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One year ago, I made a decision that would change my life: Hitting the 'join' button on the 17th Shard. And boy, I had no idea what I was getting into. I honestly don't know how I found the Shard. I see a lot of people with really cool stories, but for me it was probably just a link through the coppermind. I had absolutely no clue how forum websites worked, either. But I caught on quick enough, I think Another thing I see some people talk about is how they lurked for years before posting anything... that wasn't me, either. I jumped right in, to... something. I don't remember what I did the first month I was on the Shard. I bet it was great, though. So much has changed for me this past year, more than I can say. Covid, obviously, is the big one. I joined last year when it had just shut down the schools and I didn't really understand the scope of what had just happened. During the past year, I've also switched over to homeschooling, learned some time management, and now I'm about to start driving... life is crazy, guys. But the Shard. The Shard was the constant for me this year. When I was feeling down (which happened more than a little, it turned out) the Shard was there to lift me back up. Most of the time I didn't say anything; my mental health is really good for the most part and the feeling wasn't over-the-top and always left quickly, and for that I am grateful. But that doesn't change what the Shard did for me at all- it probably saved my mental health by avoiding a social catastrophe (though that might be an exaggeration). I'm one of the rare people on the Shard with an Extrovert personality type- ESFJ- and so when covid suddenly cut off all social contact with my friends... yeah. That wasn't fun. But the Shard saved me, I feel, by giving me new friends. New friends that have grown to be real, actual people who are my real, actual friends. Which is something that a year ago I would have never thought possible, if I'm being honest. And wasn't my intent in joining. So thank you. Thanks all of you for being there even when you didn't know you were. For being megafans, for being awesome It's been an amazing year, covid or not. Cheers to many more. And now, the fun part. You thought I was done, didn't you (If I miss anyone, I'M SORRY! I had a list that I double-checked, but it's still very possible that I didn't get someone. Call me out on it, please. I can't edit the status update but I will reply in it right then and there.) @Channelknight Fadran, man, I gotta start with you. It seems that everything that I've done on the Shard has something to do with your display name, and it's great. Your writing gift is extraordinary, your sense of humor is :chefkiss: and you know how to phrase things really well through text. Keep being awesome. The Shard is better off for it. @Condensation - The amount of roleplays you're in is insane Who knows how you manage to keep up with those, SE, and whatever else you're doing in real life. That's some dedication right there. But along with that, I've noticed this year how perceptive you are. I mentioned before how I didn't really mention when I was feeling somewhat down, well, I think some of the time you could tell. I can think of multiple occasions when you gave me a random compliment that kind of was exactly what I needed to hear. So thank you @Vapor VAAAPPPOOOORRRR! You're one of the few people on the Shard that get a name said like that, and it's well deserved. I have enjoyed so much roleplaying, SEing, and just talking with you both on the Shard and discord (dang, I'm gonna need to talk about discord...) this year. Enjoyed that so. Much. You're awesome, Vapor, and that is a fact. @Mist, I dunno if you remember this, but I do. You said once that being an adult was just doing things that you don't want to do but need to be done, (or something like that), and that you knew you could do that. The responsibility you show is something I admire, and that phrase has stuck with me. I'm not an adult for a few more years, but sometimes if I don't want to do something I remember that phrase and say... I can do that. @Emi EMI! You are so good at drawing and doodling and all art, it's incredible. It has been amazing to meet someone who lives on the other side of the world, and even more amazing that they could become my friend. Keep being you, Emi. You is amazing. @Ookla the Hemalurgic Pinto... Wind, I wish I had picked an Ookla name as good as yours I also wish you'd come back, but hey, real life trumps Shard life. I hope you're doing great, wherever you are. @revelryintheart- rev, I can't forget about your art either. How could anyone? Who knows how you do it, cause I sure don't. You were one of the first people I interacted with on the Shard I think, so thanks for not scaring me away @Bearer of all agonies, the same as Wind goes to you. It was an honor getting to know you and I hope you are doing better than fantastic, wherever you are. I hope I see the day of your return. @Hentient, there's something about you that makes you so fun to talk to. You have a specific tone through text- well, everyone does, but you especially- that's so distinctive. Thank you for introducing me to the rabbit hole of Nightvale That's been real fun. Keep on spelling @Shard of Thought, Star, for a time you were one of those 'intimidating' people. The kind with lots of rep and posts and followers, that you don't talk to. And then suddenly we were both made mods on the MotCoJCoLDS server, and BAM! you're a real person to me now! And I'm thankful for that. Your art is amazing, and you are too. *Breathes* I'm trying not to be repetitive. If you think I am, just know that when I say something I mean it in the most specific way to you as possible. When I slap an adjective to your name, it comes with specific examples that I know in my head but cannot put into words. @Doomstick you were another one of those intimidatings. Yay for discord to sort that out One thing you showed me is that I'm not the biggest nerd I know. Which was cool @DramaQueen, I don't really know you that well, but Fadran does, and if Fadran says you're amazing than it must be true I hope that I can get to know you better in some way, but with my absence from discord that might not happen. @FriarFritz, you got this! Adulting, whatever it is. It's been cool to know both a fellow Washingtonian but also someone older than me. I wish you the best wherever your life takes you. @Spren of Kindness, it's been a pleasure FotTing with you these past months. Thanks for the drawing and cheers to many more! @Scarletfox, I grew so much from the discussions and questions you had on discord. You have a unique perspective that made me think about things I hadn't before, and I'm grateful for that even now when I don't visit discord that much. If I ever am near your Chick-fil-a I'll be sure to swing by @Dannex, I didn't really know you until recently, and even then it isn't a whole lot. But it's been so fun SEing alongside you and reading all your status updates. I'm glad you stopped lurking! @Experience, I also wish you the best in adult life. Good luck! I enjoyed getting to know someone who does the same things as me- Piano, running, SE, and more- there are a few people that check those boxes but you were the first. @Chasmgoat, I had a lot of fun talking with you on discord when I did, and roleplaying and SEing. You're another person that just made my year that much better. @Truthless of Shinovar, can't forget you! Your personality is fantastic and I'm so glad to know you. @Spock, I hope someday I can play the piano like you! Composing has always been hard for me and you nail it every time. @theTruthshaper, if someone had told me a year ago that I would become friends with someone older than me who lives in India, I would probably have thought they were crazy But here we are. Thanks for being a friend. @Ghanderflaffle, @LukeWasTaken, @Negative_Null, @Tesh, @xinoehp512- I don't know any of you super well, but I hope this year I can change that. Ghander, thanks for running the Roasts for so long. Taken, thanks for making me laugh when I realized what your display name meant Null, thanks for making Siren's Call! Tesh, thanks for all the things you do on the Shard. Including Kaladin, he's great xino, you're writing and RP is incredible. @Darkfinder, @Chinkoln, @Lecky Twig, @Butt Ad Venture- the same goes for you. With any luck I'll know you better next year than I do now. But from what I can tell, you are all three of you as amazing and unique as anyone I've mentioned today. @Aspiring Writer, I also don't know you that well, but I do think it's really cool how you change your pfp with your rep level sometimes. @Nathrangking, I enjoy very much your poems. They are fantastic. @AonEne, I don't think you're intimidating anymore Congratulations on being a mod! And lastly... @forget me not, thank you for humoring me by joining the Shard. You're the greatest sister anyone could ask for. I dunno if you'll read this, probably not, but hey. Thanks anyway. Whew! Not done yet. Yep, it's stats time. I have 3,491 posts right now, meaning I post on average 9.56 times a day. That's about what it feels like, and it doesn't even factor in the Forum Games I have 1,490 rep, meaning I get about 4.08 rep a day. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!! 50 followers, that blows my mind. You're all more incredible than words can describe. Just a few more things, I promise I know this is long but honestly what did you expect xD Sanderson Elimination: SE found me pretty quick, and wow has it changed my life. To be a part of that community is amazing. The games have brought something fun into my year, and are a huge part of how I made it through quarantine. So, while I didn't mention any of the hardcore SEers out there that follow me and maybe are reading this, or maybe aren't, know that I do appreciate you. And... it hasn't been finalized yet, but the honor I feel for even being considered to represent this incredible community in the mafia freaking championship not even a year into my SEing career can't really be described. Discord: Who knew that when I made a little Among us server that it would grow to the Sharder Lair it is today. I certainly didn't. The conversations and interactions I had there are in some ways far better than those on the Shard itself. I got to know each one of the people there better. I got moderating experience (I think we've reached the point where we can look back at you-know-what and laugh, Mist/rev/Star ) and so much more. And even though I'm not there anymore- really don't have the time, and I'm sorry for that- the server is in good hands. Very good hands, even better hands. And I do still lurk there, sometimes, on invisible mode, reading the backlog and saying nothing. I'm the ghost you don't see And after all that... here we are. May 6th, 2020 ended up being a big day in my life and I didn't even know it. And it really was all thanks to all of you. So again, thank you. Cheers to many more years!!!

Oh rusts yesterday was my shardiversary technically. My one year anniversary from the day I actually started using this account that I had made a few years earlier. Welp missed my 1000th post, only fair I miss this too.

Yes, I stole it from @Szeth_Pancakes, but I think it gains something in this format

so i found a new meme template and i may have gotten exited: row:

Congratulations to @Illwei for being our representative, with @Matrim's Dice as a substitute! Go forth and do the Cosmere proud.

...totally did not forget it was my Shardiversary till just now...*yawns*... Um... So... It's been another year. I've been here three years. Th-three years. I remember times early on when I saw even being here a year as crazily far away. Well, now I've done 3 * (crazily far away). That sums up this year fairly well. I...haven't been around here nearly as much. Crazily far away most of the time. Took on a lot irl and then some. It's been insane, stressful, and overall wonderful. I can't promise to be around any more next year--if anything I will have new joys to add to the mix. But, that said, you guys deserve to know that when I do stop by, my bad days turn good, slogging thoughts become quicker, negative mindsets gain a spark, droughts of creativity become flooded. Thank you for that. Thank you for these three years and, preemptively, thank you for the future. Thank you all for existing. For creating the warmest corner of the internet. For being here and being yourselves. I'll leave it at that. Thank you and goodnight.

I legit started to open my notes doc to record this as a real vote and then read the rest of the sentence and realized I'd forgotten again xD

Cycle 1 "You worry too much, captain." Chief engineer Praza said as she and the captain finished their tour of the ship. "Sure, we had the one guy trying to get at the engines, but we caught him in time. And in a couple more days, we'll be ready to leave." "I'm certain that the crew working on the first Northern Wind thought the same thing." the captain growled. "And we know how it ended up that time." "Yes, yes, I understand." Praza responded. But I've had my people check over the entire ship, and everything was fine. "I mean, at this stage, what's the worst that could..." Praza was interrupted by a loud crashing nice and the squeal of twisting metal as the gantry that was being used to finish installing the searchlights suddenly collapsed. "You of all people should know better than to use those words." The captain growled before hurrying off to see what the damage was. *** The damage to the airship ended up being minimal. However, two engineers that had been working on the gantry had gotten badly hurt, and here send off to the hospital. It quickly became clear too that the gantry hadn't collapsed on it's own. A blowtorch had been found nearby, and the lower supports showed clear signs of sabotage. Rumours and accusations started to fly, and before long the ship's crew where more concerned with finding the one responsible for the sabotage than finishing their work... Player list Illwei Matrim's Dice as Philico Gears as Roko the Basilisk in the aspect of Fourth of the Dark Random Bystander Tani as Tevris Azmine_king Devotary of Spontaneity as 36th of the Tundra, who hopes to bring the secrets of airship travel back to their nomadic community so she can help them with future moves. The Unknown Order Experience as Zara Sart as Fourth of Legend Szeth_Pancakes |TJ| as Sixth of Shade Archer as First of the Red Dawn, whose defining character trait is that he is ridiculously unlucky. Biplet Jondesu as Second of the Passing Wind Quintessential Welcome, everyone, to MR50! This first cycle will end Saturday, at 17:30 CET

I genuinely just panicked and checked your display name history. Thought you might have switched from ILLWEI to LLLWEI just to mess with me

When you hear about pans with aluminum cores, and all you can think is that your food will be protected from any kind of Investiture use.

Kaladin, as Usain Bolt, is finally getting away from the failures that held him down

Prediction: Kaladin doesn’t die at the end of book five and instead becomes a worldhopper who goes in search of this mysterious and adorable creature from Hoid’s latest story. By this point Syl is in the physical realm and they are completely in love, and together they adopt their forever furry friend who Syl exclaims is the grossest little creature in the entire Cosmere - so gross that it’s so storming cute she could die!! They bring a whole bunch of doggos back to Roshar to be therapy dogs for all the patients at Kaladin’s mental health clinic, working alongside Ryshadium equine therapy developed by renowned scholar Renarin. The Stormfather gets caught giving belly rubs to a little pupper with a huge grin on his face before blustering over how ridiculous such a squishy creature is on Roshar. Odium is defeated once and for all, for “hatred is dead, so long as puppies live in the hearts of men”.

@Illwei, I bestow upon you Arenta's grouchiness, for whenever people are being just plain dense.

Journal of Thankful Dolittle Geology Graduate at Miskatonic University Forest Expedition Day 45 (((writeup to be added later))) vonnegut has been killed! They were an Elder Things Worshipper! Dannex has been killed! They were an Expeditioner and Scribe! PizzaPower55 has been killed! They were an Expeditioner! Araris Valerian has gone insane! Matrim's Dice has gone insane! Player List This turn will end Saturday, May 8 at 5 p.m. PDT.

I agree, this mission will go south fast

Feruchemical iron does not increase density. AoL 19, Wax explicitly says it does not increase density and he cannot become bulletproof: WoB where Brandon says there's not really a way to explain it scientifically, but it is not density: WoB that confirms that when Sazed says his density increases, it's a misunderstanding of what is actually occurring:

Nothing specific, but probably Words of Radiance

Ignoring the fact that everything in Cosmere works off the same basic principles is not an interpretation. You cannot just decide to ignore what the author says (the WoBs Frustration linked) about the basic working of his world. Scadrial does not have automated factories, so those factories still need a lot of workers. They are not as limited as Roshar is when it comes to scaling production, but they need to also mine, refine and transport resources before any manufacture takes place, steps Roshar can side step if needed. What are the downsides to soulcasted material? It is normal matter, there is no difference between it and naturally occurring one, as far as I am aware. It is stormlight intensive that is true, but as Stormlight is renewable relatively quickly, that is a non issue. Off-world that is another matter, but in the same way Scadrial would have not infrastructure needed to build factories off-world. The gems might prove a bigger issue, that is true, however it is hard to quantify just how much of an issue it is. Savantism still takes months/years to get to, and for Radiants it is even longer. In addition, within a highstorm Radiant soulcaster can do almost anything (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/390/#e12723), so with some small cooperation with Stormfather they have quite high potential on production. There is no contradiction, first I listed what aluminum does on its own, no Invested Art needed. On its own aluminum does not turn off investiture or neutralize it. In Allomancy, while burning, it removes kinetic investiture of allomancer, but that is a magical application not just anyone can access. (eg. Just like tin does not make anyone senses stronger, just allomancers), and Chromium does very similar thing, only externally (so it is not power unique to aluminum, but a function of Metallic arts). In Hemalurgy, when applied to correct bind point with Intent, it removes powers, i.e. invested abilities. I separated it like this, to make it clear that on its own aluminum has no neutralizing/turning off effects, only when used to power Metallic arts does it gain some similar attributes. H-Aluminum removes powers, so it is not neutralizing/turning-off investiture. If it was neutralizing/turning-off investiture it should have no problem removing Breaths but they cannot be stolen(https://wob.coppermind.net/events/80/#e5282). It would not remove Stormlight, as Stormlight is not power but Investiture (H-Nicrosil steals Investiture, although what exactly that means is unknown), in Radiant it should remove the bond and as a result the Stormlight would leave the Radiant but the Stormlight itself should be untouched. Why is it reasonable to assume that any of 100's of bind points will do, when other metals require specific ones? What argument is there for aluminum being exceptional? Per WoB (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/202/#e5969) you need to drive a spike through specific point on a body to rip off a specific piece of soul, not much wiggle room for aluminum being special. Since no one in the entire history of Roshar noted effect of aluminum on spren, and Huio discovered it by accident, is sounds like something they do only in some very specific circumstances. The conjoiner fabrial is the only place where spren seem to be affected as such, and it is coincidentally also the only place where a single spren was cut in two pieces (something that could count as very specific circumstances). If you understand that metallic arts are fueled by Shards, why were you talking about "anti-metal investiture", when there is no such thing as "metal investiture"? (God metals notwithstanding) I do not see how this is relevant? Yes, metalminds can have large capacities, but why is it relevant for this discussion, since no one is disputing that? The closest we have come to this point is when saying that even full metalminds are still much less invested than a Shardblade. Again, read this WoB (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/460/#e14623) and tell me where is Brandon saying anti-investiture is applicable only to Roshar. Tell me how can you use anti-investiture to kill Cognitive Shadows (in general), if anti-investiture is a thing only for Rosharan investiture. As you said, Scadrian powers are coming from Harmonies investiture, and everything has anti-investiture, so why should Scadrial be exceptional? Sure, their gaseous investiture does not have form of Something-light, so the process to create anti-investiture would be different, but that is far cry from it being Realmatically impossible. Why would matter X anti-matter annihilation release anti-light? Why not regular *-light? Or better yet, why would it release pure Shardic investiture at all? I would not say 200 times, but Scadrial weaponry is definitely more lethal, no arguments there. But you are completely ignoring my arguments for why it would be difficult to hit Windrunners/Skybreakers, so I do not think they hit them as easily as you assume. Gravitation user moves fast and in very different manner (continuous acceleration and nearly arbitrary changes of direction) than anything Scadrial ever encountered (yes even Coinshots). Not to mention Elsecallers (soulcasting from CR), or Willshapers (dropping on top of Scadrians from CR). Not to mention you ignoring Thunderclasts (what will Scadrians do, when the ground they have encampment on rises up, taking their structures with it?), Fused, Stormform (all that conductive metal near Scadrians), or Unmade (Heart of Revel in the middle of Scadrian high command, that would be something). Instead of saying there are metalborn who can go toe-to-toe with Radiant, why don't you give specific examples you have in mind? I assume you mean some others than those with F-steel. EDIT: And do tell which metalborn could go toe-to-toe with 4th Oath and higher, I am curious about that. And shooting them in the head when they do not know they are in combat does not count as going toe-to-toe. True, but greater numbers (and greater replacement numbers) mean you do not have to be as lethal as your opponent to win. Singers mature about 2 times as fast as humans, so Roshar can replenish their forces at twice the rate Scadrial can, and they already start with population 10-20 times larger. Also different fictional series is not a good argument by any stretch, otherwise I would simply point to Ewoks vs Empire (Ewoks were less advanced than Rosharans, and Empire more advanced then Scadrial, and yet Ewoks took them down). Alright, so if Stormlight is light, that means all Truthwatchers and all Lightweavers can now create Stormlight/Voidlight/Anti-lights, removing the greatest weakspot of Radiants. Not to mention being able to produce any gaseous anti-investiture at will. (In case sarcasm did not register, again Stormlight=\= Ordinary light, even Coppermind says that "Stormlight is a form of gaseous investiture" and the page on Investiture lists Scadrian mists along side Stormlight. So either gaseous investiture is not ordinary light (this is true), or Radiants with Illumination can explode Allomancers/Hemalurgists, Scadrian fabrials and Cognitive Shadows at will. And per this WoB, the light Stormlight is giving off is directly from Spiritual Realm (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/76/#e6389), so the light in Stormlight is not per se needed for Stormlight to be Stormlight, it is only a side effect.). Yes, he could use storing/tapping to manipulate his fall, but that is not cancelling it. And anyone in the air (unless they have A-steel/A-iron and are near metals) have no way to manouver properly, making them great targets for Radiants flying around. His durability in pushing the train car is not outside of normal human range (or a little). He is not bullet proof when tapping weight, nor stab proof (and Shardblades would ignore that anyway).

Wrong opinions: a series

The end of Words of Radiance, and everything after that

I'm thinking Truthwatcher

The Nightwatcher: Hey Odium! I'm thinking of making the Valley into an automated system so I have some more me time. Odium: Tell me more. N: Well, I’ll put two pieces of Investiture out in the Valley for people to take. One is for a boon, the other for a bane. I'll put a sign out telling people to take one of each. O: Interesting. But how will you know people won't just take a boon? N: Oh, it's honor system. O: ._.

pretty sure odium is alive as long as cats exist

SPOILERS AND ADDED INFORMATION: I had posted other bits of this else where in 2020 before the "Taln never broke" WOB, but consolidated all the ideas here in this post This theory and post came out before Rhythm of War, but updates have been made to include information from ROW SA5 Prologue: This is not discussed to avoid spoilers, but SA5 Prologue has some interesting information --- Weird Questions: 1) TALN BREAKING SEEMS ODD What broke Taln? He is crazy and insensate for 4000 years and then one day he says "No thank you". What could have broke Taln? And, in terms of timelines, Taln returned before the Everstorm crossed into the physical realm, so it can't be that the Everstorm freed Taln. Yes the Everstorm was in the Cognitive, but all the doom and gloom seemed to be about the Everstorm being pulled in the Physical Realm by Eshoni and her team. Since Taln returns at the end of The Way of Kings, then Taln must return in a way that is not related to Eshoni. And as I mentioned before, I don't think it makes sense that Odium suddenly found a way to break Taln after 4000 years of trying. Edit: we later got a WOB that Taln did not break 2) DAVAR FAMILY CONNECTIONS Why was the Davar family so connected to secret societies despite being a Vaden house of little note? They have connections to the Ghostbloods and the Ghostbloods have handed them a confirmed soulcaster AND possibly a Seon box. Why? And it seems Skybreakers may have been visiting as well for "reasons". As well, the Skybreakers are breaking paterns when it comes to the Davars. As far as we know, Shallan's older brother is the only Skybreaker to be using a dead blade. Is this special treatment for a member of the Davar family? And finally, Mraize seems to know the Davar family well enough to recognize the name immediately. The Davars would need to be pretty active for that name recognition to be so apparent. 3) CHILD SHALLAN AND HER IMPORTANCE Why did the cryptic go to Shallan as a child? Lift was chosen due to her strange connection to Cultivation, but why Shallan? And why twice? And what were Shallan's parents fighting about? Shallan remembers her parents having huge fights over Shallan's future starting from a very young age. What was that about? Connected to that, why is an dark influence attacking the Davar family? Why is Heleran given a shardblade and brought into the skybreakers? No other Skybreaker acolyte was given a dead-blade and sent to war (that we know of), so why is Helaran so non-standard? Shallan's parents also fight A LOT about Shallan's future. This seems to be a hint that Chanarach had a major plan for Shallan. 4) MAMA DAVAR IN THE KNOW Why was Shallan's mother so quick to try and kill "one of them". How does she know "them" so clearly? Why would she have such a quick and radical reaction? 5) MORE SECRETS What is Shallan's last secret. There is still something horrible in Shallan's past, and this has something to do with a Seon box and whatever Radiant was created to protect Shallan from. What is worse than killing testament? We also have strange internal thoughts from Shallan from WOR in Chapter 10: "The world ended; and Shallan was to blame". This thought has never been explained. What did Shallan do to end the world? "The world ended, and Shallan was to blame.- Words of Radiance, Chapter 10. Mentioned by @honorblades Another strange but overlooked instance occurs in TWoK when Shallan almost summons her Shardblade: If this is indeed Patters/Testement, then why would that Spren ask "What are you?" Testament should full-well know "what" Shallan is in terms of her being a human or a semi-radiant or anything like that. If this voice is Testament, then asking "What are you?" is very odd in my opinion. Shallan answers "I am terrified", but to me that always seemed ... not what the voice was asking Shallan. I always felt there was more to this that simply speaking truths. 6) THE FAMILY'S SAFE AND THE GLOWING LIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT (main data point for me creating this theory) People are very quick to discount Shallan's recollection of Lin Davar placing a glowing soul into a safe. I have always been very confused as to why Shallan is taken as "lying" to herself in this scene. Shallan has no reason to lie about the item being her mother's soul instead of a Shardblade. Lin Davar acted extremely quickly in that situation and made sure to place the item in that safe before dealing with any other issues. That to me is extremely telling. Why would Lin think the Shadblade wouldn't disappear eventually whenever Shallan dismissed it? Why would Lin think the Shardblade would stay in a safe if he managed to place it there quickly? Why would Lin so quickly run to place the item in the safe in the first place? Why is there an unused safe in that room? And then why do Shallan and Lin seem to continually see light coming from that safe for years and years? None of that vibes with "it is just a blade and Shallan is lying to herself" in any way. I just don't get it. Shallan having a Shardblade is not in anyway covered up by this lie, nor is the lie that Shallan killed her spren hidden by this lie either? There is no mental cover-up being done by Shallan making up a lie here. It seems everyone else dismisses Shallan, including Pattern, in favour of "Lynn put a sword in there". 7) EDIT FOR ROW: Then in ROW we get the timeline, and this does not hold up to scrutiny either. Shallan says her father put the item into the safe. WoR Shallan thinks that was a soul, but Pattern convinces her she is misremembering and that the item was a dead spren-blade. But that can't be a dead spren blade because Shallan has not unbonded Testament yet. Shallan does not think that a spren is trapped in that safe and we know this because Shallan then leaves to go speak with her spren in the garden AFTER the item is placed in the safe. Shallan acts immediately as a child in a way that doesn't even consider that her "blade" is in that safe. It just doesn't make sense to think a blade was placed into that safe based on the reactions of the two witnesses involved (which we learn Pattern is not one of) We take it from Pattern that Shallan is wrong here in her memory. However, In ROW we learn that Pattern is NOT an eyewitness to what went down in that room. Pattern sure has a lot of opinions about what Shallan saw, but Pattern was not actually there in the room and cannot actually know what Shallan saw go into the safe. Pattern assumed Shallan is lying to herself as Pattern sees many other lies around that event. But Pattern has no knowledge about who Mother-Davar was, what the safe was for, or why Skybreaker/Ghostbloods may have been in the home. Pattern is not a credible source of information on the events of that day. Shallan is the only living witness, and the actions of her father are consistent with the understanding Shallan had as a child. Shallan too noticed her father staring at the direction of the safe and the light. Only later in life is Shallan told again and again that her memory of those events are wrong by people who were not there. Both Lin and Shallan believe something is in the safe, and a sword does not match the other data points we have. There is "light" in that safe, and it is leaking out over time. And where di the blood come from? A Shardblade should not have done that. The blood has to be some other injury? The box is something. The light was something. Pattern is making assumptions and is wrong about this history with the safe. And why does Shallan see a glowing light coming from the box? Is it a soul like she believes? We learn in RoW that no herald soul can be trapped completely, and that the light of a herald will slowly leak out (is that what Shallan was seeing her whole childhood come out of the safe?). Is it her mother's soul escaping slowly to Braize? Or maybe could it be a perfect gem with Mishram inside? Who knows? But it is something. We have seen other glowing lights (Dawnshard and Dalinar hearing TwoK), so is she just mad, or did she really see something? Whatever it is, it does not make sense that Shallan thinks Testament is trapped in the safe if Shallan went and yelled at Testament after her mother was killed. Something was put into that safe, and to me the most likely answer is "her mother's soul". And firhermore, there is no reason to believe that Lin Davar would think a safe would ever prevent a Shardblade from reappearing in Shallan's hands. 8) HOID and MIDDLEFEST Hoid is downright shocked to see child-Shallan at the Middlefest celebration. Hoid sees something, but that something is unclear. When we originally read WOR, we assume HOpid is shocked to see a Radiant Child or perhaps a bonded spren. However, Shallan does not have a regular active sprenbond at the time of Middlefest, so Hoid did not see Testament or an active radiant bond There are a few things Hoid may have seen: a. Hoid saw Odium's touch on her family b. a dead-blade living-radiant connection line was still active c. the Cryptic team that watched Shallan. d. Shallan is so obviously a part of Chanarach that Hoid was gobsmacked by the resemblance. e. Shallan is noticeably different than other Rosharans due to her strange parentage. But whatever Hoid saw, it was not an active Spren Bond since we know Testament is a deadeye at that point in the story. ---- It All Put Together - A Timeline 1) JAH KAVED Chararach settled in the Davar estate in rural Jah Kaved. Chanarach is involved in several of the secret societies of Roshar just like most of the other heralds we have seen. Chanarach learns of the theory that a return of surgebinders will bring about a desolation. Chararach is completely terrified of returning to Braize and supports the culling of nascent surgebinding. Chanarach is involved in research and is a part of the search to create a method that prevents a herald from returning to Braize upon death. Kalak is also involved. 2) COMMUNICATION NETWORKS Chanarach commands a fair bit of influence and even has a Seon to communicate off world. It is unclear who knows who Chanarach is, but as she did settle in a rural area it is likely Chana's identity is not common knowledge even within secret societies (similar to Restares and Amaram). Chana exerts some form of influence and stays in-the-know with investiture theory and is able to contact others on Roshar or off-world. 3) CREATING THE SAFE Chana tries to devise a way to never return to Braize. She creates a special kind of safe that her soul could be placed in to. She thinks it will entirely prevent a return or will greatly delay her return to Braize. Chana has no way to test this as there are no herald-souls or returned-souls to experiment with. Possibly, the safe is akin to the Seon box in design or the safe may even actually be the Seon Box Shallan remembers playing with as a child? At some point, Chana tells Lin Davar what to do in case she is ever killed (place her soul into the box). In ROW we learn Kelek has some knowledge on this herald soul-leakage issue, so perhaps he was also involved in the Soul Box experiments in some way. 4) SHALLAN IS BORN Chanarach eventually has a daughter and names that daughter after her friend Shalash (Shallan says she was named after Shalash). Shallan may not be a "typical" offspring. She seems to be different from her brothers in some meaningful way. Perhaps Shallanis a cutting of Chararach or maybe Shallan conceived through some form or parthenogenetic process. Perhaps Shallan was created using breaths, as Tyn notes that Shallan seems to see colours better than most other people. EDIT: In a later WOB we learned that that non-returned Cognitive Shadows have had children Edit: In a later WOB we learned that Heralds can have children but it is complicated and effortful to do. Chana has special plans for Shallan. We know from WoR that Shallan's parents fought A LOT about Shallan's future. This implies to me that Shallan is somehow more intentionally convieved than her male siblings, and that Chana had something planned for Shallan that Lynn Davar had moral misgivings about. We are not sure what this is, but I think a lot of us will assume it has something to do with the Oathapact and/or returning to Braize. 5) SHALLAN IS DETECTED BY SPREN The Cryptics find out that one of the heralds has children or they discover a weird child who stands-out and is similar to the child of a Returned. The Cryptics send a delegation to investigate (WOB confirms heralds can have children though maybe it is difficult). At the same time, an unmade is drawn to the family. Testament begins to bond Shallan similar to what happened with Lift. Shallan eventually discovers what her mother is by playing with a Seon box at the Davar estate. The unmade's influence increases in an attempt to get the Herald to go insane and potentially get herself killed by Lin Devar or Shallan. 6) SHALLAN IS DETECTED BY SKYBREAKERS Shallan is discovered to be a surge binder by her mother. Her mother, fearing a return to Braize, refers to Shallan as "one of them". Note that Chanarach does not seem surprised that surgebinders are real. Chanarach has an absolute PTSD breakdown and attacks her daughter. Lin, who likely knew, steps in and Shallan is able to kill her mother in self defence. Lin Devar takes something and locks it away in the safe. We are told this is the Shardblade and Shallan's mother's soul. Shallan goes to the garden to scream at Testament and break her bond AFTER Testament is supposedly locked away in the safe. This timeline does not make sense even if we believe Testament could escape the safe. Why does Shallan believe her spren was trapped but also then in the garden? And how is Testament-blade = her mother's soul? There isn't a connection there logically. 7) SHALLAN KILLS A HERALD AND THEN TALKS TO TESTAMENT IN THE GARDEN After Shallan kills her mother, Shallan goes to Testament and breaks her bond. It is possible Testament told her more here as well. Shallan then begins to repress everything since Shallan has, in her mind, done the most evil act in history. "The world ended, and Shallan was to blame.- Words of Radiance, Chapter 10. Mentioned by @honorblades 8) CORRUPTION SETS IN Lin Devar begins to be corrupted even more. Lin also has mental guilt and wrestles with killing his herald-wife to save his daughter. He beings to protect Shallan at all costs for reasons that may be more than just guilt. Then Davar family hell ensues. The ghostbloods continue to cultivate the family. The Ghostbloods may not believe a herald could be killed by Lin or may not know she was a Herald. The Cryptics stay with Shallan as they don't blame her for what happened. They are still curious about what Shallan is and are researching what happens to a bonded-deadeye to its original radiant. The dark influence in the house may be more than an unmade as well. One of Chana's divine attributes is "obedient". I think this is significant. Lin is driven to rage every time one of his children will not obey him, and the word obey is emphasized many times. It may be possible the Lin's rage was a dark consequence of something Chana was doing, the safe's magical effects, or something else. It is also possible that Lin thought his children would inherit the divine attribute, and the fact they dont obey him drives him to rage. 9) BRAIZE AND SOUL LEAKAGE Chanarach returns to Braize. It may have taken some time for her to get to Braize. It seems the soul is leaking out of the safe over time (ROW: as we see with Jezrian in the gem). Or maybe it takes 5 years to find Chana on Braize since arrival was unexpected and because in earlier returns the heralds were able to "hide" for some time. Either way, the other heralds do not know that that has happened as they cannot detect the pain-bond while on Roshar. Edit: Ishar created the oathpact so he may be able to sense changes in it. 10) HOID SEES SHALLAN Shallan, with no bond, goes to Middlefest. Wit's magic or memory allow him to detect that there is something very strange about Shallan. Wit somehow knows what Shallan fights "is not truly natural" and encourages her to make a path for the light. It is unclear what Wit saw, but he knew more than the fact she was a surgebinder (even though she's actually a deadeye-binder at the time). 11) CHANA IS CAPTURED ON BRAIZE Chanarach is eventually found on Braize. For some reason, Chana either breaks to the pain or gives in to some deal Odium offers. It may have taken a while or been immediate. What is strange is that Chana has not been seen returning to Roshar, either Chana took some deal meaning she did not have to return or perhaps she intentionally landed somewhere remote. 12) TALN RETURNS WITHOUT BREAKING THE OATH Taln returns to Roshar completely insane and without breaking. What happens to Chanarach is unknown. All assume Taln broke. 13) SHALLAN BEGINS TO REMEMBER THAT HER MOTHER WAS A HERALD Radiant is created from memories of Shallan's mother. Or potentially, Radiant is somehow part of Chanarach. Radiant dresses in the same blue and red warrior outfit as the Herald Chanarach in artworks. Radiant is Shallan's repressed memories of who her mother was. It is also possible that Radiant is in someway Shallan's mother (connection mumbo jumbo and cognitive shadow stuff along with cultivation weirdness possibilities) Here is a description of Radiant: “She [Radiant] had chosen to wear her vakama; the traditional Vaden’s warrior clothing. It was similar to the Alethi takama but the skirt was pleeted instead of straight. She wore a loose matching coat with a tight vest and shirt beneath. The bright clothing features vibrant blues embroidered over reds with gold woven between and it had trim on the skirt” Here is Chanarach: 14) TESTEMENT MEMORIES Shallan is forced to confront what happened with Testament, and Radiant begins to see that she must help Shallan deal with her final truth. [Option 1] Shallan knows she killed a herald and that she sent her mother to damnation - possibly ending the world and starting the final desolation. [Option 2] Shallan does not know her mother was a herald, but will put that together in regards to the "hole" in her memory"

Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but i couldn’t find a thread on it. Chapter 106 kaladin breaks as a result of teft’s death and... then kills the pursuer horrifically. But a few things interest me here. Venli says: Like what Venli??? It doesn’t sound like void light?? But perhaps it is something about odium?? Or just a general corruption? But with all the light theory in this book it seems to not fit any categories. Kaladin also says he only has a vague memory of killing the pursuer and can’t think straight, and then proceeds to jump off the tower. So moash earlier had said that kaladin could either embrace odium’s emotion taking powers or could kill himself, and he did... both? Not sure if this whole thing is a consequence of him getting too far from the oaths (hence his reduced lashing ability), and if all radiants when they’re about to give up get a yellowish red cast to their glow but... I’m interested to hear other’s thoughts on this. what the heck does yellowish-red mean??

When I read RoW the first time, the biggest thing that stuck out to me was that Sanderson's character work on Taravangian was masterful. Halfway through the book, Sanderson had set up a single choice for Taravangian, a choice that would define his character, a choice where he could have legitimately become the redeemed hero of the entire series but instead became its darkest villain. Taravangian, in contrast to Dalinar, has a fatal flaw, and it's more than just "end justifies the means". It was so subtle though, and I haven't heard anyone else comment on it, so I wanted to pull it out here: The choice I'm talking about is this one here, from Taravangian's final interlude: It's the choice to tell Dalinar. At this point, Taravangian realized that he was wrong. Humanity isn't absolutely doomed. There is a way to defeat Odium, and he keeps thinking about telling Dalinar...but he never does, always finding a different reason not to. They could have finished it together, but in the end, he resolves to do it himself, just as he had before. Let's observe the setup. Throughout every Taravangian scene is pulsing this question: "What are Taravangian's true motives?" From his 1st inerlude: From his conversations with Dalinar: You can see it here. This question. Was Taravangian a tragic hero? A man with the noblest of intentions who had done what he thought was best with the wrong information? Or has he been subtly lying even to himself, has he pushed this narrative so deeply into his subconscious because he wanted to be the hero, the one who saved everyone? Is it his self-sacrifice or self-ego that drives him? His whole conversation with Dalinar danced around this, and at the end you get a glimpse at what could have been the alternate storyline for the Stormlight Archives. Taravangian, after learning his Diagram was mistaken, lets go of his ego and surrenders his role as the hero of the story to Dalinar. He tells Dalinar of Odium's weakness to Nightblood, and Dalinar defeats Odium once and for all. Taravangian's reputation is tarnished forever by his earlier betrayal, but humanity is saved. He lives on, hated by humanity, but he earns the respect of one man, ending the series as Dalinar's closest friend, working together for the good of humanity. In the interludes, we see Taravangian himself wrestling with it. This is his conversation with Renarin: I remember thinking at this point that we were in for a Taravangian redemption arc, and I was all here for it, but Sanderson bamboozled me yet again. I believe the light flickering in the darkness was Taravangian's wavering decision to confide in Dalinar, and the deep darkness of him rejecting that is our present reality of him having become Odium. His refusal to take Renarin's hand is symbolic of his refusal to accept help from Dalinar or anyone else. He's battling against admitting his own deep flaws. And his most fatal flaw pokes its head out as he goes back and forth about going to Dalinar. Check out this sequence of moments where Taravangian thinks about talking to Dalinar. The truth that his actions reveal is in the end he is too proud. It's his fatal flaw. He can't admit he was wrong. He can't share the spotlight. He can't play second fiddle. Everything is building up for him to turn around and make the right choice in his 11th hour, but he can't do it. It's the inverse of Dalinar at the end of Oathbringer. Come face to face with the worst of himself, Dalinar took the blow head on. He acknowledged himself as a bad man, but instead of cowering away, he exposed himself to the world and took the next step forward. Taravangian, in one moment of brutal honesty, acknowledges to himself that his entire motive has been built out of justifications...but he keeps going. And he hasn't stopped.

Hi I’ll be more present tomorrow! I’m finishing up the remnants of the semester today + covid vaccine. Anyway, excited to play.

I stalked all your old posts on SE xD everyone who's been around as long as you have is bound to have mentioned their age or at least stage of life at some point

Striker because he's always evil. Especially when he's the GM.

Well hello there, this should be an interesting game! I have to reread the rules since there’s so much there, but I’m going to start out with a poke vote on @Sart since they haven’t joined in yet. Hey Sart, having too much fun in the Elim doc to join the thread?

okay i made rlainarin art. i am not a painter so i ra kind of bad lmao but i got some pints and wanted to try my hand so here we are:

Moash is... (how do I say this politely?) The worst character in the cosmere.

I would say, action-scan anyway. I don't want us to be sitting around with a blank slate again after Araris dies. At least we can maybe piece some lies together. Also my apologies for not being here as much yesterday, my son has been sick and I've been busy. He's much better today (and covid test is negative, yay) so I'm going to try to catch up when I can.

Her going "what's wrong with me?" is an easy way to build good conflict, but it's not the only one. I think in a society that sees romance as normal the anger towards the normal people doesn't make sense to me without additional context since you don't really get mad at people for being normal for the most part unless it fits into the "what's wrong with me? Why can they do X but I can't?" type of thing. If you want to keep the anger I think anger at the world makes more sense, personally. Or, again, adding more context as to why she's annoyed at alloromantic people in general. I think I need to know what she actually wants her life to look like, which is what I was trying to get at when I said her being aro is not compelling on its own. Imo the interesting part of aro characters (and for me, the aro experience) is not that they don't feel romance, but what they replace that with. Does she want to be with B, just not in a romantic way? Does she want to live with a group of friends? Does she want to a hermit in the woods? Establishing this makes the compromise you're going for clearer. And if she doesn't know what she wants... well, that's a whole separate conflict/arc in itself that could use some more exploration. Also, for this to be a healthy relationship she should really tell B about her (lack of romantic) feelings. And if it's not supposed to be healthy, I think I need to see more of the pressure on her to not bring it up. Right now the pressure is on her to bring B into the family, which is not the same as pressure to be in a romantic relationship with him. I could see a perfectly happy ending where D stays with B in a non-romantic way and they raise a family together, but it feels like D isn't even considering that as an option. Again, this ties into the point above. If that's not the life D wants, we need to know that. As I'm guessing you know from your experience, being aromantic doesn't mean not wanting to be close to people. Another thing that might help to establish is D's sexuality, which I couldn't get a good read on. I couldn't tell if she was attracted to him or if the pull of the heart was something else entirely. Maybe it doesn't matter, but I was curious. This kind of stuff is tricky to write out because there's not a lot of good reference material, and I'm happy to chat about any of the romantic orientation/attraction stuff. Though there not being a good list of established aro work (to my knowledge at least) means I'm also not sure how widespread my opinions about it are.

Yes, someone please post some more memes. I would but I don't have any ideas and I have to study for finals Also, this is one of the best memes I've seen here

HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THE UPVOTES ARE CAKE HERE MESTIV YOU MAD GENIUS

Back when RoW was first released, I noticed that Brandon seems to have used an element from Final Empire Prime for the Shards. Before RoW was out, i was reading the Final Empire Prime sample chapter and there is one part where the Conqueror(Lord Ruler character) is thinking to himself that he had to seperate part of his mind from the power of "Sha" that he holds, lest it overwhelm him.(if FEP was current cosmere. "Sha" would be a Shard I think) then in RoW, in Sazed's letter he states that Hoid said "that the power itself must be treated as separate in our minds from the Vessel who controls it" After reading that sample chapter, the idea that a Vessel would have to seperate their mind from the power never left my mind. It just seemed too good of a good idea that i knew Brandon wouldnt throw it out, and then when RoW came out, Hoid/Sazed just up and stated it. i just think its awesome that Brandon is always looking back at his unpublished works for ways to use elements from them in the Canon Cosmere.

I like Strife because it carries many of the same vibes as War but its a lot more broad in application. Like Strife is about conflict, friction, but also with order, with ideologies. When two religions disagree on the basis of morality? Strife. Animosity and Honor. Overcoming and Undercutting. Struggle and Victory. It can be applied to societies, and to the individual.

Willshaper. She’s one of the most flamboyant and individualistic characters you’ll ever come across. And she consistently encourages her class to think for themselves and explore and experiment with everything. She also loves to travel.

Here we go . . .

Pft- I might have to revise it with that Here:

lol yeah me neither (unless you count annoyance maybe? though that was always more at specific people than alloromantic people in general) but I didn't really want D to go down the "what's wrong with me?" route Good points, thank you! Re: the ending, do you think it'd help if D liked B more as a person? Like not romantically, but if I showed that they got along more (rather than just mentioning it). I mean, it's supposed to be sad or uncomfortable, because she is giving into what her father/society expects of her, but I was also trying to go for the angle of D trying to find a compromise between what's important to her

Hmm yeah I don't think I remembered G's line about keeping oaths, or at least didn't mark it as important, so bringing it up again might be useful. And specifying that it's like a specific oath to the king or otherwise somehow different might be good to emphasize why Al can trust these people with this oath.