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Books Five Books

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Why wait around for the throne or the cash when you could have it all?

By James Davis Nicoll

Published on July 7, 2025

Art by Brom

Imagine for the moment that your hardworking relatives have accrued massive wealth, impressive titles, and vast power. Further imagine that all that will be yours when they die. Would it not be the worst filial impiety to refuse this heritage? Of course it would.

Some heirs are so enthusiastic, in fact, that they do their very best to hurry the process along. Why delay gratitude when with a well-timed shove or vial of poison, one can be grateful to a generous benefactor immediately?

You might be interested in the following five works about accelerated bequests.

Kind Hearts and Coronets, directed by Robert Hamer and written by John Dighton (1949)¹

Watch on YouTube

Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini would like to succeed the current Duke of Chalfont. But there are a few problems. Louis is only the seventh possible inheritor; all six preceding him would have to die for him to inherit. The second problem is that the seventh Duke disowned his daughter (Louis’ mother) for marrying an Italian opera singer. The D’Ascoynes do not consider Louis a kinsman.

An excessive number of more senior heirs is a tractable problem. Louis’ rivals die one by one, apparently by misfortune². Louis would seem to have executed six perfect murders, so why does the film begin with Louis awaiting execution for murder³?

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (1972)

Book cover of Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné, possesses a rudimentary but most unfashionable moral sense. He eschews dark sorcery. He rejects voluptuary decadence in favor of a perverse monogamous love for his cousin, Cymoril.

As far as Cymoril’s brother Yyrkoon is concerned, Elric is unfit to lead ancient Melniboné. When the opportunity to push Elric overboard to a watery death presents itself, Yyrkoon takes it. Now the throne, the empire, and Cymoril are all Yyrkoon’s! Or they would be, if only Elric had drowned, which he did not, and if only Elric hadn’t called for help from Arioch, Duke of Hell and Lord of Chaos.

It is hard to overstate how terrible Elric is at saving people. Or nations. Or worlds. Elric’s good will is basically a death sentence or worse. It is almost as though having Arioch, Duke of Hell and Lord of Chaos as a patron disqualifies one for heroic, constructive efforts.

***Steel Rain*, written/directed by Yang Woo-suk (2017)**

Watch on YouTube

North Koreans were starved to fund their (unnamed) supreme leader’s nuclear weapons program. Why then has the supreme leader not launched a war of liberation to free South Korea? Chief director Ri Tae-han of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau embarks on a bold plan to remove the primary impediment to the supreme leader’s vision of a united Korea: the supreme leader himself.

Recruited by Ri under false pretenses, capable field agent Eom Chul-woo believes he is part of a covert action to protect the supreme leader. Thus, when the supreme leader is badly injured by assassins⁴, Eom rescues the comatose potentate and whisks him away to the only refuge available: South Korea. Complications ensue.

An interesting aspect of this film is that while Ri and his allies behind the coup are definitely antagonists, the movie takes pains to make clear why they feel their actions are reasonable and righteous, while also making clear that their basic premises are bonkers. Another interesting detail is that the plot turns in part on a coincidence of names that reminded me of the “Martha” revelation in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Wellstone by Wil McCarthy (2003)

Under Queen Tamra-Tamatra Lutui and King Bruno de Towaji, the Queendom of Sol has enjoyed twenty-nine decades of peace and prosperity. All this will be Prince Bascal Edward de Towaji Lutui’s when his parents pass away. Therefore, it is a source of considerable irritation for Bascal that, like everyone in the Queendom, his parents are functionally immortal.

Bascal is not the only young person in the Queendom of Sol chafing against the fact that the older generations will never vanish, and thus will never hand over authority and wealth. Therefore, when Bascal resolves to take bold action, he has legions of potential allies. Will the prince’s plan succeed? It does at least get his parents’ full and undivided attention.

A minor caveat: when I say the Queendom has enjoyed twenty-nine decades of peace and prosperity, I mean “except for all those times that Bruno’s ingenious creations very nearly killed everyone.” Still, one can’t make an omelet without risking collapsing the sun and many planets into black holes.

Suddenly, I am thinking of omelets and somewhat peckish.

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (2021)

Ten years ago, Judair Cariot⁵ overthrew Empress Cordelia Adair. Judair rules the island of Aiyca with an iron hand. Anyone who disappoints or inconveniences Judair is harshly punished. Nobody is immune, not even Judair’s own kin. Just ask Judair’s late daughter, Madisyn.

Judair’s ruthlessness creates unlikely allies out of Judair’s remaining daughter Jazmyne and Cordelia Adair’s daughter Iraya. Both agree that Judair has to go. As to who, Jazmyne or Iraya, should rule once Judair is gone? That’s a question for the future.

Readers might wonder why Judair backed Jazmyne into a corner, forcing her to realize that offing her mother is the best option. Well, Judair is brutal and decisive, but she is not insightful. In her defense, she’s hardly the only ruler whose draconian rule convinced underlings that rebellion was the only sensible course of action.

Of course, enthusiastic heirs impatient for the chance to display intense gratitude towards their late benefactors abound in speculative fiction and adjacent genres. Feel free to mention your favorites in comments below.[end-mark]

Modern viewers should be aware of regrettable vocabulary choices in the British version of the film… but at least the film is not relentlessly antisemitic, as the novel on which the film was based certainly is. ︎
Louis varies his methods: boat, petrol, poison, an arrow, and a bomb. This should make detection more difficult, save for a minor procedural flaw on Louis’ part. Yes, that adds up to fewer deaths than there are rival heirs. One impediment manages to off himself. Another drops dead of a conveniently timed heart attack. ︎
The 2012 radio play sequel, Hearts and Coronets: Like Father, Like Daughter, apparently revealed that Louis’ illegitimate daughter Unity was every bit as homicidal as her father and better at getting away with it. ︎
The assassins didn’t go mano a mano, but used missiles. There’s a lot of collateral damage. This seems an appropriate juncture to mention that adorable, naïve teen girls in Korean action films do not have the plot immunity they might possess in North American movies. ︎
I cannot believe it took me four years to notice that “Judair Cariot” is oddly similar to Judas Iscariot. ︎

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james_davis_nicoll

Why wait around for the throne or the cash when murder can deliver it immediately?

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

oursin

Reading this, I'm very much reminded of certain sff stories I read - late 60s/early 70s - that were either directly influenced by this research or via the population panic works that riffed off it: review of Lee Alan Dugatkin. Dr. Calhoun's Mousery: The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity. Does this ping reminiscence in anyone else? (I was reading a lot of v misc anthologies etc in early 70s before I found my real niche tastes).

***

What Is a 'Lavender Marriage,' Exactly? Feel that there is a longer and (guess what) Moar Complicated history around using conventional marriage to protect less conventional unions, but maybe it's a start towards interrogating the complexities of 'conventional marriages'.

***

Sardonic larffter at this: 'I'm being paid to fix issues caused by AI'

***

Not quite what one anticipates from a clergyman's wife? The undercover vagrant who exposed workhouse life - a bit beyond vicarage/manse teaparties, Mothers' Meetings or running the Sunday School!

***

Changes in wedding practice: The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure: Wedding Days:

After the Reformation, Anglican canon law required that marriages took place in the morning, during divine service, in the parish of either the bride or groom – three features which typically elude modern weddings, which usually take place in the afternoon, in a special ceremony, and are far less likely (even if a religious wedding) to take place within a couple’s home parish. The centrality of divine service is the starkest difference, as it ensured that, unlike in modern weddings, marriages were public events at which the whole congregation ought to be present. They might even have occurred alongside other weddings or church ceremonies such as baptisms. A study of London weddings in the late 1570s found that, unsurprisingly given the canonical requirements, Sunday was the most popular days for weddings, accounting for c.44 percent of marriages taking place in Southwark and Bishopsgate. (By contrast, Sunday accounted for just 5.9 percent of marriages in 2022).

***

Dorothy Allison Authored a New Kind of Queer Lit (or brought new perspectives into the literature of class?) I should dig out my copies of her works.

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Posted by Victor Mair

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69814&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=library-lists

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69814

[Posted with the permission of the author, David Helliwell]

Almost exactly five years ago, I was dismissed on the grounds of age from my post as Curator of Chinese Collections at the Bodleian Library. I had been in office for over 41 years. The last six of those were particularly pleasurable as I was able to spend all my time organising, identifying, and cataloguing the Library’s “special collections” of Chinese books. Meanwhile, Joshua, who had been appointed to take over all my other duties, did all the hard work.

My teenage years were spent in the 1960s, and we children of the sixties, as demonstrated so well by Paul McCartney at Glastonbury this year, never grow old. We simply become less young. We also have the advantage of being able to recall what to many, if not to most colleagues in this room, is the distant past.

When I first started to catalogue Chinese books in the Bodleian, the records were written on cards by hand, or with a mechanical typewriter. It was a great advance when in the 1980s the Library provided us with electric golfball and then daisywheel typewriters. At the same time, Chinese library automation was increasingly discussed at EASL conferences, and arguments about how it should be done often became very heated. The Tenth Conference in Leiden in 1990 was particularly memorable, when Lars Fredriksson demonstrated the Macintosh solution that he had implemented in Stockholm, and J-M Streffer spoke of his enthusiasm for the allegro system in Berlin.

Times change, and it’s hard now to convey the excitement that everyone felt when we first saw Chinese characters on a computer screen. And arguments about how automation should be done are now over, as the MARC CJK system has become universal, despite the fact that every feature of its construction is either inadequate or completely wrong.

But something that never goes wrong, and which hasn’t changed for over two thousand years, is the book list. The Bielu 別錄, a catalogue of the imperial library which Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty 漢成帝 ordered the scholar Liu Xiang 劉向 to compile in 26 BC, is simply a list. So is what I think is the best printed Chinese book catalogue ever produced, that of Kyoto University’s Institute for Research in Humanities. This is very big and elaborate, and has a title and author index, but it is still basically a list.

Thus inspired, I’ve started to write lists myself. Actually, I started more than forty years ago. Shortly after I was first appointed to the Bodleian in 1976, I started to visit Piet van der Loon at his house on Boar’s Hill to learn the facts of Chinese bibliography. He quickly infected me with his enthusiasm for the popular editions that had arrived in Europe in the seventeenth century, and I started to make a list of them. I then expanded the list to include the seventeenth-century Chinese acquisitions in other British libraries.

As soon as the internet appeared, and the Library staff were given space on which to mount their own pages, which we were encouraged to produce, I mounted my list and further expanded it to include the seventeenth-century acquisitions of all other European libraries. When scholars interested in these matters saw it, they started to help me, so that little by little, maybe only once or twice a year, the list continues to grow and may one day be complete.

The list is expressed in the simplest HTML – it’s little more than a textfile – and is most certainly not a work of scholarship. But it led directly to the discovery of one of the most important Chinese historical documents in existence, the Selden Map. Robert Bachelor had noticed that there was a Ming dynasty map on my list, and asked to see it when he visited the Bodleian at the beginning of January, 2008.

I’ve recently started to produce other lists, the latest being a list of the official publications of the Chinese government when it was based at Chongqing in the 1940s. The Bodleian received a gift of 151 of these from the so-called “National Library of Peiping” in February, 1946. All of them are valuable, and some are now very rare indeed. Before he left for Princeton, Joshua had located them and extracted them from the modern collection – I don’t know how or why he did this – but it has enabled the Library to incorporate them into its special collections, and me to produce a list of them.

My first list gives access to materials that could never be found in online catalogues. I don’t know what search-term would lead the reader to materials that came to Europe in the seventeenth century. And my latest list could only be produced from most online catalogues with much time and difficulty, and by readers who know what they’re doing, who in my experience are very few and far between.

The more I work on the Bodleian’s special collections, the more my enthusiasm for lists increases. When I’ve been unable to find texts in online databases, I’ve resorted to Google searches, and these have often led to lists of books which Chinese scholars have mounted on their websites or reproduced in their blogs just as I do myself. Occasionally, you notice things in their lists which turn out to be even more interesting than what you were originally looking for.

When I was still in the employ of the Bodleian, my work on the so-called “special” Chinese collections were showcased in a website called “Serica” which I was required to construct. Unfortunately I couldn’t complete my work on these collections by the time of my dismissal, so I’m continuing to work on them as a private scholar.

As the Library has now closed the old Serica website, I’m presenting the data in a new one, which I’m constructing as best I can. This does something that no online catalogue could ever manage, and I will briefly explain why.

More and more, especially during the later years of my employment, scholars – mostly Chinese ones – were not asking to see specific books. These could easily be found in our online catalogue, without reference to me or any other librarian. They were asking the question, “what have you got”.

It would have been pointless, and even unhelpful, for me to tell them to go and have a look in the online catalogue, as online catalogues are not designed to answer this question. They are designed to limit what is being looked for, not to show everything. And the more they limit it, the better most readers are pleased. The ideal is to find exactly the book or books that you’re looking for, and nothing more, in the first hit.

And so I designed the Serica site as an attempt to give an overview of all the “special” Chinese books in Oxford, not just a few of them. It is nothing more than a collection of lists, some of them very long. The data is arranged in a modified version of the sibu 四部 classification, which can be seen and understood at a glance. Each category gives access to a list that can be viewed, printed out, or downloaded as required. Each list can be structured in a way that best suits the data it contains, and the data can be expressed in a way that is appropriate to it, rather than a way that has to conform to a particular set of rules.

Please consider making some lists and putting them on the web if you haven’t already done so. It’s a low-tech but highly effective way of providing access to discrete collections of specialised material that either can’t be handled by our library systems – ephemera, for example – or which it’s too difficult and time-consuming to make available by other means. For example, the Bodleian has some paintings and calligraphy in its collections. I made a list of these a while ago which Mamtimyn was able to use this year to get them all digitised. The list is primitive – I know nothing about painting and calligraphy – but it has already served at least one useful function.

Our lists are indexed by Google, and are so made searchable throughout the world. There are ways of expediting this which I’m only now beginning to learn about. Joshua told me about the “Google Search Console” which enables you to add a search bar to your site which gives access to your lists in a controlled manner. I’ve added one to my Serica site without any confidence that I’ve done it correctly, but it seems to work. It is also possible to direct Google to your files so that they are indexed quickly.

I’ll now go to my website (https://serica.ie/) and demonstrate some of these things, but first one final point. The web is excellent at providing pieces of information, but not so good at offering conspectus – this is the whole point of Serica. In learning how to construct my pages, I’ve made much use of W3Schools and other online resources. But cutting and pasting pieces of code is not the same as learning the subject properly. Sooner or later, something unexpected happens to remind you of this. And it’s just the same with students who cobble their essays together from the internet instead of reading books.

4 September 2022

(source)

Selected readings

"Taboo characters" (5/30/13)
"Information Management and Library Science" (9/7/22)
"Polysyllabic characters revisited" (618/15) — túshūguǎn 圕 ("library")

[h.t. Geoffrey Wade]

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Column SFF Bestiary

When Orcas Strike Back

In 2020, something strange started happening off the coast of Spain…

By Judith Tarr

Published on July 7, 2025

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen [via Unsplash]

Photo of a pod of orcas swimming at the surface of the water

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen [via Unsplash]

In 2020, something strange started happening off the coast of Spain. Orcas were attacking boats and in some cases sinking them. Most of the boats were sailing yachts, 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) long, and the orcas tended to aim for the rudders, though they were also chasing after boats and ramming them.

These attacks have continued for years and run up in the hundreds. They’ve occurred as far south as the northern coast of Africa and as far north as the Shetland Islands. They’re still happening.

What is going on here?

In spite of their nickname, killer whales, and their role as apex predators who can take down a great white shark, no wild orca has ever been recorded attacking, let alone killing a human. One speculation, that they’re taking revenge on humans for damaging their environment, doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. If that’s what they’re doing, why aren’t they going for the humans instead of their boats?

Orca experts have a couple of theories. They’ve identified three pods that have been going after boats, the largest of which is led by the matriarch Gladis Lamari. These orcas’ territory is centered around Gibraltar and up toward the Bay of Biscay.

One possibility is that the matriarch was in labor and in pain, and a yacht just happened to be there when she needed to take it out on something. Which is fine as a one-off, but how did it blow up into hundreds of attacks, multiple attackers, and no apparent end in sight?

Orcas learn by observation. If one does something, the others will imitate her. That still doesn’t explain why ramming boats and breaking rudders became a years-long habit, game, crusade, whatever it is.

Maybe it is a game. Many of the perpetrators appear to be on the younger side. Are the teenagers wilding? Is it an initiation rite? A hazing ritual? A contest? Are they going after rudders as part of the game, because they’re these mobile objects sticking out of the bottom of the boats and offering a convenient target?

Orcas are highly intelligent and extremely social. We’ve discovered that they use tools.

A population of orcas on the other side of the world from Gibraltar, the Southern Resident orcas of the Pacific Northwest in the Salish Sea, have been observed using stalks of bull kelp to massage one another’s skin. They play games with kelp, too, draping it over their heads and playing keep-away with fronds, but this kicks it up a notch. An orca will insert the stalk between itself and a podmate of any age or gender and wiggle and rub back and forth. They seem to be using it to exfoliate.

Tool use is one of the indicators of high intelligence. There’s something else, too, that’s catching the attention of orca experts, and it’s maybe the most remarkable thing we’ve seen. Over the past couple of decades, orcas have been known to offer food to humans.

It’s not restricted to a single pod or regional population. It’s happened all over the world. Orcas will approach a human in the water or in a boat or even on the shore, and offer a piece of fish. If the human refuses, they may repeat the offer. It’s not accidental. It’s clearly intentional.

Is it altruism? Attempt to communicate? Manipulation of some sort—trying to train the human? Are orcas trying to make some sort of connection?

Orcas share food with each other within their pods. It may be they’re trying to invite humans into their world or their culture. Maybe it’s a peace offering. A form of diplomacy. An experiment—to see what the weird little land animal will do next.

Maybe the attacks on boats aren’t attacks. Maybe they’re attempts to communicate. They may be trying to get the boats to join in a race or a game of tag. Orcas will grab each other’s fins with their teeth; if one of them is sick or injured, they’ll pull her up to the surface and support her there, and keep her from sinking back down. Maybe they’re grabbing rudders to try to get the boats’ attention.

What it’s not reading as, to experts who understand orcas (as far as humans can at this point), is hostility. The boats may be doing something that sets the orcas off, either in play or in some form of annoyance or frustration, and it’s probably become a fad of sorts to chase and ram them, but it’s not about the humans. They’re not out to get revenge on the species that’s burning up the planet. In fact, when they do interact directly, it seems they come in peace, and bearing gifts.[end-mark]

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Posted by Sarah

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Books Murderbot

Read a New Murderbot Story for Free, Right After the Season Finale

The new novelette will be released on Reactor immediately following the final episode of AppleTV+’s Murderbot

By Reactor

Published on July 7, 2025

Cover of Martha Wells' “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy”

We’re excited to reveal a brand new Murderbot universe novelette by series author Martha Wells—and you can read it here for free immediately after the season finale airs on AppleTV+!

The new novelette “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy” will go live here on Reactor at 10:00 PM ET on Thursday, July 10th. It can be read as a standalone story for anyone who has finished Artificial Condition, the second book in The Murderbot Diaries.

In “Rapport” we catch up with Peri (short for Perihelion) and learn a bit more about what this galaxy does to people and the machine intelligences that have to deal with them….

Here’s a sneak peek!

Peri’s anger was made of ice and steel, but it thought at speeds that a human mind couldn’t match, in multiple directions at once. It was incapable of acting on impulse, in conversation or in any other way. This wasn’t even you getting annoyed.

With just a hint of amusement in its tone, Peri said, What gave me away?

Iris let out a breath. The admission was a good first step. You don’t jump to wrong conclusions like a human.

It said, I’ll have to work on that.

Iris winced. It would, too. Remind me not to critique your performance again.

I value your input, Iris.

Iris absently started to pace. She was too tired and jumpy to play this game right now. Is it something you can tell me at some point? It’s just that I’m worried about you. And I think I’m not the only one. Our dads have noticed, too. She hesitated, then tried to lighten the mood. You aren’t evolving into a new being, or something, are you?

It was an in-joke for their department, that there were always popular press articles about advanced MIs transcending their programming and becoming gods. Peri usually liked the joke, because it gave it a chance to be mean about stupid people. This time, it said, Iris, did you sustain damage to your neural tissue?

She let out her breath. Come on, that’s your favorite joke. You’re really scaring me now. What’s wrong? Did something happen?

Peri was silent for six whole seconds. Then it said, Explaining would in effect be violating a confidence.

Want more Murderbot while you wait?
Check out “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” — a Murderbot short story set after the events of Exit Strategy!

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Posted by Drew McCaffrey

https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/

https://reactormag.com/?p=817452

Books Wind and Truth Reread

Wind and Truth Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12

Godlike entities can be real jerks sometimes.

By Paige Vest, Lyndsey Luther, Drew McCaffrey

Published on July 7, 2025

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Drew McCaffrey</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/">https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817452">https://reactormag.com/?p=817452</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/wind-and-truth-reread/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Wind and Truth Reread 1"> Wind and Truth Reread </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Wind and Truth</i> Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Godlike entities can be real jerks sometimes.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/paige-vest/" title="Posts by Paige Vest" class="author url fn" rel="author">Paige Vest</a>, <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/lyndsey-luther/" title="Posts by Lyndsey Luther" class="author url fn" rel="author">Lyndsey Luther</a>, <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/drew-mccaffrey/" title="Posts by Drew McCaffrey" class="author url fn" rel="author">Drew McCaffrey</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 7, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> 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11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Cover of Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>Good morning (or afternoon, or evening, depending on when you’re tuning in), Cosmere Chickens! Welcome to the End of Day Six! <em>::dramatic and suspenseful music sting::</em> Today we’ll be joining Dalinar in the Spiritual Realm as he finally reaches the moment he’s been searching for. We’ll also be checking in on two interludes, focusing first on Dyel (<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/rI9O6UXkCjvTG" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">who</a>?) and then… <em>::even more dramatic music sting::</em> Odium.</p> <p>The book has been out long enough that most of you will hopefully have finished, and as such, this series shall now function as a re-read rather than a read-along. That means there <em>will</em> be spoilers for the end of the book (as well as <strong>full Cosmere spoilers</strong>, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content).</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Paige’s Commentary: Plot Arcs</h3> <p>And so we come to the last chapter in Day 6: chapter 77, titled “Aharietiam.” Dun-dun-dunnn… It’s getting real, Sanderfans! Dalinar is, of course, searching for the Shard of Honor, and to aid him in that quest, he’s jumping from Desolation to Desolation, looking for insights which might allow him to become a Vessel for Honor. He thinks that doing so will help him to defeat Odium and regain control of most of Roshar… which we know won’t happen, but it’s jolly good of him to try! But that’s where we are in this particular plot arc, and so let’s see what’s going on!</p> <p>Dalinar, Navani, and Gavinor were in a vision of a Desolation when a shadow fell over the vision and they were all pulled out and thrust back into the chaos of the Spiritual Realm. This shadow was Odium, taking notice after Mishram, imprisoned though she still is, speaks directly to Shallan. As they’re tossed back into the Spiritual Realm, Dalinar loses touch with Navani and Gav and is assaulted by visions of thousands of versions of himself from his past. He’s so overwhelmed that he asks the Stormfather for help, and is told that he’ll receive help if he leaves the Spiritual Realm and never returns. The Stormfather insists he had a plan and Dalinar needs to trust him, though he won’t tell Dalinar the plan. The <em>Stormfather</em> had a plan? One would think it would be wise to inform his freaking <em>Radiant, </em>right? Sneaky Stormfather…</p> <p>Dalinar begs the Honorblade to take him to his destination, much farther than he’s been, and he bursts into a vision, promptly losing the Blade. He realizes that he’s in the vision where he saw the Honorblades in a circle, nine of them—all but Taln’s. He appears in the form of Chana and induces Jezrien to explain exactly how the Heralds hold the Fused on Braize. They approach Ishar as he’s speaking to Honor, who tells them that one individual might hold the lock that is their Oath in place, though it would crack the Oathpact. Then Honor unceremoniously nopes out, telling them that he needs distance from them. Just poof, gone. Byyyyeee…</p> <p>Dalinar speaks up, questioning the decision to leave Taln alone, though Jezrien says they can still support him from this world, though he wishes others could replace the Heralds. Ishar says he’ll find a way, but that it will take time. Jezrien sets the tone for leaving their Honorblades by saying he can no longer wield his in good conscience after abandoning his friend. Also that he can feel himself putting his burden upon Taln. Ugh… if they <em>felt</em> it when they laid their burdens upon him and… and did it anyway? I’m giving a lot of side eye to the Heralds here. Serious side eye. Ishar states that he’ll let them give him some of their pain, a phrase which makes me cringe, I don’t know about you, Sanderfans. He also says he’ll explore the possibility of stepping into Honor’s place. Hmmm… definitely don’t think Ishy is suited for that!</p> <p>Dalinar is able to pull Navani and Gavinor into the vision, though they’re not masquerading as anyone. Navani can listen to the Heralds talking but can’t ask questions or interact. Gav shows some maturity for his age, talking of learning from the visions to become a king… and so he can kill those who killed his father. Which should be a glaring red flag for Dalinar. He asks the Stormfather to take Gav home, to which the Stormfather replies that Dalinar himself should bring the boy home. He also admits to having been there at Aharietiem because he had to witness the event, which doesn’t jibe with him previously telling Dalinar that he didn’t exist before Honor died. Dalinar then tries to use the Stormfather as an anchor to take him to Honor’s death, I believe, but the Stormfather gives him hell, asserting that he never should have chosen Dalinar. Then he says that Dalinar will die in this realm and poof, he’s gone, too. These godlike entities are just jerks, aren’t they? “I don’t care what happens to you mewling humans, peace out!”</p> <p>The vision fades and Dalinar is cast back into the maelstrom of the Spiritual Realm. He grasps his Connection to the Stormfather with one hand, and his Connection to Navani with the other, and painstakingly brings them together like when he united the Realms at Thaylen City. They arrive in a vision, in Urithiru, with a Windrunner Dalinar recognizes as the first Radiant to give up his Blade and break his Oaths. They’ve lost a day, but they’re in a vision just days before Honor dies.</p> <p>Interlude 11 follows Dyel, a young Iriali girl who encounters some unusual visitors. Not unusual like the Owners (which are the singers), but definitely odd. We learn that Dyel’s grandfather was Ym, the cobbler murdered by Nale as he was becoming acquainted with a spren. Her mother has set up business in Ym’s old shop, and the strangers are having tea. She cleans and casually listens to them talking with one another, and we can recognize them as some familiar Worldhoppers (see Lyndsey’s section for more on that).</p> <p>The strangers ask if she’s seen a prism of light that can climb walls and Dyel freaks out. She thinks that Nale has returned to kill her mother, since she is now Radiant because of a Truthwatcher spren, Uma. As the men begin to approach, Dyel’s mother arrives and everyone calms down. Hoid has left a letter for them, which Dyel fetches. It apparently contains nothing but his signature, alongside a crudely-drawn image of male genitalia. Gotta love our Hoid, don’t we, Sanderfans?</p> <p>The strangers take their leave and then people begin shouting—the spren that lives in the harbor, a massive thing called Cusicesh, rises and tells the Iriali that it will be their guide for the Fifth Journey. Dyel’s mom has her fetch the go-bags… because, yes, Iriali have go-bags. Because, why wouldn’t they? When you’ve gotta go, who has time to pack? And so they head into Shadesmar, along with any Iriali who happened to be in a major city, so long to all you country folk! Farewell, Roshar! Oh, and the three strangers go along for the ride, too!</p> <p>Interlude 12 is an Odium interlude, of course, and is titled “What Must Be Done.” I’ve gotta tell you, Sanderfans, these interludes are painful when one hated/hates Taravangian. It’s almost as bad as if we got a Moash interlude at the end of every day. (Ugh, I just shuddered in revulsion.) But, onward!</p> <p>This interlude begins with Odium messing with Dalinar, only to be distracted by Cultivation’s forces assaulting Kharbranth! She says she won’t hurt the city’s inhabitants if Odium backs down and <em>hilariously,</em> he calls her a monster. Odium calling Cultivation a monster… *gales of laughter*</p> <p>Cultivation had plants in his palace staff; they imprison his daughter and grandchildren, and in short order, she holds a proverbial knife to Taravangian’s throat. She tells him to back down, to agree to an armistice. They go back and forth, analyzing one another… and then Cultivation realizes with horror that Taravangian is creating a great tidal wave, sending it directly toward Kharbranth: “A lesson.”</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Cultivation gasped, horror vibrating from her. “Taravangian. No. You can’t.”<br><br>“I will weep,” he whispered. “Know that I will weep.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Cultivation breaks, promising she will back down. Begs him to stop. But he states that the lesson isn’t just for her but for anyone who thinks they can find a chink in his armor. And I feel that this shows how much better a Vessel Koravellium is than Taravangian. She cares about more than her own damn designs and emotions and power. In my humble opinion, of course.</p> <p>And so Odium destroys Kharbranth.</p> <p>(Ha! Just kidding! As we know, he just lets Cultivation think that he’s murdered the entire population of his beloved city. Who’s the monster again?)</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Lyndsey’s Commentary: Character Arcs & Maps</h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="628" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-77-1100x628.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Chapter 77" class="wp-image-817461" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-77-1100x628.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-77-740x422.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-77-768x438.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-77.png 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /></figure> <p>Chapter 77’s Herald arch has Vedeledev (Vedel) in all four spots. Honestly, I would have expected Battar to make an appearance here (since Gavinor mentions remembering her as “Aunt Dova,” or even Chana (whose body Dalinar is inhabiting), Jezrien, Ishar… so many Heralds make an appearance in his scene. But none of them are used.</p> <p>Vedel takes up all four spaces, which seems… odd. Dalinar does seem to be displaying some of her attributes (Loving/Healing) in his attempt to shield Gavinor from more trauma, but the chapter is more about his struggle with his own personality traits, so the “Loving/Healing” connection seems like a bit of a stretch. I’m really starting to believe that the symbolism of the Heralds and how they connect with the events of the chapters is breaking down just as much as the arches themselves.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="615" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-11-1100x615.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Interlude 11" class="wp-image-817459" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-11-1100x615.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-11-740x413.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-11-768x429.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-11.png 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /></figure> <p>Dyel’s mother has a mistspren, which means that she’s a true, uncorrupted Truthwatcher. That accounts for Palah showing up twice, given that the Truthwatchers are her order. The wild cards can stand for both Hoid (who left a letter here for our Worldhoppers) and the Worldhoppers themselves.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="594" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-12-1100x594.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Interlude 12" class="wp-image-817458" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-12-1100x594.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-12-740x400.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-12-768x415.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Interlude-12.png 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /></figure> <p>The Heralds that adorn Odium’s interlude point to how Odium views himself. Ishar embodies piety, and Odium’s “sacrifice” that he makes here is, to him, pious and self-sacrificing. Palah’s attributes are Learned/giving, and Vedel’s are Loving/Healing; we often see these two Heralds appearing in opposition to one another in Odium/Taravangian’s chapter headings, symbolizing the duality of his logical/emotional nature. Vedel is actually shown twice, as Odium is leaning more towards his emotional side in his reaction to having to “kill” his beloved city.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Dalinar</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Armored versions of him stomped through landscapes, fracturing them like a shattered mirror, only for another version of him to <em>rip</em> that reality apart, drunkenly weeping over his faults.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>It’s telling that there are no positive incarnations of himself. Is that due to Odium’s influence on the Spiritual Realm, or Dalinar’s own poor self-image? Probably a bit of both.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The outfit was marred with blood and ash, but that was something Dalinar associated with kingship.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Says something about Dalinar’s past that he associates this with kingship specifically and not war, doesn’t it? His whole life has been one of kings leading men into battle. I don’t think Dalinar would understand peace if he saw it—especially given that the last time he experienced it he was so drunk all the time that he barely knew what was happening around him.</p> <p>That hard-won peace gave Dalinar nothing but PTSD and a haze of alcoholism.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Of course I care!” Dalinar snapped. “But I’m a king. I can’t think of the one; it’s my duty to think of the people as a whole. I’m close to the power of Honor. I can feel it. With it, I can defeat Odium. But if I leave now—for Gav or Navani, or even myself—I fail everyone else as a result!”*</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is some heavy foreshadowing for later, when Dalinar is forced into just this decision.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I hear Daddy sometimes. Telling me I’m a good boy.”<br><br>“Listen to voices like that, Gav,” Dalinar whispered.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>…I’ll take “things that will come back to bite Dalinar square in the tight patootie” for 500, Alex.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Would you let the world fall under Odium’s control because of your pride, Stormfather?”<br><br><em>Better than potentially letting it burn, Dalinar, under your control.</em></p></blockquote></figure> <p>Fascinating battle of the wills between the two here. Each thinks they know better than the other what the world needs, and neither is willing to acquiesce.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p><em>If you are told no, you just punch harder—because life has taught you that’s how to get what you want. But sometimes, deny it though you may, the world doesn’t </em>need<em> what you want.</em></p></blockquote></figure> <p>Dalinar admits the truth of this, which I suppose is growth, in a way, for him. Admitting your own faults is the first step towards learning how to overcome or work with them.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Taln</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“[…] We hide from battle. Everyone except…”<br><br>“Except Taln,” Dalinar said.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Taln is a certifiable badass and one of the MVPs of this book—which is incredible considering that all of his action (and his death) takes place off the page, and we still know next to nothing about his deeper backstory and motivations.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Jezrien</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Cowardice. Except he saw the way Jezrien gazed down at the ground as he spoke. Saw the way his hands trembled, and how he had to make fists to hide it. Suddenly, instead of regal, he appeared haggard. Overwhelmed. Who was Dalinar to judge what thousands of years of torture could do to a man?</p></blockquote></figure> <p>What an awful dilemma. Relegate yourself to literally thousands of years of torture, to protect others… this is a similar through-line to Kaladin’s character arc in this book and his search for the next ideal. As a reminder, the final ideal for the Windrunners (or at least, for Kaladin—we don’t know if they differ slightly as the third ideal did) is this:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I will protect myself, so that I may continue to protect others.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Is the decision that the Heralds made here the <em>right</em> one? Are they perhaps justified in prioritizing their own well-being rather than continuing to make martyrs of themselves? However… this does gloss over the fact that they left Taln to suffer the torture alone.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“But neither can I carry this in good conscience after abandoning a friend. […]”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Well, I give him this at least: Unlike some characters (<em>cough Moash cough</em>), Jezrien regrets his actions and feels remorse. He does… until Ishar steps in, saying, “I can bear some of your pain.” He looked to Dalinar. “I can bear part of it for each of you.”</p> <p>Ishar taking some of that guilt and pain away allows the Heralds to remain sane for a while longer. But by the modern era, most have still degenerated into insanity, Ishar most of all.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Honor</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I cannot afford to care any longer,” Honor said. “I can’t afford to care about any of you. I need… distance. Yes.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Good lord. This man can be such a chullhead. (Which is a much nicer word than the one I wish I could use; a much shorter one, which also starts with a c.)</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Gavinor</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Was it bad, being in the strange place?”<br><br>“A little,” the boy said. “But… I knew you’d come for me.”<br><br>“I will,” Dalinar said, then took the boy in an embrace. “I always will, Gav.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>OOF. This one is physically painful, considering…</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“God trained you. He’ll train me too. To be a king. To kill those who killed Daddy.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This poor, poor, child. I truly hope that he finds some healing in the back five. Paging Therapist Kaladin Stormblessed!</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Dyel</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The three sat at a table in her shop near the cubbies on the wall where her grandfather—before his murder—had put shoes.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>I find it fascinating that that was all it took for me to realize who this was. We only got one single interlude about Ym the cobbler, but he was so sweet and his death at the hands of Nale SO TRAGIC that I’ve always remembered him.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Dyel’s life had been turned upside down ever since Uma had arrived and her mother had started glowing sometimes. Unique experiences.<br><br>She cherished thinking of it that way. So many didn’t believe these days, but she did. For Grandfather.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>The Iriali religion is really interesting. I love how they cherish experiences and feel that they all add to one great shared experience; it’s a unique concept.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] terrified that this great day should have come during her life. She wished there were a way to explain that she was filled up with new experiences.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>So do all who see such times, Frodo… Sorry. I had to. I don’t know if we’ll ever see this character again; she does seem to be a bit of a throwaway one. But you never know; perhaps we’ll see Dyel in another series down the line, in this fabled “fifth land.”</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Hoid</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“It has only his signature. And a crude depiction of male genitalia.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p><em>::facepalm</em>:: Really, Hoid? Though I suppose I shouldn’t really be surprised.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Odium</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Odium trembled, feeling—for the first time since his Ascension—<em>panic</em>.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>He’s still “human” enough to feel for his family and his homeland. Or… does he?</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“A… lesson,” he whispered, a profound sadness welling within him as the wave grew. […]</p></blockquote></figure> <p>On first read, this is incredibly shocking to us. Everything that we’ve seen of Taravangian up until this point has led us to believe that everything he’s done, he’s done in order to protect his home and his family and people. To turn around and destroy them now seems like character assassination at its deepest level: Has he allowed the power to corrupt him so fully that he’s willing to turn his back on everything and everyone he loves?</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“[…] the lesson is not just for you; it is for any who would think to intimidate me. A god must have no holes in his armor, Cultivation.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>A very hard lesson indeed. Cold, ruthless, heartless. To sacrifice your own children and grandchildren, <em>all</em> you ever loved, on the altar of progress. But… it’s all a ruse. The following quote is from the final chapter of this book, so if you’re reading along for the first time, best to skip this:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Kharbranth was dead, but in the moment that Cultivation had looked away, Taravangian had summoned his power and taken the people. The city had indeed been destroyed, but he’d saved the occupants. In utter secret.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Even Odium couldn’t bear to part with his beloved family. Maybe… just maybe… there’s still something there worth saving.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Cultivation</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I don’t <em>think</em> it, Taravangian,” she said. “I know there is only one thing in all this world you’ve <em>ever</em> legitimately cared for.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is brilliantly ruthless planning on Cultivation’s part. She set up the move three steps back… but unfortunately, Taravangian’s still ahead of her.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Her power loved anything that encouraged people to learn, better themselves, and achieve. That was often accelerated by conflict.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Yikes. This is such a cold-hearted—yet logical—view of things. Cultivation can’t fight the immense power that she holds any more than Odium himself can.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Worldhopper Identities</strong></h4> <p>I won’t get too much into the Worldhoppers’ specific Cosmere connections (that’s Drew’s territory), but I will take a moment to identify each of them for those who might not have figured out who they are:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] the tall man in the coat. He had skin like he was from Azir, with short black hair and muscles like a soldier.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is Baon, from <em>White Sand.</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] the tubby one, who was constantly scowling. […]This one had darker skin too, and was completely bald. […He wore a cloak and colorful robes.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is Galladon, who you may remember as Raoden’s grouchy friend from <em>Elantris.</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>A Shin man of middling height, also balding—with a scar on his head—light skin, and more normal clothing, for an outlander. Shirt and trousers. He didn’t talk as much.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is Demoux, one of Kelsier’s original band of rebels from the first <em>Mistborn </em>trilogy.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts & Theories</h3> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Braize,” he said. “The planet. It draws souls to it naturally. Honor fashioned it into a prison, but a prison needs a lock.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>I’m basically just putting a pin in this, here. Recent Cosmere books have introduced the idea of whole planets having strange Investiture-related attributes, whether it’s Braize here, or the fourth moon that crashed into Roshar, or Canticle’s batterylike qualities in <em>The Sunlit Man</em>. It seems Sanderson is setting up some future mysteries to dig into, even as we are largely nailing down the mechanics of individual Invested Arts.</p> <p>We know via <a href="https://wob.coppermind.net/events/131/#e3952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Word of Brandon</a> that Adonalsium specifically created the Rosharan system, and had some purpose in mind for it. The ten gas giants remain an unexplained teaser; the fourth moon and Braize are getting their hype now. Whether this will be explained in the back five books or if this will be reserved for the space-age Cosmere works in the final <em>Mistborn</em> trilogy is the big question.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Five?” Honor said. “No, impossible. Five is a number of weakness. No symmetry, no power. Perhaps four would work. The number of Adonalsium’s four aspects. Or ten, sixteen… one.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Boy, is there a lot to dig into in just this one passage. Let’s start with the number five.</p> <p>Honor says that it’s a weak number due to lack of symmetry—something that makes sense in the context of The Stormlight Archive and Rosharan sensibilities. But it’s impossible to <em>not</em> read Shardic politics into this.</p> <p>Five is the number most commonly associated with Endowment and Nalthis. Five Scholars. Fifth Heightening for Returned. Five Visions. Five times five gods in the Hallandren Court of the Gods. Endowment’s letter to Hoid is told through the epigraphs in Day Five. There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence to point toward that connection.</p> <p>And here we have Honor being openly dismissive of that number. In her letter to Hoid, Endowment makes it clear that she’s sticking to the promise of isolation—perhaps something that would have driven a rift between her and Honor, who had no problem shacking up with his lover soon after the Shattering.</p> <p>Honor also muses about the possibility of using four as a number. Again, he cites symmetry and equates it to power, but he also says it’s “Adonalsium’s four aspects.” This is <em>wildly</em> fascinating to me. The implication, I think, is that this is referring to the Dawnshards and their four Commands… but I’m hesitant to take that at face value.</p> <p>After all, the Dawnshards were used against Adonalsium and seemed to be separate from Adonalsium long before the Shattering. Additionally, the idea of Commands being “aspects” doesn’t sit totally right with me. Something about the connotations of those words doesn’t totally jibe.</p> <p>Now, there’s still plenty of reason to just say “yeah, that’s obviously what he means, Drew.” In <em>Dawnshard</em>, Rysn sees a mural depicting a representation of Adonalsium, in which Adonalsium is separated into four pieces (representing the Dawnshards), and those four each separated into four (representing the Shards). I wouldn’t blame anyone who takes that as sufficient evidence.</p> <p>But if it’s <em>not</em> sufficient evidence, if these “aspects of Adonalsium” are something different, then we have another entire can of worms to be opened as the Cosmere continues on. Lots of potential there.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Dyel had the most unusual of visitors.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>It’s our friends from the Seventeenth Shard, finally showing up again! Let’s all say hi to Demoux, Baon, and Galladon. Lyn pointed out their origins earlier, but this interlude shows a little more about them than even <em>White Sand</em>, <em>Mistborn</em>, and <em>Elantris</em>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The grumpy one smashed a sphere into the ground, somehow cracking it. Stormlight owed up around him, and strange symbols formed in the air.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>So this is probably the most noteworthy instance, at least to me. We saw in <em>The Lost Metal</em> that purified Dor could be used to power Selish magics even on other worlds. This is A Thing, because of Sel’s unique situation after Odium’s antics there—magic is regionally locked and the land itself is gaining some level of awareness, thanks to Odium shoving the splintered remains of Devotion and Dominion into the Cognitive Realm there.</p> <p>But Galladon, as an Elantrian, has no problem using <em>Stormlight</em> to power AonDor. Purified Dor may have been one thing, since a) it’s already Selish in origin and b) it’s been wiped of any characteristics that would have tied it to the location. But Stormlight is Stormlight—Rosharan flavored… and Galladon cracks a sphere and uses it, no problemo.</p> <p>We can assume that the Aons he’s crafting here utilize Rosharan geography, rather than Selish (just as Shai used Scadrian geography for hers in <em>The Lost Metal</em>), but I’m still trying to wrap my head around what kind of of doohickery Galladon used to make Stormlight accessible.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>A ding came from Galladon’s pocket.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This interlude is wonderful, and harkens back to the early days of The Stormlight Archive, when we had basically no clue what was going on with anything and the interludes felt like totally off-the-wall randomness.</p> <p>Galladon has some kind of Invested device (call it a fabrial if you like) that told them <em>when a perpendicularity was going to open</em>.</p> <p>It’s this kind of teaser, this glimpse at the technology of more advanced, more hidden parts of the Cosmere, that keeps me excited for the future. Taldain had gunpowder a thousand years before Scadrial—what is their tech like now? What’s going on in Silverlight, where the most renowned scholar in the Cosmere founded a university?</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“The gateway to the land of shadows,” Mother whispered. “Honor’s gateway… Oh Father, Mother, ancestors who have become One… Dyel, fetch the travel packs! It’s time!”</p></blockquote></figure> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Other portals, she heard, had opened all across Iri—one in every major city.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>And so the Iriali continue their Long Trail, seeking a new Land and ultimately a reunification with the One.</p> <p>But hey, what’s this about <em>Honor’s gateway</em>? And what in the world is the mechanism for so many perpendicularities opening? What a bomb to drop and then just not explain. Again, this is why I like this interlude so much, bringing me back to the sensation of youthful ignorance that I had reading <em>The Way of Kings</em> fifteen years ago.</p> <p>It’s a good sign that Sanderson can still find moments to spark that excitement, even so many books deep into the Cosmere.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who haven’t read the book yet.</p> <p>See you next Monday as we kick off Day Seven with our discussion of chapters 78, 79, and 80![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/"><i>Wind and Truth</i> Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/">https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapter-77-interludes-11-and-12/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817452">https://reactormag.com/?p=817452</a></p>

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-1-2025

"Deb, you've outdone yourself!"

"Aww, thanks, Pat!"

"So, what do you call it?"

"Well, with all the candied cherries on there, I'm thinking...'THE CHERRY POPPIN' CANDY CASTLE!' What do you think?"

"I like it."

"AND, we can throw in a half dozen 'Tunnel of Love' cookies with each order!"

"Oooh, good idea! Especially since no one but those college guys will buy any."

"Yeah...I guess the extra icing must be turning people off - too many calories. Remember how that lady said they weren't family-friendly?"

"That was kind of weird. Must be one of those health nuts."

"Aw, you know how it is. People are so paranoid about what they put in their mouths these days."

Thanks to Anony M. & Christina P. for the great spread.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-1-2025

james_davis_nicoll

2004: Labour spares no effort to liberate Britons from human rights, UKIP's electoral successes surely do not reflect fundamental flaws in the British psyche, and London voters are heartbroken to discover the Livingstone who was just elected mayor isn’t the Livingstone who co-wrote the Fighting Fantasy books.

Poll #33332 Clarke Award Finalists 2004

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15

View Respondents

Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
10 (66.7%)

Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
2 (13.3%)

Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
7 (46.7%)

Maul by Tricia Sullivan
2 (13.3%)

Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
1 (6.7%)

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
6 (40.0%)

Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
Maul by Tricia Sullivan
Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

anehan

Crossposted to booknook.

Title: Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control
Authors: Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis
Genre: non-fiction

As a consequence of realising that hey, interlibrary loans exist and are actually pretty cheap, I've been reading a book called Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control by Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis.

The book is a survey of the history of censorship of literature mainly in the UK and the US, presented through case studies of individual censored works, though many of the chapters discuss censorship of similar books more broadly. The oldest case is the censorship of the early English translations of the Bible; the newest the censorship of Chicanx literature in Arizona in the 2010s.

The book takes a broad view of censorship. It doesn't just deal with censorship by the state, but also other forms of censorship, such as self-censorship and the chilling effect that censorship exerts on the literary landscape as a whole.

I'm not going to talk about it in any great detail. It's really well-written -- very accessible to a lay reader, without feeling like it's been dumbed-down -- so go read it if the topic interests you.

( Some thoughts on censorship of literature based on this book )

mwahjericao posting in

fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: #265 - Trickster
Title: Dave's Devilishly Dubious Discreetness
Fandom: Dayshift At Freddy's
Rating/Warnings: PG, stalking.
Bonus: No
Word Count: 448
Summary: You couldn’t possibly not see him when he was in the room. It’s hard to ignore a 7 foot tall, scrawny, purple zombie, with a malleable neck and very visible scars on top of all that. That, however, never stopped him from being the sneakiest guy Jack knew.

( Read more... )

daily_otter_feed

Posted by Daily Otter

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/7/our-rescued-female-pup-has-a-name-now

Via Alaska SeaLife Center, which writes:

Our first otter patient admitted in 2025, the young female from Homer, now has a name:

✨Meet Un’a! ✨

Un’a means “that out in the open water” in the language of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people. It’s a fitting name for this special pup who has shown strong resilience in her recovery!

See our previous posts here, here, and here - or check out her new tag!

https://dailyotter.org/posts/2025/7/7/our-rescued-female-pup-has-a-name-now

the_comfortable_courtesan

Had rather not be revealed

Sandy did not anticipate that Maurice was like to be at the club the e’en – was quite the height of Mamzelle Bridgette’s bustling time, the Season still a-whirl and already ladies wishing to be beforehand concerning the wardrobes wherewith they would devastate summer house-parties. But he had a deal less fret over his lover’s health during this time now that he came to apprehend the confederacy of his relatives, that sent Thomasina with a well-supplied basket to sustain her in her toil, and la, she did not dare take any back uneaten! So Maurice was at least eating good food from Euphemia’s kitchen, even was he staying up until all hours.

Mysell-Monting looked up from the chess-board and sighed that he might as well resign, for he could not see any way to evade this trap that MacDonald had got him into, tipped over his king, and rose. Sandy suspected that there was also some matter of an anticipated assignation – sure he would have liked to interrogate Mysell-Monting about his painful pleasures, that he found a very curious matter that converse with Maurice’s sister had not come about to greatly elucidate.

He stood up himself and took up his glass of whisky. Came squeaking towards him Chumball and Pemberton.

MacDonald! Have you heard? Pemb lately had an epistle from Wappinge, that goes antiquarianize in the vicinity of Naples, and in among the minutiae of the statues and ruins &C he has seen, mentions that Basil Linsleigh is about in Society in those parts.

Insofar, said Pemberton lugubriously, does one count Yankees as Society, as we apprehend Linsleigh is staying with some people called Rutledge, from Virginia.

Sandy took a sip from his glass and conceded that he had had some intelligence of Linsleigh’s whereabouts, and that he had not expired like Byron of marsh fever or been slain by Albanian bandits.

Do you suppose he will return? Sure the scandal was a seven-days wonder.

Chumball sniggered and said, did Wappy not mention some model he was painting of quite surpassing beauty?

So, thought Sandy, Marcello had managed to place one of their allies to keep watch upon Basil and his activities, as he had intended. He doubted that Basil was in any eagerness to return to English shores, since he had fled not because of any fear of a scandal over sodomy but from criminal charges to do with illicit black-birding. He remarked that he recalled from his own visits to Lady Bexbury’s villa in those parts that indeed, the local fellows were of exceeding handsome looks, and, it was given out, very willing to oblige Milords Inglesi for quite modest remuneration.

Chumball and Pemberton looked wistful.

Came up Sir Hartley Zellen, saying, did you mention Lady B’s villa? Have just had a letter from Verena, has been some while on its way, about their departing from Rozofsky’s estates and making the journey by way of the Mediterranean, and that they had been offered the hospitality there did they pass through Naples.

One observed that Sir Hartley manifested a pleasing paternal affection towards Verena even had she been staying for some months with her real father, as he remarked upon her various exploits in the Ukraine. Of course, Lady Zellen’s three lovely daughters entirely did him credit – all beautiful, for their fathers had been quite the match to Honora Zellen in looks! – well-trained by their mama in the ways of Society, and had all made good matches, though Verena’s was the most outstandingly remarkable, an entire love-match with Gussie Imbremere, heir to the Marquess of Offgrange.

Did MacDonald care to dine?

Alas, said Sandy, Offerton has been very pressing for me to dine with him privately as has some discreet matter wishes to unfold –

They all looked knowing, for Sandy had a justified reputation for looking into troublesome matters with discretion and bringing about an acceptable resolution. Was that not, in fact, how he had met Maurice? Investigating the theft of his notions by a newcome modiste, Madame Francine.

And here came Terence Offerton, horsey-looking chap with thinning hair, cheeks reddened with broken veins, making amiable to the company though with some air of being eager to be closeted with Sandy.

Sandy hoped that 'twas not some matter of horseflesh – sure he could not count himself as expert in matters of racing and breeding and training, though he supposed he might call upon the knowledge of Belinda Penkarding did it come to it.

As they settled into the private dining-room they exchanged a little general conversation – what sort of a racing-season was Offerton having? Did Sandy ever hear aught of Leo Harper? – but once they had been served and the door closed upon 'em Offerton came to his concern.

Had lately discovered his head groom had took on a young fellow – indeed the matter was of some urgency, one of the other grooms had contrived to break an arm and another had took a fever – that seemed entire all one could desire in the way of handling cattle, a very good way with him – but what gave one to pause was that had been discharged without a character by Blatchett –

Sandy managed not to start at this intelligence.

Had been employed at Blatchett’s hunting-box in Buckinghamshire – and the tale is, one day His Lordship up and dismisses him, he does not know why.

Sandy looked thoughtful, and said, musingly, one wonders had he seen somewhat that Blatchett had rather not be revealed – might not have understood the inwardness of the business at the time – but did any come questioning –

For he already had some inkling of what the groom might have seen. And that 'twas somewhat that one hoped he had not gone blab about.

Indeed, seems a young guileless fellow enough, but sure have come across fellows at races &C looking as innocent as the babe unborn that were rogues incarnate.

Sandy suggested that mayhap he should come to Offerton’s place and interrogate the fellow, under cover of finding out was there any matter of unjust dismissal and remedy – though, he added gloomily, in Blatchett’s position they are wont to turn off their servants for mere caprice and there is little one may do.

Offerton remarked that to his mind, Blatchett was a poor judge of horseflesh, and not so fine a one of men, either, did he spend so much time in the company of that detrimental Mortimer Chellow. And commenced upon a lengthy and rather confused tale of Chellow’s conduct at some card-party at the races.

So it fell out that a day or so later Sandy went out into Berkshire to Offerton’s place, and had some converse with the head groom, Stalyward, that declared that young Oxton was a fine hand with the cattle – worth two men at least – could not see the least harm in him – would not be entire astonished to learn that Blatchett was about some sly tricks, there was tales about that Chellow chap – and the lad had seen something, or refused to undertake some underhand matter –

One could place a certain amount of confidence in one that had been about racing circles these many years and risen to head groom here: had doubtless developed sound judgement!

To give some air of solemnity to the proceedings Sandy had been made free of the steward’s office, but to ameliorate the severity of the occasion had also provided a mug of ale and a snack of bread of cheese. The lad would have been up since dawn –

Very prepossessing, he came in with damp hair from which Sandy deduced that he had washed away the evidence of the morning’s toil under the pump afore this interview. Was very grateful for the ale &C, as Sandy commenced upon the more general questions –

Brought up around horses – father a groom himself – the stable at Blatchett’s hunting-box had been his first place – very quiet – His Lordship would visit occasional with friends – or sometimes by himself – was mostly a matter of tending Tipton the cob – making sure all was in order against a sudden visit –

His Lordship had not been for some while, but visited lately.

There I was, said the young man, holding Benbow’s head while His Lordship mounted, and I bethought me of the young lady, and once he was in the saddle, I ventured to hope that she had suffered no ill-effects from being bolted with on such a nasty night?

So he snorts and says nothing and rides off. Then that evening his groom Mr Axbury comes to me and hands me over my due wages and tells me to go, I am dismissed. Very fortunate I had friends here that would at least find me a nook to sleep, and they say they are in dire need of a pair of hands – but the being discharged without a character must concern Mr Stalyward.

Sandy looked at him with all the kindness he could summon up – for inwardly he felt very much what Clorinda would term John Knox look at this naïf young fellow ensconced so very close to a place, Jupp’s horse farm, frequented by Bella Beaufoyle. His very good nature was like to be disastrous.

Why, he said, that is very harsh and one must suspect there was somewhat behind but I cannot fathom what it might be. But let me advance your case to Lady Bexbury, that has interest with the Potter-Welch agency, that was in particular established to assist those that had been unjustly turned off or had other reasons for difficulty in obtaining a place.

That is above and beyond kind! Oxton exclaimed. For although everyone here is friendly, and 'tis a good place as places go, I had rather not be about racecourses, where there is a deal of low conduct even without the gambling.

It was a puzzle to think what they might do with him – so many of the establishments to which he might be recommended were those where Bella was like to be a visitor – but Sandy fancied that matters had now got to the place where he should convoke with Clorinda. And mayhap Belinda Penkarding.

So he made further reassurances that the matter would be looked into, and that they would be about finding him a more eligible situation.

sovay

From an apparent radiant in Arcturus, which made it either a straggler of the Boötids or just passing through, just as

spatch and I were getting up from our summer-hazed star-watching under the three-quarter moon, we saw a slow fireball of a meteor streak south and westward. All we had seen until then were the familiar blinks of planes and what we less happily took for satellites crawling steadily across the body of Ursa Major. We lay on the granite blocks that were installed six or seven years ago in commemoration of the eighteenth-century farm that became first a field of victory gardens and then the public park where I would spend my childhood sledding in winter and setting off model rockets in summer. The jeweled string of the Boston skyline has built itself considerably up since then. I used to dream of finding a meteorite in a field. It seemed statistically not impossible.

Current Music: Of Monsters and Men, "Empire"

infinitum_noctem posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Speaker Phone
Fandom: Kim Possible
Characters: Kim Possible
Rating: G
Length: 112 words
Summary: Kim is embarrassed while talking to her mother.

( Read more... )

garryowen posting in

fancake

Fandom: Star Trek AOS (Reboot)
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/inappropriateness, hints of Kirk/Spock
Rating: Teen +
Length: 3,235 for the fic, 23 minutes for the podfic
Creator Links:

insaneidiot

reena_jenkins
Theme: Working Together

Summary: The crew of the Enterprise is subjected to a compulsory seminar on Inappropriate Workplace Behavior, and Jim Kirk finds this to be particularly challenging.

Content notes: In addition to Kirk being inappropriate in the ways one might expect from canon, the seminar leader is stereotyped in a way that might be considered offensive.

Reccer's Notes: I'm reccing both the story and the podfic here because the story is only on LJ, and the writer does not seem to be active anymore. The podficcer, however, is still around, and the pod is hosted on AO3, which may be more accessible for some. It is also the way I first encountered this story.

Now that we have all that out of the way, I can gush about how hilarious this story is because Jim Kirk + Starfleet bullshit is fertile territory, and I always laugh really loudly when listening to the podfic. Jim is so deeply wounded by any attempt to rein in his obnoxiousness, inappropriateness, and mouthiness. The best thing about this fic, though, is Jim's relationship with his crew. Throughout the seminar, we see the dynamics play out, and it becomes clear that the seminar was put together for a very different kind of workplace and a very different kind of crew. As Jim puts it: "All the team unity and 'synergy' exercises in the universe aren’t going to build real trust or strong relationships amongst a crew."

As you might expect, Jim gets kicked down a couple notches by the seminar leader, but the tables turn in an unexpected way by the end of the seminar.

Reena, as usual, does a wonderful job with the podfic.

Fanwork Links: Wrote the Book fic at LJ and Wrote the Book podfic at AO3

full_metal_ox posting in

common_nature

Taken on 28 May 2024 at 21:00 US Eastern Daylight Time:

(Warning for flashing lights and shaky camera.)

( Cut. )

(Not included: the sound of passing sirens.)

Taken on 9 June 2024 at 07:21 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:46 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:47 US Eastern Daylight Time:

Taken on 2 July 2025 at 19:43 US Eastern Daylight Time:

This gradually took shape across the parking lot from a local Asian fusion restaurant over 2024; between recovering from Hurricane Ian and the COVID quarantine, changing hands, and changing formats (from the mid-century Cantonese-American the original owners had served for forty years to a pan-Asian combination of sushi, ramen, and Chinese), they’d spent the previous couple years uneasily gaining their bearings.

The garden’s proximity to the street, along with the lack of any obvious receptacle for offerings, makes it clear that this is a more ornamental than devotional site. (A Web search indicates the presence of a local Buddhist temple, but the address is a private residence, and home worship services are for who they’re for, not for curiosity-gawking spiritual tourists.)

My guess is that the white-flowering shrubs are Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), aka Confederate Jasmine, Chinese Star Jessamine, and Trader’s Compass, native to warm regions in South and East Asia, and widely planted in the Southeastern U.S. The flowers’ heady indolic fragrance is prized in perfumery, but I’m afraid I haven’t the right sensory range to enjoy them.

Current Music: ”Forbidden Colours”.

beaker_folk_feed

Posted by Archdruid Eileen

https://cyber-coenobites.blogspot.com/2025/07/when-ai-took-over-wimbledon.html

"Girl with Dolphin". A woman dancing with a dolphin, cast as a bronze statue

There has been concern about poor line calls by computer at Wimbledon.

But they're barely trying at the moment.

Given the current levels of accuracy in AI, it's only so long before a tennis player receives a call of "offside". Or possibly "knock on", whatever that is (the Beaker Folk have never been in favour of the game invented by the Revd Webb-Ellis).

But what is sure is that Wimbledon is under real threat. What happens when their Artificial Intelligence Overlords decide to replace the ball-children with wombles? Wombles are notoriously efficient. But their habit of travelling overground and underground means the integrity of Centre Court is at risk.

And if AI truly takes over then the whole integrity of the history of Wimbledon is at risk. Who is to say that Vinnie Jones didn't win the men's singles in 1986? Who can put their hands on their hearts and say that Tim Henman didn't win the title ten years running? The entire record of this pointless, inexplicable sport, with a scoring system based around the quarter-hours on a clock, is at risk. When we're told that the points are 15, 30, Pi, and 19.45 - who will stand up for the truth versus the convenient lie?

(Image is Virginia Wade as "Girl with Dolphin". It's true that our Jubilee Grand Slam winner was once used as a nude model for a bronze on London's north bank.

Or is it? Maybe AI is just taking over our entire history.

https://cyber-coenobites.blogspot.com/2025/07/when-ai-took-over-wimbledon.html

kaberett

Reading. ( Burch + Penman, McMillan-Webster, Wells, Davies + Jones, Hwang Carrant, Keynes + Aidley )

... all of which adds up to more pain-related reading than I felt like I'd managed this week, huh, I thought I had tripped and fallen entirely into Murderbot and EatYourBooks indexing but apparently not!

Writing. A response to the EHRC consultation, which was... several thousand words. A very, very brief response to the Pathways to Work green paper consultation ("I am too disabled to manage doing this properly. These charities are speaking for me. Please fucking listen to them.")

Watching. The first half of Fantasia, with the toddler, with my hand held through all the scary bits to reassure me, apart from the bit that was SO scary that we had to get up and distract ourselves until it was over. Which had absolutely not been flagged as one of the scary bits, and which was the deep-sea-origins-of-life section.

(I had not watched the film since primary school, I don't think? And between then and now I have played a bunch of orchestral music, for most of that time on the violin but latterly as a French horn. It turns out that when I'm not distracted by playing a completely different part, I have incredibly intense sense-memories of several of the pizzicato sections early on...)

Another Murderbot episode. (I continue Indignant.)

Another Farscape episode, this one Taking the Stone (S02E03), which I think was firmly back to early season one levels of incoherence.

Tragically we have not managed The Old Guard 2, because I have had too much migraine and there have been SO many things Happening, but... maybe this week???

Cooking. Several new things! Four from East, leaving me at 41/120 recipes still to make (two of which are "probably won't happen" for reasons of "grapefruit" and "matcha"); of those this week's meal plan includes two (aubergine larb with sticky rice; Vietnamese coconut pancakes). I appreciated the reminder that fried new potatoes are tasty, and A is notably into the chargrilled summer vegetable salad, though I was not a fan of the faff and think I prefer smitten kitchen's charred corn succotash.

Approximately zero faff was salt lassi, and A is now aware that this Special Treat is available; low faff was a cherry clafoutis with fruit from the plot, which I overcooked a bit but, hey, I do in fact like caramelised crunchy bits.

Eating. FIRST BATCH OF DESSERT GOOSEBERRIES ARE RIPE. A tiny handful of Sugar Magnolia sugarsnap peas. Misc jostaberries. RASPBERRIES. And also supermarket strawberries, because we have hit the stage of the summer where they're down to £5 per kilo :)

Growing. I have been doing small bits of harvest and failing to get support structures in for the beans and tomatoes. The outdoor tomatoes have tomatoes on. The squash are coming along; I put more squash seeds in, on the grounds that they're super late but might still do anything; I have not managed to kill all of the chillis; the pepper has flowers.

Harvested lots of dried peas for sowing next year. Am attempting to develop Plans that might actually let me have a full bed of broad beans and a full bed of peas in the interests of getting Reasonable Quantities of them. ~~If the council doesn't tell me I'm not allowed the abandoned plot next door--~~

I could get so much done if I could coax myself out there for even an hour a day but the agoraphobia is saying No, annoyingly. Gonna try to get A to chase me out more this week.

languagelog_feed

Posted by Mark Liberman

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69799&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wasted-little-time-verb-ing

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69799

Commenters noted the ambiguity of this sentence quoted earlier today in "Rococo":

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, he wasted little time redecorating.

From Bob Ladd: "I was genuinely uncertain when I read the sentence about 'wasting little time' whether Trump had in fact gone right to work redecorating or rather had decided not to bother.

Nearly all the examples in COCA of {… wasted little time VERB.ing} or {…wasted no time VERB.ing} have the "went right to work" meaning. There are a few examples like these:

The story goes that while Thomas was laid up with flu, the printer slipped in a phony prediction for July and August of 1816: snow. Hey, it was only a joke. But when Thomas discovered it, he wasted little time laughing. He pulled all the copies he could find and substituted a corrected forecast.

Ormelius wasted no time making threats he couldn't carry out; he simply told the aliens that U.N. forces were inadequate to deal with widespread social chaos of the type we were beginning to see, and pleaded with them to lift the Baby Ban, as the sole means of avoiding a complete breakdown of international order.

But the vast majority — in fact nearly all — are like these:

Sonics coach George Karl wasted little time establishing a new set of rules within the locker room. After Shawn Kemp missed the team charter and an evening practice later that night in Orlando, Karl benched the second-year forward for two games.

On the offensive side of things, the Giants wasted no time getting runs up on the board. They nearly batted around in the first inning, the big hit coming off the bat of Hunter Pence, who doubled to drive in a couple runs.

You can see similar results in a Google News search for "wasted no time" or "wasted little time".

A good homework assignment for a semantics course would be modeling the ambiguity in terms of formal logic. And a good assignment for a discourse-analysis or pragmatics course would be explaining the difference in relative frequency. I wonder whether ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok can provide sensible answers to those questions? I don't have time to check today, but I'll give it a try at some point if readers don't beat me to it…

Update — several commenters feel strongly that the dominant interpretation of these phrases is a logico-grammatical error. It wouldn't be the first time that we've documented standard quasi-idiomatic meaning reversals — see "Why are negations so easy to fail to miss?", 2/26/2004, and/or some of the other posts in the list at "No post too obscure to escape notice", 11/27/2009. But I'm not convinced — I think that the "got right to it" meaning is logico-grammatically valid, though I don't have time today to provide a detailed argument.

Update #2 — Commenter Seth links to a Quote Investigator post, "Quote Origin: Thank You for the Gift Book. I Shall Lose No Time In Reading It", 12/28/2012, which traces humorous uses of such phrases back to 1871, and underlines the fact that the ambiguity is indifferent to the choice of verb (waste or lose) and its tense.

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69799&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wasted-little-time-verb-ing

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69799

a place no chart nor ship can show

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Kind Hearts and Coronets, directed by Robert Hamer and written by John Dighton (1949)¹

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (1972)

***Steel Rain*, written/directed by Yang Woo-suk (2017)**

The Wellstone by Wil McCarthy (2003)

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (2021)

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Beginning on clearing up some open tabs, etc

Library lists

When Orcas Strike Back

When Orcas Strike Back

Read a New Murderbot Story for Free, Right After the Season Finale

Read a New Murderbot Story for Free, Right After the Season Finale

Wind and Truth Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12

Wind and Truth Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12

Meanwhile, at the Unintentionally Erotic Bakery... (Part 1)

Clarke Award Finalists 2004

Review: Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control

[#265] Dave's Devilishly Dubious Discreetness (Dayshift At Freddy's)

Our Rescued Female Pup Has a Name Now!

Connexions (22)

Comes a river running wild that will create an empire for you

Kim Possible: Fanfiction: Speaker Phone

Star Trek AOS: Wrote the Book by insaneidiot and Reena_Jenkins

Buddha statue and surrounding garden.

When AI took over Wimbledon

vital functions

…"wasted little time VERB.ing"…

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December 2021

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a place no chart nor ship can show

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Kind Hearts and Coronets, directed by Robert Hamer and written by John Dighton (1949)1

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (1972)

Steel Rain, written/directed by Yang Woo-suk (2017)

The Wellstone by Wil McCarthy (2003)

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (2021)

When Orcas Strike Back

Read a New Murderbot Story for Free, Right After the Season Finale

Wind and Truth Reread: Chapter 77, Interludes 11 and 12

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Kind Hearts and Coronets, directed by Robert Hamer and written by John Dighton (1949)¹

***Steel Rain*, written/directed by Yang Woo-suk (2017)**