#hey @syl-stormblessed can i get your thoughts

[lesbians-4-riovidal]

I am a 5'10" lesbian but i need you guys to understand that 5'6" keiran culkin as Roman Roy is so fuckable

[butwhybother]

Rhythm of War part 1 reactions. Rhythm of War spoilers!

I thought I might as well do a re-read before the novel comes out. And here are my (not necessarily sensible) thoughts.

I'm sorry if the keep reading link doesn't work on the app. When I checked, it still worked on the browser though. It seems to work now and I don't know how I did that.

Prologue

Gavilar is a DICK. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Does Gavilar have life sense of first heightening?

Currently trending in Kholin family: murder.

Chapter 1

Well, I guess Kaladin can no longer go around saying 'but nobody would recognize me here.'

Hey Lirin, that mental stuff you can't cut out with a scalpel? Your son has it too. You should go talk with him. And not in a 'I told you so' kind of way.

Chapter 2

Which ability of the ten do the Fused not have?

What teleporting?!?!

Oh no, Kaladin is not one of those punchy guys! He's always been more of a spearish chap!

FIFTH lashing?!?!

Awww Adolin found the perfect someone to play dress-up on. Syl can just materialize whatever new clothes he can imagine. 'how about some boots to go with that outfit?' 'you mean like this? *poof*' 'excellent, now let's embroider it on top.'

"sleepless nights had returned." Is this insomnia, or is Kaladin pushing himself too hard? Or both? Or something else?

Yes, Shallan, you can remember! You can do it! ...sigh.

Oh, Shallan. 'look, I'm being kidnapped. Finally, yay!'

"Lie down. Pretend to be dead for awhile. Get up. Easy." Sleep sure sounds morbid coming from someone who has been dead twice over, Syl.

Kaladin is proficient at dual wielding morbid and upbeat.

"Gagadin!" Ahhhhh! My heart is melting!

Kaladin brought Lyn home. More than once. Ohhhhhhh.

Chapter 3

Oh Navani, you made it happen! The flying ship! And you named it the Fourth Bridge! And the bridge is right there in the deck! My heart's gonna burst!

Lirin Stormblessed. Ha ha ha. Nickname turned family name. Imagine if your Tumblr handle became your legal name for your parents and descendants.

Chapter 4

No, good guys don't lie. Mmhm.

Chapter 5

"Heavenly Ones" sounds like a nice name. Reverent. Worshipful.

Kaladin sounds like a young man going to youth group and hoping that the nice girl he talked to last week is there again.

Perpendicularity is cool, but what if bad guys walk through it from Shadesmar?

Chapter 6

You can use Oathgates to travel to Shadesmar? But then how do you get back? Spren at Theylen city didn't allow it...

Moash, "that murderer," "the traitor." Good to know everyone know what Moash is.

"Let me get close, and I'll show you how good I am" Doesn't that sound like a really creepy pick-up line?

Ah-ha! Frost from too much stormlight!

Chapter 7

I really didn't expect allomantic metals other than aluminum to be important on places other than Scadrial. Very surprised to see Rioting and Soothing metals have effect on spren and stormlight.

Ialai's like, 'I'm a patriot working for the good of Alethkar!' and Shallan's like 'no, I'm a patriot working for the good of Alethkar!' and Mraize is probably somewhere, snickering at how well he played them both.

Anti-Radiant fabrial! It's different from the cube thing that Wax and Wayne came across, but they both are essentially magic-sucking devices.

It's amazing how much of Fused/Singer rhythms Kaladin can interpret. He didn't do this before.

A villain from a previous book meets a quick and unexpected death. This seems familiar.

Chapter 8

A fire is more of a problem for fancy houses than plain houses. Interesting!

You're wrong, Moash. Vengeance does not mean peace, and peace can be had without vengeance.

Choose death over life, end the journey, don't take responsibility for your actions. Moash is some sort of Anti-Radiant.

Allomancy?!?! What is this, gold?

When Shallan shows people a "different and better you that could be" picture, they get all inspired and then die (2 out of 3). When Renarin does it, Moash gets freaked out. (Adolin didn't get freaked out.) I'm not sure which is weirder.

Chapter 9

Moash how dare you plant these voices in Kaladin's head!

Who would want to sit in a tiny room where you can't walk around or even stand up? Oh wait that's what getting in a car is, every time.

The more I learn about Soulcasters, the less sense it makes.

Who's writing to Navani? Who put the tiny ruby there? And also, Navani needs to be open to the idea that her secret pen pal could be neither woman nor ardent.

Yay Shallan Adolin snuggles :)

Chapter 10

Kaladin, please stop beating yourself up. You're making me sad.

Chapter 11

Steel push and iron pull works on fabrials!

They've discovered artform? Eshonai tried so hard to find artform...

Chapter 12

It sounds like the artifabrians need a system for giving credit to the researchers/inventors and allowing them to gain profit and respect. Sharing is nice and all, but nobody wants somebody else to take your invention and reverse engineer it and monetize it or steal credit for it.

Somebody hug Kaladin and be there for him, please. Thank you, Syl. Thank you, Adolin. And thank you, Kaladin, for accepting help finally.

Kaladin often seems to envy how other people handle their lives and troubles. He doesn't see how they're broken and hurting inside though. Adolin is extraordinary in his perceptiveness.

Part of me wishes Kaladin had gone with Rock. Rock's goodbye sounds so final. It makes me sad.

Chapter 13

Why is Veil, rather than Radiant, pushing for truth and remembrance?

Wow they have a refrigerator now.

Gallant is letting Adolin ride him? Do all ryshadiums find Adolin just so irresistible? Also, this probably means Dalinar's been neglecting Gallant. Shame on you, Dalinar.

Mraize is holding Breaths, isn't he? At least of first heightening.

'Why do you keep sending on missions I want to accomplish and rewarding me with knowledge that I hunger for? Waaah!' That's Shallan here, pretty much.

Chapter 14

A disease that killed ten percent of human population. Wow. Literal decimation was not enough for them.

Chapter 15

Maybe Kaladin likes Zahel for the same reason dogs and little children like Vasher.

I had assumed Parshendi had soulcasters. This is totally different and so cool. Stormlight and music.

Rlain was so happy! And then not. It's frustrating, I know that Kaladin is trying, but Rlain has a point. Don't just settle.

Interesting that Kaladin compares Zahel to a masterpiece painting here. Kaladin compared himself to a painting earlier.

Aww Kaladin's been getting some practice time with Adolin at being a swordy fellow!

Kaladin almost got a hug from a snuggly sheet! It's S.W.Y.T! Snuggle When You're Thrown! Also, he destroyed a lot of laundry. Zahel's gonna get bad reviews. One out of five stars, all my laundry came back ripped into pieces or badly bleached, will never hire again.

Chapter 16

Szeth is little bit like the Stormfather. He knows things, but it doesn't occur to him to tell people what he knows until asked directly. Is he becoming spren-like?

Oh! So the Shin tradition of following a dying man's request has basis on deathrattles.

Navani. Gavinor. Adolin. I think I might cry.

I nominate Adolin Kholin as the highprince of boots. (My BFF would like to note how appropriate this would be, considering who the highprincess is.) And psst, Adolin! You can totally go with the cape now, you're a highprince. I believe in you!

Heavenly ones, the Singers. Curious how many words they've taken and use that their enemies use to describe themselves. They didn't bother to call the Parshendi Listeners before.

Chapter 17

Nooo Jasnah the enemy wants you and Dalinar away from Urithiru...

Chapter 18

"the older wind runner had given Kaladin a tongue-lashing at the mere suggestion." Is that like a basic lashing, full lashing, reverse lashing, or something completely different? Ahahaha I'm so funny

Lirin sold his sense of humor for money. All Kaladin got was scars. (Really, he said so himself. See the chapter in Words of Radiance where Adolin picks up Shallan for a date and Wit is the driver.)

Why does Kaladin becoming a surgeon make me feel so sad?

Chapter 19

Roshar is going Stormpunk!

Dalinar, stop sending Adolin carelessly into danger! Your son is not immortal! He is not invincible! And this time he won't have Skar and Drehy with him!

Dalinar doesn't count Navani as people. That's a super special introvert privilege there.

Dalninar Navani kiss 1. I'm keeping count.

[preservationandruin]

Oathbringer Liveblog, Part One. Chapters 15-19

I think one reason these cover so few chapters is that I’m desperate to catch any detail that might possibly be relevant, but I don’t know what might be, so I’m scouring everything. 

Adolin has a (not so) bright idea, Dalinar spars and discusses religion, We learn a name we haven’t heard so far, Kaladin makes some friends (ish), Shallan explores, and we get a flashback to Dalinar flipping off a cryptid while on a knife quest. 

Shallan and Adolin are discussing the murders, and also Shallan’s drawings of Urithiru remain terrifying. Shallan brings up the possibility that they are opportunity killings, and unknowingly is right on the money. We know that with Adolin, it basically was an opportunity killing, with the opportunity being Sadeas saying “What are you going to do, stab me?” 

Shallan thinks Adolin is fixating on the “two murderers” theory just because he likes it. No, it’s because he knows there were two murderers. 

Anyway, Adolin says he has to talk about something serious with Shallan, and her thoughts--of course--go to I killed my parents I stabbed my mother and strangled my father--

And Adolin wants to teach her how to use her Shardblade. Oh, Adolin. Even seeing that thing is a massive traumatic trigger for her. And Shallan gets upset that Adolin compares her to Kaladin, “ranking women as equal to peasants”--Shallan, I like you, but please get over your classism. 

And Adolin doesn’t notice how close she is to a breakdown, and so she draws herself another persona to survive. Pattern is concerned. She calls this persona Brightness Radiant--bringing her up to three fake identities--Shallan, Veil, and Brightness Radiant. I’m counting her normal identity because that’s a persona too. 

Anyway, Adolin is a fucking sword nerd. Also Radiant isn’t the best at picking up interesting hints--she’s not curious like Shallan is. Adolin says that he always felt like his blade was alive, but she dismisses it. 

This is not a healthy coping mechanism, but at least becoming Radiant means she can use her sword. But some day this web of personas is just going to crash down around her. She needs to talk about her trauma and actually work through it, not bury it, and if it sounds like I’m a therapist it’s because I’m imitating mine because hoo boy do I know some things about compartmentalizing your life away. 

Anyway, back to Dalinar. He does, in fact, have Szeth’s Honorblade. Thanks to Stormfather, we get that Honorblades are forged directly from Honor’s soul, and aren’t autonomous enough to scream. Stormfather can’t break Oaths, but neither can Odium; he’s a force that, like any other force, cannot break its own rules. Also, we get that Dalinar winning--even in a contest against Odium’s champion--will only buy them time. Until the next Desolation, perhaps. 

Stormfather compares himself to Honor’s shadow--which both makes me think of the Shadow of Preservation, the Mist Spirit, and of the nine shadows of Odium. So Stormfather is to Honor as each of those Unmade are to Odium? That’s plausible. There’s also the implication that there are more like the Stormfather--because how else would there have been three Bondsmiths at one time? There have to be other godspren. Has anyone bound the Nightwatcher? That might be interesting, as Cultivation (who we assume she’s connected to) is still alive. 

Anyway. 

Dalinar is getting backtalk from Rial, another of the Bridgemen (from Bridge 13). It’s hilarious. He’s pointing out that if Dalinar wants to know the time, Navani did give him a clock... 

Dalinar’s looking for a spar, and Zahel’s there! And his habit of trying to make a metaphor and ending up with a Nalthian shitpost is...still there. 

“Every moment in our lives seems trivial,” Zahel said. “Most are forgotten while some, equally humble, become the points on which history pivots. Like white on black.”  “White...on black?” Dalinar asked.  “Figure of speech.” 

He’s just given up explaining. Anyway, Dalinar does get a spar in (a wrestling match) and Dalinar was losing, but Navani shows up, irritated. Yet again Dalinar misses a meeting doing something stupid. At least he’s not digging a latrine trench in Shardplate. Navani is just like you fucking lost Dal. 

Also, “gemheart” is a term of endearment. And Dalinar admits he was planning to fight the man with nine shadows himself, although he realizes that was a stupid idea. Dalinar is feeling stubborn and decides to just have the meeting in the fighting arena. Because sometimes he’s just extra. And he uses his position over Kadash to make the other man fight with him, which is...Dalinar, fighting is not a substitute for having actual conversations with each other. He’s just like yeah i’ll take messages while I’m sparring. 

Kadash points out that Dalinar was always better than other people at killing things. He’s right. Navani is thoroughly Done with Dalinar but is humoring him anyway. Dalinar is somehow having an argument with Kadash and a conversation with Navani simultaneously. And fighting. Why is he like this. 

The Iriali are considering siding with the Voidbringers instead of the Alethi. That’s...not unexpected, honestly. It’s a much more clever way of dealing with people than just conquering all of them. Still, I don’t like it. Dalinar, you have to sell your case. This isn’t the Silver Age and everyone isn’t going to rally behind Alethela the Defender Nation again. 

Also, Iri is bitter that Adolin has his shardplate--it names Dalinar a thief. Also, in case I’m seeming calm and collected about Dalinar’s plan getting cut to shit while Kadash points out that he’s basically a heretic, my nails are bitten down to the quick right now. And Dalinar makes a good point about tradition--it’s only useful when it’s actually useful. You can’t assume something is right just because it’s old. 

Kadash says that Dalinar sounds like his niece. Dalinar takes that as a compliment, as being compared to Jasnah should always be. And he uses stormlight to stick Kadash to the ground. 

And Navani said Dalinar’s wife’s name--Evi--and he actually heard it. Evi. Evi of Rira; Evi Kholin. And memories--some memories--come back. He can remember her name, and he can remember her face. 

Holy shit, y’all. 

Although, a brief concern: in Edgedancer, Lift’s no-aging ability was going away; now Dalinar’s memory is coming back. Is something wrong with the Old Magic? 

And we cut to Kaladin “Get Captured On Purpose” Stormblessed, of course. He’s tied to a tree, as he has been for about a day, and the Parshmen are arguing about what to do with him. They don’t have a leader, and it’s confirmed that they don’t want to go back into slavery. He hasn’t seen the yellow-white spren from before again, but it’s been mentioned twice so it’s probably significant. 

PARSHENDI KIDS!! I LOVE THEM!! Also Kaladin is starting to check how he think about Parshmen, thinking about what Rlain would say if he heard Kaladin talk like that. As they’re moving, Kaladin feels a distinct familiarity to it--but he can’t place from where, or why. 

Well, he just remembered. It reminded him of when he was escaping slavery. Kaladin makes the mistake of assuming that he understands what the Parshmen were going through, though--

“I have spent my entire life living in a fog,” the parshman yelled at him. “Every day knowing I should say something, do something to stop this! Every night clutching my daughter, wondering why the world seems to move around us in the light--while we are trapped in the shadows. They sold her mother. Sold her. Because she had birthed a healthy child, which made her good breeding stock. Do you understand that, human? Do you understand watching your family be torn apart, and knowing you should object--knowing deep in your soul that something is profoundly wrong? Can you know that feeling of being unable to say a single storming word to stop it?”  The parshman pulled him even closer. “They may have taken your freedom, but they took our minds.” 

Hey, that’s fucked up, humanity. Hey, hey, humanity? Maybe you fucking deserve to be wiped out in a desolation, thought about that? Maybe you shouldn’t fucking sell people. 

Syl is acting like a windspren, which gets Kaladin terrified for a moment, but she clarifies that it’s not because Kaladin’s fucked with his oaths--it’s because she thinks that the parshmen can see her. She also mentions that the spren from earlier is hanging around and is a higher spren like Syl, and is invisible to Kaladin. 

Now there’s a thought. We know this group of parshmen is strange--they’re the only ones who stole things, to eat--and now they have a higher spren around them. Perhaps they’re sort of...bonded with that spren, and that stopped Odium’s influence? Perhaps one of those Parshmen is a budding Radiant? Hard to say. 

Well, Syl thinks that other spren might be a Voidspren, and that it’s how the Parshmen know where they’re going. But it isn’t red, it’s yellow-white. Also, we get that the Everstorm literally put back a part of the Parshmen’s souls--that humanity somehow ripped out a part of their souls and locked it away. That must have been what Gavilar was talking about, with the darklit spheres. 

So Kal decides to for some reason start giving them advice about how to hide better. Of course,  they don’t trust him, but the next stop the daughter gives him a waterskin and asks why the humans won’t just let them go. Kal has decided to help out the Parshmen, because...well, because he’s Kal. 

Anyway, Shallan is being Veil. Pattern notes that she’s better at being Veil than at being Radiant. Also, we get more of Urithiru being Weird and Unexplored. 

PATTERN REFERS TO ADOLIN AS “THE SWORDSMAN YOU CAN’T MATE WITH YET” IM GONNA SHIT

Also, Pattern has come to the “exciting” revelation that humans don’t care about dead things, so of course they use Blades. Also Shallan tells Pattern to marry Adolin if he likes him so much and Pattern literally asks if that’s an option. Shallan tells him no. Anyway, Pattern says that Shallan will hate him, but Shallan replies that she doesn’t want him to die and leave her too. 

And so Shallan, as Veil, is going to a bar, trying to investigate the murders some. Time for “is Shallan going to fuck this up or no.” She tries leaning suavely against a corner and nearly knocks a bunch of boxes over, so we’re off to a great start. She’s pretty quickly outed herself as a total rookie, though--she doesn’t know there are differences between darkeyed and lighteyed wine, among other things. I’ll admit I’m skimming this because wow, secondhand embarrassment hits hard. 

Anyway, a dude is now flirting with Veil. And she’s getting very drunk. Veil no. Fortunately, a little stormlight just wipes away all of her drunkenness, and she gets the information she wanted--there have been weird killings among the darkeyes, too. 

Shallan also just has a moment of panic when she realizes she doesn’t know if she killed her brothers or not, because she could have lightwoven them into existance if she did. Pattern is starting to get worried about the depths of the lies Shallan puts on herself. That’s fair--it’s not healthy. 

Aaand Shallan has ordered Horneater white wine,  which. Uh. Shallan be careful that stuff is probably literally lethal. Also, she has a disturbing thought while trying not to puke--it doesn’t hurt worse than “the pains already inside.” Shallan, drinking to cope with your issues is a very bad plan. 

She literally ends up with the alcohol getting taken away from her because if she continues like that she will end up dead. She’s healing herself, but they don’t know that. Also, maybe people from Jah Keved are better with Horneater liquor, given that they have horneater blood? Hard to say. 

Anyway, Shallan makes a story about how Veil is hunting the person who killed her little sister. She asks for details about the death, about how it was unusual. The woman killed was a grown woman. And she gets a little more Horneater wine out of the deal. 

She does make the mistake of taking a Horneater’s seat while asking for information, though. She stabs directly through her safehand into another guy’s hand and then scratches the symbol for the ghostbloods onto the table, which is one hell of a power move. 

Anyway, the murderer wasn’t the same murderer as the one who killed Sadeas (obviously) or the other lighteyes. Also, everyone’s scared of the ghostbloods. But there’s an interesting note about this murder--there was a second, right after the first, a person like the first one, killed in the same way--and the murderer insisted he hadn’t done it. 

Another double murder. Another one where the murderer of the first didn’t do it the second time, but the second time was literally identical down to the smallest detail. Something in Urithiru is replicating murders. 

Back to Dalinar, 31 years ago. He’s lighting his napkin on fire in a decorative candle while wondering what the purpose of decorative candles are. They’re at a feast, and Gavilar gets Dalinar to stop burning shit. 

Anyway, Gavilar is speaking with Brightlord Toh of Iri/Rira about battle tactics, Dalinar is bored, and I think this was one of the chapters Brandon did a reading of, in which case this is about to be a wild fucking ride. 

[Gavilar] wore a uniform of the newer style. Formal, rigid. Dalinar instead wore his skirtlike takama and an open overshirt that went down to midthigh, his chest bare.

Gavilar’s sitting there in a uniform and Dalinar is setting shit on fire, lounging around titties out. Why is he like this. 

We also get the main conflict of this chapter, which is that Dalinar can’t find a good knife to eat his food with. And so he just takes his wine and casually, casually walks outside into the highstorm. Titties still out. And he breaks into the servants’ quarters to try to get his knife. Why is he like this. 

Dalinar glanced and saw something luminous in the distance: a gargantuan figure that moved on spindly glowing legs.  Dalinar stepped back into the feast hall, gave the whatever-it-was a rude gesture, then pushed open the door--throwing aside two servants who had been holding it closed--and strode back in. 

Dalinar literally sees a cryptid and just flips it off and keeps going with his life. THIS MAN NOW CONTROLS URITHIRU. Anyway, Gavilar is gleeful because Dalinar just proved a very important point: they’re strong enough to protect the people they’re treating with. Because if one of your princes just casually strolls out in a highstorm, clearly they know no fear. 

Anyway, Navani shows up, and Dalinar angsts because she’s married to his brother. Dalinar immediately orders more wine; Ialai shows up as well. Navani is very amused that Dalinar scared off the guy they were treating with. They report on Toh’s sister, as being a touch vapid but honest--I’m sort of assuming that she’s Evi. Given that Toh has Shardplate--plate that will probably become Adolin’s, the plate that Iri accuses Dalinar of stealing--it seems a fair bet. And they’re planning to marry her to Dalinar. Meanwhile, the Knife Problem continues: 

“How am I supposed to eat a pork steak with this?”  “Attack it,” Ialai said, making a stabbing motion. “Pretend it’s some thick-necked man who has been insulting your biceps.”  “If someone insulted my biceps, I wouldn’t attack him,” Dalinar said. “I’d refer him to a physician, because obviously something is wrong with his eyes.”  Navani laughed, a musical sound. “Oh, Dalinar,” Sadeas said. “I don’t think there’s another person on Roshar who could have said that with a straight face.” 

Gavilar is pontificating about the nature of humanity and meanwhile Dalinar has somehow bent his steak knife. Sadeas calls Dalinar a gem, and I’m reminded of this wonderful piece of art: 

http://dalinarkholin.tumblr.com/post/138508422546/was-the-oathbringer-dalinar-chapter-even-real‘

which is a big mood honestly, like, is this really real. 

Anyway, we get our first glimpse of Evi. She’s from Rira, so she’s less used to having a safehand be a thing; she’s tall, but seems flimsy, but her hair is gold. Ialai starts theorizing about what she’s like in bed, as one does, but Dalinar gets distracted because he saw an assassin going for Gavilar. (Well, specifically he saw a knife. He’s got a one-track mind). He kicks Gavilar’s chair over, stopping the man from killing him, grabs the dude’s knife, and stabs him. Entire thing takes maybe three seconds. 

He nodded to himself, righted his chair, sat down, then leaned over and yanked the man’s knife from his chest. A fine blade.  He washed it off in his wine, then cut off a piece of his steak and shoved it into his mouth. Finally.  “Good pork,” Dalinar noted around the bite. 

WHY IS HE LIKE THIS

Reminder: he did all of that with his titties out. Young Dalinar is on levels of ridiculous usually only found in D&D campaigns.