#dalinar meta

[moash]

on the coppermind for wok prime to confirm my hazy recollections about some of the plot points that were mentioned to me in passing because i never read it and tbh this sounds kind of based

[cosmerelists]

If Cosmere Characters Had Brands Sponsoring Them...

As requested by anon. :)

Let's imagine a world--a perhaps terrible world--in which Cosmere characters have brand sponsorships. If it gives you chills, please blame the anon who requested it. ;)

1. Adolin

Shallan: Wow, looking sharp! Shallan: Is that a new outfit? Adolin: Yup! Armani sent me a whole bunch of suits. Adolin: Apparently that's all I'm gonna wear from now on! Shallan: That sounds a a bit dystopic but also you look REALLY good. Adolin: Ha ha yeah let's think about it no further!

2. Steris & Wax

Steris: Wax, thank goodness you're here. Wax: Whoa! Did you start on taxes without me? Steris: I promised HR Block I'd use their services so that they can promote themselves as the brand that "even Steris Harms trusts." Steris: But obviously we need to check their work. Wax: Yes--obviously. Wax: And after that, let's pour ourselves some glasses of Jack Daniel Whiskey--Make it Count. Steris: ... Wax: ... Steris: Why did we agree to this again?

3. Amaram

[Amaram offers Wit his hand] Wit: No thanks, I wouldn't want to get any of it on me. Amaram: Any of what? Wit: Whatever you use to keep your hands clean, my lord. It must be powerful stuff, indeed. Amaram: Seventy percent of pigs have cleaner hands than forty percent of humans, you knw. Wit: I...what? Amaram: And that little fact is brought to you...by Meta AI.

4. Tress

Tress: (muttering to herself): Well...we do like to go places... Charlie: Hey do you need some help with...whatever you're dong? Tress: Yes please! I'm trying to stick these posters all over Two Cups. Charlie: What's a Toyota? Tress: Not totally sure...but they are offering a lot of money...do you think it's okay? Charlie: Well...we do like to go places... Tress: That's exactly what I said!

5. Nightblood

Nightblood: Pleeeeaase....? Szeth: I will not plaster stickers all over you, sword-nimi. Nightblood: But the Google asked me to! Nightblood: And their motto is "Don't Be Evil"! Nightblood: It's perfect! Szeth: Actually, I believe they changed their slogan a while back. Nightblood: You mean they're...evil after all? Nightblood: New plan! Let's kill them all! Szeth: I don't think brand sponorships are for you, sword-nimi.

6. Vin

Vin: When I need to go fast... When I need to leap from roof to roof... When I need to murder entire keeps... Vin: There's no shoe I trust, other than Nike. Vin: Nike: Just Do It. Vin: ... Vin: Well, what do you think? I'm supposed to pitch an angle for the commercial tomorrow! Elend: I feel like the brand probably doesn't want you to mention murder. Vin: What? Then why'd they ask me?

7. Yumi

Yumi: Ha ha! Yumi: Wow, it's so easy to stack when you're using legos! Yumi: Relaxing...fun...colorful... Yumi: This was DEFINITELY the right brand to partner with! Painter: Yumi, the neighbors are starting to complain. Yumi: What? Why?? Painter: You're fourteen-story lego tower is blocking out the sun! Children are crying! I just heard someone whisper that the nightmares must be back! Yumi: I thought it'd be inspiring!

8. Kelsier

Kelsier: I have a secret... Kelsier: Secret brand deodorant!!! Kelsier: ... Kelsier: ...Are you SURE we need the money to fund the ghostbloods? Kaise (barely keeping a straight face): Oh, absolutely.

9. Moash

Moash: I think it is time to cover up my Bridge 4 tattoo. Odium: That's a great step forward--I'm proud of you. Moash: Yup, gonna replace it with this Grey Goose Vodka tattoo instead. Odium: ... Moash: What? Drinking helps a man forget...stuff. Moash: It's thematic for my character! Odium: You have a ways to go.

10. Kaladin

Dalinar: What has happened to us? Where is our honor? Kaladin: Honor is dead...But I'll see what I can do. [Kaladin hesitates and looks back at Dalinar] Kaladin: That cool one-liner is brought to you...by Redbull. Kaladin: Redbull gives you wings. Dalinar: ... Kaladin: ... Dalinar: ... Kaladin: Anyway I'll go save your sons now.

[isdalinarhot]

the jokes about dalinar not knowing anything about renarin and him being an absent father and stuff like that are very funny (and in the blackthorn era, very true!) but i hope that we are all remembering that dalinar and renarin are actually quite close post cultivation when we are making our serious meta posts. like i hope we are all recognizing that dalinar and renarin have the inverse of how most parent child relationships go where there was either no interaction or negative interaction during childhood but unconditional love and support for each other in adulthood. and i certainly hope we are not getting our wires crossed and taking adolin and dalinar's strained relationship and applying that wholesale to renarin and dalinar's relationship when dalinar treats adolin and renarin very differently. i dunno.

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 3 Polls:

(Projected length: 8 days)

Day 1:

1. Bruce Wayne vs. Pascal

2. The Doctor vs. Daenerys Targaryen

3. Inspector Barnes vs. August

4. Cale Henituse vs. Simon Petrikov

Day 2:

5. Keishin Ukai vs. Yami Sukehiro

6. Gintoki Sakata vs. Maglor

7. Kim Dokja vs. Izumi Curtis

8. Roy Mustang vs. Rune Saint John

Day 3:

9. Shōta Aizawa vs. Guts

10. Jean Valjean vs. The Fix

11. Soundwave vs. Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla

12. Agent Washington vs. Grace

Day 4:

13. David Wymack vs. Dadan

14. Bobby Nash vs. Korosensei

15. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu vs. Jack Starbright

16. Satoru Gojo vs. Xie Lian

Day 5:

17. Eda Clawthorne vs. Sakyo Furuichi

18. Herlock Sholmes vs. Dracule Mihawk

19. Artemy Burakh vs. Kazuma Kiryu

20. Master Wu vs. Izumi Tachibana

Day 6:

21. Optimus Prime vs. Sarah Jane Smith

22. Bell-Mere vs. Cap’n Craig Cuttlefish

23. Camilla Noceda vs. Professor Hershel Layton

24. Giovanni Potage vs. Miles Edgeworth

Day 7:

25. Phoenix Wright vs. Dalinar Kholin

26. King Dedede and Meta Knight vs. Jawbone O’Shaughnessey

27. Bruno Bucciarati vs. Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn

28. Toriel vs. Pongo and Perdita

Day 8:

29. Whitebeard vs. Lance Strongbow

30. Roronoa Zoro vs. Jody Mills

31. Sojiro Sakura vs. Kurogane and Fai D’Flourite

32. Iroh vs. Splinter

[hahahahawk]

A Pattern

Words of Radiance re-read

I feel dumb as a cremling for not realizing until now that every book in the stormlight archive series is named after a literal book that exists in-world.

I’ve previously been annoyed that book 1 is called Way of Kings even though Kaladin’s story would make more sense titled “words of radiance”.

At the moment I’m having trouble remembering the supposed contents of both (in-universe) Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. Truthfully, I’m not 100% sure Oathbringer *is* an in-universe book. I thought it was Dalinar’s shardblade.

*checks the wiki* ok, it’s both his shardblade and his memoir. If pressed, that’s what I would have guessed.

And I suppose we’ll circle back to the contents of (in-universe) WoR soon enough in the book. Overall, the idea is cute and quirky, but I wish that WoK had a better connection to Kaladin. Though I guess that RoW isn’t Navani’s book either. It just feels out of step since WoR and Shallan are directly associated, as are Oathbringer and Dalinar.

***

I’m also bummed that the Book of Endless pages disappeared from the story.

Though I did think it was a magic book that Jasnah was giving to Shallan for her to sketch in, not anything (mundane and) religious.

***

When Syl (I think) talked about being uncomfortable with Cryptic spren, I thought she was just being snotty, that calling them liespren was a mild slur. (Or am I thinking of Jasnah talking to Shallan about Shadesmar/types of spren? Anyway, *someone* expressed those ideas)

But in this chapter it really struck me how Pattern *does* lie and engage in deceitful behavior. At several points he hides information from Shallan about her own past. In this chapter Pattern tries to hide his belief that Shallan will kill him, and they have a meta-conversation about him trying/learning to lie. And in RoW he executed the huge deception of communicating with Hoid behind Shallan’s back while they’re in Shadesmar.

It’s a shocking situation, since you’d think the Nahel bond would join beings so purely that lying between human and spren would be unthinkable. Adding on to that the contrast with Syl, who makes honesty a strict condition of her bond with Kaladin.

Sure, Syl is an honor spren and Patten is vehemently not, but it just seems like the nahel bond is a kind of intimacy that would preclude deception.

mmmmmmmmm! Fascinating!!

Does being a lightweaver mean you have to build a completely different kind of trust with your spren than most Radiants?

***

I have other thought about what Shallan is getting up to, but seems like it happens in her next (contemporary) chapter, so I’ll withhold my commentary until then.

[currymanganese]

"About the Blogger" Meme

Thanks to @all-inmoderation @bioloyg & @imliterallyjustablackgirl for tagging me! ❤️

Star Sign(s):

Sagittarius Sun, Virgo Moon, Pisces Rising <- What does it all mean? No idea! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Holidays:

Eid, Divali & Christmas <- Not for religious considerations, I associate them with having lots of delicious food, which is precious to me. 🤰🏽

Last Meal:

A slice of pawpaw (papaya), stew chicken, black eyed peas, white rice and sorrel juice. <- #grateful thanks mom 😔

Current Favorite Musician:

Khruangbin because Mark, Laura and DJ are all super talented and disciplined musicians, but also because I want the band's lead guitarist, Mark Speer and the bassist, Laura Lee, but especially Mark Speer, in ways that would shock and alarm you, like IDK anything about his personal life, but I think I'd combust if I met him. Mark if you're reading this that smut chapter in my songfic WIP was only possible because I just know you're good with your-[GUNSHOTS] <- He's not reading this, finish the meme! 😤

Last Music Listened To:

Total Control by The Motels for a The Bear meta post that I did and Hope Tala's "All My Girl's Like To Fight' from my small playlist of songs that I headcanon that Syd and Carmy from The Bear (2022) listen to. The playlist serves as a writing aid for me because regardless of the actual musical tastes of Syd and Carmy in the show's canon, this is a small sample of what the two of them like to listen to as I've characterized them in my fic.

Last Movie Watched:

Precious (2009) I was traumatizing myself and [SPOILERS]

Carmen Berzatto in my WIP fic, because Syd insults him using a gif from the movie and Carmy ends up watching this film so he'd understand the reference because he is a loser and is obsessed with his totally platonic coworker and he wants to know everything about her. 😔

Last TV Show Watched:

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, @devisrina convinced me, but I haven't finished watching it yet and I'm not to sure when I'll resume because The Bear and Sydcarmy still have me in thrall. 😔

Last Book/Fic Finished:

Last book finished, Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Last fic finished.....I shan't say - I'll describe it though - it was a seedy, sketchy, funny, smutty, crack ship one shot gag fic on AO3. I'm ashamed of myself, some of those words in that fic were in The Bible, but chile........anyways. Moving on!

Last Book/Fic Abandoned:

Last book I stopped reading - Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson - Dalinar Kholin, you stupid cunt, why do you always-[GUNSHOTS] <-Girl walk away from the book if it's stressing you that bad, c'mon now - the fictional character's dumb decisions can't hurt you. I'm actually planning on finishing it someday, but I watched The Bear when I was a quarter of the way through the book and now I am totally useless for almost everything else.

Currently Reading:

Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappe, get a free ebook copy of it here while you can. Also the Gaza Diary by Ziad, a 35 year old Palestinian man.

Last Thing Researched for Art/Writing/Hyperfixation:

High blood pressure and pregnancy, and maternity leave in the US of A, and before that CBT case studies and CPTSD and ADHD, and before that meningitis and sepsis. <- All for my current Sydcarmy WIP.

Favorite Online Fandom Memory:

The day Richonne went canon, or rather that era. <- Love it when racists suffer, schadenfreude can be something so personal. 🥴

Favorite Old Fandom You Wish Would Drag You Back In/Have A Resurgence:

I want Star Wars and BNHA to be good, but alas....Next question. <- Anyways these franchise/series are making money hand over fist still, nobody cares if I never care about them again, but I do love the ship Inko Midoriya/All Might from BNHA and I ship UkaTake from Haikyuu!! <- I had a lot of fun in that niche marketplace for a time.

Favorite Thing You Enjoy That Never Had an Active or Big "Fandom" but You Wish It Did:

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery FUCKS severely - I'm glad that it got a boost on here with The Blue Castle Book Club. Ms. Montgomery put her whole pussy into that book, every single cell and I relate to the book's protagonist, Valancy, quite a lot.

Also, The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner has a smallish, but fairly active following on Tumblr, but it deserves the energy that is devoted to some more popular YA fantasy/historical novel series. <- All of these books are re-readable af, 10/10 no notes.

Tempting Project You're Trying to Reign In/Don't Have Time For:

No such thing because I am unemployed. <- have mercy on me O God! It's been the first year of my adult life that I haven't been in university or running myself through the gristmill of capital and I feel trapped and anxious and fed the fuck up. I hate it here, goddamn!

Sorry to end on such a bummer of a note, but thank you for reading if you've read this far and please, regardless of if you were tagged, play along if you can! I've seen a lot of my mutuals tagged in these things before, so apologies if you've already done this, but*

@vacationship @anxietycroissant @bulabujalam @tvfantic87 @devisrina @dreadfuldevotee @mod-doodles <- please come back to me, Mod, darling, I miss you! 🥲 @jub-jub @pureseasalt <- bestie I miss you too! @ashluvsu4ever @cchickki @parrradiseeee @margaery-bonaparte-said-so @seleneofthejungle @prowitchazel @gardenianoire @artemis0404 @polymorphposting @hauntedstrawberrygiver @justabovewater20 @monetbonet @sab-teraa @agoodworkerdoes @melfinawins @melaninerd @iwantadecentblogname @persephonelovesbooks @november-rising @yannaryartside @bitchqueenofthebitchsquad @waywarddeee @myelegieseulogizeme @paddington22017 @ruethrills @techliche @erins-quinn @sydcarmyfan @lunasink @perkedelktg @couldbemaybe @msmoiraine @darkostudios-blog @angelica4equity @theonlyamazingtazmin @mswyrr @chansoooo1-blog

*pretends all of your blog names rhyme with pikachu*, I choose you!

[ultimateknightbattle]

Here is the bracket! Polls will be up shortly and will be linked below

Group 1:

Victoria Grieve vs Keladry of Mindelan

Black Knight vs Batman

Fright Knight vs Karkat Vantas

Undyne vs Ballister Blackheart

Lan Madragoran vs Ambrosius Goldenloin

Duncan the Tall vs Gideon Nav

Haurchefant Greystone vs Blue Knight

Link vs Morpho Knight

Group 2:

Meta Knight vs Jenkins/Galahad

Brienne of Tarth vs Kris Dreemurr

Joan of Arc vs Elton John

Jane vs Ogrim

WelsKnight vs Fierce Dryya

Kaladin Stormblessed vs The Knights Who Say Ni

Galavant vs Shovel Knight

Prideknights vs Emma Swan

Group 3:

Galacta Knight vs Shallan Davar

Davos Seaworth vs Terry Pratchett

Damien vs Orym

Shrek vs Sonic

Gillion Tidestrider vs Dave Strider

Jasnah Kholin vs Modeus

Lancelot vs Ceruledge

Caroline vs Ian Chesterton

Group 4:

Fredrick vs Alanna

Gawain vs Knight Cookie

Jaime Lannister vs Jean

Dalinar Kholin vs Solaire of Astora

Geralt of Rivia vs Utena

Artoria Pendragon vs Obi-Wan Kenobi

Pearl vs William Thatcher

Papyrus vs The Knight

[trishyeves]

What kind of Magic player would a bunch of the Stormlight characters be? (Including psychographic profiles)

Kaladin: Only plays because his friends talked him into it, mainly does Commander, Two-Headed Giant, and Emperor. Mainly plays Blue-White, is a Timmy but he hides how fun it is to play because he cannot let anyone know when he is enjoying himself

Shallan: Very much a Vorthos. Keeps up to date on Magic storyline stuff, though only really knows the last five to ten years of events. Enjoys making decks around characters and settings she particularly likes, though she’s also quite the Jenny when it comes to making jank decks

Adolin: Hides among his friends as though he is a Timmy, but when he goes to a tournament he reveals his true Spike self. Absolutely ruthless, excellent win record, though he frequently does so be defying the meta and going with alternate strategies

Dalinar: Old school player, not only used to play in Type 1 and Type 2 formats, but also played before those formats even existed. Still complains about rule changes from Fifth Edition, is utterly confounded by where the game has gone since his time actively playing. Used to be a hardcore Spike, but on the rare occasions he still plays it’s as a Timmy

Jasnah: Uninterested in tournaments and largely eschewing more casual games as well, Jasnah seems to outsiders to mainly just be a Jenny who enjoys the mental stimulation of building an interesting deck. Those who dig deeper learn that when it comes to card appreciation, she is very much a Mel, but she also has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the lore. She can and will talk about how she would like Commodore Guff to get a Planeswalker card

[moiraineswife]

Autistic Allegories in Renarin’s Arc - Meta

s’up y’all, your favourite local rambler is back at it again. Diving straight in to this one. The motivation for this post is something that might be controversial, and I’m going to try and  explain it as clearly as I can and make my intentions clear, but I get this is the internet and things get misinterpreted to fuck. 

So, since Renarin was confirmed to be a queer character, I’ve seen a lot of posts and takes on pretty much every platform I frequent that equates all of Renarin’s traits/struggles in canon as being foreshadowing/parallels to his queer identity and experience. 

I get this. I’m also queer. I understand the instinct to take, say, Renarin’s corrupted spren bond and his desire to keep his nature as a Radiant hidden/his lack of understanding initially and assume it to be queer foreshadowing/parallel. I big get that. And that’s not a bad interpretation. 

The problem is, this is the ONLY interpretation people put forth. They ignore things explicitly said/connections made in canon to Renarin being autistic and say ‘this is it. this is what this means. it’s about him being gay’. When, actually, a good chunk of it is about his experience as an autistic man in an allistic society. Which I think is what Brandon wants to explore/has set up in the text. 

So I decided to look at this in more depth from an autistic perspective - some of the moments that most clearly parallel Renarin’s autistic experience and explain how and why this is a thing, and hopefully just highlight this aspect of his character and explain things to folks. 

Renarin’s Blade Screaming 

Jumping right into it then: Renarin’s bond with Glys is very clearly paralleled with his autism. The text outlines this connection multiple times throughout the series, and explores it in interesting ways. 

First up, Renarin first revealing himself as a Truthwatcher makes this pretty clear: 

“And the Shardblade,” Dalinar said, stepping over and taking his son by the shoulder. “You hear screams. That’s what happened to you in the arena. You couldn’t fight because of those shouts in your head from summoning the Blade. Why? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought it was me,” Renarin whispered. “My mind. But Glys, he says . . .” Renarin blinked. “Truthwatcher.” (WoR)

“Adolin,” he said softly. “I … um … I have to give you back the Shardblade you won for me.”

“Why?” Adolin said.

“It hurts to hold,” Renarin said. “It always has, to be honest. I thought it was just me, being strange. But it’s all of us.”

“Radiants, you mean.”

He nodded. (Oathbringer)

Renarin didn’t explain to his father or the others what was happening to him because he thought it was part of his autistic experience. 

Being autistic you get used to experiencing a lot of in-brain things and not realising that other people don’t experience them, too. I have hypersensitivity to sound. I can hear things other people don’t, because their brains naturally filter them out - like electronics whining. 

The experience of having a Shardblade scream inside your head is actually a pretty great parallel for sensory overload. It’s something intense, something frightening, and overwhelming, and even painful. But Renarin just endures it without comment because that’s what we’re conditioned to do. 

“A group of shellheads tried to seize one of the bridges, Brightlord,” the bridgeman said softly. “Brightlord Renarin insisted on going to help. Sir, we tried hard to dissuade him. Then, when he got near and summoned his Blade, he just kind of . . . stood there. We got him away, sir, but he’s been sitting on that rock ever since.”

[...]

“I just stood there,” Renarin said. “I wasn’t frozen because of my . . . ailment. I’m just a coward.”

When Adolin hears about Renarin freezing up he assumes that he had a fit. Renarin corrects him on this, once he’s verbal again, but says that he was just a coward. 

He froze up once he summoned his Blade. Because it would have started screaming in his head and this was overwhelming. When other Radiants have experienced this on-screen the screaming has been so intense they immediately dropped or dismissed the Blade, unable to hold it. 

From this, I infer that Renarin believes everyone experiences this when they fight with a Shardblade. He doesn’t realise that it’s strange for him because he’s a Radiant. He thinks everyone experiences it, but they push through and overcome it. He can’t, and instead of thinking something strange is going on, he assumes that it’s a weakness of his and that he’s a coward. 

This is a fairly common autistic experience. Why can’t you just get over this? Why is that overwhelming you? Just ignore the sound. Just ignore the lights. Stop being so weak/oversensitive. 

That’s what Renarin thinks is happening. That’s why he doesn’t examine his experiences more closely, and realise he’s a Radiant. He thinks it’s part of him being autistic, and that he’s just being overly sensitive, until Glys is able to communicate with him and explain he’s a Truthwatcher.

The Rhyshadium Don’t Fit

“They don’t fit, you know.”

“Don’t fit?”

“Ryshadium have stone hooves,” Renarin said, “stronger than ordinary horses’. Never need to be shod.”

“And that makes them not fit? I’d say that makes them fit better.…” Adolin eyed Renarin. “You mean ordinary horses, don’t you?”

Renarin blushed, then nodded. (Oathbringer)

This, for me, is one of the most direct and obvious parallel between Renarin’s experience as an autistic man, and his experience as a Radiant. 

Firstly, he comments on the Rhyshadium ‘not fitting’ with ordinary horses. They’re different. They have different hooves, which means they never need to be shod, like regular horses. In this case, being shod is something all horses do. It’s something natural for them, and the Rhyshadium not having it makes them stand out. This is similar to Renarin’s experience in society and in life. 

The Rhyshadium are sometimes called ‘the third shard’ - they’re tied to the Radiants and to Stormlight. Renarin aligning himself with them, and his not fittng with them not fitting, mirrors his being Radiant stopping him from fitting in as he wants to.

A big part of his arc is his desire to fit in somewhere. His integration with Bridge Four is a huge boost to his confidence. He asks to join them to try and find somewhere to belong. The bridgemen are outcasts. They’re people who don’t fit in society, either, for various different reasons. Renarin fits with them, therefore, because he doesn’t fit elsewhere. 

When he starts becoming a Radiant, and a different type of Radiant to the others, he starts to worry again. He worries that, yet again, he’s different for reasons he cannot control, and he’s worried the bridgemen will abandon or reject him as has happened frequently in noble society. 

“So why are you embarrassed?”

“I’m … not?”

Adolin gave him a flat stare.

Renarin dismissed the Blade. “I simply … Adolin, I was starting to fit in. With Bridge Four, with being a Shardbearer. Now, I’m in the darkness again. Father expects me to be a Radiant, so I can help him unite the world. But how am I supposed to learn?”

Adolin scratched his chin with his good hand. “Huh. I assumed that it just kind of came to you. It hasn’t?”

“Some has. But it … frightens me, Adolin.” He held up his hand, and it started to glow, wisps of Stormlight trailing off it, like smoke from a fire. “What if I hurt someone, or ruin things?”

The conversation continues, and further solidifies the connection between the Rhyshadium not fitting with other horses, and Renarin not fitting in with other people. 

He had become a Shardbearer, and was starting to fight and do what an Alethi man is expected to do in society. Go to war with Shards, with glory, etc etc etc. That didn’t quite work out. 

For Renarin, whenever he gets closer to assimilating with the standard society and expectations, something happens to stop him. Initially it’s his epilepsy. He has fits, and his chronic illness makes him generally weaker and more frail, meaning that he can’t fight. 

Once he’s given Shards to help mitigate those factors, he can’t use the Shards because his Radiant bond makes them scream inside his head. Again stopping him from fighting and becoming a soldier. 

He then goes on to tell Adolin that he doesn’t really know how to Radiant. And Adolin says that he thought it would just come to him/he would instinctively know, but he doesn’t. 

This is, again, a very classic autism thing. We struggle with doing things that allistic people find instinctive, and don’t need to be actively taught - such as reading and projecting the correct body language.

Adolin, who takes very naturally to all this stuff, just assumes that Renarin’s Radianting would just come to him, and Renarin has to explain that actually no, it hasn’t. This literally cannot get any clearer in forging an obvious link between his autism and his Radiant abilities. 

Renarin’s ‘Corrupted’ Bond: 

“What’s wrong with me?” Renarin asked. “Why do I see these things? I thought I was doing something right, with Glys, but somehow it’s all wrong.…” (Oathbringer)

[...]

“Does it strike you as cruel of fate, Father? My blood sickness gets healed, so I can finally be a soldier like I always wanted. But that same healing has given me another kind of fit. More dangerous than the other by far.” (Rhythm of War)

[...]

Lopen called out, asking Renarin to “look into the future and find out if I beat Huio at cards tomorrow.” It seemed a little crass to Dalinar, bringing up his son’s strange disorder, but Renarin took it with a chuckle.

[...]

It would be so much easier if he were like other Radiants. (RoW)

[...]

“And a blackness interfering, marring the beauty of the window. Like a sickness infecting both of you, at the edges.”

“Curious,” Dalinar said, looking where Renarin had pointed, though he’d see only empty air. “I wonder if we’ll ever know what that represents.”

“Oh, that one’s easy, Father,” Renarin said. “That’s me.”

“Renarin, I don’t think you should see yourself as—”

“You needn’t try to protect my ego, Father. When Glys and I bonded, we became … something new. We see the future. At first I was confused at my place—but I’ve come to understand. What I see interferes with Odium’s ability. Because I can see possibilities of the future, my knowledge changes what I will do. Therefore, his ability to see my future is obscured. Anyone close to me is difficult for him to read.”

“I find that comforting,” Dalinar said, putting his arm around Renarin’s shoulders. “Whatever you are, son, it’s a blessing. You might be a different kind of Radiant, but you’re Radiant all the same. You shouldn’t feel you need to hide this or your spren.”

Renarin ducked his head, embarrassed. His father knew not to touch him too quickly, too unexpectedly, so it wasn’t the arm around his shoulders. It was just that … well, Dalinar was so accustomed to being able to do whatever he wanted. He had written a storming book.

Renarin held no illusions that he would be similarly accepted. He and his father might be of similar rank, from the same family, but Renarin had never been able to navigate society like Dalinar did. True, his father at times “navigated” society like a chull marching through a crowd, but people got out of the way all the same.

Not for Renarin. The people of both Alethkar and Azir had thousands of years training them to fear and condemn anyone who claimed to be able to see the future. They weren’t going to put that aside easily, and particularly not for Renarin. (RoW)

Sorry for the quote barrage, but there was really  no other way to do this, and I think it makes a nice little arc in how Renarin sees himself and his bond to Glys and, by extension, his autism. 

In the temple, with Jasnah, he considers it to be something wrong. He’d thought he was finally fitting in, being like everyone else, doing something “right” but it turns out his bond is of Odium, and while he thought he fit with the others, he doesn’t. Again.

 The RoW segments are what’s most interesting to me, because what we see here, I think, is Dalinar experiencing Renarin’s ‘disorder’ as he calls it and processing it/coming to terms with it in a way a lot of parents approach their kids’ autism. But this is a bit more approachable/less painful to look at because he’s considering him being a weird glowing power ranger, and not an autistic kid. Easier to examine more honestly. 

So first of all Renarin, again, calls a direct link between his bond and his autism. The ‘healing’ that came with his bond gave him another kind of otherness. Another way he can’t be a soldier - which, for Renarin, in Alethi society, means him being like everyone else. I was going to go into this more here but this thing is already long as fuck, but in a nutshell being a soldier is Renarin’s dream because that’s him being “normal” and being like everyone else, which fate always conspires to stop him from being. 

In Alethi society the peak of masculinity and of fitting in to the social order, which revolves around war and glory and battle courage blah blah blah - is being a soldier and fighting. Which Renarin has never been able to do. Which his father has always wanted him to do - wihich Renarin knows. 

A lot of allistic people, especially allistic parents, think their autistic kids won’t pick up on their blatant ‘oh my god I wish my kid was normal’ vibes. They do. BELIEVE ME they do. This is a good little nod to that. Dalinar has never outright looked at Renarin and said ‘I want you to be a soldier to be worthy of my love and respect’ but it’s what Renarin grew up knowing and seeing from him. 

The evolution of that through exploring Dalinar’s attitude to Renarin being bonded with an Odium-aligned spren is...Utterly fascinating, to say the least.

Here, for example, Dalinar sees it as a “strange disorder”. When Renarin calls a spade a spade and just goes ‘yeah no that weird thing right there that makes you comfortable? That’s me, buddy, get used to it’. Which is just. Absolutely effervescent. There’s a big instinct allistic people have to dance around autistic people. So many innuendos. So many fluffy phrase that I hate. “On the spectrum.” “On the autism spectrum”. “Differently abled” “Sees the world differently.” Just call me autistic and let me move on with life I do not have time to deal with your internalised issues. 

He kind of comes around on it and gives him the whole “you might be a different Radiant but you’re still a Radiant to me, son”. Replace the word Radiant here with person and you’ll have a conversation I’ve experienced so many times. “Just because you’re a weird person doesn’t mean you’re not still a person!” Why thank you for pointing that out. I hadn’t noticed....Thank you for validating my humanity to my face?? As though I needed you to do that?

Contrast this with Renarin’s cheerful acceptance (ABSOLUTELY STUNNING DEVELOPMENT, HELL YES) - ‘yeah no that weird thing right there is me’. I cheered, dear reader, I CHEERED. It’s a little thing but it’s also a very very big thing. 

So is Lopen making light of things - in a way that laughs with Renarin and not at him - wanting him to predict the outcome of his card game. Renarin laughs at this, and is obviously comfortable with the jokes and the camaraderie. Dalinar winces at this and thinks that it shouldn’t be made fun of this way, that it’s crass or wrong, Renarin has a disorder, it makes him weird and delicate, people shouldn’t joke around him with that, it’s not right. But Renarin is comfortable with it, and the Bridgemen are comfortable with him, which Dalinar obviously isn’t - though I get that he’s trying to go there. 

Then, again, we draw a very direct parallel between Renarin’s Radiant experience othering him socially and autism othering a person socially. Absolutely exquisitely done mister sando, very nice indeed. 

Renarin notes that there are ways to go through society. It’s nice to be like Dalinar and have the clout to buck the expectations, and not do what you’re supposed to, and still get away with it. Isn’t that nice? Bitch wrote and published a book and he’s still seen as masculine and worthy of respect and being yielded too. 

Remember that Renarin can read and write as well - he learned so he could interpret his visions. But he hasn’t shared that with people. Because he knows that it won’t be accepted the way Dalinar was. 

Sanderson sets up this idea rather nicely in Oathbringer, actually, with the scribes meeting. 

Renarin glanced at his father. Dalinar responded with a raised fist.

He came so Renarin wouldn’t feel awkward, Shallan realized. It can’t be improper or feminine for the prince to be here if the storming Blackthorn decides to attend.

 This part has always made my heart happy. Because it’s not just about Dalinar validating Renarin’s societally ‘feminine’ tendencies - which he gets subtly bullied/mocked for during that meeting by one of the other women in attendance. It’s about all of his differences, it’s about Dalinar validating his autistic experience as well, and helping to fit him in to a society that continually rejects and ousts him. 

This idea evolves through RoW, however, with Renarin understanding that Dalinar can do things that he won’t be allowed to get away with. Dalinar isn’t so much breaking down barriers with Oathbringer as he is stomping through them because he has enough social privilege to do so, for the most part, unscathed. 

Renarin keeps his reading a secret because, even after what Dalinar has done, it’s not going to change things for most men, and certainly not him. 

Renarin has learned, throughout his life, that him being different is not going to break down any barriers. People are not going to change their world, or their worldview, for him and his differences. He knows that he has to adapt, and he knows that he won’t be afforded the same luxuries as others. 

He’s more comfortable with this now. He’s learning to be himself, and learning that the world won’t fit itself to him, he just has to do what he’s going to do anyway, and find the places where he fits, rather than trying to change the ones where he doesn’t. It’s actually a really beautiful little arc, and I’m strongly tempted to look at it in more depth at some point. Renarin and Dalinar’s dynamic is actually incredibly deep, layerd, and complex, and it’s something I’ve been meaning to look at for a while. HOWEVER. NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT. 

TL;DR: Renarin’s Radiant experience is a direct allegory and parallel to his autistic experience. This is explored and made blatant by canon repeatedly, throughout the series, and Renarin’s experience as a Radiant is clearly a vessel by which Sanderson intends to explore his autism. Stop erasing and ignoring this when you talk about Renarin and analyse his arc. His autism is as intrinsic to this as it is to identity. It’s part of him. Stop erasing it.

I’m not saying you can’t find parallels or comfort in Renarin’s arc as a queer person. I’m just saying you cannot look at it in isolation. As though the text is ONLY making a parallel between his queer identity and his bond. Because it’s very fucking blatantly not. His autism is obviously and canonically tied to his Radiant bond and this is something that MUST be noted whenever you talk about this aspect of Renarin’s character.

Note: if anyone has any questions or comments on this, I am happy to engage and to clarify what I meant/add further detail and supporting evidence for various different aspects. There’s only so much I can cover in one post! For my sanity as well as yours...But there’s absolutely more, and I’m happy to look at that as well.

[phendorana]

like the funniest thing about sanderson’s “being angwy and bitter is bad for you and wrong 🥺” message in wor is that i was reading that the whole time like damn kaladin is being so restrained right now he’s letting so much shit fly he is biting his tongue so hard kaladin wouldn’t you like to go apeshit. like his response to being called bridgeboy in the workplace is just to be a bit snarky and cold in response he even covers for adolin when adolin pulls that trick with dreamstorm, he literally continues working for dalinar after dalinar shuts down his confession about what amaram did to him. the way he’s constantly checking himself and his reactions to blatant racism. it takes sooo much for him to be like “ok we should kill elhokar” like kaladin was reacting the same way i’d react during my elementary school years where i was too shy and let racism fly left and right me now if i was kaladin and had the associated physical capabilities oooh i would’ve thrown hands at the first “bridgeboy”

[kidrat]

im still sad about no bondsmith Rlain to be totally honest. Navani is great but she’s never united anyone unless you count Ravoniel which you shouldn’t bc that wasn’t political allies that was homoerotic rivals who specifically had a thing Despite working against each other for different sides of a war you know? it was sexy but it was the opposite of being united. and actually while we’re here who the fuck has Dalinar united. renarin and adolin in therapy together??? ik the nahel bonds are supposed to be a growth/character development device (neutral statement) Thing but if Kaladin almost lost Syl for naughty activism thoughtcrimes how the hell has stormfather not choked to death on Dalinar alienating his sons and upholding a divisive caste system with a side order of slavery??? That is very much not ‘bringing men together’. That’s like the opposite of that. where is the drive for social justice that should be inherent in a vow to bring peace and build connections. you literally can’t do that shit genuinely without allowing people/groups the chance for equal relationships. it doesn’t WORK within power structures-

ok anyway. Navani could have been like, off the top of my head, a Dustbringer or a Willshaper if she has to be a Radiant but you know Sanderson seems p married to that idea so I’m just offering some adjustments. I think a bond that could have been used to explore her role as an overlooked but socially powerful member of court, and as an engineer, would have made more sense for her and allowed for more interesting character development. And as little as I want Rlain to be the diversity hire again (or for him to have to work closely w Dalinar) he seems a much more obvious choice for the bondsmith role. And it would be better for the *narrative*, if not for Rlain, for Dalinar and Rlain to share that role. what on earth is being ‘united’ by Navani and Dalinar working in the same order. They have the same background, status, and last fucking name for god’s sake. 

I do think it’s interesting that in book Rlain is discussed as a good choice for bondsmith and that Navani bonding the sibling came a little bit down to necessity, I will say that. If something is *done* with that I’m happy. I just don’t know if it will ever be brought up again and am hyperaware of the fact that if it’s not, then bringing up bondsmith Rlain at all was probably just lampshading the weird choice to have Navani make the bond instead. 

in conclusion, how do I beam this post into sanderson’s assistant’s head the next time he invites us to harass him over stream?  

[kingjasnah]

why is my activity page 90% that very first dalinar/sadeas ask....you guys cannot be bringing back that post let that phenomenon stay firmly where it belongs (early 2020)

[isdalinarhot]

I admire those of you who are either Mormon or exmo making very good meta posts about how Brandon Sanderson’s religion affects his writing because I personally can only come at it from my immediate family’s non religious lens and I say stupid things like “Dalinar got Catholic after the nightwatcher just like my dad’s cousin Ben after rehab” that sound very ignorant. But thank you people of cosmere tumblr who have societal context I don’t as a layperson. Yeah baby.

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 2 Polls:

(Projected length: 32 days)

(Bonus Rounds: Here)

Day 1:

1. Ogai Mori vs. Pascal

2. The Doctor vs. Franky

Day 2:

3. Madoc vs. Daenerys Targaryen

4. Inspector Barnes vs. Bright Noa

Day 3:

5. August vs. Claude Frollo

6. Cale Henituse vs. Leif

Day 4:

7. Simon Petrikov vs. Chiron

8. Yami Sukehiro vs. Sei Handa

Day 5:

9. Gintoki Sakata vs. Eithan Arelius

10. Dr. Gregory House vs. Maglor

Day 6:

11. Wolverine vs. Izumi Curtis

12. Roy Mustang vs. Abraham van Helsing

Day 7:

13. Askeladd vs. Rune Saint John

14. Guts vs. Jake Sully

Day 8:

15. Sir Reginald Hargreeves vs. Jean Valjean

16. Kohachi Inugami vs. The Fix

Day 9:

17. Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla vs. Gumpa

18. Aphmau vs. Agent Washington

Day 10:

19. Grace vs. Vector the Crocodile

20. Alec Lightwood-Bane vs. Dadan

Day 11:

21. Bobby Nash vs. William Adama

22. Korosensei vs. The Warrior of Light

Day 12:

23. Kaname Date vs. Jack Starbright

24. Satoru Gojo vs. Dutch Van Der Linde

Day 13:

25. Xie Lian vs. Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane

26. Tom and Maddie Wachowski vs. Sakyo Furuichi

Day 14:

27. Welt Yang vs. Herlock Sholmes

28. Carlisle and Esme Cullen vs. Dracule Mihawk

Day 15:

29. Artemy Burakh vs. Barry and Iris West-Allen

30. Kazuma Kiryu vs. Yuugo and Lucas

Day 16:

31. Master Wu vs. Dave Seville

32. Axel vs. Izumi Tachibana

Day 17:

33. Arlecchino/The Knave vs. Sarah Jane Smith

34. Qifrey vs. Bell-Mere

Day 18:

35. Bobby Singer vs. Cap’n Craig Cuttlefish

36. Professor Hershel Layton vs. Donna Hanscum

Day 19:

37. Giovanni Potage vs. Ingo

38. Miles Edgeworth vs. Vil Shoenheit

Day 20:

39. Nick Fury vs. Dalinar Kholin

40. King Dedede and Meta Knight vs. Kavax au Telemanaus

Day 21:

41. Arataka Reigen vs. Jawbone O’Shaughnessey

42. Gol D. Roger vs. Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn

Day 22:

43. Toriel Dreemurr vs. Master Kongo

44. Pongo and Perdita vs. Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

Day 23:

45. Lance Strongbow vs. Derek Hale

46. Tony Stark vs. Roronoa Zoro

Day 24:

47. Jody Mills vs. Eric Gale

48. “Red-Haired” Shanks vs. Kurogane and Fai D’Flourite

Day 25:

49. Han Muchun vs. Iroh

50. Splinter vs. Lilia Vanrouge

Day 26:

51. Bruce Wayne vs. Thomas O’Malley

52. Jupiter North vs. Keishin Ukai

Day 27:

53. Kim Dokja vs. Roberto de Niro

54. Shōta Aizawa vs. Doctor Carmilla

Day 28:

55. Mendoza vs. Soundwave

56. David Wymack vs. Ash Ketchum

Day 29:

57. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu vs. Yondu Udonta

58. Eda Clawthorne vs. Gavroche

Day 30:

59. Fukuzawa Yukichi vs. Optimus Prime

60. Camila Noceda vs. QSMP!Philza

Day 31:

61. Phoenix Wright vs. The Dragonborn

62. Bruno Bucciarati vs. Oliver Queen

Day 32:

63. Whitebeard vs. Otose

64. Sojiro Sakura vs. Yukari Yakumo

[sosei]

Shallan is difficult for me to talk about. Not because I dislike her, I think shes an excellent character. But because her particular bundle of issues. Not due to personal experience, but lack of it. With Kaladin I can relate to his depression and use that as I write. With Dalinar I can relate to his desire to be a better person than he was in his youth.

But with Shallan I don't have that kind of connection, so I have a hard time writing abt her. I worry that my words will poorly represent her and her issues. 

[transkholins]

speaking of themes. theres a circle in my head and on it are moash szeth and dalinar. there are assorted comparisons and juxtapositions (agency and choice in ones actions and the lack thereof, theoretically atoning for ones actions, how the narrative and/or author treats them and either condemns or absolves them). and its right next to the essay i will probably never write about jezriens honorblade as symbol (especially as like. juxtaposition of actual literal honor with the alethi value of Conquest As Honorable. like theoretically it should be a cultural symbol of the best of human nature but instead its used for atrocities by people who in one way or another didnt really have a choice and because they dont have the meta knowledge necessary to get what it is exactly. szeth and moash are just kinda similar narratively in general. same themes in play but theyre framed differently)