Tesh

Orpheus made a small noise and Talnic glanced over at him for a moment before his eyes flicked back to the... creature.

"I know no one by that name."

2 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

Yes, sister, that is what a silent film is. From before they invented audio to go along with the video.

Actually they could record audio. It was just a pain to match it up with the video for a really long time. 

Often there would be live music accompanying showings, though.

4 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Tʜᴇ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴡᴀs ᴍᴇʀᴇʟʏ ᴀ ᴛᴇsᴛ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜʀ sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ," says the demon, "I ᴀᴍ Aʟᴀxɪs."

"Bʀɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋᴇsᴛ ᴏғ Nɪɢʜᴛs, ᴀɴᴅ I sᴡᴇᴀʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ I sʜᴀʟʟ ᴅᴇᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɴ ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ."
The winds calm enough to hear his voice clearly—the demon speaks as if the language is unfamiliar to it, and pauses in between each word.

Talnic grit his teeth. How was it that he knew so little? He had traveled the world and seen things most people would never even dream of. But in the last few days he had come across more than he had learned in the last several years.

"I don't know who that is."

21 minutes ago, Isabelle6060 said:

What are silent films? Is it like a film with no talking?

Yup. Movies made between basically 1888 and 1927 (and also a few decades after that). In most cases there are no sound effects either as there was no convenient way to match the recorded sounds to the film. A lot you can find for free on Wikipedia and YouTube.

12 hours ago, Tani said:

"Nah, just me."

She replied in Draconic to his question. "Raised by dragons."

'Was I supposed to understand that?" Talnic asked.

Despite his annoyance, when the girl took off running, he followed. He pulled to a stop as an orange figure appeared in their path.

1 hour ago, Tani said:

Yvris roars "Like this?" in fluent Draconic. @Tesh

"Who are you?" Talnic asked again. "How do you know all that you say you do?"

Talnic quickly moved his coat to cover his sword and protect it from the rain. His hair was quickly plastered to his face, and he wished once again that he hadn't lost his hat. 

2 minutes ago, Tani said:

"Get up, we have to go. Now."

"Where do you propose we go?"

Just now, Knight of Iron said:

Gotta love Talnic absolutely unfazed by the fact that Orpheus has been hosting a demon in his soul the entire time. Also, Orpheus is still unconscious on the ground, people

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He's seen some weird things. Also I'm a little tired so I'm not thinking things through super well.

29 minutes ago, Tani said:

"... It's real? And happening again?" She turns on Talnic, dropping her wall of flame. "And you're not doing anything to stop it??"

Talnic sheathed his sword and put his hands on his hips. "I wasn't aware what the actual issue was until moments ago," he said tersely. "And what do you propose I do to stop it?"

13 hours ago, Flying said:

(Okay so I tried to write this last week but then kind of panicked and just stopped writing it. But now I'm going to finish it because I'm feeling brave)

I'm having a hard time putting all my thoughts into words right now, but I'll try my best.

So, I've always been that person that people know but don't really know. Everyone knows I exist, but people don't really know me personally. I'm just kind of... there. Like a random person in the background of a movie. I've realized that this mostly has to do with me being on the autism spectrum, and also because talking to people makes me anxious. I never really put in the effort to interact with people because it's so much easier being an outside observer. There were a few years in my life where I really did try (and actually succeeded) to make friends, but for some reason it made me panic even more. There's something about getting to know people that kind of awakens this part of me that makes me aware of all the things that make me different. People at school have also made fun of me for things like being autistic or depressed, so there's past conversations like that haunting me. I've kind of come to the conclusion that I'm much happier being alone because I don't get as stressed out.

The reason I explained all of that is this: I lurk on these forums a lot. I lurk on Discord too. I'm fascinated by the way people act, but it takes so much effort and mental preparation for me to actually join the conversation. But because I observe everything silently, I know a lot about the people here. I have like this weird part of my brain that's just random things that I remember about people, and most of the time they probably don't even know I was paying attention. But I care about you guys. A lot, actually. 

I know I don't put in enough effort to interact with people, but I've observed so many people struggling with so many different things. There's people here who don't believe anyone cares, and every time I see one of those messages pop up it just makes me feel this intense sadness. I know what that feeling's like. I've felt it before, and I have vivid memories of the times when those feelings of hopelessness were the strongest. I've sat here for over twenty minutes trying to come up with something poetic and beautiful and inspirational, but the only thing I can think of right now is a stupid quote from a story that's still unfinished on my computer. I wanted to write something else as encouragement, but it's 2:00 AM and I can't really find anything else to say. So, umm, I guess you can read this random thing I wrote a year ago.

  Reveal hidden contents

The war within one’s mind is often more difficult than the wars between men. The soldier never freezes on the battlefield simply because of the enemy around him; nor does he freeze because of the mere clashing of swords. He freezes because his own thoughts have betrayed him. Fighting to control what goes on in your head is going to be a difficult battle, Vashkril. Perhaps it will be the most difficult one of all.

And to tell you the truth, life is nothing more than a sequence of battles in one prolonged war. There are victories, and there are losses. There are days when you stand undefeated after a hard-won fight. And then there are days when your thoughts weigh down on you, seeming like they will finally overwhelm your best defenses. But on the rare days when you see your despair and hopelessness holding the white flag of surrender, you will realize that there’s still enough hope. There’s always a reason to keep fighting.

To conclude this (overly long) post, I'm just going to end by reiterating that I care about all of you. Even if I don't know you personally, you're all Sanderfans. You're already amazing people by my standards 

Ohmystorms you put it into words.

Also that is an amazing quote.

That whole post was very well written.

Also I just realized that I kind of do the same thing you do when it comes to lurking. But I do it more IRL then on here. I do it enough where it gets to the point that it feels like I am part of the conversation even if I haven't added a single word to it. 

And I now have to idea how to conclude this response... Um...

Yeah, I can't think of anything. 

[Solid conclusion that wraps everything up nicely]

56 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

Aka if you want to give me information to use I can make it happen.

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I know little more about them than Talnic does, to be honest. Feel free to make something up. All we've really established is that there's something going on in the spiritual realm. So... If you want to make something up, feel free to do so. Also feel free to not do that.

57 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Eɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴡɪʟʟғᴜʟʟʏ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴛ!"

Talnic grit his teeth. "Alright, I'm done. Just tell me what is going on. I don't know what you're talking about."

17 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Yᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏɴᴠᴇʀsᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ɪs ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀʟ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀᴛᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜɪs ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ. Sᴛᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ."

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Hehe.

1 minute ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Yᴏᴜ—ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴄʜᴏsᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄʏ!" Zanidar spluttered. "Yᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴs ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴄɪᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴇᴅ! Yᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏ ʟᴏɴɢᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜʏ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs."

Talnic paused. "What do you know about my prophecies?"

24 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

"Wᴇ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʜᴇʀᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴅᴀʏs ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇss, ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ ʜᴀs ʙᴇᴇɴ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ʀɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ."

Talnic shrugged. "I'm  not going to deny it. However, I don't see how this explains what's going on here."

3 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

Orpheus—no, Zanidar—chuckled. "Sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ, I ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇssɪᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ǫᴜᴇsᴛ."

"And why is that?"

Talnic drew his sword, knuckles white on the hilt. "Orpheus, what is going on?" he asked, voice low.

9 hours ago, TheOnlyEdgedancersss said:

I know that Autism isn’t that much related to Mental Health, but did anyone watch the Color The Spectrum live stream with Mark Rober and Jimmy Kimmel?

I personally did not. There are... Quite a few issues with it, actually. One is that none of the people who helped out with it were on the spectrum themselves (or at least that information wasn't available to the general public before that time). Another is that this organization that they were raising money for has, in the past, partnered with this organization called Autism Speaks. There are a lot of issues with Autism Speaks. For one, they've been working to find a cure for autism. And all you need to do to see how they see autism is watch their commercials. There's this terrible one called "I Am Autism." It's just... Awful. I haven't done a ton of research into this, and can't remember many details off the top of my head, but there is a lot of information available.

I do believe that Mark Rober was coming from a good place. But I think he ended up going about things in the wrong way.

Also, I would say that autism is directly related to mental health. It's not a mental illness, but it does affect people's mental health directly. It has a lot of effects on people's ability to interact with others, and people with it are often prone to things like anxiety, depression, and OCD. Not to mention other things like sensory issues. If you'd like more information on this, I'd be happy to share some lectures I have found to be very informative.

Sorry if that was rude in any way, or anything like that. This is just a subject that is very important to me due to the fact that it's very likely I'm on the spectrum myself (to be clear, I have not received a diagnosis, but have done a lot of personal research), and because it's so widely misunderstood. 

10 hours ago, TheOnlyEdgedancersss said:

I think that this month has a great significance to people. Even some of the characters from Brandon’s books have mental health. I am glad that it is recognized, because some people have it harder then the rest. Wether it be depression or anxiety, we should all be aware of it. Happy Mental Health Awareness month!

Well, everyone has mental health.

It is really really cool how Brandon weaves mental illness into his characters. He's remarkably good at it. RoW had some of the best depictions of mental illness I have seen. 

11 minutes ago, Knight of Iron said:

Exodus (as Xeus) notified Talnic that he, Ara, and Minuet would be leaving right then and there, and thus they are long gone. He got some massive "I don't care" vibes from Talnic. 

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I totally remembered that...

Mhm...

Yup.

...

Revised response:

"They left, actually," Talnic said. "I don't know where to, but if needed, I can point you in their direction." He was half hoping the girl would take him up on his offer just so the conversation could end.

2 hours ago, Tani said:

"Where are they?"

"As a matter of fact," Talnic said slowly, "I don't know." He turned to Gal. "Have you seen them anywhere?"

@Trutharchivist

3 hours ago, Trutharchivist said:

"Ah." Said Gal. "I see. So, Talnic," he continued, turning to the Shadow, "do you know what the dragon said before dying?"

Tlnic sighed. "It mentioned something about needing help. I can't remember the specifics. I was too busy trying not to die. However, Xeus and Minuet were there as well. They might remember more than me."

9 hours ago, Isabelle6060 said:

I like musicals, but I can't stand like really old timey ones (like Newsies). I only really like one old timey movie (Sadly, it is not a musical.) I don't really like dark stories. They just make me sad. Happy upbeat romances tend to put me in a better mood.

In all honesty, I wouldn't call Newsies old timey. I think it was made in the early 1990s. I also watch silent films, so my perspective on this is a bit weird

9 hours ago, Isabelle6060 said:

Are musicals that take place in France generally depressing?

Three of my favorite musicals take place in Paris, and none of them have a traditionally happy ending. Except arguably PotO, but that depends on how you look at it.

8 hours ago, Draginon said:

I saw this on the news this morning and last night and it’s relevant to the topic.

The police in a town nearby had shot a man who was coming at them with a knife, as in full on attack them, and standard protocol is to shoot someone who is being dangerous. People are having a problem with this because the man apparently had a mental disorder and thus ‘couldn’t possibly pose a threat’. So why is it considered okay to attack someone with intent to kill as long as they’re mental but if you’re of sound mind suddenly it’s not? I just don’t understand the logic that mental handicaps prevent you from being a threat to anyone even when you’re brandishing a knife and running towards someone to shank them.

I actually have quite a bit to say on this issue, from both the law enforcement perspective and from someone who knows quite a bit about mental illness, but I don't want to discuss it here for risk of the discussion becoming too political. If you would like to talk about this, though, feel free to PM me. It's both a very important issue and an interesting one.

19 hours ago, Slowswift said:

There's some surprising gems in the cheaper stuff, not gonna lie! If you wanna keep it cheap, Moonman's pretty good too.

Gonna recommend LAMY or TWSBI as a proper next step up, though! The Safari/Al-Star are classics for a reason, and TWSBI just makes a solid pen. 

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll definitely look into them!

3 hours ago, Isabelle6060 said:

I love musicals. I want to see Wicked, and I'm excited about the movie if they're ever actually gonna get around to making it. Do you like High School Musical? I'm obsessed with it and all of the songs, but Merciful hates it so I don't get to listen to the songs very often unless I have headphones on. Ooh, I also love "A Week Away" where a troubled teen gets sentenced to Christian camp and falls in love. I haven't seen any of the musicals that you mentioned though. In my opinion, happy endings where the guy gets the girl are the best. I sing the songs off-key when my sister and I are home alone. Drives her nuts. 

I actually was able to see Wicked on Broadway a few years ago, and it's amazing. I hope you can see it at some point!

I've never seen High School Musical, actually. I'm not a huge fan of romance (but really good characters make it tolerable), and just like dark stories in general, so I tend to stick with those. I guess my one exception to that is Newsies. The movie. Not the stage version. I have a thing against the stage version. But the movie is fantastic.

18 hours ago, Slowswift said:

@Tesh Welcome to the club!  

Waterman's a sold choice. Look forward to seeing what else you got!

Alright, I just checked. The random one that the kid gave me is a Baoer. And then the other one is a $15 dollar one from Hongdian that I just got off of Amazon. (For the price, it actually works really well.) 

I'm hoping one I actually start working I can get maybe a couple more that are a little better quality.

When you get your entire family hooked on Skyward. Everyone from your brother who's in elementary school to your parents. (Both of my parents have also tried the Cosmere, but they didn't enjoy it too much.)