Dunkum

19 minutes ago, GunslingerRadiant said:

So, no not with anti Investiture. Really, my question is if we can make a sort of Fused Deadeye.

Also, when the Spren come into the gemhearts of singers, what kind of bond do they form? Do they form one? Or is it something else?

i figured that is what you were going for. I'd say it is possible to do, but not with anti-investiture.

for the other question, I found this WOB which implies that it is a Nahel bond, but not necessarily the same thing as Radiant bond:

a few others suggested that, for instance when the singers change forms, the former spren is released. we have also been told in the books that the fused wipe out the mind of their host, so I expect their normal operation is less like a bond and more like what the Returned have on Nalthis, only with someone else's body.

to follow up on what Quantus said: I don't think you could do it with anti-investiture, though. that should have the effect of destroying the fused entirely, which likely wouldn't leave enough behind to become a shardblade. i'll second the suggestion that something like a Bondsmith modifying connection could probably allow a fused to form a nahel bond and that it may be possible for them to manifest as a shardblade once that process began.

3 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Partially. His eyesight was healed, but (according to Renarin) his Epilepsy just changed forms. We'll probably learn more as we see more from Rlain in SA5. 

Qaothbringer Ch 120:

  Hide contents

Renarin was so frightened, he worried he’d wet himself. Not very noble or brave, now was he?

Ah … what will come now? Glys said, voice thrumming through Renarin. What emerges?

One of his fits struck him.

Not the old fits, where he grew weak. He had new ones now, that neither he nor Glys could control. To his eyes, glass grew across the ground. It spread out like crystals, forming lattices, images, meanings and pathways. Stained-glass pictures, panel after panel.

So, that's showing how his perception is affecting how those visions manifest. 

personally, i'd argue it is at least unclear so far whether the vision fits are related to his epilepsy or just how that surge works for his rather unusual case. as you say, we may know a bit more as we see Rlain explore his bond, though even there it isn't guaranteed, since he is a Listener and not a human.

either way, the eyesight healing satisfies my point

17 hours ago, Treamayne said:

So, for example, a Congential Disease might not be healed because it is a part of the person, but their perception would still play a part.

I think we actually see a bit of this with Renarin, where his condition and eyesight are healed when he bonds his spren.

Don't have the patience to try to form this into proper sentences/paragraphs, so here are some thoughts, just sort of strewn about:

General:

as others have noted, animals and text both tend to feature heavily in existing tattoos, as do patterns. I'd expect this to carry over, with the addition of things like Spren on Roshar.

ROSHAR

I'd imagine Greatshells and some of the more interesting spren to feature heavily. Storm motifs as well.

Not sure about shardblades - they look cool, but tend to be owned by the wealthy, and I could see some nobles getting upset if you tattooed their blade on your body. likewise I could imagine shard bearers tattooing their own shards, but then what if you lose it? duelists in particular seem the most likely to do this and the most likely to face consequences of it.

Glyphs would probably feature pretty heavily in Alethkar, and in probably in other nations as well, if they have been at peace with Alethkar for a while - sort of like getting Kanji tattoos. they are very picturesque.

IN Vorin nations, I'd expect symmetrical designs and patterns to show up pretty frequently. things like Irish knots (Vorin knots?). Among Women (and others who aren't forbidden to read) I'd imagine Keteks would be relatively popular the way poems or bible verses are here

Among sailors, luckspren and skyeels would probably appear a fair amount.

Axehounds and horses (especially ryshadium) would probably also be pretty common

Knights Radiant getting tattoos of their partner spren

wannabe KRs getting better-known oaths tattooed

SEL

in Arelon and its surrounding areas, Aons would almost certainly be popular especially ones like Aeo (bravery), Ata (grace) etc.

in Fjordell, their equivalents may NOT be common, because the Dakhor monks would likely consider it an insult.

in the Rose Empire it may vary. Seals used in Bloodsealing would probably not be used very much, but the ones from forging may

SCADRIAL

the metallic alphabet symbols would likely be popular. Especially the Allomantic and Ferruchemical symbols for Pewter (for strength) and, to a lesser extent, Tin. others, especially the ferruhemical ones, may get some use as well: e.g. F Gold symbol representing Health.

Among survivorists, i wouldn't be surprised to see Tattoos of scars on hands.

Once available/if possible, I expect Metallic looking tattoos would prove popular as well.

NALTHIS

Hallandren tattoos would feature lots of colors. I considered whether they might also have upscale ones using the artisan's script, but I think sin color changes too much for that. not just person to person - a 3rd heightening artist could compensate for that, but I mean things like blushing or veins being more or less prominent from day to day whcih could alter the shades and mess up the meaining

Idrians probably don't get a lot of tattoos, and if they did they would probably just be basic designs in black

THRENODY

Given the extreme risk of blood when poking a person with a sharp thing, I doubt tattoo technology gets very far on Threnody until modern eras.

yes, yes, and yes. off the top of my head, we have seen Hoid do the following "on screen":

Some are easier than others. for instance anyone can receive breaths and learn to do awakening, and anyone can bond a spren assuming they can find a willing one (though leaving the rosharan system with one is harder). others are trickier - pretty sure accessing Selish magics require modifying connections if you are not from there. though things like Hemalurgy and unsealed metalminds can help too.

Just Nalthians. but anyone is capable of receiving a breath if someone from Nalthis give it to them

been slowly making my way through Tad WIlliams's "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy. it isn't bad, but it just isn't grabbing me either. I'll try to finish it but part of that is just because I don't have anything else I'd rather be reading right now.

10 hours ago, Kasimir said:

I actually felt it was the opposite way around - I was okay with it in Tress because of the Princess Bride conceit, but disliked it in Yumi. Agreed with you wrt the storytelling segments in Stormlight though!

I can see that - Tress takes itself a bit less seriously. also Hoid is more actively involved in Tress, as opposed to Yumi, and that can help a bit as well because it sort of internally makes more sense that he would be talking about it. but as I recall (and its been a bit since I read either) he was also adding a lot more commentary in Tress, so for me at least it was more distracting. it more or less works sometimes, but there is definitely such a thing as too much.

38 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

-Yumi

I think I'll like it better the second time around. Hoid narrating is tiresome (back to my problems with Sanderson and banter) and Yumi had to grow on me but really enjoyed Kilahito as a setting. That Sanderlanche was insanely good though.

He wasn't quite as bad in Yumi as he was in Tress. I think he more or less works in the storytelling segments in Stormlight, but those are much shorter - not long enough for it to become grating.

4 hours ago, masquacks said:

i actually just barely went to youtube right before you answered but what are your thoughts on this just go to it and click the description cause he feels knowledgeable but i just want to here what the community says

j 

I'd probably pick this order over the one Brandon suggests in the other response - I think keeping the secret projects at the end of the current books works best, especially if you are trying to catch connections the first time through. but some notes:

note 1: I agree with Brandon about Elantris being one of the weaker entries, and probably wouldn't start with it. Mistborn or Warbreaker would be my choices instead (I think Mistborn was actually where I did start so many years ago). that said, I agree with the list, if not necessarily the precise order, of the pre-stormlight books.

note 2: personally I don't like the idea of jumping back and forth between Stormlight and Mistborn Era 2. I mean, i read them as they came out so I DID do that, but I wouldn't do it that way again. so if you'd prefer to read through one series before jumping to the next, then I'd have to recommend Mistborn Era 2 before Stormlight. there is not a huge amount of intersection there, and most of it comes from book 4 of Mistborn era 2 if memory serves, so if you wanted to retain something like the level of surprise that you would have had reading them as they came out, you could theoretically do SA 1-3 (including Edgedancer, and maybe Dawnshard if you want, though it can go later as long as it is before Stormlight 4) then Mistborn Era 2 (including Secret History where he puts it relative to those books) then Stormlight 4. but if you want to spot all the connections as soon as possible, then Mistborn Era 2 comes first.

EDIT: i looked it up and I had the release order for Rhythm of War and The Lost Metal backwards. so to revise my note 2: to keep the surprise aspect you would do all of Stormlight before all of Mistborn Era 2.

do you know how similar The Narrow Road Between Desiresis to "The Lightning Tree"? I got the impression looking at it that it was essentially an expansion on that story to some degree, but I haven't actually read it to compare.

42 minutes ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

No, not every fan. I'm a fan in some ways, and I know a lot of fans. Not every fan.

However, I do know what you're talking about. Those types of fans who ignore every flaw are kinda annoying lol. There are flaws in every piece of writing. 

I love the series mainly because it works despite its flaws and the consistency issues. I also just adore JK Rowling's way of writing prose. Maybe it's just the way I've heard it in the audio books, but it's really fun and captures me every time.

I was exaggerating some, but there are definitely a few people I have met for whom it seems to be a pillar of their identity and they will hear no ill spoken of it. my experience is just completely at odds with the line "no one is pretending it's the best thing ever"

personally I think it's fine, and I'd probably like it a bit more if not for the sort of hype that surrounds it. but I also have plenty of gripes with, so I land firmly in the "overrated" group on that one. but part of that is just that it did get so much publicity. Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and A Song of Ice and Fire are probably the only fantasy series that are even slightly comparable on that front.

On 2/1/2024 at 1:57 PM, Just a Silvereye said:

Oh yeah HP. I'd say it's fairly rated, because no one is pretending it's the best thing ever.

this baffles me. who have you been talking to? because every HP fan I have ever met DOES seem to think it is the best thing ever, and they will go on about it at length. its a fun enough series, but that level of hype is unsustainable.

5 hours ago, Procrastination said:

697: If you are at a party and somebody is wounded in the epic party battle scene, know that you cannot use wine as a disinfectant. It will not be effective because there is not a high enough alcohol percentage. (Saw this in a book the other day and had to look it up).

huh - I'm not surprised about wine, but I was curious what WOULD make a useful disinfectant. based on google results, even most hard liquor isn't concentrated enough. you pretty much need to jump to grain alcohol or other types of things sold specifically for having a lot of alcohol.

Didn't realize Jim Butcher had finished a second book in the Cinder Spires series until I saw The Olympian Affair at the book store this afternoon, so starting on that today. I liked the first one well enough, but I read it so long ago that I barely remember anything about it or the setting. ideally i'd give it a reread first, but I don't have it on hand. if I get too confused i'll just look up a synopsis or something to refresh my memory

27 minutes ago, Use the Falchion said:

TROS is one of my least favorite movies ever. 

I'm firmly of the opinion that any time anyone suggests hiring J.J. Abrams for anything, they should just play the "somehow Palpatine returned" scene to remind them why that is a bad idea.

2 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Out of curiosity, were you aware of "why" Sanderson chose to use Hoid's voice as narrator for those? WoB:

  Reveal hidden contents

Brandon Sanderson

So, that is the start of Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Now the analysis.Where did this come from? Well, you can probably tell this is another Hoid story. I wanted, after I wrote Secret Project one, to try a different style of voice for Hoid. Project One has a modern fairytale vibe, like Princess Bride–and I like that. I think it turned out really well. I’m proud of it, and I’ll probably use that voice again sometime.

But I also wanted to have access to a different kind of voice for Hoid. (Or several different voices.) Part of the reason I’m doing all this is to figure out how I want to write Dragonsteel, his origin story, which will be first person. So I wanted to test out other narrative voices that Hoid might use in telling stories. For Secret Project three, I specifically wanted one where Hoid was using more of a traditional narrative style.

To explain it another way, I wanted him to tell a story that felt less fairytale and more dramatic.

So, this kind of feedback is the kind of discussion he hopes we have, so he can refine the first-person project discussed in the WoB.

hadn't seen that one before. for what its worth I suspect it would work better in the proposed book than in the other 2, because that one IS his own story. his interjections were distractions in the other 2 in a way that wouldn't be the case there.

Not sure how controversial this is but: I don't like Hoid very much as a story teller. his little interjections can be amusing, but he jumps in too much with them and it hurts the flow of the story.

very minor spoilers for 2 of the secret projects (probably unneeded at this point, but doesn't hurt to be careful):

1 hour ago, Argenti said:

No

Algebra was fine, geometry was really easy. 

Calculus is hell.

calculus is....fine. Abstract Algebra is great though. I could do proofs all day. but not Linear Algebra, too many matrices - the worst thing in all of math

4 hours ago, Ookla the Bald said:

I'm also starting Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's interesting so far, but I'm only just starting it. I was super impressed by Tigana, so I'm hopeful.

haven't read that one, but i've read a few from him and I didn't think any of them were quite as good as Tigana. not bad, but also never quite reaching that height.

the prologue says he has an "unusual weight" which I always interpreted as meaning he is heavier than he should be, but I'm having trouble finding other references in Warbreaker to his weight. they might be there, but i'm skimming through the physical book, so easy to miss them if they are.

30 minutes ago, Just-A-Stick said:

Hmmm

What about Cherry? Cherry flavor is NASTY!  

not disagreeing, but grape is worse.

3 hours ago, Wittles of Shinovar said:

Christmas music is...not that great. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, the genre is mediocre at best.

I don't think this is all that controversial. ther are  few solid ones, but for the most part any enjoyment I get out of christmas music is highly tinged with nostalgia for when I was little

15 minutes ago, Just-A-Stick said:

Or    A N Y   G R A P E   F L A V O R E D    A N Y T H I N G !!!!!!!!!!

I don't think this is controversial at all. grape is second only to licorice as a bad flavor

3 hours ago, aneonfoxtribute said:

Its not as glaring as Mat, but it was still very noticeable to me. I mostly noticed it with Tuon. She feels ever so slightly off a lot of the time. Im not really sure how to describe it overall, but she feels like a worse person with Brandon writing her than Jordan. It's hard to tell how much of it is her taking the role she believes the Empress needs to take, though, which is mostly how I justify it to myself. There's also two scenes where I felt she said something that Jordan Tuon wouldn't (saying she enjoys seeing damane "broken", when with Jordan writing her she came off as more caring than that, and Bethamin implying that breaking them down to a certain extent is considered unfavorable; and her outright refusing Healing in the Last Battle despite saying explicitly that the people who are afraid of being Healed are idiots).

Other things are a bit hard to explain. It's not like Mat, where the differences are easy to describe. But I just got a different feel from the in the Sanderson books. I don't know how much of it is Brandon not having Seanchan characters other than Tuon and Egeanin, and how much of it is his (most certainly negatjve) perspective on the Seanchan coloring how he wrote them. I guess I could describe it best by saying that they felt a bit more sadistic, in Gathering Storm particularly? Like in Jordan's books, their actions were a matter of course. This is how it must be, so that is how it is. But during the raid on the Tower, they felt like they were taking more pleasure in it than in Jordan's books. Does that make sense?

it makes sense, though i'd have to reread a fair bit to see if I agree. part of the problem is that we do tend to get a very limited amount of Seanchan perspectives, so its harder to gauge how consistently they are written.