Edgeborn

YES I'VE BEEN READING ALL THESE POSTS AND I JUST DON'T GET IT. People complain that Shallan and Adolin being so happy together with "true love doesnt happen like that." First of all, that's how all good relationships begin, head over heels for each other. Brandon isn't saying they're perfectly in love, but that kind of happy flirting and sappy romance always happens once you get comfortable with someone. Furthermore, Kaladin and Shallan REALLY ARE BAD FOR EACH OTHER. Kaladin admires her for how she surpresses her emotions and she only likes him when her manufactured thief and underworld personality is showing through. Normally, two people with dark pasts would be able to support each other, but in this case they have much the same problems, and Adolins teddy bear kindness is what she needs more than a spearman with the emotional intelligence of a rock. Also, to all the Adolin haters, he isn't just a daddy's money pretty boy. His mom died when he was young, and for a lot of the time his dad was a neglectfully abusive alcoholic. At the same time, he poured himself into dueling to get his father's approval, and we see with Shallan's POVs of him interacting that even though he's a flirt that gets girls easily, he still has trouble with everyone else playing the games of the political world, and has relatively few friends. Also, as far as "ew Brandon wrote a love triangle," it MAKES SENSE. Kaladin really would admire and find himself attracted to Shallan's repression of her emotions, because his own depression is unavoidable. Shallan would like him back because he provides safety from what she fears: her own emotions. He's someone that would understand her suffering and understand it for his own. But THAT ISN'T WHAT SHE NEEDS. She needs to open herself up, not find company in closure. Adolin is such a genuine and well-meaning person, and what he wants is for Shallan to be herself. I love to death the scene where Shallan's personalities are flickering through, and Adolin recognizes the real one, and his love for her shows through in his stupidly misguided attempt to release their engagement so she can pursue Kaladin. He really wants her to be happy. Tl;dr: love triangles don't suck if they actually make sense and don't become the end-all focus of the story.

Why do you say that? Everything I've seen has led me to believe Trell is more the opposite of Autonomy. Plus, I thought Autonomy was chilling as the sun in the Taldain system?

OK SO THE LETTERS FROM PART TWO. I've seen a lot of speculation on them, and according to the Coppermind and general theory, the second was written by Autonomy (Or someone representing them) because Brandon has confirmed all the letters are from shards we know, and the third is obviously Sazed, the first probably Endowment. HOWEVER, I think the second letter instead comes from Trell. EVIDENCE: Trell's "faceless immortal" from BoM consistently referred to Trell or the general leaders the Set followed as "us" or "we." The second letter follows this pattern, though it does seem to be penned by something other than the shard, saying "you have spoken to one who cannot respond." This leads into my first theory about Trell. Trell is diametrically opposed to Autonomy, instead being the shard of unity or conformity, making everyone under its power the same, bound in a sort of hive mind. It explains the "faceless immortal," because Trell simply brought the beggar into their fold, making his mind a part of a larger whole. It explains why the one Hoid wrote to "cannot respond," as he wrote to the Shards original holder, but their consciousness has been blended with the minds of everyone under Trell's power. Furthermore, the letter also mentions "our many realms." This supports the idea that Trell is connected with the Scar (red band of stars across the sky in the Cosmere, connected because the threat to Scadrial is shown also as red smoke by Sazed.) The Scar is in reality all of the worlds and systems Trell has conquered. A looser connection, but it makes more sense when you think about it: wouldn't Trell, shard of conformity or unity, want everyone to be under his control, to be the same? Therefore, he/she/they would expand and expand, and now Scadrial is their obstacle. That conquest is also referenced in Obrodai, the world "we have claimed," suggesting a world that fell rather than succeeded. I immediately remembered that Brandon was/is planning a series where the main character is destined to destroy the world, and that seems pretty conveniently paralleled, as Obrodai sounds to be somewhere of great significance that Hoid is being warned away from. The main characters role in destruction there could be giving in to Trell. It all makes sense and fits together, if anyone notices flaws, please let me know so I can try to address them.

I disagree, I think we're going to experience a lot more overpowered characters soon, simply because of how stupidly powerful the Fused are. With the Unmade bonding to men, we could have more monsters like Amaram walking around, and he almost killed Kaladin before even adjusting to his new power. However, there is another possibility that leaves me intruiged: what if Maya returns to sentience WITHOUT bonding directly to Adolin? He could end up wielding a shardblade just as pure as Syl, but without surges. I have no idea what that would mean, or what kind of benefit it would lend him (since the only advantage Syl has outside of surges is her ability to change forms, and Adolin definitely likes Maya as a sword) but it would doubtlessly be an important step towards reconciliation. Also, people keep saying Adolin would have to be broken to become a Radiant but he's got such a perfect life, you completely forget his dad was a raging warlord and alcoholic, and Adolin was stuck seeking his approval for years after his mother died while Dalinar drunk himself almost to death. Adolin may have moved past that now that Dalinar is better, but seeing someone you love destroy themselves will always leave scars, and I'm willing to be Adolin's dedication to dueling and love for the sword (Maya) came out of that desire for Dalinar's approval.

Long time Cosmere supernerd, have a few theories I think might have been missed in regards to Oathbringer