#‘it’s to show how young shallan was when this all happen-‘

[sorchasolas]

Another random thought:

(Disclaimer- I’m not saying this SHOULD have happened I’m just. Confused.)

Why did Jasnah betrothe Shallan & Adolin, where Adolin is the most eligible bachelor in Alethkar basically and they have a SIX YEAR AGE GAP. (shallan is 17 adolin is 23 NEVER forget this.)

And not— Renarin. Two year age gap. Shallan would still be tied to the family.

Did Jasnah like sense his gayness or what.

[velkynkarma]

So I’m suuuper late to the party, but I finally, finally finished Rhythm of War. 

I am delighted by it. Thoughts and reactions under the cut, just in case for spoilers.

OKAY SO I had a lot of feelings about this book, and I wanted to be able to sit down and read the book properly and devote time to it, instead of sneaking paragraphs here or there during work breaks. So that’s why it took me so long to read it. In a way I feel like a terrible fan for taking so long when I was so excited about reading it for over a year, but in another way I am satisfied that I did it justice.

General thoughts/reactions:

I am legitimately impressed with how well Sanderson handled Shallan’s Dissociative Identity Disorder. DID is one of those mental illnesses that gets butchered so hard in media, and carries such a stigma of being “evil” or “creepy.” But Shallan’s representation seems much more factual in terms of how we know DID works today, including but not limited to:

Created from a severe trauma at a very young age, in which the brain starts splitting itself in order to protect against traumas and form survival mechanisms

Alters exist to protect the system and handle tasks for the host that the host cannot handle. Both Veil and Radiant handle tasks/functions that Shallan can’t

Also establishing that different alters can have different skills (such as Shallan being good at drawing and Lightweaving while Veil is bad at it, or Radiant handling espionage poorly)

Establishing that actual DID treatments do include encouraging alters to learn to work together and establish communication lines between each other. I like that the three create a pact to work together and rules to stand by and enforce them on each other to the best of their ability. They mess up sometimes (Radiant killing Ialai, Veil forcibly taking over sometimes). But they try. 

But also establishing that prior to Shallan’s realization of what was happening at the end of Oathbringer, each of these alters had their own memories and ways of handling things and did not necessarily communicate with each other

Establishing that multiple times in prior books when Shallan thought she was ‘acting’ she was actually Blending with another identity, either Veil or Radiant. This becomes more apparent when Veil or Radiant actively discuss being the ones to do things that were previously from “Shallan’s” perspective (such as Veil learning slight of hand/etc at the beginning of Words of Radiance). This stuck out to me as especially interesting since accounts of people with DID often mention not knowing they have it or are switching for years, but being semi-aware of doing things differently than normal. 

Veil being a protector-type alter and a trauma holder is extraordinarily common in DID cases and made an absolute ton of sense. It also suggests that she’s been around for YEARS longer than before Shallan ‘created’ her which, again, is not uncommon with DID cases

Veil, at least, also acts like she’s much older than Shallan, even calling her things like ‘kid.’ While Veil is, of course, no older than Shallan, this is completely accurate that alters can have different ages and even different genders to the host body in terms of how they perceive themselves

Establishing that fusions/integrations are possible, with Veil being ‘absorbed’ by Shallan at the end. This is a part of DID treatment and I like that it was handled in a way where both alters consented and the trauma was released, but it was handled. Even if Veil developed additional skills over time, it’s clear her first and foremost job was as a trauma holder alter, and once the trauma was no longer being hidden, her ‘purpose’ was done. And now Veil is a part of Shallan, and the expectation is that somewhere down the line, Radiant will join too.

Very very VERY VERY importantly, establishing Shallan’s interaction with other characters as a system with DID in a way that did not make her look like she was ‘crazy.’ DID is super serious and systems are often stigmatized. But I adored that Adolin is supportive and treats each alter on their own playing field (and even seems to be able to recognize them without Shallan changing hair color). I love that other characters like Kaladin admit they don’t exactly get it, but do their best to be respectful of it anyway. I love that nobody treats Shallan like a freak and sticks her in a padded room, and that people DO respect her wishes and treat Veil and Radiant as equally viable people. I love that it’s treated so healthily. 

Honestly my only real ‘hmm, not exactly like that’ moments were thinking back on how Shallan ‘created’ personalities. Veil being a trauma holder for Shallan’s old memories implies she’s been around for a long time, so she wasn’t really “created” in that sense, just given more of a face/name. But Radiant appears to have been created spur of the moment when Adolin was all ‘hey, let me teach you to swordfight!!!’ To the best of my knowledge people with DID don’t really have control over when they split, nor do they really get to actively ‘design’ their alters. It’s more like alters form as needed to handle something. But considering how accurate everything else is, and that possibly this is just Shallan’s way of handling her splitting in a way that makes sense to her, I’m willing to give this a cautious pass.

Also maybe lost memory moments. People with DID generally can lose time. Shallan doesn’t seem to, but then towards the end we also see she’s not a reliable narrator in her own right, since somehow Radiant managed to kill Ialai when we’re reading that passage. So it’s possible we the readers are missing things because Shallan is, too.

That said, the way DID works, it will never really go away even if Shallan does fully integrate. I’m curious if more alters could form down the line. I thought this had been happening with ‘Formless,’ but Formless didn’t turn out to be another alter so much. Oh well.

I had wondered about Shallan and Pattern’s bond for a while, and I’d been wondering if maybe she had a different spren ever since Pattern mentioned he could go away or she might kill him too back in...Oathbringer, I think it was? It seemed strange to me that Shallan wouldn’t have seen him around for a long time in his pattern form, or that she’d get chased by so many cryptics in book 1, if she’d been bonded to him this whole time. Or that she had a shardblade she could summon in book 1, but Pattern hadn’t been established as a character yet. And then when Adolin met a deadeye Cryptic in Shadesmar, I was like, ‘damn, that’s Shallan’s first spren isn’t it.’ And I was vindicated. I feel stupidly proud of myself for catching even one of Sanderson’s twists.

I think this is the first book in the series where Kaladin’s arc didn’t really grab me as much as the others to start. Not that it was bad, I still really enjoyed it, especially towards the end. But I was surprised to find when I got to Part Three and Kaladin’s name was listed but Adolin’s wasn’t that I went, ‘awww, damn,’ and used that as my break point for the night. 

I think part of this is that so much of Kaladin’s story that I love and adore is about not just Kaladin, but Kaladin’s friends and found family arcs with Bridge Four, and so much of that was taken away from him in the early part of the story. Like Kaladin, I guess I was just sad about everyone moving on and him being along. Sigzil going off to be the new Windrunner leader, Rock leaving, Rlain leaving (for a while at least), Adolin and Shallan leaving...it was hard. I felt his depression. Unfortunately, it made it a bit difficult to read, I guess.

On the flip side though, Kaladin’s ending arc in the story was A+ and I loved it. I love that his Fourth Ideal is specifically accepting that he cannot save everyone, which is something he’s struggled with from his very first appearance in the very first book. I love how this sheds so much light on that moment in Oathbringer where Syl is calling for him to speak the words and he just can’t, because at the time, he wasn’t ready to accept that he couldn’t save everyone. I love that he admits to Dalinar that he really did need help and a chance to recover, and that his setup for the next book doesn’t seem to be as Stormblessed, the soldier, but as a healer. And I love that he made up with his dad in the end, and did manage to at least save him.

ROCK. NOOOO.

TEFT. NOOOOOO! 

And yet as always, Sanderson books are the only books where I really feel...ok with character death. It’s sad, for sure, but also deaths have purpose in his stories. Nobody is killed meaninglessly. 

I think my favorite arc was Adolin’s, throughout the whole course of the book? I can’t help it. I love my enthusiastic, optimistic himbo who is just doing his best. Every time he was like ‘well I’m useless since I’m not a Radiant, but I’ll do the best I can’ I was like NO, HONEY NO, YOU’RE SO IMPORTANT, DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE REALLY? Look at all the people you help!!! Just look at them all!!! 

As stated earlier, I love that he’s just so damned supportive of Shallan’s condition. Even if they don’t have words for ‘DID’ in Roshar or even understand it in their own terms, he’s just so damn supportive. She tells him she’s got multiple alters and he’s just like ‘cool, how can I help.’ He loves his wife. He’s friendly with Radiant. He’ll share jabs with Veil. He just wants to help, always. 

I love that he’s so supportive of Kaladin too. I adored towards the beginning, where Kaladin’s going into a depressive spiral, and Syl gets Adolin because Adolin is one of the few people he can’t intimidate. And I adore that Adolin is supportive, but in a way that shows he gets it. He knows it’s not safe to leave Kaladin alone with himself and refuses to let that happen. But he also doesn’t force him to participate and acknowledges that yeah, you can feel like shit, and that’s ok, but you’re gonna feel like shit around other people, because it’ll help you. And it does. And I love that a thousand pages later Kaladin starts going into another depressive spiral and happens to mention, ‘fuck, Adolin’s not here to pull me out this time,’ recognizing what Adolin can do. I just love how much their friendship has progressed.

I love that he’s still so supportive of his brother, even if Renarin was barely in this book. I love that he even briefly defends Renarin against Shallan, even when he recognizes she doesn’t really mean any harm. 

I adore his continued arc with Maya. I love that he was so excited to go to Shadesmar so he could see her again. I love how he’s clearly had offers from spren or other Radiants to talk to spren about bonding to him, and he’s like, ‘nah,’ cause he’s loyal to her. I love how everyone keeps insisting ‘deadeyes can’t speak, deadeyes can’t feel’ and he’s just like, yes?? Yes they can??? Have you ever fucking tried??? I love that it’s his genuine connection to Maya that helps her recover enough to actually talk on her own with more clarity, and how she’s clearly coming back to herself. And what a revelation, that Maya and the others deliberately sacrificed themselves. And I love that ultimately it’s his bond with Maya that gives him success with the honorspren. He did this his own way, with his own skills, in a unique way that nobody else has ever done before, because maybe he’s not a Radiant in the shiny new sense of the word, but he’s the only person out there willing to treat his sword like a partner and show kindness to spren and that shows. 

I also really do hope he works stuff out with his dad because he’s got every right to be angry but also, I want him to be happy :( 

Ultimately I adore Adolin’s whole polarity, that he’s a masterful duelist and combatant, and has probably killed hundreds, and yet his best quality is his sheer kindness. He has really grown on me as a character since book one, honestly. I remember not liking him in book one. I still don’t, when I reread it! But in the rest, he’s probably second only to Kaladin as my favorite.

Venli. I remember not really liking Venli in earlier books. I thought Eshonai was cool, but Venli I remember just not really vibing with. Seeing her story really made her a lot more interesting to me though, especially since I love her whole gradual growth as a character. Openly admitting to herself that she’s a coward and just wanted to get attention against her sister...and then doing something about it to better herself. Doubting her abilities to do so and being uneasy about it the whole time, but ultimately doing it anyway. She’s a flawed character, but she’s a good character, and I grew to like her so much more after seeing her story. 

Also, I loved Eshonai’s mercy at the end there. Fuckin yes. Bittersweet smiles all around.

Szeth-son-son-Vallano wore white on the day he was to kill a king, because apparently white is the listener battle color, it makes SENSE now

I am also veeery curious what is going on with Szeth, who wasn’t really in this book all that much. And I’m curious if ‘Sixteen’ in Lasting Integrity is actually his dad, because they sure drew attention to a hiding Shin man and then immediately never mentioned him again. 

Raboniel. MAN. What a fucking character. I was fascinated with her from the beginning. I never knew exactly what to think of her, because we see her from so many perspectives. Leshwi, who has been established as possibly the ‘goodest’ and most sane of the Fused, openly tells us not to trust her. We learn she’s done terrible things in her lifetime, like trying to create a plague to destroy all of humanity, and one of her titles is just straight-up scary af. She learns how to really, truly, actually kill spren, which is terrifying. She tried to kill the Sibling, which is obviously Super Bad. And yet, she’s such a compelling character. She’s polite and reasonable, to a degree. Clever and enormously genre-savvy, but also blunt and to the point, knowing full well Venli is being used to spy on her and Navani is working against her and blatantly stating so. She’s so intelligent, and is willing to both respect Navani and work with her to create things together, and recognize her worth. I never fully trusted her at any point, because we know she’s done so much to be scared of, but man, I enjoyed reading her segments so freaking much. I was sad when she died, and her weird frenemy relationship with Navani was really intriguing. 

I really enjoyed Dabbid’s little segments. I’m so happy he’s comfortable talking around the others. I’m also happy to see Sanderson delving into including more autistic characters in different points on the spectrum, while also showing other people treating them well.

Taravangian. I still don’t know where to stand on this guy and I’m very nervous now that he’s basically a god and apparently smart enough to outwit everyone else again. I was excited when he actually managed to kill Rayse but fuck, we might have been better off with Rayse.

SOMEBODY ACTUALLY MANAGAGED TO OUTWIT HOID AND I’M SCARED AF AT WHAT THAT MEANS

Moash. I just. Fuck. I don’t even know. I’m not even sure if this counts as him killing under his own power or not. He doesn’t really want to take responsibility for his actions, and as long as Odium takes his pain and feelings, he doesn’t have to. But that moment when he wasn’t protected, he seemed upset with what he had done. So I really have no damned clue where his story is gonna go. But fuck, it’s scary how easily he almost undid Kaladin completely. He knew exactly what buttons to press. We’re lucky the Pursuer ignored him and attacked anyway, or he really would’ve won.

I’ll admit, my Cosmere knowledge is less than stellar, so I’m still not entirely sure I understand the stuff with the Heralds and Mraize. But I am definitely curious to see where it’s going on a surface level, at least. 

LIFT USES LIFELIGHT that explains a lot. I wish she’d been in this story more because I adore her lol. 

I know Sanderson announced Ace Jasnah a while back, but I love that it’s been so firmly established in the book itself. No beating around the bush or leaving people to wonder. She just straight-up says she’s got no real interest in sexual stuff and never really got how it drove others. I love it. I love seeing that so honestly and bluntly stated. 

Anyway I’m sure there’s a lot more to be said but overall, A++++ as always, super adored, next one when???? 

[butwhybother]

Rhythm of War part 1 reactions. Rhythm of War spoilers!

I thought I might as well do a re-read before the novel comes out. And here are my (not necessarily sensible) thoughts.

I'm sorry if the keep reading link doesn't work on the app. When I checked, it still worked on the browser though. It seems to work now and I don't know how I did that.

Prologue

Gavilar is a DICK. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Does Gavilar have life sense of first heightening?

Currently trending in Kholin family: murder.

Chapter 1

Well, I guess Kaladin can no longer go around saying 'but nobody would recognize me here.'

Hey Lirin, that mental stuff you can't cut out with a scalpel? Your son has it too. You should go talk with him. And not in a 'I told you so' kind of way.

Chapter 2

Which ability of the ten do the Fused not have?

What teleporting?!?!

Oh no, Kaladin is not one of those punchy guys! He's always been more of a spearish chap!

FIFTH lashing?!?!

Awww Adolin found the perfect someone to play dress-up on. Syl can just materialize whatever new clothes he can imagine. 'how about some boots to go with that outfit?' 'you mean like this? *poof*' 'excellent, now let's embroider it on top.'

"sleepless nights had returned." Is this insomnia, or is Kaladin pushing himself too hard? Or both? Or something else?

Yes, Shallan, you can remember! You can do it! ...sigh.

Oh, Shallan. 'look, I'm being kidnapped. Finally, yay!'

"Lie down. Pretend to be dead for awhile. Get up. Easy." Sleep sure sounds morbid coming from someone who has been dead twice over, Syl.

Kaladin is proficient at dual wielding morbid and upbeat.

"Gagadin!" Ahhhhh! My heart is melting!

Kaladin brought Lyn home. More than once. Ohhhhhhh.

Chapter 3

Oh Navani, you made it happen! The flying ship! And you named it the Fourth Bridge! And the bridge is right there in the deck! My heart's gonna burst!

Lirin Stormblessed. Ha ha ha. Nickname turned family name. Imagine if your Tumblr handle became your legal name for your parents and descendants.

Chapter 4

No, good guys don't lie. Mmhm.

Chapter 5

"Heavenly Ones" sounds like a nice name. Reverent. Worshipful.

Kaladin sounds like a young man going to youth group and hoping that the nice girl he talked to last week is there again.

Perpendicularity is cool, but what if bad guys walk through it from Shadesmar?

Chapter 6

You can use Oathgates to travel to Shadesmar? But then how do you get back? Spren at Theylen city didn't allow it...

Moash, "that murderer," "the traitor." Good to know everyone know what Moash is.

"Let me get close, and I'll show you how good I am" Doesn't that sound like a really creepy pick-up line?

Ah-ha! Frost from too much stormlight!

Chapter 7

I really didn't expect allomantic metals other than aluminum to be important on places other than Scadrial. Very surprised to see Rioting and Soothing metals have effect on spren and stormlight.

Ialai's like, 'I'm a patriot working for the good of Alethkar!' and Shallan's like 'no, I'm a patriot working for the good of Alethkar!' and Mraize is probably somewhere, snickering at how well he played them both.

Anti-Radiant fabrial! It's different from the cube thing that Wax and Wayne came across, but they both are essentially magic-sucking devices.

It's amazing how much of Fused/Singer rhythms Kaladin can interpret. He didn't do this before.

A villain from a previous book meets a quick and unexpected death. This seems familiar.

Chapter 8

A fire is more of a problem for fancy houses than plain houses. Interesting!

You're wrong, Moash. Vengeance does not mean peace, and peace can be had without vengeance.

Choose death over life, end the journey, don't take responsibility for your actions. Moash is some sort of Anti-Radiant.

Allomancy?!?! What is this, gold?

When Shallan shows people a "different and better you that could be" picture, they get all inspired and then die (2 out of 3). When Renarin does it, Moash gets freaked out. (Adolin didn't get freaked out.) I'm not sure which is weirder.

Chapter 9

Moash how dare you plant these voices in Kaladin's head!

Who would want to sit in a tiny room where you can't walk around or even stand up? Oh wait that's what getting in a car is, every time.

The more I learn about Soulcasters, the less sense it makes.

Who's writing to Navani? Who put the tiny ruby there? And also, Navani needs to be open to the idea that her secret pen pal could be neither woman nor ardent.

Yay Shallan Adolin snuggles :)

Chapter 10

Kaladin, please stop beating yourself up. You're making me sad.

Chapter 11

Steel push and iron pull works on fabrials!

They've discovered artform? Eshonai tried so hard to find artform...

Chapter 12

It sounds like the artifabrians need a system for giving credit to the researchers/inventors and allowing them to gain profit and respect. Sharing is nice and all, but nobody wants somebody else to take your invention and reverse engineer it and monetize it or steal credit for it.

Somebody hug Kaladin and be there for him, please. Thank you, Syl. Thank you, Adolin. And thank you, Kaladin, for accepting help finally.

Kaladin often seems to envy how other people handle their lives and troubles. He doesn't see how they're broken and hurting inside though. Adolin is extraordinary in his perceptiveness.

Part of me wishes Kaladin had gone with Rock. Rock's goodbye sounds so final. It makes me sad.

Chapter 13

Why is Veil, rather than Radiant, pushing for truth and remembrance?

Wow they have a refrigerator now.

Gallant is letting Adolin ride him? Do all ryshadiums find Adolin just so irresistible? Also, this probably means Dalinar's been neglecting Gallant. Shame on you, Dalinar.

Mraize is holding Breaths, isn't he? At least of first heightening.

'Why do you keep sending on missions I want to accomplish and rewarding me with knowledge that I hunger for? Waaah!' That's Shallan here, pretty much.

Chapter 14

A disease that killed ten percent of human population. Wow. Literal decimation was not enough for them.

Chapter 15

Maybe Kaladin likes Zahel for the same reason dogs and little children like Vasher.

I had assumed Parshendi had soulcasters. This is totally different and so cool. Stormlight and music.

Rlain was so happy! And then not. It's frustrating, I know that Kaladin is trying, but Rlain has a point. Don't just settle.

Interesting that Kaladin compares Zahel to a masterpiece painting here. Kaladin compared himself to a painting earlier.

Aww Kaladin's been getting some practice time with Adolin at being a swordy fellow!

Kaladin almost got a hug from a snuggly sheet! It's S.W.Y.T! Snuggle When You're Thrown! Also, he destroyed a lot of laundry. Zahel's gonna get bad reviews. One out of five stars, all my laundry came back ripped into pieces or badly bleached, will never hire again.

Chapter 16

Szeth is little bit like the Stormfather. He knows things, but it doesn't occur to him to tell people what he knows until asked directly. Is he becoming spren-like?

Oh! So the Shin tradition of following a dying man's request has basis on deathrattles.

Navani. Gavinor. Adolin. I think I might cry.

I nominate Adolin Kholin as the highprince of boots. (My BFF would like to note how appropriate this would be, considering who the highprincess is.) And psst, Adolin! You can totally go with the cape now, you're a highprince. I believe in you!

Heavenly ones, the Singers. Curious how many words they've taken and use that their enemies use to describe themselves. They didn't bother to call the Parshendi Listeners before.

Chapter 17

Nooo Jasnah the enemy wants you and Dalinar away from Urithiru...

Chapter 18

"the older wind runner had given Kaladin a tongue-lashing at the mere suggestion." Is that like a basic lashing, full lashing, reverse lashing, or something completely different? Ahahaha I'm so funny

Lirin sold his sense of humor for money. All Kaladin got was scars. (Really, he said so himself. See the chapter in Words of Radiance where Adolin picks up Shallan for a date and Wit is the driver.)

Why does Kaladin becoming a surgeon make me feel so sad?

Chapter 19

Roshar is going Stormpunk!

Dalinar, stop sending Adolin carelessly into danger! Your son is not immortal! He is not invincible! And this time he won't have Skar and Drehy with him!

Dalinar doesn't count Navani as people. That's a super special introvert privilege there.

Dalninar Navani kiss 1. I'm keeping count.

[preservationandruin]

Rhythm Of War Liveblog Part One, Part 1 (Chapters 1-2)

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On to Part One of Rhythm of War, after I finish screaming at the ghost of Gavilar Kholin. Actually, we can’t wait for that, I’m never going to be done screaming at the ghost of Gavilar Kholin. 

Our POVs are Kaladin, Shallan, Navani, Venli, and Lirin--so Kal’s family is coming back to prominence, I guess. It’s a short update, but I gotta go to work. 

Lirin talks about the ethics of continuing a hopeless fight, Syl lets loose an “I told you so” first thing, we see a new and terrifying variant of Fused, I come up with a new, more accurate name for the Sons of Honor; Veil finally gets kidnapped; I start getting philosophical about the ethics of continuing a hopeless fight; and Kaladin organizes an airlift. 

Epigraphs for this part seem to be a lecture that Navani gave on how to trap spren in fabrials, so that’s cool.

Alright, so our timing here is a year after the fall of Alethkar, and Herdaz has been next on the Voidbringers’ target list. They’ve been fighting the entire time, but the voidbringers have intensified their assault and now refugees are pouring into the villages in Alethkar; Lirin is insisting on examining everyone as they come in, making sure that he can find people who need treatment early. The leader of Hearthstone now is Brightness Abiajan--from the name, I’m assuming she’s one of the singers. 

Also, apparently someone is coming through this line today that Lirin is anxious about. Abiajan comes to talk to Lirin, wondering if he has no compassion because he’s so numb to others’ suffering--he explains that he has to numb it to survive as a surgeon. She mentions that he set her arm, once, when she was a child. Also, hilariously, Abiajan says that plaguespren cause plague and that the idea that it’s improper sanitation is superstition. 

Laral, Kaladin’s childhood friend, is helping out now, determined. Apparently the person that Lirin is worried about is a Herdazian general; Lirin does see him as responsible for much of the current strife for continuing to fight; however, he’s not going to turn him in, and instead has contacted Kaladin to come pick him up while Laral helps Roshone make a distraction. 

Lirin’s condemnation of continuing a hopeless war as something that just gets people killed and is stupid (”Heroism is a myth you tell idealistic young people. It got one of my sons killed and another taken from me”) makes sense and is deeply sad. It’s also a good second perspective on the fact that so much of Roshar’s narrative has been about being forced to choose between two bad options and having the resolve to find another path or stick with the honorable thing--Lirin here is a reminder that that’s not always an option and sometimes makes things worse. “I obey the person who holds the sword to my neck, General, same as I always have.” 

Heroism isn’t always an option. Heroism can get you killed and hurt the people around you. You have to be willing to take responsibility for that in order to try heroism, and that’s some of what Kaladin has had to struggle with, too--the fact that he can’t protect everyone and that his actions will lead to death sometimes.

Also, shoutout to Roshone for actually making a distraction here, good on you buddy. Anyway Lirin noticed that the parshmen always focus on what appears to be the person being seen to rather than, say, the people carrying the litter--probably because they’re used to the people doing those menial tasks being unnoticed and unspoken to, and have absorbed that norm of society? I don’t know, but Lirin is exploiting it. 

Oh man, someone has visited Hearthstone, someone who Abiajan refers to as having blessed them, and she demands that Lirin come with her and that nobody leave the town. It’s one of the Fused, and it’s interrogating people about Kaladin--and they noticed that Kaladin was there, and Lirin notes that he barely recognizes Kaladin anymore, referring to him as the “harsh man Kaladin had become.” 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, just let Kaladin babysit people this book, let him rest, he deserves it. I mean, what’s happening is him having to fight again, but he deserves rest.  

Cut to Kaladin’s perspective, Syl is delivering an “I told you so” about them being spotted, which is so relentlessly on-brand. Kaladin notes that he’s not looking at Lirin to avoid giving Lirin away, and also because “he knew what he would see. disappointment. So, nothing new.” 

HEY. SOMEONE LOVE AND APPRECIATE KALADIN STORMBLESSED PLEASE HE’S DOING HIS BEST. 

Meanwhile,  Kaladin is learning the different “orders” of Fused; he’s mostly dealt with the shanay-im, “those of the heavens,” who share the flight of windrunners. Apparently Jasnah posited there would be ten orders, logically, and Dalinar--offering no explanation for how he knew--said it would only be nine. I mean, at this point if anyone knows Odium it’s Dalinar. 

Also, this Fused has learned not to do single combat, which is Kaladin’s normal mode of dealing with them. I wonder if the order they’re modelled after affects their behavior--honorspren create windrunners, and agreeing to a one-on-one duel is a very honorable thing to do. Maybe there’s more connection there than either side wants to realize. 

Ok, so what we know about this new Fused: 

Teleports via shooting their spren forward, then forming a new body of voidlight and stone where they end up. 

Probably elsecaller-linked (teleportation and then forming things out of energy) 

Favors exploiting teleportation to allow for a grappling fighting style and sneaking into blind spots extremely quickly (big rogue energy) 

Teleportation ability is extremely costly, can only be done three times before needing to recharge on Voidlight. 

Does not teleport instantaneously; the spren-travel can be outrun, as Kaladin does by lashing himself forward five times (so, approximately five times the speed of gravity on Roshar, which is not gravity’s speed on earth, is faster than them; they’re considerably slower than light, even though that’s what they look like)

Can’t transport objects/make them from voidlight; clothing is a hair wrap and weapons are fragments of their skin

He leaves but tells Kaladin to watch for him; it also seems like Kaladin’s depression is coming back. Syl shows up to talk to him, wearing a different style--she’s been taking fashion notes from Adolin, which is hilarious. 

Meanwhile, Veil is wandering around the Sadeas warcamps, irritated that she hasn’t been kidnapped yet, or even mugged. Also, Veil and Shallan are apparently teaching Radiant to appreciate humor, which is great. Adolin and his soldiers are apparently backing her up for this hopeful kidnapping, which is reassuring--I’m glad she’s not going it alone, although she’s very competent. She’s pretending to be a merchant who has a way in past Dalinar’s tariffs and is also implying he doesn’t have the authority to demand them. 

Ooh, specifically Shallan is hunting the Hypocrite’s Association, which is what I’m calling the Sons of Honor for the moment I guess. For a moment, while they’re doing accounting, Shallan starts having a bit of a memory come back; Veil suggests it might be time to remember everything, but Shallan shuts that down. 

Apparently, in the grand tradition of Sadeases not knowing when they’re beaten, Ialai is plotting treason. Ialai, how did that go for the last two Brightlords Sadeas? I’m begging you, quit while you’re...behind, honestly. But still alive. Anyway, the wine was drugged--finally--so they have officially been kidnapped! 

Back to Kaladin,  Syl is trying to convince him that it’s easy to sleep, he just has to lie down and pretend to be dead for a few hours (oh, Syl, honey, you’re trying to help but that’s not...that’s not it) but Kaladin is noting that it feels like life is strangely disconnected for him, like it keeps going for everyone else and he’s in stasis. 

Chronic depression is a bitch. 

Syl cheers him up by doing a terrible Kaladin impression, though. I love her. Kaladin goes back to talk to the singers, telling them that there’s a shelter half an hour to the east and telling them not to fight if they don’t want to die. They, of course, fight, which Kaladin doesn’t like; it’s very Alethi of them, though, to throw themselves forward. 

Again, we’re back to whether or not there’s heroism in fighting a fight you can’t win. Even with Ialai, kind of--continuing to fight against Dalinar when she can’t win it. Hopeless fights are all well and good when your protagonists do them and it works, this part seems to be pointing out, but what if they fail? And how does it feel to be on the other side of them? 

Anyway, the others retreat, and Kaladin gets to meet with his mom and baby Oroden (who pronounces his name as “Gagadin;” i’m gonna CRY). Syl always appears to Kal’s family. Also, apparently Kaladin was dating Lyn, which is wild because I’m almost positive based on her appearance last book that she’s gay as fuck, and she broke up with him. Also, Syl and Hesina are ganging up on Kaladin and it’s great. 

"It’s demonstrably unfair that I have to deal with both of you at once,” Kaladin said. 

Meanwhile it also turns out that the Radiants haven’t been supporting Herdaz because they saw it falling as inevitable, but it’s continued fighting against all odds. Another perspective: is it alright to abandon others fighting a fight that you assume is impossible, when it could be winnable with your strength? 

Also, apparently the Mink likes to sneak away from his guards without letting them notice, and he’s done it again here. That’s pretty impressive, I’ve got to say, although Kaladin is aghast at the idea of leaving one’s men behind like that (of course). 

Also, Kaladin organized one of Navani’s platforms to essentially airlift out all of Hearthstone. Trying to save as many people as he can, even still. 

[luchibelle-throughthecosmere]

RoW: chapter 18

We start the chapter with small talk about the other members of Bridge Four, reminding us that Rock left to the Peaks and stating once more that Teft is awesome. And then... THE FOURTH BRIDGE FINALLY ARRIVED TO URITHIRU. 🥳🥳

Here we go, this will be long... VERY LONG. Lots of Laral, Lirin, Hesina, emojis and letters in bold. No one will analyse this chapter as deeply as I just did, you were warned.

Kaladin alighted on the deck, returning the salutes from the Windrunners left to guard the ship. “I’m sorry the trip took so long,” he told the gathering refugees. “At least it’s given us plenty of time to get things ready for you.”

All those chapters with Kaladin being depressed made me think he was doing nothing but he killed himself to make the place as comfortable as possible for his parents and neighbours. 😱😱 Kaladin is so precious.

Once they get off the space ship Kaladin starts the tour and won't stop talking for the rest of the chapter. No grumping. He was a kid on a candy shop. 🍬🍭 I had never heard him speak so many words in so little time.

His parents ducked under the obstruction. They’d left Kaladin’s brother with Laral’s children and their governess.

Laral's children, the unthinkable has happenned. 😭 They tried to warn me but it didn't make it hurt any less.

She seemed to be recovering from the loss of her husband, though Kaladin thought he knew her well enough to see through the front.

💔 Kaladin can deny it as much as he wants to but even after years of separation he still has a deep connection to Laral and worries about her a lot. 💕

When he was young, Kal didn't always understood her. Laral was always more mature and they weren't in sync. The time lapse has changed that and now I believe Kaladin would be able to understand her in a deeper level and (hopefully) comprehend why she was forced to side with the Roshones. 💏

It will be fun to watch how they interact without Tien, Laral was lowkey jealous of him because he was the only one who could make him feel better when he was going through a bad times, specially during the the Wip. 🌧💧 In recent years, Shallan and the Kholins have tried to do that for him and it would be nice to see how Laral reacts. *prays* If only she was given enough page time to trully explore that.

On another note, now that Kaladin is Highmarshall, does he surpass Laral in rank?

“It is spectacular,” his mother said. “Though I’m a little more stunned to hear you referring to Brightness Navani Kholin by her first name. Isn’t she queen of this tower?”

First, the Kholins have kind of become his family so he is allowed to do that (also, they are family since Aeshudan and Hesina are related). 🤷‍♀️ And second, Navani "Queen of the Tower" Kholin. We approve.

Behold Lirin talking about strata with Shallan. And get ready for a bunch of witty jokes between Hesina and Shallan. 🙈🙉🙊 THEY NEED TO INTERACT ASAP.

Let's skip the metals discussion for another time or else this post will never end.

... Hesina said. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works. In any case, maybe we should let Kal show us on to the prepared rooms. He’s obviously excited.”

“How can you tell?” Syl asked. “I don’t think he ever gets excited. Not even when I tell him I have a fun surprise for him.”

You can tell by how much he is babbling about Urithiru and the Kholins.

Boots count: 1 👢 (@/Artists on tumblr, we need a rat in a boot) 👨‍🎨👩‍🎨

Watching Lirin obsess. Hearing Hesina trying to get him to pay attention to the people around him. The fond way Lirin took the jokes, playing into them by being comically stern.

They love each other a lot. It's so refreshing to see that, a mature couple. Navani and Kholin are mature but they haven't been together in a relationship for as long as Kaladin's parents have. 😍 They are the paragon of love, nothing has made them grow apart, only stronger together.

Part of him wished he could simply be their little boy again—wished they didn’t have to intersect with his current life, where they would undoubtedly start hearing of the things he’d endured and done. The things that eventually had broken him.

So he didn't tell them. 😠😡🤬 Storms, storms, storms!

Laral will get that corner room, which is the largest, with a private balcony.

Of course.

“What’s at the top?” Lirin asked.

“Meeting rooms for the Radiants,” Kaladin said. “There’s nothing on the very top—just a flat roof. The view is great though. I’ll show it to you sometime.”

How about a lashing/flying trip? This would be a perfect opportunity to deepen their bond and show Lirin what being a Windrunner trully means for Kaladin.

Their rooms speak so much about them (and how well Kaladin knows them and how much he loves them).

Hesina was always an intelligent woman, stocking her with books 📚 will allow her to learn new things and make good use of her wisdom.

Oroden, child of peace, has toys 🧸 chosen by Syl. What kind of toys did she choose? 🐭 She shouldn't be trusted after the rat incident.

And Lirin, who is overwhelmed with emotion, won the lottery because he was reassured of his utility, has more instruments than he ever imagined and Kaladin will be joining him again. He just won 💎x1000 diamond broams.

“They say they’ve found a way to infect people with a weak, easily overcome version of a disease—which leaves them immune for life to more harsh variants.”

That's a vaccine, in case you were wondering.

AND FINALLY... Kaladin as a surgeon? 🙊🙉🙈

🎶 *suspense music* 🎶

This was one of my predictions, so it's good to see it happenning. Now, as happy as I am that Kaladin will get a change at being a surgeon, let's be cautious about it. He has a second chance at it but it doesn't guarantee that "Lirin was always right", Kaladin has changed a lot and maybe he can't be a surgeon anymore. Let's celebrate with caution.

[dachi-chan25]

I somehow made it...

1-El burlador de Sevilla - Tirso de Molina

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Esta es la primera aparición de Don Juan Tenorio, me pareció una obra genial con muchos personajes femeninos bastante desarrollados para su época. El personaje de Don Juan en sí me pareció un hombre totalmente viviendo en el momento, tan joven, astuto y seductor como es nunca creyó que algún día le llegarían las consecuencias de sus actos y al final la justicia cae sobre el de forma abrupta y contundente.

2 - Fuenteovejuna - Lope de Vega

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Disfrute muchísimo más de lo que esperaba esta obra. En la preparatoria vi muy por encima a los autores de la Época de Oro Española y a decir verdad la maestra que tuve no hizo mucho esfuerzo por interesarnos en la lectura y me parece lamentable porque si esta obra se modernizara en ciertos aspectos reflejaría unos valores feministas y en contra de la cultura de la violáceos tremendos. El momento en el que todas las chicas que han sido abusadas por el duque reclaman a sus padres y hermanos por no haberlas protegido y reclaman su propia venganza tomando armas es realmente catártico si eres una mujer que ha sufrido acoso.

3-Charlotte's Web - E.B White

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I remember watching the movie when I was very young, I just adored Charlotte's voice. And the book is equally charming and heartwarming portraying a truly beautiful friendship that trascends even death. This book made me cry a lot at the end so yeah 5 stars for sure.

4- Dune - Frank Herbert

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I can't believe I hadn't read this before. I watched the movie a thousand times when I was a kid (and ofc I am dying to see the new adaptation) but the book ohhhh it's such an amazing and intelligent book, with a complicated world and politics but also full of mythology and filosophy.

5- Oathbringer (Stormlight Archives #3) - Brandon Sanderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Honestly I just can't believe I went through this books so fast (they are super chunky) but at some point I just couldn't stop reading. I love the characters with all my heart (Shallan and Kaladin are my children tho) and I can't wait to see what happens next.

6-Children of Vengance and Virtue (Legacy of Örisha) -Tomi Adeyemi

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book made me sad and angry, but that was good, like I didn't even know what to expect after that ending on book 1. And it hit me hard ok??? Tomi Adeyemi raises the stakes with the titans and the centers entering an already divided nation, the political climate is a mess and so is Zelie, my girl is suffering so much and oh god Amari my girl also tries so hard not to be like her family but the frustration of not being listened gets to be too much and I just can't- I need the next book pls.

7- Wolves of Calla (Dark Tower V) - Stephen King

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ok King is back on my good graces. This book tho, it was excellent, it has big ass stakes, new characters, more references to other SK novels and I am impressed by this world .

8- #Murderfunding (#Murdertrending 2) - Gretchen McNeil

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I just really like this books, they are so cheesy and easy to read and I love it. Horror books are like comfort food to me. So I really liked the new characters and how they tied the old ones with them. Stuff gets proggresively darker with this world's government, and I hope the president gets impeached like you can't condone the stuff he is been allowing to happen and even wants to take his prison system to other countries. The enemies to lovers romance in this one got me hard.

9-1984 - George Orwell

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is my first re-read of this book, and it was long due. I love how George Orwell was all like "The thing that keeps us human is our ability to care about and protect those around us" because it's true. Also the fact that the part is based off socialists AND fascist is pretty telling that totalitarism is not the way to go. Many people would benefit from reading this book tbh.

10-La tumba de las luciérnagas-Akiyuki Nosaka

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Llore tanto, como es que un texto tan corto puede encapsular tan bien los horrores de la guerra???

11- Mañana puede ser un gran día - Betty Smith

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Me encanto este libro, casi tanto como Un árbol crece en Brooklyn, y es que de verdad que Betty Smith escribe cosas profundas y crudas de la realidad del Sueño Americano y de cómo mucha gente no tiene ni la más mínima oportunidad y tienen que conformarse a existencias vacías que los dejan inconformes, más también nos muestra esperanza de salir de ello y romper con el molde como hace Maggie al final.

12- Fire and blood - George R. R Martin

🌟🌟🌟

I really love GRRM's writing and the ASOIAF series is one of my favorite fantasy series but I can't stand the Targaryen, bunch of self important wierdoes wreaking havoc in a whole continent. I did enjoy the fact that much like everything else surrounding their myth excepcionalism was coined by the Targaryen and proved false when one of the princess died during he Shivers plague and there are some intresting tid-bits that could signal some future events in the ASOIAF series.

13-Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James

🌟🌟

I tried, this book is too much and I wasn't in the right head space for it. Some of the stories were really good and the mythology intrigued me but I wasn't enjoying the book at all not even when I finished.

14- She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah - Ann Hood

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is so cute!!!! It's a really nice story about a group of young kids with different troubles at home wanting to meet their favorite band and coming to terms with being outsiders and that was such a nice read for me this month and all the chapters have names of Beatles songs and it was amazing listening to them as I read the book.

15- The Care and feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls - Anissa Gray

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this book very much even when it when dark. The relationship between this family (especially the woman) in this book felt very real and super heart breaking. It dealt with abuse and how it can become a cycle, bad mother/daughter relationships, eating disorders, bad coping mechanisms but also it shows how no matter how grim and dark the situation you are in there is always a way to break out and move forward.

It was a pretty great reading month and I hope the next one is just as awesome.

[stormobsessed]

So, I usually really dislike ‘de-aged’ fanfiction, but just… just imagine, there’s some kind of magic or spren, one of the unmade maybe, somehow de-ages Kaladin to be about 12 years old. It’s the weeping, so no one has enough stormight to risk trying to use regrowth to heal him. Right before the weeping it was decided that they should send a bonded windrunner and some squires to all of the nations that had joined with the cause, and since Bridge 4 had been the most competent and quick to take to the skies, almost all of them had been sent off. Only Kaladin and Renarin had been left in Urithiru.

Which means that pretty much no one who knows anything about Kaladin’s past is there to help, and even when they risk the stormlight to use a spanreed to speak with some of those closest to Kaladin such as Teft and Rock, they know disappointingly little about it as well.

Adolin is worried, but he’s also convinced that with the power of the radiants and such the bridgeboy will eventually get better, so he’s more excited than anything. He can’t wait to see the morose, grumpy man as a carefree little kid. He doesn’t really consider an alternative. After all, when he was that age he was just starting to learn about his calling, dueling, beginning to learn what it would mean to be a soldier. Sure, his father was often gone but he was fighting in the name of the kingdom, he was a hero, and his mother was alive and there for him and his brother when their father wasn’t. It was a simple, happy time.

Shallan is much more reasonable, she knows that just because Kaladin is younger, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s happier, but she can’t bring herself to put a damper on Adolin’s mood. She can’t risk him asking why she would think that, can’t risk him seeing how utterly terrified she is that the same will happen to her. She is petrified that the same spren will attack her and she’ll become that shell of a person she’d been right after killing her mother, or the weak, feeble thing she’d been once her brother left and she’d started talking again. She couldn’t let them, let him, see her like this, not when she’d worked so hard to show that she was strong.

Not wanting Kaladin to panic, they spin a simple lie about him hitting his head on the battlefield and having a could of weeks or months worth of amnesia. Kaladin seems suspiscious, but he can’t think of another reason why he’s in such a strange place when he’d been at home the night before. Besides, the magic had done a toll on his body and he’s exhausted.

So, they’d lie to Kaladin and tuck him away in a room in the palace, let him sleep for the night. When writing to the other windrunners ended up not telling them much, they realize that other than ‘somewhere in Sadeas’s kingdom’, they don’t even know where he’s from to try and contact his family. So, they have absolutely nothing on him, to make matters worse, the only sign of Syl is a windspren who is hovering around the child who doesn’t seem any more aware than any other windspren.

Adolin volunteers to look after him, along with Renarin, since no one else from Bridge Four is there to help. He wakes up early the next day and immediately goes to the small room they’d given Kaladin, but he isn’t there. Panic runs through Adolin before he has the presence of mind to realize that this was Kaladin for crying out loud. He was probably causing trouble in the training grounds or something somewhere or pestering the soldiers. So he goes to the training grounds but theres no mini brooding darkeyes there. After another hour of looking, and alerting both Renarin and Shallan, he makes his way to the surgeons area, terrified that the boy had managed to get himself hurt even before anyone else could wake up. He finds him there, but Kaladin isn’t injured, no, he’s helping. He’s working alongside the surgeon apprentices, and what’s more he’s doing a pretty good job of it. He’s left gaping when suddenly the head surgeon, a man known for his temper, notices Adolin.

“Highprince.” He says stiffly. “I would appreciate some form of warning if you’re going to give me new apprentices to train. I didn’t have any free and now I’m stuck having to train the boy myself, and I can assure you that regardless of how good Kal seem to be, I do not have the time for this.”

Adolin could only gape. “Kal?” Kaladin looks up at the name and recognizes Adolin. He finishes tying the bandage he was working on and comes up to them as the surgeon turns away to answer another practitioner’s call.

“Can I help you, uh, Highprince?” The young boy asks hesitantly, eyeing Adolin warily.

And Adolin grins back at the child, though he can’t help but feel a stab of unexpected regret that came with missing the darkeyes usual nickname of ‘princeling’. “C’mon Kaladin, I told you, we’re friends. You can call me Adolin.”

Kaladin nods, though suspicion burns in him. If they were such good friends, why did this man call him Kaladin instead of Kal, and why would a man well into his twenties befriend a twelve year old? None of this was making any sense. “Right, sorry. I just…” He makes a vague gesture at his head, indicating the amnesia he supposedly has. He knows that it’s possible, technically, for blunt force trauma to cause amnesia, but why was there no other evidence of an injury? His head didn’t hurt, there were no bruises, no blood or cuts, nothing. Nothing about this was right. No one in the surgeons area seemed to know who he was, and he didn’t recognize anybody.

None of it was making any sense. He wanted his parents. He wanted Tien. That was the worst of it. The man who had been explaining his amnesia the night before had made assurances that his parents knew he was there and safe, but hadn’t said a word about Tien. He didn’t like that.

Adolin clears his throat awkwardly. “I thought you’d be at the training grounds or something.”

Kaladin looks up at him blankly. “Why would I be there? I’m going to be a surgeon, not a soldier.”

The flat, matter of fact way that he says that stabs into Adolin’s heard, the flat certainty of it. The full assurance that this boy, who would become the finest soldier Adolin had ever known, never intended to become one. For all of the young man’s hostility, Adolin considered him a close friend, and thought that Kaladin felt the same. It was stunning to realize that he knew so little about the man. He was so thrown by the realization that he wasn’t thinking straight. So when Kaladin asks in a small, hesitant voice, “Where’s Tien?”

He unthinkingly responds with “Who?”

The child’s face tightens, hardens in an achingly familiar way that shouldn’t be on such a young frame, and he knows that he said the wrong thing.

And of course Kaladin is not the happy innocent kid Adolin is expecting, and it’s the weeping and Tien isn’t there so that makes it even worse, but he hasn’t built up any of the defense mechanisms that adult Kaladin has. Shallan kinda helps, but she can’t really be around him for too long before she starts thinking ‘what if it happens to her’. Renarin is a good comfort, which helps keep Kaladin grounded but it doesn’t necessarily cheer him up, and Adolin really has to work to build back up the trust, and I have no clue where that kinda fic would even go but the potential interests me.

[vreugd-madelon]

The Way of Kings Review

The Way of Kings Part 1 by Brandon Sanderson is a 592 page High Fantasy novel. The original is over 1000 pages long, but this brittish edition is split into two parts. It's part of the Stormlight Archive series. And I picked up this book when I saw it in a second hand bookstore for a really good price and I always wanted to read a Brandon Sanderson. To be honest Regan from PeruseProject on Youtube swayed me into getting this one.

What happens when a king is murdered, and a country goes to war? This is what has happened in the world of Roshar, where Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar and Adolin live. Kaladin is an soldier turned slave, branded as dangerous. The young Shallan is an excellent self-thought scholar, on her own mission to save her family. Dalinar and Adolin are father and son, uncle and nephew of the current king. One suffers from visions, the other torn between family and country.

Will they thrive, or will the war swallow them whole?

I rate this book 4.75/5 stars, because the one major issue I found with this book was the large amount of typos that I found. It's the only reason it's not 5/5 stars.

The first thing I wanted to mention is that I absolutely love and adored this book. The worldbuilding was amazing, the character were incredibly well constructed and I had an amazing time reading it. It took me a moment to get really into it, but when I did it was an absolute blast. I had to take breaks often while reading, but it was so easy to pick up where I left off. If I had to pick a book that I look up to, it's definitely this one. The second point I want to touch is the plot. While I called the first plot twist, I was kinda upset about it but the rest of the story took me by a complete surprise. Gradually we learn about Stormlight while we see it used in action. Hints are spread throughout the story about all the things it can be used for, and it's incredible. It's a source of magic and lighting. A system of payment and healing. This book is a good example of Show, Don't Tell. I really like the flashbacks of Kaladin when he was 12 years old. It gives us a sense of background while still being relevant to the overall story. Which was the intent of Brandon Sanderson, so that worked out. Third, are the characters. What I dislike most are the names. Some of them are completely incomprehensable for someone with dyslexia, such as myself. While they are often not around for long, I hate to read a name like Tvlakv or Vstim, because I don't even know how to pronounce it in my head. I just called him Tlak, much easier. A character I adored is little Syl. She is funny and whimsical, and most of al adorable in the way she acts. And to me she has the most character progression. I like how near the end we get to see the POV of Gaz. His motivations and actions become so much clearer. Between the three main characters, Dalinar, Kaladin and Shallan, I like to read about Kaladin the most. If I were to be like one of them it would be Kaladin, because of the way he is there for people, and his skill in survival. Not only literally, but also his mental capability to handle all his struggles. We have yet to see him fail in that. The fourth thing I like to touch on is the writing itself. What really pulled me away from the story, was the many typos that I've found. While no book is written flawlessly, I found one in roughly every 20 pages. Most of them are in the beginning, but it really bothered me. I like the pacing in the first few chapters, all really high energy stuff. Then it dies down a bit as we learn new characters, just before it picks back up again. Really nicely done. Chapter 13 'Ten Heartbeats' is truly amazing and my favorite by far. It finally shows some action and has some real character and story progression. Lastly I'd like to touch on some miscellanious topics within this book. In the beginning there are famous last words of seemingly random people, and to this day I've never figured out why. Suddenly they stopped, and it bothered me. Hopefully in the second volume that becomes more clear. The drawing and notes on various pages within the book looked absolutely stunning and they are well done. They give an added feel to the grand world that we are exploring while reading all about it.

If you have any questions send me an ask here on tumblr or tweet me. If there are any books that you want to recommend, be sure to let me know!

[moiraineswife]

Okay so I could definitely do with some more queer rep from Sanderson but I will say that I love the richness and complexity of his characters and the fuck that they almost all say ‘fuck you’ to writing gender roles. 

‘Strong women’ doesn’t mean ‘woman punches loads of things and is badass’ it means a rich variety, of complex women who are each strong in their own way.

 Vin, the street-urchin and constant survivor, whose strength comes as she grows and actually learns, in so many ways, to outgrow that ‘strong woman’ archetype. She learns to be soft. She learns to embrace her feminine side. She learns vulnerability, and love, and trust, and she grows into a better, stronger person for it. 

Marasi who finds her strength in knowledge, and in loving herself for the things she can do, instead of loving the idolised version of herself who has all the things she wishes she could do. Who learns to stop revering and living in a man’s shadow, and steps out to cast her own. 

Steris who is a canonly autistic woman who is never forced to be ‘normal’, in any sense of the word. The characters around her learn to read her, to understand her, and they fall in love with the woman that she is because of her quirks, because of her differences, because of her autism, and not in spite of it. 

Shallan who was a sheltered, naive young abuse victim, with very obvious PTSD and anxiety who has undergone an incredible, uneven recovery journey. She has found herself, her voice, her independence, and her agency. But she is also learning how to accept what has happened to her instead of hiding from it, to heal and grow while retaining her wit, her drawing, and her smile. 

Jasnah who, frankly, couldn’t care less about people’s expectations when it comes to her. Her mind is her own, and her strength comes from knowing herself, and refusing to compromise that self even when it goes against her entire culture and society. A woman who presents a composed, cold, blunt face to the world and is allowed to, and is never undermined or ‘thawed’. She is who she is, and that’s final. 

Navani as a mother, a wife, a lover, in many ways the embodiment of traditional roles for a female character over a certain age. But she’s also a scholar, an engineer, an inventor, a visionary. A woman who knows what she wants, and inevitably finds a way of getting it. A woman who has deep loves and passions, and pursues them, but never loses sight of the merit of logic and order. 

Vivenna, who grew up with the knowledge that she was to be a sacrifice for her people, that her pain and happiness were as nothing compared to her duty. A woman who grew up with deeply rooted prejudices, and a naive, ignorant view of the world. She grew up, she learned her own mind, and followed it to the ends of her earth and into another, where she came to lead men in battle in a notoriously misogynistic/gender-role based society. 

Siri the dreamer, the free spirit, who learned that she didn’t have to be like her sister, and didn’t have to ascribe to the things expected of her to have value, and worth, and power. Who becomes a queen in her own right, and matures into a powerful woman who refuses to accept life on any but her own terms. 

It’s a common enough critique that female characters get stuffed into one mould that’s described as ‘strong’ and that’s it. Which is almost as limiting and stifling as the traditional expectations of female characters. But tbh I love what he does with his male characters and the complexity and rejection of typical masculinity there, too. 

Elend who grew up under the thumb of an abusive father and an oppressive system, but still had the softness, and the hope to dream of building something better. Who was more than comfortable having his wife protect him, and having everyone know that, who took pride in Vin, without ever once having it be hinted as some sort of slight to his masculinity. Who was able to accept the correction and guidance of another woman everyone else scorned and ignored who helped shape him into a better king, and a better man. 

Sazed who was portrayed both as the gentle, reserved scholar, but also a rebel and an instigator, who went against his people to build a better world. Someone who was presented as rational, and calm, and arguably nonbinary, and mostly shuns pretty every typically ‘masculine’ trope in the book. 

Kelsier who had the fairly typical ‘dead wife, revenge plot’ story, but that was explored in a thoroughly atypical way tbh. A man full of darkness who insisted upon fighting with a smile, and encouraged others to do the same. Cocky, and arrogant, and selfish was balanced by a little flash of sentiment, the hope for a new world, and the picture of a flower he carried with him to remind him what they fought for. 

Adolin who’s regarded as one of the best swordsmen in the world, but who talks to his weapon before battle and thanks it for serving him. He wears his mother’s necklace as a good luck charm in battle, and goes against cultural expectations by being physically affectionate with the people he loves. Also has a keen interest in fashion he refuses to be ashamed of, and while his actions characterise him as a womaniser, his thoughts/behaviours display his dissatisfaction with that, and his desire for stability. Also very emotionally aware of those around him, and takes care to look after them when he reads them being in trouble. 

Dalinar’s honestly fascinating journey from a bloodthirsty, violent soldier, to a depressed, traumatised alcoholic, to a struggling general, a hero of mankind, and then again struggling with PTSD is honestly so well-written. This man is literally a military legend, renowned for his prowess in war and we see him, in the course of the series: give away a legendary blade that is literally more valuable than kingdoms for the lives of a group of slaves, and consider it a genuinely good deal as he’s learned that all lives are precious. Struggle with very obvious flashbacks and panic attacks as a result of war trauma. Meekly align himself with distinctly feminine things to quietly support his son and stop him feeling awkward. 

Renarin, who is a canon autistic character, who cannot be a soldier in a distinctly war-driven society, and is allowed to explore that, to feel bitterness and frustration with his condition. But who is also slowly starting to learn, with the support of his family, that there are different kinds of strength, and that they love him and are proud of him even if he can’t march into battle at the head of their armies. Who is allowed to stim openly, who is largely accepted for his differences, and is defended fiercely on the occasion that he’s not. Who is a goddamn super hero in this world, and is a massively progressive piece of honest autistic representation, in which he is not a character with autism, but an autistic character. 

Kaladin who is honestly one of the most visceral, honest portrayals of depression I’ve seen in a fictional character. Who still, three books on, suffers from depressive episodes, who acknowledges that this kind of thing sometimes doesn’t just go away, or get better, that it’s always there, somewhere, and he fights it, and keeps fighting it, with the help and acceptance of those around him. Who is also a goddamn super hero who is warned by his surgeon-father that he’ll have to grow calluses, that he can’t care so deeply about his patients. Who becomes a soldier to support his younger brother, and tries to strike the balance between killing and protection, and to deal with his soft heart that has never truly hardened. 

Male characters that have genuine, honestly explored mental illnesses, insecurities, and who are frequently depicted crying, and otherwise being allowed to freely show and explore their emotions and honestly, i could say a hell of a lot more but this is quite long enough so that’s enough of that.  

[dogbearinggifts]

Thanks, @dikanamai for the tag! 

Rules: Name your top ten favorite female characters from different fandoms. Then tag at least ten people.

In no particular order, mine are….

1. Imelda Rivera (Coco). One of the most badass characters I’ve seen in any story. She raised a child and started her own business in 1921 Mexico, when women were fighting for empowerment pretty much everywhere. She’s quick to catch on that something isn’t right, and while she’s made some big mistakes, she’s quick to protect her family and set things right to the best of her ability. She’s not a strong female character; she’s a strong character who happens to be female. 

2. Donna Noble (Doctor Who). Another badass woman who breaks the mold. Donna is loud, quick-witted, brassy, loyal, a bit slow on the uptake, adventurous, and has a heart as big as the universe. She’s an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances, proving that anyone can save and change the world. Possibly my favorite companion, and we do not speak of what happened to her. 

3. Zoe Lalindar Ardelay (Troubled Waters). Not sure if this series is popular enough to have a fandom (and if it does have a fandom, please point me to it) but Zoe is awesome. Hers is a quiet, understated sort of strength—the kind that pulls her through the death of her father and an ensuing crisis of identity, leads her to a position of power, and helps her wield it well. 

4. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter). I had a huge crush on her as a teen. Like, a “how the hell did I still think I was straight” kind of crush. 

5. Meliara “Mel” of Tlanth (Crown Duel). I think she was one of the first strong female leads I encountered who not only fought with brains as well as brawn, but spent most of the book more or less completely out of her element. She doesn’t know much about warfare or court intrigue but adapts to both in order to attain her goals, second-guessing herself all the way. It was such a refreshingly realistic portrait of revolution in a medieval-style fantasy world that never became grimdark. 

6. Shallan Davar (Stormlight Archive series). This was one of the first characters who reflected my personality and experiences—and wasn’t made out to be a weak damsel or a cowardly minor villain. Shallan begins as naive and sheltered, makes her way up to being one of the most powerful people in Roshar—and has a past that is absolutely horrific without diving into any of the more common and unfortunate tropes that usually crop up when a female character is abused. Watching her find her inner strength, and struggle to heal from the deep scars in her past, is one of the best parts of the series. 

7. Rarity (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic). To quote her friend Twilight, “Just because somepony is ladylike, that doesn’t mean she’s weak.” Watching her completely turn the tables on her kidnappers without raising a hoof made me realize just how much of a rarity (hahaha) this character type is—and how much young girls need to see this truth played out. 

8. Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls). Is there anyone out there who’s seen this show and doesn’t love Mabel? 

9. Rapunzel (Tangled). If you want to know what it’s like to live with a narcissistic mother, just watch this movie. Rapunzel’s fear of leaving the tower, and subsequent guilt when she does, felt incredibly real. Her strength of will and sunny personality are nothing short of inspiring. 

10. Every Single Female Protagonist in Warbreaker. I know this is cheating and I don’t care. From Siri to Vivenna to Blushweaver—all of these strong, powerful women break the mold of what a strong female character has come to mean in western culture, and they do so beautifully. 

Let’s see….I’m going to tag @i-am-n0-one @theprairienerd @lesbiaseagull @daughterofthemoon99 @autistichansolo @sweetprettygeek @melnerding @doodleboots @everythingmakesmecri and @white-throated-packrat

[squid-that-reads-a-lot-blog]

Oathbringer Review

A while back, I finished the most recent entry into the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.  Haven’t gotten around to writing a review yet.  Starting off, I have to say that I have similar thoughts to my opinions of the previous two books.  Sanderson is rarely incompetent and he does many things very well.  Like the previous two entries, there are several small arcs throughout the story that make the 1300 page count a little more digestible.  There is also no shortage of action and each major character has their own story arc.

Overall, this is my favorite in the series by a long shot.  The first two aren’t bad, the style just is not my cup of tea.  However, this book did a lot of things that I liked.  The part that I liked the most is the fact that the book focused a lot on Dalinar.  Dalinar is my favorite character in the series and the fact that he is so much older than the other two previous leads made his story arc so much more enjoyable.  Sanderson puts his characters through a lot of shit but it felt more natural in this book.  I feel like the backstories aren’t as important as who the character is, and when the characters are as young as Kaladin or Shallan, their inner monologues about their pasts can’t help but feel... whiny…

It could just be me, and they aren’t terrible characters, but I think this story arc is far better than the others.  It’s full of some fantastic emotional moments that crank it up to eleven.  My personal favorites have to be the flashback of the attempted assassination and the burning of the rift.  The first one made me laugh because it’s so insanely badass and over-the-top.  It’s like a scene straight out of a crazy 90’s action movie.  The burning of the rift is a whole chapter that I found grimly entertaining.  I was reminded of stories of those ancient Roman emperors who would drag their enemies behind their chariots after they surrendered.  Everything about it is so brutal and shocking that you feel a whole mix of emotions while reading.  Honestly this is where Sanderson is at his best.  It’s when really insane shit is happening that his talent truly shines.  

A few smaller things that I liked included some of the other characters.  While I felt like it was too late to make him really heroic, Ellokar felt a little less useless in this book.  He had some nice moments in the spotlight throughout the book.  Shallan also had a few good moments but I honestly think that Sanderson is not good at writing very feminine characters.  Every time he has a female character with a tough, masculine edge he does great but if they like pretty dresses instead of punching people he tends to falter.  While some of the choices that he makes in this book could be explained with the trauma that Shallan herself has experienced, it feels a little out of touch to me.  He often misses the mark a little bit when it comes to writing women like this and it is very noticeable in this book.  

As for a few other characters, I have some mixed feelings.  Adolin is obviously being solidified as this awesome, likable guy that does badass things with a sword but something feels a little off.  There are a few times where I feel like the book is going out of its way to say how likable he is and it makes me feel like he is going to die.  It’s sticks out to me because nothing has really come out of it and he is so wildly different from the other members of the main cast.  This seems like an odd choice to me but there’s nothing we can do about it for the next four years.  Other than that, I love the fact that he is a total diva.  It’s rare that I get a Legally Blonde vibe from a male character.  

A character that got kind of shafted in my opinion, is Jasnah.  I guess that she’s supposed to be this sort of mysterious character because she’s so smart but I have a hard time getting that.  It feels like she does very little and there are few times when her intellect is really shown.  We’re just told that she’s one of the smartest women in the world while she is busy doing… stuff…  I’ve been waiting for her to be cool and I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer.  She could be a really awesome character but I just haven’t seen that yet.  

Now let’s get to the problems I have with this book.  A lot of these boil down to my personal preference so some people might not be bothered by these as much as I was.  

One small but glaring problem I saw in the last book had to do with Lift and it shows up again in this book when Lift returns as well as the introduction of Szeth’s overpowered sword.  The way that they are written really rubs me the wrong way.  The vast majority of the books are written in this old style that you see a lot with epic fantasy.  You are stepping back in time in this alternate universe.  People don’t use all the colloquialisms that we do in everyday life.  Against this backdrop, modern words and phrases are rather jarring.  Sanderson sometimes does this in this series.  Usually it’s not bad enough to take me out of the story but with Lift and the super sword it is pretty egregious.  The sword is not all that bad save for a few moments but the constant use of the word ‘awesomeness’ with Lift gets on my nerves.  It is so out of place and jarring.  It reminds me of L.E. Modesett Jr. where they would use modern curse words and it was really out of place.  I wish he wouldn’t use words like that but ultimately it is a small part of the story.  

A big grievance that I have with this book that may not seem all that bad to others is the whole murder plot.  I read that scene in the last book where Sadeas is murdered and I was really waiting to see what would happen.  Ialai is set up as this incredibly dangerous woman earlier in the series.  The last time she saw her husband alive was when he walked off with a guy that hated his guts.  There’s no way she doesn’t know exactly who did this.  It might have been my expectations being too high, but I felt like this was such a lame story arc in the end.  This was one that could have had some real consequences for our characters.  Imagine how much trouble Adolin would have been in with this woman for an enemy.  Not only that, but his rash decision would have some serious consequences on Dalinar’s budding political career.  Does he punish his son for his crime or does he risk looking weak in front of his political opponents?  It would add some legitimately serious consequences to Adolin’s story arc and this sort of thing sounds like it would be right up Sanderson’s alley storytelling-wise.  But things didn’t go this way.  Ialai doesn’t do anything in this book.  There were so many chapters that talked about her extensive spy network and how dangerous it is to get on her bad side but it all seemed like it was for nothing.  In fact, the whole treatment of the Sadeas characters has been disappointing to me.  Toral’s betrayal in the first book didn’t really make any sense to me.  I felt like he really was warming up to a friendship with Dalinar again.  Politics had driven them apart but I believed that he could come over to the good side.  I think he could have made a great anti-hero with his crooked approach to the things that the team good-guy is trying to accomplish.  Appearance-wise, I also think that they are very well designed.  I always like it when an author gives the faces of their characters some character itself.  I have a clear image in my head of what these people look like.  The fact that they’re both really ugly but really happy together is kind of unique as well.  Team good-guy wouldn’t just be comprised of a bunch of pretty people if these two had the potential for some redemption arcs.  The fact that he just died and his wife is just sitting like a bump on a log just feels like a waste of two potentially great characters.  Sanderson could have something planned for Ialai, but I felt like this was a huge waste of potential and her potential time in the spotlight has passed.

The other big problem is just an extension of a complaint that I have with the other two books.  Sanderson doesn’t seem to have the knack for making characters seem quite as alive as other authors.  The coldness in his writing is one of the few things keeping him from being one of my favorite authors honestly.  He’s introduced this vast and expansive world but it feels strangely small.  I think a big contributor to this is that the plots rarely take the characters outside of one area.  It’s a problem that’s seen in the original Star Wars trilogy.  Action packed plots and fun characters in this massive universe but it feels so small because we just see this handful of people.  The whole Kolinar arc made the world seem a little bigger but that went away as soon as the characters left.  It’s strange because we get so many POV chapters from characters all over the map but they feel incredibly disconnected.  It’s a strange problem to have, especially when this series is compared so closely with the Wheel of Time series, where this was one of its strongest parts.  

One more small gripe I have has to do with the pictures.  All of them are great but I wish there was just one landscape in there.  The world is so alien to what we’re used to seeing that it would be cool to really see it through the character’s eyes.  I hope he gets one of these in a future addition to the series.  

I haven’t mentioned a lot of things about the book either because I’m not sure what to think about it, there’s not enough information, or the fact that it’s just good.  The good far outweighs the bad in this book and I could not put this one down (not easy when I got the huge hardcover copy).  Even with all my complaints, this is still a fantastic book that I would highly recommend. Full of action and badassery at every turn, this is something that I see people enjoying for a long time.

[esseastri]

Megan Reads Oathbringer (part 1)

Me: okay but I don’t remember the back half of WoR, I should really, really finish the reread before starting... Also me: okay, buuuuuuuuuuut................what if I just..............start

[insert evilkermit.jpeg here]

There are a few relevant points of information:

Tags: Megan reads OB and Oathbringer spoilers. (I’ll also have housekeepers on there, like Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive, and Oathbringer, but those first two are the important ones.)

Everything will be under a readmore.

Above the readmore will be the page numbers covered in that liveblog, so you’ll know how far I’ve gotten (and that way, if you’ve read that far you’ll be okay to read the lb).

There's…going to be a lot of swearing? I have learned that I have no control over my language when I get overly emotional and I feel like I’m going to spend a lot of this book overly emotional. I would like to apologize in advance, and while I promise to try to keep my swearing to a minimum, there might be more than a few bad words.

Shameless self-promotion for the previous two liveblogs: WoK and WoR.

I’m pretty sure that’s all the important bits. Enjoy!!

Part One encompasses pages 1-90 (subsequent parts)

*screams quietly into the ether forever*

PROLOGUE

hoooolly shiiiiiiiittt: Eshonai

Please tell me this means we’ll finally learn why the Parshendi killed Gavilar.......

SHE’S SO EXCITED I’M SO SAD I hate knowing what’s happened to her

...the Parshendi...didn’t know about the parshmen? what? the heck?

I’m....baby Esh is so excitable and curious and I.. love her. and I’m so. so sad. that she loses this.

“an indoor privy with running water, a concept she still didn’t understand.” Who does, babe. Who does.

me, every time amaram appears: “fucking asshole. fuck off fckkkk” I just.... hiss like a cat every time his name appears on a page. I hate him. ARGH.

I spelled his name as “aramaram” and had to go correct it I was so upset he was HERE that I forgot how to spell.

“Traitors who had abandoned their gods to be free.” And they FEARED the return of their gods, before stormform and the Everstorm. They feared it--because they were not free... But...stormform isn’t freedom, and their gods are back and....history repeating itself?

Also, the fact that Gavilar took the time to learn her name is very endearing and like... Gavilar was A Good, guys. He tried so hard.

NOOPE NEVERMIND, BAD, ACTUALLY. THAT’S SO SELFISH WHAT THE HECK

“Bring back your evil, destructive, enslaving gods so that we can have our nice, honorable, fighty ones back please.” NO, THAT’S SO DISGUSTING THAT’S SO SELFISH WTH

GAVIILAARRRR. I BELIEVED IN YOU! I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU!! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU

WAIT, so he was getting the visions before Dalinar? Did we know this already? That makes sense... it’s very Boromir/Faramir, tbh, but like... what, one died, and Honor was like “welp. guess we’ll try his bro”

wait, okay, so ...the black sphere that he gives Szeth...........what. Esh knows what it is--so it’s some kind of spren. But it’s not the angerspren/hatespren that they bond with for stormform--those are red. So what’s...this one? Voidspren? Are there voidspren? Voidspren to create voidbringers...presumably more powerful than stormform.

I AM CONCERNED.

PART ONE

okay, that map tho; after reading Edgedancer, I’m VERY CONCERNED that there’s an Oathgate to Aimia... I don’t need any more 200-cremlings-in-a-trenchcoat popping up out of nowhere, but thanks anyway

it makes sense that this book stats with Dalinar, but HOW! IS! MY! BOY! WHERE! IS! KALADIN!

Dalinar is so polite tho. saying ‘thank you’ to the Stormfather

Also ONLY SIX DAYS???? AAHH

“It had been a hardy, stubborn lot who had grown in this place.” This is Kholinar: it highstorms nine months of the year, and weeps the other three. Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. The only upsides are the pets. While other places have...cats or chickens, we have...cremlings.

(Though Lisa made a good point--are there actually cremlings?? or are all cremlings just...bits of Aimians scuttling about like spy bugs?)

“The queen had gone silent.” I...genuinely don’t trust her, and I’m more inclined to believe she’s radio silence out of a need to save her own damn skin than any other reason.

......somehow I never really thought that Odium would be light...

THE WOMAN HE LOVED

YAASS.

(I have priorities)

They’re being cute. It’s been, like, half a page and I’m just over here making big, cooing noises at them being cute. help.

OH SHIT THAT WAS QUICK

THEY FOUND SADEAS ALREADY AND I AM CONCERN

(tho, I mean...it took them six days to find the body, that’s....actually not really quick. but still.)

OH WAIT NO, OKAY, IT TOOK THEM  ONE DAY WELL SHIT

oh god

Adolin, bby. pls. don’t.... LISTEN, THE FIC I WROTE ABOUT GUILTSPREN WAS A FIC

HI TEFT I HAVE MISSED YOU BUT ALSO PLS CALM DOWN AAAHHHH

this is page frikkin 37 and I’m already dying

I’M SO SCARED OF WHAT IALAI WILL DO. SHE’S GONNA PIN THIS ON BRIDGE 4 I KNOW IT. SHE’S GONNA TRY AND I’M GONNA SCREAM

WHY IS ADOLIN HERE. KIDDO PLS. DOn’T COME BACK TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME I’M

unrelated, but I can’t stop thinking about baby Eshonai basically damning her people to war and revenge to stop their gods from returning and Venli just like...whipping a godling out her pocket like “nvmd, we’re doing this anyway” and like. fuck Venli, tbh.

Back to current events and:

I love Palona.

“steady Adolin and impenetrable Renarin” HE LOVES HIS SONS SO MUCH I’M CRY

“certainly wouldn’t have gone so far as to kill Sadeas themselves” ABOUT THAT

I love that Urithuru has safety railings. like... throwing shade at every big space opera ever.

I still don’t know how I feel about Lopen growing his arm back...

“Our ultimate goal is the preservation of Roshar” Sorry, bud, Preservation is dead...

and also on a different planet.

AAAWWW SNAP! THIRTY-FOUR YEARS AGO! HERE WE GO!!!!

“He didn’t need Shards to intimidate.” Nah, but I bet they help.

tbqh, it’s really, really weird to think of Dalinar fighting not in Shards.

excuse you, that horse did nothing to deserve that.

heheheheh, so much for your nose, bucko

Gooooddddd, Brandon writes battle so cinematically. I want to film this. Gaaaahhh

of...of course punk!Dalinar’s horse is named Fullnight. How deliciously extra of him.

“I tried to kill you!” “from a distance! Which shows remarkably good judgement!” DALINAR, PLEASE. 

Enthusiastic ultra-Gryffindor rambo Dalinar is hilarious

It’s been 50 pages, where’s Kaladin

Sadeas in YELLOW shardplate?? who is he?

Also, ngl, I’m a lil pissed that I still have to deal with Sadeas--even if it’s young, not-quite-so-vile Sadeas. Like......he’s dead! I shouldn’t have to put up with his slimy face anymore!

“What would we do without you?” “Lose.” What an asshole. What a dudebro. I hate how much I love him.

the Thrill concerns me, tbh.

I know that we know it is of Odium, but like. It Concerns me.

THAT WAS QUICK

THE EVERSTORM TURNAROUND??? THAT WAS DISTRESSINGLY QUICK?

I’m sad Dalinar doesn’t get a little spren buddy wandering around with him at all times, because, like. Stormfather. But like. spren buddy.

Now I’m trying to picture the vast and infinite Stormfather just flitting around Dalinar’s head in meetings and making faces at Syl across the table and laughing my ass off.

oh NO not her SAFEHAND

seriously, they. are. so. cute.

“Your stubborn refusal to get seduced is making me question my feminine wiles.” HAAAAHAHA OMG, DARLINGS PLEASE

also, Dalinar, omg, give it up already, bro.

I realize there are like...ecological and climatology implications of the Weepings stopping before they are supposed to, but I can’t help but be glad that Kaladin won’t be suffering for as long as he normally would with the seasonal depression...

WHAT! WAS! THE! BOON! ...unless this is the boon. Unless Dalinar asked for the Nightwatcher to take away the pain of losing his wife and instead she took away his wife... and his punishment is something else.

in which case WHAT! WAS! THE! PUNISHMENT!

“I’d let a confused dishwasher marry us.” I realized belatedly that she meant, like...a person who washes dishes. And not a machine that washes dishes that most people on earth have in their kitchens.

Also, Dalinar and Navani really need to please stop being so adorable, I’m SO HAPPY THEY’RE GETTIN MARRIED AND THE FRIKKIN STORMFATHER IS GONNA OFFICIATE THAT’S HILARIOUS I LOVE THEM

I LOVE THAT THE WEDDING IS LIKE... HIM AND NAVANI AND THE BOYS AND SHALLAN AND A FEW OTHER MINIONS. THIS IS DELIGHTFUL. I LOVE THIS

THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT THIS I DISLIKE

Bridge Four is too important for guard duty! They’re so important! They’ve come so far!!!! I LOVE THEM!!??

she just had a wedding dress just... lying around.

god I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!

...poor Elhokar. “if only we could keep up.” boy has no confidence and no chance to learn it.

NAVANI’S FRIKKIN GLORYSPREN OMG

“What does he remember that I cannot?” Uh...your other wife, my dude. I’m sure this has something to do with how your wife died.

AAHH. HERE HE IS!!!! THE BOY!!!!! MY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nooooo. no, kaladin please. you didn’t fail. oh god, no, come on. don’t think like that.

I’m

aaahhhhh

“It felt wrong not to bear the symbol of Bridge Four.” AAAHHHHHHH

I’M

!!!!!!!!!

I’m JUST NOT OKAY

aahh, at least he was properly concerned about the Everstorm filling his spheres with...bad stuff? of some kind? I’m super glad that it didn’t, that it doesn’t, but like. At least he was concerned about it!

hello fronds, I love Syl a LOT

also: covered safehand, that’s hilarious. She’s a real grown up, now!

nooooooooooo

it can’t be all dead

they have to have

someone has to have been smart enough to get a large part of the town into shelter

Kaladin, your dad isn’t stupid, he would have. he would have tried.

(this would be way, way more distressing if I hadn’t been spoiled for the fact that Lirin and Hesina are alive...like...I’d probably be crying right now.)

“How often are you going to make me apologize for that?” Pfffft I mean.

HE GREW UP AND THEY DON’T RECOGNIZE HIM AND I’M

AAAHHH

“Are there wounded” and he just GOES because that’s where his dad would be and he just . goes. to his dad.

I’m crying?

THEY’RE CRYING I’M CRYING EVERYONE IS CRYING

THEY THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD AMARAM FUCKING TOLD THEM HE WAS DEAD AND I’M

THEY’RE

“MY SON IS ALIVE” YEAH HE IS AND HE’S AMAZING AND YOU’RE GONNA BE PROUD OF HIM OH

I’M

AAHHHHHH

I really hate Amaram. A lot.

his mom is a good. and she just keeps her hand on his shoulder like protectiveness and like reassurance that he’s still there and I’m. aaaAAAHH

“For now, he just wanted to be here with them.” GOOD. LET THE BOY REST. LET HIM EAT SOUP AND REST.

“The wrong-way highstorm” I mean...not wrong

“They never got to meet Captain Kaladin” aaAAHHH

I HAVE A LOT OF EMOTIONS ABOUT INCARNATIONS OF HUMANS AND I’M

this is a lot

LIRIN OFFERING TO BUY THE WRIT OF SLAVERY IS A LOT I’M JUST

crying

“Perhaps it was time to stop letting the rain dictate his mood. He couldn’t banish the seed of darkness inside him, but Stormfather, he didn’t need to let it rule him either.”

I...have a lot of feelings about Kaladin.

And I have a lot of feelings about how Kaladin and his depression interact and about how he deals with it. And how he’s seen the worst in himself and promised to never let it get that bad again. And how he’s seen that even though it’s a part of himself that he has to keep fighting, keep dealing with, keep understanding, it doesn’t have to be the only thing in him, the only thing in his life, the only part of him that matters. He can have other parts, other important bits of him and his personality. He might always have bad days, but that doesn’t have to be the majority of them. Not if he chooses to be stronger, to try to get better. There’s always going to be depression, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be other things.

It took me a longass time to come to that same realization and I just...am really, really... proud of him? and of myself? and of anyone who has depression who thinks the same way we do? and though I’ve found it to be a smidge disconcerting to have your own personal thought processes spelled out on paper by someone who isn’t you, there’s a comfort in that...I’m not the only one who feels like this, who has these ideas, who makes these decisions about my depression.

Anyway, I really, really love Kaladin and I’m. emotional . and I’m. “He didn’t need to let it rule him either.” No. We don’t. We can deal.

ANYWAY I’M EMOTIONAL ABOUT KALADIN AND IN OTHER NEWS WATER IS WET, FIRE IS HOT, AND THE WORLD IS ROUND.

WAIT. Did Syl.....was she aiming for someone else? “distant yet demanding”. Who else...was she gonna bond with. before Kaladin? My first instinct is Tien, but that...doesn’t fit. One of his men? in his squad? Or before that, Hesina maybe? I’m? ...surely not Lirin...... he’s not. enough.

god, his first thought is that Adolin would be disappointed in fashion heheheheh I love these boys. becoming friends. maybe. hopefully.

KAL PUNCHING ROSHONE IS A++ 100% GRADE A GOOD SHIT

GOD BLESS

AAAAAAHHHHHHH

“That was for my friend Moash” I’M!!!!!!!!!!!! EMOTIONAL!!!! ABOUT MY BOYS!!! AND THEIR FRIENDSHIP!!!!! PERSISTING EVEN THOUGH BAD DECISIONS!!!!

Kaladin’s stubborn refusal to give up on people is. A Lot. EVeRYTHING IS A LOT. THIS IS A LOT

“and for the first time in a long, long while, he was happy with that person.” THAT’S CAUSE YOU’RE A GOOD PERSON THE BEST PERSON AAAHHH

SUMMONING SYL AND “ANY QUESTIONS” AND OHHH MY GOD. that shit’s hot. I’m. hhnnnggggggg

“until he had enough stormlight to fly home.” home. I mean, we knew that “home” wasn’t Hearthstone anymore, but. Dalinar is home. The warcamps, Urithuru. Bridge Four. I...I am so proud of how far Kaladin has come.

“I don’t like the idea of swinging you around, smashing you into things.” “Firstly, I don’t smash into things. I am an elegant and graceful weapon.” HI, I LOVE SYL A LOT

GET IT, LARAL

HECK YE

“That’s a girl I was never going to marry, no matter what happened.” “I like her.” “You would.” I LIKE HER TOO SHE’S STRONG AND CAPABEL AND DON’T NEED NO MAN. GET IT, GIIIRRLL!!!!

I love that Roshar has a Hippocratic oath equivalent. I also have mixed feelings on Lirin’s incredibly strict adherence to his Hippocratic oath equivalent. like..yeah, Do No Harm is one thing. But being self-righteous about it to the point of not wanting your son to fight evil monsters from the void? Take a chill pill, my dude.

NAVANI SPANREEDING HIM PERSONALLY IS A LOT

also, I really have strong feelings about Dalinar generally addressing Kaladin as “soldier” and the responding “Sir.” I know they had a long talk about chain of command, but it’s just. so satisfying that it’s still going.

“Send us a glyph each evening to know you are safe.” GOOD DAD IS WORRIED ABOUT HIS SON AND I’M EMOTIONAL

AAAHHHHH HIS VERY FIRST INSTINCT IS TO HOLD HIS BABY BROTHER I’M!!! KALADIN IS SO GOOD AND LOVING AND WONDERFUL!!!

guys, I don’t know if you know this about me, but I really love Kaladin.

guys, I don’t know if you know this about me, bUT I REALLY LOVE KALADIN.

[velkynkarma]

Why Brandon Sanderson Is an Amazing Writer (and Why You Should Read His Novels)

Last week I was recommending some novels to @bosstoaster and was really struggling to not fan squeal all over the place about just how incredible Sanderson’s novels are. Usually, when this happens, I try to pick 1-2 things I like about his writing to talk about, so I don’t talk a person’s ear off...but that usually means so much gets left out.

But I’ve been thinking about it since, so you know what? I can do whatever I want on my blog. So here’s my full, unadulterated breakdown of all the things that are so damned incredible (and consistent) about Brandon Sanderson’s novels (as well as his writing methodology). 

Does contain minor spoilers, but not for anything huge, and I tried to keep even the minor spoilers vague.

PLOT

Incredible world-building—that isn’t generic medieval fantasy-land

I love fantasy as much as the next person, and I enjoy most generic medieval fantasy stories if the plot or characters are great. But Sanderson’s always exploring different kinds of worlds, and entering them is always engaging. Magical cowboy western? A world continually buffeted by enormous hurricanes on a regular basis, so everything evolved to survive them, including the flora and fauna? A world where ash constantly falls? A world that is literally the embodiment of thought and concept? There’s always something exciting to discover.

Incredible magic systems

Like the generic medieval fantasy world-building, I’m used to the D&D style magic systems with energies and fireballs. Sanderson doesn’t touch these kinds of magic systems, though, and I’m continually stunned at just how creative the ones he does use are. Ingest metal, and use it to activate a latent power of yours? Bonding with the literal living embodiment of a concept in order to gain abilities? Re-writing the history of an item so it believes it can be different, and it changes? Using color as payment for a system based entirely around souls and soul coding? The list is long and always entertaining. He’s even written a whole article about how to design magic systems, which is also worth a read.

Really good at the ‘good’ kind of plot twists that leave you genuinely satisfied

I know we’ve all been frustrated by the recent trend that media seems to have these days: viewers or readers guess the direction the plot is heading in, and creators, in a panic, throw in a completely unrelated plot twist (changing the whodunnit, killing off a character, adding a resolution that makes no sense). Those suck. Let’s be real.

Sanderson does the opposite. He leaves the clues in his stories—they’re always there, and you can figure it out with the context clues, if you’re clever. If you’re not, he’s real good at throwing in twists that are hinted at, but still feel incredibly impactful and really satisfying. The end of The Emperor’s Soul still gives me chills, and I still love the twists regarding the big bads in Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive.

Also? He genuinely will catch you by surprise, sometimes. I consider myself to be a pretty experienced reader, and a decent writer. I can usually tell where plots are going for most stories. That’s satisfying, of course. But Sanderson has a way of still managing to sucker-punch me with a plot twist or reveal that feels shocking in a good way. I don’t see a lot of these coming, but the result isn’t disappointment, it’s a “holy crap—wow, how cool!” followed by an intense desire to reread half the story to pick out the clues that were sitting in front of me the whole time, now that I know what they’re actually for. 

Really interesting meta-level stories 

Depending on how invested you want to get, there’s a meta-level of interconnected story with the Cosmere. All of Sanderson’s stories are enjoyable on their own, and you’re never required to go deeper. But if you want to, you can, and suddenly there’s a whole second layer of information and characters in the background that you never really noticed, because most of his stories are actually connected to each other too. You don’t have to know who Hoid is or how he contributes to each separate story, you don’t have to be able to find the crossover characters that have literally crossed over from other books, and you don’t have to understand the whole Shards angle, and you can still enjoy all those books on an individual basis. But when you do know how to spot them in the narratives, it’s really fun, and you feel like you’re in on a great secret.

CHARACTER

Only male author I’ve ever read that actually writes GOOD female characters 

Brandon Sanderson seems to have hit on the not-so-secret secret that most male authors—who dominate the fantasy genre—haven’t seemed to figure out yet: women are people too. 

Consequently, Sanderson writes incredible varieties of female characters, each with their own personalities and quirks, who don’t necessarily fall into the “damsel in distress” or “masculine-coded action lady” stereotypes. See the politically savvy Sarene, the scholarly Shallan, the clever and artistic Shai, rebellious and somewhat childish Siri, the formal and analytical Steris. (These are literally just the ladies with names that start with S). 

But it gets better. Because even with action-hero ladies, they still have characterizations outside of ‘being a lady that beats people up like a man and strives to be as unlady-like as possible to prove she can beat people up like a man.’ Vin might be an action heroine, but she’s also a young woman who’s learning how to have a family, who’s scared of opening up to people, and who’s insecure about her place in the world. Marasi wants to be part of law enforcement, but admits to another character that she also likes the make-up and dresses and looking pretty—and she hates that people expect her to be a masculine action-lady that wears pants and starts fights, because she feels like she won’t even be seen in her field if she doesn’t, and like she has to represent all women. 

But I think the biggest example of this comes from his short story Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, which (despite its edge-tastic title), is about a mother trying to protect her daughter. Sanderson wrote it as a part of the anthology Dangerous Women, and in his post-script on the story in Arcanum Unbounded, he writes: 

“I thought for a long time about the nature of an anthology called Dangerous Women. I worried that the stories submitted to it might fall into the trope of making women dangerous all in the same way....I didn’t want to write just another cliched story about a femme fatale, or a woman soldier who was basically a man with breasts. 

What other ways could someone be dangerous? I knew early on that I wanted my protagonist to be a middle-aged mother.”

In short, Sanderson actually understands how women work and writes actual, believable, likable female characters, who are just people and not sexual objects or prizes for men to receive at the end of the novel. It’s something we need, and it’s refreshing to see.

But on that note—he’s not afraid to let his male characters be softer either

In the same way that most female characters in fantasy are forced to be masculine-like action ladies, most male characters are also forced into the same role. There’s this misunderstanding that male characters have to all be sword-swinging barbarians who can’t have emotions. 

Sanderson punts this misunderstanding out the window and will have none of it.

There are so many good male characters in this series too that don’t immediately make you want to cringe. Look at Elend, who’s an intellectual doing his best but genuinely screws up a lot, and is all but useless for the first half of the series as a combatant. Look at Wayne, and his heartbreaking moment at the end of Bands of Mourning, who grieves for a person who’d been family to him and isn’t afraid to show how much he cares. Look at Adolin, who seems like the quintessential sword-swinging action-oriented jock, but then completely subverts all expectations by patiently and carefully helping characters with mental illnesses deal with them on their bad days, and being unhesitatingly supportive of his autistic brother. Look at Gaotona, who spends the whole book trying to educate someone on how they’re wrong—only to learn from them instead, and realize he was wrong, and to admit to it. 

Men have their soft moments, written by a male author who’s not afraid to put those moments into his works. And that’s really good, too.

In general, just really good characterization

Sanderson’s characters feel like people. They have oddball quirks, realistic-sounding conversations, and occasionally do things that make no sense. Just like friends, family, coworkers, etc that you and I all no doubt know. Hammond’s philosophical rambling (and Breeze’s frustrated bickering over it), Lift making it her life goal to steal dinners, Wayne’s justification for his kleptomania since he ‘trades’ items instead, David’s weird speech patterns and idioms—these characters are just fun to read, and have extra layers that just make them feel more real.

His books have a strong non-romantic relationship focus

Media in general is inundated with romantic and sexual relationships, and doubly so for fantasy novels—especially when fantasy novels often have a ‘prize’ romance at the end of the epic journey. Save the girl, get the girl. It can be frustrating, especially for people who aren’t interested in romance as a genre (there is a reason a lot of us are reading fantasy novels, and not romance ones).

Sanderson loves focusing on all kinds of relationships though, not just romantic ones. Found family, real family, strong platonic friendships, mentorships, interesting rivals, bonds out of duty—they’re all in here, and Sanderson’s not shy about making it clear. Look at Kelsier openly telling Vin he wishes he and his wife had a daughter like her and admitting he sees her as one, or the way the rest of the team turns her into their little sister that they all teach and protect. Look at Wax taking in Wayne, a scared kid who’d gotten in over his head and didn’t know what to do. Look at Kaladin looking at an entire band of slaves and going, ‘yeah, you’re all mine now and I protect you all,’ and how he forms a whole family out of Bridge Four that ultimately turns around and takes care of him, too (and of course, a lot of Kaladin’s story is driven by his own relationship with his actual family, specifically his younger brother). Look at Shallan doing all that she does at the start of the series to protect her brothers. Look at Prof struggling so hard to protect his little band of Reckoners even as he struggles to protect them from himself. Look at Shai and Gaotona, how they’re set up as prisoner and jailer, and yet they grow to ultimately respect each other.

I could go on and on, but the point is, these non-romantic relationships are everywhere, and they are considered to be just as important as—and sometimes more important than—romantic relationships. 

But on the flip-side, his romantic relationships are very well handled

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of romance or shipping. It generally doesn’t hold my interest. In most books, I skim or skip the romance parts, because I’m just not invested in those relationships. They feel flimsy. 

I don’t do that with Sanderson’s works. They’re the only books I’ve ever read where I genuinely feel invested in the characters’ romantic relationships. 

Because here’s the thing: all of these characters that are romantically involved, are also good friends, and that’s the basis of their entire relationship to begin with. And that means these relationships are accessible to everyone, regardless of romantic inclinations or interests. 

Adolin and Shallan just joking around and bantering, with him teaching her how to use swords, with her rattling off witty repartee to defend him in verbal spars? When they just genuinely enjoy each others’ company, without having to constantly make out or have sex to indicate why they like being around each other? That’s genuinely fun. It’s some lovely character interaction. Maybe I don’t “get” the parts where they want to do more romantically inclined things, but I can enjoy that they legitimately enjoy being around each other, that they’re good friends as well as romantic partners, and that they trust each other. And that means I can still be engaged in their relationship instead of yawning and skipping ahead a few pages.

Which brings me to:

He also takes common romantic tropes...and throws them in the garbage bin

Sanderson has other ways of handling romantic relationships that I (as a person who doesn’t like romance) finds so impressive it deserves its own section. Because he takes common romantic tropes, and subverts them, and makes the characters all the more healthy for it. 

On at least two occasions (in Stormlight Archive, and in the sequel Mistborn series), Sanderson has set up a classic love triangle...and then immediately broken it. In one novel, one of the male love interests graciously offers to back out if it will mean the female love interest is happy, because he really just wants her to be happy even if that means he’s not around, and she chooses him anyway...whereupon he makes it clear he’ll definitely help her with her mental health and he wants to be supportive of her. Holy shit, what a wild notion, an actual supportive character in a love triangle. In the second series, the love triangle gets set up, but ultimately broken when the man ultimately chooses the arranged marriage over the ‘true love’ angle, and then realizes he actually, legitimately enjoys the company of the lady in the arranged marriage, and the ‘true love’ love interest realizes that actually, that would have been a terrible idea and she wants to pursue her career. Again, a refreshing and ultimately all-around healthy take for all the characters on something that normally has some nasty fallout. 

In Mistborn, my first introduction to one of Sanderson’s series, I remember being genuinely floored and in awe of Elend’s and Vin’s relationship...because Vin is still really nervous about opening up to people and not comfortable with intimacy, and Elend is completely okay with that. He takes it slow with her, lets her set the pace, and doesn’t force her to do anything before she’s ready. Vin is most comfortable just being around/near him without doing anything inherently romantic, just being in his presence, and he is completely cool with that. And that’s such a healthy thing to see in a romantic story, because it’s really important for readers to see that yes, it’s totally OK to not rush into things, and yes, it’s totally OK for people to take it slower or easier for an uneasy partner. 

I could go on and on, but basically, romantic relationships in Sanderson’s novels are also engaging because a lot of the time? They’re healthy, and friendly, and toss most dramatic romantic subplots out on their ass.

While on that note?

He doesn’t do sex scenes

This one might be a loss for some, but it’s a win for me. Depending on how I feel on a given day, I’m either ‘irritated by’ to ‘really uncomfortable by’ sex scenes in novels...and unfortunately they’re prevalent, especially in fantasy novels. I usually end up uncomfortably flipping through these pages, trying to figure out where the scene ends so I can get back to the actual story. 

I honestly can’t think of a sex scene in any of his novels though. In fantasy, it’s stunningly refreshing, and I feel super safe and comfortable reading his novels because I don’t have to worry about uncomfortable surprises. Plus, circling back to the above points, it’s kind of nice to see characters having established relationships without it having to be solely reliant on them having a good or bad sex life.

Has LGBT+ relationships 

Yup, they’re there, and edge past ‘strongly implied’ to ‘blatantly stated’ in some cases too. Offhand, I can think of a pair of men in the Stormlight Archive who are noted to be in a relationship with each other, and a lesbian gunsmith in the second Mistborn series.

What I find important is not just the inclusion of these blatant relationships, but also how it’s treated as completely normal and not taboo in the context of these worlds, too. Non-straight relationships aren’t treated like a scourge or a difficulty these characters have to deal with; it’s just normal in these realities. 

Additionally, what I really like about them is the way other characters will get called out about it if they do cross a line (usually accidentally). In the above cases, Kaladin makes an ignorant off-hand remark about his gay Bridge Four soldier and is immediately called out about it by the rest of the Bridge Four gang, whereupon he realizes he’d crossed a line and apologizes right away. In the Mistborn series, Wayne repeatedly makes passes at lesbian gunsmith Ranette, who spurns his advances. But when he realizes she’s actually into girls, he backs off and respects that, rather than insisting on her dating him. These are some nice little lessons on how straight people actually should react regarding their non-straight friends and family, and normalizes non-straight people existing in society.

Sanderson has also been openly responsive to and cool about people interpreting his characters in non-straight relationships or reading “implied” relationships/romantic subtext, even if he hadn’t originally intended to put them there. Offhand, I can think of one situation where a reader told him he probably didn’t realize “just how bi” he’d written Shallan in regards to her interactions with Jasnah, to which Sanderson’s response was basically, “Well that wasn’t on purpose, but alright, cool, cool.” 

Also very good about inclusivity for mental illnesses and disabilities

While we’re on the topic of inclusivity, let’s talk mental illnesses and disabilities as well, because Sanderson is great about including these too. In Stormlight Archive alone, we have: 

Renarin, who in addition to having some physically disabilities (specifically, seizures and being physically weak), is confirmed by Word of God to be on the autistic spectrum. And he’s treated with respect and support by his family members and friends. His father shows up to meetings or events he wants to go to, just so he can feel comfortable going to them to show interest in things men typically aren’t supposed to. His brother protects him fiercely in combat but also does his best to give him space to grow, and understands that his brother is incredibly intelligent but sometimes just needs a little time to organize his thoughts or figure out how to communicate. Kaladin understands his physical disabilities immediately and is able to give advice on how to deal with them. The entirety of Bridge Four adopts him as another brother. Jasnah finds another way. I could go on, but basically, Renarin is great

Kaladin has clinical depression, and possibly some form of PTSD, even if they don’t have the technical words for this in-universe. He really struggles with this a lot in the series. Despite that, other characters look out for him a lot, and this creates some genuinely tender moments. 

Shallan rapidly developing some identity disorders. Actually breaks down and admits this to another character. The other character is fiercely supportive of her despite that and doesn’t give up on her so easily

Lopen doesn’t have an arm, but despite being physically disabled, Kaladin still immediately values him and he finds a place on the team. He’s also just...legitimately chill about being an amputee, makes missing arm jokes all the time, and doesn’t seem terribly bothered by it. I believe Sanderson even stated that there’s no real tragic story behind the missing arm...it’s just Lopen. That’s it. 

Teft struggles with substance abuse and insecurity, but the entirety of Bridge Four is super supportive in helping him break it

There’s a character who ends up paralyzed from the waist down over the course of the series. She thinks she’s done for and her life is over, but her mentor keeps encouraging her to try things anyway. 

Honestly, this series is enormous—there’s probably a ton more I’m not even remembering off-hand.

All of this is usually handled pretty tactfully and often brings in some really heartwarming character interactions when characters struggle with issues and other characters help them overcome them. Do you like hurt/comfort and whump in fanfiction? Sanderson does this in actual fiction. It’s great.

WRITING METHODOLOGY

He actually takes the time to write good stories

Sometimes a long-awaited book in a series coughDeathlyHallowscough comes out and you just know it was rushed. You can see it in the way the plot threads are resolved, in the way some threads are just never resolved and end up hanging there open-ended, in the way the epilogues are short and empty.

Sanderson doesn’t do this. He’s pretty transparent about it on his Twitter, where he’ll post updates on his writing progress percentages. Sometimes he apologizes for a delay on a book, because he wants to make sure it’s done right or he works out a plot point just so, or he needs to go back and re-read some old material to make sure there’s no hanging plot points. 

This is good. This is great. This means he genuinely cares about his work, and he wants to produce good content. I will happily wait an extra couple months if it means the book that’s going to sit on my shelf for years to come has a satisfactory start, middle and end.

He’s always ready to give advice to up-and-coming writers, and he’s great about fandoms

Sanderson has a whole segment on his blog devoted to answering questions about writing. He also has a whole series of lectures available for free online. I’ve even heard him in podcasts and blogs in other things. He’s not shy about giving advice and encouraging up and coming writers, and he’s always so encouraging about it too. He’s also totally cool with fanfiction, unlike some big name authors out there who get very elitist about fandoms and the comparative “worthlessness” of fanfiction. 

Some of his novels are available for free, right now, on his website

A bunch of his novels and novellas are available totally for free on his website, which means additional accessibility for people who don’t have the cash for books, ebooks, or audio books, and don’t have time to get to a library. 

Many of them are also available as audiobooks, which means you can probably snag them through your local library’s audio book checkout system as well. 

In conclusion

Brandon Sanderson rocks, his stories rock, and everyone who likes fantasy should really give them a shot, for all of the above reasons. 

[preservationandruin]

Oathbringer Liveblog Part Two; Chapters 49-53

Sorry as always for the delay; life is happening. 

Shallan plans to help out a mission, Dalinar Did Not Deserve His Amazing Wife Or His Wonderful Children, Jasnah actually has friends,  I decide to make a post about Amaram and Manipulative Tactics (keep your eyes out for that), and Renarin makes a discovery. 

And as we go into the past, Dalinar’s doing drugs. Firemoss, specifically. I’m...not sure why I was surprised by this. Like, we knew he was a train wreck; I guess I just didn’t expect how much of a train wreck. Also, at some point I’d like to do analysis of the Thrill as, essentially, a gateway drug, because that really seems to be what it’s like. The guys he’s with--Bashin and Havar--are bantering; Bashin is a darkeyes who has travelled through most of Roshar, wants Dalinar to go with him for the rest of it, and has a floppy hat.

For some reason, I’m reminded of the joke theories that Wayne somehow got his hands on a Ryshadium. Also, apparently Dalinar is worrying about Evi, although the reason isn’t specified. Also, he is torn about wanting to get into battle, because he’s still haunted by that time he almost killed Gavilar. Anyway, Dalinar decides he’s going to start wrestling in the ring, because he’s Dalinar and he’s a little high and a little drunk and very extra. But he doesn’t fight, and it turns out that in other fights Dalinar has gotten into--people have been maimed. Unable to walk, loss of arms, brain damage--jesus christ, Dalinar, please stop this.

And then, of course, Evi has gone into labor. The nurse is worried that Dalinar will be too tentative to hold his son, but Dalinar immediately takes the kid, basically does the Lion King raised hold with him, and gloryspren show up.

May you have your father’s strength, Dalinar thought, rubbing the child’s face with his finger, and at least some of your mother’s compassion, little one.

I’m looking at Adolin--Adolin who talks to his sword and feels a bond with his horses deep in his soul and gets books for his girlfriend so she can learn things she never got the chance to and defends darkeyed prostitutes from lighteyed soldiers--and, you know, I think Dalinar got his wish.

“Adolin” as a name comes from “Adoda,” “Light,” and “lin,” “born unto.” Born unto Light. Adolin.

But something’s wrong with Gavilar, and he and Dalinar go off to talk. There’s a quick mention of Jasnah-- “her lunacy,”--which supports Jasnah’s memories of her “illness.” Gavilar says he wants Dalinar to go fight on the borderlands, to remind Alethkar why they feared the Blackthorn. He also mentions that he might have something with which Dalinar can “replace” the bloodlust.

Dalinar turned back and regarded Gavilar, who was bathed by the bleeding light of a fire reaching its end. “Words are important.” Gavilar said. “Much more than you give them credit for being.” “Perhaps,” Dalinar said. “But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn’t need my sword, would you?” “Perhaps. I can’t help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.”

Find the most important words a man can say.

Anyway, to the present day. The epigraph tells Hoid not to return to Obrodai, and that “a new avatar of our being is beginning to manifest there. She is young yet, and--as a precaution--has been instilled with an intense and overpowering dislike of you.”

So that’s interesting.

Dalinar is flying with Kaladin above the Shattered Plains. He’s holding hands with Navani--there’s something deeply unnerving to him about flying this high above the ground. Anyway, he starts talking to Stormfather; he also vaguely remembers a long trip by boat to the Valley, that he can’t clearly remember.

Kaladin is mentioned as the only one who flies with any grace--but he said it himself when he fought Szeth. He was born to be in the sky.

Dalinar is worrying about logistics--he points out that they can’t survive in Urithiru only on gemhearts, especially as Shallan predicted that they drove chasmfiends to near-extinction.

Queen Fen just sent them one word: Yes. Good! More people are listening to Dalinar! Navani is also designing something that seems to be an airship. At least, I hope it’s an airship. Dalinar goes to visit the monastery in the Shattered Plains. He’s looking for the room that Taln was in.

He realizes that the room Taln was in was boarded up, but there’s light under the door--it opens the possibility that they just left him in there, although I don’t think they did because we saw fucking Amaram interacting with him at the end of WoR. Yep--someone (Amaram) cut him out using a shardblade. Anyway, Dalinar tells Kaladin to take the next Highstorm to Thaylenah and open the Oathgate there.

Back to Moash. The parshmen he’s working with--the ones I think are Kal’s old crew--don’t like him, but he doesn’t really care because he doesn’t like himself. And Moash learns he’s going to be...running a ladder toward the walls of Kholinar. Just. Like. The. Bridges.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Anyway, over to Shallan--she’s going in to see Elhokar. 

Shallan, literally one of the only Knights Radiant: I didn’t want to be a bother. 

She tells Elhokar that she’s been preparing a team of spies, and mentions that they might be useful in Kholinar if, say the Parshmen have already taken the Oathgate. She knows in some sense that’s she’s being avoidant, getting away from her problems, but justifies it in that she can be useful to the team. 

Back over to Dalinar, 18 and a half years ago. He’s done fighting the Herdazians at the border, and moving to engage the Vedens--he’s been on campaign for four years. Kadash, who will be an ardent, is still one of his warriors at this point. I’m still waiting for whatever Dalinar does that made Kadash quit. 

Anyway, turns out this is where Dalinar learned the hard work of logistics and planning, setting up camps and supply lines. He did it because the reward was the Thrill; he’s glad that these other countries are snapping at Alethkar’s boundaries. But Evi showed up to see him (a great mention of the fact that she’s dressed perfectly as a lady but has sturdy walking boots on, dress+boots is a great aesthetic) and he kind of yells at her. Fucking hell Dalinar, you don’t deserve this woman. 

She brought the children (plural; Renarin must be born) and it turns out Dalinar hasn’t been answering her letters, which--Dalinar, you do not deserve this woman--and it also turns out Renarin has literally never met Dalinar. 

“Renarin?” Dalinar said, trying to work out the name. He hadn’t picked that. “Rek-her...no, Re...”  “Re,” Evi said. “From my language. Nar, after his father. In, to be born unto.”  Stormfather, that was a butchering of the language. Dalinar fumbled, trying to work through it. Nar meant “-like unto.”  “What does ‘Re’ mean in your language?” Dalinar asked, scratching his face.  “It has no meaning,” Evi said. “It is simply the name. It means our son’s name, or him.”  Dalinar groaned softly. So the child’s name was “Like one who was born unto himself.” Delightful. 

Hey Dalinar? Novel fucking idea, but if you didn’t bother to be there for the naming of your second fucking son, you have no say in the goddamn name. Also, “like one who is born unto himself” can basically be simplified to “like one who is parentless/parents himself” which...given that Evi dies and Dalinar does not seem to be a competent parent as evidenced by the fact that he hasn’t been home in like four years because he’s literally an addict re: the Thrill might be eerily prophetic. 

Just saying.

Little Adolin was terrorizing one of the chulls, perched atop its shell and swinging a wooden sword about

Thank you brandon for this hilarious mental image I love it.  He’s fighting “evil flying chulls.” And when he sees his dad...he salutes. Not hugs him, not even addresses him as a dad, he fucking salutes that’s heartbreaking.  He remembers Dalinar because they burn prayers for him every night. 

Dalinar also notes that he still feels the Thrill, which is really fucking worrying. I don’t want that interfering with him interacting with his family--god, especially Renarin. And Renarin is a baby, trying to catch blades of grass, and Dalinar doesn’t even feel the excitement seeing him that he did first seeing Adolin. 

Holy shit, Dal, you’re a fucking asshole. He didn’t even talk to/interact with Baby Ren once. 

Anyway, over to the present day. We get Nazh, who apparently was very unhappy at being sent into the Calligrapher’s Guild to do research (although we get that the “kalad” in Kaladin’s name is the same character in “kalazeras,” the Everstorm, and it means “eternal” meaning that Kaladin’s name, as Brandon has said, is “Born unto eternity” and unifies Adolin, Renarin, and Kaladin’s name all as being “born-unto” names). 

Another letter (probably to Hoid) starts, calling him “Friend” and talking about a previous letter that was “intriguing, even revelatory.” 

Jasnah’s POV. She’s researching the Jah Kevedian ancient king NanKhet’s death, which fascinated her because he’d only spent three months on the throne but survived six assassination attempts, all from his family. He apparently killed his own family after that, all of them, but then died choking to death on the feast he threw for himself immediately afterwards. 

Jasnah has turned an area in the tower into, basically, a fully functional think tank. Renarin’s been joining the scholars some, but still has his bridge four patch--he’s still floating between worlds, as Jasnah notes. She’s worried because she sees--from stories like NanKhet’s--that the greatest danger to a ruler is from within the royal family itself, and she refuses to let her family collapse. We get that Renarin apparently has been asking around the Stormwardens, seeing if they really can predict things--Jasnah disapproves. 

We also get that Jasnah has friends! Ethid is Azish and a scion, while Jochi, who pretends to be female to do scholarship, is actually a male Thaylen pastry seller. Both of them trained with her as Veristitalians ans she actually smiles while talking to him. Ethid is tracking Nakku/Nalan/Nale. Jochi sighted Axies the Collector, and Ethid passes news to Jasnah of Lift; apparently, she’s avoiding Ethid. Either she knows she’s passing information or Lift has just taken a dislike to her. Either could be true. 

Jasnah says she has sketches of the Heralds’ “true faces” provided by an “unexpected source” which was five thousand percent Hoid, but that the Heralds probably won’t be help to them due to how broken they are. Navani and Shallan are apparently discussing wedding preparations--that’s nice--and Renarin is talking to himself or his spren, and we casually learn that Jasnah can read lips. Jasnah gets that the spren for truthwatchers usually looks like light reflected through a prism, and goes to talk to Renarin. She goes to talk to Shallan about it, but someone arrives first. 

A tall, square-jawed man had darkened the opening. He wore Sadeas’s colors, forest green and white. In fact, he was Sadeas now, at least its regent.  Jasnah would always know him as Meridas Amaram.

Anyway he was looking for Jasnah, so that’s...great. Please Brandon let me see Jasnah verbally annihilate Amaram. 

“Jasnah,” he said when he drew close. “I was told I could find you here.”  “Remind me to find whoever told you,” Jasnah said, “and have them hanged.”  Amaram stiffened. “Could we speak together more privately, just for a moment?”  “I think not.”  “We need to talk about your uncle. The rift between our houses serves nobody. I wish to bridge that chasm, and Dalinar listens to you. Please, Jasnah. You can steer him properly.”  “My uncle knows his own mind on these matters and doesn’t require me to “steer” him.”  “As if you haven’t been doing so already, Jasnah. Everyone can see that he has started to share your religious beliefs.”  “Which would be incredible, since I don’t have religious beliefs.” Amaram sighed, looking around. “Please,” he said. “Private?”  “Not a chance, Meridas. Go. Away.”  “We were close once.” “My father wished us to be close. Do not mistake his fancies for fact.” “Jasnah--”  “You really should leave before somebody gets hurt.” 

I felt the need to separate this bit out just because every part of it is beautiful. First of all, @Amaram: 

Second of all, he is a classic manipulator in this scene. Common manipulative tactics include trying to get someone alone--which he does repeatedly--and repeated use of someone’s name. He also assumes House Kholin runs on manipulation--works the way he does--in his assumption that Jasnah will “steer” Dalinar. He also tries to rewrite history, claiming they were close just because Gavilar wanted them engaged. All of this is stock manipulation.

 He goes on with it, too; I’m probably going to make a separate post on Amaram and manipulation in this scene alone, because otherwise it’ll stretch too long. Keep your eyes out for that. 

Anyway, Jasnah accuses his mother of sleeping around, Amaram of being attracted to pigs (I’m dying) and, when he goes to summon his Blade, dares him to give her an excuse. He leaves, and Jasnah gives a spot-on analysis of him: 

Amaram genuinely thought he was Alethkar’s only hope and salvation, and had a keen desire to prove it. Left alone, he’d rip the armies apart to justify his inflated opinion of himself. 

Anyway, Shallan is literally clapping and squeeing at the end of this, as would I. Jasnah points out that her first insult to Amaram was very sexist, though--attacking his blameless mother, although Amaram did bait her into it by using his mother as a shield. 

The scene ends, then, as Renarin figures out how to unlock hidden drawers, showing gems that vibrate to musical notes--in a pattern, Pattern says. Turns out, infusing the walls with stormlight opens the drawers--and finds gemstones that carry the knowledge of the ancient Radiants, hopefully. 

[nightblink]

Blink Reads Oathbringer - Chapters 46-49

Chapter Forty-Six – When the Dream Dies

I did expect that whoever is important enough to have conversations like this with Hoid would indeed be interested in removing the threat of Odium from the Cosmere. Your indifference surprises me, and the stupidity of it is frankly astonishing.

More bridgeman chapters! This time with Skar, yay. I hope you get the hang of breathing stormlight soon; I don't want to see you left behind.

Now there's a high-altitude training regimen. [whistles] And an impressive time indeed when you're not breathing stomlight. That's not a comfort though, and rather mean – though unintentionally so – of Sigzil to rub it in like that.

Interesting that they know the exact amount of force they're using in a Lashing instinctually. I wonder if it works that way for some of the other Radiant Orders' abilities as well?

HORNEATER DANCE OF VICTORY. All of Bridge Four should be doing this dance. They've earned it. What a glorious sight it would be!

Skar: *I'm just going to lie here. the floor loves me more than you assholes do*

At least Teft has some love left for you, or at least chouta. Ahhhh, Teft, I'm really worried about you and those bags under your eyes don't exactly make me any less so.

Bridge Four has come so far, from never even telling the other men their names to a full support group for each other. They all needed it, not just Kaladin; those bridge runs left them all broken, bitter people, cracking a little more with each run, each day they were treated like they only had lives for the sake of expending them under Parshendi arrows.

Wait, what's keeping Kaladin? Teft, is this you displacing anger at yourself onto Kaladin. A handful of spheres says it is. But no, Skar is agreeing… Kal, what's going on here, where your own bridgemates think you're keeping aloof?

I'm still wondering how they hope this whole recruitment thing is going to work out – if they want to try to make true Radiants of some of these men, of if they simply hope for more squires that osmose their ability from Kala-Syl? To be a Radiant, one must be broken, down to one's soul, and that may hold true for the bridgemen, but recruits…? [hums]

What does Rlain think of the humans essentially occupying what used to be the last bastion of his people? He may be Bridge Four, but talk about divisive feelings. Sanderson, we'd better get a Rlain POV in one of these Bridge Four chapters, or I will have another bone to pick with you.

Highprince Reference: red and light blue are Ruthar's colours

Ooof, yeah, that'd do it, Skar. Ingenuity, yes, but also willingness to steal. That's generally frowned upon (unless it's other people's stuff, which is often the point of war, as young!Dalinar so helpfully pointed out a while ago).

Mmm, Syl can sense the soul-cracked ones.

Getting snarky there, Skar. Can't blame him for this one though, as he does have a point at the very least since they let lighteyed Renarin in, waaaay before Kaladin's eyes started showing even a flicker of blue.

Speaking of good points, Sigzil makes one about squires perhaps not necessarily being a step towards being a full Radiant. Good to know that someone is at least considering the routes and levels of Investiture-use here.

[winces] Oh, Skar

(bless u Rock for lightening the mood)

Lyn again! Good good good I want to see more of them (I think I'm going to use 'them' for Lyn for the time being, because while their initial conversation with Shallan was pretty blatant, I don't know if that's something Sanderson intended or if it was another 'oops I accidentally did a thing didn't I'. Still. The agony of being closeted trans in the world of strict Alethi gender roles would easily be enough to break a person, and that could make them a possible future Radiant...)

Ooooo, Skar saw even before the highstorm incident! Damn, he must have thought he was hallucinating, seeing light and all the arrows curving towards it.

Heh, all the thinking in the world isn't going to help you two with this. But focusing on the Ideals that makes the Windrunners what they are…. Yeah. That might do it. Skar, you really do have a knack for teaching.

YES YES YES

YOU'RE GLOWING TOO

FINALLY

Chapter Forty-Seven – So Much is Lost

Wait, admire… admire Rayse's initiative? Odium's? Dude. Seriously. What the everloving fuck.

!!!! Taln's own writings! Or at least what he said while they all thought he was crazy – and he was definitely more than a little loopy, not able to see how far human civilization advanced even when he looked around him.

Finally getting to a Jasnah chapter! WHY DID YOU HOLD OFF ON THIS FOR SO LONG SANDERSON

Ivory's at his full size while in the Physical Realm? Whaaaat. Is this something he can do because of the Oaths that Jasnah has sworn, or is it because the Elsecallers are so entwined with the Cognitive Realm via their abilities?

I'd say “paranoid much, Jasnah?” but considering all of the assassination attempts that have already been made, 'it's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you'.

[winces] Her life's work, all that time and effort and pain, now all so much common knowledge. That's…. painful. It's a good thing that they know it, but at the same time, it leaves a hollowness for Jasnah in its wake.

Shallan is definitely a topic that needs to be discussed.

Ahhh, Ivory – bonded to Jasnah and yet you still don't understand how humans can fortify themselves without that solidity running all the way through.

Oh shit, oh shit, hints of Jasnah's breaking? And it was back when she was a child? Oh no, ohhhh, that's. That's a lot earlier than I thought she'd broken. Considering how distant Gavilar seems in the flashbacks, I'll bet broams he at least peripherally had something to do with it.

“Considering what the ancient fathers are.” IVORY. IVORY YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT AND LEAVE US HERE HANGING. IV O R Y- oh. You just mean the spren lost in the Recreance. Well that was anticlimactic.

The idea of spren wars, though, now that is an interesting tidbit of dropped information.

I like Ivory. What a little rebel. You're very much like your bonded in that way, aren't you?

[winces again] Jasnah, you're going to have to confront Shallan about things sooner or later – and probably sooner. When that happens, best to have all the information you can on hand… but also keep an open mind.

All ten orders but the Skybreakers. Speaking of which, when are Nale and Szeth going to show up again?

Fuck, Jasnah knows the secret – the secret that the Stormfather said would break Dalinar and the others. Ivory believes they'd break, he knows the precedent for that…

Jasnah does not.

Chapter Forty-Eight – Rhythm of Work

The hell do you mean, 'we stand in the sea'. Is this in reference to whatever is out in the Ocean of Origins that the lighthouse-keeper mentioned in the Interludes? Maybe, maybe not, but it stinks of coincidence.

Admittedly, while I like the insight that Moash's chapters bring, I just don't care about him as much as I do our other protagonists. He's a good character, but I'm not really emotionally attached to him.

'Better than bridge duty' is not a metric by which anything should be judged, Moash, and you know this.

So. Hauling things, but where are you taking them…?

[winces] He can try all he likes to convince himself that his decisions and actions weren't his fault, but Kaladin gave you chance upon chance upon chance to drop Graves and his crew and stay with Bridge Four. At this point, you're just deluding yourself.

Shiiiiiit, they're going to Kholinar. Of course they are. As if I didn't worry about that city enough already.

Well, he's not wrong about the 'false gods' and 'ruling class whose eyes reminded them of the Knights Radiant', at least. We still need confirmation on whether lighteyes are actual descendants of the Radiants or not, though.

….you're more religious than I'd realized, Moash.

YES YOU CAN BE BLAMED, AND WE BLAME YOU. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

!!! Are… are those Kaladin's group of Parshmen? Is his involvement with them the reason they're being treated poorly?

YEP

Oh man, oh man, are you going to go help them, Moash? YES-

-but blanket-condemning humans as you do. Not just in your head this time, but as an argument point. Hoo boy.

Chapter Forty-Nine – Born Unto Light

FLASHBACK CHAPTER YEEEAAAAAAHHHH plz give us more Evi this time Branderson

….Dalinar why are you doing moss-drugs. Are you constantly discontent since you're not getting battles and the Thrill. Also that is a disturbing comparison.

This is perhaps the most opposite of your current self that we've seen you when you weren't Thrill-murdering.

...listening to your wife is good but I don't think she meant 'you should totally do drugs'

However, you getting into a fighting ring is very likely among the things she expected you to get into when she suggested 'live in the moment', considering what you're like at this time, whether you're fighting in them or just betting on them. It's the violence inherent in them.

Yessss, you're caring about Evi, FINALLY, even if you might not love her yet. We still haven't seen evidence of that from your end of the relationship.

Gavilar might not be able to politic his way past a rebellion, but the last flashback indicated that he's certainly going to try, come Damnation or stormwaters. Dalinar, though… he's too apathetic to even care at this point. It's extremely disconcerting.

Oohhhhh, you're trying to use the drunkenness to stave off the Thrill, really…? Well, apparently you're going to fight anyway. But will the Thrill come, and do you even want it to…?

dark bar atmosphere, laced with smoke that curls, grey, melding with and making its own shadows as the raucous noise silences completely, predator's eyes glinting bright blue across the ring

“Hurting you? Storms, that's not what I'm afraid of.”

You have a reputation, Dalinar. It's not a good one.

Yeaaah, he's essentially not feeling anything nowadays. One fight he can barely remember is the last time that brought him emotion – that's not natural; something has to be damping it.

Toh! You're still hanging around! Damn, we haven't seen anything of you save for that single chapter with the highstorm. Has Dalinar simply been too emotionally-dead to notice you the entire time? But he notes 'familiar face', so you must have spent a fair amount of time together…

OH OH IT'S TIME IT'S TIME IT'S TI-  ….it's early and they're not surprised. Why. Why. I demand answers.

You ran all the way there at a sprint, didn't you.

She pretty much did fight a battle, Dal. Just not the kind you're used to.

Still with the left-handed-ness – and it may not be the same sign of intimacy to her as it is to you, Dal, but still.

Dropping to his knees at her bedside! Holding hands! Overcome with emotion! Ohhh, you have come to love her by this point, haven't you?

“many men are apprehensive at first when-” NOPE. SWOOPS HIM INTO HIS HANDS INTO THE AIR AND DANCES AMIDST THE GOLDEN GLORYSPREN

ahhhhh, with thick blond-and-black streaking even as a newborn! AND DALINAR'S PROUD OF IT, PROUD THAT HIS SON SHOWS HIS MIXED HERITAGE EVEN THOUGH THAT'S A THING SCOFFED AT IN ALETHKAR AND SOME PEOPLE EVEN DYE THEIR HAIR TRUE BLACK TO HIDE THAT THEY'RE MIXED. Good on you, Dal, good on you

'May you have your father's strength… and at least some of your mother's compassion, little one.' excuse me while I go sob in the corner

this is the first true spark of Dadlinar – of the Dalinar we see in the future

'BORN UNTO LIGHT' AS A NAME MEANING I'VE BEEN CALLING HIM 'SUN SON' ALL THIS TIME AND THAT'S SO DAMN CLOSE ARE YOU KIDDING ME it's such a good name what a good name my boy my boy

please run through the city whooping for joy and proclaiming you're a dad, Dalinar, I need that image in my head

For once, Dalinar rolls a decent Insight check. What are you gonna do or say to fuck this up, Gavilar.

!!!! 'Lunacy'? Was… was Jasnah already broken by this point? With sixteen more years to go before she bonded with Ivory?

Ooooo, so crowns are mostly a Western-Rosharan thing – Gavilar compromises with a circlet, but probably not an entirely plain one, a simple band of metal. Ten-pointed, perhaps, subtle and tasteful.

Failing? The rebellion is that bad? Aaaaand you're going to send Dalinar in to crush it and that's when shit's going to go down. Ooof.

….this is that Sons of Honor organization cropping up, isn't it, or at least their overarching goals. Were you just part of them, or did you found them, Gavilar?

Oh no, oh no, Dalinar had a flash of hope, of emotion, of a different future than just battle, and now that's going to clash with his old bloodthirst and this is going to end terribly; none of this bodes well

“I… might have something that will help.” ……….I do not trust you, Gavilar. Dalinar's still the unstable barbarian here, but even he sounds more trustworthy than you right now.

This does not sound good this does not sound good this does not sound good-

“I can't help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.” Okay so you're probably being tested as a proto-Bondsmith, but dude. Dude. This is not the way to go about it.

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2019 | Pt III

I can’t fucking edit my post because this website is crap, so we get a part three even though there’s only two more months to 2019. But whatever, I’m not bitter or anything.

Reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read one hundred books this year (finished!), finish five video games (finished!), write something novel-length (not so much, does it count if I wrote a novel’s worth of short stories in October?) and write something original (technically done? don’t know if I want to count a snippet that didn’t even hit 1k). These last two goals CAN be combined (I might try NaNo this year, so we will see).

Part I: January-July Part II: August-October

MOVIES

November

The King

(V For Vendetta)

(Avengers: Endgame)

(Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas)

Frozen 2

(Winnie the Pooh)

Journey to the Sun

December

Klaus

(Aladdin: Return of Jafar)

Hotel Artemis

(The Santa Claus)

(Star Wars: A New Hope)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

(Love Actually)

BOOKS

November

The Gilded Wolves | Roshani Chokshi [Fin]

Words of Radiance | Brandon Sanderson [Fin]

Oathbringer | Brandon Sanderson

The Hating Game | Sally Thorne [Fin]

Again, But Better | Christine Riccio [Fin]

The Queen of Nothing | Holly Black [Fin]

North and South | Elizabeth Gaskell

December

Oathbringer | Brandon Sanderson [Fin]

Snow, Glass, Apples | Neil Gaiman, Colleen Doran [Fin]

North and South | Elizabeth Gaskell [Fin]

The Starless Sea | Erin Morgenstern [Fin]

There There | Tommy Orange [Fin]

The Secret Commonwealth | Philip Pullman

The Library of the Unwritten | A.J. Hackwith [Fin]

PODCASTS

November

The Penumbra Podcast s3, Eps 2-3

The Magnus Archives Eps 160

King Falls AM Eps 11-30

Adventure Zone Moonlighting Pt 1

(Zero Hours: When the Beat Drops)

December

The Magnus Archives Q&A

Outliers s1, ep 1

King Falls AM Eps 31-34

TV SHOWS

November

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural, s6

His Dark Materials, s1

She-Ra, s4

(Gargoyles, s1)

South Park

Rick & Morty, s4

Star vs the Forces of Evil s1, s2

The Flash, s4

The Dragon Prince, s4

The Mandalorian

Star Wars: Rebels, s1

December

His Dark Materials, s1

The Mandalorian

The Dragon Prince, s4

The Untamed

The Good Place, s3

The Witcher, s1***

The Great British Bake Off, s7

VIDEO GAMES

November

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (10 hours)

Death Stranding (10 hours)

Pokemon: Shield (20 hours)

December

Pokemon: Shield (20 hours)

Red Dead Redemption 2 (2 hours)

DELIGHTFUL FIC

November

The Sun Dog by ambiguously | Star Wars | Finn/Ren/Rey | 5k | Finn and Rey, with their semi-prisoner Kylo Ren, attempt to meet up with the Resistance on a planet that has been taken over by monsters.

Seeing Ghosts by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 4.5k | Ryan blames the entire thing on temporary insanity.

silver in our lungs by taywen | Spinning Silver | Miryem/The Staryk Lord | 3.6k | The marks had been with Miryem for as long as she could remember. 

sing all your questions to sleep by Wildehack (tyleet) | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon | 1.5k | Jon, Martin, and Basira take a breath.

as ordinary things often do by lymricks | Stranger Things | Harringrove | 4k | Max is yelling out the window, “She means like, two weeks--” before they’re turning around the corner and--And Steve is standing on the front steps of Billy Hargrove’s house, keys jingling in his palm, thinking what the fuck?

on hairpins by Lirazel | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Gen | 3k | When the citizens of Attolia complain that the Thief of Eddis is a terrible influence on their queen, they have no way of knowing the truth of their own words.

the umbrella by Wildehack (tyleet) | The Magnus Archives | Martin/Jon | 4.6k | "And to think—all of Jonah Magnus’ carefully laid plans, the centuries of scheming, the murders, the sacrifices, all of that work could have been completely undone if Martin Blackwood had gone back for an umbrella"

you got me begging, begging, i'm on my knees by plalligator | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 5k | (or, that struggle when you're a guard who's in love with your rulers and it turns out you would kind of like it if they bossed you around a little)

rumour has it by plalligator | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 1.5k | “Costis, what in the name of the gods happened? I have heard from five separate people that you have a secret sweetheart who you went to meet on your day off.”

Home Was A Dream by impertinence | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 3k | Lunch, a mysterious fruit, revelations, and sex. In that order.

Well Loved by SerenadeStrong (ninja_orange) | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 3.5k | Gen finally convinces Costis to sleep with his wife.

and so begins by romanoff | Marvel | Steve/Tony | 8k | After Tony's death, Steve is adrift. He carries Tony's body, and thinks: I never said thank you.

something more alive than silence by pageleaf | The Queen’s Thief | Costis/Attolia/Eugenides | 21k | It was a good thing that six months after the king had promised to halve the guard, he still hadn’t done it, because since then, there had been two attempts on the king’s life.

Covenant by liesmyth | Stormlight Archive | Kaladin/Adolin | 9k | Adolin had never imagined he’d meet his match like this, on the dusty streets of Sadeas’s warcamp - or that it would be a bridgeman of all people, defiance clear in his dark brown eyes.

How Do You Catch a Storm and Pull It Down? by liadan14 | Stormlight Archive | Kaladin/Adolin/Shallan | 4k | It takes Shallan approximately two months after the wedding to realize that she is an idiot.

Keep It In Your Sights Now by LuckyDiceKirby | Shades of Magic | 9k | Holland travels with Lila and Kell. Somewhere along the way, they reach an equilibrium.

waiting for the sunlight by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | 18k | Sara had always known, growing up as both an only child and a princess, that she would likely not marry for love. 

Fifty Shades of Gold by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 21k | That’s his official position: he’s over Ricky Goldsworth.Shane’s unofficial position, regrettably, is that he’d rather be under Ricky Goldsworth.

(these things take time by sonhoedesrazao | Les Mis | Enjolras/Grantaire | 63k | He’s always wary of making assumptions; even more so when Grantaire is concerned. He knows he’s not the easiest person to deal with. People either like him or can’t stand him, and it’s easy to respond to those reactions, but Grantaire—Grantaire is hostile and mocking, Grantaire scorns his beliefs, and Grantaire stays.)

December

Begin the Begin, Over and Over by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 33k | Shane only agrees to be handcuffed to Ryan for a video because he can put up with anything for twenty-four hours. That’s the funny thing about time loops, though—they don’t always adhere to the parameters set by clickbait videos.

When I Fall to Rise by lc2l | Thor | Loki/Thor | 41k | Loki wakes up to ship alarms blaring, the air full of ash and Valkyrie saying she brought him back because she needs his help. She's captaining a small emergency vessel containing the last handful of Asgardians desperately looking for a place to call home. And she's having to do it sober.

From Orbit by astolat | Star Wars | Leia/Han/Luke | 4k | “You’ve got to quit doing this,” Han said.

Charioteer by petrichoral | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 14k | Captured in battle and stuck in the Mede capital, Costis has given up all hope of seeing his country again. But Eugenides has a habit of turning up where he's least expected.

ready if it happens with you by sarcasticfishes | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 4k | It’s not a thing. Ryan’s just a little… touch-starved. Intimacy-starved.

I fancied you’d return the way you said by ambiguously | Star Wars | Reylo | 3k | No one else can see him. Rey is used to that.

i kill giants by diasterisms | Star Wars | Reylo | WIP | 7k | "Rey Skywalker?" There's a vaguely sardonic twist to the corner of his mouth. "Does that make you my cousin now?"

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

November

MARVEL/DC - Runnin

THE WITCHER | MAIN TRAILER | NETFLIX

(GoT) Daenerys Targaryen | Meant To Fall

Game of Thrones | Never Wanted to Leave

young god.. (multifandom)

Poison & Wine | Ben and Rey

Multifandom ][ Glitter & Gold

rules of nature [multifandom amv]

December

what's up danger [Death Stranding]

Kylo Ren || Destiny

star wars || blue monday

K[L]AUS | High Enough

2019 Movie Trailer Mashup

Reylo | My Love Will Never Die [tros spoilers] Rey & Ben

Reylo | Dusk Till Dawn [+TROS Spoilers]

REYLO || SOMEBODY TO DIE FOR (+tros)

Multifandom Mashup 2019

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

November

Frozen 2 Soundtrack

Les Mis Soundtrack

December

Spotify Unwrapped 2019

Reylo Playlist

POSTED FIC

November

open the walls, play with your dolls | Coraline | Coraline/Wybie | 2,886 words | Halloween at the Pink Palace is a lot like any other time of year.

December

yule gift #2 - 4,639 words [fin]

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

November

December

yule gift #1 - 1,267 words [unfinished]

yule gift #2 - 4,639 words [fin]

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

November

Havoc

December

Somebody to Die For - a Reylo playlist