Sarcasm

When someone says "storms" and you gasp at their profanity 

When you begin to debate which fictional character you'll name your future children after.

My first thought when I read the part about the fiery wings was that it was Firefight, from an alternate dimension. Could Calamity be from that dimension? 

When you start drawing love Aons in front of a certain someone.

What instrument do you compose for? 

I recently noticed that all of Epic's weaknesses had to do with something in their past life, not just their greatest fears. For example, someone's greatest fear could be something like spiders, but they've never had any bad events in their life relating to spiders. Could the process of becoming an Epic somewhat like "snapping" in Mistborn, where a bad event would trigger acquiring superpowers?

Hi. Sorry to interrupt anything. I was just wondering if I could join the Dallas RPG. I have some Epics in mind that I've been toying with and would love to see them in action. Thanks!

I love your username!

I haven't been posting for long, so I apologize for this really stupid question, but how exactly do you hide spoilers? Thanks.

In Steelheart, it was mentioned that there were once some Epics who could only be defeated by a certain number of people or if the person was a certain age. If their weaknesses are really tied to their fears, what kind of a scenario in their past would cause an Epic to have such a weakness? 

Also didn't they check him with the Dowser?

He wasn't checked with the dowser, and nobody gifted to him after his encounter with Calamity, so we can't be sure yet. This kind of reminds me of the situation with Joel in the Rithmatist.

Warriors by Imagine Dragons for David/ the Reckoners in general.

I just finished the book about 30 minutes ago, so I'm still not sure where I stand on the "Is David an Epic or not" question. I can see it both ways, and I'm not sure which I want to be true.

 

If David is an epic, I think his powers are not stealing other Epic's powers, but rather being able to detect Epics and also being able to manipulate other people's emotions.  (So, in other words, he can do things both a seeker and a soother can do.  And what about working the sypril so well?  Coinshotting, anyone? OMG DAVID'S A MISTBORN!!)

 

But I think it's just as likely that David is an idealistic kid who's working his butt off as a Reckoner, and that devotion and work ethic makes people respect him. And the fact that he had studied epics so intensely for the better part of a decade means that he just inately knows what to look for in an epic's mannerisms, so he can usually figure out who the (non-camouflaged) epics are.

 

I can see it either way, and I can't wait to see how it all works out in Calamity.

At the beginning of Steelheart, David said he was always able to spot Epics, even though others said it was impossible. The dowser testifies if you're an Epic. Some other people mentioned this, but David could always master Epic-related technology, such as the syril and the tenser easily. I also think that the dowser is a form of Epic-related technology. My theory is that he's an Epic who can use other Epic's powers, so it will give the appearance that he's not an Epic, because powers can still be gifted to him, but in reality, that's his power. 

what if TIa is an epic...but cola is somehow her weakness? She forces it on herself to keep her in control. (this book talks WAY too much about her cola addiction without it being something. 

Tia can't be an epic because Prof and Conflux were able to gift their powers to her.

Doesn't "Phaedrus" mean "smart" in some other language?

 

Either way, welcomes to you in this forum of fun, knowledge, and insanity.

Phaedrus is actually the protagonist from Socrates dialogue "Phaedrus." He was also a philosopher, but I picked it for a username mainly because of Jonathan Phaedrus from Steelheart.

My first Sanderson book was Steelheart. From that moment on, I was hooked. I rampaged around the internet, library, and bookstores until I had every bit of literature that Mr. Sanderson had ever written in my possession, before devouring them all in less than a month. I'm on the younger side of the Fandersons, I'm in middle school, and yes, I'm female, despite my username. While obsessing over Mr. Sanderson's website, I stumbled upon the 17th Shard, where I obsessively browsed through all the theory threads before finally signing up and creating an account of my own. I wandered through and planted a few ideas of my own before blundering into this introduction thread. I'm currently reading Steelheart for the 12th time, Elantris for the third, and the Stormlight Archive for the second. I'm glad to finally have a place where I can nerd out with other awesome people who know what I'm actually blathering about.  I look forward to seeing everyone in the near future!

Has anyone else noticed that using the tensers is a lot like soulcasting from the WOK? Humming helps operate both of them, and you can turn inanimate matter into dust.

Good point. This brings a question to mind about gifting. For instance, when Phaedrus gifts his healing abilities to David at the end of Firefight, as David becomes more and more injured, the healing comes less gradually to him. So, when gifting, is it like presenting an entrance to a reservoir of power, and once you use it, it's gone? Or is it giving a portion of power away? In Steelheart, at the battle of Soldier Field, when David uses the tenser on the bullet, he says i'ts harder to make the song because Phaedrus is using so much of that power fighting Steelheart. 

Edit: Has anyone else noticed how using the tensers is very similar to Soulcasting from WOK?

What if everyone received powers from Calamity, but some people got more obvious and physical powers, while others got powers so minor that it was not noticeable. For example, with Curveball, with his power being infinite bullets, if someone else received the exact power, but never fired a gun, it would appear that they did not have any powers even though they were a minor epic. 

The theory I'm going by now is that Prof's weakness is failing to do something that he has deliberately chosen to do. So walking down the street, etc, things that he does by instinct wouldn't set of his "contest" trigger, but making an actual decision to do something would. This also is lent some credence by the fact that he always takes so long to make his plans concrete, and had lots of open ends in them.

However, I recall that Exel once saying that he once saw Prof lose to a bluff in poker, so he did compete, even if just for recreation.

Does that make Tia Ground Control?

Although Tia was a rocket scientist...

How do you know he is giving powers away? Gifting doesn't seem to last forever. He could literally be creating power.

And the human population looks to be getting wiped out regardless. Not that quickly, but Obliteration doesn't seem to show signs of slowing down quite yet

I see gifting as giving access to a large reserve of power. That is why, in Steelheart, David felt that it was harder to use the tenser during the last battle, because Prof was using his powers to battle Steelheart, therefore reducing the reserve. You do make a point with the issue of the destruction of humanity. Is it an intended or unintended side effect? What are the motives of Calamity if no matter what the human population will seemingly be wiped out anyway? Was the original creation of Calamity intended to punish humankind?

What helps Phaedrus and Conflux stay sane is their gifting power. So long as an epic doesn't use their powers regularly, the power madness doesn't affect them. From this, perhaps Calamity is a super-Epic with all the powers imaginable who is trying not to go psycho and wipe out the entire human population by gifting all his powers away. For some reason, if Calamity had a gender, I'm pretty sure it would be male.