Sirscott13 he/him Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 It always seemed to me that Tan knew too much about Wax's presence in the prologue of alloy of law. I apologize if this has been theorized already but I am speculating that Tan was a misting. I think he was an Atium misting. This would allow him to see exactly when Wax would try to shoot him so he was able to pull Lessie in front of him just at the right time. I do not know how he got the Atium, but it makes sense to me because he was just to omnisentient about the situation. “Wax fired. In the same instant, Tan yanked Lessie to the right. The shot broke the air, echoing against clay bricks. Lessie’s head jerked back as Wax’s bullet took her just above the right eye. Blood sprayed against the clay wall beside her. She crumpled. Wax stood, frozen, horrified. No … that isn’t the way... It can't... “The best performances,” Tan said, smiling and looking down at Lessie’s figure, “are those that can only be performed once.” Excerpt From: Sanderson, Brandon. “The Alloy of Law.” To me this just screams Atium. Wax and Lessie are to well trained to fall for this. Tan being an Atium misting just fits too perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurkistan he/him Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 A fairly plausible theory on its face, one that has been raised before. He's not, though. Source: ATEISTCANUCK (14 NOVEMBER 2011) Was Bloody Tan an atium misting? BRANDON SANDERSON (14 NOVEMBER 2011) No, he was not. Good question. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirscott13 he/him Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Darn haha thought I had something. Thanks for the reply. I wonder if he could of been an electrum misting though or possibly steel fering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracknut he/him Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 I hope magic had nothing to do with it. It's better if Wax simply got unlucky and failed imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver he/him Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 I'm the opposite, actually. That part has always bothered me; given the speed of a bullet, I thought it was too convenient that Tan managed to time his pull and the direction of it well enough that he made Wax get a head shot. It could have been just awful luck, of course, but I figured there was something else going on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Aweful LUCK (spinnerspinnerspinnerspinner) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) An idea I hadn't thought of previously: it could be possible that Tan was a Soother or Rioter and made Wax do a split-second decision by increasing his anxiety or something. I still favor him being an electrum Misting, though. Edited February 17, 2014 by Moogle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirscott13 he/him Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Perhaps he was atium copycat twonborn like electrum and mental speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalbusker he/him Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) I think if there's a Metallic Arts-related explanation for Lessie's death, it's got to be that Bloody Tan was a Slider. I'm aware that there are problems with this theory, most glaringly that Wax is familiar with speed bubbles from long experience with Wayne and you'd think he'd notice and/or put it together. (Don't come at me with speed bubble bullet deflection--clearly if a speed bubble was involved it was only up long enough to line up Lessie with the incoming shot and dropped before the bullet made contact.) Even with that flaw, I don't see another reason for Bloody Tan to be stealing bendalloy. Yes, bendalloy's valuable, but Bloody Tan was a psychotic serial killer, not a criminal kingpin. It's possible that he just needed to raise cash to buy embalming supplies, but the fact that the metal is name-dropped specifically as a thing he stole (and early on, when the reader can't be assumed to know that it's expensive) rather than gold or just "money," seems like a strong hint that he was a Slider. I'd be just as happy with a non-supernatural explanation (e.g. Tan spotted the countdown and was able to time his move precisely), but if the explanation is supernatural, it's got to be the bendalloy. Edited February 19, 2014 by digitalbusker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) Even with that flaw, I don't see another reason for Bloody Tan to be stealing bendalloy. Yes, bendalloy's valuable, but Bloody Tan was a psychotic serial killer, not a criminal kingpin. It's possible that he just needed to raise cash to buy embalming supplies, but the fact that the metal is name-dropped specifically as a thing he stole (and early on, when the reader can't be assumed to know that it's expensive) rather than gold or just "money," seems like a strong hint that he was a Slider. Bloody Tan was doing what appeared to be Hemalurgy. It almost makes you wonder if bendalloy can be used to steal future-sight, or something. I'd lean towards a Hemalurgic explanation over an Allomantic one that Wax would be sure to notice. It also wouldn't explain how Tan knew to drop a speed bubble at the exact time Wax started pressing the trigger. Edited February 19, 2014 by Moogle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I personally think that that had more to do with reinforcing the idea that bendalloy was a thing and that it was valuable enough to steal so that Wayne's powers clearly cost something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirscott13 he/him Posted February 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I think Wax would of noticed metal sticking out of Tan and I am pretty sure Lessie would of noticed the speed bubble go up. Maybe Tan was simply a pewter arm and moved lessie fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet he/him Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 We saw at least two spiked characters in the trilogy where their spikes would not have been generally noted (likely three). Spook, Zane, and maybe Penrod (I don't recall off-hand if his spike was outwardly apparent after he "healed". So, Wax not noticing a spike does not seem like particularly substantial evidence against Tan being spiked. I mean, for a long time in TFE, they only knew about inquisitors' eye-spikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocHoliday he/him Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) We saw at least two spiked characters in the trilogy where their spikes would not have been generally noted (likely three). Spook, Zane, and maybe Penrod (I don't recall off-hand if his spike was outwardly apparent after he "healed". So, Wax not noticing a spike does not seem like particularly substantial evidence against Tan being spiked. I mean, for a long time in TFE, they only knew about inquisitors' eye-spikes. Discounting Inquisitors, 5 TLR had Atium Bracers that no-one ever thought to mention, and more importantly Vin had a spike in plain sight the whole series being Spiked dosnt mean it's note worthy. Pathians... Edit: spoiler tag Edited February 20, 2014 by DocHoliday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Doc, it's not [spoiler/] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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