Use the Falchion

Draft 2 is at 100% now! That means it's time for Beta Readers to come in I believe!

His aim for Dawnshard was 35,000 words. I believe the first draft ended up at 40,000. That will probably change due to revisions and the like, but it wouldn't be the first time Brandon has had the revisions make the book larger (see Rhythm of War).

The trailer for Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune is here, and I must say, it looks phenomenal. Enjoy!

Well, there are two sequels planned, so... (Also Elantris was Book 6 of roughly 13 Sanderson's pre-published books, while Mistborn was his first post-published book. If it's any help, I really struggled with Warbreaker my first time reading it. It was just weird and not very interesting. But a couple years later I reread it. After finding my perfect soundtrack for the book and reading the annotations as I went along, I found that I could enjoy Warbreaker much more. Maybe something similar will happen for you and Elantris. Time, distance, personal growth, and perspective make things read far differently after all.

I can't believe I forgot Parks & Rec! Leslie Knope - The heart of an Edgedancer, the tenacity of a Stoneward, the leadership of a Windrunner, and the ability to unite of a Bondsmith. She understands the law like a Skybreaker, reaches for the potential of herself and others like an Eslecaller and a Willshaper, and she is as creative as any Lightweaver. Leslie Knope is probably the closest character in fiction to the Almighty. However, I'll say that she's a Stoneward and Bondsmith combo. Ann Perkins - Edgedancer or Truthwatcher Ron Swanson - HARDCORE Willshaper, with a hidden Stoneward. Tom Hatherford - Elsecaller. One would think Willshaper, but Tom's goals are clearly about being his best self. His trials and lessons throughout the show reflect that. Donna Meagle - I think I had her as a Willshaper as well. Donna has the attitude and wisdom of an Elsecaller, but she isn't concerned about reaching her peak - she's already there and she knows it. Now it's all about self-expression and whatnot. April Ludgate - Edgedancer Andy Dwyer - Edgedancer Ben Wyatt - Skybreaker Chris Traeger - Elsecaller/Dustbringer combo. I think Chris is naturally a high-level Elsecaller, but his trials in later seasons force him to become a Dustbringer. Jerry Gergich - Stoneward. I don't know Craig enough to place him just yet, but I have a feeling he'll be a Dustbringer. Mark is also hard to place, but my instincts say to place him as a Lightweaver. Community - Jeff Winger - Lightweaver and Bondsmith. Jeff is a man made up of lies and facades, but he's undoubtedly the leader of the Study Group. He cares, and he cares deeply, but he's not always able to voice that care well or in a selfless way. Jeff finally coming to terms with himself, his feelings, and his life is a main arc. Troy Barnes - Windrunner (and Bondsmith?). Troy is the heart of the show, and he's one of the more altruistic members. A dumb jock with a heart of solid gold, but one who is always looking out for his friends. Abed Nadir - Truthwatcher/Dustbringer combo. Abed is all about the meta-nature of the show and Greendale, and struggles to connect to most humans outside of a screen. But he has a great heart and tries to apply what he knows to help people. Britta Perry - Willshaper, easily. Britta would probably rather be an Edgedancer, but she Britta'd that and became a Willshaper instead. Annie Edison - Bondsmith/Elsecaller combo. Jeff might be the leader, and Troy the heart, but Annie is the soul. She's innocent, community(heh)-oriented, and VERY driven. Annie is idealistic yet VERY conniving at times, so don't turn your back on her for too long. She'll take you down (in the name of the Study Group...and her GPA.) Shirley Bennet - Lightweaver/Elsecaller combo. Shirley would LOVE to be a Bondsmith, but alas, that's not what the Almighty called her to be. Shirley is a person who believes in the best in a person, but can and will easily manipulate people for her greater good. She likes control and refuses to let it go. But Shirley can be quite artistic and is always thinking of her friends...except when it comes to her GPA... Pierce Hawthorn - ??? Probably an Elsecaller, but I also just want to call him a Voidbringer... Dean - Lightweaver?

This may be too cynical, but I think the OP was looking for...sympathetic ears. When they didn't find any on Reddit, they came here. (or vice-versa.) When none were to be found here, they moved somewhere else. Their Reddit account has been inactive since that first post too. Or maybe they were a troll who got their kicks and moved onto something else. Or maybe all of the feedback convinced them to rethink their opinions.

I'm avoiding them! I've been spoiled a bit (some by accident, some by design) simply due to how the scrolling feature on this forum works, but that has only made me more curious about what I'm waiting for. Some days have been incredibly tempting, but I've stayed strong. Do I feel like I'm missing out? Absolutely. But I think the end result will be worth it. I enjoy reading all of my Stormlight books in large sittings and going in as blind as possible once the preview chapters start. It helps me get lost in the world and the book. Besides, there's The Original coming out next week and Dawnshard next month. After Dawnshard, the non-spoiler reviews should start to flow in, and those will tide me over until the release day. Will I avoid them next time too? Probably, but if Book 5 somehow happens to be over 500k words, then I might splurge. I think it's also because we're not where the action is. I've seen a good deal of movement in the RoW spoiler section, especially on Tuesdays. And since all the focus is there, everything else falls to the wayside. The people who are really lucky this time of year are those who are reading the chapters, reading One Piece and My Hero Academia, and will watch The Mandalorian Season 2 when it comes out. They'll have something to look forward to every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday to get them through the week.

Boey, Mae, and Gray were the real heroes of SoV, having to deal with Alm and Celica's shenanigans....

While not exclusively Three Houses, the latest dancing alt banner for Heroes dropped last night, and Chris Hackney is voicing Quan while Allegra Clark is voicing Ethlyn. All this means that Dimitri is "married" to Dorothea (or Shamir!) in another universe. The two are hamming it up on Twitter as well. It also should be noted that Hackney's first FE role was as Boey in Echoes. Who's significant other is Mae, voiced by Cherami Leigh...aka Best Girl Makoto Rhea...so Dimitri also married Rhea in another another universe. https://mobile.twitter.com/SimplyAllegra/status/1302446734388338688

When you end up posting more about Sanderson on a Star Wars forum than you do Star Wars...

I can't say which is better, but I definitely prefer Mistborn and am more excited for W&W 4 than I am for Rhythm of War.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HjfD-WmLaA

I'm not an audiobook listener AT ALL, and this sample grabbed me in the first sentence. The rest of it was addicting and so well written. I cannot wait for this to come out - on my sister's birthday too! In terms of Mainframe, "soon" isn't really a tangible term when it comes to book-related announcements. I honestly wouldn't expect a formal announcement until either later this month when this releases and Dawnshard is in the hands of Beta Readers, or until around the State of the Sanderson.

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/cover-reveal-for-the-original/

It's been a LONG while since I've read or watched Harry Potter, but yeah your placements are probably right. Harry is definitely Windrunner material, but I don't think he has the presence or uniting ability of a Bondsmith. Unfortunately I haven't watched the reboot yet (yes, I know I should do that right now, I'm missing out, etc) or The Owl House, so I can't rate those shows. But I have watched The Dragon Prince. Brooklyn 99 My Hero Academia: Bleach

The Starks and and a few others. Ned - A rare Skybreaker/Windrunner combo. Everyone things Ned is a Skybreaker, and they'd be right. But Ned is all about honor, so him NOT bonding an Honorspren would be a massive waste. Ned cares about rules and tradition a great deal, but he's also a leader and takes his job as protector (of his family, his people, and eventually the realm) incredibly seriously. In terms of other franchises MCU Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I'll stick with the main characters and a few others: Person of Interest (I've been watching it a bunch, but I'm only on Season 2): Avatar: The Last Airbender: Mass Effect (I'm tired, it's late, and I need to go to bed, so this section won't be that filled out.) Rurouni Kenshin: Himura Kenshin - Skybreaker turned Edgedancer.

I'm slowly working my way through Season One of Person of Interest. I remember trying the show years ago and really liking it - I even bought the first two seasons on DVD! - but I never got farther than episode 3. Now I'm on episode 14 and am really enjoying it. However, all I can think of is which order each character would be. The Machine - Stoneward. One might think that the way it spits out information that it would be a Truthwatcher. Heck, its abilities are definitely in like with (OATHBRINGER SPOILERS) But the key difference is that the Machine tries to be there for those threatened by the trouble it so clearly sees. Mr. John Reese - Lightweaver? Honestly, I have a hard time placing what Mr. Reese should be. I think Lightweaver fits his persona more than anything, but the framing of the show almost puts him as a Windrunner so far. Harold Finch - Truthwatcher. Finch's arc so far has been about regaining the semblance of humanity that was taken away from him before. Paired with the machine, he sees truths in the world and works with Mr. Reese in order to interpret what that truth means. He also might be an Edgedancer. I'm not sure just yet. Detective Jocelyn Carter - Skybreaker. Most cops in shows are Skybreakers*, and Carter is no exception. *Brooklyn 99 has a nice mix of Radiants: Captain Hold, Amy, and Boyle are Skybreakers, Jake is a Windrunner, Rosa is a Lightweaver (the toughest Lightweaver you'll ever meet...next to Mr. Reese), Terry is a Bondsmith, Hitchcock and Scully are Edgedancers, and Gina is an Elsecaller.

That's what I'm afraid a new character wouldn't give. I don't want someone who thinks differently than T'Challa being the Black Panther, because that's the role we ned right now. Maybe we've been using the wrong comparison here. Instead of comparing it to superheroes, why don't we compare it to Broadway instead? The original cast of Hamilton no longer performs that musical, but the musical still goes on. The people playing Alexander, Aaron Burr (sir), and Angelica are different, and the energy they bring is different than Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Renee Elise Goldsberry. But the roles are the same, the lines are the same, and the songs are the same. It's a different experience but the same story. Maybe that's how we should view it. In the end, no one could have done it better than Chadwick, but it behooves us to not see what we can do. (And speaking of legacy, I think Okieriete Onaodowan - Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the original Hamilton run - may be a solid contender. But the casting at MCU is nothing short of genius, so I'll let them decide.) Marvel pulling a DC...heh, that's an amusing thought. It could work. I confess I'm far less familiar with this analogy, since I haven't actually watched Batwoman. All I know is that Ruby Rose left the show and they're replacing her entire character. I was so upset when the Ryan Reynolds movie was about Hal Jordan than John Stewart. It made no sense to me back then! But looking back, I'm really happy John Stewart wasn't involved in that mess. Bro, Static Shock still rocks my world sometimes. The problem is that the MCU did that already, and while it wasn't AS jarring as it would be now (although it was certainly more offensive than doing so now would be), replacing Chadwick now isn't a matter of "any black person will do" or "we didn't want to pay XYZ." It's a matter of "we need to honor this person's legacy by continuing their work and the character they worked so hard to bring to life." The context is different, and regardless of the action, that will make an enormous difference in the outcome. I'm not disagreeing with this either. I'm just trying to state that she may have been using a faulty-yet-common reference. You know her better than I do.

OP is far enough into the book that they finished the flashbacks at the very least, given the replies to the same post on Reddit.

I'm of a couple minds on this. After a couple days, and finishing Black Panther last night, here are my thoughts: I agree that this situation is a little different than Heath Ledger's, but to be fair that is most people's frame of reference for this situation. Carrie Fisher's passing is also very similar, but Lucasfilm was able to take a third path that the MCU can't. On the other hand, as a black man who grew up without a black superhero on the big screen (I had Static Shock* and John Stewart's Green Lantern from the DCAU), I'd most certainly rather see the role of T'Challa recast than anything else. Yes, Chadwick was brilliant in - dare I say born for - the role. But the role also transcended him. T'Challa means too much to our culture, or legacy, or future to simply leave behind. Could they find another character to step into the role of Black Panther? Absolutely. Heck, Shuri's been the Black Panther multiple times in the comics, and I'd totally be down for her taking the mantle here. But T'Challa is more than the costume. A new character in the role will bring a new energy and potentially a new philosophy as well. Dick Grayson as Batman doesn't have the same atmosphere as Bruce Wayne's Batman - heck, look at how different each of the Robins are/were, and how different they've turned out. Miles Morales' take on Spider-Man is VERY different from Peter Parker's (in any universe, but the most notable example is Into The Spider-Verse); and MCU Peter Parker ultimately has to learn to carve his own path, despite being Tony's superhero successor. This is rarely, if ever, a bad thing. But I don't think it's the thing we need right now. We need a Black Panther who can stand with the titans of his world and speak to the titans in ours. We don't need a legacy character, we need a king. On a storytelling level, the first Black Panther movie was about legacy and wasn't a Superhero Origin Story. Replacing the role would not only repeat the themes of legacy - something the latest Spider-Man trilogy is already covering as well as something Falcon and the Winter Soldier will clearly have to address - but it also by its nature makes the sequel an origin story. Novel in concept, but repetitive in realization. Heck, going off of that, replacing T'Challa may end up with something along the lines of the "Newt Effect," from Brandon's latest Q&A. Basically it's when a sequel undoes all the work and/or emotional weight of the movies before it. (Think the Sequel Trilogy of Star Wars to the Original Trilogy.) Endgame ended on a high note for the Wakandan King. To announce that he died off-screen or is "too busy ruling Wakanda" to deal with whatever threat is happening/help out the new top warrior of the country is something that would clearly be out of place, especially in a sequel. Also, go watch Black Panther ASAP. It's one of the best superhero films of all time, despite the shoddy CGI. (Although I do find it a little racist how your mother demeaned it down to "just cast another black man." There's more to this than just "any black person will do.") *I still believe that Static Shock should've had his own movie over ten years ago. And while he DEFINITELY deserved a tv show before Black Lightning (which YMMV on, since Black Lightning is the originator of the "Black Guy Electric Powers" trope and who Static was ultimately based off of), I'm happy CW didn't screw up Static...which is also weird to say, considering Arrow is my favorite superhero show, and the first two seasons of Black Lightning were phenomenal.

I'm pretty sure Brandon has said that it's possible to kill the holder of Odium without splintering the power, so I think that's the route they'll go. Yeah that's a pretty constant theory I've seen tossed around. I like it, but I also wouldn't mind another host. It think it also depends on whether or not the wielder WANTS to change the Intent to something slightly different. If Rayse dies and someone else full of hate takes up the Shard of Odium, they may welcome the overwhelming of the Intent.

I can't find the exact video where it comes from. I know it's Anime Impulse, but I don't know which Three Houses interview it is. Someday when I have more time I'll probably watch them all to find it.

If you haven't seen these, here are some 3H memes (because we can all use a little laughter these days...especially the ones we don't feel like laughing).

Quick note, about Zaheer:

After picking up Three Houses for the first time in a while, and it's been going well. Hilda has relearned Bolting (FINALLY!) so I can turn her into either a Dancer (unlikely) or a Mortal Savant (more likely) during my next GD run, and Dimitri is officially a Holy Knight! Despite his other stats being Holy Knight ready for months in-game (and months between playing), I still needed to get his Faith to B+ before it took. Humorously, despite having most of the qualifications, he wouldn't promote to the class until AFTER the Battle of Gronder (which was really funny because the success rate was 88% when he failed before Gronder Field and 88% when he passed after Gronder Field). My head-canon is that Dimitri's state of mind was preventing him from passing the test. As a random aside, I hope someone mods the game someday so that I can have two Byleths and they can have separate endings. That way I wouldn't have to start a completely separate playthrough in order romance Dimitri or Marianne/Shamir/Constance...