Bastille

[RShara]

So who noticed that the note at the end was signed "Bastille Smedry?"  There've been hints before but it sounds like Bastille and Alcatraz get hitched.  Assuming Alcatraz gets his Talent back at some point, can you imagine Bastille with the Breaking Talent?  The mind shudders!

 

(Incidentally, while I'm glad that they end up together, it prods at one of my pet peeves in writing.  Like, the first person that the main character meets that's not related to his background ends up being his or her romantic interest.  It happens a lot in movies/books and I'd like to see the main character get a bit more exposure to the world and its people first, you know?)

Edited September 9, 2016 by RShara

[king of nowhere]

there have been hints that the two are attracted to each other. you can clearly see how alcatraz is yiearning for her attention; for her part, she looks to have a tsundere streak - not unexpected, given her overall personality.

And yes, romance in stories is treated somewhat irrealistically, isn't it? alas, not much to do. thing is, most stories aren't long enough for the protagonist to meet many potential partners and having realistic stories (besides the oft-abused triangle).

You can call it checkov's lover: if (s)he's not going to shtup the protagonist, (s)he should not be put into the plot.

[RShara]

Well Alcatraz trying (and hilariously failing) to ask her out on a date was a pretty big clue  

 

I know there's limited pagespace for less relevant characters.  It just bothers me when it's like...small town boy/girl goes to big city/joins a group or society/whatever, and the VERY first person he/she meets in that city or group or society that's the right gender and approximate age turns into the romantic interest.  Alcatraz does it (Bastille is the first female Free Kingdomer around his age), David does it with Megan, even Vin does it with Elend.  It's actually kind of common in his books.

[Sand Master]

4 hours ago, RShara said:

Well Alcatraz trying (and hilariously failing) to ask her out on a date was a pretty big clue  

 

I know there's limited pagespace for less relevant characters.  It just bothers me when it's like...small town boy/girl goes to big city/joins a group or society/whatever, and the VERY first person he/she meets in that city or group or society that's the right gender and approximate age turns into the romantic interest.  Alcatraz does it (Bastille is the first female Free Kingdomer around his age), David does it with Megan, even Vin does it with Elend.  It's actually kind of common in his books.

Well, it's slightly more complicated than that. Take Alcatraz for an example. It's not just that Bastille is the first girl around his age that he meets. It's also that they save each other's lives on multiple occasions, spend a significant amount of time together in very stressful and tense situations, and in doing so learn a great deal about one another that under normal circumstances would likely take months or even years to learn. All of this emotion and tension would likely make you have very strong feelings about anyone in that situation, positive or negative. it just happens to be positive with Bastille.

Also, you're right, it is pretty common in Sanderson's books. Personally though, I don't care. It worked for me in Mistborn. Worked in Reckoners. Is currently working for me in Alcatraz and Stormlight. As far as I'm concerned, just because it's been done before doesn't make it bad.

[RShara]

It's just a pet peeve of mine.  And yes, Alcatraz and Bastille being thrown together like that is part of it.  Always the first person that ends up being thrown together with 'em and all.  It just happens so often that it's a bit tiresome to me.  But anyway.

 

Bastille Smedry!

 

[Erunion]

You could definitely see it coming a mile away, and they're have been pretty obvious hints (for example, previous books established that they live together). 

 

It is a bit overused as a trope (Sanderson has done it a few times), but it's worked so far. Plus I trust Sanderson. Just watch him set up the perfect example of this in another series, build up our expectations that the protagonist and the Bastille/Elend/Megan character will get together, and then dash it all to the ground. Have them fall for different people, or just remain friends. Watch it happen. *cough* Shalladin *cough*

[king of nowhere]

i'd point out that Elend wasn't the first person of the right age and gender Vin interacted with. She was approached by several nobles, most of them offscreen, before stumbling on elend.

[Stark]

I'd just like to point out that there is no mention of which Smedry Bastille marries..  While yes, it seems like that is where it is leading, but it would not be the first time Brandon upended our expectations.  All we know is that, at some point, she marries a Smedry, and continues to interact with Alcatraz.  But, as she is a Cristallin Knight, it is conceivable that she married someone not Alcatraz, and is still his friend and occasional protector.

 

Unlikely, but stranger things have happened, right?  And it feels like it would be the perfect Alcatraz twist:"Oh, so you thought just because it was Alcatraz's autobiography that I would marry him in the end?"

[Sand Master]

5 hours ago, Stark said:

I'd just like to point out that there is no mention of which Smedry Bastille marries..  While yes, it seems like that is where it is leading, but it would not be the first time Brandon upended our expectations.  All we know is that, at some point, she marries a Smedry, and continues to interact with Alcatraz.  But, as she is a Cristallin Knight, it is conceivable that she married someone not Alcatraz, and is still his friend and occasional protector.

 

Unlikely, but stranger things have happened, right?  And it feels like it would be the perfect Alcatraz twist:"Oh, so you thought just because it was Alcatraz's autobiography that I would marry him in the end?"

Reminds me of this:

 

[RShara]

Well, I think all the other Smedrys are going to be a bit old for a 13 year old girl  

Elend was the first one Vin had any real conversation with.  IIRC, she spoke with one other male, and it was only to decline a dance.

[Dustbringer12]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 5:31 PM, RShara said:

Well Alcatraz trying (and hilariously failing) to ask her out on a date was a pretty big clue  

 

I know there's limited pagespace for less relevant characters.  It just bothers me when it's like...small town boy/girl goes to big city/joins a group or society/whatever, and the VERY first person he/she meets in that city or group or society that's the right gender and approximate age turns into the romantic interest.  Alcatraz does it (Bastille is the first female Free Kingdomer around his age), David does it with Megan, even Vin does it with Elend.  It's actually kind of common in his books.

@RShara I definitely see what you are saying here, but there is this:

On ‎9‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 2:16 PM, king of nowhere said:

i'd point out that Elend wasn't the first person of the right age and gender Vin interacted with. She was approached by several nobles, most of them offscreen, before stumbling on elend.

Also, I would like to point out that in most books or movies it is not the first person they meet, it is the first person that stands out to the main character.  Sometimes that is the first person they meet, sometimes it is not.  As a general trend, though, in most fiction, the two line up perfectly, and this is something that I have been frustrated about before as well.

[king of nowhere]

3 hours ago, RShara said:

 

Elend was the first one Vin had any real conversation with.  IIRC, she spoke with one other male, and it was only to decline a dance.

yeah,, but that's sort of the point. they started talking, and they "clicked" immediately. vin talked with other nobles, but didn't "click" there, so the conversation ended soon.

[Sand Master]

 

 

Contains Stormlight Spoilers

Spoiler

 

Another point in Brandon's favor in this aspect, both Shallan and Kalladin have had their share of failed relationships where the person they were with didn't end up being right for them. With Kaladin, there was Laral, then someone mentioned a few times, Tarah. She hasn't been seen on screen, but it's implied that she and Kalladin had a bit of a relationship. Nalma is another name that's mentioned, and though it doesn't specify male or female, the one sentence in which it appears seems like it's leaning towards female:

Quote

They'd finally been caught by their master's hunters. That was when he'd lost Nalma.

Shallan has also had Kabsal, and now Adolin (assuming that Adolin doesn't work out). Both of these characters have had previous relationships other than the one that's "meant to be".

 

 

Edited September 19, 2016 by Sand Master

[Argel]

@Sand Master, good points, though you should put the Stormlight Archives stuff in spoiler tags.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Argel

[Bookfly]

I think Brandon does stuff like that more in YA  where I guess its more expected?  In his adult novels he seems to be moving away from this trope. As  for Bastille, well now she will have a lot more chance to  develop in various ways,  with her book and all .

[Sand Master]

2 hours ago, Argel said:

@Sand Master, good points, though you should put the Stormlight Archives stuff in spoiler tags.

Ah, good point. I'll fix that.

[king of nowhere]

i'dsay in the case of shallan it's too early to say anything.

[Sand Master]

2 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

i'dsay in the case of shallan it's too early to say anything.

True, and I agree. I did mean to mention this somewhere, but there didn't seem to be a right place for it. I just used her because it seems like that's what Sanderson is foreshadowing at the moment. Who knows if it will actually turn out that way though.

[Meandbooks]

On 9/16/2016 at 10:12 PM, Stark said:

I'd just like to point out that there is no mention of which Smedry Bastille marries..  While yes, it seems like that is where it is leading, but it would not be the first time Brandon upended our expectations.  All we know is that, at some point, she marries a Smedry, and continues to interact with Alcatraz.  But, as she is a Cristallin Knight, it is conceivable that she married someone not Alcatraz, and is still his friend and occasional protector.

 

Unlikely, but stranger things have happened, right?  And it feels like it would be the perfect Alcatraz twist:"Oh, so you thought just because it was Alcatraz's autobiography that I would marry him in the end?"

While I have to admit this would be a pretty funny twist, there's a point in Dark Talent where Alcatraz, when talking about Bastille, writes how she's standing right next to him in "our house." I can't see a way that would work if it's not Alcatraz she marries.

[Stark]

I guess, if I wanted to stretch the limits of believability, and set ridiculosity to full, I could point out that it is possible that all the Smedry's end up living together in one massive house, to better contain them, still allowing her to be married to another Smedry, but that seems like it may be stretching a little too far, even for Alcatraz.

 

I concede to @Meandbooks, they have a point.

[Djarskublar]

Mistborn, Stormlight, and Reckoners minor spoilers.

Even Vin didn't only interact with Elend first. There was the whole crew first, including Spook. You can't forget Spook for this one. He even hit on her in the book!

I feel it is safe to assume that David met other girls at the factory... that one is a little weak.

I think Shallan has been covered by Kabsal.

Basically, I think really only Alcatraz can be fully argued to have only really met one eligible girl.