#but then he was named Truthless

[blindradiant]

I love how often Brando uses Szeth’s pov to infodump at us, but so much of it is presented as things Szeth just knows. I’d love to see him verbally infodump at some point

[cosmerelists]

Ranking Google's Suggested Questions about Various Cosmere Characters

Do you know that if you google a Cosmere character, Google suggests a list of questions? But...are they GOOD questions? Read on to find out!

[HERE THERE BE SPOILERS]

1. Kelsier

Suggested Questions:

Why does Kelsier have a spike?

Did Kelsier turn evil?

Is Kelsier a good guy?

How strong is Kelsier?

Rating: 8/10

These are good questions, but a little bit repetitive. Clearly, we are all concerned about whether Kelsier has gone full evil and if so, whether anyone will survive his Hemalurgic strength.

2. Kaladin

Suggested Questions:

What does the name Kaladin mean?

What is special about Kaladin?

Why was Kaladin sold into slavery?

Why don't Kaladin's scars heal?

Rating: 2/10

Terrible questions. They can all be answered by reading the books! (Except possibly the name one.) And who spends even a MOMENT with Kaladin and then questions why he's SPECIAL? HE IS OUR SPECIALIST BOY

3. Steris

Suggested Questions:

Is Steris autistic?

Do wax and Steris fall in love?

Is Steris a Mistborn?

Do Wax and Marasi end up together?

Rating: 5/10

Too much emphasis on relationships--the last question is only about Steris by inference. It's fair to focus on Steris as a cool autistic character, and I like the off-the-wall question about her being a Mistborn. But this is solidly meh.

4. Tress

Suggested Questions

Is Tress part of Cosmere?

How old is Tress Cosmere?

Is Tress of Emerald Sea standalone?

Is Tress of Emerald Sea narrative by Hoid?

Rating: 7/10

These questions are clearly from people wondering if they can read this book--except I guess for the age one, which is just weird. So I generally support these questions as a sincere inquiry by those who want to read it. Go read it! It's good!

5. Shallan

Suggested Questions

Who does Shallan end up with?

Who is the real Shallan?

Is Shallan still bonded to Testament?

Who has Shallan killed?

Rating: 9/10

I love these questions. Sure, the first question is purely plot-related, but they get only zanier as they go along. Who IS the real Shallan? What is the status of all of her twisted multiple bonds? And how many people HAS she killed?

6. Adolin

Suggested Questions:

What does Adolins name mean?

Does anyone find out Adolin killed Sadeas?

What does Adolin look like?

What is the age difference between Shallan and Adolin?

Rating: 7/10

A little disappointing, tbh. I don't know why there is so much focus on what Stormlight men's names mean. And I just feel like there are so many more interesting things to ask about Adolin than whether his age gap is problematic and how hot he is. *shrugs*

7. Yumi

Suggested Questions:

How invested is Yumi Cosmere?

Are Yumi and painter from the same planet?

Is Yumi a cognitive shadow?

Is Yumi and the nightmare painter standalone?

Rating: 9/10

Honestly, these are pretty good questions. The last one is for people wondering if they can just read this book, but all the rest are just people trying to understand the lore. I can respect that.

8. Szeth

Suggested Questions:

Why is Szeth so strong?

Who has Szeth killed?

Why was Szeth truthless?

What color are Szeth's eyes?

Rating: 9/10 Aside from the last one these are all just questions Szeth asks himself daily.

9. Moash

Suggested Questions:

What does Moash do?

Is Moash a villain?

What is Moash's new name?

What did Renarin do to Maosh?

Rating: 8/10

Such a mix of trying to remember plot details (What is Moash's new name? What did Renarin do to Moash?) and deep philosophical questions. What does Moash do? Is he a villain? Deep questions on the google.

10. Hoid

Suggested questions:

What is a Hoid?

Is Hoid a Mistborn?

What was Hoid doing in Elantris?

What did odium do to Hoid?

Rating: 10/10

This has to get a full 10/10 just for the "what is a hoid" question. Let's be real; it's what we're all asking...

[warrior-messiah]

“It’s coming. I see a holy war spreading across the universe like unquenchable fire. A warrior religion that waves the Atreides banner in my father’s name. Fanatical legions worshiping at the shrine of my father’s skull. A war in my name. Everyone is shouting my name.”

⤷ Paul Muad’Dib Atreides. Duke of Arrakis. Lisan al-Gaib.

Paul Atreides was born with two formidable birthrights: the noble lineage of his father, the Duke, and the occultist legacy of the Bene Gesserit, a fanatical religious sisterhood, through his mother. From his early childhood, he was groomed to wield power and was trained not just as a Mentat for his analytical intellect and intuition, but also in the mysterious ways of the Bene Gesserit, whose bloodline manipulation and intense training granted him extraordinary abilities. He not only possesses the art of prescience, which grants him glimpses into the future—a power that both empowers and burdens him—but also wields The Voice, the ability to persuade and command someone with an order.

Now, on the desert planet Arrakis, he seeks vengeance for the brutal massacre on his family and uses the Fremen, the planet’s indigenous people who believe him to be their prophesied messiah, to wage his war against the Imperium. As the prophet Lisan al-Gaib, he leads the Fremen with an iron fist and leaves the rest of the known universe in fear and terror of him and his millions of fundamentalist followers.

“He was warrior and mystic, ogre and saint, the fox and the innocent, chivalrous, truthless, less than a god, more than a man.”

(OOC: Paul’s portrayal is primarily based on the two latest movie adaptations by Denis Villeneuve, but also on Frank Herbert’s novels Dune & Dune Messiah. // 21+, mdni, english preferred, muse =/= mun ‼️ I do not support or celebrate Paul as a white savior. Dune works as a critique toward western exploitation, colonialism and white saviorism, which will be reflected through my portrayal of Paul as well)

[tyresw]

Just had the thought that Szeth may have been named Truthless because he told people that the spren were returning and Nale heard about this and had to shut down any budding Radiants in Shinovar.

He would find Szeth and see that he follows the law exactly and the only way Nale can justify punishment according to the Shin code of law is to name him Truthless. The Shin would be told that spren were not in fact beginning to bond humans again and Szeth would be duty bound not to pursue his own Radiance.

[imonlyhereforcrem]

Szeth was born as Szeth-son-Neturo, but after becoming Truthless he became Szeth-son-son-Vallano so as to not soil his father’s name. But what was his name before he was born?

Szeth-son-in-utero

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

So Kaladin is becoming a paladin Radiant? And Syl has something to do with it, but it’s not a new development, it’s just something that’s a little harder for him to ignore when others are pointing out he’s glowing.

This does raise the question of if the same is true of Szeth, though. He’s got the Stormlight powers and glowiness, but he doesn’t seem to have a fairy spren companion. He’s also been that way long enough to be fully aware of how to use his powers for maximum effect, so “becoming” doesn’t really seem like the right word. Maybe Truthless is what they call Radiants in his culture? Goodness knows Kaladin’s doesn’t seem to think much of them after they said “screw this, we quit” en mass, so it’s not out there that some derogatory names or low status would be applied to them.

[anna-neko]

no... i cannot get over it!! The 'money' glows, so can literally double as lamps. but it also needs to be RECHARGED IN STORMS every once inna while!

Like yes, there is absolutely a day when someone has to take grandma's hoarded fortune or i dunno... their inheritance and air it out set it up in special heavily-weighted down and locked case outside during a tornado because otherwise it might get dull & be sus

blah blah blah ... the more pages get thru, the more useless Prelude chapter seems. Legit, it didn't need to exist, it didn't help all current world-building any... they still gotta actually backtrack and info-dump for it anyway

Interludes - check!! still WTF are "truthless" but props for dropping it here. That Prologue made sure to install the "deus ex" button in case of any other shenanigans needing to be started because reasons

it took this long .... this freakin long... TO FINALLY PUT IN THE REALLY GOOD SHIT ABOUT THE WORLD ITSELF?!?!?!? (geeking on the axehounds and local flora) like omg, the grass is basically taht shy underwater stuff that ducks away when 'danger' (aka anythin) is nearby?!?! yes, this is the kinda nonsense i am here for

nope, i lied, the "literacy is feminine pursuit" is still bashing all sorts of weird bells in my brain. Like come on!! The dude in the shop makes extra sure to drop "the story has been read to me" but at the same time when he tries to upsell some romance fluff and she drops hella shade by naming Very Serious Depressing Works AND HE KNOWS WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT this is like some dudebro scoffing at chick-lit and reality shows, but then knowing way too much about Bored Housewives of Wherever and starting to gush about their shoes. Ya either or reader, or you aint mah dude, and this bit was - once again - ain't the flex u thought it was

ok..... time to learn some new names .... here come moar PoV people (and here thought could avoid learning an avalanche of in-world names/places a lil while longer)

[aeonknight]

Lirin is not just morally wrong, but he's also just a terrible father. Literally NONE of Kaladin or Tien's backstory would have happened if he had just listened to Kaladin not wanting to be a surgeon.

Adolin's story will be more impactful if he DOESN'T end up reviving Maya. Radiant spren stay dead when they die, that is an established fact we know to be certain. If there were a possibility to revive them it would have to be via the radiant that killed them. To have Adolin revive Maya would spit in the face of any and all stakes to every single spren death. The moment Kaladin nearly killed Syl and abandoned his oaths? Doesn't matter, someone else could just fix her later. The fear that Pattern feels that Shallan will kill him and the eventual reveal that she'd killed Testament? Doesn't matter, someone else could just revive them. Hell, the moment that Dalinar forces the Stormfather to open an Oathgate and nearly tears him apart on the process? DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, SOMEONE CAN UNDO IT. It would completely invalidate spren death as a concept in a series where death is meant to have very strong consequences.

And finally, I don't care about Szeth as a character. At all. He spends the entirety of early books being sad because he murdered people. He then realizes "it was MY FAULT I murdered those people" and then he stops feeling bad about murdering people. After he decides that he never should have been truthless, it seems like he just... forgets that he's traumatized by it. And then once he realizes "wait, I can be my own person! I don't need to listen to my government," he then IMMEDIATELY decides to dedicate himself to serving a different government instead. And it might just be me, but I feel like his reasons for following Dalinar are unclear. I'm sure this will all get better once he gets his own book, but as it stands I'm genuinely more interested in his sword as a character than in him. Both his swords, actually. Nightblood is rad, obviously, but also I'm really interested in why his spren refuses to even tell him it's name. Also I have a bunch of criticisms of Skybreakers as a whole, the fact that their entire motivation is as flimsy as "follow whatever laws exist wherever we happen to be" or, even worse, "follow the law (the law is whatever we say it is)," is wildly stupid.

I want your Stormlight hot takes. Give me your controversial opinions.

Mine is that Jasnah is very, very dangerous and power hungry and could very well end up a villain in someone’s story.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

I’ve started rereading The Way of Kings and am noticing a few things.

First, the risk that Sanderson took starting it the way he did. Three different time periods and viewpoint characters before the fourth chapter finally gives us a current-time, main character viewpoint. If I was Sanderson’s editor when he was pitching this, I’d be finding the Cenn viewpoint the hardest sell.

The Kelek one is short, hints at vastly powerful forces, ends with the creation of a great mythic lie, and the “4,500 years later” gives things a properly epic feel.

The Szeth one is fantastic - it starts with an iconic line, has an engaging magic battle scene, and sets up a central mystery: why did the Parshendi betray the alliance and have Gavilar assassinated. It explains enough but not too much of the context (mechanics of Szeth’s ‘magic’ powers: yes; details of the concept of Truthless and reasons behind Shin veneration of stone: no).

But the Cenn one has the combined challenges that this isn’t a main character, dies (though we don’t yet know it) at the end of the scene, and isn’t an interesting person in and of himself. If I was the editor, I’d be asking “Why can’t we have the Kaladin POV here?” But the more we see of Kaladin, the clearer it becomes why his introduction had to be done this way. The contrast between Kaladin in the Cenn-POV chapter and the despairing Kaladin in the slave wagon in the next chapter gains its power and drama from two things: the contrast between who Kaladin was then and now, and the contrast between how others see Kaladin and how he sees himself. Kaladin in that battle wouldn’t have seen himself as the heroic, nearly-miraculous figure his soldiers see him as: rescuing Cenn by fighting six-on-one and killing all his enemies in a matter of seconds, then turning into a healer and bandaging his wounds; training his men to operate as a unit unlike anyone else on the battlefield; spending most of his pay on bribing the support staff to evacuate his wounded; bribing other commanders to give him recruits who seemed militarily useless. He’d have taken that for granted. Kaladin (later) reacts to being pretty much miraculously resurrected by despairing and thinking he’s a failure. The switch of perspective at the start is necessary for us to realize early on that the way Kaladin percieves himself does not line up with objective reality or with other people’s perceptions, and necessary for us to realize how impressive he was, and how others reacted to him, before his enslavement. It’s the essential backdrop for all the horrible early chapters in the slave wagons and Bridge 4. But the necessity of that only becomes apparent once the reader has spent a while with Kaladin.

The second thing I’m noticing is that, while on my first read-through I was overwhelmed and not picking up on this, Sanderson does leave us a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. In the first chapter, four people are named: Kalak, Jezrien, Talenel, and Ishar. Then, only a few pages later, Szeth passes the states “depicting the Ten Heralds from ancient Vorin theology”, naming four: “Jezerezah, Ishi, Kelek, Talenelat.” The names are similar enough that it’s possible to put the pieces together. Even in Kaladin’s first chaptet, the mention of windspren stucking things to other things can recall Szeth’s Full Lashings.

Another thing that jumped out at me: in the first chapter, Kelek mentions “red, orange, and violet” blood on the battlefield. Parshendi blood is orange, but who on Roshar has violet blood?

[literallymechanical]

This is Toast!

I adopted him earlier this week. He’s seven-ish months old, he sits on my laptop during zoom meetings, and he purrs like somebody trying to start a broken lawnmower. I can and will burn the very Heavens out of the sky to keep him safe.

Picking a name for Toast was challenging. I compiled a list of about 130 names, almost all of which were suggested by friends.  I put each name through a series of trials, the most important ones being the “am I embarrassed to yell this across the apartment” test, and the “am I going to be able to explain this reference to a coworker or grandparent without sounding like a total dweeb” test.  Many failed.

The full list of potential names, organized by category, is below the cut.  But first, I’d like to go through a few honorable mentions that almost made it:

Jack Purrsons, named after Jack Parsons, the mad cultist and founder of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Notable for being one of the most important rocket engineers to ever live, attempting to summon the Thelemite goddess Babalon to Earth, and dying at age 37 in a nitroglycerin explosion while making bootleg Hollywood pyrotechnics.

KV Spectral Class, pronounced “Kay Vee.”  I am told that this is the spectral class of stars that shine orange.  It has become apparent that I am friends with an unusually high number of astrophysicists.

The same name as my sister’s cat.  I would just type it, except it’s also the name of her son.  The cat came first.  Giving my cat the same name as both her cat and her child would be a fun little bit of vicious sibling mockery.

Roomba.  This one is just adorable.

Keep reading for the full list of suggestions, sorted!  Feel free to use any or all of these for your own pets!

Food (guess which one these was an extremely specific dig at my strength of character)

Peppermint

Candycorn

Cookie Dough

Cheezit

Carraway

Cardamom

Nutmeg

Coriander

Saffron

11:30 AM Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso

(Pumpkin) gnocchi

Toast

Marmalade

Pizza

Cheeseburger

Tuna

Sushi

Bean

Simmer

Names And Titles (or, “I understood that reference!”) 

The Purrincipal Investigator

Edwin

Gryphon (technically it's not a McElroy reference if it's spelled like this)

Sir Underfoot

Ricky

Jeeves

Cheshire

Mr. Darcey

Bedivere

Gawain

Galahad

Christopher

Alastair

Julian

Leopold

Nathaniel

Theodore

Quentin

Sebastian

Erik the Orange

Skipper

Puck

Rumplestiltskin

Boris

Edgar Gladpaw Pussywillow III

Jack (Purrsons)

Jack (o’Lantern)

Szeth son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar

Leshwi

TenSoon

Elend

Rua

Ico

Catticus Finch

Mogget

Hopper

Feather

GCat

Achilles

Mufasa

Minecraft Steve

Cave Spider

Pounce deLeon

Mister

Greed

Kaiju

Shinebright

Turret

Plasma Physics (or, “I’m scrolling through your tumblr and just suggesting words that stand out.”)

Plasma

Yttrium

Magnet

Tokamak (Mackie for short)

Q

Watt

Megawatt

Gigawatt

Stellarator (Stella for short)

Tungsten

Alcator C-Paw

Sparcky

Astronomy And Particle Physics (or, if I had a nickel for every astrophysicist who gave me more than 50 suggestions for cat names I’d have ten cents, which isn’t a lot but it’s still odd that it happened twice.)

Kepler

Copernicus

Comet

Oort

Kuiper

KV Spectral Class

Higgs

Gibbous

Photon

Muon

Meow-on

Engineering (or, I can’t name a cat MOSFET because it sounds like the Doctor Who guy)

Catpacitor

Diode

Pixel

Voxel

Volt

MOSFET

Radar

Transistor

Tesla

Pascal

Fission

OSHA violation

Sprocket

Alloy

Other Miscellaneous Nouns 

Button

Tagalong

Domino

Flicker

Hobgoblin

Scrumpkin

Lilly pad

Marble

Cheeto

Bumblebee

Roomba

Widget

Nugget

Ferret

Banjo

Didgeridoo

Oboe

Teapot

Bathtub

Lamp

Toothbrush

Fork

Thingamajig

Pigeon

Lawnmower

Beanbag

Oliver

Tourmaline

Zircon

Topaz

Bulbine

Zinn

Ranunculus

[blindradiant]

I’ve seen some people say that Szeth pre-exile was in a respected position for training with the Honorblades, and eventually bonding Jezrien’s Blade. They seem to think that learning how to wield the Honorblades and learn the Surges is, well, an honor. I think this is inaccurate for at least two reasons.

First, they’re called Honorblades because they were made directly by Honor, using his own essence/Investiture. There’s no inherent honor in using one, any more than there is in carrying a regular Shardblade.

Second, something I think people forget/overlook is that warriors and anyone who uses a weapon are at the bottom of Shin social structure. The only people who are lower than fighters are Truthless.

I imagine that those who train with the Honorblades also have low social rank. The Shin might view it as a necessary evil (there’s a passing line in Oathbringer that seems to imply that they watched for the return of the Voidbringers) but it is still bad. Killing is the worst sin in the Shin religion, and anyone who learns how to use the Honorblades is also trained to kill. There would be no honor in that.

Even before Szeth was named Truthless and exiled from Shinovar, he was of one of the lowest social ranks to his people. He might have used the Honorblades, but he found no honor in it.

[starshipsofstarlord]

World Revelations

@etherealsxnder​

Warnings; spoilers for season 13, mentions of death, angst, lack of hope, some Alex Calvert x reader, and tiny bit of jack x reader, swearing, brief illusions to sex, angry brothers, mentions of a sex scene, insecurities, online hate, protective winchester brothers, apocalypse world, major character death, lucifer

(Y/A/N) – Your Acting Name.

A/N; it’s a little bit different from the request, so sorry about that, but I hope that any one that reads this enjoys. Also sorry about the wait, I had bad writers block, but when I started writing this it sorta figured itself out and I may have got carried away. Feel free to tell me what you think ☺️

“Look, I am not going to some other world to help stop Michael. But I can help you in another way, one where none of us get harmed.” Gabriel shrugged, reducing Sam’s expression to confusion. The archangel had felt like their last hope at retrieving their mother, into delving into the apocalypse world, and here he was, turning him down.

 He had tried his very best to make the celestial being better, and here he was, talking again, able to use his grace rather than have it removed and syringed into a demon’s veins. However, he still refused, and the hunter had no other plan in forcing Gabriel into helping. This was the last shot, and it had been blown.

 But however could he still help? This was the primary problem that had to be solved, there was no other route they could take to bring their family back together. And that was all that mattered in this life, saving people, remaining together.

 “What are you talking ab-“ Before Sam could complete his question, Gabriel set him with a poised glare, and snapped his magical fingers, a spark of electric blue grace sparking from the action. That was all Sam saw before he felt himself transported, and once he opened his eyes, he remained in the bunker, however there were cameras around him, and an entire filming crew.

 Gabriel had sent him to the other life, another world in which he presumed that he was called Jared. “What the hell Sammy?” Dean barked from beside him, twisting and turning his sights around, upon realising that although this looked like their home, it was an alternate version of it. A set, made of fake walls and truthless literature that was not at all necessary in this peaceful, monster-less realm. “Son of a bitch!”

 “Cut!” One of the cameramen called out, shaking his head exasperatedly at the line said wrong. Jensen had been doing so well, and Jensen seemed to have slipped far too into character, to the point where he had forgotten his lines. “Do you need to see the script again, or would you rather take a short break?”

 “I’ll go for the break.” Dean confirmed, grabbing Sam’s forearm and hastily dragging him from the onlookers, and towards which he assumed was his, well, Jensen’s trailer. It looked pretty much the same as last time. “Gabriel?” He asked, rightly assuming that the blame of this mishap ordeal was down to the glowing figure.

 “He refused to help us open a rift.” Sam licked his lips, his eyes jutting around the luxurious space. “And then he snapped his fingers, and we were here.” Here, another earth. However this was not their home, it was a disfigured writing of it, if anything, it was worse than the books Chuck wrote. There were more fans, and more complications that came along with being here in place of the actors.

 “We don’t have time for his tricks.” Sighed Dean, raking his hair with his rough hand. “Parading around as a painted whore is not on my agenda, all I care about is getting mum back, we have to get home quick.”

 “Dean, I don’t think that this is a trick…” Sam spoke to his elder brother, in thought of Gabriel’s words. “He said he could help us in another way. I don’t think he meant taking us away from the problem, there must be something else.” No matter how much he rolled the idea around his head, he could come to no conclusion.

 “What?” There was already plenty on the man’s mind, he didn’t need another incident coming their way. Dean was to begin speaking again, until a knock rapped against the door to his double’s trailer, intruding his mindset. Him and Sam shared a glance and frown until Dean called whomever was on the other side in, and to their dismay, he looked exactly like Castiel.

 Misha Collins. Last time they had visited this place, he had died, but the return of the real selves must have somewhat fixed the timeline, he looked well, even if he still was dressed as their angelic friend. “Hey, I was seeing if you are ready for the scene tomorrow.”

 “Scene? Which scene?” ‘Jared’ asked the colleague of his false identity, unaware of the context in which Misha spoke in. Dean only huffed and rolled his eyes, until Misha spoke, and he froze, both the brothers understanding Gabriel’s meaning for sending them to this world.

 “(Y/N)’s death scene. Apparently it’s gonna be quite emotional, and it’ll be strange after, not having the kid on set anymore.” It was a revelation, a nightmare that foreshadowed the truth in their own dimension.

 “Thanks uh- Misha.” ‘Jensen’ rubbed his hand over his face, shocked by the oncoming doom. They had already lost far too many members in their makeshift hunter family, but this was different. This was their sister, whom they had protected and vouched to continue doing since the day she was born. And now the universe had this grand plan of cutting her young life short, and sending her to either heaven or hell, where so many people they loved already were.

 “Do you know where um, (Y/A/N) is right now?” Sam asked, desperate to somehow convince her to remain on the show. It was the only way in which he could save his younger sibling, and he would, by the gods, do anything that he possibly could. Him and Dean had already had meetings with death himself, he couldn’t allow the new version to come and take you.

 Billy would not compromise, she was intent on having a Winchester under her cloak, forever taken from life, never to return to the living. And they couldn’t take a chance, any chance on not getting (Y/N) back, she was a legacy as were they, but she was supposed to live on for longer. Their names would otherwise be nothing more than memories in the world of hunters, until they faded into distant and dead members of the community.

 “In her trailer, I think. She’s rehearsing with Alexander I think.” The name that he mentioned was unfamiliar to the unfitting pair, but they spared no thought to it. Instead they sent him a quick smile before leaving the confines that they felt trapped in, and began their search for the actress of their sister.

 “We have to change her mind Sammy. If she stays on the show, then our (Y/N) lives. It is the simplest solution.” Dean spoke as they walked through the lines of trailers, unable to find the name that they were searching for on any door. “Where the hell is her damn trailer?”

 Sam squinted, until a name he had heard was seen on one of the doors. Alexander, whoever that was. Before he could even put any thought into his actions, he subconsciously knocked on the door, waiting a moment for an answer. And when the door opened, they were met with who looked like Jack, his hair a mess, and his shirt hanging over his shoulder, clearly put on in panic.

 “What’s up guys, need something?” He scratched the back of his neck, impatient with the situation, considering the one that he had been interrupted from. A part of him feared that this was one of Jared’s infamous pranks, he had mostly been on the end of shifted lines, but worse could have been heading his way for all he knew.

 Dean frowned at the sight of young man, it hardly felt right seeing the innocent boy that they knew with sex hair and slight bruises upon his neck. He cleared his throat, keeping up his expression, as he spoke to the boy. He had softened up to Jack, he was their kid in some ways, but this was no Nephilim, if anything it was worse, it was a man who impersonated they kid.

 “Heard that uh, (Y/A/N) was running lines with you. Y’know where she is?” Alex’s eyes shifted slightly inside of his personal space, before everything was given away by a familiar giggle. It sounded the exact same as the one that often left (Y/N)’s mouth. Dean knew it, he would never be capable of mistaking it.

 The noise had renegaded in his ears since she had been born, in the impala as John drove, through the halls of the bunker as her and Sam made jokes about his cholesterol. At the worst of times, before he knew that they existed, he liked to think that it was the voice of angel, she always guided him on the right path, and if she were to disappear from his life, he would sorely lose the track that he was hellbent on walking down.

 And he could see her face now, as she tugged the sheet over her body. A frown sculpted her expression, as she looked exasperatedly between Alex whom had tried to lure the tall pair from the confines of his trailer, and the intruders who had barged carelessly in. It wouldn’t have mattered so much if her and Alexander had actually been running lines, however the situation explained more than enough of the fact that they indeed were not.

 “Jared, Jensen, can you like, I don’t know, not cockblock me, for once in your elderly lives?” It felt peculiar, for both Sam and Dean. They knew that this was not their sister, but her calling them by other names was so foreign. Their skins crawled at the labelling, and it only reminded them farther of their cause, the reason that they were sent by an angelic being to be here in this very moment.

 “I am also getting bored of it.” Alexander tilted his head, in agreement with (Y/A/N), who only grinned at his compliance to suit her opinions, and Dean could only roll his eyes, just like he did with Jack the majority of the time. “But it’s cool, but can we hurry this along, I mean not to be rude, but aren’t you guys supposed to be filming a scene in like five minutes?”

 Sam cleared his throat, admittedly he did like Jack. The kid was sweet, however this was not him, it rather was a man who pretended to be a Nephilim for payment, and was bedding the doppelganger of his sister. If he were to see his sister and the devil’s child in such a compromising predicament, most people would assume he’d be the calm sibling, but they’d be wrong. He would go mad, and think of a way to keep the pair separate.

 But luckily for them, there had never been such adult situations insinuated between their dear (Y/N) and Jack, or at least not that they were aware of. This riled Dean, and so he couldn’t help but feel like exploding. It angered him that any man had laid their bare and lustrous hands upon his youngest sibling. No one was to have that pleasure, she was supposed to remain innocent, even if she were legal.

 “Seriously?! Jack of all people?!” He bellowed at (Y/A/N), shaking his head at their obvious exchange. If (Y/A/N) had any clothes on underneath the white sheet that hugged her body as she lay on the sofa, her instincts would have driven her over to Jensen and her palm would have met the side of his stubbly face.

 “First of all, you need to start remembering Alex’s name, and that goes for Jared too. You can’t just keep calling him Jack, even after I’m done here and move onto my next project.” Her words, although not having the intent to, had the effect of triggering Sam’s goal, in-deliberately reminding him of their foremost goal. It was not to get angry at the characters that played them and their loved ones, it was to save someone that was incredibly important to their world.

 “And second,” the woman in covering continued, “this isn’t exactly going to get me to stay on the goddamn show, if you barge in here, interrupting our privacy. If you don’t like what me and Alex are doing off screen, you sure aren’t going to like what is gonna go down between (Y/N) and Jack. Sometimes I do swear that you’re just like Sam and Dean.”

 The jab she made at them struck nerves, but they knew that this was not the real her. It may have looked like (Y/N), but this was only a woman who played the part of her. “We’ve been trying to make you stay on the show?” Sam asked, his voice soft. He didn’t want to be harsh, she was already uncomfortable enough.

 It was her unknowing that they were actually Sam and Dean that could be an element that they could use, a tool of convincing. “Yes, for weeks now.” (Y/A/N) sighed, pinching the point that was between her eyebrows. “And I’m getting tired of it, and overall, this character. I’ve played her for years on end, I think that her story should have a finishing point, a finale. I’m ready for bigger and brighter things, something that is not pretending to be a strong woman on set, and as soon as I walk away from the cameras, I go back to being weak.”

 “I think you’re going to have to explain a little more if I’m going to get any of that.” Dean prompted, both him and Sam had turned away, giving the actress in the sheets the privacy to change. The shuffling of fabrics could be heard, they had been in worse situations with their sister, small motel rooms, of which they could usually only afford one in the past, helped nobody. And none of them received the personal space that should have been an outright human right.

 “Of course neither of you understand.” Alex sighed, “she wants a smaller workspace, one where there aren’t so many eyes on her. The whole ordeal got out of hand, and now there are people online saying terrible things about her and I. Neither of you have made such a mistake, or had something so sacred and personal leaked on the internet. The things people say really digs in deep, she at least wants a break, can’t you understand that?”

 “Wait, what got leaked?” Sam’s curiosity often informed him of things that he did not wish to be aware of, and this was one of their instances. Alex huffed and rolled his eyes, walking over to where (Y/A/N) was now fully clothed, and took a seat on the sofa beside her, their eyes meeting and mirroring smiles shining at one another.

 The sight admittedly made Sam smile, but it made Dean feel internally sick. The sight of what looked like their sister and Jack fuelled a fire inside of him, he wanted his eyes to burn and the memory to be forever removed from his sights.

 “Look, you play a pretty badass character, although I’d say Dean has a bit more kick to him.” The man himself chuckled, but no one joined in, so he continued through a forced smile, coming to sit down next to Alex, his ignorance to what happened there merely minutes ago encouraging his brother to cringe.

  “But that’s not my only point, you’re here, whilst those sad souls that sit behind their computers all day waste their time typing crap. The life you have, the family that you have here, is worth more than the opinions of a few, invisible idiots, who are only jealous of everything that you have earned for yourself. Don’t breathe their toxicity win, because if you do, the bad guys win, and then you will only fade out of the spotlight and they’ll forget all about you, and all of the things they ever posted about you.”

 Alex had been understanding through all of (Y/N)’s decision to leave the cast, although to begin with he had tried to convince her to stay. And it seemed out of all of them, it was Jensen that made her reconsider her options, he could see it behind her eyes, the unravelling of interest, the flickering of hope.

 The only thing that the younger actor could not tell were that these were not Jensen’s words, they fell from the lips of Dean Winchester himself. A character that he knew of, and was an important symbol on the show that he was cast on. But it did not matter if he was not aware of that snippet, because it changed nothing, other than possibly (Y/A/N)’s mindful decision.

 “You know what, you’re right Ackles. It’s not often that I say that, but the thought of leaving everyone here, settling for something that I have no connection to or history with, it is undermining. And I’m going to talk to Kripke, he’ll be over the moon with the consideration, however if he chooses that (Y/N) is to die as was planned due to my indecisiveness, then that shall be the battle that I am to bargain with.” They had won (Y/A/N) over, it was victory.

 It was also the closest that they could do by themselves to save (Y/N). If this didn’t work, they would be nothing more than John’s broken tools, defined by all those that they were always mourning. And it would only make their sister another name on that sour list, even if her death would pain them substantially more than others.

 “I guess we’ll go then.” Sam awkwardly spoke, encouraging Dean to stand from the christened furniture and join him in leaving the sexually active couple alone. He sent the woman a nod, and Alex a raised eyebrow. He would have Jack’s head if he ever thought he had the guts or wings to be so intimate with their sister, he’d make him feel something, and it would be painful. Torturous even.

 They shut the door behind them as they departed from the actors, a smirk on Dean’s face. He felt victorious, he was the same hero that would read (Y/N) stories when it was dark and a storm was thundering outside, as she hid under the duvet of some dingy motel bed, a torch protecting her from the enveloping bleakness, but also her brothers. “I’d call this a win.”

 “They said about a video…” Sam had Jared’s phone in his hand, he scrolled through the feed with a wrinkled nose and scorned eyes. After he received an answer to what it was concluding, he put the device away, he could never look at Jack and (Y/N) around each other the same again. It was burdened by the facts of this world, contradicting the innocence that both the kids in their world showed. “It was a leaked sex scene of the show, Dean.”

 “Heck no!” Growled the elder brother, shaking his head. The instant images that flashed through his mind of the Nephilim atop of his little sister made his teeth grit in anger, and a pit of queasiness fold in the cave of his stomach. He already wasn’t too sure on Lucifer’s spawn, this only enhanced that formed opinion, and he wished to shoot the child more than ever in this instant, even if the real him was not around.

 “They’re not actually the people we know Dean.” Sam comforted him, easing his anger, but only slightly. “Nothing like that has happened between them, he is in another world, whilst (Y/N) is in the bunker, reading lore and trying to find a way to bring mum and Jack back to us.”

 “Yet Sammy, nothing has happened yet.” He allowed himself to shut his eyes for a second, and the next thing that he knew, he was returned home. His speech must have worked on the employee of the show Supernatural, otherwise, Gabriel surely would not have returned them to their home world.

  “He’s gone, for chuck sake. How are we supposed to bring Jack and Mary back if we don’t have archangel grace?!” The stressed voice of their younger sibling often triggered a debate from the brothers, but seeing and hearing her, it was a miracle. They couldn’t waste time and argue, instead Sam lurched forward, grabbing the girl and bringing her into the embrace of his giant like arms.

“We’ll figure it out (Y/N/N), we always do.” He spoke softly, earning a confused yet pleased smile. The hug had come out of nowhere, but it calmed her nerves, the rushing of the blood that hurtled around the veins of her body slowed, and it gave her a moment of peace, a blank mind before she began researching again.

 “I have a question.” Dean stated with his gruff tone, squinting at his female sibling. He suppressed a smile, she was oblivious to the blockade that had rested above her head like a raincloud, but he knew that she was here for good. And that she was not leaving to any sort of afterlife any time soon. “Do you have the hots for Jack?”

 (Y/N)’s eyes went wide, however she forced a scoff to hide the shock and cover up anything that her brothers could pick up on. She released herself from Sam’s hold, taking a couple of simple steps backwards, so that she could have a clear view of the expressions that both of them wore. “Are you seriously asking me that at a time like this?” Her sentence was finished with a sigh and a roll of her eyes.

 But her brothers knew their sister well enough, and that she indeed did not want to admit something to them. (Y/N) was much easier to read than (Y/A/N) was, they had known this growing woman since the day that she was born, the same day in which John rescued the shrieking baby from a mother that was fed and eaten by wolves. She would have been next, however the hunter saved her, as was in his job description, but he couldn’t bare to let her stream through the system.

 He felt an attachment to her, and looking at her was practically the same as the notion of peering at one of his boys. She was to be a Winchester, he hadn’t decided it, but God himself did. The universe worked in mysterious ways, it was as though it was all written out for the family, but this instant, none of them minded. It gave the boys another reason to fight, another person to love, and eventually another family member to lose.

 But it had been evaded this time, Gabriel had although not helped them with reaching their mother and the son of Kelly Kline, however, he had somewhat saved (Y/N) himself. Without his trickster interference, they’d have never known of her doomed fate, or have been able to fix it.

 “I’ll take that as a yes.” Dean was smug with being right, as he always was. Overall though, he was more pleased to know that they had stopped the crumbling of the bottom of the family tree, they had protected their sister, literally to the ends of the world.

 “Pick up a damn book and help me, I’m not doing all of this research by myself.” Another sign that he was indeed correct, changing the subject, how original. But neither of the brothers, more so Dean than Sam, even wanted to try and switch the mindset that (Y/N) had about the boy. They were allowed to have feelings, romantic and so on, and their sister appeared happy with the tether that was from her heart to Jack’s.

   The vampires were almost mutated. This apocalypse world had really taken a toll on all life. Michael of this plain had destroyed everything that was known to be true, even living itself. The habitat of these morsal creatures was dark, and disgusting. Humans had already tried to pass through the deadly lair to reach the other side, to get to the rebellion camp, however, no one had survived to the opposite end of things.

 (Y/N) felt hopeless, even as she walked through the home of the starving monsters. She had never been a fan of vampires, no hunter was, but this was cruel to every extent. They didn’t even appear as human anymore, their fates had been cursed by this ruined land. Without the world that was in her own, they would be worse off, everything in this dimension was.

 Everyone of their company was on edge, Dean ensured that he kept a sturdy eye forward, looking for any light. He knew (Y/N) would have to be okay, it was paved for her to be so in the other universe, she’d be fine. Of course, he still worried, that was what he did in retrospect, all day, every day, he worried that it was to be someone’s last.

 And he was right, as the monsters crept from the dark, tasting the scent of rushing blood in the air. They had lured them from their slumber, and they began to attack, dragging one of the travellers towards their death, where they would be fed on until he was completely drained. (Y/N) swung her machete, beheading one of the animals without a second glance, but perhaps she should have spared another look on the side, as she was a target.

 She was the prey to what she was raised to hunt, it wrapped its clawed hand around her leg like a coil, dragging her to the ground, and feasting its teeth into her supple flesh. This was it, there was no route away from her fate, and her body was already weak from blood loss, and so she gave up, and refused to fight. Her body was dragged into the abyss of the nest, and its members followed after her.

 Sam noticed their apparent glee, they had yet again prized food from them. He looked around to see whom it may be, and he was aghast with the sight. (Y/N) had her eyes shut as her limp form was being taken by vampires, and he froze, traumatised by the sight. And his surprised and hurt stature gave another of the beasts the perfect opportunity to rip into the rubber of his neck, and relish in the unstoppable river of blood that poured out from the fatal wound.

 “No!” Dean cried out, noticing that his sister too had disappeared. Before he could follow after the menaces and get vengeance, and possibly save his family from being the meal of savages, Castiel grasped his arm, pain rendering in the blueness of his vessel’s eyes.

 “They’re gone Dean.” His words rang through the hunter’s head. This was his worst nightmare. Gabriel’s warning had not helped at all, because (Y/N) was dead, and so was Sam. He forced himself to trudge on, pained like no other time before. Sam had died before, but he had always found a way to retrieve him back into life, and even through his tragic absence, he always had (Y/N). Now, the only other Winchester was his mother, who also needed to be saved from this damned world.

   “Think about it Sammy, Jack is going to be so pleased to see you alive, but your little sis, well, I’m sure that is going to be one hell of a reunion between them.” Lucifer smirked, he was in Nick’s body again, using it as a vessel. “And he’ll think of me as a saviour, a knight that saved his princess from a terrible fate.”

 The fallen archangel always had ulterior motives, and Sam realised that he had no choice in whether he’d rather remain dead, or be used as a bargaining chip by the devil himself. His interest in Jack was not exactly pure, it was clear to the man that he sought the backup, the power of his biological son. His intent was to creep into the boy’s mind, and decipher for the kid the difference between wrong and right.

 “That’s what you want, to lie to him about who you are?” He couldn’t exactly say he was surprised, even more so that the audience of vampires were seething to break free from Lucifer’s force. He wasn’t even supposed to be here, he should have been in the bunker, his grace feeding away at Rowena’s spell, and keeping the gate open for their return.

 “I’ll just bend the truth to fit the story, and I care about my son. As you care about your dear sister, and it would be a shame if she were not to wake, and then the news will have to be delivered to my boy, and I’m sure that would just break his half and half heart.” The celestial being, the epidemy of evil tutted at the thought, only to send Sam a mischievous smirk afterwards. “You don’t want him to be like me, but without her, he’ll be in so much pain that he won’t think about his actions. If he has (Y/N/N), then that choice will be entirely up to him, and what he believes in, yada yada yada.”

 The sight of his sister covered in her own blood, motionless on the ground, bite marks on her shoulders and elsewhere drew out a desperation in Sam. He couldn’t not allow the villain to bring her back to life, and it seemed that no matter what he disputed, that Lucifer would do it anyway, to get himself in Jack’s good books. And so he hung his head low, awaiting the personal enemy of his to resurrect the most important woman in his life.

 On first instinct, (Y/N) gasped in air. There was a lack of it rolling around the vitals of her lungs, but her breath was taken away once more, when she saw the looming of a horrifying figure, a first son of god. He was supposed to be, even if forced to do so by the traditions of magic, be at the bunker, revelling them with a way back. Rowena had been left there also, to keep the spell brewing, and a fearful eye on the hellish shadow.

 Assumingly, he had escaped his sentence, and for some reason, brought her to life. It was no mistake as to what the vampires had done to her, she could smell the spilling of her own blood over her thrifted and worn clothes, and it was gruesome. Although it was not the hunter’s first time in being a sponge to her injuries, but nevertheless, she fought to stand beside Sam, who steadied her shaken feet, and balanced out the rest of her body by looping his supportive arm around her waist.

 “Come on.” Lucifer rolled the human eyes that he wore like spectacles into the lives of the Winchesters, unimpressed by the slowness of the world’s large cockroaches. “We have places to be and sons to meet.” At his verbalised of clarity for his ungodly presence, (Y/N)’s body became rigid. His intent was to get to Jack, she couldn’t allow him to provoke a fire inside the boy.

 He was sweet and innocent, even harmless, despite the accident that had happened when he accompanied her and her brothers on a hunt. If Lucifer reached him, he would only try and navigate the darkness inside of him to be what it was, rather than try and make him change it into something brighter, something that was good, like Kelly would have wanted.

 “No.” (Y/N) refused, earning a frown from Sam and a elongated groan from Lucifer. She had died, it didn’t matter if she were to return to that fate, not if she stood by what she truly believed in. Nothing much would change, other than the vampires getting another meal from the same body, Dean already thought that she was extinguished from life, and the news would be passed on before any of them were to reach him.

 “Oh, for crying out loud!” The devil shook his wolfish head, Winchesters were always so stubborn. “I’d allow it if Sam were to stand against the gift of life, I’ve seen what is inside of his head after all, but you! You’re the priority here, you are Jack’s weakness.” This gesture of good faith seemed to be more than it was worth, but if she didn’t comply willingly, then he would force her to follow him along, and live.

 “Where’d you hear that from? He doesn’t have a weakness, he just has a good heart. I’m just another person that he lives with, a soldier that is going to fight anyone that dares to try and hurt him. And I won’t mind if I have to give my life to try and kill you.” She spat at the disgrace of heaven, hardly moved by his goal. As a Winchester, the stubbornness ran through her veins, even if the bloodline itself did not.

 “I hear things, and I did in that bunker. Like how Dean was speaking about you and Jackie boy, and how it all made sense. The shared looks, the flushed faces, all that gross stuff. He didn’t seem too happy with the circumstances, but he was content with the fact that you were alive, like you are again, because of me.”

Lucifer was the last person that (Y/N) would thank for her existence, but she realised that there was no way out of his trap, she was the bait for Jack, that would reel the boy into the wings of his dreaded father.

He could sometimes be so naive, that she feared that Jack would fall for the extension of kindness, one that hardly suited Lucifer. But that was up to him, and in this apocalyptic version of her world, anything could happen.

“She’s dead.” Dean’s voice was gravelly, it had been dragged through hope, and now the realisation that his baby brother and sister were lost to life. The eyes belonging to Jack widened, and tears began to form.

He could quite comprehend how he felt. There was a tearing in his chest, he felt as though he was being split apart, his breathing rapidly increased, and his eyes flared like the bursts of the sun.

Until whispers hit his ears, and he looked up, only to see the girl alive and well. He was not the only one relieved in the circumstances, Dean and Mary were too, but they feared the fact that Lucifer had joined them, and was being trailed by the bloodied siblings; the ones that he had saved for his selfish purposes.

[szethsmom]

SzethCast #1

SO! The boy is here!!! Time for me to organize my Thoughts into something coherent.

First of all, I storming called it! They’ve come to the uneasy arrangement of knowing that he can literally walk out anytime he feels like it, because no one else can be trusted to care for the insane murder stick he carries. But he’s staying there, no fuss, because Dalinar told him to. No one quite knows what to do with him, which, frankly, has been a fairly consistent theme throughout his story. It’s both hilarious and a little concerning--all the more reason he needs to relearn to trust himself to make his own decisions.

The simple accommodations of his cell are probably the nicest setup he’s had in a long time, without being lavish enough that he feels the need to deny himself of them. And having the stormlight everywhere, driving out the shadows... it makes me think that he and Dalinar may have had a talk about the screams they both heard, which is progress!

One of the things I love about him is that he’s just,,, on a completely different wavelength from everyone else. Why are you mad I didn’t tell you about the sphere before? It’s not relevant until you ask. Why are you making me repeat myself? I already answered your question. He’s not trying to withhold information; he just genuinely doesn’t understand the need to speak on anything but the singular matter at hand. Neurodivergent Szeth, anyone?

The whole “’what if Dalinar dies?’ ‘I hadn’t thought of that’” thing.... oof. Yeah, the boy definitely still has some stuff to work through. I think he draws a lot of comfort from putting himself in a specific role and mindset (hence the “‘weren’t you curious?’ ‘....I was Truthless’” exchange). This is getting into speculative territory a bit, but I get the sense he was raised being told he existed for one specific role (probably a monk/priest). That sort of thinking doesn’t just come out of nowhere. He was disciplined into that mindset long before he actually became Truthless. Starting to bond his first spren took him into a dangerously different world, and the outcome of that (being named Truthless when he tried to warn his community of danger) led him to fall back on the mindset he had been indoctrinated into since a young age. You exist for one purpose. You are not allowed to be a person. Swearing himself to Dalinar was, in that sense, a continuation of that. He didn’t want to side with the Herald he knew was crazy and the insane spirits of nightmare that possessed others and sought to destroy humanity. But he couldn’t make that choice, because he is a tool, not a person. So, he found the first likely candidate on the other side and decided to become his tool instead. He hasn’t thought about what would happen if Dalinar dies because his future is not his own anyway. He will "deal” with that if and when it happens, and find someone else to inherit the tool.

In some ways he is making progress, because he made a decision of who he didn’t want to be used by. But in order for real growth to happen, he needs someone to challenge him to think of himself as an actual person, capable of making decisions based on his internal code of ethics (which, I might add, is quite strong, and also part of the reason I’m not sure Skybreaker is the best place for him). Right now Lift and Dalinar seem to be the most likely options for that, but there is also potential for Kaladin or Adolin to weasel their way in. 

And actually, this is why I think Nightblood is so good for him as well. The sword built to destroy evil, but unable to determine it? It forces Szeth to make judgement calls in a way he has not had to before. Plus, he gets a perky friend who challenges everything and encourages him to take action himself. Nightblood questioning Nale’s sanity was a huge factor in Szeth changing sides at the end of Oathbringer.

But with his and Navani’s final exchange in this chapter, I was reminded of how far he still has to go. In a way, the main role of his current position is to be an object of hatred. I don’t think he’s depressive spiraling the same way Kaladin does. I don’t think he’s actively self-destructive. But I do think that he sees it as his duty now to provide an outlet for the people he has hurt. If Dalinar won’t let him out in the field to fight, if Dalinar’s will is that he sit in this cell... well then, it must be that his current role is to sit there and take whatever justified anger there is against him. And he appreciates it. Not in a masochistic way, but in the sense that he is being useful; fulfilling his purpose.

Anyways, I have a lot of emotions about him, and I hope he gets the fleshed-out arc he deserves. Branderson has really set him apart from other characters just by the way he thinks, and I can’t wait to see his past be revealed and his future unfold.

[talesofthestoryteller]

Truthless

Part 1: Micheangela

She had not been blessed primal eyes from the Lightweaver, but her form itself as a blessing. She was a Coatl born from a Guardian-Coatl pairing, what were the odds? Primal vials were now in circulation, but their prices would never match those for a Coatl breed change. They had welcomed their newest arrival with open wings, had given Kalia a new name to go along with her rank as an emissary of the Lightweaver. Micheangela resembled an angel, her name would resemble one too. She was expected to be kind, truthful, and brilliant, just like any scholar of the Lightweaver’s. Perhaps she would have become just that, had she been any less stubborn of mind and mischievous of heart. Micheangela was a kind soul, soft spoken and sweet from the start. She also had her mischievous side, her little pranks never caused any harm and always brought smiles from even the gruffest of dragons. But Micheangela was also stubborn. She didn’t spend her days in the Temple like the other of the emissaries(Lightning aside, the Stormcatcher already had enough priests in the Colony), she didn’t reside in the Observatory or the Library like most of the mages. Micheangela preferred to engage in the actual actions, wielding her Light magic as a shield and blade. Unlike most dragons in the Colony, she refused to take on an apprentice nor a familiar as was customary of the dragons in the Colony.  The Colony was understandably appalled at the Light Coatl’s lack of respect for her rank as a representative of the Lightweaver, sometimes skirking on her duties as a Light priest. Sometimes she was locked in the Library as punishment for her disobedience or sent to the Altars to pray for her “sins”. Inspector the Arcane mage always let her out without informing any of the other representatives or any of the Councillors, the tragedy in the Library was still fresh on her mind. It had been a tragedy indeed, a former emissary had been locked in the Library to die a slow and painful death by heatstroke or starvation while the Colony fled the incoming flames. When the Clan had found what was left of the poor Shadow trickster, there was nothing left of him but bones. Micheangela was a stubborn, slightly rebellious girl. She fought back against the expectations of Light representatives, arguing against the laws that condemned all emissaries from the Eleven into a monotone life inside the Temples. Tensions had been rising inside the Colony against the Light emissary even before he came to play. And who was he? Oh, nothing to mind. He was just another Shadow exalt who just happened to fall in love with Micheangela.

Link 

[butwhybother]

Rhythm of War Interludes 1,2,3 reactions (that's between Part 1 and Part 2)

Rhytym of War spoilers!

I-1 Sylphrena

So glad to finally have Sylphrena Point Of View! And her own chapter heading picture too! Yay!

I am surprised to hear how internally contrary Syl is. I mean she seems that way to Kaladin, but I thought maybe that was just his perception, because what would he know of spren and their ways? But Syl actually is divided in her drive and mind, or at least she thinks so. Responsible brain, child's brain, dark brain.

Syl hears the rhythm of the storm too, like Eshonai did when she was changing forms. I guess that explains how she can tell a highstorm is coming.

Spren are content to be Shardplate! Amazing. Is this related to wanting to protect?

There were Radiants who did mundane work, and they used their Blades to do them. Dalinar's question from book 1 is answered.

I had wondered before why Kaladin & co. Didn't use their spren as messengers between Urithiru and Kholinar when spanreed communications shut off. Well, there it is. Syl can go only a few miles away from Kaladin before their connection and her mind fade. And if that connection is now stronger because of Kaladin swearing more Oaths and their time together... puts into perspective how much Syl was risking when she went to get that blackbane leaf, back in book 1. Kaladin was barely a surgebinder then, they were new to each other, and her connection to him much weaker.

Eww highstorm makes yucky snow. Is probably brown. Or yellow.

Hmmm I think the heralds have connection to each other... so, doing what Syl wants could be possible... and maybe even helpful.

I hope we get to know more about Relador.

I-2 Sja-Anat

Pretty! Also why are there three faces? 3 seems to come around a lot. 3 Shards, realms, tones, Bondsmiths, Syl's minds, Shallan's personas... Should I expect a third kind of superstorm before the series is over?

It's been repeated so many times that spren do not change, spren are eternal. And some spren even express frustration at how unchanging they are, and envy humans' ability to transform. And here is Sja-Anat, changing spren. She has legitimate reason to consider herself a liberator, an enlightener.

"One of the three pure tones of Roshar." Tones! Like Iridescent tones? The tone that Navani hears when Dalinar opens the perpendicularity?

Odium's Power and Vessel at odds with itself... This must mean something, but I'm not sure what.

Why does "unmade" mean "made" in one sentence while "unmake" means "destroy and tear apart" in another sentence?"

So, Sibling is confirmed as a mix of Cultivation and Honor! Stormfather as Honor's mini-me, and Nightwatcher as Cultivation's mini-me, plus the Sibling from both, that's the three bondsmith spren, I think. I do wonder, does Odium have a mini-me?

I-3 Into the Fire

Why wasn't this chapter just titled "Taravangian?" And why did he get a unique chapter heading picture now, of all time?

I am very mad at Taravangian. He does not deserve to accept death so peacefully. He should not get to decide where and how he dies and what it means. I want him to suffer the level of despair Dalinar felt at the Rift, the mind-breaking agony Szeth felt when he faced the truth that he was never truthless. I want Taravangian to realize that he was given the gift of intelligence AND compassion -- compassion was a gift and not a curse -- and know that he squandered away and misused his gifts. *Deep breath* I need to calm down.

The Diagram has had access to a herald long before Kholin & co. were aware of them. That changes some things. Gotta look out for the name "Dova" next time I do a re-read.

I keep thinking one of the people around Taravangian is a kandra. But these days I think anybody could be a kandra.

[onlycosmere]

JoyBlu: Szeth Son-Son. When did his name change from Son to Son-Son. Brandon Sanderson: When he was made Truthless. JoyBlu: Do we know the time of when he was made Truthless? How long has he been Truthless since the [Prologue]? Brandon Sanderson: I know, but I'm not confident enough, because I rely on Karen so much to fact check my numbers. JoyBlu: Is it like a couple of years or a lot of years. Recent? Brandon Sanderson: I would say recent, but that's also subjective and relative. JoyBlu: Because if he's lived a thousand years, then a hundred years could... Brandon Sanderson: Yes, but he hasn't lived a thousand years. JoyBlu: So, he's lived about thirty years... Brandon Sanderson: Mmhmm.

(Source)