Use the Falchion

So this is just a bit of fun speculation, but I think there may be a small, tiny, infinitesimal chance that next year we may see UP TO FIVE books written or co-written by Sanderson come out next year. As it stands, we know of two "definite" books that will come out next year: Alcatraz 6 and the Post-July 2020 book. It usually takes Sanderson 3-5 months to write a book, and then we have 10-12 months between the first draft finishing and the book releasing. Alcatraz is all but finished, and even if it takes Sanderson 5 months to write a book we'd still be in the clear. "But wait, Falchion," you might say. "What about the other two?" Well, fellow Sharder, that's easy. Sanderson has already talked about doing one more draft on both The Apocalypse Guard and Songs of the Dead (the latter of which he wanted to finish early 2020, but we have no idea if that happened or not). Assuming Sanderson has finished his draft on Songs of the Dead, and assuming Sanderson can finish his revisions on The Apocalypse Guard in July, our total will be brought up to four. So how does Sanderson reach that miracle fifth book? Well, that depends on a lot of factors, few of which I'd be happy about. First it would require Sanderson to finish the Post-July book impressively fast. Sanderson has openly mentioned how this will either be Wax & Wayne 4 or Skyward 3. Originally I was leaning towards Skyward, but my mind changed recently. If Sanderson finishes up W&W fast enough (which would probably feel like a breeze compared to Stormlight), then I'd wager he could work on Skyward 3 & 4 back-to-back. The second part would require Sanderson to finish Skyward 3 in November...Stormlight 4 touring time. And to do that, he'd probably need to NOT go on a signing tour. And for that to happen...we'd have to be in quarantine again (assuming it "ended" during the summer/fall). Yeah, I don't like that future either. So overall, I think Sanderson can and most likely will have FOUR books release next year; but if Sanderson's determined enough, we may just be able to get up to five. What the release schedule would most likely be: February - Alcatraz 6 April - Songs of the Dead July - The Apocalypse Guard October - W&W 4 or Skyward 3 (December - W&W 4 or Skyward 4) I'm probably crazy and this probably won't happen, but it's fun to imagine.

Nah, Sanderson isn't shy when age comes up as a problem or a conflict (again, Breeze and Allrianne). If it was JUST age, he would have made it far more explicit in the book. Jasnah's Cool Down Hug to Renarin was completely motivated by her idea to use him as a spy against Odium, assuming that's possible. No, Jasnah has emotions and is driven by them, a point she admits to herself when talking to Ivory. Also, flings and FWB seem to like the "no personal attachments" aspect, so under your "Jasnah doesn't act out of impulse or emotion," logic, a fling would be perfect for her. No oaths need to be made, no emotions need to be involved, no feelings need to be shared. Given Jasnah's limited social circle, I don't think that list is as large as you think it is. Also, I don't think Amaram was really in charge of one of the most socially and culturally diverse groups in Roshar. The KR most definitely weren't that for his short stint as "leader." Amaram's army most definitely wasn't. And the Sons of Honor don't seem to be either - they're Vorin fundamentalists. So when was he in charge of a group like Bridge 4 agaiin? Of course. Probably not. Once characters settle down into relationships (or at least make what they want out of a relationship clear) I tend to let it be, for better or worse. There aren't many unpaired major characters in Sanderson's works right now, so my shipping options are kind of low. I'm not opposed to other Kaladin ships either (so long as it's not Shallan or Adolin - let the couple be happy, Storm it!), I just don't like them as much as I do Jasnadin. Maybe you'd like my post-timeskip Renarin x Lift ship (Renarin teaches Lift how to read, Lift gives Renarin food as a meaningful gesture. Renarin takes the food but doesn't know how much it means to Lift until way later) but I doubt it. You're not the only one, don't worry. And the view of her being gay or ace is also a very common one. I just don't think that we should ride off her lack of having a current relationship as a lack of interest until she explicitly says so; and it's fun to speculate! The TL;DR of why I think Jasnah and Kaladin work well together is because they have a lot of points in common (Gavinor and Elhokar, the Knights Radiant, pure hatred of Amaram, House Kholin, and the Parshendi) as well as a lot they can learn from each other (Jasnah can teach Kaladin how to see the larger picture and grow those calluses his father always wanted him to, Kaladin can teach Jasnah that emotion isn't a terrible thing in a war, how to used that to bring people together, and how to lead (not just rule) people around her). This would mean that Jasnah would have to respect Kaladin as a person and not just a KR, and Kaladin would have to see that Jasnah isn't the Ice Queen she makes herself out to be. Jasnah could respect Kaladin's progressive nature with Bridge 4, and Kaladin could respect Jasnah's intelligence and wit without being intimidated. Besides, Jasnah is easily one of the most capable people in Roshar, so Kaladin wouldn't have to worry about defending or protecting her as much as he would someone like Tarah or Rysn. Because relationships are fun and can bring an extra dimension to characters and conflict (Jake and Amy in Brooklyn 99, Leslie and Ben in Parks & Rec, Obi-Wan & Satine in The Clone Wars). Speak for yourself lol! Just because I want them together doesn't mean I expect either of them to live to Book 10. So, I guess to re-rail this thread, (again, I'm sorry for derailing it everyone), my predictions for Book 4: Jasnah and Kaladin enter a relationship: 10% - look, just because I like the ship doesn't mean I think it has a high chance of happening. A Knight and a Queen/Lady is also a pretty common fantasy trope, and Sanderson remixing it here would be pretty interesting. Lirin dies before Part 1 ends, allowing Kaladin to say the Fourth Ideal in the first part of the book: 25% - Man, THAT would be a start to the book. I don't want it, but I could see it happening and breaking our hearts as it happens. Vasher and Azure finally meet: 50% - This could easily be a Book 5 plot, or even Second Half plot, but we'll probably have our hands full with Shinovar in the next book, so I think it's important to be done here. Adolin awakens Maya: 70% - I think Adolin will awaken Maya...with Awakening. That's part of why I think Vasher and Azure need to meet and why they're so important in this series. Adolin needs to learn how to use Breath/Investiture to fully reconstitute Maya, and Breaths - or finding a way to convert Breaths into pure Investiture - is the perfect way to go about it. Shallan (or at least someone) will try to bond Sja-Anat: 75% If Sja-Anat really wants to switch sides, I think she'd want a Radiant-like bond with someone. And if my theory is correct, that Adolin and Shallan are the duo sent to hunt her down, it'll either be one of them or the other. Then again, maybe Adolin uses Sja-Anat's Corruption power (or Voidlight) in order to awaken Maya...hmm... Shallan will be revealed to be pregnant: 80% - I have a theory that Shallan and Adolin's child will be Odium's Champion. But for that to happen, we would need Shallan to have a child first. So I think Shallan will reveal that sometime in Book 4.

Hey I didn't see anything about age in those annotations. So again, age wasn't the problem. Because speculating is supposed to be 100% serious, all of the time? Yeah, no thanks. I'll keep shipping character I think could work well together in books so long as it can still be a part of the book. Syl, the spren that encouraged Kaladin to have what basically amounts to AN AFFAIR with Shallan? The same Syl that encouraged Kaladin to hook up with the ardent? Syl would want two things from Kaladin 1) that he keep any promises he makes in the relationship (which you don't have to be married to say "I won't cheat on you or do XYZ thing that breaks your personal boundary) and 2) be happy. If Jasnah makes him happy and he can keep his promises, Syl most likely won't have a problem with it. It could also help her reputation as queen. Stories of peasants being raised to the level of royalty go a long way in pretty much every setting (the real world as well as fiction). Jasnah could surely manipulate that. There's also the fact that Jasnah knows Kaladin is a KR and can't break oaths without losing his powers. So if he's one of her biggest worries, then all she needs to do is make sure he has an oath that permanently bonds him to her family. Like...a wedding oath...? It wouldn't contradict the oaths he's already made to protect the Kholin's, but now he has to keep it for life instead of "until I retire." Not saying this can or should happen, just that it would be a way for Jasnah to manipulate Kaladin's Magical Oath Powers against him. Ah yes, I remember hearing about Amaram the slave, who grew up as a high ranking darkeyes and the son of a surgeon. Amaram was a hypocrite who tried to be the "ideal Alethi." Kaladin tries not to be a hypocrite and most definitely doesn't care about Alethi culture as something to defend. He's influenced by it, yes, and it's ingrained into his being (as culture is), but he's not trying to be the pinnacle of that culture. Kaladin proved he was different in their first interaction by noting that genocide was a terrible idea. Had that been Amaram, do you think he would have stood up to Jasnah? No, he would't have, and no, they're not the same - they're NOTHING like each other, on paper or in person. Don't take all the blame! I'm the one keeping the arguments going (yay Jasnadin buddy!). But we can re-rail this! How does shipping work into Stormlight 4 predictions?

Ah, gotcha!

Kaladin has been educated, is/has been a soldier, is in charge of one of the most socially and culturally diverse and open-minded societies on Roshar now; he's saved Jasnah's uncle, her cousins, (her ward*) her brother and his knights saved her nephew. Kaladin has been a high ranking darkeyes, a slave, captain to the Highprince's guard, and a Knight Radiant. Now he' salso a high-ranking lighteyes with lands.* If anyone was to come even remotely close to Jasnah's standards for a significant other (assuming she has a list of requirements for a significant other...), it would be Kaladin. Those are two BIG things for many lighteyes. But Kaladin wouldn't mind the sword aspect at all, given how he allows women into Bridge 4 and the fact many Radiants will eventually use swords. As for the heresy, well, for Kaladin (who seems to be pretty agnostic), that would just be another difference of perspective about Honor and Adonalsium. Kaladin and Jasnah COULD be good for one-another. They just need to spend more time together. And what better way to get to know somebody than on a life-or-death mission to stop enemy forces from winning an arms race with the help of a spy, some refugees, this moody Windrunner, and your mother (aka my Group One prediction for Stormlight 4 is: Jasnah, Eshonai, Rlain, Kaladin, and Navani)? That's probably more accurate, but that's no fun! *Okay they saved each other. *I honestly doubt the lighteyes ranking will mean anything going forward, given that pretty much anyone can become a Radiant now. But the lands might matter. Maybe. ...yeah, probably not either...

Multi-realm stuff like the Cosmere has been around for a bit; maybe not the vast scale of planets, but certainly shared characters, countries, and continents. The hidden epic aspect is new though! In terms of technology, I actually really like it! I'm a fan of Flintlock Fantasy, and I think it's a natural progression of Fantasy as we become more technologically savvy in the real world. Technology in fantasy allows us to explore more themes and visions than ever before - we don't have to explore just the brutality of war anymore; we can explore how easy one can become an efficient killer with an easy-to-access weapon. The battle for resources now has an entirely different meaning, and soon it won't just be numbers that determine the winners of a war (as if it ever was JUST numbers, but you get my point). But that's mostly about series that start with guns in them. If you're talking about series where in the first trilogy or set, it's "swords and sorcery" and then it evolves into Steampunk or Flintlock Fantasy...I love that even more. But I've only seen it done twice (Mistborn Era 2 and The Legend of Korra), so I can't promise it'll always be done well. To me, this evolution is an outset of digging deeper into the world and worldbuilding, not just wider. We explore how civilizations have changed, how societal norms have progressed, how technology and techniques become available for all. It's FASCINATING. To bring it back to you @Frustration, this all depends on you. Do you have the stories to tell in these worlds as they go forward in time? If so, then go for it! If not but you're curious about how it feels, maybe try writing a novella about that first? We can't tell you if this is something you should do, we can only tell you how we feel about it.

No, but she was attracted to Wax, and Wax to her. The age wouldn't have been a problem. It was that Marasi reminded Wax too much of Lessie, and THAT was the hurdle he couldn't get over. (Sorry my quote thing messed up, so I can't quote your words here. My computer's weird. Regardless, you know what I'm talking about). We don't know for sure, and there's no harm in speculating either way. The point wasn't about her sexuality. That's a different conversation. It was about the age difference and the double standard we have for it. I mean, that's war, and it's not like Sanderson always pulls his punches (Wheel of Time deaths, Eshonai, Mistborn Era 1 deaths, Alcatraz). If Sanderson deems that a sudden and jarring death is necessary to showcase the brutality of war, Sanderson will kill that character. But that's not the point I was trying to make. Lirin's death would only be casual and meaningless if Kaladin doesn't swear his Fourth Ideal by it. My point was, what if the book opens by Kaladin rescuing the general, but in order to do so Lirin has to sacrifice himself and Kaladin swears the Fourth Ideal. That's an intense and brutal way to start a book, but then we could spend the rest of the book exploring how and when to implement the ideal. The more I think about it, the more it makes a sort of brutal sense. We already know that Kaladin knows what the ideal is, but we need him to believe it. If it is what many people speculate - that he needs to save those he can over those he can't (or some variation of the gist), then Lirin saying "this general can save more lives than me, save HIM" might be the push he needs. Again, I'm not saying it WILL happen - that's why I want Jasnah and Kaladin to at least have some sort of bond besides vitriolic allies, so that Kaladin doesn't have to learn the lesson via his father's death - but I believe it's more of a possibility than you're giving it credit for. LET'S DO IT (although I also want them to get married eventually so the title The Way of Kings becomes sort of prophetic in regards to Kaladin. The way of kings is the way of servitude, saving lives, and leadership; the three lives Kaladin lives during Book 1). But yeah, Jasnah doesn't want to be beholden to a man, and Kaladin probably isn't looking for long-term stuff during a war, so let them keep it casual! EXACTLY! Then the rest of Kaladin's arc could be him trying to parse out what that Ideal really means in the messy reality of this war. Who are the people he "can't save," and who determines that? Who needs saving, and how much effort should Kaladin put in to save them? Questions like that, that can't be tackled so easily can all be asked AFTER the Fourth Ideal. Jasnah is a very logic-driven person when it comes to matters outside of her family. I believe she that if she and Kaladin spent enough time together, she could teach him to grow those calluses Lirin wanted him to grow. Maybe it would be because they are in a war, maybe it would involve Jasnah admitting that she nearly had Aesudan assassinated to protect her family and the morality of that. I just think that the two have a lot they could potentially learn from one another and even more potential interaction points, and those two combined would create a scenario in which Kaladin doesn't need to sacrifice someone important or have a big climactic moment to say his Fourth Ideal. With Lirin dying, it could be a brutal and heartbreaking cold open to the book that sets the tone; with Jasnah, it could be a quiet acceptance of what he must do along with the solemn resolution and acknowledgement that he can do it.

For some reason my partial quote wasn't working (my computer's problem, not the site). I like your theories! However, on the topic of Kaladin and Jasnah I disagree. The age gap isn't too wide and it happens more often then people think in reality too - Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, anybody?* Secondly, Sanderson has had relationships with older men with younger women, and that barely raises a blink of an eye (Allriane and Marasi are allowed to date older men because they're the initiators apparently*), so why should we be up in arms about the reverse? Lastly, so long as the relationship dynamics and boundaries put in place are fair and respected, what is the problem? But that's enough of a tangent about the age difference shenanigans. What does their relationship have to do with predictions? We all "know" that Kaladin is going to swear his Fourth Ideal in this book; Jasnah may provide a way for Kaladin to swear it without Lirin dying. But on the note of Lirin dying... Bet's on when? I'm going that if he's going to die, it's going to be in the first part of the book, almost right after that cold open. *Other couples include Tina Turner and Erwin Bach (16 year age difference, married for 7), Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union (9 year age difference, married for 6), and Hugh Jackman and Deborra Lee-Furness (13 year age difference, married for 24). *About Marasi

That's why I like to balance the shipping and the skills...or rather, use the skills to justify my shipping! (And the only skill that matters is Galeforce and even then on Lunatic and Lunatic+) @Eluvianii, who do you ship?

If you ever invest in Awakening's DLC, I highly recommend picking up the one that nets you Dread Fighter. Swords, Axes, MAGIC. You get the skills Aggressor (+10 attack during the user's turn) and Resistance +10 (exactly what it says on the tin). Stats hit the high 30's and low to mid 40's, and it levels up like a beginner class to a max level of 30. The bad news is that it's gender locked to males. Female units get Bride. Yes, I'm serious. And yes, that's a stupid thing to me. Lances, Bows, and Staffs. The skills are Rally Heart (Grants All Stats +2 and Movement +1 for a turn. It does stack with other Rally skills) and Bond (restores 10 HP to all allies within a 3 tile radius. It stacks with Renewal). None of the skills can be passed down to children of the opposite gender either. But the classes still have their uses.

Yeah, from the opening fight, to the final one, Chrom's CGI cutscenes get me every time. Check out the Fire Emblem Wiki for all of the supports, or look them up on YouTube if you want! My pairings are: Chrom x Olivia - Chrom!Inigo is a PHENOMENAL unit - just as good if not better than Stahl!Inigo - and looks almost exactly like Chrom. And a lot of Inigo's quirks and trauma make sense if Chrom's his father. Lucina gains Galeforce AND Swordfaire, making her a phenomenal offensive unit (I usually do Aether, Rightful King, Galeforce, Astra, Swordfaire as a loadout, but I think Astra lowers the chances of Aether, so I should really give her Aegis or Lancefaire and then either the Luna lance or the Sol sword). Frederick x Panne - Yarne's hypochondriac behavior is like Frederick's paranoia turned up to 11. Both provide Yarne with a great chunk of strength, and Panne's natural speed offsets Frederick's negative speed growth. Yarne gets some really nice classes out of it too. (He can't inherit the Wyvern Rider class unless his dad has it). Ricken x Miriel - Laurent gains one of the highest magic stats in the game. Combine that with Luna, and Laurent becomes a force to be reckoned with, despite his lack of Galeforce (which admittedly is overrated and unecessary in most playthroughs). Henry x Lissa - Super cute supports with each other, Henry's the only father that's not mad at Owain in their B support, and a lot of Owain's personality makes sense with Henry as a father. Owain gains some really nice stats and classes out of it too (Although I do understand the appeal for Lissa x Lon'qu.) Stahl x Cordelia - Cute supports and this produces easily one of the best Severa's I've ever used (Robin!Severa takes the cake, but I'm not a giant fan of the two together since neither Severa nor Morgan needs Robin as a father. Lon'qu!Severa is third). Gregor x Cherche - They actually have a shared history with Minerva, and it turns Gerome into a solid Hero or paired-up Wyvern Lord (but getting Cherche to pass down Dual Support+ is a slog no one should ever have to suffer through...) Gaius x Sumia - Speedy Cynthia is the best. But Gaius x Tharja also works wonders Vaike x Sully - Axefaire Kjelle is where it's at! Donnel x Nowi - He's one of the two character who feels age-appropriate for Nowi, and passing down Aptitude as well as the ability to learn Galeforce is too much fun to pass up. Maribelle is usually shipped with Libra, but in my most recent playthrough (a couple months ago) I paired her with Lon'qu, and I really liked their supports this time around. Brady as Lon'qui's son makes sense in the way that Lon'qu would probably have VERY mixed feelings over his son being a healer. On one hand, Brady would never have to live by the sword and expect to die by it too. On the other hand, Lon'qu couldn't pass down the one thing he probably feels competent at. And Brady being the second/third youngest child chronologically (Morgan's the youngest I believe, but Laurent WAS the youngest before everything happened) makes sense with Lon'qu's gynophobia. M!Robin either is paired up with Tharja (because I'm trash), Panne when the mood strikes, or Lucina on very rare occasions. But usually I pair M!Robin up with F!Robin is usually paired up with: ...yeah, I've played a LOT of Awakening...

Awakening! That's the FE game I've sunk the most hours into overall, and easily one of my favorite (if not my favorite), overtaking Sacred Stones a couple of years ago. Personally, I think the characters are deeper than most FE fans give them credit for. FE fans who don't like Awakening tend to clump the game with Fates, which is fair to a degree; but in doing so they short-change the amount of characterization the units DO have. In terms of story, you're right it's pretty bare. I find that Awakening does two very difficult things (amnesiac avatar/main character and time travel/alternate timeline hijinks) very well for the parameters given. The Valm arc is very weird. On one hand, On the other hand, it's a nice way to canonize and explore the fact that Alm's story and Marth's story took place only a few years apart, and only one continent apart. Overall I find Awakening to be as you said, a fun romp through a fun world. ...and Robin, Morgan, and the Pair-up feature are so broken IT'S SO MUCH FUN! Who'd you end up pairing and/or shipping together?

Very good points, and you're probably right. But I can't imagine that Sanderson is feeling pressured to get this done if it was just an off-screen adventure. Before Firefight (Reckoners 2) came out, Sanderson released a novella that took place between Steelheart and Firefight. But I don't think he marketed as a "necessary" thing to write. It was just a small adventure, showing what the Reckoners missions look like now. To me, the same should be said for Wandersail and Book 4, unless the events in Wandersail are important to the story.

Thanks! I totally forget since I usually have Lysithea by the time Flayn is kidnapped. ...If I have enough Renown left over in my next playthrough (I usually use it to raise my sword stat to A, Authority to B+ or so, whatever other skills I need to about C, my teacher level to B+ or A, and use the remainding to raise supports to at least C) I AM TOTALLY DOING THIS.

That's a clever theory! I like it! If this is the case, do you think we'll be visiting Shinovar in Book 4 then? I think the main theory is that we'll meet and wake the "sibling" in Book 4.

Sanderson mentioned (I think in the signing stream before yesterday's) that Book 4 references things that take place in the novella. So my take on it is: the "dangerous mission" that Team Odium decides to launch actually involves heading to Aimia because they received some Intel that there are weapons (Dawnshards? The missing Shardblades?) there, and Team Odium needs that advantage. Venli informs Team Honor, and that's when things start to heat up. Rysn's adventure is where the information originates from, but I can't say whether or not the information is correct once it reaches Team Odium.

Ideally there will be 4 more seasons, each titled after an Arcanum (Book/Season 4 is called Earth). We don't know when/if it will be announced, but the movement for Season 4 is strong!

Doesn't the battle end when you open the door and end your turn? Or is it if you kill everyone but him and end the turn?

SAAAAAAAME!! It looked like a beautiful melding of TCW style action and PT style action in the most intricate, cinematic fight the show has ever done. I honestly believe they used motion capturing for that fight, because the way it looked was FAR too realistic for the show (or so it seems anyways) I sort of did, but I probably was too engrossed in the action lol! The touch points with ROTS were really surprising! For some reason I had this image of the whole show happening all at once, and then BLAM Order 66, with little tie-in to the movies until then. Thankfully that's not the case, but it still feels weird (but a good weird). Star Wars Explained noted in their review that Dryden Voss was in this week's episode, when Maul met with the Shadow Collective.

STUDIO MIR!! The Cosmere could also take a Star Wars approach, where certain aspects from the live action stuff go to the animated shows, and vice versa. So he could keep Mistborn as live action movies that, while based on the books, are different, and then he could do Stormlight as an animated show and then market the crossover ability of the two. Warbreaker could be either-or. Novellas like Silence and Sixth of the Dusk would do well in an anthology-like show (not sure if animated or live action). Just imagine it - students from the academy in Silverlight head over to the nearest bar/tavern to blow off some steam, where they see a mysterious traveler. They pay for the traveler's drinks, and in turn he tells them stories from places in the Cosmere he's visited.

Yes...? The creators said in an interview that it's canon in the sense that, if the Ashen Wolves met Byleth, that is sort of how it'd go, or something to the effect. https://serenesforest.net/2020/04/11/three-houses-interview-nintendo-dream-part-1-via-nintendo-everything/#more-59992 Personally, I treat it like when super popular manga-turned-anime get movies (most recently My Hero Academia, but Naruto and Bleach also fall in this category) - the events are "canon" until they clash with the true canon story or whatnot. They don't affect anything, so there's no reason to really worry about it. (not saying you are, just my mindset). Are you doing NG+? What's your team setup?

...so I picked up my Golden Deer playthrough and am in the month where we go to Grondor Field. I recruited everyone possible, but this chapter still hurts me. Currently doing Ferdinand's paralogue and it's super hard...especially since I've NEVER had a good Ferdinand... MVP's are The Big Ones (Byleth, Claude, Dorothea, Felix, Leonie, Lysithea). Seteth (surprising, since I've never used him before), Shamir (when I use her), Constance, and Yuri (when I use him). Byleth has been my main gauntlet user this playthrough; Raphael wasn't turning out well, Caspar was recruited too late, and Balthus is decent. Hapi is great for ranged attacks, but her magic hasn't been up to snuff, unfortunately. The rest of my team I switch out at will. Ingrid is my dancer, and while I'm not too happy with how she turned out, I'm not terribly upset either. I might go back to Marianne next time. Also I may switch from romancing Hapi to romancing Constance (I may ship Hapi with Ashe, but we'll see).

New characters, reworked social link, new area to explore, and a new semester (sort of...they abridge to two months). They also fix dungeons so that you don't have to go immediately to sleep after coming back from a Palace or Mementos. You can make tools, work out, make coffee (and later curry). I totally understand the time limit crunch - it was one of the reasons I stopped playing Persona 4 (but NOT the only one). Heck, I nearly lost in Persona 5 on the first dungeon. But in all honestly it's possible to wrap up the dungeon in one or two in-world days and move on to the social link stuff. A-FREAKEN-MEN. I was so surprised that the new antagonist wasn't the original final boss. I mean, I understand why, but the new antagonist is so much better!

Agree to disagree on the birds and beasts, but even by Gen 2 Mew is being touted in-game as the origin of all Pokemon moves. It had easily gone beyond "rare myth" into "legendary lore" category very quickly. Look at Mew's Pokedex entries from Gen 1 and then compare them to Gen 2 if you doubt me. Even outside of game lore supports this. And again, I think you'd like Gen 7. The legendaries are a part of the culture and the lore, and while they are gods of the islands, they aren't omnipotent monsters that control the fate of the world (and neither are the legendaries in Sw/Sh for that matter. I criticized their design and where they are used, nothing more). I do see your point about the games depending too much on the legendaries - my best friend has a similar concern.* But if they fit the story (Team Galactic trying to actively reshape the world and reality, so they need to seek out Pokemon who have seemingly held that power; N trying to reach the truth/ideal about Pokemon and their relationship with humanity; Team Magma thinking about overpopulation and Team Aqua...existing...?) then I don't have too much of a problem. Pokemon Yellow explicitly links Arcticuno with ice related powers. And I didn't say it had powers OVER ice. Although they do gain the explicit power over ice by Gen 4, so there is that. I said that the birds represented an elemental power (ice, fire, and lighting/storms repsectively) and how that concept doesn't really seem to change, even if the powers of the legendaries do: The three dogs represent fire, water, and thunder; Lugia and Ho-oH are "the guardian of the sea," and "the guardian of the sky" respectively; Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza representing earth, sea, and sky (a not-uncommon trinity found in other games, such as the naming scheme in Kingdom Hearts (Sora means sky, Nami means sea, and Riku means land)); Dialga and Palkia represent time and space - Arceus and Giratina matter and anti-matter; Reshiram and Zekrom represent truth and ideals. Sometimes they are masters of them, other times not. And multiple generations past 2 have legendaries you need to find or hunt down in random encounters. Gen 2 may have done it best, but it's far from the only one. Another area to agree to disagree (although very few fans agree on this at all). I personally adore all three starters in Hoenn and, while I don't dislike the Sinnoh starters, I HATE how they reverse the weapon triangle on each other. I don't want to beat my rival's fire type with my grass type! I want to beat it with a different Pokemon I've raised for that express purpose! But that's a difference of opinion, and one I don't plan on trying to change your mind on. Gen 1, Gen 3, Gen 4, Gen 6, and Gen 7 have the best starters to me (in the sense that I like them all, even if the designs are wonky). Gen 2 falls short with Chikorita sadly, and Gen 4 already gets flak for the type reversal. Gen 5 SHOULD be there, as I like all the starters, but only the fire starter has two types and as such gets an "unfair advantage." Either way, can we just agree to disagree and go our separate ways? We're not likely to convince each other of anything, and so long as we can both hold up what we love about Pokemon, there's no need to drag it out farther (...although maybe I should look in a mirror before commenting lol!) *Fun fact, we're actually at near-polar opposites of the Gameplay-Story binary. He touts gameplay above all else, overlooking any positive points in a game if the gameplay isn't want HE thinks is challenging. Many of his points are good ones, but I struggle to overlook the good aspects of this game as well. I prefer a good story over everything else, and am far more critical when games fail on this part than any others.

I don't compare Pokemon's writing to other series; I compare it to itself. When I brought up the other series, I meant it in a mechanical, graphical, and story function compared to past series in their respective series. Fire Emblem Three Houses is a MASSIVE step forward for the franchise because it takes lessons and tropes and popular aspects of previous games and seeks to perfect them. It's not perfect by any means, but Three Houses brings the best it can to the table. The same goes for Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Both of those games pushed forward on what it meant to be an game in their respective series. Pokemon did none of that - it didn't perfect the battling experience from previous games, or add in a new design that will be a mainstay going forward; it didn't wow us with its graphics to the degree that it arguably could have (not to say it's an ugly game, because it's not); it didn't bring a new depth to the story and characters of the world - it retread old ground, and didn't look good while doing so either. Pokemon is capable of writing if not engaging, at least creative stories and making interesting rivals and gym leaders and antagonists. Gary/Blue and Silver are iconic! May/Brandon aren't bad either because they were assistants first and trainers second. Barry was annoying, but he became a strong trainer, and it was interesting to see how Cheren and Bianca grew and what their own personal challenges were. For X/Y I honestly only remember Shauna and the Main Rival, but they tried...? And in Sun/Mon, Hau was an actually fun friendly rival. Pokemon has gone up and down on the writing, but I do believe it can be better than Sw/Sh. Gen 4 had an element of mystery to it. Gen 5 was a narrative. Gen 7 was a story of self-discovery (with a tad bit of almost lovecraftian tones thrown in at the end). Gen 8 was...a return to what we already knew. The thing older generations had that later ones miss is a focus on exploration and discovery. Gen 7 (I really do recommend it btw) is a weird one because it's less a discovery of the world and Pokemon and more a discovery of oneself, or at least that's how I think of it. The legendaries in this game may fit your cup of tea better as well. On the subject of overpowering legendaries, it can go either way. From the beginning legendaries have been manifestations of power as well as links to mythical creatures in our real world. The concepts behind them have changed (from Fire to Land to Space to...everything really), but at the same time they've become more personal over the generations: the legendaries in Sun/Moon are unique to Alola while the lengendaries in Sw/Sh are unique to those games.Should they be as integral to the story as they are? YMMV. I don't mind it, so long as the story, lore, and design all add up. Forcing the story into the lore is where problems abound, as is the case with Sw/Sh. It's the same thing with fan-service. Shoving it into a story for plot purposes doesn't work if the plot wasn't naturally trending that direction. And I too miss the days when lore was hidden and needed to be searched for. The fire/fighting thing I entirely sympathize with. And yet, I enjoy all three of those starters. I guess the problem was frequency. But then shouldn't you blame Gen 4 instead of Gen 3? Gen 3 was the trendsetter after all, and anything that follows isn't its fault. (Joking, joking, I see your point). And again, I'm not saying that Pokemon Sword is a bad game. It's not. It's a good Pokemon game, but I believe Pokemon can be better.