#grace was designed very specifically to avoid looking like any one terror guy

[capn-twitchery]

11 for Grace, 5 for Twitch?

11. Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?

he looks exactly like every guy from the terror got fused into one single guy. but it wasn't intentional, just unavoidable! there's just only so many different ways a white guy with ridiculous sideburns in a navy uniform can look........it's ok it just means he would fit right in<3

it doesn't help that there are no "1880s/1890s royal navy arctic expedition fashion" resources. 😭 the navy didn't Do a lot of it by the 1880s. i guess the whole franklin thing really put a damper on it huh,

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

twitch was randomly generated so a silly name would stop me getting attached to my ssea character (failed) when they inevitably died 2 days later (they did Not)

it got lengthened to twitchery with 2 seconds of consideration when twitch was already taken on FL when i signed up a month later (ignoring that twitchery was not, in fact, entirely available and it broke my inbox for 2 months--)

i think i chose lazaret as a surname like 30 minutes before i joined flumblr. i was looking for Any word related to ships that sounded ok, and the rear part of a ship's hold, sometimes used for holding dead people, was the best i found. no specific reason, just vibes (but i guess they are used for holding dead people, in a sense-)

in-universe it was the first couple of words they blurted out when someone asked their name, and they liked it enough to keep it. no deep thought, but it does have meaning to them in that it's Their name, and nobody else's 😌 that's them! they're twitch!!

character asks

[preservationandruin]

Oathbringer Liveblog Part Two; Chapters 49-53

Sorry as always for the delay; life is happening. 

Shallan plans to help out a mission, Dalinar Did Not Deserve His Amazing Wife Or His Wonderful Children, Jasnah actually has friends,  I decide to make a post about Amaram and Manipulative Tactics (keep your eyes out for that), and Renarin makes a discovery. 

And as we go into the past, Dalinar’s doing drugs. Firemoss, specifically. I’m...not sure why I was surprised by this. Like, we knew he was a train wreck; I guess I just didn’t expect how much of a train wreck. Also, at some point I’d like to do analysis of the Thrill as, essentially, a gateway drug, because that really seems to be what it’s like. The guys he’s with--Bashin and Havar--are bantering; Bashin is a darkeyes who has travelled through most of Roshar, wants Dalinar to go with him for the rest of it, and has a floppy hat.

For some reason, I’m reminded of the joke theories that Wayne somehow got his hands on a Ryshadium. Also, apparently Dalinar is worrying about Evi, although the reason isn’t specified. Also, he is torn about wanting to get into battle, because he’s still haunted by that time he almost killed Gavilar. Anyway, Dalinar decides he’s going to start wrestling in the ring, because he’s Dalinar and he’s a little high and a little drunk and very extra. But he doesn’t fight, and it turns out that in other fights Dalinar has gotten into--people have been maimed. Unable to walk, loss of arms, brain damage--jesus christ, Dalinar, please stop this.

And then, of course, Evi has gone into labor. The nurse is worried that Dalinar will be too tentative to hold his son, but Dalinar immediately takes the kid, basically does the Lion King raised hold with him, and gloryspren show up.

May you have your father’s strength, Dalinar thought, rubbing the child’s face with his finger, and at least some of your mother’s compassion, little one.

I’m looking at Adolin--Adolin who talks to his sword and feels a bond with his horses deep in his soul and gets books for his girlfriend so she can learn things she never got the chance to and defends darkeyed prostitutes from lighteyed soldiers--and, you know, I think Dalinar got his wish.

“Adolin” as a name comes from “Adoda,” “Light,” and “lin,” “born unto.” Born unto Light. Adolin.

But something’s wrong with Gavilar, and he and Dalinar go off to talk. There’s a quick mention of Jasnah-- “her lunacy,”--which supports Jasnah’s memories of her “illness.” Gavilar says he wants Dalinar to go fight on the borderlands, to remind Alethkar why they feared the Blackthorn. He also mentions that he might have something with which Dalinar can “replace” the bloodlust.

Dalinar turned back and regarded Gavilar, who was bathed by the bleeding light of a fire reaching its end. “Words are important.” Gavilar said. “Much more than you give them credit for being.” “Perhaps,” Dalinar said. “But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn’t need my sword, would you?” “Perhaps. I can’t help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.”

Find the most important words a man can say.

Anyway, to the present day. The epigraph tells Hoid not to return to Obrodai, and that “a new avatar of our being is beginning to manifest there. She is young yet, and--as a precaution--has been instilled with an intense and overpowering dislike of you.”

So that’s interesting.

Dalinar is flying with Kaladin above the Shattered Plains. He’s holding hands with Navani--there’s something deeply unnerving to him about flying this high above the ground. Anyway, he starts talking to Stormfather; he also vaguely remembers a long trip by boat to the Valley, that he can’t clearly remember.

Kaladin is mentioned as the only one who flies with any grace--but he said it himself when he fought Szeth. He was born to be in the sky.

Dalinar is worrying about logistics--he points out that they can’t survive in Urithiru only on gemhearts, especially as Shallan predicted that they drove chasmfiends to near-extinction.

Queen Fen just sent them one word: Yes. Good! More people are listening to Dalinar! Navani is also designing something that seems to be an airship. At least, I hope it’s an airship. Dalinar goes to visit the monastery in the Shattered Plains. He’s looking for the room that Taln was in.

He realizes that the room Taln was in was boarded up, but there’s light under the door--it opens the possibility that they just left him in there, although I don’t think they did because we saw fucking Amaram interacting with him at the end of WoR. Yep--someone (Amaram) cut him out using a shardblade. Anyway, Dalinar tells Kaladin to take the next Highstorm to Thaylenah and open the Oathgate there.

Back to Moash. The parshmen he’s working with--the ones I think are Kal’s old crew--don’t like him, but he doesn’t really care because he doesn’t like himself. And Moash learns he’s going to be...running a ladder toward the walls of Kholinar. Just. Like. The. Bridges.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Anyway, over to Shallan--she’s going in to see Elhokar. 

Shallan, literally one of the only Knights Radiant: I didn’t want to be a bother. 

She tells Elhokar that she’s been preparing a team of spies, and mentions that they might be useful in Kholinar if, say the Parshmen have already taken the Oathgate. She knows in some sense that’s she’s being avoidant, getting away from her problems, but justifies it in that she can be useful to the team. 

Back over to Dalinar, 18 and a half years ago. He’s done fighting the Herdazians at the border, and moving to engage the Vedens--he’s been on campaign for four years. Kadash, who will be an ardent, is still one of his warriors at this point. I’m still waiting for whatever Dalinar does that made Kadash quit. 

Anyway, turns out this is where Dalinar learned the hard work of logistics and planning, setting up camps and supply lines. He did it because the reward was the Thrill; he’s glad that these other countries are snapping at Alethkar’s boundaries. But Evi showed up to see him (a great mention of the fact that she’s dressed perfectly as a lady but has sturdy walking boots on, dress+boots is a great aesthetic) and he kind of yells at her. Fucking hell Dalinar, you don’t deserve this woman. 

She brought the children (plural; Renarin must be born) and it turns out Dalinar hasn’t been answering her letters, which--Dalinar, you do not deserve this woman--and it also turns out Renarin has literally never met Dalinar. 

“Renarin?” Dalinar said, trying to work out the name. He hadn’t picked that. “Rek-her...no, Re...”  “Re,” Evi said. “From my language. Nar, after his father. In, to be born unto.”  Stormfather, that was a butchering of the language. Dalinar fumbled, trying to work through it. Nar meant “-like unto.”  “What does ‘Re’ mean in your language?” Dalinar asked, scratching his face.  “It has no meaning,” Evi said. “It is simply the name. It means our son’s name, or him.”  Dalinar groaned softly. So the child’s name was “Like one who was born unto himself.” Delightful. 

Hey Dalinar? Novel fucking idea, but if you didn’t bother to be there for the naming of your second fucking son, you have no say in the goddamn name. Also, “like one who is born unto himself” can basically be simplified to “like one who is parentless/parents himself” which...given that Evi dies and Dalinar does not seem to be a competent parent as evidenced by the fact that he hasn’t been home in like four years because he’s literally an addict re: the Thrill might be eerily prophetic. 

Just saying.

Little Adolin was terrorizing one of the chulls, perched atop its shell and swinging a wooden sword about

Thank you brandon for this hilarious mental image I love it.  He’s fighting “evil flying chulls.” And when he sees his dad...he salutes. Not hugs him, not even addresses him as a dad, he fucking salutes that’s heartbreaking.  He remembers Dalinar because they burn prayers for him every night. 

Dalinar also notes that he still feels the Thrill, which is really fucking worrying. I don’t want that interfering with him interacting with his family--god, especially Renarin. And Renarin is a baby, trying to catch blades of grass, and Dalinar doesn’t even feel the excitement seeing him that he did first seeing Adolin. 

Holy shit, Dal, you’re a fucking asshole. He didn’t even talk to/interact with Baby Ren once. 

Anyway, over to the present day. We get Nazh, who apparently was very unhappy at being sent into the Calligrapher’s Guild to do research (although we get that the “kalad” in Kaladin’s name is the same character in “kalazeras,” the Everstorm, and it means “eternal” meaning that Kaladin’s name, as Brandon has said, is “Born unto eternity” and unifies Adolin, Renarin, and Kaladin’s name all as being “born-unto” names). 

Another letter (probably to Hoid) starts, calling him “Friend” and talking about a previous letter that was “intriguing, even revelatory.” 

Jasnah’s POV. She’s researching the Jah Kevedian ancient king NanKhet’s death, which fascinated her because he’d only spent three months on the throne but survived six assassination attempts, all from his family. He apparently killed his own family after that, all of them, but then died choking to death on the feast he threw for himself immediately afterwards. 

Jasnah has turned an area in the tower into, basically, a fully functional think tank. Renarin’s been joining the scholars some, but still has his bridge four patch--he’s still floating between worlds, as Jasnah notes. She’s worried because she sees--from stories like NanKhet’s--that the greatest danger to a ruler is from within the royal family itself, and she refuses to let her family collapse. We get that Renarin apparently has been asking around the Stormwardens, seeing if they really can predict things--Jasnah disapproves. 

We also get that Jasnah has friends! Ethid is Azish and a scion, while Jochi, who pretends to be female to do scholarship, is actually a male Thaylen pastry seller. Both of them trained with her as Veristitalians ans she actually smiles while talking to him. Ethid is tracking Nakku/Nalan/Nale. Jochi sighted Axies the Collector, and Ethid passes news to Jasnah of Lift; apparently, she’s avoiding Ethid. Either she knows she’s passing information or Lift has just taken a dislike to her. Either could be true. 

Jasnah says she has sketches of the Heralds’ “true faces” provided by an “unexpected source” which was five thousand percent Hoid, but that the Heralds probably won’t be help to them due to how broken they are. Navani and Shallan are apparently discussing wedding preparations--that’s nice--and Renarin is talking to himself or his spren, and we casually learn that Jasnah can read lips. Jasnah gets that the spren for truthwatchers usually looks like light reflected through a prism, and goes to talk to Renarin. She goes to talk to Shallan about it, but someone arrives first. 

A tall, square-jawed man had darkened the opening. He wore Sadeas’s colors, forest green and white. In fact, he was Sadeas now, at least its regent.  Jasnah would always know him as Meridas Amaram.

Anyway he was looking for Jasnah, so that’s...great. Please Brandon let me see Jasnah verbally annihilate Amaram. 

“Jasnah,” he said when he drew close. “I was told I could find you here.”  “Remind me to find whoever told you,” Jasnah said, “and have them hanged.”  Amaram stiffened. “Could we speak together more privately, just for a moment?”  “I think not.”  “We need to talk about your uncle. The rift between our houses serves nobody. I wish to bridge that chasm, and Dalinar listens to you. Please, Jasnah. You can steer him properly.”  “My uncle knows his own mind on these matters and doesn’t require me to “steer” him.”  “As if you haven’t been doing so already, Jasnah. Everyone can see that he has started to share your religious beliefs.”  “Which would be incredible, since I don’t have religious beliefs.” Amaram sighed, looking around. “Please,” he said. “Private?”  “Not a chance, Meridas. Go. Away.”  “We were close once.” “My father wished us to be close. Do not mistake his fancies for fact.” “Jasnah--”  “You really should leave before somebody gets hurt.” 

I felt the need to separate this bit out just because every part of it is beautiful. First of all, @Amaram: 

Second of all, he is a classic manipulator in this scene. Common manipulative tactics include trying to get someone alone--which he does repeatedly--and repeated use of someone’s name. He also assumes House Kholin runs on manipulation--works the way he does--in his assumption that Jasnah will “steer” Dalinar. He also tries to rewrite history, claiming they were close just because Gavilar wanted them engaged. All of this is stock manipulation.

 He goes on with it, too; I’m probably going to make a separate post on Amaram and manipulation in this scene alone, because otherwise it’ll stretch too long. Keep your eyes out for that. 

Anyway, Jasnah accuses his mother of sleeping around, Amaram of being attracted to pigs (I’m dying) and, when he goes to summon his Blade, dares him to give her an excuse. He leaves, and Jasnah gives a spot-on analysis of him: 

Amaram genuinely thought he was Alethkar’s only hope and salvation, and had a keen desire to prove it. Left alone, he’d rip the armies apart to justify his inflated opinion of himself. 

Anyway, Shallan is literally clapping and squeeing at the end of this, as would I. Jasnah points out that her first insult to Amaram was very sexist, though--attacking his blameless mother, although Amaram did bait her into it by using his mother as a shield. 

The scene ends, then, as Renarin figures out how to unlock hidden drawers, showing gems that vibrate to musical notes--in a pattern, Pattern says. Turns out, infusing the walls with stormlight opens the drawers--and finds gemstones that carry the knowledge of the ancient Radiants, hopefully.