Use the Falchion

Or once the Champion reveals themself before the Duel proper starts. (Although if Gavilar is using a different body, then probably not.) Also, Navani does hint to Dalinar that Gavilar wasn't all he was cracked up to be.* (I thought the quote was in OB, but I can't find it. It may be in one of the first two books then.) Now that she's married to Dalinar - and that any trace of defending Gavilar's legacy would be thrown out the window if he joins up with Odium - I don't see why she'd hold back. Yeah, and Dalinar doesn't need to be The Blackthorn to stop his brother from winning as Odium's Champion. In fact, that would be his sworn duty as a Knights Radiant to do so. Words of Radiance, Chapter 85 "Swallowed by the Sky" That certainly seems like guilt to me...and guilt let go of, among that. I'm aware of that. I don't think there's much that TOdium can do to make Dalinar renege before the Duel starts - wouldn't any attempt simply be read as ODIUM attempting to break the contract? The path of a bloodthirsty warlord and drunkard. The path of a less honorable man - the path of Taravangian, as Dalinar puts it. While that's not entirely separated from Dalinar's feelings of Gavilar, they aren't really the same either. I'm under that assumption because it makes sense with how Taravangian and Rayse have acted before (as grandfatherly figures to less assuming individuals), and how much information along with what type I Gavinor would be fed. If Gavinor thinks that everything is going to end well, why would be be worried about facing down his grandfather? He knows Dalinar would never hurt him, and he is promised to spend more time with him. (If my theories about how he would be convinced to be Odium's Champion are correct.) Oh I'm sure reasoning would come up, and then quickly thrown out of the window since the Duel has begun, and there's no more stopping that than there is the Everstorm at this point. Speaking of assumptions, you're assuming that TOdium and Dalinar can forfeit. Contracts bound by Shards and Intent are binding, and I don't see any reason why this would be any different. This theory has also been discussed, and (surprise, surprise) I'm not a fan of it. Somewhere in Rhythm of War: If Dalinar is the champion and TOdium tries to stop him, TOdium is breaking the rules of the contest.** *Dalinar's arc in this series has been twofold: First is about becoming a better person, and all that entails (how it can inspire those around you, how it means that you have to face up to what you've done in the past, atonement, forgiveness, change, etc) The second is about how to be idealistic in the face of broken pedestals. Dalinar had to learn that the High-Princes weren't as honorable as he thought they were; Dalinar thought Sadeas and Taravangian were his friends while they were actively betraying him; Dalinar had to re-experience his own past in order to break the view he had of himself in order to reforge it into a true person. Dalinar has had to grapple with the fact that his sons are different men than he is, particularly Adolin. All of these involve Dalinar holding someone up to a standard, them not meeting that standard, and Dalinar reassessing. Gavilar would simply be the capstone experience for this arc, and one that ultimately would fit with Dalinar's treatment of them all. Heck, depending on what Dalinar learns from Ishar (if Kaladin and Szeth help out in time), nothing is set in stone as the Contest is ongoing. Just because I think Dalinar and Gavinor will be the starting Champions for each side doesn't mean I think they'll be the ending Champions. Ishar has shown the ability to rip Connection from one person and give it to another. If Dalinar learns that ability...well, that's a theory for another time. **The contest rules also inform me that TOdium could make the promise of Alethkar and Dalinar to Gavinor as concessions if he wins, and be 100% truthful.

Not really part of this discussion either way, but the use of their doesn't always mean plural. It's been used to mask identity for mystery of personal reasons for decades if not centuries. It's also the go-to pronoun when talking about those who identify as gender non-binary. From what we know of Autonomy, Bavadin has a complex relationship with gender, idenity, and Avatars, so using "their" when discussion the Shard isn't out of the question. (Also, Bavadin does refer to themself in the third person in the letter to Hoid in Oathbringer IIRC, so there's that.)

I disagree, especially depending on what Odium can see with his Future Sight and how he predicts Dalinar will act (which Taravangian has done a 50/50 job on so far). If he thinks and sees that Dalinar would kill himself before harming Gavinor, then he could accurately and truthfully say: 1. Gavinor won't have to fight or hurt anyone. (Since Dalinar would be hurting/killing himself.) 2. He would still be with his grandfather (Since Odium would then have Alethkar and Dalinar's soul.) 3. He would help end his grandfather's war (Since he would be ending the war...in a win to Odium.) I think if Gavinor was told these facts, had the Contest painted as a way for him to be a hero, and was promised vengeance for his father, then he could easily become Odium's Champion. I mean, Dalinar's options are pretty low, and he all but said he'd be the Champion to Kaladin. And that's fine! But I don't see the point of bringing in new hatred when Gavinor's hatred against Moash (and Moash's well-timed blindness and lack of use) should be enough. True, but I can't imagine it being used until after Szeth and Kaladin (and hopefully Lift?) finish all they set out to accomplish. Using an Oathgate in enemy territory can have some pretty strange consequences, as we learned in Oathbringer. I try not to say never to Adolin becoming the Champion, but all of Brandon's comments about Adolin and his role in these books makes me think that it's not high possibility. I admit I'm always a bit befuddled when people believe this. Dalinar holds no moral obligation to not kill Gavilar anymore, nor does he hold any guilt over Gavilar's death. We know more about how Gavilar truly was behind closed doors thanks to Navani's POV, and I'm pretty sure if Navani told Dalinar half of that information, The Blackthorn would feel obligated to kill the former king. The Way of Kings Prime Spoilers

Evershore Final Draft at 30%

Szeth will be heading to Shinovar with Kaladin to help bring sanity back to Ishar and to "cleanse" the country. Unless Szeth and Kaladin's arc - which includes using the Oathgate to get as close as possible to Shinovar, then travelling there by Stormlight, finding out what's going on in Shinovar, finding out how to fix Ishar, solving both of those problems, and then deciding on the fates of the leaders - takes place in less than ten days, I don't think Szeth is a viable option. Sure, Odium's forces could try and grab the Assassin In White and bring him back to Urithiru, but I'm not sure that'd make him a willing champion. I'm personally a fan of Gavinor being the champion, and have written more than I probably should about it. Honestly, I don't think Gavinor even needs to think that Dalinar is the bad guy. Taravangian can show up and say that he's Dalinar's old friend (truth) stuck in a bind (truth), and he needs help to get out and so he can save everyone (skewed perspective, but not untrue in Mr. T's eyes). Taravangian can note that helping him would be helping Gavinor gain back his own throne (technical truth with omission of context and facts), and more importantly, he can give Gavinor the man who murdered Elhokar. That enough would probably convince the child. My own personal feelings on this are that Nale has chosen the Singers, not necessarily Odium. So if he gets word of a splinter Singer group - like, say, Eshonai's group - then he'll have to make a choice. (YMMV, as several Sharders don't feel the same.)

Slightly, but I'm more worried about how well they can pull if off rather than what happened. Some shows have pulled off the cast replacement better than others, and it's not Rosumund Pike, so it could be far worse. Also, of the Emond's Fielders, Mat is probably the easiest to replace in the earlier seasons...depending on how they follow the book. Now, if Mat's first actor gives us a phenomenal, crowd-winning-over performance, then things are a bit trickier...

Wax & Wayne Draft 2 at 100%!!

Timing AFAIK. It looked like Janci couldn't really finish the first draft in time (not that I blame her, given how big these novellas are supposed to be and the probable time constraints she had, not to mention that she probably has some other projects going on outside of just these novellas) and Brandon has been on a tight deadline for W&W 4 in order to also write Skyward 4 this year. But hopefully Evershore releasing after Cytonic will be like a "hair of the dog" to the Sanderson Hangover we'll have.

So, this theory has been in the back of my brain for a couple of weeks now, and I don't think I've heard it discussed in any great detail, but here it goes: What if the story we're viewing is actually one that's happening in an alternate reality? Like one of Megan's realities that's super close to the real one? Maybe that could explain some of the continuity problems people have found - maybe they're not there on accident, but as clues, telling us "this is not the world you think it is." Granted, I don't fully believe this myself, but I think it's a fun theory to entertain for a time.

Those Evershore and ReDawn blurbs are staying closed until after I finish Sunreach. And only 8 days until it comes out? That means I have eight days to start and finish Project Hail Mary and reread the previous Cytoverse books...challenge accepted. But onto Sunreach itself: The cover art is gorgeous and the plot looks interesting! The synopsis gives some pretty fun clues as to how the novellas tie together, and I'm excited to see where it all goes. (I'm also curious if they'll revise parts of the novella so that it could work in novel format for the collection. I highly doubt it and I don't think I'd want that myself, but I'm curious if the thought ever crossed their minds.) I'm excited to see more of FM and the others as well, but I will admit I'm a little afraid of how compact this novella (and the others will be). I know I shouldn't be worried, but I am. Does anyone know how long the novellas are supposed to be? Brandon has said "almost novel length," but that's pretty vague IMO...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfd5zIA0SYU&t=10s Skip ahead to about 32 minutes in. The transcript from the Coppermind.

Saw it again last night, and I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop since the drive to the theater. It's the first MCU soundtrack I've listened to since Endgame, and the only one I've done extensively since Black Panther.

I never thought about it that way, but that's pretty clever! (And a good way to come up with villain themes and names.) I could totally see that being a theme in the main trilogy too, if only for the main villains and how they work: Steelheart can only be defeated by someone with a "heart of steel" Firefight has to fight fire in order to save a loved one Limelight has to learn to step into it, accepting failures and successes, in order to succeed.

Finished Heir to the Empire. I'll probably do a full write-up when I finish the entire trilogy, but as it stands, I really enjoyed the story. The bittersweet news is that it made me dislike the ST and Post-OT material that Disney has come out with. Not all of Legends is/was great, and not all of it should have been made/kept Canon...but after reading the first book, I understand why fans would be upset that this isn't canon. Again, I'll probably do a full write-up when I finish the entire trilogy.

Oh Brian is showing up? I wonder if he can do a reading for his new series next year!

I was supposed to catch up to my friends in reading Heir to the Empire, but instead reread the entire Lunar Chronicle quadrilogy. In one day. (Which isn't saying much for the first 2-3 books, since they're pretty short, all things considered.) Tomorrow I'll get back to Star Wars.

Definitely! When reading Lux, I found Jax and David to be inversions of each other in their personalities and interests in a way: Jax is a lot like a Science Hero in an Action Hero's world (the multiple fights, riding a path-growing bike up a falling building in order to hit an Epic with a sword, all of the combat training), contrasting David's Action Hero with a Science Hero's demeanor (his obsessions with guns and Epics).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvfx65xsstU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqGNq3Q6GTg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi4AR2vnjwg

Exactly. RoW's interludes were very streamlined because they were mostly characters we knew immediately discussing the plot at hand. Lift's interlude could have just been a regular chapter since we already saw her PoV in Oathbringer at the battle of Thaylen Fields. (And Edgedancer.) Having characters we don't know doing things that tangentially relate but aren't immediately relevant - if relevant at all - in places outside of the main locations just really helps the world feel bigger. Probably. Although depending on how much of the book the Final Ten Days take up, I can see a hybrid of the two. I can see the Interludes involving characters we haven't met at places that are immediately relevant or impacted. I certainly hope so...

I definitely don't think they're too long. In fact, I wouldn't mind them being longer! But I do hope that future books go back to TWOK interludes where they explore the world instead of exploring the plot. I wasn't particularly a fan of how many interludes directly affected or were affected by the plot.

Wax & Wayne Draft 2 at 61% (which tracks with the latest update Brandon posted yesterday)

My mother and I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as we do the 1990s Brandy version. My mentor teacher however turned it off after about ten minutes. I don't think it's bad, but it's not necessarily good or great either. The CGI mice are atrocious though. Like, SO BAD. Idina's singing is great, and Camilla Cabello's "Ella" is sufficiently different enough in characterization and motivation to make her stand out amongst her peers. I'll probably post a longer review later, and I'll let you know when it's done.

Television Shows: Brooklyn Nine-Nine's final season Marvel's What If...? Netflix's Lupin (when I'm in town to watch it with my parents because they love it and want to share it with me) Movies I've seen within the past 2-3 weeks: Kung-Fu Panda Kung-Fu Panda 2 The Suicide Squad Three Outlaw Samurai Shang-Chi Ichi (2008) Amazon's Cinderella (2021) Next Up: The Life of Brian Carmen (the opera, performed by Opera Australia) In the Foreseeable Future: Throne of Blood Cinderella 1996 aka the one with Brandy (My mom and I were supposed to watch it today before I have to leave, but I needed a nap and she's delivering food to a friend.) Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (I've already watched it, but my dad likes the movies because they're good samurai flicks, so I'm going to rewatch it with him next time I'm in town.)

Yeah that seems to be the general consensus.

I think it's a trailer thing. Many trailers are like that, where every moment is tense and dramatic. But once we get into the show proper, I'm sure we'll have several moments that are smaller. (That doesn't mean they won't be dramatic, but they'll be smaller and more intimate, like the series proper.) I originally thought it was possibly Elias, but The Dusty Wheel had a deep dive into the trailer yesterday, and the Innkeeper Mat and many of the watchers seem to think that he's a warder, the same warder who is kissing the ring earlier in the trailer.