[OB] We need to talk about Shallans drawings...

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

So, Shallan has some seriously wierd drawings, which she has no memory of doing, featuring an endless void (notice the word void here) and horses and other nightmarish R-rated stuff. Did she make these herself? Or is it the Unmade/Voidspren? Or just her mind playing tricks on her? I am completely lost.

[Betrail]

Just throwing ideas could it be part of the mimicry of the other ...spen?

 

I think she drew 3 items, it drew 3 items.

[Guest]

I think they are drawn by a persona of her, that Shallan isn't aware of.

[What's a Seawolf?]

My first thought was that she was losing herself in her personalities.  She unknowingly falls into a persona, takes actions as that 'person,' and has no memory of what she did.

I'm not sure how that would square with Pattern claiming he does not remember when Shallan created the drawings, however.

[redbishop]

Is there any chance that it was Renarin, leaving a message for Shallan that she would conclude she had done herself, similar to the numbers he inscribed  Dainar eventually blamed himself for?

The drawings are weird, but Pattern seems surprised by them too.

[Rillian]

I think it's a result of Urithuru and/or the Unmade thing interacting with Shallan's powers and split personalities

[What's a Seawolf?]

1 minute ago, redbishop said:

Is there any chance that it was Renarin, leaving a message for Shallan that she would conclude she had done herself, similar to the numbers he inscribed  Dainar eventually blamed himself for?

The drawings are weird, but Pattern seems surprised by them too.

I like it.  Renarin already has a history of 'leaving creepy sketches behind for others to find.'

Granted in WoR they weren't really sketches, but same difference.  The little we know of Truthwatchers, I believe they were not prone to sharing much information.  Maybe hints and sketches is what they do, for whatever reason.

[redbishop]

1 minute ago, What's a Seawolf? said:

I like it.  Renarin already has a history of 'leaving creepy sketches behind for others to find.'

Granted in WoR they weren't really sketches, but same difference.  The little we know of Truthwatchers, I believe they were not prone to sharing much information.  Maybe hints and sketches is what they do, for whatever reason.

Maybe that is there standard MO.  It would be interesting to learn if they plant 'discoveries' for others to uncover, and often have their efforts attributed to divine benevolence.  This could be a safety measure, as their ability to foretell could be far more potent/useful in this way.

[Rillian]

8 minutes ago, redbishop said:

Is there any chance that it was Renarin, leaving a message for Shallan that she would conclude she had done herself, similar to the numbers he inscribed  Dainar eventually blamed himself for?

The drawings are weird, but Pattern seems surprised by them too.

I don't think it's likely he would steal her pad without her noticing, and have the artistic ability to draw creepy horse deaths.  Also, the text says that "she" drew them, so even though she doesn't remember doing it, the wording seems to tell us the did

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

2 minutes ago, Rillian said:

Also, the text says that "she" drew them, so even though she doesn't remember doing it, the wording seems to tell us the did

That, or Renarin is secretly a woman. 

[Leyrann]

3 minutes ago, Rillian said:

Also, the text says that "she" drew them, so even though she doesn't remember doing it, the wording seems to tell us the did

The text can very well be a case of unreliable narrator; the chapter is written from Shallan's point of view, and therefore follows her view on things.

[Rillian]

It's possible, but combined with the fact that it's in her personal notebook she keeps with her, and that she makes a habit of keeping herself from knowing things and splitting her personality...I think it was her.

[Aleksiel]

It reminded me how she didn't understand why she was drawing figures with symbol heads in WoK. 

[Rillian]

I think that was because she has a strong enough presence in the cognitive realm, that her drawings come largely from there, so the spren appeared in their full CR form.

[The Invested Beard]

1 minute ago, Aleksiel said:

It reminded me how she didn't understand why she was drawing figures with symbol heads in WoK. 

This. There is precedent for something like this happening to her personally. I'm leaning toward it being something that the unmade in Urithiru is causing as it is also a spren like the cryptics.

[Leyrann]

2 minutes ago, Rillian said:

I think that was because she has a strong enough presence in the cognitive realm, that her drawings come largely from there, so the spren appeared in their full CR form.

Maybe she could peer into Shadesmar for a bit?

[Rillian]

Yeah, I think that's why she has drawing Urithuru, because something off about it in the CR.

[kari-no-sugata]

9 minutes ago, Aleksiel said:

It reminded me how she didn't understand why she was drawing figures with symbol heads in WoK. 

Except she remembered drawing those.

Given that the creepypasta spren was watching her I could somehow imagine that it could have created drawings too.

On the other hand, Shallan is telling us that her memories are not reliable. Why is she thinking this? Is it related? How does she know?

 

4 minutes ago, Leyrann said:

Maybe she could peer into Shadesmar for a bit?

I've been hoping that she'll do this at some point too. Seems like a useful tool...

Edited October 24, 2017 by kari-no-sugata

[KidWayne he/him]

So far, this thread is focused on the authorship of the creepy images that Shallan doesn't remember drawing. However, what about the content?

We have 3 sketches:

1. Quote

   She stopped in the hallway and dug out her sketchbook, flipping through pages, looking at the faces of the dead men. Absently turning a page, she came across a sketch she didn’t recall making. A series of twisting, maddening lines, scribbled and unconnected.

    

2. Quote

   She flipped to the next page. Here she’d drawn a rush of lines sweeping out from a central point, confused and chaotic, transforming to the heads of horses with the flesh ripping off, their eyes wide, equine mouths screaming. It was grotesque, nauseating.  

    

3. Quote

   Her fingers trembled as she turned to the next page. She’d scribbled it entirely black, using a circular motion, spiraling toward the center point. A deep void, an endless corridor, something terrible and unknowable at the end.

    

There's definitely something going on here. What is the central point and why is it important?

Wild speculation:

• The Cryptics are calling Shallan and Pattern to Shadesmar through her art, much in the same way that they did in WOR. Only this time the images are warning of danger and that is why they're so disturbing.
• There is some kind of corridor in the center of the tower that she is being directed to via the Cognitive Realm (by the Almighty knows who).
• The central point is the tower of Urithiru, and the drawings are subconscious or CR warnings of danger surrounding the tower.
• The scary copy-cat "spren" of Odium (presumably an Unmade) is the author of the sketches and it is mimicking Shallan. There is no message; the purpose is the same as the copy-cat attacks: to breed suspicion and fear among people to raise tensions and foster feelings of distrust, fear, and hatred.

[Subvisual Haze]

45 minutes ago, Aleksiel said:

It reminded me how she didn't understand why she was drawing figures with symbol heads in WoK. 

I agree, when she's not paying attention she starts to draw things from the Cognitive Realm.  The un-patterned line drawing probably relates to an Unmade or Voidspren opposing the Lightweavers.

Shallan creates art.  Her opposite copies (murders).

[Blightsong he/him]

Maybe the drawings are things that are tied to the murders that are being copied. Adolin had just had his horse killed before he went over the edge and killed Sadeas, and that the only connection to the horse drawing that I can see. The death of his horse may have pushed Adolin's mental state towards murder, and Shallan  describes the Void as a long corridor,  like the ones in Sebarials camp where the woman was killed.

[Dahak he/him]

4 hours ago, Toaster Retribution said:

So, Shallan has some seriously wierd drawings, which she has no memory of doing, featuring an endless void (notice the word void here) and horses and other nightmarish R-rated stuff. Did she make these herself? Or is it the Unmade/Voidspren? Or just her mind playing tricks on her? I am completely lost.

This wouldn't be the first time Shallan has drawn things she didn't intend to. Remember when she was drawing Cryptics all over the place.

[mariapapadia she/her]

5 hours ago, Betrail said:

Just throwing ideas could it be part of the mimicry of the other ...spen?

 

I think she drew 3 items, it drew 3 items.

oooh! I like this theory actually. I want to belive that the other spren/ creature imitating is not actually evil, but it's trying to comunicate in some way 

[Govir]

44 minutes ago, mariapapadia said:

oooh! I like this theory actually. I want to belive that the other spren/ creature imitating is not actually evil, but it's trying to comunicate in some way 

Are you my mummy?

[The Invested Beard]

53 minutes ago, mariapapadia said:

oooh! I like this theory actually. I want to belive that the other spren/ creature imitating is not actually evil, but it's trying to comunicate in some way 

"How do these beings say hello? Looks like they stab people. Cool I got this."