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Status: WAY BETTER if a little tired I went to sleep at 8:30 and woke up feeling great. Thanks for everyone's support yesterday! I do feel a touch tired, but that's probably because I woke up at 5:00 for some stuff and not because of the vaccination.

HELLO I am back ;D

Can't wait for this in the back 5...

Let me make up an extremely short story: "You stand accused of murdering your wife" "I did not kill her" A Willshaper recreates a cognitive memory. "Your floor says otherwise. String him up. Next case" OK, I hope Rosharan judicial procedures were a bit more evolved, but after what the Honorspren did, I have my doubts. Now seriously, after wat we have seen Stoneshaping, we must wonder how they could even have difficulties reconstructing the past. Is the development of history as a scholarly discipline of post Recreance thing. In fact, during a trial can your spren be used against you? I mean if your are showing creation spren while telling the court what you did on that fatefull night, the judges may not be quite so inclined to believe you.

Sanderson Memes

After the mysterious disappearance of Lafay, Illwei had taken up the mantle of experimenting with hemalurgy. She'd found the ancient lore about it fascinating as a child, and had spent most of her adult life secretly wishing she could learn more about hemalurgy and its secrets. And that's when she found Lafay's notes. Ignoring the fact that Lafay appeared to have traveled to other worlds, whatever that means, what Illwei was really interested in was all of the research Lafay had about hemalurgy. The fact that it requires Intent, the different attributes that certain metals steal. The possibility of stealing something from someone and keeping them alive. Granted, Lafay hadn't figure that one out, but Illwei figured it had to be possible. With all of this knowledge at her disposal, Illwei began to carefully get the materials she needed to start making a spike collection. Getting the bronze wasn't that hard; she was a Seeker already, and she could ask her provider for just a solid piece that she'd shave herself. Not a big deal. Getting all the other spikes was the problem, especially with this rusting lockdown on the city. But, well, after a few days of digging around town and inconspicuously asking for bits of old metal, Illwei finally had a solid collection of spikes gathered together. Now she just had to find out- There was a loud bang from her window. Illwei jumped, grabbing one of the spikes from the table and spinning around, eyes wide with fear. She glanced at the window to her apartment and found a man there, hiding in the shadows. He charged at her, brandishing a knife, and Illwei went to try stab him with the spike. The man dodged out of the way, cutting his knife towards Illwei's side, cutting a deep gash there. Illwei gasped, shocked as she tried to turn and reach for more spikes, anything to use against her attacker. As she turned towards the table though, the spikes flew off the table, towards her. Several of them stabbed her, and she realized that the man had managed to grab one out of the air as it had flown past him. I should've known he was a lurcher, Illwei thought to herself, her breathing ragged and the pain sharp in her side. I should've burned bronze, I should've...should've.... Illwei's life faded away. ~ Illwei has been killed! They were a Loyalist Seeker Misting and Hemalurgist! PMs are still closed, so please avoid PMing still. In addition, there will be a removal this turn. As a reminder, there is no vote minimum, and a tied vote will result in one of the tied players being removed. This turn will end at 9 am CDT on Wednesday, June 9th. Also, again, the writeups aren't always accurate to what happens with the game, just thought this would be a fun idea. Player List: PMs will be sent out as soon as possible, if they haven't been already.

I may have stumbled into the beginnings of something much bigger than I anticipated. It was an easy enough matter to get started; I posed a set of statements and a question to myself. "It's becoming increasingly clear that color and metal are important fundamentals of the Cosmere because of Fabrials, Awakening, and the Metallic Arts. Color is important because it's a property of specific wavelengths of light, particular "tones" of light. So how is Metal going to relate to that?" From there, I hit upon a couple possibilities. But I think the one most worth going into detail about connects Investiture to my favorite weird physics, that's right everyone, quantum mechanics. It's my current hypothesis that metallic atoms have the proper frequency of quantum wavefunction to "filter" different frequencies of Investiture. This results in the strange supernatural "theming" of the metals across the metallic arts and even extending into the cages of Fabrials, where color and tone have already been proven abundantly needed. Picture "background investiture" as white noise. Now picture, say... Tin atoms in a pure, undisturbed lattice. Now recall that according to quantum mechanics, all particles also behave like waves (this has even been observed with molecules made of tens of carbon atoms still producing an interference pattern (even when released 1 at a time) in the famous double-slit experiment). The frequency of Tin's quantum wavefunction will interfere constructively with some frequencies of background investiture, and destructively interfere with others, filtering the output of the investiture into a new set of frequencies that don't look like background noise, the frequencies become a stream of investiture that "enhances senses", or something thereabouts. Now picture using a specific Shard's Investiture as the "background investiture". Tin will filter out everything of that shard that doesn't relate to senses, causing the amplification. Stormlight becomes a booster of the spren's sensitivity, making them output less for the same subjective feeling, while Tineyes get to see through the Mists because the frequencies overlap due to the Investiture originating with Preservation. And of course, with alloys, what's important is the "holes" in the atomic lattice (and indeed, metallic atoms' ability to arrange in a regular structure is key in general). It lets other frequencies of investiture leak through, which correspond to different effects. Tin's senses becomes Pewter's physical enhancement. The one thing I'm not certain on is where in Allomancy the push/pull difference originates from precisely. Is it just a rule that Bronze seeking hears pure metal tones as "pulling" while alloyed tones become "pushing"? Or is it a fundemental, even a Singer would hear tin as pulling, while pewter pushes? I'd love to hear feedback on all of this in general. I'm super curious to know if my "quantum wavefunctions filter Investiture frequencies" hypothesis makes any sense.

OB:

This is a clever theory. And I tend to agree that, if the contract is broken by one side or the other, it will be the provision stating that the champions must be allowed to meet atop Urithiru “otherwise unharmed by either side’s forces” that will be violated. I’m not sold yet on a particular theory of who the champions will be and how they might be harmed, but I like how @nimvin is thinking creatively about what it might be. One thought that recently occurred to me is what if Taravangian names Moash as his champion but then has him surrender himself to Dalinar’s forces in advance of the contest. He would essentially be daring Dalinar to try to keep that storming’ cremhole safe from the myriad people who’d like to see him dead. (This could even allow a role for little Gavinor to sate all the people who think he’s going to factor into the book 5 endgame).

*manic laughter* So, I guess I'll add "exciting and cool announcements" to the list of phrases Brandon uses and does not understand. It's a short list, the other item on my list is "standalone novel".

WoR

me being a shard? no, Dawnshard.

She wandered about the room calmly, hands behind her back (ignoring her husband’s shouts). The room was as spartan as she’d expected; everything in it had a function or didn't exist, which was a real shame since the room was massive. The lack of decor made it feel empty. How did Caden stand it in here? But no matter. She'd be changing things up very soon. The small inventory done, Riva began searching. No corner of the room was exempt; she threw open every drawer, looked under the desk and the nightstand, opened every cabinet and searched for false backs in case of secret compartments. What are you hiding, Caden Praetorium? Clothes were tossed out of the closet, the sheets of the bed thoroughly patted down for anything out of the ordinary. She'd be throwing most of these things out anyway. As she searched she made a list of things to buy or bring over from her old room. Paintings, a bigger mirror, a better bed-spread, some flowers, more inviting curtains. Yes, that should brighten the place up quite a bit. Yet an hour later, Riva had nothing to show for her efforts; not one piece of odd or incriminating evidence to hold over his head. The Raveness slumped beside the bookshelf, arms folded sourly, thoroughly annoyed. If she was going to continue being Caden’s superior, she’d have to have something over him. Eventually she’d use a tongue-loosening serum on him to try and find out what she could from his own lips, but the unique opportunity to search a subject’s living place had been too good to resist. Too good to resist, perhaps, but apparently not worth it. He didn’t even have anything worth reading! Just old but untouched tomes on strategy and war-making. Stars, this was going to be a long marriage. The moment Ivian was assassinated and replaced - for every Mendaharian monarch eventually found their end, that much she was fully certain of - she’d waste no time in slipping something deadly in the man’s tea. She rolled her eyes, resisting a shudder at the day’s earlier events. It was Ivian whose death should be at the top of her list. She hated him, she hated him more than anything. What was he playing at? So willing to throw her life away, yet insistent upon using her as a pawn in his political games by marrying her off. He didn’t respect her and that was dangerous for both of them. Revenge would come eventually and when it did, oh it would be sweet. Every time she recalled being dragged out of her seat and forced down, she wanted to scream, to strap Ivian to her table in the dungeons and watch him beg for mercy. A growl built in her throat and she only realized she was clenching her fists when her nails drew blood. But being so angry was tiring. Her eyelids were already growing heavy, although the hour was not yet very late, particularly not for her and her nocturnal habits. Well, whatever. There was no time like the present to try out Caden’s massive bed. But, figuring she may as well look for notations in his books, she selected a tome on the end of the shelf to look through before dressing down to her chemise and sitting herself down on the surprisingly-soft mattress. It didn’t take very long for her to get comfortable. The whole room was miles better than Riva’s old surroundings and she found she quite liked it. If Caden wanted his room back, he’d have a devil of a time trying to get her out of here. She settled into the fluffy pillows, a thick blanket wrapped around her, and began reading the title-less text. The first sentence was particularly eye-catching: My name is Acalia Praetorium. Riva shut the book, grinning at her luck. So, our good General had a previous wife. Utterly fascinating. The Raveness flipped through the pages with her thumb eagerly. Just as she’d worried, the end of the book - or rather, it appeared, journal - was splattered with blood. Killed her, didn’t you, Praetorium? Riva sighed. She’d make sure she didn’t meet the same fate; one couldn’t stay in her position and live as long as she had without facing a handful of skilled assassins. But perhaps she could learn a thing or two from reading her predecessor’s words….

We just have to remember that when he says "exciting and cool announcements" he means for him. Sigh...

So I have been thinking about what it is that Taravangian saw in his deal that he thought could be a loophole he could take advantage of. I have heard several people talk about the "child champion" as a possibility among others and I think we're not thinking deep enough. I keep going back to the bargaining scene between Dalinar and Odium and how breaking the contract would put Odium within Dalinar's power and vice versa. Then I go back to Taravangian's deal with Odium at the end of Oathbringer and how he specifies the spirit of the deal is what is binding not the wording (although I am sure it plays a role). Then I think about Brandon's promise at the end of the book, how Kal and Szeth are to fly to Shinovar and Kal is to bring Ishar back to help Dalinar with his bondsmith powers and Ishar says he can repair the Oathpact. I think if they succeed at such a task (repairing the Oathpact) that would be Dalinar reneging on his end of the bargain to have a contest of champions in 10 days time because it would prevent Odium from being able to send a champion to fight on his behalf. Therefore his champion was not unmolested on his journey to Urithiru. This would result in Odium being freed, because Dalinar would be within Odium's power. What do you guys think? Am I crazy or does this argument hold water?

Have discovered an appreciation of metal. Specifically, covers of songs that weren't originally metal. Oh yeah, and Wellerman in different languages.

Brandon has said that Kaladin is the sticking point there; Shallan and Adolin would be all for it but Kaladin wouldn’t be.

Status: Miserable. I got my second Covid shot yesterday and have been feverish, dizzy, exhausted, and weak to the point of not being able to walk up the stairs since last night. So.... whooooooo

I think this checks out. Metal acts as a key for Allomancers to access Preservation's Investiture. Without Allomancy in your Spiritweb, you can't access that Investiture but you should still be able to use the metal to filter other Investiture that you do have access to. An element's atomic structure absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of light, the light can be used to identify those atoms & molecules. With metals whose structures are used as filters for Investiture, maybe they could do the same with Light, and Investiture in general. This is interesting because this suggests reactivity between matter, energy & Investiture. Which might mean that other chemically mundane substances that may not be Allomantically viable might react to Investiture in certain ways.

What is this? A third status update in a row from Chinkoln? Yes, but unless something dramatic happens, it should be the last for a while. My ankle is a little complicated. There was massive swelling, and though it subsided over night, it was still very swollen in the morning. I went and got my 2nd vaccine, then went to the doctor. 95% of the reason it hurts and is swollen is because I sprained/twisted (same thing) it REALLY bad. My ligaments are in TERRIBLE condition. That leads into the other 5%. The ligaments are so stretched, that one of them actually pulled a chip of bone off of my ankle. That is called an avulsion fracture. 95% of my ankle pain is sprained, and 5% is from a fracture. I’m going back next week for someone from ortho to take a look at it. Until then, I have to wear a huge leg brace, everyday. I can’t do gymnastics for at least a month, probably more. I should write a biography one day, I could probably make it pretty interesting.

I know I have done a lot of status updates recently, but too bad! 1. I have 2,500 rep! I am Most Ancient! I average about 2.74 rep per post. That’s pretty good. 2. There was a church campout. My dad and some siblings arrived there, and we helped some people set up tents(we didn’t set up ours because we weren’t planning to stay the night). Multiple people had brought frisbees (all the youth love frisbees). We started playing a game, Moss. I went to catch it, and I tripped. I fell, heard a loud pop/crack, and I couldn’t walk anymore. I am getting it X-rayed tomorrow, but the swelling made my ankle more than twice the size it normally is, so that isn’t good. Based on the swelling alone (the majority of people there were either Eagle Scouts or very advanced Boy Scouts) it is either broken, twisted, or sprained. 3. I’m going to do another status update tomorrow about the official, medical conclusion on my ankle!

Is that what happened to Kelsier? A cat went and scratched him up, so they made up that (w)hole story about the Survivor?

Please no, oh that image is painful to see.

My Spanish teacher sent us an email marked "IMPORTANT!!! END OF YEAR ADVICE!!! PLEASE READ!!" This link was there https://www.thisworldthesedays.com/last-day-of-spanish-class-important-1.html I really liked what was here, and I suggest you click the link to gain the same wisdom that I did. Here is my take on this, please don't open until you have read the original for yourself

Am I the only one who thinks that maybe Jasnah is lesbian and doesn't even realize it? I am perfectly cool with her being ace, i love that there is ace representation in the media, but in a conservative world like Roshar, where gay relationshis are highly uncommon or hidden, wouldn't her line of thought be understandable for someone homosexual? On the other hand, we all assume that she is asexual heteroromantic because she is with Hoid, but don't non-heteros irl struggle to define their sexuality or romantic orientation some times? I am saying this as a bisexual person that had always 100% awareness of my bisexuality, so I don't know if what I am saying makes sense.

Thinking about this, one thing became clear to me. Odium won the false Desolation. Due to the false Desolation The Knights Radiant disbanded The alliance between man and Spren was shattered. The Skybreakers split off. The Singers could not develop independently for millenia and lose the appetite to fight to avenge something that happened in the remote past He made sure the Parshmen who regained forms would be in the mood for revenge He prevented the advances Surgebinders would make in millenia of study of Arcane Arts All this he achieved by sacrificing Ba-Ado-Mishram. He wanted her to be captuired. It was a trap and they fell for it. The SIngers lost everything, but their lives. But for Odium the Singers are a means to an end. The Singers losing is not the same as Odium losing. The true losers of the False Desolation were the Spren. Odium dealt a real blow to those he otherwise could not touch. The Recreance was his feat.

First of all...I'm not dead! I've just been super busy with work, my own draft, and overwhelming myself with obligations. Second...I finally finished Draft Four of Name of the King. FINALLY. Hilariously, I don't even know how many people are still around from the dumpster fire that was Draft Three. Third... After many months of waiting, I used @shatteredsmooth's plagiarism checker from February to compare my first and fourth drafts. 33% of the book is the same, and according to my Cut Text folder, I have "deleted" 106 of scenes, equal to 103,053 words, since I began Draft Two. And just like Shatteredsmooth, this isn't keeping track of the massive plot changes that have occurred since Draft One. Thought it might be interesting for some of you. Time to work on other literary ideas for a month or so...then it is time to start Draft Five!

I mean, at that point why make it such a major part of the story to begin with? If it's just going to get dropped 2-3 books in without ever being seriously addressed aside from "oppressed people shouldn't generalize their oppressors" then what's even the point of having an system of eye color superiority at all? Sanderson built the world and characters from scratch, he had complete freedom in developing Kaladin's formative years and what shaped him into the man he became. He never had to make eye based racism such a huge problem within the Vorin nations. In fact, Way of Kings Prime didn't even have a lighteyes/darkeyes distinction.

welcome to the shard @Rohmis, I too waited in the shadows who is your favorite character?

and the sand of Taldain isn't necessarily the special part, it's the microflora living in the sand right? so yes, the Investiture comes from the sun, but the microflora is what absorbs and stores it

WoT spoilers I like the Cosmere WoT crossover. I wish there was more fanfic stuff like this.

Oops sorry, very minor spoiler

Overall Generally, a very engaging chapter! I read right along with very few notes. I think the ending needs punched up a touch, and there's some wordiness at the start of the chapter that could be tightened, but overall I think this has a great arc, solid characters, and forward tension. Nicely done! As I go - that first paragraph is wordy in places. I think cutting down some words would help give it stronger impact - pg 1: Frustrated and feeling a growing rage <-- I'd rather see this than be told - through page four here I'm very engaged - pg 5: I'm confused. I thought G-M wanted C in trouble? So why is she now trying to burn down the hall to save C? Motivation switch I don't understand - pg 10: despite her feeling of present danger, she really wants to know what’s going to happen next. <-- LOL kind of meta but I like it - I think the end beat is off just a bit. It was building to a Big Reveal, and instead leaves us sort of dangling. I think a shock at the end might work better, like a teaser of what she sees (someone who looks just like her?)

I have a suspicion (but can't prove it) that you'd get a situation analogous to the example Brandon gives in the WoB about a moon's Cognitive reflection when people know about it but haven't actually visited it. Scadrial (or New York in your other hypothetical) would probably have some small and funky patch in the CR because people remember that there used to be something there, but it wouldn't be the kind of full representation you'd get from a region that's inhabited by thinking beings.

It's been 6 months since Skyward, and if I remember correctly Jorgen mentioned that his family will pull him out of the DDF after 6 months. I doubt that's something Brandon will just toss into the book for no apparent reason. So...what do you think will happen to him? Tbh I have a nagging feeling that his parents are already working on it in the background, so we might not see Jorgen with the rest of Skyward Flight for a while in the next book/s. Maybe this way he'll discover more about his cytonic abilities...or cytonics in general (I'm really curious about his family and life too). (currently manifesting the 'Jorgen POV novella' energy) Of course these are all just guesses so I'll most likely be wrong, but toying with theories is fun, nonetheless. P.S.: I'm really hoping for a showdown scene between Jorgen and his parents about him being pulled out of the DDF. Seems like it will be fun to read.

And Navani took the rest of their purpose away with her flying ship. Why did you think thay have switched sides? Though now that you mention it, what happens if a young Skybreaker- adept reads "Das Kapital" or worse and swears to it? Hail Hydra, anyone? Now that I think about it, the story about Nohadon and the shepherd murderers cannot be genuine. But basically with Soulcasters and Cohesionists isn't everybody on Roshar potentially under 24/7 surveillance - retroactively? And you cannot even lie about your emotions. "Honey, do you love me?" is even more of a silly question on Roshar. "Does my ass look attractive in those pants?", no use asking. And so on ...

I wonder how far this could be taken... Willshaper museum guides anyone? "These ancient ruins have seen a lot of history... Literally" *conjures stone spirit to do the tour guide job for you like a boss* But seriously this is actually a real interesting idea. Regarding the court, are Guiltspren a thing? 'Cos that would make determining the truth a lot easier. Or just get a Cryptic to 'taste' the lies in someone's testimony? So many possibilities.... Thanks for mentioning this

I admit that I am quiet new here too, but so far I haven't encountered any hidden dangers. I did read that some members do not like swearing as storming much as I do, so I try to tune that down. So welcome aboard! To you too, Fireball300!

Watch Radiant or black clover and also one piece my top 3 of all honesty I could name hundreds for top 3

"General Kenobi." Fadran blinked. "That was fast."

Rock.

Welcome to the Shard! Who's your least favorite character?

Although I think Brandon has said the fourth book will be called Defiant, so...

Maybe it's to show his lack of title, "El" can just mean "him", either in-world or for the reader

Although I know BS may have “canonized” ace+heteroromantic for Jasnah, it doesn’t seem unlikely to me that her intellectual attraction wouldn’t also extend to a woman, in a biromantic way, at least as I read her in text. If there were a woman who stimulated her intellect in a similar way, it seems likely to me that she would approach that relationship as her one with Wit. Edit: which is to say, I’m proceeding with my own head canon on this.

I read this as "Flirting with your flightleader, Cobb, that would be great" and got very confused/concerned lol

I don't have any speculation on any of the Cosmere implications of his stories, but the "beauty of nature" is a joke. In the original story he told Shallan, he spoke of two men contemplating the nature of beauty. Now that he's stuck in the middle of the wilderness waiting for Jasnah, Hoid is left to instead contemplate the beauty of nature. He's just a little too pleased with his own sense of humor.