Kingsdaughter613

So basically, Brandon will write one Mistborn cyberpunk novella... and we’ll get Mistborn Era 4, with Era 5 being the endgame. Got it!

The last time Brandon wrote a Mistborn book as a ‘break’ he ended up with a quartet. The last time he wrote a ‘novella’ he ended up with a book. Brandon has an... interesting... track record.

WoB: 1. Which of your protagonist characters do you dislike the most as a person? Taking into account that you know all of their inner secrets and motivations.2. On the flip side. Which of your antagonists do you connect with the most? The Lord Ruler seems an obvious choice as he was misunderstood by everybody for so long. But still, I'm curious. Brandon Sanderson This is a tough one, as while I'm writing, I HAVE to like everyone. However, the most disturbing of them is probably Kelsier. He's a psychopath--meaning the actual, technical term. Lack of empathy, egotism, lack of fear. If his life had gone differently, he could have been a very, very evil dude. Note that Kell is a neurological psychopath. (Not a clinical one actually, at least in the US.) That means he was born that way. It doesn’t make him evil, just naturally unempathetic. People aren’t to be blamed for being born neurologically different. There is a theory that many surgeons may be neurological psychopaths, the lack of empathy allowing them to remain coolheaded when performing high stress surgery. To put it another way, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lirin has some psychopathic tendencies. Batman actually scores higher on the PCLR than Kelsier, if you can believe it. Psychopaths aren’t inherently evil; a lot depends on how they are raised and how they choose to be.

I think Wax and co. are interpreting things that way. I think it’s misleading, especially with the translation convention. SoScads believe that all metalborn are ‘gods’. This is likely a translation of an unknown term. Demi-god, maybe? Their actual gods appear to be Herr and Frau. The descriptions of the Sovereign, while respectful, aren’t reverent. Certainly, they don’t treat metalborn as worshipful beings (note that Allik is consistently insulting, and his captain doesn’t even bother with titles.) I think the metalborn are Demi-gods thing existed before Kell showed up, due to allomancy being very rare in the South. Kell was just a much more powerful Demi-god. He then saves their entire civilization, and rules them fairly well for sixty years (which is quite a bit of character development, since WoB is that TFE Kell would have gotten bored of ruling fast - and not done a very good job.) He also gives them Feruchemy. (How???) Also, note the name. A Sovereign is a king. Kell is associated with ruling in the South. The Sovereign is said to have had priests, but we don’t know what that entails, or how much is translation convention at play. I mean, the word priest comes from a word meaning elder. It could be a mistranslation of attendant or servant or minister, all of which can be synonyms for priest. Note that the Obligators were both ministers AND priests, meaning the two words are possibly the same or synonymous in the North. (Thing to ask Brandon: Are the words for priest and minister the same on North Scadrial?) What Wax and co hear may not be accurate. Or the South could just call the people attending their Demi-gods priests. Either way, I think the concept existed before Kell showed up, and their behavior regarding him does not feel like he’s worshipped so much as respected. Not divine, but legendary, if that makes sense.

Dalinar isn’t a psychopath. Arguably had sociopathic tendencies, but his whole society did really. Most of the people Kell killed were arguably casualties of war. The situation in TFE was pretty horrific, and I’d argue that most, if not all, of those deaths were justified under those circumstances. The question is more what he’s doing now that those circumstances don’t apply. I don’t think Kell ordered the priests to their deaths. He really doesn’t do that unless he has to. He was very upset when Yeden got the army killed, and Vin had to stop him from killing himself to save them. Plans aside, he ultimately died when and where he did to save the people of ‘House Renoux.’ He does care about the people who follow him, and Preservation’s last words seem to have struck him deeply. He’s only ordered one person to his death: the messenger who died so Marsh would learn about Vin’s earring. That was very much absolutely necessary, so it isn’t nearly as much of a proof. In general, Kell prefers to risk himself. (He also sort-of think he’s invincible, but that’s a side thing.) I do see him giving vague orders that get badly misinterpreted. I don’t see him actually ordering someone to die for a con. Especially when he can just get some skeletons to do it instead. King Arthur isn’t a religious figure. And that one can come about just by being a good ruler for sixty years, then leaving with a promise to return. Also having a remarkable power set and saving an entire civilization. I think what happened in the South was not nearly as intentional as what he did in the North, but what he did IS the sort of thing people create myths about. Kell being Kell, he’s not going to refute them, but I don’t know that he intentionally caused them.

I saw Atium as pure silver, and Lerasium as blue-silver.

I was actually thinking of him giving Preservation to Vin. He did that expecting Ruin to kill him, and he did that out of love for her and a desire to protect Scadrial. It’s probably the most selfless thing he’s ever done. I actually don’t think the South worships him, but that’s another discussion. (I think he’s their King Arthur.) I also don’t think Kell would have left his followers to die. It’s not his style. More likely, he planted the skeletons. He IS a conman. Of COURSE Kell’s murder happy - he’s a neurological psychopath! He likes hurting people. The fact that he doesn’t go about murdering people randomly is something he has to work on. As opposed to neurotypical people who don’t have that urge. He generally kills for a specific reason, and doesn’t do it on a whim, which is better than a lot of psychopaths. (He is also technically not an American Psychopath. May be a European one. He isn’t high enough on the PCLR, though it’s very close.) Batman is actually a decent example of a neurological psychopath who doesn’t kill - and look at the extremes he goes to in the other direction because of it. (Batman has repeatedly said he doesn’t start killing because he couldn’t stop; he also enjoys hurting people. Batman scores higher than Kell on the PCLR, if you can believe it.)

He’s a person whose natural inclination is toward evil, who tries to do good instead. Kelsier is canonically a neurological psychopath. Empathy isn’t something he comes by naturally; on some level he is making a conscious choice to care. To me, that makes him a greater person for making that choice. He has been willing to sacrifice himself for others. He did it when he gave Vin Preservation. He fully expected Ruin to kill him and, unlike his earlier sacrifice, this was done entirely for Vin and Scadrial. For many of us, this wouldn’t be a question. But for someone whose brain isn’t wired to see people as people, it’s a pretty incredible act. (And yes, his brain is wired that way. Hence the word ‘neurological.’)

Wax gets one shot because A: Kell doesn’t realize Vindication is a projectile weapon and B: Wax is using an aluminum bullet (so no Atium shadow.) Kell is burning Tin at the beginning of the fight, so the shot destroys his eardrums. Gun shots are bad enough when you have normal hearing; enhanced hearing would be much worse. That’s why Kell leaves; his eardrums are destroyed by the blast. He’s probably been hit as well, as he didn’t expect a projectile. The second time, he knows he’s facing a projectile weapon without Atium shadows. That is also very loud (not that he can hear right now, but still.) Wax doesn’t survive the night.

Not naturally, no. Personally, I think someone who isn’t naturally good, who tries to be good anyway, is greater than the person who does good because it is natural to them. Kell tries to do good despite his nature, which is one of the things I like about his character. He’s been willing to sacrifice himself to save others, which can’t be easy for someone who’s brain struggles to see other people as having meaning. (Kell is a neurological psychopath, which means he has to work on having empathy. His brain is literally not wired for it. Some people suspect that many surgeons may be neurological psychopaths; the lack of empathy helps them keep calm when they literally have someone’s life in their hands. Any trait can be used for good or evil, except overweening pride.) Of course, it does make it fairly easy to frame him as the villain. Everything I said is something he’s canonically done, lol!

None of these three look Alethi or Makabaki. And it hasn’t stopped Ash from being Jezrien’s daughter (clearly, her skin tone comes from her otherwise unknown mother.) Vedel’s eye shape is a bit unclear. Jezrien and Ash: Having a different ethnicity is not evidence of a relationship or lack thereof.

Nicrosil and Aluminum.

Chana is holding a prominent sword and is associated with the most destructive order of Radiants. I think she may be depicted with an exposed safehand to emphasize her masculinity. She is associated with Brave and Obedient. She’s a female soldier, and that seems to be recognized, but how do you deal with that in a culture where women are not supposed to war? Emphasize that she’s a ‘masculine’ woman. Her sword is also very straight, as opposed to having a more feminine curve. Also, look at the positioning. A sword going straight down from the pelvis is very masculine. (Pretty sure I don’t need to explain why.) She is the only woman wearing armor. She is also the only woman not to be drawn so as to bring attention to her body. She’s drawn to read ‘male’ despite being female. Compare the other female Heralds: Notice how they are all drawn to emphasize their curves and femininity? Also, the latter two are not directly facing the viewer and Vedel is in motion with her head turned away. Meanwhile, Chanarach’s picture looks very like Kalak’s: You can see the stylistic similarities. Only male characters are looking this directly at the viewer. All three are directly facing the viewer. And all but Jezrian (who is connected to wind) have straight blades. A straight sword is a male symbol. Ishar is looking up, and lacks a sword. But his body is drawn on very straight lines and is directly facing the viewer: Notice how the lower part of his robes implies a sword? Chana is not meant to be feminine. So no safehand, because men don’t have one.

Except for the eye shape they’re great. Whelan does that too. And both seem to have issues with skin tones...

Doesn’t Duralumin store Connection? It’s on the list.

The Dustbringer motto is: I will seek self-mastery. This feels very like some martial arts type idea to me, so her looking zen makes a lot of sense. I’d kind of expect 5th oath Dustbringers to be very, very calm and very, very lethal.

Slytherin house is (nearly) every European anti-Semitic stereotype shoved together.

So my idea isn’t exactly a deconstruction. It’s is deconstructing gen 2, but it’s also reconstructing Gen1. (Ie. Gen 3 is a successful Gen 1.) I agree FE isn’t grimdark. And only two gen 2 characters actually die during the canon of my story: Leif and Julia. Other characters can die, but that’s par for the course in FE. I mean, most of Gen 1 can die before Belhalla. Most of Gen 2 can die before you reach Loptyr. Nor does anyone lose their kingdoms, although some land does get swapped around. Isaac and Thracia both end up larger than they were. Granvale ends up larger than it was in Part 1, but smaller than Part 2. And Granvale gets an Archanian colony. I like Oifey too much to touch him. Agree to disagree on Julia. Though if they create better supports for the other girls I’d likely feel otherwise. Only Larcei’s and Julia’s had any depth, unfortunately. And Larcei is better with Shannan. I think Lachesis should be able to S support with Finn and Beowolf if you fulfill certain conditions. (A support both first; S support Finn in the castle before Silesia, then S support Beowolf after Finn leaves.) This way both Diarmuid and Nanna can get their canon fathers. If I’m recalling right, my timeline is based on an interview with Kaga. Arvis suspected before Belhalla, but only knew after. And he didn’t find out about the sibling thing until later. I found Gen 2’s storyline to not be as fleshed out as Gen 1. This isn’t just my complaint, btw. Gen 1 was so good, and so compelling while Gen 2 was a very standard hero story, with nothing to really make it special the way Gen 1was. Which is where I felt that it really could have used a Gen 3 to deconstruct Gen 2 while reconstructing Gen 1, bringing the story full circle. The characters and supports also weren’t as good, which is where a remake could really help. Oh, and Altena’s boyfriend should be playable. I was also disappointed at the cheap way they dealt with the Fire Emblem. (So at the very end I discover it’s the symbol of house Velthomer. Never see it, although they clearly have it. At least we know why it’s called the FIRE Emblem, right?) I also wanted more connections with Archaneia; it would have been nice to see the land of dragons once...

Prefacing this by noting that I don’t think Thaidakar is Kell, so much as I think he either has a similar personality or has been heavily influenced by someone who does. I would not be surprised if he is (okay, maybe a little surprised), but I’m not expecting him to be. I do think he’s a non-Rosharan, and might, due to the naming conventions, be a Scadrian. I actually suspect Spook, who lived a very long time, who should have no worldhopping issues, and who has been heavily influenced by Kell. Brandon has also RAFOd most questions about Spook. The real reason I think Kell has worldhopped is due to two different things in Era 2. The lesser one is Kell leaving the South, which, from how it was phrased, implied that he was going a bit further than Northern Scadrial. The bigger one is Saze indicating that he hasn’t spoken with Kell in a long time. That one is rather more indicative of something. There’s also Marsh going South (per WoB) as opposed to confronting his brother. And Saze sending him, instead of talking to Kell. So either Kell isn’t available, or his relationships with the other two have been so damaged that they can’t/won’t talk to him. Or he is refusing to talk to them (more likely) and has found a way to hide from both (possible). Either way, something weird is going on there. Brandon has also been rather misleading when it comes to Kell. First he assured us that Kell was dead and not coming back. Then he admitted this wasn’t true, and Kell was still around. He hinted once about Kell returning via Hemalurgy, in a random, non-canon, WoT crossover story. It was a genuine shock to many of us when Kell came back physically, despite knowing he was a ghost for years. Kell doesn’t do what Brandon wants. He does what he wants, and drags his creator along for the ride. If you’re a writer, you probably know what I mean. (One of my characters decided he was ending an alliance with another character much earlier than planned. Cue me rewriting my outline.) So... if Brandon doesn’t give a straight no, I’m questioning. And even if he does, I don’t trust Kell not to disobey and do it anyway.

I’d argue that Byleth is Reia’s niece/nephew, not sibling. Which doesn’t bother me even if my culture forbids it. Arvis married Deirdre without knowing two important things: she was married to Sigurd and she was his sister. He confirms the former at Belhalla, and confirms the latter around the time the twins are born - possibly after. So it was more ‘I found out we were half-siblings after we had/were about to have kids.’ In RL when this happens, many couples stay together. And yes, it happens. It’s actually more likely to happen now due to sperm donation. If Seliph and Julia had gotten together as originally planned, they wouldn’t have found out until after they had kid. Which is where I’d want the players, but not the characters, to know. And it would never be the default marriage. But it should be an option. My opinion stems mostly from liking Julia and Seliph’s support convos best. Larcei is second best, but I always put her with Shannan. Knowing the mythology helps too. It was Sigmund, father of Sigurd, who fathered a son (Fitela) with his sister Signy. FE4 always felt like it was meant to have a third gen. Compared to Part 1, Part 2 was too... trite? It was far less interesting! It felt like there should be more; the story wasn’t done. The game was originally planned for three generations, and I think some of those elements remain. But I felt the ending Kaga planned was too feel-good for so dark a story, and it didn’t fit in with the FE world, which does tend toward (or used to) more realistic happy endings. I mean, look what happened in 3. So my basic story is: second gen goes to war with itself after third gen seemingly messes up. 3rd gen reprises notes of 1st gen, but, advised by the remaining members of gen 1, avoid the pitfalls, figure out the plot, prevent the destruction of the continent twice over... and discover a new one. I do know how this ends, actually. Lodur, after stealing the Book of Naga and the Fire Emblem and destroying Belhalla, goes to the land of dragons. 3rd gen follows him across the ocean (with an actual ocean battle, where you move ships instead of people) before landing in this mysterious land. There he uses the unsealing power of the Emblem to unlock the full power of the Holy Weapons, and tries to remake the world. After he’s defeated, most of 3rd gen decides to return, but some decide to stay in this new land. A land they’ve decided to name Archaneia. In the canon ending, Thracia becomes a Republic and includes the desert and, if Saias lives, Velthomer and the land where Belhalla used to be. (If Saias dies it remains part of Granvale.) Isaac becomes an independent state, but now includes land from ... the north Kingdom who’s name I can’t remember? Silesia, maybe? Both the North kingdom and the forest one remain part of Granvale. Ares’ lands are nominally a part of the Empire as well, although it’s more independent. Several members of gen 3 set up a small colony in Archaneia. Leif is killed near the beginning of gen 3. Seliph and Shannan can be killed during the storyline. (So can Ares and Oifey, actually.) If they survive it, Seliph dies shortly after the story (and in the ‘cannon’ ending, the Empire doesn’t split until he does.) Shannan reigns after the split, but eventually gives the crown to his heir and retires. Julia is killed when Belhalla is destroyed. Ares hands the crown to his daughter and spends the rest of his life roaming, which he arguably prefers. Azel, if he survives, goes to the new continent. Oifey returns to Chalfey where he remains for the rest of his life. Which reminds me, the whole third gen came about when I was imagining how a remake would work. One thought was that Oifey has an older sister Aife (can be male, if the player chooses) who plays the role of tactician during Gen 1. Mostly because Sigurd trusting a FOURTEEN year old as his tactician never made much sense and because it annoys me that Oifey was named for a mythological girl (Aife) but is male. S/he could marry, but is not present in Gen 2. And her son defaults to a Knight, which is the most useless class in the game. (Canonically I’d have her marry the Knight, as he isn’t paired with anyone.) If played male, you get replacement kids. They’d have the same stats as though they were Aife and partner’s child, but would not inherit the minor Baldur blood. Also, Aife is expendable and can be killed at any point. Thracia would be a full game, not just a DLC. It’s more that it would be able to connect directly to Geneology without having two totally different play styles in one game. And the special edition with both would cost 120$, because it would be two full games. Just one menu screen. The title screen would say Jugdral with two options under it. The first option would be Geneology and the second would be Thracia 776. Thracia would be greyed out until you bought it and have separate save slots. Both games would have their own menus and DLCs. So two games, accessed from the same menu. If they ever remake 1&3 again, I think they should do it that way too. For Geneology DLCs, I’d want the Crusaders’ story. And maybe a more lighthearted mission involving Sigurd, Quan, and Eldigen. No ideas for Thracia DLCs.

So I haven’t played all the ones in the west, mostly because I can’t get them. I went to quite a bit of difficulty to get FE4 (no, it’s not legal. If they sold it in English I’d buy it, but they don’t so I’m stuck with a fan translation.) It’s my favorite game and I REALLY want a remake, but I’d settle for a western release. Mostly I liked Julia better than any of Seliph’s other possible relationships, except Larcei and I liked her better with Shannan. I just... didn’t like how his relationships with the other girls worked. Kaga also intended for them to marry and have a kid midway through, but editorial disagreed. I think it should be up to the players, but the option should be locked unless you have other optional conversations occur between other characters. There’s also Occam’s Razor to argue that it’s the easiest way to explain how Marth apparently has major Naga blood. Because Awakening cannonized needing major Naga blood to wield Falchion. Which means Marth had to have it, and the simplest method is for the person with minor Naga to marry the one with major Naga. There are other ways though. Consanguineous relationships are NOT incest, unless you happen to be Christian. I’m not. A lot of the world isn’t. Like 90% of the Middle East where such relationships are common. My grandparents were first cousins. Like a lot of Holocaust survivors, they married their close relatives. Don’t assume your cultural prejudices are universal and please refrain from referring to such relationships as incestuous. The very fact that a brother and sister marry may be enough to push the game to M. I think Thracia should be included in the special release and available for everyone else via DLC. However, I think those three characters should be added to main game Jugdral. Salem - he’s a dark mage, and the game doesn’t have one otherwise. Plus: more info on the Loptyr cult. Sarah: her connection to Manfroy allows for some nice plot things. Similarly: Saias’ connection with Arvis does the same. (Including the possibility that Saias has secret orders from his father to help their ‘enemies.’ Which I think would be interesting.) For gen 3 I’d throw Kaga’s notes out with one exception: if you recruit Sarah, she frees Azel. Otherwise, my feelings are: deconstruction, reconstruction, mixture. Basically, my idea goes along the lines of ‘real life ensues.’ And was created years before 3 Houses, btw. so any similarities are coincidental. After defeating Loptyr Seliph becomes emperor. Turns out being a rebel leader does not prepare you for a throne. (Who knew?) So he makes a bunch of mistakes (like getting rid of taxes, which sounds nice until you can’t pay your employees...) which Shannan and Lief, both running their own nations, don’t care for. If Saias was recruited, he takes over Velthomer, but his loyalty is to Lief. Ares leaves to reclaim his father’s lands and forge his own kingdom. If Jamke married, his son leaves with Ares. If Lewyn married, his son goes north. All get rather annoyed when Seliph can’t help them due to struggling with the management of an empire he was entirely unprepared for. As the next generation grows up, these tensions increase, eventually reaching a tipping point where Isaac and a United Thracia decide to separate from Granvale entirely. While this is all being negotiated, Prince Sigmund and his sister Signy go to the border with their friends to deal with a bandit problem. (If Julia marries Seliph there is a third sibling: Fitela) Naturally, they manage to start a war... The villain would actually be another child of Arvis and Deirdre (because it never made sense to me why they only had two.) He’d have Major Naga and Minor Loptyr and had an identical looking twin who swapped places with him when Loptyr wanted him killed. (The twin had Major Fala and minor Naga, to round out the possible combinations. Right now the twins names are Hoenir and Lodurr, unless I decide they’re girls in which case they’d be Eisa and Einmyria.) After everything he went through as a child, he’s become a nihilist. He wants to wipe out the Holy Bloodlines, the dragons, and use their power to raze and restore the continent so humanity (which he seems corrupt) can start anew. To ensure this he manipulates events to set all the old heroes at war so they’ll be too busy fighting each other to stop him. So that’s the plot so far.

Everything was him, and he was everything. The Iri traditions are pretty interesting in this regard.

Robin very much seems to be a take off of the idea of Julius. Chrom reminds me more of Marth, to be honest. I didn’t find the storyline all that similar though. Awakening had more to do with the whole time traveling kids thing, which was not similar at all to Jugdral. I love Awakening for bringing me into FE, but it’s not my favorite game by a long shot. Three Houses has a political situation closer to Jugdral’s and the story has a lot of grey in it. The fact that you can play each side and each has valid points says a lot. Arvis and Edelgarde being similar had more to do with their storylines. She’s manipulated from birth by the real villains, she has a secret crest, she becomes Emperor and does horrible things in an attempt to create a better system. In three of the paths she dies, having failed. In at least one of those (I haven’t played path 4) she ensures that the real bad guys will still be destroyed. In some of the paths, her death allows the world she hoped to build to be. Her actions, however awful, bring about the world she wants. Arvis lets Seliph kill him (per WoG) so the true evil can be killed. His death allows the world he started to build (before Loptyr took over) to be. Edelgarde was definitely a takeoff on Arvis and 3Houses on Jugdral in general. Doesn’t mean she isn’t a great character. She is. I’d be shocked if they decided to remake FE4. I mean, the incest plot alone makes it M rated. Nevermind a ... certain ... rather infamous event that occurs halfway through... (We will not discuss this while those who have not played are on here.) You really think Nintendo will give us an M rated FE game? Though if they do, I hope they let Seliph marry Julia. (Just make it tricky, and not possible if you don’t have certain conversations/events that reveal to the player - but not the characters- what they are.) Personally, I’d love a remake to add a gen 3, with the grandchildren. The children are all fighting each other, the villain has Major Naga blood (which would be a nice twist) and the grandchildren are trying to keep everything together while figuring out who’s right, who’s wrong, and who the real villain is. And your ending is based on decisions made through all three generations! I’d also add some Thracia characters into the game (Saias, Sarah and Salem) for recruitment. By Lief, not Seliph. Also Lief’s sister’s boyfriend/adoptive brother, because he was supposed to be recruitable. And the Fire Emblem would show up... in Arvis’ hands, because it belongs to Velthomer. It would be a nice subversion to see it in the villains’ hands.

... You are a Fire Emblem heretic. VALFLAME!!! More seriously, if you liked 3Houses you may want to try playing Geneology of the Holy War. 3 Houses is basically a take off of that one.

@Aspiring Writer apparently we’re supposed to continue discussing Edelgarde being a copy of Arvis here?