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Cosmere characters as Whose Line Is It Anyway prompts! (Never watched the show, but it was fun assigning characters to prompts) Featuring more bad drawings, this time with 80% less effort!

The debate in the crowded mess hall grew louder and louder. A self-professed Servant of the Mad God claimed to be a Forgotten, but was ultimately dismissed. The crowd eventually set its eyes on Joshua. His arguments were flawed, and drew many criticisms. However, Joshua begged for his life, and set the mob on a different target. Dan was normally one of the most talkative people on the front lines, but he had gone strangely silent during this argument. The camp reasoned that this was proof enough that Dan had been possessed. Unfortunately, Dan was not possessed, and was merely unprepared for the deluge of words against him. He died quickly, not even getting to say any last words. Vote Count: Dannex (6): Ashbringer, Burnt Spaghetti, Illwei, Matrim's Dice, Quinn0928, Ventyl Matrim's Dice (4): FlyingBooks, StrikerEZ, TJ Shade, Devotary of Spontaneity Gears (3): Araris Valerian, Kasimir, STINK Illwei (1): Archer Random Bystander (1): Mist Dannex was a Rithmatist. Items Taken: Camp Supply: Player List: This Night will end at 8 PM CST on January 31st. The Strength of the Wild Chalklings is at 2.

Blackbane wrote a letter too. It was a.

Sakura dug the man’s grave. It only seemed fitting since she was the one who’d cast the final vote. She was the one who’d chosen not to let fate decide. She was the one who’d damned an innocent man. She was terrible. Sakura made the man’s grave deep, not just to respect him properly—as was per standard in the West—but to punish herself. She tore into the coarse dirt of the forest of Nebrask. Her shovel jolted her arms each time she plowed it into the soil, and each time she didn’t prepare properly for the shock. Her forehead dripped with sweat, rolling down her face and into her eyes, it gave her an excuse to stop digging. She was grateful and not at the same time. When she finished digging the three meter deep hole, her arms were covered in mud. It had started raining at some point. Sakura didn’t remember when though. Nevertheless, she climbed back to the surface, grabbing hold tightly to the rocks that jutted out of the ground so she wouldn’t slip on the wet dirt. In her ascent, she cut her hand against one of the rocks, its sharp edge tearing into her palm. Her blood fell with the rain into the soon-to-be filled grave. It only seemed fitting that part of her should be buried with Dan. She picked up his cold body. They hadn’t had a casket to put him in, only a thick tattered cloth wrap. It was disheartening to know that, if Sakura was put under the court’s judgment next, she’d meant a similar fate. Buried in land so far from Japan. Away from her lover, Hogetsu. Who’d never find out that her partner had died in a foreign forest, in a war she should’ve never taken part it. When she returned to the camp, soaked in mud with blood running down her arm, she received looks of concern, distrust, and some that she couldn’t read. Sakura paid them no heed. She returned to her lodgings after grabbing some kind of stew from the cooks tent. Then, she undressed and toweled herself dry, cleaning and bandaging the wound on her hand as she did so. It would make drawing Rithmatic lines for the next few days a struggle, which only seemed fitting as Dan would no longer draw them at all. By the time Sakura finished cleaning herself, the stew had gotten cold, reminding her of Dan’s limp form. She gave her thanks and ate quickly, taking no time to treasure its dull taste. When she finished the meal, she set the bowl outside her tent for the cooks to collect the next morning. Leaving the bowl to fill with rainwater, she returned to the warmth of her shelter and sat down at her desk. Sakura wrote a letter.

More OB meme but Sja-Anat is all:

A...? EDIT: WAIT, I GOT THE JOKE

Rules Clarification Time: Nope. Acid and Lines of Warding contribute to the Defense of the Camp, and does not affect the Strength of the Chalklings. Unless you have a Lantern, you will not know how much Defense the Camp has each night. No. You have to wait until the following turn. So, you can grab a crab during the Day, and use the Crab at night, but you can't immediately Grab and Use a Crab during the same Day You get two actions. One for the Day Turn, and One for the Night Turn Yes it does. Note that if you are targeting someone else with your Line of Forbiddance, you can still be blocked though, and that would leave your target defenseless.

That's time. Please stop PMing while I figure out what just happened.

I don’t think you’re imagining it, but I do think we have to be careful to note, as you do, that the Roshar Crazy is a real, external effect the world is inflicting on its residents rather than a problem with their states of mind. Crazy as they may seem, these characters are actually behaving astonishingly normally given their environments and natures. It’s not a delusion for Szeth to hear the voices of those he’s slain if those voices are a real, magically-fueled phenomenon literally haunting him. It’s not a sanity problem to be inflexibly wedded to one particular idea of honor/freedom/learning/etc., and intolerant of other perspectives, if that idea is literally what you are composed of. It probably isn’t as severe of a sanity problem as it might be in our world for Szeth to so inflexibly hold to his ideas of Honor and Order that he becomes an assassin, considering that he resides in a world where it’s likely he had a literal mystical connection to something that either was or entrenched that kind of unwavering ideal in him. We would be more likely to consider him influenced, not insane, if electrical stimulation had been used to narrow his focus the way the Roshar Crazy effect did. That’s probably the most apt rationale for this. If my assumptions are wrong, and the Roshar Crazy effect is so new that Ba-Ado-Mishram’s imprisonment caused it, that should be pretty clear in the Heralds’ history when we get it. And will make that event even more momentous than it already looks. My guess for now, though, is that something about Roshar’s Investment causes the Unmade, and potentially other ideas to a lesser extent, to influence people like controlled substances or brain stimulation. I’m assuming it’s all somehow due to the world’s free Investment. But I also think it might be worthwhile to separate the Roshar Crazy from what we see of personified idea(l)s like spren. They could be more an embodiment of the effect, a part of its cause, rather than just victims of it like Humans and Singers. Which might make them more susceptible to the Roshar Crazy, or just so narrowly focused as the one thing they embody that they are extreme and seem unbalanced. Aren’t the spren, at least as far as they believe, overwhelmingly representations of one single facet of “human” emotion/drives/concepts? In a world where people may literally Connect to specific interpretations of ideas that suit them or that they enact, it makes sense for that echo chamber effect to make those people more confined to, and extreme in, those interpretations. In a world where mystical forces are, effectively, constantly Rioting particular peoples’ emotions in regards to certain ideas, we can’t expect moderation on those ideas. And in a world where literal and figurative ghosts don’t let the past stay in the past, those with long or fraught histories are likely to be inflicted with instability by said ghosts. So if there is a single, overarching source of the Roshar Crazy, I’d guess it’s the same thing that makes it likely ideas will manifest, spren will spontaneously come into being/attain sentience, and the (potentially cognitive shadows of the) dead will linger/communicate.

Adolin: I talk to my sword too. Funny thing is, she eventually talked back

“Journey before destination, you bastard.”

In the past, the Southern Influence Commerce Syndicate successfully sabotaged their rival’s airship, The Northern Wind. This sabotage bought them the time necessary to finish the construction of their own airship, which they named The Southern Wind in “honor” of their rival’s destroyed airship. This new airship is set to take off in one week, and crewmembers are currently being selected. Below is a brief overview of the ship, covering both the layout of the ship and the jobs available. Basics Factions Airship Parts Roles Welcome to Mid-Range Game 48! I am the GM for this game. @Araris Valerian is the IM. All credit for the original game/ruleset goes to @DeTess and @Young Bard. This game is an altered rerun of MR36. Lots of stuff was changed though, so don't go by that ruleset. If you have any questions, just @mention me. Any clarifications will be put here. Signups will end on February 5th at 5:00 PM EST. This will probably be the normal rollover time. RP Background: You're crewmembers on the Southern Wind. This airship will be used to explore the Pantheon Islands. This game is set on the planet of First of the Sun. Spectator/Pinch Hitter List Player List Quick Links

While there is a long history of war in Roshar, there doesn’t appear to be a tradition of anything like a Just War Doctrine. This is the principal that going to war requires the right causes (Jus ad bellum) and that fighting a war demands right actions (Jus in bello). I find it unlikely that peoples who revered Honor would not have come up with this at some point in history, and so much is lost or hidden that they very well could have. But it’s surprising not to see something along these lines at least proposed as the Radiants start up again. From BBC’s Just War Principles summary: We don’t know much about war culture (beyond just trying to survive) in the time before and during Desolations, and it’s entirely possible (likely, even) that at least certain Radiant Orders ascribed to something like the above tenets. I don’t think a Rosharan (or at least an Alethi) version of Just War Doctrine would rely on the same assumptions many ancient scholars in our world had: that war is an evil, but that if it is the only way to avoid a greater evil, then it should be engaged in as morally as possible. The Ardents we’re familiar with preach that fighting is the most important devotion, because of the Tranquiline Halls. It’s interesting that most of what Honor is stated to be about is connections and oaths, yet his followers do seem to revere the concept of honor, as well. Because they purport to follow Honor, I’m giving the Ardents the benefit of the doubt that they would distinguish between Dalinar’s actions fighting for survival at the Tower the day Sadeas betrayed Dalinar’s 8000 troops, and at the Rift when Dalinar burned the whole city. However, I’d like to explore where and why that line is drawn. Is there textual evidence that the issues individuals have with Dalinar’s war crimes are institutional (I got this idea from the thread Reactions to Dalinar’s Crime)? How would any current Rosharan human and Singer cultures create and implement these kinds of “moral warfare” guidelines? Who would be involved, who would be for and against and why, and what would be the best ways to ensure Urithiru and its allies adopted this kind of doctrine? The Oaths seem to provide some basis, depending on the Order Windrunners trained under Kaladin might have picked some of these principles up by osmosis, but has, say, their honorable behavior against the Shanay-im been codified? What would a Just War framework for Roshar – or at least for Urithiru’s forces and allied/neutral forces – look like, what would be the impetus behind it, and how would it be implemented? I have way too many ideas about all of this, so I’m just going to pose some of my biggest concerns regarding the likelihood of current leadership at Urithiru aiming for a Just War Doctrine. Kaladin: Dalinar: Jasnah: With a religion that glorifies becoming a soldier in the afterlife, it’s credible that this sort of Just War consideration wouldn’t have picked up steam amongst Alethi Ardentia. There are, however, multiple religious orders in Roshar, and scholars from wide arrays of perspectives. Even if none of them have an existing Just War framework, with the Radiants returning, one should, logically and morally, be established soon.

I would absolutely read this! Alternatively: "Almighty, Dalinar, you look amazing. I'm going to really go all-out to win your soul so I can spread this epic fashion sense to the rest of the cosmere. Who needs my previous plans when you've got -" *waves at him* "THIS going on?" He can now appear however he wants to as an avatar, I'd think, cause we know Rayse did that - he appeared as a human to the humans and a singer to the singers, to make him more relatable - so he could wear whatever he wants, I guess. Third possible crack ending: Taravangian sees Dalinar rocking that outfit and instantly postpones the duel for a day so he can think up something equally cool to wear. (In the end he can't live up to Adolin's glamour, even with all the power of a Shard.)

To be fair, Adolin thinks he did what needed to be done because said highprince promised to ruin and betray his father again. Not regretting isn’t the same as thinking he did nothing wrong. He does consider it murder, after all. And to be technical, that would not be cold-blooded murder, by any definition. It was done in a moment of emotion, and at a moment of perceived threat (no matter how disproportionate the response). Frankly, Jasnah’s the only Kholin we’ve seen kill in cold blood, regularly using assassins and choosing to create situations where she had to kill. She would argue that Adolin’s action was quite sane, a reasonable response to an unreasonable threat, I suspect; although she certainly would have sent assassins to do the job rather than potentially drawing attention to her family like a hot-blooded killing could.

[OOC: I sure do remember when we didn't ask the GM, just made our own Kids these days... Now someone get their PMs off my lawn! /Araris moment]

Compounding is not a resonance, magibabble will not make your statements true, compounding is not a resonance, Wax is not a Savant(through he was planned to be) resonance is a extra "quirk" Kaladin is not a Savant, you use Cosmere terminology but you are using it in all the wrong ways.

When in doubt, blame the imprisonment of Ba-Ado-Mishram

The Fused and the Heralds definitely have a collective sanity problem. In one case, it's being literally thousands of years old, unable to die and driven to unending war, and in the second, it's all of that PLUS some cumulative magical effect (WoBs on this, I'm pretty sure) that likely started around the time of the Recreance / the capture of Ba Ado Mishram. So you are not wrong there. Spren? They sure are crazy; I hope we get more explanation why going forward, but for now it's a given that "they are just weird". The general "Roshar Crazy", I think, can be at least partly explained by the influence of the Unmade. Nergaoul has been infecting Alethkar and Jah Keved with The Thrill for generations. Moelach and Ashertmarn have similarly been wandering around for centuries, causing region-wide insanities. We've had strong hints that at least one has ensnared Shinovar, and there are several for whom we have no idea what they are currently up to, but I'm 100% sure it's NOT GOOD for sanity. I'd add Navani to the "not-crazy" list, and Rysn, and Lift, and Gawx. Maybe also Jasnah; weird? Yes. But not "crazy".

Quick post-by-post analysis, just for fun. Anything not commented on is null. Please read the paragraph length commentary on a few posts, namely 32 Matrim, 81 Araris. Flyingbooks: RP Alvron: Likes guns Quinn: Use maps! Gears: Analysis, RP, elim claim [has some strange ideas that will later be critiqued] Quinn: Apologises for PMing Gears [Quinn, you are neither forgotten nor forgiven] STINK: Votes Gears for claiming elim. [I accept this and let it go.] Quinn: Laments the repetition. Matrim: Thinks 4 elims. [23/4 = 5.75, 23/5 = 4.6. I'd think 5 more likely.] GAME MASTER: PMs out. [ALL HAIL] Araris: Votes Gears [The second vote on someone for a bad playstyle is far more suspicious than the first.] Condensation: Exists STINK: PMs are neat Ash: RP Kasimir: Busy, votes Gears [The third vote on someone for a bad playstyle is far more suspicious than the first.] Mist: RNG votes Random Bystander [I have opinions about RNG votes, but I will withhold them.] Illwei: RNG votes Kasimir [I have opinions about RNG votes, but I will withhold them.] TJ: RP as thief Quinn: TJ!Thief? TJ: Maybe, maybe not! Quinn: Ah. Devotary: Lots of good analysis, can budget defense [I have an inability to read people who do good analysis, along with my inability to read people who are chaos demons, along with my inability to read people in general.] Quinn: Started with Specialisation. [Awfully free with information... Alright then.] Matrim: Doesn't like the Gears train [which I appreciate], votes Quinn [I have opinions about reasonless votes, but I will withhold them.] Quinn: Concurs, votes Quinn [I have opinions about reasonless votes, but I will withhold them.] Alvron: Analytics =/= randomness, likes Gears's opening post [which instinctively puts me on edge, but thanks], DEFENSE [good points] Mist: Will be giving offerings to the Gods of Luck and Chance always. [I have opinions. So many opinions. But carry on.] TJ: Thief RP Lotus: RP Gears: RP Striker: Overprotecting not awful here [which is fair, especially given the prevalence of Defense items and Maps], going for a Book Lotus: RP Matrim: Can't afford overprotection [OK, let's think about this mathematically. We will need >= 1 Defense each night. Worst case, 5 elims, mix [mis-X for you lot] every cycle until XLo, elims have Shadowblaze. C1: 16-5-1-1, need 2 Strength. C2: 14-5-1-1, need 3 Strength. C3: 12-5-1-1, need 4 Strength. C4: 10-5-1-1, need 5 Strength. C5: 8-5-1-1, need 6 Strength. C6: 6-5-1-1, need 7 Strength. C7: C8: 5-4-1-1, need 6 Strength. C9: 4-3-1-1, need 5 Strength. C10: 3-2-1-1, need 4 Strength. C11: 2-1-1-1, need 3 Strength. C12: 1-0-1-1, need 2 Strength. Total: 47 Strength for no attacks whatsoever. Assume sacrifice worst cycles [6, 7], 34 Strength. Assume sacrifice best cycles [2, 2], 43 Strength. If 5 elims, every Rithmatist started with Chalk, we have 16 Defense now. 10 Defense in the Camp Supply, 3 Maps, if Maps grant current Camp Supply, we're more than covered with 56 Defense over the course of the game compared to a requisite 47. The Defense cost is higher if the elims hit the thief and non-Rithmatist first, but lower if they don't have the Shadowblaze at all times, so I think this is an OK estimation. Oddly enough, we need less Defense when there are more elims, since less mixes. In conclusion: I think we can afford a few extra Defense early on, especially this assumed that the elims had the Shadowblaze for all 12 hypothetical cycles.], votes Striker for wanting Books [which I don't understand] Illwei: Rules exist Kasimir: RP TJ: Votes Matrim for voting Striker on flawed reasoning [which is a valid point] Gears: RP Matrim: Realisation, acknowledgement, over-Defending bad. Order: Items in day, Lines of Warding in night [telling the elims that was not the best idea, unless you were lying] Random Bystander: RP Matrim: Why did Striker mention Books? [If it's not a smart play for elims, then it's not a suspicious play] Illwei: #shieldthestriker Ash: Votes Flyingbooks for a joke about Books Flyingbooks: Misses the joke Ash: The joke Order: Misunderstands Lines Flyingbooks: Continues to miss the joke, PMed Striker, wants Books Lotus: RP Matrim: Corrects Order Order: Realisation Flyingbooks: Striker = Book coordinator Ash: Striker =/= Book coordinator Striker: Votes Matrim for their vote on him and their disparaging comments towards over-Defending. Flyingbooks: Coordination = good Matrim: Don't coordinate in thread, elims easily get info Striker: Never said coordinate in thread, doesn't like false narrative [which is a little harsh, Matrim is elaborating on why they don't want to over-Defend, but also valid.] Matrim: PM coordination also bad [which I disagree with, but legitimate opinion] Striker: Points out good PM communication Illwei: Votes Ashbringer [so many opinions] Kasimir: Laments futility of existence Striker: Life is life Flyingbooks; Votes Archer for PM reasons [so many opinions] Matrim: Archer exists? Illwei: Votes Kasimir again [so many opinions] Ash: RNG! Araris: Going after books NAI Alvron: How to invoke the Gods of Luck and Chance Ashbringer: 23-sided dice? Alvron: Cards Ashbringer: 22? Illwei: Death Ash: ? Kasimir: Self-voting. Quinn: Retracts Quinn, notes that Thief can just stockpile bribes. Reading: Not a million pages! STINK: Chalk? Striker: True. Chalk? Ventyl: Exists, Striker why tell everyone? Lotus: Chalk. Mist: Exists. Striker: Yes. Araris: Gods of Luck and Chance? [I don't think this is a good idea. I'd rather divide the player list into random groups that are each responsible for 1 Defense total and that group decides in PM who donates and that person RNGs which turn to do so or just coordinate in thread and RNG which turn to act upon. Though that is subject to all elims just blocking everyone, that means they'll be out of chalk.] Ashbringer: Fortune. Reading: Gods of Lunch and Chance Matrim: RNG! Devotary: 4? Archer: Votes Flyingbooks [I have so many opinions], thief friend, distribute acid Ash: Mix, 2 Quinn: Reject the Gods of Luck and Chance! Striker: Likes RNG, but flaws. Needs everyone, RNG unreliable, etc. Matrim: Common sense. Araris: 20% better. Reading: Will succumb to peer pressure, doesn't like it. Quinn: Swayed by maths [don't give in!] Random Bystander: Probability is weird. Devotary: Coordination needs accountability and PMs Striker: If probability, use 20% Kasimir: Sure. Quinn: Sure. [I still don't like the plan.] Condensation: OK. Illwei: Votes Condensation for PM spoilers Condensation: Denies, Greek mythology Ventyl: Questions Matrim: PM leak...? Gears: Flawed and decent ideas hand in hand [So my opinion on the RNG plan still stands. The No Vote idea has been smote, so I drop this argument and discard it in the Eastern Sea.] Araris: Can just ask. Quinn: D1 X done to death, kill someone to get the withdrawal out of the way [SE is a drug cartel, and we're all a bunch of murder addicts.] STINK: D1 X already hashed. Order: But different! Araris: Argument flawed Illwei: Lamentations [Ash, why have you co-opted a perfectly good word into a name? I liked that word, and now I'm invoking the name of a god whenever I use it.] Flyingbooks: No vote min? Order: Aye. Araris: But voting Quinn: Vote min? Araris: Hmm Striker: KILL! Quinn: LoW, def items useless for elims Araris: Def items =/= useless Quinn: But no use when using Ash: KILL! Condensation: Shadowblaze != important; Kasimir: Shadowblaze = important; Quinn: Shadowblaze = important; Condensation: Shadowblaze = important; Ash: Shadowblaze = opportunityRP; STINK: Shadowblaze Ashbringer: Lamentations [Ash. Honestly. I liked that word. I really liked that word.] Quinn: Fight! Ash: Time. Quinn: ? Striker: Ominous Quinn: Confusion Ash: Time. Quinn: Comprehension Ash: VC? Alvron [Sidenote: Thoughts on new name of "Wraith"?]: PMs! Bury SpiderEZ! Striker: Wait, don't. Condensation: Exists. Lotus: RP GAME MASTER: Rule clarifications, all hail. All hail. ALL HAIL Matrim: Murder list: Kill Condensation, Striker, Archer, Quinn, don't kill Matrim, Gears, Random Bystander, Araris [that trust will get you killed some day] Bubbles: Exists, no Twilight!Bubbles. Striker: Murder list: Kill Matrim, Condensation, Quinn, don't kill Striker, Kasimir, Alvron [Wraith], Random Bystander, Illwei, TJ, Burnt, Araris [that's a... large pool of murder free people] Matrim: Why self? Striker: Has reasoning [?], has bad reasoning [Ah] Kasimir: Thanks, but murder addiction. Note Matrim, Striker, Araris, Alvron. Quinn: Reads? How? No read on Striker, Matrim, RNG plan. The Servant of the Mad God smirked as the Daughter of the Prime Forest tried to reprimand him for his refusal to meld with the fold. He was a Servant of the Mad God, after all, and madness in this world was not following the rules and scriptures of society. He had to do it. Until he was considered sane, he had to continue onwards with this path. Once accusations of sanity crept his way, he would abruptly change Doctrines until no one dared to consider him sane. Unless he didn't. Unless he decided to be unpredictable. Unless he wanted to unnerve them by the sheer audacity of seeming sane. For isn't sanity true madness for the mad? And so anything and everything he did could be considered mad. Several people had promised him their corpses. Having not put a time frame on collection, he would be visiting someone tonight. He had to investigate the effects of his altered Chalkling dust tonight. There were so many options. The flame-drenched one, the eager one, the fear-stricken one, and dozens more. So many corpses, so little time. Ah well, he didn't really remember where everyone's quarters were, so he would just stalk through the night until he found a new test subject. Maybe he could make them something new.

@Bzhydack it also needs at least ninth heightening to even attempt

Venli became one of my faves in RoW but this is a ymmv sort of topic I guess. She interests me because she's a coward, and not a very good person, and she's aware of it. But she decides to make steps, small but nonetheless important ones, to do better. Do I enjoy this kind of character because I too am cowardly? Perhaps. I also think her opinions about the conflict between the humans and the Fused mirror my own. She distrusts both sides and doesn't want to join either. But at the same time she's awed by the knowledge that the Fused have of the singers' past culture. She has a front row seat to their insanity, yes, but she's also curious about their traditions. Even before Ulim, Venli was hunting for warform, and when she met the humans and saw their script, she wanted to make an alphabet too. After Ulim, she passes herself off as a "scholar" when she's just being guided by him. But I do think she probably has an innate scholarly drive; if she hadn't been given envoyform, she likely would have picked up scholarform. In Alethkar she sees the Fused building a palace with their own style of architecture, and she's so wistful thinking about the rich craftsmanship her people must have had, ages ago. When she gets a chance to use Cohesion on the stones of Urithiru, though, it's amazing, because the stones remember her people. And the stones remember the abilities of the Dawnsingers; things she wouldn't have learned from the Fused. And it's so beautiful to me that she goes back to the Shattered Plains and gives this gift to her people. (It's also kind of tragic, like sorry I wanted you dead but here! I have magical powers for you now! I promise I'm a better person.) I love that in Oathbringer, the Reacher captain who's presumably Timbre's father says that his daughter is chasing foolish dreams. But in Rhythm of War, it's mentioned that large amounts of Reacher sailors have been disappearing from Shadesmar. Timbre was a trendsetter! Also the scene when she reveals to Leshwi that she bonded Timbre is my favorite thing ever. She's like "sorry...I swore the first ideal of the Knights Radiant." And Leshwi is like "sorry?? This is the happiest moment of my 7000 year life! I'm defecting immediately from Odium, f*ck that guy." The listeners rightfully made songs about the dangers of their gods, Venli decided to ignore them. But some of those gods actually ended up being decent at heart :') Anyway this was long, and may not convince you to like Venli. But it's what I enjoy about her and her chapters

I know this has been discussed before, but I had some fun doing a goofy data viz project poking fun at the number of times characters "raise an eyebrow" at each other in the original trilogy. After collecting some basic eyebrow interaction data, I made some plots analyzing: The most frequent eyebrow Raisers vs Raisees Changes in eyebrow raising frequency over time The social network among characters as defined by their eyebrow exchanges I wrote up some analysis claiming that characters' eyebrow behaviors mark key moments of personal growth in their character arcs and dumped a set of interactive visualizations for all 3 books here. I thought this forum might get a kick out of it Here are some viz previews: (Nodes are sized proportionally to the total number of eyebrow interactions in which that character was involved; Arrows are sized proportionally to the number of directed eyebrow raises from the source to the target)

I was mentioned! Knight! You are fantastic! And 1,000 is a big number, and I hope you get at least another 9,000! ... YAY!

Well, she did release a deadly disease that one time that decimated both human and Singer populations between Desolations. She wanted to end the eternal war, and that's what she worked towards, always.

So, I have been mentioned here! Congratulations, Knight, for reaching over 1000 posts. I will join Salad and say it is, indeed, fun RPing with you (I enjoyed the Worldbuilding part more, but I guess it's just me being me). Are the other Knights of Metal only of the Allomantic metals, or of every metal in the periodic table? And do they hate you so much only because you are the ruler right now? Never stop asking questions!

"I am literally unable to do as you ask, not without destroying myself in the process." -Odium "I will take this bond to the Stormfather. I will bear it myself. I sense... something odd in you. A Connection to Odium. He sees you as... as the one who will fight against him. This cannot be right. I will take that Connection as well." -Ishar, rated perfectly sane by 4 / 5 dentists Heralds

‘Deal with your own stupid planet, you idiot. Don’t make me come over there and slap you around again.’

Jasnah: "Harsher."

Wit and Kaladin’s conversation after the Dragon and the Dog story and Kaladin asks Wit to confirm that it’s going to get worse after he leaves their little bubble: "It will,” Wit said, “but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, Kaladin: You will be warm again.”

'I am death itself, Defeated One, and I've finally caught up to you.' - Both of them had no idea how right Kaladin was in the end. And the other one, 'Run. Flee. I'll chase you. I will never stop. I am eternal. I am the storm.' - Kaladin was making flames dance on my skin when he said this.

Spoilers up to Alloy of Law! So I was researching Hemalurgic aluminum for my Mistborn game, and found a discrepancy in the definitions of its use. According to the Coppermind, and The Hemalurgic Table found in the leather bound edition of the Hero of Ages, an Aluminum spike does not steal any power, but rather removes all powers. But in my pocket edition of the Hero of Ages, the Metal Quick Reference Chart describes Aluminum's effect as "Steals Allomantic Enhancement Powers". The leather bound edition is obviously newer, so is this a retcon from Brandon to fit with Era 2 and the Cosmere in general?

Here's your mega-post. My notifications have informed me that you've posted again since the last time I hit refresh, but I don't want to lose this so I'll respond to whatever it is you just said later (assuming the notifications aren't just being weird and registering the last post I quoted, which could be the case). (Edit: it was just them registering that last post on a delay : P) I know you say that the book thing was just an afterthought, but the way this post is structured definitely makes it seem like the main event, while the first part was in the same vein as the arguments over the RNG plan later--yes, we disagree, but that doesn't mean I think you're elim in and of itself. The benefits have been point out already, and the fact that there's no cost has been stated repeatedly. I see your point here with it being an odd statement for someone who dies early a lot to make (ergo Striker is elim and isn't worried about being targeted because of that) except that if he got the book it'd be announced anyway so him saying it in-thread changes nothing. This was the post that first set off alarm bells for me, for like... alllll the reasons. People don't usually purposefully vote early early on D1, especially not during a Day when so little of substance has been said. If you'd been voting based on "this person normally plays like this when they're elim, and they do this thing when they're vil that I'm not seeing them do right now" that'd be one thing--though still probably not very useful since like half the players in this game decided they'd intentionally switch playstyles--but that's not what this was. This part reminds me a lot of the votes put on Straw during D1 of the AG for suggesting that the neutrals claim--yeah, you can argue that the reasoning is faulty but that's not AI. And the second part... first of all, there was never any suggestion of coordinating in-thread (not that I saw) so idk where that came from. But that was a misunderstanding and I don't count it as AI. But the part about not wanting everyone to be using their chalk in the first three cycles... well, arguing against overprotecting is, as I've said, not going to accomplish that since people will just use their Chalk for other Lines. Also, there are other items that protect, so Chalk is not the end-all-be-all of Defense, and we have Maps that can probably get us plenty enough of both those Items and more Chalk for us to sustain ourselves. Yes, we don't want to put up 8 Defense each Night while the Chalkling Hoard has a Strength of 2, but assuming we'll be safe with just 2 Defense is probably idealistic, even if we could find a way to coordinate that without the elims catching on and RBing one of the Defenders. Also the idea of using up all defense in the first three cycles feels like fearmongering to me--I was ninja'd by one of your posts in writing this and you've addressed most of my content objections to it but the read I got from it is still very very much there. I mean... on its own this post actually reads vil to me. The RNG plan has a low chance of failure and would be difficult for the elims to effectively interfere with. However, it directly contradicts Matrim's earlier worries about wasting chalk, since by RNG we actually could end up with 8 Defense against 2 Strength. And the next post kinda undermines it: See, with everyone doing what they think makes most sense, we also end up wasting a lot of Chalk. Because enough people will worry about the Defense level being too low that it'll end up being too high. Kind of a reverse Tragedy of the Commons. Well, or we get the actual Tragedy of the Commons, where it works at first but then the people who were Defending run out of Chalk and the Hoard Strength increases so the solution that worked at the start doesn't work anymore because the people who have the will to Defend don't have the way, and the people who have the way don't have the will. Basically this is just a bunch of contradictions of your earlier worries. I find it odd that you list Connie above Striker as to people you'd be ok with exeing but you're also not voting her. I'm... so confused by this? I'm pretty sure I saw (and deleted 'cause I thought they weren't AI) a couple of quotes from you about how it kinda makes sense for Striker to single you out because you A. are voting him and B. were the first person to place a vote with actual (and arguably flawed) reasoning. That is more than enough reason for Striker to look more closely at you : P. Okay, so here you say "it's less about the book now"... implying that it was about the book before? But now you're arguing that it wasn't about the book at all? There's discontinuity here--vil!you would have no reason not to say "yeah the book was part of the reason originally but I've realized that's not AI--however I still think that Striker might be evil". elim!you might. : P yes I agree Striker's wording was confusing there, so this is a fair criticism. Though, on the other had, I feel like saying something like that is a bit TWTBAW. Er... welllllll not exactly? "And didn't Alv say that going for a book puts a target on your back? Striker! Welcome to the game " "What would be the benefit of Striker saying he's going for books, though? I get the thing about making sure you get it, but if it makes him a better target for the elims it's an odd statement for someone who was just talking about how they die early often to make " "It's less about the book now. I misunderstood what Alv said when I brought up the book." (emphasis mine) pretty sure it was about the book originally : P People thought it was your reasoning because you phrased the post that way. That in and of itself isn't AI but you later tried to distance yourself from the whole book think entirely, saying not only that it isn't your reasoning now but that it wasn't before either, when it seems pretty obvious that it was. I'd prefer a speedy loss in later cycles to a speedy loss now. The only ways to avoid some amount of overprotection involve coordinating among the entire group, which then makes it laughably easy for the elims to mess it up. The options are some amount of overprotection (and how much is not within our control unless we mass-coordinate) now with the potential to lose later or actually just losing now. That's fair looking over the rest of these posts it's not even that they remind me of my own vil playstyle--they just feel elim. Fabricated, trying to minimize suspicion on yourself and redirect it elsewhere, building somewhat of a narrative around the importance of not overprotecting--which, by the way, is something that benefits the elims at least in the short term--and so on. Here it is! Ohhhh so so so many alarm bells... "In a village sort of way"? I can't imagine a universe in which a villager would feel the need to say that. Like, at all. If you are a villager, everything you do is done "in a village sort of way". Villagers don't have to stop and think about that--elims do. "I saw the overprotection thing and disagreed, and then thought 'hey that's kind of a skimpy reason for a vote, I remember this other thing that kinda is against Striker too' so I stuck that in there." This describes the exact thought process behind a lot of my vote posts in the past couple of games, when I was an elim. Again, not a village thing to do. If you (as a villager) look at a person and say 'hey this person is kinda sus', you would probably look for more evidence one way or another, but it's so you can figure out if your suspicions are founded, not so you have more of a reason to vote. The former is a village thought process, the latter an elim one. And like. All the rest of that post too. D1 votes don't generally have, or have to have, actual evidence behind them. Actually, later votes don't always have actual evidence behind them either. Elim!me has always felt pressure to provide "actual evidence" as opposed to just reads, because reads are subjective and can be argued with and it's hard to know as an elim whether my "read" of someone is genuine and will be seen by other people or is being influenced by TMI. Village!me (and, I think, village!everyone else too) is more comfortable voting based on reads or thinner evidence. The fact that your vote post, and all of your posts until recently, don't actually mention your read of Striker seems odd to me, since all the village has D1 is reads really. If you have an item, it goes into the Camp Supply if and when you die. Claiming important Items isn't going to help your case with us, and if you really are village it does exactly what you thought Striker shouldn't do--it paints a target on your back. Village!you would be worried that the elims would attack you even if you did survive the exe, to try to get ahold of the important item. Either we lose it this Day or we lose it this Night, essentially, unless you can argue your way out of the vote.

When at work you need to draw a diagram of a hidden Markov model, and it looks like this:

Elantris:

Completely hypothetical, but I wonder if Chromium could be used to harness Stormlight. We get an in character perspective of what it's like to use Allomantic Chromium in one of the the broadsheets and it's described as taking the power and releasing it to some place else (ie the Spiritual Realm). I wonder if instead of releasing it, a Leecher or Mistborn could channel it into themselves

false, Venli lies to Nale and he believes her.

Dalinar isn’t leaving because the Stormfather is a necessary part of Roshar’s ecology. Navani maybe could leave. No one is leaving quickly. It takes time to get an army together and Roshar just fought a war. The South knows how to fight wars as indicated by the fact that they appear to be fighting one. (Deniers of masks????) North Scadrial and South Scadrial are different things. Stop conflating them. Kelsier knows guerrilla tactics. He also knows where to find people who know these things. He can also put up giant speed bubbles giving him time to train small elite crews. Scadrial will not be fighting an all out war. They’ll be fighting a war of attrition from day one. The idea isn’t to win; it’s to make winning too costly for Roshar. And that is 100% something Kelsier can do because that is what he’s best at. Being an annoyance. You keep thinking in terms of battles. This isn’t going to come to that. If it does, Scadrial surrenders. No war. Straight up surrender. And then a bazillion little rebel groups keep causing havoc while the entire population obeys Rosharan laws as begrudgingly as possible. They’re survivors. That’s what they do. They survive. Roshar isn’t equipped for that. The Alethi? Surrender without a fight isn’t something they’d contemplate. But that’s what they’d get. Because Scadrial is going to survive and occupying an unhappy and unwilling nation isn’t easy. It’s a HUGE resource drain in multiple ways. And small teams move faster than large armies. Oh, and lightweavers have NOTHING on Kandra. Which Scadrial also has. This will NEVER be an open battle. Instead it’ll be thousands of tiny skirmishes and attackers that vanish as quickly as they attack. Roshar goes for the thrust; Scadrial kills with a thousand tiny cuts. It’s not about winning; it about surviving. And Scadrial is very, very good at that. To put this in RL terms: Kelsier will turn this war into Vietnam.

Here’s the thing, it depends on their personality. The Lord Ruler liked to toy with people and draw it out, but if Kelsier was a Fullborn he would instantly annihilate the enemy. Here is how: Compound speed to insane levels, then cut the Radiant into tiny pieces, enough that even Stormlight can’t heal. Or Burn atium Or Kill their spren Or Compound pewter and LITERALLY CRUSH THEM These are only a few of many ways to beat a Radiant

MB

Congratulations on a thousand! I'm sure before long, you'll be beating me! XD Aw! Thanks! And I got the Discord joke.

"Journey before destination, you bastard" Navani's best line

Anyone else get Die Hard vibes from Kaladin being the rogue troublemaker hiding in the upper floors of occupied Urithiru? If Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and Rhythm of War is a Die Hard doppelgänger, is Rhythm of War a Christmas book? Yippee Ki Yay, Odium!!

No

Tbh the Rosharan being 7ft tall, I’m willing to bet good money this is actually a singer and not a human under that armor, another good reason to not reveal the face.