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  1. From the album: Cosmeme & Crossmere

    Prompt is what Nazh wrote about during his mission in Words of Radiance: (Poor Nazh. Let's just give him a new coat XD)
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  2. LG32: Day 4 - Keep Calm and Carry On Dear _____ The Fool isn’t present today, so I have been instructed to take his place in order to provide you with your own instructions and review the events of the night. Apologies, all, if I am slightly less entertaining. As many of you may already be aware (I am fully cognisant of how fluidly gossip spreads through the unwashed masses), Winkleton was fatally wounded this previous night by a particularly unsavoury character, the identity of whom is as yet unclear, unfortunately. I strongly advise that you stay calm. The Lord Tekiel operates a… strong security system. Any attempts to escape this trial will be welcomed, and the individual concerned used to appropriately disincentivise any further dissent. Your compliance is appreciated. The Captain of the Guard Ornstein was killed! He was a Regular Crewmember Someone was converted! Someone Snapped! Tineye message: Thishnexttmessagetispdirectedstowards:the/Inquisitor./ Iywantotouproposetyouuanother.challenge.bDoenot/convertqme.dInstead,7let'sfhaveHaOgoodColdcfashionedGgamenofEcat and mouse. Tineye versus Inquisitor. Whoever gets found first dies. Why should you accept this? Well, I’m a tineye leading a group of confirmed villagers. The moment I am spiked, I stop being a tineye. No more PMs. No more messages. A few select villagers already know who I am. If these messages stop one cycle after someone has been converted, they’ll know exactly who the newly made spiked is. I’ll be lynched and you’ll be down a spike. Everybody loses. If you do not accept my challenge, kill me tonight. I promise you that I am a Misting, so killing me will get you a conversion for tomorrow night, if you can find me. But if you do accept my challenge, I ask that you kill a player whose number is prime, such as Iamspartacus. In the spirit of this challenge, I ask that any and all potential village code-breakers do not try to guess my identity publicly. I look forward to seeing your answer either way. Player List 1. Arinian - Alrin 2. Hemalurgic Headshot - Quinn 3. Jondesu - Remart 4. Elenion - Roger Elariel 5. Drake Marshall - Serray - Regular Crewmember 6. Darkness Ascendant - The Phantom Stranger 7. Randuir - Magister Agemtsar 8. Magestar - David Agemtsar 9. Herowannabe - Herwynbe 10. Yitzi2 - Garshin 11. Metacognition 12. Silverblade5 - Ryth 13: Arraenae - Rhea 14. TheMightyLopen - Sidon 15. little wilson - Willie Klara 16. Droughtbringer - You - Regular Crewmember 17. Iamspartacus - Astrid the Bold 18. Ornstein - Winkleton - Regular Crewmember 19. Araris Valerian - Wol 20. Dalinar Kholin - Lebochevkowski - Village Coppercloud 21. OmeGaster - Rieyun 22. Kipper - Elenion 23. Sart - Gaetan - Regular Crewmember 24. Bugsy - Jelwynd 25. Figberts - Quond 26. Mark IV - The Follower 27. Manukos - Reval 28. Aonar Faileas - Vana Izenry 29. Ecthelion - Amnar 30. Amanuensis - Mykal - Village Smoker
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  3. Do you ever just feel like life is going far too fast for you to process? Or rather, like it has been all your life but you're just now realizing what life is? Like, you are... not exactly nostalgic for being a kid, but it's almost like you want to hang on for dear life to what you used to know, even though it's impossible because everything is just moving so fast. Everyone else seems to have a grip on who they are and what they want to be and what's going on in their life, and even though I know that they don't it only makes me more... concerned? I don't know. Life's just a lot right now for me, if you couldn't tell.
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  4. It has some Babylonian / Persian meaning along the lines of "bringer of justice" though my review shows that may be due to the Babylonians abduction of the Israelites. and their influence on the other cultures. The character i am writing uses a shortened version, Tsidiq. Back in October we were expecting our second son and we are only looking at nine-letter names (both mine and my wife's names are nine letters long so we decided to continue the curse) My wife has a baby name app and this was one it suggested, this spelling was the first suggestion but their was at least one other. For those wondering Sebastian (Saber) was born at the first of December, 5 weeks early, by Emergency C-Section. He was released form the NICU the day AFTER Christmas and spent two more weeks on Oxygen. Today he is a morning bug whose favorite pastimes are smiling and trying to play with his 18 month old brother.
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  5. Interesting theory. But I think what she was reading, and how scandalous/embarrassing it was had more to do with her being so focused than anything else, right? I think you've mis-read the situation entirely, in a very interesting fashion. Though I could be wrong as well.
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  6. I don't mean to seem like I am just joining a train of people who disagree with you, @Rockobar. I honestly feel that through level-headed discussion, you can understand more fully almost any topic. However, I do think you are oversimplifying humanity. If all I, as a human, care about is preventing death and having sex, even subconsciously, then I fail to see how a majority of my decisions are possible. I, as a youth, enjoyed the mental challenge of taunting people and verbally sparring with others. While I [thankfully] grew out of this habit, it was not an endearing one to many, especially girls in my age group. It tended to engender feelings of dislike in girls and feelings of physical annoyance in other boys, for a vast majority. I enjoyed it because it was a mentally amusing. I wasn't an insecure child, I just enjoyed the mental challenge it posed. However, it decreased possibilities of any romantic relationships with the girls around me, and increased the possibility of physical retaliation with the boys around me. This behavior, if Occam's razor is applied, directly contradicts your idea of these two ideas being the root motivation for my actions. I understand that, given some mental gymnastics, you will probably be able to twist this to fit your worldview. However, it will most likely be more complex a reason than my own explanation - I had a motivation other than avoiding death and promoting sex: I love to know information, to stretch intellectually, regardless of if I then end up with a smarter mate, or whether or not I am more capable of survival. If I knew that I had a genetic, fatal disease which would kill me in a few years, I would still love to learn and read and be a better human. If these two motivations explain all the actions in the world, how do you explain an artist who shuns others to promote art no one will look at until after he is dead? How do you explain my mother's love of growing ornamental plants? As Einstein once said, " It would be possible to describe absolutely everything scientifically, but it would make no sense. It would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure." So too with life. It would be possible to describe absolutely everything using only death and sex as motivators, but it would make no sense. It would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure. While I may disagree with you, I respect your courage and decision to share your worldview, and appreciate that, in articulating the above, I better understand my own worldview. In that respect, I thank you.
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  7. At this point, I'm kinda hoping @Chaos will lock this subject down again. We're spinning in circles and not going anywhere. We do have some people who are evolving their arguments and bringing new points to the table, but we also have people who are copy pasting their own previous responses in response to the new responses to their previous responses. The whole thread is starting to feel a bit redundant. It is not my place to settle disputes, or decide when a given subject is done, which is why I'm attempting a summoning of someone who has that authority, to try to close this portal down. But at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that we all love Brandon's work. It is why we are here. Are we all going to love everything he does all the time? No. I definitely have my favorites among his works, and I have others that get re-read far less often. I also have some personal views on some subjects that I'd love to see any author explore in the context of their world. And that is okay. Do I think Brandon needs to incorporate Harlequin Romance elements to make the relationships and interplay between characters more real? Not really. There is a reason why most people keep their intimate moments private, and that is cool. Maybe one day Brandon will write a character who likes to be a bit more of an exhibitionist, or is up front and vocal about their inhibitions, or lack thereof. But I do not see that with any current characters. Can we go back to theorising on upcoming plot twists, easter eggs, Cosmic motivations, who the Kandra worldhopper is (currently) and what Hoid is up to?
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  8. If an author is uncomfortable writing graphic violence, they shouldn't be pressured to add more graphic violence to their work. If an author is uncomfortable writing about religion, they shouldn't be pressured to add a religious character to their next book. If an author is uncomfortable writing sex scenes, they shouldn't be pressured into writing sex scenes. End of discussion.
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  9. you expressed your persnal opinions, which are different from those of most others here. not because we are mindless fans who like everything their idol does, but because liking what sanderson does made us fans. it is strange to find on this site one with so much disagreement with the writer because one with so much disagreement generally does not become involved enough to post on a fan forum. preamble said, I disagree with most all of your opinions. - sexuality. I like it as it is, or at most hinted a bit more. not because I am prude or shy, in fact I have quite a lot of experience with erotic literature, but simply because I don't think the books would gain anything from more sex. ok, we know those two guys are having sex. do we really need a description? Not me. It would feel like a bit of the aforementioned erotic literature just got teleported into the middle of a fantasy book. It just doesn't work for me. I've read books with more explicit sexuality, and I never enjoied it. While I don't mind hints that characters have a sexual life (since you mentioned wot, I appreciated the references to the white tower being ripe with lesbism, which is a realistic consequence of segregating so many pubescent girls together away from boys) I would rather the details remained private among the characters. - religion. You are wrong in saying that in sanderson's books religious characters are good characters. There are plenty of religious negative characters (dilaf and his dakor monks come first, hraten at least has good intentions, but there is also vivenna's judgmental attitude) and plenty of not-religious good characters (jasnah takes the cake here, but kelsier is also another shining example). heck, brandon is regularly praised by atheistic people telling him how well he represented one of them and how amazed they were at fidning a strongly religious person who could portray and atheist so well. he takes effort in giving justice to any ideological view different from his own, and he does a really good job of it. I think you cherry-picked a couple of examples that are not representative of brandon's general writing. - death. yes, most times his characters die at the end of the story arc. but then, brandon always kills his characters when he feels it's appropriate for the story. most times it's at the end, which makes sense because it's the climax, the time when the characters take more risks. ok, it would be a bit more realistic to have, say, adolin randomly killed by a stray arrow through the eyeslit in a meaningless plateau run, but again, i don't see the story gaining much from it. in fact, the story follows the main characters because they are main characters. if they get killed before accomplishing much, then clearly they didn't add much to the story, and they are not worthy of being followed closely, they are not main characters. giving lots of space to someone who will just get killed may not be the best storytelling. - genre. I don't consider myself a fan of fantasy. in fact, most standard fantasy just feels to me like a cheap lord of the rings ripoff. what i actually like about fantasy in interesting worldbuilding. if a world was sketched well enough, I could read about it without even a story happening. And so i strongly apppreciate that brandon is carrying his worlds in different directions. I absolutely love what he's doing with scadrial, and I absolutely love the way he's mixing magic and technology. I never appreciated how the two didn't mix in the wot. I am a scientist and a strong believer in progress, and the general attitude of traditional fantasy of progress=bad, ancient=good, things get worse with time, was always veery unsatisfying to me. anyway, i love the exploration part of fantasy, and so exploring what happens to a world with the passing of time is very interesting to me.
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  10. So this is an odd idea that has wiggled its way through my brain for a while. Imagine you are in a public setting boasting about your greatest adventures what would you say? How would you present yourself? But now imagine you are not limited by the constraints of books (or any other media you are passionate about) being separate. So tell us about your travels and the adventures you have had or are having now. And without further ado: I have flown on the winds of Pern; Sailed the waters of Earth Sea; Trekked across rock and rills of Ulm; Passed through the rifts of Midkemia and Kelewan; And hopped the worlds of the Cosmere. I have mastered the weaves of Saidin; Studied the three arts at the Adventure’s Academy; Wielded white gold in the Land; Survived the dark-after on Austar IV; And feel the old magic of the Wood The old gods of the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse know me. I am recognized within the faerie and vampire courts. I have paid my respects at the marble tomb on the grounds of Hogwarts. I have held counsel with the High Kings of Prydain, and Narnia; And made friends with the dragons of Chetwin, Fiest, Jordan, Le Guin, McCaffrey, Novik, Paolini, Sanderson, Yep, Yolan, and many others. PS If you have trouble guessing all of the books and series either look at my profile or look up the authors listed. PSS if this has been done before can someone point me in the right direction.
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  11. I've made it a point to get new tattoos for book series I hold in a truly high regard. Having just completed book one and making it to section 2 of the second book, I found what I wanted for this series, and ran off for it. Completely satisfied. Hope you all share my joy - USNVox, Bridge Four
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  12. "Brandina, it's not a distressing issue for me, not something that would ever make me stop asking you out, but in the examples I've given concerning sexuality, I feel you are holding yourself back." Brandina Sanders scoots her chair way back and stares at me from behind folded arms. "These are just tweaks. I don't want you to go to extremes of being like Jenna Jameson. But I could still very easily recognize you with some of the changes I'm recommending." Brandina gets up, slaps me, and leaves.
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  13. But now you can look like this glorious human being!
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  14. Nearly a year ago, @Left gave me a bit of advice on this thread—and it worked. Just wanted to say thanks!
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  15. I'm going on a trip to Washington D.C. tomorrow! History stuff and monuments!
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  16. When your phone autocorrects "speed" to "spren".
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  17. So... big freeloader question: Is anyone going to transcribe those videos and share them here?
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  18. Another in my ongoing series “A Theory of Cosmere Magic” Classification of Magic Systems Pre-Shattering Magic Basic Realmic Theory Brandon deflects questions about the cosmere’s origin and the nature of the “God Beyond.” He states the “God Beyond” and related subjects depend on one’s religious attitudes. But Brandon does provide some hints. The most important comes from Sazed [HoA, Chapter 55 Epigraph (emphasis added)): I read the word “originally” to refer to the period pre-Shattering, before the Shards ascended. These “powers” (the “Powers”) at that time lacked “thoughts and personalities.” To me, this comment means the ability to direct the Powers does not require “personhood.” “Consciousness” means you’re “alive,” but it does not make you into a “person” with a self-identity largely formed by social interactions. The Powers had no social interactions. We see the same distinction between splinters (self-aware bits of Cognitive and Spiritual Investiture) and spren (splinters that do have their own “thoughts and personalities”). Brandon describes the “spren-making” process: "because of human or other sapient creatures thinking about it or interacting with the power, the power…develops personality and comes alive.” “Adonalsium” is the name the cosmere gives the anthropomorphized pre-Shattering Powers. Since Adonalsium was not a “person,” he couldn’t have been human or any other species that became a Shard – the Shard Vessels did have “thoughts and personalities.” I believe Adonalsium was the self-directing Powers. Brandon says, “Somebody needs to hold the magic. If no one holds the magic, the magic will start to gain sentience. Interesting and bizarre things happen then.” The Powers developed sentience and “bizarrely” created the cosmere. Khriss is unsure whether that made Adonalsium a “force” or a “being,” though she thinks the latter. (M:SH, Kindle Loc. 938, Part 3-2.) “Adonalsium” is an anagram for “a mind, a soul.” Brandon also says “Adonalsium shattered because he was killed.” I interpret this WoB to mean “shattering,” like “splintering,” happens when the mind that controls the Powers “dies.” Posters read this WoB to mean Adonalsium was “alive” and “male.” Since Adonalsium was “conscious,” he was “alive.” Spren prove being “alive” does not require corporeal form. While Brandon uses the male pronoun to describe Adonalsium, both here and elsewhere, I’m not sure we can conclude “he” was male. Divine gender tends to be masculine in many cultures (an observation, not a sexist assertion). The male pronoun in this context may or may not be significant. After the Powers acquired consciousness, I believe they – Adonalsium – Invested the cosmere’s three Realms in a single act – a “Big Bang.” Under Brandon’s “one substance” principle, Adonalsium converted part of himself into Creation. The Powers are the raw material of Creation (which I define as the sum of all Spiritwebs and their corresponding Cognitive and Physical Realm aspects). When the Powers Invest, they become the created matter, energy or Investiture. As a creative force, the Powers WANT to be used, MUST be used. Magic users feel this compulsion – the Powers push a directing mind to action. This creative compulsion explains why mindless Powers become self-directing. It also explains why I believe the cosmere’s Creation occurred in a single moment: once Adonalsium became the Power’s directing mind, the Powers exploded with pent-up creative energy. After Creation, the remaining Powers (the Powers that didn’t convert into Creation) were confined to the Spiritual Realm. Though they formed everything, they were un-Connected to Creation. That’s why there were no catalytic magic systems before the Shattering – there were no Connections through which a magic user could access the Powers (Adonalsium). In this sense, Adonalsium was a “heavenly” God, a “transcendent” God. But Adonalsium was also an “immanent” God, present in Creation. “God is in everything” is another idea Brandon borrows from Spinoza. This idea appears in Brandon’s statement that Investiture is the “Condensed ‘essence’ of the godly powers.” Marasi says metals are the “concentrated essence” of Preservation. (BoM, Kindle p. 359.) This idea also underlies the cosmere’s version of the thermodynamic laws, the inter-convertibility of matter, energy and Investiture.
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  19. I am ill-at-ease with this comment and I have debated with myself as to whether or not I should answer it. I ultimately decided I had to voice out my thoughts because I feel they are relevant, not to this thread's main topic, but to this particular post. So please forgive me for the small (and hopefully short) deviation onto the intended topic. Thus, on behalf of myself, as a long time (well 3 years sound like a long time) active member of this community, I would never want to see a topic being closed merely because it appears as if it is going into circle. I need to draw the line here in between the various conversations we have had onto this community as while some rely on factual, many rely on personal opinions and personal perspectives. In other words, many of our conversations dwell within the realm of subjectivity as opposed to objectivity which is why argumentation, no matter how well thought of, might not serve to change a few given individuals minds, including my own. When discussing personal opinions, thoughts and views, one cannot hope to drastically change his interlocutor thought process throughout a few well written replies. Those thoughts, opinions and views are part of us and while it is true only fools never change their mind, it usually takes time. More time than it takes for these threads to rise up and die of inactivity. It is why such conversations can sometimes read as redundant and/or as people throwing in their opinions without anyone bulging. I would hate for those to be terminated because some feel it goes round in circle, even if it maybe true they are. The nature of subjective related threads are to have people throw in their opinion, explain it as best as they can ans weight it out against other people's opinions. Their intend rarely is to convert the non-believers nor to uproot the truth. The intend often is to just voice out our thoughts, to state how we read/view it. We can hope to bring in a innovative enough perspective for others to see things as we see them, but it often is easier said then done. Hence, all this to say, this thread might have started up in ruckus, but the OP has since clarify his thoughts and voiced out his opinion in a more constructive manner but, more importantly, the thread remains relevant for as long as others are willing to partake in it. When others will feel they have said all they had to say, when others feel there is nothing more they can add to their opinion, then they will stop replying and the thread will become obsolete. Sorry for the incursion, but I wish for discussions to exist and I felt I needed to draw the attention onto the difference in between conversation relying on facts from those relying on perspective.
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  20. Had an EEG and found out my epilepsy is back in full swing today. That's not good news, but I had the whole day off! The tech taught me how to read my own electrical recordings while I was there, too, which was incredibly fascinating. (She even taught me which alphanumerical characters correlated with which electrodes so I could see how something as simple as swallowing or blinking travels throughout the brain!) Plus, I changed my nose ring for the first time! And it only took me ten long minutes and a few sniffles and tears. AND it's raining, and I love the rain. It's been a good day overall!
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  21. Del, go ahead and give me the bonus points. You know I know that's Min-Lanuel.
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  22. This hoid/bead debate reminds me of the Asmodean debates. BS will deliberately avoid stating explicitly that hoid is an allomancer via lerasium until stormlight 9, where hoid will mention it off-handedly.
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  23. We know that the Vessel can interpret the Intent they have to work with (to a degree at least) so that one person holding Honor might express that differently than Tanavast did for example. It's quite possible that Bavadin has a sufficiently flexible understanding of the concept that she can do all sorts of things without ever coming into conflict with that Intent. It doesn't hurt that Autonomy is itself a pretty loose concept when compared to something like Preservation or Odium. Yeah, but after thousands (I assume) of years setting up your system just so, flipping the bird to celestial mechanics and basking in the sun of your own awesomeness, you get this woman who's gone offworld and could bring back corrupting influences like tarachin or instant noodles. You'd want to keep her out too.
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  24. Recently I accepted a new job in the Houston TX area my family and I are so excited. The best part my work is footing 95-100% of the bill to move us down there.
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  25. @STINK A LOVE LETTER TO STINK Jack the Ripper/ Off the light of consciousness// The bell tolls because someone rung it/ Frozen hearts remain frozen// (unless the power goes out in your shop) Dessert comes with an opportunity cost.
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  26. Thanks, there are still some things I could try that have a chance of working Good luck! ___ For another Good News thing: I've been wanting to make a video game about Chronic illness for a long time (since before I got sick in fact!). A design finally fully clicked for me recently and I intend to start making it in the near future
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  27. @TwiLyghtSansSparkles @The Honor Spren http://astriddalmady.com/NightVale.html
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  28. Wow--take a look at the Hugo nominations for this year! http://www.tor.com/2017/04/04/2017-hugo-award-finalists-announced/#more-261832 Stats (from Patrick Nielsen Hayden) 3/4's of fiction by women 0/6 "Best Novel" finalists by white men 1/3 of fiction finalists by non-white 2/3 of "related works" by women 8/13 professional editor finalists are women 5/6 of Campbell finalists are women Looking forward to reading the ones I haven't yet.
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  29. I have "Beautiful Day" by U2 stuck in my head, which is unfortunate for most as it is dark, chilly, and overcast outside. Not for me, I kind of like this weather.
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  30. I imagine getting ready in the morning would be really difficult unless you happen to have a partner (or attendant) willing to just watch you for the entirety of your morning routine... Granted. It is as spectacular as you imagine, and has a running time of one week, despite Brandon saying it would be no more than 4 hours, intermission included. And no-one complains. Unfortunately, while watching the musical you can't remember who the actors are, and outside of watching the musical you can't recognise that any given person was in the cast. Furthermore, if anyone mentions anything identifying about a cast member in the context of the musical, you hear rushing wind. Finally, though you remember the emotional effects of the musical perfectly, whenever you remember any song from it you hear it as if it were sung by Joe Pasquale. I wish for @Drake Marshall to replace the nightwatcher, with all her power, for the next bane/boon. (So, he is responsible for the bane and boon for the person who reports mine and makes a wish.)
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  31. @Hemalurgic_Headshot, for any writeup related questions, ask Stink. His mind works on a level alien to most of us. I could not comment on his content with any accuracy.
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  32. I relate to Kaladin a lot, personally. I get these negative thoughts drilling into my brain, and associations with other negative things (like his fixation on the lighteyes), and it just drags me down. I haven't been through the same hell he did, but I had my own to go through, and still am, and I've had my chasm moment too. He feels like a twin with a far worse lot in life but similar thought processes.
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  33. Let us know if Trump jumps out from behind a partion.
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  34. Shallan all the way. It's hard for me to think of a portion of her backstory that I don't relate to. She's such a well-done portrayal of a girl raised in a toxic environment, because of how much it seeps into her psyche and how little she fights it. She knows it's not normal, that the things happening to her and her brothers aren't okay, but she goes along with it because she sees no way out. And when she finally does get a way out, she still has a lot of naïveté to overcome before she's able to truly triumph. Even leaving all that aside, our personalities are pretty similar, too. Like her, I have a strong scholarly bent, sharpened by curiosity; I'll often find myself going down intellectual rabbit trails. Neither of us fall neatly into any established school of thought, despite having strong opinions on many topics. Basically, I love Shallan. And what I love about her most isn't just that I identify with her so strongly, but that a character I identify with was allowed to triumph. It seems that the characters I tend to identify with are the ones their authors have written off as minor villains incapable or unworthy of redemption, and so seeing Shallan treated as a hero—despite character traits that, in many other works, would have gotten her portrayed as a dirty coward or an untrustworthy liar—was a real treat for me.
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  35. LG32: Night 3 - A Moment Of Silence Dear ___________ Why will you not talk to me anymore? I thought we were such good friends. I remember the days of responses fondly, even though it was only about a week ago. You want me to do all the heavy-lifting for you or something? Sincerely, The Lover Drake Marshall was lynched. He was a Regular Crewmember. Vote count Bugsy6912: Jondesu (1) Drake Marshall: Bugsy6912, Herowannabe, Randuir, Arraenae, Darkness Ascendant, Elenion (6) Elenion: Ecthelion III (1) Araris Valerian: Arinian, Hemalurgic Headshot, Drake Marshall (3) Hemalurgic Headshot: Araris Valerian (1)
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  36. I also think that the lack of sex between Lightsong and Blushweaver is one of the things that make the relationship what it is. Blushweaver has had her way in every other relationship she's been in, but Lightsong is the exception. He's an enigma that she can't figure out, and never does. To add in a sex scene between them would completely remove one of the most unique--and ironic--things about their relationship.
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  37. Hey, sounds like Adolin could really use one of these poop medallions...
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  38. Ironman is a Windrunner in Shardplate. I mean, he even has a glowing energy source (Stormlight-infused gemstone?) in his breastplate. Also, he has a spren (JARVIS). Maybe we will finally get to see his Shardblade in the Ironman 4 movie.
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  39. Adolin Kholin in Shardblade, wielding his massive Shardblade, magnificent and intimidating. A pencil sketch using a new style of shading that turned out really well. I'm actually really proud of this drawing,a s I didn't go off a reference photo for the pose, only consulting the illustration in WoR for the general idea of the Plate and shape of the Blade. Hope you like it!
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  40. I have a non downvote policy. I have made my non downvote policy public on numerous occasions and I am sure I have caused the Mods quite a few headaches about my antics concerning the downvotes and yet I almost nearly did downvote this post. Why? Certainly not because he is expressing an unpopular opinion. I have expressed unpopular opinions more often than most regular posters. There is however a way to phrase one's thoughts and when you are purposefully going against the masses, you have to be clever enough to use the right words. It is an intrinsically difficult task to form up a decent criticism of a beloved author in a non-confrontational way, open-minded to discourse. Thus, the problem with this post aren't the thoughts being expressed, it is how they were expressed combined with the sick feeling the OP is shoving down his own opinion as the One Absolute Truth which basically is Mistake Number One of What Not to Write into an Unpopular post. I am absolutely not surprised by the downvotes, worst I am surprised it hasn't gotten more, yet. @Rockobar, yes, we could essentially discuss the sexual content within Brandon Sanderson's books, we could discuss as to whether or not Shallan and Jasnah should a homosexual relationship, we could discuss the religious content within Brandon Sanderson's books, we could discuss every one of the points raised into appropriate threads and guess what? We did. We did have those discussions and while we do not all agree with each other, we all agree Brandon Sanderson has the write to write his story how he sees fit. His prerogative as a writer to craft his characters as he feels are required by his story, our prerogative as readers is to decide whether or not his story is one we wish to read. Brandon is a swell guy, if you say you don't like his books because their content is not up to your personal preferences, he would be totally fine with it. Even better, I have seen him NOT recommend his own books onto Reddit to a few readers because, based on their tastes, he didn't feel they would enjoy them. We can express thoughts as to what we wish to read within future books, we can say we feel this or that would make a very good story arc, we can even be sadden if the author doesn't share our views and/or retain our favorite idea, but we can't barge in there saying it is his duty to write his story as we wish it to be. I understand wanting a story to unfold into a particular way, I do, I really do, nobody understands this better than I, but I fear a line has been crossed here. Your opinion isn't the only opinion nor is it the only valuable opinion. It is one opinion and we can discuss it, but it doesn't have precedence over other people's opinion and yes, this is hard, at times, to swallow it up. This too, I know all too well. For my part, I love the fact Brandon is actually writing low sexual content books, I love how he has dared, in the 21st century, to write mature characters whom are waiting before having their first sexual relationship. I love how Adolin is a virgin and somewhat ill-at-ease with the whole intimacy concept despite being in his twenties, loud and naturally bragging. Why do I love it? Because in a world where medias and mass entertainment promote to our kids the idea sexual relationships should happen during the first half of their teen years if they are so much as to claim to normality, I find it refreshing to read characters whom aren't following those unseen rules, whom are showing the young readers it is alright to be 23 years old and not having had an intimate relationship yet. It is all right if you haven't really had any serious relationship by the time you are in your twenties. It is alright if you haven't have sex and guess what? There are a great deal lot of people whom are within the same position. So while yes, Brandon could have written Adolin as a pure Casanova moving half-dress from one room to the next answering to the sole call of his male parts, he would have missed the chance to write a much better character, IMHO. So while yes, Brandon could have written Jasnah and Shallan having torrid sex, but it might have read more like heterosexual male dream fantasy than a real genuine relationship. So yes, there are numerous ways Brandon could have written the story differently, when it comes to sex/religion/whatsoever, but in the end what he has to offer does hold itself pretty well. This being said, I wouldn't fear too much about Brandon reading the letter. He might not answer, but Brandon is a swell guy, he won't be offended. He'd just think perhaps you should not read his books if you find them not to your personal tastes, he might even send you a list of books he feels you would prefer. That's just how swell Brandon is. Edit: Typos. Edit 2: I forgot to mention the fact Brandon chose Adolin to be the virgin shy about relationship character is incredibly amazing because he is exactly the kind of character people would take for the exact opposite. Young people can be social, outgoing, friendly. They can date numerous people, but it doesn't mean they have to have sex, right away with everyone. They can even be a bit scared about it, just like Adolin. I feel this message is increasingly important to send in today's world and no it has nothing to do with religion: I am atheist. I just think sex, as a whole, is taken up too much place within nowadays relationships, too much emphasis in put on sex, especially on young people.
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  41. Yeah, here it is: And here's another WoB relevant to the OP:
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  42. Skinsaver slumped back in his office chair, closing his eyes. How did Rainmaker expect him to run his hospital effectively in the middle of a Sparking zombie apocalypse, while also running the entire city for her? Of course, Rainmaker's expectations were rarely grounded in factual circumstances, and Skinsaver was in no position to defy her. You would think after all I've done for her... "Busy day?" Skinsaver bolted upright, nearly knocking down his chair. He had expressly asked not to be disturbed, and had locked his office door. And yet, an unfamiliar man, thin and dressed all in black with a smug grin, sat across from him. "Who do you think you are? How did you get in here?" "I wonder, why does she put you in charge hmmm? I took me a bit to figure out where all the calls were going, and when I did I was... surprised. Why not delegate to one of her more well liked or more competent underlings?" "I don't know who you are, or how you got in here, but I'm telling you ..." "Then, it hit me," the man continued, as if Skinsaver had not spoken. "If she's going to replace her right hand, she needs someone she can trust. So why does the Queen of Corvallis trust a healer above her fellow rulers? What makes Skinsaver so important?" Skinsaver felt a chill. "GUARDS! SECURITY! GET IN HERE NOW!" "No need to shout, my friend. You told everyone not to bother you, remember? I've dealt with the staff in the area. No one can hear you." Skinsaver lunged for his phone, but the man seemed to vanish, only to reappear, catching Skinsaver's wrist before it could reach the phone. "No need to worry. This won't hurt at all, and it will only take a moment." Skinsaver adjusted his goggles and pulled off one of his mittens, shivering as the brutal winds hit his exposed skin. In his hurry to get inside, he keyed in the wrong pass-code, and had to try again before the electronic door slid open and he was able to replace his glove. Today, the inside of the facility was almost as cold as the outside, except for the absence of the wind. The industrial strength heaters that lined the walls hummed loudly, blowing hot air at full strength, and yet doing nothing to change the temperature of the room. "I'd keep the coat on today. She's in a chilly mood. Just be ready to pull it off if she throws one of those heatwaves at us." While the blizzard outside was nearly constant, the heat inside the complex tended to fluctuate at random, responding to the whims of the prisoner. Skinsaver had spent most of his time as a site nurse alternating between treating frostbite and heat exhaustion, often both in the same day. Skinsaver nodded to the door guard, and made his way through the halls. One or two of the few people he ran into on his way stopped and asked where he'd been last week. Telling people he had been hiding out during an epic attack in his area assuaged most concerns. The staff at the facility was kept small, out of necessity. The fewer people who knew about the prisoner, the better. Finally, Skinsaver made his way down to the heart of the complex. Two guards sat, protected behind glass on either side of the hall. It's now or never. You can do this. Today, he was going to change his fate, and claim his destiny. "What's going on?" Skinsaver pulled up his goggles and face mask for a moment and flashed his I.D. "Why are you here?" Skinsaver gulped, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice. "Just checking if anyone needs some medical." "Not while on shift buddy, you know the rules." Buddy. Skinsaver felt his temper start to rise. "Right. Of course. Sorry. Just a slow day." "I feel you, buddy. Part of me wonders why we don't just abandon this place all together. No one is gonna come looking for her." As the guard spoke, Skinsaver let his vision shift so he could see through the walls, searching for any information he could use to get through that door. "You should probably get back to work," the second guard chimed in. Gazing through the walls, Skinsaver could see he was reading a book. "Right, of course." Hating himself more with every step, Skinsaver turned and made his way back to the staff room. I can't do this. I've been chosen for something grander and greater. Those simpletons should be worshipping him, not calling him 'buddy'. Skinsaver sat in the staff room for what felt like hours. He refused to work, of course, it would be beneath him now. But try as he might he could not think of a way to get through that door that wouldn't end with him in custody. Eventually, one of the guards from the prisoner's door waltzed in as his shift changed. "Oh! Hey there buddy! You on break too?" The guard--Skinsaver had never bothered to learn his co-workers names--sauntered over to the armory and opened the door with a flash of his key card. "I'm done for the day, myself. Those night shifts are the worst. At least we are safe in here though, eh? I heard you had some epic trouble back home... ...What's up?" The man turned around to find Skinsaver standing in the doorway. We are alone. I could take him. The man was a good twenty years younger than Skinsaver, but he had power now. Skinsaver lunged, and grappled with the man, jamming his fingers under the man's face-mask and into his mouth to stop him from screaming. The man bit down, his teeth tearing into Skinsaver's hand, but Skinsaver sent the damage back, watching through the man's gloves as his hand began to bleed from severe bite wounds. The two continued to struggle, Skinsaver holding on to the man's jaw like his life depended on it and transferring every straing or bruise that was inflicting on him back to its source. Finally, the man got his hands on his gun and fired twice into Skinsaver's abdomen, and then crumbled to the floor when Skinsaver transferred the damage back. Skinsaver took a steadying breath and then grabbed the gun off the floor, checked to make sure it still had bullets, and fired one last shot to put the guard out of his misery. "See you later, buddy." He grabbed the guard's key-card and dashed out of the room, knowing his time was limited. Knowing the shots would have been heard, Skinsaver dashed away from the staff room, avoiding running into people where possible, using his x-ray vision to keep track of how people were moving throughout the building. By the time the alarms started sounding, he was almost to the door. The two guards currently on duty stood at attention, watching the hall from their protective cages. "Help!" Skinsaver called, not needing to fake the terror in his voice. "We're being attacked!" The guards watched impassively as Skinsaver reached the doors to their secure chambers. "We're in lockdown. Can't let anyone in." "Please! They'll be here any minute. You have to let me in!" The guards shared a glance with one another across the hall. "ATTENTION" blared a voice over the intercom. "ATTENTION. THE NURSE, HOWARD JENKINS, IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS. REMAIN AT YOUR POSTS, AND DETAIN OR INCAPACITATE HIM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY". In what felt like slow motion, both guards eyes slipped to Skinsaver's ID badge, and then rushed to grapple with the controls for the guns mounted in the corners of the hall. And then the heat wave hit. Bone-chilling cold transformed into sweltering heat in an instant. The guards froze for a moment, torn between incapacitating Skinsaver and stripping off their winter gear to avoid succumbing to the overwhelming desert heat they were being subjected too. Skinsaver took his chance, and rushed for one of the chamber doors, using his key card to enter. The guard reached for his handgun, as Skinsaver began shooting at him wildly, praying that one of the bullets would hit. The guard took a hit to the leg and to the shoulder, but still managed to get a shot in on Skinsaver. As he felt the pain of the bullet in his belly, Skinsaver lunged forward, grasping wildly, taking two more bullets in the process. I'm going to die. Panting, the guard began backed out of Skinsaver's reach, and frantically began removing his winter gear with his good arm, both to get a look at his wounds, and because of the heat. Skinsaver, still in his jacket and mask, felt his head begin to go fuzzy, both from the heat, and from the blood loss. "He's down?" The guard from across the hall entered the chamber, letting his jacket fall to the ground and revealing a sleeveless shirt underneath. All the staff in the compound were prepared for sudden weather changes. "I think so. Just... argh! Here, help me with this will you? The sparking nut case got me, and I can't quite manage these buttons.... Sparks I'm thirsty, do you have any water?" As the second guard passed by, something stirred in Skinsaver. A primal need to survive, to continue to live at all costs. Gods shouldn't die. Skinsaver reached to his side, grabbing at the guard's ankle. The heat of the guard's skin seemed to sing to Skinsaver, urging him on as he healed himself. He gasped as the bullets were forced out of his body and the guard collapsed on the floor next to him, bleeding out from wounds more severe than those Skinsaver had been dying from moments before. The remaining guard shrank away from him as he rose to his feet. "You... you're one of them." Skinsaver smiled. ****** After stripping off his winter clothing, revealing the light scrubs he wore underneath, Skinsaver made his way through the open door into the cell. The heat was even more intense in the room. Skinsaver took out a canteen he had recovered from one of the guards and dumped it over his head, and then took a drink from the second one. He didn't know how long it would take to free the prisoner, but he didn't want to overheat in the process. He reached back and dragged the remaining living guard, still living despite his injuries, into the room and set him aside, just in case things didn't go as planned. In front of him, a white cloud churned and thrashed behind a thick pane of glass. Rainmaker. Skinsaver studied the chamber, looking for any sign of a mechanism for opening the prison. The chamber was airtight, he knew, to prevent the epic from escaping in her cloud form. Initially, he had thought the controls might be in the guard chambers outside, but his search had been unsuccessful. Skinsaver stepped closer to the glass, searching the room with his x-ray vision, looking for any clue that might tell him how to open the door and unleash the monster within upon the world. A face stared out back at him. Skinsaver jumped back, shifting his vision back to normal. The face wasn't human--without any air or food for the entire period of her imprisonment, Rainmaker would die if she became flesh once again--it was shaped out of cloud, subtle patterns in the shifting mass, making the shape of a human face. She's watching me. "Hello? Can you hear me? I'm trying to free you." The giant face reformed, taking a vaguely human shape. It--she seemed to shrug helplessly. "So you can't hear me?" The figure shrugged again, and then pointed towards the glass. That answers that question. He had expected Rainmaker to be in a relatively mindless state after her long confinement. It was surprising to learn that she was still conscious, and had some awareness of the world outside her cell, despite being made of cloud. "You," Skinsaver said to the guard, "How do I open this?" "You can't. They've sealed her in permanently." "Then why guard the bloody place?" The guard fell silent, leaving Skinsaver to stew about his problem. A sudden motion from behind the glass drew his attention. The clouds began to swirl rapidly, and when he looked up, they transformed again, forming into what looked like a shorter rectangle attached to a slightly longer tube. What is that? I'm running out of time! Why is she giving me riddles? Not knowing what else to do, Skinsaver took out his gun and fired several shots at the glass. Cracks spread, but the bullets didn't appear to penetrate all the way through. The clouds reformed again into a face, which nodded. She wants me to shoot the glass? But it's obviously reinforced? Skinsaver took another drink of water, trying his best to ignore the sound of the alarm and the repeated message on the intercom. A quick glance backward with his x-ray vision told him he only had a few minutes before a group of the remaining guards would reach his position. He had to act now, or they would kill him or lock him in some prison. Shaking his head, Skinsaver took several more shots at the glass, trying to hit his existing holes, but his aim was off. Out of bullets, Skinsaver retrieved more and reloaded the gun, and tried again. The glass began flashing rapidly between white and transparent, momentarily obscuring the clouds within. It took Skinsaver a moment to realize that Rainmaker was trying to rapidly heat and cool the glass, hoping to weaken it. Shouts echoed from down the hall. They were coming for him. One of the bullets punched through the glass. Skinsaver was thrown backwards by a powerful gust of wind, and he watched as the clouds rushed through the tiny hole, coalescing on the other side. The clouds changed, taking the form of a thin woman with long dark hair. The woman gasped in a breath of air, but she seemed to wither before his eyes as her cheeks began to grow hollow. She collapsed and then returned to her cloud form. She shifted back and forth several times, each time appearing more emaciated than the time before. She's starving. No one had ever fed her, of course. To do so, they would have needed to let her breathe, which would have potentially allowed her to escape. Now, all that time being without food was catching up to her. The next time she reformed, Skinsaver scanned her with his x-ray vision, and watched as her organs began to fail. The goddess who was supposed to save him was dying. Four guards entered the room, only to be knocked backwards by another powerful gust of wind. The winds continued in force, seeming to howl as their mistress died. I need to save her. Skinsaver slowly rose to his feet, bracing himself against the wall. "I can help you!" He shouted. "I can heal the damage that starvation is causing to your body. I can transfer it to another." The winds around Skinsaver lessened somewhat as Rainmaker took human form once again, this time close enough so that Skinsaver could see into her eyes. She was terrified. "Just give me a moment." At his words, Rainmaker shifted back into cloud, and Skinsaver dashed over to the nearest guards, who were still being pinned to the floor by Rainmaker's winds. Reaching, Skinsaver grasped the nearest guard by the ankle, and then reached out with his other hand. "Grab on! I need skin contact for this to work." One moment, the clouds seem to fill the room, but the next they were gone, a bony hand clutching his. Skinsaver acted instantly, focusing on the damage starvation was causing and transferring it from Rainmaker to the guard. In moments, the guard stopped breathing, and Skinsaver moved on to the next one, feeling Rainmaker's grip begin to strengthen. When he looked back to check on her, her skin was shining bright with light. "Grab the canteen from my belt. I can heal the damage caused by starvation or dehydration, but I can't transfer their water or calories to you. You need to drink, and we need to get you some food as soon as possible." Rainmaker nodded, and began gulping down water greedily. Her skin began to shine even brighter, lighting the room like a miniature sun. When she finished, she wiped her mouth and the tossed the canteen aside and took her hand from Skinsavers. With a gesture, she sent the remaining guards crashing from one wall to the next, crushing them with powerful gusts of wind. Skinsaver, still uncertain of how well Rainmaker's recovery was going, would have preferred to have kept a few specimens alive, but he held his peace, waiting until she was done. As the bodies crashed against the glass with a sickening crunch, Rainmaker relaxed and turned to face him. "You... you've freed me. You've saved me. Why?" Being subjected to the shining figure's scrutiny made Skinsaver sweat, even though the intense heat from before had faded. "I... I guess I wanted an opportunity. You have power. The power to change things. I thought that if I freed you..." "That you could rule under me, hmmm?" Skinsaver didn't really want to rule--he was more interested in exploring his powers and using them to surpass what mortal surgeons like his parents were capable of--but he nodded anyways, thinking it best not to disagree. "Well then. Rule we shall. But first, lead me to some food, little epic, and then let's see how many more of these useless wretches we can kill."
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  43. @Arraenae You can always do it punch by punch. Like The first punch grazed Tom's chin, knocking his head back a bit. He ducked under his opponent's next swing, a wild roundhouse, a satisfying swoosh as it cleaved the air above his head. Seeing his chance, Tom lunged forward, arms open, and tackled the other guy, pushing him into the wall behind him, then lifting him using the momentum he had gained, dropping the fool onto his rear-end.
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  44. The itch between the shoulderblades? The yawn during the business meeting? The cat that you need to call inside? The Escher drawing to the person that needs closure? The seed stuck between your teeth when you have no toothpick? The sentence with no full stop? The metaphor that has no... Edit: welcome to the Shard
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  45. Lo, I have been summoned. I'm not entirely sure that it's appropriate for me to make any sort of official judgments here. I'll leave that for the Admins. So, setting aside my Moderator hat for a moment... It is OK to have personal opinions about an author's works. It is OK to wish that they would cater more to your tastes. It is of somewhat questionable taste to post a long, drawn-out diatribe on that author's supposed failings on his official fansite. I'm not going to bother dissecting the merits of the arguments as I see little point. But I find the fact that this letter was actually sent to Brandon to be staggeringly, mind-bogglingly rude. Seriously. This man spends hundreds upon hundreds of hours pouring time, energy, and care into everything he writes. Writing is work. To actually submit to him a treatise that tears his work into little pieces, showcasing every alleged flaw for your own self-aggrandizement is just beyond the pale. The things you laid out, if actually implemented, would completely change the tone and timbre of his works. If these elements are really that important to you, go write your own stories. (Learn just how much work it is!) You are not entitled to tailor other people's work to suit your own preferences. The closest anyone gets to come to that is writing fanfic.
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  46. You know you're a Sanderfan when the first time you saw a picture of Saitama you thought it was Szeth.
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  47. In accordance with the prophecy, here is the next installment of Memes of Radiance.
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  48. This time, in ​Memes of Radiance…. (which is apparently a cult now?)
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