lu-tze

I think the Parshendi are an exception, in that we will see certain parallels to human cultures, but nothing on which they are clearly based. This is because the Parshendi are unified by their ability to simultaneously attune the same rhythms. This should be (and is) at the core of their culture; yet is completely alien to human societies. If they had architecture, for instance, it should be physically reminiscent of their rhythms. For instance, mausoleums adorned with undulations with heights corresponding to the rhythm of the Lost; battlements to Resolve; courts adorned with ornamentations which visually correspond to Peace, and so on. There may be hints to this, revealed way back in TWoK, as Kabsal points out, the ancient cities of Roshar all show a symmetry that arises from sound waves. And in OB, we learn that humans were not the original inhabitants of Roshar, and so those ancient cities would have been built by the Parshendi. So the Parshendi culture, as we see it (and have ancient Parshendi culture revealed to us) would play out like a thought experiment: how would the constant thrumming of a handful of fundamental rhythms impact culture and society. I don't think we'll be able to highlight a major human culture as a prototype. This is largely a moot point moving forward in SA, as the Parshendi are all dead, and the Parshmen will be largely dominated by the Fused, focusing on war production.

Obviously you hook two ships to each other, and send them off in opposite directions! More to the point, there has to be some way of making spanreeds move 'relative' to the frame in which the paper sits. Otherwise you'll start to have issues at large distances due to the curvature of the planet; or even at very short distances, if one table is at an angle and the other is not.

The basic premise I have is that the ground is set for Shallan to fall into the same position she took up in Jah Keved: that of trying to hold the family together, to silence internal discord, or pave over internal schisms. I think that similarities in kind will provoke her to confront her true motivations. Conflict between her brothers and the rest of the Kholin family could prompt these feelings; a reckoning regarding Sadeas' murder; or tensions between Shallan's continuing work for the ghostbloods, their relationship with Helaran, and the rest of her family. In fact, this may be the most likely: the external pressure on the family was (besides loss-of-status due to Shallan's killing her mother) indebtedness to the ghostbloods -- a debt which is considered not fully repaid. The lie upon which all the others are built. That her ends were (are?) noble and selfless, that the original purpose to her quest was the salvation of her brothers, and not her own respite.

The foundational lie; and one that on occasion she would return to even in WoR (partly to justify working with the ghostbloods). In OB it seems like shallan is confronting the fact that lies are too comfortable; but nothing is prompting her to confront her foundational truth with maybe the exception of pattern. I think Adolin serves partly as a foil for how Shallan should have grown. If Shallan had confronted her truths: Adolin: “I killed Sadeas” shallan: “I killed my parents.” Now that her brothers are here I expect external pressure to force the issue.

I deleted it because i was responding to a post on page 2. Luckily it was quoted in full before i realized my faux pas

It’s how she defines herself. One of the subtexts of TWoK/WoR was whether Shallan was motivated anymore by her family. It really disappeared in OB; but I suspect this tension will return. Edit: “it’s” is referring to the fact that her drama is self-actualization

(Crempost) > Too much family pressure > Adolin breaking > Jasnah chastizing > Dalonar frowning > Pattern humming > Breaks oath > Kicked out of KoR > Runs away > Surrounded by Fused > Bond with pattern fails > Deep doo doo > Rescued by very familiar flying bridgeman with a spear Shallan + Moash ?

Having made my way to the end of this thread, I have only one tiny, tangential point to make regarding Shallan; and it has to do with foreshadowing. Shallan, whose character-definining drama is squarely family-oriented, and whose primary motivation throughout all of TWoK was to save her family (though perhaps a lie and sought instead to escape them?), has all of her remaining family show up minutes before her wedding. I take this as a foreshadowing that Shallan will feel pressure to inhabit a persona for the sake of her family -- which Adolin, Jasnah, and Dalonar are now a part; and are all people to whom she feels an obligation: husband, mentor, and leader of the KR. As if family ties weren't enough... (This is all redundant with what has been said before; but I don't think the foreshadowing angle has been considered, but i may be wrong). Actually I have a second tiny point: I can't help but draw parallels between the scene(s) with Hoid (where Shallan seems to mend a bit), and her scene with Adolin. If Adolin starts to fill in as a touchstone or 'grounding' for Shallan, rescuing her whenever her personality shatters (with increasing frequency), then one of the truths she may need to confront is that she uses him as a crutch. Shallan is a minefield. I feel bad for Adolin -- but he may earn his radiance when she breaks him. Syl is the only girl for Kaladin.

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