#maybe in a post-folklore/midnights world she could make a case but she would have to pitch them

[whiskeyswifty]

@r-ileyblue I’m sure she’s trying! That’s not exactly up to her unfortunately. It depends on what films/studios reach out to her or accept her pitches. it’s probably less than you think. Not a knock on her talent, just that the Taylor Swift brand is not a always good fit for a lot of prestige movies looking for a supplemental song. She’s also done major movies in the past like The Hunger Games, two songs in fact, but imo submitted the worse of the two and shot herself in the foot that year. Major movie ≠ Oscar movie though, that’s a specific breed of film that is broadening yes, but is still a narrow window. Both Nope and Top Gun are prestige “major” action movies for example, but only top gun made it in. AND Jordan Peele has Oscar pedigree and got in for Get Out but not Us or Nope. So it’s a very particular set of parameters a movie has to meet to align with the finicky tastes of what the academy views as worthy cinema. Insofar as bond, her brand doesn’t really gel with the Bond brand imo so I don’t see her ever doing a bond song. It would be a guaranteed Oscar nom if not win though!

[abybweisse]

In the end what will happen to Undertaker? As a shinigami it seems that he can't die again, at least until he will be forgiven for his suicide. His plans with RCiel can't be successful so... maybe will he be punished by the grim reaper dispatch? Or will he fight with Sebastian for OCiel and be defeated? (Like Claude in S2) Or will he continue to live as a deserter, forever grieving the loss of all his dear Phantomhives?

If he’s meant to be a strong parallel to Fassad/Locria of Mother3, then I would expect him to die... or at least to leave the human realm and never return again. Locria is the Magypsy who defies the others, changes their name to Fassad, gets manipulated by King Porky, and ends up being destroyed. Magypsies typically “die” by fading away, and it’s believed they might just leave that plane of existence for another one; they don’t really know what lies ahead for them, if anything does, they just know their time on Earth is over. In Locria/Fassad’s case, they slip on a banana peel (Fassad loves bananas) and fall off the top of the Lightning Tower. That’s “death” number one. Later, Fassad becomes a Fascinating Chimera of some sort, “upgraded” with musical instruments (horns, mostly). Before finally confronting King Porky face to face, Lucas confronts Fassad one last time; Fassad has an interpreter at this point, since they can now only “speak” in musical notes. Lucas and his pals fight Fassad until Fassad apparently cannot fight anymore. Fassad is tired of the struggles and is just thoroughly done with everything, then Fassad just sort of malfunctions and plummets into the underground sewer... never to be seen again. Undertaker could end up paralleling this by failing to “perfect” his bizarre doll of real Ciel... or by losing control of real Ciel. Whatever the exact details of his failure, he’d be angry, and he might finally give up, deciding that his actions in the human realm have become futile. There’s a chance he gets captured by the reaper association and taken back to their realm... and there’s also the chance he gets killed. Remember that a death scythe can cut through anything (except another death scythe). This could be carried out by a reaper or by Sebastian; recall how Eric told Sebastian to kill him with Alan’s death scythe in The Most Beautiful Death in the World. The other Magypsies simply faded away, as I mentioned above, so the other reapers might simply return to the reaper realm and leave the storyline. As much as it pains me, I have to admit that it would be fitting if Undertaker is destroyed... or at least captured, taken away, and punished — possibly destroyed — in the reaper realm.

If Undertaker’s “end” in the storyline is like his other Mother3 parallels, then he would get to live. Dr. Andonuts is the inventor of the Fascinating Chimera, and he lives... though his other big Black Butler parallel is Sieglinde. And Sieglinde might be the one who ends up paralleling Dr. Andonuts’ little victory over King Porky. So, she might also be the one who parallels Dr. Andonuts in surviving. Dr. Andonuts is also known for eating an donuts (donuts with red bean paste), and he offers them to Lucas. Just like how Undertaker likes to eat bone-shaped biscuits out of an urn, and he offers them to our earl. Also, if you go to Wikipedia and look up Ankou (a reaper from folklore), the first thing that pops up in the entry is this:

Then, if you click “red bean paste”, you get this...

...because another name for it is “anko”. I know this is slightly tangential, and I have older posts about it... but it makes me smile! 😃

Undertaker’s other major parallel in Mother3 is Nippolyte, the eccentric gravedigger and old friend of Lucas’ family. He’s the one who hands Lucas the Badge of Courage (aka the Franklin Badge), saying it belongs to Lucas’ father (Flint)... that it’s an heirloom that Flint has always “treasured”... and he entrusts Nippolyte to pass it over to Lucas. (Keep in mind that the mother, Hinawa, is dead. Flint is alive, but he is too distraught to do much of anything; he’s become a largely absentee father.) Nippolyte is a very odd fellow. When he holds Hinawa’s funeral, he makes the odd comment to Flint that it’s a double grave, so he’s already prepared a place for Flint. There’s a label on his shovel saying it’s top of the line; it says, “True connoisseurs know that this is the ultimate shovel of the highest quality." His house (in the cemetery) keeps getting burned down (like... 14 times?), so finally he puts a sign outside the boarded up ruins of his house that says “No visitors”. He takes care of a hidden garden at Osohe Castle, where he raises strange crops, like omelettes and ramen noodles. Oh, and Nippolyte has to destroy zombies that pop up in his graveyard from time to time.

Undertaker lets our earl hold onto his chain of mourning lockets, and he calls them his “treasure”; they include at least one mourning locket that would be considered a Phantomhive heirloom. The other parallels here are really funny. We’ve got Undertaker joking (or NOT joking) about getting our earl into one of his custom coffins. Keep in mind there are already graves for both of the twins, but neither one is buried there. Instead of a shovel, Undertaker has a scythe, but all of the reapers have gardening tools, and their death scythes are typically not actual scythes. The label on that shovel reminds me of how reapers like to boast that death scythes can cut through anything (though that’s not exactly true). We don’t know if any of Undertaker’s holdings have been burned down or anything (yet), but we know he eventually boarded up his funeral parlor. Also, Osohe Castle is the Mother3 parallel to Weston, and we know that Undertaker held a Midnight Tea Party in the private garden. Instead of unlikely crops of ramen noodles and omelettes... Undertaker had bizarre dolls pop out of the ground. Instead of having to destroy random zombies that pop up, Undertaker is creating them....

Well... Nippolyte survives, too.

So, what do I really think will happen to Undertaker? I think his chances of surviving are slim... but there is still a chance. If he lives, it would likely be for him to accept defeat... but also perhaps find some small victory to cling to.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Stormlight Archive Epigraphs (8) - The Unmade

These are mainly from Oathbringer Part 4 (excerpts from Hessi’s Mythica), but some are from other epigraph sections. I’m organizing them into general information and information on each of the 9 specific Unmade.

Notes below include small spoilers for pre-released chapters of Rhythm of War, as well as for the other books.

This is the last of the epigraph posts for the first three books! Hopefully these will be helpful for me when I’m reading Rhythm of War.

The Unmade are:

- 3 intelligent, with personalities: Yelig-nar (Blightwind; confers forms of power on Listeners/Singers), Sja-anat (corrupts spren), Re-Shephir (The Midnight Mother; creates shadow-monsters in imitation of living things)

- 3 mindless: Nergaoul (The Thrill), Moelach (causes ‘death rattles’, visions of the future by the dying), Ashertmarn (The Heart of the Revel)

- 3 we know little about: Ba-Ado-Mishram, Chemoarish (The Dustmother), Dai-Gonarthis (The Black Fisher)

The Unmade, in General

My research into the Unmade has convinced me that these things were not simply “spirits of the void” or “nine shadows who moved in the night.” They were each a specific kind of spren, endowed with vast powers. - Mythica, p3

I have done my best to separate fact from fiction, but the two blend like mixing paint when the Voidbringers are involved. Each of the Unmade has a dozen names, and the powers ascribed to them range from the fanciful to the terrifying. - Mythica, p4

I should point out that although many personalities and motives are ascribed to them, I’m convinced that the Unmade were still spren. As such, they were as much manifestations of concepts or divine forces as they were individuals. - Mythica, p7

The most important point I wish to make is that the Unmade are still among us. I realize this will be contentious, as much of the lore surrounding them is intertwined with theology. However, it is clear to me that some of their effects are common in the world - and we simply treat them as we would the manifestations of other spren. - Mythica, p12

The Unmade are a deviation, a flair, a conundrum that may not be worth your time. You cannot help but think of them. They are fascinating. Many are mindless. Like the spren of human emotions, only much more nasty. I do believe a few can think, however. - Taravangian’s Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 14.

Yelig-nar (Blightwind)

Yelig-nar, called Blightwind, was one that could speak like a man, though his voice was often accompanied by the wails of those he consumed.

- The Unmade were obviously fabrications of folklore. Curiously, most were not considered individuals, but instead personifications of kinds of destruction. This quote is from Traxil, line 33, considered a primary source, though I doubt its authenticity. (Jasnah Kholin’s notes)

Traxil mentions Yelig-nar, named Blightwind, in an oft-cited quote. Though Jasnah Kholin has famously called its accuracy into question, I believe it. -Mythica, p26

Yelig-nar had great powers, perhaps the powers of all Surges compounded into one. He could transform any Voidbringer into an extremely dangerous enemy. Curiously, three legends I found mention swallowing a gemstone to engage this process. - Mythica, p27.

Yelig-nar is said to consume souls, but I can’t find a specific explanation. I’m uncertain this lore is correct. - Mythica, p51

Sja-anat (corrupts spren): present in Kholinar in OB

Of the Unmade, Sja-anat was most feared by the Radiants. They spoke extensively of her ability to corrupt spren, though only “lesser” spren - whatever that means. - Mythica, p89

I would assume that ‘lesser’ spren means, ‘not the type of spren that Radiants bind’. If so, the corruption of Renarin’s spren indicates that Sja-anat has either overcome this limitation, or it never actually existed.

Lore suggested leaving a city if the spren there start acting strangely. Curiously, Sja-anat was often regarded as an individual, when others - like Moelach or Ashertmarn - were seen as forces. - Mythica, p90

One is almost certainly a traitor to the others. - Taravangian’s Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 27

This is commonly assumed to be in reference to the Unmade, due to being in the same location in the Diagram as Taravangian’s other thoughts on the Unmade.  It is also commonly assumed to be Sja-anat; the pre-released chapters of ROW confirm that that is the case.

I don’t trust this at all.  Even if Sja-anat is pursuing different goals from the other Unmade (to the extent that the mindless ones can be said to be pursuing ‘goals’), I highly doubt that her goals are in line with the best interests of either humanity or the Listeners/Singers. She might be attempting to corrupt additional Radiant spren? (Alternatively, maybe her ‘corrupted’ spren correspond to ones that would bind Listeners/Singers? But that seems less likely; I think it’s more likely that there are still some original ‘Singer-based’ spren - i.e., based on Singer rather than human ideas - that will bond with Singers.) Anyway, ROW will focus heavily on spren, so we’ll probably see more about this.

Re-Shephir (The Midnight Mother): driven out of Urithiru by Shallan, OB

Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, is another Unmade who appears to have been destroyed at Aharietiam. - Mythica, p250

The Midnight Mother created monsters of shadow and oil, dark imitations of creatures she saw or consumed. Their description matches no spren I can find in modern literature.- Mythica, p252

Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die! - Dated Shashabev, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a dark-eyed dockworker in his forties, father of three.

Dalinar’s first vision in TWOK (Chapter 19) features shadow-monsters in the shape of dogs that I think are most likely attributable to Re-Shephir.

Nergaoul (The Thrill): various locations; captured as of OB

Nergaoul was known for driving forces into a battle rage, lending them great ferocity. Curiously, he did this to both sides of a conflict, Voidbringer and human. This seems common of the less self-aware spren. - Mythica, p121

I am convinced that Nergaoul is still active on Roshar. The accounts of the Alethi “Thrill” of battle align too well with ancient records - including the visions of red mist and dying creatures. - Mythica, p140

Ashertmarn (The Heart of the Revel): present in Kholinar in OB

Ashertmarn, the Heart of the Revel, is the final of the three great mindless Unmade. His gift to men is not prophecy or battle focus, but a lust for indulgence. Indeed, the great debauchery recorded from the court of Bayala in 480 - which led to dynastic collapse - might be attributable to the influence of Ashertmarn. - Mythica, p203

Moelach (causes ‘death rattles’): various locations

Moelach is very similar to Nergaoul, though instead of inspiring a battle rage, he supposedly granted visions of the future. In this, lore and theology align. Seeing the future originates with the Unmade, and is from the enemy. - Mythica, p143

Moelach was said to grant visions of the future at different times - but most commonly at the transition point between realms. When a soul was nearing the Tranquiline Halls. - Mythica, p144

Many cultures speak of the so-called Death Rattles that sometimes overtake people as they die. Tradition ascribes them to the Almighty, but I find too many to be seemingly prophetic. This will be my most contentious assertion I am sure, but I think these are the effects of Moelach persisting in our current times. Proof is easy to provide: the effect is regionalized, and tends to move across Roshar. This is the roving of the Unmade. - Mythica, p170

There is one you will watch. Though all of them have some relevance to precognition, Moelach is one of the most powerful in this regard. His touch seeps into a soul as it breaks apart from the body, creatung manifestations powered by the spark of death itself. But no, this is a distraction. Deviation. Kingship. We must discuss the nature of kingship. - Taravangian’s Diagram, Book of the 2nd desk drawer: paragraph 15

Ba-Ado-Mishram

I find Ba-Ado-Mishram to be the most interesting of the Unmade. She is said to have been keen of mind, a highprincess among the enemy forces, their commander during some of the Desolations. I do not know how this relates to the ancient god of the enemy, named Odium. - Mythica, p224

There is very little information about Ba-Ado-Mishram in more modern times. I can only assume she, unlike many of them, returned to Damnation or was destroyed during Aharietiam. - Mythica, p226

Ba-Ado-Mishram has somehow Connected with the parsh people, as Odium once did. She provides Voidlight and facilitates forms of power. Our strike team is going to imprison her. - From drawer 30-20, fourth emerald [Truthwatcher]

This is very interesting, as it indicates that it was the imprisonment of Ba-Ado-Mishram that effectively lobotomized the Singers into the parsh. It also indicates that she, not just Yelig-nar, can confer forms of power.

Chemoarish (The Dustmother)

Chemoarish, the Dustmother, has some of the most varied lore surrounding her. The wealth of it makes sorting lies from truths extremely difficult. I do believe she is not the Nightwatcher, contrary to what some stories claim. - Mythica, p231

Dai-Gonarthis (The Black Fisher)

It will not take a careful reader to ascertain I have listed only eight of the Unmade here. Lore is confident that there were nine, an unholy number, asymmetrical and often associated with the enemy. - Mythica, p266

I am certain there are nine Unmade. There are many legends and names that I could have misinterpreted, conflating two Unmade into one. In the next section, I will discuss my theories on this. - Mythica, p266

If I’m correct and my research true, then the question remains. Who is the ninth Unmade? Is it truly Dai-Gonarthis? If so, could their actions have actually caused the complete destruction of Aimia? - Mythica, p307

Let me no longer hurt! Let me no longer weep! Dai-Gonarthis! The Black Fisher holds my sorrow and consumes it! - Tanatesach, 1173, 28 second pre-death. A darkeyed female street juggler. Note similarity to sample 1172-89.

This interests me particularly. Kaladin’s chapter with Moash was focused on the desire not to feel pain, suffering, and loss any more.  If Dai-Gonarthis is associated with ‘giving up’ sorrow in the same way that Odium tempted people in OB (including Moash) with giving up responsibility for their actions, Dai-Gonarthis could play a large role in Kaladin’s arc in ROW.

But none of that gives any indication of how a spren could be powerful enough to destroy a large island! Very curious about Aimia.