JohnnyKaizen

Is she the Stormdaughter now? Because that's definitely the vibe I got after her father's death.

Maybe this is just me, but I took that line from Wyndle as him demonstrating his prejudice for Zahel/Vasher "having a bad influence" on Lift. I don't think Lift heard it from Vasher. I think Lift heard it elsewhere and Wyndle blamed it on Vasher and your point holds up. I just think Sanderson did it on purpose, not by accident. I do agree that the tone has changed, but personally, I'm here for it. I enjoyed it.

I don't feel that I'm understanding what Brandon is getting at in your spoiler tag...

This whole thread makes me head hurt in that fun Cosmere sort of way Ok, that's all, carry on.

First off, big applause for this theory. I love it for many reasons. My first thought is that Shallan being a Lightweaver would have negated any tattoo she would have gotten. But my second more fun thought (IMO anyway) is that she does have a Ghostblood tattoo, on her face...hidden amongst her freckles...and that was one of the things that made Hoid jump when he looked at her at the Fair.

O, I dunno, finding out your Dad (whom you idolized your entire life) murdered your mother in a fit of Unmade/Odium-induced insanity rage probably left a big ol crack? I'm not going to argue as to who is "the most broken" because that's silly (and also not the point you were making AFAIK) but I would argue that Adolin is in a big need of healing himself. I would also argue that Syl's soul is pretty cracked as well. I don't know that for a fact, but it seems logical that between losing her first Knight, sleeping for however many hundreds or thousands of years, and the suffering she's shared with Kaladin, that she's got some cracks of her own.

I wrote something about Moash when I (first..I was definitely late to the overall discussions) saw people making extremely judgmental and definitive statements about him (a fictional character). Judgmental thoughts about fictional characters are not only common, that's generally the point of them. The vitriolic definitive statements..not so much. My reasons for writing about Moash were myriad, but I'll lay out the top reasons that come to mind. My biggest reason was that people were talking about Moash in ways that were/are dehumanizing and that's extremely problematic. He's a fictional character, yes, and as such doesn't have any way of being hurt by what any of us say about him. We however, are living breathing people. People most certainly do monstrous things, and those people should face consequences for those actions. Some do, some don't (From a physical perspective, sidestepping various religious thoughts on the matter). While Moash does commit violent, violating, betraying, murderous actions...most of us reading him don't have experience with anyone who's committed betrayals so dark and dastardly. What most of us do know, is what it's like to be betrayed and/or to betray others. We, living breathing people reflect off of Moash in myriad ways. As has been pointed out multiple times above and in previous posts, the way(s) in which each reader reflects can be near infinitely varied, and that variation can lead to better understanding of our fellow humans and just be really enjoyable in general. One of my biggest problems with dehumanizing Moash (other than we should never dehumanize anyone because it only leads to bad things) is that in so doing, many people were inadvertently launching attacks on any other person who saw themselves (even a little) in Moash. It's a pretty safe bet that none of us will ever kill a king, or murder several people just to test out a weapon and to make our former best friends feel psychological torture, and as such it's a very easy thing to separate yourself from someone as evil and terrible and wicked and cruel as Moash, because he isn't a real person. But, all of us have most likely had some experience(s) that may feel something in the vein of what Moash has felt. Crippling pain, soul sucking grief, fury and rage at injustice (especially from the powerful and/or privileged who get away with their actions), and some level of hatred towards another/others. If you are so lucky as to never have had any experience in these areas, I honestly rejoice for you, because that's wonderful, but know that you are most likely in the minority. It is in that space that people have expressed to me feeling connection/reflection of who Moash is at a base level (whether good or bad, in part but not whole), and because of that can feel targeted by extreme rhetoric about Moash. To some extent, to heap recriminations on him as a fictional character makes sense. Most of the criticisms, complaints, and shouts of anger at/about Moash, that I've read over the years, are valid and unproblematic. I recognize that many folks may read this and think, "People should know I'm not talking about them when I demand Moash's death, torture, suffering, eternal exile, etc" and to some extent you're may be correct. That said, feelings and trauma both, care not at all about what we should know. You may not intend harm in the slightest, but if you are causing others harm anyway, then there is a problem that person(s) causing harm, needs to correct. I first posted about Moash, and still do, in defense of treating humans as humans (Basically sapient beings, as not all persons are humans in the Cosmere...fictional or not) with the basic respect all of us deserve, and not lowering ourselves by dehumanization, as well as not tearing others down, intentionally or accidentally. I wanted folks to think deeply and reflect on what their strong words, thoughts, and opinions may do to others around them, and to be careful in how they express those thoughts, as to not go around causing pain to others, because they are angry about Moash. Another main reason I've commented and made posts about Moash in the past, is because of the certainty with which people often post about how Moash definitely won't or definitely will get a redemption arc, and all of the reasons those two camps think support why it is written in stone. Theorizing as to what will happen and why is a cornerstone of this site, but what makes no sense to me (and is pretty much unproductive) is declaring something will or won't happen when Brandon himself has stated many times that things change before they're published. This is a known fact. Until it's on paper and on the shelves (and even that changed once with WoR), nothing is 100% set. Theorizing is great, and giving your reasons for your hypothesis as to what's to come is also great, but when it comes to Moash (moreso than just about any other character/topic in the Cosmere), folks tend to get awfully definitive as to what will and won't happen, and obviously that is biased with personal feeling(s), or there wouldn't be such strong emotions connected to those declarations. So yeah, theorizing is a vital part of this site, but unless you have talked with Brandon one-on-one and he's confirmed to you that there's 0% chance of any deviation as to what he's going to do with Moash, then your declarative statement (that anyone who's read literally any Moash post, most likely, already knows) is going to cause argument(s) which at best, is unproductive. And lastly, and this connects in theme with the previous paragraph, there are folks out there who vehemently argue that there is 0% chance that Moash will choose any kind of redemption..that he doesn't deserve it..that if that happens they'll (stop reading Sanderson/rage/etc). Same thing for team 100% redemption for Moash. As has been stated above, and many many times by folks for many years (obviously myself included) there is no fictional person that Sanderson writes that's so far gone, that there isn't a chance of their redemption. I don't include this to say whether or not I think it will or won't happen with Moash, because that's not the point. The point is there is a non-zero chance that Moash will have some sort of redemption and a non-zero chance that he won't, and if Sanderson writes it, I'll be here to read it and have strong feelings about it, and will post and comment my thoughts about it here. Ultimately, if you want to stop reading Brandon's stuff then you obviously can, but to rage dump over a work of art that many other people enjoy (because of something that hasn't even happened yet) is less than unproductive, and makes it a bit more difficult (as the rage pile grows) to enjoy.

it would not be Stick

Don't I know it. I basically have a rule now that if I can't find it in 10-15 minutes, I try again later. Stuff just disappears in there

I am so glad you shared this WoB That's a positive for me!

The book says it's written by someone named Glenda Hidleston, so I doubt it.

So I cam across this book on amazon today entitled "The Way of Kings: A New Dawn", and as far as I can tell, it is a legitimate book for sale in paperback and on kindle. It feels like it has to be a prank or something considering the blerb on there explaining what the book is about... "At the heart of this tale are characters who wrestle with their own limitations, doubts, and fears. Kalad, Dalin, Shella, and Jasnah each embark on their own journeys of growth, sacrifice, and discovery, ultimately coming to understand their places in a much larger story." I'm not sure if I should even link it or not, but if it's not some sort of funny thing...then I don't even know what to think about this.

SA: The Unkalaki Archives

Well..that is both annoying and makes a lot of sense. Also, I can't get too annoyed because knowing hiss brain we'll get some other wild SA thing after a while because that's generally how it works. Thanks

I searched and all I can seem to find is that "It will be released later"? I hadn't thought about it in a while and with WaT coming out in less than 8 weeks, it popped into my brain. So, anybody know?

Ok that tracks. He does know, but he's still got to work hard for it. I think the disconnect for me has been the certainty with which so many threads have talked about the loophole, as in it absolutely will happen..Dalinar will fail..and what will Roshar and the Cosmere be after that, case closed. When, as you've said, it's at most..a possibility (for a Shard).

I don't have access to a digital copy of RoW, but I could have sworn that TOdium said something along the lines of, "Nearly all of the probabilities (or maybe timeslines? IDR)" when it came to his plan about the challenge. I definitely understand that he's working off probabilities..most likely millions (if not many more) at a time. IF I am remembering that line correctly, wouldn't his limitation around Renarin and the upper echelon of Urithiru mean that he'd have a much harder time "check-mating" Dalinar? I might not know until I read SA5, or maybe my brain just won't let go of it until then?

Same, I stopped reading them when info about SA5 became available, but there were tons of them from just after RoW onward, and they are widely varied, but most (or at least many of them) seem to assume that TOdium has "already won" in some way or another. With that being the predominant view, it makes me feel like Brandon has once again left hanging literary bait out there so tantalizing for the futuresight fans, that they may miss a very basic truth already presented to them in the same book, by the same person. I won't quote the spoiler tagged stuff, but I also agree there as well.

I had forgotten all about this, thank you for the reminder. It's much better, IMO, that Dalinar and Renarin do know. I am all for anything and everything that makes TOdium's life more difficult because he's the worst. This all just feels too Brandon-y to me atm. There have been dozens (if not hundreds) of threads about the loophole..what it is..what it will mean..who will die..etc. But, what if all of that falls apart for TOdium? And if that were to happen, what would that mean for the Cosmere, and how would that fit into the bits and piece we know from stories that take place in the future of SA? I recognize that I could be way off on this, but I really really really want it to be true

O I am definitely hoping for dozens and dozens of Truthwatchers for sure.

I just don't know how you make plans, even as a god, if you literally can't see your opponent(s). He shouldn't be able to see Dalinar or any other main characters, and if he couldn't, that feels like something substantial enough, that he should have mentioned it in his own thougths, since that's what we were basically hearing at the time? I may be wrong, and TOdium may be in the driver's seat and everyone is screwed, but until I read otherwise, right now I'm feeling like there isn't a loophole. I feel like Taravangian ascended to the towering heights of godhood, became enamored with his ability to see what's coming expanded into nigh on infinity, and he forgot a basic truth he knew as a lowly human with (what is now truthfully) diminished capacity. And because he's forgotten that, he thinks he knows where all this is going, and he's likely to fall prey to the same trap his predecessor fell headlong into multiple times (and Rayse was super confident everytime he was defeated as well...truly seemed baffled every time). Honestly, Rayse makes me think all the more that Taravangian has forgotten about this lapse in futuresight, because Rayse never once (seemingly) sat back and asked the question, "Why is all this going wrong if I saw it happening? What's messing with my godly abilities?" considering just how monumentally wrong we was, over and over. Because if he had, he could have sent every fused he had to kill off Renarin post haste, and then would have had no more problems. Either that, or TOdium is going after Renarin (and by extention Rlain and anyone else who bonds an enlightened Truthwatcher spren) in SA5, I guess?

I was getting ready this morning and this thought hit me like a bolt out of the sky. It was Taravangian who discovered that Odium couldn't see Renarin's future, and also him who later saw that this effect was spreading to everyone around him. AFAIK the only other person in the Cosmere who *might* know this is Cultivation, assuming it's a part of her plan(s). That said, the only person we *on screen* are confirmed who knows this, is Taravangian himself. So, why does he sound so confident at the end of RoW? Shouldn't he, better than anyone, know that his ability to see what's going to happen is extremely limited when it comes to the leadership of Urithiru, considering Renarin has deep connection to every important person in the tower kingdom? Am I missing something here? Because it really feels like one of those Brandon things where he presents something like "the loophole" but the character who has seemingly discovered said loophole, has already demonstrated on screen, why there is a problem with that. Edit: Dalinar and Renarin also know, because Renarin tells him in RoW

Ewoks

Meteor

I would think the most efficient way to do what @arandomperson1234 originally describes, is to build up the eastern walls of the 10 cities/warcamps (30+ feet) and portion out trained radiant soulcasters against the walls. They're out in the storm, able to access Stormlight and can move along the walls creating whatever they want/need/ordered to create in mass..any time a storm comes by. They'd be protected, what they create would be protected, and it could all be taken to Urithiru and/or used in the cities after the storm has passed. It's not the same as flying across the continent creating whatever as they go (which as discussed above, would be a logistical and tactical nightmare), but 10 city walls worth of space to safely Soulcast, and then windrunners flying materials to the oath gate would be a scarcity-ending operation, would it not? Doing it that way, you could set up whatever materials you want and label them, to Soulcast later during a storm. Then the Radiant(s) could just go along doing their thing when the time comes.