraine and Siuan have a connection and sense of each other even after most people would not have one.

·I love the fact that Moiraine and Siuan have a reputation for elaborate pranks that no one could prove they did, such as filling a water fountain with trout. I love the fact that the put itch-oak into Elaida’s clothes.

·Myrelle. Ugh.

·A lot of this chapter is more establishment of the way the chapter works. Siuan and Moiraine plot a little, but it is quickly interrupted by an Accepted whose name I can’t remember.

·I remember the Aes Sedai test being brutal later this book and the same went with Nyneave’s. There is a weird thing about trying to use the Aes Sedai test to punish Accepted that wronged you that I think is a little fucked up.

·I’ll admit that after a certain point, I zoned out on all of the Aes Sedai getting introduced. There were a lot and many of them don’t become important. I remember Myrelle, Alanna, and Verin. I’m sure there are more obvious ones (in fact I remember when I first read this I caught more), but I’m listening to this at almost midnight and after describing the breasts of another Aes Sedai, I kind of zoned out on the descriptions. We don’t see how the Tuatha’an handle channelers in the books, so it is interesting to see here that they cart them off to the Tower. We are aware of the fact that the Sea Folk send a few young women to the Tower (and if I recall they are usually the ones weaker in the power?) so that they can keep the rest of them. It leads me to wonder if the tuatha’an actually have a channeling culture and it just never comes up. I WANT TO KNOW!

·The answer is probably they don’t, but wouldn’t it be cool.

·Ah yes, the announcement. This feels like it should cause more suspicion with people other than Moiraine and Siuan. And by that I mean the Black Ajah. I know they get involved once she starts meeting with specific people in secret, but I also feel like if the Keeper just drops dead and then the Amyrlin decides to send out a bunch of money and take a census on new babies, they should have started earlier.

It’s funny. So we’re getting hints of the Vileness right now where Reds are gentling men left and right and/or killing them and not reporting it thanks to the Black Ajah specifically trying to get the Dragon, but not knowing how old baby Rand is. Siuan and Moiraine talk about how the Reds would handle the Dragon and it comes up that people think they are gentling men with permission. Here I am wondering when exactly Ishamael got involved. We know he sort of created the Black Ajah and that he had to be around for a few years before the start of the series because he was the one setting everything up, especially with Fain and otherwise coordinating darkfriends. We also know that he tends to come out every thousand years and it usually is for an extended period of time. Was he out by this point? If not, when did he get out? I dunno. As far as where the fanfiction starts, still not yet. Hopefully I’ll have more to say both about the chapter and the story as we go, we’re just still heavy in exposition land.

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 4

I forgot how long this chapter is. It is so long.

Leaving the Tower

Siuan and Moiraine leave the Tower and travel to the camp where they are going to begin taking down names.

·Description of a room for no narrative reason. Look, if he was trying to set a tone, it would be one thing. If the characters were going to be in a room, it would be one thing, if it was an important way to characterize a location, it would be one thing! But Moiraine’s room is none of those things. In all honestly, I find this charming, but I am amused that this room is getting so much description when it meets none of the previous criteria. My dude.

·I have misophonia and it hates KR’s ‘sl-p’ words above all else. The sheer amount of ‘sleep’, ‘slip’, and ‘slippers’ I’ve been hearing is driving my nerves insane.

·Despite the fact that this is supposed to be an out of the ordinary event and the inciting incident of the series, it is giving us a lot more of what regular life for Accepted in the Tower is like.

·Strangely, knowing all of the stuff that Moiraine packed that will not be mentioned in this chapter is helpful to me. It is also a good way for us to get to know Moiraine by learning what she thinks is important.

·Siuan is not a horse girl, and I love that.

·There is a lot of description of the city, but not in the same way that made me so frustrated with it earlier. Here, it feels like it is contrasting the city of Tar Valon with the tragedy going on outside as well as showing off how so many people from all over the continent mix together here. Also it feels in character for Moiraine to notice what she does.

·There’s a brief non-scuffle with the white cloaks that I had forgotten about that ultimately just let’s us know that they are here and they are definitely taking the opportunity to heckle Tar Valon while so close.

·Moiraine and Siuan taking every opportunity that they can to use the power so they have excuses if anyone catches them.

·So here, Siuan tries to convince a guardsman to see her way and it doesn’t work, but she does seem to be considering him afterwards. I wonder if this is just us seeing how Siuan eventually becomes the Amyrlin that she does. Small little moments of her attempting persuasion, deception, and other forms of manipulation are done so she can see how different people interact with them and adjust her approach accordingly. Moiraine talks about how Siuan sees puzzles and patterns, so this would make sense. In essence, while this looks like Siuan utterly failing at browbeating a guard, it actually is Siuan making a mistake, realizing it, analyzing what happened and what went wrong, and filing it away for the future while observing her mark to guess what alternate approaches would work. I’m pretty sure I’m not just making this up either. Moiraine comments on Siuan liking puzzles once more and says she’s looking at the guard as if he was one of her puzzles, and then Moiraine makes a statement about how Siuan sees patterns. I just wish we got more of this in her POVs.

·I also think this could be a good comparison with Egwene. This book came out between Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams, so it was there after Egwene got captured by the White Tower, but before we got to see her begin manipulating people and events in the Tower. A lot of the next few books involve Egwene using the skills she learned (many of which were with the help of Siuan) to beat the White Tower from the inside. We get to see the origin of those skills here.

·There’s just some more back and forth with Moiraine being a disaster bisexual and thinking about pretty guards and pretty Accepted. Good for Moiraine. The chapter ends with them getting set up at the new spot.

One thing my Siuan rant reminded me about is when I first read this book, I was just thinking of it as a Moiraine and Siuan story, but on this readthrough, I’m also thinking of it as a Moiraine and Siuan and Rand and Egwene story. In the rest of the series, I kind of think of Moiraine as Rand’s mentor and Siuan as Egwene’s mentor and the two of them are reflected a lot in their students. I joked with a friend once that sometimes you can really tell that Rand’s leadership style came from a spy and it shows up in some not great ways. I love Moiraine, but she is a spy, not a leader. And no, I’m not saying she messed up Rand’s leadership, he did that on his own bless him. I’m just saying that sometimes he’ll do something, like make sure he is surrounded by people that he knows want to hurt him because he knows their intentions for sure and having people mess each other up so they don’t think about rebelling against him, and my brain says, “that’s a spy move”. I also know that Siuan was also a spymaster and then became a leader (and Moiraine received training as a leader before becoming a spy), but I’m pretty sure that she pushes back against some of those tendencies with Egwene and she had experience as a leader by then. Plus, she comments on how her spy tendencies screwed her. Egwene still has plenty of sneaky spy in her, but I think there is a subtle difference in their motives and actions that is hard to explain. I’ll probably get more into it when the two actually come up as characters.  

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 5: The Human Heart

·I just love this peek into young Moiraine’s character. She is so shocked at the idea of a noble person shouting. Scandalizing.

·Siuan is so quick to take charge. It’s in sharp contrast to earlier when she had trouble with it. She’s more in her element calming down a riot than convincing someone to go a certain way. I would worry that it only works because she’s shouting at women (and what that would say that she couldn’t convince a man but women listened to her) BUT it is stated that entire camp went quiet with her voice. This also speaks to Siuan’s strengths. She needs to learn how to be subtly persuasive, but her sheer presence is affecting. In a ttrpg (Chronicles of Darkness) I play, there is a separate ability stat for Manipulation and for Charisma (both are under the social tree). I think Siuan at this moment in time is a perfect illustration of the difference between these two and what it means to be high Charisma and low Manipulation. Furthermore, it also contrasts with where Siuan was in the story while this was published. As of the Crossroads of Twilight, Siuan is the opposite in that she’s learned to lessen her presence even among non-Aes Sedai. This is mostly through doing Bryne’s laundry which I have thoughts on. She’s learned to up her Manipulation in the intervening years between New Spring and Crossroads of Twilight, and relies on it then.

·Babes. I hate the word babes, and it is thanks to this series.

·This noble lady has so much Karen energy.

·Moiraine does not think this adventure is that great. She would like to file a complaint with the Pattern.

·Moiraine believes in not making others suffer for her bad day. My history in customer service thanks her greatly.

·One thing I do think that the Amyrlin (and Moiraine) did not consider was that the child could have been born Aiel. There is a lot of assumption going around that the child will be on this side of the Dragonwall. I mean, Rand is. That does not change my opinion though.

·There is a really sweet moment here that makes me think of Rand, Moiraine, and how they are at the beginning of their journey vs later. Look, I will always find parallels between Rand and Moiraine, because I think there are a lot and that they are good foils in what is the same vs what is different about them. Anyway. Moiraine enters a woman’s name down in the books because she sympathizes with her plight, and she gives her money to take her child to a healer. She and her child are going to starve if they don’t receive help and they aren’t going to get it from the people around them. Now, I don’t think older Moiraine would not do the same in this relatively harmless situation, but she does place an emphasis when she gets older on helping who you actually can but focusing on the greater good. I’m thinking of the inn that got burned down in Eye of the World that Nyneave yelled at her for. There, Moiraine says that she will have the White Tower send money, but if she went back to help the inn she would be putting people that are more important at present in danger. She has shades of it here because she initially wasn’t going to put down the names, but Siuan made her take a closer look. It’s definitely a show of there being a small sense of idealism early on and believing you can save every person you meet and then a more pragmatic viewing of saving the world later on.

·Ah yes. Here comes Elaida. I don’t remember the name of the Aes Sedai with her which means she is either a background character or dead. It’s an ‘m’ name, so probably dead. We are also getting hints of the Aes Sedai hierarchy here, so it’s likely she’s more powerful than Elaida. I don’t think there was anyone more powerful than Elaida, Moiraine, and Siuan already in the Tower when the series started, so dead then.

·It’s sweet that Siuan wanted to stay until the last possible moment so that they could get as many names down as they could.

· Moiraine being a supportive girlfriend.

·Is Katarina one of the darkfriend reds in the series or is that a Katarine? I don’t remember.

·Okay so I remember Merian (I’m sure I didn’t spell that right. I listened/am listening to these books, okay?) the Keeper of Novices was a darkfriend. I think. I may be completely wrong about that, but I remember when I first listened to the book SOMEONE that seemed really nice and important was secretly a darkfriend, but this was only revealed super late into the book after they got to the Borderlands.

·I love that Moiraine hears her uncles are dead and just goes, “Sure. Probably deserved it.” Not in so many words, but that was definitely the vibe that she had going. Merian has no clue, and I don’t blame Moiraine for not sharing. I also didn’t remember that she got told this early. I thought that they had at least another day of taking names and that she got told around the same time they decided they wanted her to be Queen of Cairhien.

·Siuan being a supportive girlfriend.

· It is not wrong to not feel bad for the deaths of horrible family members. Do not punish yourself for it.

·This was such a sweet moment between the two of them, comforting each other between nightmares. We of course know who and what the Dragon Reborn is, but I can see how it would scare them and it’s nice to get the perspective of someone that is afraid of Rand, but pragmatic about it, and also does not know him.

I don’t really have any extra thoughts about this chapter. I made sure to pause the audiobook so that I could get everything out as it was coming to me. Maybe part of the reason that I paid better attention was the fact that I’m in less of a brain fog now or the fact that it is roughly in this chapter where I was planning to start the fic. We’ll see.

Wot Reread New Spring Chapter 6: Surprises

·Is Tsesuko (sp?) one of the Kin? I feel like she was one of the Kin. I feel like she was one of the healing focused ones. During the descriptions of her we get the way the Tower operates with channeling and also hints of the Kin if you are in the know.

·Sheriam is a heavy sleeper. This is so funny to me.

·Poor Moiraine. Getting forced inside and away from her goal. Also Merian needs to learn not to take out her bad day on other people. Excuse her.

·Okay so I’m glad the story had Siuan explicitly tell Moiraine that she didn’t need to feel bad about the fact that her uncles were dead. Also love the fact that Moiraine had told Siuan about her uncles and personal life more than anyone else.

·Siuan’s plan backfired and now they both are stuck inside, but at least it’s doing something that does further their goal. Only problem is that the person who currently has the baby is unlikely to tell anyone. “Hello, I took this baby from a dead Aiel woman on Dragonmount. Can I get some money?”

·Laras! My queen!

·I wonder if the amount of people giving birth had something to do with the Pattern trying to hide where Rand was born, especially given the fact that it basically led the Black Ajah to occupy their time with the names on the lists.

·The way that comment was said makes me wonder if Martin is important in the series. I don’t remember if this was an important or present character in the main series of if the name was just added for flavor.

·There’s a lot here about them finding more names and being shocked at the amount as well as people being vague. Tamra tells Moiraine she can use the power and Moiraine advises Siuan on how to play the great game.

·Ah! Now we start getting Sisters bothering Moiraine about her becoming Queen. Moiraine seems like she knows it at least, much as she told Siuan otherwise. I also find it interesting that this was the first lie she had told Siuan.

·Ah yes! Moiraine’s running away from the throne of Cairhien. I mean, I don’t blame her. I would also like to not rule Cairhien, their political structure is a mess and a half.

There was a lot of plot moving forward in this chapter, but nothing I really felt like commenting on at present. We get the beginning of the Moiraine avoiding becoming Queen plot and more of her and Siuan’s relationship and the depth that it goes to. I really wish that RJ hadn’t made them romance other people and hope it doesn’t happen in the show. It just doesn’t feel right, and also it feels out of character for the people they end up romancing as well. At the very least, I would like Gareth Bryne more if everything about his romance with Siuan was gone. Thom’s romance with Moiraine feels so out of character and some of that is because by the time they get together, he’s a non-character. It’s just so weird. I don’t mind them being bisexual queens, but let’s keep them together shall we? There’s just so much more potential that way.

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 7: The Itch

·The moment this chapter title popped up, I assumed it was about them putting itching powder in Elaida’s clothes and her getting back at them for it. I’m probably wrong, but that would be hilarious.

·Moiraine is definitely trying to think several steps ahead about this baby thing.

·I kind of wonder if it was this sort of experience that led Siuan to making the wonder girls her Black Ajah hunters. This is a random thought for this chapter, but here she thinks she’s perfectly capable of finding the Dragon Reborn and saving the world (or at least Moiraine does) as Accepted. Later, the two of them would have to deal with the Black Ajah as newly minted Aes Sedai, which might as well mean that they are Accepted. She probably saw their potential and decided that if she could do it, so could they.

·I’m just going to say this: making lists also help settle me. I’m sure Moiraine doesn’t actually mean it, but sometimes if I get antsy, I start organizing weird things (like finding out all of the stuff I need to gather for crafting every item in a video game, or trying to plan out a writing schedule or when I will play a video game in what order; a lot of it has to do with video games, I’ll admit). I won’t always follow through, but it settles me. If this is actually the case with Moiraine, we can bond over it.

·KERENE! I know you’re going to die, but I’m excited to see you!

·More reminding me that the Green Ajah don’t actually go to battle. Seriously, why not just say they help out in the Borderlands occasionally? I don’t think this is actually true, because the Borderlanders get so excited when Moiraine shows up in Eye of the World, and I recall believing that it meant Aes Sedai came by every now and then to help out. This is definitely one of those times where I like the tv show more, because (while I get the commentary on resting on laurels or a standing military that isn’t actually necessary means nothing) the fact that this organization is made up of exclusively women means that instead of equating it with the institution, it is equating it with women.

·It is also because of the above thing that I believe the Ajah best prepared for the Last Battle was the Red. They have the most experience in battle and fighting channelers. I’m not sure that I don’t believe it even in the show because Green still don’t fight against channelers, but at least the gap is smaller.

·Rena or Rina or Reena? Hafton is Elyas’s Aes Sedai! We know he still seems to be a warder in the book series so I’m trying to figure out if Rina is in the main series at all. It is possible that he was released and it is just not mentioned. It’s so strange that the beginning of the series made it sound like releasing the bond was practically impossible and then towards the end people just… do it. This is without having communicated it with someone that discovered it, which makes it more confusing.

·I’m guess the lacquer on the doors represents their ranks, since they seem to follow military ranks.

·Stepin! Narrow shoulders and sad brown eyes. That makes sense.

·Also, the implication of the items in the room is that Kerene has seen combat. Maybe it’s just not in battle. So much about the Green Ajah just doesn’t make sense.

·It felt like about halfway through the series itself, women were fainting and crying and vomiting left and right so it’s nice to see an Aes Sedai receive what is probably extremely terrifying news (about the Dragon being reborn) and remaining unflappable like they were presented at the beginning of the series.

·Okay so she wasn’t told about that but being told to visit the Amyrlin urgently is probably worrying.

·All of these people being sent to search are going to be killed and probably tortured by the Black Ajah.

·This Keeper is not going to be important. Why am I getting an extensive description of her clothing and jewelry.

·The itch being Moiraine’s curiosity is adorable.

Baby Moiraine is so tenacious and adorable. She is going to be trying to leave a lot sooner after Tamra dies and the next Amyrlin starts pushing for her to become Queen. I’m also wondering what Tamra thinks Siuan and Moiraine are doing and how she would deal with it if she knew or what would change if she didn’t. I’m pretty sure the Black Ajah are going to kill her any time now, so I’m kind of waiting for the next big plot point. It is either Tamra’s death or the Aes Sedai test. The order those two fall in will alter a lot of the framing of how my story goes depending on if I decide to follow New Spring’s timeline. A lot of this part of the story will be gone, since the search is gone, which is changing a lot more than I remember.

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 8: Shreds of Serenity

·So based on the fact that it seems the searchers are the ones that are giving Moiraine lessons AND that they seemed focused on Artur Hawking (previous huge ta’veren that conquered the continent), ancient writing and philosophy, I think that they were planning on Moiraine hiding the Dragon Reborn. I’m serious! They were probably thinking of having Moiraine becoming Queen of Cairhien after attaining the shawl. She would then be extremely connected to the White Tower so Aes Sedai could come there frequently. Then, once they found the Dragon Reborn, they could drop him off there. His family could come as refugees or servants and if they didn’t want to keep the child, he could be her ward. From there, he would get the best lessons in politics in the place where it was the most ruthless. There would be the best education one could afford thanks to the resources a queen of Cairhien would have, not to mention that the Aes Sedai being welcome means that those that are helping protect or educate him could visit frequently to see how he was progressing. Once the Dragon Reborn would be unveiled to the world, he would have been a ward for the Queen of Cairhien (maybe they would have Moiraine step down and let him be King or just back him heavily) and have the strong alliance of one country already as well as a positive connection to the White Tower. Not to mention they wouldn’t have to keep this secret from Moiraine, because I doubt Tamra didn’t tell the searchers that Moiraine and Siuan were there at the foretelling… Now I wish I was writing this fic instead, but I really am attached to what I’ve got planned. Possibly something for another time.

·Moiraine is extremely bisexual in this moment admiring Elid.

·I’m kind of curious if there were any other foretellings done by Gitara Moroso that specifically foretold the birth of the Dragon Reborn. I don’t necessarily think that what she told to Tigraine counts. On that note, I wonder if Gitara told Tamra about that foretelling. If that was the case, you’d think she would be looking in the Aiel Waste instead.

·The sheer mention of Myrelle makes me angry. I don’t care how helpful she is to Moiraine; she’s an awful person.

·Ah yes. ‘beneath her breasts’. To be fair, this is Moiraine who is extremely bisexual and would notice such a thing.

·Also thank you Elaida for being creepy and unnecessary

·I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a reflection of how the military trains people to do things by instinct under immense pressure, a comment on how people generally underperform under pressure and don’t show their true capabilities, or both. I have no experience in the military and the people I do know don’t talk about it, so I have no confirmation of the former, and I am not inclined to treat Aes Sedai serenity as a concept favorably (I’m sure I will get more into this as the story continues, specifically in the Great Hunt, but also in this book).

·I think what makes me angriest about this whole plot line is the resolution. The simple fact that Elaida gets in trouble for showing favoritism and not for abusing Siuan and Moiraine (or that the White Tower is built in such a way that means this was considered helping by abusing them to the point where Elaida probably genuinely thought that’s what she was doing). Don’t get me wrong, I think it makes sense in context and points out that there are numerous flaws in how systems govern themselves. It makes me angry in a way where the story is unfair, not that the author is a bad author.

·Part of what makes me so angry is the fact that, despite the fact that there are laws within the White Tower to prevent people from being punished with the Power, they make it explicitly clear that people do not follow them. Furthermore, when Accepted complain about the abuse, they somehow suffer for it and if a Novice does it, it is explained to them that they must accept things as they are. I think it should be rather obvious why I dislike the White Tower as an organization.

“Oh Siuan! Aes Sedai do not go about harming one another,” said Moiraine to Siuan about Elaida. After book 10.

I am not done with season 2 yet but is this another Breakup Era?💙💙

whatever you do … don’t imagine moiraine and siuan (especially new spring moiraine and siuan when they were novices) dancing to kingdom dance from tangled. i need a fanfic of this asap.

Dearest Siuanraine shippers and WoT stans, I just finished a Siuanraine edit.

It's the 2nd edit I've ever done. Here it is, I hope you enjoy it.

(Edited on Capcut.)

siuan, watching as elayne follows egwene everywhere with puppy eyes and does everything she says: yep, definetly a damodred

Just started "New Spring," and I'm enjoying it so much. It's super fun to read and realise that most of my headcanons, if not all of them, are getting confirmed, and I'm only starting chapter 3 now.

Also, I'm learning new things and making new connections I did not think about before about my favourite characters.

It's so entertaining and satisfying !

I can already tell that by the time I finish the book, I'll want to rewatch S1 and S2, keeping in mind what I learned and realised about our favourite throuple.

No, because this is literally just them so far :

I just read about this. 😭😂

She really was like:

"Oh well, OK."

"Yes, I'm totally in shock, Merean Sedai. You're right. That's totally the reason why I'm not crying."

"Can I leave now ? But before, let's make sure that you let me go do boring things again with my girlfriend tomorrow as initially planned because I don't care about them want to be alone with the grief."

leaves and proceeds to go to her room and think about going to her future fishwife's room instead

something so extremely funny but also extremely book accurate about show Moiraine gleefully running through the White Tower like "Oh good news everyone, the Aiel War is over! (because they killed her uncle and several of her cousins)"

"You are a cool one, Aes Sedai," Lan said flatly.

"As cool as I must be," she told him.