Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag - Tumblr Posts
My apologies to the Wormies following me, but I'm re-listening to the Wheel of Time audio book(s) and I just got to the Seanchan and I'm going to explode if I don't talk about how much I fucking hate them. Spoilers for Wheel of Time (but honestly it's 15 books I'm not going to force you to read all of them first.)
CW: Fascists. Sexual abuse/violence.
They're fascists. Unambiguously. They enslave just about everyone and everything they meet. They expect complete strangers to know their intricate ways under pain of death. Anyone they can't kill for convenience they torture in their every waking moment. They conquer people, then let them walk around armed because of their brutal arrogance that lets them murder anyone not cowed into submission.
Damane are enslaved, treated like animals, have their hands and tongues cut off if there is a risk to their owner's secrets, and despite the apparent Seanchan cultural shame of having sex with one, treated akin to bestiality, I seriously doubt that there aren't members of the Blood that have raped Damane. When women are under institutional power to the degree that the Seanchan have placed women who can channel under, women who are already treated like animals, or as it's said in the text; "Like a piece of furniture or a tool", women are victimized. Some of these women have been enslaved for hundreds of years, some have been captured as teenagers, and the ones holding their literal chains are also women who can channel that simply didn't have the initial spark that doomed the other women in the first place. By all technicality, each and every Suldam, including the Seanchan Heir apparent are Marath'damane themselves. The only fucking reason that Tuon doesn't get collared herself is because the text needs her to commit her forces to the Last Battle. It would only take a little thinking and her entire court could supplant her.
I hate every single facet of their existence. Their empire is under constant rebellion, but not a single fucking one of the Seanchan characters thinks it's at all odd that people are constantly rising up in defiance of a totalitarian state as merciless and cruel as theirs. It's treated as a bad thing that darkfriends cause the collapse of the mainland Seanchan Empire, the death of the Empress, and the complete anarchy that follows.
My sole consolation is the knowledge that every empire falls, that my headcanon for the aftermath of Wheel of Time means that the Seanchan collapse entirely. Their mainland is embroiled in a total civil war, armed with rampaging, angry magical nukes, scouring everything of life. Their new empire is headed by a woman who can channel, and every enslaved and conquered person in their invader empire can theoretically flee into the free lands of the east, including any women who can channel. If anyone figures out that the A'dam would work on Tuon, she's fucked and so is Matt and the Seanchan settler empire. There is no way that the Seanchan can keep hunting Marath'damane with the entire rest of the world has organizations of channelers that they can flee to, and the Dragon's Peace to keep the nations from killing each-other.
The worst part about listening to the Seanchan chapters is having to pause every ten minutes or so and get angry about something new being so cartoonishly evil, while the Seanchan shrug off criticism as if it's somehow natural to murder and enslave everything you can see and people who don't just don't understand their ways, which are better than everyone else.
And we're supposed to accept that Tuon is somehow gentler with her Damane. As if that's a fucking high bar to clear. Hypocritical bitch. Fuck you.
Maybe they'll tone it down for the TV show, but I already have so many problems with the show that I probably won't watch it. Amazon will not do the books justice, and they've abbreviated and changed so much it's barely the same tone or characters. That can be another rant for another day.
Wheel of Time crew at the beach
Rand: Goes because he was convinced to by Min, Aviendha, and Elayne. Is wearing a bright red bathing suit that Moiraine gave him. Is the first to leave because he hates sand.
Egwene: Keeper of Sunscreen. Makes sure that everyone reapplys several times during the day. Is infuriated at Elayne because she keeps insisting that she doesn't need to wear any, even though she is clearly getting a sunburn.
Nynaeve: Brings a cooler full of water and snacks. Gets frustrated when people (Mat) asks her for drinks they know she didn't bring (whiskey). She lets out her frustration in a game of beach volleyball. Stops playing when she spikes the ball into another beach-goer's face.
Moghedien: Gets drilled in the face by a volleyball and has a bloody nose. Will get her revenge on Nynaeve one day though she kind of liked getting hit.
Elayne: Has Birgitte take pictures of her rolling around in waves and on the sand while pretending to laugh. Consults with Aviendha which is the best picture, and they decide Birgitte has to do them over, who is nowhere to be found. She isn't getting sunburn, and if she does, it'll tan. You'll see.
Aviendha: Has the best day at the beach. Took so many pictures, although they were all of the ocean. Except one of Elayne, which happens to be Aviendha's favorite.
Birgitte: Runs away when Elayne goes to look at the pictures with Aviendha. Spends the rest of the day with Mat.
Mat: Brought his own cooler that had alcohol. He and Birgitte spend most of the day together, though Elayne eventually finds them. Somehow, she's already drunk even though she didn't have anything to drink yet. Is being buried up to his neck in sand by Olver, who is lured away with the snacks Nynaeve has. No one goes to help him out because Nynaeve still has that volleyball.
Perrin: Looks forward to spending a nice day on the beach. Berelain is there, and by the Light her bathing suit is very revealing. Faile sees him glance at Berelain's general direction and yells at him before leaving him to spend time with Loial. All he was looking at was the dog someone else brought with them.
Loial: Spends all day under an umbrella writing about the day. The beach is fascinating to him, but he doesn't get why humans spend so much time there, given how hot it is.
Faile: Enjoys the time she spends with Loial after she got mad at Perrin. Is totally aware of the dog that Perrin was looking at but is on Amazon ordering a bathing suit similar to Berelain's.
Berelain: Takes as many selfies as she possibly can. Pretends her hat blows away in the wind and asks Galad to help her catch it. She just threw it.
Galad: Is glad to help Berelain get her hat back, though he's confused as to why she threw it at all. Tells Morgase that Elayne refused sunscreen which is why she's burnt to a crisp the next day.
Min: Happily reads under an umbrella she shares with Rand. Convinces him to put his feet in the water.
Tuon: Is either sitting in a chair that is on a towel or is on Selucia's shoulders. She will not set foot on sand; it is unseemly. Egwene accidentally brushes sand on her towel. It was just an accident, Tuon.
Lan: Is in a black t-shirt and black jeans. Doesn't try to help Mat out of the sand. He thinks it's funny that Nynaeve is keeping him there, though he hasn't smiled all day.
Thom: Drove everyone to the beach. Is playing music on his towel.
Moiraine: Bought everyone ice cream and didn't get a thank you from anyone except Thom and Egwene. Warns everyone that she saw jellyfish, but no one listens.
Gawyn: Goes to swim in the water and gets stung by a jellyfish. Egwene tells him he only has himself to blame, but he blames Rand for it. Rand left two hours before this even happens. Elayne says someone should just pee on him like in Friends.