Discussion - Ajahs/Warders

[LilyElizabeth]

A conversation in the Yellows sparked this thread. I can't be the only one who feels like a mix of Ajahs sometimes. 

 

What Ajahs do you feel you could fit in with? Why? (If you want to share.)

 

What Ajahs do not resonate with you? Again, why? (Keep it friendly.)

 

Or are you a Warder at heart?

 

For me, I am nearly half and half Green and Yellow. Green because of the many battles I've fought and am fighting. It's always something. Most notably, my recovery from an emotionally abusive alcoholic ex-husband. As for the Yellows, for years I have focused on mental and emotional health. (And now, it's my career.) And then there's the Blue patch. I love Harry Potter. I love the atmosphere there. I chose not to go Blue because they tend toward a lot of sci-fi/fantasy fandoms, and I don't really. But it was definitely in the running for me. I also have a small Gray spot. I like things peaceful and serene, and that's the vibe I get there. 

 

As for the others, I just don't see much of them in me. White - I'm just not logical enough. lol I'm a creature of emotions. Red - They feel too independent for me to feel like I fit. And Brown - even though I love the Brownies and their discussions over there, I'm just not that big of a reader anymore. 

Edited October 19, 2019 by LilyElizabeth

[Elgee]

Nice thread, Lily! I'll come join in as soon as I have more time to write up something considered.

[Ryrin]

I came here thinking I would be Blue. Blues in the books are aligned with causes and I felt that was a good fit for me. I also liked that the Blues were not Tower bound and traveled. Like Lily, I chose not to go Blue here because they tend toward a lot of sci-fi/fantasy fandoms and that's not my thing. I don't think I have the same cool demeanor as the Blues either.  I'm not logical enough for the Whites, as I'm more emotional. As for the Grays, I'm neither neutral nor peaceful. I am skilled at mediation. However, I'm really getting into these things that are common to the Grays here: cooking, gardening crafting, and painting. As for the Yellows, I do have the desire to heal. Last are the Reds. Lol. I admit, I hated the book Reds. I've read some things here reframing the Reds and their purposes, so I became more understanding. I find the Reds fearful. At least, the ones here.  

 

I found my place.  

 

I once wrote this in the Green Ajah Field trip and I think it still holds true.

 

The Greens are intensely loyal to one another. The Greens remind me of another group I participate in. I'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. They have something called a "household." A household is described thusly:

 

"A household is .... a group of people who like to do things together in a Society (Ajah) context, to the point where they can be treated as a single unit." That definition covers groups of friends, small families, professional guilds (entertainment, brewing, waterbearers, &c), fighting units, and even businesses."

 

We come from various backgrounds, different nationalities, different ages, but we are a "household." We fight our own battles plus assist our Brothers and Sisters with theirs. We are a unit and know that we can go to one another for both fun and advice. We enjoy being together.

 

  Over time, I have found a connection with the Browns. The Browns have a love of books and history. I share those loves. Browns have a sense of humor and the willingness to ponder deep questions. The Browns are my second home here. I have a pretty deep Brown streak, although I would not choose to stay in the Tower. 

 

Great topic, Lily!

 

❤️ Please note, Lily is Green. 

 

[LilyElizabeth]

Warders can play, too.

[JamesBrown]

2 hours ago, LilyElizabeth said:

Warders can play, too.

 

Okay, then.

 

Were I to choose the Aes Sedai path, it would immediately be winnowed down to White (logical, enjoys puzzles, etc.), Brown (book fanatic, learning for learning's sake), and  Green (ever battle-ready. "Come on, if you think you're hard enough.")

 

I go back and forth among those three depending on my mood and the day of the week.

 

But I'm happy as a Warder.

[Ryrin]

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 10:06 AM, JamesBrown said:

 

Okay, then.

 

Were I to choose the Aes Sedai path, it would immediately be winnowed down to White (logical, enjoys puzzles, etc.), Brown (book fanatic, learning for learning's sake), and  Green (ever battle-ready. "Come on, if you think you're hard enough.")

 

I go back and forth among those three depending on my mood and the day of the week.

 

But I'm happy as a Warder.

 

I could really see you as any of those, but White the most.

[Ryrin]

If I were a Warder I would have gone Me’Arearth.

[LilyElizabeth]

18 hours ago, Ryrin said:

 

I could really see you as any of those, but White the most.

 

I agree with this. 

[Ryrin]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 9:14 AM, LilyElizabeth said:

 

I agree with this. 

 

Green second. 

[Cross]

i'll hop in here, 

 

 may have seemed like the obvious choice given my profession. i mean geeks and nerds right? but honestly, thats almost exactly why i didn't go blue, it IS my profession. i have to live in the world of geekdom nearly every day of the year. it's an aspect of me, sure. but it's not my core, not who i am. and ajah choice, i think, should reflect the truest you. i do not want to be defined by my interests or area of entertainment that i happen to work. so while there's a blue streak, it just wasn't home.

 actually grey made it to my final list of three when i was narrowing ajah's down. closer to my personality, my laid backness. i enjoy the pursuit of peace in all areas of my life. i also think it falls well into my hobbies. crafting miniatures, helping sis with her designs for her needlework and threadcraft. relaxing is very important to me as i've had several areas of my life be more stressful than anyone would like. plus i'm an introvert, recharging is important, which is where peace and hobby comes in. but in the end it's still my hobby not my entirety. 

 yeah, just nah. i enjoy messing with the reds, they're a fun bunch to do that with, but just not really anything that stuck to me much

 were in contention for me for a bit. but i never really found traction or engaged within the whites. my head just wasn't in it. which is kinda something you need for them

 one of probably the first ajah's i knew wasn't for me. 

 k so my ajah choice came down to two serious contenders. where i am, and the green. and it all boiled down to one question i asked myself, who do i want to be? not simply in the sense of ajah choice, but in a much more serious philosophical way. a little background here, when i joined the boards, i had gotten away from a nine year sexual harassment situation. i'd been out of that scenario for a couple years, but was only just coming to terms and finding the depths to which it had scarred and impacted me. fresh from actually stepping out and telling the people in charge about it, working with them to 'fix' it. etc. needless to say, i wanted to fight. i had wanted to fight for years. but i had just found legs on which i could stand and do so. so the battle ajah, the group where they rally around eachother. that was incredibly appealing. i needed a base, a support system. i like the concept of standing in for someone else. raising a defense. 

 

however...

 

it was all that one question that nagged me, 'who do i want to be?' a person who fights all the time (in a good way yes) or someone who chooses to focus my being on learning, growing, developing, understanding. the more i thought, the more i knew, that was me. sometimes you have to fight, but it can't be my defining aspect. it's not who i'll be in the long run. the pain from my past will be there, i can fight against it, i can fight for it, but i wont let it define me. it's an aspect. not my core. and i needed to embrace that in order to move on from the anger. which still wells up from time to time. but the brown's are who i am. introverted thinkers, more apt to do the research before jumping in. content to relax with a book, to be a spring of knowledge to those who need it. that's who i want to be. it's who i am. 

 

these boards are great, they give you many outlets. i can be a warrior in the aiel (and intend to be) i can be a pain in the neck in shayol ghul. and frivolous in the wolf pack. but the tower has become my home. its been a process i took very seriously, one i intend to represent and use to help shape and work through life. its a useful home. being a brown aes sedai is the truest reflection of both who i am and who i intend to be

[LilyElizabeth]

That was beautiful, Cross.

[Ryrin]

Cross, that was very awesome.

 

Isnt it interesting on how we choose and why? Your explanation was deep. 

 

You are Brown.

[JamesBrown]

Great post, Cross.

 

*hugs*

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

With or without DM, with or without WoT even, I'm brown. Introverted, disconnected, distracted but not really, getting lost in whatever I'm thinking or doing until I follow another thought. I like books and cats better than humans by a long shot. I 

 

 I feel comfortable with the DM grey Ajah and in some ways akin. I enjoy  visiting the blue and the white sometimes. 

 

I feel uncomfortable with the green, red, and yellow. In the books and on DM, its just not me.

 

I enjoy some warder threads and some warder characters, and at least one warder would be a helluva brown, but I don't feel any affinity for the avocation.

 

[Ryrin]

I really enjoy seeing the responses.

 

Thank you, Cindy.

[Gentled Ben]

As far as the books go, I can sympathize with each of the Ajah's missions; I can see how a case can be made for each Ajah being the most important one, and for that reason, if I were a real Aes Sedai, I would be a Gray. Grays are needed in order to smooth relations between the Ajahs, amplify the voices of the smaller Ajahs, and ensure that there is enough peace and stability in the world for each Ajah to pursue their passion in the interest of best serving mankind, although in my heart, I would have always longed to be a Brown, researching and recovering lost knowledge, but my duty would have been to serve as a Gray, and so that's what I would have done.

 

On Dragonmount, I just clicked the best with the Whites, so that's the Ajah that I chose. I also hung around the Browns a lot and the Yellows a bit, but I didn't visit the others that often, and I felt no connection to the Blue at that time (2006).

 

Now, I spend my time in the White and sometimes lurk in the Blue because I had a lot of fun playing some fantasy adventure games with them a year or two ago, and I read some of the Brown threads, as well. I enjoyed taking part in their book challenge a couple of years ago. I don't go to the other Ajahs that often, as I really don't spend  much time on Dragonmount.

[Songstress]

I considered Brown pretty strongly, but at heart, my love for reading is more entertainment than learning, and I am much less of a curious person.

 

My second choice was Yellow - in college, I was a member of an improvisational comedy troupe, and I know where to go for warm hugs and lighthearted conversation.

 

Blue felt like *home*.  I have found my nerds and I love them.  

[Liitha]

I joined the AS path and was actually on the green private boards when I first joined. As I neared transfer from novice too accepted though I just didn't see how I would choose one of the ajah as there traits of all in me, and after consulting with friends and mentor and such I changed track so I ranked up in the track I would belong too.

 

Back then they were in a period without disciplines so no choice to make as der'manshima, and I definitely feel at home there even if I like visiting the ajah at times.

 

 

 

 

[Kathleen]

In my accepted days I was very much split between Red and Green. It seems everyone I knew had no doubt I was green but I certainly did resist. I really enjoyed the reds and spent equal time between the boards and really dreaded the decision of which one to pick. 

 

Eventually I had a moment where it settled comfortably when I was faced with two very simple questions: 1) if I could only ever post in one board again which board would it be. 2) which board do I post in first when I have something important to share like Good news or bad news. 

 

The first question seemed impossible to think about, but the second one got the ball rolling. I realized that I went to the greens to share my news and I went to the Reds to get my entertainment (not that I wasn’t thoroughly entertained by the greens-who wouldn’t be??).

 

Knowing what I would do if I had to be limited to only one forever made the choice come to me. I’m grateful that I wasn’t limited to it and still welcome to be as active in the Reds as a Green as I ever was as an Accepted. 

 

Time is the ultimate factor in knowing that I made the right choice for me. I have grown and changed so much since I joined this website a decade ago. And I don’t remember the last time I was actively involved in anything in any Ajah but I have always lurked in the Greens. 

 

Even during the the last few of my active years I was definitely drawn more to the Greys than the Reds for my downtime/playtime/venturing out time. 

 

The Greens have remained home throughout and even with my lurking status and the members coming and going I know the Greens can always find me when they want/need me and I still feel comfortable to reach out to them when I have life changes and they always accept me in as if I never left. 

[Taymist]

Looks like most of us are a real mix. Some fascinating replies to this post. Cool idea, Lily.

 

Where the books are concerned, I've always been a Blue/Brown mix with a little splash of Grey. Verin and Moiraine are my two favourite Aes Sedai and were from the get go. 

 

DM on the other hand is a whole other kettle of fish and nothing like the books. I actually started out Warder pathed but swapped when I realised my offline fascination with swords and weaponry didn't really translate to feeling at home with the Warders on the boards.

 

Initially, I went White. A lot of that was to do with how welcome they made me feel compared to the other Ajahs and without making me feel I had to be really visibly active or pressured to participate. GB and Twinnie in particular were absolutely lovely to me, and I enjoyed doing all the logic puzzles and taking part in the White's Festival. So much so that I became a Sitter for a while, taking charge of the website too, briefly. However, in the end, the White's weren't the right home, I don't think I was quite "cool and logical" enough and I decided to swap.

 

The Greens have always been warm and welcoming at DM and the Yellows were always fun and quirky, probably why two of my Souvra bonds belong to members of those Ajah. I didn't really like any of the others (sorry!).

 

But in the end, the only one that fit me was the Reds. I wanted somewhere that wouldn't judge me, that didn't expect false modesty, with people who didn't object to plain speaking, or equate honesty with being rude, who respected a wide range of opinions, appreciated diversity, and not only tolerated but actively encouraged opinionated discussions without holding grudges. The Reds has always been filled with both introverts and extroverts, the personalities are widely differing, but they're all fiercely independent thinkers, strong and outspoken in their passions, firm supporters of women and women's issues... and no, none of us are man haters. We're nothing like the book Reds but I can see how we'd be intimidating to some people lol. Me? I love them. Plus, you know, we gave you an Amyrlin who's pretty damn awesome. 

[Elgee]

I saw that ... *grins and snugglebites*

[Taymist]

 *tickles with spork* don't get too carried away, we don't want to have to widen all the doorways. 

[Ryrin]

Thanks for sharing g, Kathleen and Tay!

 

This is such a good topic with heartfelt responses. Thank you, Lily.

[LilyElizabeth]

I'm really enjoying reading it, and it would be great if it helped some Accepteds find their way by seeing how carefully we all considered when finding our homes. 

[Kathleen]

 As far as books go, there’s no way in hell I would’ve been in green. I am so afraid of conflict verbally, emotionally, and physically. I could not handle any kind of actual battling.

 

On the other hand I am super big into good/bad, right/wrong, justice, laws, order, Clerical work. My day job is literally a legal assistant. I would be gray ajah 1000%. Period