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  1. Cycle 3: What's With the Lopen Clan and Matrimony? Are ghosts like, real? Like, I know there Curators at Alexandria are kind of like ghosts? But are actual ghosts real things? See, I’m asking because while i was spying on Jemma and Aaron before their wedding. I saw this ghostly wizard squirrel alternating between staring at Jemma and crying, and staring at Aaron and screaming profanities. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, and I live in Nalhalla. That’s saying a lot. Of course, then i got distracted by Alex and Celia showing up. Apparently they’re Jemma’s sisters? I did not know that. But their meeting was adorable! Hugging, and congratulating each other on their engagements, and preparing for their double wedding. And then my cousin, Masternamer Smedry showed up, walking into the doorframe at least 3 times before he got into the room. And then Celia got scary. She excused herself, grabbed Master namer and Aaron, and dragged them both outside. I have never heard such threats of death and disfigurement, and public humiliation, and something called Gancho’ing? But yeah. Celia tore into them, making them promise to never hurt her sisters, and to always be true to them. Really sweet of them all. I didn’t get to see what happened next though, now that’s I’d confirmed where the 5 of them were, i had to send a signal to my recruiter that the coast was clear. My first real Hushlander Mission! I didn’t get to do much other than play lookout duty and distract a Sir Fodder as the others made sure that Stick was alone, then shot her with a Coma stick. They sent me a warning, and I did my part in directing Sir Fodder towards the alley where Stick was in a Coma. It worked perfectly! He had enough time to find her, realize what had happened, and pick her up, before a crowd came around and saw him with her! It didn’t take much for us to whip up the crowd into a frenzy, ‘find’ the coma stick that ‘sir Fodder’ had used on Stick, and have the book collector Cluny shoot Sir Fodder with the Coma stick for revenge. And then we turned over all the evidence of what we had done to the Knights of Crystalia, pointing to Cluny as the Hushlander Librarian who had organized the events to remove Sir Fodder and Stick, and they detained him for us. Three gone! I can’t believe they pulled that off. They got three high ranking officials put away just by taking out Stick! Now, I want to write more, but I have to go, The weddings are starting soon. Man, what’s a girl got to do to find a spouse around here anyway? Queen Steph and Droughtbringer have gotten Married! BrightnessRadiant and Ecthellion III have gotten Married! Cloudjumper was Lynched! He was a Freeworlder Knight Cluny the Scourge was Killed by Knights He was a Freeworlder _stick_ (Stick) was killed by Hushlanders She was a Freeworlder Librarian! Votes: Cluny the Scourge(1): Drought Cloudjumper:(5) Hero, Ecthelion, Yitzi, Steph, Brightness Ecthelion(1): Randuir The Cycle ends in: Remember, each cycle is a total of 25 hours long. 24 hours of gameplay, and an hour of me working. Singles, Dinosaurs, and other inclusive descriptors. Magestar (Ratsegam the Bold) A man who was Tagged Seonid (Shem Smedry) The master of the Archives. Yitzi2 (Jack) A Videogame Engineer Ornstein (Pavelock) A Physiologist who trains locks. Herowannabe (Herbert) a Micropachycephalosaurus (type of dinosaur) scholar who delights in regaling people with obscure trivia, usually about his own species. Randuir (Rand) Not the Chosen One of an Ancient world ending Prophesy. OrlokTsubodai (Orlok) An average citizen who does his best to ignore politics. Elbereth (Ella) A cute, innocent little girl) Jedal (Jedal) a Guy with good tastes. Husbands, Wives, and No Dinosaurs (yet) The MightyLopen (Celia) A Girl swept off her feet. Unodus (Agent Deuce) A detective, skilled at Seeping girls off their feet. Queensteph (Alex) A Girl who loves, and is loved by, Master Namer Smedry DroughtBringer (Master Namer Smedry) A Smedry with a talent for being around Alex BrightnessRadiant (Jemma) A Completely not Evil Lover Ecthelion III (Aaron) A very loving man Dead/Detained/In Coma’s Sart (Thomas) Killed by Knights C1: Freeworlder Bridge Boy (Squirrelmort) Lynched C1: Freeworlder Smedry: Looking Ugly Cloudjumper (Fodder) Lynched Cycle 2: Freeworlder Knight Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) Killed by Knights C2: Freeworlder _stick_ (Stick) Killed by Hushlanders C2: Freeworlder Librarian!
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  2. I won't be on for the next turn mostly, expecting to be on my honeymoon
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  3. "It all started at that foggy evening party. There was me, Deuce, ace detective extraordinaire, one hand in the pocket of my barely whiter-than-white wedding tuxedo, the Devil’s Advocate, and one arm over the shoulder of a lady with legs you could probably ricochet an object as large as a cue ball off of (only hypothetically since she sort of frowned at that sort of thing when inquired). Celica Deuce, the only woman in over my ten years of experience of masticating the boulevards I’ve ever met who could rock a Stacey on a fried frog- whatever that means. I breathed out a cloud of heavy thick smoke, not because I believed in that hushlander mumbo-jumbo about tobacco- but because I’m one-thirty-fourth dragon, and I can’t help clouding up a room when an egg hits the wrong side of the butter. It was because, at this point, I realized I was in a room filled with nerds. Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are nerds- but from a professional point of view this complicated things greatly, because I hadn't brought my sunglasses so I could pretend to be awake if one of them actually started talking to me. I was actually a little relieved when someone turned up stiffer than a month old newspaper so I had an excuse to get my detective shades. I didn't know Squirrelmort personally, but I did know he was a humbug at the decapitlaires fair- and that made two of us. At the end of the day, I learned one thing. It takes two to tango- but one to mango (and at least three to congo). And if you really really think about it, that's what puts the lemons under the table. I guess that's technically four things, but the way I saw it- things were just about to get a whole lot weirder"
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  4. Greetings! So here are the recordings of the reading/Q&A and the signing line, respectively. And here is a doc that people can use for transcription. This was my first time at a major con and my first time seeing Brandon Sanderson. The weekend was great. At the opening ceremonies Brandon came and sat down right next to me, and it was all fantastic from there. Getting to record the signing was a dream come true; as I've been living overseas for a number of years and unable to actually come to signings myself, I've really enjoyed the tradition of people recording and posting them. So thanks to all the people who've done that for the last three years! @Kurkistan He said that someone in Poland had figured it out who the Terriswoman in Warbreaker was and I asked him if it was Lemex' nurse, and he nodded and smiled. He said he had no idea how anyone figured it out, which is interesting.
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  5. LG33: Term 4, Month 2 - Silence It was night. The inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts. The most obvious part was a hollow, echoing quiet, made by things that were lacking. If there had been a wind it would have rustled through the University, set student robes flapping, and brushed the silence across the bridge to Imre like dust from a broom. If there had been many students, even a few more inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with conversation and laughter, the rustling paper and nights of drinking one expects from a place full of young people studying the arcane. If there had been peace… but no, of course there was no peace, not now. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained. Inside the inn a figure clad in black crept through the dark, towards Greyson. Another stepped out to meet it, and they met in perfect silence. In clashing they added a small, vicious silence to the larger, hollow one. It made an alloy of sorts, a counterpoint. The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you listened for an hour, you might begin to feel it growing from the wooden floor underfoot and the twisting metal of the headboard of the bed. It was in the heaviness of the air and the prickling of hair on the back of the neck that says you’re being watched. It was in the imperceptible stroke down the man’s temple, gentle and cold, and it was in the man who lay there, face grotesque and horrified, skin already paling with death. The man had a book still in his hands, pulled from the Archives and never returned. His eyes were wild and frightened, and he was still with the utter certainty that life had gone. The room was his, just as the third silence was now his. This was appropriate, as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was deep and dark as winter’s night. It was heavy as water in the depths of the ocean. It was the final, cut-flower sound of a man who had died. Varda sighed. “No, Amelia. You are not allowed to do such things on this campus. Ever.” “I didn’t mean anything by it!” Amelia protested. “I just wanted to see what else was in there, and maybe try a few things… um. On other students….” Varda looked at her. “I’m sorry?” she squeaked. “If you cannot be trusted with what is given to you on this campus, you are unsafe and should not be allowed to come,” Varda said. She knew the girl probably hadn’t meant anything by it, but they really didn’t need any more liabilities, not now of all times. This was necessary. “You are henceforth expelled from the University and may never set foot on its grounds again. You will have an escort to collect your things, and then you will leave.” Varda looked down, so she didn’t have to see Amelia’s face. I’m sorry, she added silently. BrightnessRadiant was expelled! Drake died! He was a Student who had studied in Artificery! Brightness Radiant and Hemalurgic Headshot were elevated! Term 4, Month 2 has begun. You have 42 hours to send in actions. Do not forget to submit lodging orders. Player List 1. Queensteph - Vintish Noblewoman 2. Randuir (Telar Pike) - Yllish Commoner Student 3. Hemalurgic Headshot (Noremac Quwester) - Aturan Nobleman 4. Aonar (Aodhan Breacadh) - Edema Ruh 5. Wilson (Sloan Walker) - Cealdish Commoner Student 6. Straw (Medicus Novis) - Yllish Commoner 7. Paranoid King (William Opuscule) - Yllish Commoner 8. Ornstein (John Springer) - Aturan Nobleman Student in Physicking 9. Jondesu (Vell) - Yllish Commoner 10. Drake Marshall (Greyson) - Cealdish Commoner Student in Physicking 11. Assassin in Burgundy (Jurdaan Longfell) - Yllish Commoner Student 12. Burnt Spaghetti (Dele Fajro) - Vintish Noblewoman 13. Orlok (Locke Alveron) - Cealdish Commoner Insane 14. Magestar (Magestar) - Vintish Nobleman Insane 15. Alvron (Stryker Nox) - Cealdish Commoner 16. Arinian (Darian) - Aturan Nobleman 17. Stick (Stick) - Aturan NobleStick 18. Darkness Ascendant (Balthazar Myrrh) - Yllish Commoner Student 19. Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) - Aturan Nobleman 20. Silverblade (Ryth) - Cealdish Commoner 21. Amanuensis (Esuan) - Yllish Commoner 22. BrightnessRadiant (Amelia) - Aturan Noblewoman 23. Eolhondras (Eolah) - Yllish Commoner 24. STINK - Yllish Commoner 25. Hael (Glavion) - Edema Ruh Insane 26. Sart (Titud) - Edema Ruh Insane 27. Joe (Chalks) - Yllish Commoner Insane
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  6. Two unrelated Bruce videos I have for you fine people. First, here's what happens when he sees a lizard. And yes, this happens every time. Second, a little taste of frosting that he heartily endorses.
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  7. Suddenly The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions feels a lot more ominous than it should.
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  9. I promise I won't post in this thread after my D&D session every fortnight....but man tonight was good It had a slow start but picked up dramatically as it went on. The one combat we had ended up being rather more dramatic than I thought it would, and more interesting as a result. We recently added a homebrew lingering injury table that you roll on whenever you drop to 0 hp, which has really helped amp up tension in combat. The best part was after that though when the players finally arrived at the ruined underground city they've been travelling to for the past half dozen sessions. There was a powerful magical obelisk in the place they entered with Memory based power (There are 5 special obelisks of this general nature in my campaign world, covering location/memory/form/time/power). When each player first touched this obelisk they experienced a rush of memories, too fast to really comprehend them but with 1 in particular that stuck in their memory which I narrated to them before continuing to describe the rush of other memories. Each of those memories was a carefully chosen one that hinted at or revealed something significant related to the campaign. The stream of memories would then start going through their own memories and one in particular would stand out in their mind. And that is where I stopped and let the player describe one of their character's memories before continuing. I used the playlist I'd labeled "sad" for this sequence, full of more emotional/thoughtful/whimsical/sad music. And it worked really well. The tone of the music really amplified my narration and their narration of their own characters' memories and I was surprised by how many times parts of the music directly complemented my narration. Swells in the volume & melody and just the right time as one of the memories concluded and the like. I've been looking forward to this particular encounter for months and it was just as good as I hoped it would be
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  10. Let me just say, I have only disagreed with someone more completely once in my entire life than I have with you over this whole thing. It has been an enlightening experience. You do realize this is what we are telling you? Adonalsium had thoughts and personality, and you did not address my highly specific deconstruction of that WoB, which literally everything I have seen you theorize to date is based on in the end. If you are wrong about your reading of that WoB, then your theory of how magic works falls apart, and all your other theories based on that fall apart as well. If Adonalsium did have personality, then it is likely that the Shards Mandate's came from there. If Mandates come from a source other than the Vessel, then Investiture has a different nature than you describe. If Investiture is different from what you describe, then all of your theorizing about specific and general magic systems largely gets thrown out. That is what I meant when I described your theories as a house of cards in the past. Your interpretations are largely based on 'well maybe he actually meant it this way,' and if even one or two of those maybes aren't right, then the rest of them are pretty much shoe-ins for not being right either. The nature of your theory is that it is either all right or mostly wrong. What you likely forgot or overlooked while thinking about how the Shattering went down is that it could have shattered in different ways. Not that the Shards could have ended up different, that it could have broken different ways. Now, I'm not precluding the possibility that the 16 present could have had some influence on how it broke in one way or another, but it had to do directly with Adonalsium his/her/itself. In fact, I think it likely that they influenced how it Shattered because of your point that they aren't likely to match up to the 16 Shards like they did. There are other possible explanations that I like as well, such as that their Connection to Adonalsium gave them a free pass to take any of the pieces of him. What I was trying to say with some of what I said is that I think it unlikely that there would be 16 different Shards under your model because I don't think the Vessels were that diverse. I am fine with them being diverse, but not perfectly so. Especially since your theory is that it is the dominant characteristic that determines Mandate, of which there can only be so many. Put it this way, the number of people necessary to have a 50% chance of at least one pair having the same birthday is something like 23. Each successive person you add to the group has to be different from all the other members you have already added, so it quickly becomes unlikely that there won't be a pair. I don't think you could name 365 potential dominant character traits. I would be surprised if you could reach 100 without entering very close synonym territory. If you could come up with 100 traits, given 16 people, you only have ~24% chance of there not being an exact duplicate, let alone something highly similar. This also assumes that the trait they mainly exhibit is completely random. If they are a group working together to achieve the same thing, I would bet it is more likely that you would get repeat traits. It isn't necessarily the case, but it should be more likely. I also think that things you see as similar like Odium and Ruin aren't really similar. Ruin is just entropy incarnate, there is no emotion attached. Odium is pure hatred-- an extremely powerful emotion. As we see with how Allomancy works, you can't associate a Mandate with its effects, but its method, so just because they both destroy things doesn't make them similar. Another example is Cultivation and Endowment. The end result for both is similar, but they are completely different concepts. Cultivation is about growth and nurturing, while endowment is essentially generosity and giving. One occurs over time, the other is immediate. Their methods are also completely different. I think it is safe to say that we haven't seen any overlap with the Shards we know about, and I have no reason to believe we will. Could you explain your reasoning that Mandate is a cognitive filter more clearly? I don't see how the Shards not changing means that they didn't come from one personality. I think that Mandate is a Spiritual aspect of Investiture, and then the mind of the Vessel tries to direct it in some way. I also theorize that individual quanta of Investiture have individual, slightly varying Mandates that sum to the Mandate we see, but I'm not terribly attached to it since it's pretty speculative. They Shards are all still pure power, they just 'want' to be used a certain way or for a certain purpose. I compare Investiture to electricity. Mandate is what determines the path of least resistance for Investiture, in other words, how the power can be used. Preservation's power is used to Preserve the user's strength while causing some effect. It is like saying electricity flows better through things that conduct it well. When you burn metals, you Preserve yourself and close a circuit to power. You can use different Investiture to power other magics, just like you can use different voltage batteries to power things, you just have to jump through some hoops first. Agreed that they are magical. On the other hand, you can't confuse the God Beyond with anything we are discussing. That's the real afterlife, which he leaves to the interpretation of the reader so he doesn't step on any toes. It is still a cosmere truth. He has said that he does know what is Beyond, but he will never tell us. He may not impose theological meaning, but he is definitely imposing moralistic meaning. And Mandates tie in nicely to that. They may not be good or evil, but they can certainly act morally or immorally. Also, the previous paragraph about not understanding God isn't evidence for any case except that we don't fully understand God. As for the second paragraph, well... Yes, of course all the Mandates are separate from a virtuous context because you need 15 others to make a complete balanced personality. On the other hand, I absolutely disagree that Frost isn't referring to Adonalsium. He wouldn't see them as Gods. As Hoid said, Tanavast was a decent enough fellow, but he was not God. Frost almost certainly knows what was going on with the Shattering and subsequent Ascensions. He may even have participated in some manner, so I find it doubtful at best that he would think of the Shards as Gods. I could maybe see him thinking of them as little 'g' gods, but that isn't what is in the Letter. If, as you state, each Shard was a God to Frost and he was referring to them, then he would have said 'a God's own divine hatred' or 'the God of hatred.' Considering that it is singular and that Frost knows about Adonalsium, it is clearly referring to Mr A, not the Shards. If Odium was actually Anxiety (which incidentally could be extremely amusing/interesting), then with it being separated from context, it would literally be the god of general anxiety disorder. They are both potent emotions, so they are fairly similar for my purposes. On the other hand, with all of the other Mandates as part of you, it gives context to the anxiety, and instead of general anxiety you are anxious about those pesky people that aren't doing what you want them to. This can clearly be seen with Ruin/Preservation. Individually they aren't very useful, but with the context and balancing that they give each other they allow constructive action. Some things need to be preserved and others need to reach an end. They are both aspects of a person. It makes complete sense that you can mix the exact divided personality traits of a balanced person and get a similar balanced person. This is where the theory of reconstructing Adonalsium comes from (even though I personally dislike it). Because the CR is a collective filter, with everything influencing everything around it. Forging is proof of this. How regular folks see an object affects how it thinks of itself, and therefor how it can be affected magically. And I would argue that all things are magical to an extent, since everything is composed of Investiture, and people have innate Investiture on top of that. Awakening is another good example. How precise and clear the mental component of your Commands are directly affects how an awakened object physically acts. Perception is reality, so to speak. Now, the following stuff is comments on your theory writing itself. It may come across as pretty harsh, I'm not sure, but I think it needs to be said before I can let this whole thing go. It could also be informative for others when reading your other theories, so I'll put it here rather than a PM. Plus I'm too lazy since I already wrote it here. In the end, the vibe I get from your series of posts is that you are trying to force facts to fit your interpretations. Like, you have your interpretations and ideas on a few things, and try to explain away other stuff that doesn't quite fit (which I feel there is a lot of), rather than analyzing the facts and drawing conclusions. Very similar how heliocentrism almost fits what you can observe, but not quite. Now, this isn't to say that's what you have done, but that is how it came across to me, which is part of why I keep coming back to it. The feeling irks me. Your posts seem to read 1. Sources (props for including them, btw) 2. Interpretations of sources (3. Defense against attacks we have made on interpretations if relevant) 4. Predictions/models based on interpretations. 5. Predictions/models based on predictions/models. 6. Repeat 5 as much as you like. I feel like my arguments are structured more like 1 Sources (sometimes ) 2. Note similarities and interactions with other stuff 3. Interpretations. 4. Present a model that fits those interpretations and can hopefully bear up with only minor changes if particular aspects are wrong. 5. Note how it fits with previous models. 6. Make predictions based on that model. Now, some of my posts are speculation on speculation on speculation, but I try to present them as such. Particularly things where I speculate on goofy hacks with magic, like a gold/gold twinborn being able to manufacture spren (wrong, but apparently they potentially could with the help of a Surgebinder). Even then, Spool yells at me for being too out there sometimes . I try to base my ideas on a variety of input and sources and modify them heavily based on further input. I build on rigorously discussed and modified theories, which is really all we have to go on for many things. On the other hand, your further theories beyond the nature of Adonalsium are based on themselves in a chain. That is why I agree that your theories are valid, but I refuse to espouse them. This particular theory in the OP, for example, is completely pointless if you are incorrect about the nature of Investiture, which is practically guaranteed if you are wrong about Adonalsium. Your theory on how Selish magic works is based on your general model for how magic works, which is based on your theory on the nature of Investiture, etc. The theories don't have disclaimers on them that they are based on a whole bunch of speculation that you haven't gotten direct WoB on. I wouldn't mind it as much if you had a whole bunch of completely separate theories and brought them together to make another theory. Like maybe a, maybe b, and maybe c, therefor maybe d. Where a, b, and c don't reference each other. If you have multiple theory 'd's, then it might be justified making theory e based on them. The trend of the site has been to have that, and as we get a, b, and c confirmed or denied by WoB, we change d. Over the years it has moved beyond that to confirming 'd' theories and 'e' theories, and on and on. Basically, it boils down to your presentation. Each of your theories takes for granted that everything that it's based on is true, rather than saying 'given that all this other stuff is right, this also might be the case.' That bothers me on a fundamental level, and I have to admit I've gotten really wordy about why. I've had a terrible week and I'm really touchy right now, so if this comes across badly, I'm really sorry. I really like that you are trying so hard, since not many do. Peace. This turned out really long. Ugh.
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  11. Cycle 2: Wow, that was Suspiciously Fast. Wow, So much happened guys. First off, I got called on to officiate a wedding! It was so Beautiful! Who new Detective Deuce was so good with Words! I was lucky enough to be around when he proposed to Celia, and man, it made my heart start to flutter. He said, Celica, hey baby, hey. I know this might sound a little crazy but hear me out. I've seen a lotta dollar dames come and go, and you've got the kind of eyes with bad news written on them like an Oculator of '29. But you and me, we got gold on the soles of our feet, baby- and all the angels in heaven decided to take a piss at the same time. Listen, I did a lot of gutter crawling back in teachie- and it's not getting any easier any time soon. Do you mind if I smoke? So yeah, that's why I put all my chips inside and out- no questions asked. Put your feet up a little, young lady- there's a man outside with typewriters in his pockets, he's blue but I'm not sure if he's jaded. Anyway, so listen up- this seven card gig is a hands down shake your knees and exit on your left kind of sideshow, but people like me don't cut another man's cards unless his jibs aren't inside the moon vehicle at all times. You got that? So here's the catch, I gotta runner down the shortcut to pipe city- but people like me don't go outdoors without an umbrella unless it's three days until christmas, know what I mean? Now I'm here on a concrete slab of wood floating down the margarita river, and I ain't got a shoebox to make it up the downstairs. So... What I'm trying to say is... Will you marry me, Celica?" And she said, I've come to a decision Deuce. I must follow my heart! And my heart is telling me to say yes! You're the only detective for me. Isn’t that adorable? I hope I find someone half as nice as him. Their wedding was a huge affair. Crystin knights, My cousins, Librarians, Astronauts and even a dinosaur were there. The biggest party I’ve been to in years! And absolutely perfect for striking up conversations with possible Hushlanders Unfortunately, i didn’t find one. But i found someone just as good! One of the people i talked to was actually in recruitment talks. They mentioned bringing me along, and i said yes, so i was brought to an actual agent, and they cleared me! I’m a Hushlander Agent now! But everything went down from there. Poor Squirrelmort, you know, the wizard? He got swept up in all the emotions of the wedding, and proposed to the girl of his dreams. But she said no! He was so heartbroken that he started crying right then and there, and hurried away from her. The girl also cried, but couldn’t quite explain why to the people who tried to comfort her. She got out just enough of the story to make them angry though, so they tracked down the poor squirrel, and shot him with a comastick! They all scattered before King Dartmoor arrived unfortunately. He can yell really loud when he wants to. Apparently Squirrelmort was a Close confident of his, and one of my cousins? (Can squirrels and Humans even be relatives?) Poor squirrely. So, King Dartmoor talked to the Crystin Knights, and the Council tried to hunt down whoever put the squirrel into a coma. They went through a lot of suspect, while i just followed them around. At one point they thought they found their man, when they met a person who was chucking books at someone’s head (They were ‘testing for librarians’ apparently.) But they moved on when they realized that Thomas the Occulator was no where to be found. Obviously, he’d fled the party after Squirrelmort got put into a Coma! So they kicked down his door, grabbed him before he could throw on a pair of glasses, and dragged him to their Crystal Spire, to be held as a Prisoner of War until the End of the war, or the world, whichever came last. Weirdest wedding I’ve ever been to. But hey, surely there won’t be any weirder ones. Right? Unodus and Lopen have gotten Married! Sart was Detained! He was a Freeworlder! Bridge Boy was Lynched! He was a Freeworlder Smedy with a Talent for Looking Ugly! Votes: Bridge Boy(3): Lopen, Yitzi, Randuir, Magestar _Stick_(1): Seonid Seonid(1): Herowannabe Lopen(1): Bridge boy Orlok(2): Ecthellion III, Ugly 1 Yitzi(1): Cluny the Scourge Cycle ends in: Bachelors, Bachelorettes, and Dinosaurs: Magestar (Ratsegam the Bold) A man who was Tagged Seonid (Shem Smedry) The master of the Archives. Cloudjumper (Fodder) A hard to distinguish man Ecthelion III (Aaron) A very contradictory man Yitzi2 (Jack) A Videogame Engineer Ornstein (Pavelock) A Physiologist who trains locks. Herowannabe (Herbert) a Micropachycephalosaurus (type of dinosaur) scholar who delights in regaling people with obscure trivia, usually about his own species. DroughtBringer (Master Namer Smedry) A Smedry with a talent for not being around when needed. BrightnessRadiant (Jemma) A Completely not Evil Bibliophile Randuir (Rand) Not the Chosen One of an Ancient world ending Prophesy. OrlokTsubodai (Orlok) An average citizen who does his best to ignore politics. Queensteph (Alex) A Girl who despises, and is despised by, Librarians _stick_ (Stick) A Mokia native. Elbereth (Ella) A cute, innocent little girl) Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) A collector of books and Lard Jedal (Jedal) a Guy with good tastes. Couples, Platonic Life partners and what else have you: The MightyLopen (Celia) A Girl swept off her feet. Unodus (Agent Deuce) A detective, skilled at Sweeping girls off their feet. Dead/Detained/In Coma’s Sart (Thomas) Killed by Knights C1: Freworlder Bridge Boy (Squirrelmort) Lynced C1: Freeworlder Smedry: Looking Ugly
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  12. I heavily, heavily doubt that the diagramm was actually done on a "insanely intelligent day". One of the examples of Mr. T's high intelligence is that he thought it a great idea to get dumb people to kill themselves. That might be a logical thing to do, but not a smart thing, since everyone should realize that noone would listen to him. If you amplify this kind of cold, calculating logic by an insane degree you would get a person that's very logical, but has no clue how people actually work and do things. Does this sound like the kind of intelligence that could come up with a grand plan on how to manipulate thousands of kingdoms full of people into becoming their one ultimate leader? I don't think so. There's something definetly up with the Diagramm.
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  13. But we have cookies in the dark alleys, everyone loves cookies.
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  14. People to avoid in dark alleys: Voidus *Unknown* EDIT: Added a few honorary members: 3. king of nowhere 4. Kadrok (Second offense) 5. Swimmingly
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  15. I've searched through the forum and haven't found any threads specifically discussing this, which is a little surprising. If such a thread exists and I missed it, I apologize. Now on to the topic. What's the deal with Aesudan Kholin, Elhokar's wife? In the WOR prologue, we learn that Jasnah was contemplating having Aesudan assassinated by Liss before changing her mind and having her merely spy on the queen for the time being. But why? what's so special about Aesudan? Who is she? What sort of threat does Jasnah believe her to pose to her family that she is willing to go as far as have her assassinated? Sure Aesudan, as shown in Lhan's interlude chapter in WOR, is definitely not a really good person nor a good ruler, throwing lavish parties and being excessive, wasteful and out of touch with and uncaring of the common people. All of this make her a terrible person but it's not enough to justify Jasnah's actions against her. Like Jasnah had to have been convinced that Aesudan was serious bad news for her family to even contemplate going as far as an assassination attempt. Not to mention Jasnah had this planned while Gavilar was still alive, so Aesudan wasn;t even queen then. There's also the fact that Bordin, said to be one of Dalinar's most trusted servants, had been left behind in Alethkar to spy on Aesudan, or at least this is what Mraize claims. If that's true then does that mean Dalinar shares at least some of Jasnah's suspicions regarding the queen? I highly doubt he knows about Liss and Jasnah's almost assassination attempt against Aesudan since I'm sure he wouldn't have approved of it. But both Dalinar and Jasnah must now something about Aesudan that warrants having people spy on her. And how do the Ghostbloods know about, for that matter how much do they know? Is Aesudan somehow connected to them? Or maybe she's associated with the Diagram or some other secret organization since Roshar seems to be crawling with them. I think it's pretty obvious that there's more to her but what? There's something else mentioned in the Lhan interlued that might also be relevant somehow: Why is that? What has she done or things she's done that led her to believe the Almight might be displeased with her? I don't have any concrete theories about this yet myself, gotta do a little more investigation, dig a little deeper, look for more hints and foreshadowings and things like that if there are any in the relevant chapters before forming one. But I figured I start this discussion here to see what you guys think and if any of you have any theories/ speculations of your own or know of any WOBs regarding this because this is something that has been on my mind since I finished WOR.
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  16. So most of us already know about the big-time worldhoppers that we've already identified (Nazh, Mraize, Khriss, Demoux, Galladon and of course Hoid) but what about those small characters that just make us a little suspicious? I started thinking about this while rereading Words of Radiance and I found a lot of "quiet" characters that I think may be worldhoppers. Maybe we've already encountered these characters in other books, or maybe we haven't. Part of what got me started was the description of Zahel, who we know as Vasher from Warbreaker. Kaladin, when first encountering him, comments on his "Strange accent." Shallan says the same thing about Mraize when she meets him. I started looking for others who seemed unusual for some reason or another, although I mainly noticed accents. Here are some that I've found so far: Macob (Caravan owner Shallan saved): "She couldn't place his accent." - Chapter 21 Ashes Tyn: "...and spoke Alethi without an accent." - Chapter 20 The Coldness of Clarity Young darkeyed women Shallan impersonates: "...she doesn't have an accent." Chapter 52 Into the Sky The carriage driver who took Wit's place:" He had an accent Kaladin didn't recognize." and "Kaladin didn't recognize him; he wasn't one of Adolin's regular servants." Chapter 55 The Rules of the Game I'm not done reading through, and I will add more as I start rereading other books. If you guys can think of any others though let me know! Also let me know what you think of the idea and whether or not there might be something to it!
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  17. I was reading through the excellent WoB Reddit compilation done by Pagerunner over in the Event and Signings forum yesterday. There was so much there I had missed, and I fixated on a ton of it. The thing I've though the most about is probably the least substantiated but I wanted to throw it out anyways. It all stems from this question: Q: At any point did Tanavast relinquish the power of Honor to someone else A: RAFO Obviously, anything read into an RAFO is already on rocky ground, but bare with me. This really got me thinking about how Odium shatters Shards, what we know about those, and what we learned about the process and requirements for ascension in Mistborn. 1. In Mistborn we learn how important it is to have a connection to the power of a shard in order to become its holder, whether that is built up over time, or artificially created as Kelsier was able to do. 2. We also know from WoB that Odium killed the holders or Dominion and Devotion AND shattered their shards. The way it was written did not imply necessarily that the same action was used for both, and I actually think that taking direct action against a Shard (not its holder), might be impossible unless it is 'free.' So, if that were the case, Odium would have had to kill the holders first, wait for the Shard to 'drop,' and then shatter it. Considering what we know about connection allowing you to assume a Shard, part of the reason for that might be that even if Odium could "shatter" a Shard's power while it was being held, a Holder would be well connected to it to assemble pieces. So, What if Odium "shattering" a shard is actually much less complex than we may have thought it to be--it's literally just breaking the shards power up into an assortment of random smaller, ineffectual pieces--and the reason it is "permanent" is that no Holder exists who can recall the powers full shape and pull it together. 3. This is what I thought about when I read the question above. Given that Tanavast, much like preservation, seems to be playing a long game (the Oathpact, leaving the dreams for someone like Dalinar, etc.), I expect he would have been very concerned that what happened to Devotion and Dominion may happen to him. He may have realized that Odium's method relied on their being no one capable of reassembling a shattered shard, which perhaps is something only someone who has held it could do. So, here's the theory: At some point post-shattering of Dominion and Dev, Tanavast set up a long-game plan for defeating Odium. He voluntarily gave his power to someone capable of ascending but also 'Honorable' enough to give it back. In doing so, he created a Sliver with a strong connection to the fully intact Honor Shard. Then, when Odium came to Roshar, Tanavast concocted this entire "campaign" with the Oathpact, etc. in order to convince Odium that this was the real battle. And then... he let Odium win by sacrificing something/luring him into the gambit that has trapped him in the Roshar system. Meanwhile, some secret order, maybe colluding with Cultivation, or perhaps even a secret instruction to one of the Heralds (Taln seems the obvious choice given his prominence as a viewpoint character), is guarding the secret Sliver of Honor. Then once Odium has committed again, thinking he is only fighting fragments of Honor's power and Cultivation, the Sliver can ascend and truly challenge him while he is bound to Roshar. This also works with a potential reading of why Odium did not Shatter Ambition in the Threndoite system--but elsewhere. If the fight was not going well, one side likely fled and was chased elsewhere where the battle resumed. What if part of the value to Odium of not heavily investing in planets was his ability to remain mobile. Tanavast has now limited that, and if a secret Sliver exist, potentially forced Odium into an eventual fight against Two Full Shards aware of his tricks. This has enough but not inordinate parallels to Mistborn, and also speaks to the fact that since all of the original 16 knew each other, some of them should have been able to figure out how Rayse thinks and build a counter strategy. I realize this is a huge stretch and probably crazy but I couldn't stop thinking about it after I read that question so to the forums it goes.
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  18. Hi all, I'm new here. I enjoy the books and want to talk more about them. The cosmere is a beautiful thing and I'm excited to be here while it is being built around us, for us. You may have also seen me on reddit with the same name. I look forward to doing business with you.
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  19. Sorry, guys, I haven't been participating as much to the lynch discussion. That's because I have much more important things to worry about... 321 Fitz-Simmons Ln, here I come!
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  20. Hey guys, this is my first post, so a little nervous but here goes. So, you know that brief overview on the back cover that all Sanderson's books have? Well, I was reading the Way of Kings one, and this caught my attention. Unlike every other non-Stormlight Archives book he's written, the overview on the back cover for Way of Kings is written in the first person. Now, this question has been nagging at me for weeks...who's the narrator? I briefly considered Khriss, but the amount of times "us" is used seems to indicate a native inhabitant of Roshar, or at least someone who's been there long enough to consider him/her/itself one of Roshar's people. I considered it possibly being the Stormfather, but who would "we" be, who else with him? The narrator says that the "magics of ancient days can become ours again", and surely the Stormfather and whoever might be with him in that "we/our/us" haven't lost their magics entirely...of the four characters mentioned, the surgeon, assassin, liar, and highprince (pretty obviously Kaladin, Szeth, Shallan, and Dalinar, I think), one of these might redeem this ambiguous "us", and one will destroy "us". I doubt any of those four could really destroy the Stormfather, nor any higher power--Honor, Cultivation, and Odium are discounted because of this, I think. So, who is the narrator? Any thoughts or ideas? I can't imagine this wasn't intentional, knowing Sanderson....
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  21. Exactly, which is why I think it's likely if two of the three of you started as elims. Don't worry though, Unless I actually notice something suspicious from you guys, this will just remain a crackpot theory that won't influence my voting.
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  22. I was promised a candy bar if I went onto the forum and posted an absolutely heinous grammatical error, so... Y'all're getting this.
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  23. Am I a terrible person for making this Gordon Ramsay meme?
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  24. As I have pointed out before, this could be an extremely Aes Sedai answer, answering the intent behind the question given the obvious assumption made by its asker, rather than the actual question asked. My reason for this (other than believing more as @Ciridae does) is that Brandon says "what happens to Taravangian" rather than "what happened", i.e. "whenever he has heightened intelligence, the effect is similar to tapping zinc," rather than confirming that "on the day of the Diagram he had heightened intelligence." Also, technically "tapping enough zinc" to match someone of lower intellectual speed than yourself would just mean tapping a negative amount, e.g. storing it. That means that the answer can still be taken at more face value, whilst still being a little Aes Sedai: on the day of the Diagram Taravangian gained a negative increase to his intelligence in a similar way to a zinc ferring tapping a negative amount of zinc.
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  25. The metal that Paalm used is from a Shard we knew in 2015 (which is all we know now, excluding Ambition). That's a strong implication that Trell is a Shard we know of (although there are some other schools of thought, like Trell being a powerful worldhopper using pieces of Dominion he brought from Sel.) The best case I see right now isn't actually Odium, but Autonomy. Compare these quotes: Source. Source. That, combined with Khriss's revelation in Arcanum Unbounded that Autonomy interferes worlds other than Taldain, seems to point very strongly to Autonomy being behind Trell.
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  26. Bondsmith. I'm a military commander so I guess it fits. I had a couple of other orders in mind, however.
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  27. I went over both recordings, no new reveals outside of the Oathbringer interlude. Couple of small things (Roshar is a planet smaller than Earth, the Lord Ruler had more than one child, and that there are different manifestations of and ways to manipulate magic on Nalthis but they are nowhere near as distinct as they are on Sel, for example), but that's about it (plus the few already mentioned in this thread). I haven't transcribed any of them, I was waiting for a good WoB... it just never came. Good recording though, Brandon was clear throughout, even if many questions got drowned in the crowd's background noise (as happens during big events, unfortunately).
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  28. You like fishing for compliments? Seriously, I still remember that time a year or two ago when you were helping out that girl go through hell. I always think of that when I see your name and it reminds me of how strong, supportive and wonderful you are
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  29. Joe would do this literally just because he wanted to. He is that type of GM...there is a reason this game is titled "You don't want to play this"
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  30. I finished my final AP exam this afternoon, AP Statistics. It was my 11th, and final exam. I'm feeling pretty confident about my exams this year, with the exception of Calc BC. I might still be able to get credit for AB Calc at least if I'm lucky. I'm so glad to be done with ap exams for good, they are legit the worst.
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  31. It was pretty fun to play MTG with him, I mean I never played the game before but it was nice to just hang out with him and other people at the convention. Sanderson even helped orchestrate the whole event which I thought was a very nice thing to do.
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  32. I...doubt that will just "go away" because that's not how it works in real life, either. It needs to be a major point, as it's central to his character, and would be actually really bad if it was just swept under the rug (or less focus was put on it)... In short, it's an amazingly rare thing for people with depression (or other mental differences) to be represented, and moreover, to be represented well. I love it, seeing as I also have it, and it that respect, relate to Kaladin immensely.
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  33. I was with a group of people talking with Brandon for two hours in a hallway, and it was fantastic. A lot of what he said was awesome, and I retained some of it, but it would take some time to say it all specifically. Here are some random details. - Dalinar's wife isn't some minor character who's been mentioned somewhere else. She's someone completely new. - In one of the Interludes in Oathbringer, there's a character reading a bad romance novel, and he went nuts with the purple prose. - He hates the Hobbit movies. - His youngest son, Oliver, watches a ton of YouTube videos, and now believes that when you stop playing with something, you have to give the "Please like and subscribe" spiel, so he does that all the time. - He says the secret to approaching an editor is to ask them about what books they're editing, then pitch your own book at the end of the conversation. When he sold his first book, he spent three hours talking to the editor before he pitched his book at the end. - There are beta readers who are only just realizing in Oathbringer that Kaladin has depression. - His cat has a really long name. It starts with Pine Cone, and that's what they can the cat, but I think the full name is Pine Cone Neko Hello Kitty Chan Sparkle Oliver Sanderson. - I mentioned asking him about the Shardfork in the AMA, and he said, "Oh, so you're the Shardfork guy. You put that idea in my head." He said that he'll draw a fork in my copy of Arcanum Unbounded. - He said that foreshadowing is actually one of the easiest parts. His sweet spot for twists is 1/3 people guessing it ahead of time and most of the rest figuring it out on the page before. - Sixth of the Dusk is roughly 200 years after everything else in the Cosmere. - When working on Wheel of Time, he asked how Morgase was pronounced, and the two people he was talking to disagreed on how Robert Jordan pronounced it. Also, he had recordings of all the pronunciations sent to him, which he put on his iPod and shuffled with his songs. - He mentions fan theories and drawing the lines before fanservice when taking over The Wheel of Time. He mentioned that a lot of people wanted to see Narg, and he could have put him in there, but he didn't, obviously. But lots of people were asking about various things like sideways gateways, and he thought, "If 9 out of 10 fans are thinking about it, somebody in world should think about it." He gave my Shardfork as an example. - Sazed counting down the religions in The Hero of Ages wasn't originally there, but he added it to give the character a sense of progression. He says that negative progression can be as interesting as positive progression. - He finds Indian names difficult. - Another author, Kay Hawkins, showed up to give him a copy of her first book, The Stars Will Rise. She said that she met him earlier when she was going through a rough time, and now she's better and has her book out. All in all, it was great talking to him. He's really nice, and I would recommend. My brother is going to be there with people playing Magic with him tomorrow. I don't play Magic, but I'll be hanging around there.
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  34. So for a long time I have been developing developing a large universe in my head. It's basic elemental magic, with 12 basic powers. The premise is based on characters who essentially have god level powers in their respective elements. I never plan on writing it, but I do like thinking in it. The magic is really cool, but I love the idea of basically humanizing these immensely powerful beings is really soothing for my psyche lol. I call them the Power Keepers. Dragons and their ilk are featured. If you want I'll share more about it. Ok you do then lol. Here we go. Magic is a form of energy that can be essentially coded by a person with a strong enough aura. Aura, or life force, can have 12 different types, which form the various ways a mage can interact with magic. Children are born with either a pure aura, which tends to be powerful, or a somewhat mixed aura, of which the dominant power will be trained. The elements are Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Electromagnetic force, Life force, Kinetics, Gravity, Space-Time, Magic (Sorcery), Quantum, and Entropy. Powerful kids are picked up young to teach them how to wisely use their powers. Mages often learn specialization within their element, for example focusing on using ice within the Water element. Magic can be used in a myriad of ways, and each element has many paths of mastery and usage. Mages often create their own magical weapons, or pick up ancient weapons from more powerful mages. Spells can be imbued into objects with the proper preparation. There are many mages in The galaxy. But at any one time, the 12 most powerful mages, one for each respective element, form the Power Keepers. They keep a watch on the galaxy, not interfering in small events but rather in events that threaten the galaxy and the universe at large. They take one or two main apprentices, who are the next most powerful mages. Given how things in the universe go, a powerkeeper will usually die when an upcoming mage is more powerful and skilled, as the universe no longer needs them. The group also trains less powerful students, who learn to use their powers and then are sent back to their homes to be heroes, or whatever they choose to be. But the universe is under attack from a enemy so powerful the universe cannot stop it without help. So, following the law of complete balance in the universe, the universe creates a Great Mage, the single most powerful and skilled mage in their element. There will only ever be 12 in the history of the universe, and when they die, they ascend to a higher dimension to join the battle against the Enemy, and await the rest of the great mages to finally stop the Enemy from chewing its way through the dimensions. The story begins on earth with a blossoming water mage (who is basically me. I developed this story when I was feeling fairly powerless in elementary school) who discovers the nefarious Shadow, who has been keeping mages from becoming mages for the past 2000 years. He eventually becomes the dragon warrior (which is exactly what it sounds like. Really cool), is trained by the Tarok-Bajir (the best swordsman species in the galaxy. They have blades coming out of their elbows), and in fighting the Shadow rediscovers the purpose of the great mages, of which he is the Great Water Mage. He refounds the powerkeepers. I also have the story of the final battle with the enemy, the magical society known as the 12 cities set up after the Enemy, the dragon civil wars, and a powerkeeper apprentice who chooses to find his own path in Sorcery (currently working on this one right now, he is the Rogue Mage.) As well as the story of the Celestial dragons. I plan on next working out an Electro mage, to help thrash out their powers. If I were to ever write it, I might start with the Water Mage story, or I might start with the Rogue Mage or the guardians of the 12 cities. Simply because those 2 stories are less over powered. in fact, the guardians of the cities are some of my favorite characters. They wield the ancient weapons of the Great Mages, and guard 12 beautiful cities on 12 planets, each built around a particular element (imagine elantris, a lot bigger, one elantris per element). Now I am perfectly aware that this magic system breaks sanderson laws of magic, in that the limitations are more interesting than the Powers. But I'm playing with that theory and saying ok. What if there ARE no limitations? What kind of enemy would be worthy of such a hero? What would be their role? So the Water Mage is unusual in his time of how he uses his power for more offensive reasons, rather than the scholarly reasons mages use it for typically. There is also eventually a technological empire of non-mages where they have an artificial planet called Infinitasius, which is NOT a death star. They are the same timeline as the 12 cities. links to various things: entropy, an Unfair Competition, The 12 Cities, The Rogue Mage, Dragon Warrior
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  35. EDIT: Okay, kids. I'm super pumped to see you all using this database and finding good stuff. But please don't tag me whenever you post something from it. Instead, link to the Excel sheet itself, or to this post with instructions on how to filter. Or just link straight to the reddit comment in question. It's my 1000th post, so I figured I'd do something special. Like many of us, I've been concerned with notable info from Reddit that is difficult to find. So I decided to go on the hunt and pull together as much as I can. The following link is to an Excel sheet (you don't need Excel, it will work completely in the browser) with 749 WoBs, some of which were quite hard to find. https://1drv.ms/x/s!AplGxH8o0rfpnV1bJxqsi4NxrKMC I know there are some mistakes in my data; I have a couple WoBs without dates, a few where I mistyped dates and have a WoB from the future, apparently. If you see any of them, feel free to point them out to me in this thread. Also, I only concerned myself with cosmere-relevant stuff, no Reckoners, no WoT, no general writing advice, none of Brandon's terrible jokes. Many of the quotes from the AMAs will already be in Theoryland, but I haven't done a cross-reference to check on the exact extent. Brandon has a habit of returning to an old AMA to keep on answering stuff after people have stopped watching to catalogue it, so the 2015 AMA especially has a lot of stuff that didn't make it to Theoryland. The earlier ones, maybe not so much. I don't have any tags in here. I am working on tagging them in my own database, but that doesn't carry over well to a simple Excel sheet. So, the best way to find something is using a keyword search. If you click the arrow on the right of the first column header, you can use text filters to search for particular words or phrases. Oh, and I did break up any comment that had multiple questions, which should make it easier to skim through stuff when you've run a search. You can also look by specific thread. If you go to the right, you will see many columns for events: 5 AMAs, 6 Oathbringer updates, one Secret History update, and a single column to capture anything that isn't in one of the threads Brandon started. To select all from a particular event, click on the arrow, select "Filter..." and unselect Blanks. (If there's an "x" in that column, it means it was from that event.) This is useful for two reasons: first of all, I think the best way to become familiar with WoBs is to look through an event report, rather than look by subject. And second, this should make it easy to add to Theoryland. (Heyo, @WeiryWriter and @Ted aka WinespringBrother.) It's a little scrappy, but it's functional. Hopefully this will all make it into Theoryland, in which case it doesn't need to look nice here. And anyone else can feel free to download a copy or take this data to use in your own WoB catalogue. But, for now, it's not too complicated to search through here. That being said, I waited way too long to start doing this, and I am missing a good chunk of stuff. Theoryland did a good job cataloguing Brandon's WoBs up through 2013. Due to how Reddit lets you view past comments, I can only look back to April 2016 for anything that isn't a topic Brandon himself started. So, there are just over two years of Brandon's random comments on other peoples' threads that we're missing. I hope he was doing most of his WoB-dropping in the 2015 AMA and in his various Oathbringer updates. But, if you have anything that I am missing from that time period (looking at you, @Kurkistan), please send me links, so I can include them. So, there you have it. Happy 1000th post to me, and good hunting to all of you.
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  36. Today, I wrote a little something on why I feel Adolin should not be being paired with some random new girl. This isn't about Shallan or about Adolin/Shallan (not really though I do mention it) or about Kaladin, this is about how I feel it wouldn't work with his character. So here it is. Please all take note this remains my personal opinion, other readers might have very different opinions and the world would be boring if we all agreed Adolin's character has been strongly define through his inability to form meaningful relationships with his peers. While the precise reasons as to why he serial dates have been the subject of several discussions, Brandon has recently given us the answer: Adolin doesn't serial date because he can't settle nor because he enjoys it, but because he can't face his fear of inadequacy when it comes to forming bonds with others. This element has been one of Adolin's most defining attribute throughout the first two books. It is most obvious with his false superficial friendships and his obvious pain (it hurt more than any blows he ever received onto the battlefield) at finding out just how little he meant to them, but it is also obvious through his behavior with basically everyone: his father, his friends, girls and people in general. It is why so many readers have such a hard time characterizing Adolin: he has few viewpoints, but many other characters reflect on him and those reflections are based on what Adolin is allowing them to see. Hence, Shallan notes his "reputation" and the one time his eyes wanders, but does not know he only does it out of an unconscious mechanism which makes him look for a way out of basically any romantic relationships. She does not know he is probably more afraid of their relationship than she of it. Kaladin only sees the superficial arrogant princeling, Dalinar the obedient son: nobody truly sees the self-doubting, non-confident Adolin, even many readers. Except this Adolin, the one whom I refer to as the "real Adolin", is very much written into the books: we read him when he talks to his Blade or through his inner thoughts where he mentions just how afraid he is about this world which refuses to stay still and wants to change so badly.Hence, Adolin's entire character hardships revolve around those core elements and is unlikely to get resolution unless they are addressed.Addressing those issues will obviously require page time and a character progression completed with a denouement in order to be consistent with story so far. Thus, plucking some random girl with a minor supporting role within the story, to be Adolin's girlfriend is just not going to do it. How is this minor, probably viewpoint-less, character supposed to help Adolin overcome issues he presumably had for many years now? How is Adolin meeting yet another random girl going to push him out of his comfort zone, force him to deal with his personal fears? It won't because it is basically what he has been doing for years: and it isn't working. It won't just go away because it might be more convenient for the main narrative if Adolin were just this serial dater who wants to have fun up until he finds the one girl. He isn't this guy: there are ample proofs both within the books and throughout WoB to disapprove this idea.Adolin's character resolution thus cannot pass through some random minor side character, especially since his character isn't exactly one of the top protagonist. Unraveling Adolin will require another character with viewpoints to comment on it, not to forget mentioning how unsatisfying it would be if his issues suddenly vanished because one random girl walks into Urithiru. If Adolin's issues were not real, then yes he would have presumably settled for someone, but giving he has dated every single eligible young woman, given the scope of his trailing record, I just cannot see one random girl settling all or how it could even come close to a satisfying character resolution.To me, as a reader, the idea Adolin should forget all about Shallan, the one girl he has had a genuine connection with mostly because her genuine personality got pass his natural defenses (and also the fact she treats him as an intellectual equal, not taking for granted he can't understand or he is an idiot) in order to set his eyes onto yet another of those random girl is completely inconsistent with the character have read so far, it clashes with both written text/WoB and it deprives Adolin from having any growth at all. In shorts, Adolin has issues to deal with, they can't just be ignored and have them disappear in favor of some random girl would be poor writing, IMHO. Of course, it is entirely possible Brandon will introduce a new female character to pose as Adolin's wife. It is entirely possible Brandon will have Dalinar force Adolin to marry to secure an alliance... Oathbringer Spoiler It however wouldn't be as satisfying as having Adolin overcome his issues with a character able to comment on it, a character he actually cares for. In shorts, since I cannot see how the minor random girl could fulfill this task, not after having spend time developing the Adolin/Shallan.
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  37. Awww he's so nervous and spontaneous! I like him already! He was now waiting anxiously for a response, and looked as if he might pass out if she didn't say something soon. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Let's do it." Jemma took out a piece of paper and wrote down her address. 321 fitz-simmons Ln. She added a note to the bottom of the paper that read: See you soon! <3 ________________________________________________ Okay so going through the thread so far I think that Cloudjumper is more suspicious than cluny and personally I'd rather not have a double lynch unless we have better information to go on. I can see where a double lynch could be helpful but I think it should wait until we have more suspicions to act on. Also @randuir hey! that's siblingism lol...could you imagine how fun that would be though! It should happen sometime!
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  38. Killing thugs in an alleyway in order to prevent additional women from being molested is also morally right.It is however unlawful and dishonorable.Unlawful because one isn't allowed to condone his own justice: taking onto oneself to kill thugs is the equivalent as taking onto oneself to kill a traitor and a mass murderer. One could even argue the second one posed a much bigger threat than the small town thugs. Brandon also agrees one is much worst than the other.Dishonorable because purposefully trapping the thugs with the intend to kill them is not honorable, neither is slaying them as they are running away. Killing someone in the back, no matter how despicable and/or deserving is never honorable.And thus nobody is arguing a to whether or not Jasnah deserves to be a Radiant nor are they arguing as to whether or not her actions violated the first ideal.I could also argue Shallan poisoning and strangulating her father also is dishonorable as honor implies a fair fight into which both parties have a decent chance of winning. It was morally right, oh so morally right, but honorable? Not quite so. There is nothing honorable in bringing a poisoned cup of wine to someone who trusts you, no matter how justified you are in doing so. Thus any assassination attempt could be seen as dishonorable and would likely be frown upon by Windrunners, but honor is not a finality by itself. It isn't always the answer.This is another one against Jasnah whom has been operating an assassin network.It is thus the definition of the first ideal fluctuates greatly from one order to the next. Elsecallers do not define the journey in the same manner as Windrunners do. For Windrunners, being honorable is the journey, but for other orders, it might be the journey is to know when to take action, even if there are risks associate to them. Jasnah, Shallan and Lift's journeys aren't about them needing to be honorable. Their paths is... different.Adolin's action are thus not against the first ideal nor would they be frowned upon by all orders. Windrunners, Skybreakers and probably Bondsmight wouldn't agree, but these are three orders out of 10. I would also point out, if Dalinar wants to rule, then he cannot impose the Bondsmith's ways of thinking to everyone as, as it can be observed, many orders dichonomy go straight against the straight/rigid notion of honor he seems to have. There are times where leniency is the right path to follow because ruling isn't just about applying laws and honor code, it is also about knowing when morality takes over.Adolin murdering Sadeas was unlawful, but it can be argued the law is unfair as it allowed Sadeas to go unpunished for a greater crime. It is also dishonorable because he jumped on his opponent without taking the time to warn in advance. It remains however more honorable than Jasnah's killing of the thugs as Sadeas did have a decent chance of fighting back, the thugs didn't. The fight was even and had Sadeas known about Adolin's injuries, he would have most likely won (it is easy to disarm a man with a broken wrist who needs to rely on his injured hand to get enough strength).It isn't however against the first ideal as it may be the journey, for Adolin, was to do just that: to act when honor bond orders refuse to.To take up the higher moral stance and to state you will not allow bullies to win.To stop listening to all his father is saying.To be him.I say, Adolin isn't putting the end before the means, because killing Sadeas isn't the end, it is the journey. Also Kaladin/Dalinar aren't always right in everything they do as honor isn't always the right answer to every problem.
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  39. Tapping weight probably works like F-Steel where you aren't going to be directly harmed by the power itself but you could be indirectly harmed by your application of it. For example, if you fall through a building because you suddenly weigh far more than the structure can support and you injure yourself in the fall, F-Iron isn't going to help you with that. We see this happen to Wax on multiple occasions so I think the above is pretty solid reasoning. Likewise you probably can't tap too much in the way of senses for that to hurt you by itself but if someone were to lob a flashbang at you while you have super-hearing or super-sight the Feruchemy wouldn't protect you against that. Not sure about some of the more esoteric ones like F-Bendalloy and whether you could provide your body with more energy than it could handle, or hurt yourself by eating too much at once while storing. I'm also kind of curious about F-Cadmium and how that would interact under pressure. I presume that it would have some sort of safety to keep yourself from self-induced oxygen poisoning but it might do funky things if you were a diver.
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  40. A few have objected that tapping too much mind (via compounding) would destroy the person, do we really have a good reason to believe this? Rust, we even see Marasi move so fast she creates vacuum in the space where her hand was. She was not ripped apart. Unless I'm mistaken, all the evidence points to the body surviving no matter what power is tapped, and this being a feature of feruchemy. Or do we have WoB saying buyer-beware when it comes to compounding? (first post, be gentle)
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  41. So can Mistborn. If a Mistborn were in a city with infinite reserves, than the Surgebinder would as well have infinite Stormlight. Take Kaladin for example. One of the great things about the Radiants is that they are not just given powers and become oh so powerful, but they had qualities before hand that already boosted their powers forward. Vin, as Mistborn, I still love her to death, only knew things that a street urchin would know, such as to survive, same as Kelsier. Perhaps that is what sets the two series apart. That powers on Scadrial choose those who have more the talent of mind/will, while on Roshar, Knights Radiant are chosen because they have a certain characteristic that completely sets them apart from the rest: Shallan's art, Kaladin's spearmanship. Okay, that doesn't make sense in words, but it sure made in sense in my head. Anyway, back to Kaladin, for the Rioting/Soothing, I almost feel like that wouldn't work on a KR. In Kaladin's darkest times, he almost to succumbed to a lot of the pressure that had built up around him, but Syl was always there to help pull him out of it. The spren itself can take the guise of many things. A spear in Kaladin's case, a sword in others, or even a fork. They can even take on a sense of a shield. When Kaladin was in the highstorm, he had visions of Syl standing over him protecting him from deathspren. As for the ripping metal out his body, the only person known to do that was the Lord Ruler and he was both Mistborn and Feruchemist, unless you count Vin when she was in all her "misty" glory at the end of the third book, but then that wouldn't be under fair leveled circumstances. Kaladin specifically can fly, and can change a direction as easily as a Mistborn and also has the advantage of making himself lighter which is only a Feruchemist ability. And using Steelpushing or Ironpulling? Kaladin could just as easily do what he did with the Parshendi and preform a Reverse Lashing. But I'm gonna give you an upvote for all you've said: you've really made me fight for this side and even more respect Mistborn.
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  42. Due to health reasons, my activity this game will be lowered substantially from recent games. I will endeavour to participate as much as I can, but am conscious that I need to focus on regaining my health.
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  43. Things I've learned while moving: If you set up your living room the exact same way it was in your old house, you'll feel a little sad every time you look at it. Apparently, not every family has our amount of baking supplies. (Three 9" cake pans, three 8" cake pans, two bundt pans, three pie plates, three cheesecake pans, and a tart pan. And that's only the stuff specifically for desserts.) You never realize just how bad at art you used to be until you find old pictures you used to be super proud of and your eyes start to bleed. Why the storm do we have four bottles of coriander in our spice drawer??
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  44. Here is what I made. Hope you like it! Edit: google drive link https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0bN9EcUb__OSVVyQzc2V0ZmX2M
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  45. I asked how he came up with the abilities and the metals associated with them. He said at first, the Allomantic abilities were associated with abilities an assassin would have, and he slowly changed them to suit a heist crew, with there being an ability for the tough guy, the charismatic guy, the thief, and so on. For the metals, he wanted to use metals that had alloys, since it is called Allomancy, and he also wanted to use metals that made sense to give certain kinds of abilities. Then, (Mistborn Era 2 and Secret History Spoilers Incoming)
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  46. 4. Personally, and I realize this is entirely my own opinion and not some sort of solid fact, I do not really see any huge similarities between Vin and Marasi. In the same way that we saw someone recently comparing Kaladin and Peter Pan (of all fictional characters) in a recent Facebook poll, it is very easy to draw superficial connections between two characters and claim they are the same. E.g. Wax and Wayne are very similar to each other and are probably clones. Examples: both fight crime, both are strong warriors, both are twinborn, both have a rough sense of humor, both are from Northern Scadrial, both have used a large shotgun during battle, etc. So, in short, if you see connections between Vin and Marasi that lead you to believe there is something more going on then, by all means, have fun theorizing. I simply do not see it.
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  47. There's a street named Kenton Street in Mistborn 1. Make of that what you will.
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  48. Ten years later: "How in damnation do keep your metalminds so full? It's like you spent years storing nonstop!" "A good education works wonders, sir."
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  49. Go Steelpushing over people's houses at night, then making all the door handles rattle and using zinc and brass to make them afraid. Awakening the curtains to catch and smother them, one by one. Then laugh, because you've turned the Cosmere into a horror movie.
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  50. They could turn WoT into sort of a Star Wars universe, maybe, and have a bunch of authors write stories in there. That's about the only reasonable way I see for them to continue publishing things in that world. Sanderson has his own ideas, stories, and career. It wouldn't be fair to the world if he bottled that up to continue writing in Randland.
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