GroundPetrel

SO tonight I was talking cosmere lore with my friend, a fellow cosmere fan and author of what i believe is the only Marasi/Vin shipping fic in existence, and she said that body augmentations like in Cyberpunk are probably possible with metalminds as Scadrial approaches the upcoming Ghostbloods books. And I said, and this is where the stupid fusion fanfic idea comes in, you could literally do a fusion fic with Cyberpunk 2077. Basically (spoilered just in case, includes spoilers for tech and one particular character through Wax and Wayne plus hypothesis/idea about evolution of a specific application of Hemalurgy): Thoughts, anyone?

I mean, that definitely explains what he pulls in the contest to give Dalinar time to think. I'll buy it.

I'm on the opposite tack. Everybody says "oh Adolin has all these death flags" but we're talking about a dude who needs to learn how to take care of himself after being everybody else's emotional support pet all his life, potentially becoming a father, not long after the likely resolution of his metric ton of daddy issues. That's an interesting angle that I think a lot of people would like to see and I don't doubt that Brandon has considered it. Plus, people are likely expecting a foreshadowed death after TLM. Subverting it here would work well imo.

This is 100% purely self-indulgent garbage about Adolin being the best big brother to anybody who needs a big brother in that moment. Or, "While you were learning caution and common sense, I was learning the blade. #edgedancerlife." Elevator pitch: Adolin and Maya fall through a wedgie in space and land in Game of Thrones. They proceed to make everything better. Contains profanity, violence, a lot of insane Adolin stunts, and some Cosmere theorizing for kicks. Spoilers included for: All of Stormlight through book 4, including the identity of Thaidakar (in fact, I decided to have Thaidakar jump in and join the storming-things-up party). Refers to WOBs and bits of info we have about Ambition. The Prince Who Wasn't Promised Feedback (positive or otherwise) is greatly appreciated!

OMG yes I love long books. I would love Brandon doing a Stormlight book so big that it has to be published as three parts and just gives us a ridiculously deep dive into every character while meandering around the world just existing in it. Also if 99% of the book is just Adolin being supportive I will buy a million copies.

Accidentally put this in the wrong thread, have expanded it. If JK Rowling wrote the Cosmere... Kelsier would be an evil moustache-twirling ultraNazi who wants to end mankind and knowingly and happily works for Ruin. The Lord Ruler would be a fumbling imbecile but ultimately worthy of respect because of his position as ruler. The skaa would be happy in their slavery and would become miserable drunks when freed. Some small marginalized ethnic group (Horneaters? Terris? Herdazians?) would have big hooked noses and would control the money supply on some planet. They would be mean stingy nasty creatures who nobody likes and who are nasty and treacherous. The more people pointed out the implications, the more overt they would get. Kaladin's slave brand would hurt whenever Amaram was thinking about him or in the vicinity. Wax would happily go along with Sazed's manipulations and would unironically and uncritically believe him to be the greatest person alive. Kaladin's greatest ambition in life would be to be a lighteyes cop. He would be enslaved without Amaram offering him the shards and would accept the ones Adolin gave him without a second thought. He would also be revered throughout Alethkar as a chosen one. Shallan would be lectured regularly on staying in school, studying hard, and never trying to change the system because that's bad and what dangerous radicals do. Dalinar would be "revealed" to be gay and in love with Odium like 10 years after the end of Stormlight in a Tweet, which would also include a confusing and disgusting statement about Alethi bathroom habits that nobody asked for, wanted, or needed.

WTF how did that happen? I'm so sorry, I must've had two tabs open at the same time. I apologize for being a bozo.

If JK Rowling wrote the Cosmere... Kelsier would be an evil moustache-twirling ultraNazi who wants to end mankind and knowingly and happily works for Ruin. The Lord Ruler would be a fumbling imbecile but ultimately worthy of respect because of his position as ruler. The skaa would be happy in their slavery and would become miserable drunks when freed. Kaladin's slave brand would hurt whenever Amaram was thinking about him or in the vicinity. Wax would happily go along with Sazed's manipulations and would unironically and uncritically believe him to be the greatest person alive. Kaladin's greatest ambition in life would be to be a lighteyes cop. He would be enslaved without Amaram offering him the shards and would accept the ones Adolin gave him without a second thought. He would also be revered throughout Alethkar as a chosen one. Dalinar would be "revealed" to be gay and in love with Odium like 10 years after the end of Stormlight in a Tweet, which would also include a confusing and disgusting statement about Alethi bathroom habits that nobody asked for, wanted, or needed.

Two stupid concepts: --Zinc compounder who is a near-permanent insufferable genius because they were bullied in school for being not very bright before they Snapped and want to be seen as the smart one. --Bronze compounder who literally hasn't slept a wink in over twenty years because they had bad nightmares and don't want to go back to that.

Fair enough! And trust me, I know what you mean about feedback. My last word here is always going to be: Keep writing! You have some raw ability, now you just need to refine it.

Part 2: I'm going to try to keep my critiques brief and to the point this time rather than spending 3 hours writing pedantic tangents about examples of other works that did things in a certain way. We have more of an Ocean's 11 feel and tone than gritty Gentlemen Bastards. The tone and pacing and feel of this is much more modern heist movie than classic assassin fantasy, and it feels like a dichotomy more than Mistborn's blending of the two. I am not against this per se. Just noticing it. I think this COULD clash a bit because we see the Prince's (relatively) slow drift into deciding he needs to kill his father, then it jumps into this staccato back and forth between him and the assassin through the intermediary. This could definitely throw some readers off. And now that I'm thinking about it, I can't help but wonder if the Prince's backstory needs more flashback scenes to show how the Prince got fed up with his father's incompetence, corruption, and waste. I like Eijur's backstory. I'm left with a desire to see the rest of what he did. No complaints tbh. Just gimme more! The Sakava chapter--I see consistency to her character (unimaginative, sending good money after bad, generally incompetent), but again, there are very modern phrases here that I feel should be edited to sound more fantasy-y. Brigar's possession is interesting. Everything with him needs a LOT more--more backstory, more time for the romance (like a LOT, unless the point is his husband's always been a villain and used some kind of magic to seduce him), more eerie feel to the possession. You've got something really neat here but it needs a storming huge load more of everything. Sakava finally does something not incompetent. Too little, too late, but at least she learned a bit. I don't actually like this sudden conversation with the possessing demon thing. Too frank, not enough horror (there's hints, but it turns into conversation too fast), definitely came too soon in the narrative, and the dialogue feels too modern. Sakava's flight has some weird transitions ("almost instantly" forest turned into plains--is she crossing a tree line into a vast plain of agricultural fields? This kind of transition doesn't often happen on a large scale outside of riparian forests and human-influenced cuts), and then they're back in the forest again a few paragraphs later? This needs an edit pass. I like the core ideas with the framing elements of the cops and mistress talking but this needs an edit pass too. Big fan of the assassin's backstory. Needs an edit pass but I like the way it shows how this person could become a loner assassin worshiping a creepy Obviously Evil deity. It does need a slightly slower pace and more detail to flesh out the father's abuse and mother's attempts to protect the child (perhaps the stifling proper lady training can be made an element of the mother trying to shield the child from the father's cis-hetero-normative rage? There is a little clash here between the mother's attitudes in the initial interactions and the bit after the father's arrival), I think. Otherwise, this is conceptually interesting and I want to see more. I like the mistress's chapter and backstory. Bookends need a bit more work than the core of the chapter. This is overall pretty strong work though. I'm feeling more details, getting the gist of emotions. I'm going to reiterate that Brigar's POVs need a LOT more detail, but I am getting his emotion here at points. He should be a lot more stormed up from this kind of demonic possession though. Sakava finally gains a degree of initiative and competence at the cost of her competent advisor. This is starting to become a more interesting character. Reached the end of what you have. I like Arekon's POVs. I like the part where he's like "oh rust this is gonna be bad" when he sees Sakava's letter. I think overall that of the dead horse of my general criticisms ("needs more detail", "needs more emotion", "slow down a bit and savor the ride"), I've gone beyond just beating them, so storm it, I'm focusing on some other stuff. Positives: There are bits of exceptional character work and evocative writing. I want to see this stuff expanded and refined. There are some conceptually really good ideas (Arekon is a solid concept that I think you're taking in a good direction, and Brigar's plot is conceptually cool but needs a LOT more time) that definitely work for a war/assassin fantasy. Your characters are all quite distinct while being interesting and engaging. This could always be refined more but I like the gist of what I'm seeing. Critiques: Arekon's and Brigar's backstories in particular need more time dedicated to them, and Brigar's plot needs a LOT more time, detail, and attention. The plot is like a puzzle that's slowly coming together. While that is relatively common in this kind of fantasy (see: the Shadow and Bone TV series), it runs the risk of alienating the reader with too many POV swaps. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. I hope this is still helpful and not annoying!

so over the past couple of years, amidst unhealthy amounts of Sanderson obsession, multiple failed attempts at other writing projects, trying to get my master's degree, and experiencing the Great Gender Crisis of 2020-Ongoing, I wrote a couple of superhero stories for NaNoWriMo and did a prequel novella. Posting links here because I've seen other people doing similar things and I'm desperate for feedback from people used to the ridiculously high standard of Brandon Sanderson novels. Content warnings: Some graphic violence, mind controlling telepathy, mind reading telepathy, intense emotional issues including depression and undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder, varying amounts of cussing, political parodies, murder scenes, and discussion of violent crimes including murder and sexual violence. First one: Mind-Jacker CW: Depression, suicidal ideation. This one is the weakest, I think. This started as a piss-take on The Boys because I was angry at the way that show is about a bunch of heroic vigilante Hard Men led by a violent anarcho-fascist, and that show's world is stupid and nonsensical in ways that actively facilitate those themes that I don't like. Length: Roughly 50k words. Second one: Tradewind CW: Brief consensual sex, brief body horror elements, on-screen murder of a child, depression, emotionally damaged women frankly discussing the consent issues with their superpowers, consensual mind control (accompanied by a seriously screwed up mental state and pathological altruism). This one is quasi-metafictional,I guess you could describe it. Length: Roughly 55k words. Prequel novella-length story: Widowmaker CW: Very brief sexual violence, implied sexual violence, general serial killer tropes including nonconsensual drugging and lust murder, brief overt racism and low-key sexism. This is basically a hunt-the-serial-killer murder mystery but with a bit of building out the world and the beginnings of the protagonist's mental and emotional collapse. Please, if you have the time/inclination to read, hit me with your best criticism. :)

More than happy to give my thoughts! Again, you do have a solid core here. There is a lot of work to be done (minimum 2 more drafts I think, one to fix the big holes then one to smooth out the rough edges), but there are good and entertaining ideas. Started skimming part two, there are again elements of it that I love despite (or maybe because of? IDK) the shift in tone and feel to be more Ocean's 11 and less Dishonored, but again, I think Brigar's plot needs the most work. The building up of the magic system is working well for me. Have a good time writing!

part 1 thoughts overall: You have a solid core of good and engaging ideas, but broadly speaking this needs a lot of expansion to add detail and emotions, then an edit pass or two.

Chapter 6: See my lengthy thoughts on chapters 1 and 2. This is some awesome stuff, but it needs a LOT more painting. Try not to lose the sense of blackouts and spiritual corruption when you edit, because that hits hard. This NEEDS expansion, and a lot of it. There is some cool stuff going on, but it feels rushed and sketched-out. Chapter 7: Much less need for more detail. This is going great until the conversation with the disguised mistress. With the society you have--quite nicely, I must say--built here, it is ludicrous that our protagonist would just spill so honestly to this woman. I like this character's internal meditations. there's a lot of detail and emotion there. Plot thickens. This is generally pretty good, but IMO you should rewrite the conversation with disguised mistress. Chapter 8: I see the connection. I like it. This is paced quite well and I like it. You could pack more plot or character building in here but you don't have to. Maybe slow the transition to the back end of the chapter a bit, take some time with it, but it's not essential. I'll get to part 2 tomorrow but I'm liking a lot of what I'm seeing.

Chapter 4: I'm getting that Sakava is out of touch and incompetent. She responds to impolite criticism from a serially dissenting but loyal advisor (loyal, it must be noted, through what seems to be a major civil war) with a death threat then immediately walks back to a demotion threat. This is very good character work IMO--we are seeing incompetence from the incompetent's perspective rather than being told that they are incompetent and shown cartoonish ineptness and corruption from the outside. That cartoonish incompetence and corruption has its place, esp. in assassin fantasy, but this is a welcome divergence in its own way. We further see that she is lazy, unimaginative, and is possibly megalomaniacal. Again, I like seeing this through her eyes. This contrasts well with Brigar, knowing he's some rando lieutenant who got overpromoted, throwing out ideas to see what sticks. I think that she shows a bit too much concern for human life as such here if she's intended to be an antagonist--if she is indeed a baddie, perhaps she should think of the human cost as "lives she would need to fulfill her mother's destiny" or some such. Ah, she wants to make it a desert. Classy lady. It seems Brigar has decided to go full Military Jesus as a Hail Mary maneuver. I like this. I think you're going for "rando lieutenant turned rebel leader becomes Warrior Jesus" with his plot and he seemed to be built as a guy who would have a lot of anxieties and insecurities about that. Again, I like where it seems you're going with this. The battle scene kind of falls apart after the death pulse. I gather that Brigar has been somehow negatively effected by becoming a living tacnuke, but after that it becomes hard to follow and I have very little sense of how the masses of people are moving, and there is very little sense of the chaos that Sakava is trying to bring order to. I don't know what to advise here because this just fundamentally isn't working for me and IDK what precisely are the points that need to be hit. Chapter 5: Follow up on chapter 1! I'm not sure why the POV is shifting so much, and following 5 people is...a lot, but this just needs an edit pass for pace, new-feeling words, and painting the world. You've got the incompetent cop down pretty well and much of the emotional work here is solid and hits well. (again, just a minor edit pass, the bulk of it works pretty well) No real complaints here outside of "edit pass needed". This is pretty solid like chapter 3.

Third chapter: I'm not sure who this protagonist is as a person yet. In general I'm a little cautious about excessive exasperation in a character's first chapter. Not a huge deal here though. I like the detail about the monarchy just leaving their titles as "we are the royal house". That's a neat detail and speaks to the kind of society we're seeing here. There is a big overheated aristocracy game, but the royal house is in charge and everybody knows it. However, this does clash somewhat with the plotline about the royal house being out of cash. Perhaps adding a little clarification about how "conventionally" the royal house doesn't play the title game, but it's a brittle shield at the moment? Or maybe there is a push internally to start playing the noble game vs. that being a concession that would show weakness? Again, I love details in political fantasy. OK, the flashback shows me more of who this guy is. He's somewhere in between Raoden and Adolin, but we're getting the "trying to hold the kingdom together" plot that neither really got. I like this--the "competent eldest son of weak/corrupt/incompetent/possibly crazy King" trope is pretty old, but it still has plenty of mileage, and the anxieties engendered by it are relatable and hit hard. Only advice here is to possibly amp up the scale and ludicrous pomposity of the ball, and state that this is something that doesn't really need to be held at this point. This is definitely getting towards what I'm talking about making the world lush. Storming good stuff! We get more details here, it's still a tad on the sparse side but you are hitting well with the emotions here. You could definitely amp up the emotional writing a bit as he reacts to the letter, but I think as is it does state, if not quite emotionally connect with, the enormity of the situation. Good job showing that this was a lesson that the protagonist had to inflict. You've got the core here, only quibble is you should show the opponent stumbling away and falling or something before the protagonist turns to vomit. This is definitely a MUCH stronger chapter than the last two. The very end could be expanded a bit, to get a bit more of the protagonist's emotional reactions and journey after the duel, but I like it much more than the previous two. The last two chapters were genuinely..."there is good stuff here but that was hard to get through". This was "there are some hiccups but this is solid work and keeps me hooked".

short and less tangent-y and pedantic version: You have the chops, I just think this should be 100,000 words instead of 50,000. This is assassin/war fantasy with duels and political scheming, it truly needs the world to be painted and the emotions to be lush and intense. Mistborn, Stormlight, Gentlemen Bastards, they run on a lush world and intense emotions. here's something I wrote for a superhero thing, this is kinda what I'm talking about: obviously that's a super intense scene, and even without context you can probably get what's going on. But ideally the reader should get the gist of Gail's mental state. I want to feel General Brigar's thoughts and emotions and there isn't enough impactful description to give me that. Hope this is still helpful and not annoying.

Starting chapter 2. Good punchy first line. Brigar's new to high command but is good at small-unit tactics, and was rapidly promoted over a much more experienced officer, is what I'm gathering here. No resentment there? The bit about the religion I would explain in lusher terms. "The <priest types> said that to die in battle, face to face with the enemy, was the highest honor. <protagonist> had always been tolerably faithful, if not devout, but here, faced with the stink of burgeoning infection, the iron tang of blood, and the moans of the injured, he felt his faith shaken" or something of the sort. This is more towards personal preference than my previous critique though. This deserves more explanation the more I read. This guy seems to be rebelling--why is he rebelling? I want details--motivations, causes, ideology, politics. These are big needs in assassin and war fantasy. Even in Stormlight where much of the backstory is deliberately concealed early on, there is a clear backstory for the war and even the elements that are initially mysterious to Kaladin are implied and then explained in the text as we get into Adolin's and Dalinar's frustrations with Alethi societal corruption. Assassin fantasy typically takes place in worlds of intrigue and political oppression and corruption, the protagonists fit the mood. War fantasy needs causes, motivations for peoples to war--which requires politics. Even a work like LOTR that is generally seen as "simplistic good vs. evil" actually has a lush political backstory that makes the world and the characters much deeper (i.e. Boromir is explicitly created to be one of the most noble paladiny types possible, and the way the Ring tempts him is by appealing to his desire to save a people--his people--that he knows viscerally are dying out, which is a much cooler story than the popular consciousness version that he "goes evil" because of greed for the ring). My advice--you should build Brigar's emotions through the scene--his desperation, depression, maybe even fatalism at the situation. His desire to help his men, his fear of failing them. His desperate craving for comfort warring with the need to put on a face of strength. So I'm back to "make this more lush, marinate me the reader in the world and spend more time in it". Ditto with the character. To reference Stormlight again--I don't love Adolin Kholin because of the badass things he does. I cheer Adolin during those badass moments because I've grown to love him through seeing and feeling the man he is while empathizing with his worries about his dad's mental state, his devotion to his brother and to Maya, his stumbling into a surprisingly rewarding relationship with Shallan, his honor and conviction that lead him to kill Sadeas, his relationship with Kaladin with its initial clashing and suspicion and eventual laying-bare of who Adolin is at his core that resolves the conflict, the rage at his father for abandoning Adolin to raise Renarin while Dalinar got drunk, the boiling-over of that rage and the simmering resentment over Dalinar's repressive attitude towards Adolin and his passions and personality, the genuine love for Maya when he realizes who and what she is, the way this doubles down on his devotion until he would gladly lay down his life for her and stands up to a rigged court to defend her voice. I want to see that kind of stuff. I want to know what makes this guy tick. Think...think the conversations with Mordin Solus in Mass Effect 2, where the voice actor makes it very clear that he's a monster who desperately wants to convince himself he isn't one, even though he knows he is. The convos with Wrex in ME1 where you see his depression and fatalism, and then again in the second game where you see how he has evolved and taken lessons from Shepard and regained hope for the future, and yeah, even 3, rushed as it is, where he is a leader and you can see how Shepard's relationship with him has affected him, and you can feel the rage in his voice when the dalatrass is blatantly racist to his face. Likewise, I want a reaction to the reveal. Our second protagonist just got told and shown he's some kind of living superweapon mage. This means hope, fear, wonder, anxiety. All sorts of things. I want at least some of his reactions, his emotions, his feelings. War fantasy runs on emotion, and I need more of it in this chapter. This might be too brutally honest, and I know this is just a draft, but the lack of detail is kicking me out of the flow and the feel too much. You set a scene with something evocative, a visual or a line that just hooks you, you have a pretty strong writing voice, but then I'm grubbing in the dark looking for details to continue that evocative feel and paint the sounds and scents and sights of the world, and they're not there in the text. I think that at least what I've read needs a second draft aiming not so much at slowing the pace as painting the world. What I've read so far feels like a sketch with some very beautiful details. There is a perfectly drawn eye in the middle of a roughly sketched face with guide lines still in place. You can draw the eye very well, so I know that when you finish the sketch it's gonna be damn good, but what I've read so far is light in details on key places that make it hard to get into the mood. I would definitely buy this in a bookstore for 25 bucks (hardback)/18 bucks (paperback), once you've got that world-painting built in. As it is, the lack of detail to marinate in makes it feel rushed and oddly disconnected, and I'm not feeling as much emotion in this second chapter as I want. You can be lush and evocative and do it damn well, it's just that this draft has a weird aversion to sticking to that which is making it hard to get into. I hope this is helpful and not hurtful.

my #1 biggest actual problem, rather than just pedantic quibbling, is that by the end of chapter 1 I feel completely starved for detail, a sense of depth. Do not be afraid to marinate in the world, and to write with the intent of the reader doing the same. You're doing assassin fantasy, the reader will read those first couple of pages, which do give a good sense of depth compared to the end of the first chapter, and the reader will accept and anticipate marinating in the world. Think like...Dishonored. Dishonored is literally built, from a gameplay POV, to encourage the player to spend long periods of time carefully and quietly sneaking around and hearing sounds, sights, and giving an idea of what smells to think of. Then it's punctuated with brief periods of frenetic action, but the game deliberately incentivizes taking it slow and careful and really feeling the world.

I see this is setting up to be assassin fantasy. Very Gentleman Bastards feel. We have a protagonist who is shown to be a smart and forward thinking type, and proudly non-magical. This is a promising start. A few quibbles with the fight scene: Having two ropes, one a "common hemp rope of the type you'd find rigging a sail on a boat", in a belt pocket, seems odd. I would use "twine" or something here and have it be a roll or loop or something somehow clipped to the belt. The action is a little hard to follow. Protagonist seems to be doing a number of things in unnaturally quick succession (going legs first through the window then tackling the guy after kicking him back) without the target doing or reacting much (in that time all the target does is say "oof!", there's no sense of collapsing backwards or struggling to get up or the like), and the tension built up is kinda wasted here. "Ginormous" is a very modern feeling word choice. "Immense" or "opulent" might fit with the previously established late 19th/early 20th century feel better. A sprained ankle is very hard to walk or run or jump or climb on. The way this complication is introduced feels off, I would expect the protagonist to at least make some noise of pain, but I see that soon after they start to experience significant effects of a sprain, which is good. Getting home works. No pedantic complaints here. Good building sense of exhaustion and pain, more showing the protagonist thinking things through and using deception almost reflexively. I think more detail on the next morning would be useful. The protagonist just completed a major job, they now have some downtime, let them savor it and let the narration do the same. When I come out of that last passage of mounting exhaustion and pain, I want to see the next morning's slow throbbing pain as they wake up, hauling themself out of bed, checking defenses, getting mad at themself when they realize they made a mistake, detail on the self care, the soreness of muscles, pain of the sprained ankle, details like bath water splashing and sounds near the apartment and smells and colors to kinda paint the world more. You've given a pretty strong first impression of a kinda magic-Downton-Abbey-but-assassins world, now is the time to savor it. Ditto with the mysterious figure of mysteriousness's intro. There are solid, evocative elements, but very little is done or discussed, and this needs both more buildup and more payoff for what is implied to be a pretty plot-significant element we'll discover more of as we go. Going out to do some DMV stuff. Hope I'm not too negative. More thoughts later!

I agree on some but disagree on others. I tend to rate Elantris pretty low because Raoden and Sarene are annoyingly perfect (not lovably perfect as Adolin is) on reread. The plot was solid and Sanderson's writing voice hooked me instantly and got me addicted to his books, but it's just one of his weakest IMO. I would say "the one where he's the villain" is actually Alloy of Law. Miles comes off as "what if Kelsier, but fighting a system that is just kinda corrupt instead of OMGWTF pure evil". Personal disagreement on Oathbringer, but as you said, personal take there. Way of Kings changed my life. That thing is an addictive masterpiece. Sanderson could've dropped dead immediately after sending the final draft to the publishers and he would've gone down in history as one of the greatest writers in human history. That book should be taught in literature classes, not all these fuddy-duddy old English bozos. Words of Radiance I would also rate as my 2nd fave because I literally nearly died reading it, it was so addictive. I walked across a green light in NYC with my head in my Kindle because of that book. I do think Sanderson's work is bad for graphic novel transpositions. They always seem super rushed when I just want to enjoy the trip. At the risk of sounding like an addict--journey before destination.

I will see about taking a look and tell you what I think, Odium knows I'm hunting frantically for ways to procrastinate from my thesis.

I mean it's one thing if it's like, say, Shallan or Adolin or Navani, who grew up benefiting from a slavocracy, but also it's pretty clear that they aren't exactly huge fans of every entrenched societal institution they meet. I can 100% buy Adolin holding a slaver at Shardblade-point and saying "so I'm freeing these people, and you can storm right off, because I'm officially sick and tired of biting my tongue and also my sword likes it when I act like an edgedancer". Tuon otoh is proud of her ability to torture and emotionally abuse people on a level Ramsay Snow from Game of Thrones would be impressed by until they're so dehumanized many bury their own identities in desperation. Seriously, the only significant difference between post-torture Elaida and Theon-as-Reek is that the former isn't literally covered in dog crap. So. Storm Tuon. May she be dragged to Damnation by Odium and all his Voidbringers.

I'm on board with any Mat ship that ISN'T Mat/Tuon or Mat/Tylin, because proud slavocrats are unsexy and I'm not a huge fan of sexual predators.