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It is time! Today marks 2 years on the shard for me and in that time I have met so many amazing people.at first I was hesitant, but now I know that the people on this website are some of the best people in the world. This beautiful haven has such a great community and I am truly blessed to be a part of it. I normally don’t name names in this type of thing because I don’t want to leave anyone out, but there's a few people I really need to mention. @AonEne you are an amazing person. From day one you were welcoming and supportive, even if we barely knew each other (because I was scared of you). I now know you are kind, funny, and astonishingly good at modding. @Lunamor you might’ve been the very first person on here to really try to get to know me. I first met you on TLT of course and found you super funny. You are still the same person the overwhelmed little freshmen first latched on to and I love you for it. @Truthless of Shinovar what can I say about you? You can be @Frustration at times, but I a really weird way. You are fantastic and wonderful, but I will never forgive you for making me miss ookla season last year. @Shard of Reading @I Am A Fish @DramaQueen @hoiditthroughthegrapevine @Condensation and @Matrim's Dice have all been incredibly supportive as well with my mediocre art in my inktober thread (I’m cheating on today's, I want it to be beautiful) to my sometimes annoyed posts in CCRB you all are fantastic. It really blows my mind that people like what I have to say and offer here. At school I’ve never been a popular kid. I’ve always been the awkward one in the corner who gets rebuffed when they try to join conversations. Many of you have been there too, and I think that's why we have such a supportive community. We know what other go through, because we've been through it. Not everyone was the awkward kid, but those kool kidz are just as amazing. It's astonishing to me the fact that I was top of the week for like 3 days in a row. I thank you all for that. I know I’ve missed people, but just know that everyone is appreciated, loved, and thanked by me. (Especially those who deal with me when I get grumpy in roast battles). It's probably been the best two years of my life and I hope to see many more. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much.

For today, book, is Elend reading the Words of Founding. Yes, it is entirely pencil I wanted it to look as good as I could get it. Proportions are off and the hand is something out of nightmares, but overall it's not too bad.

My first thought at this part was, "Wow that would be difficult to do in the middle of a battle with someone and that would take a lot of gemstones.".....just like like in the pillar at the heart of Urithiru, which happens to be a giant fabrial. I'm wondering if Urithiru doesn't have some sort of "switch" that when thrown could seal multiple fused in the vicinity at the same time.

Day 6 Lenkai was being watched. The figure crouched on a rooftop, grinning from ear to ear. They knew that Lenkai had advertised being guarded, and that could very well be true. However this was still an opportunity for Lenkai to die. It had been too long, and their refusal to be killed irked the figure. They would enjoy killing Lenkai. And finally, a pain in heir side would be gone. The figure dropped down onto the eaves of the house they were standing on. They wondered why Lenkai was always wandering the streets late at night, but the thought quickly passed through their mind, they were too focused on Lenkai, and the relief that would come when he died. The figure almost didn't notice the guard dtachment following Lenkai on the ground. Luckily they heard one of the guards cough. The figure was about to jump off the roof, so the noise made them tense up and the jump too swiftly. The eaves under their feet collapsed, leaving them on the ground facing the sky, with Lenkai on one side and the guards on the other. The figure leapt to their feet and began dashing away, their cover was blown and they couldn't let anyone see who they were. The guards yelled at one another, and half the guards chased the figure, the rest sprinting towards Lenkai themselves. The figure ran through every alleyway they could remember, trying desperately to lose their pursuers. It was through luck that they got away, they crashed into a pole holding up an awning, making the awning collapse after the figure. It bought them enough time that they could get away. In the morning they heard that Lenkai had been detained for illicit dealings. They weren't dead, but they were inconvenienced. Maybe they could take solace in that. Elkanah was attacked and survived! Again! Again! Elkanah was caught using the contract market! They will not be able to vote this cycle. This cycle will end in ~46 hours, on Monday the 12th, at 2000 MDT (0200 GMT) Item market: Contract market: Player List:

I didn’t have time yesterday, but here it is. Day 9, for knife, is one of Vin's daggers. It's simple and made out of obsidian and glass.

Those aren't the result of having radiant abilities, Kaladin's depression and Shallan's DID are just part of their personalities. It would be an issue regardless of whether or not they bonded spren.

So we need someone who will: 1. Remember those who are forgotten. 2. Listen those who are ignored. Adolin is storming Highprince, and he remember every soldier and every peasant.

@Darksun I asked Brandon if she was the biological child of her Father. He said yes. Here is the WoB. I should have been more specific and asked about her mother as well. Skyward release party (Nov. 6, 2018) #37 JoyBlu Can you confirm that Shallan is the biological child of her dad, Lin Davar? Brandon Sanderson *evil laugh* Should I confirm that? Yeah, I'll confirm that, she is. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/367/#e11634

Also, I saw this image and just had to

The biggest strength would either be creativity or self-awareness, the biggest weakness is my temper I can take another truth if you all want

I would say that my biggest strength is emphasizing with people and helping them get through things, and my biggest failing is that I sometimes blow things way out of proportion.

Word spread through town like a wildfire, and it was nearly impossible to stop, especially since that flame had been stoked frequently. Because of how quickly the word spread, everyone needed to go out and see for themselves what had happened. The outspoken Youth was one of the first to arrive at the Mayor's manor, demanding to know what had happened. The Youth and all of the other town's folk were blocked from entering by the guards of the manor, but this didn't stop the Youth from trying to provoke the crowd. He shouted to everyone who came about Amals entering the grounds. The crowd accepted what the Youth said, and started to demand with him that the grounds be opened so that they could see for themselves what had happened, even though the guards who barred them from entering stood resilient. Every second that access was denied, the crowd grew angrier. The Youth demanded that the mayor come out and speak to them, and his call spread throughout the crowd as their anger burned hotter and brighter. The guardsmen grew more and more nervous, trying their best to hold their ground. Suddenly both a guard and a townsman were thrown back as if hit, and fighting broke out. The guards drew their blades to fight the mob of citizens in order to protect themselves. The people pushed forward as they didn't care who threw the first blow, they intended to throw the last. Fighting ensued as the guards fought for their lives against the horde of furious townsfolk, their swords offering them an advantage that was quickly overcome as they were swarmed by the shear number of people who charged them, yelling and screaming in their anger. The people surged pass the guards, swarming onto the grounds toward the Mayor's residence. They stormed into the manor itself, fighting any who tried to stop them. They reached the Mayor's chambers, only to be halted by the sudden shock of what they saw before them. The guards and hunters who didn't flee or weren't killed were hauled out of the manor to the courtyard in front of the manor, along with the body of the mayor. The sight of the mayor's body shocked all of the townsfolk, as he had the characteristics of a mighty bear, identifying him as an Amal. Silence overtook the crowd as they all looked at the Mayor's body. The Youth stood up and approached the body, glaring at it with a passion that burned hotter than the sun itself. He spat on the mayor's body, then addressed the crowd. "Gather your friends and neighbors now, for the mayor is not only a traitor to the people he swore to help and protect, but he's also one of the stinking Amal! How long has he led us to follow his greed? How long has he allowed his cursed brethren to pray upon us in our very own walls?! He lays before us as a dead traitor, and whoever killed him is our greatest hero, and he should be gratified as such! He wished to divide us asunder and allow the condemned of the Crystal Mother to consume us and eat our flesh to feed their inner beasts. We cannot allow this to happen anymore. Ask amongst yourselves, who supported this vile betrayer as he tried to have us all killed?! There is no doubt that his personal guards did, they allowed this man to lead us and then stood by as the Amal attacked us and killed our friends and family! Unless they renounce their evil and dividing ways, they must be punished!" The crowd roared in support of the youth, their voices filled with the anger that had been burning in them, only to just now find release. The Youth smiled. "But these aren't all. We must find everyone who supports this traitor, bring forward all who would betray us to these filthy beasts to become prey to those creatures!" The crowd rustled as groups separated off to practically run to other houses in the town, dragging out their inhabitants and bring them before the youth; who watched with his eyes blazing with energy and passion. The youth gestured to some of the guardsmen. "These here have slain our friends and brothers, they are murderers and traitors to humanity! There can be no redemption for their crimes! What say you? Shall we gives these murderers a traitor's death?!" The crowd roared in approval as the youth called forward a man with a large axe. The guardsmen pleaded for mercy as the axeman approached, and the youth only watched with grim determination. The axe fell, and the crowd cheered. all four of the guardsmen's heads rolled across the courtyard. The Youth turned to the next guard in line. "Lazh, commander of the guards for the Mayor's grounds, I accuse you of treason against the people of this settlement by supporting this traitor and withholding your aid from the town as the Amal attacked us without any mercy. Show us that you aren't the traitor to humanity that you are. Spit on the traitor's body, then you must curse him and his traitorous deeds!" Lazh looked solemn, and she held her peace. The Youth sneer at her. "You have chosen your fate traitor." The youth walked passed her as the axeman approached her. Most of the other guardsmen chose to curse the mayor as they feared for their lives, and they were let go, but their actions wouldn't be forgotten. The youth came across those that the villagers brought forward, and he approached the first one. "Baker-man Eburio, the people of this town accuse you of treason against us and all of humanity in favor of this murdering Amal by supporting him in every regard. You chose to denounce all those who called for change. Now, do you denounce him as a traitor? Do you spit on him and join humanity once more?" Eburio sat there, he looked paralyzed with fear and indecision, he started trembling. "Very well Eburio, you have chosen who you will side with, and you will join him." The Youth carried on down the line as the Axeman followed him, doing his grim work in silence. Most of the other townsfolk who were called traitors screamed out in fear, they begged for mercy, and they did anything that was asked of them. Very few chose to face death. When the Youth finished with all those that the crowd had brought forward, he addressed the crowd itself. "We have seen the power of the Amal. They wish to kill us all and divide us from one another. But I refuse to allow these beasts this victory. The beasts unite themselves together to infiltrate out towns and settlements to spread division amongst us, we have seen their agents here among us today. They have led some of us astray, but I tell you all we must stand firm against this unholy tide of wrathful beasts! They hate us, true, but they also fear us because of our power! But they know that if humanity stands divided, then humanity cannot win. That is why we must stand together as one! We must resist the attempts to tear us apart from the inside like how our traitorous mayor has tried to do. Humanity must unite!" The youth received powerful cheers from the crowd, and they began to chant his name. the youth put a hand to his ear. "What would you have me do?" The crowd cried out to him. "UNITE US, LEAD US!" The Youth smiled. "Is that what you wish?" The crowd cried out in agreement as they surged forward to carry the Youth to the Manor. ------ As the crowd carried the youth away, Kuno watched them from the back of the courtyard with the torch fire reflecting in his dull, grey eyes. He smiled, then he turned to Catorphia, who stood behind him as always. "It seems that we have been successful, that's another one in my pocket. We'll have to push on to the next step very soon, especially if my informant is correct again." Catorphia looked very uneasy the entire time that the crowd was gathered in the courtyard, but now that only the stragglers remained, she looked more at peace, although she was ever attentive to her surroundings. Kuno took Catorphia's silence as a response. "Perhaps, the informant's information was ambitious to say the least, but I'd rather be ready for them to be true. Not to mention that things are changing fast." Kuno rolled his eyes at Catorphia. "Yes the baker was necessary, as everyone else seems to be obsessed with escalation, however could I be left out of it? Come, we should gather Bandar, we need to be sure we stabilize things around here, but then we have to move. Escalation is what's necessary." Kuno walked off into the town with Catorphia right behind him, all round pleased with the fact that everything had gone this smoothly and quickly.

I'm still here, I guess. Not very much, though. I don't have much to say. There are 8 people still alive. 1 monk, 2-3 elims, 5-4 villagers... If there are four villagers, if Elk's kill hits a villager the monk wins. I don't know whether or not to reveal, slightly worried it might help the elims...

Ignore my reputation title. Ignore my reputation title. It does not mean anything. It does not mean anything. Ignore my reputation title. Ignore it.

The sky was getting darker as Krait strolled towards the front door of the mayor's house. She took a deep breath, trying to get her nerves under control. She had managed to not think about this part of her plan for a long time, and she had succeeded. Mostly. In the past hour Krait had visited a few houses and borrowed some clothes without asking. She now wore the clothing of messenger with a brown leather satchel at her side, mostly empty. In front of the front door of the mansion, there were no less than six guards. Krait knew all of them by name, but there was no way that they would recognize her after the long time that separated their pasts. The guards were lounging around a table playing with some cards, but Krait knew that they were actually watching, weary and ready for an attack. Once she drew closer, the only woman in the group, Lazh, stood up and asked, “Who are you, and what is your business here?” Krait almost smiled and replied instinctively with her name, but caught herself. Instead she answered, holding a letter in her hand, “I am Kria. I have a letter for the mayor.” Lazh nodded and stepped forward to take it, but Krait drew her hand away so the letter couldn’t be taken. “I’m sorry, but I was expressly told that I need to make sure Laon himself sees this letter.” Lazh snorted and replied, “We’ve heard that one before. We aren’t just going to let anybody… Wait, what did you just say?” Krait smiled and repeated, “I have to make sure Laon sees the letter personally.” The other five guards at the table went silent. Lazh glanced around to see if anyone else had heard what Krait had said. No one had. Krait had made sure before that nobody would be even within eyesight let alone earshot when she came through. Then Lazh motioned Krait forward, and two of the guards opened the door. Lazh and two guards led her inside, leaving the remaining three outside. The interior of the mansion was lavishly furnished, with statues of Amal lining the walls and a deep blue carpet rolling down the long hall. Krait adopted the look of a townsperson, gaping at all the art and other finery of the mansion. It wasn’t very hard to fake. Just inside the door stood another four guards, two on each side. Krait didn’t recognize these ones, but she did recognize their armor. These were Hunters. Amal killers. She was led down a side hall and into an empty room, where the two guards took up positions by the only door. There was no other exit from the room. Lazh turned around to Krait and studied her face, silent. After a few moments Lazh said, “Who are you, really? And how do you know Laon’s name?” “You do not need to know who I am, Lazh.” Lazh cursed and put her knife to Krait’s neck. “How do you know my name?” she demanded. Krait kept calm, and her lips crept into a shallow smile. “You wouldn’t believe me, even if I told you. I don’t plan to tell you, though let it suffice that you used to know who I am. Now. I need to see Laon. The letter is quite urgent, and I need to return the answer soon.” Lazh took a deep breath, then answered, “Fine. I have no idea who you are… except… no. That’s not possible.” She took another look at Krait’s face then shook her head. “No, you most definitely couldn’t be Krait.” Krait had been ready so she was able to keep her expression the same. Raising her eyebrows in a show of confusion she asked, “Who?” “Nevermind. It isn’t you. She never was an actor. Could never lie. Especially not to a friend's face.” That hurt Krait more than Lazh could ever know, but there was nothing she could do but continue. Nothing good came from mourning about the past. Lazh nodded, and the two guards behind Krait walked through the door and started leading the way towards Laon’s room. As the door came into view, guarded by four more Hunters. Once they saw Lazh they moved out of the way, allowing her to open the door and walk through. Krait was ushered through by the two other guards and the door was closed behind her. Inside the room, Laon sat on a chair, reading a book. It was probably about politics. He glanced up and casually said, “Oh, hello Lazh.” Then he returned to his book for a second before looking back up with astonishment, seeing Krait standing there. He hastily stood up, gaping. Krait inwardly cursed. She had hoped he wouldn’t recognize her, but it had been futile to believe such a thing had happened. In one fluid motion Krait grabbed a knife from her belt and held Lazh with the knife to her throat. “Make one sound, and she dies.” Laon’s cry died before it had even started and he sat down in his chair, face pale. “Krait, why are you doing this?” Lazh gasped, but didn’t say anything. “I am sorry. I… I am not who I used to be.” “Why are you here, Krait. We broke up years ago, and you vowed we would never see each other again.” “You knew that I would come here, eventually. And you know why as well. When we became Amal, the two of us, we were going to change the world. Make it better for everyone. But then you changed, just like everyone else.” The pain was evident in Krait’s voice, and she wasn’t able to change it. “You decided that if the world wanted to become better, then it would do so on its own.” “Krait…” “No. You knew what you were doing when you started, and you were too scared to continue.” Krait took a deep breath to calm herself, then continued. “I’m afraid that I’ll have to kill Lazh. The only way that she lives is if you take her place. You get to decide.” Silence filled the room. Laon nodded and stood up. “I understand. I knew that this day would come. I am ready. As ready as I’ll ever be.” Lazh had gone stock-still and horror was drawn all over her face. Whispering harshly, she said to Laon, “No, Laon. I won’t let you do this. Let me die with honor.” “I am sorry Lazh, but if you die, she will still kill me. I won’t have you die as well. Krait, I am ready. I just want you to know that I have loved you my whole life, even though you left me. I know that doesn’t change what has to happen, but I want you to know it and have no doubt about it. I am ready” Krait extended her arm and threw the knife at Laon’s chest. It sank into his heart, killing him instantly. Lazh screamed in agony and swiped at Krait, but she wasn’t where she had been a moment before. Now a viper, she struck at Lazh, putting her to sleep. She transformed into a human as the four Hunters crashed through the door. Krait backed away, then threw a knife at the window hilt first. The glass shattered and she jumped out, landing on a roof about five feet below. She transformed into a snake and was gone before any of the guards got to the window. *** Only a few minutes later, Krait was galloping away from the settlement, tears streaming down her face.

Depression is part of Kaladin's personality.

Currently alright, in general quite stressed PURPLE. NO QUESTION THERE. It looks alright with my blond-brown hair, but when it's brown hair it looks REALLY beautiful. And if you were to style it side shave is really fun as well. If you were to dye your entire hair purple pixie-cut is always fun, but long hair looks prettier with the bottom dyed or highlights. OOH. Mistwraith. Chasmfiend? Okay something more reasonably a pet, I assume. Hmm. Larkin if I'm in stormlight archive or Sel. Other then that, maybe an Aviar? I wish we knew more types, because the death one is technically a weird exception, but the only other one we know is the A-Copper guy? So the one that can see death. Hmm. Pumpkin, but my favorite is banana Do it on the day it's due in large stretches. I guess yes? Maybe?

One of the soldiers fired a gun.

Well, Experience beat me too it. Welcome to the Shard! I'll tag you when the signups go up for the next game, which might not be for a week or so. I'm not sure when the ongoing game will end.

Hello and welcome to the Shard! Yes. Sanderson Elimination is forum mafia. There are currently two games running, but the signups for a new game should start in a week or so. I can tag you if you want? Here's the link to it: https://www.17thshard.com/forum/forum/62-sanderson-elimination/. I am currently running a game. Do you want be to send you a link to the spectator doc?

Day 10: Hope. FINALLY. This turned out well. I'm running low on white ink so Tom's shirt is kinda messy and the hair coulda been better... But dang. For as hard a pose as this is, it turned out pretty darn well.

Aww man, I lost my first reply because it got flagged as newcomer spam since I quoted a link. Hope I can remember what I was saying the first time. Haha, I almost skipped reading this. Never had anyone use the tiny font on me, but I deserve it with my name. Yeah, I'm definitely enjoying it. I can see where it might even be better than Mistborn as I've heard a number of other people say. Well, actually Mistborn was my first series, and the only one until I recently decided to give the Stormlight Archives a try. I love the worldbuilding and the detailed mechanism for allomancy. Ahh, thanks for the confirmation on what Sanderson Elimination is. I'll review the forum and look for how to sign up for a game. And thanks so much for the warm welcome.

My friend just got dumped and while that's sad and all I'm just here like Edit: also how do I help someone who's going through a breakup lol

Bit of an exaggeration, but still funny:

I think your mom was wrong. The Taj Mahal is as beautiful in construction and the surrounding grounds are likewise as beautiful as Versailles. The Chand Baori, Modhera and Rani Ji Kabori stepwells are some of most beautiful buildings ever made in form and function. I've never been to India, but before I die, I would like to visit one of the prettiest spots on the face of this planet, the Rock Garden of Chandigarh. I loved Gaudi's Park Guell, but Chand's rock garden seems even more elaborate and integrated better into the environment. I get your point about the buildings that were destroyed as an expression of imperial power, but Europe too is strewn with the corpses of once beautiful castles and cities. It's likewise tragic that the Taliban destroyed the Bhuddas of Bamiyan and that ISIS destroyed the Temple of Jonah. Hopefully someday humanity will realize that true power is moving beyond conflict and working together to create more beauty in the world. I think, just like the Listener conclave that we saw in WoR where the leaders represented every known form of Listener, the Nine are likewise a ruling body representing each respective brand of the Fused. The fact they the nine have their backs to the gathered assembly and are permanently stationed facing each other, is very reminiscent of the 1st Generation Kandra, rule is by the consensus of the ruling elite. The gathered Fused of high Station are really just their to report to the nine, it's not really a deliberative assembly.

Now, I know a video game is probably a long way off, and personally that's fine. I was thinking about what one could look like and I had an interesting thought. Now, I'm basing this off of a first person rpg or MMORPG. What if instead of choosing an order of Radiant as a "class" but are instead assigned one based off decisions? I see this working most like the KOTOR games. For those who don't know, they are Star wars games where you play as a force user. Depending on your actions and decisions you make you move toward either the light or dark side. As you move closer to that side the abilities linked to it become stronger. I think something similar to this could work really well for a stormlight Archive game. They could even base it off the official order quiz. Different decisions you made would move the sliders and then at a certain point in the game you would attract a Spren based on your decisions. As you went further in the game if you kept making decisions that aligned to your page your abilities would increase in strength. Now, a couple of the flaws with this. I'm not sure how you would do lightweavers or Elsecallers where the oaths are so personal. I also think bondsmith would have to be off the table just because I'd is overpowered nature and limited Spren. The final, and perhaps biggest, flaw is that the surges are so loose that it would be hard to create a game that fully captures them. TLDR: system similar to KOTOR could create an interesting knight radiant game where decisions decide your order.

All right, This is a thread devoted to worshiping the works of the genius Bill Watterson. Particularly Calvin and Hobbes. If you haven't read, or seen any of the comic strips go do that right now, here's what you're missing out on: Please post praise below: Hello! The final round is here... You found the first clue! So go! GO! Back to where you started. Here remember wurds. Win...

Steelheart is the best But I am here for Cosmere Do not @ me bro

This conversation set off sooooooo many warning flags for me. Mraize is obviously setting Shallan up for something in this meeting. 1st thought is that he's a character we already know, or that Shallan especially knows. I'm not sure who this could be....A Herald? Someone she thought was dead, but had been hiding? A hidden figure from her suppressed childhood? (this seems the most likely to me) If not the above, then something has to be set up which has Mraize so confident in Shallan's future decisions.

Welcome to the Shard!

I'm afraid the thing about to appear does not feature M a great deal, but she is in it. Another teaser!!

Welcome... to heaven. XD

Oh my gosh, Calvin and Hobbes was my childhood. My grandparents have the complete set and I reread it each year I visit them. I think one of my best birthday presents ever was getting the complete set. That was a good year. I love reading Calvin's test answers! I find them absolutely hilarious.

For day 8, dramatic, is Kelsier! This is the first time we really get to see him fight. I couldn’t find the exact quote, but there's something about him coming in through the balcony with the mists around him. He does, in fact, have drawn in eyes but it's hard to see. I believe I am better at landscapes.

I think Eshonai at some point noted that the humans wear all their emotions more than Singers, and thinks it is due to their lack of rythms. Humans needs to smile, laugh, emote more bodily than the Parsh who can just attune to a rythm to convey their emotion. Edit: Found the quote.

Sacrificing himself at the end is totally something Kaladin would do, but I don't think it would finish his character arc enough for it to happen. We already know he's willing, and he's already basically done it, like with Shallan in the chasms, so it doesn't really add anything or show character growth. The scene at the end of Oathbringer where he's saved is especially good because it's breaking from the norm of Kaladin saving everyone.

This is gives dad jokes a whole new meaning.

Well everyone – we got there! Last night, Tay and I finished Words of Radiance together! This book was a much quicker read than the Way of Kings and I think that in spite of Tay’s insistence that she’s only reading these books for me, she really seems interested and committed to the series. It’s super cool to see! Since I haven’t posted since the end of part 3, this is going to be a longish post. However, I assume if you’ve been sticking around and reading these posts since I started this topic all the way back in March, you’re fine with a big dump of reactions. Before I go into the reactions to everything, this general reaction happened yesterday: TAY: Have there been other reactions to your thread on Mind Readers? ME: No not for a while. TAY: You’re not writing my reactions funnily enough. Anyways, here goes! -- *Lift interlude* TAY: This is it? This is the character that everyone loves? Does she have any other scenes in this book? ME: No, but she has a novella between this book and the next? TAY: I’m not sure I get the hype. ME: She’s just too awesome for you. TAY: I’m also unsure that Brandon Sanderson has ever met a 13-year-old girl. ME: Again – she’s too awesome to be a regular 13-year-old. -- *Lhan interlude* TAY: I don’t like interludes. ME: We can skip this one if you like. Not much happens. TAY: What happens? ME: A priest angers the queen of Alethkar, gets executed, and starts city-wide riots. TAY: *sighs* Yeah that sounds pretty metal. Let’s do it. -- There was a stretch of time where Tay and I just literally sat there, zoned out, and listened to the book for like four hours. When I quizzed her the next day, she had two new nicknames: SHADOWFIENDS – Formerly Rock Lobsters, this is what Tay called Chasmfiends. I kind of like Shadowfiends as a name for, like, chasmfiends that have been inhabited by Voidspren like Thunderclasts. How frickin badass does that sound? SHADOWBLOODS – This is the Ghostbloods. I think that Tay’s inherent love for Wheel of Time was seeping through in her retelling here, as there is a pretty prevalent use of “shadow” as a prefix for anything that is bad in Randland. -- I just wanted to comment on her lack of reaction to a particular scene. I, like many of you I’m sure also, cringe horribly when Kaladin says “AND FOR MY BOON…”. Tay, weirdly, didn’t react at all. When I asked her about it, she literally just said “It’s what I would have done. Screw Amaram.” Further evidence that Tay is Kaladin. -- *various reactions to Pattern* “Heh. What a guy.” “I could listen to Pattern explaining sex jokes all day.” “This dude is the real MVP.” -- *Shalladin happening in the chasms* TAY: They’re perfect for each other. They’re both colossal pains in the butt. ME: Yes! Finally someone agrees with me with Shalladin! -- *Kaladin is in the mouth of the Rock Lobster and says “I’m eternally grateful”* TAY: *laughs uproariously* -- *Shallan is strangling her father while singing him to sleep with the lullaby* TAY: Okay, I like how badass she is – but the singing is a little melodramatic for me. -- *Context: we both have asthma* TAY: Whenever I need to use my inhaler I’m referring to it as sucking in Stormlight. ME: I’m absolutely here for this. -- *Dalinar confronting Amaram* TAY: Yes! Go Dadinar! Protect your adopted son! -- In full disclosure, I have had to try to explain where the honorblades fit into the magic system like three times to Tay. By her own admission, she fully doesn’t understand it. However, she definitely understands the Orders of KR and gets that with each Ideal they speak, they kind of power up. At this point in the book, she was kind of getting that Kaladin had to say his next Ideal, but was confused when I referred to it as the Third Ideal. TAY: Third Ideal? Hasn’t he just said one? ME: No, he’s said two – remember “I will protect those who cannot protect themselves” is the second Ideal for the Windrunners. The First Ideal is the same for all Radiants – “Life before death. Strength before weakness- TAY: “Crem before cremlings.” Yep. Got it. -- *Szeth lashes Dalinar into the air* TAY: “I’m Kaladin! Come to save you on my chariot of winds! *air horn noises* -- *Dalinar is floating down thanks to Radiant Kaladin* TAY: I can show you the wooooorld! -- *Kaladin says “The winds are mine!”* TAY: I hate that. So cringey. ME: Cringey!? Okay let’s imagine you’re Kaladin – you’ve been depressed, torn up by your conflicting emotions, beat up, and finally got your powers back. You’ve been thinking about some badass line all the way to Narak to fight Szeth – what would you come up with? TAY: Well I cover up my depression with being funny. Maybe I’d let Dalinar float down and say “did you drop this?” ME: I think you’d just show up and do a dab, say "YEET" and then fight Szeth. TAY: That’s probably exactly what I’d do. -- We then discussed the nature of cringeyness in books like this – we realized that I really appreciate over-the-top badass lines, but Tay loves cutting tension with sarcastic comments. She said that if she had Radiant powers, she’d probably be more like Deadpool in her interactions than Batman. -- *Szeth constantly repeats his name* TAY: “I am Szeth-son-son-son-Dadanndo!” Ungh. I hate Szeth. He’s my least favourite character now. *Tay then spends the next few hours referring to one of our cats as “Flam-son-son-son-Dadanndo”* -- *Szeth and Kaladin fight each other in the air* TAY: Pew pew pew pew! -- *Syl changes from a Blade to a Shardspear* TAY: OOOOOH! So cool! SYL YOU THE REAL MVP! -- *Shallan tells the scholars to bind and gag Renarin to shut him up as she’s trying to work the Oathgate* TAY: Mood. *pauses* Alright… I think I’m starting to like Shallan more now. -- Just a little poetic synchronicity happening at this point – because we live in South Africa, our seasons are inverted from the northern hemisphere. We have summer in December and January and winter in July and August, etc. In Johannesburg, we’re a landlocked city at altitude and thus we have incredibly dry winters in comparison to summer where we have big storms every few days. Point is – since it’s the end of summer we haven’t had a proper rainstorm since, like, May. The day that we finished Words of Radiance we had the first proper thunderstorm in Johannesburg for months. It was so cool and fitting. -- *Shallan says she hates Pattern since she used him to kill her mother* TAY: You take that back! -- Not really a fun reaction, but Tay loved that Lopen could suck in Stormlight. I found it weird because I really didn't like Lopen all that much, but I immediately liked Lift. Tay seems to have the inverse reaction to mine. -- Tay’s reaction to Sadeas’ murder at the hands of Adolin deserves its own paragraph. When it happened, Tay audibly gasped, then clapped like the opening theme song from Friends, then proceeded to get me to pause the audiobook. She then became Adolin’s hype-man for like twenty minutes as she digested the scene. She absolutely loved that Adolin did it – she was sure that when he was saying “Unfortunately for you, I’m not as good a man as my father”, he was going to slide the knife away and say something like “Stay away from my family” and had an eye-roll primed and ready. When Adolin actually killed him, she was so surprised and happy. She then asked me to rewind the scene and play it again so that she could savour the death scene again. Sometimes I worry that my wife enjoys these murder scenes so much, but then again, I listen compulsively to podcasts about serial killers and unsolved murders, so I guess we’re evenly macabre. Long story short – she likes Adolin now, or at least has a hell of a lot more respect for him. -- As the last scene involved Dalinar, Shallan, Kaladin, and Renarin talking about which Order they belonged to, Tay decided to take a shot at naming them all. I’m going to try to recreate her thought process completely: TAY: Yeah, I can name them. I’ve been listening to two of these books now. I’m sure I can do it. WINDBREAKERS SKYDANCERS DUSTSLINGERS Wait. Wait… Oath…. Is there something with oaths? ME: Nope. TAY: I thought Oathbreakers was one. WATERWEAVERS. I don’t know, what other things are there? Oh oh oh! Farmers! They can grow things! Let’s call them… SOIL ENCOURAGERS! You’re not helping me by telling me what the other elements are. ME: None of these are correct. TAY: Um. FIRE? I’m thinking about Earth Wind and Fire. You know? Like September? *sings September by Earth Wind and Fire.* Okay so FIREMAKERS. Oooh ohh! LIGHTSPINNERS. Then the DARKDOERS. STORM…. Ssssssssssssss *making a hissing noise*. I’m thinking of another word! Something that arbitrarily seems to do with motion. STORMSNAPPERS. ME: That’s nine. What’s number ten? TAY: JAZZ HANDS. *Laughter ensues* ME: “I’m Dalinar Kholin! Order of the Jazz Hands! Give Odium the ol’ Razzle Dazzle!” -- There you have it, Radiants. Your ten orders of knights: Windbreakers, Skydancers, Dustslingers, Waterweavers, Soilencouragers, Firemakers, Lightspinners, Darkdoers, Stormsnappers, and Jazz Hands. Not sure when we’ll pick back up and do Edgedancer or Oathbringer, but we’ll give you an update when that happens! Until then – Crem before cremlings.

I think there needs to a pretty drastic delineation in people's understanding between other users supporting real life abusers in real situations hurting real victims and those same users arguing a fictional character who's teleporting little fairies back and forth from hell might be a person that we can discuss the rationales and motivations that formed them without serious ethical concerns. There's been plenty of people in the fandom who have (mock or otherwise) argued for the Lord Ruler, and yet I doubt any of those people are really down with genocidal dictatorships or stabbing others with pointy nails. If Gavilar has ever actually done something positive in his life, recognizing whatever that is will not revictimize Navani, because she's not real. The most that could really be said, I suppose, is that it somehow vaguely contributes to a greater culture of abuse, in which case my reply is that I didn't find much credence for the Video Games Cause Violence! moral panic either.