#So either Sanderson is being very subtle with the romance doing parallels on purpose or he made similarities unintentionally by mistake XD

[seirei-bh]

Ok, I just finished reading Yumi and the Nightmare Painter right after finishing Wind and Truth and… am I the only one who sees similarities in the relationship between Yumi and the Painter and the one between Syl and Kaladin in WaT??

MAJOR SPOILERS for the end of both books below. Do not continue reading if you have not finished both books:

-First of all, because Yumi and Syl are VERY similar. They have both lived for over a thousand years, they are both described as "very old but very young at the same time" since Yumi lived the same day over and over again + her priestesses/nightmares have never let her do anything for herself and she says she doesn't know how to be a person. While Syl was in a coma after the death of her previous knight for almost a thousand years, and had amnesia and has ADHD. And for those reasons, they both ignore some things that are obvious to other young adults and they also get very excited about new things and are very curious.

-Second, Yumi and Syl slowly learn how to be more independent people and that it's important for them to live for themselves and not just for others.

-Third, even though one relationship is romantic and the other has remained a friendship, the way Nikaro and Yumi tease each other is similar to how Syl does towards Kaladin. Besides the two have conversations in which they understand each other deeply because they have a lot in common. Yumi and Painter about their feelings about art, Kal and Syl about knowing what it's like to go through the loss of a loved one.

-Fourth: the narration and thoughts that Kaladin has in the scene of his dance with Syl, things like "I deserve to be happy" is very similar to the scene in Yumi's epilogue, when Nikaro also tells her "You deserve to be happy", and in both narrations it is mentioned that they deserve peace, love and enjoy living.

-Fifth: the souls of both are connected, as if tied by invisible strings. In Nikaro's dimension, when Yumi connects to him, he's invisible like a ghost (and like a spren) and is tied to Yumi, who is the one who has a physical body there. Something very similar to what happens in the physical plane of Roshar with Kaladin and Syl.

-And finally, in Yumi's ending, she, who is a being made of investiture, dies and is reborn this time as a mortal in order to live another life now in similar conditions as Nikaro, while in the ending of WaT, Kaladin renounces his mortal body, dies and is revived as a herald: immortal and made of investiture, being now more similar to Syl.

Maybe it's my perception because I just read both books, but I point this out not only because those are amazing coincidences but because a lot of people say that Syl and Kaladin have not been written in a "shipping" way at all in the 5th book, that all that was just wrong thoughts of people who sees shipping where there is nothing and that they are and will always be just friends and family (some people even say that Syl is like a sister to Kal, but… hey, guess which Sanderson couple is described as "siblings", yes, Yumi and the Painter! since Akane and other characters think at first that Yumi is Nikaro's sister, and yet they fall in love), so I can't help but see in Kal/Syl some subtle hints that they might end up together in the future or that they were written in a little very subtle shipping way but without go far away for now, since Sanderson himself also often has a VERY subtle way of writing romance. Or it might never happen, it might just be coincidences, but it's a LOT of coincidences and the more I think about it, the more I think it's intentional.

Anyway, another thing I'd like to add is that a lot of people also say that if Kaladin and Syl were a romantic couple that would be a mistake because they wouldn't be a good couple or that a romance would ruin their friendship and general relationship they have now that if perfect already, and hey, I understand it, I used to the fear the same, however, looking at Yumi and Nikaro my thoughts are changing. Yumi/Painter are one of the most beautiful couples written by Sanderson, so if he decides to go this route with Syl and Kal, al least I'm calm if Sanderson is following this couple as example, and if not, this comparison between them at least give me more hopes that in future books their friendship is gonna be beautiful amazing anyway.