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There was a silence to the air, and it was a silence of three parts. The first part was made by the things that were lacking. If there had been birds in the trees to sing, to croon and twitter into the night air, they would have filled the first silence with their colourful song. If there had been the sounds of wildlife, to break the silence as they cracked the brush under their feet in the forest... but there was no wildlife nearby, and so the first silence remained. The troupe stood staring at the embers of the fireplace. There was no clinking of pots as heapings of stew was doled out into the bowls of hungry travellers, no sounds of boisterous conversation as each of the troupe tried to outdo the others. There was only the ashes, and the sullen, sunken eyes. In doing so, they added a smaller, sullen silence to the first one. It made an alloy, of sorts - a counterpoint. The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you stood for an hour, you might begin to notice it - you could feel it in the trees hanging overhead and in the stones resting on the ground. It was in the slow air as it dusted by, holding the secrets it held of ages long since vanished to myth. And it was in the slowly dissipating ashes of the tents, as they slowly fell apart, decaying away and leaving nothing behind, except for the third silence. For this was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was as deep and wide as autumns ending, as heavy as a great-river smooth silence. It was the sound of the troupe, waiting to die.

"When the hearthfire turns to blue, What to do? What to do? Run outside. Run and hide." In the middle of a forest whose trees grow not in this world, no moon overhead, a troupe of performers sat around an unlit campfire. Many of them were engaged in a heated argument over how best to start the fire, or even whether to start the fire at all. Others stood on the sidelines, quietly juggling. Others peered in from the darkness, watching with interest. One waited patiently within a sprawling tree, softly chuckling to itself. . . . Shreya the stargazer looked up at the sky overhead disapprovingly. It was wrong. That was the wrong sky. She walked back towards her tent, deciding to consult her star charts. A short walk later, she sat on the floor of her tent, leafing through the star charts. This doesn't make any sense. The stars were all wrong. This wasn't even a different part of the sky, it wasn't even the same sky at all. But then... In a moment of terrifying revelation, she pieced it together. "Fae..." I have to warn the others. The candle-flame that she read by turned blue. . . . The argument grew more heated, and the unlit hearth grew more cold. It was, naturally, all in good fun. This was a troupe that specialized in displays of fire, and they took pride in the fact. Around they went, each one seemingly trying to top the last with a yet more ludicrous method of lighting the fire, the troupe becoming absorbed in the debate. And thus, they did not notice at first when an intensely bright light appeared amongst the troupe's tents. When they did notice, they more or less dropped everything, running to the source of the light. Brilliant blue flames licked around the stargazer's tent, swiftly devouring it. The troupers did all they could to put out the fire. By the time they succeeded, Shreya's tent along with two other nearby ones had been reduced to mere ashes. The stargazer herself was nowhere to be seen. . . . Shreya (NPC) has been killed! She was a Stargazer! And now the show begins. Apologies for the delay, you should all be getting role PMs soon if you don't have them yet. Burning text is overrated imo, but still is kind of the obvious choice for a fire-related title banner. Also, a small rule clarification: the master doc that the Cthaeh has access to is a version that updates every rollover, not continuously as orders are submitted. And finally, a friendly reminder that failing to cast a vote (or having it nulled) three times in this game will result in death. Cast 1. Elandera as Ahnya2. Eternum as Enerin3. Droughtbringer as Pyra Mainiak4. Aonar Faileas as Aorais Kipthorn5. Devotary of Spontaneity as Gaskana6. Walin as Nelden Dastardly7. Fifth Scholar as Marne8. Snipexe as Snip9. Alvron as Laon10. Steeldancer as Squick11. Megasif as Mega12. Xinoehp512 as Reyalp Nwoknu13. Arinian as Ray Fox14. Orlok as Locke15. I think I am here as Itiah II16. Arraenae as Alev17. Bort as Master Ash18. Wonko the Sane as Fifth Daughter Resterford19. Cadmium Compounder as Deric Watar20. Young Bard as Neris Countdown

The thing is, there's no such thing as a member of a group of oppressors that 'has done nothing' to a group being oppressed, because we're talking about society wide systems here. Many members of groups of oppressors would say they've done nothing TO the group their own actively oppresses, but inaction is an action in and of itself. If they're not doing anything to actively combat and dismantle the systems of power their group uses to keep that other group oppressed, they ARE in fact doing something to that oppressed group themselves. They are saying implicitly and through their own inaction against the status quo, that they are alright with the status quo (which does, it can't be forgotten, benefit them in a variety of ways). They are saying 'the fact that you are undeservedly oppressed by members of a group that have more power than you and that I have equal power to, does not affect me personally enough or move me enough that I feel a need to use my power to help change that because it is right and good and moral, this is your problem, not mine.' Enabling oppression - even in the form of passive condonement - IS supporting oppression, and yes, that absolutely is something members of an oppressed group can hate them for. If you are on fire, and there is a person standing nearby watching you burn and doing nothing to help you, nothing to put the fire out, get you a blanket, grab some water, call for help - are you going to hate that person, even if they didn't set you on fire themselves? The fact that they see you suffering, see you dying, but it doesn't affect them personally enough that they care....that's not cause for hatred? And then when you start yelling at that person "I'm on fire, I'm suffering, I'm dying here, I need help, get me some water, what's wrong with you?" and that person starts yelling back about not making them feel guilty, this isn't their fault, they didn't do anything to you personally so why are you acting like they're the enemy, and suddenly they're having an argument with you, a person ON FIRE AND IN ACTIVE PAIN AND SUFFERING about how their guilt and feelings and emotional conflict because of what you yelled at them is just as big a problem and more of a priority for them then the fact that you're on fire and they could do something to help you but they're too busy being worried about how you've made them feel and justifying that's a bigger issue than your immediate pain and suffering? You're not gonna hate that person who won't just shut up and help you because they've somehow taken your pain and suffering and made it about them and how it affects them personally? Because you know what? There may be people standing around who DO try and help and put out that fire, and like....they may get caught in the crossfire of the person on fire yelling at all the people standing around doing nothing. But a person taking action to put out the fire because they see you suffering and want to help is NOT going to care that they get yelled at even while trying to help because the person is ON FIRE AND IN PAIN and lashing out due to suffering and there are a LOT of people standing around not caring and doing nothing about it, and someone who actually cares about your suffering is not going to begrudge the fact that in your active state of pain and suffering, your aim is a little off and they got hit with some vitriol they know they didn't deserve. Because THAT person understands it is not about THEM, that if they only help you when its convenient for them or you make them feel good about themselves for helping, they'd still be making it about them when it should be purely about "regardless of all other facts, this person is suffering and I want to help them."

Can I have some of your firemoss? Seems like it's pretty good stuff there.

Ok, so ever since I first read Bands of Mourning when it first came out, I've been wondering about this. (disclaimer, I am not suggesting that Brandon is going to do something like this in the books at all, just that its a curious idea.) There were 2 discussions in particular that brought the idea to my attention. First, when Melaan patched a bullet wound for Marasi. She took a nibble to create a flesh bandage for Marasi's intestine an skin and tissue, which is a pretty awesome idea in itself. Then Wayne was later telling Marasi to be careful w/ the Kandra spike. He said something along the lines of "Be careful not to poke yourself and turn into a Kandra" Anyway, Wayne is certainly crazy enough to make the attempt and he might intrigue Melaan enough to try it out. The attempt being turning Wayne into a Kandra or 1/2 Kandra. All Melaan really needs is enough food and focus to make the attempt. Wayne needs enough health stored just in case. If he stores up enough health, or gets a identity-free metalmind with the gold misting ability stored in it, he can compound for the health. If the Kandra can recreate a body so precisely, what about creating an entire body that way? So Melaan eats Wayne, slowly, and rebuilds each piece, connecting the nerves along the way. So as long as Melaan is connected she can be a life support system. If the attempt fails entirely, Wayne regenerates with stored health. So Wayne gets a nearly full body prosthesis made from Kandra flesh. The next challenge would be how Wayne would gain any control over the "kandra" nerves of the flesh instead of just the synthesized human ones. Could Melaan leave the prosthetic behind, attached to wayne, and let it function like a normal body? Or, would the kandra flesh, separated from the Kandra revert to dead mistwraith flesh? Would Wayne's ability as bloodmaker, reject and regenerate the full body, or would it incorporate the kandra Prosthesis? Yes, I know I sound like a mad scientist. Thoughts?

When you dub putting dating women on hold "going malen" while you get your financial situation under control ...

VERY debatable. I'm with you on this, Steeldancer. First law in Fiction: Sanderson trumps all others.

I was going to lurk around a bit, but of course this had to come along... I'll join as Shree King Eelz. Rumor has it that I grow louder when I'm about to feed on human flesh.

[Note: References to events from Warbreaker, Oathbringer, Alloy of Law, Bands of Mourning] In Vasher, we have a person from Nalthis who (a) is being hunted down, and (b) is a worldhopper on Roshar. On Roshar, there is Stormlight (an internal effect) and the Surge of Regrowth (an external one). We've seen Kaladin and Shallan use Stormlight to heal serious, even fatal injuries so quickly they use it tactically: Kaladin uses multiple Lashings to kick Shardplate so hard that it cracks, breaking his bones, but heals in time to land on his feet, and Shallan literally walks away (for shock effect) with an arrow through her head that stays there for so long she healed around it (and had to re-injure herself to remove it). In this, it is very similar to Gold Feruchemy, where Bloodmakers with access to a large enough goldmind can make tactical use of fatal self-harm, as with Miles exploding dynamite in his own hand, or Wayne implementing "Rotten Tomato", with the destroyed body parts regenerating. We've seen that Stormlight can regenerate missing body parts, even after many years, as seen with Lopen's arm. In his monologuing to Vin, we hear from The Lord Ruler that he'd used his massive goldminds (derived from Compounding) to survive beheadings - which means he literally grew a new head. Multiple times. (I like to think that he kept at least one of them in a pickle jar for the shock value, it fits right in with his show-off nature.) And we've seen that Lifeless are Awakened corpses, needing only one Breath for their Command, but that Vasher could also Awaken little straw men, too. So there's probably no requirement for a Lifeless to all be the body of one person - it could be an assemblage of body parts that are just as much "in the shape of a human" as a single corpse would be. I mean, why waste body parts if you have the body of a solider missing a leg, just get a leg from another corpse and fit it together? It might take an extra Breath or five, but it seems like it should work? So, if Regrowth can do pretty much the same thing to another person as Stormlight could do for a Radiant, and if Regrowth also matches F-Gold in most respects in terms of what it can do, all Vasher (Zahel) has to do now is: Find a corpse whose torso could pass for his own Brace himself and cut off his extremities in turn, with Renarin or Lift on hand to instantly regenerate them as they come off Stitch his limbs and head onto the torso Worldhop back to Nalthis (possibly having to pickle the Frankenvasher for the trip) Get enough Breath to Awaken the Frankenvasher as a Lifeless Result: "Look, Vasher's as dead as the Lifeless Clod/Arsteel, because here's a Lifeless Blockhead/Vasher!" In theory you could do this just with Vasher's head, but that might be too obvious. Unless the Lifeless Awakening would work better with fewer combined parts, he'd have more work to find a body with the right height and coloration beyond a torso that could pass.

The latest technology in 1980's Scadrial, a dual splinter processor well in advance of the equivalent technology we had in the 1980's :-P I think that computers will become a major force in the future Cosmere novels, as they will allow for mechanical systems to use investiture in predictable and programmable ways. Now it is possible that some cultures, especially Scadrial, will develop the technology that we have well in advance of finding out how to use the metallic arts, I think that at least some of it will involve using the arts to make computers more easily or with greater capacities than what we currently have now - I think that might even be a twist in one of the 1980's stories. So, ignoring the possibilities of them developing computers as we have, how can the different systems be used to produce computers, both by themselves and by interacting with other systems? Sel Roshar Scadrial Threnody Nalthis I also think that anyone who has read the unpublished novels would have some theories as well, but I think it is best to keep those speculations out of this thread.

WHEN YOU GET THIS CONVERSATION!!! Listening to Writing Excuses and his lectures have finally paid off in things other than my writing! When you have 16 pieces of paper laid all over your floor, that you are in the process of coloring each of the Feurochemic and Allomatic symbols on. There are two on each, and I'm writing the basic info for each metal/person who can use that metal under each symbol. When you get your Kindle taken away for a day, and the only thing you miss is the OB audiobook you are in the process of listening to. This is my third time reading it!

Yeah, I'm going to bow out of this conversation, because when you respond to the example 'how would you feel if you were on fire, in pain and suffering and dying and a person near you was watching, doing nothing' with "you could feel ANNOYED or FRUSTRATED" but hatred, no, that's too far, that's not justified.....like, we are never going to reach an agreement because I do not think it is my ideals that are the problem. Sorry, I just think that the viewpoint that most people are inherently selfish is a convenient self-justification people make to never actually act towards change. They don't have to as long as they feel everyone else is just as self-motivated as themselves. I think there actually are quite a lot of people in the world whose first response to seeing a person on fire would be to do what they can to put it out regardless of what the person is yelling at them. That a person on fire making them FEEL bad isn't going to make them go, 'you know what? you don't deserve my help' and walk away, not caring that they can still hear them suffering behind them. Literally everything you're saying keeps coming back with ways to treat victims as being as crucial to resolving the hardships their victimizers inflicted on them, and you keep quoting me while conveniently sidestepping how I've pointed out that when oppressors point to their oppressed victims' reactions to justify their continued oppression, that is a convenience, not a necessity, because they didn't need that reaction to make their first action. You seem to want so badly to hold the oppressed to a higher standard of behavior than the oppressors, because over and over you keep focusing on what the oppressed SHOULD do and the importance of THEIR actions, while treating 'of course the oppressive group should stop hating and oppressing people' like an offhanded footnote of little consequence rather than the CAUSE AND DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC of an oppressor/oppressed dynamic. I maintain if we all spent more time holding the group that's actually responsible for a dynamic accountable for perpetuating that dynamic, we'd get a lot further in ending these dynamics. When you prioritize focusing more on how the oppressed should not respond with hate WHILE continuing to be oppressed than you do on getting the oppressors to stop doing what they're doing REGARDLESS of whether it benefits them, all you do is expect more from the victims while expecting nothing from the victimizers, because based on your own theory of most people not being able to do something unless its comfortable or convenient for them, why on EARTH would oppressors ever STOP oppressing people and benefiting from having more power than them so long as they continue to feel comfortable about doing so? Like, you're hypothetically worrying more about what will happen with the oppressed group's hatred of their oppressors ONCE the system of oppression is dismantled, and using that to argue more about what THEY should do than worrying about what their oppressors are doing. But the thing is.....you're literally looking to a future time/event that hasn't happened yet and using what MIGHT happen wrong after that point to justify not doing anything to fix what's wrong in the current day, because you do know, whether you admit it or not, that regardless of whatever the oppressed do, the situation will not change unless and until the oppressing group (the group with the POWER) is forced or feels shamed or pressured into changing things. And you're content to let the status quo exist because you're more worried about what MIGHT happen when the oppressed group is no longer oppressed than you are about the fact that the current oppressive dynamic exists. So.....yeah. This is all very intellectually and morally dishonest, and I have no interest in catering further to it. You expect more from the oppressed group than the oppressors because you're worried if they don't manage to be the bigger people, the oppressors might someday end up oppressed and that scares you, because you think about how bad that would be....FOR THE OPPRESSORS. And that hypothetical future is a bigger priority to you than the reality of the present where things are that bad for the oppressed.....and yet you've managed to convince yourself that you're not part of the problem and not like other members of an oppressive group who ACTUALLY make things bad for the oppressed. Let's call a spade a spade: You're literally arguing that its okay for people to stand around watching a person on fire burn, because they don't want to do anything to put out the flames unless they're sure the person on fire isn't going to hate them for anything once they're safe and not on fire anymore. BUT at the exact same time, in the exact same post, you are also arguing that its not justified for the person on fire to HATE those who are willing to stand by and watch them suffer, because of 'basic decency and humanitarian kindness'.....that you don't actually seem to believe exists, given your stance that most people would not help a person on fire just for the sake of helping end their suffering, if that person were yelling at them and making them feel bad at the same time. It's hypocritical reasoning that only exists because you're interested in advancing an argument that benefits and validates a stance you already feel justified in taking....rather than because you're interested in your stance being formed by an argument that looks at the entire situation rather than just the facet that centers on your stake in that argument.

The Second Law of Fiction: When in doubt, consult Sanderson, if RAFO'd, rinse and repeat.

Alev sat with the rest of her squad, surrounding Yusef and Mirac around a grubby board of Tak. They watched, annoyed, as Yusef picked up one piece, considered, put it back down, and then picked up another piece. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Make your move already," Alev groaned. "We don't have all day." "Yeah Yusef," Mirac said, smirking. "We all know you're going to lose, no need to drag it out." The other members of Bravo Squad joined in the catcalls. Finally, painstakingly, Yusef reached for a black piece and moved it with trembling fingers. "That's your final move?" Mirac said. "Not as bad as I expected, but not good enough." Immediately, he moved his pieces, and the trap snapped shut. Bravo Squad watched in enthralled rapture as Mirac ruthlessly took down all of Yusef's pieces. "Hey, break it up, break it up," Omer said. Unlike the rest of them, his Lieutenant's uniform was clean, with even a hint of perfume in the sharply crisped folds. "We've been shipped to the front, men! We leave at noon, so you have two hours to pack everything up. Get moving!" The soldiers swiftly set to work, taking down the tents and folding their bedrolls. Even Yusef, slow as he was, helped Mirac pack away the Tak pieces with a newfound energy. The front, they were being shipped to the front! Alev packed her bags feeling as if a thousand butterflies had jammed themselves into her belly. She'd never killed someone before. Alev watched her squadmates, imagining them in formation, jabbing spears into a faceless enemy just as they'd been trained. The front...She could already smell the acrid tang of smoke in the air, brought by a breeze that whispered of war. Alev woke with a start. The front! She'd thought those nightmares were over. She rubbed her nose wearily, trying to get that cruelly familiar scent out of her nose, but the tang of smoke refused to go away. A bright blue light shone through the cloth of her tent. Alev frowned, and hesitantly peeled back her tent flap. Intense blue flames licked at Shreya's tent. It danced in the air, spreading faster than should be possible. Hoarse screams sounded from under the hiss and crackle of the flames. For a heartbeat, all Alev could do was stare at the fire, beautiful in the way Mirac had destroyed Yusef so, so easily, despite all his careful consideration. Then Alev sprang to her feet to fetch a bucket.

Hi. In the non-internet world, people call me Sara. I prefer they/them to she/her, but most people who know me in-person don't realize that. I write and publish speculative fiction. I've had moderate success with short story publishing, working my way up from non-paying markets to the semi-pro world. I've had a few pro paying sales, but not to officially recognized SWFA markets. If you google my full name, Sara Codair, you will find my website and too many short stories that were published places that didn't pay me, and also a good number of short fiction publications I did get money from. The most successful one is a story called Melanoma Americana, which is published in Alternative Truths anthology. My user name, ShatteredSmooth, comes from an obsession I once had with sea glass, but it may also be an accurate metaphor for my mental health, or occasional lack thereof. I often claim to be awkward and lack social skills, but I'm a writing teacher and tutor at a community college, and unless they are lying to try and get higher grades, my students really seem to like me. And the students who tell me I'm a good teacher are usually getting A's anyway, although, my best writers tend to think they are the worst writers, so maybe they don't realize they are getting A's. My short fiction tends to dark and adult, while my novels, still a little on the dark side, are generally YA. NineStar Press is publishing the fist one (Power Surge, YA urban fantasy) and have already published a novelette set in the same world. I try to write two novels a year -- one in the summer and one in NaNoWriMo. When it comes to critiquing, I am flexible. If you want sentence level feedback, I can talk editing for way longer than I want to. It may not be apparent in my writing, but I am great at teaching and explaining grammar. If you want big picture, character, plot, or world-building comments, I enjoy discussing those way more than grammar. I'm looking forward to reading your work and getting feedback on mine.

Drake Marshall has been lynched! He was a Game Master and the last evil player! The game is now over! The Village wins! JK I apologize for the late start but I am present and the first cycle will be up imminently. I hope starting one cycle's duration later does not create problems for people. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Enjoy the show

You probably all know that October is breast cancer awareness month. That's great. Next month is mental health awareness month. And this is a big deal to me. Depression falls under this category. I do experience high functioning depression. I know people who's depression is much much worse than mine. And guys, don't just go around saying you have depression if you're just sad sometimes. I constantly just have this feeling of not belonging, like no one cares, and like I'm completely alone. I have a really good friend who has serious depression, and one of my oldest friends thinks she has high functioning depression as well. (Yes, Kaladin has extreme depression). Another one is Multiple Personality Disorder. (MPD, or DID Dissociative Identity Disorder). This is where someone basically has several different personalities, with different characteristics, and things like that. (I believe Shallan actually has this, or at least experiences something a lot like it). Yet another is Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. More commonly known as OCD. Guys, this is a mental disorder. It isn't simply extreme perfectionism! Do not joke about having OCD. It's really serious. It's when everything has to be perfect in someone's life, or else they experience extreme anxiety. And more. I'm far from an expert, but I know the gist of it. I have another family member who has this. It's not good. I would suggest doing some research on it, though. Now Depersonalization/Derealization. This is a less heard of disorder, even though a lot of people experience it. Only two percent of people who experience this actually have a mental disorder. About fifty percent of the population experiences feelings of this in their life. Sometimes it lasts for minutes, other times, years. And yet others, a lifetime. It's when a person experiences extreme detachment from reality, the world around them, and even their thoughts. It can be caused by many things. The most common one named is abuse. The reason I care so passionately about this one, is that I've been experiencing it for the past two months. It feels like much much longer. I feel like I'm watching everything through a window. I don't know if I actually have the mental disorder, I'm just sort of trying to get through this school year. I have a friend who wanted me to add autism and Gender Dysphoria to this list. I'm going to add schizophrenia. I'm not going to go deep at all into any of these, but I will do something. Autism. (This month (April) is actually autism awareness month). Autism is not what you might think. Many people have it, (1 in every 59 males, 1 in every 189 females). And some don't even know. People who have autism often have a speech impediment early in life, don't like being around other people, and can become very attached to objects. (One of my sources). Gender Dysphoria is when a person feels like they should be the opposite gender, or in other words, that they feel strongly that their gender does not match their biology. Schizophrenia is really hard to spell. But it is also a life long disorder, that effects about 1% of the population. Symptoms can include hallucinations, trouble with thinking and motivation, and lack of motivation. (Source). Guys, mental disorders are a real thing. None of us can explain the full extent of it. I really like these two things: "What's depression like?" " it's like drowning. Only you can see everyone else around you breathing. " And: "Explaining to someone what a mental disorder is like is like trying to explain colors to someone blind."I All of that is copied from my profile. This stuff now, I'm writing from scratch. We need to raise awareness for these things. They are serious. Every one in four people is going through some form of mental illnesses. And the people who aren't... Let's just say they can be downright inconsiderate. Some members of TUBA really took my post to heart. Several of them have changed their profile pictures green, the color for mental health awareness. We have also added things into our signitures, explaining. So, spread the word. And if you have a type of mental illnesses you'd like to be added to the great list, speak up. Or if you have or have had a mental illness, and you are willing to share some, if not all, of your story, that would be amazing. It's time to stop hiding in the shadows, alone. We can be in the sun, together, and stronger. We can make a difference. This I promise. Even if it's just for one person, it counts. If you know someone with a mental illness, though, and you haven't experienced it yourself, don't say you understand. It doesn't help. What helps most, and I speak from personal experience, is just being there. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's all it takes. Is anyone else willing to help?

Fleet hopped in, because, as everyone knows; Fleet kept running.

As a blood maker, unfortunately, his healing ability would revert him to human flesh even if this were viable... Which I doubt it is. Although Kandra Wayne is a freaking terrifying idea. He'd run around being different people all the time, even more than he already does.

Magma can range from 600 degrees C to 1600 degrees C. Steel melts at ~1550 degrees C. I assume that Atium has a lower melting point then steel, so Rhaziens spikes should be melted.And that is just from the temperature, not including pressure or anything else. The only reason why I said that Rhazien mad it was because I didn't want to kill off mraizes character without his permission.

I know I said I was done, but I have to respond...yes, I am getting passionate. Yes, I do feel personally about stuff like oppression. But the fact that you feel personally attacked, Llarimar, is not on me. It is a reflection of your continued stance that you are only comfortable even just having discussions about oppression, let alone acting around it, so long as you feel comfortable and affirmed. At no point in any of this have I made any kind of attack on your PERSON. I have heatedly condemned the positions you've put forth here, but that is about words, ideas, not about you PERSONALLY. As you said, I don't know you. I don't know what groups you are or aren't a part of, just like you don't know the same about me. But neither have I actually inferred anything about you beyond what your own words have said about your position on this. Like, how could I be making assumptions about what groups you're part of when we're not even talking about specific groups? Everything I've said is based on YOUR words, and that I think your stance continues to benefit the oppressors more than anyone else and thus seems to speak to the fact that either consciously or unconsciously, they're the real focus of your concern - and since so much of your argument is about how people naturally prioritize themselves and their own feelings before deciding how and in what ways to take action, THAT is what makes me feel that YOU are reacting from a place of defensiveness, and thus lumping yourself in with at least some group of oppressors and identifying more with them than a group that is oppressed. But like....we've been talking about dynamics, not specific groups. I take responsibility for my words and the things I read into what you say, but you have to take responsibility for whatever YOU read into a conversation too. If you've decided this conversation is specifically about white people and people of color, and you're a white person and reacting defensively because of that - that's on you, because you don't know that I'm not white. And because this conversation could equally be about the oppressive dynamics between straight people and gay people, cisgender and transgender, etc. But literally nothing I've said has been personal beyond the fact that I am responding aggressively, yes, but aggressively to words and ideas that you have put forth. I condemn them, yes, but I have not done so by means of any slurs, insults, insinuations about anything you do or don't do outside of this conversation. If you feel personally attacked by that, that's something you need to reflect on. Because opposition to an idea, even passionate opposition, is not an ATTACK. The fact that you equate anything YOU deem to be too forceful a pushback to an idea you put forth says a lot more than any ID badge about what you do or don't believe constitutes oppression. I freely admit that I do have my doubts that you are in any way qualified based on your own personal experiences (WHATEVER they may be) to determine what's 'serious' enough to merit an analogy as extreme as my person on fire metaphor. Yes, it is an extreme metaphor. But it is also not as ridiculous as you seemed to think it is, because many forms of oppression even in first world countries ARE extremely dire, urgent and life-threatening, and the fact that you have the personal distance from such a notion so as to be able to think it in the first place - that is what says to me that whatever groups you are part of, your personal experiences with being oppressed are not as much as certain others in society. You seem bemused by the fact that I'm not treating this discussion as academically and abstractly as you are able to.....and that is because it is neither academic nor abstract to me, and while it may not be for you either, you are the one who has chosen to present yourself and your positions in such a way. And yes, Calderis, there is a difference between ignorance and willful ignorance, and I maintain we see it illustrated in this thread. Because maintaining that an analogy that presents an instance where someone is in extreme pain and suffering as being too ridiculous or extreme for the discussion we're having because most racism/oppression/etc isn't that dire, is WILLFUL ignorance to the realities of what life is like for some members of oppressed groups BECAUSE of their oppression. If you're able to utilize the internet as adeptly and thoroughly to make your way to this forum, you can only be ignorant of the reality that even in America, in 2018, members of oppressed groups are murdered, beaten, in a myriad of ways violently harmed and oppressed by members of oppressing groups, even while in some cases, people merely stand by and watch (and film it).....if you're WILLFULLY choosing not to see these things because they don't support your unsubstantiated theory that 'racism/oppression is bad yes, but not THAT bad, its not like people DIE because of it, guys.' I'm paraphrasing here, but this is the attitude I feel is conveyed by certain posts here, and a large part of my forceful response. Please learn to recognize the difference between passion and aggression and actual threat and harm. I am very passionate at this moment, and yes, that manifests in the form of language that is phrased more aggressively towards people in this thread and their ideas than it strictly needs to be, but there is no way, shape or form that in doing so I present a threat to anyone here, and that they are in any way being attacked personally.

When my best friend forever and ever transitioned to male we had to think hard on what they wanted to be called. In the end we determined that 'they/them' was better left to its own devices. It got ridiculously confusing, and when they were overused in writing the script became boring. Language is like a living thing. Constantly growing, changing, and expanding. Better to add new words, than remove old ones. Better to add meaning, than detract. With that said, everyone is of course welcome to their own devices. For my bestie and I, we used 'T' and also 'mamsir' during the in-between stage, but you could also use it for anything really. It's better than 'it' we decide (cause toilets are its too). Ti (tee) -- Ti jumped. I called tinn (tin), Tiz lips quirked, That belongs to tiggs, Going by tinzself. We also experimented a bit with O's: One -- Oune (own) jumped. I called Unn (uhn). Oonz lips quirked, That belongs to Onze. Going by oneself. Now that she is a he, we use male pronouns. In the end, I feel that these things seem to stick only within our own circles, or your inner culture you could say. Everyone has a different idea on how to do this and so it isn't sticking well. Personally, I prefer to use something that flows off the tongue. Language is suppose to be a beautiful thing. Just do what works for you, and don't force it. It has to flow naturally.

VERY tentatively signing up as... Silver Feather, who has a split identity, his human side thinking that he is a hawk, his hawk side thinking he is a human. (In case I get to make the "hawk on a cloudy day" joke later during the game.)

The Scrabble online dictionary has it, so as far as word games in my family are concerned -- it's a word. Granted, I'll probably never use it or hear it in a normal conversation. You know you're a Sanderfan when you try to casually slip the word "lurcher" into everyday conversation.

[Writeup to be edited in later.] Walin is dead (again)! He was a Informant in House Lekal. MacThorstenson is dead! He was a Underground Contacts in House Tekiel. Walin (2): Anonymous Shqueeves (1): Anonymous Mark IV (1): Anonymous Elandera (1): Anonymous MacThorstenson (2): Anonymous, Anonymous The Day will end on May 25, at 5:00 PM EST. List of Players: 1. MacThorstenson (Malcolm MacClaimen) TekielUnderground Contacts 2. ElephantEarwax (Rend) 3. Araris Valerian (Hadrian Penrod) Elariel Romantic/Rioter 4. RippleGylf (Claire Lepinceau) 5. Mraize (Rhazien) Venture Romantic/Seeker 6. Elandera (Dera Renault) 7. Eternum (Aiden Ostlin) Venture Secretive 8. Steeldancer (Steel) 9. Frozen Mint (Mint) Lekal Shy/Lurcher 10. I think I am here (Itiah) Hasting Romantic/Tineye 11. Bort (Jynx) Venture Shy/Tineye 12. Shqueeves (???) 13. Arinian (Faron Elverein) Elariel Orator 14. Dalinar Kholin (Kadgar) 15. Mark IV (Mark) 16. Snipexe (Snip Exeutor) Hasting Underground Contacts/Soother 17. Kidpen (Amati) Lekal Gossip/Mistborn 18. Walin (Torden) Lekal Informant 19. Amanuensis (Jeda Renaud) Tekiel Romantic/Mistborn 20. Cadmium Compounder (Seamin) Hasting Well Connected/Thug 21. The Young Pyromancer (Limerick) Venture Informant 22. Fifth Scholar (Duilin) Tekiel Informant/Smoker

Sword, Harold be thy name.

Chandrian, Chandrian is a children's song. From the KKC wiki: And you should probably be informed: Tinkers have a lot of superstition in this world; unlike in others, they are looked upon very favorably. It's considered extremely bad luck to disrespect a Tinker in any way. Most tragic stories start with the lead character being rude to a Tinker; it's a signal that "things are not going to go well for this character".

Continuing with name ideas... A travelling merchant of headwear, Fez Sack.

@Prelude @Captains Domon Technically, Darth Vader should be the best Disney villain.

Granted. Yours pancakes are singing Listener songs. But somewhere in the future... ...all the pancakes transform into Voidcakes and cause Eversirup. I wish for a magic system that works on noise...

@ROSHtaFARian2.0, I think you make a very good point that adds to the discussion, which is that hatred from a higher group and reactionary hatred from the oppressed group are not the same thing, and that a distinction needs to be drawn between them. I don't want to make it seem like I'm playing devil's advocate, because I agree with a lot of what you have to say, but there's one argument you express in particular that I take issue with. This does sound logical - if the superior group initiated the hatred, and they did so baselessly, then only they can choose to stop the hatred, because the oppressed group never asked for it in the first place. However, I think it's very important to remember what @Calderis said in response, which is that showing blind reactionary hatred towards all members of the oppressing group is not the same as productively fighting against that hatred, and it does indeed worsen the situation. Just because one group of people begins displaying hatred towards another group, that does not give the oppressed group justification for violently hating them in response. Then you get into a "You started it! No you started it!" circular argument where the original reason for the hatred eventually becomes glossed over, and the only thing that matters is the "us versus them" mentality. And once both groups - the oppressors and the oppressed - begin viewing each other in broad faceless categories, then any chance for reconciliation and mutual respect is lost, because everyone feels justified in their grievances, and they stop seeing the humanity of the other side. You can see this very clearly in the example with Kaladin and the lighteyes. Kaladin hates the lighteyes so intensely that it doesn't really matter why he originally started hating them - yes, he has plenty of reasons for hating lighteyes, but it really comes down to the fact that he hates them ideologically, and he can't see beyond that. The actions of Amaram and numerous other lighteyes have so scarred Kaladin that he has developed an ideological hatred towards the entire caste, and refuses to believe that not all of them are like that. For example, in tWoK, Dalinar is a great champion of honor and dignity for all people, and Kaladin is unable to see this - it takes him a very long time to trust Dalinar and work together with him, because of the fact that he is so blinded by his hatred. Throughout all the Stormlight books we've seen so far, Kaladin really struggles with this. He cannot move past his disdain for lighteyes, even though numerous lighteyes he has met - Dalinar, Adolin, Shallan - are all good people who respect Kaladin, and are doing little or nothing to actively fuel the hatred between the two groups. His hatred is making the situation worse - even though it was "started" by the superior group, Kaladin is contributing a great deal of fuel to the fire to keep the hatred alive. So no, the oppressed group is not powerless. If there are people in the superior group (like Dalinar) who are trying to heal the wounds of hatred, they can only do so if people in the oppressed group (like Kaladin) are likewise willing to let go of their reactionary hatred as well. Respect and compassion are required from people in both groups for any real progress to be made. This can be seen in people like Kaladin's parents, who taught him to respect all people and even wanted him to marry a lighteyes girl - it was only Kaladin's experiences later in life, not his childhood upbringing, which soured him on lighteyes. Kaladin's parents do not show hatred towards lighteyes, and are able to see the good in them, and Dalinar does not show hatred towards darkeyes, and is able to see the good in them as well, and it is this mutual compassion from both groups that is required for the systemic hatred to heal.

Well... there's The Black Piper's album Kaladin that's directly inspired by Kaladin's story arc in The Way of Kings, so I think that qualifies as music associated with The Stormlight Archive. Just awesome. Beyond that, most of the music by the group Two Steps from Hell often makes me think of the epic battles in Stormlight.

I realize (unfortunately) that this is considered controversial, but no. Hate is not hate is hate is hate. Reactionary hate against someone who has unjustifiably singled out you or your group to systematically and routinely oppress is fundamentally not the same as the hatred your oppressors feel for you, because THEIRS is baseless. Yours is rooted in their mistreatment of you, their devaluing of your worth as a person. It is an inherent fallacy that these two things are equal or interchangeable, because the oppressors' hatred needed no actual justification to exist....which means, there is LITERALLY nothing the oppressed can do to change that dynamic, because they did nothing to merit it in the first place. Only the oppressors can decide to stop hating those they oppress, because they essentially decided to hate them in the first place, in order to support whatever agenda they had that required dehumanizing or devaluing an entire group of people. So when you understand that when the oppressors' hatred exists without reason and is sustained only through justifications they invent to support their hatred, and thus only they can decide NOT to any longer buy into the fiction of their own baseless justifications, then the reactionary hatred of the oppressed for those who actively harm them as a way of life is NOT equivalent. On a basic, fundamental level. Cause and effect. When reactionary anger is born only of effect, it does not exist without a cause, unlike the unjustified racism which needed nothing other than a desire to oppress in order to exist. Remove the cause of the reactionary anger, aka remove the oppression, the reactionary anger has no reason to exist. Saying that the reactionary anger of the oppressed only perpetuates the cycle of hatred implies that the oppressed have the power to stop their oppressors' hatred of them, if they'd simply not react w/hatred. This simply, historically, is not true. And you'll notice, it ONLY benefits the oppressors. Because if the oppressed react with hatred to their oppression, then they are supposedly responsible for fueling their own continued oppression....even though their oppression existed prior to their reactionary anger, and thus can not be blamed on it as a catalyst. Either way, the oppressors use it as a justification for their continued hatred of those they wield power over, as though they are 'victim' to their actual victims having the gall to react badly towards their unwarranted oppression of them. However, if the oppressed group chooses NOT to react with hatred towards their oppressors, it does not do anything to break the cycle, because there is no cycle, merely an action and a reaction. Their oppressors don't actually NEED their victims' reactionary anger to fuel their continued oppression, just as they didn't need it as a justification to oppress them initially. That they use it as a justification is a matter of convenience for the oppressors, not a necessity. Without it, the oppression continues same as it always did...only without actual opposition. Again, just as when the oppressed do react with reactionary hatred, when they don't react in that way it still only benefits their oppressors, through the lack of direct pushback against their oppression. Only one side ever benefits, no matter what the oppressed do....the ones with the power to enact a system of oppression over another group, who in fact are also the only ones with the power to unilaterally dismantle that same system WITHOUT conflict. Because the conflict only exists because they decided it should. And their victims are under no obligation to put up with it, simply because their oppressors decided they should. Saying otherwise only falsely apportions responsibility on the oppressed group for their own oppression, which they in no way asked for or deserved, while implying they have the power to end their oppression by not reacting with hatred....which in turn falsely apportions responsibility on the oppressed group for their own continued oppression. It's a win/win for the oppressors either way, and a lose/lose for the oppressed. You can not hold two groups to the same standards of behavior when one group has deliberately set themselves up above the other and acts upon that artificial power imbalance in a myriad of ways. If the two groups held equal power, you would be describing a conflict of equals rather than oppression. If the two groups are acknowledged not to hold equal power over the other, it is fundamentally nonsensical to artificially inflate the less powerful group with power it doesn't have in the name of creating an illusion of equal power/responsibility that does not actually exist.

I vote that we name it Harold.

I am curious what other people think about this. I have only read it twice but that's because I can only read it when I am in for a good cry after. I would have to say that if it's not my favorite it would definitely be in my top 3 all time favorite stories. The interplay between Shai and Gaotona is just amazing. There wasn't a character in the story that I felt was boring or I didn't have an opinion on. The whole thing is just beautiful.

Yeah, I hear Alaska's terrible for surfing.

Larkin feed on investiture, period. As to whether they could forcibly take it... I don't think it would be an issue. Stormlight being held is keyed to the user, it's the same reason that Stormlight being used by Shardplate would be hard to draw in, and yet a Larkin could feed off that, so I don't see why breath would be treated any differently.

It was extremely irrelevant to the story, but anything irrelevant here is, by nature, relevant. All the while, Wyndle was screaming at 500 quadrillion decibels.

"Deal! I love your cookies!" "Why, thank you! Enjoy!" IT'S BOTH *dun dun dun*

No problem, simple google search (la brea tar pits magic book). Huh, I actually hadn't read the full synopsis yet. That is bothersome. Here's some actual feedback from me (mostly questions though): Magic - spell levels -> are the levels solely dependent on the type of bone, or more on the amount of energy? i.e. if eating one chicken bone allows you to cast one lvl1 spell, would eating two chicken bones allow a lvl2 spell or just two lvl1s? - unicorn horn -> would that include narwhal tusks, which vikings sold as unicorn horns (proving that the proverbial Nigerian prince isn't just a modern problem)? - extraction -> is the burning etc. required, or is it more of a practical issue? could they just munch on chicken bones in a pinch (beware of splinters)? -> -> just read @Jorville 's comment on this and I disagree with his premise: the extraction could be considered as a type of distillation, getting rid of the useless parts of the bone while keeping the active component. Setting - I joined RX after you'd finished with W&S, so what's the tech level here? Since it's based on the UK, is it Tudor, regency, Victorian? Scene 1 -> I'm assuming from this that magic is illegal without some sort of permit. Or is it the dumpster diving that's the problem here? Scene 3 -> If you want to avoid a LL fanfic, maybe avoid the ageing spinster spymaster? Scene 4 -> Why did D pick J? Because he's the only mage in the crew? (edit: aaah, just got to scene 8...) Scene 5 -> Did G, as the planner, have a reason for choosing this particular house? The storm feels sort of deus ex machina to me, could be fun to have the crew engineer a disaster they can clean up afterward. Or imply that D had government mages cause the storm? (edit: again, scene 8) Scene 7 -> Are they covering up something with the staged fight? Scene 8 -> Hold up, didn't you say G has no hidden agenda? I know you also said unreliable narrator, but isn't that going a bit far to even do that in the outline? Scene 9 and 10 -> textbook example of the scene-sequel format. Scene 11 -> I don't see why this can't just be part of 10. Overall this looks promising. I did notice that basically all the interactions are J and C, with a little G and D thrown in. P and K don't show up in the outline at all, so what's their role in the story, besides filling out the crew roster?

Except, as stated, there isn't a "Survival" Shard.

I have become what I hate the most. A Mathematician.

Well, I don't want to open a huge can of worms here, but there does seem to be some evidence that some languages are...I don't know if better is the right word, but certainly better for certain purposes. I'm not a linguist expert or even an aspiring one, but I did once read a couple papers that, taken in tandem, showed that there are very real differences between languages. Here's an example from one of the papers. The researchers did an experiment, where the researchers showed people a bunch of colored papers one by one and asked the people what color they were. Then, later, they showed people two similar colors side-by-side and asked them which one they'd seen earlier. The results were interesting. They found that the more color words there were in that person's native vocabulary, the more likely that person was to be able to correctly identify the color they'd seen earlier. Japanese, for instance, has one word, aoi, which means both blue and green (well, they also have midori, and you can basically add -iro to the end of anything and make a color, like saying coffee-colored or somesuch in English, but that's neither here nor there). For the Japanese people who had seen aoi earlier, they remembered they had seen aoi, but couldn't tell which version of aoi they had seen. English-speaking people, on the other hand, were able to correctly identify whether they had seen the blue or the green. But the English speakers struggled when asked about which two different shades of pink they had seen earlier, while the Russians were able to pass this one with flying colors, apparently because Russian has two different words for pink, let's say pink and rose. I don't really remember this part as well, since I don't speak a word of Russian (it might have been two different shades of red), but I remember the gist. If you want to remember and/or communicate colors accurately, the best choices were...I want to say Russian was first, followed by some African language I'd never heard of. English was third, if I remember correctly. The authors had looked at...forty different languages? I forget the number, but there were several I wasn't even familiar with by name. The other article talked about defining the utility of a language in terms of what you could say and what you had to say, with I suppose the implicit assumption that the more things you could say and the fewer things you had to say, the better your language was. Could say is basically just a proxy for vocabulary -- the larger your language's (functional) vocabulary, the better. So let's look at things you have to say. Let's take a look at Spanish. In Spanish, it's impossible to mention your neighbor without mentioning his/her gender. You can say mi vecino, my (male) neighbor, or you can say mi vecina, my (female) neighbor. Same thing for your children: mi hijo is my son and mi hija is my daughter, but you can't really just say my child without telling the listener your kid's sex. A lot of gendered languages have this problem. English actually scores really well on the "not having very many things you have to say" scale. The only thing you really have to say in English is when something occurred. You can say "I went to the store" or "I will go to the store" or "I am going to the store", but you can't really just say "I go store" without implying something about when the event happens. In some languages, this time-specification is not a necessity. Now, there are some strikes against English. Primarily, it's a fiendishly difficult language to learn. The spelling is atrocious, and we have way more irregular verbs than many other languages. And that really big vocabulary we mentioned earlier? Sucks when you're trying to learn all those new words and their fine shades of meaning. But there is some evidence that once you have learned English, it's definitely one of the best languages to know. This is entirely apart from its status as a lingua franca, though that is a very real advantage in today's world as well. English (by one quite plausible metric at least) is simply one of the most powerful, most flexible languages in existence.

You aren't also spending your sleeping moments on the Shard??? You ain't a true Sanderfan until you dream of being on the Shard (I've done this like 5 times).

Quick! Before he changes this ^ give it lots and lots of upvotes. Because as we know:

Well these are dangerously fun to make.

So I spent pretty much all of Part V utterly blown away. A few things stood out though. Taln's reaction to what the others did was beautiful. He's not upset about 4,500 years of torture. He's happy because of what it bought humanity. And considering what we found out about the Oathpact, I'm even more impressed - Other Heralds, even with the ability to split pain between them, couldn't last a year at the end. He survived it for four and a half millenia. Sure, he's a mess right now, but I'm confident he's going to recover a fair bit. Adolin and his shardblade. I'm so happy that she seems to be doing better. Szeth choosing Dalinar as his anchor. Honestly, it was pretty poor timing (although he didn't know it), but you can definitely do worse than following Dalinar. Cultivation can definitely do it, but I don't think we have any evidence of her granting that ability to anyone else. And she demonstrated the ability wonderfully in this book, outplaying Odium, tricking him and trapping him in an agreement. There's a Truthwatcher gem that mentions foresight, but they don't seem to be very open about it. Emeralds being the gem associated with Pali, the patron of the Truthwatchers (Also the gem used in the epigraph that talks about "fellow Truthwatchers").

You've twigged to the root of my intentions. I have it on good authority (the holy Treenity) that the Firebringers are actually the Matchshendi: