Quiver

I see you're "Mistborn shapeshifting Wolf", and raise you a Type I, Biochromatic Pony. Anyway- welcome. Though Arthur has a bit of a point; it's probably a better idea to put spoiler-stuff in particular forums, or at least to put it into spoiler tags. Anyway- welcome! Again!

Harry Potter is a strange thing to comment on; I generally didn't like the film versions... with the exception of six. I HATE the Half-Blood Prince movie. The book is actually my favorite of the series; it has it's problems (I thought the romance and Harry's jealousy was actually written rather juvenile-ly for J.K) but it also had some of my favorite stuff, especially when it came to Voldemort. Before that book, we didn't know Voldy; he was scary, and he had some traits which we associated with him... but the flashbacks to his childhood, the details about how he ended up becoming the man that he did... that was stuff I found very interesting. Having all the development- the anecdotes of the other children and the cave, his "caretaking" of the old Hufflepuff woman- cut out was irritating, but I could understand why it was done, for brevity and all that. But the additions to the film kill it. The Death Eater attack on the burrow? And all the added romance between Ginny and Harry? I said this when the film was released, and I still (kind of) stand by it. HBP had such a drab color palette, and such a focus on the romance and love triangles of the characters, that I consider it a Harry Potter version of Twilight. ...Also, I'm going to see the Hobbit tonight. Just wondering; has it been released in the US yet? Wondering whether or not it's too soon to put up a topic to discuss it.

You're user name is Great and Powerful, but doesn't include Trixie? ...Anyhow, welcome! If you want another cosmere book to read, you could check out Elantris, though I haven't read it either, so...

I wonder if that kind of situation would lead to the holidays being "reclaimed" as religious celebrations, rather than commercial ones. After all, it might get a bit difficult to keep track of when things are supposed to happen (think: Lent being at a different time each year, depending on when Passiver happens), leading to Christmas (or Hannukah, or any other religious ceremony who's spiritual meaning is overshadowed by it's commercial one) only being celebrated by serious believers.

Hey, Clint? Word to the wise; turn down the cookies. You don't want to know what goes into making 'em. Besides that though, welcome! There's actually a growing love of Steelheart and the Reckoners series on this board lately (though it's not a book I've read), so if you're interested in it, you might want to check out that RPG board. In the meanwhile, enjoy the cosmere, and enjoy your stay.

Way of Kings definitely has that same high-fantasy tone as Mistborn. Besides that, though, the closest to me would be Warbreaker; it's always kind of struck me as Brandon's take on that classic swords-and-sorcery, Conan the Barbiarian, Ffhard and the Grey mouser type story. Remind me to have words with you. (It's so hard to do an angry glare through a computer screen.)

You are dead to me. Okay, joking aside (for context, Warbreaker is my favorite book, and I will not countenance criticism of it!), I completely understand where you're coming from; people have different tastes, and it can be unpleasant to read stuff you'd rather avoid. There is a YA Fantasy book I read recently which you might like; Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. I loved the pitch for it ("What if Cinderella was an Assassin?"), though I'll admit that the content itself was a bit more hit and miss, for reasons that are spoilerific. Still, it might be something you'd be interested in. Also; I'd really recommend continuing the Lord of the Rings if you can, since it's more-or-less the grandfather of modern fantasy.

Huh. So just visiting websites isn't a problem? You have to download from them? (For clarity... I don't download, ever, for that reason.)

It can't be both? : ) I've had an idea for a spy story for a little while. (Okay, actually, my first idea was about all of James Bonds illigitamate children meeting up, but that's a different prompt). I've been thinking of the idea that during the Cold War, Britain had Bond-type spies (as in over the top, global domination, harebrained scheme type things) while America had... closer to real life, I suppose, dirty and bureaucratic. My idea was that Russian Spies would be playing into that whole 50's, psychic powers stuff... I haven't gotten much, but I do like the. Are. So I'm thinking maybe something about a maybe-psychic KGB officer (probably female, because that's how I write, apparently), and a plot at Christmas/in the Winter Palace.

You're a Sanderfan when you volunteer to test out the soulstamp because, yeah, the idea of stamping souls is kind of creepy, but ACTUAL COSMERE MAGIC IN REAL LIFE is awesome enough to risk it. ...It can also be risked by downing vials of metal. Thus far, I have determined I am either an Allomantic Gnat, or unsnapped.

Well, this topic got derailed pretty quickly. And I didn't have to mention ponies to do it! My power grows. Anyway... I figure I'll leave this topic, since people are already plotting and snarking and stuff here, but I wanted an opinion; at the end of the month, should we post whatever we do here, or should we create a new thread for it? On the one hand, I don't want to spam up the board with a new thread every month... but having a specific end-of-month thread for each prompt might make things easier, when it comes to collecting everything together. Thoughts? Also, I'm thinking that Chilled should have a really anti-human sentiment. I mean, the Snow Queen loses control because people are jerks, and then you have that hot guy trying to marry for political power and stuff. People suck, when you think about it. Reindeer are probably better than us. EDIT:...Hmm. On a more serious note, I suddenly thought of (and like) the idea of doing some kind of Wintery Spy story. The Christmas Conspiracy?

http://38.media.tumblr.com/d656e675cb8a15163c3fad3e913becf5/tumblr_n1xf9wy5NJ1s8ygyto1_250.gif Can't figure out how to link the video/image directly in so whatever. Also, Rapunzel: Idrian Royalty?

So, I'll hold my hand up to this: I'm kind of paranoid about computer/website security, since it's the sort of thing that I really don't understand. I've recently started buying things online, which... probably hasn't helped much. Anyway, my query; does anyone know a reliable site (or method, in general) for scanning whether or not a website has been infected (or, worse, could infect my computer) with malware, virus, trojans, etc? I've been using Google safe browsing diagnostic to check websites, but out of curiosity, I decided to put some of the ones I use through a few other scanners, namely Sucuri and Web Inspector. My problem is that the same website is getting different results on each scanner; according to Google, they tend to be fine, Web Inspector puts them as Clear, and Sucuri lists them as being infected with malware and stuff. So... I'm sort of at a loss.

... Wabreaker. Now. Indignance at overlooking (in my opinion) the best Cosmere nvoel aside... welcome! The Cosmere is a really fascinating concept; I love those kind of shared universe stories, and it's neat to see one build up from this early onward. Hope you enjoy your stay!

I had an idea for a fan fiction a while ago that sounds kind of relevant; Nalthian Vampires. After all, one of the rules of Breaths is that someone has to will them away; My Breath to You, and all that. So I think the idea of someone being able to just take your Breath away would be extremely terrifying. Breaking the "rules", of course, but then, horror films in our world don't always pay attention to how physics and stuff works.

Ah, thanks! I thought maybe it was some sort of random plot/idea generator type... thing. Thanks for clearing that up! ...besides which I have nothing really to add. Still thinkin'. The only difference is that I kind of find myself wanting to do something with the Snow Queen, since she's my one of my favourite fairy tales. Not sure what though; I've had a big idea in mind for her for a while, but... Not really "holiday" style story.

I can't believe it. The pony fandom has failed me. How is it that no one has thought of turning The Stare into the Eye of Sauron?

YES. Look, Vivenna is probably my favorite female character in the Cosmere so far... but Vin is definitely someone I'm fond of. Honestly, the way she thought- her paranoia, scanning the situation for trouble, and the fact that those were bad things- reminded me a lot of my own behaviour, so... she was the first character in a long time who I really connected to. Hmm. Actually, random thought; I wonder if these accounts were tallied up whether there would be any kind of split on whether men prefer male characters and women prefer female, or vice-versa. I know, personally, I'm often a lot more inclined to like female protagonists (which is why I try to write them in short stories)... but I also think they can be harder to write well (which is why I don't write very often).

I have absolutely no idea what that is, and google didn't turn up anything. Would someone mind explaining? Anyway... I've got nothing. At least, nothing concrete; there are a few ideas I have, but none of them especially... "speak" to me, you know? The prompt did make me realise that I don't exactly have... well, any holidays for any of the fantasy worlds I want to write in, and only barely touch on the idea of religious festivals. So maybe I'll do something with one of them. I mentioned an idea (somewhere) about Unicorn Knights, so maybe some kind of celebration that's based around foaling... Alternatively... I've always found the idea of the Krampus kind of interesting. So... I'm thinking of maybe doing some kind of an anti-Christmas story, set on June 25th (near enough the Summer Solstice, and six months off from Christmas). As for what I'd do, I'm not sure... I just kind of find the idea of someone rewarding villany kind of funny, especially since I can see people trying to game the system, by being compelte bastards in the run up to Krampus Eve, and Saints towards Christmas. EDIT Oh, and two other, Santas-based ones I forgot to mention: First: Santa the Barbarian. A pastiche of the Conan stories (despite the fact I've never read them, shut up) as Kring, runt of the Ice Giants, carves out a kingdom in the frozen norths. The other is a little more serious; a story about, basically, sweat shops, slavery and consumer awareness, featuring Elves. ...And okay, one other story about Goblins rearing Reindeer, because a cutesy-wutsey option is needed.

I sort-of want to learn how to play Chess. Any advice on how to go about that? Where does one start?

I hate my brain, specifically the storming chemical imbalance or whatever it does that makes me freak out. To wit: I'm sort-of a germophobe, with an ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder. Specifically, I don't like touching certain things, or touching things that have been touched by things, or things touched by people who touched things, or... You get the point. About the only good thing to come out of it is the fact that it gave me an idea for a magic system for a fantasy story. Besides that though, it's... not fun. In fact, I outright storming hate it. The thing is, I have been doing stuff to deal with it. I had exercises and some medication which I worked my way off of. (It's a personal thing; I hate medicine. All kinds of medicine; I hate the idea of being dependent on drugs to feel better... anyway...) Anyway, I had stuff I was doing to feel better. And I was feeling better. And then someone set an old book on a table, and touched the drawers, and the cutlery, and... Basically, my nerves feel like piano wire right now.

Oh, be quiet you.

I don't see him awakening something. Yeah, Hoid has dropped some major hints about himself to other characters in Stormlight- his conversation with Dalinar about letting the world be destroyed, for instance- but awakening something to play an instrument seems a bit too far. Kaladin didn't open his eyes, but unless Hoid was using some kind of subtle mind-control magic to make sure he didn't, he didn't really have any way to make sure he didn't see him... or, for that matter, that a guard wouldn't stop by. "No no, see, there is a very simple explanation as to how my coat is magically playing an instrument. You see, it all started with a bunny..." (Allomancy kind of slides, since the people around him can't "see" what he does; Awakening is too obvious for that I think.)

The Corpse Stops here -> Red Herring -> A Song of Ice and Fire (Tropes List A) -> Action Girl (Literature) -> Brandon Sanderson

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/20835-time-to-get-your-silly-on-our-favorite-holiday-ookla-the-mokovial-is-here/ And please. What is the point of the internet if not to pointlessly nitpick over typo's and intentions? ; )