#it will stop some of the shallan hate

[its-cosmerely-an-obsesh-wound]

Which Stormlight/Cosmere character(s) do you think make up your personality? Now give them a fanfic ship name in the comments or reblog with your ship name.

I'll go first: Eshalladin (Eshonai-Shallan-Kaladin)

[cosmerelists]

If Stormlight Characters Read The Stormlight Archive

As requested by @imtheseventh :)

Let's say Stormlight Characters got their hands on The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson--you know, the book written about all of their lives. What would they think of Sanderson's depiction of them?

[SPOILERS FOR STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE THROUGH RHYTHM OF WAR!]

1. Navani

Navani: Say, Dalinar... Navani: Why is Evi's name replaced by Shshsh in all of your POV chapters? Dalinar: ... Dalinar: Ah, so here's the thing...

2. Adolin

Adolin: Shallan, wait! Adolin: This is feeling like a flashback chapter about your life. Adolin: Don't read it to me. It feels weird to find out this way. Adolin: I'd rather wait until you're ready to tell me. Shallan: Ah, so you want to stop listening whenever my past comes up? Shallan: That's exactly what I used to do! High five! Adolin: I don't Adolin: I don't know that this is a high-five moment.

3. Shallan

Shallan: L-Listen, Jasnah... Shallan: I SWEAR I was neither thinking about nor looking at your boobs quite as much as the book makes it sound.. Shallan: I think this Sanderson guy was just projecting! Jasnah: I believe you, Shallan. Shallan: Y-You do? Jasnah: I have to assume he wanted to establish my beauty but felt that it would be less salacious to have it filtered through another woman's perspective. Shallan: Y-Yeah, that makes sense... Jasnah: After all, if you loved my boobs that much, I don't know why you sat there and doodled Captain Kaladin instead of them... Shallan: WHELP TIME TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT

4. Syl

Syl: ... Kaladin: Hey, are you okay? You seem...down. Kaladin: And are you wearing trousers?? Syl: Was...was there something wrong in how I dressed? Kaladin: No? What do you mean? Syl: Like, was it immature? Kaladin: No? Syl: Then why does this Brandon guy call my dress "girlish" like 19 billion times?!? Hoid: Oh, don't worry about that! Writers get weirdly fixated on words! At least you weren't always doing things maladroitly, ha! Syl: ...What? Hoid: Whoops wrong series!

5. Gaz

Gaz: Look...I know I wasn't the Almighty's most perfect guy, but.. Gaz: Could he maybe have written me as slightly LESS of the embodiment of a sniveling cremling?? Gaz: Like, give a guy a break! Vathah: What, too much realism for a fantasy? Gaz: You shut up!

6. Sadeas

Sadeas: I was so upset...so flabbergasted...when Dalinar outmaneuvered me in that disadvantaged duel... Sadeas: But it was all just LUCK?! Sadeas: He didn't maneuver for SHIT! Sadeas: He just happened to have EVERY SINGLE PERSON WITH SUPERPOWERS on his side and they were ALL stupid enough to get INVOLVED Sadeas: It's so much worse now!!! Ialai: At least their dark-eyed captain ruined it at the end. Sadeas: Ugh, yeah, thank the stars for THAT.

7. Kaladin

Kaladin: I actually hate this. Lyn: Why? Kaladin: Hearing about all my friends dying...again...having my actions framed as some type of "heroism"... Kaladin: T-That guy writes me like I'm the hero! Lyn: ...I am fairly certain that you are. Kaladin: Ughhhh...

8. Lirin & Hesina

The Way of Kings sits before them Hesina: ... Lirin: ... Hesina: ... Lirin: ... Hesina: Do you want to go & cry forever over our boys? Lirin: Yes please.

9. Moash

Moash: Wow. Moash: After hearing all about King Elhokar from the perspective of the people who actually like him... Moash: I gotta say... Moash: I was totally right! Moash: That guy is SUCH an asshole!

10. Dalinar

Dalinar: ... Dalinar: ... Dalinar: ... Dalinar: I just can't believe that he STOLE Nohadon’s TITLE.

11. (!) Bonus Vin

Vin: KELSIER WHAT THE HELL

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

shallan and kaladin are like two sides of the same coin

> both take responsibility for things that were outside of their control in order to create the illusion that they had some measure of influence over horrific things that happened to them (because the alternative is too unbearable)

> both have hardcore main character syndrome - which is just reaffirmed by the narrative again and again lol (like, it is true that they do happen to be main characters in a book series. but even if they weren't they would still feel like that imo)

> both feel the need to take care of others and hate being the one that is taken care of (but despite how uncomfortable it is for them they still somewhat crave it)

> both have a very strong sense of justice (even if their ideas of what is right and wrong don't exactly align)

> both have put a lot of time and effort into one specific skill that they then use to define their entire sense of self-worth

> both try to view who they are on bad days and who they are normally as two separate people (i just say "the wretch")

> on that note: so much mental illness lol

> both absolutely abhorr failure

> connected to the above: both are willing to do slightly insane things in order for things to go according to their will

the main difference is that everyone views Kaladin as somewhat above them ("Stormblessed") even though he genuinely just wants to be one of the guys. He is just like everyone else! By the Almighty please stop worshipping him or seeing him as somehow better than the average soldier !! 😭

while Shallan is viewed as meek and somewhat weak and all around not something all too special (cue kaladin's absolute shock when she tells him her backstory) even though she really really really needs to be seen as something special. she knows in the end effect it benefits her if she doesn't stand out too much or if people underestimate her (their looks of wonder when she surprises them is always great) but damn it she went through hell and pulled through - pulled her brothers through, that are older than her - and still people can never properly appreciate her 😔

[enshrinedinspines]

I love every single one of you that explained stuff to me in my last post so here’s another one since I’m very very slowly getting through these books (even slower now with my bulders gate addiction)

More things I don’t understand in the Way of Kings:

- light eyes. At first I thought it was people with like blue or green eyes. Like “light” eyes. But then I thought it was people who used shard plate and such and that made their eyes glow. Now I have no idea.

- Spren. We are told they can let people see them at will but Kal told someone to watch for rot spren at some point. Do some people just…see them? Do we know if there’s a requirement for this like genetically or something?

- the high princes! Are they all related like Dalinar is to the king?? If not how do they become a high prince? Did I miss this in the book? If not will it be explained at some point? Who are you people!!

- what kind of gem is the heart gem they are trying to get???

Bonus:

Things that are weird(tm) and I don’t know how to feel about them:

- the gender rolls. Women can read and wright, men can’t. (And yet that book seller insulted Shallan’s intelligence???) Women and men sit at different tables and eat different food from the men. It seems to me (at the moment) that women are still lower than men despite seemingly being very important?? Talking long distance requires writing so you gotta have your scribe or whatever not only read the response to you but then write your response back??? Seems like so much extra work and very unsecure?? Not only that but now your bringing these women into war zones but telling them war is a “manly art”??? Make it make sense. Jam is a feminine food???? Men out here not eating jam??? They missing out Fr

- gems used for like everything. Stop using your money for stuff that’s not buying things! How is it worth anything!

- long eyebrows (this is deceptive, I know how I feel about this. I hate it)

[dysfunctional-family-fight]

Round Two

The Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy) VS House Davar (Stormlight Archive/Cosmere)

Fanart of House Davar by @lamaery

The Hargreeves

Members: Reginald, Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, Viktor, Grace, Pogo

Propaganda:

"Forced family that cannot spend 3 minutes together without arguing. Has caused the world to end multiple times. Their father is a horribly abusive person who caused them to fight to always prove themselves better than their siblings to earn his love which was futile because he never loved or cared for any of them and also hes a supervillain. They lost and regained 2 of their siblings over the course of the show and straight up adopted alternate universe versions of their siblings against their will. That all said they STILL cant get along. Horrible ♡" "They were raised by a billionare after they were all taken by their families. Five left and ben died young. Now theyre all fucked up, kinda hate each other. Viktor almost killed allison, luther and diego have some kind of rivalry, they all get mad at klaus. Theyre all just fucked up and we love them for it <3" More propaganda here

House Davar

Members: Lin, Shallan, Helaran, Balat, Wikim, Jushu, Eylita, and Brightness Davar

Propaganda:

CW: murder, poisoning, stragulation

"Major spoilers. Lin is an abusive father who (according to his kids) killed his wife. Later his daughter Shallan poisoned him. The poison didn’t work fast enough so Shallan strangled him with a necklace while singing a lullaby that earlier in the book she sang to herself to comfort herself with while hearing him yelling at someone. Then a while later she stopped represing her memories so much and remembered that actually she had killed her mother but had convinced herself that her father had done it. Also Helaran joined an organization trying to bring about the apocalypse and died"

[madwomansapologist]

notes on Dying

"Let the Vorin believe as they wish—the wise among them will find goodness and solace in their faith; the fools would be fools no matter what they believed." - Jasnah Kholin, chapter 48.

I know Jasnah would love to read Richard Dawkins. Specially The God Delusion. Since it's essencialy a counter argument, Richard presents thesis and hypothesis to, as expected, prove them wrong.

Believing or not in any deity has little to no connection with morality, but what you do with your faith can and should be studied. That's exactly why, at least until this very moment, she doesn't judge any believer or priests (i'm so sorry but since i read in portuguese i don't know exactly what word is used to describe those whos vocation is vorinism, in br-pt is Fervoroso) as better or worse than her, but she does judge their actions in name of vorinism.

There is not a need to believe there is a being from above watching you for you not to do horrible things. As a atheist, I heard often phrases similar to: "So what stops you from stealing or hurting others?". And the answer is pretty simple: because I don't want to.

She hates that they stop the questioning. (also I lowkey think Jasnah would be jewish, I really do.)

I do wonder how class will be presented in the future.

With Kaladin we see the lowest. He himself says that some of slavers' only sin is poverty.

Szeth is a case apart. He talks about how a man who builds instead of destroying is better and has more value, and in one of the interludes we see another character understanding the same thing, so he doesn't act as if he does not deserve what's happening to him. It's less than injustice, more like a fair punishment in his mind.

But with every other character we see the highest. Even Shallan, who I think we all agree is in a pretty disturbing situation (she could pretty much become a slave depending on what happens to her family), enjoys the best of things.

Before when Bridge 4 made a lot of other teams die, we knew Gaz hated himself from putting people in that situation. But he doesn't. It's Sadeas, and ultimately Elhokar who does that. Kaladin also has a similar thought about the apothecary, but in a second he notices the one to blame is Sadeas.

Still, it isn't Sadeas. It isn't Elhokar. Alethkar is build to take from those that have little to offer. It's build on realizing there is a simple question that moves the world, and that they have an answer for it. "How much does a life costs?" If Sadeas wasn't the one to decide on those bridges, someone else would. If Elhokar didn't allowed, another king would. Not to say they are not to blame, but that this nation won't be fixed by killing either of those two.

To make it shorter: read marxist theory.

Light-eyes do horrible things, but we as readers are also supossed to care and cheer for a lot of them for the book to have an emotional weight upon us. I wonder how Brandon will deal with it.

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[briar-ffxiv]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @miqojak

This isn't in any particular order and I honestly had to think really hard of fandoms because I don't tend to be a 'loud' fan about the things. I just kind of enjoy taking in the movies/books/whatever and definitely have my favorites.

So long story short, I had to eyeball my Steam, think about my favorite games, and some of my favorite books that are actually fandoms and not stand-alone. Also, because I can't ever pick just one, I did include an honorable mention (or two) in each of the fandoms. And I will try not to gush too much about each character.

Tagging (so you don't have to scroll all the way down): @actualanxiousswampwitch @ainyan @calico-heart @seasaltandcopper @ythealleycat @airis-ray @valdiis @avashnea @starrysnowdrop @lost-harts @mimble-sparklepudding @pinxli

1. Haurchefant Greystone, Final Fantasy 14 - Probably no surprise to anyone who knows me, but I've always had a soft spot for Haurchefant. He was one of the first characters in the game who really felt like a friend to my character in a 'pure' sort of way and who never asked the Warrior to do anything he wouldn't do. He was brave, honest, loyal, and full of heart despite a very difficult childhood and upbringing. And he died protecting someone he cared about. Whether or not he's considered romantic about the person's particular Warrior, he was always their friend and someone who supported them when few would.

Honorable Mentions from FFXVI: Thancred Water, Emet-Selch, Tataru, Estinien, and probably a bunch of others. Lots of good characters!

2. Kaladin Stormblessed, Stormlight Archives - Love or hate Brandon Sanderson, it has to be admitted, that he puts out a lot of books that are interesting and full of diverse characters and worlds. One of my personal favorites is definitely Kaladin from the Stormlight Archives. Kaladin is someone who battles openly with depression and PTSD (like actually acknowledged and mentioned in the story) but is also kind, caring, determined, brave and does his best. He's flawed, moody, and damaged, but also battles to help both himself and others. He is one of the few people who is an advocate for veterans like him to get proper, kind care in the stories as well, which is a rarity in fantasy novels.

Honorable Mentions from the Stormlight Archives: Adolin, Dalanar,, Szeth, and Shallan.

3. Samwise Gamgee, Lord of the Rings - I don't know how anyone can not at least like Samwise. Yes, he's not always the brightest but he's the bravest in my opinion. He's constantly afraid, yes, but he never lets it stop him from doing what he knows in his heart is right. He loves deeply and unconditionally and without him, they would never have succeeded. He takes the worst moment and finds some good, some reason to push past. He's, to me, the kind of person I hope I can be in life. Sam is just a really great character in the movies (the books are not quite the same, but he's still pretty dang good).

Honorable Mentions from Lord of the Rings: Legolas, Aragorn, Eowyn, and others.

4. Reth, Palia - Palia is a fairly new little "cozy" MMO and has its flaws, but the characters are pretty good! So since I've been playing, I'll mention some of my favorites. Reth is a chef who is kind of bad at cooking, but he's funny, sassy, flirty, and charming. He also hides a lot of issues due to the story (that I can't really spill without so many spoilers). The more you get to know him, the deeper he gets and he's actually a really sweet person who values you a lot the more you get to know him.

Honorable Mentions from Palia: Hassian, Jel, Eshe, Ashura, and Delaila and others!

5. Rolan, Baldur's Gate 3 - Look, I know he's barely more than a side character, but I really love Rolan. He's grumpy, he's brash, and he's an absolute jerk...but he deeply loves his siblings, he's very loyal, he's brave, and he has some deep self-worth issues. In short, he is a delight and I love him and I would throw a certain someone off a tower a hundred times for this tiefling.

Honorable Mention from Baldur's Gate 3: Halsin (no surprise), Astarion (look, he's damaged and I love him), Dammon, Karlach, Wyll, and...oh my goodness, so many others. I don't have one SUPER FAVORITE, but I wanted to pick a slightly unusual favorite for my list.

6. Shane, Stardew Valley - Again, no shocker that depressed chicken-man is my favorite. Granted, I think the mods that give him more help him so, so, so much to be a better character, but even at his 'vanilla' version, I find Shane a sympathetic character and one that touched my heart quite a bit. I very much can understand Shane's feelings toward his depression, his life, and how hard things can be. And mods certainly help your story with him to help him become a somewhat healthier person. And I really like that.

Honorable Mention from Stardew Valley: Abigail, Elliot, Marlon, and a bunch of others!

7. Arcade Gannon, Fallout: New Vegas - He's a sassy gay nerd that I'm totally into. He's brilliant, he's witty, he's charming, he's a bit of an ass, but he's also vulnerable, surprisingly deep, and very kind when he can be. So he's definitely one of my favorite New Vegas characters.

Honorable Mentions in Fallout: New Vegas: ED-E, Boone, and Rex!

8. Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2 - I understand that the player's choices have a big effect on what kind of character Arthur Morgan is, of course. That said, I found him really well-written, full of depth, and the story overall very moving, especially if you go for high honor.

Honorable Mentions from Red Dead Redemption 2: Dutch, Abigail, John Marston, and others.

9. Zenith, Star Wars: The Old Republic - People think I'm nuts, but I actually love the Jedi Consular storyline. And my favorite companion is Zenith. He's an interesting balance to the Jedi Consular (at least if you play the Light side), and I always enjoyed that he had a strong personality and wasn't easy to budge. He wasn't completely unreasonable in most cases, but I liked that he didn't always let himself be swayed by the player character. He was a deeply damaged, but incredibly loyal and strong-willed person. Also, Troy Baker does amazing voices.

Honorable Mentions from Star Wars: The Old Republic: Theron Shan, Koth Vortena, Lana Beniko, Corso Riggs, and a lot more!

10. Dogmeat, Fallout 4 - So I did two Fallouts. Because I love Dogmeat that much. Dogmeat is the goodest boy and my best friend in the game. Yes, occasionally, Dogmeat blows me up...or ruins something entirely. But he is adorable and precious and my good friend. He makes the wastelands bearable.

Honorable Mentions from Fallout 4: Nick Valentine, Preston Garvery, Piper Write, John Hannock, and more!

If you read all this, thank you for doing so. I tried not to make it too long or include a bunch of spoilers.

[anna-neko]

seriously.... havin to keep tabs with a buddy is really helping with the reading! Also specifically because have stopping points, am not inhaling the book inna day (have finally settled in with the damn new vocab, my brain replaces couple choice words on autopilot)...so guess what! Can really digest it and ooooh boy does it make certain weaknesses and strengths pop

soooo @misterdadguy, is it just me or did the book literally just bork up why Kal is "stormblessed" ...'cause ...uhhh... his prev army days had him called that, but the 'event' as it were didn't happen until current bridge-runs?!?! Unless in his army tour some more shit went down!??!?! Or or or is this another shout-out to the whole 'prophesy' business that very much is frowned upon anyway

*violently shaking book* what happened to Tien dammit!! break my heart already, it ain't gonna get moar ready then now

Listen, clearly some e~p~i~c shit gone down, because he's important valuable enuff to get away with certain things, but also not so important that his removal would be an issue

do feel bad for Laral. Poor girl def did not sign up to get this groomed and wedded off to some old fuck after her *gestures at everything*

alas poor Shallan.... here Kabsal's attentions did seem legit, and it was very cute

yeah hi, pedantic idiot again - why would giving Jasnah the obviously 'drained' [not glowing] garnet be useful. Wasn't the whole point of *checks notes* soulcasting is that the precious stones in question be infused with the SHINY (forget it, im calling it Mana now. years of RPGs cannot be shaken this easily) [in b4 panic at nearly dying]

wait hold up... so he didn't just walk away from a fancy mythical sword, but matching armor too?? daaaaaayum kid, u the poster child for teenage idiocy (affectionate) The sword business makes perf sense but armor! Yeah yeah yeah, why in the fuck would someone that well kitted-up would even be out here in some petty borders skirmish

Hnestly, if didn't know better would swear he was writing these as a monthly magazine novel! Each chapter cutting off on a nice cliffhanger. Certain things hinted at early on more or less dropped (because maybe the audience wasn't keen on it) Some bits kinda hang there, and like Scheherazade tease of an even better tale..... but then.... it doesn't always give a satisfying conclusion (swear to fuck, am not looking for negative on purpose!! It just catches like a hangnail while reading, and still bothers & nags pages and pages later)

Nope, Prelude still useless, Cenn chapter coulda been an email

Here's an idle thought: it must suuuuck if you're born a woman who HATES sweets in that society. Or have bad cavities

adjacent: our new overused word is "parade rest" ... because we've run out of things to cringe at

couple Interludes to go, but otherwise ... Park Three is done!

[phendorana]

12, 1, 3, 10

12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

answered!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

uhh probably kaladin/shallan especially in ob and before like by and large that just weirds me out like that one paragraph where kaladin is talking abt his crush on shallan in wor is sooo cringe it reads like cassandra clare or something. also y'know the racism. like there is zero chemistry and she treats him like shit at random times!

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

yeah lmaooo. like moash hate or elhokar apologism or the dalinar is the most honorable person ever crowd. by and large anyone who legitimately tries to defend characters' imperialism, classism, or racism. also people who are weirdly defensive of our #girlboss queens. like i do love jasnah, shallan, and navani as characters, but jasnah was complicit in her family's attempted genocide of the singers. navani is explicitly shown to not only have participated in, but orchestrated and lead the kholin's conquest of alethkar. and shallan also demonstrates incredible classism and racism throughout the series. obviously there's many shades of grey here, and some of these are far far worse than others, but i roll my eyes whenever people get all worked up trying to defend what any of them have done. also people who try to compare that one time kaladin was thoughtlessly sexist to lyn (and may i remind you he instantly got called out and actually had to reflect on his actions! in the text!) to shallan's repeated racism and classism, which goes completely unchecked, and even unacknowledged by darkeyed characters after a point. like you cannot act like kaladin has any material privilege over shallan in the books. or that his casual sexism is comparable to the violent oppression of the kholins & other lighteyes.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

ok this is easy, it's that #NotAllLighteyes bullshit sanderson put kaladin through in wor, like that guy was being so goddamn restrained in the face of constant microaggressions, but sanderson was like "no actually he just needs to stop assuming the worst of those poor lighteyes <3" like how are you gonna have kaladin come to the bullshit "realization" that some lighteyes aren't racist by having him interact with a bunch of lighteyes who are racist to him lmaoo. like there's two parts to this: first of all, kaladin is perfectly entitled to being wary of lighteyes as a class given that they are all complicit in and benefit from the caste system + slavery, even if the individual lighteye in question hasn't been explicitly racist to him. second, even then the point falls flat because sanderson acts like kaladin is being needlessly rude to a bunch of good lighteyes, when in reality we see those lighteyes microaggressing him in the text. like does sanderson think that kind of behaviour is totally fine and not at all racist? hello?

[dirt-apple-productions]

Kaladin and Amity (from TOH)

Wait hold up let me see what ask game this is for lmao-

Alright I got it-

Kaladin:

First impression: “This man is a doctor? Aww… 🥺” (I have a soft spot for doctors because of my OC)

Impression now: Kaladin is one of the only protags I genuinely relate to, besides Horse from Centaurworld. Never have I seen a protag with problems that so similarly mirror my own. I struggle a lot with depression, apathy, and possible PTSD, and I really do relate to dear old Kal.

Favorite moment: That time in Words of Radiance when he sees Shallan and Adolin together and wants to punch them both in the face. It’s so immature and whiny but so relatable.

Idea for a story: Shalladin AU. Periodt.

Unpopular opinion: While I could see Shalladin as a concept, I really don’t think they’d be good for one another. I don’t know if you’ve read Rhythm of War, but Shallan has…a mess on her hands…and given how quickly both her and Kaladin fall apart, it really wouldn’t be good for them imo. After they heal, maybe, which is why I enjoy it in AU. The sass would be immeasurable.

Favorite relationship: ADOLIN AND KALADIN’S BROMANCE IS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE THING. IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD.

Favorite headcanon: After Shallan stole Kaladin’s boots, I think he just went barefoot. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Do I give a crap? Absolutely not.

Amity:

First impression: Because I’d already known the sorts of things Amity’s arc surrounds, I never hated her or saw her as prissy. She reminded me a lot of Makoto from Persona 5 - a sycophant, but not by choice - and she intrigued me from the start. I couldn’t stand how mean she was to Willow though!

Impression now: This girl ROCKS. Her arc was also super good! I honestly really like the themes explored with Lumity, and I like the positive effect Luz had on her life.

Favorite moment: (SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2!!!) I love her speech to Hunter where she talks about not having to justify herself just for existing. That line meant a lot to me and I enjoyed it greatly.

Idea for a story: an AU where Hunter and Amity are in switched positions, and Hunter falls in love with Luz instead. I think that would explore some different and intriguing themes.

Unpopular opinion: I think we needed more Amity in Season 2. Her absence was palpable and it made me sad!

Favorite relationship: While I romantically lean toward pairing Luz with Hunter because it’s more formally enemies to lovers (and I will pair my best boy Hunter with SOMEONE if it’s the last thing I do, mark my words), I also appreciate the themes explored with Lumity. Amity really needed a kind person like Luz in her life to support her.

Favorite headcanon: Amity used to be a prankster like her siblings (whose names I’m blanking on right now…), but she eventually has to stop to avoid her parents’ pressure, and she never truly got her prankster streak back. I bet she also dragged Willow into her games too. :P

[butwhybother]

Let's have some fun speculating different ways the Odium problem could be solved, shall we?

Oathbringer spoilers!

Dalinar magic-glues Honor back together. Fight. Win.

Dalinar gets the other surviving Shards to unite against Odium. Fight. Win.

Dalinar unites the Singers against Odium so the Fused no longer have willing bodies they can inhabit; Odium is left without pawns. Win.

Extensive use of Nightblood to deal perma-death to the Fused and other Voidbringers; no Odium-pawns. Win.

Drag out the war against the Voidbringers, repeatly killing the Fused until all of them lose their minds. Win.

Renarin goes around doing so much random stuff that Odium cannot predict the future anymore until CHECKMATE. Win.

Odium merges with Cultivation, then he cannot fixate on hatred&anger anymore because he progresses to the next stage of grief, bargaining. Win?

Cultivation wakes up from her long, long sleep and now she moves on to her next stage of grief, anger. Then she fights Odium and just wrecks him. Win.

Dalinar gets Odium to set a date for the duel of champions... a billion years away. Delaying the inevitable is win enough.

Adolin goes and talks to Odium and befriends him with his charming, sunshiny personality. Odium's like, "You just can't not like this guy!" and decides to not destroy humans. Win.

Hoid (or Susebron?) gathers up a ridiculous amount of Breath and Commands Odium to "stop being so mean and play nicer." Win?

Odium gets a big group hug and becomes less angry. That works on villains, right? No?

Something even bigger and scarier than Odium shows up, and humans and Odium have to unite and work together to survive. Win, but somehow worse?

Jasnah Soulcasts Odium into a statue of Moash. I know this wouldn't normally work, but there's so much Moash hatred in the fandom I think it could break the fourth wall.

Navani makes a hate fabrial and traps Odium in it. Win.

Shallan makes a big stick and speaks softly. Win.

Radiants take the Dawnshard, whatever that is, and shatters Odium with it. Win.

[rashenditrash]

Had a not great day today, so here's some sad Kadolin which I wrote to help me feel stuff.

So I've done something like this before when I wrote "An Expert in Just About Everything" - that is reworking a scene from the books with different characters.  ROW SPOILERS AHEAD.

This time around, as soon as I read Chapter 12 of of Rhythm of War, I knew I wanted to do a rewrite of the scene with the roles reversed.  While I love Kadolin's dynamic, I'm personally not a huge fan of writing Shallan off because I also love her individually, and her and Adolin's relationship.  With that in mind, the premise of the following scene is that Shallan is deep undercover, and Adolin believes (incorrectly) that she is dead.  I think this could make for some very interesting conversations down the road.  In my mind, it would be less about the typical drama, and more about "okay, how do we make this work".  Maybe if writing this inspires me I'll continue the narrative.

For maximum effect, I'd recommend reading Chapter 12 of Rhythm of War first (and maybe Chapter 21), and hopefully you can pick up on the parallels.  

Anyways, here it goes ROW SPOILERS AHEAD:

She's gone.  Adolin felt dim, unreal, like he was hovering between realms.  Is this how you feel? he wondered to Maya.  Unfortunately, Maya could not answer for him, and Adolin just felt lost.  Adolin stiffly moved towards his rooms, the rooms he used to share with his wife, and turned and closed the door with a firm push.  

Only then did he break.  He didn't make it to the chair or the bed.  He sank down with his back to the wall beside the door.  He tried to unbutton his well tailored jacket - storms why did he always need clothing that fit so snug?  His fingers fumbled at the ornate buttons, but found no purchase.  He tried to gasp, his chest and abdomen straining against his suddenly restrictive clothing.  His entire body seemed to tremble as agonyspren twisted in an out, twisted faces carved from stone, mocking him in his loneliness.  

Come on.  You've known loss before.  You got through losing your mother.  You can do this.  Adolin sobbed, and grabbed a scarf to muffle the sound.  Why couldn't he pull himself together, like he had back then?  The answer was obvious.  When his mother had died, and his father had abandoned them for drink.  There was no choice but to keep things together for Renarin's sake.  He had been the only one looking out for his brilliant little brother.  Now, Renarin was well and living his own life, and Adolin was just . . .

Alone.

He'd always hated that word.  All his life Adolin strove to surround himself in people - it didn't matter of they were common soldiers, lordly courtiers, or girlfriends, so long as they were there, with him, taking up space beside him.  But to seek the comfort of company now felt wrong, like a betrayal to the person whose absence he wanted to fill more than anything.   

A knock came at his door.  Adolin bit down hard on his scarf.  Please just go away.  The knock became more insistent.  Adolin tried to catch his breath, and glanced at a nearby mirror.  Come on, he told himself, Present yourself.  He sniffed three times and fanned his face, banishing the tears from his eyes.  He ran his hand through his hair a couple of times, until it settled into its familiar pattern of calculated dishevelment.  As he stood, he straightened his shirt and jacket, each motion of tidying his appearance soothing him a little more.  You can get through this.

The knocking continued.  "Coming," Adolin said, unable to keep his unsteadiness from his voice.  

Kaladin pushed his way in, Syl at his shoulder.  He wore civilian's garb, plain and unassuming, which only made his hardened bearing and physique stand out more.  Kaladin was like a constant, and unmovable anchor in the chaos of a high storm.    

They stood in silence, for a moment, taking each other in.  Adolin flashed a hesitant smile.  You know this is going to be hard for him too.  You can't let your dark moments undo his progress.  

"Maya... I wasn't quite sure what she wanted, but she seemed to want us to come here... um..." Syl appeared uncharacteristically bashful, and Adolin got the impression she'd be blushing if she wasn't monochromatic.  "And we're here now... so... bye!  I'll let you two talk"

As Syl departed, Kaladin cocked his head to the side.  "I... I heard.  I'm sorry Adolin."

"I'll... I'll be all right Bridgeboy.  Really.  I just need some time.  No need to fret."

Kaladin nodded, solemn.  "Right."  He closed the door behind him, and slid down to the floor.  Patting the ground beside him, he motioned for Adolin to sit down.  "No reason for you to take your time alone though right?"

"I..."

"If you need to be alone that's fine, just tell me.  It's not a big deal.  But for now I'll just sit here okay?  Until you tell me otherwise."  

Storms, when had Kaladin of all people become emotionally intelligent?   Adolin hesitated, then loosened his jacket and sunk down to the ground beside Kaladin.  As he leaned back, his arm brushed up against Kaladin's.  He felt he could almost absorb some strength from the man's frame, like a Radiant consuming Stormlight.  

He was in mourning - he should be taking time alone to work through his emotions.  To pay respects to... to her...  But of course, alone was the last thing Adolin wanted to be.  

Adolin grimaced as he caught sight of himself in the mirror again.  Granted, he was at a terrible angle, but he hadn't done nearly as good a job of clearing the redness from his eyes as he thought he had.  "Storms, I look awful.  What a mess."  

Kaladin grunted, making his disagreement immediately evident in a way only he could.  "As an expert in the subject,  I can confirm looking awful isn't half has bad as it's made out to be, not that you would know."

"Come now, you know you're a catch.  You have that whole aloof, stoic, hero thing going for you."

  "You're the expert."  Kaladin's eyes darted up and down Adolin's figure with a surgeon's precision.  "Here, let's get you changed into something more comfortable.  You need to be able to breath easy, and that ridiculous outfit isn't helping you at the moment.  I'll get you some water."  Kaladin stood slowly, and helped Adolin up.  "Don't worry about how it looks, just throw on whatever will make you feel the best.

Adolin extracted his hand from Kaladin's grip, and moved over to his armoire behind the dressing screen and started shifting out of his formal attire.  Normally, Adolin was able to quickly choose an outfit by instinct, but this time he found himself hesitating.  Eventually, he settled on a pair of comfortable training trousers, meant to facilitate movement, and one of the men's shirts that Veil used to wear.  The garment, tailored to Shallan's proportions, wouldn't quite close properly, so Adolin just pulled it around himself, smelling the shirt, and imagining his wife was wrapping her arms around him again.  

He let out a sob as he sank to the ground.  Kaladin was there in an instant, placing a hand against Adolin's chest, then his neck, and leaning in to support him as they sat down.  After the sobs died down a bit, Kaladin held up a glass of water, forcing Adolin to drink.  Adolin drank, and breathed in the smell of Kaladin.  He smelt... clean, but practical?  Like freshly laundered kitchen linens.  Slowly, the sobs subsided as Adolin took comfort in the strong frame of his friend.  

"I'm sorry," he whispered.  "I shouldn't put this on you.  How are you doing, Kaladin?  Storms, she was your friend too, I..."

"Sush, stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Trying to 'help' me to avoid thinking about how you are doing.  You can't be a light to everyone if your own sphere is going dim, Adolin.  It's okay to lean on me.  My father always said, in an emergency a surgeon has to look after himself first - its only after your own person is secure that you can ensure you are capable of competently helping others.  We'll have plenty of time to talk about me later.  For now, what do you need Adolin?"

I need you.  The thought, unbidden, seemed to escape from a locked chest in Adolin's mind.  Stop it, you are just scared of being alone.  Yes, he found Kaladin's presence comforting, and he certainly needed support in the moment.  That was all he was responding too, nothing more.  What kind of man would be thinking of someone else, like that, so soon after losing the person he was supposed to turn to?  He wanted to tell himself it was just a thing of a moment, a figment of his loneliness and need for comfort.  

You know that's not true.  This isn't new, and you know it.  Listen to who you are ignoring, even when its yourself.

"It's okay, just breathe.  Drink some water and breathe okay.  We don't have to talk."  Kaladin's hand traced along Adolin's spine, brushing each vertebrae.  Adolin focused on the rhythm of Kaladin's touch, and on his breathing.  Up and down, in and out.  He felt himself slipping into the trance-like state of mind Zahel had taught him to utilize when preparing for combat.  Slowly he began to feel the emotions start to subside.  They didn't leave, but the wave passed.  He entered a calm in the storm.

"You're one hell of a surgeon, Bridgeboy."

Kaladin's hand stopped.  "I do what I can," he said carefully, "But Adolin, you're the one who heals people.  I'm just returning a favor, long overdue."

Adolin smiled, feeling a moment of genuine warmth in his chest.  "Thank-you."

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters in the Hunger Games

As requested by @sweetteaanddragons :)

I haven't read or watched Hunger Games, but I've picked up enough through cultural osmosis...I hope. They're kids in an arena fighting to the death, right? And it's a media circus? And there are 12 districts? And they're poor? I think I got it! Anyway, let's stick Cosmere characters in that arena and see how they do!

By the way, for the most part I'm imagining these characters in their own separate hunger games, not all together, just because I didn't want to imagine all of my blorbos killing each other.

1. Kaladin

After a kid who looks just like Tien literally dies in Kaladin's arms (note: all of the kids look exactly like Tien so far as Kaladin is concerned), Kaladin realizes that the Hunger Games are about kids dying, not about kids surviving. He decides that he has to save everyone, and quickly builds a coalition with the other tributes. They all die anyway and Kaladin wins.

He's not happy about it.

2. Shallan

Sadly, Shallan dies while trying unsuccessfully to convince a stick to become fire. Technically, I think this means the stick wins, but they give the award to some kid instead, for some reason.

3. Adolin

Adolin was doing really well until FOUR other tributes all decided to gang up on him. Even then, he fought like an uncaged tiger and very nearly survived. Nearly. (Hey, uh, most characters die in Hunger Games, right?)

4. Vin

Vin slices through the competition like a vengeful god. Emphasis on vengeful. And god. She barely even lets herself get distracted by the weird love triangle between that guy who wants to make the world better and the one who wants to burn it all down. She's too busy, like, killing everyone.

5. Zane

Zane thinks it's pretty swell to be in this killing arena killing people. What isn't swell is that Vin isn't into him, even AFTER their romantic killing spree. What gives? Anyway. Vin kills him.

6. Elend

Elend has a lot of thoughts about the sociological implications of the games. He does not have a lot of thoughts about how to sharpen a stick into a crude spear and ram it through someone's chest. (Is that what happens in the Hunger Games?) Regardless, I don't think he makes it long... Sorry, Elend.

7. Spook

Spook is a wraith. No one ever sees him coming. Or sees him at all. He keeps receiving supplies and weapons from a mysterious benefactor. At one point he starts wearing a handkerchief over his eyes and killing people by sound alone. I don't really see him winning, tbh (sorry Spook), but he is definitely a crowd favorite who makes it super far.

8. Szeth

"To kill innocent children for the amusement of distant viewers blackens my soul with a stain that shall never be removed. Oh, how I hate this. Oh, how I hate this senseless, senseless killing," Szeth thinks to himself as he constructs an unnecessarily elaborate death trap that kills his opponents horribly. "No one suffers like me," Szeth thinks, over all of the screaming.

9. Renarin

Hey remember when Renarin killed a Thunderclast mostly off-screen? Plus he has future sight. If they've got their powers in this game, then Radiant Renarin is probably taking it all. If not, well...let's not go there.

10. Vivenna

After her sister is sent as a tribute in Vivenna's place, Vivenna enters the Hunger Games anyway, determined to somehow put a stop to them. For example, she takes all the food she can find and hides it in one place so that it will be safe for everyone. She figures out how to predict supply drops to ensure that she always gets to them first. While convinced that she is the Hunger Games Breaker, she is actually the season's most notorious villain and eventually everyone bands together to kill her. Sorry, Vivenna.

11. Kelsier

Kelsier wins the hearts of viewers everywhere, mostly due to his determination to keep smiling no matter what horrors he must survive. He's, like, really good at killing people also. The Survivor, people call him. But when he is shockingly cut down and killed, his death galvanizes a rebellion against, uh, President Snow? Is that the big bad? Anyway. There's a religion about him now.

12. Ann

Oh, Ann. So excited to shoot guns. (Do they have guns?) So excited to shoot bows and arrows maybe. But she can't shoot worth a damn. She has a splendid time and hits no one. And, well, she does not win.

13. Cord

Frankly, Cord wants to win and bring glory and money (?) back home to her people, who desperately need it. I'm assuming the districts get stuff if their person wins. Cord is in it to win it. And she's awfully good with that bow and arrow...

14. Lift

Man, I don't want Lift to be in the Hunger Games! Lift thinks killing is lazy and boring! Sure, she'd be great at hiding in trees and getting food, but I definitely do not see Lift actually being able to kill anyone. Is that allowed? Will she be disqualified?

15. Tress

Tress looks at the Death Arena Whose Purpose Is Death and says, "But is anyone gonna Make Friends about it" and doesn't wait for an answer. Somehow, by the end, basically everyone IS friends. Except for that one person who really did want to kill. But she and Tress went off together and only Tress returned. So.

Basically, Tress's influence ruins the Hunger Games that year. Nobody wants the Friendship Games.

[luchibelle-throughthecosmere]

RoW: chapter 16

The next interludes will be about something different since Navani has delivered her final point. What will they be about?

Experimenting with Gavinar’s sphere? A VERY BAD IDEA. They will unwillingly make something bad happen and Navani will feel guilty that she allowed them to experiment instead of doing so herself.

I didn’t expect Navani to care about Szeth killing Gavinar, least of all hate him for it. Navani wanted him executed and Dalinar didn’t. WEIRD.

The strange individual who had contacted her via spanreed had not spoken to her again. Navani had decided not to worry about them—she didn’t even know if they were sane.

THAT’S A BAD IDEA. They threatened you! Navani, please reconsider before it’s too late. Also, stop cutting/dividing spren.

In her opinion, they should sink the strange Blade in the ocean…

As if that would work lol. Navani needs to read Warbreaker ASAP.

She was in favor of comforting the sick of mind—once they were carefully contained, and things like evil talking Shardblades were removed from their possession.

Not sure how this makes me feel, not all of them need to be contained. Right now Szeth is only a danger to himself.

Also, does this mean was Navani was okay with Jasnah being contained during her lunacy? I thought Navani just did what Gavinar ordered but it looks like she might have a greater role in it.

She found it difficult to study, however, because being around Szeth made her feel sick.

That’s good. Feeling sick is good.

Szeth needs a hug.

Finally some Baby Gavilon content.

Navani kept saying “Don’t worry about it” instead of adressing the subject. Someone needs to try to make him understand that revenge leads to a very dark path.

He’s five so we can correct it before it’s too late, by book 6 Gav will be in his early twenties and we don’t need him doing something dumb. It’d be fun to see Dalinar adress this with him.

Navani “I am not a scholar” Kholin *sighs*

She was writing along these lines when Adolin and Shallan arrived with the Mink. They’d periodically been entertaining him these last few weeks, showing him around the tower, dividing out space for his troops once they arrived with the Fourth Bridge in the next few days.

They are close! HALLELUJAH.

Adolin “have you seen my new boots” Kholin was being sassy this whole chapter.

“Shallan, you’re really complaining that someone is too intense? You? Even your jokes sometimes feel like a competition.”

I can’t wait for her to meet Hesina Stormblessed.

The Mink roasting Dalinar version 16253637.

This chapters are starting to feel too short. Can't wait to read the whole book.

[sleepyartattempts]

Stormlight Radiance - Words of Radiance Parts 1-3 First readthrough

So, already have a lot to say and I'm not even finished the book so I'll do the rest of the book once I'm done. Spoilers Below!

Shallan: Holy moly Shallan is incredible. Like, I had goosebumbs reading some of her parts. She's in a real tricky situation and she's doing a great job with what she has. I've really loved having her flashbacks scattered throughout like Kaladin did last book, and learning about her and her brothers' life with their father was heartbreaking. At least her interactions with Adolin have been hilarious. They are both such dorks. Also, I'm still not convinced Jasnah is dead. I might just be in denial though.

Kaladin: I'm worried for him. It's been building up that he's growing darker and darker and I'm hoping that can be resolved soon. It's understandable why though. Fucking Amaram. Anyway, looking forward to more and hope he doesn't do something he'd really regret.

Dalinar: Haven't seen as much of him this book, but all the parts he's in are great. You can tell he's really trying to hold everything together.

Adolin: I've really liked him this book! He's shown a maturity I didn't fully expect from him, agreeing to meet with Eshonai, agreeing with his fathers views. I've enjoyed it, and I think after that amazing duel (that gave me chills) he's going to trust Kaladin a lot more.

Renarin: So, I said before I knew some spoilers for him and by that I meant 'I'm pretty sure he can use some sorta magic', and that's as far as my knowledge goes. I think something is gonna happen with him this book. It feels like he's been on the edge of focus, and he's one of the few without a PoV part yet. I've enjoyed seeing more of him so far! Learning about what his illness is helped give some context and perspective, and his bravery was shown again when he joined the duel, though the fact that he sat there at the end ready to die (?!) was...concerning. Nice to see he's with Bridge Four at least.

Szeth: Still worried about this guy. He's questioning if he has to do this now, which is good, but I doubt this is gonna end with him being able to stop killing and hating himself. Still feel sorry for him a bit.

I also want to say that I've really loved the insight we've been given to the Parshendi. I've loved meeting them and learning about them. They're super interesting! Eshonai is also great, though the recent changes in her are...concerning. I'm hoping she'll be alright. The new info on sprens has also been super interesting! I have questions. But I'll read on for now I think.

For some fun, here are some of my thoughts I wrote down during my reading:

-Nope. Jasnah is alive. I don't care if she was stabbed through the chest, she's a magic lady

-Adolin, Shallan, you dorks

-Moash wants to kill the king. I still don't trust him

-Oh no Adolin

-Oh no Renarin

-Oh no Kaladin

I've really enjoyed this book so far, and the faster pace has made it easier to read. Looking forward to more!

[anchanted-one]

Book Review: Rhythm of War (No spoilers)

Aka maybe I should stop watching Booktubers Videos

I made the mistake of watching Daniel Greene and Murphy Nepier's non-spoiler reviews of Brandon Sanderson's latest entry to the Stormlight Archive. They made me go in thinking that this new entry was going to be something other than Sanderson's usual standard of brilliance.

Made me think that he might be tiring out.

Some of the comments on Daniel's livestream actually asked if it was comparable to "the Slog", the infamous segments of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time which kinda drag on. Throw off the readers, intimidate new ones from entering.

The way Daniel talked actually sounded like that, a lesser version of that.

But in my opinion, it is definitely *not*! The storylines followed the trajectory I expected they would.

In Oathbringer, Kaladin was overwhelmed by his many burdens, then faltered. Shallan struggled with multiple personalities, fought childhood traumas that threaten her sanity every second of her life. Adolin... Well his arc is possibly the easiest to predict if I even mention where we left him in the previous novel. And really, isn't Navani always going to be a genius? I love reading her arc more than any others.

Taravangian is always interesting to read, even if I love to hate him.

And while we can predict the trajectories, we can't always say what obstacles they hit in the way, if they hit their intended targets along the way as they speed on to the next book. The plot points always interested and thrilled me. And they proved that you can make amazing plot twists that don't always come from "Haaaaaah! Bet you didn't see that coming!"

Pacing seems slow, that's true, but it's just that kind of story. The war is on in earnest. First book set up the character and world, second showed the conflict start, and the third showed the world coming together. This is absolutely where open hostilities stagnate a bit while secret operations are launched.

The pacing is quite good even if it's not perfect.

Epigraphs, as always, are intriguing.

And the ending is action packed. The Epilogue is jaw-dropping. Perfect ending for a book where everything has changed.