kaellok

How much Breath does it take to Awaken a 16 month old corpse, anyway?

You should toss in white and dark chocolate chips, along with some walnuts. That makes for some crazy good brownies. And yeah, remarkably little offense given or taken, and from what I've seen even when it was, the response was still respectful. Which is as important. It's hard to know what will give offense, whether you are ignorant and wanting to know more, or sharing negative experiences you've had to people who have largely only seen the positives. I've always been struck by how, for the most part, the people on 17th Shard assume that others are worthy of respect, and give it to them. It makes for a rather nice corner of the Internet to hang out.

Not sure if you're wanting answers, but you get 'em anyway! Nahel Spren: We know that at least most are a mix of both. It's commonly believed that that a couple are pure one or the other. I couldn't quickly find the Surgebinding chart that's labeled with the Orders, but I know it's out there. Short of that, if you look at the one in the WoK cover, in the middle on top is the Bondsmiths, and below that is Truthwatchers. So, the upper-half is believed to be more of Honor, and the lower-half to be more of Cultivation, with those in the middle possibly 'pure' of Honor/Cultivation. Honestly, I want to know what/who Nahel is/was/means. (ie, why is it called the Nahel Bond, rather than the Spren Bond or the Radiant Bond etc.) Futuresight: Honor says that he wasn't able to see into the future well, and Cultivation could do it better. Humans said that seeing into the future is of the voidbringers. Keep in mind that this also came about because of an era of those in power using that power to stay in power by charting the course of life for those beneath them. That's part of why the Ardentia is such a big deal in the 'present'--not for what they are, but for what changed for them. Everyone chooses their own path to the Tranquiline Halls, and the priests are there to help them. If we assume the theory that Truthwatchers are almost entirely of Cultivation, that would certainly suggest why Renarin is able to see into the future. Since we have almost no actual information about Odium or the voidbringers, it's possible that what humans said about seeing into the future was just a way to break with the past and create a new society with a new power structure (that was likely just as corrupt as the old, because humans.) SO, I don't think anything nefarious is going on here with Renarin. Mr T might be a better example to look at for twisted future-vision, though, but there's already several good threads looking at that specifically Pattern: I forget who, but someone on the forums some time ago said they think it's because Shallan drew him as a pattern when she 'summoned' him. And, like the spren philosophers in WoK that were experimenting with the flame-spren, once 'measured' this way, Pattern became 'locked-in.' (quote is from post 30 here. I was having difficulties with the quote bubble not expanding, and gave up.) And I'm pretty sure Shallan's drawings showed multiple Cryptics because there were multiple Cryptics around. I've always interpreted it as a shotgun wedding type of scenario, honestly.

I don't remember this from the book, but it's now making me think that I've read something similar before on the forums. So, bleh.

The Ars Arcanum says that the Halfshards are 'augmented' fabrials, with a sheet of metal that has been made stronger. Personally, I think that they're made of aluminum (or at least outer layer is.) We know that aluminum has weird properties with Investiture as a whole, and it's plausible that aluminum serves as the <thing they put over the Shardblades when training with them so that people don't kill everyone on accident just by training.> It's unclear how effective a Halfshard is at blocking the strike of a Shardblade. Plate is resistant to the blows, capable of absorbing several before failing; so, they cannot be said to be immune or proof. We have no similar data-set to compare a Halfshard to. For instance, it would be very interesting if it could resist Shardblade strikes indefinitely. I'd also be interested in the difference between a Sprenblade and a Shardblade attacking it; would a living spren be more, or less, effective? Regardless, to the last point in your 3rd post, I very much doubt that these non-spren artifabrial weapons are throwaway mentions. They're not the focus, perhaps, but an integral part of what's going on. And we've had a few different Interludes where exploring the spren was their only focus. Sanderson is very deliberate with his world-building, so I'd bet you my own, real-life money that the artifabrial weapons will play significant (if non-focused) roles in the coming books.

Which is why I mentioned that the option of "stone" would work, as well! Also, 'fun' fact about the word terra/Terra: it is Latin for earth, lower-case. So even in sci-fi shows where Earth is being called Terra, they're saying the exact same thing On-topic: erm. I think that a meeting between Jasnah and Roshone would be far more interesting than Kaladin meeting up with him again, so here's another vote for hoping Jasnah is near Hearthstone. And gets there before Kaladin. And takes care of everything. And then when he finally arrives, all he can do is

The word 'earth' works, because earth means "the substance of the land; soil" according to google.. Capitalized Earth is the proper noun that is the name we gave the planet we live upon. So, in actuality, all three of the words you suggest can be correct, with earth or Roshar always being correct for the sentence you used them in. (Chimed in because of the MMORPG Rifts, which had a zone-rift quest thing where at some point there's a message that says something like, "Return them to the earth they came from!" And inevitably half the zone would laugh at the 'typo' and suggest that it should have been the name of the planet which I forgot because that game's lore was entirely forgettable, and the other half would lecture at them as I did in the first paragraph. And now you know.)

Random thought triggered by the words at the end that I have bolded. We know that holding a Shard expands the mind tremendously in a short period of time. Maybe something similar happened to Mr T? Iirc, his Special Day happened almost immediately after visiting the Nightwatcher, right? What if his Boon was to hold the Shard for, say, a minute (or maybe just a vast amount of Investiture?) That would explain the frantic speed with which he worked, as he'd know that he only had a short period of time to capture all that he had Seen before it was lost, but also in a way that saw plans come to fruition when they were ready as opposed to years ahead of schedule (so, being intentionally obstinate and difficult. After all, if he's capable of predicting how to start and end a civil war without anyone being the wiser and being nearly spot-on with which lighteyes would side with whom, why in Damnation would he not realize that people couldn't read his writing?!) Right, it's 130am, and I'm not sure how solid the idea is, but: What if Mr T's Boon was to become a Sliver? I'm pretty sure this would answer all of the problems we currently have with the Diagram / Mr T (while also creating, at a minimum, two new ones; one of them as large as a god.)

It only has to be one or the other if you believe the words of Genesis to be literal and exact truth. Since there are significant portions of the Bible, and the teachings of Christ, that are not, i absolutely believe the two are not incompatible. Reason 1 Reason 2 Reason 3 Reason 5

(My responses are based off of the cartoon from the 90s. Other continuities need not apply.) Push off a cliff: Magneto. I like him, but he's a jerk. And would probably live. Set on fire: Iceman. Just because it would be funny. Date: Jean Gray. Just one date, though, because although she's pretty amazing, at least 1/3 the reason for it would be to upset Cyclops, and I'd feel guilty. Marry: Jubilee. 4th of July is my favorite holiday, and her powers make it the 4th whenever you want! Plus i had a huge crush on her as a kid anyway. Wrap a blanket around: cyclops. But just his face. To annoy him. Ooh, but for serious answer Beast. I bet he's super furry and cuddly. Roommates: GAMBIT! OMFG Gambit. I love that guy. Next up, Buffy!

Today I'm an ENTP. And. .. is really pretty accurate. I hate being coddled thru bad news, "worked" to be asked a favor, etc. Just say what you mean or want and be done. I'll also tell you when you're being stupid, and i struggled a whole lot with that with work colleagues/boss, friends, relationships, etc. I still have to actively try to "not be a jerk" often times. I love arguing. Even if I don't actually believe what I'm arguing, the debate itself is fun and enjoyable. (Conversely, if the other person thinks you win by saying the same thing over and over, but increasing the volume, i get mad.) I break things (everything. Even battle tanks are not safe, and systems or processes run in fear), often mostly by accident. Learning how to fix them again generally results in improvements all around (for instance, i developed a technique to fix the most common, and time consuming, error at a factory i worked at. Ended up saving the company an average of $100 per shift, 3 shifts a day, 6 days a week. They were still using it after five years, because the product and line was the exact same.)

BWAHAHAHAHA! Just remember: the longer it takes the fire to catch you, the bigger it will be. All of California is on fire right now. And that's just the beginning, as I'm hearing about outbreaks just about everywhere. They're eager to find you and give you a hug! The way it's set up, you can pick them all. Pretend it's a Pokemon. On topic, the only fandom that I actively participate in these days is Cosmere. Used to avidly be Star Trek and Star Wars, but the life and joy that I felt in both of those franchises dwindled as they were run into the ground. I mean, I still enjoy them, but only casually and at a distance, ya know? And while I quite like Dr. Who, I just have far too many problems with Moffat as executive producer (and maybe also head writer? His Sherlock suffers too, and in many ways more) to stay invested beyond the casual consumer. Which is sad, because he wrote a lot of my favorite episodes; I think that the role he is in requires different talents than the ones he so obviously possesses. For instance, Blink is utterly amazing television/film of the absolute highest quality and caliber in every conceivable way. You don't even need to have any knowledge about Dr. Who to watch and appreciate it, but if you do, then the experience is so much better.

Woah woah woah. Wait. Is Cosmere Cards Against Humanity what I think it is?! Are there special cards? CAN THEY BE MINE?! I...I have money. Well, the bank says I have money, anyway.

My usual answer to this question is falling! Not heights. I'm fine with heights. Give me a good foothold, and I can be 2000 feet up looking over a cliff edge with zero problem. Stick me three inches up with a not-great foothold, and I'm terrified. This also translates into flying on a plane. I've got over 50,000 miles in the sky, and every inch in the air I was 100% sure that everyone was going to die. The 18 hour flight from Dallas to Germany (and back, and back again, and back again) was a nightmare, especially since there was other flying those days, too. And I can't sleep on a plane. I can barely blink. The plane does not feel like a solid foothold. I've tried to get better. I've been rappelling, down small cliffs, large cliffs, and out of a helicopter. Still 91% as afraid as the very first time (I only broke down in a puddle of tears the once, but realistically I think it's just better self-control.) The single moment of greatest fear that I have ever felt in my life, though, was when I was just chilling, talking to my favorite teacher after an evening school event that I don't recall particularly, when suddenly there was a 3-month old infant in my arms. I was 17. I had no idea what to do. I had no idea what not to do. It was the teacher's son, and his wife had deposited him there while she went off for a few minutes. Since then, I've been in fights where I was unarmed and the other guy had a knife, had guns pointed at me, (flown in an airplane), gone through basic training, flown off to fake-war, nearly blown myself up half a dozen times, nearly died in a car accident several times, etc. And nothing else compares to someone suddenly plopping a baby in my arms in terms of instant fear-generation. Not by a long shot. I'm also a little bit afraid when people are genuinely nice to me, and happy to see me. Well, not so much anymore, now it's mostly just confused and bewildered; but there used to be a fair amount of fear going on. I just didn't know how to react to it, ya know? I still don't, but I do a better job of pretending I know, rather than freezing in panic.

I'd never heard of Otherkin before, so had to google that. I am definitely human, and I don't think there's any reincarnation or past life experience going on with me really. So, pretty sure it's not that exactly. I'll try to explain a bit more, as best that I can, though. Within the dream itself, I am fully the other person. Upon waking, I still have their thoughts, their memories, their feelings and identity. You know how much information that we have about our own life, that we don't necessarily think about all the time, but is still there, under the surface, fueling everything that we do? Upon waking, I have those same thoughts/memories of the other person, but the active memory of what's happening now is my own. These others have been old, young, male, female. The dreams are not common, I've had maybe a couple dozen of them in my life (and I'm 33.) I don't remember much of what happened in the dreams themselves; usually they are exciting and adventerous, but at least once it was an incredibly dull afair (I remember there was a rocking chair, and a fireplace, in a cabin-like house, but not much actually happened.) I don't, anymore, remember who they were, but I remember that I did know before I woke--if that makes sense? And yes, these dreams and my story have nothing to do with gender But the conflict with self upon waking that I felt seems to be very similar to what many (all?) trans* suffer from on a regular basis. For me, waking from a dream like that, that conflict of self, is terrifying--because what if I don't correctly remember who I am? But at least I do wake, and a relatively short time later all is the same once again.

I was raised Mormon, until I was 12--maybe 13. Lots of things happened that year, and few of them good. Family crises, learning about other faiths, and realizing that the leaders of the church I went to for guidance were blinded bigots who could only focus on the differences of people and religions, rather than their similarities. I struggled to make sense of it all, cast adrift, and nothing helped. Church, which was designed for the very problems I was facing, was only able to give me suggestions of who to hate, and so I ended up leaving. (This has not been other people's experiences, and that's great--for them. My experience is not emblematic of the faith as a whole.) (Someone earlier mentioned their favorite hymns, and I felt I'd share mine as well! I still love them to this day, even though it's been two decades since I was at church. "Love One Another", "Choose the Right", and "Teach Me to Walk in the Light". I also really liked "Love is Spoken Here", but had forgotten about it until I was searching for links while writing this and let the music keep playing because the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is amazing. I always had a hard time singing it, though, because I had a hard time lying back then.) I eventually shopped around various other churches and faiths, and found that while the actual teachings of so many of them are filled with great things, the practitioners invariably fell short and seemed content and with their shortcomings, making cheerful excuses for them. More on my thoughts and answers to everything spoilered below! Because I don't write walls of text, I write skyscrapers. Of text. The Meaning and Purpose of Life Revealed! God as a Good, All-Knowing, All-Powerful being (I can't endorse this) On evolution, creationism, etc! I do love discussing religion with others. But, it's a dangerous topic to do so casually--especially for me, since I want to know why someone believes the way they do, even more than what it is they believe. And I've been told that I can come across as incredibly flippant, even thought that is entirely unintentional. For anyone who has actually read this holy cow nearly 1500 word post, my intention was only to explain my own beliefs, as well as a bit of the reasoning behind them. Not to attack, not to mock, and definitely not to offend (unless you're a very strong proponent of the Young Earth "Theory"; nothing you can say or do short of God speaking directly to me in person will make me think that that position is anything other than silly). But for all the very many faults and evils that religion can succumb to (and they have, and they do, and they will), religion is capable of being such a great force of good in the world that I can't help but be impressed by all those that have used it that way. Especially since there is great secular good that can be done quite independently of whether or not God exists, there is an afterlife, etc. At their best, religions provide hope in the face of fear and the unknown (namely, death.) And Hope alone is a truly incalculably valuable blessing.

Just read through all this thread at once, over the last 15 mins or so. And wow. So much wow, for--basically every reason ever. And now, on to my comments, that may or may not be relavent anymore! (And there was much quoting...) Spoiler tags to break up the monster post. Thoughts regarding trans* vs. hetero/homo People online seeing you differently than you are On Fabulous Monsters On having 50 lions

I spent 2 minutes looking for it, because I remember reading it myself. But a lot of that time also got distracted with tumblr, so, probably I did a search. Maybe two. I think it was two. Anyway, I think I was doing something. I feel like I was storing copper. Or maybe zinc. Oh well. Did you see this picture of a cat? It was captioned, "It's not that he's evil. He lacks empathy and he goes into a disassociative state and commits atrocities.

There's a very big difference between the word "bind" and the word "bond." Even though they are similar and can refer to the same thing, I can't think of a single instance where the act of Bonding a spren or a Shard is referred to as Binding it--across any of the cosmere novels. So, that makes me think that here, binding means something very, very different indeed. Short answer: I think the Dawnshards were used to imprison (bind) voidspren. Or possibly the Heralds (a prison's caged bars can be as much protection as confinement, after all). So, based on nothing more than semantics, I disagree with you. Yay...? There's definitely WoB that Honor, Cultivation, and humans predate Odium. I'm certain that there's a WoB that there is a reason why the Vorin mythology developed the way it did (regarding the Tranquiline Halls and fleeing to Roshar bit specifically.) And I'm pretty sure that there's a WoB that the parshmen were on Roshar first. And, unhelpfully, I will not post any of them, because I'm lazy. Sorry

I think you may be right! Let me give you a true counter-example. My senior year in high school, 100% of the gay population was African American, and 50% of the African American population was gay. There were 254 or so people in total for the sample size that proved that 100% of Caucasian, Hispanics, and Asians are hetero. Does that really make a damnation bit of sense to you? Or would it make more sense that something completely unrelated is going on? Like I lived in central Kansas, and due to school district lines went to a rich suburb high school instead of a poor inner-city one (lived in Wichita, pop. 350k, went to school in Goddard, pop. rich). Let's use another counter-example! Last week I had Indian (chicken tikka masala and paneer butter masala curry) for lunch on Mon, Tues, and Wed. On Thursday and Friday, I had Thai (panang curry). What meaningful conclusions can you draw from that? Right, none. Except that I love curry--and even that is a stretch. You could acknowledge that your sample size is too ridiculously small to be drawing any sort of conclusion about literally anything, or, I guess, you could, like, continue being a troll. And I'm thoroughly convinced of the troll-nature of your troll-posts after having read the entire thread. Edit: speling

The question has largely been of who those people might be. Shallan's father seems obvious on first read. Shallan herself is a common theory. Shallan's brother is something I picked up re-reading the section this time. Not knowing who was affected is half the fun; figuring out the answer and later being proven correct is more than all of the fun

I'm there with you in the "wouldn't be a Radiant" club 25% - Truthwatcher 25% - Edgedancer 22% - Willshaper 16% - Bondsmith 16% - Stoneward 13% - Lightweaver 6% - Skybreaker 3% - Elsecaller 0% - Windrunner 0% - Dustbringer And it's completely off, because I'd totally be a Lightweaver. Not because that's what I want, necessarily (Elsecaller is what I'd choose if I had a choice), but because Shallan and I are so damned similar and she's a Lightweaver, so it only makes sense! Edit: I've now taken this quiz a dozen times, making small changes that are still at least somewhat true. And Truthwatcher just keeps going up, up, and well, not really flying, but at 66%. I'm at a complete loss as to how the answers give 'points' to the Orders, evidenced in being unable to game the system even when I'm sort of trying to do so.

Absolutely not obvious at all. Hoid was definitely there for something else, but what it was, I couldn't say. It's possible that he was looking for Shallan or someone like her, but was supremely surprised at meeting her in the way that he did. Also, I'm confused as to when Hoid met with Eshonai or Szeth Read again the section, pertinent bits spoilered below. Her presence startled him enough that Hoid was visibly caught off guard. And no, it wasn't so he could hide the Allomantic metals in his drink; that came later. In their next meeting, moments later. Hoid said the first and the last lines. Not consecutively, and other bits along with it. And Shallan thought that Hoid meant her actual location, emphasis on the here, rather than the you. The second time, because of Hoid's disingenousness by nature, is a bit hard to tell whether he's being honest or half-truthful. My conclusion? He was looking for proto-Radiants, and did not expect Shallan, aka Heleran's sister, to be one. And keep in mind that he was there with a message from Heleran, so he knew him at least a bit, and likely learned a fair bit about the family on the way or before he arrived. (Why would a son send his father the message "that he has eyes nearby, and is watching." ? That's the type of environment that a knowledgeable sort may expect to find a cracked soul, aka, a proto-Radiant.) I do, however, on re-reading the section, believe that he Soothed Shallan prior to approaching her the second time. Literally the paragraph before her emotions were all asnarl, failing to compose herself. Then Hoid appears, and BAM! better. Hoid may also have Rioted Shallan's brother Wikim, since she sees Wikim smiling when a very short time earlier he was angered/disgusted with her (but torn, as if he couldn't decide whether to be angry/disgusted or pleased.) Emotions, especially when younger, can and absolutely do swing that wildly that quickly--but I think that Hoid played a hand in it when he saw the ways that it could help.

This. Also, GRRM is heavily involved in the creation of a moderately popular TV show, as well as an incredibly prolific editor of short story collections. He's had at least three per year the last few years, as recall. Rothfuss, too, has rather more that he is actively involved in (teaching, fund raising, etc. ) So, the slower writers tend to have other full time jobs they are working on, while also focusing on the prose itself being as important a character as any of the protagonists.

The Declaration also says that all men are created equal, and the Constitution says that a black person is only 3/5 of a white person. The Declaration is a philosophical and ideological argument, and one that laws have been based around. It is not, at all, a document that created any laws. (It's been some time, but as i recall the Constitutional Congress did not exist at that time, and it certainly was not ratified into law later.) Pretty much everything else you've said in this thread has been inspired, tho. I'm still digesting it, as i alter my own views which were somewhat similar, but less