Use the Falchion

I for one LOVED the first episode. The animation was slick and flowed gorgeously, even if the models felt off most of the time. The colors popped, and the storyline was familiar yet unique. I was wrong about a few things though. I had one major prediction that I was 100% sure of, and was absolutely wrong. I'm a little disappointed they didn't go in that direction either, but I'm excited to see what happens next. My friend really enjoyed the show too, but he was very critical of the pacing. I absolutely agree with his critique. This episode was weirdly paced at times, but that also makes sense - they condensed a two hour movie into a thirty minute show episode. What bothered me about the pacing was that Marvel really doesn't need to do such a thing. Many fans would watch this if it was twenty minutes or two hours, and this episode really could have used the extra twenty minutes. (Or at least an extra 10-15 for the romance stuff.) If the story needed an extra 15-20 minutes, I think the story could have been split into two episodes like the first two seasons of Justice League were, and released that way. THAT BEING SAID, Marvel runs a tight ship with their releases, and they've probably timed this to run right into Ms. Marvel or The Mandalorian or whatever comes out next, so it make sense why they didn't go with that format. Besides, this being a cartoon, the show is probably meant for younger kids with shorter attention spans, and the die-hard, brand-loyalty fans. (Unless Captain Carter and some of her peers show up in Doctor Strange & the Multiverse of Madness or Loki Season 2, which are very possible outcomes.) Overall, I can't wait to re-watch this on a screen larger than my phone, and I can't wait for future episodes.

Finished Mass Effect 3 earlier today. I chose the Synthesis Ending, as I always do, and I don't regret it at all. (Although the credits now cross into the Uncanny Valley.) Phenomenal trilogy, even if the ending doesn't quite stick it's landing (to me; many others would say it fell off the beam and broke every bone in its body). But ME 3 was a blast to behold, cinematic in nature, epic in scope, and raw in its emotions. There is true greatness and true evil in this game, and you as Shepard have to face it all. I'm looking forward to playing through this ME 2 & 3 as my Colonist-Ruthless Paragade Fem!Shep, but first I have to get through ME 1...sigh...if it wasn't for the side quests, I'd skip this game 100% of the time. Heck, I probably will do that for my fourth playthrough. (My third one I have to play through ME 1 for role-play reasons.) Some time later I'll give my full analysis on the trilogy and whatnot. But not today. Other notes: The above playthrough accomplished about 90% of what I set out to do. The main things I missed were Conrad Verner's randomly connected quests in ME 3, Gabbie and Ken hooking up, and saving Cortez (RIP buddy - I didn't talk to him enough and convince him to move on). Next time, I'm getting ALL of these things. I didn't play Citadel. I LOVE Citadel, but I'm saving it for a rainy day when I want to just revisit that save file and all my old friends. Not playing it now will help curb my desire to play through the entire game again after romancing Tali just to play through it then.

ReDawn final draft at 100% W&W Draft 2.0 at 18%

Not editing the post, but I meant ReDawn, not Evershore. Speaking of ReDawn, the final draft is now at 80%!

Between Dawnshard's full physical release, the Wheel of Time's premiere, and Cytonic's release, Brandon will rule November!

I think Brandon could show the "after" scene of Tarvangian tempting and corrupting Gavinor. In The Wheel of Time, there's an antagonist whose machinations we only see in the prologues and epilogues, right up until the final book. Maybe it can be something like that? In terms of manipulation, I propose that Taravangian would prey on Gavinor's desire to be a warrior, hero, and king. I think it'd be more of "I'm a friend of your grandfather, and I'm stuck in a bad place. Can you be my hero? Can you be my champion? You can get your kingdom back if you do...and what's more, I'll give you the man who killed your father. You can have your revenge." In terms of narrative and thematic perspective, I think it works out brilliantly, especially when considering that Book 5 was originally Dalinar's book. Dalinar's flashbacks - Dalinar's moments with Tanlan and the Rift - would be paralleled with the actions in the present. In the past, Dalinar would have his life torn asunder because he spared a child. Now, the world may be subject to the same fate if he acts in the same way again. In the past, we would be reviled by what we think of Dalinar's action of murdering a child, and relieved to find out that he didn't. But in the present, we as fans may be rooting for it, because we know how bad things will be if Odium is free in any capacity. (Showing our own moral flexibility.) For Gavinor, I think this would be a great plot point for the second half of the books, if he lives. I think Gavinor, formerly Odium's Champion, and now a free man, hunting down Vyre for killing his father would be great. Along the way, Gavinor would find out that he as a child did the exact same thing that Moash did in giving up his pain and potential happiness for revenge, and now is something of a former shell of himself. This epiphany would cause Gavinor to forgive Moash - to truly forgive Moash - and turn his back on revenge, again setting them both on different yet redemptive paths.

Evershore Final Draft at 50% W&W Draft 2.0 at 7%

Update: I finished ME 2 on Saturday, and am now about halfway through ME 3. (Post-Citadel Attack and Pre-Rannoch.) I'm currently doing the Omega DLC mission, and that means it's Chakram Launcher Assault Rifle time! Then it's recruiting Tali, finishing up some fetch quests, Leviathan DLC, and then Thessia, Citadel DLC, and the endgame mission. I'm LOVING ME 3. I find myself loving and hating how grim the game is overall, but boy howdy do the Reapers live up to the hype. I enjoy the little stories overheard throughout, and while I'm annoyed I can't recruit several of my old teammates (Miranda most of all), I'm happy to see them all again. Mark Meer has improved his voice acting over the course of the trilogy, and ME 3 shows it. The gameplay is different in this game than the previous two, and I actually like it. I'm not sure if it's better than ME 2 gameplay, but it's different in ways that I'm fine with. The best part to me is that at long last, my Engineer class feels powerful. I knew this would ultimately be the case, but I was shocked at how weak I felt for most of ME 1 and ME 2. (The nerfing of Neural Shock certainly didn't help.) Here, I have a turret and an attack drone, solid weapons, and great evasive flexibility. I'm strong, and it's great. And once I get the Defense Drone ability from Tali, things will get even better. That being said, the fights are certainly tailored to the ME 3 multiplayer gameplay. The movement, obstacles, combat, weapons, and healing all scream "multiplayer!" to me. This sort of design also feels built into the world itself - laptops, desks, and ladders all make the world feel more grounded? gritty? modern? than the previous two games, which really cashed in on the whole future aesthetic. That's not a bad thing though - despite me never playing it, I liked the multiplayer gameplay in ME 3. I always felt like I could come up with head-canons for some of the classes, or imagine they were apart of Shepard's crew. Speaking of Shepard's playable crew, my complaint about it being far too small still holds. I adore the new additions and old friends. James fits in perfectly, and he and EDI carry on the tradition of Shepard being a mentor to the "younger" squad mates. Liara and Kaiden/Ashley are back and have more impactful roles than ever. (Liara is a creator's pet though, and clearly feels like she's meant to be the "canon" love interest.*) And Garrus and Tali prove themselves to be the best (boy/girl)friends a soldier could have. They're true Ride-or-Dies. ...Tali does have a nasty habit of only being recruitable in the second half of the games though...although I do like how that plays into her mindset and prioritization of the Migrant Fleet. Even with all of that, I HATE how small my crew feels compared to ME 2. And yes, the two are going for different vibes...but really? No Krogan ally? I'd have love to have a female Krogan ally who doesn't care about having children or being cured by the Genophage, if only to contrast the motives and missions of Wrex, Grunt, and Eve. I wanted an N7 like the ones we could play as in the Multiplayer, because those outfits were AWESOME. I wanted another Drell ally like Feron, or a new Quarian ally along with Tali, like Kal'Reegar. Or Miranda. Ken and Gabby are a blast though, and it's certainly fun having them back. But yeah, I'm still having a blast, and I'm already looking forward to my next playthrough. Other notes: I'm pretty sure the Omega DLC bonus power is Flare, and I cannot WAIT to equip that to my Vanguard FemShep. Between Flare, Charge, Nova, and Shockwave (and a shotgun, sniper rifle, and a solid pistol), she'll be a force to be reckoned with. Lash would be great to, and certainly has a better cooldown time...but Flare has explosions. I'm really peeved about Miranda not joining the crew, but it's mostly because I'm peeved about characters introduced in ME 2 not joining the crew. The only one that does is EDI, and that's in a new body from ME 3. Every other character was introduced in ME 3 or from ME 1. No middle ground, and it sucks. Miranda and Jacob also make the most sense to join. Miranda is on the run, and wants to stay out of Cerberus reach - the Normandy is literally the best place for her, since Cerberus can't really touch it unless they want to tangle with Shepard and his crew. It would also be an interesting dynamic with Ashley/Kaiden...or maybe an interesting choice. Maybe if Miranda joined, Ashley/Kaiden would refuse to get on the ship due to not trusting Miranda. Or maybe they'd simply have a fight, not unlike the Jack/Miranda fight in ME 2, but now it's due to Cerberus vs Alliance (which would be fitting, given how intimately the two have been tied before) than just "I love Cerberus" vs "I hate Cerberus." As outlined in my previous post, Jacob could have gone in several different directions, joining the Normandy crew - and getting better characterization - being one of them. *I'm not a giant fan of designated love interests in games, to be honest. It's one thing if they're canonically love interests, but another if it's just designated. This is mostly because the popular love interest isn't always the canonical one: In Fire Emblem Awakening, Chrom's most heavily hinted wife is Sumia. Sumia's in the opening credits with Chrom and Lucina, her animated cutscene with Chrom is called "Lovebirds" in the English dub IIRC, and she gains the supports with Chrom the fastest. But even with all of that, Fem!Robin/Chrom and Olivia/Chrom are just as popular, if not more popular. The same is true in Fates. Corrin/Azura and Corrin/Felicia are the two supported couples, but M!Corrin/Camilla and F!Corrin/Xander are far more popular. (Azura's popular pairs are with Jakob, Kaze, and Laslow IIRC, and I certainly prefer her with Laslow myself.) In Arrow, it was all but guaranteed Oliver would end up with Laurel in the early seasons, but Felicity was by far the more popular choice...and turned out to be the final girl in the end. (YMMV on their relationship after they got together. I certainly have my own theories on why it didn't work nearly as well for the most part.) Smallville was a weird subversion - Chloe was far more popular as a potential love interest than Lana was. But Lana was the creator's pet, so she got all the screentime...and then they introduced Lois, who blew everyone away in a good way. And considering what Chloe's actress has been charged guilty of doing...all of this was definitely for the best. In The Flash, Barry and Iris were written in the stars, but at the beginning, people preferred Barry with pretty much anyone else. In Mass Effect, Liara is ranked behind Tali, despite having sufficiently more screentime in ME 3 and her own DLC story in ME 2.

Nale and Samara from Mass Effect 2 would get along swimmingly...or kill each other with respect. One of the two, not sure which yet. Komi from Komi Can't Communicate and Marianne from Fire Emblem: Three Houses would probably get along pretty well.

Brandon and Dan talk about the good and the bad in Black Widow in their latest episode of Intentionally Blank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3smkfGc1nMw&t=1s

Cytonic Second Proofread at 100%! W&W 4 Draft 1 at 100%!! (Not that this was needed with the update post, but still!)

Mass Effect Legendary Edition, first playthrough (out of at least 4*). I finished 1 a few nights ago, and I'm about halfway through 2. I had never played ME 1 before MELE came out, because I had a PS3 and didn't download games, and I can't say that I miss the experience. ME 1 is a weird game to me. It's certainly a Bioware game, but it's a weird one. 70% of the game is not that fun, but that final 30% is pure gold. And the worst part is, since I started with ME 2, I don't feel like most of the "groundwork" laid in ME 1 is actually that needed. Most characters met in ME 1 are in completely different places of life by the time ME 2 roles around: Garrus is a vigilante, Tali is a leader of important missions, Kaiden/Ashley aren't even really in the game, Wrex is leader of Clan Urdnot (if he survived), and Liara is an information broker gunning for the top position. This is such a far cry from where these characters came from for the most part and from where we last saw them, that I can't say their development in ME 1 was important. The gameplay changes are about 50/50 in terms of improvements, but I'm certainly less annoyed while playing than I was with ME 1. Sure, my shields die quicker, I don't like the new ammo/heat sink system, my powers don't feel nearly as overpowered, and I hate the level up system; but I also like how weapons and upgrades work now, the Medigel and healing have been streamlined, my allies are useful again, the minigame grinding is so much more relaxing and enjoyable, and NO MORE MAKO DRIVING. Oh, the map designs are SO GORGEOUS. Sure, I can't free-roam planets anymore, but if that trade means that I'm not battling in the same space station/lab/corridor or driving up a stupid mountain for the umpteenth time, I'll take it. ME 1 left me with similar feelings that I had when I played Mass Effect Andromeda - there was too much filler for this type of game. ME 2 is reminding me why I love Mass Effect - great characters, solid story, and butts fun times. Other notes: I accidentally romanced Ashley. I didn't mean to, since I was saving that for a later potential playthrough, and I actually ship her and Vega, but oh well. I tried to do some of the missions that give Conrad Verner the happiest ending in ME1, but I missed one by accident, and now I can't complete it because it took place on a map that after you leave, you can't go back. I'm still annoyed about this. ME2 is reminding me why I unironically love Jakob, and how dirty ME 3 did my boy. He was the first person to see and really help you out from the start of the game, was a stalwart ally and genuinely nice person, and is just a cool guy. He's respectful to all of the crew, never turning down ideas or information, and wants to do what's best and get along with everyone for the mission. Turning him into the ONLY guy who cheats on Fem!Shep was a D-Bag move. It's worse because he's Black, and there are stereotypes about Black Men and cheating. (I fortunately haven't really been subject to that, but I've certainly seen it around.) They could have easily - EASILY - had the pregnant woman in ME 3 be Jakob's sister. (Or make it so that it's his sister if you romanced him, but it's his girlfriend/fiancé if you didn't.) But they had it be a girlfriend he got while Shepard was held up. If ME 3 wanted to do something cool with Jakob but keep him on the side of Cerberus, then they could have made him the Kai Leng of the game. Have Jakob, a former ally who Shepard knows and was friends with - who Shepard shares aspects of his own life with - be the Dragon for Cerberus. Let Kai be like Wreave, a replacement villain that no one really likes but will tolerate. The Illusive Man is such a cool villain. He's so affable yet so conniving. He's the kind of guy who you may regret taking down a little...but you know the moment you hesitate, you're dead. ME 2 has such better loading screens and music than ME 1. ME 1 was a quiet game. And awkwardly quiet game. ME 2 is most certainly not. I can't say that I like Andromeda better than ME 1 as a whole, but I do think MEA did do some things better. MEA had more unprompted dialogue, better movement overall, and the best combat of the games. (I only wish we could have five abilities keyed instead of three.) Ultimately, ME 1 and MEA gave me two different yet weirdly similar experiences, and I'm glad to be done with both of them. A complaint I know I'll have when I play ME 3: We should have had far more squad-mates than we got. ME 2 may have given us too many choices in some ways, but I love being able to talk with everyone and having a full ship. Every character has a different personality even if their backstories are similar in some ways. It makes the Normandy feel less like a military vessel and more like a home. (Having NPCs talk about their lives certainly helps too.) Ironically, the Tempest in MEA, despite being something like a home for the Pathfinder and crew, didn't feel like one either. I wanted people like Kal'Reegar and Kirahhe to come back and officially join the party. I wanted a new Krogan ally. I wanted a Drell ally. Miranda also should have rejoined the crew, as her goals could have been accomplished aboard the Normandy. (Someday I'll get that mod. Someday...) I wanted so much more than what we got. THAT BEING SAID, I do like our new ME 3 allies. I just wish there were more of them. *First playthrough is with Spacer-Hero Paragon Engineer M!Shep who will romance Tali. Second playthrough will be with his sister/cousin (undecided yet, depending on what my head-canon will be) Colonist-Ruthless Vanguard Paragade Fem!Shep who will romance Garrus. Third playthrough will be Earthborn-Sole Survivor Engineer M!Shep who will romance Miranda Fourth playthrough was going to be Spacer-Ruthless Fem!Shep BVanguard Paragade Fem!Shep who was going to romance Kaiden, and then Thane, and then end the series alone. Aka, my Black Widow run. (Or maybe end up with Liara or Traynor?) But given Kaiden can't be romanced until after Virmire, I may just try Kaiden, Thane, Kaiden. (If it's possible to romance Kaiden after Thane's death. Not sure just yet.) The fifth playthrough was going to be back to Spacer-Hero Paragon Engineer M!Shep, but with Ashley as the LI. Not sold on this one yet though. Ultimately, my head-canon is that the Shepard twins/cousins actually have all three backgrounds to some effect or another: The pair spent most of their lives as military brats aboard space-ships, but when their father decided to retire, they went to live on a colony. That colony was sadly attacked by Batarians, and everyone else was killed. M!Shepard was captured but escaped to Earth, where he joined a gang to survive (he hid his connection to the military because he knew the gang would try to manipulate it). Meanwhile Fem!Shep went back to live with her mother. The two joined the military at 18, and went on to become N7 graduates. M!Shep was the Sole Survivor of a Thresher Maw attack on Akuze, and was reassigned to the Skylian Verge for an easy mission. Fem!Shep went to visit her brother/cousin on some shore leave time, but the two ended up defending the colony from a Batarian raid together, both becoming heroes and highly decorated soldiers. Jane was promoted to Captain, and John was her XO. Fem!Shep then participated in the Torfan raid, earning herself the nickname the Butcher of Torfan. (Whether or not John and Jane are cousins or siblings depends on what my Star Wars: Old Republic family tree will ultimately look like. I'd love one of the two to be the child of my female Jedi Knight (who is the daughter of Satele Shan and sister of Theron Shan in my head-canon) and Arcann from the Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion. The other would then be the child of Theron Shan and a female Sith Inquisitor. One of the problems is that M!Shep's default design looks a lot like Arcann, but M!Shep isn't very Force Sensitive in my head-canon. Fem!Shep is both FS and a powerful Biotic. So I don't like this idea of having this powerful bloodline and not having anyone be able to tap into that power just yet. The other problems are that the Male Jedi Knight can romance Kira, who has red hair just like Fem Shep, and that the female Republic Trooper and Satele Shan are both voiced by Jennifer Hale...who also did the voice of Fem!Shep. So part of me wants Theron to romance the female Republic Trooper so that it feels like Fem!Shep's voice is genetic. But another part of me wants a super-powerful bloodline of both Jedi and Sith. And yes, Lana Beniko has been thought about. However, whoever has Hannah Shepard as a mother needs to have a non-British accent, which eliminates most Dark Siders.)

Evershore Draft 1 at 100%!

W&W 4 Draft 1 at 90%! Evershore Draft 1 at 65%! The end (of the first draft) is near!

W&W Draft 1 at 85% Evershore Draft 1 at 57%

Iron Fist did her dirty. Iron Fist did everyone dirty, including the main character....

Interesting! I always thought that Shallan and Adolin's mission would lead to Adolin leading a "second army" of Spren to whatever battlefield needs it, igniting a wave of new Radiants that change the tides. But him as Honor's Champion would certainly be a solid twist! As for Szeth and Nale's interactions...I do think the two will come to blows of a sort in Book 5, but I don't think they'll fight as Champions or anything like that. Nale is only siding with Odium because the Singers sided with Odium. Once he gets word that some of Venli's group and whatnot, I'm pretty sure he'd choose to protect them instead of partaking in any of the battles.

Finished about an hour or so ago! I think this was the second best of the Reckoners book, with Steelheart in first place. And that's saying something since I'm not a fan of audiobooks AT ALL. I have maybe four total, and none of them are finished. (Dan Wells' Zero-G audio-novellas, and The Original are exceptions; but those were built for audio, which is a very different beast than something like Lux that's really made to be both print and audio.) Listening to this made for a weird experience. Had this just been a book, I probably could have knocked it out in a single day and have put on a nice soundtrack for the experience. But the audio form meant I had to sneak in almost fourteen hours of listening time, which was far more than ever before. I guess it wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't a Sanderson book, but still... I really liked the science-y aspect of this book, but it felt a lot like Rhythm of War in a way, where Sanderson had characters discover secrets, explain the secrets, and then use the secrets. There were times where this became repetitive, but it all worked out in the end. Jax is a solid leading man. He's a lot like a Science Hero in an Action Hero's world, contrasting David's Action Hero with a Science Hero's demeanor. Zeff (which I couldn't help but think of "Szeth" until I saw the spelling), Abigail, Hersh, and Wade were all solid characters as well. Each had their own flavor and dynamic with Jax, and none felt too cartoonish, like the side characters in the original trilogy sometimes felt. Paige was the heart and soul of this book, and I'm very excited to see where her story takes her. Lastly, leading up to this book, Brandon kept saying that the story of Lux takes place during and after Calamity. This is a technical truth at best - Lux takes place at the same time of Calamity, with their endings lining up pretty well. If the Reckoners was a series, it'd be easy to imagine the two books' finales happening at the same time.* (YMMV on whether or not this would be a good thing, considering the stakes are different in each, but it's food for thought.) Overall, Lux was a very good addition into the Reckoners fold. It's a lot darker in tone than David's story, and I like that aspect of it. I'd love to see this turn into a complete trilogy over the next few years, because Jax and Paige's story is far from over. The twists and turns in this novel are pure Sanderson, and the writing is world is crisp and distinct from other Reckoners locations. I'd give this a solid 8.5/10. Other notes: I know it's not stated, but I imagine Jax as black. *While listening, I kept thinking about the Reckoners as a television show, and how to balance both stories. I currently have it as two dual stories being told. Season 1 would deal with David's story in the present and Hersh's backstory in the past. Season 2 would begin with Mitosis in the present and Jax's backstory in the past, and then the two would ultimately sync up. Season 3 would be the dual stories of Calamity and Lux. This is all subject to change, but that's how I have it now. I still worry about The Apocalypse Guard and how it'll fit into all of this. I really want to see the book someday. Given Dan's reading of it last year, it'd probably do really well as an audiobook. But I honestly don't care about the form so long as it comes out. And who knows, maybe we'll get that Mizzy story too. Lux's first novella's working title was Deathrise. I kept wondering why that was when the book came out, but it makes some sense as of why by the end. Not really related to Lux, but as much fun as this surprise drop was, I think I'd like something of a scheduled window for future Mainframe drop dates. Maybe not specific days, but something like "Coming, Spring 2022" or whatnot whenever possible.

That would be an interesting twist!

Oh an FE-esque game would be great (we have a fair bit of FE fans in the Shard - check out the Three Houses thread in the Entertainment Forum for proof of that!) Stormlight might be the best world for that in terms of group make-up and storyline*, but something about it feels a little off...maybe it's OP nature of most Radiants...but then again, Holy Blood in FE 4 was massively overpowered too... *I could very well see this being a story about a young person who hears the voices of a Spren during...maybe the Silver Kingdoms, to keep things easy? They set out to warn the nobles, but along the way find signs of the oncoming Desolation and must contend with all sorts of foes. The allies they recruit turn into Squires until their own side-missions and paralogues are finished and they can gain Spren of their own...this could work... Thank you! And as much as I'd like to send this to Bioware, I may hold off on that until the new Mass Effect and Dragon Age come out, if only to see if they're back to form on their major IPs. (If not, Drew Karpyshyn - lead writer on ME 1 & 2, as well as KOTOR, works at a new startup gaming company called Archetype Entertainment with a lot of other industry veterans. If given the time and resources, they could probably do a very good job with this.) The Fused storyline sounds like it'd be really fun DLC! Like a reframing of events in a way.

Thanks! I have indeed thought about it a fair bit. Many people find the idea of a Total War Stormlight game appealing, but I've always been a fan of the solo player story-driven experiences rather than the epic battles. As for the lore stuff, it was tough. I didn't want it to be a rehash of the game, but I also wanted the setting to feel like it mattered to both videogame-first people and book-first people. I'm sure we'll get a LOT of information about the first few Desolations in the back 5 Stormlight books anyways, so why not focus on something we probably won't get a lot of, from a different angle?

An old-school Bioware-styled game that takes place during the final Desolation(s). Depending on what the players choose to do, they end up in a different Radiant group and have a slightly different story. In this case, it's more like Bioware's MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. In that game, players can choose the class, and that dictates which story is told. From there, they can make storyline decisions and whatnot. I think that this would be a hybrid of the two - choosing which Order would shape the story path, but the choices along the story would also be more impactful than they apparently are in (most of) SWTOR. Meeting the Heralds would also be a major part, as we'd get to know them a little better through the Desolation(s). After the final battle and Taln's death, the Heralds would proclaim that the Desolations are over, and that humanity had won. ...a post-credit scene would appear later, showing eight of the Heralds departing, with Jezrien staying behind, stating that he would "bear this burden." We see the Heralds drop their swords into the dirt, say their goodbyes to Jezrien, and walk away. Gameplay notes: The Companions would be people of different Orders, ethnicities, and races. Getting all five Oaths shouldn't be seen as the main objective, as the game should be perfectly completable with three or so...depending on the Order. However, challenges for completing the game under the "Standard" amount of Oaths may be a fun thing to add. Gameplay itself would probably function more like a hack-and-slash or Musou/Warriors style game, where players can feel like gods against normal mooks. However, when Fused and other enemies start appearing, things would get complicated.

RHYTHM OF WAR SPOILERS And then you dream about your coworker's mom buying you and your coworker tickets to JordanCon...and then one of your best friends decides to join in on the journey...

There's a theory on Reddit right now that Gavilar actually took the place of a Herald, and that's how he got to Braise IIRC. Either his assassination or a previous journey before then let him get to Braise again, but this time as a Herald, where he was either found, tortured, and gave up or simply gave up from the start; and that kickstarted the Desolation. But the full theory is in the link below. https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/ooe5hr/cosmerenew_wob_gavilar_the_oathpact_and_the/

Or he could read it and have someone read the information to him as a "patsy," and also to double-check if there are any spies. But that would be where she finds out about who Gavilar was dealing with, not what Gavilar himself accomplished. No, that would be Gavilar bragging during their pillow-talk. (Or maybe Aesudan knows this, and Gavilar gave this out as a bit of blackmail over Aesudan - the moment Elhokar's wife reveals she knows that Gavilar can read is the moment Gavilar has her killed; or potentially worse, exiled and humiliated for having an affair behind the prince's back.) There's a scene in the first season of Daredevil where the main antagonist, Kingpin, is dealing with an ally from an Asian country. (I can't remember where exactly, but I do remember that she wasn't Japanese, as that was a different ally of Kingpin's.) She's speaking her native language. Kingpin had his top aide and best friend (as friendly as Kingpin could be to another person) do the translating...until one time, it became necessary for Kingpin himself to speak on his own behalf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUhI4guM4Zk At that moment, it was revealed that Kingpin could speak the language, and never needed a translator in the first place. This also isn't uncommon in media, to know information, skill, or language, that another person is usually required for.* Besides that, if Gavilar is really trading information with Thaidakar or his agents, who's to say that the language the two were using was even Alethi? To several people in-universe (aka Adolin) and outside of it (the Inkeeper of The Dusty Wheel, to name an example off the top of my head), it is an issue that can't be fixed. To many people, what Moash has done, even if it's more justifiable than "I want be immortal with an immortal legacy and kingdom," is far more reprehensible. But Gavilar better have a good reason for abusing and neglecting his own wife (both emotionally and potentially physically), talking so derisively about his own children, and clearly doing something that scared an entire civilization into thinking he was going to bring back the deities they ran from. It's not just about the affair being gross (which, of course, affairs always are), it's about who the affair was with. Gavilar could have chosen anyone, but in this theory, he chose the woman who his son had married. What sort of monster does that? Just as an added note, what Steris was proposing was more in-line with open marriages than straight up affairs. There were rules, regulations, and boundaries in place. Affairs are about secrecy and lying, not just about extra-marital relationships. We haven't, and it's bound to be more complicated than what we know. But the man wasn't a good man either. He was a warlord, not unlike Dalinar was. He, as seen by Navani's comments and views, was an abuser. (Also not unlike Dalinar in many ways.) He, as seen by the people he surrounded himself with, was doing things considered incredibly dangerous. Gavilar at this point can't be considered a saint by any means. He may end up like The Lord Ruler, who is seen as "the lesser of two evils" in time, but he won't ever be considered a good man again. *A more humorous example is in House, where the daughter of a non-English speaking immigrant is trying to use her mother's cold as a way to get birth control pills. House sees through this, but gives both mother and daughter what they desire. However, when the daughter mixes up the pills and tries to blame House in the family's native tongue, House reveals that he knew enough to understand what the daughter was saying, and throws her under the bus.