JohnnyKaizen

Yoda

I am morbidly interested in what a Shardboomerang would do.

It was a great day, and a great weekend. I am back at work however..so not as great now.

Imagination

If it helps, I won't leave the shard (and by extension this thread) unless I'm physically incapable of being here

So, since I just discovered this thread..I get to slide in here at 2050 like it's nothing? *slides in, stands up, looks around* Sup..I've just been standing...over there...this whole time. *acts casual*

Wolverine/Deadpool healing factor

I didn't know this thread existed before now. This is a fun way to find out.

Why is my Brandon sense tingling that "basically" might be doing some serious heavy lifting here? I feel like Todium saying that he "can't see Hoid's mind" but he could see the last 100-200 seconds in the Breaths, would be a pretty strong argument that Hoid's mind is either full, or he saves that memory storage for things he never wants to lose? Because the last couple of minutes were already in his Breath-storage, and not his mind? Or maybe, mechanically, they breaths act as a crazy long short-term memory buffer (short-term being taken as loosely as possible) such that those memories may get into his brain at some point, if the Breaths are somehow physically expanding his mind? I dunno, just spitballing a sudden thought there.

That feels like an assassin's weapon. "Come over here and give me a kiss" ...of death.

Same. I did read the prologue a couple of weeks ago, and since it left me with far more questions than answers, I've gone back to waiting til release day. I shouldn't have caved, it was a moment of weakness.

Technical question, is storing memory in Breath superior to metalminds? While caring the Breath within you is definitely better than carrying a metalmind, is that the only benefit? Should we assume someone like Hoid loses those memories while not being accessed (as is the case with a coppermind), or has he expanded the storage capacity of his brain and can remember everything that's stored all the time? Aka, did he make a smaller equivalent to a shard vessel's expanded mind?

The idea of a spren sort of splitting off by mitosis and investiture is how I've assumed that spren reproduced, in my head, which is at least similar to the process described here (though, unless the consent of the sapient spren, it's deeply problematic). Those spren that talk about their father or mother don't seem to be copies of them. I'm thinking specifically of Ico, and though we don't know what his father's personality is, at the moment, if his daughter is Timbre, she is very much unlike her father. Even if his daughter isn't Timbre, whoever she is, she's definitely chosen an entirely different path from her father. I do think that however they're created, brand new sapient spren would probably not be capable (at least safely) of forming a Nahel bond? It feels very child-soldiery to me? Maybe I'm wrong on that one, but Syl does talk about being very "young" when she bonded her first knight, and how badly that effected her. Either way, it's a fascinating topic to think over.

a completely valid theory. It would mean that Wit knows more about the Heralds sanity (and insanity) than he has let on though? Unless he had a way to block Taln from summoning his blade, he could have summoned it on instinct at any threatening point. That said, it still works.

Shardpaper, for the papercut from hell.

Apparently, I still can't read that passage without tearing up, but that's nothing new. And yeah, I agree that Kaladin certainly had a moment of change/growth there. I identified with Kaladin, almost immediately. It was young Kaladin that I couldn't stand. I have come to love both, despite there flaws. Mostly because I share many of those flaws, and it's difficult to accept that if you haven't processed and accepted it yourself. I most definitely can see why Kaladin is one of the characters that's really disliked by a lot of people. I definitely see that personal experience can color that opinion pretty heavily.

I don't know what you're referring to here. If it's been published somewhere and I'm just behind the times, then that's on me. If it's unpublished, you should put it in a spoiler tag, please and thank you.

Honestly, I'm not sure how he's handled it. I would be very surprised if Kaladin was in any way a therapist to Ishar, as his insanity is (to a great degree) magical in nature. I am curious where the intersections of (I'll say Kaladin because we've been discussing him) Kaladin's mental health, the restoration of B-A-M, Ishar's sanity, and the champions duel all meet. There is a lot to get through in this book, and as always, I feel like we're not going to get to it all. But, hopefully I'm wrong. I also hope that the feeling of what you're saying pans out as well. I do understand the negatives you've described and the reasons why it feels bad...I do think I am giving Brandon more leeway because of my personal experiences, but I also recognize that he's really aware of his audience. I trust that he will take us somewhere we enjoy going. That's my feeling on it anyway.

Hard agree. I feel pretty similarly to you on this. I warmed up to him in OB however, when the potential of his development was revealed..it was honestly what I had long hoped would happen but thought I was probably imagining it. I'm happy that I wasn't. From my perspective, I see Sanderson writing his characters in a such a way that mental illness gets in the way of everything. With Kaladin specifically, I certainly can understand how his development can feel heavy-handed, but it's clearly going somewhere. Kaladin has accepted that he can't kill to protect. Not when you want to protect the people you are supposed to be killing. I believe that him becoming a therapist (which he is really trailblazing previously unknown therapies) is leading him to the 5th Ideal. Which I'm more and more thinking will be something along the lines of, "They best way to protect, is to bring Peace." War is a monster to everyone caught up in it, and the only way to truly protect people from it, is to end it. I think that this progression will come directly out of Kaladin's journey to mental health. I can certainly understand how that can feel like a slog, and I'm not really sure if there is a better way to get where Sanderson is going...simply because he wants to go straight through depression (and other mental illnesses). I'm not sure if I'd categorize it as course-correction, but he most definitely has a destination in mind, beyond the mental illness..to healing, power, and change. Thank you, sincerely. It had been a long time coming, and it really is one of the greatest sources of joy in my life. This makes me realize I need to go back and re-read era 1. I haven't in a long time, and I feel like I'm going to end up agreeing with you on him. You're welcome, and yes, it does.

Entirely valid. I have been leaning towards Ishar is as unreliable as Shallan (except in that moment of lucidity) but that does make more sense if true..especially considering where it seems like KoWT is heading. Turns out, I wrote it is Craziest Theories with every intention of fleshing it out myself, but I ADHD'd on that and never did. Here's the burst of inspiration post I made a while back. It doesn't say much that you haven't said though.

I was in the Thoughts... thread discussing favorite characters, and I was describing how I have never had one, single favorite character. My love and anger with characters ebbs and flows as I change/evolve as a person, and I personally have loved going back and re-reading Sanderson's works (but especially SA1-4) and seeing how my thoughts, feelings, and connections to the characters have changed. @Treamayne quoted me and commented on that thread, which I wanted to respond to (and I will below) without highjacking a thread that isn't mine, while also steering clear of the problems in the thread Treamayne linked to. For the record, I have never hated any character so much that I got toxic about it. No great story is great without great characters. Any characters that stir up half as much emotion as Sanderson's are top-tier IMO. I commented in the thread that my favorite character(s) change every single time I re-read SA, and I mean it. It's like reading a book that's been heavily edited since the last time I picked it up. It may just be my wild brain, but it's a fun ride none-the-less. All of this is clearly linked to my mental health journey, which I'm still pluggin away at, and is both about the journey AND the destination (sorry Brandon). As I have changed, healed some, and grown, I have come to find a deep and abiding kinship with Shallan, because there was a large amount of time for me where I doubted my own mind, and that feeling was constant for far to long. I could never feel 100% certain that the way I thought things happened (or were happening) was actually what was going on. That was all trauma-based and until I really got into it with a top-notch therapist, I felt isolated in a way I didn't know was possible. I felt alone, even from myself. Where I first started to despise Shallan was in WoR. The decisions she made didn't make sense to me, and they made even less sense (to me) in OB and RoW. It got to the point where I would roll my eyes and make angry noises when the perspective shifted back to her. In my opinion at the time, she was a Walter White character who was only ever going to get worse and worse, and I had no patience with her. That was then, now (and for more than a year) I have come to feel much of the same feelings Shallan has, or does, display on the page. I came to viscerally understand that so many of her choices were not because she's a bad person (or a bad character), but because she doesn't know who she is..she doesn't trust who she is..and she's terrified to find out who she is. When you are constantly running from that thing you are most afraid of, you'll go just about anywhere to avoid it. That's a serious oversimplification, because trying to get into the minutia of my own experiences and how it's connected me to Shallan's would probably be a novel until itself. For the record, since I tagged Treamayne in this, I want to make it clear that they have never once made me feel poorly for any of my thoughts/opinions/etc. They've only ever been helpful, supportive, and constructive in any criticisms offered, and I'm thankful for them being here on the shard. What I do want to say is that Shallan is a fantastically written character. If you hate her, she will get better (and maybe worse before that happens) as time goes on, and even if she doesn't get better for you, that's ok. Nowhere is it written that you have to love ever last character in a series, and this series will end up with 100+ "main characters," so you're probably not going to like all of them. The fact that I felt little, to no, connection to Shallan at all (from mid WoR-RoW) on my first several readings, speaks to my lack of experience and perspective much more than a lack of depth in how she is presented to us as an audience. I would also like to caution fellow fans who may have deep loathing for her..or Moash..or any other lightning rod character in SA. These characters are suffering from trauma-induced mental illnesses. Brandon has gone out of his way to consult with experts and folks who have (and do) suffered from these illnesses. You may hate Shallan, and you may feel justified in that hatred (which you might be, she's a made-up character and will never be affected by your feelings) but there are many, many folks on this forum, and other forums, who suffer from very real mental illness(s) who you are not justified in heaping abuse on. And in case you aren't aware, it can definitely feel like you are pointing that vitriol directly at someone who feels deep connection with certain characters that you're railing against. I mentioned Moash, not to devolve this entire thread into a hate-fest, but because while I do not like him, I have come to understand him much better during this time in my life. He's not excused from his actions (quite the contrary, just as I'm not excused from mine), but they make sense to me in a way that they most certainly didn't before I'd grown in my sense of self. I also mention him because, like me, there are others who feel a connection with him. For me, that connection is representative of poor choices I've made..that at the time..seemed justified or even the logical choice to make. However looking back, I can see how I was acting out of negative emotions, trauma-damage, and/or mental illness, among other things. Worry not, I've never (SA 1-4 Moash spoilers) so, in case you got the wrong idea, I'm good. I started this because I had thoughts about Shallan and it sort of spiraled into a whole thing. If you've made it all the way down here, thanks for reading this far My original thought/question/discussion topic was and is...are there any characters that you've had a massive change of view/opinion on? I'm most interested in characters that you really didn't like that now you do..however the inverse is valid because there's still 6 main volumes yet to be published in SA (and most certainly several novellas and/or SPs) that we have remaining. If your thoughts have changed on someone significantly in 4 books, they can change just as much over the rest of the series. I will probably come back to this thread over the years, if/when I have other seismic shifts in opinion on other characters. Shallan was someone I deeply disliked, and it was almost entirely because I didn't understand most of her logic/decisions, and now I feel like I do (at least much better than I did). If you've come around on someone (or multiple characters) what's your story and what lead you to that change?

Makes sense, and should be confirmed when we visit Shinovar, if true. It's also a logical assumption, and probably the only other group who would have the knowledge and desire to take Taln's blade. Either idea is good with me, as they would both easily make sense upon the reveal. There is also the hanging thread of Szeth's Dad has been killed (or at least died) that we've not yet gotten back around to, that would tie into that theory very well. It's possible that Szeth's dad tried to take the blade from Taln and he killed him in an instant? That would be a wild connection.

I put forward a similar theory that it was Chana who swapped Taln's blade a while back, but I feel like you flesh the reasons out a bit better. Chana just asking Taln for his blade makes a lot of sense to me. She would have all sorts of reasons she would want an honorblade, and she would have known where to find it, and with the state Taln is in, wouldn't have had much, or any difficulty, in getting it and then running and hiding wherever she couldn

My favorite character changes ever time I read the SA. They change within each book. I find it amazing how much that changes based on how much I've changed since I've last read them. For example, I used to despise Shallan. I couldn't stand her. She would grind my nerves to nothing, every time I read her. But in the last few years, as I've confronted my own insufficiencies with my mental health, and sought treatment and healing, I have come to connect with and adore Shallan in ways that 5 years ago me would be floored. I have too many favorite characters, for a multitude of reasons, and I love it that way.

This is a really interesting theory, and I can see a lot of merit to it. The sad fact of the matter is that, a huge chunk of info we have on Shallan is false, twisted, and/or backwards. I look forward to getting some "set in stone" facts on Shallan's origin(s) and what actually happened, but until then, arguing the finer points of what we "know" about Shallan, is pretty moot. I would definitely not be mad if this turned out to be what happened.