Use the Falchion

Crackpot theory: Lift is the Dawnshard, and that's why she exists partially in the Cognitive Realm (and hates bacon). She's naturally opposed to violence, and her wish to stay the same could be granted if her soul stays the same after being changed by holding a Dawnshard. Maybe the affects aren't as extreme as they were on Hoid since I think Lift is still able to eat meat, but it'd be a fun way to look back and say "so THAT'S why Lift is the way she is!" Granted, I like the theory that she's going to be Cultivation's heir better, and her being a Dawnshard would go against her having a Nahel Bond as per the warning Rysn got. But who knows.

The blurb for TLM mentions Wax as Harmony's sword. As for the preservation part, I think it has to do with his lawman roots and sense of justice. Wax sees being a lawman as a way of preserving everyone's freedom, something he mentioned when talking to Steris on the train IIRC. That's the Preservation aspect, the peace aspect. Then there's the Ruin aspect in how he goes about it. He's the order that results in chaos. He's the chaos that brings order. He's both, and there's a harmony there, if you will. That being said, I'm not sure that Kaladin will be Harmony's Sword, nor do I think that Wax will go worldhopping. I think this as a whole is being a tad overthought, but overthinking things for theories is part of the fun!

An Era 1 ride that's in the Era 2 theme park. Basically, you go to see the Hero of All Ages moving experience, but they just received some metal bars that have been around since the Final Empire. Little does the theater troupe know that this metal is actually a Coppermind, and "touching it" aka having the bars down on the ride, transports people to the time of the Final Empire and we see Vin interact with Elend, Kelsier, and the rest of the crew. I think this would be a better choice of allowing people to see and experience the Final Empire without having to worry about implications of things. I'm not sure what to do for Era 3, but once the first book comes out, I'm positive we'll have ideas. Other things maybe: A platform that travels above the theme park or a ride that travels above the theme park for Lux. A pilot training course for Skyward, a Superiority battle simulator for Starsight & the Skyward Flights. (Maybe you can keep a record if you go through each in sequential order?) A Nowhere-based rock climbing gym and restaurant for Cytonic? Nothing for Dark One just yet. But maybe something will pop out next year.

Ay Azure Gleam! I'm pretty much in the same boat, but I think I liked it more than most. It's far from perfect, but of the routes, I'm happy that was my first (and only at this time). Here's a cool analysis of Azure Gleam and its ending! I think it really helps put the ending things in a new context. (I never hated the ending, but I do see its flaws.)

Mavel just announced their Phase 5 and part of their Phase 6, with two more Avengers movies in the pipeline! Hopefully we'll see the return of the Russo Bros with Secret Wars, although I wouldn't mind a new face for the other movie, since I like the separate identities of each set of Avengers movies possesses. I'd argue for Secret Wars' director not being the Russo Bros in order to keep the 1/2 3/4 split going, but the Russo Bros have been talking about Secret Wars for years, so it's only fair that they get a shot at directing it. And the Black Panther Wakanda Forever trailer! It brought a literal tear to my eye.

Mid-year update: Top New Shows of 2022: Abbott Elementary Castle Ms. Marvel Peacemaker Miss Sherlock (Honorable Mention: Moon Knight) Top Continued Shows of 2022: Elementary Superman & Lois Stargirl (Honorable Mentions: Stranger Things & Person of Interest) Top Movies of 2022 So Far: Everything Everywhere All At Once The Karate Kid Top Gun: Maverick 007: Thunderball Sonic the Hedgehog 2 The Batman (Honorable Mention: Encanto)

When you're simultaneously amused and annoyed by the idea of the Secret Projects (particularly 1 and 3) being the books that launch Sanderson to his next level of fame/popularity as opposed to his more common beginner series in Mistborn ones, his fan favorite in Stormlight, or even Skyward. (If this happened, I'd imagine it'd be because of the quality of the books spread by word-of-mouth and their initial scarcity working together to create a demand for the books that launches them to the stratosphere.)

Chik-Fil-A for me. There are more closer to where I live compared to Popeyes, they have phenomenal service speed, and they have great tasting food as a whole. Their milkshakes aren't the best, but they're far from the worst. I've only been to Popeyes once in the past 3-4 years, when the whole Popeyes Chicken Sandwich craze hit, and I was supremely underwhelmed. But I assume it's popular for a reason, and I'm okay with that.

Mid-year Music Update from last month, partially updated: Most Listened To: "Survivor" by Desiigner, "Numb & Getting Colder" by Flume, "Elevate" by Papa Roach, (several Polyphia songs, as mentioned later on), "Blasphemy" by Bring Me the Horizon, "Castles" by Paper Idol Best Vibes: "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic, "Dreamland" by Glass Animals, "Ah Yeah," by Robert Glasper, "Sleepy Tea" by Chon, "Castles" and "Clouds" by Paper Idol, "Earl Gray" by FN Most WTF???: "Storm" by Otyken, "Hide and Seek" by Polkadot Stingray, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" by Glass Animals (NOTE: This category means that I didn't know what on earth was going on during my first listen. Rest assured that I thoroughly enjoy all three songs listed here.) Focus Band - Polyphia with "G.O.A.T." "OD," "Goose," "Nasty," "Playing God," "40oz," and now "Neurotica" (Glass Animals is in second place with "The Other Side of Paradise," "Dreamland," "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," and "Tokyo Drifting.") Best Remixes: "One Step Closer" by 100gecs, "Watashi Igai Watashi Ja Nai No," by PARKGOLF, "Toxic" Y2K Remix by Brittany Spears This Week's Songs: "Bad For You" by Vicki Vox and "Neurotica" by Polyphia Top Music Introducers: Steezy's Dance Channel ("Baguetti," "Coldblooded," "Light Switch," "Ooh Kill'em," "Indigo")

Just finished binging it! I think Ms. Marvel is one of the best MCU shows. It nails its theme, it's directing is fun and varied, and the characterization is both fun, archetypical, and nuanced. (Except for DODC. They were just cartoonishly evil.) Overall, this show was a fun summer blast in a year that NEEDED a fun summer blast. The pacing was a bit off for me, as I wanted more high school stuff and more time in each place rather than movie pacing for each aspect. The CGI was also really off, particularly with Kamala's models. These aspects put Ms. Marvel a little behind Hawkeye, but the rest of the show more than makes up for it. I'm also a sucker for generational and/or immigration-related drama in my fantasy works, and it's something Disney has been leaning REALLY hard into for the past couple of years. Anyways, I really enjoyed this show, and I'm curious to see where it goes...although if I'm being honest, I don't have a lot of hope for The Marvels. After Multiverse of Madness ruining Wanda's entire arc in WandaVision (and really faking us out with What If's importance), I'm really not sure how they'll use Kamala and to what extent. But after that, I'm curious as to what they'll do.

I think you're forgetting that Brandon can write and revise at the same time, and that he plans on writing all of those books within the five years. I'm not sure he is or should be beholden to the idea of all of those releasing in those five years. That would be too much IMO. Era 3 and the Elantris books could make it, but not Nightblood. And frankly, I think that's fine. Again, my belief is that Stormlight 6 will be released before 2031. When I tried to plot it out it out a year or two ago, I accounted for Era 3 taking longer. Brandon has said that Era 3, Elantris sequels, and Nightblood should all take around 6 months each. Assuming he finishes all of his revisions and work on Stormlight 5 by June 1, 2024 (which feels pretty generous at this time), a schedule may look something like: Alternatively, if Brandon does decide to get ahead with the Mistborn 9 revisions Aug-Dec 2026: Things could easily move up a few months if Brandon finishes all of his revisions Stormlight 5 before June 1, 2024 and/or if the palate cleansers aren't really needed. Again, all of this was based on Brandon's words and desires before the Secret Projects. He supposedly has more writing days now, since his travel days are in the teens and twenties rather than eighties or even over a hundred, despite those days being taken up by meetings at the moment. I have a feeling that books could be finished slightly quicker than before on the whole, especially when the meetings calm down as Sanderson focuses in on 1-2 projects at a time. Alternatively, the main books would be finished at a slightly slower pace, but we may get more quirky, fun one-off books. Either way, I'm still of the belief that 2029 isn't impossible, and while 2030 is more likely, we won't be waiting 7 years between Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6. *I'm giving it about a month since I'm guessing it'll be somewhere between the length of Edgedancer and Dawnshard, but who knows. *Brandon has talked about how he outlines and writes the first book in a series and then goes back to outline the entire series. **For the outlining slots, depending on how long it takes, Brandon can use that spare time to work on other projects like collaborations, write and/or revise scripts, or even write more Secret Project novels. Outlining usually doesn't take more than a month or so, so he'd have 3-4 months of spare time to do with what he wills, or other things that need to be done. He could also just use the time to get ahead, but I think "giving" (as if it was our time to give) Brandon freedom to use that time as he desires would result in an overall better outcome. ***If Elantris 3 is finished, then I'd say Brandon could go straight into outlining and writing Nightblood, with a desire to get ahead of the curve when it comes to his other revisions.

Humorously, I feel like it's the opposite...or at least it was. I think Storlight 6 in 2029 or 2030 is more likely than 2031. Brandon's talked in the past about how he plans to Mistborn Era 3, Elantris 2 & 3, potentially The Apocalypse Guard, and Nightblood during the five years between Stormlight 5 & 6. At the time it felt Herculean, but now with Brandon seemingly having more time - well, potentially having more time again, once the movie/tv stuff calm down - I think it's possible. Brandon says that it takes him about six months for 200-250k word books. If Brandon plans on writing 6 books of that length, then it should take roughly three years, averaging about two books per year. (Granted, my old, detailed analysis that predicted when and how long it'd take to write each book is out of date.) The extra writing time and days that the pandemic has built into Brandon's schedule can, in theory, balance out the new responsibilities of movie/tv stuff once the meetings die down (or rather once 2-3 projects are picked up and homed in on) alongside writing those six books. Depending on how it's split, Brandon can also revise and write at the same time, so by the time he gets to that final year, he could be revising either Elantris 3 or Nightblood as he outlines the back half of Stormlight in preparation for a Stormlight 6 2029/2030 release, depending on how he's feeling and his responsibilities at the time. Although if he finds out he has a year left before Stormlight is scheduled to come out, I'd love to see him spend time writing more Secret Project books instead of Stormlight coming out sooner. Or maybe he could have more Stormlight written and ready before he announces another batch of Secret Project books. I know it wasn't really possible this time around, but in the future, it might be!

A movie only has one script, so it's no more than a two-week diversion, and one that frankly isn't that big of a deal right now. Brandon has a treatment and is the author of the source material. He's currently fighting for more control and rights in the movie and production of this stuff. It's not going to be a big change in preproduction if it's included in the contract and a blueprint is already provided. Concept art and casting and whatnot can pretty much all be done in a weekly meeting. That means more time to write Stormilght 5, even if the preproduction starts around the time he's writing. Brandon may write other scripts for future Mistborn projects, but those won't be touched until TFE's movie is out and a sequel is greenlit. Right now, Brandon only has to worry about one movie and maybe one television adaptation. (Dark One would be easier, since it was built with the television format in mind and was the closest to being made, but Skyward is still my bet.) Yeah, I saw his video on the Bumblebee video. TBH, it felt more like a rant than an actual analysis at some points, as he didn't fully address what the issues in the script really caused when it wasn't focused on the main character. But it's not the first script analysis video - he has a whole playlist dedicated to his analyses and reviews. Brandon looked over all but the final two episodes of WoT Season 1 and dedicated more time - but still no more than a month - to looking over all of WoT Season 2's scripts. My point here is the same as above - Brandon will look over the script(s), but he won't lose that much time. The way I see it, for a Mistborn movie or movies, if we're lucky and my timeline isn't too off*: November 2022 (or before) - Mistborn movie announcement, possibly with a director attached. (If not, no problem.) November 2023 - Preproduction starts in earnest. (Sets, costume design, etc.) June/July 2024 - Principal photography starts October 2024 - Principal photography ends (people underestimate how little time this part actually takes nowadays) November 2024 - First Teaser if available* and/or a panel with the actors at Dragonsteel 2024. December 2024/January 2025 - Post-production starts (reshoots, VFX, test audiences, etc.) July 2025 - Teaser teaser at Comic-Con September/October 2025 - Trailer and promotion starts in earnest November/December 2025 - Movie releases (to critical and fan adoration!) ...yeah, I've given this some thought... If the above timeline is even close to correct, then Brandon has nearly an entire year of Stormlight writing to do before preproduction and whatnot starts in earnest, meaning that the movie wouldn't take much of Stormlight's time. Outside of maybe some casting calls and script revisions - which shouldn't be too laborious, given that Brandon has a treatment for the script and wrote the original source material - Brandon's work on the Mistborn movie in 2023 would be pretty light. 2024, which would mostly be a revision year for Stormlight 5 and outlining Mistborn Era 3,* is when Brandon would get the most interruptions for the movie. I don't imagine he'll need to watch the dailies, but even if he does, the most time-consuming aspect may actually be the set visit. TL;DR - For a 2025 release for a movie, which is incredibly soon even by Hollywood standards, Brandon's heavy lifting will be in 2024 and 2025 most likely, not 2023. That means that Stormlight 5 won't be delayed further, but the books that need to be finished before Stormligh 6 may be delayed. That in turn may delay Stormlight 6. Hence, a movie and/or show won't interrupt Stormlight 5, but Stormlight 6. *Although the delay of Stormlight will probably push back Mistborn Era 3 a year or so, which gives Brandon more wiggle room for the movie if they want the two to release at the same time. *This may seem like a quick turnaround, but it's the same sort of turnaround between Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens' principal photography ending and the first teaser trailer. The point is that it's possible. Maybe not likely, and certainly not much, but definitely possible. *Brandon has talked about the idea of a new Mistborn series coming out around the same time as the movie. For that to happen and for Brandon to write the books back-to-back like he wants to, Brandon would have to move on from Stormlight fast in order to write and outline Era 3. Before, the Secret Projects, the timeline was very tight - if 200k books take him about 5 months, and Cosmere books take longer, stretching it out to six, he'd have to hand off Stormlight 5 by the end of June, spend July writing Horneater and outlining Mistborn 8, and then spend the rest of the year writing Mistborn 8 while revising Horneater for its release. He finishes by the end of December, spends January outlining the rest of Era 3, and then spends basically the entirety of 2024 working on Mistborn 8 & 9. If he finishes by December, then he can revise Mistborn 8 in the first half of 2025 for a November 2025 release. Then while revising the other two books, Brandon could spend the next three years on Nightblood and Elantris 2 & 3 (which would take about the same amount of time as Era 3), alongside any other projects he wants off his chest. But that was all before the Secret Projects. Now with more time but also more responsibilities in terms of movie and television stuff, I currently have no idea how Brandon can and will divide his time. In theory, once the meetings hopefully calm down, Brandon would actually have more time to write Era 3 and the other books, despite being on a tighter schedule, if he wants the crossover promotion. But again, I have no idea.

I feel like these would delay Stormlight 6 more than it would Stormlight 5. Brandon's not going to be visiting any sets during preproduction, which is what would be happened at best during the time he's writing Stormlight 5. I also have a feeling that Brandon's meeting time would go way down, actually. I imagine it's a bit like dating, in a way. Right now, Brandon is spending a lot of time on meetings because he has options. Once he decides on a partner for a project, those meetings will cease for the time being since Brandon will be devoting time to those one or two projects. So, say right now Brandon has 3-4 movie and tv meetings each week, alongside his regular Dragonsteel team meetings, writing group meetings, publisher meetings (both domestic and overseas if need be), and collaboration meetings. Most of these apparently happen on Thursday, but the movie & tv stuff are spread throughout the week. Now, once Brandon narrows down who he's working with and with whom, then those other meetings will stop, leaving Brandon with 1-2 more meetings than his pre-Kickstarter days, maybe once a week or so at the early stages. That being said, even those small 1-2 meetings, alongside now travelling to one big convention a year or so, may decrease Sanderson's production by a fair bit. (Or rather, it'll cut into his Writing For Himself/Secret Project time, so it'll be a while before we get another burst of books like those.) But hopefully, that will be during a time with few books being released anyways, so we won't feel the effects as much. It'll be more of "yeah this dearth was planned way back before the adaptation stuff, because Brandon wants to write all of these books back-to-back-to-back before releasing them," than "Brandon's books are delayed because of movie/tv stuff." Hopefully.

We can't forget the Dark One novelization, Dragonsteel Prime's release for the Leatherbounds, and potentially Lux 2! (Although Steven Bohls did want that to come out in 2022, and we've heard nothing about it even being a thing, so my belief in the project's existence has been slowly declining...) In terms of movie stuff, I think Brandon has a pretty good idea of when a movie would come out. In February, Brandon talked about the future naming conventions of Era 3 and beyond in relation to a new Mistborn movie coming out in about 3 years, so I think the process is farther along that we know. (Although I'm still putting my bets on a Dragonsteel 2022 Mistborn movie announcement, with a potential Skyward series announcement before then.)

Yeah, the VIP passes went fast. There were apparently only 300, and I by the time I got my order in (roughly 5-6 minutes after registration opened) they were more than halfway sold out. The VIP badges are mostly for the swag, but they also allow Early Access seating to Brandon's two main panels (the Spoiler Q&A panel, and The Lost Metal release panel) and access to a VIP lounge. (Which may be new since I don't remember that being the case last year.) Overall, outside of some swag items, I don't think you're missing much.

On the bright side, Brandon's been noodling with that problem for years and probably has a solution to it. Maybe it's the superhero fan in me, but I honestly don't think it's hard, although you do need dedication. Superman & Lois do a great job with showing Clark and Jordan's superhearing, superstrength, and superspeed. (For the latter, though, they do take a lot of inspiration from Man of Steel.) Smallville and The Flash (or at least the early seasons of The Flash) did a great job of showing superspeed by showing the world slow down around them. Superman & Lois and The Flash show the reverse for superspeed as well, where we see the characters blur offscreen and get a visual/physical cue of their rapid leave. Daredevil was also phenomenal at showing heightened senses. Jessica Jones and superstrength...not so much. My point is that there are roadmaps to help overcome this particular problem. And that's fine. Trying to please intense fans will result in madness and products that more often than not, wouldn't actually be good, or at least not good adaptations. Intense fans in many fandoms I've seen have this sense of...ownership...over the subject of the fandom. Book fans are some of the worst, because of how books work. In a book, pacing is dictated by the author (and narrator for audiobooks), yes, but it's ultimately dictated by how fast the reader/listener can read/listen. A movie has its own rules for pacing, and they're vastly different. Descriptions are given and voices expressed, but how we see and imagine them in our mind's eye is different for every person. Visual media strips that away, and intense fans...aren't always ready for that, to put it nicely. (Bonus points if there's a race lift involved that doesn't change anything about the characterization on a major scale, but die-hard fans are upset because it's not how it looks in the books or how they've pictured it for years.) These types of fans usually feel like they're trying to put the adaptation down in order to prop up the book instead of celebrating the differences and welcoming the new perspectives, faces, and ideas. They're also the types of fans who think selfishly about what would be best for THEM, not the story in its new form, and certainly not newcomers. I'm not saying that these types of fans - of which I include myself - shouldn't be thought of at all, but at this stage, we should be given the heart and soul of the story and some fanservice. Trying to do more than that leaves the story too inaccessible to the viewers who will actually push the series forward. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings would like to have a word.* Yes, neither is completely accurate to the books, but they absolutely did their job in getting people to read the books and/or check out the source material, which is something I feel a good adaptation should do. This problem is partially the adaptation's fault and partially the fandom's fault IMO, for two main reasons. The first is that no adaptation is primarily for the core audience or the audience that reads the books. That audience is included into the count. An adaptation is for the people who could be fans of the story if it was presented differently. The people who say they're fans of the genre, but have little to no actual experience with it. The people who who are fans of the tangential genre and can make the jump pretty easily. (I believe this is also one of the reasons Mistborn is shelved in the YA section as well as the Fantasy section in US bookstores.) The second reason is that no adaptation will ever match whatever story a fan has told themselves in their head. A Mistborn movie will never live up to our expectations even if Brandon himself wrote it, because it's not the one we've spent years individually and collectively imagining. (And because Brandon isn't perfect.) Be it due to different casting choices, to a different story, to missing beats that are replaced by other beats that are used to hit the same emotion (but are different and therefore somehow worse), to different dialogue, to different pacing. A thousand small different ways the story will be different, and that will give intense fans a thousand small different reasons to hate it. We as book fans need to keep our expectations in check and make sure just because we're excited that doesn't mean it's going to be perfect. And just because we may not like it, that doesn't mean it's automatically bad or inherently worse than the original. Or that other people shouldn't like it.** That's a legitimate fear, but one I'm not too worried about just yet. Brandon and his team are still heavily involved with the fandom, and frankly any and every fandom that grows large enough, is old enough, or produces enough material over a period of time*** will grow a toxic side. We've been really good about monitoring that toxicity as a whole, and I don't think that will change. We'll just need to upscale the amount of monitoring, be it as regular fans or as the mod team grows. (And be open and receptive to the new perspectives and fans brought in.) Frankly, this was going to happen anyways, since even without an adaptation Sanderson's name and fame continue to grow. An adaptation might expedite this process, but we were headed towards this reality eventually. Now, as for the adapted works, I think it's Mistborn and Skyward. Mistborn is all but a guarantee, and Brandon hasn't been that coy about it. We know movie talks are in the works, we know he wants this to be adapted first, and we know he's been working on a screenplay with a screenwriter friend of his since at least 2020. We also know that Brandon's publishers have talked about changing the Era naming system in order to not scare off new fans. Heck, I'm almost positive we'll get an announcement at (or at least by) Dragonsteel 2022, since it's Mistborn themed anyways. For television, I'm banking on Skyward. Skyward has an almost completed series * with a new trilogy that would be great to time into promotional material. It could also be a great show to scratch that Top Gun itch, considering Maverick made nearly 1.2 billion dollars. Heck, for a Paramount competitor, this may be a great way to steal the thunder from any potential Top Gun spinoff before it airs. Alternatively, Reckoners or Legion/Steven Leeds are options, but Reckoners has Lux, so I'd be genuinely surprised at that announcement. Stephen Leeds could work since it would be a nice, easy foray into the television world. Or maybe Brandon will get Dark One off the ground again. (Or maybe he'll have a better bargaining chip for Dark One once the audio-novella, novelization, and second graphic novel all come out.) *And that's not even getting into adapted stories from the MCU. Or Gone Girl. Or the Twilight books, which we all laugh at but also made an INSANE amount of money and were immensely popular. Or the Hunger Games. Or the first Divergent and Maze Runner movies. Or...well, you get the point. There are great adaptations that change the landscape, and there are ones that fail. There are adaptations that hardly resemble the original source material but ultimately succeed such as the Mat Damon Jason Bourne movies, and then there are things that resemble the books and utterly fail like the previous Bourne Identity adaptations. Adapting a book to screen isn't nearly as black and white as you make it out to be. **This is the problem I have with mostly Sanderson fans in regards to WoT on Amazon. Every single one of my friends who hasn't read the books enjoyed the show immensely, but somehow because they haven't read the books their perspectives and opinions on the show are invalid. Maybe it's the whole "the internet is an echo chamber" thing, but just because a show is different from the source material doesn't mean that it's automatically or inherently bad. There are legitimate problems within the show, but different doesn't always mean inherently bad or unwatchable or even illogical. Also, Brandon isn't perfect. Some of the changes that he thought should have been made in the show actually worked incredibly well for my non-book-reader friends who watched the show. And one scene that Brandon wrote a note against in Episode 3 that they kept in was actually one of my personal favorite scenes in the season. Okay, mini-rant over. ***Bonus points if there are chunks of time between iterations, like with Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Star Wars, Star Trek, and DC movie "universes." *That will actually be completed by the time a show comes out.

At this point, YouTube is low-tech. It's not that hard to access the site, turn on subtitles if need be, and watch a three minute video. The 17th Shard also does update posts for the Weekly Updates, particularly the big ones. And no, it's not necessarily hard to update, but I think you're underestimating how busy the team is and where their resources are located. Brandon has 4-5 known books that he's revising and that his team is prepping for, alongside the rest of the Kickstarter stuff, alongside their fair share of standard weekly meetings alongside TV and movie meetings now. And Brandon really only has one person that does the YouTube side of things - Adam, who is also Brandon's assistant, chauffer, and all-around handy-man for several other things. There's so much in Adam's job that they're now hiring a separate Social Media Specialist. And even these short videos take time: You need to make sure the lighting's right, the camera's ready, Brandon has all of the info he needs to state for the week, and says so well. And then you get into Editing - which fortunately isn't too terrible for 3-4 minute videos, but it's still a lot for the uninitiated - and after that uploading, which doesn't always go as planned. And since Brandon does want the videos to be transcribed, you need to find time to do that as well. It's a LOT, particularly when considering everything else done. The site? Absolutely. This thread? Ehh... I got scolded last time I used the YouTube Weekly Updates for an update rather than the Progress Bar, because that's technically what this thread is about. It was pedantic, but it happened. And in that case, they can ask about the updates, and answers will gladly be given.

A dark portal fantasy in which a young man from Earth is destined to be the Dark One (aka the Voldemort/Sauron/Insert Big Evil Bad Guy Here) of another world. It currently has one graphic novel with another in the works, an audio-novella (framed as an in-world podcast) coming out in October, and a novelization based on the original outline (which will be different from the graphic novel*) that Brandon finished a quick draft on last month and will probably come out next year. (Which is when I theorize we'll see Volume Two of the graphic novel as well.) *Dan Wells has gone on record twice about how the novelization wasn't really following the outline, so it'll be different from the graphic novel. Brandon, though, said that this version was more true to the outline. I'm guessing we won't really know until the book is closer to completion and we can compare.

Three main things here: First, Brandon doesn't use the 17th Shard anymore, and he hasn't in sometime. Second, Brandon provides mostly-regular weekly updates via his YouTube page. Those will give you the latest updates and information on everything going on. (For example, SP 2's final draft is in, Brandon's draft of Dark One is finished, and he's going to go back to work on Stormlight for a couple of months before revising Defiant and SP 3.) You don't have to be a YouTube fan to go to the site and check out a 3 minute video that provides everything you're asking about. Third, fans have been asking about him uploading some Elden Ring gameplay, maybe just not where you've seen it. People like it because it's showing that a person they like has similar interests, so it's fun to see him play. (I personally don't like Soulsborne games, but I do like seeing him play and his comments on it.) And this is clearly something Brandon is doing in his free time and out of the goodness of his heart. He doesn't need to do this, and he makes sure his books are his professional priority. TL;DR - if you want updates, go to his YouTube page.

Just finished Azure Gleam aka the Blue Lions route of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. It was a great but imperfect story, which fits a great but imperfect game. There were a fair bit of twists and turns, and while not everything was answered or played out satisfactorily, I'm hopeful that DLC will fix these issues. Still, Three Hopes is a stellar sequel and spin-off to Three Houses, and I'm excited to begin my Verdant Wildfire aka Golden Deer route. Eventually. I want to begin right now, but I'm not entirely sure I'll like it as much as my Azure Gleam playthrough, if only because VW has the smallest cast of the bunch. (BOO!!) (I also am pretty sure I know a little about what the story is about, and the story makes me a tad uncomfortable, but I'm ready for it!) This game is one where I do want a Golden Route for, though. Three Houses was fine without it, but I think Three Hopes could really benefit from it. Just...so long as it doesn't go the standard "Evil Church is Evil and We Must Destroy Evilness!" route. It's an annoying trope, and the Fodlan games are too nuanced for that. Overall, if you're a fan of Three Houses, Three Hopes is an easy next step and a must-have. If you didn't like Three Houses, I'd probably recommend skipping this one for now.

The Direct actually convinced me to buy the game when it comes out. I haven't really played a Xenoblade game before. I've watched all of Chuggaaconroy's Xenoblade 1 LP and all of the base game stuff for Xenoblade 2. I bought Xenoblade Chronicles X for the WiiU and played it...once? I liked it, but the UI was awful, and the print on the screen was tiny, so I just didn't play it. I did watch a playthrough later, though. Overall, I'd say I'm a casual fan of the series, knowledgeable enough to know of the series, the main story and twists, characters, and general gameplay mechanics, but overall I'm not a giant fan. However, this Direct convinced me to try it out again. I'm liking the character models FAR more than the first two games, the story seems to be one that I'll enjoy as well, and the gameplay looks to be pretty fun this time around, with elements of both numbered installations. Granted, I won't play it for a long time yet. I'm devoting the remainder of my summer break (yay being a new teacher!) to finishing up Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, reading Brian McClellan's new book, and reading a John Gwynne that I promised a friend. (And being completely, honest, Three Hopes is probably the only major thing that will get done.)

I just saved over my Verdant Wildfire playthrough. Now I have two options. Option 1 - replay up to the point I was, or at least roughly where I was. This would definitely allow me to spend the next few days playing, which is what I wanted. Option 2 - I just keep on with my Azure Gleam playthrough, and use NG+ for Verdant Wildfire. Both are legitimate options, although I admit I'll miss Claude and the gang...

Reviews are in and up! At the time of me writing this, Three Hopes sits at an impressive 80/100 on Metacritic. This may not seem too high for Fire Emblem, but for Warriors games this is apparently incredibly impressive. The reviews on YouTube for the most part are pretty positive as well! Nintendo Life and GameXplain are my favorites at this time, as I think they cover the strengths of the game and its weaknesses fairly evenly...minus one rant about Lorenz, who I feel the reviewer really didn't give a shot in this game or Three Houses.* Still, not every review is as positive. Polygon notes that the game doesn't really bring anything new to the Warriors table and its additions to the FEW spin-off are good at best. Gamespot thinks the game is good, but it's not the best for either outing. The gist I'm getting that there's a bit of a sorting algorithm to enjoyment for this game - from most to least, if you're a fan of: Warriors and Three Houses Three Houses Warriors Neither The reviews have also confirmed some stuff that was alluded to in the datamine and/or hinted at in the previews and demo gameplay. I'm talking about playable units on different routes. Recruitment once again returns, but now we have a clearer vision as to who's recruitable on what route. We have the most info for Azure Gleam and the least info for Verdant Wildfire. Everything listed below is from the YouTube reviews of channels such as GameXplain, Nintendo Life, and God is a Geek. Scarlet Blaze known recruitable units: SPOILERS AHEAD Azure Gleam known recruitable and future units: SPOILERS AHEAD Golden Wildfire known recruitable and future units: SPOILERS AHEAD *Lorenz is a pretty interesting character in Three Houses. I went in expecting to hate him, but I love his post-timeskip design, and his supports with Ignatz, Claude, Marianne, and Leonie are some of the best in the game. Lorenz in Three Hopes so far shines just as bright when pushed into a world where the line between commoners and nobles is starting to blur ,leaving his own place in the world less secure.

It's hard to describe, but I picture it akin to what Anti-Light is to Light. It's the inversion of something, but not the opposite of that thing. More or less a being with nigh-omnipotent power but fueled by Anti-Investiture, with the opposite purpose of Adonalsium. Imagine if Adonalsium had a polarity; Anti-Adonalsium would have the opposite polarity, in a way. Again, it was a random theory from last month. Y'all are thinking far too much and far too hard about it. I honestly forgot I wrote t.