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Fan Fiction?


Nokomis

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I, or rather, my wife, was wondering if anyone knows of any Warbreaker fan fiction.  My wife likes her sexy time books, and I can take it or leave it, but I can see her point that at least learning more about how people desire each other gives us a bit more insight into their relationship.  My wife says she's tempted to write some fan fiction herself regarding Siri and Susebron.

 

My wife was really into Siri and Susebron, their relationship pushed all her buttons and was mad about the fade to black moment, and now I'm having a really hard time getting her to read any more of Sanderson's work.  She agrees that Sanderson's stories are amazing, but she gets frustrated at the lack of romantic relationships, and the physicality that comes with it. She's not saying that she needs him to go Outlander with it, but she wants to know how they felt when they touched each other, what we're they thinking when they kissed, etc. So she liked Pefect State in that it went a little further into that, not much mind you, but further than before. That Kai noticed their heat mingling in the cold rain.

Edited by Nokomis
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I believe the reason for the adult scenes, or rather lack there of, is in order to keep the books clean and have a wider age range for readers. I see where you (or she) are coming from and I agree, to an extent, but sometimes I like it left out because it makes it easier for me to recommend the books to people (at least for myself). I don't believe that he has a lack of romantic relationships, not one bit! Relationships can be developed in other ways; we don't need to see the nitty gritty of a relationship to see how it develops and show the feelings behind it. Anyway. A bit off topic, sorry, to address your real question here.

I haven't seen any personally (haven't looked, though). Your best bet might be hunting around on http://www.fanfiction.net

They have a big selection written by users on there, and you can make your own account on there and write your own. I'd be interested in reading it, actually, since Siri and Seb are my favorite Cosmere couple, right up there with Sazed and Tindywl.

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Yea, I understand that, and I honestly never even noticed until my wife brought it up.  I brought up the wider audience thing, and her point was that many YA novels, even Twilight, go further.

Edited by Nokomis
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touche, and true.

The point being, could you imagine the rabid fandom if twilight was actually a good story?

Funny story. I got home from work one time and the wife starts dragging me to the bedroom. Later she told me that she'd been imagining Siri and Susebron after the fade to black and gotten herself all worked up. Apparently their relationship pushes all of her fantasy buttons.

Edited by Nokomis
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Twilight wasn't even that good. The fade to black in Warbreaker was better than the scenes in Twilight. But I feel like we'll taint the forums if we bring that up here.

I actually appreciate Brandon doing what he does with sex scenes. Which is, avoiding them. It 1- gives more people the ability to read them, whether it be an age/maturity lack (though, I most certainly wouldn't have a younger reader read Warbreaker, probably Elantris) or if they just don't like sex/are repulsed by it. And it can tell people that love and sex are two different things. Love relationships don't have to be sexy ones! Sexual relationships don't have to be romantic ones! I mean, there weren't any obvious bed scenes with most of the couples in Mistborn, nor were there any in Elantris or, for now, Stormlight Archive (but granted, there hasn't been a lot of time to develop romance there yet). Does that make those relationships any less romantic, any less pure? No.

I believe what your wife wants is more sexual scenes, not romantic ones. Which is totally fine! Because sometimes a lot of us do like reading that on occasion. But there most certainly isn't a lack of romance in Sanderson's writing.

Besides, sometimes it is fun to imagine the things not put into the books.

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I won't get into Twilight, haven't read it, but I imagine they at least kiss in it.  Well, she says she doesn't need sex, at least get to a kiss before fade to black.  Come to think of it, I can't recall anyone even so much as holding hands in any of sanderson's books.  I don't think Kai had yet touched Sophie in Perfect State before something happened, and that's the most overtly sensual scene I can think of in any of his work.

 

I suppose lack of romance isn't quite the word I should have used, but yes, some sensuality seems to be missing.

Edited by Nokomis
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Hi this is 'The Wife' lol.  What I'm missing from Sanderson is the sensuality that helps show/tell what the characters are feeling.  

 

I'll stick with Warbreaker's Siri and Suezabron here with comparison to Disney films.  Siri & Suze are as romantic as Belle and Beast or Ariel and Eric, but Disney showed more sensuality than Sanderson did.  Think of Ariel when she falls into Eric’s arms when they first meet.  The look she gives him is total lady boner look, she plays with the back of his neck running her fingertips into his hair and grips and kneads his shirt that she's holding onto.  Its totally hot and very PG.  

 

Same for when Belle and Beast are on the patio after dancing.  When Beast says she'll 'have something to remember him by' and he runs his paw/fingers through her hair and watches it, is very sensual.  It shows how much the Beast longs to touch her and wants her with just a small movement.  

 

A book has even more leeway.  The scene when Suzeabron kisses Siri before the fade to black is just described as 'he kissed her'.  That's about it.  It doesn't show us what Suze is feeling, even a little bit, and it easily could.  Is he kissing her eagerly but clumsily?  Or is he innately good at it and kissing her gently and well, or trembling and timid?  Is his eagerness awaking Siri's own passion, or is her greater command of knowledge leading her to be more aggressive with him than she'd ever been before?  

 

There are many, many books with romance where all the leads do is kiss, but physical descriptions help show the emotional state of the characters.  The writer (Sanderson) is trying to convince us (the reader) that these two are in big time love.  A good writer shows us, not tells us.  He did a good job with the build up but failed to carry through.  

 

And things like physical descriptions of her taking a bath are unnecessary.  It doesn't show the emotional state between the

characters.

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...Am I the only one who sort of wishes 'The Wife' was her username?

 

Anyway... I don't actually think there is a lot of Cosmere fan fiction, period. The only thing I could recommend would be to check out Featherwriter's tumblr; she has quite a few cosmere fan fiction, of the romantic variety. The only thing I would warn about is that they are actually stories based on her favorite ship from the Stormlight Archive books.

 

I don't actually know any Nalthis fan fiction, which... is a shame. Warbreaker is my favorite book, and I'd like to see more stories set in that world; I'm not really one for romantic plots, but frankly, Siri and Susebron are probably my favorite couple in the cosmere right now. Sorry I couldn't be more help. 

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Comparing book to film is like apples to oranges. Animators have far more they can show than a writer ever could. Even the best writer can't paint a clear picture in your head, because if everything was described, the book would be a drag! Film is different; the directors, cast, and artists can show the picture and not slow down the pace it is given to the audience. If Warbreaker ever became a movie (I'm hopeful that one day all the Cosmere novels will, as long as they don't mess up the book), I'm sure that Sanderson would help direct the cast and directors on what he saw in the book.

I do agree that it could need some more, but it doesn't really take away from the relationship, at least for myself. I tend to imagine the left out bits in my head.

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I don't completely agree with comparison between books and film is apples and oranges.  Yes, there are fundamental differences in story telling, but an author can describe a scene and action in ways film can't, and vice versa.  But that doesn't mean you can't do very similar scenes.  Like take the above Belle and Beast example.  It could be something as simple as....

 

"Its for you to remember me by" said the Beast, as he put his hand up to Belle's hair.  He slowly let Belle's hair slip out of his hand, strand by strand, watching as her hair settled back onto her shoulders.

 

You could go on a bit, like when Belle touches his face and you can see her fingers dig a bit into his fur.  Such physical interactions help us to know the emotional state of the characters.  So, we don't need sex, per se, but at least a little more sensual interaction, and as per the Disney example, it can still be G rated.

Edited by Nokomis
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Yeah, Sanderson's prudishness permeates a lot of his characterization in unfortunate ways.  

 

The problem (as I've come to recognize it, at least) is that BS has decided he doesn't want to write sex in his books. And that in and of itself is fine.

 

But he's taken a lot of things that aren't sex in his books and decided that they fit under that umbrella. So we don't just not have sexual content in his books, we don't have sensuality either. Without that, the romances in these books tends to be either passionless or adolescent. 

 

Almost as problematic, along with not wanting to write his characters as overtly sexual beings, BS doesn't seem to want to think of them as sexual beings either. 

 

It would be one thing if these characters were fully formed and informed by their sexual identity or experience, but it was kept as supplemental to their other traits. But instead, most characters seem to have a hole there or it's been sectioned off as something BS is more comfortable writing about. Dallinar is a (recent?) prude. Jasnah is something approaching asexual. Shallan, Kaladin, and Renarin are sexually inexperienced (which is a weird uniting trait for three characters from three different backgrounds). I don't know if Adolin is supposed to be sleeping with half of the camp or if he just goes on dates and has no sexual interest in girls, but the fact that I don't know that speaks to the problem. He's like a thoroughly sanitized Mat Cauthon... which misses the entire point of Mat Cauthon (whole other discussion). There's been plenty of discussion about Vin and Elend in Mistborn. It's not worth repeating.

 

So yes, your wife is absolutely right when she notices that something is missing in these books. I like so much about BS's books, but the criticisms I have go down to the core of them.

 

It's tough to reconcile a writer who puts so much thought into plot and magic and world building and descriptions of violence with one who leaves this kind of stuff, not just off the page, but so undeveloped it seems off of the page. It's like walking into a beautiful mansion, only to find that the floors are just plywood. And you wonder why they would spend so much time on the sconces but none of the floors. It's not like BS didn't think out how the money works in these books. He should worldbuild some sensuality. 

 

Regrettably, the Cosmere books enjoy the kind of sectioned off fame that Wheel of Time does or Game of Thrones did a five years ago. Ubiquitous within a bubble but nowhere near approaching the mainstream subgenre attention required for a robust and healthy fan fiction community. I also suspect that in particular, there's a lot of crossover with the WoT community, which was characterized by Jordan's own irrational dislike of fan fiction, erotic or otherwise.

 

But if a Mistborn movie or Stormlight TV show ever gets made, we might see a million teenaged/twenty-somethings write some sexually honest and fulfilling versions of these characters. So give it five years? 

Edited by Yados
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My wife was very amused by the username comment, she actually lolled.

 

But Yado, very well said, much better job of it than I was doing.  As I said earlier, I honestly never even noticed this lack, so I guess that makes me the target audience.  But that's one of the things that comes from a good marriage/relationship, your significant other opens you up to new things, makes you notice things you never would have otherwise.  

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Where?  I've been trying to find it, but can't find anything actually in the narrative and not just alluded to.

I think Navani and Dalinar have a tender hand holding session during WoR? They also kiss a couple times? I have no idea what Mckeedee's talking about with Vin/Elend. I don't remember any contact between them.

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I think Navani and Dalinar have a tender hand holding session during WoR? They also kiss a couple times? I have no idea what Mckeedee's talking about with Vin/Elend. I don't remember any contact between them.

Well, they were definitely touching each other when dancing in Fadrex :)

Books were involved.

Other than that nothing comes to mind for me either.

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watching Tarzan last night (Disney version) and at the end the wife is all "See? See how she holds him, then tucks her head into him as they're swinging through the trees? That's hot and still G!  They don't get enough credit as one of the hottest Disney couples."

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Umm... What about Navani/Dalinar and Vin/Elend? Both of these relationships have plenty of physical contact, which is detailed pretty well.

 

Yeah, but it's not about physical contact. It's about evocative content. A writer can write a sex scene that is supposed to make you go cold with horror and eye contact that gives you butterflies. 

 

Nokomis has hit it right on the head. Sensuality isn't about titillation. It's about fleshing out your characters' core and relationship while eliciting visceral feelings in the consumer. 

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This is so true but, I personally prefer it this way. At least most of the times. Why?
1. Could he pull off that kind of stuff right now on the same level he has everything else? Maybe if he has been secretly writing some sexy stories all this time but that doesn't seems likely.

2. I'm not looking for it when I'm reading his stuff and I don't want stuff I'm looking for to be gimped or cut because of it.
3. Is there a lack of sexual content in industry? No. Is there a lack of quality fantasy books? Yes.
 

P.S I'm not referring only to adult only graphical sexual content but everything Sanderson's books are lacking when it comes to intimate relationships.

P.P.S And I would be totally down for it if he pulled it off without harming other parts of his books.

Edited by Cracknut
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I think Navani and Dalinar have a tender hand holding session during WoR? They also kiss a couple times? I have no idea what Mckeedee's talking about with Vin/Elend. I don't remember any contact between them.

Mistborn/WOA Spoilers

The Vin/Elend was pretty hevily implied (at least to me) starting around pg 629 (paperback WOA) the next page shows that (at least) she is naked (she says "Plus, I don't even sleep in my clothing anymore.") I can imply that she is completely naked because it explicitly says she is topless and the fight with Shan shows that she sees underwear as clothing. It is also implied that he isn't wearing clothing either as he looks to his clothing which is beside where they slept.

Edited by gjustice99
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Mistborn/WOA Spoilers

The Vin/Elend was pretty hevily implied (at least to me) starting around pg 629 (paperback WOA) the next page shows that (at least) she is naked (she says "Plus, I don't even sleep in my clothing anymore.") I can imply that she is completely naked because it explicitly says she is topless and the fight with Shan shows that she sees underwear as clothing. It is also implied that he isn't wearing clothing either as he looks to his clothing which is beside where they slept.

 

But that doesn't help OP's (or rather OP's lady's) problem. The problem is intimacy. Having characters naked doesn't automatically make things intimate. Moreover, things can be incredibly intimate when not naked. Siri and Susebron were far more intimate in a single paragraph than Vin and Elend were the entire trilogy, and OP mentioned wanting more than that.

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