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I'm a fan from Taiwan and I've got this clue for a long time (over a year) When Brandon came to Taipei last spring, I asked him the Vessel name of Cultivation and I got the reply like this: Q: Please tell me the name of holder of Cultivation A: Hoid calls her SLAMMER... but that's not her real name As we've known that Tanavast had used some way to prevent Odium from escaping Greater Roshar (solar system), mentioned in the Letter in WoR Would it be possible that Cultivation inherit, or engage in the captivation plan to seal Odium? Ps: yeah the Roshar at the bottom is my own recreation XD

Long Game 22, Day 3: The Mother's Last Embrace Douza stalked the village at night, his huge hammer slung over his shoulder as he roamed the shadows and the outskirts of the town. He didn't really know what he was looking for, or why he was out meandering about in such dangerous times, with such dark and deadly undercurrents attempting to tear the town he knew and loved apart. But he also knew that he couldn't sit idly by and wait for something to happen because that just wasn't in his nature. He peeked again at the huge steel hammer he was carrying about, as a stray beam of moonlight fell upon the intricately carved hammerhead, reflecting a silvery flash of light. Funny, he thought to himself, I don't even remember where or when I picked this hammer up. It was as if one day he just woke up and it was sitting there in the corner of his house. Most remarkably, he didn't even think of it as odd, and in fact, he remembered it feeling right somehow, as if it had always belonged there. Foolish fancies, of course. That giant hammer stood for everything he was against. Sure, a hammer wasn't strictly a tool for violence, and some could argue it could be used to create and help, somehow, but he just couldn't convince himself that that was the case with his hammer. It's hefty weight, solid frame, and the familiarity he felt when swinging it, he knew deep down that there was only one purpose for this hammer. Years as a village Wisdom -- practiced in secret, of course -- had taught him that sometimes there was no use putting it off. When a limb was too festered and rotted, when the infection would spread and threaten the host, sometimes you just had to remove the limb entirely. Before the corruption could spread and consume the whole body. That was how he looked at it, so despite the years of medical training and practicing the art of saving lives, Douza found himself walking about Drell's Crossing after hours, trying to find the storm that his senses told him was brewing. Most people always thought that Wisdoms only specialized in herbs and healing people, discounting their claims of reading the wind, being more in-tuned with the weather. Douza knew better. That was one of the reasons he had pursued such an unusual -- and often ridiculed -- career as the town's Wisdom. Everybody always maintained that only women could be healers, that only women were compassionate and smart enough to protect people from death. Men were just too brutish, slow and stubborn. No way they could heal. I guess they're not too far off on that one, he thought wryly, glancing back up at his hammer, suppressing a sigh. Douza didn't know why his weather senses told him that there was an impossibly huge and fierce storm raging right on top of him right now, when the sky was clear, and the large shiny moon was reflecting along the riverbank on a perfectly cool, breezy night. It just didn't make sense. He shook his head one last time, pausing at the riverfront, reflecting on his reflection. A healer at heart, a warrior in appearance. He knew his inner-turmoil would end up tearing him apart before too long. A man couldn't push himself to both extremes, keeping at odds with himself and his true nature. No matter how right the hammer felt, it's comfortable weight resting on his shoulder. NO! He told himself, rejecting the even heavier burden that was weighing him down. There just wasn't something right with what was going on. As a healer, he should've seen the festering wounds that had buried deeply into the heart of Drell's Crossing. Ever since the death of poor old Mayor Twim, something had become wrong. The darkfriends and everything else was proof enough of that. Bloody ashes! He cursed at himself for not seeing it sooner. As a healer and a Wisdom, he should've known better. Should've known that it would take special work and intricate care to help reknit the community and love that had once help the village together. And that was the work of a healer. With a resolute decision, he hefted the hammer up, rejecting the weight and darkness it had held over his heart, knowing it to be the symbol of what had been holding him back. And with a heavy heave, with as much strength as he could muster, he tossed the hammer into the river, turning his back on that path. Embracing his new purpose. He started to stroll back towards the village, feeling renewed and invigorated for the first time in what seemed weeks. So determined was he, that he never even heard the wolves slip in silently behind him. Stalking and shadowing him, waiting for the moment to strike. Douza never made it back to Drell's Crossing. His healing touch never felt again. *** Keland stood behind the bar, polishing the same glass for much longer than was necessary, or expected out of a bored innkeeper trying to find menial tasks to fill the night. The night had died off early, with guests and patrons alike all retiring to bed earlier than Keland would have preferred. Idle time meant idle thoughts, and thoughts like that were ones that Keland couldn't afford right now. He found himself humming an old, somber song under their breath, trying to remember where he had heard the tune and lyrics before, for surely he would have remembered hearing something as ominous as, "Trust is the color of death". He snorted at the irony, or really, the lack of it. Trust had certainly been in short supply lately, especially here at The Golden Dagger. It had seemed like the only reason people seemed to gather around anymore was to look at each other all askew, waiting for the slightest provocation or insult to go off on each other with. Why, Keland himself had found himself in more than a handful of heated arguments himself lately. As if the innkeeper couldn't be trusted! It was simply bad for business. Settling down in this quiet, reserved town had definitely been a change of pace from what Keland was used to, and the Creator must have had some sense of humor to find an old warder -- bones weary and mind full of wonderful adventures -- settling down in a town like this. Drell's Crossing had a way of making the past melt away, leaving them nothing but foggy memories, seeming like they happened to somebody else, in some different life. Things are different now, though, he told himself, keeping a wary eye for anything wrong or out of place. A lifetime of protecting the person on the other end of his bond had prepared him for moments like these, when a single missed detail could cost the life of many people, or even his own. Keland had always prided himself in seeing things that other people normally didn't, finding connections and subtle nuances that helped paint a bigger picture of what was really going on. And Keland knew that there was still something he was missing. That all of this just didn't feel right. It was as if a shadow had been permanently cast over the town since the old mayor's death. He could feel a pressure growing, slowly drawing the town tighter and tighter until something would snap. Keland intended to be long gone before that tension broke, or that bloody storm the town Wisdom had kept worrying about that had never come. Keland looked up out the window to the clear, cloudless sky, remarking on the haunting beauty of the moon. The howling chorus of wolves breaking the silence in the night broke him out of his trance, making him shake his head and wonder how much time he had wasted just staring at the sky. He shook his head again, laughing at himself. Some bloody good warder you are. There was a sudden noise from behind him, coming from the back storage room where he kept the extra supplies and barrels of ale. Senses suddenly sharp and alert, the years of training slid back over him, making the years disappear from his body as he found himself already halfway to the backroom in three long strides, counting on the element of surprise to catch the intruder off guard as he kicked the door open off it's hinges, crashing into the room roaring like a pack of bloody black-veiled aiel. Somebody yelled out and Keland had grabbed at their wrists, getting ready to pivot all of their weight into a hiptoss, bringing them down to the ground and disarming them at the same time. Another quick yelp and a muffled curse stopped him short of that. "Bloody fish guts!" Witless finally managed, eyes wide with alarm. "What did you do that for? They way you burst in here I would've thought a pack of hellhounds were hot on your tail!" Keland sighed. Witless had always been one to exaggerate. Then again, he wasn't the one who had busted in on his half brother like a crazed maniac. "Light, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to sleep in the stables tonight." Witless cried out, raising his hands up defensively. Keland sighed, apologizing and telling them it was fine. In fact, he wouldn't mind having the company tonight. He had always had a soft spot for his half brother, even if they did like to run around the town telling people how he had aiel blood in him, and was destined to become mayor one day. Poor,witless fool. Feeling a bit foolish himself, Keland apologized again before leaving Witless to his own devices, going back out into the common room. In the few minutes he had spent in there, the fire in the hearth seemed to have died out a little bit as the shadows were being cast a little bit further now, and the room was considerably cooler now. Keland could even feel a slight draft. He paused, frowning at the front door to the inn, which was cracked open and allowing the draft in. Funny, he thought, I coulda swore I locked that up already.... He cautiously walked toward the door, telling himself it wasn't just paranoia. He got there, peeking his head out the door and looking left and right.....seeing absolutely nothing. Nobody stirred, even the wind seemed to have died down, leaving a calm, quiet night. Hopefully quiet that wouldn't be distu-- A slight creaking of the floorboard was all the warning Keland had, as he tossed himself to the side, barely feeling the knife pass through the skin along his side as he could tell he barely avoided a lethal stab at the last second. He landed in a rolling somersault, but landed on the side that had just been stabbed, as the blow took the breath out of him and made his knees buckle at the last second, sending him sprawling. That's what you get for getting old and complacent, he told himself as he tried to get back up, to face his assailant on his feet. He would at least look the coward in the eye when he died. And maybe take them out with him, if the light was willing. "The Great Lord sends their regards, and soon, you shall be joined in the grave by the rest of these miserable fools" The darkfriend gloated, face hidden in the shadows, their voice a low growl. Their hands snapped out, and Keland knew there was no dodging it, so he tried to charge instead. The first dagger punched into his shoulder, the force of the throw like a weighted punch, pushing him back and down to one knee. He didn't even feel the second dagger as it took him in the chest. They took their time, slowly walking over, keeping a wary eye on him, waiting for him to spring up again one last time. They knew not to take a warder lightly. Keland spit blood at them. "Light curse you!" He panted, his breathing starting to get heavier, as he spit up more blood. He could feel it filling his lungs. He had seen more than enough people die from the same injuries in his life. "I'll not give you the satisfaction of begging or groveling," Keland said, offering his last form of defiance. "Don't worry, the only satisfaction I seek is that of your death." And with that, the darkfriend jumped forward and slashed quickly, the dagger a shining blur as he felt the hot sting of it draw across his neck, and the last of his strength poured out of him and onto the floorboards. "That.....that stain will.....will never come out....." Were Keland's last thoughts as he drifted off to death. And he was ready for the last embrace of the Mother to welcome him home. *** The prisonder heard the jingling of keys and the sudden, sharp groaning sounds of the metal bars being tossed open. Rough hands seized them, yanking them to their feet as they were pushed blindly along a hallway. "Good morrow," a voice said, muffled from the cloth sack tossed over the prisoner's head. "You are free to go, and have a good morning, and may the light illuminate you." And with that they were pushed back out into the village, the door slamming behind them. The prisoner was ready to start a new day. I wonder who the mayor will have us kill today.... they thought morbidly, as they made their way back home and to see what they missed in the intervening night. ----------------------------------------------- Somebody was Detained! Wilson was killed by Darkfriends! She was a Village Warder! Twei was killed by Wolves! They were a village Wisdom! I'll get PMs and results out as soon as I can, and just let me know if you have any questions or see any errors. Day 3 will last for 48hours and the cycle will end at 10PM EST, Saturday the 11th, Remember that PMs are closed for the Day cycle. Happy lynchings.

Hello! I stumbled upon this site via twitter and thought it would be a good idea to join! Just so you all know where I am in the reading of Sanderson's work, I have read Mistborn/Wax&Wayne, Warbreaker, Elantris, and Stormlight twice. I've planned to read Reckoners next month after I finish a reread of another series. Anyways, I hope to read some great theories on here and finally have some people to talk to about the awesomeness of the Cosmere!

Ok, I think I just found another one in my new edition of Evil Librarians. In the Author's Foreword, 2nd paragraph (not counting "I am not a good person"), we find this sentence: Now, Dan Wells has a book (ebook only at this point) titled A Night of Blacker Darkness: Being the Memoir of Frederick Whithers as Edited by Cecil G Bagsworth III. Given that Dan and Brandon are Writing Excuses buddies...

We applaud you. Thank you for sharing the light. I tell as many people as possible about how great Sanderson stuff is. They probably get tired of it. I find a way to recommend it to anybody. For example: I like... | So read... ----------|------------ Romances | Warbreaker; Mistborn; WoR Vampires | Elantris Dystopian | Mistborn; Warbreaker Westerns | Wax and Wayne Politics | All of them, seriously (Warbreaker) Movies | Mistborn Rocks | Stormlight Nothing | Everything This isn't a comprehensive list but gives you an idea of how I talk. "I'm really hungry." "It's a good thing you're male. Men's food seems to be more savory. It's okay. I like sweet things." "I wish I could be Spiderman." "You know, Coinshots are kind of like Spiderman. Close enough, anyway." "I hate every presidential candidate." "I'm just glad we have candidates and not gods that take our life force and never seem to do anything." Every Sanderson reference is a possible gateway into the best thing ever.

Although "Terran" would be a more proper term. Anywho, fingers crossed, I'm hoping this won't end up like Tumblr where I wasted half a year away, and when I finally looked up from the computer, I had F's in half my classes, I had become distant to my family, and I had grown a beard. The beard was especially shocking, seeing as how I'm a girl. I just wanted a place where I could chat with people of similar interests and hopefully see some cool fanart for the works of an author who is sadly underrated.

I had the opportunity to help playtest the game so hopefully I can provide some useful insight here I will say this straight up: If you don't like games that have a significant deal-making component this may not be the game for you. With that said, I think the game is really good. The design is solid and highly enjoyable. If you consider the conflict and competition between the houses an integral part of the mistborn era 1 setting then it fits the setting well. (I do think it is, but that's one of the main pillars of my MAG campaign so I may feel it's more significant than others would.) In any case you really don't need to be familiar with the setting to play the game. The setting is more than just a skin, but it doesn't require knowledge of the world to enjoy. It's also sufficiently different from other games my family, friends and I already own (which is an almost embarrassingly large number ) which is definitely a plus. It doesn't feel like a different version of an existing game.

I'm probably obsessed with this idea, but I do think there's one point not really accounted for: - How much influence are the Unmade having on the once Heralds? There has been quite a bit of implication that the Honorblades, besides granting Surge pairs, go above-and-beyond what the spren chose to imitate. The Prelude with Kalak's POV corroborates this, and "Taln's", if we assume he's the real one. Between whatever the Gift is, in addition to the fact that the Honorblades show nothing of their elaborate and beautiful designs (more on this in a sec), it's clear that the Heralds had something else going on for them beyond simply having access to their two Surges. What does this have to do with the Unmade? I'm getting there, but first: "I'm worried about Ash." ... "She's getting worse. We weren't supposed to get worse." Why would they need to worry about "getting worse" unless they're being affected by something? This implies that the Heralds previously were not, again suggestive of some form of protection they no longer have. Note also, that this observation of 'getting worse' happened to transpire exactly six years ago, which is when the initial candidates were being chosen for Nahel bonds. Jasnah had her pronounced experience right before that overheard conversation, and this is also the time period Shallan had it occur as well*, which is also identified by Taravangian as when Moelach's Death Rattles began. Between the presumed Heralds 'getting worse', and a sudden change in certain supernatural events, I think it's safe to say that the Listeners' gods -- who I think are pretty clearly the Unmade -- were starting to stir, and thereby plucking at people more so than they would in the past**. We have both WoB (about Shallan's father) and even a direct Hoid statement (to Shallan***) that people on Roshar can be affected to take a darker -- dare I say more destructive? -- mindset on matters, to say nothing of what the Thrill does to people. It stands to reason, therefore, that if something is happening to the Heralds, enough so that it's observable and a concern to at least one of them, then it stands to reason that they are likely being targetted by this. After all, 'the enemy' would surely know who they are, what they represent, and very much want to get them out of the way of being a threat. How better to do that than to corrupt them into doing the enemy's work while making it seem their own idea? Odium may not be able to do so directly (because of the Oathpact, perhaps), but he does have Splinters of his Shard on Roshar (the Unmade) that undoubtedly could do that for him... especially if the Heralds had rescinded each and every bond to their Honorblades that gave them that extra bit of advantage. So do I think Nale's crazy? Yes and no. I think he's going down a similar path that Shalash is, but "meting out Justice" in a more twisted way. I think that this nudging towards the Dark Side, so to speak, is what's really going on, and then he just kept on going because the strings had been attached on account of no longer being bound to the Oathpact's protective aspect. And I do think there is evidence that the Heralds had that and more going for them. Their extended lifespans are only part of that. The real question is what did Nale and the others really do to themselves when they foreswore their oaths? * She states she's seventeen to Sebarial, and her flashback identifies her as eleven years when her mother died, which pinpoints her learning to Lightweave as the same era as the other original candidates (she hadn't done it for a long time before her mother's death). ** I'd give a great deal to know how active they were during non-Desolation periods, or if they mostly slumbered. *** He states what Shallan is fighting isn't completely natural. It's debatable how natural the Shard Odium is in general, but either way it's pretty clear that something supernatural is going on with her father, and so far only the Unmade really fall into the category of "direct supernatural antagonist", as shown by Nohadon's in-passing statement regarding Yelig-nar.

So I've finally had the time and motivation to finish a long term project of mine, a timeline of events for Words of Radiance. Before I officially post it though I could really use another set of eyes to go over it just to make sure everything works out. http://coppermind.net/wiki/User:WeiryWriter/Timeline/Words_of_Radiance

I have a couple of minor things that I want to say, and I will try and tie them into some actual suspicions and a vote a bit later in the cycle. The first one is something that has been bugging me a bit, and that is when people say that we need "focus on Fain" or "focus on the Darkfriends." As far as I can tell, both of those statements are equivalent to "play mafia as a villager," since we don't really have any way to distinguish the corrupted from the Darkfriends. And nobody that has made a post along those lines and then gone on to say what sorts of changes we should make to go about hunting one team over the other. So when I post my suspicions later, people with posts along the lines of what I mentioned will be higher up than others. The other thing is much less important, and I just want to agree with Mailliw (and disagree with phatt) about vigilante roles. I have a different reason though. It is often implied that we should not kill this person or lynch this cycle or use vigilante kills or whatever because of roles. Roles are important, I acknowledge that. But we can't let roles be a reason not to kill people. We have Troll GMs, if you hadn't noticed. And vanilla roles can totally win a game by themselves, and probably have much more fun than a game where everyone gets scanned by a protected person. Okay, so that's what I wanted to say, and I know that both of those points are more meta/gameplay related as opposed to being useful for finding Darkfriends. What I said is also just my opinion. But I feel like they have each come up enough that they were worth mentioning.

Today this terrible and enlightening revelation fell upon my mind in its full abstract glory, while I was doing a calculus test: You are only doing it right if after staring long enough at the numbers and formulae, you feel things staring back. If I had choosen the path of a mathematician, I am sure I would be able to hear them whisper by now. EDIT: no, I am not on drugs, and I am also not that sleep deprived. I've just found the truth.

I have started watching Doctor Who, and i'm starting to understand why it's so wildly liked. It's ridiculous. I've only watched three Episodes, the first three of season 9, where I was recommended to start, and I've already seen a mannequin pretending to be a real boy, a garbage bin eat a man, a tree-woman burst into flame needlessly, and Charles Dickens committing Arson and Genocide. And they're way to casual about death. I think over half of the people I've seen on screen have died already.

I gotcha lol Actually I think is does count. It comes from the same power source, Preservation. Tony's various armors all use the same power source, the arc reactor. In order to produce an aluminum alloy that is resistant to allomancy, but still able to provide tensile strength, durability, and not hamper any of the on board systems including weaponry, flight, and circuitry would require building a brand new armor. Same thing with weaponry. By providing Tony the capability to tailor his armor specifically to fight and kill a mistborn is tipping it far in his favor. The mistborn would have no way of compensating. It literally cannot alter its own powers it was born with to counter Tony's. Which is why I suggested the medallions. Without compounding, and allowing a selection of powers, the mistborn would have a finite resource to counter Tony, while his armor never runs out of aluminum, and lasers. I see that as perfectly balanced. Every instance we have seen where metal pierces the skin enough to not be pushed on was either spikes driven through the body, bracers that pierced deeply the meat of the arm and was used by an individual that could heal, a knife in the arm of another individual that could heal, or earrings that half of the metal material is inside the skin. The Iron Man suit would have to become an Iron Maiden to accomplish that lol Picture this for round 2/round 3. Iron Man flying around in broken down city, aluminum armor in sustained low flight so as not to overhead and slag his jets with his Aluminum pneumatic darts and shrapnel aluminum grenades. Mistborn is dodging and jumping between buildings, shivering from storing all their heat into the bronze medallion to avoid coming up on Iron Man's infrared. Battles are sudden, and violent, with both quickly retreating to recoup. Tony trying to repair what damage done, and avoid calling in new replacements too soon as to give away his position. Mistborn digging the aluminum darts out of his or her body as cannot be healed around it. Steadily burning pewter to shrug off the pain for now and save the gold from the medallion for something worse. Both then begin to hunt once again. Come on and tell me that kind of fight doesn't sound awesome?

Using Cultivation against her will wouldn't be very Honorable, though. I know Shardholders can sometimes do things against their mandate, but that seems fairly extreme. I suspect if she is part of it, it was willing rather than forced. jW

Deathgale dissolved parts of himself into smoke, to avoid the bloodspaltters staining his suit. A minor slight compared to the annoyance of Antimatter setting terms, even if they were reasonable enough that they didn’t require punishment. Deathgale turned to Harkness. He was of course in a much better condition, which meant he could not bring forth an excuse for delaying work until later. Good. Deathgale didn’t belittle Mary’s skill to track down someone’s movement within the city but there had not yet been an opportunity to infect Ragnarok, so there was little she could do if he left the city bounds. “Seeing how you already appear to be familiar with this Ragnarok Epic, I’ll leave you with trying to track him down, while Antimatter is out of commission,” Deathgale said. He pulled out the flask containing Mary’s blood. “I do not however expect you to actually kill him on your own.” With that he flicked a bit of the blood on Harkness clothes. “That will be enough for Bloody Mary to have an eye on you and intervene if you come across Ragnarok. Otherwise we will summon you for the meeting once Antimatter returns.”

Well... They could use mask of mirrors and get one last look at themselves.

I have no problem that she's good with numbers but not forceful or shrewd enough to negotiate with traders. I thought that the main criticism (and forgive me if I'm restating the obvious) was that she is intelligent enough to know her limitations and not to exceed her abilities. I will rest on the fact however that her actions reduced their losses by 80% (20 instead of 25), so it's Prot's analysis that she barely exceed what they would have got if the spices were dumped that seems uncharacteristically off-base to me for a shrewd operator like he is supposed to be.

Definitely not. He was working on his thirteenth novel before his first sale came in (Elantris, his 6th novel). He spent eight years writing because he loved it, even though he had been rejected again and again. He strikes me as the definition of someone doing what they love for its own sake, and lucky for him, he's now getting paid 6-figure advances for doing it... but that was not the case for a very long time.

My needs: 1. Books 2. 17th shard 3. Cookies 4. Fluffy pillows and blankets 5. Warmth EDIT: 1100 replies to this topic!

I ate too much. Food coma incoming. Blanket fort is needed.

Just finished Shawshank Redemption for the first time. It left me very satisfied at the end. I now see why it's on all the top movie lists.

In the end if the guards are made of Alluminium, Zahel have to recognize the metal.... But of course He may refuse to spread this information. But it seems to me unlikely that the guards are Alluminium made for 2 reason, one worthless and one worthy: - This doesn't fit my Alluminium's oddity theory (this is the worthless one ) - If they may create Alluminium and Alluminium stops Shardblades, you may see all the nations began to mass produce Allumin to stop the overpowered Shardbearer (well at least to remove their fearsome weapon)..... Of course this is the Worthy one PS: but if I don't remember wrong the guard adjusts itself to perfectly cover everykind of Blade. Probably it's made of whatever made the Oathgate's lock.

Oh, how fun! *rubs hands together* He was in the room before the antechamber of the church where Wax and Steris were before they entered the main dome room, that means, he didn't get wet (the water tower fell on the dome). (BoM, page 9) It's likely that he left again (through the antechamber's doors) and was not there to 'get wet' when the tower fell on the dome. Either way, he wasn't in the part of the church that got flooded. Why would that effect Awakening? Vasher made a Lifeless squirrel, that does NOT have a human shape. Awakened things don't HAVE to have a human shape to Awaken, it's just easier because it's easier for humans to imagine them being Endowed with life and doing human-like things, but other things that can have life (Squirrel, dog, etc.) can also be Awakened, so...yeah. The limits of Awakening, to some extent, are limited by the Awakener's imagination. A kandra who obtained Breath would obtain Breath like a human, why would it be any different? Kandra can speak the Command, they also have Spirit Webs that Breath can attach or unattach to. There really is no problem here. Also, kandra have cognitive awareness, and, while they have a kandra brain kandra prefer to use humanoid True Bodies for the most part (that is, other than TenSoon). I think a kandra could understand that, to use this bit of Investiture, they need to conceive of picture of that strawdude (like Vasher uses) acting a certain way. Why would they have any issue conceiving a Command like "pick up keys"? Kandra know that hands/fingers pick up keys, and could imagine a strawdude (or a cloak with tassels) doing so like a humanoid would. They would have no issues, yes,they are blobs, but they are shapeshifting blobs that are mostly in a HUMAN(OID) SHAPE and, for the most part, prefers that shape. No, kandra should have no logical issues with Awakening, their nature might make it a little easier because I imagine they...have some interesting ideas of what body-parts can do (lips on hands!)... Maybe they can imagineer weird Commands because of their nature as shapeshifters, I can only really see that as actually advantageous in Awakening, flexible minds seem way more useful for that sort of thing. Well, he does seem to have a somewhat good grasp on Investiture and how things work, so, hijacking a system to do something cool for kicks seems plausible to me, especially because Sanderson said we are seeing people use Awakening in "interesting ways" (the WoB is on the first page in the intro to the topic). All this is to say I agree with Argent, luckily, this is one of my more sane theories, too.

huh, now I have to wonder: how would a shardblade react if you tried to cut through an awakened object? would it phase through it like it does for living tissue or just cut it like it does for unliving things? re: black hole from compounding: a couple things, most of which are random speculation by someone who only took 1 semester of physics. 1. when pulling a massive store of an attribute from a metalmind, there is a loss of power as compared to pulling the same amount out over a longer time (Sazed originally calls this compounding, and says something about how you'd lose some of the stored attribute) not sure how much you lose, or even what sort of equations govern it. at a guess, the amount needed increases faster than linearly. 2. black holes are based on mass and density, not weight. you aren't exerting extra gravity on anything, it is being exerted on you (though equal and opposite reaction and all, I wonder if you would actually be pulling up on the planet, and how that migth effect things) that said, that much weight would definitely crush you pretty flat, so compressing yourself small enough to become a black hole might still be possible but... 3. for a human being of roughly 75 kg (165 pounds, which seems reasonably close to average. we aren't going to be far enough off to make a huge difference either way) you'd need to get down to a radius of 1.1x10-24 meters if I did my calculations correctly (I might not have) which, according to wikipedia is smaller than an electron. 4. not going to post the numbers here, but I fiddled around with some black hole equations, and possibly misapplied relativity, but the numbers I get indicate that to get a black hole you need vast vast amounts of energy. compounding might allow you to get there in theory, but i think the logistics would get troublesome. we are talking 10 to the 40th or 50th power at least. we have no idea how much a single metalmind can hold, but with those exponents, I suspect that you have to have orders of magnitude more iron than exists even on a metal rich planet like scadrial. and that is before you factor in point 1 about the inefficience of pulling in all of that weight.

Am I the only one who absolutely hates the idea of Kaladin being the long lost son of Dalinar? I don't particularly fear this plot twist as Brandon has confirmed Lirin and Hesina were Kaladin biological parents, but I wonder what others find so seductive in the idea? Why want Kaladin to be biologically linked to Dalinar? Personally, I am rather found of the Kholin dynamic and I have made quite a bunch of theory as to how dysfunctional it may grow, but I absolutely do not want to add Kaladin to the mix: it feel so unfair. So I am keen on hearing what those who proposed this theory liked about it to begin with.

Good news for YOU guys: I just updated my cosplay thread. Full in-costume pictures, anyone?

The only bad thing about corn on the cob is the need for a toothpick afterwards.

Sorry, I didn't word it right. I meant that silver wasn't allomantically inert, and that you just can't burn it.

Well, I've been watching a storm ton of Star Trek Voyager on Netflix lately.... so decided to make a new game! I figured it was about time we set our phasers to stun, and let loose on some.... Star Trek Elimination!!! Still working out all sorts of rulesets and roles, but I've come up with a few ideas! The Changelings are the main threat, alien forms who have taken place of your trusted crew, working to tear the ship apart and leave no survivors. The Changelings work as typical Eliminators, with a private Doc and a group kill for the night. Obviously, we can't have Star Trek without The Borg! Not a specific alien race, but a collective of assimilated beings and humanoids, controlled by nanoprobes to serve the great collective and achieve harmonic perfection with the whole galaxy. A typical conversion role, wants all survivors to become Borg. Klingons will be vigilante kill roles, we'll have Doctors and med crew working in Sick Bay to make sure people are nice and healthy! Phasers can indeed be set to stun, for certain players, who will work as a roleblock. But a new function I wanted to try.... The Day will be 24 hours, with the usual lynch. But on top of whatever action each player submits each cycle, they can all also vote in secret via PM with the GM to place a player in The Brig for the night! Player with the most Brig votes each cycle is detained for the cycle, and can't perform any actions that night, nor can they be targeted by other players that night. And that's all I have so far, but what you think! Who's ready to explore the Gamma Quadrant!

What about the screams that KRs hear when wielding a dead-spren shardblade? Could the screams Szeth hears be related in some way (maybe not directly, but e.g. a similar process).

Purely coincidentally to the signing, I will be in the Salt Lake area this weekend, so you can bet your butts I'll be at the signing!

Honestly, I find Sanderson's books more realistic than their grittier counterparts. It's not like there's no grim, blood, whatever in his work, but it's not to the same unrealistic extent as in Dug Age-esque Game of Thrones or Erickson. Grit doesn't equal realism; grit is just our modern expectation for the medieval period.

To what extent does Gold actually heal? - If Miles has varicose veins or a necrotic toe, could he amputate the limb and regenerate it back to it's pre-disfigured state? - If Miles had a heart attack, could he rip out his heart and regenerate it to clear out the atherosclerotic plaque build up? - If Miles eventually gets Alzeimher's, could he tear out his brain and restore it to it's pre-atrophic state? Or is it all just tied to what he believes himself to be? If so, he would be immortal, even if he continues to age. Wouldn't he just eventually become an old man who can't die as long as keeps healing whatever buildup/problems that arise? Tech in mistborn is improving quick enough that he'd only need to stave off damage long enough until organ transplants arrive.

I just found out I'm bisexual. Yay for me, and you guys are the first to know, outside my one real life friend.

This is literally the only thing I can think while scrolling through Theoryland.

When Nik finally arrived at Drell’s Crossing he found it falling apart at the seams. At the north gate he was approached by a young town guard conducting a patrol. Though he reeked of paranoia he did not hesitate to offer his name; Lorien. Nik did his best impression of caring - which, needless to say, was far from convincing - though he did at least give his name in return. Lorien seemed a talkative fellow from the start, and Nik was in desperate need of information. So, despite how much he loathed talking to strangers, he put up with the guard’s every tangent and eccentricity as he took him on the tour of the village. Lorien mentioned a monster outside the city walls and asked if Nik had seen it during his travels, to which he replied with a curt no and followed it up by a question of his own. “So who died this morning?” he spoke loud, blunt even, watching the guard’s face carefully for a reaction. Lorien coughed as if surprised, and Nik, who considered himself more than proficient at determining guilt from a man’s expressions, decided it was genuine. The likelihood that he was involved seemed low, though he did take note of how uncomfortable it made him when Nik asked to be shown the place where he died. Just as he expected the mayor had been the target, and the kill had been made in plain sight. At a tavern, no less, frequently populated by strange wanderers and the village’s louder, more violent residents. Unoriginal certainly, but efficient at inciting chaos. Typical for Sightblinder's servants. Of those involved Nik recognized no one. Padan must be disguised, he thought, but he’s definitely here. He could smell Mashadar’s taint beneath the scent of spiced ale and salted meat. To his displeasure the Mayor’s body had been taken away and the blood he left behind had long been cleaned up. It was at that moment that Nik realized that if he wanted to find his father he’d have to start getting to know these people. For a long while he watched from the shadows, and though some people mentioned his presence they mostly left him be. A local widow by the name of Sarah was being ganged up on for bringing up whether or not someone should be strung up for the Mayor’s death this day or not. It seemed a ridiculous reason to suspect someone a murderer to Nik, but he couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of it. Sadly that chuckle brought attention on himself, and he was forced to speak up. “What? You want my opinion? I don’t even know you people, let alone your rotting mayor. But if you insist then fine, I’ll tell you. No, I don’t I think either the widow or that thin stick-of-a-man are Darkfriends. I could be wrong, for I’ve certainly been fooled before, but trust me when I say I know what Darkfriends think and how they act. If either of these two serve the Lord of the Grave I’ll be surprised. As for the rest of you lot, I’m uncertain. Give me time to sort through all this nonsense everyone has been spouting and I’ll see if I can glean anything useful from it." Hey guys. So, I think I'm going to have to not do only RP like I originally wanted, as there's a lot of thoughts I've had that I really can't express in character. Though I think I did do a decent job of it on a couple of things above. Which, if you don't feel like reading because overall the RP is garbage, I mentioned how I don't think that Sart or Strawman are Darkfriends. For Sart it's because this isn't the first time he has brought up the subject of day one lynches at the start of a game, and overall I think doing so is a silly reason to kill someone. I don't believe he had an ill intent in mentioning it, even if I do agree the subject isn't really worth discussing. Personally I think people need to not talk about it and just do what they feel is right. If you advocate day one lynches then participate. If you don't, then don't vote at all or even try to intervene by inciting a tie. For either of these things it's important you explain why, though. Voting without explanation is a personal pet peeve of mine, regardless of who the target is. I do think that bit where Sart voted Lopen for Mayor using an RNG is weird though, and will pay close attention to anything else he might do from now on for it (if he lives), but otherwise I don't really get the bandwagon and if anything I think that should be taken as an immediate sign he's innocent. And while the point about needing to confirm that to get reads on other players is valid, I am pretty confident I've used that exact excuse before as an eliminator, so I'm a bit wary of Seonid for doing it now. At the surface it seems like a really smart reason to solidify a lynch, which is great for an eliminator when they already know a person is innocent. EDIT: Do I mean to imply Seonid is evil? No, not necessarily. I'm just saying what's on my mind. Tangent aside, I strongly discourage some things Strawman has done, and I know that some players like to lynch others for doing something that harms the game rather than for actual guilt. I would like Strawman to invest himself in these games more and personally find that killing a player for that reason won't really help. Positive reinforcement is always better than dishing out punishment, in my opinion, and it worries me how many people are swift to pursue the latter rather than the former. I have some more thoughts but I'm going to read through everything again and take notes. I'll also get a vote tally up if no one else does it. Sadly I have a lot to get through so it's likely going to take a while. Sorry for not being around more, but it actually makes me happy to see we're on page 8 already without me.

So. Let's talk about roleclaiming, shall we? And really, we're not only talking about roleclaiming. We're talking about trust. That's the big issue here. Let's see, how do I start... Your role is important. It's information which at this moment no one knows but you (unless you're a Darkfriend or a Warder/Chaneller pair). The eliminators would dearly love to know your role (no matter what it is - this includes no role. If you want extensive discussion of why vanilla roles are just as important, I believe there's a bunch in AG2. PM me during the night and I can find links if you want. Don't have time to go find them right now.), and they may or may not be actively trying to find those roles out (depending on who's on the team). Plus, they have four (or more; I just picked a number and haven't put any thought into what the numbers actually will be) people gathering information instead of just one, which is basically the current limit on info-gathering for the village. That's four times as much information, which the Darkfriends won't just use for suspicions like the village but in deciding who they kill. Obviously, this is a bad thing. So why do people do it? Why do they claim? It's not because they haven't heard this logic in some form before, because for the most part they have. It's something about PMs, I think. No one would ever think about recklessly claiming like that in thread. (Barring exceptions when it actually makes sense to do so so, like Wyrm in AG2 (ish) or Peng in LG2.) So why do it in PMs? Two reasons, I think, although they're somewhat related. One, PMs feel more... intimate. Personal. You're a lot more willing to trust one person than a whole group. (Which is why group PMs tend to be quiet unless it's a group of cleared people.) (To an extent, that trust is correct: talking in thread, the eliminators are guaranteed to see what you've said. In PMs, they only have a 20% chance or so. But you feel that way with every person to a greater or lesser degree, and if you tell something (like a role, or whatever other information you have) to multiple people, I think it's easy to fall into the trap of imagining a 20% chance for each instead of somewhat additive. Plus, you imagine it as a smaller chance, perhaps, because you're telling people you trust, but... trust isn't always right. A healthy amount of paranoia will get you far.) And you can talk directly and privately (barring PM spying) to people you trust. I'll come back to that in a moment. Secondly, at least in my experience, PMs have a mutual, unspoken agreement that even if you don't trust the other person, both of you will respond pretending like you do. Now, that's not always the case, but in general it is at least at first because 1) a PM without at least a small amount of trust (whether real or not) is not going to last long or be productive, and 2) because most of the time you don't want to accuse someone in a PM when you could accuse them in thread in front of everyone, which puts a lot more pressure on them and then everyone can see their reaction and judge for themselves how suspicious the other is. So you keep this agreement, right. You pretend like you trust each other. And a lot of the time, that gets confused with actually trusting them with information. Which should not happen. So, why do people claim in PMs? Because they at least somewhat trust the people they're talking to. Should they? No. No, they should not. Every time you're thinking about claiming to someone, imagine that they're a Darkfriend/Corrupted and think what they could do with that information. And balance that against how much you trust someone. Keep in mind that unless you specifically ask them to (and sometimes even then), people will have much less compunctions about sharing your information than sharing their own. So even if you only tell your role to one person you seriously trust, if they suspect you in return they could very well go around to other people saying "so and so claims this. What do you think?", and it's very easy for that kind of thing to reach the eliminators' ears. Also keep in mind that there's a conversion role this game. So you could give all of your information to someone you trust, and they could even be village! ...And then they're converted the very next cycle and the Corrupted get all of their information. Which is why we should probably not be claiming or giving information to people even if they're basically cleared. Stellar example of this, by the way: Joe in QF15. Villager. Not technically confirmed, but still got tons of info C1 because of how village he was acting. Then I converted him C2, and I had all of that information. Don't claim! Also, there's another question to ask. Why are you claiming? Why does this person need to know who you are? 90% of the time, there's no reason. You're claiming just... because. What's the point of that? If someone else needs to know your role, go ahead and claim to them, but if they don't, why the storms are you telling them? So don't roleclaim without a good reason. Really. Please, please don't. Okay, I'm done. Probably won't be able to get a suspicion list up before I have to go, unfortunately. And I almsot certainly won't be on again until after turnover. I do have time to respond to a couple things, though. I'll respond more fully when I make a suspicion list, but short version - Wilson is far too good of a player for me to read at this stage in the game, really. I'd have to go back through everything she's said to get any kind of idea, and I don't have time for that right now. Sorry. Agreed, so much. There's not as much to talk about during the night, so that's when we can bring up things like night kill roles and the Corrupted faction and how to deal with that. For now let's focus more on the lynch, I think. And I'm basically off for the day, now. May be around for fifteen more minutes, maybe, but nothing beyond that. See you on the other side of turnover!

I really hope that Jasnah isn't straight. It'll be incredibly refreshing to actually have a queer main character in a Cosmere book, since so far we only have Ranette and Drehy confirmed. And I'm disinclined to count Drehy as existing queer representation in the Cosmere -- though I trust Brandon not to like, change his mind or lie about it, of course -- until it's actually confirmed in the text, not from WoB. Visibility is important when it comes to representation, which is why a lot of people dislike that Dumbledore's sexuality goes completely unmentioned in Harry Potter. Anyway, to me, the fact that Brandon makes such a point to be cagey about Jasnah's sexuality kind of does indicate that she isn't straight? Like, that's the thing here, if she were straight, a lot of people wouldn't give it a second thought, and I doubt Brandon would bother talking about this the way that he does, were that the case. Basically, his big commitment to not saying anything on that front gives me the most reason to believe that there's something to say on that front, if that makes any sense. As for shipping Jasnah, I know a popular one was Shasnah (Shallan/Jasnah) for good reasons, but personally I think that might be a little weird, since Shallan was primarily her student, plus the age difference. Still, it seems like after WoR, they'd be on more even footing... but I lean towards Shallan having a one sided crush on Jasnah, and there's plenty of fairly blatant text evidence for that in the books if you're paying attention. (That said, I kind of doubt that Brandon intentionally wrote Shallan as bisexual, but death of the author and all that.)

It seems like Preservation would be the direct opposite to both Ruin and Cultivation and that Ruin and Cultivation are also direct opposites of each other. Ruin <- - - - - - - -> Preservation <- - - - - - - -> Cultivation Maybe something like that where Preservation is in the middle resisting both the concept of decay and growth.

Thanks guys! I am glad to see you guys like it. For some strange reason, when I read books, I imagine it in my head in 2D. Which is why my character designs are pretty stylised - it's really difficult for me to imagine Rosharans as real 3D people. When I draw, I read their personalities, pick out their main character traits and try to portray them visually. I also forgot a picture from the OP, so I might as well do it here. "Missing Mother" I also draw a lot of silly stuff that never gets anywhere. At least it ends up as warm-up or practice at details. How the heck does the back of Shardplate work! I just made it up lol. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, or maybe you want to have a laugh, I will share my inspirations for the character designs. I have discovered that if you hold an image or impression in your mind of something while you draw, you can channel its spiritual aspect into your Physical Realm drawing. Pretty cool, right? Thinking happy thoughts => happy looking picture. Dalinar - inspired by Chief Powhatan (Pocahontas) and Sam Vimes (Discworld). I wanted to show authority and command, but still be a dad making hard decisions in a scary world. Navani - inspired by Pharoah Seti (Prince of Egypt). I know it's a dude, but I really liked his aesthetics and tried to translate them in a way that was regal and still exotic looking. Kaladin - inspired by Prince Moses (Prince of Egypt) and Archer (Fate Stay Night). Serious guy with a hero complex. I just liked listening to "Deliver Us" from the Prince of Egypt OST when reading the bridge runs. Jasnah - inspired by Idina Menzel, no kidding. I think it's the chin. Shallan - princess classic. Pick a princess, or pick all of them. Adolin - inspired by Fred (Scooby Doo) seriously, and Gilgamesh (Fate Zero). He's a nice guy who seems like an arrogant guy at first. My depictions of him swing back and forth between and cute face and hot face, but I think I end up drawing the wholesome "boy-next-door" over "lifeguard hunk". Gilgamesh: Renarin - inspired by that glasses aristocrat character from any anime. Like that goat guy from Nichijou. And I know my art style goes all over the place. I try to keep it cohesive!!!

In Ender's Game, they were squatting while "flying" in zero gravity. They were looking and shooting from between their legs. It sounds like a practical solution, but it looks really, really stupid.

A few of my favorites:

"Requesting permission to sqeeeeeee--"(incinerated)

I don't know what you're talking about. *whistle innocently as he edits*