Idea on how MinMax and KEN could get back together

[TrueFederalist]

I have no idea if Thunt intends that to happen, or if this is how it'll happen, but I did think of one possible way.

Why should that sword be the only thing MinMax can pull out of thin air? What if he could pull out anything that had been consigned to oblivion? Granted, there's no way he'd be able to intentionally pull anything out, but he might someday discover he call pull "random" items out that were consigned to oblivion. If he were to pull out the KEN necklace, then once it's no longer in oblivion, Kin should remember it being made and thus remember why she trusted him. She's also smart enough to realize why the necklace disappeared in the first place.

[Krulle]

I don't think so. What went into oblivion never existed in the first place, and the sword just was lucky as it had specific protections against its own destruction.

This would be a bit too much "out of the blue", IMHO.
Nothing in the story so far suggests this.
The sword exists, and is not oblivioned.
The necklace never existed. Any reference to it comes out of your own imagination.
;)

Oh, and welcome to the forum, TrueFederalist!

[SpellsBedly]

Kin already knows Minmax really does "see" her. She saw the blood on his hand and realized it wasn't a spider bite she felt earlier. By now, she probably figured out the other Kin did something to erase part of their history together, although it might be impossible to determine what exactly.

The real question would be: what is she going to do about it? The simple solution would seem to be drinking tea and thinking of Minmax. Maybe she can't do that because the maze exists outside time and space, and Minmax and forgath do not have a location in the moment between their departure into the maze and their exit from it, and can therefor not be teleported to by someone who went in at the same time. Kin knows the Goblins, but as far as I know she does not realize they are the same goblins, so she will not teleport to them either.

It's not even sure she'll use the teapot. Maybe she'll adventure with the other Kins a while and than use the normal exit, still starting her off at the exact moment Minmax and Forgath enter the main reality again, but miles away from their location, and with no idea where to go.

Or maybe she doesn't want to go to Minmax, or not now at least. Maybe she thinks "it's better this way".

One way or another, it looks like someone is up for an epic journey.

[BuildsLegos]

I doubt she's forgotten that the Silkscale clan is a dozen or so miles directly south of the Maze of Many.

[Liquidmark]

How's this?

1) She realizes that she was duped because Minmax can really 'See' her.
2) She uses the normal exit to leave the maze.
3) She travels to deliver the teapot to the silk scale clan.
4) She uses the pot to teleport to minmax just in time to help save MM and the Goblins from Kore.

You just know that she will be some high-level monster by the time she leaves the maze.

[BuildsLegos]

That's what I keep thinking, optimisticly. The (seemingly popular) notion that she would completely give up her clan's treasure and use it to reunite with the man who gained her trust only to reinact the trauma she's trying to recover from is, to me, rape culture.

[YardMeat]

That's what I keep thinking, optimisticly. The (seemingly popular) notion that she would completely give up her clan's treasure and use it to reunite with the man who gained her trust only to reinact the trauma she's trying to recover from is, to me, rape culture.

Let me preface this by saying that MM's actions were--of course--foolish, unjustifiable, hurtful, morally reprehensible and that Kin does not owe him forgiveness, despite his immediate acknowledgement of his foolishness and his attempt to abandon it.

I'm just curious: are you saying that it would be rape culture for the two of them to end up together, or just that it would be rape culture for her to abandon her quest to be with him? To me it would seem that, if it is rape culture, then it is rape culture for the two of them to end up together, whether she takes a detour first or not.

My own opinion, in addition to what I've stated above, is that this is Kin's choice. She doesn't have to forgive him, nor should she be condemned if she decides to do so. On thing we should prepare for, though, is that all narrative signs point to her forgiving MM and the two of them becoming a couple. Keep in mind Thunt's reference to "I see you" when he proposed to Danielle. The say that MM and Kin won't becoming romantically entangled would require either:

1) Believing that the "I see you" line will come from someone other than MM or Kin. This is highly, highly unlikely, seeing as they are the only two people in the story so far who do "see" each other and having it happen for two other characters would require them to become aware of Kin's race's (what are we calling them now?) tradition and for it to suddenly be a phenomenon that can occur between two non-snake-beings.

2) Believing that the "I see you" line will not end with romantic involvement, which would call into question why Thunt would use the line when discussing his engagement.

[BuildsLegos]

What I meant is exactly what I said: delivering the teapot at this point is the only option, no matter what happens after. And I'll be totally fine when they inevitably get back together, but Minmax has a lot to make up for.

[YardMeat]

I was asking for clarification on what you said because I was having trouble understanding it; I didn't get how it was rape culture if she made that decision now and went straight to him, but it wouldn't be if she dropped off the teapot first.

MM certainly has a lot to make up for, no argument there, but I also don't see why she is obligated to fulfill her duties to her clan if she decides that this is a bigger priority to her. IMO anyway, it's completely up to her to set her own priorities, and she does not owe her clan or MM anything that she does not wish to grant.

That said, I think the popular opinion now is that she will drop off the teapot, otherwise she would already be reunited with him at this point.

[BuildsLegos]

That's just it, though. It's not Kin that I would be upset with in the hypothetical, it would be Thunt for ignoring the strong negative feelings that he generated with their departure. Going back to him now, even though he's well-meaning, would show that she's willing to give up not just her resposability, but her dignity as well. After her failed escape, Kin's vow to "never run away again" was an implied vow to kill Goblinslayer, and then she made good on it the first chance she got. Now that Minmax has shown himself to not be sufficiently better, the only respectable reason now to return to him would be murder. But that is of course overkill, because Minmax has also shown a willingness for self-improvement. The only sane option is middle-ground: give the matter time and if Kin does find him, Minmax needs to show that he's not so selfish anymore.

[ChuckDaRighteous]

A lot depends on the technical rules of both the maze and oblivion lite.

There are several ways in which she could realize their love.
1) The maze resets. Oblivion lite eliminates both the item and memory of it. however oblivion is limited to the pocket universe the maze is in. So is the source of the reset within the effects of oblivion lite. Could it potentially reproduce the necklace?
2) The necklace itself wasn't the reason why she loved Minmax. (If that was the key to love, even I'd be able to figure out women.) However, it was a physical reminder of the the birthday party he gave her, and all attempts to see her for the person she is. So if she takes a moment to reflect upon her time with him, she may be able to remember the underlying emotions the necklace evoked. Considering the emotional typhoon she's undergoing self-reflection upon her relationship isn't out of the question.
3) She realizes something important has been obliviated. She might be able to realize that something important to her emotional stability has been obliviated. She might be able to to decipher it was something that linked her to minmax emotionally, and decide to reconstruct her self.
4) Finally they could "reconstruct the maze" The oblivion is a product of mathematical construction. I wouldn't put it past the Kins collective intelligence to reverse the effect and in the process, bring back the necklace.

[Krulle]

Indeed. A lot depends on what happens if the maze resets with all the oblivion holes.
Many parts of the maze have disappeared already.
But the MoM likely has a protection against it's own destruction.
And it recreates everything as it was the moment "it" entered the MoM.
And when Kin entered the MoM, she had the necklace.
But oblivion means she never had the necklace.
And it never existed in the outside world. (Just like Minmax always wore only one shoe, and never wore pants)
So she never entered the MoM with a necklace.
And thus some parts of the MoM never existed, and the MoM was created with shining white holes eating everything which touches them.

Won't make new MoM runs easier.... But then there are shortcuts which have been created together with the MoM which make some rooms of the MoM pointless...