kaellok

Right. But Adolin mentions at the beginning of the battle against the stormbringers that it felt right, to be fighting against an enemy that the Blade and Plate were literally designed to combat. So, I think that it's very possible that there would be a heightened connection between the remnants of Honor during such an event that would cause the anti-Thrill protection that seems to usually be reserved for Radiants that have progressed a certain amount down their path. (Dalinar started feeling the nausea, etc. because of becoming closer to being Bonded with the Stormfather, there's a WoB that says that Radiants are basically immune to the Thrill, etc.) @ Maxal Even if Adolin is not a primary focus, I absolutely do not think that that means he is unimportant. In terms of Cosmere, Hoid is infinitely more important--but for the front 5 SA books I really don't see this being true. Adolin is too close and important to too many characters that are vital to the story of the SA. I'm thinking of the story like a puzzle. The big cool pictures in the middle are Dalinar and Shallan and Kaladin so far. There's a couple other faces that are unknown, but likely to be Szeth and Eshonai, imo. Hoid would be all of the edge pieces, and Adolin the sky. Neither are really vital to the story, but the image would be drastically different and less without them. (I'm also feeling uncharacteristically optimistic these days; I am guessing that it goes with the tremendous lack of sleep I'm getting these days, but who knows! )

On the subject of the Death Rattle--what if the Rattle only occurs when someone bonds a deathspren at the moment of their death?

Super-pedant powers, activate! Bravery has nothing at all to do with not being afraid/scared. Bravery is entirely acting despite or because of that fear. I know a lot of people who have acted bravely that were terrified the entire time. I've known people that acted bravely and were terrified after. I've never known of someone to be in a terrifying situation and feel no fear regarding it at all--and, were I to find one, I'd think they were a sociopath. So I absolutely disagree with Adolin being too afraid to be the living embodiment of bravery. He fits it rather perfectly. I also think that even though Adolin may not be a major character, he is certainly important. His story is likely as important within the confines of the Stormlight Archive as Hoid's is. It might be the same sort of tangential that helps to shape the overall picture that Hoid will likely have (ie, no Hoid = no Kaladin the Radiant is pretty storming self-evident to me). He has POV in every book so far, after all. And the strong bonds he has with his family would allow for some really interesting/powerful storytelling. Like, what if the Renarin-flashback book has Adolin as the primary POV character? And to respond to Axcellence's post on first page: WOB from first page says: I'd say wielding a Shardblade and full Shardplate in single combat against the Enemy (capital E enemy there, the one it was literally made to fight) might be part of why he didn't feel the Thrill. I'd be very curious about whether other Sharderbearers in this battle felt the Thrill or not, and how strongly.

I really don't draw the same conclusion as you at all, even given the same scenario. What I see is someone bound by the word/letter of the law, but utterly free of its spirit or intent. Giving the Oathstone to the Parshendi, or seeing it coming into their hands, does not seem to violate the word/letter of the law, even if he suspects what use they'll put it to. If it were to be spelled out, then yes, that would probably be going too far--but just seeing to it that they had a tool available? I just don't see that being out of bounds for him if he can maintain plausible deniability to his own madness. There is nothing legally wrong with giving someone the Oathstone; there is something legally wrong with giving someone the Oathstone and then saying "(You can) Murder the king using this." I also think that Nalan views Szeth differently than others because he saves/resurrects Szeth, rather than putting him to death--despite Szeth having committed an untold number of murders/assassinations which are clearly illegal. So there is definitely evidence that the law is applied inconsistently. There's also a thread that I thought was from a few months ago that is actually over a year old--and apparently I've also mostly reversed my thoughts and position on the whole thing since then, since I think it's about 60% likely that Nalan is behind it, 40% that he's not http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/18337-has-nalan-been-using-szeth-from-the-start/ (Peter has the frustrating comment of Hmmmmmm regarding the topic)

I know for a fact that my company doesn't have anything like this, and neither do any of the vendors we use that help with recruiting. I have seen the same person make it all the way to interview stage at least three separate times, with a resume that was faked/claiming skills and experience that they patently didn't have. The recruiting teams simply don't have enough time or bandwidth to keep track of things like that. Especially since this same guy got the job on his 4th try, after he'd spent a year focusing on what we needed. I've even been with companies that hired people back that got fired for gross incompetence. Unless you literally and directly cost the company money, they're not going to take the time to keep up with a ban list. There's too much chance that later in life you'll be exactly the kind of worker they're looking to exploit for their own gain (ie, have you work for them so that they make more money.) Worst case scenario, change your resume up a bit before the next time you send it in. They'll likely never know the difference Read again what Slowswift, Voidus, Stormgate, and Delightful wrote. Having mental health issues doesn't make them imagined or made up. And even if you were imagining them or whatever, that would still be something that should be taken care of by getting the help you need/deserve. If posting here helps, then do it. And don't feel bad about it, either. It's storming hard to talk about anything that makes us seem less than invulnerable perfection, and the fact that you have taken steps to recognize this and help deal with it should only be encouraged. My family has a history of...problems; as a minor example, I hated my brother with every fiber of my being for many, many years because he was a terrible person. With therapy and the right meds, he actually realizes that other people are really people, too, and should be treated as such. My older sister finally went to see a specialist for help when she realized that it had been over a decade since she'd last been happy; and now, with the meds she's on, she can function and feel more like herself (her words) again. I've seen first-hand the multiple ways that untreated mental illness can ravage and destroy lives, but I've also seen it turn around and those lives be made whole again. If me reading your so-called rants and posts helps in any way, I'd do it a hundred times. Getting help is hard enough with a support network on your side; on your own it's nearly impossible. That's why I say you're a hero for recognizing that you need help, taking those first, terribly frightening steps of seeking it. What else do heroes do, other than take on seemingly impossible tasks, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone? tl;dr: I'll always offer any help or encouragement I can to those who make that trek.

If there's a shiny or reflective surface, I'll try to get it coming out of nostrils + mouth all at the same time. I love it. Best part of the cold, imo, and makes up for a lot. It's like, why are you cold and useless?! If it's gonna be cold anyway, may as well give me a while where I can pretend to be a fierce, fire-breathing lizard that gobbles people whole.

I'm a natural introvert with strong extrovert tendencies...if that makes sense. I'm not sure that it does. I like being by myself, and I like being with friends, but I don't really like people in general. So I usually end up feeling exhausted after working, even when I don't really do anything. Random crowds of people are usually not a problem at all, until I have to actually interact with people/strangers in it. And I know I shouldn't feel guilty. My friends absolutely do know and get me, like you say I just feel like I should have been able to at least send them a text message, or IM, but I just didn't instead. Maintenance says that the water is already "scorching" and "working normally." I don't have access to the thermostat at all. I stopped by the office on my way home today to complain a third time that the hot water should last at least 15 minutes. Hopefully they fix it this time And no pomegranate seeds?! That's--that's horrible.

Sometimes I just have a hard time finding the energy to be a human being for the day. I hate that I always manage to muster up for work, but will ditch out on my friends in silence. Especially when I was bloody fine on Saturday, and then Sunday rolls in and is all "ahahahaha no." And I'll be thinking to myself, "I should at least respond to their texts," but I don't, and then I hate myself a little more. While on the subject, I also hate that my new apartment (which is superior to my old one in every way by several orders of magnitude) has a hot water heater that lasts for approximately a 9 minute shower, and even then doesn't really get hot enough. It's hard to mope satisfactorily in these conditions. Root beer floats help. Even though it's cold outside, and now I'm even colder and I need to be at work in 6 hours.

This thread is specifically about Kaladin, and in particular, why we don't like him. If you want me to write a 100-page work on what is wrong with Alethi society, let me know, and I'll get back to you on that. Because I could easily fill 100 pages of all the wrongs and ills that they perpetrate (which means it's realistic, and well-written.) Spoiler: This includes eyeism both explicit and implicit, as well as the strict line drawn between what is appropriate for each gender (and especially the concept of the 'safehand.') What I specifically dislike is when an honorable hero is explicitly prejudiced towards an entire group of people simply because some of them did a really good job of destroying his entire life, and then believes that prejudice to be a virtue. This is not a problem with the writing, because, as you say, Sanderson does a very good job of writing the balance between the two. This is, again, specifically a problem that I have with a character--this trait of his is one of the reasons why I do not like Kaladin. It is why I cannot identify with Kaladin at the same level that others do. I concede nothing. I have no idea of knowing how long it would take. Does it make me a terrible person to not like someone who has been beaten down by life and is now bitter and angry about it? My grandpa was such a man; he never got better. So Kaladin might never get better. And if he doesn't, I wouldn't consider him a good person. No. Not even a little bit. Please refer to any other argument I have made in this thread before putting words in my mouth. I am basically saying, "If you hate people because of the way they look, without knowing anything else about them, then it doesn't matter how justified you think you are--you are wrong." This thought of mine extends far beyond this, too--if there is any shared trait that someone has, and you truly hate them for it without knowing anything else, then you are wrong. Like, evil-wrong. That's my viewpoint on life, though. I've tried to make that very clear, which is apparently where you got confused. My philosophy of life allows you to hate or be furious at those who have wronged you, but not others. Be mad at who you're mad at, and nobody else. It's incredibly simple. That's why I don't care what you call it; it doesn't matter. It's the attitude that matters, it's the attitude that upsets me, and it's the attitude of Kaladin that makes me not like Kaladin. Very important caveat that I adored WoK Kaladin, and sympathized with him greatly. It is very much after WoR that my opinion of him as soured greatly, as I learned more of who he is without the thought of death or worse looming over him every second. When he didn't have time to indulge in unnecessary hatred, he didn't. It seems the debate is devolving far too much into "is Kaladin racist or not?" and I simply don't care. It's the attitude that I have described half a dozen times or more now that I have the problem with. I'm done with this thread, because this post was incredibly difficult to write and remain civil, and that shouldn't be the case (I also tried not posting anything, but was unable to leave it alone, either.) I apologize if I've offended any of you with my sternly written words. Like most, I'm passionate about my beliefs of the way the world should work, and what is considered honorable or good. Seeing that debate entirely derailed over a pedantic argument about classism versus racism, with strident defenders refusing to give an inch of ground or concede a point isn't fun or entertaining. It's infuriating. So, I'm done with this thread. Please read what I've written, and take it at full, 100% face value. I know you all mean well, and are simply defending a character that you love from what you see as undeserved slander.

You can use whatever word you want. My point is that Kaladin hates lighteyes simply because they are lighteyes. There is literally no other thought process. It is a binary program of if lighteyes, then evil. I despise that attitude in anyone, but especially in primary POV characters. It is jarring, it throws me out of their worldview, and it makes it hard for me to identify with them. It doesn't matter to me how justified Kaladin's views might be--he is willing to despise and hate and judge people based on nothing more than the color of their eyes. That is a deep, tragic flaw at best. And we see it a lot in WoR; the burning anger we see in him in WoK is usually directly paired with ill treatment at the hands of a lighteyes, and so it seems reactionary rather than the way he looks at life.

Well, the comment did offend me a little bit--thank you for the apology and taking the time to say what you actually mean I know that my reply post came off rather strong, but I couldn't find a different/better way to word it that still expressed my annoyance. He is. As maxal said, he sees someone is a lighteyes, and then mistrusts them and assumes they are terrible people. Just like when a white guy sees a black man and assumes they are a criminal. Or when a lighteyes sees a darkeyes and assumes they are stupid. The fact that there are other racists (or eyeists if you prefer) does not in any way excuse Kaladin's actions--especially when Kaladin is supposed to be an honorable, good person. Him having reasons for it does not excuse the fact, any more than someone who was beaten near to death by a gang of black people excuses someone from hating everyone that's black for the rest of their lives. It's a character flaw that Kaladin for much of WoR seems to view as a virtue. As to why people like Kaladin--YES! People like Kaladin for the very reasons that I dislike him. And people dislike Shallan for the very reasons that I like her. Of course, we tend to use different descriptors (ie, I call Kaladin mopey and angsty instead of depressed. They say she's a Mary Sue that has everything come easily to her, and I say she uses her Radiant powers to assume the persona of someone who already has those skills and does a damnation good job of simply pretending to be them--which I know from my own personal life and experiences is a real thing that really happens.) The problem that I really have is that Kaladin got a lot of time in WoR, and there was a lot more of the aspects of his character that I find boring/unlikable on full display than in WoK. I saw him walking the same basic character arc from one book to the next. Others tend to say (and I believe that Sanderson himself mentioned this in a WoB) that the underlying issues in WoK were never dealt with, and so it's all one continuous arc. This makes sense. I understand this. I also understand that Dostoyevsky is considered a fantastic author, but I don't enjoy his works at all. So I want there to be less of the parts I'm not enjoying, and more of the ones that I do. Which is basically what everyone is saying

This is not true at all, and quite frankly, is a bit insulting. As has been stated multiple times in this thread, including by maxal in this page itself, we just want there to be less Kaladin, and more of the other characters that we actually still like (I loved WoK Kaladin; I do not love WoR Kaladin). If you disagree because you think Kaladin is super-wonderful-awesome, fine; we can certainly disagree over that. But please, please pay attention to what your disagreement actually lies--we have plenty of fodder for you in this thread without you having to make up your own and falsely attribute it to us Seeing Kaladin take all of the worst angsty, mopey, racist viewpoints from WoK and not just carry them over to WoR but magnify them so bloody much made many of his scenes a chore to read. The duel was amazing; the chasm was perfection. I can't think of any other time where I was reading Kaladin and happy/excited to see that it was him. Instead, frequently, when I came to another Kaladin scene I decided it was time to sleep rather than staying up to read more. If we have more of that Kaladin in Book 3, then I will be wanting to see even less of him--and I have no confidence that Kaladin has worked through his issues, because it seemed that he had come a long way towards doing just that in WoK, only to have them so much worse in WoR. I don't like reading about angsty people. I don't like reading about mopey people. I don't like reading about racists. I don't enjoy plotlines that focus on people that are all of these things. Or how being angsty and racist makes his life worse. I don't care how realistic it may be, or how real a character it makes him--1000 pages of this is boring. I was actively rooting for Rand al'Thor to die in the WoT series after Book 3 because of the same storming reasons. I know that my feeling is not shared by everyone, or even the majority. But even as much as I dislike so much of what Kaladin was in WoR, he is a central character to the series. He needs to be there. There are plot lines that must be resolved, that make no sense for anyone else to resolve them. It would actively harm the story drastically to remove him. I don't want that. Nobody that I'm aware of wants that. We just want less of him. Let him do what only he can do, and let others handle the rest.

I disagree. There may not a direct analogue of emotional allomancy, but it's there in some form. That's the only way that the below epigraph makes sense to me. Or how drawing the picture and creating Veil helped Shallan act and behave in ways entirely counter to her normal wont. Or how she applied the same to others as well. They seem to be able to shape how people feel about others and themselves--if that's not an emotional manipulation, then I'm not sure how else to phrase it. “Yet, were the orders not disheartened by so great a defeat, for the Lightweavers provided spiritual sustenance; they were enticed by those glorious creations to venture on a second assault. ” —Words of Radiance, chapter 21, page 10[4]

But I like Syl, so she can't be the one that's wrong. And I'm mad at Kaladin anyway, so clearly it's him. So quit being ridiculous. Syl is perfect. There is zero reason for you to be sorry. Language is a huge, complicated thing that can lead to fights, arguments, and confusion--when native speakers are using it. Add translating to the mix? Keep speaking. Keep talking. If people don't understand, keep explaining until we do

The comparison isn't Kaladin's fighting versus Shallan's Radiancy. Kaladin's fighting is equivalent to Shallan's art, in my opinion. It's Kaladin's mastery of Radiant powers follows the exact same track as Shallan's mastery of her Radiant powers--they both attain incredible and unconscious skill with them insanely fast. The complaint that so many have is that Shallan suddenly becomes a master at everything, without having to work hard for it. And yet those same things are enabled by her Radiant powers--and Kaladin is never called out for the same sudden mastery of Radiant powers. For instance, Shallan uses illusion to infiltrate places and spy on people. Or she uses emotional Radiancy to make people like her better, react favorably, etc. If it were allomancy used, nobody would have said a thing about it. Just like nobody says a thing about Kaladin mastering how to fall through the skies as tho he were Superman in a matter of days, and bests Szeth who has had years of practice. It's fine to not like a character. I guess it's even fine to not like a character for the same reasons that you do like a different character. But as someone who honestly relates so closely with Shallan it can be irksome to see someone call her out for exact same 'flaws' that afflict Kaladin, but praise him for them instead And not seeing the point when Shallan Bonded with Pattern? Believe that I am as disheartened by that as anybody. WoR was Shallan's book, and I love all of her flashback scenes (even if you hate Shallan and for some reason are skipping her parts, you owe it to yourself to read the flashbacks), but we are missing significant and substantial growth of character for her that we got for Kaladin in WoK.

I had nothing to do with the Great Gin War of '13--but I destroyed many opponents in the Gin War of '14. Last night I forgot to take any precautions with my drinking. Was up early that morning for work, and then crawled into bed at around 4am. Woke up at 1. And felt--fine. Ish. Tired, mostly. But I only had 1 cup of water after I started drinking, because I wasn't driving and so forgot. I didn't mix any caffeine or energy drinks with my alcohol during this time, so that may have been part of why I felt victorious rather than defeated. Although, I think I'm still missing some of my upper brain functions even these many hours later, so perhaps I am merely deluded. But content, and no hangover. The recipe that Twi posted sounds amazing and delicious. Especially since my sister made me this awesome amaretto/cranberry sauce stuff for Christmas. So, I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow!

All good questions that should be answered, but really not in the first few paragraphs of the story. Ya gotta hook the reader in early, then slowly reel them in with answers to questions like that. It's funny when people use the word 'rushed', especially in regards to writing, because it can mean (at least) two very, very different things. For instance, it could refer to the pacing of the story, meaning that the events are happening very quickly and without the necessary time for them to develop meaningfully. It can also mean that the story itself feels like it was written very quickly, in turn implying weak/sub-par word choice, disconnected plot, nonsensical scenes, and any of a large variety of other things. It's hard to give feedback and advice that will help make the story better. If you'd like some advice on giving better feedback, read on through the spoiler tag below!

I choose to disregard your question, and replace it with one of my own! "What was the most emotional/satisfying part of WoK/WoR?" When Shallan and Hoid meet for the very first time, at the fair thing when she was a child. Few things move me to tears. This scene has a 100% success ratio (not sobbing, not necessarily crying; but definitely tears leaking out of my eyes and running down my face). Just thinking of it can cause me to choke up. It strikes incredibly close to home. (Then again, so much of WoR Shallan does for me. But I was shocked when I was still tearing up at the second reading. And the third. And fourth. It's not like I forgot anything; hell, there wasn't more than a day in between when I read that scene alone the 3rd and 4th time. And it was still affecting me just like the first time.)

Taken from a story written by me, for me, to me, for being me. Later, after heavy edits done and input for friends, it's a much different beast, but still pretty funny. Taken from a nightmare so vivid and so real that I remember it mostly clearly today--25 years later. Written as the journal of a boy, because that was the easiest way to express the terror and broken timeline I experienced in the dream. This is the 2nd death in the family in June. Not sure if it comes across, but clear implication from it is that Ashley is the one who has died, and it's her funeral. bobsaveg suggested using stuck, which is technically correct. But to me stuck always sounds funny/weird when used as a verb, so I'd suggest using thrust / forced / pushed instead. They're more specific, less nebulous, and more action-y synonyms that mean basically the same thing when used as a verb.

No clue, but I feel that you need to incorporate the "the door is a jar" pun. "Go get me that jar, so that I can fill it with this random liquid." "There's no jar here." "Of course there is. The door is a jar." So I go and grab the door and bring the jar back to him. He flashes a smile. "Excellent! I knew you could do it." Or you could flip it around where she's being the punny one, telling him to grab the jar, and so he picks up the door and brings over a jar. Which might work better. (And I just realized I don't know if protag is male/female, and just assumed female for some reason. I think because it reminds me slightly of Bad Monkeys, which has female protag and written in first person/present unreliable narrator slightly wacky very crazy mostly awesome reference point and boy gee golly this sentence got away from me and so I'm going to end it right....now.) Or perhaps you are a heathen and hate puns! But I like it so far.

I assume Brandon knows what he's doing (even though I don't want to see a Szeth redeemed, I just want him dead and gone; I also know I'm in the significant minority on this, and that honestly only affects my feelings of the end of WoR a little.) A large portion of why I want Szeth gone is how invested I am with some of the characters on Roshar, and Szeth is directly responsible for so much harm and destruction that I wouldn't feel that single-handedly saving all of Roshar would actually be atonement for his crimes; he'd need to do something bigger. However, WoR convinced me that either I don't know Kaladin as well as I thought I did after WoK, or that Brandon is a worse author than I thought. I much prefer to think the former But there is still this tiny doubt that wasn't there before. And when the 'fix' doesn't address any of the problems that I saw, but adds a new one, it's slightly harder to erase that doubt. And really, that doubt comes down to, "Is the story that's being told the same story that I think I'm seeing/reading/experiencing? Or is it something totally and completely different and disconnected with anything that I care about?" Sanderson is still one of my favorite authors (top 3 easy). Even if the next book is nothing except a literal dictionary, I will still buy it in hardcover and read it end to end. And I trust that the story will go where it needs to go, that the story will be well-told, and that it's a story I'm interested in knowing. But--there's still that stupid doubt. I have been burned, terribly, before and under not dissimilar circumstances (Mass Effect 3, just for an example of something that is mostly amazing and wonderful and makes me of all people feel so strongly and misses the mark SO HARD at the end that it doesn't even realize that it was in the wrong storming galaxy as the target; and that's just a single work of fiction. It's happened more than just the once, enough to realize that the problem probably lies at least in part with me.) So, when I'm standing in an area that has never had an earthquake before, and I feel a small tremor, I'm going to worry. Not a lot. Just a little. But it's going to be a small thought that's there, in the back of my subconscious mind, because at other times I've stood in places where there had never been an earthquake. And I felt a small tremor, and thought it to be nothing, only for the world to collapse in on itself and destroy the enjoyment of that area I'd once had. (Again, back to Mass Effect--I want to play the games again. But having made the journey before, and knowing the destination--it's just not worth it.) That's really what I mean if I say that I'm worried or I have doubts. It's not that I have doubts about Sanderson's skill in writing a story or bringing a world to life, or that he knows what he's doing. My doubt is whether I'm interested in what he's actually working on, or what I think he's working on that is perhaps 95% the same as what he is, but that last 5% is so drastically different that it destroys the whole. Like adding 2 tablespoons of salt instead of 2 teaspoons, and ruining your cookies. My posts always end up being these huge treatises, sorry about that. And I really didn't mean to respond to this thread again, but the idea of trusting the author, etc., was brought up that I'd address that--since it's both related and entirely different, and the two feed together to form my opinion of the end. tl;dr -- Sanderson is one of my favorite authors, but I've been horribly disappointed before and so little things cause me to worry needlessly.

Intriguing and interesting so far. For the first few minutes, I was wondering if you had been stalking my life, with all the talk of endless numbers of stupid and pointless meetings Things that I'm curious about, and would expect to be answered as the story goes on (some should be answered much sooner than others): How do the regions pick their representative? Representative for what? Why would Talia have no idea at all that she'd been chosen? How many regions are they? What are there names? What are they known for? The boy from Tregimtarian has yellow eyes, which is apparently common for that region--are there other differences? Just how yellow are we talking? Yellow is a weird color for a human's eyes--are they actually human? Is the rest of their coloring odd as well? What are people from Celic known for? The beginning you have so far seems fairly generic, but I've seen it done much, much worse (the whole "Protagonist is chosen for something that radically changes their life" coming of age story.) Generic does not mean bad from a big picture sense of things; I tried finding the exact trope for it to help describe, and managed to pull myself out of the blackhole of tvtropes after only an hour to continue this. Having failed to find what I went looking for. But basically, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Divergent are some of the most famous and recent examples of what I'm talking about--and from big picture, they're all the same. So by hitting enough of the same notes that they did with their stories, I'm expecting your story to be a similar Coming-of-Age/Chosen One story. I tend to like these stories. Sooo...reading back, it looks like you've got me interested in the world. Which is definitely a good thing. And I'm a little bit interested in what's going on. It always takes me awhile to warm to characters, so me being lukewarm to them so far isn't a bad thing. When you've finished the chapter and had a chance to do a once-over revision, I'd be more than happy to give some specific feedback on the writing and word choice itself, rather than big picture stuff. I know that for my own writing I tend to have specific tendencies that have to be fixed when editing that I simply don't notice in the first draft. (For instance, I recently finished a 1500 word short story and found the usual word clumps like using the same word 4 times in three consecutive sentences and then never again, using the word 'just' 489656 times spread throughout the story, and describing things that quite literally don't work that way--such as torches placed in the ceiling, etc. If you want any specific notes now, I can do that too, but it's a little bit early to be editing for things like that imo )

I disagree that the second scene fits with Kaladin's character better. The second scene Kaladin abandons a man to fall to his death some thousands of feet below--a man that is probably the single most feared and hated in the entire world because of the evil he has spread. Kaladin the protector would seek to ensure that this terrible, awful, years-long terror is over for good. This could easily be in the form of realizing that Szeth had abandoned the crazy path he'd been on (Redemption) or by killing Szeth (Justice/Vengeance). But just letting him fall and assuming that he dies is horrible. It accomplishes literally nothing that Kaladin has cared about up until that point that I am able to see. And he abandons it all simply because Syl, out of nowhere, tells him to do something and so he does it--which, honestly, is also out of character for Kaladin. And never mind the fact that Kaladin is suddenly having a crisis of conscience in killing Szeth, when he's slaughtered hundreds, thousands of Parshendi and others that were capable of a small fraction of the terror that Szeth caused---it doesn't work for me, at all. I had issues with the original as I've posted before, but I cannot see how the new one 'fits' with Kaladin's character better. Even a little bit. No, that line of thinking does not draw a straight line to thinking Kaladin should have killed everyone always in order to protect the people he's said he would. It's possible for killing to cause more harm than good, after all; it's possible for killing to be dishonorable even if allowed; it's possible to see the good and chance for redemption in people that have not yet progressed to crimes that can never be forgiven. For instance, Kaladin knows and understands Moash. Kaladin knows that Moash isn't deserving death for making a bad choice do to years of anger. And Kaladin is capable of fulfilling his Oath and what he views as right without killing Moash. More importantly, Kaladin is actively choosing what he does and doesn't do when confronting them. In the later scene with Szeth, Kaladin is passively accepting Szeth's choice AND Syl's command; there is no real thought, no contemplation, just going with it. Hope that helps clear up how the two aren't contradictory at all. Further, though, Kaladin has no idea at all of the importance of the Honorblade. None. There is zero reason to accept that Kaladin would have prioritized such a weapon over ensuring the fate of Szeth (whether to live and atone or die and be punished). Think about the hate that Kaladin has for Shardblades; he gives them away multiple times, despises touching them, hates those that wield them (to varying degrees.) All he knows is that a Shardblade is falling and Syl is yelling at him to get it, so he can assume it's a bit different--but again, I don't see it being in his character to put such a weapon over someone's life. It makes a tiny bit of sense if Kaladin thought Szeth was already dead, but that's the only way. There's not really any changing my mind, so no need to reply unless I've managed to get something wrong Mostly just trying to express the other side so you can understand where we're coming from--seemingly, a disagreement on what actually is Kaladin's character and important to him, and what is not. Or perhaps Kaladin was simply acting out of character in a moment of extreme stress. Harmony knows that I do a good enough job pretending to be a better person than I actually am that when I'm stressed and lacking in sleep the monster that lurks within comes to the fore and shocks people). So that's a possibility as well.

In late 2008 I packed everything I could fit into my 10 year old car, took my $2k in savings, and moved 3000 miles away to a city where I knew exactly 3 people and had zero job prospects. Quitting a job to move to a city where you don't know many people and just as the job market is collapsing world-wide may not have been the smartest idea, but my only regret was not leaving sooner. Being within driving distance of family can mean you are unable to escape the toxic environment they bring to the table. It may not be right for you, only you can know that. But such a drastic move can have great positives. Like, WorldCon is in KC next year, so you'll be practically next door. The important thing, tho, is to not let fear keep you from betting on yourself. If you have other reasons, fine and great; but don't let fear alone keep you from taking that first step.

I don't process emotions quickly or well, so if i'm talking to a person, in-person, at the time something has happened, then chances are good that I'll just be saying what's expected. If I'm typing it out, I mean every word. And there's a really good chance that I spent a rather long time thinking about it all, and working hard to make it convey what I mean and how I mean it--while still appearing natural and trying to make it feel sincere, without being chock full of cursing and random thought strings. Because it is very sincere. With my post to Mistrunner, about their Aunt--I mean every word. I remember the day my grandpa died so clearly, and the years leading up to it. The pain and the grief are just as strong now as they were then, but time has allowed them to loose their grip on me so that I can put them away again. Here, in these forums, I don't post unless I feel I have something of meaning and worth to add. There is no obligation. The only expectation that people have is to not be an arse to others having a bad go of it. The easiest way to meet that would be to not post at all. So, I only post on what I really do care about, and strongly enough to spend the time necessary to process the emotions and craft a message that I hope will be of some sort of help or assistance to someone.