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I'll RP as Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-Ninth of the Just a Smidge After Twilight ... or, I guess, Twi for short

Stick. Because he is not fire. He is Stick.

DOOMSLUG! Oh wait, not Cosmere... Um, I think I'm going to have to give my vote to Steris' attempts to be helpful on Wax's adventures. Utterly adorable, to say nothing of hilarious.

Wow. 1000 posts. I guess since this is a milestone, I should make some sort of speech about it. Man, the Shard has been a great place with great people, ever since my introductory post, all the way down to the latest antics of 'The Knights Next Door.' However I feel a need to point out some specific people and things. @Firerust, most of what I can say to you has been said already, so just accept my thanks for getting me on here. you're a great man, Fire @Box Turtle, for being a great friend,and my singular Sanderson Convert. @Ashspren, I have had possibly some of the most fun I've ever had on the Shard on your Roast Battles, despite not winning a single one. @AonEne, @Lunamor, @Sorana, @Dr. Dapper, @BookishOcelot: I know it's kind of weird to consider y'all close friends, but I do, and thank you all for that opportunity to get to know you in some small fashion. Also, if you follow me, and I didn't mention you, here I shall: I honestly find it astonishing that people like what I have to say about these books enough to want to follow me. So thank you very much Here's to a great 1000 posts, and here's to another 1000 more! - Wyndlerunner

Pattern is most adorable thing in the known Cosmere.

Some would say I’m punbearable. The wise ones say I’m punstoppable. Me though, I say I’m the Punisher.

I gotta say the cutest thing in the cosmere would be Chiri-Chiri, because tiny Investiture-eating flying thing is adorable.

Pattern Age: N/A Sex: Male Height: N/A Likes: Lies. Mmm. Lies. Notes: NO MATING

WoK Syl for a serious answer. Stick for a meme answer. Doomslug the Destroyer for a non-Cosmere answer.

En contrare: I actually love this idea. Firstly, it makes total sense that the DA would do something like this. Voidus and Fate have lost control of their world - obviously they would try to get it back. That’s not an argument for the idea, particularly, but it’s interesting to note. Secondly, as someone who never found the monolithic power of guilds as interesting as individual characters, I think it would be amazing for character growth and development. People respond to being pushed beyond their limits and making hard choices. This is, quite possibly, the biggest push there could be. How do leaders react to having everything taken from them? If this reality is fractured, maybe they could get a little bit of their power back - but at what cost? Would you make a rift in space-time to gain troops, political clout? Would you stop your enemy from doing similar? Also; some people gaining more from the shift, or new characters coming into existence, and those people fighting for things to stay changed. (Obviously we’d have to revert, but things could be permanently changed, or carried over, to make it meaningful. Plot shouldn’t be just ‘things that happen that don’t have lasting impact’. The status quo needs to change.) I wouldn’t argue that this makes the DA more powerful. (And saying that they can abuse the system by just having stuff - anyone can do that. We just have to agree that everyone can’t.) We can say that everyone is underpowered - including the DA - there are no guilds any more. It’s clearly not a ripoff of Invo’s idea, so that’s a moot point. And it doesn’t have to be next era if that ruins existing plots. Honestly, I’d be happy to put this on the backburner for one era and pick it up over 5 and 6 so that we have time to sort everything out and prepare accordingly/conclude current plots.

There's this WOB: So there is a possibility that the Shards could be categorized in the same way as the allomantic metals - 4 physical, 4 cognitive, 4 spiritual, 4 temporal -, since the allomantic metals followed a pattern that was previously established by the Shards. That said, I don't think the metals are "based" on the Shards, or "their" metals in any way. They just take a similar place in a similar pattern. This is particularly apparent in the fact that every allomantic metal has an opposite, while not all Shards have a specific opposite. So, at the most, it's the general concept of 16 being divided into 4 sub-sets of the same kind of pattern (... and which Shards fit into which sub-set is another topic).

Hi everyone! Brandon will be here in Spain the next week for the Celsius festival and in Madrid for a little event and signing. I can't attend the event in Madrid ( I have friends who will) but I will be in the festival though. So I will try to put on here every WoB I'll be able to hear or read in the spanish forum/discord, and of course I will be upload them in the Arcanum.

Salutations! I am utterly new to the concept of forums and the like. However, after getting The Way of Kings on Audible from my husband, I quickly found myself having a new favorite author. I am anxiously awaiting the next development for Stormlight, have read Arcanum Unbound, Steeleheart, and Elantris. Elantris might be my favorite, and I discovered this site while digging for news of more from that cycle. I am a proud montessorian, a mother to two children who might be wind spren in disguise and a wife. I am also excited and nervous to be here.

I just saw a post that was somewhat similar to this theory, but there were a few differences and I wanted a place to flesh my theory out a little more fully than I would have felt appropriate to do in that post (the post is “theory about the end” and it’s quite good, I would recommend reading it). Please feel free to rip this theory to shreds. I just finished my re-read of Oathbringer and it occurred to me that although Odium accepted to use a champion, he fled before either side had actually chosen a champion, as Dalinar is freaking awesome. My theory is that Dalinar is not going to appoint himself as the champion. It wouldn’t make any sense. He doesn’t have shards anymore, and the Stormfather told him that if he tried to use his Radiant powers in battle they would leave him. Dalinar even mentions several times that he is done being a soldier. So naturally, he’s going to appoint a 4th oath Kaladin to be the champion, because lets face it, Kaladin is the coolest and in a hand-to-hand fight he’s one of the best there is. Odium is going to appoint Vyre as his champion, and will probably super power him with Yelig-Nar, and possibly Dai-Gonarthis as well (I say possibly because I really have no idea what Dai-Gonarthis is, nor what it can do). All these voidish powers are going to render Vyre completely unrecognizable to Kaladin. During their final showdown, right as Kaladin will have an opportunity to end things, he’s going to recognize that Vyre is Moash, really the only true friend that he’s had since Tien, and he won’t be able to go through with it, and he’ll hesitate. This will be all that Vyre needs, because by this point Moash will be completely gone, having given himself completely to Odium. Vyre will strike a killing blow. At this point, Dalinar will be horrified, as he can’t directly intervene or it will break the oath that he made, probably freeing Odium. So instead, in a last act of desperation, he reaches into the Spiritual Realm and he restores Honor. This will of course take far more power than a human can use (as there have all ready been people saying that huge levels of stormlight are dangerous), and it will kill Dalinar. But this will leave Kaladin open to take up the Honor shard, which I find only fitting as he was the first to bond an honorspren in this generation of Knights Radiant. With this new level of investiture, he’s going to be able to see how thoroughly Odium destroyed Moash, and it’s going to make him go crazy, and he’s going to attack Odium, especially since Odium is going to be weak from all the investiture that he poured into his champion to assure victory. Honor Kaladin is going to shatter Odium, then have a nice little chat with Dalinar in the Cognitive Realm before Dalinar passes on to the Spiritual Realm. That’s going to be how part 1 ends. Part 2 will begin with Ba-Ado-Mishram (sorry about spelling) becoming a sliver of Odium, much as the Stormfather became a sliver of Honor, and then chaos will ensue.

The Soothing hit Freedom like a truck. Only fear and regret remained in her mind. Regret for being in that building, fear of it burning down. And most of all regret for not having stayed at home with her family. Feeling small, she tapped age, shrinking to a few years younger than she was. The fear disappeared. As did the regret. Her mind was like a child's. Afraid of almost nothing and confident of every action. Of course, it didn't mean there wasn't room for reason. The Phoenix heading to a building was enough to scare her. She hurried to the elevator shaft and began climbing down. It was long, but little Freedom had lots of energy and was very skilled at climbing. --- He didn't have many regrets, but the few he had bubbled to the top. Eiran had left his mother in Newcago. She didn't deserve that--to have to fend for herself. His father was dead, killed, and now he probably would end up that way too... Before he knew it, his phone was in his hand and he was calling her up. He feared she wouldn't pick up as it rang and rang. Maybe someone had wanted to call in a debt and she hadn't had the funds. Maybe she was on the streets. Maybe she was, he swallowed, dead. "Hello?" his mother's voice answered. Eiran breathed a sigh of relief. "Is everything alright?" she asked when he didn't answer. "No," he said. "I left you alone and now there's a Phoenix in the city and I didn't see it coming and I'm worried that's because it might kill me." The was a pause. "Eiran, your ability doesn't work that way and I wouldn't want you here. Your mother likes to prove she can take care of herself." "How do you know?" he asked. "Because the last time you didn't see something that could have killed you it was because you'd, you know," she said. He understood what she meant. "Now, I don't know what exactly this Phoenix is, but I don't think you'll solve the problem by talking to your mum," his mother hung up on him. She was fine. She didn't hate him for not being with her. There was nothing to worry about. So why was he still afraid? He looked to the PlasmaCore building and the Phoenix. Because of it. There might not be anything for him to see at the moment, but that didn't mean he was incompetent. He'd survived before he had his power, no reason he couldn't now. This just required some old-fashioned ordinary problem solving.

To clarify, this is in no way a ploy to undermine the other guilds while making the DA more powerful, my idea is for the DA to experience the exact same scaling back. The majority of the Stranger's power would be devoted to maintaining the new world, severely handicapping him. One of my main hopes for this is to allow character interactions that the current power levels of both guilds and individuals wouldn't really allow. Both halves of the plot are currently very loose, and I'm happy to work out further specifics if we decide to go through with it. What I see as the main pro of this plot would be a huge level of community collaboration. Younger guilds means more opportunities for establishing alliances and enemies. Maybe a member of the ghostbloods wakes up as a member of TUBA, or something. Another big thing this plot would do is allow a huge scaling back of the DA. They would be on nearly equal footing as the other guilds, rather than drastically OP. While I do enjoy RPing an OP character, I'd like to RP as a denizen without having to find a convoluted explanation as to why they're not using the full power available to them. I have ideas for depowered denizens, even the Stranger. It would make the guilds a lot more interactive then they currently are. Right now it's all massive armies and insane powerlevels, and it's almost impossible for there to be a meeting between the guilds without the threat of leveling most of the city. Lowering the powerlevels of the guilds will require more creative solutions and RP for interguild conflict. More subterfuge and less all out war. There are a lot of themes to explore as well, but the main one is Sacrifice. This is something I've been exploring a little with the Stranger and Lita, but it would be expanded upon immensely in the build up and aftermath. Every character would have to make some kind of sacrifice, whether they wanted to reverse the shift or keep it. I'm totally fine if this is set for an era further down the road, or if we make the first part run in the background of the next era as previously mentioned. It could start out as a sideplot and then take center stage. And the set up can take as long as we like, there's no rush. Especially if people want to have character scenes that would make the Shift all the more impactful.

So I think for those three different cases, could result in three different things. I pulled up a bunch of WoB regarding Leechers. A leecher has to have enough metal to leech the amount of investiture. So its not like a tiny bit gets rid of everything automatically no matter the amount. A little does do a lot, but for larger quantities, you will need to hold on, and have more chromium. So for the Lord Ruler, the leecher would need a lot of chromium and keep a sustained grip which would probably result in the leecher's death. Regarding Vin fueling her powers with the mists, I do not think there is enough chromium on Scadrial to destroy the Shard of Preservation lol. WoB below. Kaymyth I asked the question about chromium vs a Compounder with both Invested and un-Invested metals in both their stomach and piercings. Brandon Sanderson What it boils down to is this: 1) Yes, the piercings will get burned off. 2) The non-Invested metals go before the Invested ones. He said that because Invested metals are harder to affect, it takes a little extra time and effort to get them to burn off. So a Leecher trying to clean out a Compounder would have to get a good grip and hang on for a few seconds. 3) Chromium burns about as quickly as duralumin, so if you're trying to burn off a lot of metals, it is possible to run out of chromium before your target is clean. This would probably only be an issue when dealing with larger pieces (like jewelry) rather than your standard metal-flakes-in-the-stomach deal. ConQuest 46 (May 22, 2015) Questioner (paraphrased) If a Leecher was holding a Shardbearer and burning [chromium], would the Shardbearer be able to summon their Blade? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) No. Warsaw signing (March 18, 2017) Questioner Aluminum, when you burn aluminum, does it actually destroy the metals or just take away their power? Brandon Sanderson It destroys the metals. Questioner Same with chromium? Brandon Sanderson Yeah. Questioner So it actually gets rid of the metals? Brandon Sanderson It actually trans-- It does a-- matter, energy, investiture are the same things in the cosmere. You have some sort of transfer happening relating to those things. Questioner The question sort of relates to metal poisoning-- Brandon Sanderson Yeah, you would not get metal poisoning after that. Calamity Seattle signing (Feb. 17, 2016) Regarding Larkins, I think that depends on two things. First, since Larkins are living things, I believe they can become full, so I would imagine there is a limit on how much investiture they could eat. After eating the voidbringer's investiture, Rysn's Larkin seemed contently full. Now there was confirmation that a Larkin grows up into the great shell laceryn. So whether or not the laceryn keeps the investiture eating properties of a larkin when it grows up, and if that increases how much it could eat, I do not know. Nightblood is something else entirely. When he has eaten a lot of investiture and then sheathed, he does seem sluggish and full, but I do not know if there is a limit to his investiture consumption. When asked would nightblood devour a Shard, Brandon tends to dodge the question, stating things like the mists would avoid nightblood, or Shards are afraid of nightblood. There is a WoB regarding Nightblood being plunged into the Elantris form of Aon Rao could result in the destruction of the city, so take that as you will.

Still no word from him unfortunately. The ebook has slid (over the last few months) from mid-June to the very end of July, hasn't it? The fact that the hardback listing (September 10th) is only 6 weeks after the ebook at this point... I'm leaning towards the assumption that it will come out with the hardback in September. The fact that it KEEPS slipping a few weeks out at a time just feels like they've got a soft date that automatically gets pushed back as the date nears and they don't have an official date. I don't know how these things work... But it's like maybe Dynamite told them "summer 2019" so they put down a tentative date in June. And then the system just automatically tacks on a few more weeks as needed until someone comes along and gives it a hard release date. Maybe Dynamite told Amazon the September date and it was input for the hardback while the ebook was just overlooked. *shrug* Anyways, will report back if Adam says anything.

The Stranger would be the only one from the DA with any appreciable level of power compared to what exists currently, and the entire goal would be around keeping this going, not trying to take over the world or anything. And as Snip mentioned, that's not a new problem, the DA has always been OP compared to everything else. Every era we've come up with some justification for why they're not getting involved in things but it is going to be getting more and more difficult over time. On a personal level I would really enjoy a plot where I didn't have to worry about keeping the DA/Voidus from overshadowing things. One of the things I really liked about this when FB pitched it was that it's essentially a chance to create a huge Fanfic which can become selectively canonical at the end or be easily retconned. People could remember things from both realities so players don't need to remember everything that was real vs. what wasn't, reality could be restored patchily or in its entirety so the parts that people wanted to be permanent could be permanent, others could be less permanent. This would also be an option for people to change characters around if they wanted to, alter powersets without needing to resort to Hemalurgy, etc. I think it's safe to say that at least some of it would be undone at the end, how much would be up to how the RP goes and community decisions as always. That was my thinking here as well, especially given the plot Sorana has posted it feels to me that the general consensus is that we're moving away from the early days of the Alleyverse being all about OOC spying and infiltration and the guilds and are moving into a more fully fleshed out world with players that trust each other. Lowering the power of the guilds allows us to give them enemies outside of just other guilds or swarms of abominations. But even the guild warfare would be more interesting, TUBA and the DA could actually have conflicts without TUBA needing to worry about giant Kaijuu being unleashed and destroying the world. The GBs could actually try to assassinate people again. Smaller groups of people from outside the guilds could form with their own interests and actually provide meaningful opposition because characters couldn't just summon a guild army to take care of it. Could even go a step further and say that at the start of the era the guilds aren't yet established at all, could give a chance to actually RP the creation of guilds, recruiting, laying out claims throughout the city. Explore the actual reasoning behind why characters would join these guilds, if they would join at all, and have a bunch of newcomers all signing up at the same time, easy way to start scenes for characters to interact with each other on a personal level rather than just missions and fighting.

I think that this WoB implies that it would take some time for it to show up as anything but empty space.

I had an idea for the following eras and have work-shopped it somewhat with other members of the DA. This plot would last for at least 2 eras, the first being a set up of sorts. The main premise goes as follows: I know it’s a long shot, but I have sooo many ideas for this. We could make this hugely collaborative and let the community decide what they want changed for their characters or guilds. We could discuss how we want each character to change or stay the same. This could allow some players to have their characters age and others remain the same. Players kids could develop into new characters. Relationships could grow or regress. If the community agrees we could even have characters come back that were killed. We could talk about power level adjustment in the post spike world as well. There could be cross guild alliances or relationships, different levels of memory retention. I would want to keep this very open and collaborative so no one feels powerless or out of the loop. Both arcs are still easily changed, and we could cement those details if we as a community decide to move forward on this. It doesn't even have to be the next main plot, it could come later. This is just a loose outline. Anyway, that’s my pitch. I think it’d be a great shift for the subforum and would open up a lot of plot options and character development. This could really happen whenever, so it doesn’t have to be this next era. It can be tweaked or changed however everyone sees fit, but I think it’s doable. I'm happy to hear y'alls thoughts and input!

I think their resonance is a form of spiritual gravitation and adhesion. They pull in a lot of squires and Kaladin certainly cemented B4 as a cohesive unit

Yes! We have a facebook page( Brandon Sanderson España), forum (Cosmere.com) and a discord.

Laurelai turned towards KanMien, wondering what she'd noticed. But before she could say a word she felt it, a sudden wave of Allomantic power rushed through her, suppressing her emotions, forcing them back down until almost none remained. She wished she hadn't come here, this had been a mistake. So much destruction around the city and she thought that she would manage to survive it? She thought that she could be an effective spy in a city filled with swords that severed souls, knights with the ability to turn you to stone, men and women who could hurl a coin through your skull with nothing but a thought? She was too far out of her depth. She needed to run. To get out of there before Voidus remembered what she'd done to anger him. Before he killed her. Then she felt the power twist deeper still, forcing its way beneath the surface of her mind and into the depths. She felt it pulse rhythmically and felt a counter-pulse from two points in her arms, two bright piercing points that seemed to resist against the intrusion. But even stability spikes had a limit, and she could feel them slipping, losing ground. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She felt the fear spread out beneath her, the two legged creature froze in panic or ran from the sight of her. As it should be. These ones did not try to resist her, did not threaten to usurp her dominion or challenge her authority. They were not like the enemy. From a number of points below she felt a strange cracking sensation, as though the power she'd unleashed had broken through something, and felt a sudden connection to a number of minds. A connection that would only be possible with others who had been gifted powers. Her Kindred. For a brief moment a flash of fear took the edge off of her rage, her wings faltered as she realized what she had done. Her creators had forbidden her from commanding her Kindred unless they gave her permission, she had not been permitted to do so on her own. Should not even want to rob her fellows of their wills. But she had it seems accidentally seized control over a number of her Kindred in the city, and she could feel several others on the verge of shattering as well. But then her rage flared up again, burning as bright as the flames upon her body. Her creators no longer held sway over her. She was the sovereign of the skies, not them. She held herself aloft moving towards the building that she hated, but her eyes still scanned the ground. She wished to see the enemy, broken and afraid, fleeing from her shadow as she swooped down upon them. Instead she saw something else, something that was unexpected. A burst of bright fire lit the ground, before lifting up into the air. Her eyes focused in on the flames immediately, narrowing in challenge. Her children were a great distance away, this could not be any of them. And if it was not one of her children then that left only the option of a rival. The flames began to fade to a darker colour, a black flame outlining a shape that she was familiar with. Her shape. Talons stretched beneath her as this rival approached, but for a fellow creature of the sky she gave it the courtesy of waiting for it to speak before rending it apart. You knew my father. The Rival spoke. Were friends with him. He saved you. Will you accept me too? The Phoenix regarded it unblinkingly, trying to recall any figure like that of this rival. She remembered nothing of any other rivals, not since she had been a tiny hatchling. But she did remember another creature who had tried to speak with her. Another whose voice rang with a fire of its own. Could this Rival be a Hatchling of theirs? That one had understood. He had understood what it meant to live. Accept? She asked back. No. Accepting comes after. Proving comes first. We are hunting. We are living. Join the hunt and maybe we will accept. Show that you live. With a sudden gust of wind and heavy wingbeats she set off towards the building once more. If the Enemy was in the building then she could destroy both at once. If not then she would continue destroying until she found them. Perhaps the Rival would understand, perhaps they could live as well. She cut off the surge of emotional allomancy, allowing those below to feel once more. But she kept a hold of the tethers she'd already formed, the minds that she was already connected to. She gave them all a single request. Find the Enemy.

Like I said, I don't believe the metals (and/or their allomantic effects) have specific according Shards. So parallels like those two would only be tangentally related each other. Although it's very likely that Odium would be a "spiritual" Shard since his Intent deals with emotion and a sort of dis-Connection, which are things that happen in the Spiritual Realm. Devotion seems very spiritual as well.

Kaladin and Syl are going to end up together. I don't know how but some way they are going to surpass the 5th ideal and Syl will gain physical form on Roshar. I've said it before I'm a sucker for a good love story and never never never never wanted Kal and Shallan to end up together.

Well, I personally don't like the tone of this discussion at the moment. To me it should be about forming an opinion, not about blaming each other for mistakes/ things that didn't go well. I propose that we vote on whether we do that plot line or not and if we spread it out over two eras or not.

Could you elaborate on the problems that you think it would cause? I am personally fine with it. I think if we give each person freedom with how much they want each character to change (while still encouraging interesting alteration) and we plan around making the shift meaningful but not hindering, then it should be an interesting and fun idea.

We really don't know how many spikes Kelsier might have. At least the eye spike that connects his CS to the body, but beyond that, we don't really have any guesses. It could be one, none or twenty.

We have a PR PM? That's news to me...

There's a recent WoB that clarifies that you still have resonances when you have lots of powers, they're just attenuated too much to be useful. If I had to guess, I would say that the boundary between usable and useless resonances lies between three and four powers. So, for three powers, you'd have three different, very-attenuated resonances (one for each pair, maybe a fourth for all three combined).

But they were slightly salty, so some private French Tax collectors put a tax on crying.

Let's say Vin dumps that Elend loser, only now she's a little lonely. So she fires up the Coppernet and builds herself a profile. Name: Vin the Ascendant Age: Forever 21 Sex: Female Height: Good things in a small package Likes: Metal, flying, mists, exercise, challenging kills, parties (surprisingly) Dislikes: Body piercings, megalomania, books, oppressive governments, caverns Note: must love dogs, Steel Inquisitors need not apply, please do not worship me.

So how have you come up with this theory? Why base metals- especially when Ruin has Atium, and Preservation has Lerasium? Please- belittle me and explain this theory in more detail?

The beavers were mad because they were a horrible football team. No, really! Oregon State University's mascot is a Beaver, and they suck.

I have imagined the potential for hemalurgically combining four chasmfiends into a kolossfiend (or would that be a chasmoloss?). Brr.

Excellent. I'm quite into shorts at the moment (hang on, that sounds wrong...) Anyway, interested to see how this goes. I like the title, it draws me in and makes me want to read. (page 1) - The first line is... I'm not sure, a bit odd? I certainly captures my attention, but I think the second paragraph is very strong. The line about the fur being grimy, a very powerful image, and tells me immediate that the monster is a figure of sympathy. - "manufactured" - interesting. - "slot in the metal door opens" - In a short piece in particular, every word and action has to do as much work as possible, imo. Here there is a lost opportunity. The slot can clang open, snap open, flick open: something to make me feels it. This version is just too bland. (I see you do this the second time, much better.) - "A rectangular explosion..." - This line is a really mixed metaphor, it's unclear, and therefore confusing. It's an explosion, but it's a lighthouse, but it's sterile. These are all different things, imo. - "eyes are framed" - tense disagreement. (page 2) - "on well oiled-hinges" - hyphenated, I think. Also, it's weird that the hinges are well oiled, but the latch on the door scrapes. - "Click, click, click." - This works nicely second time, to add tension very simply, by showing, because you set it up well the first time, imo. - "JOSEPH" - This was a bit on the nose for me, given the story of Joseph and the obvious allusion with the monster's situation. Also, I noted the sister's dress with the purple flowers, alluding to bruises. My main quibble here though is the formatting. You really don't need bold, capitalised typo, IMO. That's really unsubtle. - Do librarians have pencils any more? - "importantly--” The Brother shrugs. “--it's" - syntax / punctuation, ya-ya, ya-ya, yah. I think it's a matter of keeping it as clean possible: "More importantly," the brother shrugs, "it's for the good of others." (page 3) - At this point I'm wondering if the monster actually is not physically monstrous, and this this trait is something psychological or behavioural (if those aren't the same thing). Oh, but I'm forgetting the blue for, of course. It's not Sully from Monsters Inc., is it? - "The gray shackles clamp around his wrists" - Who's doing this, and the dragging? I feel like I've slipped out of POV. - "unfortunate tastes" - Yes, I wonder if this is going where I thought it might be on the last page. This hints that it may well be. - "Monsters are human, too, you know" - Some of this cod philosophy makes no sense. - "too-bright hallway" - this needs a hyphen, I believe. - "The pink brick walls that have never been washed" - What about them? This is not a complete sentence, and I had trouble with the line before about the stumble, grammar-wise. - "how colorful the Street had been" - This is not the Blumhouse remake of Sesame Street, is it? (page 4) - "What happens here is not science" - They can still stain their clothes though, hence coats would be a sound idea. - "as if they are the heroes" - Believing they are right doesn't make them heroes, imo. It's something else. - "Cookies..." - Yep. Okay. For one thing, I don't understand the line. I've g**led it, so now I get it. Also, it seems like the line is slightly different; is that intentional? - More importantly, why? (page 5) - "Frog Man" - Since when was this what Ker is? He's 'just' a frog, surely? Anyway, a frogman is someone in a wetsuit. - "Creator… James" - I'm really not happy about this you know. I'm just saying. - "when parents raise their own children again" - Huh ? (page 6) - "Show them that their desires are bad" - I'm kind of confused by the message. I'm not convinced that some of the arguments are consistent. Don't they want them to desire things that are bed for them and lead them into being controlled, like sugary foods and drinks, too much salt, etc? (page 7) - "looks at the monster for a long minute" - Ker is about two foot nothing, monster is up on a table. I don't believe that Ker can look at monster when M is on the table. - "wallet-sized picture" - needs to be hyphenated. (page 8) - "The look in their eyes matches the one" - typo. - I'm confused. I don't understand why they are suddenly sheepish, then adoring. - "Cookies are s-sometimes food" - But this isn't the line, so he's not saying it again, he didn't say it right this first time. OVERALL My biggest thing, above even my squirming discomfort is that I'm a bit confused about the message. I don't think it's totally clear. I think it's that the goal of the unspoken presence (what it that, politician? religion?) is to bring kids up not to question authority, not to question their boring, subjugated lives, am I close? One of the things I don't get is the bit about desires. Let's say that the message was clear, I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with the tone of the story. That's a matter of personal choice, of course. The important thing is the clarity of the message. Thanks for sharing... I think?

The headwind had picked up in a familiar portent, she could almost taste the Investiture that was to come. A sharp, energetic taste coupled with the fierce wind that was no wind. The Alleystorm those who crawled on the ground had called it. She simply called it delicious.She had no current need to refill any of her stores, but the storm would fill them above their normal capacity anyway, she would be able to enjoy the limitless use of her abilities for a short while until the storm passed. The intoxicating feeling was enough that she'd often considered simply riding the storm as it passed over the continent and beyond, luxuriating in a life of infinite energy welling up within her as fast as she could use it.But this excess was only so pleasurable because she had the time without in between. Experiencing that all the time would simply lessen the experience from the extraordinary to the ordinary. From marvel to routine. The ruler of wind and fire enjoyed the chaos of the storm, its unpredictability. If it became her permanent state then it would no longer feel wild, and that would be the worst fate she could imagine for it.She angled herself a little higher and began banking, allowing the wind to catch her from the back now. She felt it ruffle through her feathers as it took some of the burden off of her wings, giving her a little force forwards. It meant that she was travelling back the way she'd come but that didn't matter too much. She'd seen some flashes from the city in the distance, some large shape that loomed overhead. But she'd steered around it on her way here, she could do the same on the journey back.As she began soaring back she saw the shadow in the distance still, looming high above the city. Above the skies themselves. She'd seen the shape once before, the last time she'd visited the city in earnest. The day that she'd first felt that irritating itch, that surge of power that tried to rule over her.A sudden shiver ran down her spine, a particular rarity given the large plumes of flame that usually burned there. At first she thought she was simply recalling that day too vividly and ruffled her feathers a little while casting an irritated glance towards the city that lay far in the distance. But the sensation didn't fade with the memory, it grew stronger. It seemed to almost target her as she drifted, searching for her. Her eyes caught the other lesser creatures of the air seeming to become stunned before they began speeding unnaturally towards the city. Something was controlling them. Something was trying to control her.The enemy yet lived.Her eyes sharpened in an instant as she banked once more. She would not steer around the city this time, she would visit it once again. She would remind the hated enemy why she was to be feared.The flames that lapped along her feathers flared suddenly brighter, becoming almost white at their base and extending out further still from her body. She felt a fire within her rage as if in response. She felt the power of the enemy pulling at her inner fire and stoking it to a fury, but she needed no help in that. Her eyes were already filled with rage.She could simply wait for the storm to carry her to the city, use its power to further the destruction that she would wreak. But that was too passive, the fire within her would not allow it. She raised her wings and with a might downward push began accelerating towards the city. With her size alone she was fast. With the abilities that had been granted to her she was faster still. And when she used some of her inner storm to alter the pull of gravity she became speed incarnate. She descended upon the city like the wrath of the heavens, a distant speck of light that was growing far too quickly for any to escape.For the second time in two decades the cry of the Phoneix pierced the skies above Alleycity.

Rob hopped out of the van with everyone else and as others entered within the building, glowing lights and loud music engulfing them, Rob stayed back, looking over himself. He would have been content with coming in his usual basic attire, but he knew he had to be formal. Trousers, a simple coat, red polo shirt and black bow-tie. Not too frivolous. A part of him was a little excited, though he didn’t show it. Prom. The day had come. And he wasn’t going as an independent either, he actually had someone who’d said yes. Even if that person was liked by another person. They could still enjoy the prom though, right? He stood up straight and entered through the double doors, the music’s bass rumbling though the floorboards and the multicolour lights reflecting off of their polished sheen. He looked around - this place looked bigger on the inside, and he found Leona by the snack bar, chatting happily with Flid. Rob paused, looked down then looked elsewhere. They’re just talking. He didn’t know hat to do with his hands so he just kept them in his pockets casually. And even if they aren’t, it’s not my business. I shouldn’t get in their way. But, Leona was his prom date. Maybe they’d forgotten, which was understandable. I could remind them, Rob thought. But I said I didn’t want to make a love triangle. I don’t even like Leona in the way Flid does. But still, it hurt a bit. Looking further around, Rob felt dwarfed by the disco. Taking one final look at the snack bar, he moved somewhere else, to a corner of the prom not as populated as the rest, and slowly began moving back and forth in what constituted as a dance.

Cassie pulled up to the front of the school and glanced at the back two rows of the van. "Okay, everyone, we're here. Remember, no Abrasion on the dance floor and don't Lash anyone to the wall so you can steal their date. I volunteered as a chaperone, so either bribe me with chocolate or no funny business." She grinned at them and hit the unlock on her car key.

To be fair I did title it “unimportant question”

I think Edgedancer and Windrunner oaths could work together, but it would still make things more complicated, and spren don't like to share. Syl gets possessive of Kaladin even where lesser spren are involved.