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Why do all my sudden floods of book inspiration happen right as I need to be going to sleep?

Today - ... ...Yesterday was absolutely awful. I mean it. It was abhorrent. It was miserable. I woke up in the morning from a nightmare. Don't even remember what it was about. I just woke up super angry and frustrated for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Went downstairs and signed up for housing (I'm going to college soon). That was difficult. The UI was awful. I hated it. Made me more frustrated. Went to work. I actually went upstairs and took an off-the-record break and took an actual nap on the table for a paid half an hour because I was so exhausted. It was awful. I couldn't stand, I couldn't keep my eyes open, I wanted to go home. Highlight of the day: my phone got stolen! (did I say highlight? I meant the "it gets worse" part). I was helping a customer get a skateboard and then came back to realize both my phone and my water bottle were missing. Figured I missplaced them (after all, who would steal a phone and a water bottle?) but then found out that the water bottle had been found and returned and the phone had not. Called my parents on the company phone, but turns out they can't track it anymore and the thief powered it off so we can't even call it. I still had six hours left of work at this point and dredged through the next two absolutely miserable. After the miserable ended I was just incredibly angry and frustrated. I hit my hand on a toy at one point and literally kicked it from beneath like a ninja. Felt good but thank goodness no one else was around to see me do that. Bought myself hot cocoa from the starbucks kiosk. That made me feel a little better. I managed to finish work somehow. Now I'm back here and I'm just so depressed. I got practically nothing done at work and I keep worrying that the b@stard who stole my phone is gonna break into it somehow and spam all my friends or something. So there's my rant. Copium: I'm gonna start a new RP soon to accompany my Fight Scenes RightingWrite. Please consider joining. I swear it won't be quite as boring and railroaded as Cytocorps. Aight luvya bye

The smell of sizzling fish fills the air and the spearhead stabs the saber, keeping it from doing more than shallowly cutting him. Wordlessly growling, Wizard slams his lightsaber ontop of Hamartano's trapping it against the ground. Blood begins to seep from his side and the grin fades from his face. The pressure from his saber keeps the Jedi's saber stuck into the ground and feeling safe, Wizard responds to Hamartano's earlier comments. "You'll have to do more than nick me Jedi. You lie about being able to beat me, don't you FEEL it? The last hope of the light draining away as the darkness grows stronger. Soon, so very soon we will have enough darkness to overturn other worlds." Time to spread some fear and doubt. Only truth with a single hidden lie. Wizard scoffs, "and even if you can kill me, you will replace me. You have passion, I can see the flickers of purple inside of your saber. You can not deny it, the dark side has tendrils in everyone, including you! No one can escape it, everything is inevitably headed towards decay. Your new order will fall and when it does, we will be waiting. It took thousands of years to overthrow the old order. Your order has the same weaknesses as-" Wizard quickly jabs his spear towards Hamartano's left shoulder, utilizing the oldest trick in the book. Distract and then attack before you're done talking.

I feel that life has been kind of gloomy lately. I noticed that the flags are at half mast and they seem to perpetually be that way. So I found my favorite poem and I heard a new one today that I'm going to share with you all. Try to put some more joy in someone else's life. It's also Light the world! So do some service for someone else and help bring hope back into other people's lives. Here's the link for a explanation and prompt suggestions. Good Timber by Douglas Malloch A Builder Or a Wrecker by Charles Franklin Benvegar

As the blast of lightning grins into the sky, Wizard also grins. "The knowledge and power of the sith will not die with me." Falling into Form Seven, he charges at the Jedi. The crimson red clashing against the deepest blue. Wizard moves and Hamartano moves with him. Each strike that he tries to make is blocked by the steady blue blade. A rage begins to build, burning a fire in his veins. A cooling blast of fear flashes through his mind, but he quickly pushes it way. I am a sith, master of hate and anger. It is my key to power, if I lose it, then I am lost. Reaching deep inside he grasps at the knots of hate and he tugs one loose. Power burns through his veins and his strikes strengthen, begining to hammer against the light of the Jedi. Jolts of red lightning climb up the length of the blade minorly burning both Wizard and Hamartano. Wizard hammers on, focusing on the rage and power of Form Seven. Bringing out his rage in the unpredictable way that would confuse even the most observant opponents. His blade flicks up, blocking the blue arc that would have taken off his head. By keeping his blade in place Wizard forces Hamartano into another contest of strength. Preparing for Hamartano to pull the same stunt as last time, he ensures that if the other lightsaber goes off, Hamartano loses his head.

Wizard nods focusing on evading over attacking. "I will likely not, but time does her duty well. Even the sharpest minds become dull over time. The strongest words fall lifeless on deaf ears. Change is the ally of the Sith, not the Jedi. Consistency and tradition are your backbone and your moral support. What happens when you learn that your master has slaughtered innocents because of the Sith?" Preying on the distraction of the Jedi, Wizard quickly sticks the spear back into it's harness, and his steps become firmer. Switching to a two handed grip on his lightsaber, he slowly he gives ground. Turning in a circle, he lets Hamartano hit as hard as he wants. Wizard's weapon always flows into place before the Jedi manages to strike. Sometimes just barely, but Wizard guides the duel by letting Hamartano think he's in charge. Though as the Jedi begins to wise up to his trick, Wizard removes one hand from the lightsaber and thrusting a blast of force at the ground, kicks up a storm of dust. Retreating into the dust, he powers down his lightsaber. Quickly he binds his side, stopping the flow of blood. Thrusting out both his palms, Wizard sends a few blasts of lightning into the dust. Quickly he pulls his lightsaber back out and listens, his massive haillu sticking up like radar dishes. Trying to listen for the sound of another humming blade.

Hamartano’s lightsaber continued to cut into the earth, sand flying up as Wizard’s blade pushed down on his, burying the few drops of blood which his previous strike had drawn. The Sith was speaking with those wild eyes again, repeating the same platitudes about decay and emotion he had heard countless times before. When he cut off his speech and swung the spear towards him, Hamartano was ready. The move was clear in his head: extinguish his lightsaber, throwing his opponent’s strike off-balance as he sought to maintain the bind and pushing him forward, then reigniting it and chopping him in half. It worked. Somewhat. Wizard leaned forward, his lightsaber now meeting no resistance, but the Sith was wily enough that his strike did not go as far amiss as Hamartano had hoped. He pirouetted as he began to lean, and the tip of the spear he held was now pointed at the gang leader’s arm, moving forward inexorably. The blue blade came on too late, and the tip gouged his free arm’s elbow, the electricity making Hamartano howl in pain. His muscles tensed, and his own strike, weaker than it should have been, was batted aside. As the next thrust of the spear came, Hamartano closed his eyes and concentrated through his exhaustion. He would not allow the Sith’s assertion, that he and the Jedi had gone down quietly, with no fight, to stand. Focusing on the rent piece of his cloak which now lay trampled in the sand, he sent it flying towards the spear-tip. It clung, muffling the electric current as it wrapped itself around the end, and Hamartano, feeling the pain recede, dragged himself back to his feet, deflecting the two blows that came towards him. Drawing his feet together, he began to swing more double-handed, overhand blows, heedless of the blood now flowing from his left arm—not subtle strikes, but also not ignorable. “Passion and decay?” he grunted. “Passion and spontaneity leads to decay only if it is embraced as an end, Dark One. When it is kept as a servant to order”—he punctuated the words with a particularly heavy blow and grinned back at the Sith—“it is still life itself. And you will never draw me away from that.”

So Feruchemy on it's own in neutral, so you spend a hour a year older and can become a year younger for an hour as a result. If you are also an allomancer you can burn your metalmind(where you store that attribute) and instead of(in the case of Atium) seeing the future, that investiture is used to make you younger. Basically what he was doing was making a new allomantic metal that only he could use, meaning he could get more youth out than he had stored in the atium.

The shaft of Wizard’s blade clave in two. Hamartano looked down, surprised, at his own work—he had intended to allow the Sith to block his obvious strike and then try some follow-up hits from above. But what had happened was clear; lightning sparkled at the fissure between the lightsaber and the spearhead, fully separating the mangled remains of reinforced wire, and Hamartano was barely able to pull his own blade free before the red lightsaber, still intact, began taking swings at him, the electricity-reinforced spear jabbing behind it. He should not have underestimated the frenzy of the Sith—he had made his opponent less coordinated and graceful, but perhaps more dangerous. Reverting to the most basic form—Form One—to bat away the swings of the saber, he kept a wary eye on the spear behind it, still crackling dangerously with that purple force. He berated himself. Precision was always his hallmark: it was what made him excel as a marksman, but he had let the rules of a lightsaber duel, the back-and-forth rhythm, escape him in his time back on Dreshdae where they had fallen into disuse. If he failed to anticipate his opponent’s reaction again, he might pay more severely. There were no easy fights. There was no rest until your enemy was in the dust in front of you, or you were yourself. Then, it came—the lightsaber withdrew momentarily and the spear stabbed forward. Hamartano barely caught it in time, thanking his master mentally for having trained him against such weapons, but even as he turned the thrust aside with the shaft of his blade, his opponent’s saber came slicing down. There was no blocking this. Hamartano rolled forward instead, keeping the spear at bay, and heard the clean chop and a faint smell of ash as his cloak billowed up behind him and was cut in twain. Skidding, he re-established his footing on his opponent’s left and flowed smoothly into his next attack, blade cutting up at Wizard’s ribcage.

Quickly shifting his hands, the center grows red as the blue beam blazes through the center. Wizard leaps back narrowly avoiding being cut himself by the deadly blue light. Grasping the spear head in one hand and the now exposed lightsaber in the other. A memory comes back to him. His master is dueling against him, training him in the deadly dance of combat. He strikes at the center of his master's spear, nearly breaking it in half. His master disengages and he breaks his weapon in half. Leaping about, he then proceeds to beat his student with the two weapons. "Always try the unexpected, that will win you more fights than doing what is expected each time. Let your opponent think they've drawn a devestating blow, then beat them." Ragnos then proceeds to punish him for failing to react properly to the tactic. "If you are to be a Sith, then you must fight more! Fight more deadlier and dirtier. Or I will have no use for you!" Wizard grins as he channels some lightning into the cut and the weapon separates completely. Channeling lightning into the spear head, it hums back alive with deadly lightning. Trying a unorthodox method, Wizard spins his lightsaber in a circle, holding the spear head behind it, preparing to strike. He advances on Hamartano, humming and crackling filling the air.

As the choking cloud of dust rolled up from the landscape, Hamartano allowed a wry grin to escape him as Wizard was blocked from his view, his humour breaking the wave of anger which had surged upon the Sith’s slander against his master. Years of riding a swoop bike through this cursed landscape would not be put to waste. His opponent would soon regret throwing up an obstruction which benefitted him more. He squinted into the cloud, his eyes trained for the telltale movements which identified living creatures, even with the hum of his opponent’s lightsaber having faded away. Despite his concentration, he felt, rather than saw, the first bolt to emerge from the cloud. He ducked, and the purple stream arced over his head. The next two were harder to avoid; he blocked with his saber instinctively, but he could not get his guard high enough in time; the second bolt caught his dueling hand, and he doubled over in pain, his good arm writhing in agony even as all feeling vanished from it. The fourth bolt was coming, headed straight for his chest, and Hamartano knew it would be fatal if it connected. Gritting his teeth, he reached deeper within himself, to the wellsprings of frustration and anger and guilt which lay at his core and beat against the peace he sought. He had done this only once before, in solitude, and the resultant mess he had made had caused him to buy a new bike. But here, in the thick of combat, it seemed appropriate. He lifted that cluster of emotions, contemplated it for a moment, and as if throwing it up in a fit of sickness, with an earsplitting yell, hurled it with his mind from his chest, through his mouth, to his free hand, shaking and held up by the arm which still bled freely. The lightning crashed into the hand, but instead of connecting, it went up—magnified tenfold in power, a blazing purple beacon which flickered for an instant and died, its afterimage seared into his retinas. The swirling sandstorm cleared instantly, the dust fleeing from the power of the blast. Hamartano gasped as if he had sprinted the Kessel Run on foot, but wasted no time. Pins and needles sprang up in the arm that had been struck, and as he felt feeling return, he marched steadily towards his opponent, who stood revealed, a crimson bar of death already held at the ready. He said nothing—there were no more words to be said. It was life or death. His blue saber flickered on again, and he resumed the Fourth Form. At one with the whirling winds of the planet, he twisted towards his enemy in a blaze of light, slicing out towards the Sith Lord.

This thread will be dedicated to the holy Vorin poetry form, a ketek. They must read the same forward and backward, but you can alter verb forms. Please promote this thread, because there isn't much about the ketek on this site, and I love this poetry so much, so let's try and fill this to the brim. Make keteks about life experiences, characters, or anything. My ketek below is about forgiveness.

I believe spren are slivers of a shard which would make them, in the physical realm at least, a similar material to a god metal. This is a perfectly valid point which largely gets countered by bendalloy bubbles. I agree with avoiding this at all costs as well. Devolving into fullborn vs 10 surges radiant full living plate and blade where everyone has infinite resources is absoultely brutal. If we wanted to get down to the real nittygritty we would say that there are no mistborn in era 2 anyways. We could also say that spook is the only known mistborn to have had access to all of the metals and era 1 mistborn wouldnt have access to leeching. As far as loadouts go in era 2 aluminum is well known and, while expensive, not out of reach for a mistborn. Potential aluminum vials and weaponry. Odds are mistborn have less worries on roshar and are more inclined to carry metal weaponry which would offer heavier projectiles to use and play with. Also guns... if a gun is allowed it shifts everything just as easily as atium. If that gun has aluminum bullets it is even more so shifted. Now we run into the era and loadout issues again. There is a huge difference between 1000+ grain projectile traveling ~200fps and a 240 grain projectile (typical .44mag) traveling 1100+ fps. Out of a rifle you could say that is pushing 1600+ fps and with a 45-70 or 12 gauge you are talking 400grains - a full oz. That isnt talking about if they had aluminum weaponry which was not uncommon just expensive. (Though this leads to a question about how gravitation would work against aluminum anything.) If you jab a button into my body it will not tear off until it passes through my body enough to actually tear. So long as there is a backdrop for the metal piece the mistborn will be able to anchor with it. Even coins stuck to a shield with adhesion will beable to be used for anchors. I need to know more of how exactly gravitation works. Fighting in the storm was not an easy feat and both combatants were fighting against the storm. I assume momentum and inertia are laws that apply to some extent. Thus every turn would be more of an arch. This is the same for mistborn but with thrust as an option as opposed to just falling. A fall at terminal velocity in one direction would carry a certain amount of momentum while lashing oneself back the other direction only with gravitation there is no thrust to your fall. You can ramp up all of your lashings super duper fast but it costs more stormlight to do so (I dont remember how it is described if it is linear or exponential) where as a mistborn navigating their flight is limited by anchor points. More anchors means more fine tuned agility. That same anchor you just pushed on really hard can be pulled on softly (as your distance would also make your pushes and pulls weaker) to help fine tune high speed chases. Push and Pull in AoL put on an awesome chase against a crasher but even Wax notes and uses the way one metal was working vs another as an advantage. When you have both your movement options go through the roof. Our experience with all of the metals in that category have been instantaneous. We have a few WoB that say leeching a full metalmind would take a while but until we have units of measurement for investiture and what parts make up each thing this isnt something you can really rely on. We know sprenblades are more invested than a metalmind. Metalminds can block a sprenblade, Kaladin with a chest full of stormlight can't. Thus your radiant totally full of stormlight is less invested than the metalmind which is less invested than the spren. Info is worth its weight in gold. I dont know that the mistborn has all basic info of how to best kill a radiant. I just think mistborns toolkit offers more insight into thier enemies than the radiants does. The mistborn will see how invested that radiant is from afar and will notice that the blade is made of aluminum or some other highly invested metal. The mistborn will learn how well the radiant flies when it sees the radiant fly and that would be the same thing for the radiant in the other direction. Healing would be a surprise to the mistborn as would emotional assaults and just how hard and fast the mistborn would be to the radiant. But if I were in a fight for my life I say there is no such thing as overkill. The mistborn knows it can leech that glow and kill the magic... bronze picks up that it is being used even if it doesnt know what it does... zap that crap away when you can. That would be like a radiant not swinging his sprenblade because he is trying to hide it (never seen that scenario before right?)

Hey, everybody, I really, really need to be able to calm down right now. What do you people do when that happens? Any tips or ideas? Thanks in advance. You people are all awesome.

Hello! This isn't really very amazing as far as good news goes, but I usually never talk to teachers because I'm too nervous and I start freaking out, but today I talked to my history teacher as if it was a completely normal thing for me to do. It was weird and awkward but I did it, so that was cool.

I shared more details in another thread, but my prediction about discord is that Harmony will change so that he can save Scadrial from outside forces. But as Discord, he will need to destroy (ruin) in some way in an equal measure to what he does to protect (preserve). So he will enact preservation over the Scadrians, and will use Ruin against his enemies (autonomy, odium). Thus, his name will be discord and they will love him for it. However, longer term it will be a bad problem because after defeating his enemies he will have continue to destroy and preserve in equal measures (likely large instances. So Kelsier is going to step up and stop Discord, probably with a dawnshard or something.

Hamartano reeled, driven back by the two crackling orbs of lightning which spun towards him. Ataru excelled at nimbleness and craft and speed, but none of those mattered when you had twin circles of death barrelling inexorably towards you, and when your opponent had a weapon which gave him the same things. He shifted his stance, holding his ground against Wizard and the taunts he was hurling. The clean azure of his blade began poking into the patterns of erratic purple, disrupting the spinning rhythm, even as he felt a stray tendril buzz his arm, tingling painfully. He pressed, alternating the direction of his cuts, left-right-right-left-right-left, then long sweeping strokes for good measure, to gain more distance from the crackling ends of the spear. As he parried, Hamartano felt a sudden flame within him at the Sith's words that drove his zeal more than any mortal peril his weapons could present. Spitting into the dirt, he disengaged briefly, pushing Wizard away and sliding back himself. His speech, when it came out, had the pent-up frustration of the last week behind it. His eyes, brown as the sands, locked with the yellow tint of the Desann who stood before him. "You know my master well enough to know that finding him would be your doom beyond anything that I could work here," Hamartano said slowly. "But even if you did find him, what will you do? Reclaim this valley? I have watched and tended it for five years, five more than I needed to know that your side of the Force will always be stronger here. Yet still you fail. Still you cannot get past the barest hint of defiance from the Light. If you Sith are our hunters, then we harried heroes have had heart to run longer than you to pursue, and our lust to lose and to stand tall in that defeat will exceed your own will to win. It has always been this way, Sith. Your emperors sit high in thrones when they ascend to power, and they fret and worry at the slightest receding of their authority, knowing it will doom them. But Lord Skywalker, lost from fame, sits in some recluse I know not where, in I know not what mean place, and awaits his death, and still has heart and spirit to be with the Force, and the Light still spreads over all. In the same way my death will not matter. When the blood of the good is spilt, it is a testimony for the Light. But yours?" Hamartano's eyes became steely. "It is the witness and sign against you." As he spoke, he flipped through the air with a yell, feeling elation as he became almost weightless, and the Force surged within him, responding as always to his exhilaration. HIs lightsaber became a blur anew, and he, still midair, thrust its length at the middle of the strange weapon Wizard held, hoping to cleave it.

Omg Omg Omg. My bff and I got each other early Christmas presents and this wonderful human being got me this: And what makes this a million times more thoughtful is that she absolutely is sick of me nattering on about Brandon and trying to get her to read anything by him. Besides the fact that she wont read Sanderson I have the best bff ever!!! ahhhhhhhhh iloveitiloveitiloveit

Guys my jazz piano business is coming along smoothly I got my website up, and I'm setting up an Instagram page (lol didn't even have insta before this), a youtube channel, and I recorded a couple sweet videos that show the world what I can do. Today I emailed a bunch of event planners with the above credentials to see if they have any gigs for me. I also have a meeting this weekend with a guy from a local restaurant. Also life questions are all around right now. For the past three years I thought I wanted to double major in math and compsci for sure, but now I'm wondering if I can really live with myself if I don't pursue music the way I've always dreamed too. Like, take yesterday, for example. I had orchestra, then a piano lesson, then worked on a cool jazz reharmonization project, then I had a voice lesson, then I continued to work on my reharm and suddenly it was 12 AM. That's a beautiful day filled with beautiful things and I don't think I could give that up. Also also this reharm is really cool and I'm super super happy with it and I'm going to arrange it for big band for my jazz band concert in the spring. Anyway as always thanks for reading my random thoughts. Go out and enjoy life to the fullest!

Hello, my name is Cinnamon and this is my art thread! (Shock horror! Really??!). I am going to post random things I do, mostly sketches, perhaps the occasional something else, if I write a thing that I want feedback on, or make a really good looking meal or something. We'll see! That is the mystery of the " n' stuff " at the end of the thread title. I would really appreciate it if you could give me lots of constructive criticism because I really want to improve my skills and become better at this thing I love! So without further ado... here are some sketches for y'all. That is all for now, but you will soon get more! Please give me feedback, and I hope you enjoy!

I would love to read the in world versions of way of kings and oath bringer instead of just bits and pieces.

Never get caught in a bind. The words of one of his first instructors in lightsaber combat. And if you do get caught in a bind, be the first to leave it. Wise words, indeed, Hamartano thought wryly, as he pushed with all his might back against the lightning-coated blade of his foe. His fingers were red and blistering from the proximity to the lightning, and Wizard’s looked to be faring little better, but the Sith still pressed against him, intent on shoving him down. Sometimes, despite the advice of mentors, you got situations you couldn’t avoid. Hamartano would have to work out of this gradually. Locking his jaw, he sidestepped, letting his blade begin to slide down Wizard’s even as less direct force stopped its forward movement. Then, he threw himself to the side and released his blade from the lock completely, sidling it down towards his enemy’s fingers. The doubly-red blade shaved by his right ear as he completed the disengagement, and Hamartano regrouped, flowing into the neutral Form Six. Balanced, hopeful, the choice of the diplomats—almost nothing that Hamartano actually was. Yet sometimes the unnatural choices worked the best. It conformed you to them, rather than the other way around. When facing something as unpredictable as Juyo, the balanced forms held their merit. He seemed to flow for a while more than fight, attack to defence, defence to attack, parry and riposte. Though the fight was still chaos, Hamartano felt the peace which had eluded him before begin to seep into him. It was never something Niman had given him; in training, he had always found it the driest and most boring of the forms. Yet there was something to the way it made you hold yourself, made you be open to the Force, made you use the Force in your own way rather than falling into circumscribed attacks, which appealed to the marksman in Hamartano. Any man could train to hit a still target at amazing range. What set you apart as a shooter was hitting the bodies that moved in combat, nailing the small elusive beings who seemed to flit between ground rather than cover it. The Force flowed into him—perhaps he flowed into the Force?—and he maintained his newfound rhythm. Tired though his muscles were, they moved like fingers flying to the right notes on an instrument, a harmony in line with the testimony of the sand beneath his feet and the clear blue sky, which seemed to uphold the promise of Light more than anything else. He wheeled his blade in a circle, catching the crackling red of Wubum and flicking it in a spiral with his wrist, hoping to disarm.

This latest flimsi pinned to the board blows in the wind.

Greetings denizens! Our old guide to the Alleyverse thread has fallen a little out of date so I'm adding this to give some additional information on the various districts and locations that have been established around the city. We do have a collaborative Google Doc which is where this is sourced from and will probably be kept a little more up to date, PM myself or one of our other lovely mods if you'd like a link. We also have a thread on our Discord for people to discuss worldbuilding so if you'd like to help build the details of the city or the wider Alleyverse pop by there. This is a work in progress but hopefully people can use some details from here to help flesh out both their scenes and their backstories. City Districts Nalthian District Name: New Hallandren Scadrian Districts Name: Mistkeep Name: Smokestack Name: Mistwarrens Rosharan District Name: The Sphere Taldain District Name:Drydock Selish District Name: The Dominion Other Districts Name: The Bindpoint Name: The Corridor Description: The corridor is a long, thin district that separates the two Scadrian districts from each other. Name: The Cauldron Name: Charred Heights Name: Scholar’s Court Locations Alleycity University Name: Alleycity university Einladung Hospital The Boarding House Alleyharbor The Forge Hall of Legends The Beers of Edgli West and Carson’s The Grand Hotel Ivenspark (Ivens-park, not iven-spark) Cemetery

My good news is that my wife just recently gave birth to our twin sons. They are still in the nursery at the hospital as they are small and need a little help with their temperature regulation and feeding, but they're so beautiful. It won't be long and we'll be reading some Alcatraz together!

Whisper gave a small, unconcerned shrug to Byron's reply. If the Pulser wanted to rush ahead and get himself killed it was none of her concern. Nothing in either the request from the DA nor the Lady's mission required keeping everyone alive. She had made some pretense of concern and caution already, that would have to do for now. Once they were in more dangerous circumstances it would be easier to pretend she felt some sense of camaraderie. You may call me Willow. She wrote again, turning it for the room this time instead of just for Vivi. Looking around once more at each of those here, she began checking over her series of knives once again, both those visible and a few still unseen. It should be enough, if only barely. She had not brought any of cadmium but fortunately enough the two with temporal Allomancy also both had feruchemical abilities. The trick would be in ensuring that as few people as possible were killed outright immediately. Depending upon circumstance she may even be able to pass it off as a mercy, a hard but necessary decision to avoid needless suffering. After all the only person present who might have some ability to heal others was the potential Forger, and that was not the quickest of crafts. Or at least, not for most of them. The ghost of a smile fluttered across her expression as she surveyed the room, resting on the Lady Verity and the steward Cobalt for just a moment longer than the others. The lady would not be joining them certainly, that was the point of their hire after all. Would she send the Steward to keep an eye on them? And perhaps with some secret mission of his own? He would be more aware of the dangers than any others here were, and more on edge after having to endure them already. Plenty of ways for her to manage that as well. We should perhaps prepare. She wrote. Unless there are further questions? @Ashbringer / all

As much as I understand why Sanderson included a scene of the Lord Ruler appearing old, I kind of wish he hadn't just due to how much confusion it caused. The Lord Ruler didn't have to appear old, he did so only because it allowed his body to better reflect the way his mind felt. Even when he appeared as an old man, he was still drawing a huge amount of youth from his metalminds to make himself almost a thousand years younger than what he actually was. Frustration is correct in his answer. The Lord Ruler stored a small amount of youth in some atium a long time ago, probably something like a decade or so. Then he burned that piece of atium and, rather than getting the normal future sight, his allomancy identified the youth stored in the atium and was like, "Oh, youth. I know what that is. You want more of this? Okay." And then it burned the atium and produced more youth than was stored in the metal alone, resulting in a net gain of something like a century of youth, which the Lord Ruler immediately stored in another piece of atium. He now had his default age as the ability to make himself a year younger for a hundred years, or two years younger for fifty, four for twenty-five, etc. But then he took that piece of atium with a century of youth in it and burned that too, resulting in a millennia of youth, which he stored in another piece of atium. On and on he did this until he had enough to keep him in the prime of his life for a very very long time, and he stored all of that in one of the two bracers he wore on his arms. From then on he could slowly draw out the youth stored in the bracer as time went on to counteract his aging, making him youthful again. When he appeared old, he was simply drawing less youth from the bracers, and he only did that because he felt old and it made him feel better to look old. He had a kind of body dysmorphia thing going on with that. But that's basically how he did it.

Lita, Hathsin, Mistkeep Lita let herself sublimate slightly into the wash of warmth and music as she and Laurelai moved through the crowd inside Hathsin. It was still late afternoon, and there weren't too many people here yet - though more than could be expected on a typical afternoon. But, this was anything but a typical day. She caught all the admiring stares thrown Laurelai's way, the appreciative look-overs, and smiled. That should please her. Indeed, the blonde was smiling within moments, and Lita felt herself relax too. Laurelai had spent too much time on-edge lately. They both had. "Drinks first or dancing do you think? Or would you prefer to avoid that given your recent... piercing." Lita looked to her friend, a surprised, but very pleased, smile quickly spreading across her lips. Dancing? Lita had not expected Laurelai to suggest it herself; she must be in quite a good mood indeed. "Dancing sounds wonderful." Lita grinned, speaking decisively to avoid giving Laurelai room to back out of the suggestion. "New jewelry should pose little problem, I rarely dance so vigorously before I've had anything to drink. Though nothing a little pewter burn can't fix, anyway." She took Laurelai by the wrist, the motion drawing a slight bit of deja vu as she pulled her towards the dance floor, conjuring up a version of Lita that both was and was not true. A shake of the head cleared it away, and she stored the tiny burst of warmth from her cheeks into one of the brass cuffs on her ears - more out of habit than anything else. It wouldn't do to embarrass Laurelai too much so early into the evening. She had just started to calm down, after all. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Vivica, the Cauldron The ice cream was perfect: sweet, creamy, cold. It was everything she'd daydreamed about. Of course, the real Vivica had eaten ice cream plenty of times. In the Alleys, she could eat whatever she wished. Usually, that was cake. But the Forgery still felt so near, pressed up so close against her other memories. Recollections of isolation, of being trapped in her room, forced to watch the rest of the world live and laugh and move about the city, haunted her thoughts. Don't think about that, she told herself, forcing a smile as she licked a drip of almond ice cream off the back of her hand. Had she ever tasted anything so nice? She looked up at Nox, admiring the way his hairline curved perfectly around the back of one ear, and felt a deep warmth color her cheeks. Yes, perhaps she had. But the ice cream was still lovely. The only problem was how on earth she would eat all of it. "I'm not sure how I shall eat all of this, Nox," she said, voicing her concern and looking over the six other ice cream cones he had bought, in addition to the one he was now eating. "But it was so wonderful of you to get it for me. I think the man with the cart was very happy with the Atium. Perhaps he needs it for an experiment?" She swung her feet below the little park bench on which they sat, living the daydream she'd so zealously treasured during the six months of the Forgery. It was real - he'd said it was real, and so it must be real. Vivica smiled, watching Bennington swim an easy circle around the two of them, his body somewhat bigger and longer than it had used to be, but still a cheerful violet. "What do you think this meeting will be about, Nox? I do hope they don't blame you for anything that happened - that would be most unpleasant of them." Vivica frowned at this thought; people did not seem to appreciate Nox the way he deserved. But maybe the heads of the guilds would be more sensible than the ordinary people of the city. Surely, they would be, right? @Voidus

Malsam smiled at her, despite her rude question and it made Vivi wonder whether she was always this nice, or if Vivi had some bonus because of her age. Whichever it was, it was good to know that she had some leeway with her. Who knew when she would need that. She smiled brightly at the woman, made sure to straighten full of pride when Malsam mentioned that she wore her blade well. A part of was tempted to reply that of course she did, she was trained and the rapier had been crafted specifically for her, but she kept quiet. It would only lead to questions about who had trained her and why and she didn't want to talk about that. It would mean that she had to admit that they were gone for good, that she lost them. It was one thing to know and another speak the words loudly. And so she nodded at the statement that she was a hired sword, despite the strange feeling the label caused. She had been taught to fight to protect, to do something good, not to hire her skills out to some old woman in a changing manor. But the really weird part was, that she didn't mind. It was her blade, her skills, she would use them to survive, to conquer a place for herself in this city. All noble morale would have to wait for someone else. Vivi chewed on her feeling for another moment and then decided that she could delve deeper into this matter at a later time. "I'm glad to hear that stairs won't be a problem." she replied brightly to Malsam, focusing back on the topic at hand. "Is there something I should keep in mind? If its less safe you without it, what situations are dangerous for you?" She asked curiously. @Ookla the Quark

Intimidate me will you??? The bold and mighty Dr. Dacken Humtumb is not so easily cowed. He apparently stared down a terentek without nary a flicker of self-preservation instinct!!! The gore landed on Dr. Dacken Humtumb's shirt, and slowly slid down, leaving a stain in the cloth that he suspected would prove persistent. He tried not to let it get to him too much, of course. Clothes could be replaced. Gizka could too, for that matter: as far as Dacken knew they might be the fastest-breeding vertebrate in the galaxy. But it was the principle of it the thing. Enough was enough. Dacken shrugged, and tried for one of his enigmatic smiles, the very same that he'd practiced while playing correllian spike with Nodice and Tantyck. Unfortunately, after the terentek episode, Tantyck hadn't been feeling up to more card games, and even Nodice had finally kicked the habit for good. "Certainly, I can repeat myself. Yes, yes, you were very brave. I was of course, saying that nobody should ever call you a coward, after what you've done. Indeed, the only thing about you that potentially exceeds the utmostly unique heights of your valor is the height of your person. I really mean it, you are an exceptional individual." "Why, I've scarcely ever seen a soul stab a distracted target more courageously!" "And challenging two Jedi at once? Incredibly brave! Such a shame they so happened to be busy when you so happened to decide to challenge them, I suppose." "And last but not least, killing a group of poor, defenseless, friendly gizka and then fleeing when confronted about it? Truly, you are an inspiration to us all in the ways of valor, most particularly the better part of it." For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure I read you as village rn? It's not the strongest read I have, but... You seem more village than not, everything held equal. I also village read Fadran I just figure, y'know, we probably shouldn't leave it all up to the Jedi. If it turns out Wizard isn't Dasann Reborn, I'd rather be able to say we were doing our best to cover for that possibility this cycle. EDIT: Ok I just read the part where Wizard claims to be Desann Reborn Which probably raises the odds that neither you nor Fadran are evil I mean, we still probably shouldn't take it 100% at face value, after all, a cultist would have reason to lie about being the Desann Reborn... but also like... If I had to guess, I'd say I'm a good 95% sure Wizard is being honest here, and the village win con is no longer in the thread for us to vote. ...in which case, idk I guess we should still vote the best way we think, for good measure. Old habits die hard May I also say that quokka looks positively giddy to be holding a weapon and it is now my second-favorite animal in this game

Scadrian space exploration would most likely be less interesting, since there’s a lot of empty space around it. The focus might be more on orbital and unmanned missions. That said, I think some form of exploration is likely, especially since Era 3’s setting is going to be somewhat of a Cold War analog. Y’know, Space Race and all that.

Remember you cant vote on Wizard theyre busy fighting a Jedi outside its crazy out there theres lightning and lightsabers you dont want to go waving knives in that direction Im honestly fine with this but for my due diligence Im trusting in the honesty and competency of the Jedi and going Fadran just in case cause like world where Fifth wins and Wizards not the cultist and I get voted the living just pile on Fadran next time but if Fifth loses the problem is Alvron might die now and Alvron might die later and wed have to kill Wizard then Fadran or the other way around and honestly Fadran could say the exact same thing just with the names swapped out and itd do just as much so yeah cause like if Fifth loses the duel and Wizard isnt the Dasann we just lose flat out unless we get this right so actually yeah a bit more passion then before Ive changed my mind in the course of a single paragraph it makes mores ense if you realise the halves of it are separated by a gap of like two hours I spent a really long time editing this quokka Heres a sniper quokka that took way too long to edit And in celebration of all the bounty hunters being either caught up in a life or death duel or dead heres some Jev RP Jev had planned on slipping out and donning a new disguise, but the duel outside was too eye-catching to be safe. At least pretending to be drunk was easier after the sixth drink. They just had to pretend to be asleep. The big hood hid their wandering eyes. One of the bounty hunters on their tail had died early on, and now, the other one was outside fighting for their life. Even if Lib Wubum survived the battle, he'd revealed far too much. The people in the bar would be on him in a heartbeat if he walked back in. The only risk was if the holo of their face survived the duel. They'd already pocketed Krisbaan's holo, but they didn't really have a way to get close to Wubum before others ransacked the body. Their only real hope was that it would get destroyed during the duel, and with the lightning tossed around, it wasn't that unlikely. They just had to make it through, and they'd be okay.

As the words burst forth from the Gungan’s mouth proclaiming himself as Sith, and the red light burst forth from the tip of the weapon, Hamartano felt a current of relief under all his adrenaline. He had chosen rightly. Even if he fell in the lonely sands, he would not be condemning another innocent to die. Sometimes innocents were vocal. Sometimes they held the wrong opinions and supported the wrong people. Hamartano usually had fewer reservations about killing such people. The last few days? With half the regulars at the bar dead, Sahje’s weighty looks had given him more pause about his cavalier attitude. It was the insistence of the council as well. Innocents were innocents. But this one was not. The red arc, trailed by a second bronze one sparkling with electricity, were aiming at his skull. Hamartano was surprised for a moment at the suddenness of the parry. It was an effective one, his lightsaber having been knocked aside almost completely, but his Force-heightened senses allowed him to duck beneath the blade, and bring his own back around in a curved arc, driving the electricity-protected base of his opponent’s strange weapon into the dirt. He exchanged a flurry of quick blows, saber meeting saber in loud flashes of light. Wubum had skill, and Hamartano’s Ataru was not as effective against his double-sided weapon, but he pressed on, battering blue against red, searching for how to make an opening in his opponent’s solid stance. Remembering his lessons, he kept his feet loose, looking to gain enough nimbleness for an opening. I am Darth Wizard, most ancient of my people. It was an interesting boast, and the only one of his titles that interested Hamartano. Who were the people he fought for? Who were their ancient ones? It was certainly not him. He snapped out of his reverie as the red blade came inches from his face. His people, clearly, were the ones behind him in the bar counting on him not to die, which was what mattered at the moment. He gripped his saber more firmly and spun it around, the force of the manoeuvre sending the Sith a couple paces back. He finally had the spacing he wanted. Feinting at his opponent’s right, he slid with alacrity and then jumped once he was in range, bringing the blade curving back at Wubum’s less protected left.

Probably relevant: At some point it was changed so that any God-metal can be burned by anyone (allomancer or no)

well I think i'll just tell y'al, i already mentioned it but i'll just say it. I'm in the early stages of writing another song. I have chords, need to work on final melody, and also lyrics, but i have a tentative title, Shutting Down. can't wait to work on it

A life attuned to the Force, a life of peace, begins with an ordered mind, Mart. You cannot expect your thoughts to be in disarray and the Force to obey you, for the true Force, the Light, the Living aura which flows through all things, is concerned fundamentally with their order. Everything is to flourish. You are to flourish. And to tap into this, to become more than a thug with a deadly glowstick in your fist, you must respect that order and synchronise yourself with it. It is the only way that uses the Light without inviting the dark to knock. So said his master, merely a few years ago, when Hamartano still observed the tutelage of man. His was never a life of peace. If you were to carve out a living in the harsh deserts of a world like Dreshdae, you did not do it in monkish submission to the elements around you. The elements would laugh at your submission and tear you apart. If you wanted peace with Dreshdae, you had to beat it down until it dropped its weapon and looked up with despair in its eyes. Only then could you choose whether to spare it or not. The Force, Hamartano reasoned, was much the same. As the blood pumped through his veins, the adrenaline pouring into his system as he readied himself to face the bounty hunter who stood before him, who threatened, along with all of Dreshdae, to sweep the planet and all that was on it along in its rolling tide of darkness, he knew that someone had to stand athwart the darkness and chaos. To push it back, to master it, to make it hide its face in the infinite sands of the planet. And then, peace would spring forth. The Force could return. And his own mind might achieve the rest it needed. Until then? The Force would have to beat at the disorder within him, even as he confronted the disorder within it. Hamartano felt like that was a fair trade. And as if making a deal in Sahje’s bar, he reached out to the Force and seized it, feeling it flow into him and empower his movement. He stopped his circling, lightsaber held in both hands above his shoulder, an azure blue line pointing directly at the sky. Then, with the fluidity and grace born of a thousand jumps off his speeding swoop bike, he launched himself into the air, sweeping the blade in a wide protective arc, directly at the Gungan’s head.

As others have said, I feel this statement lacks depth. If he's not to your taste, that's understanable, but asking for the Forums to 'back you up' would likely require more of an argument or reasoning, I think. I've always liked Adolin. He's certainly entitled and gets away with more than he should due to his position, but overall he's a good person. I always enjoy reading his chapters as they offer a nice contrast to many other main characters dealing with heavier amounts of trauma. His scenes in ROW were some of my favourites. Plus, him being a 'player' hasn't been a factor in his character since he began courting Shallan. I feel he's grown past that. Also, I don't personally see him as having anger issues, at least nothing more noteworthy than other characters. He's unafraid to voice his opinions, and he can certainly be impulsive, but most of the times we've seen him properly angry are justifiable. Like his interactions with Sadeas, his older friends in the Shardblade duel and the Honorspren in Lasting Integrity during their trial. He's not perfect, but no character is. Again, if he doesn't vibe with you, totally fine. But I don't feel that's enough to say that he flat out sucks as a character.

Maybe if you actually want a good discussion, try explaining yourself instead of waiting for other people to do the work for you. That's lazy.

We now know kelsier no longer has his mistborn powers and when he went to Southern Scadrial it was only like 10 years after the catacendere meaning spook would still be alive, so with kelsier not being able to charge them himself and spook being a full mistborn we know he was working with, I think spook might have been the one to supply the powers.

Laurelai, Hathsin, Mistkeep Laurelai gave a small startled noise as Lita grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her, gently but still suddenly, over towards the dance floor. Her surprise gave way to an amused pleasure and smile as they arrived, the crowd of bodies parting naturally around the two to allow them passage. The conversations and sounds of feet moving rhythmically against the floor began to blend together into a comforting blanket of background noise. The music swelled and surrounded the pair as they drifted out together, an unfamiliar style to Laurelai, either recently imported to Scadrial or else originating from elsewhere. It is nice to be in a crowd like this. She thought, taking her time as she moved opposite Lita and began moving gently with the beat, getting a feel for the music. Her mind flicked instinctively through a list of well-practiced dances, most of them formal dances for Scadrian ballrooms, but she gave a small shake of the head to drive the thoughts away. Dancing like this was best enjoyed in the moment, a different sort of enjoyment to the other. "Thanks Lita." She began voice elevated slightly to be heard but not so loud as she would if talking to someone other than a tineye. "I-" She looked up, smiling with relaxed joy and caught the green flash of Lita's eyes staring back. She was a little taller than usual, Laurelai's shoes not elevating her height quite so much as Lita's did. And the shift in angle caught her suddenly by surprise, staring into Lita's eyes, to the joyous smile on her lips, the ease and comfort with which she moved her body... Pulling her eyes away and freezing the smile on her face to prevent any rising flush, Laurelai scanned the rest of the room trying to find something distracting. It took a moment to realize that her mouth was still partially opened, having begun to speak and never finished. "It's nice to get out of the office." She said, in a hopefully calm tone. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Voidus, the Cauldron "I'm not sure of the specifics." Voidus replied, honestly. "I would have refused to come but... well we have been the cause of some recent upheavals. I imagine that's probably the core of what they wish to discuss. But as for what manner... well I probably will not get my hopes up for a thank you." The briefest flash of tired irritation crossed his face before settling back in passivity. Those flashes were coming a little more frequently lately, ever since the Forgery. Having lived a more normal life for a time had perhaps put Voidus a little closer to such emotional foibles than he usually was. But, then again, there were certainly benefits to be found as well to having regained a little of the humanity he'd thought long lost. A feeling of life that the void had stolen from him all those years ago. "Let us hope at the least that they do not complain too much." He said, trying to smile reassuringly. "I would hate for them to spoil our evening. Not that I think they are in any way capable of such a thing really. You bring me far more joy than they do irritation." He gave a small wave at the uneaten ice creams, folding space around them and causing them to vanish, stored for a later occasion. Or perhaps experimentation, Voidus was not actually certain that he'd made ice cream before. Perhaps some new flavours could be developed that he could share with Viv? @ZincAboutIt

Byron gave a nod. "I guess so. But if there are dangers in there, running into a room blind might be more dangerous." He didn't add that he'd been trapped alone in a shifting maze before, and he'd gotten out. Eventually. The Alleys were a whole different adventure. "If we're really on a sundown timer I won't be the biggest help, but I can keep my metal turned down. And there's a few things that can do." Byron gave a small grin, then turned to the girl who'd wrote to him - the Lightweaver, if he knew his Surges right. "What about you, what's your name?"

They could be choosing to work with autonomy for a temporary period to steal the Shard from her. Lesser of 16 11 evils type of decision

It's possible, though, that the errors and omissions in the Diagram were intentional, at least until Taravangian made his deal with Rayse. Because they all led to that meeting, which was a success. The only question (imo) is whether the events of the following year were predicted by Transcendent Taravangian. Actually, there is the question of whether the machinations of Transcendent Taravangian are still active. But I do think that parts of the Diagram were purposely misleading.

Emporer's Soul is, arguably, Sanderson's best work of any length (and won a Hugo to prove it) - it is set on the same planet as Elantris, but in a very different location, and with very few connections. It can totally be read on it's own, even if you never read Elantris. Hope of Elantris is a sort-of Epilogue to the novel Elantris. Read after the novel, but not separately (*see below - non-spoiler) From the Hope of Elantris Intro: If you have not read Mistborn Era 2 and Secret History before reading Rhythm of War - than an event/reference/scene in Rhythm of War that may be quite important thay may go unnoticed because you lack the context to think "Wow, that's a BFD." However, I have a feeling that a similar moment will happen when you read Era 2, Secret History, and The Lost Metal. If you have already read RoW, then that event/reference/scene will suddenly "make sense."

why would there horses be weaker? I'm probably being dumb. Also I don't think that elevation would play a major enough role to be counted as a genuine factor or at least one that can being ignored without much consequence. Also I don't think that if they said it took twenty minutes that it was because of horrible traffic more likely it was because it actually took twenty minutes

My brother literally has no sense of self preservation, common sense, or actually anything involving logic. Today, he pushed a stool to the edge of our staircase and stood on it. Directly after that, he tried on his brother's bow tie and almost strangled himself. When I took it away, he started screaming about an orange bow tie. We don't own any orange bow ties. After that, he decided it would be fun to sit on our dining room table in only a diaper, eating from a huge pot of popcorn. Where he got so much popcorn, I have no idea. Oh, and the blinds were open so people on the street could see him. I love my siblings, but they're a little crazy. Actually they're completely crazy. Dare I mention the time my oldest little brother decided that my name is actually a species name, therefore making me not human? Have any of you noticed that the oldest child in a family tends to be more responsible and... maybe a little bit bossy?

I was somewhat skeptical if this was a reference at first, but then I looked it up and saw the description: Transforms into a powerful weapon under mysterious circumstances. This Bullet Sprite will transform into an enormously powerful radiant energy weapon under certain circumstances. Traditionally, this means showing proficiency in bridge delivery and maintenance. If no bridge is available, however, it will take less important things like courage or determination into consideration. And the category it's in is The Way of Guns. (hehe from muscle memory my fingers started typing a K.)

Unpopular opinion, Kaladin already laments his tragedies enough on his own you know who needs support? Poor poor Szeth! I'm ready to bet if we look at the facts, after we discover everything in SL5, Kal's story will look like a walk in the park in comparison and does Szeth complain? no, he just keeps on going, put on the white dress, show up to work and don't complain Szeth studies windrunning for who knows how long, the long haired freak just gets it naturally after barely a year and beats him Kaladin gets a magic weapon that shapes at his will, poor poor Szeth gets a weapon that is more likely to kill you than anything else Kaladin is loved by everyone, Szeth is mistrusted and disliked poor poor Szeth

Alvron is one of our older players, you might see him pop into a game every now and then (LG 86 was his most recent). He coined the term the "Gods of Luck and Chance" and generally advocates for vigilantism, chaos, and tied votes. I traded him something a while back in exchange for him to plead to said gods when I was in a pinch .

What if Sigzil “held” Rysn as in they were romantically involved at some point, since she is a current dawn shard.