Use the Falchion

Edgedancer and Windrunner or Windrunner and Lightweaver. I resonate with all three, so it's hard to choose just two. Probably Edgedancer and Windrunner though.

Fire Emblem Engage was officially announced yesterday, so I thought I'd make a thread to talk about it. There are some good breakdown videos out there; I don't have time to watch a lot of them and link the best ones yet, but I'll do so over the weekend. https://serenesforest.net/2022/09/13/fire-emblem-engage-september-2022-direct-analysis/#more-66009

Taking a break from Xenoblade 3 so I don't get burnout. I've had the urge to start up and beat Triangle Strategy over the past few weeks, and today's the day I've had the opportunity to continue the game. I'm about halfway through, and I've been going for the Golden Route...except now I can't, because I don't have enough points in one area or the right information to convince a key character to vote a certain way. And now all the planning I've done and guide-following is useless because I can't access that stupid route. Needless to say, I'm ticked off right now. This did help me realize that I do have a MAJOR gaming pet peeve when it comes to Golden Routes - it's perfectly fine to have Golden Routes in games, but don't make them hard to access for everyone if they're available on a first playthrough. Mass Effect 2 is good about this, as there are clear choices and a simple recommended strategy to get the best ending. (Do the Loyalty Missions before the Reaper IMF*, go full Paragon or full Renegade outside of a few personal choices (this makes some in-game stuff easier), and don't wait to do the final mission.*) (I was a little disappointed that Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Houses didn't have one, given all the rumors about it being an unlockable thing after you beat the game once.) I'll beat Triangle Strategy still, but my emotional investment is at an all-time low. I honestly don't care about the story, choices, or characters that much anymore because the game railroaded me into a path I didn't want to take. There's also no guarantee I'll replay the game. I'm VERY selective about the games I replay, and this one isn't doing itself any favors by locking me out of what I wanted. If I do replay the game, part of it will be out of spite, and that's no way to play a game. On the bright side, I do get to pick up some route-exclusive characters that I'll have access to in NG+. (Good for roleplaying and head-canons, but route-exclusive characters is another gaming pet peeve for me.) As it stands, due to Triangle Strategy forcing two of my gaming pet peeves back-to-back, it's probably going to fall out of my top 3 games of the year, allowing Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - which only has one of my pet peeves at this time in route-exclusive characters - to take its spot. It may even fall out of the Top 5, depending on if I replay this game or not, what other games I decide to play this year, and how good of a game Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is. (My current Top 3 2022 games are: Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and Triangle Strategy...but again, that may change soon.) *Mass Effect 2 Spoilers

I guess I'll try this out. I'm usually not very good at these, but we'll see what happens: Vin - Amber Midthunder (great choice @handleinthedark) - I haven't seen her work yet, but I think she does a great job of capturing the essence of Vin in her looks. Granted, looks aren't everything for a character. Zoe Robins looks nothing like how I pictured Nynaeve, but I love her in the role all the same. I'll see what Amber has done and see if there's someone who may capture the spirit of Vin better, but for first looks, I like it. (She's also older than I'd prefer for the role, but we can age up the characters.) Kelsier - Stephen Amell - Outside of me just liking the actor and his role in Arrow, I think Stephen can capture the physical nature of Kelsier, as well as the charming and psychopathic sides to him. He's a little older than Kelsier is, but if we're aging up Vin, then we should probably age up Kelsier. Alternatively, Liam McIntyre would be a solid fit for the role.* If Stephen is still chosen for Kelsier, then Liam should be Marsh. Marsh - See Liam above. Dockson - Stephanie Beatriz - Outside of her being a hot commodity due to Encanto, Stephanie can do a great job at switching up her voice and mannerisms to fit a character. I think that would work great with Dockson. He's a conman through and through, and I think someone we need someone who can play a straight man to Kelsier's comedy, which is something Stephanie can do in spades. Rashida Jones may be a potential choice as well. Rashida's character Ann Perkins is hilariously known for being "ethnically ambiguous" in Parks & Rec (Rashida is biracial), so I can see using her to represent a more ethnically diverse Scadrial in a way. Breeze - No idea. Ham - Julie Estelle - I went for a lesser known and far less beefy actress than most would consider, but I think Julie Estelle is supremely underrated and can pull off a LOT of the physical things we'd want from Ham. She's a little young for the role, but I like her here, nonetheless. If this movie was being made ten years ago (and I had known about her then), she probably would have been my choice for Vin. Clubs - Christopher Judge - If the man can't play this role, then he better voice Human! Elend - I'll go with Charlie Rowe I guess. I have no idea how good or bad of an actor he is, but he's on a list of actors who were almost MCU Spider-Man, and if Tom Holland's name is being thrown around for this role, I feel like that's an important list. Also, the ability to have a beard is important. (I wanted to give this to Dylan O'Brien, but he felt just a tad too old, personally.) Shan - I'd say an actress who looks like she could be related to Charlie Rowe. I'm not very good with this, so I'd say either Sarah Hyland of Modern Family fame (although she's a tad too old for my liking, if Shan is supposed to be the younger sister) or Natalia Dyer of Stranger Things fame (despite her looking nothing like Charlie Rowe). Maya Hawke, also of Stranger Things fame? (Nah.) Sazed - Lance Reddick - He's still perfect for the role and we all know it! Straff Venture - Manu Bennett - I think, while he's a little short for the role, he'd capture the sadism of Straff pretty well without being a jerk about it. We could also make this a Spartacus/Arrowverse reunion The Lord Ruler - Robert Pattinson? We need someone tall, pale, and handsome. I honestly think that outside of Batman, the history of TLR would make him a character that Pattinson would be interested in playing. *Interestingly enough, Stephen and Liam both auditioned for the role of Spartacus in the Starz show of the same name when the main actor of the show, Andy Whitfield, passed away. Liam ended up getting the role and Stephen ended up landing the titular role in Arrow. A few years later, Liam would show up as a villain in The Flash, Arrow's first spin-off show. Several other Spartacus characters would also show up in the Arrowverse.

A few reasons immediately pop to mind: 1. What sounds good on paper and is good in person doesn't actually look good when everything is said and done. That means that some changes can't get fixed until it's too late. (The reverse is also true.*) A book rarely has this problem. 2. Execs will force directors and writers to make changes that they (the directors and writers) know is bad, but the execs think will sell or will please shareholders. Aka "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen." Again, books rarely have this problem. (Outside of some stuff with a publisher on occasions.) 3. Depending on the problem, there isn't time for the writer(s) to look back and fix a problem. A lot of writers and directors are working on an INCREDIBLY strict schedule. Between making sure all of the sets can be built, the VFX studios have enough time to do their thing, the actors can be there for principal photography AND reshoots, staying on budget, making sure that all of the Producers and EPs (and execs) are happy, and making a good film, there's rarely enough time to sleep or think, let alone review a script. Heck, it's not unheard of to go into principle-photography with a half-finished script because there simply wasn't time to finish the script. Television has even more problems, since shows often don't know if they're being renewed until towards the end of their current season, and sometimes not even until after the season airs. That means you have to act like everything is going to end on a big finale that wraps up everyone's arc, but you need to leave room for sequels. It's hard. (Granted, this wasn't the problem with Game of Thrones, but it is a problem with most other shows.) Books have similar problems, but it's rarely to this extreme. 4. Film people often (and sometimes accurately) look down on their audience. Novelists do too sometimes, but this is far rarer. 5. A rotating cast of workers. Usually, there's only one or two authors per book series. There are DOZENS of writers per show - they have things called "writers' rooms" for a reason - and it's not always consistent. Imagine you're a newly hired writer for a show. Do you have time between the crazy work hours, constant stress of making sure every actor has a cameo/screentime and a line and an arc, and the constantly changing demands of those above you, to watch every episode of the show that you're working on beforehand? 6. Burnout. This is a thing, and delays for shows and movies aren't as accessible or creator-friendly, when compared to books. That is to say, delaying a movie release date or a television show premiere most likely has to do with airtime and views than it does the creators or writers. 7. Edits are made, but they make the film or show worse, not better. *IIRC, Brandon's favorite episode of WoT is episode 6, but that was before he saw it filmed and completed. He liked the script the best, but that doesn't mean the episode was the best. Contrasting, Brandon HATED The Thing With Perrin in Episode 1. For all of my non-reading friends, that was the moment they were hooked. Brandon didn't like a certain attempted stabbing in Episode 3 (or was it Episode 4?), which to me was one of the best moments of the characters. My point here is that Brandon read the scripts and thought one thing, while we can see the results of that script and think another.

SAAAAAAAME. Hopefully we'll see it during the block of time that Brandon is writing Mistborn 8-10.

It's a turn-based tabletop strategy game. The mechanics beyond that (such as resources like Cinder) are hinted at and/or outright seen in the video linked. But yes, it's like tabletop Warhammer (I guess, I never played Warhammer) with some X-COM thrown in from what I've seen.

In a way, the game is about the gameplay. What you see is what you get. Story, characters, setting, they're all just dressing for the type of game this is. (This isn't a dig at the game, just how I perceive it.) This first look goes over some of the stuff we didn't see in the trailer, but most of it is a deeper look at the mechanics that we did see at least briefly. On the bright side, I'm sure we'll get a full promotional blowout once we're closer to release.

As I said on Reddit, VINDICATIOOOOOOOOON! Now, outside of my sheer excitement of seeing Soulburner finally come to fruition, this game isn't the game for me. I'm going to try it out, as I would anything by Brandon, but the multiplayer and tabletop focus aren't my gaming preferences. Even if the game isn't my cup of tea, I hope that it's good and that it's wildly successful, as games are a great way to bring in new readers.

Isolating due to COVID, but it's given me a LOT of time to play Xenoblade 3! I'm already on Chapter 6 and am loving it all. Chapter 5, while having some of the best moments and acting in the game so far, does introduce some tropes that I was hoping the game would avoid. It makes sense, given the game's setting, mechanics, and core themes, but I was happier when they weren't brought to this conclusion. Other than that, this will probably be my GOTY (Game of the year) unless something else can come out and stop it. It's that good. And while this surprising to me given that Three Hopes came out this year, it's good to have a new game or franchise come knock the older ones off their pedestals every now and then. (Also, expectations, or lack thereof, can do wonder on one's enjoyment of a game.)

Stormlight Draft 1.0 is now at 11%. I think that's a move. It's weird they haven't changed anything else though. IIRC, Brandon's finished his final draft on Secret Project 3, and I'm all but certain he's finished his revision on Dark One Novelization, so I don't know why they'd keep Secret Project 2 and Dark One up there as they are.

I found an old dream release schedule for Brandon's works in an old notebook of mine. I think it's from 2016 or 2017, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's before The Apocalypse Guard was taken off the slate and Skyward was announced. The release schedule with some added thoughts: 2018 - The Apocalypse Guard (Someday I still want to see this, even if it's one of the books the Shard gives out) 2018 - Rithmatist 2 (HA!) 2018 - Alcatraz 6 (...four years later?) 2018 - The Lost Metal (...four years later...) 2019 - The Apocalypse Guard 2 (Replace this with Starsight and I'm right on the money. But according to Dan Wells, he has ideas for a sequel!) 2020 - The Apocalypse Guard 3 (Nope.) 2020 - Stormlight 4 (Ay, I was right!) 2020 - Elantris 2 (HA!) 2020 - Dark One 1 (...well, Dark One Volume 1's original run was in 2020... This prediction was made when Dark One was still going to be a YA book series. I thought it might be the follow-up to Apocalypse Guard) 2021 - Dark One 2 (Nope, but we did get a second run of Vol 1) 2022 - Dark One 3 (No, but we're getting Dark One: Forgotten in October!) 2022 - Stormlight 5 (What an optimistic sword wielder I was...) 2022 - Elantris 3 (knowing what I now know about Sanderson's schedule, I'm not sure how on earth he would have accomplished this) I have DOZENS if not hundreds of little prediction lists like these. All of them are wrong, of course, but I guess you know you're a Sanderson fan when you create these instead of just doodling like a normal person.

Possibly, but to me Equilibrium is about balance, but with less...emotional fulfillment. Equilibrium is not about reaching harmony, but about reaching homeostasis. Things can change and end or new stuff can grow and begin, and a new balance is found at the end of the day. To me that's accepting that things can and will change, and there's a way to preserve the harmony within that, but its goal is higher than keeping things the same. Still, at the end of the day, I'm on the side of the Shards of Ruin and Preservation combining will always be something in sync (Harmony and other various shades of it) or out of sync (Discord and other various shades of it). A Shard can't really travel too far from its Intent, or so it seems*, so I wouldn't think that whatever Vin's interpretation of the combined Shards of Ruin and Preservation are, it would be too different from Harmony.

I thought the point wasn't that it was entirely different, simply that it was a different perspective on the same thing. Admittedly, I just skimmed the previous messages and didn't think about the prompt too much. To me, Vin wouldn't be Harmony because she wasn't really at peace with herself for most of her journey. She doesn't have the perspective to see the two Shards as equal opposites or would care about that in a way. Instead, I think she'd focus on the balance of two Shards and how that relates to her as Vin and Valette. She could be both, and if she could find a balancing act between those two parts of her life, she could find a balance between the Shards. It wouldn't always be constant, but it could be equal. Therefore, Equilibrium. But if something different is needed, I'd posit Guard, or something closer to Kaladin's "Watcher on the Rim" ideology. Possibly something like Wax's ideology, which is why Harmony wants him as a sword. He protects as he destroys. He destroys to protect. Vin was similar. Maybe Readiness? The ability to act, in this case in order to either protect or attack.

Last night in the 45 minutes I was able to play, I finally met Alexandria. Ethel may have my heart, but Alexandria is definitely one of the characters I've been looking forward to meeting the most. (Other than Ashera, who also has my heart. I haven't met her yet though.) Anyways, when I get some time (maybe a few hours this weekend, and then probably not a lot until Labor Day), I'll try to do some damage to Chapter 4, as the first cutscene during that chapter is the last thing I was able to get through last night.

Equilibrium? A balance struct between two things, that may not be harmonious but it is accepted, natural (usually), and peaceful enough. (Or, as the definition online says, "a state in which two opposing forces or influences are balanced.)

Combining the two titles I like the most: Knot of Woes Tethered Knights of Woe, Tethered ...I really like the word "Tethered."

If animated options are allowed, since I imagine Stormlight as an animated television show: Dalinar - Christopher Sabat (Vegeta, Piccolo, All Might from My Hero Academia), Kevin Conroy (Batman) or Sungwon Cho (aka ProZD, voice of Holst from Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes) Young Dalinar - Matt Latner (Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Jasnah - Tara Platt (Edelgard from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Detective Yuri from Insmoniac's PS4 Spider-Man) Navani - Jennifer Hale (Fem. Commander Shepard in Mass Effect, Bastila Shan in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and the Female Trooper in Star Wars: The Old Repbulic), Sheena in Tales of Symphonia, Avatar Kyoshi and June in Avatar: The Last Airbender) Shallan - Cherami Leigh (Makoto from Pesona 5, Lucy from Fairy Tail, Asuna from SAO, Rhea from Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Willa Holland (Aqua from Kingdom Hearts, Thea Queen from Arrow), or Laura Post (Kasumi from Persona 5 Royal and Catherine from Fire Emblem: Three Houses) Evi - Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka in Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Lift - Christina Vee (Marionette from Miraculous Ladybug, Elsa in Re:Zero), Erica Lindbeck (Futaba from Persona 5, Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia) Mr. T - Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker, Joker, Dictatious in Trollhunters, Darth Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Szeth - Keith Silverstein (Shido in Persona 5, Saber in Fire Emblem Echoes, Hawk Moth in Miraculous Ladybug, Lex Luthor in Batman: Arkham Knight) Kaladin - Michael B Jordan* (Adonis Creed, Killmonger, Cyborg in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox), Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen in Arrow), or Xander Mobus (Joker from Persona 5) Syl - Cassandra Lee Morris (Morgana from Persona 5, Sothis from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Kyubey from Madoka Magica) Tien - Justin Brinner (Deku in My Hero Academia) Teft - Steve Blum (from pretty much everything but most notably: Spike from Cowboy Bebop, Amon from The Legend of Korra, Zeb from Star Wars Rebels, Grunt in Mass Effect 2 & 3, Ares in God of War) Rock - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson The Lopen - Michael Pena Moash - Amaram - Henry Cavill (Superman in the DCEU, Geralt in the Netflix Witcher show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) or Mark Meer (Male Commander Shepard) Sadeas - James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan from Star Wars: The Clone Wars) Wit - Matt Mercer (GM of Critical Role, Chrom, Ryoma/Shigure, from Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates, and Yusuke from Persona 5) or Tom Hiddleston (MCU's Loki) Adolin - Jack De Sena (Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Callum from The Dragon Prince), Joe Brogie (Sylvain from Fire Emblem: Three Houses) or Jesse Inocalla (Soren from The Dragon Prince) Rlain - ??? Venli - ??? Abby Trott maybe (Tae Takemi from Persona 5 Royal only, Annette from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Nezuko from Demon Slayer) Although I may want her as Leswhi... Eshonai - ??? Renarin - Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker from Insomniac's PS4 Spider-Man) Nohadon - ??? Shalash - ??? Jezrien - ??? Taln - Idris Elba Elhokar - ??? Gavilar - Christopher Sabat (if he's not Dalinar) Honor - Michael Kramer Cultivation - Kate Reading

...and according to Brandon's comments during the livestream last Thursday, my guess was off in the best of ways. The next two years are going to be wild times to be Sanderson fans. Next year will have the Secret Projects, whose hype (and hopefully good quality) and release window will draw people to Brandon. We may even get a videogame! (Which, if good, will definitely draw people to Sanderson.) Stormlight years are always years of rapid growth, and I'm sure the idea of an arc finale will bring in more people than ever before. Add to that a movie release (that's hopefully good if not great), and you've got a massive slew of new fans from all different directions.

My first thought when I heard about the three storylines and the school path was "okay, so Pokemon is now just pulling a Fire Emblem Three Houses. Cool, I can get behind that." AND I SHALL! If I didn't always try to model the player character on myself, I'd be tempted to make the character have blue hair and call them Byleth and go the whole nine yards. (Or Dimitri. Or Claude. Or Edelgard.) Still, this looks like it'll be a fun game. I'm not sure if one or all of the stories will reach the heights of PLA, but I'm hoping it does. Not sure how to feel about the Terastlize thing, partucalry since I've been hearing rumors about past/future versions of Pokemon and would rather see that, but every game has its new gimmick

Started the game on Sunday and am really enjoying it so far! I think I've finished most of the tutorials, as I recruited the first Hero. Sadly, my summer break is all but over now, so my time to place is incredibly limited now. Still, if the game keeps the momentum it started with, then this may be one of my top 3 games of the year.

Not exactly Shang-Chi news, but the director of Shang-Chi, Destin Daniel Cretton, will be directing Avengers: Kang Dynasty.

Same, same and same about Wakanda Forever! I will admit that I'm upset they didn't recast T'Challa, but I hope the story they do tell about his death is better than similar ones as of late. (Star Wars I'm looking at you!) I think it's less of burnout and more of the direction that the MCU has been going lately...or lack thereof. There hasn't been a capstone event that we've been really drawn to so far. We're getting there with Kang, but he's only made one appearance so far, and the Multiverse stuff has been...questionable to say the least. (Most of my friends were lukewarm at best about MoM, and while I adored L&T, several of my friends really didn't like it. They didn't like Ragnarok either, so that's to be expected.) But I'm hoping that Wakanda Forever will set ups back on a path with an actual path. But yeah, I'm not tired of it either. I'm worried, but not tired.

Ba-Ado-Mishram is the Dawnshard of Unity, but has sense been Unmade. We know that one Dawnshard is not like the others, and I think that means that one is alive. Ba-Ado-Mishram's abilities and purpose fit the idea of Binding/Connecting/Uniting people together, and I think it'd be an interesting approach for the character. HOWEVER, I also think that because the Physical and Cognitive aspect of BAM are locked up, the Spiritual ideal of the Dawnshard is seeking a new host, and that host is Dalinar. So, Dalinar will be a Dawnshard of some kind. The other Dawnshards, one is with Rysn, and I have a crackpot theory (as new as not even two hours ago) that Lift is a Dawnshard. This doesn't explain everything about her, but I think it makes some sense. Other than that, Kaladin will Ascend and become Honor (not too crackpot), the Heralds weren't the first Heralds (super crackpot), Era 4 will end with Kelsier dying and finally going to the Beyond (somewhat feasible I guess).

That's what my general assumption has always been. Years ago, I thought that it'd actually be Harmony who may discover this power first, in Era 4 of Mistborn. This would lead to Hoid seeking out Harmony and his power in order to do the same, and Kelsier actually trying to stop him from hurting/killing/taking the power of his friend. But who knows?