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I agree completely with @Spoolofwhool here. In fact, I've created a graphic to try and illustrate this: Dalinar occupies 8.7cm * 5.39cm ≈ 47cm². Kaladin occupies 8.86cm * 7.67cm - 4.63cm * 2.89cm ≈ 54.5cm². And Jasnah occupies 10.11cm * 4.96cm ≈ 50cm². So I think it's clear: of the three, Kaladin is the most attention hungry! The only real difference between the covers then is the background, with the first two depicting the Shattered Plains, and the third a wall; and this comes down to the locations of the respective scenes. I'd also point out that whilst all three characters are posed, out of all of them, only Jasnah is actually doing something constructive (repairing the wall so that the bad guys don't kill everyone). In short, I don't think there's any issue with the cover whatsoever, and I don't think that it should have been done any differently (of course I may be biased since Jasnah is my favourite character).

These two were mine. About slatrification he said that if he ever writes the novel (oh pretty please) he'll make slatrification an in-world legend. About dark skin on Dayside, he said that the fact that they don't have it is a random factor, and that they should. I'm assuming it must be because there was too little time for natural selection. He also said that there is much more UV light on the Darkside. From astrophysics point of view, the UV levels should be quite similar though. I wanted to ask if Shardic power is involved but I forgot. Not the only thing I forgot Other questions I asked: Q: Do other cognitive shadows outside Threnody have to avoid silver? A: RAFO Q: did Reod affect IRE? A: (don't remember the exact answer, maybe @Oversleep written it down?) It did in some way. Q: Were Yolen dead gods some kind of pre-Adolsium shards? (I meant if Adonalsium wasn't actually first in cosmere, if he was maybe a super-shard kind of the way Harmony is) A: RAFO on Yolen... but no. Before the shattering there were no Shards, so these Gods are something different.

Dear ________ You have been invited to Fadrex, by the will of Lord Tekiel. And to refuse such an offer would be unprecedented. So First, I shall inform you that anyone reading this letter has a certain quality that we find extraordinary, and we wish to only grow your potential. Whether that be the will to survive these turbulent times, or a certain affinity for anything pointed, we have considered everything. However, we cannot accept everyone that has been invited, so we must first run a simple entrance test. Anyone that passes this test will be allowed in to Fadrex, and if you fail the test, well, we won’t have to worry about that. You will find enclosed within the letter all the information that you need to know before the test starts. We hope to see you next week. Sincerely, The Court Fool Roles: THUG: Our Scientists have a theory that the less intelligent you are, the stronger the body. They’re very keen to examine your dead body. Presuming you can actually survive the first attack. TINEYE: You know when everyone is silent and there’s that one guy that always talks? Well, we’re looking for you. At least you get others talking, ya know? But when you’re dead, everyone will go back to being lovely and silent. SMOKER: You hate people. Every night, you’ll take someone in so that you don’t hate yourself every night, but someone else. You can also go out and socialise with people, but who would do that? SEEKER: You stalk everyone, with no exceptions. You’ll find everything, metals or lack of metals. You can even notice if someone has spikes in their eyes! Isn’t that impressive? COINSHOT: You love to murder people. That’s all we need to know. LURCHER: You love to hug and protect people. Bit of a weird one, but we’ll give it a go. SOOTHER: You hate it when people interrupt your book reading. They’ve usually got a fair point though, like who even reads Sanderson books? Luckily, you can make people shut up. RIOTER: You love to debate, especially about politics. Is Lord Tekiel the best? After you talk to them, no-one would say no. However, no-one really trusts your opinion on the matter anymore. UNSNAPPED: We think you might be able to do something, but you also could not do anything. I’m betting on not doing anything, though. REGULAR CREW MEMBER: Everyone likes to compare themselves to others to make them feel better. You? You’re just the only one that can’t feel better. INQUISITOR: Ooooh! Shiny! Oh, and I guess you can give other people shiny things. Can’t live without shinies though, right? Cosmetic Roles: These are additional roles that players can take on at their own discretion. They do not affect the game play in any way other than to modify how the player posts. If you come up with your own role, feel free to suggest it. There is no penalty for not using one. These are here for your enjoyment, not to be a deterrent. High Imperial - Wasing the wanting of speaking in High Imperial. You must use it at least somewhere in your posts. Note: you do not have to use it for every sentence and you still need to be mostly intelligible. Survivor Priest - Kelsier wasn't just a famous crew leader for you. Perhaps you were in Luthadel during the riots. Perhaps you saw him come back. Regardless, you're a believer and must make reference to the Survivor or the Survivor religion in each post. Cassanova - Good looks are such a curse; one you know all too well. While you didn't ask for it, to you, it's obvious that you are the best looking person ever and you won't let anyone forget it. In every post, you need to remind everyone of what a heartbreaker you are. The Jaist - Somehow, somewhere, you heard about Jaism and knew it to be perfect for you. Now that the Lord Ruler is gone, you've taken up the mantle of this lost religion and in Jaist fashion, you frequently mention your faith. You must end your posts with "Praise the Ja." The Feruchemist - You’re secretly a Feruchemist, and you’re not really sure what all the metals are used for in Allomancy. But when you’re surrounded by Mistings, you just have to play along. In every post, you must mention how confused you are at all this Allomancy stuff. ---------------------------- And that's Game (3)2! Please state the name of your character and how you’re preparing for the test! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask either here or in a PM! Let the Chaos Test begin! All credit to my esteemed co-GM, Stink, for the role descriptions and setting, and a great many thanks to Meta for allowing us to rerun his game. I've always found rereading LG2 fascinating, and hope it's enjoyable for everyone to play! The game will begin in 168 hours time, next Sunday, at 11pm British Summer Time. Quick Links:

The most sexualized thing on the cover is that thunderclast. Storms, it's not even wearing clothes, like, gosh!

Night 2: The Wine in Front of Me "So... Sart and-or Elbereth died then," Khas said, when there was a lull. "Killed by a democratic vote. Well, I'm glad it was a bit less dull this time." Given up on making the distinction between them? Or trying to?" Wurum asked with a chuckle. "Yeah, I don't see the point of wondering about it anymore," Khas shrugged. "I thought you were a philosopher? Someone who liked to argue?" "I mean, yes, but... I didn't get that degree to argue with people, but to discuss. I recall what they said to me when I got my degree in Silverlight-" "Yes, I remember as well," Wurum said dryly, interrupting him. "Something along the lines of 'Who in Damnation are you? Someone call for security,' I believe?" "Bah, this anecdote is wasted on you," Khas waved his hand, gritting his teeth a little as he let it slide. "Whatever. So how did this person die?" "How else? I had to kill them." "You? So they just gave you a name they all came up with, and you..." Khas drew his thumb across his neck and made a sound. "Well, I was the one in charge of the group," Wurum pointed out. "So it's my responsibility to correct mistakes such as this. For that matter, you hardly want to give the rank and file to go-ahead to take each other out, do you? What if they get it in their heads that dead man's boots is the way to advance?" "I suppose so," Khas sighed. "So how'd you do it?" he asked, pulling is wine bottle forward and pouring another glass. "Knife in the back? Or across the throat? Paid a couple of thugs to pound the life out of them?" There was a certain bloodthirstiness in his eyes, a small need to know the full details of what had transpired. The Thrill, called on by proxy by the tale of death and violence, was calling him and clouding his mind. He lifted his glass, waiting in anticipation. "Poison," Wurum said. Khas' wine glass froze on its way to his lips. Wurum chuckled. "It's what I'm known for, after all. Well, in certain circles." Khas felt his face going white. He suddenly felt quite cold. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the bottle Wurum was drinking from. He'd given them both their own personal one, complaining that he would have to get up twice as much if they drank from one bottle between them. Was that a ploy to take him out? "You know, I originally trained to be a surgeon?" Wurum asked, taking a careless sip from his own glass. "But, there was a massive problem with that. No stomach for violence. I see one drop of blood, and that's it. Ripping someone open like that? Even if it is ultimately for their benefit... Organs too, for that matter. Disgusting things, better off hidden away. But in any case, I trained a healer for some time. And of course, knowing how to heal, it only follows that I know how to hurt. And most herbs and medicines are quite dangerous in large doses." ""You don't say," Khas said, tapping the side of his glass, his face expressionless and glazed over as he tried to analyse every single odd feeling he had at this time, wondering if they were signs of something greater. "So, I simply poisoned him. It looked suspicious, of course, but less so than an actual violent murder. And most Darkeyes wouldn't know the difference between an attempted poisoning and illness or alcohol poisoning." He looked up, and finally noticed Khas' face. He smiled and chuckled again. "Don't worry." He took Khas' glass and poured a measure into his own glass, knocking it back. "See?" "...The thought occurs," Khas said, fingers tapping restlessly on the table. "That if you have studied such things, then you know how much of a dosage is needed to kill someone. Therefore, you could drink this perfectly happily, safe in the knowledge that you are not ingesting a lethal dose." "Fine then," Wurum shrugged and swapped the bottles around. "Does this satisfy you? Your wine bottle contains more than half of its liquid still. Therefore, if there is a lethal dosage within there, either we shall both die, or I shall die. Happy?" "Yes," Khas said slowly, "unless you knew I was going to say that, and your bottle contains the poison, and now the poisoned bottle of wine is before me." "But what if I hadn't asked?" Wurum said. "Well, then the one I had was poisoned, which you now have, and mine is now safe. But if you knew I knew that..." "I feel you are getting tapped within your own reasoning." "True!" Khas said with a sigh, flopping back against the back of his chair. "It's that old thing you keep saying, isn't it?" "Never fight a land war on the Shattered Plains?" "The other thing." "Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald, wrinkly, smiling men?" "The third thing then." "Oh. Never go against a Heron when death is on the line," Wurum smiled. "Yes. I'm flattered by the amount you're tying your brain in knots here. In any case, we can solve this then." He got up and took down a water jug, which was empty of its contents, and poured both wine bottles into the jug. Then, he poured a glass for them each. "There. Either we both die, or neither of us do. Satisfied?" "...I suppose that half the amount in the bottle, plus what I have already drunk could be lethal... Or that you could have taken dosages of it in the past, in order to build up an immunity, like that mad old king..." "You're finding problems now for the sake of it. Clearly you're bored. Shall I tell you about the next night then?" Khas sighed once more and took the glass in his hand. "Tell away. If I'm going to die, I would rather have a good story to listen to while I expire." "Very well then..." Night 2 has begun! PMs are open! Night players may now post in the thread. The Night will end at 10 PM GMT on Monday. Sart/Senja (Elbereth) was a Ghostblood! Sart (4) - Harvey/Hemalurgic_Headshot, Thorot/Jondesu,Brandir Sebarial/Elenion, Revali/TheMightyLopen Enoemos/Magestar (2) - Sart, Stick Bart/Bartimaeus (1) - Arvian/Arinian Notemos Town Hall Clock Player List

Actually about savants said that they are even more efficient and closer to Spiritual realm. My questions were: Q: Can Cosmore magic heal illness like depression? A: It can heal physical stuff, like hormonal imbalance in brain, but if there are psychological reasons then it wont help Q: Is "Stormlight Archive" reference to any inworld or inCosmere place or item? A: No, it just archive of ten books which all have titles based on inworld books, but no Archive or something like that on world. Q: Will there be love triangle between Adolin, Shallan and Kaladin. (It was mostly fun question and small hope that he will say spoilers and give me RAFO card ;P, I guess I should ask about Yolen or Dalinars wife for that) A: Sanderson - not rly love triangle, more like confusion of teenagers about fact who they are attracted to. Questions of other people which Im quite sure that I noted right (they are not rly verbatim but close): Q: About Oathbringer cover and Jasnash flying there A: In that scene in book Jasnash does not fly. Its artist imagination what we see on cover. Q: Is Hoid in White Sand? A: Answer to that will become obvious as story progress. Q: What Sanderson consider magic in his book? A: Its stuff which break our general laws of our physics, so generally new physics Q: If single Parshendi were to be born and raised on other planet then Roshar, would he still hear Rhythms? A: Sanderson asked if person asking mean global Rythms or Parshendi specific ones, she said global. He said that yes, that Parshendi would hear Rythms because its something which permeate whole Cosmere, but on Roshar manifest in specific/different way. Q: Are there animals in Shadesmar? A: yes but not what you think. Q: Could Elantris be made with different Aon. A: Yes, it could be made in another place. Q: General question about Vax, which Sanderson misunderstood as Wax and started answering that at start era2 series didnt have Wax at all and was focused on Wayne. Q: At Edgedancer climax Nale see Parshending transformed by Everstorm and fly away. Then we see Lift eating pancakes. What did happen with that Parshendi/Voidbringers and why there is no mention ? A: Sanderson said something that he didnt want to make things confusing in Edgedancer, and it will be explained in Oathbringer what did happen. Recording isnt great but actually better then I thought it will be (most questions is missing but I can hear a lot of Sanderson answers) and Im slowły working on that and will send what I got to Oversleep. Big thanks to Sanderson himself for that, because I think he was talking louder and more clear so me and Oversleep can hear answers

It has unrealistics measurements too.

I really don't know why we're having this discussion. Let me just say this. JASNAH IS STORMING AWESOME

Here is the WoB and for some extra fun. Look at the name of the questioner XD

While it's a shame that a lot of the awesome background is cut out, the thunderclast and the soldiers, the amount of space and prominence that Jasnah takes on the cover looks to be about equal to the amount of space and prominence that Kaladin takes on the cover of Words of Radiance, so I disagree with the argument that the cover is poorly choosing its object of prominence. While there is still the point that the overall spread of Words of Radiance has less prominent elements than the Oathbreaker full cover, keeping the format of a single character in prominence isn't something to criticize. Also, Kaladin's pose is just as much a "look how cool I am" as Jasnah's, (and is pretty good looking, though more rugged face) and in fact is less utilitarian than her's, so in my opinion, the argument is breaking down into character gender over artistic design.

Here we go!

And that super strong rock hard body. Totally setting unrealistic standards for the rest of us.

I second @WeiryWriter's answer to this. Speaking as someone with Asperger's syndrome (a kind of high-functioning autism), I can say with certainty that it is a fundamental part of my identity: it's absolutely not something that I would want to be "cured" of, even if you were to pay me for it. At the end of the day, all it really means is that I think differently to how most people do, and that's not a bad thing. What on Roshar makes you think that Kaladin will have feelings towards Jasnah? They seem completely unsuited for each other. Jasnah is, A) too old for him, and B ) far too much of a traditional lighteyes for him to be interested, surely.

There are multiple recordings of the Q&A and I have already told some of the people who did the record my mail, so I expect to have them. Actually the question about Listeners spiked with Feruchemical nicrosil being able to store the spren and then bond another one and then being able to swap was not the first one. It was like fifth? I asked that and earned my third RAFO. The signing line... I'm not really pleased with how it turned out, we were planning to leave a recording device on the table but it turned out the interview from Friday took all our space. So I and @Kanrei entrusted our belongings to some people we kinda knew from the fandom and went to stand by the signing table. I were writing down everything interesting (but it's not verbatim) and Kanrei was recording it although I don't know how the quality of the recording will turn out. I want to cross reference my notes with his recording and his notes before I post all of it (my notes are very bullet point and I've got terrible handwriting and I was writing midair...). Things I'm fairly sure about will be below. The signing took 4 and half hours. After the queue ended I and few other people stayed to ask some more (I got two questions in, the mixed Investiture people and BoM questions) and we all were given Syl sticker. That probably is the most precious thing I got from this event Anyway, the event was cool, even before it started Brandon recognized me in the crowd which was totally awesome, I waved back I asked some questions. Note they are NOT VERBATIM but should be close enough. Q: Allomantic strength. There are stronger Allomancers, they can burn metals faster, right? A: Yes, they can also squeeze more power out of it. They can use it more efficiently. Q: So there is some loss of power along the way? How do savants work into that? A: Savants can use it way more efficiently. He also said they are more Connected to the Shard. (So savants do increase their Connection to Preservation) I asked whether we could call Bands of Mourning the Survivor's Spearhead and whether it did have all 16 basic metal metalminds. He hesitated a little but eventually said yes, there were all 16 metalminds. I asked whether Marasi tapped all of them, because she would tap Kelsier's Identity and memories and he said intentions are important and she didn't tap all of them. I asked about Radiant Surgebinder who would tap his Connection to the spren and would he be able to summon Shardblade even at First Ideal? He said it's possible but spren wouldn't like it. IIRC he said something about increasing flow of power (???) - my memory is not that good, sorry. Q: Back in Mistborn Marsh said that there is a pattern for higher metals. So that would mean that atium and gold would share a pattern but they're not really part of the same quadrant... A: Humans see patterns everywhere, that's it. Q: Let's say we have a Twinborn aluminium/nicrosil and he tapped a lot of nicrosil, so much he started to emit mist and then burned aluminum. Would he destroy his own Investiture? A: No. Q: People with mixed Investiture, coming from different Shards, with heritage from different worlds. Will we see them and how would they interact with magic systems? A: You have already seen them. How they're gonna... it depends on the magic system. Things I have overheard, written and I'm fairly sure about: Jasnah does not know about Adonalsium. She is not cosmere aware. (Actually Brandon turned around to us and pointed that this is a good question) AonDor isn't used around Shardpool not only because of culture reasons. Survival Shard... it was wise decision [to get away from all of that] unkeyed goldminds in hospitals in the future - very likely. Allomantic air conditioning - [they don't know how to do this] RAFO Kaladin would look half-Asian half-Arabian to us If he were to die, who would he pick to finish cosmere? Right now he would pick Brian McClellan. Stormlight Archive - the name means an archive of books (summoning @Kanrei), something like the ten books, the actual in-world books? @Darkness Ascendant, Brandon said he's gonna visit Australia, Perth and Sydney, in June. EDIT: I don't have it in my notes (since we already knew that already) but Hoid is not in Edgedancer but Lift referenced him. So now we are 100% sure he is the man that was eaten that Lift remembers.

I saw someone on Reddit say that thankfully the giant S is covering up her left hand to give the picture some modesty.

I'm wary of engaging in discussion of the sexualisation of women on something like a book cover but I'm say two things. 1. A female member of the most powerful house of a powerful nation will often be more beautiful than average, that's natural selection sadly. Powerful people get to marry beautiful people (of both genders). 2. Any woman single-handedly battling a monster is going to be beautiful because she's single-handedly battling a monster I didn't even notice her specs I just noticed her being TOTALLY AWESOME.

Someone at church forgot the word "hobby," and now my new favorite was to describe it is "something you do on the side for joy."

I come bearing more WoBs! The event is over now, and it was absolutely awesome. The public Q&A was great - literally the first question from the audience concerned itself with spiking Parshendi to let them swap between forms quickly (RAFO on that, because the mechanisms involved might spoil Oathbringer). I've got a recording of the public Q&A - I'll put the link here, and get a transcription file started soon. I have some problems with playing the file from GoogleDrive, so please let me know if you can. I've stayed until the end and chatted with the fellow Sanderfans, so we shared some answers. I don't remember everything I've heard, but @Oversleep has been standing by the signing table, noting down all the interesting answers from the line, so expect full version soon. What I've got so far is, paraphrased: Q: What happened to Vivienna? A: She's looking for Vasher. Keep your eyes wide open when reading Oathbringer. Q: Will Kaladin and Shallan get together? A: There will be Shalladin moments in Oathbringer. Q: Will we see Hoid in White Sand? A: Hoid will become more apparent as White Sand goes on. Q: Can you slatrify sand into other liquids? A: *thinks a moment* I admit that slatrification is one aspect of Sand Mastery I'm the least fond of, because it doesn't mesh well with the rest of Cosmere magic. The comicbook writers are working with my original script, with very minor changes, but if we ever release White Sand in print - which we might do - I might end up changing it. So - I won't answer that, because I'm not yet sure if slatifying into water is possible. *laughs* You can think of the comic as sort of in-universe story about those characters, then. Q: Who would you ask to finish the Cosmere if you were unable to? A: Brian McClellan. He's one of my students and he also writes epic fantasy. Q: Whatever happened to those changed Parshmen at the end of the Edgedancer? A: I deliberately left that out, because it will come into play in Oathbringer. Q: Are there animals in the Cognitive Realm? A: Yes, but we wouldn't necessarily call them animals. Q: If a Leecher was holding a Shardbearer and burning aluminum, would the Shardbearer be able to summon their Blade? A: No. Q: Why don't Daysiders have darker skin? A: It's just how genetics on Taldain have played out. They should be darker-skinned, but there's always some randomness to genetics, so this is just how they played out in this case. The people who stayed at the end of the signing chatted with Brandon for a moment. He'll apparently appear at Warsaw Book Fair at some point in the near future, and he's not sure yet if he'll go to Helsinki WorldCon, because of his Oathbringer obligation. He'll be in Great Britain as part of his Oathbringer tour. And the people who stayed by the end got adorable Syl stickers!

If I were an artist I would never put a woman on my covers then people would debate whether or not the portrayal is sexist. But then I'd be sexist for not putting women on my covers...

Against my better judgement, I will add to the beauty-of-female-characters discussion. The most important thing to remember is that physical beauty is highly subjective and derives from both cultural and individual expectations. That whole "eye of the beholder" thing. @king of nowhere is right to pay attention to who is describing whom. Also, presentation (e.g. Vin vs Valette) is a big part of how those beholders form their impressions. I will add that my personal impression of some of the mentioned characters differs markedly from the previous post. (In particular, Vin, Shallan, and Ranette). So the reader brings their own set of biases to layer on the narrative. In my experience of real-world relationships, I've found that beauty tends generally to increase with the amount of time you spend with someone. So it should come as no surprise to us when after investing time and emotion into a book and character they feel beautiful to us. (Especially when that character is the vehicle for some of our own wish-fulfillment of using incredible magic, overcoming impossible odds, and visiting amazing locations.) Aside: in listing cosmere characters for this purpose, don't forget about Silence Montaine and her girls (from Threnody), or Vathi (from Sixth of the Dusk). Those are from shorter, less epic works, so different rules may apply to generating heroines, but none of them are described as stunning. To @maxal's good points about what naysayers see against the cover: yes, this is a very classic fantasy cover that doesn't really move forward. But that's primarily because Michael Whelan pretty much defined the classic cover. I agree that seeing only the front cover rather than the whole image puts Jasnah very much in the foreground, when a strength of at least the WoK cover was the emphasis on the storm. It doesn't help that Brandon's name covers up so much of the artwork that isn't Jasnah. That makes sense for marketing, and we all want this to make money, but from a judge-the-cover perspective I think it would help widen the focus if the title and author didn't need to be thunderclast size.

ok, but it makes sense for jasnah to be dressed like that. when doing physical activity, you want stuff that won't tangle or catch into something. You may notice how gymnasts and dancers (of both sexes) also routinely use outfits that leave little to the imagination, simply because they are the more practical to do that kind of activity. So it makes sense for jasnah to have a form-fitting dress, what actually makes little sense is the cape and the things dangling from her waist - bad for fighting. Ok, the best choice would be an armor, but since jasnah isn't armor-trained, and she can heal very well, an armor would probably hinder more than protect. Plus, jasnah is described as beautiful in several occasions (how did she got that physique by being a scholar, by the way? she must have done some really heavy book-lifting), and she cares for her appearance, not for flirting but for power. I can totally see her getting her hair and makeup done before a battle before she thinks the soldiers will follow her better if she does. Anyway, when you have a beautiful woman, pretty much any outfit you put her in could qualify as fanservice. The only way to completely avoid it would be to use a burqua, and really, better not go down that lane. Especially, the problem is not pretty women being shown in revealing clothes when it makes sense for them to dress such; the problem is pretty women being shown with revealing clothes completely inadequate to what they are doing for the sole purpose of fanservice. Alas, that's a real problem, though one of media as a whole. In movies, women who are supposed to be ugly just... aren't. I think sanderson is less guilty here than others are. navani is described as beautiful only by dalinar, who had a preexisting attraction for her. jasnah is described as beautiful, but she also spends a lot of effort for her looks. I always got the impression that without that, she'd be above average, but nothing special (I don't know where I get this idea; it may be totally unsupported and just triggered by my standard reaction to any woman with a lot of makeup). Laral is described as beautiful by kaladin, a teenager who is getting into puberty and who is only allowed to hang out with one girl. Shallan is very pretty and Danlan is at least pretty, but they are both in their late teens; most girls are pretty at that age. I look at events through the eyes of a scientist and I tend to latch on statistical oddities (did anyone notice how the number "7" turns up in a lot of Marasi's statistics? That's because people asked a random number between 1 and 10 will generally say 3 or 7. From that you can see those statistics are made up), and female beauty distribution is one of the things I keep track of, and none of sanderson's books triggered my "improbable-o-meter". When his whole production is taken into account, you get vin, siri, vivenna and marasi as the only other main characters who are really beautiful - with many others of ordinary or mid-high looks, like tia (no remarks), steris (plain at best), sarene (some older people complimented her, but I never got the impression that she was exceptional), tyndwil (sazed loved her, but I don't recall any other character remarking on her beauty), ranette (we can see she's ugly even through the pink-tinted descriptions of vayne). Even among those who are actually described as beautiful, I always got the impression - again, personal impression - that vivenna, like jasnah, was more groomed than really beautiful (incidentally, women judging other women tend to overstate much those kind of things, along with lack of flaws, "poise" and "elegance". Don't care much about those stuff. That's why many girls fixate on dieting, only to go to their male friends to say "look, I lost 3 kilos" and get replies like "I don't see any difference" or "I liked you better before". Last time I explained all this to a girl, she answered "I am fully aware, but I'm not doing it to be liked better by men; I am doing it to be more envied by other girls". Well, can't argue with that All this long digression because both jasnah and vivenna were described as beautiful specifically by women who remarked a lot on their poise and impeccable clothing and makeup). And that Vin was more "kitty-cute" than beautiful. And siri was given a full beauty treatmment every day before her meetings with the god-king. The statistic distribution is realistic enough; the main anomaly is that the protagonists tend to be most beautiful and the supporting characters are more plain. Shallan is probably the only one who is really, objectively 1-in-100-beautiful (and also very kitty-cute). And being the only one among several dozens characters, she is statistically appropriate. And the more I think about it, the more I think the drawings are realistic. Marasi, as seen in the cover of SoS, is pretty, but you can walk around and find many girls as pretty. Steris has been groomed to her best, but you can guess her plainess underneath. and jasnah, she looks like a pretty woman in her late thirties who used makeup to get some extra points.

Oh guys you wouldn't believe what happened during the interview. I managed to ask some juicy questions (I got RAFO'd twice and the event hasn't even started, beat that) and then... ... ... then it got weird. See, I started to ask some questions, he answered, I went with follow ups and in the heat of the moment he went "you will see [REDACTED] at the end of the Stormlight but cosmere will end differently, it will be [REDACTED]". Then he realized what he just said. We were sitting there with our jaws literally dropped. Of course he asked us to keep silent about what he revealed and we of course agreed not to say anything... but it's gonna be awesome, I can tell you that. The rest of the interview is free to be posted, we will get around to that soon.

So! Lasik happened! Beware, for I describe things here that some people might find squicky: They gave me prescriptions for lots of drops. I've got an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic, and artificial tears. The most discomfort afterwards is caused by dryness; it'll be a while before my eyes don't need help with that anymore. It's been amazing how quickly things have changed; I went in for my post-op checkup on Saturday morning and they cleared me to drive. I got most of the 20/20 letters and even a couple of the 20/15 ones - and by that evening I was seeing way more clearly than the morning checkup. Oh, and incidentally, those anti-inflammatory drops about ten minutes after I apply them cause this weird metallic taste in the back of my mouth. It sounds crazy, but it's true; all that stuff is connected back there. I told the doc, and he grinned and said that's how I know they're working. Now I know how a Mistborn must feel when they swallow badly and get their metals stuck in the back of their throat. Blech; at least I'm done with the medicated drops after a week. The artificial tears I use as long as I need them. But I can see now! Really really well! Guys, Lasik is wizard science.

Welp. Apparently while I was out getting my eyeballs lasered into actually being good at seeing, I became a God of Color. Yay?

The way I've had it described to me by my uncle is who also a mental health specialist is that you have predisposition to a chemical imbalance and some people will get that kick in no matter what, but others (like me) require mental trauma (can be an event or just the build up of circumstances) as the snapping event to trigger the imbalance. So the mental reasons for depression still play a part for less severe sufferers. But there's no one answer to depression, that linkage makes sense to me. In which case once you have depression it stays until you fix the imbalance, it recurs unless you fix the psychological reason, and if you're susceptible enough it's probably going to happen anyway. Kaladin for example may have gotten depression no matter how nice his circumstances. Or if he had lower susceptibility his actual life circumstances explain the triggers that set off the imbalance that was already possible due to his genetics. Now he has the imbalance even fixing the circumstances would not be enough in the immediate term, without something to fix the brain chemistry. But if he becomes generally happy (outside of the depression) and views himself as being him without the depression and was healed - well that should be enough. But that's not to argue the point, just to prevent a line of reasoning that makes sense to me, has some evidentiary basis and fits with what Brandon has said. Either way it's a great thing that we talk about this in detail and that he helps facilitate these discussions by writing openly and without judgement on mental health issues!

Oh, I almost forgot! I asked one more question! Brandon's favourite pie is hot apple pie with crust on top

Analysis to follow, but I thought it important that I get my thoughts on this out quickly. @Elenion, I vehemently disagree with this idea. I have two major reasons for doing so. The first of these is the potential for a mayor to arise. If we, as a village, start directing actions through consensus, including clearing players, then I see it as ridiculously easy for a cleared villager, or group of villagers, to start directing actions, and casting suspicion on players who don't comply. My second point leads on from this. You remove all autonomy of action from night players. It doesn't matter if they're directed by a cleared mayor, or by the village as a whole. Their right to make their own choices, to play the game as they want to, has been removed, with a threat of death should they not comply. Night players have restricted actions in the game anyway, with half the time available to discuss, and no lynch available to them. If we follow your lead, we would make the use of night players little more than PMing each other. I want to play a game where I can make my own choices, and can win or lose based on my interactions with others, and actions I choose to do. I don't want to play a game where I win, but do so because we removed the fun for half the players. These games are not about winning, or losing, but about building a community, and helping everyone enjoy themselves. It may be a strategically sensible move, Elenion, but it is not one that I will support. I hope that other players, and particularly day players, realise the impact this strategy would have on the game, and on their partners.

I really like the answer. Depression usually comes about when psychological trauma triggers a brain chemistry imbalance. You can then fix the psychological issue but without addressing the chemical imbalance the depression remains or conversely fix the chemistry but without addressing the psychological cause the imbalance will reappear. So healing will work in a similar way to how medication is supposed to, fixing the imbalance, but without also addressing the psychological cause it won't be enough. Add to that the component of fixing you to the way you see yourself. That means if someone starts to identify with the psychological effects of the chemistry imbalance (common amongst depression sufferers) then that won't heal anyway. I think the answer makes good sense from what I know (medically and through experience) of depression.

WoB was from the previous Boskone signing So maybe not nothing. But nothing immediately apparent

What you have to understand, is how the Returned are raised in the Court. He has no pratical knowledge. The only experience they have is about be above all the rest, the only people they interact are their own followers. The idea someone could try to harm him (and the possibility they could succed in the act) is something beyond their resoning. Much more Lightsong was in a "I was the coolest and badass person in the world" so...you see the conseguences.

The Power of Ruin and Preservation started to become One. This could be a very long processo but for example if Sazed died He Will drop a single Shard "Harmony" not Ruin and Preservation (by WoB). I think It would really Easy to Splinter again Harmony into R & P but just for the recent time they become One. You May notice extension of this in Scadrial. There are still Two kind of mists. But Preservation's One are not repelled by Hemalurgy now. Over the centuties (if some mess doesn't happen) I think Harmony will become fully and unique Shard.

Reminds me of a different version of that song... "Bananas in pajamas are coming down the stairs. With a shotgun, and a knife, to kill the teddy bears."

Who Zahel is that?

*Thunderclast breaks down wall and pokes its head in* "Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour Odium?"

I'm glad they got Whelan to do another "making of" post for the reveal. I particularly love the in-process 'value study', which feels even more dynamic than the final version:

That's not a thunderclast, that's clearly a Yugioh card

I could not agree less. Just because that is the way most fantasy is, doesn't mean all fantasy has to be, or should be, that way. Perhaps it's because I am only barely able to consider this story 'fantasy' at all, and I mean that as high praise. I think's it's treading the lines between genres in a very interesting way. So what? Any story is about character first. Character trumps everything. For me, this chapter is about the character realising that they cannot achieve what they want to, the investigation of what they believe alchemy should be, within the redundant strictures of a discipline organised (and therefore defined), by individuals whose image of the profession is hackneyed and reductionist. The worst thing possible for the story (character) would have been them becoming apprenticed to the heid bummer, although probably they would have come to intellectual 'blows' soon enough. I don't see it this way. He believes in an alchemy that has nothing in it for Sor. It seems to be he can't conceive of what their interpretation of alchemy is or can achieve. His branch of alchemy must produce results, and he must be at the epitome of that area of expertise, with proven mastery, I presume - unless he's just a politician. I don't read it that she's more competent than him, but that she has a better understanding of one area of the discipline. Disagree. In Sor's last fight they were captured and down and only just managed to get away. I don't think you can call it 'one hit' what they did to the wake Queensguard. Here, they managed to hit a barn door, only just. In no way did they come across as competent at fighting. I think it's clear that they were lucky, and that they know it. Sor used the only thing available, applied wits and got the result. I think that's a good thing. I think it's clear that in no way does Sor think that every fight will be easy, quite the opposite. Personally, I think this would be a mistake. I think you need to underline the alchemical aspects of this story at every opportunity in the early parts. Sure, have pigments fail, but I think it's too soon for that. Have them fail next time. Beating the not-Ent with a rock? Seriously? That's going to be a comedy moment, imo. For what it's worth, this reader thinks the scene is great the way it is. You have wonder, you have tension, you have violence (btw wrt Gore - do we now have to flag any personal injury inflicted by another entity as Gore? Blood is red, whether it's a wound or a nosebleed). Yes, this right here. He did? I didn't think that. He was scrabbling around in the leaves and I'm sure there's a reference to him becoming increasingly frantic. @kaisa, have you finished Draft Zero? I would urge your not to change this chapter until you've finished the story?

Well Rosharans seem to be more Age resistent than usual. Also the lower gravity helps...Lastly Jasnah is a radiant. She is a radiant from 16 years, stormlight's healing+an user with an High view of herself could do probably Just we see. A women struck near to the perfection without too effort. I know and this is the reason I use to be 100% honest with my fiance. She will go Mad regardless what I said, so no point into lie to her (and out effort in doing It). Returning to the cover. It is a bit too old School for me. For example I liked much more the sketchs than the complete work.

6. The Hero of Ages -- 16 13. The Way of Kings --14 +15. Edgedancer -- 1816. Warbreaker -- 4 - sorry, on my phone and couldn't un-bold HoA!

So, the signing is still ongoing and it's super fun, but I figured I'll share what I've managed to ask before my memory evaporates. Q: Is Khriss on Roshar during SA? A: That's aaaa... RAFO. Q: On Oathbringer cover, Jasnah seems to be flying, but she never had flying ability before... A: She doeasn't actually fly in the scene, that's Michael's invention. Q: Could a Seeker detect a Shardbearer? For example, could Vin detect Adolin's Shardblade? A: Well, Seekers detect kinetic Investiture, Investiture that's being used, so when the Blade is summoned, you'd get a blip, but otherwise, no. Q: If you took a Parshendi... If a Parshendi was born beyond Roshar and never visited it, could they sense the Rythms? A: You mean Rosharan... Q: I mean, just generally Rythms. A: Well, Rythms are... it's something that permeates the Cosmere, and just manifests in a different way on Roshar. Q: Oh, so is it the same thing that Soothers and Rioters are using? A: Well, now you're straying into RAFO territory... So... nothing particularly juicy, I suppose. Also, @sheep! Your Urithiru Knights design on my shirt has been noticed and praised!

Repeat after me: "In Brandon We Trust"

Augmented reality game. I think this is the wrong term as that also normally has real world components.. Basically we had to follow a trail of clues on 17thshard that would lead to a code that unlocked a chapter of WoR that we could read ahead of time.

Could this be a strider in the storm?

"Can you make kisses shiny?" Jackpot! “Trust me, there is nothing more shiny than a passionate kiss, just let me handle it.” The next moment they were up in the sky. There was a short moment of weightlessness before gravity started to pull on them. Then Shiny went in for the big kiss. It was the most joyous experience she could think of. The pure delight send her sparkles into overdrive. The light enveloping was like a second sun in the sky, just more colorful and shiny. Sadly they were eventually going to hit the ground and even if it was ‘till death do you part, there was no reason to let their love story end with an early climax. Only one thing could act as a cushion for a fall from blissful paradise, so Shiny teleported them on top of her bed. Lovingly, she cuddled herself against Funtimes. “So, was that shiny enough for you?”

There's a new cosmere meme collection page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmereSanderson/ Looks kind of fun!