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I've got a job with a stage tech company and I was requested to work a Garth Brooks concert but it's on a Sunday and also Father's Day so I prolly can't. I'd be paid $250 for going and helping with a concert that costs at least $87 to attend.

I'm going to describe my dream - the one I had last night. It was weird.

Status: sad but in a weird vague way. I don't like emotions. Or my brain. Brain makes me overanalyze everything and makes me think certain people are upset at me or don't like me even though that makes zero sense. And then when I feel like this I don't feel like doing anything except moping around thinking about how certain people probably hate me or something and I have WAY too much to do today to just lay in bed moping.

Here's the thing: I absolutely loved the climax of Oathbringer with Dalinar refusing to give into Odium. But at the same time some things in part 5 seem kinda rushed: For example, the entire Sadeas/Amaram army joining Odium could have used some more buildup. Also there should have been at least a small a number of their soldiers who refuse to side with the Voidbringers. That there wasn't is a bit weird to say the least. Then after the battle Shallan's wedding, Jasnah becoming Queen, Skar and Drehy returning with Elhokar's son and even Dalinar learning to read all just get kinda rushed in at the last second. All of these thing are/should be huge events, but are quickly dismissed in a single page or even less. After the amazing battle you just have a bunch of important events packed into the last 30 pages or so, leading to none of them getting the attention they deserve. This is especially true of Jasnah becoming Queen. For this reason I prefer the endings of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, they simply feel much more whole to me. Edit: can add Jezrien's death to this list, too.

I need to step back. I'll be off of the shard for a week. Goodbye my friends, I will miss you all. See you soon.

Video shardiversary update coming today. second face reveal and voice reveal lets go?!?!?! i'll tag everyone who is in the vid when i post it but yes be ready bois.

Alright! It's Shardiversary time. I will now tag everyone I mentioned in the vid (in order mostly) and then talk ab who i forgot to mention. @Thaidakar the Ghostblood @Morningtide @Szeth's Facepalm @Robin Sedai @Spook's biggest fan @The Wandering Wizard @Sequence i think thats everyone... in the vid at least. now to talk ab who i forgor. @Liahona aaaaa you're awesome and such a cool person you're amazing, you're fun to talk to and you like my writing which, ofc, makes me veeeeryyy happy. @Demon Thieves I don't think we've talked for some time, but I do know you are a cool person and fun to talk to (when you're online at least) idk who else... but yes 2 years!!!! I"VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE. oh sequence I forgot to talk ab your questions, I will now: it's been a great 2 years, even tho i ignored like one of those years, but still fun. Easily one of the biggest highlights was my Short Scenes topic in the creators corner, and the ICMBAAOM rp. i've changed names and pfp too many times, but am in the final iteration i swear. i just had to compress the video TWICE to make it small enough data wise to upload here. I did it tho!!! here is vid

I beat the Undertale without killing a single monster. I saved every single one of them. Y'all, I'm... moved.

Lita watched the necklace sail through the air until it hit the floor with a light clatter. Immediately it was swept underfoot of the other couples, and she lost sight of it for a moment as a pair moved in front of her. But she did not miss the sickening ‘crack’ that echoed seconds later. The Stranger was still holding her close, her back to his chest, one hand curved around her ribcage. She could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat in counterpoint to her own, pulsing against her. So much slower than her own racing tempo - yet still slightly elevated. “What do you choose?” His voice was night in summer, warm and deep and full of every promise. Lita could still feel the burning trail of his fingers along her jaw, down her throat - a line of fire that smoldered distractingly as she tried to think. “I -“ she whispered, then faltered, her voice catching in her throat as the dancers before her parted to reveal Forian’s necklace where it lay on the floor. Tin allowed her a perfect view of the cracks that had spiderwebbed throughout the gorgeous center emerald, and the soft dust on the dance floor that had come from one of the crushed pearls. Except emerald didn’t crack, and it took more than a careless heel to crush a pearl. Lita’s mouth tightened into a silent snarl. It wasn’t even real. The flawless emerald, the strings of delicate pearls - they were nothing but tinted glass and painted plaster. And despite all her metal, she, little slum girl that she was, could not have told the difference. Lita felt a well of shame open up within her, the knowledge that she had been bought so cheaply and been so grateful for it nearly made her sick. The Stranger waited silently for her answer, holding both of them still as the rest of the room spun about them like figures in a wind-up box. She turned her head slightly, letting her hand, once outstretched towards the necklace, drop to her side. “Surely,” she spoke, feeling the heat of both anger and anticipation on her tongue, “you already know what I will choose.” “Do I?” He answered, lifting her arm upward with a feather’s touch until it arced backwards, her fingertips meeting the side of his face. She could feel his smile. “I cannot read your mind, Little Lita, and even if I could, the choice is still yours to make.” He ran a single fingertip down the inside of her arm, then down her ribs, pausing between the last two as a bolt of pain seemed to rise to meet it. “You always have a choice.” Lita bit her tongue to avoid crying out, though whether from pain or something sweeter, she didn’t know. She felt like a fiddle tuned too tightly, every string at its breaking point, and the Stranger was preparing his bow. “I choose to stay,” she whispered, the words tearing out of her mouth before she could catch them behind her teeth. Her head tipped backward of its own accord, still listening to his heartbeat. “Good choice,” he breathed into her ear, then spun her back to face him, pulling her so close that she could feel the buttons of his waistcoat through the silk of her gown. “I do hate to cut a party short.” The music shifted slightly, tempo sliding upward even as it became more sinuous, and for a moment they said nothing, learning this new melody. “I know what it is you want,” the Stranger said, voice slicing through Lita’s reverie with surgical precision. “Because it is also what I want.” Lita felt her fingertips bite into his shoulder where she held on; her mind felt like it was on fire. “And what is that?” She said, pleased at how steady her voice sounded. “Why, secrets, of course,” he responded, smile sweet and sharp as honey on a blade. Lita did her best to conceal her disappointment, but felt her cheeks grow hot. He laughed softly. “Isn’t that what you told me you hungered for, the day we first met? Do you remember it, Little Lita?” “I…” Lita felt her eyes flutter closed for a moment, and as she did she saw the scene as it was. Her at the little table, a spoon in her hand, and a shadow in her doorway. “Yes,” she murmured. “I do remember.” “All the truth of the world,” the Stranger whispered, and Lita saw golden script behind her eyes, gold and shadow and a bright Coin in a dark hand. “And you wanted it. You had tasted a sip, but you wished to be drunk. Look at me, Lita.” She opened her eyes, the sudden raw edge of his voice catching her off guard. He stared into her, light from the chandelier glinting off of his iron eye and disappearing into the darkness of his other. “There is a storm within you, there at the core of your eyes. Do you remember the storm? The night the city tore itself to pieces. Rain in the alleyway, tin on your tongue, steel in your blood. Do you remember? Do you remember breaking apart even as you were remade?” Lita felt the Stranger dip her backward, leaning with her, and the dissonance of two lives warred in her mind and crackled for a moment before one shook - then shattered. Lita’s breath caught as the full force of that memory - all the pain and glory - hit her at once. She gasped. He pulled her back upward, turning her so her back once again pressed against him. This time he kept dancing, his voice low and insistent against her ear. “Do you remember the Chapel, Lita? The cool blue lure of it, the silent siren’s song of boundless knowledge? Do you remember stepping beneath that water and tasting a secret so sweet you thought it couldn’t be real? The outline of a plan so audacious that it could only be executed by a madman? Do you remember how close you came to your death, dancing on the knife edge?” He took her left hand, bringing it up towards his face, before softly kissing each fingertip. His mouth was lightning against her skin. Lita felt her heartbeat accelerate to a speed that nearly frightened her, even as her mind accelerated faster, memories blooming like drops of blood into water. “Do you remember how your fingertips on the back of a cold hand stilled the wrath of a mad god, Little Lita? Do you remember what he asked of you?” “My memories,” Lita said, turning her head to try and see the Stranger’s face, but he held her fast. “He wanted my memories.” “Indeed,” came his voice, tinged with something jagged, slightly bitter. “A hypocrite, to speak so often of price, then demand such a gift for nothing. Rather like your lordling, I think.” Lita blinked, missing a step in the dance. “Forian?” “Tell me about him,” the Stranger continued, turning her around to face him. His smile was back, that familiar blend of predatory and amused. Lita raised an eyebrow. “You want to know about Forian?” “I wish to know about you,” he said. “I have given you plenty of secrets this evening, Little Lita. Heady truths. It is only fair that you should give me some of your own, so I might also get drunk.” He winked, and Lita knew it for such despite his only having one eye. Lita scoffed, but she found herself speaking nonetheless. “He used to frequent my father’s soothing parlor, him and his gang. My father was a fool, always being swindled by his customers despite his Allomancy. He was overjoyed to have some ‘noble patronage,’ never mind how suspicious it was that a group of lords met in a Sixth Octant slum. I used to eavesdrop, til one day I realized I could get more than just information if I proved myself useful enough.” She heard some of the edge in her voice, and looked over her shoulder at the ruined necklace. The collar that was nothing more than a cheap trinket, the sort of thing you would give to a street whore. “Useful, like a tool. A tool who thought itself a person. Silly me.” The Stranger’s fingertips grabbed her chin with surprising force, dragging her face upwards. It didn’t hurt, but the fervor in his black fathomless eye frightened her. “The only thing that suits you worse than a collar is self-pity, Lita Attar,” he hissed. “You may be used like a tool, but that does not mean it’s what you are. You are a fire, and however useful a fire might be, it burns for its own sake.” “Why are you saying this?” Lita demanded, confusion curdling into ire at his words. How dare he lecture her, tell her what she was and was not to feel? “There is still a collar around your neck, Little Lita. One I cannot so easily snap. A Forgery far finer than glass and plaster. A gilded cage built from all your heart’s desires.” He leaned close enough that she could count every eyelash framing his black, endless eye. “Do you remember?” Lita felt a tremor move through her, an echo of confusion and horror as reality tore like wet paper. “Shadow on the ceiling,” the Stranger said, voice growing softer yet more sonorous, like he was speaking in a vast, vaulted cavern. Lita remembered the hanging jaw of the slick, tarry worm before it shot towards her. “Shadow covering your eyes.” He reached up, passing his fingertips over Lita’s eyes, closing them. She remembered the alien chill of that shadow moving over her skin, pouring into her mouth and commanding her to forget. “And a Shadow at your ear,” he whispered, tracing one finger along her palm, where the slender red scar sliced across her skin, “offering you a way out, if you were willing to pay the price. Do you remember?” “Yes,” Lita breathed, eyes still closed, fire on her skin where he touched her, and icy horror everywhere else. “I remember everything.” And she did. She opened her eyes to find he had leaned back slightly, grinning at her in a way that sent a shiver up her spine. “Who are you?” “The Stranger sees nearly everyone as a tool,” he said, seeming to side-step the question. Then, he brought one hand up to his chest. “Even his own Shadow.” Lita looked at him for a moment, baffled, before a hundred tiny pieces fell into place. His talk of choice, his bitter disdain for the Stranger, the seemingly pointless exercise of helping her and Laurelai escape the shadow creatures. Lita felt the room spin around her slowly, and she willed herself not to collapse onto the floor. This was not the Stranger - it was the Shade. “I told you Truth was a heady thing,” the Shade said, voice dark with amusement. “But come now, tell me Little Lita. Have you drunk your fill of it? Are you satisfied?” He cupped her face with one hand, running the edge of his thumb lightly across her lower lip. “Or do you crave yet more?” @Fatebreaker

*blarg* ... i did not sleep last night. grad night be wild welp off to california if any of yall are near long beach maybe hmu?

Disclaimer: If you're autistic and find the term "autistic meltdown" to be insulting/offensive, please ignore my explanation below. I only speak for myself. It's not. It's an actual thing. Happens when someone is so over-stimulated that they have a literal emotional meltdown. I don't tend to have meltdowns myself (I usually just shut down instead), but 'meltdown' is a pretty accurate term to describe how it feels. "Tantrum" would be the pejorative word in this case.

Lumar, Tress's planet in SP1, has 12 moons which are apparently all in geostationary orbit above oceans of their corresponding spores, at points called Lunagrees. (Sidenote: perhaps derived from perigee, the closest approach of our Moon to the Earth? Except peri- means nearest and -gee means Earth, so the etymology doesn't really work). The only possible geostationary orbits (with standard orbital mechanics) are orbits directly above the equator, so the only possible configuration is with all 12 moons orbiting in the same direction around the equator: Note: they don't technically have to be equally spaced since they are all moving at the same speed and thus will not directly collide, but they would either get gravitationally attracted to their nearer neighbor (if not equally spaced) and collide eventually, or perhaps tidal forces would pull them into equally spaced orbits over time. However, Brandon has stated in a WoB (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/490/#e15444) that he envisioned the moons to be arranged more like the vertices of an icosahedron, equally spaced in 3d space rather than just around the equator. The icosahedron is the shape of a D20 die, which has 12 corners and 20 faces. In order for such an arrangement to be geostationary, the icosahedron would have to orbit rigidly, and below are two such symmetric configurations, which I've dubbed pointy-topped and flat-topped: Pointy-topped: this configuration has 5 fold symmetry: 2 moons over the poles, and 2x5 moons on inclined orbits. Flat-topped: this configuration has 3 fold symmetry: 4 offset rings of 3 moons each. Personally, I think the flat-topped configuration looks cooler, and is slightly more feasible: the moons are closer to the equator, and there aren't stationary hovering moons over the poles. Unfortunately, these orbits are not physical, since the moons are orbiting a central axis (i.e. cylindrically) rather than the center of mass of the spherical planet. If we instead consider the moons to be geosynchronous rather than geostationary (i.e. orbits once per day but not necessarily over exactly the same spot), and minimize non-axial angular momentum, we get this pattern (for flat-topped): This corresponds to 6 pairs of circular orbits. Unfortunately, this configuration is not actually possible, as the moons would collide over the equator. This can be clearly seen if we enter the frame rotating with the planet: But don't worry: there is a configuration for the flat-topped icosahedron that does not have the issue of colliding moons: Now, while this initially seems chaotic, it actually has more symmetry than the previous pattern. It consists of 3 groups of 4 moons in circular orbits along 3 orthogonal axes (of 3d space). And, if we enter the geosynchronous frame, we can see that the moons follow staggered orbits along figure-8 paths such that they don't collide. This is cool and all, but unfortunately this still doesn't really work with the spore oceans that Brandon has set up, which seem to require each moon to have its own ocean, and thus not share its space with other moons. Also, while the moons would form an icosahedron in the sky twice a day, they are not permanently in that nice D20 shape. Finally, I'm not certain these orbits are stable, with the moons constantly moving closer and further away from the other moons. So, in the end, we must return to the rigid icosahedral orbits, which look very cool but are not physical... yet.

My theory about it was that Adonalsium specifically made sure they couldn't bond in that kind of way when he was designing the Rosharan system and its initial inhabitants, but I could totally see that it would have something to do with the strength of the soul too.

I think it’s an unknown history that the spren have long memories about. They keep saying that the spren forgave them for their betrayal. maybe for siding with odium? That’s my first thought about why singers don’t form bonds. I like the theories but the singers being closer to the cognitive realm makes it sound like it’s easier to form a bond then more difficult.

Eyyy, this is my favorite of all my work. I think this is the greatest prologue I've ever written, it is also the longest one I think. I hope you guys love it as much as I do, I will try and answer as many questions as I can about the lore and magic system, enjoy. sorry if the names are a little weird. Edit: it auto corrected "Feruchemical iron" to "Feruchemical Iron." lol, I changed it back. Edit 2: it autocorrected it back... I hate this. the og spelling was f I r o n. Feruchemical iron.

I completely agree with all this. While I think this criticism form the OP's sister is a little harsh this above is all fair criticisms of OB. I also too felt like it was a little slow until the ending then really rushed. There were some great moments for sure and I actually probably enjoyed the flash back sequences in this one more than the other books but in it's entirety I think OB probably ranks the lowest for me as far as favorite SA books.

I liked the events of the Oathbringer climax, but thought that it was too drawn out with all of the perspective shifts. Too many scenes end on a cliffhanger, then you jump to another character who sees a few things, then another cliffhanger, and by the time you're back to a previous cliffhanger there's a lot of repetitiveness in phrasing and event description to get you back into the mood of that scene, the character strikes a cool pose and says a dramatic line, and then things inch forward again to another cliffhanger, and repeat. In terms of narrative flow and pacing I preferred the climaxes of Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, even though the battle of Thaylen City was in its own right a bigger, more exciting, and more epic conflict than those others. It felt to me like a good Dragonball Z episode-- exciting for sure, but a little thin for its length. I also thought that the previous two books had more depth, worldbuilding, and poignance to them (but those are more matters of taste). Passable seems a bit harsh and I enjoyed Oathbringer but I, too, have read better.

—When you find yourself using words like "sanderfan" —When people ask you why you don't like math, and you reply "because there's always another secret" —When you find yourself swapping words like "Energy" and "Magic" for "Investiture." —When your parents ask you why you're fighting with your siblings, and you say: "Why do men fight? Because Odium Reigns."

My lad for Greatowl University along with a lil sad elf girl (Adily, I started using her in one RP, but now she's in a short story of mine)

I remember reading Oathbringer and feeling very bored until the ending. It felt like the most bloated SA book to me, could have cut a quarter of the book without losing anything of value. The ending is the only saving grace for me

And now, for Oathbringer! In which Eshonai leads an invasion, Dalinar has trouble with people who like pointy hats, and apparently Bajorans are involved somehow?

Neither one really strikes me as people out for relationships in any form, neither physical or romantic ones. Them hooking up felt pretty awkward and quite odd.

All right. Breaths deeply. I had an idea that started from the Sharder Lair Discord server, and I wanted to share it here. We'll see how well it works. The idea was creating a server for random, blind discussions with people on the internet. Something like, "I know this person and that person, and their opinions on that topic, I'm interested to see what happens when they meet." So this'll be the place for you to invite them (so that they want have to sign in to an online forum on books they perhaps didn't read), and for you to talk with people you mightn't normally meet, due to similar reasons. The server is currently still under construction - I'm trying to figure out how to build it - but I think it's fine to have other people join. So, I'll share an invitation here, and you can enter if you're interested. Ideas for additions are welcome. Here's the link. Thank you for reading, and have a good morning/day/afternoon/evening!

This exists, even if it is technically more broad than just the cosmere. https://shardle.17thshard.com/

@Voidus Does Esserethel have any particular meaning? I noted Lucien essentially means "light", so I took a minute or so to try to parse Esserethel meant anything equally appropriate for someone who messes with Investiture. I could break out an es or esse or essere for "is" or "to be" in Romance languages, but couldn't get anything that seemed cohesive from thel or serethel or rethel. (Translations I did find: se = "him/her/itself" in Latin; ser = abbreviation of "master" in Italian; sere = archaic English for "barren" or Italian for "evenings"; Rethel = a town in France; re = Latin for "a thing" (ablative) or Italian for "king"; reth(-e) = Old English for "terrifying" or "savage"; el = "god" in Hebrew). So esse reth el could mean "To be a terrifying god" if you mix Latin, Old English, and Hebrew. Which is somewhat appropriate, if probably entirely coincidental.

Make a partnership and destroy the world together

Feeling a bit bummed and crappy today and I just had to let it out :// I think I broke my laptop. Last night it was in the middle of installing an update (the Lenovo Insyde one, I'll be honest the popup window design looked a bit suspcious but it was legit, I checked XD) when I accidentally hit the power button and resulted in the pc turning off...which is a big no no...escpecially in the middle of software-thingy installation where it said to NOT turn it off...Yeah so I panicked and when I tried turning it on again the lights still worked so I guess I did not completely fry the system (thank god), but the screen was just black :' D Good thing I'm already done with the school year so I won't need it for class any time soon. So yeah my pc's dead-ish. Dad and I tried looking for ways to fix it but to no avail, so I'm going to get it fixed and hope that it could be fixed because I really don't want my parents to spend another fortune on a new laptop for me because of an idiot mistake that I made. Sorry for the rant XD

The only ones I care for Cephandrius Midius Topaz Hoid Wit Dust Roamer Imperial Fool Drifter Wanderer Lunu'anaki Bearer of the First Gem Lift Szeth Kaladin Dalinar(Who is barely able to make the list)

I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that. The gemstones impart an equal force on each other. The size difference leads to different speeds, as it takes a larger amount of energy to move a larger gemstone at a certain velocity. Force = Mass * Acceleration. say gemstone A is imparted with 15 newtons of force, and has a mass of 5 kg, meaning it accelerates at 3 meters per second. 15N = 5kg * 3meters/second^2. The smaller gemstone then has 15 Newtons of energy imparted to it, and it has a mass of 1 kg. The equation then comes out to 15N = 1kg * 15meters/second^2. 5 times the speed, but the same amount of force.

Brandon released a video on his channel of him reading TLM chapter 1: youtube link

THANKS!

That's pretty good Thaidakar, just some small gramatical errors and some names might need to be changed but it is a excellent story.

The word "chortles" always reminds me of you now.

Why are you chortling? Edit: The word Chortle looks weird to me now.

No. I am inevitable

Lita's hand flew through the air in what felt like slow motion. Almost instantly she felt a surge of panic. Oh Rusts, what am I doing? But the fire was stronger than the fear and she followed through with the blow. And as she did, the Stranger held her eyes, as if he could read the thoughts behind them. Her hand connected with a resounding slap, turning the Stranger's head with the force of it. For an instant it felt as if the world held its breath. Fear threatened to overwhelm Lita, but her rage was yet stronger still. And then the Stranger turned back to her, and his smile was wicked and pleased. "There it is." Lita felt her cheeks burning as if she had been the one to receive the slap. This man showed not even the slightest sign of discomfort, which was so much more frightening than rage or shock. Then, to make matters worse, he began to laugh, rich and deep, throwing his head back as it rolled out from him in waves. Lita felt the anger overtaking her fear, and she spoke with simmering rage, "Do I amuse you, sir?" The Stranger looked down at her, "Indeed you do, Little Lita, and I am sorry for that. Because if you didn't your life would undoubtedly be more pleasant, and less full of fear. But I think that isn't what would make you happy. Because you," and his grin was deadly sharp, "are hungry for more. And that hunger is what drew me to you, and now you to me. What a delightfully insidious cycle we find ourselves in." This was too much, and Lita let her hand fly once more, feeling her indignation feeding her rage. But this time the Stranger spun her even as her hand flew, using her own momentum to send her in a dizzying spiral. Just as it felt like she would crash to the floor, he caught her, one hand around her waist, the other caressing her face. Lita felt her heart pounding like thunder, surely loud enough that the whole room could hear it. The Stranger was watching her, the mirth evident in his expression as he leaned into the dip till their faces were almost touching. “You really do look ravishing. I’ve never had the chance to tell you just how striking you are, have I? Or rather, it’s never been the right moment.” He lifted her out of the dip into a spin across him, then held her at arm's length, taking her in with his gaze. “But tonight we have all the time that we could want. So I will take this opportunity to tell you that you look stunning tonight. With one exception…” He spun Lita back in till her back was up against him. She felt his hand trace a line along her jaw and down her throat, till it rested on her collarbone. Then, with a sudden twist he snapped the emerald necklace and held it up to his eye level. “I never cared for collars.” The green jewels caught the light of the chandelier, glowing softly. “This is a chain around your neck, Lita Attar, as sure as a slave collar. It robs you of choice, binds you to that cremling of a man. I don’t use collars, I like people to make choices. So now you have a choice, Little Lita.” he tossed the necklace casually away. Lita reached out for it instinctively, making to step forward after it, but the other hand held her close against her dance partner. His voice was a blade, the tip tracing lightly against her skin, “you can choose that collar and the dream will go back to what it was. I shan’t trouble you further. Or you can stay,” and his voice took on a velvet undertone, “and you will remember that which will allow us to talk in earnest. What do you choose?”

This topic has come up before (pre-RoW) and my pick back then was Dominion on the theory that it broadly represents the desire for things to be orderly and hierarchical, on the further assumption that I could control that intent well enough to encourage the development of something closer to ancient Egypt or China (long-lasting and stable civilizations) as opposed to something repressively theocratic like Fjorden. Since then we've gotten the rest of the Shards more or less sorted save one whose Intent we're still speculating on, so Virtuosity would probably take over my top pick based on what Brandon has said it represents, then Dominion, then probably Honor.

Cultivation for me, for sure. Well... maybe Invention, though we know so little about it. Or Fortune, for the same reason. I'll just say those three combined, then: Cultiventune.

True, and I appreciate that on the Eve of being granted such insights one shouldn't construct A-dam to hold it back. Such is one's Lot in life, I suppose, though one mustn't live in Terah of making so many mistakes, even if doing so leaves one unAbel to continue. ... okay, I think I'll stop. I Noah when I've said too much I don't want to be Cained.

Heady and leggys hurty

More memes cuz...memes (and also boredom)

I put out about 1-2 scenes every 2-3 days, so there will def be more. Like right now :D. Scene #21: Scene heavily inspired by Saturn, by Sleeping At Last, and very poetic. dammit im s a d lmao

Anti-Light clearly has roots in our universe's antimatter, e.g. having the same properties as regular Light, except with polarity reversed, and annihilating on contact with its regular counterpart. The addition of Intent is where the parallels diverge; in our universe, conservation laws forbid the direct conversion of matter to antimatter. In the Cosmere, however, you can clearly change Light into its anti-Light through the use of Intent, as discovered by Navani in RoW. So, it seems Intent is necessary to change Light to anti-Light, Investiture to anti-Investiture. However, Navani notes that the inverted tone used to create anti-Light sounds exactly the same as the regular tone, except with the addition of Intent. At the time she does this, she is not yet Radiant or otherwise Invested. There were also no fabrials involved, which are Invested due to their trapped spren. Proposition: Intent is sufficient to change Light to anti-Light; Investiture is not needed to power it, unlike usual acts of Cosmere magic. Indeed, requiring Investiture may be counter-productive, since we are aiming to produce the opposite of Investiture. Now consider: Dawnshards are god-level Commands, essentially the ability to super-charge Intent. The "change" Dawnshard is right here on Roshar, held by (or is) Rysn. The Sleepless allowed Rysn to live, under the condition that she never bond a Radiant spren. The idea behind this seems most likely to be to ensure that she never has access to Investiture to power the Dawnshard. But if changing Light to anti-Light only requires Intent... Conclusion: Rysn is now completely OP. Imagine she Commands half of Odium to change into anti-Odium. Boom, no more Odium (and probably no more Roshar). Or, if she just changes the entire Rosharan system to 100% anti-Investiture, then Odium is trapped there, unable to interact with the rest of the Cosmere lest he goes boom. He can't even interact remotely since all those methods involve Investiture.

Interesting idea, that it's the planet or the entire system which has the Investiture shenanigans going on, and the geometry of the moons is a result of that. Brandon did confirm very recently (SP4 livestream) that Investiture, matter and energy are the same thing (I assume like mass-energy equivalence in our universe), so yeah, it would make sense that Investiture would cause gravitational fields. Creating a cylindrically symmetric gravity well seems a bit hard though, the standard method in physics being to use an infinite line of mass. I suppose if you only need a finite effect containing the 12 moons, you might be able to approximate it with some significant gravitational sources located far above the poles like you suggested. However, if you did manage to create the cylindrical well, then wouldn't the planet also be affected by the axial geometry? I.e. you'd end up with a cylindrical planet rather than a spherical planet. The moons apparently being the source of the Aether spores, and them being worshipped as gods, suggested to me that the moons were the source of the Investiture. I guess we don't really have enough information at all about how Aethers work to make too many deductions about the metaphysics. Apparently they don't even believe they were created by Adonalsium... and I guess I've always just assumed Investiture and Adonalsium were connected. Maybe you can have 'free Investiture' (a la The Charter vs Free Magic in the Old Kingdom books).

True, I've definitely wondered what these moons could be, e.g. if they're made of spores too or they just produce spores. Especially with the statement that the moons are 'Big enough to fill a full third of the sky', which seems either impossible (12 x 1/3 = 400% the area of the sky is moons?), or Hoid is exaggerating in his storytelling. Or maybe this means the angle subtended is 1/3 of the horizon (i.e. 1/3 of 180 degrees = 60 degrees), which translates to an area of 6.7% of the sky per moon, meaning the 12 moons together cover 80% of the sky, still pretty extreme. However, the orbits I've drawn and the timescale calculations don't actually care about the mass or composition of the moon, only of the planet. It's the primary mirror of the JWST! I've heard great things about Worm but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I get where you're coming from, but I'm not sure what I could name it without making it completely unclear what the post is about. I could change Lumar to SP1, but surely the fact that the SP1 planet has 12 moons is more 'spoilery' than the fact that its called Lumar. And if I remove 12 moons, then the title is barely descriptive of the content...

Scene (?) #15: I wrote a song without a melody. Bruh. Enjoy

I don't think so. Harmony is conflicted because he's incomplete. Ruin objects to saving lives because it doesn't understand Mercy. Preservation lacks Ambition to grow, and allows stagnation. If you had all Shards together, I think they would balance each other.

OOOOOH. what if someone became a dawnshard AND a bond smith! what if each dawnshard was an aspect of a bond smith power!

Yes, Adonalsium could have created 10 "Cityspren" hearts for the Dawncities that the Dawnsingers were constructing. There might have been more Dawncities constructed, like Sesemalex Dar, but I think only the cities that eventually got Oathgates are the ones with spren. And that a Silver Kingdom developed around each of these cities. And most relevant here, the Sibling of Urithiru. After all, Sja-anat calls the Sibling "cousin", even though Odium doesn't like it (RoW I2). Maybe because it puts Honor & Cultivation on the level of Adonalsium. So the Sibling could have been created near the start of the Desolations to be a link to all the Cityspren through the Oathgates (the children of the Sibling, O C116). Now that they are connected each country had its own purpose within the war against the Voidbringers (WoK C19). Yes. I think this took a lot of time and happened over then entire length of the desolations. I wonder if their level of consent has to do with how intelligent/mindless they are now in the physical realm. Sja-anat and Ba-Ado-Mishram were probably willing converts. And what if their purpose during the war is the thing that got amplified by being "unmade". If Kholinar/Alethela was set up for the arts of war and to train people, maybe it was unwillingly unmade into Nergaoul/The Thrill. My last addition to this theory is that during the Last Desolation, the final Cityspren of Strormseat/Natanatan was unmade by Odium. But the forces of Honor & Cultivation, probably one or more Heralds*, had finally discovered a weapon against these unmade. Once the Cityspren were turned into splinters of Odium and invested with Voidlight, they could be destroyed by anti-Voidlight. And... KABOOM!... Shattered Plains and only 9 Unmade. Now the Desolations had gone nuclear and the Heralds knew they needed a radically different plan, so you get Aharietiam. The Heralds go into hiding along with their knowledge of anti-lights. The fused, like Raboniel, would of course know the process of unmaking a Cityspren and would know a power to destroy Odium's spren existed, but not how to create it, which leads right into Rhythm of War. * I would assume this same Herald gave Gavilar the sphere of anti-Voidlight