Gloomspren

Ok kaladin’s slave brands have scabbed and come OFF AFTER 4 BOOKS!! Totally thought about posting about this in kaladin’s character arc thread but I think this specifically is interesting because it means that he doesn’t consider being a dangerous slave as part of his identity anymore, which is pretty crazy. I’m not going to lie even though I LOVED his development through row and wouldn’t want it any other way... I’m going to miss the slave brands. They were ICONIC, and all the residents of urithiru who painted on shash would agree with me. Is anyone else mourning them? Part of this might be because I can’t really figure out what part(s) of his character arc in row could have triggered this change in how kaladin sees himself... did anyone notice anything that might have been critical to this change? Overall he came to terms with loss and his own mental health but... I feel as though his identity as an enslaved and branded person who has lived through horrors to get where he is were not directly challenged? Perhaps it was more a letting go of his past horrors and not brooding on them development? (Maybe this is also because I just bought a beanie with his slave brands and he doesn’t even have them anymore :P)

Loved Rlain POV so much, and once again branderson wrote a marginalized underrepresented character so well. Not gonna lie I wanted him to bond the sibling a. Because seeing a marginalized character with that much power... I want it and b. I didn’t really want another kohlin radiant AND bond smith but i was ultimately happy with navani and him being chosen by a truth watcher spren. Anyways, I’m curious if anyone else picked up on a quote that I simply cannot find in this ginormous volume where he essentially says that mateform doesn’t go right for him... My immediate thought was that we might have another lgbtq+ icon on our hands, since (as far as we know) mateform seems to be a heterosexual pairing for the purpose of producing children. Anyone else have thoughts on this (or the quote lol).

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but i couldn’t find a thread on it. Chapter 106 kaladin breaks as a result of teft’s death and... then kills the pursuer horrifically. But a few things interest me here. Venli says: Like what Venli??? It doesn’t sound like void light?? But perhaps it is something about odium?? Or just a general corruption? But with all the light theory in this book it seems to not fit any categories. Kaladin also says he only has a vague memory of killing the pursuer and can’t think straight, and then proceeds to jump off the tower. So moash earlier had said that kaladin could either embrace odium’s emotion taking powers or could kill himself, and he did... both? Not sure if this whole thing is a consequence of him getting too far from the oaths (hence his reduced lashing ability), and if all radiants when they’re about to give up get a yellowish red cast to their glow but... I’m interested to hear other’s thoughts on this. what the heck does yellowish-red mean??

Hmm I didn’t interpret it this way, since it was directly related to a magical bond and her actual sapiency wavering, but i think a more direct adhd character that Brandon is trying is rushu, the ardent, and this is especially evident in a POV chapter in dawnshard, if you’ve read that. Honestly though, I feel like she was also done a little bit this way of oh look a distraction!! When that’s not really how it works and definitely does perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Guess we can’t expect Brandosando to be a psychologist

LOL this made me laugh. I think my feelings are a little more complex than for or against at this point, i tend to resist when authors try and “partner up” their characters, in that not everyone needs to be in a relationship. That said, I actually REALLY liked their dynamic and how Brandon wrote her feelings towards him, really refreshing to not see someone who was completed by their partner. A little concerned about the lack of trust but that’s to be expected with an ancient being, but does make me think this isn’t long term (is any relationship long term for wit??)

I think we are definitely going to get a delver origin story, just because explaining everything is a Brandon thing to do. I don’t think, and also hope that he wouldn’t, introduce something that mysterious and explain it with “yeah the delvers were always there”. He has something brewing in that mighty mind of his, and it is probably going to be a lesson on how hubris leads to disaster and we should all be more empathetic. I am in favor of the delvers being a result of AI getting out of control or reaching some god tier of consciousness that makes them abandon the universe for the nowhere. It makes sense that they would lose their sense of empathy as they become so OP they can’t understand individual lives anymore. I lean toward the AI route because of Spensa’s interaction with the delver and its mannerisms. It takes the emotions of the universe and reflects them, and this is a common way of AI learning. Very exciting stuff. Can’t wait to see where Brandon takes it!

So I’ve recently decided I am going to invest in a beanie for my aesthetic and because I can spend money on it now- and remembered a lovely beanie on Brandon’s site that had kaladins slave brands on the forehead which is so creative and I loved it. However this seems to be missing from his site now! Does anyone know if it’s ever going to come back?

Jasnah is a strong female character who is incredibly accomplished and knows exactly what she is talking about but probably of her heresy has had to work twice as hard to get her opinion heard. I think that her seemingly callous nature is a facade she needed to create to get to the place she is now. Along with the striking moment with Renarin, there was also the moment with Ivory where she lets a little of that facade crack and shows that she is not as callous as everyone thinks she is and that really shows who she is as well. But as for her actions with Kaladin and Shallan, in both those situations she knew best. I don't think it's arrogance, I think it is a defense mechanism that has been working for her and she also has a reputation to keep up.

1. Dalinar stole the show for me in OB. His arc was so moving and different from anything I had ever seen before, and the Nightwatcher asking if he was Son of Honor or Son of Odium showed just how contrasting his life has been. But he is just so storming good now I can't get over it! What a journey. 2. Kaladin has always been up there for me, and I loved how he failed to say an ideal this time because it fit his character extremely well and I just loved his interactions with the Parshmen and ugh he was just the pure sad strong boi I have always loved. 3. Honestly Taravangian was also great. He is despicable but also a villain that makes sense. 4. Rock! Sacrificing his oath to not fight to save Kaladin's life was a really big deal and was great to see from him.

I think shipping Syl and Kaladin is a complete reach and is kind of a disservice to the radiant-spren relationship that BS has cultivated between them. This is not a romantic relationship at all and feels far more like a father and child or just plain platonic. Even when she was "human sized" in Shadesmar there was no indication that there was any sort of attraction between them. Shipping them seems wrong. There is still ample opportunity for BS to introduce new Radiants and characters that will be more suited for Kaladin than Shallan or Laral, and bringing back Tarah is a real possibility since he included a glimpse of their time together.

I'm reeling I didn't even think about her using Veil for something like that I'm so into this, but ideally I would want it to be like actual Shallan and Kaladin together but that should happen eventually

I have been a fan of Brandon's for a really long time, since middle school when I read Elantris. I read mistborn and warbreaker as well and then completely forgot about him. A week ago I discovered the stormlight archives, sped-read the two volumes, freaked out for a little bit then decided I needed to discuss everything. Then I discovered cosmere and made connections to things I had read years ago and I freaked out more and needed to discuss even more and now I'm here. I hope it'll be a good time!

I also think I was mixing being honorable up with being "good", thank you for pointing that out. It is more doing what one thinks is morally correct and sticking to that. Following that, I still do not think Szeth is doing what he thinks is ethical- he seemed to hate that he had to kill and felt extreme guilt over killing so many people but does it due to his code of obeying whoever has his Oathstone. I think his Truthless code is the opposite of what he thinks is ethically correct, making him not the most honorable but the least.

I definitely think Adolin's decision (because it was a conscious decision no matter how "tired" he was) has put him down in the honor rankings. While I am all for vigilante justice and Sadeas dying bc he is a major creep, I don't think this fits with the gist of what honor seems to be in this book, which is protecting even those they hate and uniting people and yada yada. So my ranking would be Dalinar at the top because he has Honor's spren/weird piece of him and has been exemplified as a character even Kaladin looks up to and wants to emulate, then Kaladin because he protected Elhokar, then Adolin. Why not talk about Shallan too while we're at it? Is she honorable for killing her father? He had just murdered his wife and crippled his son, so I would say yeah. And for killing her mother? Yeah she tried to kill her first. But I think she becomes less honorable purely because a huge part of her powers and character is lying. Honorspren hate Cryptics, her spren. So idk if she should be lower or higher than Adolin, but closer to the bottom. Kaladin hating all lighteyes is definitely prejudiced because he projects it onto all lighteyes. I think the main reason why people say you can't be racist to white people is because most of the time poc are just pointing out flaws with white privelege and the system and are called racist against white people. If someone vehemently hated white people and thought every one of them was a horrible human being simply for being white that is racism. Just like Kaladin thinking every lighteyed person is horrible because of their light eyes. BUT I don't think this is crazy awful because this plot point was being rectified even at the end of WoR, Shallan is changing his mind about it, and he saved Elhokar, and I think he isn't completely out of this spiral but I do think that maybe his journey to visit Roshone in Book 3 will maybe clear some things up (or make them worse, who knows with Brandon!)