You're Gonna Die Charlie

24, engineer. I gif and edit! LOST, RWBY, F1, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, etc. My gifs can be found under #sophedits.

[sophthebof]

- Robert Jordan

[woozapooza]

Good morning to spinal surgeons, former paraplegics, women on the run from a murder charge, con men from Southern states, professional torturers, businessmen raised by fishermen, Koreans who speak English but pretend they don’t, cursed lottery winners, Catholic rock stars, Australians who like peanut butter, lifeguards who can’t do CPR, ballerinas with mean stepmothers, estranged fathers and sons reconnecting with each other, and yellow Labrador retrievers

[ieatratsyummy]

They could never make me hate you, complex female character whose reaction to trauma was not pretty and digestible like how people think it should be.

[driftsart]

Silly rocks <3

[sophthebof]

(AMOL and full wot series spoilers ahead!)

I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Sanderson Complaints since I finished the series, but I’ve yet to see discussion about one of the bits he wrote that most bugged me. It’s a minor thing comparably, but it’s this passage (detailed discussion beneath cut):

So what’s wrong with this?

1. The biggest thing here - this is a such a brutal example of Sanderson’s complete lack of subtlety as a writer and storyteller. This is a massive underlying theme of Rand’s arc and what Jordan was building up to saying about the struggle against evil both in the real world and in this series. This is the Wheel of Time’s big demonstration of the common theme of “evil defeats itself” (to put it most straightforwardly). This is something that I feel Jordan had set up to be most effectively realized by readers when ruminating on Rand’s relationship to channeling, and to madness and to the Dark One. It fits perfectly with his themes of the fundamental ineffectiveness of evil and the wheel weaving as it wills - things may turn out to have a purpose in the grand tapestry of the universe that individuals cannot see. I think it’s supposed to be this big coming together of a lot of the themes of this series all at once, for readers who have spent 14 odd books with this story, and that’s what makes it so well set up and so rewarding. And Sanderson just…comes out and states it. And then-

2. How he states it. If it had been done with any gravitas I may not have been so annoyed by this. But it’s not enough for him to have Rand explicitly state one of the main underlying subtle points of his arc, no, he has him say it out loud as though we should all be so IMPRESSED. Isn’t this so CRAZY? Aren’t I so CLEVER? This isn’t the culmination of a carefully constructed 14 book long arc and story, no, it’s a fun little connection Rand and I made!

3. The cherry on top - Perrin’s reaction, in universe, of whistling like an idiot because even HE is oh so impressed with this. Since when is Perrin so impressed by stuff like this anyway?

Robert Jordan trusted his readers and I never quite felt Sanderson did, and in not doing so, he reduces the writing’s effectiveness. This is just my least favorite example of it. It’s my biggest complaint with him as an author and clashes terribly with the wheel of time, a series so predicated on subtlety and trusting your audience to pick up on it.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

the thing about the wheel of time is that yes it's 14.5 books long and each book is a brick and sometimes the pacing is kinda wack but if you manage to get through the entire thing and See the Vision of rj's tapestry narrative play out it will drive you crazy and you will never be able to shut up about it ever

[eggpilled-maekarcel]

Gotta take a moment to appreciate best boy Rand. I love how smart he is when he’s not smart, if that makes sense. When he doesn’t know something, he’ll do whatever it takes to fill up those knowledge gaps. He wants to prepare for the Last Battle but doesn’t know what to do? No problem, he’ll just scour every book he can find on the Karaethon Cycle. He knows he’s destined to destroy the world, so he gets busy with building schools in the realms he rules hoping that important information won’t be lost in the coming chaos. Even when he thinks he knows something, he’ll often second guess himself. He’s taking time out of his busy day to chat with philosophers. He’s funding STEM!! Ogier come to town and he’s immediately like, “bet, they’ll help me find the waygates so I can try and control the flow of shadowspawn”. He’s so proactive even with the most minute details. It’s just so refreshing just how intelligent and well read he is — or tries to be. I think that’s one of the major reasons why the TV adaptation didn’t really do his character justice. Yes, Rand is the quintessential male fantasy protagonist. But he’s much more than a sword or his channeling. He’s a mini prodigy in his own way; I get shocked everytime I remember he’s an actual musician lol. Anyway, he’s literally the character of all time. Rand haters y’all need to get with the program idk

[sixth-light]

Reverse Unpopular Opinion Meme: Wheel of Time!

I love how Wheel of Time (Jordan edition) is a series which really deep down believes that people are people and everybody is ultimately kinda trapped in their own cultural upbringing and point of view, but that this doesn't condemn them to being a Good Guy or a Bad Guy, in a way that is very hopeful about the basic nature of humanity and is also utilised for some extremely funny point-of-view humour. I love that every single character is looking at a different character going 'man, how come they have it together when I'm such a mess'. I love that it says quietly but emphatically that an influx of Muslim-coded non-white refugees to the heroes' rural hometown brings prosperity and new industry and positive change that should be embraced. I love that its human bad guys are the Inquisition via the Klu Klux Klan and a chattel slavery empire with Southern accents and a bunch of deranged academics, but, this is important, it still thinks academic research and being a giant nerd is a hugely valuable (and gender-neutral) area of human interest. I think it has held up remarkably well nearly forty years after the first book was published and I think it will continue to do so.

(meme here)

[sophthebof]

Heir of Fire - Sarah J Maas

[demoncity]

The train used to run in both directions, but these days it's a one-way ride. Still want to go?

Spirited Away 2001 — dir. Hayao Miyazaki

[nsevens]

LOST (2004 - 2010) 3.15 — Left Behind

[veliseraptor]

if rand, mat, and perrin have their "[x] is so much better with women than me, I don't know what I'm doing" then nynaeve, elayne, and aviendha have "[x] is so much braver than me, I'm such a coward"

[ruji2gaj]

I'm back with more of them

[xillionart]

“Is that what made you turn to his side?” Rand asked. “You were always so full of thoughts, Elan. Your logic destroyed you, didn’t it?”

[panarchspalace]

When I say "the Wheel weaves as it wills" this is what I mean:

[sophthebof]

The concept of Ituralde and Bashere reuniting after the Last Battle and sharing in the experience of being Compelled. Both admitting to each other that they have a hard time sleeping or trusting their decision making or relinquishing control in any way because what if their minds somehow still aren’t their own? Can they ever lead armies again or be of service in the same way? The discussing of the fact that at the most important time in history for their skills to be useful they weren’t able to be…the undeserved guilt they both must feel. The two of them being the only ones who can understand the fear and bonding deeply over it…..if nobody writes it I may have to

[sophthebof]

And if I wrote a fanfic of Rodel Ituralde and Davram Bashere kissing…what then

[sophthebof]

UPDATE: I did it. No literal kissing…this time at least (??). But metaphorically or whatever

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84038866