: That's not what I'm asking about. You're big on the idea that they don't need
: to invent some new thing to have her be alive, and I want to know what
: things within the story they told and finished indicated some possibility
: of her being alive (because if you can't look at Halo 4 as a whole story,
: I don't know what you can look at as a whole story, because so many things
: are part of a larger whole while still being what I would consider
: sufficiently self-contained to be their own story).

And I've already outlined a few ideas in this thread that are sufficient for me to believe that it is certainly within the realm of established narrative possibility.

::: Yes, she does, because some things you can't fight.
:: Says who? This is sci fi,
: It can be sci-fi, it can be fantasy, it can be flying purple bananas, there
: are certain basic facts of life; including them makes a story relatable.
: The fact some things are unavoidable, and the fact sometimes you try your
: best and fail, are facts of life.

Yes. There are. There is also storytelling which challenges established 'facts of life'. And sci-fi is definitely a genre worthy of making those challenges! And if that's true, certainly any genre can even challenges its own in-universe 'facts of life'.

: You already admitted they're going for more than two more games (and really,
: I don't see a reasonable argument for them not making games until they
: stop being profitable), so there's no good reason to say it's 2/3 of the
: way through or 1/2 or anything else. It happened at the end of the
: specific story it was in, the story of Halo 4, which suggests finality.

All in the realm of speculation. At this point they've said 2 more games. So I'm running with that. With #6 estimated to be the last in John's arc, to me it seems silly to kill off Cortana with 2 games to go. That is my opinion on that aspect. You're free to disagree, of course.

: Well now I feel like a bit of a failure, because I've been bringing every bit
: of logic and rhetoric to bear and haven't been convincing at all.

Ok, well now I feel like a bit of a failure, because I've been bringing every bit of logic and rhetoric to bear and haven't been convincing at all, either. Goes both ways :P So let's part ways on this.
(Not that I've been trying to convince, moreso than explain my opinion as feasible; admittedly an effort that tends to be bound for failure anyway)

: Looking back, you didn't, I just thought you did by your response to me
: stating that. I maintain the original trilogy was mainly about the
: Covenant and the Flood and how they interact with various aspects of the
: universe, and Bungie (or some of their writers) made statements to that
: effect.
: Halo 3 strayed from that, but as much as it strayed to humanize the Chief and
: Cortana,* it strayed just as much to bring in Forerunner elements.
: Halo 4 was a very different thing, and intentionally so. Most of those
: differences I either dislike or have no strong feelings about, but I
: really liked the way they handled Cortana.

Yes, there are plenty of other elements that make Halo Halo. I never debated that. I said that Chief & Cortana have always been at the center. ODST was about ODSTs. Reach was about a new band of Spartans. Other games were about other characters. Halo 1-4 have always had Chief & Cortana as the core, and necessarily their relationship; it's a running theme. My opinion is that for 5 and 6, the theme surrounding these two will either focus on John finding a way to revive Cortana in some form, or John finding a way to grow and move on without her. I would personally prefer the former, and that's what I am coming to expect.
Is that enough explanation to turn away more quibbling that it's not a feasible or reasonable expectation? ;P

: That's the weird thing, because I thought I was like that, and I've sided
: with you before in not being concerned about certain things, but I think
: bringing her back would be a clear case of bad writing, and you're not
: only unconcerned about it, you want it to happen.

Because I wouldn't think it's bad writing. But that's just me. I suppose my standards are different. Why, pray tell, would I want there to be bad writing? I don't want to debate whether something is 'bad' or not. That's quite subjective and pointless.

: Of course, I'm more
: concerned with the effect of a story than what is or isn't considered bad
: writing-- if I thought about it I'm sure I could name some things that I
: acknowledge are badly written but that I still like-- but this wouldn't
: just be bad writing, it would weaken the story for me, not to mention my
: already very shaky faith in the people telling it (if you can't stick to
: your own story, why should I bother following it?).

*shrug* That's why it's great we have a variety of preferences. People want different things. I'm sure there are things I'd think would be a 'bad idea' as well, but I realize that I can't really make that judgement until the production is finished and I see how such 'bad ideas' were implemented. I've been surprised before. And if I discover certain things have been planned all along, that tends to make me appreciate it more, even if I used think something would be 'bad idea' (mainly because in looking back I failed to see the bigger picture).

: but yeah, I also do want to be right , whatever that even
: means in a case like this, because as you point out a lot of it comes down
: to opinion and even more of it comes down to preference.

Agreed

::: Halo doesn't use an omniscient narrator, and that doesn't work with a lot of
::: stories.
:: Most novels do.
: Most games don't, including Halo games (there was that bit in the last
: cutscene of Reach, otherwise no narration I'm aware of). I don't think
: it's reasonable to doubt major parts of a story unless some all-knowing
: voice proclaims them to you, when the story or line of stories has never
: used that before and hasn't deliberately mislead you in the past (at
: least, Halo hasn't done that that I can think of).

Sure. And it's all how we take it in. I've been fooled before, so I tend to look at the bigger picture more than just what is directly put in front of my eyes or ears. If characters are talking about something, I don't necessarily consider their words explicit truth; it's their perception and understanding of truth at the moment. If a narrator states something outside the realm of character perception, I generally consider that a much more rock-solid statement of fact. As Halo doesn't have that, I'm free to look at other established canon and info, and decide for myself if I believe certain scenes and interactions to be establishing an explicit truth, or not.
And no, I'm not a fan of the "it was all a dream" out. :P

: * for the record I'm still not on board with humanizing the Chief as much
: as we've seen, I believe he was intended to be a shell that the player was
: supposed to fill, a little bit of practical intelligence, professionalism,
: and dry sarcastic wit stuck to the inside of an empty suit of armor, and I
: believe that's where he works best

I get that too. Halo has definitely evolved since its early implementations... I suppose it would have been hard to keep him as an empty shell and still tell the stories they wanted to tell. Sometimes I wonder if much of the Halo universe was designed around this video-game-character mentality; that is, finding a way to make 'an empty shell' work in a sci-fi plot.
Well let's see, the character would have to be a personality-less machine (establish upbringing) that is able to make use of heavy weaponry to some game-mechanic degree (mjolir, establish military) with a reason to be an independent foot soldier (purpose and commission) with comparable antagonistic competition (high tech alien race), etc etc :)

If I remember correctly, didn't Bungie initially say they hadn't really developed much of a story beyond the initial game, and it was its eventual popularity that had them flesh it out and increase the storyworld?

Have you read the official Doom novels? Now those were fun :) Talk about making a character out of an empty space marine shell...