Use the Falchion

Evershore Draft 1 at 50%

The one's I've seen for Moash were more of appreciation for his character and worldview than liking him as a character, whereas Lift isn't liked as a character because of how she speaks and her troll nature (which is hilarious to me personally). But it's usually before or during Words of Radiance/Edgedancer when this is common. By the time Oathbringer and Rhythm of War are being read, many people seem to have learned to tolerate Lift.

Yup. Every now and then there's a post on the Stormlight Subreddit about how much the poster either hates Lift and doesn't want to read Edgedancer, or used to hate Lift and now simply tolerates her. I'd say that Lift and Shallan are the most controversial characters in Stormlight at the moment...with Lift being a distant second - but still second! - to Shallan... (Moash is almost universally reviled, so he isn't controversial.)

The good news is that there's a scheduled Q&A with Steven Michael Bohls tomorrow! That and JordanCon are probably the reasons we didn't have one at the beginning of the month this time.

IIRC, Legion was in talks to get a television show, but the superhero show of the same name (also featuring a character with multiple personalities/alters in his head) came out first, killing any chances of Leeds getting a show at the time. As it stands, Legion is apparently owned by Cineflix Media (or something around that name) but nothing's been down with the rights yet. The graphic novel Skyward has a female protagonist, a relation to earth, and a sci-fi setting. While the story, characters, and overall setting are vastly different, I think all people will only see a woman leading the story, a sci-fi setting, and the same name, and make a poor judgment call that neither property deserves. Sure, our Skyward can change its name to something like Cytoverse and then do the book titles next (i.e. movie 1 is Cytoverse, movie 2 is Cytoverse: Starsight, and so on), but who knows how that would be received. EDIT: The closest WoB I could find at the moment: EDIT 2: FOUND IT!

The current EIC of Vault Comics tweeted about some of the future projects that art director Nathan Goodman has in store, and Dark One was one of them. In a response to that, Jackson Lanzing, one of the lead writers on the Dark One comics - tweeted out his own official confirmation on this. No timeline yet, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's coming summer 2022 or 2023, depending on how the other Dark One projects are going as well as the Vault Comics crew's availability. But we will return to Mirandus - All Hail the Dark One! https://twitter.com/afwassel/status/1417517554570981376 https://twitter.com/JacksonLanzing/status/1417525927634944009

Either Mistborn or Skyward calls I'd guess. Skyward was purchased by Universal Television last year I believe, and doing something lower risk like that may help Brandon get some experience (and a little more clout in Hollywood) before moving onto something as demanding and precious as a Cosmere product. However, Skyward may end up like Legion - there's a comic book trilogy also called Skyward that Sony bought the rights to in 2018. Depending which gets out of the gate first, the other one may be screwed over. (That being said, the Skyward comic trilogy is a blast and I highly recommend it.) Add to that the fact that the rights were just bought, and these things take time, it might be a while yet. Mistborn has the treatment, is a complete series, and could be pretty trendy right now with The Witcher, The Wheel of Time, and Shadow & Bone all overlapping. Add to that a solid release date that either satisfies fans until a new book comes out (2023) or has the movies coincide with Era 3 release dates (2025), and you've got a nice tie-in that does what Martin and Game of Thrones didn't/couldn't do. Overall, Mistborn is the more likely of the two, but both are high possibilities IMO. Unless Sanderson throws us a curveball though, I don't expect we'll hear anything about this until around the State of the Sanderson at the earliest. A few weeks ago in an update (the June 28 Weekly Update) Brandon did mention outlining the rest of the year with "some exciting things," and I can definitely see working on a television/movie treatment for WoA as exciting for Brandon, especially if things look like they're going forward. (Especially since as far as we know, the rest of Brandon's year post-TLM's first draft consists of revisions for the book along with writing the first draft of Skyward 4.)

Finished it this morning! It was good, but it wasn't nearly as interesting to me as WandaVision or FATWS. This stems from two* main reasons in my mind. The first is the titular character himself. I've never liked Loki up until this show. I've found the rabid fanbase around Hiddleston and Loki annoying at best, despite my like for the actor otherwise separate from his fans. So I went into this not knowing or even caring about the character as a whole. But this show turned someone I hated into someone I liked to hate, and who I liked to see suffer. The second reason was the timeframe. Loki formed very strong connections very quickly in this show, and I'm rarely a fan of that happening over a short timeframe. If the episodes had taken place over months, then I'd believe it. And yes, Loki says time is wonky in the show, but that's not a justification either in my opinion. It's partially why I don't like "happily ever after" love stories with characters who just first met. Overall, while I may feel different about it on subsequent re-watches, this is my lowest ranked MCU D+ show to date. *There is a third reason, but I'm not sure how to gently bring it up on the forum, and so I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Gavilar strikes me as the type of man who would learn to read and write on his own, and only keep up the façade for political and proprietary reasons. I just can't see him truly trusting anyone but himself with the things he's doing. But yeah, if he didn't know how to read and write, then Aesudan would be of some use to him. Agreed, although I could see Gavilar mentioning it in the Book 5 prologue, and it would be a "nice" way to make readers feel even more disgust for the man. (As if being a warlord and abuser and thinking of his children terribly behind closed doors wasn't enough.) But yeah, there's no narrative reason for this, just slimy character stuff...blegh...

We all think that Gavilar chose Aesudan to confide in for some manipulative or secretive reason, but could the truth be somewhat simpler? What if Gavilar was having an affair? What if all that he confided in Aesudan was their pillow-talk? Now mind you, I HATE this theory. I utterly LOATHE it. A different book series that I like did this, and it was an awful twist in my opinion. But it makes a weirdly appropriate amount of sense here, more-so than it could ever do in the other series. Aesudan may want to be the Queen, but so long as she's married to Elhokar that will happen in time. For now, she has the attention and "affection" (barf) of the real king. She also knows about Gavinor's dealings due to some pillow-talk by Gavilar (who needed someone to brag to), and uses his connections to become involved with some of the conspiracies after his death. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try not to vomit and take, like, thirty showers... Other notes: I had a connected theory that Gavinor was Gavilar's son and not Elhokar's, but the timeline doesn't really add up. THANK ADONALSIUM IT DOESN'T ADD UP.

I'm not sure that makes sense, especially in the case of Gavinor. And a traitor to whom? Dalinar isn't really an Alethi nobleman anymore. He's not an Alethi Highprince, as that title went to Adolin; nor is he in line for the throne, since he gave that up to be Highking of Urithiru. Basically, Dalinar doesn't have dual citizenship, so him thinking of Gavinor as a traitor (if that's how you're interpreting it) doesn't make sense. Heck, a more pragmatic character like Jasnah may even approve of the decision, since Gavinor would get the throne regardless of who wins. (And yes, she'd clearly want Honor to win and would probably kill a child not related to her own family to ensure that, but having someone you can influence and use to ensure a more liberal, shall we say, future is far from the worse outcome.) In terms of innocence...I think there's leeway there. Look at it like the girl that Adolin gave the sword to. She wasn't innocent, but she also had a reason behind her actions. Both should be taken into account. If Gavinor becomes Odium's Champion in order to - in his mind and reasoning at the moment (i.e. win back his kingdom and save his people), that should be taken into account as much as becoming the Champion is. Besides, innocence and victimhood aren't mutually exclusive - Gavinor can be a victim, and in being so, have that take away his innocence. (Not unlike the phenomena where kids with rough childhoods become bullies. And Gavinor has had quite the childhood so far...) To judge the action without the intent is like looking at spoilers for a movie. A man may be killed, but if it being a result of self-defense is ultimately a different story than it being one of vengeance. That doesn't mean there aren't consequences for either (or shouldn't be), but it doesn't mean they should be punished as harsh as possible either. I disagree with this. I think that would be Dalinar's first instinct, but I think he'd pull through and ultimately swear an Ideal. Definitely not the exact words, but maybe something along the lines of "I will unify others, even if I must sacrifice my life" or "I will use my death to bring people together, as I did in life." Swear an Oath, switch some Connection, and bam - you've got a new outcome. You may be forgetting that Dalinar bargained with Rayse. Taravangian is far more willing to let such things slide in order to achieve the results he wants. Although Rayse had his moments, like forcing Dalinar to relive all the pain and horror he enacted upon the world as The Blackthorn in order to convince the Bondsmith to refuse responsibility and give into Odium. Or when he manipulated Kaladin's Connection to Moash in order to send nightmares and terrible visions Kaladin's way, as a plan to corrupt the Windrunner. What makes you think that Taravangian won't do those sorts of things? That he won't play Good Cop and Bad Cop in order to convince Gavinor to become his Champion?

Ah, gotcha. OP's final words are a reflection of both the title and the thoughts contained in the post, which are two separate things to me. I answered one in my reply to you (Taln as a champion but for whom), while you were talking about another (Taln as Odium's Champion). My bad. (Although I do think my points still stand.) The Bondsmith Connection manipulation seemingly stems from Spiritual Adhesion, a Surge that Odium has no access to. https://coppermind.net/wiki/Surgebinding#Adhesion And we've seen that Odium needs a prior connection to someone (or willing hosts) in order to manipulate someone. Odium manipulated Kaladin through his connection to Moash IIRC, and used that to try and corrupt the Windrunner. Odium manipulated Dalinar through his connection (and addiction) to the Thrill. It feels similar to a certain villain from Mistborn Era 1.

Who said anything about who TOD picking someone who wants to lose? All I said is that Odium's Champion needs to be someone who can cause Dalinar a moral dilemma* (something that has historically pushed our Radiants to the next level due to them rising to the challenge in most cases) regardless of Odium's intent. The full theory, with underlined parts related to this thread: Gavinor is chosen as Odium's Chapion (see my below for links to my comments on the plausibility of this**) Dalinar freezes because of the rules of the Contest dictate that he must kill Odium's Champion, but then says last few Bondsmith Oaths if necessary. Taln becomes sane. Dalinar switches the Connection between Gavinor, Taln, and himself so that Taln is now Honor's Champion, Dalinar is now Odium's Champion, and Gavinor is free.*** (Dalinar would also throw his Nahel Bond with the Stormfather to Kaladin in my theory, but that doesn't have to be a given). Taln kills Dalinar, winning the Contest for Honor. Everything goes sideways, since what Dalinar did wasn't strictly legal, but it didn't fully break any rules. (The Champions have to be willing. If Dalinar is willing to become Odium's Champion to make Odium lose, and has the power to switch the Connection to do so, then it's fair game. But then the question arises if that's keeping the Intent of the Contest, as the idea behind being willing is that both parties agree to the choice. Then again, there was a time that Odium was willing to make Dalinar his Champion...) *It won't be a physical fight, at least not entirely. Dalinar is a beast in combat, and one of Odium's most powerful warriors in Lezian has not only been defeated roughly three times, but is also dead. An Unmade can be used, as some members posited not too long ago, but they can also be captured and possibly killed with Anti-Investiture. (However, when the original theory came up, I noted how Odium may use the time between the capturing of the Unmade and its eventual destruction to plan his next steps.) Mr. T himself might step in the ring, but why risk himself that way for so little? No, the best way to win - or rather, to not lose - is to manipulate the Oaths and restrictions of the Knights Radiant, one in particular. **Here are two examples https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/95391-gavilar-theory-discuss/?page=2#comment-1239961 https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/97936-the-real-child-champion-theory/#comment-1239247 ***Of the Contest. I'm sure the willingness to become Odium's Champion will haunt Gavinor for years to come. Heck, I fully believe that if this does happen, Gavinor will be a major character in the second arc, and his journey will be learning to forgive others and forgive himself, with Moash (someone who did similar things for a similar reason at the beginning) being the object of forgiveness.

Taln became sane again when Dalinar swore an Oath, not unlike Ishar and Navani. I can easily see Dalinar swearing an Ideal during the Contest (depending on the moral dilemma the Contest itself has in store for him - which is why Odium's Champion being someone that causes a moral dilemma to Dalinar matters), and having that bring enough sanity to Taln to do what needs to be done for the sake of Honor and humanity.

After listening to the Sandersonian Institute of Cosmere Studies' episode about Vin and Lift, I'm reminded of my Kaladin/Lift ship. It was secondary AT BEST for both characters and would (sadly) have taken place offscreen, but I think it's an interesting idea. Pros: 1. This ship has the potential to be the post-series Zuko/Toph ship I never got. The characters in both ships have similar emotions and attitudes, and I think they complement each other well. 2. There's room to see it develop. In Book 5, how fun it'd be to see Szeth, Lift, and Kaladin all travel to Shinovar together? Szeth and Kaladin have vastly different philosophies on duty and justice, and their purposes within Shinovar itself are different - Lift could be sort of like an emulsifier between the two. 3. Cultivation and her plans. Cultivation visited three people in person. It's often seen as her picking successors for the three Shards of Roshar. But Cultivation also admitted that she doesn't work with just one plan to her goals. She plants seeds and sees which ones grow. So while Dalinar may be the most obvious "seed" for Honor's replacement, I think Kaladin is a far more plausible choice long-term. And if Lift ultimately is chosen for (or falls into) the role of Cultivation, wouldn't it be interesting to see the replacements of a Honor and Cultivation also be in a relationship? Cons: 1. The age gap would mean that Kaladin would probably have another relationship started off-screen, and that would be annoying for us fans who want to see him be happy in a relaitonship onscreen. But depending on how the Book 5 goes, we may still end up waiting. And besides, Book 6 will feature Lift's flashbacks. If it's anything like Shallan's flashbacks, or the Venli/Eshonai flashbacks, it may go up to the present. That would mean that we'd technically get to see the relationship actually start, even if it is a flashback. 2. The ship is still tied for second with Kaladin/Syl and under Kaladin/Leshwi; and Lift's main interest will probably be Gawx. That being said, I do think that Kaladin/Lift would be the more interesting relationship of the two for Lift. 3. We're not even sure of Lift's sexuality, as she's just starting to come to terms with her physical maturation. She may like men, women, everybody, or nobody. It's too early for her to decide and think about that.

I love doing this! I always come up with soundtracks or OP and ED songs for books! Mine aren't as detailed for Mistborn, since it switches between a movie and an anime in my head, but the theme song of the Original Trilogy to me is "Pray For Me" by Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd. After the first book/"movie" ends, the "credits" song is "Survive" by Rise Against. Warbreaker's soundtrack consists of songs from the band Coldrain's album, Fateless. "Uninvited" is the trailer song, while "Aftermath" and "A Decade In the Rain" are the action-heavy songs. Stormlight is a little different. Stormlight I imagine as an anime, so it has proper OPs and EDs, as well as "credit recap" songs, trailer songs, and songs that work as themes. It's all still a work in progress though. For example, Kaladin's theme songs are "Throne" and "Drown" by Bring Me the Horizon. But for the books themselves: TWOK OP 1 - "Re I Am" (English Version) - by Aimer (the Japanese version is my theme song for The Wheel of Time in my head) TWOK ED 1 - "Ref:rain" by Aimer TWOK OP 2 - ??? TWOK ED 2 - "Mirage" by Band-Maid TWOK Recap Song - ??? (Possibly "Throne" by Bring Me the Horizon, but most likely the Ai Mori and Halocene cover if this is the case.) Wit Monologue - "Party Monster" by The Weeknd WOR Trailer Song - "(as if it's) A Warning" - by Nothing's Carved In Stone (this may also be the Recap Song. Maybe) WOR OP 1 - "Words That Bind Us" by Nothing's Carved In Stone WOR ED 1 - "Assassin" by Nothing's Carved In Stone WOR OP 2 - ??? WOR ED 2 - ??? WOR Recap Song - ??? Wit Monologue - "Starboy" by The Weeknd OB Trailer Song - "House Of Cards" by Coldrain OB OP 1 - "Insane Dream" by Aimer OB ED 1 - "Us" by Aimer OB OP 2 - ??? (Possibly "Wretches and Kings" by Linkin Park, as that's Young Dalinar's theme song in my head) OB ED 2 - "Weapon" by Against the Current (the instrumental version will be saved for particularly special episodes, including the "Act 3 finale," which would include [OATHBRINGER SPOILERS] (this is also the song that kicked off the whole revision) OB Recap Song - "Sins of the Father" by Donna Burke (it's also Dalinar's theme song) Wit Monologue - "Devil May Cry" by The Weeknd ROW Trailer Song - "The Search" by NF ROW OP 1 - "Lost In the Echo" by Linkin Park ROW ED 1 - "A Line In the Sand" by Linkin Park ROW OP 2 - "Can You Feel My Heart" by Bring Me the Horizon ROW ED 2 - "Lost" by NF ft. Hopsin (the words "Rhythm of" would appear and cycle through all the rhythms mentioned so far, before ending on Rhythm of the Lost, and then the word lost burns into "war," leaving us with the title Rhythm of War) ROW Recap Song - "Kings and Queens" by 30 Seconds to Mars Wit Monologue - "Heartless" by The Weeknd Book 5 Trailer Song - "Itch For the Cure" by Bring Me the Horizon (the accompanying song, "Kingslayer," is Szeth's theme song. It could actually function as an OP as well. I've even thought about it being the book's OP, but I'm going with the theme of "female singer for male flashback and male singer for female flashback," and "Kingslayer" doesn't fully fit that criteria. There's another character who fits the song of "Kingslayer" too, so depending on their arc in Book 5, I may still include it...) Book 5 OP 1 - "Different" by Band-Maid Book 5 ED 1 - "That Won't Save Us" by Against the Current (the emotion in the episodes/chapters will dictate which version of the song is used) Book 6 OP 1 - "Pupa" by Nothing's Carved In Stone (also Lift's theme song and the ED of Edgedancer) Book 8 OP 1 - "Gravity" by Nothing's Carved In Stone (also Ash's theme song)

Welcome! Having a willing Unmade be the Champion would surely be unique and a very interesting solution, but it may not be the best choice now. Spren can die, and I doubt even an Unmade is immune to that. (Although getting enough Anti-Voidlight before or during the Contest may prove to be difficult.) Add to that the lack of moral, philsophical, or thematic resonance, and it doesn't feel like a viable solution to me. But I love the idea! I can also easily see Taravangian claiming that the "Contest is still on" after the Unmade (or Remade, or whatever) is captured in a Perfect Gemstone, and using the time needed to gather Anti-Voidlight to destroy the Unmade to work on his next plan.

I don't think that would be the case, or at least not the extreme you're taking it to. Toddie wants to erase suspicion that he's not Rayse, not take away all of Hoid's memories. Toddie erasing memories of Hoid's inclusions to the Contract would definitely give more away, since it would point to tampering with his memory more than anything else (outside of the lost Breathes of course).

Saw it Friday! I really enjoyed the movie, and would put it in the Tier 2 of MCU films (aka the "not perfect, but definitely enjoyable, always rewatchable, and absolutely someone's favorite" tier*). I thought I knew the character dynamics going into this movie, and I'm happy how wrong I was. I also really enjoyed how this movie was Nat's "Winter Soldier" movie for all intents and purposes (and parallels*). This aspect doesn't bother me at all, because both are well done, Nat and Steve are completely different people, and I find that the whole "stripping a person down to their core and their past" is almost always a fun way to do a sequel. The movie was also far funnier than I thought it'd be, and that worked out great. Florence killed her role and stole nearly every scene. For future watching, I'll probably put this directly after Civil War as an epilogue to Steve and Nat's journey, or after Black Panther (which in turn would be after Civil War), since the timeline of those three movies seems to be: Civil War main movie Black Panther (one week later) Black Widow (either before, during, or closely after that one-week jump) Civil War Voice Mail Scene. The post-credit scene will be shown at a later time. *Other members of this Tier would be: Thor 1, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man, Ant-Man & the Wasp, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Captain America: The First Avenger. *BLACK WIDOW THEMATIC AND SYNOPSIS SPOILER TALK Other notes: Even though they haven't met (yet), I already ship Yelena and Sam Wilson. Sure, it might not be the Cap and Black Widow ship fans originally had, but it would definitely be an interesting one. Besides, if Sam's show and whatnot is going to handle racial themes and issues, why not add an interracial relationship into the mix? MINOR FATWS SPOILERS BELOW:

That is a scary thought. I like it!

It's possible, but I don't think Amaram would be an interesting choice. His thematic relevance to Dalinar has already been played out. Bringing him back when he lost the moral and physical battles, as well as the battles for his soul (and not to mention having been used by one Kholin brother and outsmarted by a second one), it just doesn't make him that interesting. Besides, we don't know what happens to a soul once Yelig-Nar's gem is eaten. I've said my piece over Gavilar before, and I'll sum it up quickly here: While I do like and enjoy the theories that Gavilar is still kicking as a Cognitive Shadow, I don't think him being Odium's Champion is as emotionally or thematically resonant as people believe it to be. Dalinar's guilt over Gavilar's death was dealt with at the end of WoR, and Gavilar is neither a victim (we care about anymore), nor a moral threat to overcome.

My theory's similar. I too believe in the Baby/Child Champion Theory, but I think Dalinar will swear an Ideal (or two) and use use the power of a Bondsmith to shift everyone's connection. So he'll take Odium's Champion's connection onto himself, hoist the role of Honor's Champion onto someone else (my biggest two guesses are Szeth and Taln), and lastly move his Connection to the Stormfather to Kaladin. Due to the power of a special Bondsmith and the rapid swearing of Ideals, Kaladin will quickly Ascend into the role of Honor. But then things will get more complicated because the outcome of the Contest is unclear. But that part of the theory is for another time.

Whoops! Thanks for the correction!

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