digitalbusker

I am nobody's boss but I'm going to recommend that we all just Don't Think about the space tram.

The space tram works fine as a way to learn the twist and a goal for Hoid at the end, but trust me if you think about it more than that it'll start to hurt.

Please call your representative and tell them to support my Never Mind About the Space Tram bill this session.

On 7/2/2023 at 2:30 PM, Oltux72 said:

If he did that what reason would you have to go to medieval England? Hardly the weather, the beaches or the food.

Don't underestimate the number of Anglophiles in the history fandom.

On 7/8/2023 at 10:57 PM, IlstrawberrySeed said:

I just finished, and honestly thought that the current dimension was the "most substantial" / "Highest on the tree" / "original river," but don't see that expressed in the forums. How do we know that isn't the case?

Well if by "current dimension" you mean the one where the book takes place, it being the highest/most substantial would mean you couldn't get there from John's home dimension.

In the end I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would in Part 2. I probably won't reread it, but that's mostly about it being a standalone.

(ETA: I read this after Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, due to Reasons, and I was interested to see stacks of rocks in the chapter icons and some of John's early wight interactions.)

I want to be clear, I am NOT saying that people's reactions to the narrator are a one question personality test that says whether they're a Ryan or a John. I'm not saying that.

(This is the part where I'm supposed to say "I'm not NOT saying that," but honestly that seems rude to the many probably perfectly nice people who just didn't vibe with the voice.)

I hope somebody has compiled the little wizard comics. The giant strawberry made me laugh out loud. The other moment that did that was Ealstan figuring out how to fire a future gun.

Anyway, four out of five: entertaining, strong ending, a good gift for the burnt out gifted kid in your friend group who needs to figure out what is and is not their responsibility and maybe cut some toxic friends out of their lives.

I have seen a lot of talk about Nikaro bringing Yumi back at the end: how he did it (Realmatically), how he did it (narratively), whether it was a satisfying ending, etc.

Before you ask "how", ask "whether". Did Nikaro bring Yumi back?

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Because this is what I have to do, she whispered back, feeling her entire essence unravel. Memories vanishing. Experiences vaporizing. She couldn't remember her own face any longer. She was... just smoke. From that smoke came old thoughts, echoes. Lies drilled into her from long ago.

I was created to serve, she said. My life is not my own.

It doesn't have to be that way, Painter sent to her. Your life can belong to you. It should.

(Note that "Lies" in there. Even here, where Hoid is deliberately pretending this is That kind of story, he reminds us that the yoki-hijo is manipulated into useful martyrdom.)

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I'm losing myself, Nikaro, she thought. No one knows me anymore. I don't even know myself.

Then in the Epilogue when Nikaro ignores Hoid's narration and starts painting:

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"I know you," he whispered.

The curve of her hair as it curled around the sides of her head to spill down her back. The line of her chin, the defiant confidence in her eyes. The smile. That smile.

"I know you."

And then after he finishes the painting and reaches into the smoke to take Yumi's hand:

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"You have power granted by the spirits. Your whole life--your dozens of lives--you've used it to serve. Use it for yourself this once."

But...

"Our world, Yumi. Our rules."

I don't...

"Our world. Our rules."

Our... world.

"You deserve to live."

Our rules.

"You deserve to be happy."

I... deserve to choose. I deserve love.

And the last line of the Epilogue:

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As real as anyone else. Because she wanted to be.

Did Nikaro bring Yumi back? No. He reminded her that the idea that she couldn't/shouldn't have a life of her own was a lie and talked her into coming back under her own power.

(The painting was not nothing. It focused his Intent and strengthened their Connection, and we'd already seen that the emotional resonance of art can spark memory, but it didn't bring Yumi back. If anything, it drew her attention long enough for her to realize she could come back.)

The idea of a third yellow hion line has some problems:

* The other instances of things being powered by hion are like electricity--powered by the flow of energy between the two lines. The idea of a third line that just goes into the father machine and stops there is qualitatively different.

* The spirits don't split into three parts in other instances.

* The hion lines that we see generated independent of the father machine (priming the prototype, Yumi and Painter almost touching hands at the carnival) are not described as having a third, yellow line.

I'm in awe of how quickly people pointed out the big problem with Taravangian picking up Odium, his preference for dispassionate logic, without realizing the fix for that was already in place, in the form of dumb-but-emotional Taravangian.

Lots of stuff to choose from, but I want to focus on something that seems like it should have been a bigger deal in world.

A: Hey, did you hear? This guy took on like fourteen armed guys to save someone, and lived!

B: Let me guess, a Radiant?

A: No! No stormlight, no supernatural edge of any kind!

B: Shards, then?

A: No! No Blade, no Plate, just a steel sword and not even regular armor!

B: Then he must have had help, right?

A: Just a deadeye and his horse.

B: Okay. Wow, fourteen, you say. That IS impressive... wait, is this Adolin Kholin we're talking about?

A: Yeah, why?

B: Yawn. I thought you had something interesting to talk about. Wake me when something unusual happens.

Do we think the other Heralds had moments of lucidity when Navani bonded the Sibling, too? Or was Ishar special for one reason or another?

If they did, I hope we hear about it.

Keep on Writin' (These)!

Yeah, I think the best way to resolve this is "There will be as many as a hundred Voices in this meeting" once all the Fused are awakened, not "there will be as many as a hundred Fused total" once they're all awakened.

Syl and Kelsier, because they both have lots of relevant experience in those roles.

There definitely does seem to be a thermal effect when stormlight is moving around. Kudos to this thread for collecting some good examples of that.

On the other hand, the thing in the first post about Dalinar's armor freezing up was definitely the "stuck" sense of frozen rather than the "covered in ice" sense of frozen.

Why is Moash?

56 minutes ago, Aurora the Rioter said:

Yeah, I can see those points.  The question is, is Elhokar lying if he truly believes Sadeas is a good person, or does it only count as a lie if he deep down knows the truth, but only tells himself what he wants to believe.

I think we can draw a line between lying and just being wrong, though when the person you're lying to is yourself it can get pretty blurry.

Probably a lot of good lies around his marriage, too.

10 minutes ago, Andy92 said:

I think it's going to end by saying, "The end of book five of The Stormlight Archive."

I figure there'll be an Ars Arcanum, at least.

9 hours ago, Subvisual Haze said:

Dear Shallan,

If my calculations are correct, you will receive this letter immediately after you saw Urithiru struck by lightning. First, let me assure you that I'm alive and well. I've been living happily these past 8 months in the year 1885.

How have the mods not already shut down the forum? We're done here, kids. It's not going to get any better than that.

I wonder if he's using Connection in some way. Either a medallion (could you recharge one of those by leaving it out in a storm?) or some Silverlight tech.

@Blazenella, I'm with you on Kaladin during Words of Radiance. As a WoT vet, I'm allergic to plotlines where the inciting factor is allies not sharing information. (Although as a WoT vet, having one of those resolved in the same book as its introduction is quite refreshing!) It doesn't bother me as much on rereads, because I know it'll end soon, but the first time through I was headdesking all the time.

I do think you're underestimating the difficulty of pacifying Kholinar by revealing everybody, but it would have been an interesting read.

11 hours ago, Subvisual Haze said:

Syl is standing by a pool and her face looks vaguely different in a way that is not elaborated upon...Aha, of course, it is Shallan!???

Doesn't even crack the top five craziest Shallan theories.

Nale has definitely claimed* to be fifth ideal:

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"Nin held out his empty left hand. A Shardblade appeared there, different and distinct from the Honorblade he carried in the other hand. “I am not only a Herald, but a Skybreaker of the Fifth Ideal. Though I was originally skeptical of the Radiants, I believe I am the only one who eventually joined his own order."

*: Not saying I don't believe him, just being clear about what we know and how we know it.

I'm with you except on the Skybreakers. How does their crusade fit into this?

Why is there a big privacy screen at the back of every Vorin bank?

So you don't see the vault attendant's safe hand.