Scarletfox

So, how is everyone's day?

Hello, friends! To make a long story short, I found myself in a book club with my sister and two of her phd friends talking about very complex literary devices and foils created by Mr. Sanderson (not to mention I was way out of my league) and then somehow it turned to how Stormlight is a Christian allegory and stuff... at which point the gears turning in my brain came to a halt and I asked, "Um, hold up, what?" Anyways, my sister who is a stereotypical brainy and nerdy english professor said, "oh yeah you didn't know? I thought it was obvious." Anyways, I don't know all of the points she has to support her theory, but some she mentioned off the top of her head were: 1. 'It was obvious that' the parshendi were the natives of Roshar because they all had hebraic names (yes, she figured this out in WoK). This is a parallel to the Jews being here on America before we came along 2. Dalinar's whole pyromaniac escapade was a parallel to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, because someone asked the person (I forget who) who lead that if they should go ask Joseph Smith (I think), and that person said no, Smith would be ok with it. Just like one of Dalinar's commanders asked if they should ask Gavilar, and he said no. (I'm positive my details on this are fuzzy, I'm literally just repeating what I remember) I'm sure there's more to it than just those two, because I know my sister and she would likely have written a thesis sized paper on any theory of hers, but these were the two she voiced as a side note to our book club. Anyhow, I just wondered what people's thoughts were about this. Does anyone else have any ideas to support or disprove this theory? I don't have a strong opinion about it, but I thought it was a fascinating idea and thought I'd run it past y'all.

Hello, friend, welcome to the Shard!

Hello, friend, welcome to the Shard! I can never choose which one of the era 1 mistborns I like most, they're all so good! Mistborn is deinitely my favorite of Sanderson's works so far. What's your favorite non-cosmere book?

I really need to learn that trick, Fox thought. Well, if Circe gave her permission to chase Nath, it was good enough for her. She grinned, her feelings a bit reinforced. She would protect this one, though as she thought it, she felt a twinge of humor. Who would really be the one needing protection? “So where do we start?” She asked Circe.

I'm pleasantly surprised, those are my favorites! Most star trek fans I meet now-a-days like the 'Next Generation' show, but in my opinion nothing can beat the original.

Hello, friend, welcome to the shard! What's your favorite non-cosmere book?

Hello, friend, welcome to the shard! I also love the stormlight series! Are you planning on reading the rest of the cosmere once you're finished with stormlight?

Hello, friend, welcome to the shard! What star treks do you like?

America

The Shadow actually smiled, and it was a sincere smile. This person cared. This was the kind of person she wanted - she would not forget the name Nullblade. "Thank you, friend. It truly was a pleasure meeting you." Thank the Lord Ruler, she was free. She looked around at the remaining people, and the horror of what had happened struck her through the heart. Sacrifices, she told herself, sacrifices always need to be made. She took a deep breath, and confidently strode away, knowing that most people would not give her a second look. She was determined, but she was barely able to suppress the chills of terror that needled their way through her body.

"I... I..." Fox fumbled as she as Vale left her to chase Nath. What was she supposed to do, what did Nath mean by 'Hold on'? She fully trusted him, but... what if he meant something else? What if he was in trouble? Oh what should she do...

The Shadow, feeling more and more awake and aware of what was going on began to realize just how much danger she was still in, though she was pretty darn grateful for her arm. She clutched her right arm, now regrown with this strange magic (which she was beginning to develop a gratefulness for), and smiled, before realizing Nullblade had just asked her a question. “I...” she paused. Revealing her name was probably a bad ide, then again, she wanted people to know that there was someone hiding in the shadows, so she continued. She straightened, standing and composing herself, “You can call me the Shadow, it’s great to meet you, Nullblade.” She said firmly, holding out her hand offering to shake his. She needed to get out of here, but she wasn’t going to show it.

The Shadow gasped as she felt her pain become more livid in her shoulder for a moment, before it dissipated. She noticed that the pain in her leg, face, and throat were fading as well. She sat up, finally, eyes widening in shock as she realized that her right arm was somehow back. How could this be? The Shadow's brain started working faster again, and she felt rejuvenated. This was never supposed to happen, she thought to herself as she surveyed the scene of chaos and destruction. Or was it? The Shadow knew first hand that sometimes you had to prune a branch to be able to grow. She didn't know anymore. She didn't know what she wanted anymore. Though, there was thing she was sure of - she needed to get out of here. She stood up, realizing that a part of her sleeve was torn and her tattoo was exposed, so deftly placed her hand in her pocket to hide it.

Fox took in a quick breath as something odd happened with her bond with Nath. "I think not? He told me to 'Hold on.'

Perhaps this is just a rant, but here lies some random and scattered thoughts from Scarletfox: Two big things, first, focus on what is going well, and not on what is going poorly. Start a thankfulness journal and write something down every day that went well about work or reflect on three questions daily: “What have I received from __?”, “What have I given to __?”, and “What troubles and difficulty have I caused?” Secondly, look at reality as it is, and while you want to stay optimistic, don't create naive optimism. If things are bad, at some point, you need to acknowledge that things are bad, but create smaller goals to get through rough spots. Pretending that everything is good can be a really bad thing in some cases, because it can prevent growth, however having optimism in bad scenarios that you have no control over can also help you improve your determination and mental health. It's hard to balance optimism and realism, and I'm not an expert at it, but I think it's important. Short version: Acknowledge the good stuff, and acknowledge the bad stuff.

Because it is often taught to people before their brains are developed enough to understand and enjoy it, and it often gets associated with things that are really hard or difficult. It's also associated with school, and many consider it as a prison, distancing themselves from it as soon as possible once they graduate. 'If I don't need it, why learn it?' Many people ask, demanding immediate return from things that may have solely long term effects. Poetry is one of these, when we learn it in school, it's usually actually to help us think a certain way, and to teach us to appreciate beauty. Unfortunately, many people miss this, and many teachers fail to explain why they teach what they do. Many people, when they get older, rediscover the benefits of poetry, however many others refuse to make an attempt at enjoying it because of their bad experiences in the past. (this is very prevalent in literature in general) Because even the experts are still dummies at life. Accountability.

It doesn't for me, as a religious person myself (though not LDS) I respect that he lets his beliefs and convictions come through, and I think that it adds some flavor to his books. While I disagree with a lot of what he says, I highly respect that he does what he thinks is right, and that his philosophies make people think deeply. That's what I look for in a book, something that makes me think deeply, even if my conclusions don't match the author's.

How did I get pack leader? That's cwazy talk

Have you ever had a bad case of the flu? When I've had it, walking has been difficult because I felt so weak and dizzy. It was like that for her at first on steroids. When she first got sick, she could walk with help, but it was definitely hard for her. Things got worse, until she could barely move with out being struck with dizziness and fatigue. I don't know many of the details, but we were very worried and tried bringing her to the hospital on several occasions, like I mentioned in a past post. They refused to see her unless she 'couldn't breathe and needed a respirator.' We all expected that when she recovered from the sickness, she would start walking again, that was not so. It took her two months to have 48 hours without a fever, but even then, she couldn't walk. Weeks passed and we still had no idea what was going on. The doctors still refused to see her, even though she was no longer actively sick, but she couldn't walk or function like a normal person (she would have periodic hours of loopiness where she couldn't think or talk). When we finally got her to doctors, they were baffled as well (we considered taking her to mayo institute). It took months and hours and a lot of stress and paperwork and hospital jumping to figure out that she has severe nerve damage for some reason. This means that she has the muscle and energy to walk and run and function like a normal person, but she just doesn't have the ability to tap into it. I didn't believe that physical therapy would bring my sister back from the lengths that she was gone, but it has. While she isn't fully recovered, I will never stop being astounded at how much she has improved as a result of tri-weekly trips to a physical therapy facility. One of the things I admire most about my sister is her optimism. Even though we had to carry her to the bathroom, and even hand feed her at certain points, she was always so happy and sure that things would turn out well in the end. She never cried or complained, but took each day as a new challenge and adventure. Every step as another dragon to vanquish.

"I..." The Shadow paused, as her blood turned to ice. She shivered as the chills reverberated through her body, causing her to inhale sharply. Somehow, when she took that breath in, it didn't seem to bring in the amount of air that it should. She curled up into a ball, forgetting what had just been happening, because all that mattered now was getting warm. She gasped for air, shaking on the ground. She felt something calling again, something that called for a sweet release... but she denied it once more clawing her fingernails into her leg with determination.

The Shadow tried brewing a glare, but she just couldn’t. She could barely do anything. She just wanted to... surrender. No, no, she had to stay focused on something, anything. “Let’s just say,” the Shadow rasped, “it was a deal gone bad.” Right after she said it, she knew she shouldn’t have revealed herself that way drawing the attention to herself, but at this point she didn’t care much.

The Shadow could barely make out what he said, but it seemed that her vision and awareness was definitely improving. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she did, she discovered that she indeed have enough energy to cough some more. Things didn't feel right inside, she noted. The Shadow had only felt this way once before, but it was very distinctive. "I'm fine," She managed to hoarsely whisper. She had to get out of here if possible. Unfortunately she didn't know if she could move. Once her coughing fit ended, she tried to stir, successfully propping herself up on her left elbow for a moment. She was shaking, she had no energy left, and her arm soon gave out causing her collapse again. She trembled, this was not good. She had to get out of here. She had to get back to the shadows.