Use the Falchion

Respectfully I disagree. Kaladin doesn't need another Syl...because he already has Syl. And then Sanderson makes it pretty clear at the end of Oathbringer that Shallan is going to be his new Tien. Combine those two with what Bridge Four and Adolin constantly try to do for the man (provide companionship, hope, and overall attempts to elevate his emotional state), I don't think he needs a partner to do that. A support system isn't made up entirely of "cheerleaders" after all. You need mentors (Kaladin's parents and Dalinar), cheerleaders (Syl and Shallan), peers, friends and allies (Adolin and Bridge Four (specifically Rock and Teft)), and those who love you but aren't afraid to hide the truth either. Kaladin is missing that last category, and someone like Jasnah could fill it pretty well. Conversely, Jasnah's view of things is both too grand and too myopic at the same time. She's either utterly focused on defending her family or those she sees as "hers," or utterly focused on saving the world. We've seen very little middle ground from her. Being queen of Alethkar will definitely help in this regard, but so would a relationship (romantic or otherwise) with Kaladin since he probably wouldn't allow her to forget that the world consists of more than just her family.

Same! and more time with Skyward Flight? Count me in!

His current plan is to alternate Mistborn Era 3 with Elantris 2 & 3 I believe. Indeed it will be! I really hope Jorgen is the second POV character.

1. I think I found out through the Shardcast when I was looking for more focused podcasts on Brandon and his works. 2. I've found some really cool theories and interesting people to talk to about Sanderson's works...so mission complete? 3. This summer was the one year anniversary of Fire Emblem Three Houses. I took some time to look back at the excitement and theories @Pathfinder, @Jaywalk, @Invocation, and @Wyndlerunner and I all had, and how most of them were wrong in the best possible way (although some of them are still really good ideas to be used if FE ever does another game with branching paths!). There was just so much fun we had (and still have) with that game, and sharing it with a community was something I didn't really get to do outside of here. So...yeah.

Well, since I already gave Sanderson's store my money, I hope I like the design! I'm curious as to what the Chicken Scout patch will be this time.

Great rec! I liked the feel and it totally has that future-retro vibe! I reminds me of Blade Runner for some reason... I feel like my tastes are about 45% rock (mostly punk, but some other stuff like Alt Rock and Japanese Rock), 30% popular music (pop, rap, and occasionally rock), 10% future bass, 10% movie and game soundtracks, and 5% everything else.

"Lost In Thoughts, All Alone" from Fire Emblem Fates is another great pick. (For more instrumental songs in the series, "God Shattering Star," and "Road Taken" (both Calm and Roar) are great picks.) Three Houses is a super fun game and a great starting point if you've never played Fire Emblem before. (My user name is inspired by Fire Emblem and Star Wars after all!) We have a small yet fiercely dedicated group of Sharders who've played it, so if you decide to pick it up, don't be afraid to ask for help!

I can't do that, simply because my tastes have changed over time and I can't remember every single band or song I've heard, or where I'd rank them. I'll do my current top three for my favorite bands past and present though. Those who can't fit this format will be listed at the top in the "Unlisted" category. I'm 100% sure I'm forgetting bands and people though. TobyMac and Lacrae aren't on here because I frankly can't remember much of their stuff from when I listened to it. I lost my old iPod went missing years ago and most of my old music is tied up with a now-defunct iTunes account. For you, @hoiditthroughthegrapevinelet's just say that my top three are: Lost In the Echo - Linkin Park Reset - Mutemath Running to You - Dabin Shittosarerubeki Jinsei (by Utada Hikaru) and Gimme My Props (by Kool Moe Dee) can round out the experience if you want more things with lyrics, but the first three should cover it. The Unlisted: Kiss Kiss - Chris Brown (formerly in my top three, but no longer) All of the Lights - Kayne West et all. Holy Grail - Jay-Z Who Knows - Jimi Hendrex Polyamory & Dance With the Devil - Breaking Benjamin Colors & Never Coming Home - Crossfade (can you FEEL the angst?!) The One - Mary J Blige The Unforgiven 3 - Metallica 1. Linkin Park (I'm cheating again here and doing my top 5) Nothing's Carved In Stone (It's hard to find some of their songs on YouTube) 1. The Fool 2. Out of Control (fans of Psycho-Pass may recognize this song) & Crying Skull 3. PUPA 4. Words That Bind Us 5. (As if it's) A Warning Red Coldrain (UNINVITED, AFTERMATH, and A DECADE IN THE RAIN are my three main songs for Warbreaker, with UNIVITED also working as the "trailer song" for the movie in my head...if that makes sense) Utada Hikaru Bring Me the Horizon: Now heading back into the Mid-2000's through 2010 for some nostalgia: Relient K (This band pretty much defined my first few junior high school years, so I'm giving them more leeway than most.) Cartel Yellowcard Sum 41 (So many Naruto AMVs in the early days of YouTube...) Paramore Rise Against (Historia Calamitatum and The Good Left Undone tie for first place) The Fray Mutemath (Reset is the song I go to when I need to focus) VersaEmerge (On the album, Lost Tree comes right before Father Sky, so I suggest listening to it in that order...actually, I suggest listening to the whole album.) Back to (mostly) recent stuff! Aimer Drake Michael Jackson Kool Moe Dee Dabin (Running to You is definitely in my current Top 10.) Elle Varner Chevelle Beyonce (I LIKE Flawless, but I always liked Bow Down better. I really wish that they were separate songs outside of her live album) DJ Khalid "mixes" (Not included, Murcielago - contrary to what people may think, I'm TRYING to keep this as clean as possible)

P5 Vanilla. I've beaten P5 Royal though. I think the price of P5 Royal was worth it, as the extra semester and material were stuff that fit the story incredibly well...probably better than P5's original ending in a lot of ways honestly. But I understand your perspective and know people who share it. The only reason I'm NOT playing P5 Royal is because that game ships Joker really hard with Kasumi, and I don't want to romance her this time. It's a perfectly fine romance, I just want to romance Makoto or Hifumi instead. (Most confessions are along the lines of "how do you feel about me?" Kasumi's is a full blown "I LOVE YOU!")

I decided to give into the itch and break out Persona 5 this week...which happened to be an incredibly busy week school-work wise, so it was terrible timing. BUT I HAVE NO REGRETS! Overall I think I'm doing good! I beat Kamoshida's dungeon in one day. (I died about 5 times though.) I already consider this dungeon one of the hardest dungeons in the game to complete in one day due to the price of healing items and armor, and the lack of SP healing tools. My focus on recruiting Personas this time around didn't help, since that would cost me SP to stun them and minimal exp & money - if any at all - once I did recruit them. But I did it, and my compendium is looking GOOD. Right now I'd like to level up one of my Personas to learn Psi before taking on the next dungeon (I want to gain a Jack Frost with Psi), but I'd also rather spend my days working on social links and skills. My Proficiency and Knowledge are still at Rank 1, I need to make more coffee and work on getting Sojiro to Rank 4 so I can stop worrying about him and work on other stats (or work at jobs) during the night, start on Ann's social link, and somehow balance that with Ryuji's link and Tae's social link...this game is so stressful and I LOVE it. I'd like to gain Charm, Guts, and Knowledge Rank 3 ASAP as well, so every Monday & Thursday that I can I'm spending at the onsen. Other nights are spent with Sojiro but now should be spent studying or building something. Honestly, it would have been far easier for me to simply NG+ my Persona 5 Royal file, but I like the challenge of the base game (although being able to read/study/make coffee after a day in a dungeon or Mementos was a LIFESAVER.) Besides, if I play P5R, I'd feel guilty about not romancing Kasumi. This playthrough is for Makoto and/or Hifumi! (I'll probably create to save files so I can have one for each.)

It looks really good! It reminded me of FFXIII and FFXV for some reason, but I didn't mind. I'm not 100% sure I'll pick this up, but I always enjoy seeing new Final Fantasy material.

Thank you so much! (...now I feel so silly asking it so many times...)

Wait, where did Brandon say there would be another POV character?! I'VE BEEN ASKING THAT FOR EVERY SIGNING Q&A AND HE JUST CASUALLY MENTIONS IT SOMEWHERE ELSE???

I just wanted a place where we could put Brandon's updates to Skyward 3. Here's the first update!

My first audio-exclusive fiction and I really enjoyed it! While I think it could be read that either survived, I think it's the PR version. Either way, it's like the ending of Inception, and I can live with that. As for the government, I'm more neutral on the situation. What they did with Holly's husband was TERRIBLE, but they also try to allow for privacy, free will, and free expression. It's also hinted that Holly's husband (or at least the PR) knew that he was suffering from suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and decided the sacrifice of the invasion of privacy was worth Holly's happiness. Holly clearly didn't see it that way, and I'm honestly not surprised. Again, Inception vibes. I'm still not sure if I like the ending, given how quickly things moved wrap up. This would make for a very interesting sci-fi movie as well. It's a short, sweet, standalone that's clearly high-concept. It would be hard to get out of Holly's head for a bit, but if they can do that with YA movies, then they can do it here. Certain action scenes may be hard to choreograph*, but the set design, clothing, and cast would be minimal, making it pretty cheap on that front. The CGI front on the other hand... Like Inception, it would be really interesting to see which way audiences lean. Overall, this is probably my second favorite standalone novellThis post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules with Brandon's name attached to it, right under The Emperor's Soul. 8/10 *Like the club fight. However if pulled off well enough, I think it would be really cool. Music would be diegetic, giving the sterile white-room fight so much more paradox - the quiet white room would feel so fake, but in this world it's the only thing that's real. **So no The Eleventh Metal, Secret History, Hope of Elantris, or Edgedancer.

@Truthless of ShinovarI'm seconding everything @Wyndlerunneris saying about Three Houses. Continuing on the fan-fiction-y support chains, I FINALLY wrote Soleil and Azura's Three Houses support chain! There's a solid chance I'll go back and revise it eventually. But for now, enjoy! C Support: B Support: B+ Support A Support: A+ Support: Author's Notes:

Ha! That's fair. Most of the other games are standalones or direct sequels ala Final Fantasy, have the same archetypes for their characters (the "Jagen," the "Cain & Abel" cavaliers, etc.), and many follow the same general story of "a noble's kingdom is invaded by an evil empire, and now they must raise an army consisting of a ragtag group of misfits and take back their home country." These aren't bad things at all, nor do they encapsulate the entire saga, but they will help fill in the games for the games that are harder to find or you decide not to play.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll do a few more of these soon. Hilariously, both characters are from different games (Blazing Sword for Saul and Fates for Azura), but I highly recommend Three Houses if you have a Switch. The stories - while not perfect - are well done, the gameplay is addicting once you get the hang of it, and the cast is wonderful.

About a month or so ago, I made a support for Azura and Saul, taking place in my head-canon fanfiction-y alternate Three Houses world, where Soleil, Shigure, and Saul are all siblings and children of Azura. It's not perfect, and this probably isn't the place to put it, but I'm proud of it and wanted to share. The recommended accompanying song is "Be Encouraged" by Elle Varner. Azura and Saul C Support: Azura and Saul B Support: Azura and Saul A Support: Author's Notes:

I remember the Shardcast crew talking about this! My quick question would be as to why the Iriali went to Nalthis second, when we know that Nalthis is the closest planet/system outside the Rosharan one. Wouldn't it make more sense to go from Yolen to Taldain, then Nalthis, and then Roshar? Either way, good job OP!

I'm still more excited for Skyward 3, W&W 4, and Mistborn Era 3 than I am for Stormlight 4 & 5. I love Stormlight, but I love Mistborn even more, and I'm just far too excited to see what's happening on Scadrial than I am on Roshar right now. Maybe that will change, but part of me doubts it. As for Skyward, I just like seeing what Brandon does there. I feel like Sanderson has his largest stretches of improvement on Stormlight books and he polishes those gains on smaller books and series like W&W and Skyward. (Starsight was probably a reversal, as I think he was stepping into non-binary characters for things that have been hinted at in previous books and I'm assuming will pop up in Rhythm of War.) The downside to this will show up in sequels for Elantris, Warbreaker, and The Rithmatist however. By the time the sequels come out for each book, they'll all be over ten years old (Elantris will be nearly twenty!). Brandon will have improved so much as a writer that the transition from the first book to the second will probably be incredibly jarring for most readers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing. Going off of the first paragraph, part of me is worried that Brandon will become either "the man who finished The Wheel of Time" or "the author of The Stormlight Archive." Brandon is both of those things, but he's also a YA author, a sci-fi author, and a mystery/thriller author at times (Legion & Snapshot). I love how our fandom has grown, but the hyper-focus on Stormlight worries me some. My intense favoritism towards Sanderson's non-Stormlight produces may partially rooted in that fear. I don't want Sanderson to end up like George RR Martin, where his entire career is boiled down to one series, and fans of that one series don't even bother trying his other works. Maybe it's because we're in Stormlight Season, but I'd really like to see more fans promoting Brandon's non-Cosmere works... (Not just here on the Shard, but also on Reddit. I'll probably be more active in this once The Original comes out next week.)

Draft 2 is complete!