#never loved szeth as much as i do in this moment

[kbookblurbs]

Wind and Truth - Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive #5)

4/5 - midseason-finale ass book; he needs to scrap this editor; this book simply never ends

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!! LIKE FIRST LINE!!!

We finally come to the end of the first arc of the Stormlight Archives and they are going to need a new name. Before we dive in, I want to clarify that I did enjoy this book! I think it tackled a series of very hard-to-conclude plotlines in a relatively good way, and I think it sets Sanderson up for success in the latter half of this series. With that said, I'll be splitting this review into four parts:

Kaladin, Szeth, & therapy speak

The Spiritual Realm plot

Azir

Book mechanics

Kaladin, Szeth, & Therapy Speak

Now first of all, anyone who's read anything I've written knows I love Kaladin - he's one of my favorite characters of all time and his journey through depression is one of my favorite parts of this series. That said. I find the whole timeline of this healing to be highly suspect, and his attempts at therapizing embarrassing at best and deeply annoying at worst. What context is there for him to go from literally attempting suicide in the last book to semi-competent therapist in no time at all? Need I remind Sanderson myself that there is no time skip between the end of RoW and WaT?

The language is also just bafflingly modern in a way that nothing in this series has been before, but we'll get to more on that later.

The flip side of this criticism is that Szeth's plotline was easily my favorite of the book. His completed arc might rise to rivaling Kaladin's (thus far) in terms of how much I enjoyed it. His backstory is so tragic (slay for the almost successful military coup though?) and I truly believed he wasn't going to make it through the book until the very last page. His moments with his father, in the past and present, brought me to tears more than once.

The Spiritual Realm Plot

This whole plotline took too long and frankly, it was boring. Watching Shallan slay her demons for the umpteenth time and deal with Formless again and kill her mother again was, and this may be controversial, not a very interesting plot point to me. She's done all this before. I feel that this book, as a whole, gave diminishing returns on her pagetime to character development ratio. I also don't feel that Shallan, with all her everything else, needed a Herald as a mother as another twist, but maybe that will be more relevant in the future. For that reason, and that reason only, I'll bite my tongue on criticizing it unnecessarily

While it was nice to see Renarin and Rlain get together, I have to admit that Renarin's POV didn't add much for me. I think Sanderson could have written the entire plotline for these two from Rlain's perspective and it would've been far more interesting since he is, in my opinion, the more interesting character between the two of them. Renarin's POV does not reveal anything that isn't already clear from other POVs.

I also just wanted more of Ba-Ado-Mishram. She was haunting the story but not present. I understand that's likely for later plot reasons, but it did make this section drag. Dalinar contributed to that but  we don't have time to get into that right now. I was happy he died though (long overdue, in my opinion).

Azir

Adolin #1 character of all time? The only one to save their assigned city and did it with 0 Radiants and the power of friendships? Nobody is doing it like him.

I loved the founding of the Unoathed and, particularly, Yanagawn's development. I'm really hoping that Yanagawn becomes a more important character in next major arc, since he was so sweet here.

I did not love that we spent probably 25% of the book in Azir fighting battles. Contrary to the opinion of Sanderson many fantasy authors, there is an upper limit on how many battles you can include before I get tired of reading them. There's only so many ways you can swing a sword or block a pike etc etc before I'm bored.

Book Mechanics

Overall, I find this concluding book to be much weaker than the other 4 in the series. Whereas it had seemed that the pacing was improving in Oathbreaker and Rhythm of War, here we were back to all over the place. While I liked that he split the plot into each day leading up to the contest, the timeline genuinely made no sense.

Beyond that, this entire book was filled with oddly YA-style prose that has never appeared in the Stormlight Archive until now. I think whoever edited this book must be different from the other four because, in my opinion, it was much too modern, not as tight, and frankly, not as good. And I know this might be controversial, but I did not think Maya calling Adolin a slut was funny. Why would she even use that word? Whore or prostitute would've been acceptable because they've been referenced here before but I found that example and others like it to be jarring.

Conclusion

I liked this book, but it's by a longshot my least favorite in the series. It was too long and frankly, some of the characters didn't even sound like themselves. I know that Sanderson can do better than this, but it leaves me a little wary for the next arc.

There's lots here I didn't cover (Jasnah my beloved, Sigzil! I'm in mourning) but this was already quite long. DMs / ask box are always open if you'd like to chat more.

[davie-bullck]

So I finished Wind and Truth. Major spoilers for the cosmere.

Well, that went both so much better and so much worse than I ever could’ve expected. Not the quality of the writing or the story itself, those were so so so good.

The only prediction I made that came true was Herald Kaladin. I don’t think I ever posted about it but I have been preaching that gospel since Jezrien died. My favorite guy is immortal now!! So hopefully he’ll be around until the Cosmere comes to a close. And good lord Brandon did him so right. It’s a shame he didn’t get to spread therapy to the physical realm on Roshar very much but he’s putting those skills to extremely good use.

I never liked Szeth until this book. I love the direction he’s going in, especially the direction him and Nightblood are going. I AM NOT A THING. No talking sword has ever made me cry so much.

I never vibed with the theories that Gavinor would be Odium’s champion but I thought it was incredibly well done and I’m very excited to see what comes of him in the back half.

Rlainarin is everything I could’ve hoped for, and seeing Brandon’s growth as a writer in his representation of queer and neurodivergent characters has been so rewarding! I also love that Rlain has been given such a relevant role as Bridger of Minds. I was worried he might just become Renarin’s bf and not much more.

Adolin and Maya’s arc was so much more than I could’ve hoped for, I love the Unoathed, and hit fighting the thunderclast was one of my favorite action scenes in the cosmere.

I’m so glad Vasher is sticking around on Roshar AND training Lift??? I love Lift and can’t wait for her book in the back half.

I caught on to the Auxiliary “twist” as soon as he started calling Szeth his squire. I’m glad we got to see the beginning of Sigzil’s transition to Nomad. I’m not sure if I would recommend people reading Sunlit Man between Row and WaT or after, but I was glad I’d read Sunlit Man already. I love Sigzil so so much and really hope we get more of him than just Sunlit Man, fortunately the time dilation thing allows him time to travel the cosmere as Nomad then Zellion and still possibly come back for the back half!

Retribution, the perfect direction for this midpoint in the series. Taravangian wielding two shards that can work well together is such a huge insane threat and I can’t wait to see how the world responds to him.

Although they took a bit of a back seat I was very excited by where the Listeners ended up.

Dalinar. Good LORD Dalinar. If Kaladin didn’t exist he would easily be my favorite character, and as devastating as his death is, I’m so incredibly proud of him and his journey. Given what he was up against, he absolutely made the right decision, forcing the other shards into action. I LOOOOOOOVED him showing Honor that it’s not all about sticking to oaths, showing the power what it could be even in a dire moment like that.

The cosmere fandom is one of the only ones I actively engage with, due in no small part to the morality of its flagship series (I know I know, Mistborn’s cool too)

This is my favorite book series, I will love it until the day I die. I’m sad that there won’t be a new one for a couple years but it’s genuinely something that makes me want to be healthier so I live long enough to see the conclusion. The immortal words are etched into my heart and I will continue to do my best to live by them.

Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.

[cosmerelists]

My Top 10 Favorite Stormlight Fights...That DON'T Involve Kaladin

I wanted to do an overall “top fights” list but I found that were all, uh, just Kaladin. So Kaladin’s best fights will be saved for a future post, probably, but for now--let’s give some love for those epic fights that DON’T involve our most dramatic hero.

[SPOILERS FOR ALL OF STORMLIGHT ARCHIVES!]

10: Adolin (and Renarin!) vs. the Thunderclast [Oathbringer]

This one makes the Top 10 for me mostly because of how cool it must have been in theory...although tragically we never do actually get to see Renarin fight the Thunderclast. I mean, Adolin's part is still very cool--gotta love the one guy without Radiant powers nevertheless trying to fight a giant stone monster from ages past. And then Renarin comes and defeats it off-screen, and that is cool enough to make this list even though we don't see it.

#9: Moash vs. Leshwi [Oathbringer]

This is such a short fight, and it probably wouldn't make the Top 10 for most people...but I thought it was cool. We have Moash facing off against a Fused--one of the first Fused we ever see--with a Shardblade, only to realize that he can't beat her with that weapon, so he grabs a simple spear instead (my heart!). Then he gets lashed to the sky...but pulls her with him and stabs her in the chest. And so he kills her, and Lewshi being Leshwi, she's like, "Okay. You're legit and I like you." So kind of a cool character-building moment for both of them!

#8: Adolin & Dalinar & Elhokar vs. the Chasmfiend [Way of Kings]

This fight didn't do it for me one a first read, because frankly I didn't care that much about the Dalinar chapters in Book 1 because I was always waiting to get back to Kaladin. But upon a reread and a re-reread, I liked it much more! Like so many early fights in Way of Kings, it felt like a sort of tutorial for how the powers work, here focusing on how Shardblades and Chasmfiends Work. You get to see Adolin & Dalinar work well together despite their conflicts, and you get to see Elhokar being, well, Elhokar.

#7: Adolin’s Duels [Words of Radiance]

Except for the last one, to keep this ranking Kaladin-free! But Adolin's pre-Whitespine-Uncaged duels were also very legit. Adolin is a great swordsman, and that makes him fun to watch (well, read about). And I loved the way that he had a different way to mess with his opponent in every duel, from unhinged battery to slowly picking apart the other guy's armor. It's great to see someone good at dueling get to do what they're best at.

#6: Szeth vs. an entire party [Way of Kings]

I'm referring to when Szeth assassinated King Hanavanar of Jah Keved...while the guy was holding a big dinner party. And while this scene is a little painful to read, since Szeth slaughters everyone while crying, if memory serves, you gotta be a little impressed by the way Szeth is able to kill an entire room of people, many of whom are armed with Shardblades or half-shards. At one point he even tosses his sword away and goes hand-to-hand with people holding deadly weapons and just slaughters them all, no problem. That guy is frightening good at murder.

#5: Navani vs. Raboniel vs. Moash [Rhythm of War]

Some fights are cool because they involve visually stunning moves or epic swordplay. Some are cool because they rip my heart into a million pieces. This is one of the latter! Navani killing Raboniel is gut-wrenchingly tragic but also so cool (the Fused are impossible to kill and yet, Navani does it)...and then Moash shows up. The confrontation between Moash and Navani was an emotional beat I didn't know I needed until it was happening...and listen, I am SUCH a sucker for self-sacrifice. Raboniel grabbing Moash to let Navani escape, even after Navani killed her? I'll never be over it.

#4: Szeth vs. Gavilar [Way of Kings]

I mean, this one is a true classic. It's the first fight we see, and serves as a basic tutorial on how stormlight and Shardblades work. We have Szeth in the opening of Way of King, going to assassinate Gavilar. He lashes people and things left and right. He's on the ceiling and the walls. He's burning souls and cutting holes in the building. He's desperately fighting Gavilar in what is probably Gavilar's only cool scene in all of the books. It's just classic.

#3: Shallan vs. An Entire Army [Oathbringer]

I'm not sure this would make a "Top Fights" list for very many people, but it is one of my personal favorites. This refers to the Battle of Thaylen Field (yes, Kaladin is in the background but that doesn't count as involvement), when Shallan, Veil, & Radiant summon hordes of alters to distract the Odium-crazed army. Not only does she fend off an entire army single-handedly (holy shit, Shallan), but she does so despite the fact that it is her being killed over and over again in thousands of forms. The image of her, Radiant, and Veil holding hands as she struggles to stay conscious is incredibly powerful to me. And Jasnah goes to help! A+ fight.

#2: Adolin & Maya vs. the Tukari [Rhythm of War]

This is one of my all-time favorite fights. It takes place in Shadesmar, when Adolin runs to help Notum who is being stabbed and beaten by a group of Tukari, Not only is it a heroic fight against grossly mismatched odds, which I always love, but it also demonstrates the bond between Maya & Adolin. And when the two of them fight back to back using the kata... *chef's kiss*

#1: Dalinar vs. Odium [Oathbringer]

I'm aware that Kaladin is, like, in the background here, but the actual conflict between Dalinar & Odium does not involve him. And this isn't a physical fight--there's no clashing of Shardblades or running on the ceiling--but damn if this fight doesn't hit hard. Dalinar fights with a book and with his whole soul, and he refuses to give up his pain or to absolve himself of the guilt of what he's done. This might be one of the most powerful moments in any book, so it gets the top spot here!

What are your guys' favorite non-Kaladin fights? Let me know in the comments, if you want!

[realclaramorrow]

wat spoilers (whole thing this time). more thoughts I'm full of thoughts (made better from my emotion blinded previous finished book rant)

ok now that I've had some time to sit and think, I enjoyed the book AND I think it couldve taken a couple more editing rounds. I'm sure none of these are new thoughts. I can't believe in my previous post I was right about everything except my opinion on dalinar.

kaladin telling ishar hes szeth's therapist and then being like man idk either was a clunky joke and really took me out of the moment. "honor is dead but I'll see what I can do" is a good line but also a bit cringeworthy at this point? I think his ending is at first glance what he needs but if you look deeper he's isolated from everyone he's ever loved (except syl) and has to be on the clock as a therapist for 9 people with multiple millenia of trauma 24/7. I'm upset for him. This is not a break.

adolin's situation is also good at a glance but bad long term. just like kaladin and shallan he's completely isolated from his loved ones (except maya). shakadolin was too powerful, they had to be stuck in different dimensions. he never got to forgive his father. maya is basically the only method of communication between free nations. at least he and gawx can be bros? I love the way they won azir. he's possibly continuing the absent kholin father tradition by accident.

shallan is pregnant maybe? I dont like that, I think pregnancy plots are usually stupid and poorly done. hope she can get back to the physical world because giving birth in shadesmar seems bad and dangerous (painspren, no midwife, not much access to food/water, no one she loves to support her). I wish shallan had had more complex thoughts about rlain and renarin because she's smart and while dealing with a great many things I think should've at least briefly thought like "oh god they are going to have such a terrible time in the physical world I need to make it so clear that I am supportive."

I understand that Jasnah was exhausted but the argument for thaylenah felt a tiny bit out of character for her. she's admittedly not great at talking to people and was caught off guard at every turn, but I think previous scenarios showed she could've handled it better, especially with so much on the line.

I can't believe (actually, I very much can) that odium did that to gav. thats so fucked up. and preserving his city's souls in the spiritual realm? absolutely fuck off. his grandchildren are safe but the only kholin grandchild doesn't get to be, directly because of him? this is a 20 year old with almost no real memories of the people that loved him, maybe a few faint ones from age 5 or before. this kid was groomed to be a lamb for slaughter for fifteen years.

I have hope for moash redemption? I imagine kaladin showing up and he's literally a herald (of second chances) and moash (with investiture vision) is like WHY ARE YOU GOD WHAT THE FUCK

the shattered plains got the best ending it could, in my opinion. free listener state!! yes!!

I appreciate that dalinar's death wasnt in combat, but by the strength of the storm. he was a king until the end, and I feel bad that I ragged on him so hard because he immediately started changing for the better. also, claimed by another? I can't tell if that's just death or if thaidakelsier wants him bad or if another god has spoken for him. gotta know. maybe valor?

also, I really need to read the sunlit man. for as much as I love sigzil you'd think I would've gotten around to it already. I also have not read: warbreaker, elantris, the emperor's soul, yumi and the nightmare painter, shadows for silence, sixth of the dusk, or white sand. its not like I wont be busy during these 7 years.

[kaladinstormblessed09]

Okay, now that I’m more composed I wanna give my actual thoughts on Oathbringer. This is my favourite stormlight book so far, and I’m 700 pages into RoW so please no spoilers for that. Spoilers for Oathbringer down below obviously

Oathbringer focuses a lot more on Dalinar, but I'll get back to him. Bridge 4 gets their own pov chapters. Teft struggling with his addiction, Rock with his family, Skar not being able to take in stormlight, Rlain being alone amongst people who mean well but can never truly understand what he’s going through. I love this crew so much! The side characters shine in this book. Elhokar! I ended up liking him so much in it just for him to be brutally murdered right in front of his son. Moash even kicked the child. I was sobbing, I was so upset. He had so much potential. He was becoming a better king, a knight's Radiant. All for it to be just gone. And kaladin took that failure so personally. My baby. You can't always save everyone, but this is something Kal always struggle with. Moash even had the audacity to salute Kaladin, after murdering Elhokar!

Shallan just gets better and better in every book. I love how much she's improved in lightweaving. She was making her own little movie in Urithiru. I freaking love Veil. She's going around stabbing herself and getting arrows stuck in her head saying it's just a flesh wound. And everyone is rightfully baffled at her. I love her. I really loved her scenes with Wit/Hoid. It seems to me wit has a soft spot for Shallan. I love that Shallan and Adolin are married now! I love love love Adolin. Kaladin is right. You can't not like Adolin. He's got such sunshine golden retriever energy. Also, I love that Kaladin gave Shallan boots as a wedding present. LMAO.

Jasnah is the real mvp! Her just breezing through the final battle soulcasting her enemies was so fucking cool! She’s obviously the one who has the most control over their powers. When she decides not to kill Renarin oh man I cried! In fact I cried through the entire last 150 pages!

When szeth swoops down to save Lift and uses Nightblood to kill that thunderclast? When Lift tries to save szeth from Nightblood?! So many epic fucking scenes!

Dalinar really gets his avenger endgame moment with all the radiants! So so so cool!

And now speaking of Dalinar. So, Dalinar. How do I talk about him. He's probably the best written character I've ever read. He's your classic reformed character. His flashbacks when he was in his prime, being the blackthorn was difficult to read. But it shows you why the other country leaders are scared of him. And it's a legitimate worry. Now that the whole world is at the brink of an apocalypse, and he can save people no one trusts him because of his reputation because he used to be a war monger and a tyrant. and he knows that he can just do it again. He can be the balckthorn again and unite the world forcefully so they'll listen to him. It'll be so easy for him. But he doesn't want to do that. He's not that war monger anymore. And no one believes him. It's such good story telling. But after I read what he did to the rift, and to Evi, I didn't know how to root for him anymore. How do you root for a character who has burned a whole city down killing thousands of innocent people, including his wife. how do you root for someone who killed his own wife?? That's why it was so cathartic when we got to that moment between Dalinar and Odium. Odium telling Dalinar to just give in. Give him all his pain, and that he's the one who influenced him into doing bad things. telling him not to take responsibility. I thought Dalinar was gonna give in. He was gonna become Odium's champion and Kaladin would have to fight him. but for once Kal doesn't save the day. Dalinar doesn't give in. This is the best scene in this book, which is hard to choose cause this book is filled with epic scenes. "The most important step a man can take is not the first one. it's the next one. always the next step. You cannot have my pain. If I pretend I didn't do these things it means I can't have grown to become someone else. I'll take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall I will rise each time a better man." It's about him taking accountability, acknowledging the wrongs of his past. it's about trying to be a better man. It's about forgiveness and doing better. People complain about the lengths of these books but we needed these pages to get that character development to get to this moment where Dalinar defies Odium. I love this book. this 1200 page behemoth and even than I wanted more. I’ve gone back to this sequence multiple times in the last few days. Even as I read RoW now I go back to reading that sequence. And I cry every single time.

In conclusion, Oathbringer was amazing. I can’t wait to finish RoW. Then I’ll only have the secret projects and TLM left until I’m fully caught up with Cosmere! I can’t wait!

[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.

[the-vibes-are-off]

The Stormlight Archive Volume 1: The Way of Kings’ Review: Chapter 28 + Interludes 1-4 - 1-6

Hello hello hello, I am back, again, with another edition of ‘This Book Delights in Not Respecting the Structured Chunks I Planned to Write on’ bc naturally there had to be ONE chapter in between the previous part and interludes so they’re getting smushed together. No cool accompanying image this part bc all I have done is sit inside and do nothing so enjoy Twilight and mess (and technically Twilight counts as research for my final year project as I’m doing it on vampires so technically I’m working rn). 

Honestly, I think Brando delights in making me forget that Szeth exists only for him to re-emerge and fill my head with his stupid ass name (see one of the previous parts for my inital anger and outrage). All in all tho, I do love the interludes, they have such a palate cleansing vibes after the end of chapter 28 that help you kind of get over the wtf before moving on to the rest of the story. I will never understand when I hear that people skip or disregard them.

Spoiler Free Zone: 

With being so busy recently, I honestly forgot what happened in chapter 28 bc I read it so long ago now it seems but it does not disappoint skimming over it again. Not necessarily the whole chapter, I honestly didn’t have much tabbed, but the Dalinar character development and tHE END?? besties...

Brando’s book structuring is great. Minus the interludes (which again if any of you out there are skipping these ur so wrong for that), this feels so much like a Victorian three volume novel, which for those unfamiliar (tho it kind of speaks for itself) was a form book release under the serialisation umbrella that was popular at the time (for example the Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, as the two were too short for a traditional three volume release, were released together in the three volume format). Naturally this is my lit student side coming out but I feel like this isn’t done enough and it makes for an interesting structure. Ok, nerd moment over.

The interludes themselves, I mean, always iconic. I love the world building element it brings as even having a multi-perspective narrative, considering how expansive the universe is, is limiting to the possibilities you can explore in this. READ THE INTERLUDES AND APPRECIATE THEM. 

*SPOILERS BELOW (I FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE KEEP READING THINGY TY EVERYONE)*

Spoiler Zone:

And now, the epigraph for this part had me like so ready for this chapter. I was like thinking this shit right here just feels like theres something coming. Now initially I was a little disappointed bc I was thinking this just feels like an average chapter like I’m not seeing anything I feel like tabbing am I missing sections???

Then Navani comes in and starts chatting up my home slice Dalinar and I am like I was sensing tension earlier but more in the traditional sense over romantic tension like what is going on. But like this isn’t the climax I know it isnt.

BUT DALINAR ABDICATING ??? I know its bc like everyone is disrespecting my guy and he needs Adolin to fill the role so nothing like shady can happen but I was like floored man. For it to be then followed by interludes? Bro like just shoot me bc I have to read them its who I am.

It was interesting to see different character perspectives and locations etc in the interludes tho it always is. I love how Brando uses his writing at times to portray clear moral messages like in interludes 1-4 with the farmers as a respected population amongst the Shin and how Rysn finds that odd. For that to be followed by Vstim establishing that its not strange and just different and that should be respected was just such a lovely moment to see. 

A little bit obsessed with Axies tbh bc frankly if there were little spirit creatures that appear with what seems to be a wide range of idk what to call them like states of being or occurrences idk stuff and things basically I would be studying that shit too. 

And then, the bane of my existence, the bastard that haunts my nightmares: Szeth :|. Idk WHY his name passionately enrages the very core of my being but it does. Not to mention that I am actually invested in his story bc wtf is this now with some random geezer materialising from the shadows with the head of his former master? OF COURSE I would eat that shit up man. (I do applaud Brando tho for clothing him like a slut but acknowledging how impractical it is and making it an annoyance that was extremely iconic). 

Tab Count:

Cute <3 - 1

Fights - 0

Sad ;-; - 0

Death - 0

Cool - 5

Wtf wow - 0

Wtf Why - 1

Slay Quotes - 1

Love this! - 3

Hate this >:( - 0

Lore - 1

Tab Total:

Cute <3 - 13

Fights - 9

Sad ;-; - 5

Death - 4

Cool - 13

Wtf wow - 3

Wtf Why - 4

Slay Quotes - 15

Love this! - 17

Hate this >:( - 5

Lore - 7

[cosmereplay]

get to know your fellow fanfic writers better ༊ ✧.*

Tagged by @chaos-monkeyy (1000 years ago 😅)

1. when did you post your first ever fanfic?

I started posting in Feb 2021!

2. first character you wrote for:

I think the first chapter of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was from Shallan's POV.

3. main character(s) you’re currently writing for:

Not much has changed: Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin take up a great deal of space in my head and in my fic, including my current WIP Plausible Deniability (Explicit), for which I'm currently procrastinating the last chapter as I do this, lol

4. character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan on writing about soon:

I don't think I've published any Elhokar! I do have a Moash/Elhokar I started in 2021 that I would like to figure out and get out there.

5. fandom(s) you’re currently writing for:

Stormlight Archive, my beloved. My obsession for the last three years!

6. platonic pairing(s) you currently write for:

I did an RP with @wanderingchanneler with Kaladin & Szeth reluctant road trip travellers to friends, and xe's been working on editing and posting it. It's updating weekly - Convergence (Teen)

7. romantic pairing(s) you currently write for:

Mostly Shakadolin, but otherwise it's fairly eclectic. Actually now that I think of it, I write a lot of sexual stuff, and I write a lot about love, but I don't write a ton of explicitly romantic stuff. Except maybe Shakadolin 😂

8. your top 3 tags on AO3 (if you post your works on AO3):

If it's only Additional tags, then it's Oral sex, RoW spoilers, and then a four-way tie of Fluff, post-canon, canon compliant, and PWP. If it includes character tags you'll never guess: Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin, in that order.

9. your current platform where you post your works

AO3, baybee!

10. snippet of the wip you’re currently working on:

Here's Teen-rated excerpt from my draft chapter of Plausible Deniability:

“What do you mean, you don’t feel the same way anymore?” Laran demanded. “We. . . did things together! Didn’t you like it?” “No, no, it’s not that,” Veil said. Storms, how could she describe what had happened to her desire? “I just don’t feel like doing those things anymore. I still want to do other stuff. . . ” Laran crossed her arms, lit from the side by Salas’ violet light. “What, like kissing? Over the clothes stuff? It’s not like you ever wanted to be out with me in public. What’s left?” Veil shrugged. “Okay, we could play Towers at the barracks. Have dinner at your stew–” “Oh, so you can ogle the Highmarshal while I dodge Lyn’s questions about the nature of our relationship? Yeah. Sounds great,” Laran fumed, turning abruptly to look out over the mountains. Veil could tell where this was going. “We could do whatever you want. What do you want to do?” she asked, trying not to sound like she was begging. The tall Windrunner was silent for a while, then let out a long sigh. “I don’t think I want anything else. You know, Veil, some relationships shine like spheres, and others flash like lightning.” She turned to look at Veil. “It was bright while it lasted, but I can hear the thunder now. Goodbye, Veil.”  Without another word, Laran stepped up onto the balcony railing and pushed off, flying at speed into the darkness. “Everstorms!” Veil cursed into the night. She hoped it wouldn’t go this poorly with Ral when she saw her tomorrow.

Tagging @felagund-fiollaigean, @rydiaasuka, @if-one-of-us-falls, @illustraterg, @cosmererambles, @meadowlarkx and anyone else I can't remember at the moment, pretend I tagged you if you'd like to do this!

[sharkneto]

I have finished! Some thoughts under read more, spoiler warning for Wind and Truth -

That was just... A frustrating read. I'm trying to justify giving the book 3 stars because I gave SJM 2 stars for the two ACOTAR books I read this year and I want to like it more than ACOTAR, but at least I knew what SJM was doing and recognized what she was trying to do. If Wind and Truth had been 500 pages shorter, I could justify it, easy. But 1,329 pages??? The amount of time and effort I committed to reading it? For how frustrating an ending? Sorry Brando, I can't.

Things I liked and I was invested in: 1) I always love Adolin, and my fear coming into this book was, as my one Normal Guy Left, he was going to end up bonding a spren and becoming Radiant. I thought his chapters trying to hold Azimir were really the only time I felt the plot's 10 day time crunch and used the insane length of the book to its advantage to feel the exhaustion of his impossible task. I loved how he ended up forming "platonic" bonds with deadeyes through his power of just being a Good Dude. Fit his character nicely and built on the trend he was already on. I was excited whenever the book checked back in with him. 2) I loved getting Szeth's backstory and his journey he was on. Poor fucked up little guy, he had one of the best paced plots and it worked really well to reframe who he's been the past four books. A very sympathetic character for the assassin that kicked off the whole series. 3) I liked how Dalinar's final choice worked - I'm a sucker for when characters have to choose to lose in order to win.

Otherwise? Just too much, too busy, so much bloat. The spirit realm plot of Dalinar and Navani and Gav tumbling around there could have been cut in half. Same with Shallan, Rlain, and Renarin with there being zero payoff for them releasing Mishram. I liked Kaladin's journey but unfortunately the pacing for it was rushed, which is insane when the book is this long. Kaladin is arguably the character we are all here for, and more time should have been spent with him and his plot given more attention for his own growth figuring out how to be a therapist. Was nice Jasnah got humbled, but we never got any consequences for countries that sided with Odium vs the Human Resistance, so ended up very little payoff for how she lost. So many little plots picked up and put down or just left because they set up things for the larger Cosmere.

That's where most of my frustration with the ending comes in. To be slightly fair, I bet the consequences and how the ascension of Retribution ripples makes more sense if you're fully up to date on the state of the Cosmere. I, however, am not. I've read 5/7 of Mistborn, and have read the Stormlight Archive. That's it. I enjoyed the nods to Mistborn I caught (but why is Kelsier here???). But once Dalinar made his move with Honor (and Honor's whole backstory tbh) the scale exploded to the entire Cosmere and I didn't have context for what these consequences were or what they were referencing. So very little satisfaction in conclusions for what the characters on Roshar accomplished (or didn't!), and lots and lots of set up for the larger Universe and the next five books. Which, unfortunately, leaves me holding these 1300 pages of words and content and going "Ok, but Why???"

I had a similar experience with The Hero of Ages - the scale of the plot expanded too much, beyond what I was really interested in or had good context to appreciate, and there were too many moments where I was left going "Sure, why not, that might as well happen." But at least that one had the decency to be half the length of Wind and Truth. So, really seems like the issue I have is with Brandon Sanderson's ability to balance and pace the later half of his series. He's obviously got his whole Cosmere very planned out on where things are going and how they all fit together, but I think he loses the forest for the trees, can't see what details are actually relevant vs a darling he should kill. I am begging him to get an editor to help him streamline.

Am I glad I read it? I guess, mostly to get the conclusion for this arc of the series and because I read it with a couple friends and there will be a lot of discussion had about it. But it's not a book I'd rec, and cements my Stormlight Archive series rec as "Read the Way of Kings, because that is a great book, and then read as far as you want." The bloat in these books means that it's a series of unfortunately diminishing returns, and I can't rec a book this long with so little overall payoff to anyone unless they're already committed to the series and want to read it just for completion's sake.

At least the hardcover looks pretty on my shelf.

W*nd and Tr*th really cementing my opinion that very rarely does a book need to be more than 600 pages, and doubly so for over a 1000

[aeneaamoretto]

Thanks @serenesavagery for sparking all of this.

She really didn't do anything much other than leaving a passing comment that 'Brandon is a legend btw'.

That made me curious...

(That's never a good thing.)

So, I wanted to know what was his total written word count, what was his longest book and his shortest book...

And because I'm stubborn, I was going to do it myself. So armed with his official website, a calculator, a notepad and the internet, I began my quest.

Three books in, I switched to an Excel sheet because I am an idiot for even considering my first method was a good idea.

Here is where my overly investigative self went slightly off the rails. So not only did I have the book titles and the number of words in each book, I went on to include what category they fell under based on his site, if they were apart of a series, what type of book they were and their earliest publication date. I said earliest because some had two under different companies so I just went with the first one.

I'm here to share my findings after 2 days of research...

I mostly used the list of books from his website. So Arcanum Unbounded and Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds were used over the standalone versions. It saved me time in hunting down the others and calculating the overall word count was much easier if I didn't have to some subtractions along the way.

His four graphic novels were excluded from any of the final calculations because I couldn't get any accurate word lengths for them. For similar reasons, the audio book book he worked on was also excluded. I still put them on the list though.

The only other exclusions I had were his additions to the Unfettered, Unfettered III and Armored anthologies because I couldn't get my hand on those numbers.

I'm honestly surprised that I managed to get the one for Dreamer.

(If any of you do have them, could you please send them my way. Thank you.)

Also, I included the tentative word counts for Dawnshard and Rhythm of War because I wanted to include them in this crazy list...

There's also a fake release date for Dawnshard because I needed something there if I wanted to plot it later.

So feast your eyes on my crazy masterpiece

Yes, I also did a graph because I'm extra.

(Those sharp crazy increases were mainly due to Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Warbreaker or The Wheel of Time. I checked.)

So the longest book he has ever written is undecided. It'll depend on how long Rhythm of War actually turns out to be but for now it's at number 1.

So his current Top 10 longest books:

Rhythm of War - 460,000 words*

Oathbringer - 454,768 words

Words of Radiance - 403,736 words

The Way of Kings - 383,181 words

A Memory of Light - 353,906 words

Tower of Midnight - 327,052 words

The Gathering Storm - 297,502 words

The Well of Ascension - 249,522 words

Warbreaker - 243,849 words

The Hero of Ages - 241,889 words

Since I don't have all the figures, his Top 10 shortest stories are up to deliberation but I do know that it'll take a lot of work to dethrone Dreamer at number 1.

Brandon Sanderson's Top 10 Shortest Works

Dreamer - 4,365 words

Mitosis - 9,034 words

First Born - 14,051 words

Defending Elysium - 14,743 words

Perfect State - 18,268 words

Snapshot - 25,079 words

Dawnshard - 35,000 words*

Infinity Blade Redemption - 37,681 words

Infinity Blade Awakening - 39,040 words

The Dark Talent - 51,711 words

Bonus: Here are the random calculations I did because I was bored and this is Excel...

(Again, his works from Armored and the Unfettered anthologies were not included in these numbers except for the final tally of works. That number is still inaccurate because I didn't get around to adding the shorter stories that became apart of Arcanum Unbounded and Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds.)

Can we take a moment of awe for this man? In the last 15 years, he has over 50 works credited to his name.

(My list only says 46 and I think like 10 of his other works didn't make the list because they were absorbed into the collections.)

He has published like 17 FREAKING EPICS !!!!!!

These lovely monstrosities are so long and he has released 17 of them.

His average word count for a single book, with the numbers I found, amounts to 149,147 words... I found the average of 39 different works and that still classifies as an epic.

What is he doing with himself? What am I doing with myself?

We need to applaud this man for everything that he was written for us and continues to write for us. He's written about 5.7 million words already and with Stormlight Archive not even halfway done, I'm not even going to be surprised if that number reaches 8.5 million. Especially considering that he has other active series going on and sequels in the works.

So, Brandon is a legend btw.

Next on my list of things that I'm going to research for the hell of it is Szeth's timeline... I really should do that before Brandon decides to alert me on exactly how much more complicated he wants it to be.

[lisasstars]

Ok I have finished Oathbringer… one word to sum it up… PHENOMENAL!! ❤️

My thoughts: Spoiler free!

Brandon Sanderson is incredible of making amazing worlds and such intriguing well developed plot and characters. The plot is so intricate and layered, with so many secrets that when you discover one secret another secret is formed waiting to be revealed.

So much happens in the book that you feel like your on a rollercoaster but is well balanced as there are moments of conversation and development of characters that break in between the action to slow down one scene to then focus on another one.

Characters:

Dalinar Kholin: I love Dalinar! He is such a well developed character and I adored finding out about his life back in his youth and how much he has changed as the tyrant he was into the man he has become. His life was filled with sorrow and pain, but I found it all so intriguing as there was light in his life and I think this book really emphasises on the point that even though there is tragedy in one’s life there is also hope and the ability to carry on. I felt really sorry for the people in his life back in his youth and how his actions made them feel, yet still saw the good in him despite his bloodthirsty behaviour. Dalinar has been on journey of finding himself through his past and how his past has moulded him into the man he is today and how he has accepted the pain and his actions he did to carry on the journey he is still going on.

Kaladin Stormblessed: I love Kaladin! What I love about Kaladin is his ability to carry on and protect his people, especially Bridge Four. His determination is admirable and inspiring. I adore seeing him soar and be one with the sky and winds; it’s delightful seeing him feel content and smiling in the skies. His journey is incredible and seeing him come into this new power and the authority that has been given to him is amazing because he truly deserves it. Anytime he feels that he has failed or feel that a death is his fault breaks my heart because he burdens himself with every life with no consideration to his own as he wants to protect everyone. I loved Syl always being there for him and act as a constant being in his life; someone he can depend on and help him when he needs the help. I absolutely loved all the interactions with Bridge Four and how each one helps one another and Kaladin having people looking out for him and in turn he looks out and after them. Bridge Four is built on togetherness and hope; helping each other regardless of past doings and coming through it as together as a family.

Shallan Davar: I love Shallan! It’s heartbreaking to see her personality cracking and the layers coming undone as she has built up such a defence in her mind to warrant her past from leaking out and affecting her, yet the cracks have formed and it’s effecting her, making her confused and troubled. It’s clever how Sanderson intertwines the personalities making them appear completely different people as there are yet are one at the same time. I hope Shallan can talk about her past and can see her heal because she needs to confront things and not let it consume her, while also believing she deserves to be happy and to not blame herself or make her believe she deserved the wrongs in her life. I loved her quips and her ability to smile regardless of everything going on, even if it’s not so good to pretend all the time that’s everything is okay when sometimes it’s alright for things not to be. Her interactions with Kaladin are funny as they understand one another and know and can help each other, with the helps of puns. Her interactions with Adolin are so cute and I loved that he saw her, Shallan, not her other personalities and that he is someone who she can depend on and to ground her and bring her back to the real her not the ones she has created.

Adolin Kholin: I love Adolin! He is such a compassionate, loyal, loving character who wants to help in anyway he can and be there for the people he cares about. He doesn’t judge anyone regardless of their station or who they are and cares and protects those who need help. I love seeing his friendship grow with Kaladin and seeing them care for one another and Adolin knowing when something is up and tries to help him by getting Kaladin to talk and open up. I really loved seeing Adolin being vulnerable and appear uncertain because it showed that he isn’t always the confident, happy go lucky person he appears to be; that he does have vulnerabilities and does worry about his place in the world, especially with Shallan as she is a Radiant. I adored his interactions with Shallan as they are so cute and funny together. His ability to make her feel safe and grounded is adorable because he acts as a focus to her and someone who doesn’t judge but cares for her and to let her talk to him in her own time without pushing her into talking. I love how he knows the difference between Shallan and the other personalities, Veil and Radiant, and loves Shallan and brings her back to the present.

Honourable mentions:

Renarin Kholin: Love him! I feel so sorry for him yet love how he is embracing himself and finding his place in the world with the support from Bridge Four and his family.

Jasnah Kholin: I love her ability to stand up for herself and take no nonsense from anyone and embracing herself and her beliefs yet cares and fights for her family.

Navani Kholin: I really love the authority and the ability to take charge or situations and to remain care and collected in a logical yet protective way especially towards Dalinar and her family.

Evi Kholin: I felt so sorry for her and the life she has lead as she is a pure loving soul who only wants peace for the world and her family, yet circumstances made it not possible for her.

Bridge Four: I love all the members and it was really great hearing from some of their perspectives. They make me laugh and cry for them; both separately and together.

Elhokar Kholin: I loved how he accepted his mistakes and wanted to change them and make himself a better man for himself, the kingdom and his family.

Lift: I love her. She makes me laugh with her non-filter dialogue and how she says it how it is with no consideration to how the words appear to everyone else.

Szeth: I love seeing him grow and try to make up wrong doings by helping the people who need the help, even if he is plagued by his own thoughts and nightmares of his past.

Wit: I love Wit and how he comes up with silly stories that hold actual truths and tries to help people along the way with his odd way by speaking advice clouded in a mix of riddles and tales. I loved seeing him help Shallan and giving her hug, to just be there to let her cry and let her emotions and feelings come bare and give her advice to help and heal her.

Venli: I really liked seeing her perspective on the “enemy” side and how she feels about the treatment of her people and where she fits in in all the chaos of the war.

In conclusion, I loved Oathbringer because it rang with hope and the ability to change and be there for the people you love. Through the strength of love and togetherness. Brandon Sanderson is exceptional of creating a complex plot that doesn’t overpower or overshadow the characters and vice versa. The story and description is so detailed that it makes you believe you are actually there and living the world and the characters’s lives. Despite being over 1000 pages long I found myself wanting more and more because I never wanted it to end. Truly incredible!! 💕💕

No spoilers for the next book, Rhythm Of War, please. Thank you!

How I feel about the book. 👇👇 AMAZING!!! ♥️

[st-just]

Semi-coherent thoughts on Oathbringer

So, overall probably the most even of the series so far, I’d say? Not to say I didn’t like it – I really, really loved the finale, and there were plenty of great lines, but my god were there a lot of pages spent on nothing happening (honestly it kind of reminded me of the latter volumes of ASOIF, in that sense) – then again, I suppose that is kind of just the nature of these 1000+ page fantasy epics. There were some setting reveals that really were fascinating, and legitimately a bit surprising. Going to have to take a break from the series until the friend I got Rhythm of War for is done so I can borrow it, though I suppose that’s no huge loss compared to the however many years everyone else had to wait in between them.

So in terms of pacing it’s...bad. Or, well, that’s probably a bit unfair. There’s absolutely plenty of fat to cute, but again I do think that might just come with the territory of committing to like a dozen POVs across a tree’s worth of paper (though there were absolutely like 100+ page stretches where I’m not actually sure the plot meaningfully progressed). That said, honestly the main pacing issue isn’t so much the bloat as, like – okay, Dalinar’s arc was a pretty consistent throughline, but for Kalidan and Shallan it kind of felt like there was one whole story in Urithiru, and then from the mission to Kholinar and the journey through the Cognitive Realm felt like its own separate novel? I mean, not sure if that makes any sense, but it really did kind of feel like there was a whole additional first act of table and stakes setting once they arrived in the city.

Though, to argue in favor of bloat for a moment – I was chatting with  @lifeattomsdiner​ bit back about The City We Became, and they mentioned that the size of the cast meant that you don’t actually really get to know any of the protagonists that well on their own. And I suppose that is the advantage of the 1200-page-per-volume epic cycle – even with characters you only really meet in interludes like Szeth, Vargo and Venli (incidentally three of my favorites), you spend enough pages inside of their head that you do really get to see what makes them tick and learn to love/hate them. Speaking of – props to Sanderson as an author, really – it’s vaguely astounding that he manages to keep track of that many internal monologues and actually make them seem distinct from each other.

Breaking things down by character a bit more – this book really did actually enjoy/get invested in Dalinar way more than either of the previous two, which again I’m told is more or less the expected reaction. Given the amount of tumblr brain poison I’m voluntarily exposed myself to, it’s honestly more than a bit of a nice change to see a character on a redemption arc who is actually unambiguously in need of redemption. Because holy shit, pulled, like, exactly two punches in terms of making the guy as genuinely loathsome as possible before he starts breaking. And, well, obviously he was on a redemption arc, but there was a bit near the end there where I really did think that the book was going to cut to black on an ‘end of Act 2, maximum darkness before dawn’ moment with, like, all the Skybreakers and him kneeling before Odium as the city fell. But I suppose that would be a bit much of a cliffhanger for a series with installments this weighty.

This was pretty clearly Shallan’s ‘getting over my personal bullshit’ book, like WoR was for Kaladin and WoK was for Dalinar, though spicing things up with increasingly severe DID as the book went on did make things more interesting at least. Also, I have no idea if this is actually true, but according to the friend who pestered me into reading these when someone asked Sanderson if he’d intentionally written her as bi he just kind of shrugged and said ‘sure, why not,’ which is fun. It was more than a bit, I don’t know, forced?, to have Wit just wander in from stage left and give her a desperately needed therapy session while she was in the middle of a breakdown and propel her development for most of the rest of the book, but on the other hand she’s pretty easily the main POV I’m most invested in by now, and the live triangle the text repeatedly threatened me with never actually became a thing, so I can’t really complain too much. Honestly super curious about the Ghostbloods and what they want out of her given, well, for a shadowy murderous conspiracy, everything they’ve wanted out of her so far has been pretty much entirely benign. Like, of the three major shadowy murderous conspiracies they’re easily the least problematic for the future of humanity at the moment. She should just commit and join for real imo.

As always, Kaladin’s POV is mostly good because it means we get more Syl, who is the single best character in the entire story I’ve decided. But also, I really quite liked his whole sojourn with the newly freed Parshmen and dawning realization that ‘wait these people are basically entirely right’. Also, the delicious delicious angst of spending however many dozens of pages getting to know them and then the wall guard and then the two groups killing each other in a confused melee while he has a mental breakdown. Easily best moment in the book (but then I’m a miserable person).

Adolin is honestly significantly more entertaining to follow than I really expected, though I’m still not like especially invested in him as a character. His relationship with his tailor was quite charming, though, as was the fact that he cares enough about fashion that he learned to sew. Honestly I was rather expecting/slightly dreading his main arc this book to be, like, inadequacy or insecurity over being almost literally the only member of his family that’s not a Radiant, so it’s kind of a pleasant surprise that he seems to have just accepted that (too well-adjust, I guess?). It is however extremely funny that the fact he just straight-up murdered one of the kingdom’s most important aristocrats and the major antagonist of the first two books seems to have resulted in absolutely zero consequences of any kind for him.

In terms of minor characters, the one I’m most invested in by a pretty substantial margin at this point is Venli, as she’s getting a front row seat to all the most interesting bits of the setting, ‘cultist growing increasingly disillusioned about return of ancient and terrible eldritch god’ is a really entertaining character arc just in principle, and because as of the end of the book she represents the morally objectively correct perspective and political line I’ve decided and will fight people about. Curious what sort of superpowers she’ll get. (Vargo and Szeth are still both great though, too).

The Unmade are really fun as a worldbuilding conceit/excuse for weird fucked up monsters. And it really is kind of funny that at least a third of the God of Evil’s nine generals/children/favoured beasts are, like, at conflicted or ambivalent about the whole ‘exterminate humanity and remake the world as a monument to my glory’ thing.  

Really, on an extremely shallow and entirely aesthetic level, between the evil red crystal/lightning aesthetic, the remote mountain fortress as a stronghold of the heroes in the face of the coming apocalypse, tears into the realm of spirits, the quirky evil minibosses each handling corrupting/conquering a given center of civilization, etc, the whole thing kind of reminded me of Dragon Age Inquisition. Which reminded me of how disappointing the story to that game was, which made me like the book more by comparison, but anyway. Yeah, good book.

[lev-iathan]

RoW Thoughts

I was planning on doing one of these for every part, but then I kind of... got carried away and finished the book. So, here are my thoughts on the whole thing.

(spoilers for the entire Cosmere, just in case)

- Kaladin was wonderful all the way through. I was so worried all the time that he would die. Like, genuinely worried. Especially during the fight with Lezian (that was staged a bit too similarly to the Kelsier vs. Inquisitors fight in Mistborn and we all know how that ended) and when he jumped off the tower (I knew Brando wouldn’t let him die by suicide, but let’s just say I still hummed to the Terrors). And then he does it. He swears the Fourth Ideal and it goes better than anything I could’ve imagined. Now he’s committed to healing and has reconciled with his father and everything. I just love him so much. Though, I am concerned. At the end there, he did glow with some weird yellow light and Syl forgot the words. That doesn’t bode well.

- Teft’s death. Brando destroyed me with that one sentence, and while I don’t really want to talk about it, I have to acknowledge it. Also, Fuck Moash. I didn’t really care that he killed Elhokar, but after what he did to Kaladin and this, it’s gotten personal. I’m not opposed to a redemption arc for him, but right now, I’m not very sympathetic towards him.

- Dabbid was so good! I really like when minor characters get their chance to stand out and he was wonderful! I hope he bonds a spren, he deserves it.

- Rlain becomes a Truthwatcher! I did not see that coming. I thought Bondsmith or Willshaper but not Truthwatcher. He can see the future now, potentially creating another blind spot for Odium. And Sja-anat is creating more corrupted Truthwatchers that will have that ability, which I think will be a massive advantage in the coming battle.

- I was disappointed we got so little of Renarin and Jasnah. Renarin barely had a chapter and Jasnah had two but it wasn’t enough. To be honest, Jasnah and Hoid’s relationship annoyed me but oh well. Not worth complaining about.

- Dalinar has little pagetime too, but it was enough. I’d been waiting for them to confront Ishar since he was first mentioned in OB and boy oh boy did they confront him. Ishar is fucking terrifying. He stole Dalinar’s bond with the Stormfather, he can leech Stormlight out of Radiants, he’s experimenting on spren (that was truly and utterly fucked up). What was that all about??? I also loved that it was Dalinar that accepted Kaladin’s oath, not the Stormfather. Him speaking with that godly lowercase caps seems like a bit of foreshadowing...

- I’m so happy for Shallan. Finally coming to terms with everything and realizing that she’s strong enough to work though the pain. I loved Veil’s “death” scene. I was soooo relieved when it turned out that Pattern wasn’t a traitor and the moment we saw the Cryptic in the marketplace I suspected that Shallan could’ve had a different spren that she killed. Also, worldhoppper Shallan confirmed? Hell yeah! She already has a Seon and I can’t wait for her to get her hands on some Breaths because I think she would enjoy those immensely. But first to find a way to get off-world with Pattern.

- Adolin and Maya were phenomenal. I’m really glad he didn’t become a Radiant because we really have a bit of an oversaturation of those among the main characters, but I love that she awakened for him. When she finally reveals the secret of the Recreance... Chills.

- I liked Navani well enough though I have to admit that I was a bit bummed when she bonded the Sibling because of the aforementioned oversaturation of Radiants, but I guess it was foreshadowed. She’s still got a lot of work to do though, with the fabrials and all. I loved her interactions with Raboniel, them discovering the Rhythm of War and all the different lights. Them just sciencing together and coming to understand each other was just great.

- I appreciate that we got at least a glimpse of Szeth and Nightblood. Next book it going to be great, I can feel it.

- Could have used a bit more Lift. I’m happy that she’s doing well after Moash happened, but I’m still confused about the red chicken...

- And finally, the star of the show, Venli. She was actually much better than I expected. I was afraid she would be pushed to the side since she didn’t have many chapters in part 1 and 2, but she played a really great role. Her flashbacks didn’t hit me as hard as the ones in the other books, maybe because they were split and I was never really interested in Eshonai (though that last flashback hurt a lot), but her present-day plotline was great. I like how it wasn’t easy for her to swear the Ideals and she wasn’t forgiven. She didn’t even forgive herself, but she’s on the path and that’s all that matters. It felt fitting that she only managed to swear the First Ideal at the very end. I like Venli quite a lot. I hope she doesn’t get pushed to the side now that she’s rejoined the listeners. One question though? Does Cultivation accept her oaths? Because she hears a female voice instead of the Stormfather.

- Taravangian. Oh Taravangian. You can’t convince me that anyone predicted he would kill Rayse and Ascend to Odium. That was so out of the blue but it worked so goddamn well I actually screamed. That’s a gamechanger. Taravangian is waaaaaay scarier than Rayse could ever be because he’s smart and he’s a planner and those are always dangerous. And what was it he did at the end, mind wiping Hoid??? Seems like this was all part of Cultivations plan and now they’re in cahoots and I am Afraid.

- This was probably my favorite Sanderlanche??? Maybe, I’ll need to do a reread to say for sure, but just the way everything came together to a massive crescendo was phenomenal. Kaladin fighting Lezian. Navani and Raboniel. The boundaries breaking between singers and humans and the fight now becoming a battle between ideals not a battle between races. The Fused defying Odium. The Tower lighting up at the end. I teared up when Venli finally told Leshwi she is a Radiant and Leshwi asked after her old honorspren. I have to wonder if all Fused used to be Radiants back when the spren bonded singers, and Odium just transformed them into brands analogous to their Orders. Anyway, it was great.

- Thaidakar is actually Kelsier. Confirmed, on page. I yelled ‘I KNEW IT’ so loud my cat ran away from me. That bastard. He did it. He became the ultimate cult leader.

- Who the fuck is El? That’s all I’m going to say because I really have no clue.

- I don’t think it’s possible for the entirety of book 5 be set within 10 days. There’s too much stuff to be done. I think the duel will happen about halfway through the book and then we’ll be dealing with some of the fallout, but it’s waaaaay to early to speculate about that.

[jazzy-kandra]

Found

Zahel is less than thrilled to see Nightblood again. Oathbringer Spoilers; a short sequel to Advice.

Adolin, that fop, had managed to wear a “stylish” gold suit to his traditional Alethi wedding.

A part of that amazed Zahel. There was Shallan, dressed in a traditional Alethi wedding gown. Light blue, likely azure - exactly on hue, actually - and trimmed with gold. Perhaps that had inspired Adolin’s choice, he would want them to be color coordinated, the gold of his suit was the same shade as the girl’s embroidery, amusing that, it was almost like the seamstress held Breath.

That thought was more than a bit discomforting, but it was unlikely she knew him. It wasn’t like that Thaylen woman could be Vivenna, she didn’t have the eyebrows.

She probably just has a Damnation good color sense.

That, however, did not stop Adolin’s suit from looking like it was some kind of gaudy knock off from the Court of the Gods. Then again, Zahel had always considered most highborn Alethi weddings he’d had the misfortune to attend one shade off of garish. After all, that was tradition.

Or perhaps he was just grumpy because the boy had asked him to attend despite that he had told that lad, repeatedly, that he hated weddings. At least he didn’t have to officiate it, he hadn’t had to do that kind of crem in years. As luck would have it, Kadesh had stayed on despite Dalinar’s heresy and had been more than happy to give those two lovebirds a nice official Vorin ceremony even though the man was starting to doubt his own religion.

Good ol’ Dalinar, turning everyone into atheists.

Irony was nearly as good as the wine he now drank from a gauntlet too pretty for an ardent to hold. After the main ceremony had ended, he had retreated to a mat in the back, legs crossed, eyes closed, relaxing. Only Renarin had bothered him in the course of the feast that followed. Luckily, the events were almost done and...

He felt a familiar presence, harsh red on black. No, Zahel thought, the wine he had just sipped tasting far more rancid than it had a moment before, that can’t be...

“Master Ardent,” Zahel let one eye slide open at the speaker’s overly polite tone. Then, stared, his Breath catching in his throat. Szeth of the Skybreakers wore white on the day he approached Zahel, argent, baring an all too familiar sword. “My sword...insists that he wishes to speak with you.”

Zahel backed up against the wall, fear gripping his chest.

“Master Ardent--”

Whatever else he said, Zahel didn’t hear. No, it was blocked by that horrible yet missed voice he had longed to hear for over ten years now...

Vasher?

Hello Nightblood.

“I’ll...let you speak alone.” With a short bow, the Assassin in White proffered Vasher the black blade in its inornate aluminum sheath, gingerly, with awe and respect painted on his features. “Please take care of sword-nimi. He often says he misses you, or, I think it must be you of which he so often speaks.”

Zahel nearly corrected Szeth, but the man left before he could. Nightblood shouldn’t be able to miss him. That was impossible...and yet...

Yet, he wanted to believe it, at least this once. It was foolishness, he knew, but...they were surrounded by swords that could feel and think. This sword was similar, maybe on Roshar, Nightblood could too.

Today, perhaps, he would let himself be a fool.

Your tears are causing me to rust.

You don’t rust. Colors, when was the last time he had wept? He wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve, smiling slightly despite the sense of foreboding that twisted his stomach into knots now that Nightblood had returned to him. How have you been?

What a thing to ask a sword. 

Lonely, Nightblood replied, much to his surprise he felt a wave of loneliness from the blade, like invisible ink appearing upon an empty page. That one green lady with all the plants was weird...then she gave me to Nale...

The Herald? he asked, alarmed.

Boringest guy I ever met! Never let me slay evil...he was the worst!

I see. He sighed. He didn’t particularly miss this aspect of his far-flung blade. Or he was wise.

You’ll let me kill some evil today, right?

No. Adolin’s getting married, he replied, part of him wishing Szeth had stayed so he could give the blade left, but the man had returned to Dalinar’s side. Returning Nightblood would make a scene, he would just have to hold on to him. Is married.

The  newly wedded couple was dancing now, pretty, and happy, and all so very much in love. The Highprince had even undone her sleeve despite that he should have waited until after the wedding celebration to do so. Considering how those two were acting the week prior to their wedding, they probably had not waited until the celebration for certain other things too, not that he was one to snitch. He might be a bad ardent, but he still had morals.

No killing evil today.

Aw, Nightblood whined in disappointment.

How did you end up here?

Szeth brought me. Vasher waited. Nale said he’d was a good choice for evil slaying, but he barely ever draws me. I did get to kill some of Odium’s minions, though. Vasher, that Shard is the definition of evil!

Vasher snorted. Nightblood wasn’t wrong in this case. You can’t kill him. You’re only one sword.

Can I deliver the final blow?

That isn’t my call. Cultivation probably wanted her vengeance. Vasher didn’t want to get involved in a storming Shardic dispute. He was retired for Damnation’s sake, this wasn’t his fight.

Oh. Well. How about tomorrow? We can slay some evil and kill some Fused...what do you say?

I’ll consider it. He would probably regret this, but... There is plenty of evil to slay.

Good.

[kaladinisbae]

dalinar, 13?

13.  “Of course I remembered!”Thank you for the prompt! Have some fluff and angst!

“Where are we going?” asked Renarin and fiddled with his box as Dalinar led him down a corridor in the upper levels of Urithiru.

The serious mask Dalinar had kept on his face crumbled when he heard how nervous his son sounded. He let a small smile light up his expression as he moved to open a door. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

“Happy birthday!” came the call from the dozens of people in the room the moment Dalinar stepped aside to let Renarin enter.

“Happy birthday, son”, Dalinar said to a stunned Renarin.

“Y-you remembered”, Renarin whispered, staring in disbelief at the birthday party. All of the Kholins, now including Shallan, as well as Kaladin and as many members of Bridge four as possible where here. Lift were somewhere in the room too, probably “stealing” as much food as possible, as well as Szeth. It still felt strange seeing the latter considering their history.

“Of course I remembered!” said Dalinar and pulled his son into a hug. He didn’t comment on the tears that sprung to the boy’s - no not a boy any longer, but a man - eyes. He let him go a moment later and sent him towards his waiting brother with a light shove. Renarin stumbled a step before hurrying forward.

Dalinar watched with a smile on his face as Renarin got hugged by the members of his family. Navani even gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then Kaladin stepped forward and offered a handshake only to be pulled into a hug by Renarin. Dalinar suppressed a chuckle at how red in the face Kaladin turned.

In the next moment Dalinar sighed wistfully. He really wished Renarin’s surprise at him remembering something as important as a birthday weren’t warranted, but it unfortunately was. Getting his memories back from Cultivation had revealed to him how much he didn’t remember. Important things. Things like his younger son’s birthdays or achievements. He couldn’t even remember his birth! And he had no one to blame but himself for it. For never being there and neglecting his son.

He would never be able to make up for all the wrongs in his past. All he could do was make sure to never repeat them and be there for the people he loved from now on.  

Dalinar forced a smile back to his face as he went to join the others in the celebration of Renarin. Within seconds of being surrounded by their excited energy the smile turned into a more genuine thing and when Lift tried to steal the cake Rock had made right under his nose he burst into laughter with the rest of the room. Though the best thing of it all was to see Renarin’s overjoyed smile.

I’m still accepting prompts so send me a cosmere character (or two) plus a prompt from this list and I’ll write a short drabble of it! I’m also posting all of them on ao3 so they are easier to find.

[basket-of-radiants]

dude I’d love to hear your unabridged thoughts on Szeth and Nale

(Warning that everything I will ever say about Nale is half-joking in manner, I refuse to take these two seriously. DO NOT put too much stock into this post.)

That’s probably impossible, I have more thoughts on them than could fit in a post. Szeth and Nale have such a dumb relationship, I swear to god. Honestly anything goes with them.

Nale shows Szeth so much fucking favoritism, it’s ridiculous. He’s apparently been following Szeth around, then he personally intervenes to save his life, then showers him with praise, then gives Szeth this weapon of unimaginable power, and then he takes Szeth everywhere with him and pulls him aside for exclusive field trips in hopes to trigger some key character development or something. There are tons of times he gives him special treatment, my personal favorite being right after Szeth says he joined Dalinar instead of Odium, Nale going “okay that’s cool, it means we’ll probably fight to the death or something though. Anyway, gotta run but I’ll be back to visit you later to personally train you in your new surges of super-ultimate-destruction pretty soon, okay?”

Nale is just so invested in Szeth! Like, mood, I can relate to that, but also you’d think that a herald like him would have a slightly broader scope. I appreciate these lessons he keeps giving Szeth in hopes that Szeth will make better life choices than him but also, does he just not care if the other skybreakers learn this stuff or not?

And Szeth of course respects Nale in a more deific way and takes it on faith that everything from him has some deeper higher purpose. Whatever Nale does, there’s some lesson to be learned.

So this could be some cute relationship of master and pupil or something. Except they don’t actually agree on like, anything. And they make sure the other knows it too. Both of them are really shitty at logic and arguing, so Nale resorts to just condescending on Szeth, and Szeth resorts to sass, which I did not even know was in his skillset before Oathbringer. While I don’t think either of them consciously thinks of the other in this way, as a reader I would say Szeth and Nale are friends. Nale trusts Szeth, he confides in Szeth, he spends time with Szeth, and Szeth is more than happy to be there for him. But at the same time, you would have trouble convincing me they like each other even a little bit aside from their mutual respect.

Like can I talk about their scene in Edgedancer? That one where Nale’s talking to his other squires and Szeth interrupts him and they have a “you’re wrong” “no I’m not” “yes you are” argument (with that exact amount of sophistication too) in front of everyone. If I recall, Nale ended it by making a personal attack and then just ignoring Szeth for the rest of the scene, and then later Szeth proceeded to just ignore everything the skybreakers were doing in the city anyway to an extent where he was actively hindering Nale’s plans. Makes you wonder why Nale kept him around in the first place. 

Thinking about it, the entire time between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer, Nale was probably just dragging Szeth along with him on all his trips around Roshar while Szeth more or less sat there doing literally nothing. I sort of feel like Nale was hoping to take Szeth under his wing and build him up or something, but Szeth immediately decided he liked Nightblood more and just started tuning him out. Okay, maybe Szeth listens to Nale, but he never actually takes any of it to heart unless the topic is Nale’s own shortcomings and specifically how he should be different from him.

Maybe Szeth respects Nale so much that he just projects shit onto what Nale says and does and views it as some “deeper meaning” that Nale is trying to teach him. Although I guess with Nale you kind of have to. Half the time he’s going “anyway I failed and you shouldn’t emulate me and there are other ways to do things but it’s YOUR CHOICE I’M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW ABOUT THE OPTIONS” and the other half of the time he’s going “while the outcomes of the things I’ve done have been really shitty, I regret none of my actions, they were all done in the name of justice, I can’t possibly see how my thinking or my shitty order of radiants could be flawed, but somehow here we are.”

Szeth is pretty much down for whatever, so bless his patience with this jerk. I do think he likes Nale, as much as he likes anyone. They’re both just kind of shitty people to be around though? They don’t treat other people well, but also neither of them care how others treat them. So it sort of balances out. Like, to anyone other than one another, they’re both just pretentious assholes, but with one another it’s fine.

I think it’s cute how much faith Nale has in Szeth though. If anyone can save his trainwreck of a radiant order (which I doubt because skybreakers suck), it’s this guy, you know?

I can talk more if you want, but this is running pretty long, so I’ll stop. For the honorable mentions section, I like to think about how convenient Nale’s timing has been for Szeth, every time something big was about to happen with him. Szeth dying is the obvious one, but he also made a dramatic entrance to the entire skybreaker group just to shout “I object” when Szeth was about to swear his oaths. I like to think that he’s just hiding with some special herald powers, watching Szeth and waiting for the right moments for days at a time or something, even though he could also just walk up and talk to him. He’s artificially adding stakes to Szeth’s character arc. Love it.