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What I mean is that TLR could have just killed them but instead he turned them into mistwraiths. Lots and lots, more than he ever would intend to spike as kandra. Why? You suggested that the feruchemists hunted down were used to make Kandra spikes. I'm wondering if they're connected somehow. To tie that back to the original post, do mistwraiths by default have Identity? Are we looking at the source of spikes maybe? Or maybe the byproduct?

Elend is a self insert and Vin is a manic pixie dream girl that loses a lot of agency once she falls in love with Elend. Also there's a steep learning curve to all the metals and their properties, what they do on their own and then what they do in resonance with each other individual metal. I appreciate the complexity in theory but sometimes less is more. I ignore half of what's posted on this forum because it's detailed questions about all of the fine points of it and it's just boring. That might not be an unpopular opinion elsewhere, I feel like I'm probably closer to the majority outside of places like this.

Really interested theory, and it checks a lot of boxes imo. Between the OP and the response from HavingTheHasHoidAPurpose regarding the source of these blanked identities, I'm now wondering about mistwraiths. They seem like a horrible thing to create, with no real purpose but a place to draw new kandra from. Could they possibly be a byproduct of TLR'a process somehow?

What about the experiment that Navani did in Book four that involved investiture a vacuum? Can anyone please apply the thought behind that to this?

Neat! wish I had more to add, other than the DRs listed are in first person. "He must pick it up etc" isn't, so I don't think it fits specifically for the fifth ideal, but I can see how it might be related to all of them simultaneously

I have waited months, years! to know this about the Ooklas. Thank you.

I wonder if this is somehow foreshadowed by Eshoni's musings over not being able to find Art Form, and the further emphasis on the listeners being terrible at it and admiring human creations. It seems like throw away world building, but...

That sentence was longer than what you quoted and leaving out the second part changes the meaning entirely. (But maybe that was my fault. I'm still figuring out the buttons on here. Although I don't think I corrected that part). I said I don't think he would showcase a variety of people struggling but for some reason Leshwi won't be one of those people and is somehow an exception. He's delt with depression, multiple identities, domestic verbal abuse, alcoholism, autism...why not a trans character struggling with gender dysphoria? I think Leshwi WILL be one of those struggling people. Anyway, I'm glad we agree I also think that's what make them so interesting. And I really appreciate the gravitas he gives it. Do you guys think I should just start a new thread about what being trans means for Leshwi's character, and you guys can talk on here about being fused vs human? Their culture is pretty neat and I think it's an interesting subject. But it also feels weird and it's not what I intended. Does anyone want to talk about what it would be like to be a fused, in a body that's a different gender, and then for it to suddenly seem a lot more permanent? If she dies, she can't just pop right back in a new body with a random gender because Odium will be all over her. This is now the one she's stuck with. That to me seems very difficult. She's always had a bit of a different mindset than the other Fused. Then she betrays her people! Now she's with the Listeners. I think she must be feeling like a duck out of water in so many ways. I don't think being trans necessarily will be the focus, but I think it could act as a symbol. Like how Teft's drug use was symbolic for his self hatred. The person Leshwi is inside is not reflected. Yet. She's so much better a person than the one she's been stuck being. Lmk if I should move that over to a new thread. I don't want to detail the topic of my own poorly worded post!

Oh, I see what you're saying. Because yeah, their bodies are altered. So I guess their skin pattern would be more Identifying than their gender is what you're saying. Like painting a car with flames haha. Well I guess it's possible. That does make sense. I still don't find it very palatable to say it's psychological. Maybe it's more like the spren itself causes that to change, like warform gets bigger, nibleform more dexterous, and the fused spren has those particular individual markings? Leshwi shaves her beard--that's pretty clear to me that if she had control over something like that, she would not need a barber. Idk guys, whether or not a fused can culturally identity as a different gender is getting kinda heavy and I can see where you're all coming from, but I think it touches on some real world questions people have. Maybe that's why it needs to be represented and I'm so enthusiastic about Leshwi being trans. I guess I did open the thread with it as a question. I think I've decided it's not. I just don't think BS would fill his world with people struggling in various ways and this is an exception for some fantastical reason. I guess my question was more, "so Leshwi is trans. Ok, what does that mean for her character going forward?" Not IF she even can be trans. :/

Yeah I agree. Its not "healing" so much as it's a disconnect from the spiritual. Maybe because it's stormlight and therefore Honor's light and his most pure surge is Connection...? Like IS it progression? Which seems like it would be of Cultivation...idk. But you're right, Voidlight ain't got it Edit: Dang it, I tried to edit my last post and double posted. I'm still learning. sorry! I'm not seeing a delete button so I'll just tack this on to the post above and maybe someone can tell me how to delete this one? Edit 2: yeah I can't figure that out either. I will just try not to double post again and hope I'm forgiven this time

Yeah guys, I see what you're saying about how frequently Singers change their bodies and what that might mean for them being in the "wrong" body. I think it's definitely worth exploring that....but Im on the fence here. Like you, I just have no idea if it would make it easier or harder since I'm not a singer (let alone trans). I think for the very meta sake of the audience, especially because we of course want to see trans visibility represented well, you have to consider it equally important to a singer as it is to a human. Like, even out of mateform, Rlain is still male and into men and that's important because of the representation. I think it being easier for Singers would do a disservice to trans fans, and I think if Brandon was going to include a trans character he wouldn't do that, because a very real difficulty for certain people would be reduced for the sake of world building. That doesn't sit right with me, and it feels a little like the antithesis of what he's trying to do with some of his bigger themes in the cosmere. (Some times he doesn't get it right, but we know he tries, like how much he improved with Renarin vs Adien) Is still a neat concept to consider however! I would love to meet a gender fluid Singer that embraces that changeability so we can keep exploring that part of the world.... tactfully.

That's a really good eye. Then again, even when people aren't currently engaging in sexy times, they're still what gender they are. I think it's more about Identity than it is about reducing gender to a physical act, and might actually make a powerful point for it to matter even in non-mateform.

Do you think that could change? I'd really love to see an arch where through a radiant spren friendship and hard work internally, she could get there, and use stormlight to transition. Her reaction to Venli's bond to Timber was so moving. I think she'd have some big steps to take but it would be worth it. Gender dysphoria and body snatching could be a really interesting conduit for that. I could see a lot of her arch being about how who she is has been lost, and how even externally it doesn't reflect who Leshwi is on the inside.

It would be nice if it was addressed. However, I don't think she would give up the body she has and revert to a spren. I think it might leave her more vulnerable to Odium. Second, the body is already an empty vessel. Its not easy to put toothpaste back in the tube ya know? But I could definitely see the consideration of body snatching being less than moral a reason she would dedicate herself to a malen body despite dysphoria.

I mean, she is, technically, isn't she? Since she's femalen in a malen body. It's really amazing to have trans representation. I'm glad that right now it's blink and you miss it and not really dwelled on because she's so full of other characteristics (no one likes a character existing to just check the boxes). However I do hope that BS goes a bit deeper with it because it deserves to be explored now that we know her better. Plus there are a lot of things it allows us to consider.0 RoW climax spoilers: Oh also, it makes the Kaladin/Leshwi ship even more intriguing to consider

If you don't want to read about characters dealing with their mental health you might be reading the wrong series. There are plenty of reasons to dislike Shallan, but if you've got a problem with reading about how she deals with her trauma then you've got a problem with the story BS wants to tell about her. It is an essential component of her character arch. Frankly it doesn't sound like you have a lot of ways you can relate to her, and maybe it's a good thing you're reading about how she deals with her trauma; stories like this are a great tool of empathy for all of us, and the expression "suck it up" can be really toxic. Shallan might have to save the world, but, for example, to a parent with the same issues as Shallan, their child might be their world. Mental health doesn't get to take a back seat no matter what (subjective) amounts of responsibility are on someone. Edited: tone

Wow I can't believe how many there are! It's so neat that there are seeds of truth in so many of them. I wonder in which ways they overlap, and if it might be worth investigating.

I played a wizard in dnd that was a chef and used prestidigitation for exactly that. Do like, a lot of people on this site play dnd? I think my husband and I could be talked into a short game/single session if you have any interest in running a mistborn one. We're just about to start a new campaign but feel free to PM me if that ever becomes something people would want to do (can I get PMs as a new member with like 3 posts?) Are mistborn RP games a thing? That's (exciting) news to me. But Brandon Sanderson and my dnd group don't really overlap either. https://i.imgur.com/2SVqRTe_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium Also I found this picture that made me think about what I said in my initial post. Also also I'm glad you recognize the artist in yourself. That makes me really happy!

Omg that would be amazing. There's no telling what radiants could do with their powers and creativity. A spy ring is obvious if it's during war, but think of all the things! I bet Shallan would have an entire illusionary zoo so that no creature was kept in a cage. It reminds me of how Dalinar wonders why shard blades aren't used for anything other than swords. If there wasn't perpetual war, there would be so many applications.

Hi, I'm new, this is my first post. But I really love cryptics. I hope my take on them is cool enough to post with you cool kids. I've always considered cryptics to basically be fractals in nature. If you're unfamiliar with a fractal, it's a mathematical formula, or a pattern, that repeats over and over, getting smaller and smaller but staying the same ratio. We see this in a lot of natural structures. Just do a Google image search "fractals in nature" to see what I mean. Pattern even looks like a fractal in the PR. Next google "fractal tree" and check out the majority of those images. You'll notice that they're all very symmetrical, very formulaic. It's got an artificial quality to it. While it does represent the branching structure of trees, is not a natural shape. The difference? Deviations. I think that there's the crux of it. What would entice the cognizant manifestation of patterns in nature more than deviations from it? Shallan has the eye of an artist. As an artist myself, I have used math to balance my work before but usually I can just eyeball it and it turns out better. Sometimes, if you rely on math too much, something is...off. You have to add something over here, and balance it with something over there. There's movement and flow, or it doesn't work. Too much math isn't natural (or it's too boring!), and you have to just have an eye for it to represent it correctly/interestingly. It's fundamentally deviant, and that's what gives it beauty. IMO Lightweavers can see beyond the patterns/rules(/oaths?) of nature and see how things can deviate. I think they embody an interesting relationship between Honor and Cultivation. When you consider the natural world and how deviations drive everything from structure of form (like trees) to evolution itself, it's no surprise our example character's calling isn't art itself, but natural history. There's also Shallan's striking but subtle ability to look beyond the patterns of people and see *more,* like with Bluth. Self portraits are really hard btw, and I imagine what Shallan is doing with her oaths is essentially that. As a final note, I'm personally a firm believer that EVERYONE is an artist in some way and it's a part of human nature (which is maybe why cryptics are less "discerning"). Most people just never recognize their medium as art, or even find it to begin with. Or they chicken out, they never practice and get better at it, and that creative muscle atrophies in a way where it's expression is less obvious. But that's why you have such a wide berth of different Lightweaver characters who are tapped into it a bit more and why you have answers above about there not being a "quintessential" Lightweaver. We all see the world a little differently, and best part is that it's unique. So, aspiring Lightweavers, go find your medium and your own artist's eye! Plant a bonsai, cook a meal, run a d&d campaign! Be brave and be deviant!