#and Kaladin deciding to try just once more

[candycandy00]

The Doll House - A Nanami x Reader Fanfic Part 3

 Despite your crippling fear of men, your family sells you to the Doll House. Luckily, you end up with the handsome, gentlemanly Nanami as your trainer, and he’s about to show you how great a man can be.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Read Geto’s Part Here!

Read Toji’s Part Here!

Read Sukuna’s Part Here!

Read Gojo’s Part Here!

Read Choso’s Part Here!

AU! Each trainer will get their own story! This is Nanami’s. If you’d like to be tagged in future parts, let me know! You must be an adult to be tagged! Any feedback whatsoever is adored! I’m keeping the same tag list as Geto’s part. If you’d like to be removed, please let me know!

Note: Consider these parts AU’s within an AU. So you might see Geto with a different doll from the reader in his part, but just consider this an alternate timeline lol.

The book series the characters are discussing is The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Jasnah and Shallan are both from it. Everyone please go read it because it’s amazing (and fall in love with Kaladin just like everyone else, in universe and out). 

Smut. 18+. Fem Reader. Daddy kink. Hair pulling. Oral sex. Fingering. Spanking (with hand). Divider by @benkeibear!

Four weeks into your training, you and Nanami are both sitting in your chairs, reading. You adore these quiet moments between you two, where you’re both doing something you love, together. Nanami always seems so relaxed and comfortable sitting there, a heavy book in his lap, his reading glasses slipping down his nose. You’re happy he can feel that way in your presence. 

The feelings you’re starting to have for him… they’re dangerous. He’s explained to you already that you should avoid developing an attachment to him, because he’s not going to be your long term owner. You understand that. But while you are a little less scared of men in general (you can talk to most of the other trainers at dinner now without nearly having a panic attack), you’re still terrified of the idea of some strange man taking you away from here. Away from Nanami. 

“You’ll meet the buyer a few times before you go,” Nanami has told you. “He won’t be a complete stranger to you.”

You were slightly relieved to hear that, but you still felt a knot in your stomach when Nanami casually spoke of another man taking ownership of you. Won’t he miss you? How does he keep training women and then sending them away without a care in the world? 

Did the previous women feel this way about him? Did they get this close to him? These questions haunt you.

You close the book in your lap, finally finishing the second book in the series Nanami is lending you. At your pace, you should finish the third one before you have to leave. The books are massive though. 

He looks up. “Finished?”

“Yes, just now.”

His eyes seem a little warmer as he asks, “What did you think of it?”

Outside the window you tried to crawl out of once upon a time, snow is falling silently. There’s already a blanket of the shimmering diamond dust on the ground outside, making the warmth of Nanami’s room all the more cozy.

You tuck your legs under yourself and say, “It was amazing! That climax was incredible!”

He smiles and nods. “I thought so too. Have you chosen a favorite character yet?”

You think for a moment. He asked you the same question when you finished the first book, but you wanted to read more before deciding. Now, you think you have your answer. “Jasnah. She kind of reminds me of you.”

Nanami looks surprised. “She does?”

“Yeah. She’s super smart, mature, collected, strong, beautiful…”

He raises an eyebrow at that last word. 

“Uh, I mean… you’re… very handsome. But you know that already,” you say awkwardly. 

“I appreciate the compliment,” he says. “I think my favorite is Shallan. She’s a bit of a mess, but she’s trying.”

You feel heat creeping into your cheeks. You saw so much of yourself in Shallan that you almost didn’t like her. But she’s Nanami’s favorite? Maybe he thinks more of you than you thought. 

“I hope I can finish the third book by the time I leave,” you tell him. 

“You will. And you can take my copy of the fourth with you. Think of it as a gift.”

You blink at him. “A gift? How did you know my birthday is tomorrow?”

His eyes widen slightly. “Tomorrow is your birthday? I didn’t know. The book was going to be a farewell present, so I’ll get you something else tomorrow.”

You quickly wave your hands in a dismissive motion. “Oh, no, you don’t have to get me anything!”

“Let’s see, how about a nice dinner?” he asks, ignoring your protests. “I’ll make reservations in the morning. And we’ll need to get you something appropriate to wear. The restaurant I have in mind is high end.”

High end? So he’s taking you some place fancy. You remember your aunt taking you to fancy restaurants a few times in your teenage years, but you had panic attacks when any men came near. You probably scared the poor waiters half to death. In the end, you had to leave before the food was even served. By the time you reached adulthood, your aunt stopped trying, which meant she also stopped buying you fancy dresses to wear. 

The next morning, Nanami takes you to a boutique in town and instructs the stylist working there to help you find something suitable. He waits patiently while you try on several dresses, finally settling on a red, form fitting one with a high neckline to balance out the rather daring slit up to your hip. The stylist announces that the two of you have chosen a dress, and from the fitting room you hear Nanami’s voice ask, “Would you like to show it to me?”

“Not yet,” you call back through the curtain. “I want it to be a surprise tonight.”

After putting back on your regular clothes, you step out to find Nanami at the counter, paying the exorbitant price for the dress, as well as shoes and a long coat you’d picked out first. You told him you already had a good coat, but he insisted. 

Back at the Doll House, Nanami politely stepped out so that you could get ready. He was wearing a fine suit that looked ridiculously expensive and his hair was neatly styled back from his face. He looked so handsome, you almost asked if you could spend the evening in bed with him. 

One of the other dolls, the one being trained by Choso, worked in a salon before being a doll. You suppose that explains Choso’s constantly changing hairstyles, but you’re pleasantly surprised when she offers to do your hair and makeup for you. When she’s finished, and you’re wearing your new dress and shoes, you’re shocked by how fancy you look in the mirror. It’s been so long since you dressed up for anything, you’ve nearly forgotten how nice it feels. 

You pull on your new coat, which is long enough to conceal much of the dress. It’s beautiful, with fur trim, and very warm. There’s also a pair of sleek leather gloves laid out for you to wear. You wonder why he wants you to dress so warmly. Maybe he wants to take a romantic stroll through town. 

When you step into the welcome room, Nanami is waiting for you. He offers his arm to you in his typical gentlemanly fashion and the two of you step outside into the cold winter night. 

You stop short as soon as you walk out the door. There in front of the entrance is a beautiful horse-drawn carriage. The entire thing is white with gold trim, even the horses are the color of snow. Now you know why Nanami wanted you to be warm. 

He goes over to the carriage and opens the door. A step lowers down from the side and Nanami helps you up and into the seat, then sits beside you. There’s a heated blanket folded neatly on the seat across from you, and Nanami spreads it over both your laps. “Not too cold, are you?” he asks, sliding one warm arm around your shoulders. 

“No,” you say, still a bit awe struck, “it feels nice.”

“I’ve noticed you like to watch the snow falling outside the window, so I assumed you like snow,” he says. 

He’s been paying that much attention to you? The thought makes your heart flutter. “I love snow,” you tell him, looking up at the dark sky. The snow is falling softly but steadily, in a way that will only leave a thin coating on the ground. It’s breathtaking. 

As the carriage moves to the road, you can’t help feeling like a Princess. The sound of the horses’ hooves clacking on the road is comforting, and you end up leaning your head on Nanami’s shoulder, savoring his heat. 

*************

After the carriage stops in front of the exclusive French restaurant Nanami made reservations at, he stands up and climbs down, then helps his doll move down the steps provided. She seems breathless and excited, which is exactly what Nanami was hoping for. He knows being out in public, around men, makes her nervous. The plan was to make the trip there so unique, she wouldn’t have the chance to let her anxiety build. He also called ahead and requested a woman to be their server. He wants this to be a special night. 

Once inside the warm, well lit restaurant, Nanami removes his outer coat and hands it off to an attendant. Then he steps behind his doll and gently removes hers. After handing it over and turning back to face her, he finally gets to see the dress she has chosen.

He nearly stops breathing. She’s so stunning in the long red dress, the slit on the side going almost scandalously high, that he’s not sure he’ll be able to remain a gentleman tonight. At the moment, he wants nothing more than to take her home immediately and fuck her into the mattress. 

But tonight isn’t about what he wants. It’s about her, about celebrating the day she came into this world. 

So he holds out his arm and she takes it, curling her elbow around his to interlock herself with him as they walk through the restaurant. Nanami reserved a secluded table next to a large window, so that she could have an excellent view of the town and the falling snow as she enjoyed her meal. 

He pulls out her chair for her and then takes his own. She seems a little bit nervous, but relaxes when a woman comes to the table to ask what the couple would be having to drink this evening. Nanami orders champagne after confirming his doll likes it, and the two of them look over their menus as the server walks away. 

Once dinner is brought out, Nanami is impressed with the doll’s table manners. She grew up in a wealthy family, so he supposes it shouldn’t be a surprise, but the way she gracefully eats her meal and sips her champagne seems at odds with the awkward woman who ran to the bathroom to scream a few weeks ago. He still chuckles to himself when he remembers it. 

“Do you always take dolls to fancy restaurants like this?” she asks. 

“No, this is the first time, actually,” he replies. 

She seems surprised. “Really? So why me then?”

“It’s your birthday. And I haven’t been here in a very long time. I don’t enjoy eating here alone,” Nanami tells her. 

“I see,” she says, and he wonders why she sounds just a little disappointed. 

“That being said,” he adds, “if I’m going to bring someone here to eat with me, I’d prefer to bring a beautiful, intelligent woman like you.”

She blushes and looks back at her plate, making Nanami smile. They make pleasant conversation for the rest of the meal, then when his doll is finished eating, she suddenly touches her ear and says, “Oh no, I’ve lost an earring.”

There’s something strange about the way she says it, as if she’s not really worried, but she stands up from her chair and looks around on the floor. 

Nanami’s eyes scan the floor around the table as well. “I can ask if someone can help look for it,” he says, starting to get up himself. 

She holds up one hand to stop him. “No! It’s okay. I can find it!” Then she pulls the fabric of her dress up and to the side and gets down on her knees. Perplexed by this odd behavior, Nanami watches as she crawls beneath the table, disappearing behind the thick white tablecloth. A few seconds later, he feels her hands on his thighs, rubbing along the inner sides, then nudging them apart. 

He freezes, the glass of champagne in his hand halfway to his lips. For a moment, he sits perfectly still, feeling her hands working at his belt, then opening his pants. Then he slowly sits the glass back down and subtly lifts the edge of the tablecloth. There she is, his beautiful, awkward, sexy, silly doll, pulling his rapidly hardening cock from his pants and wrapping her red lips around it. 

He can feel her tongue gliding over him, coating him in saliva, her eyes staring up at his face. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asks, trying to maintain a stern tone but struggling to keep from moaning. 

She pulls away, strings of fluid connecting her lips to his tip. “I’m still hungry, Daddy.”

His self control is being severely tested. He reaches down and grabs a handful of her prettily styled hair, pulling her face back down and effectively shoving his cock back into her mouth. 

Fuck, she’s good at this. Her tongue never rests, her lips are tightly locked around him, and she’s making the hottest little “mmmm” sounds he’s ever heard. It’s a massive struggle to keep his composure. 

His blood nearly freezes in his veins when the server approaches the table. He hopes the tablecloth hides his lap well enough as he smiles politely up at the woman. She smiles back and says, “Will you be having dessert this evening?”

“No, thank you,” he says. 

“And what about your date?” the server asks, probably assuming his doll had went to the restroom.

His grip on her hair tightens and he pushes her head further down, stuffing her little throat beneath the table. “I believe she’s quite full,” he says smoothly to the server. 

After a few more words and leaving the check behind on a silver tray, the server leaves. Nanami lifts the tablecloth again and looks down. The lovely face looking up at him nearly makes him cum on the spot. “You’re being very brazen tonight,” he says, keeping his voice even with great effort. “Such a bad girl. I hate to have to punish you on your birthday, but you leave me no choice.”

Excitement flashes in her eyes. He’s been with her long enough to know what thrills her, what turns her on. And nothing gets her wetter than a good “punishment”. 

He can’t hold out any longer. He pushes her head down again and says, “Don’t make a mess. I don’t want to see a drop on your dress, or my pants.”

She doesn’t have a chance to respond before he cums directly into her tight, hot mouth. He can feel her tongue and throat working to swallow all of it, sucking the life out of him. He suppresses a groan and hopes no one in the restaurant saw the shudder that just rippled through him. 

A minute later, his doll crawls out from under the table and he helps her to her feet. She takes a napkin and wipes her mouth daintily, as if she hasn’t just guzzled his cum. Then she holds up a dangly silver earring and says, “What luck! I found it!”

He can’t stop a grin from spreading over his face, or the massive hardon already building in his pants. There’s no way he can wait until they get home. He leaves a generous tip for the server and then takes his doll by the hand, leading her out of the dining area. He finds the “powder room”, which is structured like a restroom without the toilets. There’s a sink, a mirror, and a wide, padded bench. Apparently it’s a place for people (probably women) to freshen up. 

Nanami confirms the room is empty, then locks the door. He sits down on the bench and then pulls his doll toward him by the arm. Using rough but fluid movements, he forces her to lie stomach-down across his lap. She gasps as he moves one hand under the slit in the dress, stroking her thigh, then pulls the fabric up, exposing her black lace panties. His hand moves over her ass, relishing the feel of the plump flesh, the way she’s already trembling beneath his touch. 

He pulls off his black silk tie and uses it to bind her wrists together behind her back. Then he pulls her panties down to her knees and gives her bare ass a harsh smack with the palm of his hand. 

She lets out a small cry, probably trying not to make too much noise. “I’m sorry, Daddy!” she says. She’s not sorry at all, judging from the lusty look in her eyes. 

Smack!

“And what are you sorry for?” he asks. 

Smack!

She whimpers and squirms in his lap. “F-for being brazen and shameless… and…”

Smack!

“And?” he says.

Smack! 

“For risking us getting caught… and embarrassing you.”

He gives another smack, marveling at the reddened, heated skin where his hand hits. Then he slides his hand down between her thighs, feeling how wet she is, smearing her arousal all over her backside. When he pushes two fingers inside her, she moans and jerks in his lap. He pumps them in and out while she wiggles around, releasing little cries of “ahh ahhh!”

When she’s on the edge of cumming, he withdraws his fingers and gives her another smack, harder this time, and she jolts from the sting. That’s the limit of his self control. Nanami lifts her up and shifts them around so that she’s face down on the bench, her ass in the air, her beautiful red dress bunched up at her waist, her wrists still tied together behind her. And then he’s burying his cock in her dripping pussy while she cries out a little too loudly. 

He gives her raw ass another smack as his thrusts get deeper, and she clenches so tightly around him that he sees stars. Three more smacks and she’s cumming on his cock, crying and quivering, her makeup ruined by her tears. Almost immediately after, he reaches his limit, shooting his cum into her core. 

For the next few minutes, they sit side by side on the bench, just catching their breath. Then they quietly help each other clean up and his doll fixes her hair and makeup as best she can at the sink. She catches Nanami’s eye in the mirror and gives him a sweet, warm smile. 

She’s incredible, he thinks. She’s incredible and she’s his. At least for now. 

The thought of his time with her being temporary has been on his mind lately, and he can’t seem to stop thinking about it. He feels so comfortable with her, as if he’s truly home when she’s by his side. She stimulates him both physically and emotionally. Lately, he can’t seem to picture his life without her in it. 

There is a way she could stay with him, and he’s given that a lot of thought these past few days. But what would she think of the idea? 

On the way home, in the carriage, he watches the snowflakes collect on her hair and leans over to kiss her, his hand finding hers under the heated blanket. 

The carriage drops them off back at the Doll House, and as they walk through the parking lot, still holding hands, Nanami broaches the topic to her. 

“Are you aware that all trainers at the Doll House are allowed to keep exactly one doll they’ve trained?” he asks. 

She looks at him, eyes wide. “No, I didn’t know that,” she says as they near the door. 

He reaches out and opens it for her. “These past few weeks have been wonderful. If they’ve been the same for you… I was thinking of ‘keeping you’. How would you feel about that?”

She’s stepping through the open door when the words hit her. Just inside, she whirls around to face him as he follows her in. She opens her mouth. “I-“

“There you are!”

A feminine voice cuts off his doll’s reply. The two of them look up to find an older, classy looking woman standing in the lobby. 

His doll looks shocked. “Aunt Rina?”

Aunt? So this is the woman who sold off her own terrified niece to the Doll House.  Nanami instantly dislikes the woman, but he keeps his expression politely neutral. 

Aunt Rina places one jewel-covered hand on her hip. “I’ve been waiting all evening,” she says to her bewildered looking niece. 

Then…

“Pack your things. I’m here to take you home.”

Tag List:

@suguguro @kaedear @onyxsphynx @poopoobuttsy @butterskyy @collectionofdolls @akaotv @witchbybirth @bloofinntoona @wasurenagusaa @tclbts @tojirin @lucyrocks86 @badbyeyoongi @97britt @aydene @lzaj19 @lyn-lotte @missthatgirl @peachedtv @ladytamayolover @nanam1nx @deegausserr

[cosmerelists]

The Great Mistborn Era 1 vs. Stormlight Debate: Whose Planet is More Barren?

As requested by anon. :)

Part 1: Flora & Fauna

Hoid: Welcome, welcome, to the great Scadrial & Roshar debate!

Hoid: Kelsier, would you like to start?

Kelsier: [slaps down picture of mare flower]

Kelsier: THAT.....is what we used to have.

Kelsier: Now all of our plants are a dreary brown, trying to survive in a world blanketed in ash.

Kelsier: We have some horses, some dogs, some cats, but I wouldn't say it's a teeming zoological wonderland.

Kelsier: Because, again, the land is 99% ash. And nothing much can survive.

Hoid: Shallan, your reply?

Shallan: No place with life is barren.

Shallan: But if I WERE going to make this argument, I might point out that what we have.....is crab.

Kelsier: Like....just one big one?

Shallan: Oh, we got crab-dogs. Crab-bugs. Crab-oxen. Crab-people. But they're all essentially Crab.

Shallan: To be fair, we do have a few other types: we have horses too (so that cancels yours out) and pigs.

Shallan: And our plants? Well, they do have color, to be fair, but they are basically all things that have to hide in crevices to survive the giant continent-crossing storm that roams around making a "zoological wonderland" pretty tough for us as well.

Hoid: [carefully considering]

Hoid: As much as I hate to say it, this point goes to Kelsier. I've been to both places. Scadrial is indeed an ash-brown sewer pit.

Kelsier: (Yay?)

Part 2: Food, Leisure, the Arts

Elend: Let me say this first: if you're born a noble, then the situation is not that bad. You have food, you have dancing and music, you have culture.

Elend: But that is not how it is for the majority of the population.

Elend: The majority of the population are skaa, who are enslaved, and who do...not have any of those things in a good way.

Elend: So if we go by the majority--as we should--then yes, our planet is notably barren in its food, its leisure pursuits, and its art.

Kaladin: We do war mostly.

Kaladin: We eat rocks.

Kaladin: It's soulcast rocks, which means it is turned into grain. That tastes bad.

Kaladin: And that's not just darkeyes, who are the oppressed people. The lighteyes live pretty much the same way. Although they do more leisure stuff when they're not at war.

Kaladin: Then there're the parshmen, who locked away their consciousnesses and got enslaved, and who had to relearn things like how to play cards once they were freed. Because their enslaved lives were truly devoid of anything good.

Kaladin: So.

Hoid: Yeah...I'm giving this point to Roshar. It sucks there.

Elend: ...One day, I WILL win a debate.

Part 3: Morality

Ham: Morally barren? Yeah, we got that on Scadrial.

Ham: Turns out our Lord Ruler, who became kind of a god, physically rewired the population so his friends could be nobles and everyone else would be slaves. Like, they became physically different.

Ham: Others he used hemalurgy on so that they became nonhuman--like the kandra and the koloss, who can be taken over and controlled due to their spikes.

Ham: Plus, like, our society just ran on horrible slavery. I don't want to go into it, but it was bad.

Ham: And while I think any ability is morally neutral at the outset, our "murder people to steal their power" ability, hemalurgy, is hard to spin in a good way.

Venli: I see. So humans basically did shitty things to other humans?

Venli: I'm a Listener, aka a native of this planet. Humans came here after destroying their own planet.

Venli: Made my people into rhythmless slaves.

Venli: And we're STILL fighting a literally eternal war where some people on each side can't die, so they just keep coming back more and more insane.

Venli: Also even among themselves? The human system of deciding who's good and who's bad based on eye color of all things? Whack.

Hoid: Wow! You've both made such good arguments about why your societies are morally barren and horrible to live in.

Hoid: I do think Scadrial is worse, though.

Venli: A human would say that.

[pocketramblr]

Ask game: Immediately after touching the first shardblade, Kaladin's eyes became light and never turned dark again, please.

And in a few brief words Gentry, you've done it again: emotionally devasted me forever. Man Kaladin would hate that.

1- so like, Kaladin kills Helaran and picks up the shardblade, his surviving men are all staring at him, so's Amaran and his guys, more soldiers from over the hills turning back to see what's up. Everything hits Kaladin at once, and he throws down the shardblade, stumbling back.

But it's too late. His eyes have been stained silvery grey, a glint to them like the sheen on the blade he dropped.

They'll never be the rich, warm color he inherited from his father again.

2- so like, no one really knows?? What's supposed to happen?? Becoming a shardbearer makes you a lighteyes, but that hasn't happened in living memory, and like?? Kaladin doesn't want the shardblade. But the word of the change spread fast, soldiers all over trying to break closer and see, and yeah, look! Stormblessed does have lighteyes now!

Amaran wants the shardblade, and Kaladin would happily give it to him, but Amaran can't just take it when everyone knows who's supposed to have it, and he can't just kill Kaladin, and he can't enslave him either so?? He's got to Manipulate.

Amaran pulls Kaladin aside, says he remembers him from Hearthstone - how his family was treated unfairly. As a lighteyes, a shardbearer, Amaran can move to have him take Roshone's place, return home, run the town well. It's no shame to be sick of fighting, after so long, and he's a good man, he can run a small unimportant town out of the way of things.

Kaladin thinks about returning home without Tien, about Roshone, about Hearthstone. He remembers Laral dreaming of him becoming a shardbearer so he could marry her- something he hadn't realized at the time and was distinctly uncomfortable with now. He thinks about Lirin's face, when he sees Kaladin.

He thinks about his remaining men, how he'd killed to protect them, more than Amaran.

"No- I need to stay with my men. But I can't carry that shard."

3- and Amaran isn't happy but ok. Ok, he can roll with this. Kaladin has never fought with anything but a spear before, of course he doesn't know how to carry a shard. Of course he needs time to learn, first.

And so he suggests to Kaladin that he take his time. He'll move up in leadership, but still be over his men. He'll learn more tactics, etiquette, swordsmanship, learn to be a proper lighteyes under Amaran's guiding hand.

Kaladin doesn't like it, but it's that or go home, so he agrees.

4- I'm gonna skip months and months of Kaladin training and learning and growing to really hate being lighteyes more and more. He doesn't hate Amaran yet - he hasn't been betrayed by him- but he starts to kinda think like Adolin does: there's just something sus about him. Kaladin learns how to use a sword, and hates that too. He still refuses to pick up a shardblade. Amaran decides he's too guiless to induct into the sons of honor, but that maybe he can get Kaladin to have a breakdown and become a cautionary tale of why to not aspire above ones station.

Kaladin is very careful to not have any public breakdowns, even as he grows more frustrated with higher leaders throwing away men's lives and Amaran's helpless platitudes about it.

"You're a good Vorin man." Kaladin says one day, and Amaran thanks him for the compliment, until it's followed with: "So maybe you should ask why the Almighty wanted my eyes to put me in your circles after my brother died for these wasteful tactics. Maybe you're supposed to learn to listen."

Pretty strong words for someone who's kinda ambivalent about if God exists, but Amaran is just as hypocritical about his religious beliefs as he is everything else, so it doesn't do much to sway him.

It does make Amaran think about making Kaladin some sort of religious figure pawn in his game though, for a few weeks.

Also Kaladin is meeting Syl and bonding with her and hiding learning new stuff with her as this happens.

5- finally, Amaran has had Enough. At this point, Szeth's started slaughtering nobles around the world, so Amaran figures he can kill Kaladin with the shardblade (that Kaladin let Amaran bond to, not wanting to do so himself), and blame his death on the Assassin in White. So he waits for the night of a High Storm, and then sneaks into Kaladin's room.

But Kaladin's not there. He's in the barracks of his old squad, one of the few times he feels normal. Amaran tracks him down, and is perfectly fine killing the men to get to Kaladin.

Kaladin, of course, protests this.

And he summons Syl's blade for the first time, and his eyes change again- still light, but now Windrunner Blue like the clear sky, the color will stay even after Amaran falls dead to the floor and the storm passes and the light slowly fades from Kaladin's skin, and everything in Amaran's army camp erupts into chaos.

[siena-sevenwits]

Have you ever come to a part in a story where a character made a choice, for good or for ill, and just reading about that choice and its impact directly influenced your real life outlook?

[firesidebi]

Thinking about Matt @transkenobis’s stormlight pacific rim au. and just, the idea of dalinar and adolin starting off as drift compatible but then adolin finding out that his father was the one that led a kaiju into a city that he knew was not yet evacuated……evi being in that same city and dying…..them no longer being drift compatible after the revelation. Or kaladin and tien being compatible but tien ends up dying on an early mission and then the kaiju programs repeatedly trying to match kaladin up to people who’d be compatible for him and him just never being able to drift with someone. he leaves the program for a few years but somehow they track him down and they introduce him to syl and then he decides to give it a try once more. lots of thoughts here.

[just-another-t-word-blog]

For old times sake

A Stormlight Archive fanfic

Summary: cold nights on the Shattered Plains were especially harsh on the bridge crews, leading to some creative (and not often spoken of) ways to keep warm. Kaladin seeks out the help of his friends to re experience this "tradition" in the hopes that it will help ease his nightmares

Kaladin Stormblessed was many things, forthcoming about his emotions was not one of them. Lately he had been craving something that for all his anxieties made him feel safe, helped him bond with his men while still in the bridge crew, and might actually help him get some storming sleep for once.

But, Stormfather, he couldn't just ask them.

While running bridges, the accomodations were less than accommodating. Only one blanket per man, no cots or bedrolls, just cold stone floor and cold stone walls. This made winter nights on the Shattered Plains absolutely miserable.

It all started on accident. As they became closer as a team, it's easy for your subconscious to start taking its toll. In the mornings after cold nights they started to find that they drifted closer to each other in their sleep, seeking out each other's body heat to stay warm. At first they'd all start and scramble away, muttering apologies or just scowling, but they soon started become less bashful. Then things started to take a bit of a turn.

It had snowed that first night that the "tradition" started. All the men were awake and shivering, unable to drift off with the piercing cold. It first started with Dunny, as timid as the youthful bridgeman was he was the first to purposefully scoot closer to the other men, cautiously cozying up to the side of Dabbid, who didnt react much (battleshock and all) but visibly relaxed at the shared warmth. Lopen was next, joining in, followed by most of the rest of the crew. Even Moash, though he grumbled at the notion, snuggled in among the pile to combat the chill. The only one who remained was Kaladin, who looked skeptically at them as if the offered embrace was a trap. It wasn't until Rock nearly dragged him over, lecturing that "airsick lowlanders are always so embarrassed about harmless things", trapping him in a tight but comfortable hold. He tried to stay alert as long as he could, but he couldn't help but relax. He was safe and warm, and that was enough to let him fall asleep in a soldier cuddle-puddle.

This started to become a regular thing in the bridge crew. Cold nights, sharing an embrace after a death, close calls, or injuries, and it was a very good way to relax after a day in their stressful lives. But since moving into the barracks in the Kholin warcamp, they all had blankets and cots to keep them warm. There was no need to continue the practice. Storms though, Kaladin craved it.

It was days after the cravings started that he finally swallowed his pride. He decided that Rock was probably the best person to ask, seeing as he was never one to turn down or deny someone a bone-crushing hug, and was the one to drag him into the pile in the first place. Unfortunately, he always seemed to be around the other men when he would try to approach, offering a curt nod and an awkward smile before stalking away to wait until he was more alone. Rock eventually noticed, starting to flag him over, assuming he was trying to tell the larger man something important.

Kaladin had never been so bashful about anything in his life, face burning with a blush and wringing his hands. He barely got the words out before Rock shook his head in amusement, snatching up Kaladin in an embrace and explaining he had nothing to be embarrassed about. A few more minutes of babbling nervously got Rock to promise to try and get Sigzil, Teft, and Lopen in on it as well.

That very same night, he walked into the barracks to find a pile of bedrolls and blankets strewn across the floor and his closest friends waiting with open arms, offering mild teases and snickers at his abashment. Some of the others asked to join in upon seeing the nest, others gave a chuckle and went about their business, but either way Kaladin crawled into the embrace of his chosen family and got the best nights sleep he’s had in years.

Never in his life had he been so thankful to have been put in that bridge crew.

[myshipsareendgame]

SHADOLIN BABY- A CONCEPT THREAD:

-one morning, after the war is over (basically all of our heroes survive), shallan gets a bit sick. she inhales stormlight and some of the fatigue still doesn’t go away. she recalls that she had a bit of wine the night before, but just a little, nowhere near making her get a hangover the next morning. she decides not to tell adolin anything, since she doesn’t want him to worry

-later, she goes to the doctor’s office. first, she approaches hesina so that she can schedule a meeting. “oh brightness! come in, come in! would you like something to eat or drink? i have some fruit and wine if you’d like” shallan just gestures her hand and says “actually, no. i wouldn’t want to drink anything anymore... there’s a small chance i am pregnant. it’s why i came here- to ask you to make a schedule”

-lirin is the one that helps her and promises not to tell anyone, kaladin especially, that she came here as she wanted to do so herself. they run some tests and later she comes to get the results, lirin hands her the papers along with a “congratulations!”

-that night, adolin comes back from training to find shallan sitting on the balcony, with a blanket wrapped around her. he gives her a hug from behind and kisses her temple. adolin asks her what she’s thinking of to which shallan answers with:

“we need bigger quarters.”

“what? they’re pretty big, we have enough space.”

“yeah, for the two of us, but we are gonna need a nursery in a few months” and adolin just gives her the biggest hug and kisses her whole face

-they decide to tell dalinar and navani first over dinner. they are both so so happy for them, navani cries but dalinar holds in tears. later though, when he is alone with navani, he gets very emotional and thinks of how proud and happy he is that his son would be a father

-next come renarin and kaladin who both immediately start crying and planning every big event of this child’s life. kaladin gets genuinely surprised that his parents kept the secret, since he thought they wouldn’t be able to. renarin teases adolin “you? a father? oh almighty” but he is so happy anyway

-shallan’s brothers are very happy for them, promising to be good uncles and take care of their niece or nephew

-jasnah and wit are both so proud of how far shallan has come and jasnah takes the rare opportunity and becomes the softest softie to ever soft... shallan is surprised, but nevertheless happy at jasnah’s reaction

-shallan’s pregnancy goes well, adolin starts singing to her tummy very early on and it becomes a nightly routine. he sings iriali lullabies that his mother sang to him when he was young. but he also talks to the baby everyday as well. shallan finds it endearing and eventually starts doing things like that too

-once her belly gets very big, it’s time for new clothing. since she’s often enjoying staying in and reading/drawing, she spends a lot of time in adolin’s shirts, while he goes out and designs new dresses for her that she wears during meetings and important outings during which she must appear

-gavinor likes to spend time with shallan and keep her company and she thinks its a good thing to get used to a child being around her. once they renovate the quarters and add rooms to it, she teaches him how to paint by painting the walls herself. it’s what starts gavinor’s love for art

-a month before she is due, kaladin and adolin are out in the city getting some new clothes when a messanger is sent to say that shallan is in early labor

-adolin and kaladin FUCKING SPRINT through the entire tower, and adolin is horrified outside the room because shallan is screaming and he is so worried

-both the davars and the kholins just drop everything they are doing at the time and come to see how shallan is doing at the clinic. though, the labor takes a few hours so some, like kaladin and renarin, stay with adolin in the lobby the whole time. others come and go, but everyone comes to check every once in a while

-finally, lirin comes out and offers adolin a hand to say “congratulations brightlord. your wife and daughter are in perfect health.”

-AND ADOLIN JUST FUCKING STARTS TEARING UP “I... I have a little girl? Wh-When can I see her?”

-meanwhile, shallan is holding her little girl in the bed. resting and thinking how she never loved anything so much so fast, she just wants to hold her and thinks “oh! mini me!”

-adolin comes in and just starts fucking crying, rushes over to hold and kiss shallan and thank her for bringing this child into the world

-then he turns to the baby and oh, she is the most divine creature to exist, she is a mini shallan and he just holds her by her little fingers. actually, the baby wraps their entire hand around adolin’s finger, which only makes it more adorable

-then it’s like that scene in friends when mondler get engaged and the others go “can we come in now, we’re dying out here!” and they go “come in!!!”

-the family comes in and take turns but dalinar goes first and just starts crying, EVERYONE IS CRYING. they’re crying, im crying, you’re crying. he has the same energy he had when adolin was born. he wants to buy everyone in urithiru a drink, celebrate the birth of his granddaughter.

-renarin and jasnah look at her and they have the same look on their face, they realize they’re gonna have another baby that isn’t directly theirs but they’re gonna love and cherish as their own. they’re going to spoil this little girl with math magazines, science and history books and ultimately let her know that she should grow into the best version of herself as she can be

-while navani goes to get little gav and wake him up from his nap, the davars get their turn. they are so delighted that their sister brought a new life into the world, almost being able to forget the rough past they had once they look into the child’s eyes

-navani comes in with gavinor and he is overjoyed with the baby, his little cousin that he will play with and protect

-navani is very emotional and talks about how similar she looks so much like shallan. her face is pretty pale, freckled and she has stunning blue eyes, but oh the smile. no doubt is it adolin’s smile.

-they notice kaladin is at the doorframe so they ask him why doesn’t he come in the room and our favorite grump goes:

“i just wanted to check if you are alright, but since it all is, i guess this should just be family now.”

“yeah that’s why you’re staying. i’m counting on you to take your role of an uncle very seriously”. and so kaladin takes the baby and with the first time he holds this little girl, he knows he would give it all to even try and be the best uncle to her

-then wit is the last one and shallan insists that he holds her and finally after inspecting the baby for a bit, wit says “alright. am i the only one who is going to address this baby’s hair. LOOK AT IT! BLONDE RED AND BLACK!!”. it’s a much needed moment of pure laughter in the room.

-when a nursemaid comes to ask for a name, adolin and shallan share a look, before nodding. adolin turns back and says “evi. my daughter’s name is evi.”

-later that night, shallan is resting while adolin is in the nursery and plays with the baby. playing consists of adolin sitting on a sofa and rocking her in his arms while she sleeps, but to adolin it’s the most wonderful thing. dalinar knocks and they have this very soft moment where they talk about how fatherhood changed dalinar and how adolin feels the same thing happening to him, right in that moment. but the real emotional kicker comes when dalinar says “i’m glad that’s her name.” they talk of how sorry dalinar is about everything and how he hopes that adolin knows how much he wants for them to repair their relationship. maybe it’s the emotions, maybe it’s the warmth of a newborn child pressed to his chest or the lack of sleep, but adolin accepts. dalinar somehow forces him to go and get some sleep and promises he would stay with the baby

-dalinar holds the baby and coos “welcome to the world, my little evi.” the next morning, they find dalinar on the sofa, sleeping in an uncomfortable position right next to the crib

BONUS: For all my rlainarin warrior out there, renarin would totally bring rlain to meet his niece and she would be so fascinated by his carapace. like kaladin, rlain would also feel an obligation to be an uncle to this child, further cementing the fact that rlainarin are in love with each other :)

[warrioreowynofrohan]

The Stormlight Archive - Perseverance in The Way of Kings

This is the last of my post on themes in The Stormlight Archive (previous ones on Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, and Rhythm of War).

Perseverance is very much a theme throughout The Stormlight Archive, but it especially stands out in The Way of Kings, and most strongly in Kaladin’s storyline. Kaladin’s at the start of the book is broken down from trying again, and again, and again - to save his brother, to save his fellow soldiers, to escape from slavery and help others to escape - and always, as he sees it, failing. And when he decides to reject despair and try to protect Bridge 4, that is not really the pivotal moment; it is only the very beginning. It is an important moment, yes, but there are dozens of others, early or late, where he could have given up and it would all have come to nothing. When he first tried to inspire them and got no response, or got hostility. When he rescues the wounded men, and Sadeas denies them food. When he spent days and nights gathering the knobweed and extracting the sap, only for the apothecary to tell him it is virtually worthless. And that is all before the biggest challenges: learning that the bridgemen’s tactical role is to be killed, so all his attempts to protect them are doomed. And on top of this, he has to persevere through the depression that tells him all of it is pointless. He faces every challenge - not without support - and overcomes it, and refuses to stop trying, and every one of those moments is as important as the initial decision, and necessary for his later moment saying the Second Ideal. This fits with the idea of Journey before destination, and the asdociated theme (stated in Oathbringer) that the most important step is always the next one. The important choices aren’t just the big, dramatic ones, but every choice in between them makes those big choices possible.

The theme of perseverance is also emphasized at the start of Shallan’s arc. She’s been chasing after Jasnah Kholin for six months and, when she finally catches up with her, is rejected as ward. She tries again, follows Jasnah, writes her a letter, and is again rejected on the basis of her lack of knowledge of history and philosophy. She goes out, buys books on history and philosophy, and returns to try again. And only then is she accepted. At the end of the book, after Jasnah learns of Shallan’s betrayal, she again rejects her, and Shallan again seeks Jasnah out and convinces her to take her back.

If Shallan had not done this, she would never have come to the Shattered Plains. She would never have found Urithiru. The Alethi armies would have been destroyed in the Everstorm. Everything that happens in the following books is possible because of her stubborn refusal to give up.

Likewise, Dalinar persists in his belief in the Codes, and his conviction that his visions are important, even when they make him something of an outcast among the highprinces. He’s willing to walk away from his position as highprince rather than ignore the visions.

At the same time, perseverance does not mean a bullheaded lack of flexibility. All the characters find they need to change and adapt the way they pursue their goals (in Kaladin’s case, protecting the bridgemen; in Dalinar’s, uniting the highprinces) or even change the goals themselves (Kaladin expanding his idea of protection beyond the bridgemen to include rescuing Dalinar’s army; Shallan becoming invested in Jasnah’s scholarship, mission, and objectives). Kaladin shifts from a goal of showing their superiors that the bridgemen are worth keeping alive to a goal of escape, once he realuzes that the bridgemen’s position makes the former impossible; he then turns away from their chance at escape to rescue Dalinar’s men. Dalinar changes from trying to unite the highprinces by moral suasion and a good example to being more tactical about it in the next book. Shallan expands her goals beyond her own and her family’s welfare to join in Jasnah’s goals of rescuing Roshar from the coming Desolation.

I think this is an important theme, and very often overlooked in fantasy and other action-oriented genres. It’s not just about making the right choice at the big moments, and then everything being straighforward. It’s the continual effort to move forward. One of the things it reminds me of is a sequence in Les Misérables (left out of virtually every adaptation). After Valjean decides to turn himself in to save Champmathieu, he does not just immediately arrive in the courtroom to testify as he does in the musical (no criticism of the musical intended; it does a fantastic job grasping the core of the book, and not everything fits). Instead, he meets obstacle after obstacle: the wheel of the postal-wagon he travels in is damaged, and it can go no further; he cannot find another vehicle, nor a horse to ride, nor get the wheel repaired in time; then when he does unexpectedly find a vehicle, the road is being repaired and his horse is worn out; then the carriage breaks and he has to fix it. It would be so easy, at many times, to deceive himself and say I can’t get there; there’s not enough time; anyway, I tried; but instead he perseveres through all the obstacles in order to accomplish something that he still desperately doesn’t want to do. And that, I think, says as much or more about his character as the initial decision to go does.

In short, everything that the characters achieve, in the climax of this book and through all the later books, is built upon the perseverance and determination and ability to work around obstacles that they employ in the many smaller moments leading up to those. You don’t become a hero just by doing one great thing, by hoping the right moment will come along for you to do that one thing and prove your worth (wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...) but by continually acting as a hero so that, when the big moment comes, you are prepared for it.

[aesudan-kholin]

If Kaladin had actually given Elhokar hero lessons, how do you think those sessions would have gone?

so... i made a post recently about how i understand (i know lots of things, but not understand) literally nothing about them whatsoever. so answering this ask isnt going to keep in line with what i usually do of only saying something if im confident in it and reasonably sure it wont change later. AKA me from the future might not agree with what i think and say now. so just putting that out there.

so the thing about this is it probably never could have happened. elhokar was desperate, and in his desperation, whether this idea of kaladin teaching him was something that he had been stewing on for weeks to months, or something he thought of while drunk (i imagine it would be the former, though he probably didn't think about it in specific, accomplishable ways), he finally worked up the courage with the help of some alcohol to ask kaladin to do this completely un fleshed out plan of figuring out how to make elhokar not be a shit king. now, this was doomed to fail for a few reasons.

number one: elhokar had a very very good chance of legitimately being incapable of being a good king.

maybe he could have ended up (with some guidance) as a good leader at some smaller scale, like a small town, but even that is debatable. kaladin instinctively knows things, and while i definitely think he had a negative bias against elhokar and his King Skillz in that moment due their relationship being at a low point, his instinct saying 'yeah thats never gonna happen' was probably completely correct.

number two: kaladin probably would not agree to it.

2a. in that moment where he did ask, kaladin thought he was being weird as hell and was so fucking confused. he didn't know at all where this was coming from, because he is blind to how other people view him a lot of the time, and by extension how elhokar had been idolizing him. they probably hadn't seen much of each other ever since elhokar tried to execute him and throw him in jail. from kaladin's perspective, elhokar tried to kill him, then is coming to him like he has all the secrets to life, which is very baffling to him. unrelated sidenote i need to rewrite this stupid coppermind article on elhokar i did not write it but i want to fix some shit in here. so kaladin in that situation is like WTF????? in his head but out loud he's like 'um.. i dont know if thats possible for you' which is a rejection. i don't know if he would have said the same words if he was at a relative high point in his opinion of elhokar rather than potentially the lowest point that he got in wor that he was in that chapter (thinking about it the chapter where he was in prison might have been the lowest but this is a low point is what im saying), but thats probably an opinion he would have kept throughout the bumpy road of whatever tf their relationship is.

2b. kaladin has shit to do, man. dude was working double triple shifts in words of radiance, got into urithiru and was like the only windrunner, and was training overtime to train some windrunners to have some squires ready for the expedition to kholinar. after he got back he was made a highmarshall and we dont see too much in the ob-row timeskip but he wasnt getting much sleep either, and he probably had a lot of shit to do when he was awake, battles aside. when would he have had the time to even begin to think about lesson plans for this goal that in his head is sort of unachievable, let alone find time for actually talking to elhokar about shit.

so like even if elhokar did ask at a point where kaladin felt less like he was absolute crap and more like [??????? but more positive than the absolute crap thing], kaladin would still have been like dude what. and kaladin also would have been like dude i do not have the time. even in an elhokar lives au (because the first time kaladin would have potentially had any time whatsoever for that is post-kholinar), shallan would probably be the radiant he was interacting more due to lightweaver reasons. and elhokar has a great deal of respect for shallan as well, certainly not as much as he has for kaladin, but he does value shallan's skill and opinion, and shallan would not only be a lot more willing to give elhokar some support and advice, they would be working closer together anyway because of their shared order. he wouldn't be getting this nebulous "secret to life" stuff that he wanted to get from the guy who survived a highstorm, almost single handedly saved an army, beat shardbearers with nothing but a spear, and fell into the chasms only to crawl back out again even after a highstorm, but, and my future self might disagree on this, but he might have just been looking for advice on how to live his life.

but, all of that aside. lets say that kaladin for some reason decided that it was personally important to him to train elhokar to not be a shit leader, that he potentially thought it was not a lost cause, and if he did then he cared enough to try anyway. postponing kholinar (which he would have the power to do in this case, since elhokar would be listening to whatever he said*) might have given him more time for that after that request, or else he might have had to think about it and agree post-kholinar, which would involve an elhokar lives au, which i dont want to deal with all the implications so im going to say in this scenario he accepted after elhokar asked in wor 80, or maybe directly after urithiru was discovered (aka later that night) with a promise to start teaching him right after he got back from hearthstone. god i feel like alternate history hub. the later that night thing would have been more likely because that is after his whole 180 about elhokar. that way, the weird intense commitment to help elhokar be a better leader was baked in to all the other weird dramatic shifts about how he thought about elhokar.

what i think kaladin would do?

possibility 1: he would have elhokar start small. i think he would have elhokar teach a single person to do something. he would get a new recruit, and tell elhokar to teach him to be a soldier. maybe the new recruit is one of lopens cousins who saw elhokar blackout drunk and being pushed around by lopens mom to eat his food, so he's not intimidated by him. the new guy not being intimidated is key, because he can't just do what elhokar says because he's the king. after the day, kaladin talks to the new recruit then elhokar, seeing what went right and wrong, then tells elhokar what changes to make. if somehow everything went right with that, kaladin would next give him a group of 5 to lead in some way, and if that worked, a group of 50.

possibility 2: a job shadow. either kaladin job shadowing elhokar, watching all his fuck ups happen in real time, and constantly whispering advice which is offputting to the people elhokar is meeting with but its funny. the issue here comes with kaladin not knowing a lot of political theory. as good of a leader as kaladin is (which is insanely), elhokar is more well versed in political theory (as an example think of the time kaladin was like 'why is beating sadeas in a duel going to wreck him its literally just a duel' there would be a lot of situations in elhokar's work as a king that kaladin would probably be similarly confused on), even if he doesn't apply it well. either that, or elhokar job shadowing kaladin, watching kaladin train the windrunners, and breaking to explain some things to elhokar every once in a while, which elhokar would theoretically learn from. the issue here of course comes with how both of these guys both have sort of incredibly important jobs that they could probably only carve out a few hours at most for something like that. unless elhokar abdicated.

abdication.... no i shouldn't go into all of this this should be a separate 2000 word post. but abdication could come into play and is related to that *asterisk earlier.

i can not think of a third possibility, although there probably is one. i would think that possibility 1 would be more likely in my opinion.

some meme possibilities i came up with:

- kaladin lets elhokar borrow syl and elhokar wears a hat and syl is in the hat pulling bits of his hair like ratatouille and basically operating elhokar and she makes him be an ideal windrunner whenever she feels like he's fucking up

- kaladin presides over the document signing meetings and whenever elhokar is about to sign a document he thinks isn't good he slaps the pen out of his hand and has a disapproving glare. elhokar has to do the walk of shame across the room to get the pen everytime this happens

- training montage with "Gonna Fly Now" in the background where there is no dialogue and it just shows elhokar visibly failing and he tries to lift a rock with a piece of paper on it that says "kingly responsibility" and fails and kaladin shakes his head, then there's a training montage of idk him learning the spear or training other bridgemen or other kaladin-y things and wearing a bandana for no reason then by the end of the montage he successfully lifts the kingly responsibility rock

- they just completely switch jobs for a while while elhokar gets his shit together. all hail king kaladin

(+ my first thoughts)

[st-just]

Semi-coherent thoughts on The Way of Kings

So clearly Sanderson improved significantly as an author between series, or possibly I just clicked with this aesthetic more, but either way I liked this book a lot more than Mistborn. (Though I still don’t think any single book really needs to be 1300 pages). More in the back-half than in the front, admittedly, but even the table-setting was interesting. The final climax to the War plotline was really well done, if a bit Hollywood (but then, I suppose that’s not really something you can sit down to a multi-thousand page heroic epic fantasy series and complain about). Though honestly by the end I was nearly as invested in Shallan’s plotline - the final reveal with the parshmen was really well done, though gonna try real hard not to think too deeply about the subtext there. But still, the entire climax just made me grin like a fool, and the epilogue was a legitimate surprise, in a good way.

But, like, so the Parshendi are clearly, self-evidently in the right as far as the war goes, right? Like, there were plenty of humanizing hints through the book and I’m really hoping that they weren’t just a red herring for the leadup to the big reveal. And, semi-related, but I feel like I have to say – ‘docile, perfect slaves who will just sit until they’re killed by the elements without instruction, distinguished from real humans primarily by their bizarre skin, turn out to be the remnants of some ancient evil who, under the right circumstances, will rise up in revolt and slaughter the masters who foolishly let down their guard.’ C’mon man. Really?

Anyway, given the impression I’d gotten of Sanderson – both from people online talking about him and from reading Mistborn, I am really pleasantly surprised how, well, magical the magic felt (well, less so in Szeth’s POV, but even there to an extent). Kaladin’s gradual (via other people repeatedly pointing it out to him) was especially great. Though on that count I probably like soulcasting rather more than binding or whatever it’s called, entirely because of all the weird associated mysticism, and also because it seems to be very nearly FMA-alchemy.

Of the three main POVs, I’ll admit Dalinor’s was the least interesting to me by some margin (and I honestly can’t even remember how to spell his son’s name. But, like, the jock prince even less so). Still, the ending where he launches a coup d’etat and forces the king to declare him Shogun after credibly threatening his death was great. Although, yes, if I was the king I would probably be a bit paranoid in the situation where I have no land or power of my own, my bodyguards are entirely loyal to my uncle – one of the great landed magnates, suffering from messianic delusions/visions, not even hiding his relationship with my mother the queen dowager, just forced me to sign a deeply unpopular order granting him control of other nobles’ armed retainers – and will do absolutely nothing if he beats me half to death to make a point. Seems, uh, less than ideal.

I’ve been repeatedly told that Kaladin is basically the book’s main character, and that me getting more invested in his arc than the others is basically things going as intended. So, well, that pretty much worked. Though I’ll say right not that I do not remember a single name of any of his bridge-buddies. They’re fine as quirky supporting cast, granted, but that’s about it. Syl’s great though, easily in the running for best non-POV character (the spren generally are a really interesting bit of worldbuilding). I’m sure it’s just because I read Mistborn so recently (and, honestly, because both their names start with K), but he remained me of Kelseir to a certain extent. The same arc of ‘embittered cynic learns that not every privileged noble of the horrifying oppressive system he suffers under is evil, merely the vast majority’, anyway. That and the fact that he also seems to have a cult now, though I guess he got his by accident.

Shallan’s arc really grew on me once we got back to it in part three – and I’d always liked it to begin with. Partially because intrigue and conspiracies are generally more interesting than action scenes and this had one without the other, and partially because Jasnah is the other candidate for best supporting character (sorry, I’m obligated to love the insufferably too-smart-for-her-own-good atheist historian, its in my contract). Though I am looking forward to Shallan’s next conversation with her brothers “Bad news, I do not have a soulcaster. Good news, I’m now an apprentice wizard. No, I will not be coming home.”

I am more than a bit confused about the exact timeline of all this mythic prehistory, though I’m sure that’s at least partially intentional. Still, very curious if God’s death (or, well, I suppose Ahura Mazda’s, given the whole dualism thing) is the cause, result, or unrelated to all but one of his immortal hero-saints deciding to say ‘fuck this’ when it was time to go back to being tortured/fight in hell for another few (decades? Centuries? Millennia?).

Also unclear on what sort of timeframe all this is supposed to have happened in. Hundreds of years ago? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It seems like it went ‘mythical dawn kingdoms’ ---> ‘global theocracy’ ---> ‘current setup’, which doesn’t seem like much change. But, like, it’s a thousand page high fantasy book, political situations persisting for thousands of years wouldn’t exactly be surprising.

But yeah, anyway, good book. Will need to grab the sequel sometime soon. Though I should really take a break with some nonfiction first.

[cosmerelists]

Top 10 Ways Shallan & Adolin might ask Kaladin out

[Previously--Shallan/Kaladin, Kaladin/Adolin, Shallan/Jasnah]

Sanderson has said that Shallan & Adolin would probably both be up for adding Kaladin to their relationship. So let’s say that Shallan & Adolin talked it over and decided that they wanted to jointly date Kaladin. Let’s rank the ways they might approach asking Kaladin out!

#10: Write a very persuasive letter 

This one was Shallan’s idea!

Shallan: This worked when I needed to convince Jasnah to take me on as a ward!

Shallan: We can point out how well the three of us would get on, how happy we’d all be, etc, etc.

Shallan: Logic! And Romance!

Adolin: Shallan...my love...he can’t read.

Adolin: Who’s going to read him that letter??

Shallan: We could...have Renarin scrawl vaguely foreboding glyphs on the wall? About, uh, dating us?

Adolin: Let’s keep brainstorming!

#9: Put the idea in his head right before he leaves for Shinovar

After all, Kaladin often needs time to mull things over for an entire book before he can make a decision. So why not ask at a time when he’ll be guaranteed to have the time and space to decide for himself?

Kaladin: Hey, Szeth, do you think it’s possible to love multiple people at once and by loved by them in turn?

Kaladin: It just feels like that’s too much good, you know?

Kaladin: Things that are too good haven’t lasted in my life.

Kaladin: But maybe it will be different, this time?

Szeth: I hear nothing but screams when I close my eyes.

Kaladin: Does your, uh, sword have any ideas?

#8: Nonstop flirting

This is how Adolin got all of his relationships before Shallan. It’s kinda a solid standby for him. But would it work on Kaladin...?

Shallan: Nice boots. Love to see them on my floor.

Kaladin: D-Don’t steal my boots again!

Adolin: Hey Kaladin, maybe you’d like to use your power to stick me somewhere. Like the bed?

Kaladin: That’s really more Lopen’s thing, but he likes walls.

Kaladin: ...

Kaladin: Wait, are you guys flirting with me?

Adolin: Have been for months, thanks for noticing.

#7: Go through Syl

Perhaps they could try talking to Syl first, to get her on their side. A nice, friendly entity to subtly introduce the idea of a throuple to Kaladin.

Syl: So you know how I’m articulate, beautiful, and perfect, right?

Kaladin: Uh, sure, Syl.

Syl: Well *I* just learned something that will blow your mind! Did you know that you can date two people AT ONCE?!

Kaladin: I can barely date one person at a time.

Syl: Yes, but what if they were both WAY better at dating than you?

Syl: And what if you already liked them both?

Syl: And if they allied with me, proving that they are also super smart?

Shallan (quietly, from a distance): We asked her to be subtle, right?

Adolin: Wait, wait, I want to see where this is going!

#6: Let him overhear

Sometimes Kaladin has trouble processing new & unexpected ideas, like retiring from a job that has left him barely functional or the idea that his men might one day get married. So perhaps Shallan and Adolin could “accidentally” let him overhear their plans, allowing him to learn the information in a nonthreatening manner!

Shallan: I am so happy with you, Adolin. But I do wonder if our relationship could become even richer, if it could evolve in a way that only makes us both even happier.

Adolin (immediately forgetting his lines) Y-Yes! We SHOULD date Kaladin!

Shallan: ...

Shallan: Well I suppose that works.

#5: More subtly introduce him to the idea first 

Or perhaps even the "let him ‘accidentally’ overhear” plan would be too much for Kaladin’s nerves. Perhaps it would be even better to let Kaladin get used to the idea of throuples in general first, and THEN suggest the specifics. And maybe Bridge 4 could help!

Sigzil: You know, there are cultures in which romantic relationships involve three people rather than two.

Kaladin: Huh!

Sigzil: Interesting, right?

Kaladin: Yeah, I guess so.

Sigzil (quietly): Mission accomplished. 

Kaladin: What was that?

Sigzil: N-Nothing!

#4: Just go on dates with him until he figures it out

Kaladin is a man of action. Perhaps Shallan & Adolin can just keep asking him to join them for dinner until he figures it out.

Adolin: Hey, dinner with me and Shallan tonight? My treat!

Kaladin: A-Again?! Aren’t you two tired of me being the third wheel?

Shallan: You know, three wheels are actually way more stable than two.

Kaladin: Yeah, fine, but we’re talking about dating, not, like, carts or whatever.

Shallan: ...

Adolin: ...

Kaladin: So...aren’t you two tired of me interrupting your dates?

Adolin: We were so close!

Kaladin: What?

Adolin: What?

#3: Something Dramatic

As we know, Kaladin is a Dramatic Lad. So what better way to ask him out than to do so in the most dramatic fashion possible? 

Adolin: So first we get him to fly up in the air, right? And he’ll look down to see Gallant marching at the head of a column of fully armored soldiers who will move around to spell out the glyphs for “Romance” and “Love.”

Shallan: Yes! And that’s when the chorus of women will start to sing the love song I had commissioned!

Adolin: It can’t possibly fail!

Shallan: He’s kinda afraid of horses, though.

Adolin: Yeah, maybe we’ll leave Gallant at home.

#2: Wait for a near-death experience

After all, Kaladin bonded with Shallan (and developed a bit of a crush) when they were trapped in the caverns during a highstorm. He bonded with Adolin when the two of them barely survived a fight against four shardbearers. So perhaps near-death experiences are just the most romantic time!

Kaladin: OH STORMFATHER THE THUNDERCLASTS ARE CRUSHING EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE WE LOVE

Adolin: Soooo Kaladin, are you bisexual?

Shallan: And/or biromantic?

Kaladin: [screaming]

Shallan (muttering): I knew we should have gone with the ominous glyphs. 

#1: Just ask

Or, well, I suppose they could simply try asking him out directly. 

Adolin: You know, Kaladin, Shallan and I both love you deeply.

Shallan: Would you like to go out--with both of us?

Adolin: Like on a romantic, three-person date?

Shallan: Perhaps multiple times over the long-term until we all see if we like it?

Kaladin: ...

Kaladin: Well...I guess we could...try it?

Shallan & Adolin: [openly weeping and cheering]

Kaladin: ...Has this been weighing on you for a while, then?

[peachdoxie]

I didn’t get around to posting last week’s liveblog of Rhythm of War, so I’m going to post both chapters 14 and 15 here. Let’s get to it!

Some of the Fused on Braize slumbered...

SLUMBERED?

Timbre pulsed a warning inside her, and Venli forcibly resisted those instincts. It was not easy. Perhaps as a Surgebinder, she should have been naturally selfless. Naturally noble. Like Eshonai. 

Ah, identity/Identity stuff. Fun.

fannahn-im, the Altered Ones

Cool, another type of Fused.

In that light, these tombs were a flagrant, wasteful act—the ultimate price for this show was paid not by the Nine, but by the poor singers they had killed to give them bodies.

Something something Marxism and the labor of the proletariat

She was both the very crust of the unimportant and the very dregs of the important.

I like this line.

Avendla was their name for Alethkar; Venli’s powers instantly knew the meaning of the word. Land of the Second Advance. Her abilities stopped there, however, and she couldn’t answer the more interesting question. Why was it called that?

Yeah, why DO they call Alethkar “Land of the Second Advance”? Hmm...

“You think I could be defeated by a common human?” the Pursuer demanded. “This Windrunner must be of the Fourth Ideal—something I was led to believe had not yet happened. Perhaps our reconnaissance teams have lost their edge, during the long time spent between Returns.”

HAHA GET FUCKED YOU GOT REKT BY KALADIN “ONLY SWORN THE THIRD IDEAL” STORMBLESSED

Each new wave of attacks had involved what was called a Return, when the Fused would descend to Roshar.

Yeah uh anyone else suspicious of the word “Return” bc that’s really similar to the Returned in Warbreaker.

None of them realize she’s trying to protect that Windrunner, Venli thought. Maybe she doesn’t realize it herself.

Leshwi has officially joined the Kaladin Protection Squad.

“There are few among them of the Fourth Ideal—perhaps only one individual—and they do not have full access to the tower, now that the Sibling is dead.”

Okay, first: who’s the one who might have sworn the Fourth Ideal? Is she referring to Kaladin or someone else??? No one we’ve seen has sworn the Fourth Ideal...

ALSO. S I B L I N G L O R E.

“You have nearly perfected the suppression fabrials,” Raboniel said. “Do not forget, it is technology I discovered from the tower itself thousands of years ago. I have a plan to use it in a more dramatic way. As the Sibling is essentially a deadeye, I should be able to turn the tower’s defenses against its owners.”

The Sibling is “essentially a deadeye.” But not an actual deadeye. But just a moment ago she said that the Sibling is dead. WHAT THE FUCK. GIVE ME LORE.

“We will need to lure the Elsecaller and the Bondsmith away. Their oaths may be advanced enough to push through the suppression, much as the Unmade have done at the tower in the past.”

First. What the fuck. Second, what the fuck???

“During the last Return, she developed a disease intended to kill all humans on the planet. Near the end, it was discovered that the disease would likely kill many singers as well. She released it anyway…only to find, to all of our fortunes, that it did not work as expected. Fewer than one in ten humans were killed, and one in a hundred singers.”

That’s a yikes but also how have we not heard of this illness yet?

“If you forget why you are fighting, then victory itself becomes the goal.”

Something something Journey before destination

“In addition, this endeavor will give me the opportunity to test some… theories I have developed while slumbering these last millennia.”

SLUMBERING

“Last time, her recklessness nearly cost us everything.”

GIVE. ME. THE. LORE.

***

Kaladin announced that Sigzil—with whom he’d conferred earlier in the day—would take over daily administration of the Windrunners, overseeing things like supplies and recruitment.

I am not surprised that Sigzil is now in charge.

“I know you are, sir. But I have no interest in taking ‘what I can get.’ And I don’t think you should force a spren into a bond. It will make for a bad precedent, sir.” He hummed a different rhythm. “You all name me a squire, but I can’t draw Stormlight like the rest. There’s a wedge between me and the Stormfather, I think. Strange. I expected prejudice from humans, but not from him… Anyway, I will wait for a spren who will bond me for who I am—and the honor I represent.”

Literally not at all surprised that Rlain is turning Yunfah down. I expected as much. That still means Yunfah is without a bond. Also, I wonder if Rlain will bond with a spren that’s not an honorspren. Rlain for Nightwatcher Bondsmith 2k20

Or maybe, another part of him thought, you could do what you promised him—and listen for once.

Yeah, Kaladin, you should listen to Rlain. Take a lesson from Lift in that.

“But you couldn’t give up the sword,” Kaladin said.

“Oh, I gave it up. I let go. Best mistake I ever made.”

Lmao I’m betting Zahel is referring to one veeeery specific sword.

100% not surprised that Zahel is doing stuff with cloth. That’s like Awakening 101.

Honestly this scene with Kaladin fighting Zahel in the clotheslines is wonderful. It’s cinematic, actually.

“I’m not confident anyone knows the answers. I figure I’ll let the people who care argue about it, and I’ll keep my head down and focus on my life right now.”

Agnostic Kaladin. I didn’t know I could love this man more but I do.

“I don’t have to believe,” the voice drifted back. “I know gods exist. I simply hate them.”

Lmao since on Nalthis he was considered a god.

“You want to know what I am? Well, I’m a lot of things. Tired, mostly.”

God what a mood

“That’s because Wit is an asshole.”

BEST FUCKING MOMENT OF RHYTHM OF WAR SO FAR

“Happened to your friend too. Up in the prison? The one with… that sword.”

Well, that answers two questions. One, what happened to Szeth after Oathbringer? Two, does Zahel know Szeth has Nightblood? Also, it seems that Szeth still has possession of Nightblood. Wonder how he managed to do that.

“She’s what I now call a Type One Invested entity. I decided that had to be the proper way to refer to them. Power that came alive on its own.”

“Type Two Invested entity. Dead man walking.”

Interesting. It seems based on Vasher’s BioChromatic entity scale, but not the same.

Kaladin frowned, trying to figure out why Zahel was telling him this.

Good question. Why IS Zahel telling him this?

“The longer one of us exists, the more like a spren we become. Consumed by a singular purpose, our minds bound and chained by our Intent. We’re spren masquerading as men. That’s why she takes our memories. She knows we aren’t the actual people who died, but something else given a corpse to inhabit…”

Sure, Zahel. Just drop us some fucking lore right here. We kinda already knew it but to have it laid out here is something else. But it’s still interesting, especially with the part about capital-I Intent, and Endowment taking memories.

***

Anyway, that’s chapters 14 and 15! Some interesting stuff going on, including what will probably be one of my favorite scenes in Rhythm of War.

[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.

[artisticgryfess]

Stormlight Modern AU - Worldbuilding

I’m never gonna write this but if anyone sees this they should feel free to!!

It’s a lot so it’s going under a read more

Each of the princedoms is a province of Alethkar

Each province has an army, which are used much the same way as they are in the canon books (i.e. against each other trying to get more land and by the king, working for the benefit of alethkar as a whole)

Each province has claim over one major thing in terms of running the country, although they must accede to the king should he make a decree

Kholin has War (the most important and highest ranked general)

Sebarial has Commerce (regulates trade)

Sadeas has Information (spies, criminal justice, policing forces)

Slavery works the exact same, except while most singers are slaves, they have the same legal rights as human slaves

Highprince is still an official title and has the exact same station and meaning, but they are elected, for life or til resignation. While it is usually passed down in families via the sons/daughters being the only one running, it is fully possible for an outsider to run and win. It is a very rare occurrence, though.

Kings are also elected, but no one from outside the family has ever run against members of it and won

Gender roles are more expectations than societal laws; there are a few male scholars and a few female soldiers, although neither is extremely common and all of them face some prejudice

Safehands stopped being a thing long ago, and everyone is literate, not just women (the literacy fight was the harder one)

Spren are still a thing, and while it is well-known amongst the scientific community that if you record any singular measurement for a given spren, that individual spren maintains that measurement possibly for the rest of time, even if it varied before it was written down

There are scientists who devote their life to studying spren, but they cannot really learn what spren actually are, due to the lack of Elsecallers, Lightweavers, or Willshapers.

Someone did once propose the hypothesis that they are living ideas, but she was ridiculed and laughed out of the sprenologist community

Jasnah has studied her proposal

There is no mention of Shadesmar made anywhere but ancient documents, and there is no real reason to associate those with spren

Spren are widely regarded as the most mysterious phenomenon in the world, and while generations of scientists have been studying them, they will likely remain so

There are plenty of references to the Desolations, the Heralds, the Knights Radiant, Stormlight, etc. but there are few documents that actually explain them

After electricity was invented, people stopped leaving their gemstones out in highstorms - after a while, it became a folk tale, then a true myth, then disappeared from the minds of the non-historians entirely

There are historical mentions of it originating from pretty much everywhere in Roshar, even a few (though only a very few) from Shinovar

Shardblades are either buried beneath lots of rock, sitting in museums, or on display in rich people's’ mansions

Shardplate was tried in combat, but has fallen out of use due to its lack of effectiveness against bullets at first, and later the lack of how to recharge gemstones and thus regenerate shardplate

Same for soulcasters

Technology is modern level - and people have caught radio waves from Scadrial from a hundred or so years back.

There is ongoing research on the origin of these waves, how old they are, and what any of it even means (language barriers yo!)

Jasnah is a historian at a college in Kholinar, but doesn’t teach - its just her main base of operations for her research

She’s studying the ancient civilizations of roshar, she’s currently trying to figure out what soulcasters were used for + what stormlight was

She’s found mentions of Stormlight all across Roshar, and knows that the highstorms renew it.

She believes that if she could find the right reference from Shinovar, she could learn just what it is - unfortunately, if such a record exists, it has not been found yet.

Shallan is going to the same college on a student visa, convinced Jasnah to tutor her

Kaladin was a soldier in Sadeas’ army, serving under Amaram until one day he killed a high-ranking enemy officer and refused the boon Amaram offered him - so Amaram killed all that was left of his squad and sold Kaladin into slavery. He is currently working construction on a new building in the university in kholinar, the very place he had been hoping to go

He’s still very skilled with the spear, but learned it as a hobby sport in his teens and has never wielded one in actual combat

He’s still 19 - signed up to pay for med school, and for Tien’s school

Shallan is a citizen of Jah Keved, going to college in Kholinar on a student visa

She’s majoring in Art and Ecology, and considering a minor in history after Jasnah pointed out just how much there still is to learn there and how little she personally knows

Lived a sheltered life on her father’s estate - he owned a small company

Going to college in the hopes of finding a way to continue to maintain it, possibly by selling some of Jasnah’s research?

Parents die same way as in canon, pretty much

Dalinar is Jasnah’s father, highprince of war, and highprince of the province of Kholin

One of the king’s most trusted advisors - its said that if he decided to run for king, he would be the first outside of the royal family to be placed on the throne

His house has the closest familial ties to the throne, but they’re still pretty distant. They no longer share the same last name, due to various women holding the throne

Adolin is Dalinar’s eldest son, and the most likely successor to the Kholin throne

He’s a very accomplished duelist

greatsword is his preferred weapon, second is longsword

Romantic activities much the same

Unsure what he wants to do with his life, but guesses that he’ll probably end up being on the Kholin throne or going pro with his dueling

Doesn’t really want the former, thinks he’ll have to do it anyway

[eepy-swag]

Heyo! It’s Cosmere gift exchange time! Mine is done, and it’s a gift for the awesome @sheisrysn ! Hope you like and enjoy it!

Kaladin immediately stopped when he entered the room. Shallan, cuddling a stuffed toy, was lying on the carpet, her  eyes closed, but Kaladin could easily tell she was not yet asleep. He smiled softly at her, but his doctor instincts kicked in and  he decided to get her off the floor, and tell er to at least sleep on the couch.

‘’Shallan! You can’t sleep on the floor! You’ll get sick!’’Kaladin tried to hide the smile in his voice, but it didn’t exactly work out. Shallan groaned and turned her face to Kaladin, who was still standing in the doorway.

“Storming watch me. Adolin decided to wash all the sheets today, and all the beds are naked! And you know I don’t like sleeping in naked beds!”

“Naked. You decided to call the sheetless beds naked?“ Kaladin burst into laughter and continued after he could breathe again: “I think there’s a washed pair upstairs, and when Adolin comes home, we can both yell at him for stuffing all the sheets in the washing machine and leaving the beds….naked.”

Shallan threw her pillow at him, but Kaladin caught it gracefully and threw it back at her. Damn him and all his training. “What do you want to call beds without sheets then? I think ‘naked’ is a pretty suitable word, and you should honestly compliment me for saying such a smart thing, just after you pulled me off my wonderful daydream including sharks wearing Mickey Mouse hats and dancing hula.”

Kaladin laughed and sat next to her. “There’s only one person in this world that would daydream about sharks wearing Mickey Mouse hats dancing hula, Shallan, and that’s you.”

“Duh! I haven’t met anyone else that fabulous and interesting!”

Kaladin went silent for a moment, and a wide smile spread across his face. Then he attacked her. 

Shallan yelped, but Kaladin was quickly on top of her, tickling her and laughing. Shallan tried twisting beneath him, but he was way bigger and way stronger than her, and she was pretty busy laughing to death for that to succeed. Soon she was left without breath, and decided to use a trick Adolin thought her. She twisted enough that one of her legs was free, and kicked Kaladin behind the knee. He yelped, lost balance and nearly fell on top of Shallan, but she was faster and soon  stood on top of him. She grinned lazily, but burst into laughter at Kaladin’s still surprised face.

“Did Adolin teach you? And that was amazing as hell!’’

“Yeah, though I didn’t think I would use it on you. Just for the information, you deserved it. No real gentleman tickles a just awoken lady. As said, totally deserved.”

Kaladin laughed again, but Shallan was still sitting on his stomach, which caused her to bounce up and down. Which caused Kaladin to laugh more, and that didn’t really help her. 

“Now, after you have tickled me nearly to death, it’s your turn.’’

‘’What?”

She didn’t answer, but instead attacked him in return. Which, again, caused her to bounce. She stood up on her knees, to prevent further bouncing. Kaladin stopped making any sound, but he was still shaking with laughter. Shallan ticked off her head and chuckled loudly. He tried to flip them again, but did not succeed and got an extra load of tickling.

“Okay, okay, enough, I can’t breathe anymore and my stomach hurts. You win, please don’t make me dance hula with a Mickey Mouse hat on.”

Shallan flopped down next to him and spread her arms. “Can we both sleep on the floor? As far as I know the beds are still naked, and I got exhausted tickling you. You weigh more than a pig.“

“Oh, c’mon, pigs don’t have so much muscles. And if we’re sleeping here, at least let’s get some pillows and blankets.”

“Yeah, otherwise your perfect ass will freeze.”

Kaladin rose his eyebrows at her and went to get the blankets. After a while, Shallan heard him shouting from the other room: “Adolin said he’s coming home late today, right?” He entered the room with a pile of blankets in his hands, which hid his face and muffled his voice. “We could put on a movie and make a pillow fort if you want. And take a nap on the floor.”

Shallan beamed and stood up to help him with the blankets. “Nice! What should we watch? We can go old school with some disney movies, we could watch something superhero themed, oooor…’’

“What?”

“Teenage drama!!!”

Kaladin was once again laughing.  Shallan suddenly remembered how quiet and grumpy he was when they met. How he was nearly broken from his brother’s death because of the war, how insecure, scared and lonely he looked back then. She smiled softly at him.

“I think I’m gonna go with cheesy teenage romance drama. There are always a few tones of them waiting to be found. And they have no hula dancing.”

“I don’t get what’s wrong with hula dancing!”

After an hour of searching for the perfect one, according to Shallan, which means one she hasn’t already watched, they decided that they were going to watch ‘’The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

“Wait, isn’t this Hermione? I thought she was from Harry Potter!

“It’s just the same actress, mmm I think her name was Emma Wattson? Oh look, and it’s the guy from Percy Jackson!”

“Noo, the movies were terrible! But he’s handsome, soooo…”

Kaladin laughed at Shallan’s face and started preparing to play the movie. Shallan proceeded to cover the sofa with blankets and pillows, but halfway through it, she realised she needed more blankets. 

“Kal, do we have more blankets? I will need more than you brought, the sofa is biiiig.”

Kaladin didn’t look up from the computer, but smiled. Shallan rolled her eyes at him, and after he didn’t answer for another minute, she quietly neared him and  hopped on his lap like a cat. Kaladin yelped and nearly fell off his chair. At least he looked up from his computer. Shallan was intensely staring at him, frowning, and trying really hard not to smile. Kaladin stared back at her for a second, then landed a quick kiss on her nose. It was like magic, at one moment she was pouting, and on the other, her lips were parted from surprise and her eyes were wide open. Then she started laughing. He picked her up, bridal style, and set her on the coach, kissing her again. 

“Stay here, I’ll take care of the blankets. The movie is downloading, but I need to turn on the TV.”

“Bring more pillows too, mister Doctor.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

She stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

“Whatever, mister Doctor.”

Kaladin stuck his tongue back at her and went to get more blankets and pillows. After they were done with covering the sofa, Shallan jumped and landed on it. 

“Aaah, cozy. And comfy.”

Kaladin flopped next to her, grabbed the remote and played the movie. Shallan wrapped herself with a blanket and sighed happily. Kaladin glanced at her for a second then burst out laughing. 

“If I wasn’t a blanket burrito, I would’ve hit you with a pillow, mister Doctor.”

‘’I’m absolutely sure you would, Miss Hula Dancing.’’

“Noo only I can call you stupid names!”

“And what gave you that thought, Miss Hula Dancing?” 

“Stop! It’s not fair!”

She attempted to kick him, but with her legs wrapped in a blanket, it wasn’t much of a kick. Kaladin laughed and stuck his tongue out again at Shallan, and half a second after she was doing the same.

“Shh, we’re supposed to be watching a movie! Let’s make a temporary truce, I won’t be calling you Miss Hula Dancing, and you won’t call me Mister Doctor. For now.”

Shallan snuggled against him and said that yes, she agrees with the temporary truce. For now.

They watched the movie in silence, cuddling together. After a while, Shallan was already sobbing, and Kalading was hiding his watery eyes. When they reached the end of the movie, their faces were both wet from tears. They sat there for a little while longer, just being with each other, enjoying the silence in the house. Shallan’s eyes were starting to close when Kaladin quietly murmored:

 “Do you still wanna sleep on the floor or what?” 

Shallan just hummed in response and got closer to Kaladin. He cupped her cheek and lifted her face towards his, placing a small kiss on her forehead. Shallan scrunched her nose and stretched. 

“Hey. Miss Hula Dancing, wake up.”

“Is it morning yet?” 

“No, dummy, we have to sleep somewhere and all the beds are naked, as you call them. Do you still want to sleep on the floor?”

Shallan stretched some more and proceeded to cuddle into Kaladin’s lap.

“Yeah, come on let’s do that. Mister Doctor.” 

Kaladin laughed softly, then picked her up and gently laid her down on the couch.

“Wait here, I’ll prepare the “bed” for sleeping.”

Shallan adjusted on the sofa and sighed, closing her eyes again. Kaladin took out a big mattress they had for emergency situations and put it on the floor, covering it with a few blankets. Then, he brought in two big pillows and placed them on the bed. Kaladin gently picked up Shallan again, who was already asleep. She barely opened her eyes, smiled a bit, and then cuddled up in the bed. 

“Mmm Kal, I want some blankets, I’m cold.”

“Right away, princess.’’

Kaladin took the blankets from the sofa and wrapped Shallan in them, placing another kiss on her forehead. He put out the lights in the other rooms, and lastly those in the living room, where Shallan was already soundly asleep. He softly smiled down at her and laid next to her, careful not to wake her up. She turned on the other side, facing him, and snuggled her head in his chest, humming sleepily. Kaladin smiled again and put his hands around her protectively, as if someone was going to burst in and take her from him. 

                                                    =====================

When Adolin returned from work, he did not expect his girlfriend and boyfriend sleeping on the ground, wrapped in three blankets, cuddling together. But it didn’t genuinely surprise him, either. He noticed the messy sofa, and the opened computer nearby, and smiled. So they were watching a movie before he came home. Hopefully they didn’t do anything else without him. He undressed as quietly as he could and got in the shower. After ten minutes or so, Kaladin’s sleepy head stuck through the door. 

“So you are already home. How did it go?”

He got in the bathroom  wholly and sat on the floor, still a little drowsy. Adolin laughed at his bed hair, and Kaladin tried to murder-glare him, but it didn’t work out and he just looked like an annoyed puppy, which caused Adolin to laugh more. 

“It went well, we found him and locked him up safely. It was an easy operation, but there was a shit ton of paperwork, that’s why it took me so long.”

“Oh. Me and Shallan watched a movie, and since you left all the sheets in the washing machine, we had to sleep  on the ground. Luckily for you, I managed to make it comfortable enough.”

“Oh so that’s what I forgot!”

Kaladin laughed and Adolin nearly slipped in the shower staring at his smile. And he was the naked one! 

“Do you have to go to work tomorrow?” 

Adolin starred lovingly down at him on that question. When Kaladin was sleepy he sounded like a five year old and had absolutely no filter. You couldn’t make him embarrassed, whatever you did when he was in that state.

“No, I don’t. They gave me a break because of the solved case. So, you’re going to have me here for the whole week.”

Kaladin’s face immediately lit up, and Adolin couldn’t help but blush. And he was the naked one! 

“Did you find the guy with the Shardguns? We haven’t heard of him from something like a week or so. “

Kaladin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

“Yeah, we did. Didn’t I tell you already?”

Adolin smiled and stepped out of the shower and kissed him on the lips.

“Tell me again.”

Kaladin smiled back at him and handed him a towel.

‘‘You can dress first. And please be quiet, Shallan is sleeping.”

“As if she wakes up that easy.”

Kaladin stuck his tongue at him and went to bring him clothes. Adolin smiled to himself and brushed his teeth in the meantime and when Kaladin returned with pajamas for him, he was all ready for sleep. Adolin stole another quick kiss from Kaladin and dressed, nearly falling, but they managed not to wake up Shallan. 

“I guess I’m sleeping on the floor with you tonight?”

“Except if you don’t want to sleep on the ‘naked’ beds, as Shallan called them, then yes.”

Adolin burst out laughing, and Kaladin quickly shushed him, trying not to laugh himself. 

“Yeah, she called them that. But it wasn’t the weirdest thing today! She said she was daydreaming about sharks with Mickey Mouse hats dancing hula!”

“Are you purposely trying to wake up Shallan? Because if you continue to do that, she will definitely be awake soon.”

Kaladin laughed as quietly as he could, but Adolin decided to shut him up with a kiss. Kaladin was surprised at first, but kissed back almost immediately. Adolin’s back hit the counter, but he didn’t pull away from the kiss, and only smiled against Kaladin’s lips. His hands slipped under Adolin’s shirt, and then they both had to pull apart for a breath. Kaladin smiled at him, a little flushed.

“I like it when you silence me like that. It works very effectively.”

Adolin smiled back at him and kissed him passionately again. 

“We should go to bed, or else my feet are going to freeze. It’s cold, I just showered, and I’m barefoot.” 

They both froze when they heard footsteps, Kaladin suddenly very awake. Shallan’s messy hair stuck in the kitchen, and they both relaxed. Adolin smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, and then kissed her. Shallan’s bed head was absolutely hilarious, and her disoriented face made it no better. Both boys burst out laughing, and soon Shallan joined them. 

“Idiots. I go to the kitchen to get something to eat, I see that it’s light inside, and see you two, who clearly just had a make out session!”

Adolin laughed again and ruffled her hair. 

“We were just going to bed, my feet are cold. And Shallan, tomorrow you should really tell me about those hula sharks.”

Shallan suspiciously eyed Kaladin, then punched him in the arm.

“You told him, didn’t you. Now you’ll never let it go, right Mister Doctor?”

“You have no right to talk, Miss Hula Dancing!”

Adolin was shivering, and when Shallan and Kaladin noticed, they immediately got him into the bed. Shallan piled two more blankets on the bed and snuck in, snuggling close to Adolin. Kaladin returned with one more pillow and laid down next to Adolin, spooning him. Adolin smiled lazily and said:

“You know why is it awesome to be in a triad? You can be both the big spoon and the little spoon!”

Shallan and Kaladin kicked him under the blankets at the same time and Shallan murmured something that suspiciously sounded like ‘idiots’. Adolin laughed and hugged tightly Shallan.  Kaladin snuggled his face in his neck and sighed happily. 

“I love you both, even if you’re idiots.’’ Kaladin made a pause, took in a breath, and continued. “Do you remember? You are the reason why I can smile again, after…after Tien. And after all that happened.” Kaladin took in another, shaky breath. Adolin, suddenly serious, turned his face to Kaladin’s.

“It’s okay now. You’re okay, I’m okay, and Shallan is okay. It’s all over, Kal. there’s no need to worry.”

Kaladin smiled at him.

“I know.”

Shallan lifted her head, and drowsily told them to shut the fuck up and go to sleep. Adolin turned and spooned her, and Kaladin snuggled his face in Adolin again.

 At one point during the night, Kaladin heard a loud thud nearby. He stood up,suddenly alert, squinting and trying to see if there was something. At last, he lit the lamps, and when his eyes adjusted, he saw that Shallan rolled off the bed. He smiled, placed her  on the bed again and put the lights out ,slipping under the blankets. 

                                         ================================

When the sun slipped through the window, Kaladin was already awake. He was sitting on his desk, sipping from a cup of hot cocoa, and writing on his laptop. It was just a hobby of his, but he really enjoyed doing it, and was planning to publish at least one book. At ten o’clock, Adolin’s messy hair showed in the doorframe. Kaladin warmly smiled at him and tilted his head to the warm cup of coffee on the counter. Adolin just drowsily nodded, picked up the cup and took a big sip from it. Kaladin returned to his laptop, still smiling. Before he had his cup of coffee in the morning, Adolin was impossible to talk to. After a while, Shallan too entered the room. Now she was a morning person. Kaladin couldn’t understand how she can get up every morning well rested and fresh. 

“Good morning, my fellow boys! How do you feel in this sunny winter morning?”

Adolin just groaned and continued to sip from his coffee. Kaladin finally got up from the computer and stretched, nearly knocking off his cup. Shallon peaked to see what Kaladin was writing, and after a while sat down on the chair and focused on the reading, taking sips from Kaladin’s cup with hot chocolate. Kaladin yawned and went over to Adolin, hugging him from behind. Suddenly, Shallan shot off from the chair.

“It’s the 24th!”

Kaladin turned his head to her. 

“Yeah. It’s the 24th of…December. Oh. Oooh. OOH!’’

Adolin spit out his last bit of coffee laughing. He put his cup in the sink, pulled himself a chair, and sat next to Shallan.

“We made a plan, remember? We went shopping, bought all the presents we needed and all the ingredients for dinner tonight. So, there’s no need to panic.”

Shallan sighed and laid down on Adolin’s legs.

“I know, I know, it’s just not like me not to worry. When did Jasnah say they will arrive?”

“At five p.m., they’re bringing every Kholin they can find with them. Kal, when did your mom say that they’ll come?”

“They have to finish baby proofing the house, so they will be a little late. I think at seven or something?”

“But are you sure we bought everything we need?”

Adolin laughed and kissed Shallan’s forehead.

“Quit worrying, everything’s going to be okay!" 

Kaladin drank the rest of his chocolate and stretched again.

"It’s time to start preparing!" 

                     ==============

By lunch, the house was shining clean and they’ve already checked if they had everything twice. Shallan managed to calm down a bit, and they ate on the kitchen table. Shallan managed to find her Christmas albums in her music folders, which were huuuge, and it was echoing all around the house. They were laughing and running around, and suddenly it was already three in the afternoon. Shallan panicked once again, and insisted that they should start preparing dinner. 

They checked the ingredients, again, and started preparing the meal. Shallan had planned five meals and three salads, and Kaladin and Adolin had to cut millions of vegetables for them. 

"Shallan, are you sure we will be able to eat all this?" 

She went over to Kaladin, who was currently slicing some cucumber for a salad that Shallan found in Bulgaria and liked it so much that she decided to have it on their Christmas dinner, and landed a quick kiss on his lips.

"Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. You know how much Adolin eats, and his father doesn’t eat any less.”

“You’ve got a point. Also are you sure that this …cheese is actually cheese? It doesn’t look like cheese. It’s too soft and…white.”

Shallan laughed again and returned to the meal she was preparing. There was meat and a whole bunch of vegetables in it, and you eat it with rice. It was Adolin and Dalinar’s favourite food, and Shallan enjoyed making it. 

After nearly two hours, everything was finally done. Shallan put the cake in the oven and dusted of her hands.

“Oof finally. That was a rather fun afternoon. Jasnah just texted me that they’ll be here in half an hour.”

Adolin flopped on the sofa and sighed. Kaladin sat next to him and put his head on Adolin’s shoulder, sighing too. 

“Good. Hopefully they’ll bring another fun thing to play with, Navani always has cool stuff.”

Kaladin laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

“What? They’re so cool! Do you remember when she brought this tiny little robot that would go around the house and repeat whatever sound it heard? It was amazing!”

Shallan joined them on the sofa, pressing her knees to her chest. 

“Yeah, I admit that Navani’s inventions are awesome. But have you read her science papers? And Jasnah’s? Incredible. I want to be a woman like them.”

Adolin kissed her and laughed.

“But you are! I think your science papers are awesome, even though I don’t understand a word from them.”

“Yeah, Adolin’s right. Shallan, your science papers are great, and you cooking skills are outstanding.”

Shallan shot up from the sofa and swore.

“The cake! Oh I hope I didn’t burn it!”

She ran into the kitchen, swearing on the way, and after a few moments Kaladin and Adolin spontaneously burst out laughing. Shallan shouted from the other room.

“I can still hear you, you idiots! I’m in the kitchen, not deaf!”

That certainly didn’t stop them from laughing, especially when Shallan dropped a few more swear words. When Shallan returned from the kitchen, Adolin was on the ground, silently laughing and Kaladin had tears in his eyes. But before Shallan could join them, the bell rang. She swore again, took off her apron, and rushed to get the door. Adolin stood up from the floor and dusted off his clothes. Kaladin went to wash his face and change his shirt. He could hear Shallan greeting someone who sounded like Jasnah and Navani. After he changed, he went downstairs, stealing a quick kiss from Adolin. Shallan was excitedly talking about history with Jasnah, and Navani was nearby, taking out food from a bag. Dalinar and Renarin were nowhere to be seen. Adolin ran the last few steps and hugged Navani.

“Navani! How are you? Where are dad and Ren?”

She laughed and hugged Adolin back.

“I��m fine, and Dalinar is taking stuff out of the car with your brother. We brought a lot of sweet things and a few bottles of wine.”

Shallan sighed, strolling over to them.

“Now everyone is going to bring a few bottles of wine and after dinner we’ll have a whole winery. Oh and Kal, your mom just texted me that they’ll be here after a few minutes, they finished early." 

Kaladin’s face lit up and he made a little jump.

"Oh! Will they bring Oroden with them?”

“Yeah, they’ll bring his cradle too, so he can sleep.”

Jasnah took off her shoes and went inside, gesturing to her mother to do the same. The bell rang again, and Adolin opened the door. 

“Dad! Ren! Come in…ooh you brought too much stuff. Shallan’s brothers will bring the tree, but damn, you brought everything else!”

Dalinar went in and hugged his son. After that, Renarin got his turn for a hug. 

“We may have brought too much stuff, yeah. But I have no part in this, it was all Navani. Dad here, for example, did not move his finger.”

“I had too much work, okay? Don’t blame it all on me!”

Adolin laughed and took part of the boxes they were carrying. After they brought everything in, they sat in the living room around the coffee table. Shallan sat between Adolin and Kaladin, but after a few seconds, she stood up to get some food. She placed on the table a bowl of candy, bagels, and a jug of hot chocolate with a few cups. Adolin was laughing about something Renarin said, and Navani was snuggling with Dalinar. Jasnah was quietly arguing about something with Kaladin and waving her hands around. Shallan smiled softly at the scene, and then the bell rang again. Now, if you haven’t seen a full-grown police officer shooting up and shouting “mommy!”, that was your moment. Kaladin shot up and ran to get the door. Shallan soon joined him, followed by the whole Kholin family. 

“Mommy! Dad!”

Kaladin hugged them tight, and Hesina laughed.

“Hello Kal. Oh, and Shallan! And Adolin!" 

Hesina hugged them both tightly. Lirin stepped near his son, took him by the shoulders and hugged him again. Hesina turned again to Kaladin.

"Will you help me take Oroden out of the car? His chair is a pain in the ass to take off." 

Kaladin beamed and went to get his brother. Shallan leaned against the door, still smiling. He was so different from when she met him. They didn’t even suspect that he was so soft and loving on the inside. 

Kaladin returned with a baby in his arms, and Hesina was carrying a few things, including the baby’s cradle. Oroden was babbling some nonsense, and  Kaladin was smiling at him, returning the same sounds. Shallan smiled again, and kissed Kaladin lightly on the lips. 

“Stop speaking baby language, and help me setting the table. Nan Balat said that they’ll be here shortly, and they’re carrying the tree, so we have to make room for it too.”

Kaladin gave his brother to Lirin and jokingly stuck his tongue out to Shallan. 

“Adolin should help too. Don’t leave him with Jasnah for too long, or he’ll start understanding your science papers.”

Shallan stuck her tongue back at him and went to get Adolin. Kaladin entered the living room, carrying the last box of Christmas decoration. Dalinar was still cuddling with Navani, and Jasnah and Shallan were putting up Christmas lights. Adolin came and helped Kaladin to take out the things from the box, and then to set up the table. They didn’t put the warm meals on it, just the salads. They were still waiting for guests, after all.

The doorbell rang once again and Shallan went to get it. Kaladin joined her shortly after. When Shallan opened the door, all they could see was a tree. A muffled voice behind it said:

"Hello guys! I can’t really see who it is, but Merry Christmas!”

Shallan laughed and helped her brothers to get the tree inside. Kaladin picked it up from there and carried it to the living room. He could hear Shallan laughing and greeting her brothers. He smiled to himself and put the tree down. Navani gasped when she saw it.

“Wow. It’s really big, do we have enough decorations for it?”

Adolin joined them, smiling.

“We have enough decorations for three more trees like that. We’re not waiting for anyone else, right?”

Kaladin nodded.

“Okay, let’s start decorating the tree and then eat! After that we could give each other presents." 

Kaladin stole a quick kiss from Adolin, but blushed when he saw Navani smiling. 

"I like that idea. I’ll tell Shallan.”

“There’s no need for that, I’m already here, and I heard. Let’s get this going.”

                       ===============

Half an hour later, they still weren’t done.Lirin and Hesina were putting the baby to sleep, and didn’t take part in the decorating. Shallan’s stomach was hurting from laughter, and Adolin looked like a Christmas tree more than the Christmas tree. Jasnah, surprisingly, was laughing too. Kaladin had tears in his eyes, for the same reason Shallan’s stomach hurt. 

“I am the Christmas tree now, I took over the usurper who stands over there!” - Adolin proclaimed, tripping in a garland. Shallan fell on the ground from laughing and Jasnah had to sit on a chair. Renarin was standing nearby, trying to pretend like it wasn’t funny, but they could see his smile and the tears in his eyes. Shallan stood up and took and angel off of Adolin’s hand.

“We should really finish with the tree, I’m hungry." 

Adolin shook off the decoration and laughed.

"C'mon, I’m hungry too.”

He started to walk towards the table, but when he reached Shallan, he made a quick maneuver and picked her up bridal style. Shallan yelped and waved her hands and legs.

“Adolin! Put me down!”

Adolin laughed and carried her to the already set table. Hesina showed in the doorframe, smiling at them. Lirin entered after a few moments, looking disheveled, and took a place on the table. Jasnah and the others joined them after they put the final decorations on the tree. Kaladin took the place on Shallan’s right, and Adolin sat on her other side. Jasnah sat between Navani and Kaladin, and Dalinar sat next to Navani. Renarin was on Adolin’s left, and Shallan’s brothers were on the remaining seats. After they were all seated, Adolin stood up, pouring himself a glass of wine.

“I’m really glad I could gather you all today on this dinner…” Shallan slapped him on the thigh, urging him to stop blabbing and start eating. He ignored her and continued talking: “…and I’m glad that I could spend more time with you.”

Kaladin was staring at the meals, Jasnah was playing with her fork and Dalinar and Navani were whispering something to each other. Shallan pulled him down, standing up herself.

“We’re all hungry, so let”s start eating!”

Wikim laughed and took a chicken leg onto his plate. Lirin grabbed a whole plate of salad. Jasnah followed Wikim’s example, and soon everyone was eating and laughing. After the first salad plate was finished, Shallan stood up and put another plate on the table. It was some kind of meat, covered  with sauce. Renarin hummed at the sight of it and Nan Balat nodded in agreement. Kaladin put some on his plate, tried it and jumped in his seat.

“Aah! It’s too hot!”

The table went completely silent, and Renarin was trying not to laugh. Hesina’s mouth was full and she clamped her hands in front of it to stop from spitting on someone. Adolin had a strange look on his face and Shallan’s fork was in the air. After a few more minutes of silence, Adolin, at first quietly, but then with a normal tone, said:

“You’re too hot and I still eat you.”

Shallan slammed her hands on the table, her fork falling on the ground. Renarin was laughing, and Jasnah was trying not to, but she soon gave in. Shallan stood up.

“ONE DINNER.”

Wikim and Jushu started laughing too, soon joined by the rest of the table. Lirin’s fork fell too, and Hesina had to put her knife down from laughing.

“ONE PEACEFUL DINNER IS ALL I ASK FOR.”

Kaladin was holding a hand to his stomach, and when they calmed down for a little, all it took was a look at Shallan’s face. Renarin was at the stage of silently slapping his knee, and Jasnah had her face to the table, her whole body shaking with laughter. Shallan couldn’t hold a straight face for much longer, and soon she was laughing.  

It took them a whole ten minutes to calm down, because after each silent moment, someone burst out laughing and it all went to hell. At last, Joshu managed to say, keeping a straight face:

“It’s actually very delicious, nice job sis! You should give us the recipe!”

Adolin clapped her on the back.

“Yeah, Shallan, it’s awesome!”

Navani asked for the recipe too, and soon everyone at the table knew how to cook it, even Kaladin, who couldn’t make a meatball. 

The dinner continued with laughter and jokes until midnight. Shallan, at last stood up, stretching and yawning.

“Let’s make the table and we can start with the presents!”

Kaladin and Adolin exchanged a look, and every one on the table seemed uncomfortable. Renarin raised his hand awkwardly.

“How did you know we brought presents? We agreed that we would not buy anything this year.”

Shallan smiled at him and sat back down.

“I know all of you, and I know that we all brought presents. Even after we agreed that there would be no presents this year.”

Adolin burst out laughing, followed shortly by Kaladin. Jasnah was already chuckling, but they managed to control it before it grew into another round of laughter. Dalinar smiled and stood up, picking up a few plates and placing them in the sink. Navani and Renarin did the same, followed by Shallan’s brothers. All of them took something from the table, and Adolin started washing the dishes that didn’t fit into the washing machine. Renarin joined him, and after less than ten minutes, the kitchen was shining clean, mainly because of Hesina, who took the job of cleaning the floor. They gathered around the tree and sat on the cushions that Shallan brought. After a few awkward moments, Renarin facepalmed.

“How are we going to exchange gifts if we don’t have them! Ours are still in the car, and I’m sure that Adolin’s are still up in his room. Same goes for all of you.”

Adolin exchanged a guilty look with Jasnah and but didn’t stand up. Dalinar patted Renarin’s shoulder.

“I’ll go get them, hopefully I didn’t forget any of them home.” 

Lirin stood up too, putting his coat on, and winking at Kaladin at his way out. Shallan put her head in Adolin’s lap and closed her eyes. He kissed her on the forehead, murmuring: 

“Are you already sleepy?”

Shallan opened her eyes and chuckled.

“No, the fun hasn’t even started yet! Wanna bet how many dumb doctor stuff Kaladin will get?”

“I bet on two. There won’t be so many people to give them to him.“

Shallan laughed again. Renarin sat closer to them, interested in the conversation. 

“I bet on four. At least two will be from that doctors kit with the organs you need to put in place. “

Adolin patted his brother on the back.

“Did you get him one, Ren? “

“Hey, I’m still here! Right next to you! And I’m certainly not deaf.”

A faint cry echoed from the other room. Hesina and Kaladin looked up at the same time. Hesina started to get up, but Kaladin was faster. He made a gesture to his mom to sit down and disappeared in the other room. Adolin’s head followed him, and after he turned to Shallan again, he was smiling, a soft look in his eyes. Shallan smiled back at him, and then Dalinar, followed by Lirin, entered the room. Shallan stood up from her place in Adolin’s lap.

“Exactly how many presents have you brought! Navani! You didn’t have to!”

Navani just smiled and went to help her husband with the pile of presents wrapped in Christmas paper. Hesina did the same with Lirin and placed them all under the tree. Adolin went to get his from his room, and soon returned with another pile of presents. He stuffed them in the little space left under the tree, and huffed. 

Kaladin returned to find a pile of gifts under the tree. It was a hilarious sight, because Kaladin himself was carrying a large pile. Jasnah, who disappeared somewhere earlier, entered the room at the same time and stopped immediately. Joshu bursted out laughing at the sight of both Kaladin and Jasnah standing still, presents in the arms, watching each other. At last, Jasnah sighed and went to leave her pile of presents under the tree. Kaladin followed her example, and after that put his hands on his waist. 

“That’s a looot of presents. I wonder if I’m getting some sleep tonight.”

Shallan strolled over him and hugged him.

“No you’re not. But at least it’s going to be fun.”

===================================

“Oh come on, another one!”

Shallan laughed and took the game from Kaladin’s hands. 

“Now you can practice on where to put the organs!”

“You said it the first two times! I don’t need three of these games! I don’t even need one!”

Renarin patted him on the shoulder, chuckling.

“Now you can educate both Shallan and Adolin to put the organs in place.”

Kaladin just silently lied on the ground and sighed. “I’m so done with all of you.”

===================================

“Oh god! Wikim! I’ve always wanted these brushes!” Shallan stood up and hugged her brother tightly. He laughed and hugged her back.

“I knew that, that’s why I bought them.”

“Now I can use them for all the paint and the art supplies I got this evening.”

They all laughed and started unwrapping their other presents.

===================================

Dalinar took a present with his name written on it. He eyed suspiciously Adolin and Renarin, who were snickering and whispering something. He started slowly unwrapping it, still staring at Adolin. When the paper was fully off, Dalinar rose what looked like a poorly made book. He snorted at the title and turned it around, so the others could see. Jasnah squinted at it and read:

“How to be honorable. A book by Zuko.”

Adolin and Renarin burst out laughing, followed by Kaladin and Shallan. Jasnah thought about it for a few moments and then burst out laughing herself.

“This is genius, I want one too.”

Adolin answered through tears. “Wait until you see the images.”

===================================

Shallan suddenly stood up and pulled Kaladin to stand up too. She whispered something in his ear, and Kaladin went in the other room. He returned with a big box labelled “Adolin” and dropped it in front of Adolin.

“Ooh! Is that for me?”

“It literally says Adolin, it’s obviously for you.”

Adolin started unwrapping the paper and soon reached the box. He opened it and gasped.

“Oh. My. God. Oh my god thank you! It’s so beautiful!”

He pulled a blue acoustic guitar out of the box and put it in his lap. Adolin caressed the instrument, but then left it again in the box. He stood up and pulled both Kaladin and Shallan into a tight hug. Kaladin laughed and hugged him back.

===================================

It was three in the morning and Shallan was getting really sleepy. Hesina and Lirin went home earlier and Renarin went with them for a ride. Kaladin was lying in Adolin’s lap with closed eyes. Navani and Dalinar were whispering something to each other. Shallan’s brothers were putting their presents in the car. Jasnah stood up, dusted off her clothes and gestured to her mother to stand up.

“We should go. It’s really late and everyone’s sleepy. I just wonder how are we going to fit so many gifts in the car." 

Navani stood up followed shortly by Dalinar. 

"Yeah, we should really go. I think Wikim are already done.”

Dalinar stretched.

“I’ll get the presents in the car, no worries.”

===================================

Adolin snuggled closer to Shallan and hummed. She sighed but did not wake up. Soon Kaladin joined them, gently putting his weight on the bed. Adolin locked his hand with Kaladin’s and closed his eyes.

“Thank you for the guitar once again. It made me really happy.”

Kaladin hummed. “I know. That’s why we bought it. I knew your old one was broken and you didn’t tell us.”

“Mmm I would’ve told you. Someday.”

“Sleep. Today was a really long day.”

“But I enjoyed every second of it.”

“I know. Go to sleep. I love you.”

Adolin smiled and squeezed Kaladin’s hand. “I love you too." 

[just-another-t-word-blog]

Ups, Downs, Mischievous Spren

Authors note: I do not own the Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson. This is a tickling fanfic, if that bugs you then scroll on past

Summary: Kaladin is extremely prone to low moods, especially on rainy days. Syl, however, is getting rather tired of seeing the young bridge leader so down and decided to do something about it. (Takes place around the middle of the book)

Kaladin sighed deeply, the icy rain gently tapping against the top of his head and shoulders as he sat, staring blankly into the distance across the Shattered Plains. Yet again a high storm had come, went, and now left him with ice cold rain that the storm wardens predicted wouldn’t stop until the next day or so. How fitting that for all he suffered he is rewarded with more sorrow.

Though only 19, he’d experienced horrors and tragedies that scarcely a man in his later years would have seen, normally he carried this burden gracefully but every rain reminded him of the weeping. It reminded him of Tien, of the lives he promised to save and failed, of every man he’d lost on the battlefield or on his fathers operating table. Despite the sadness and reflection the rain continued to fall, uncaring and cruel.

He sat a few feet away from the edge of a chasm on the boarder of Sadeas’ war camp, knees tucked to his chest and arms crossed atop his knees, chin resting on his forearms. His scraggly beard itched against his arms and his long brown hair was plastered to his face with water, deep dark eyes staring blankly forward as if daydreaming. His eyes didn’t change when Syl appeared before him, taking the form of a young woman and standing in the air in front of him within eye line. Though only a few fingers tall, she should have been hard to miss with her seemingly glowing blue form, but Kaladin continued to stare straight through her. She hovered in the air for a moment before striding forward, seemingly on an invisible platform, moving to wave a tiny hand in front of his blank eyes.

Kaladin blinked, jumping slightly as he noticed Syl, and straightened his back slightly. He knew that his bad moods upset her, there was no hiding it but he could at least pretend everything was fine. As fine as they could be for a bridgeman. He offered her a weak smile and got a look of concern in return. “Kaladin,” she started slowly. “You know you can’t hide from me.” He slumped his shoulders “I know. Worth a shot though” his voice was quiet, just barely audible above the rain. She walked over to sit on his shoulder, watching the rain fall and life spren dance around small patches of plants peaking out of cracks in the rock.

“Why does the rain upset you so much?” She asked genuinely, “it seems every downpour after a high storm gets you this way, you leave the barrack and find a place to be alone.” He shrugged, shifting to sit cross legged. He’ll admit that subtlety wasn’t his forte, but he also didn’t expect anyone to follow him. Syl always did, it didn’t matter where he went, but the men probably didn’t spare a glance when he left as soon as the storm was over. He allowed himself to feel this heaviness openly, knowing that only she would see it. “It reminds me of too many things that I’d rather not remember.” He said honestly, turning his head slightly to peer at her. “It’s nothing new, Syl, just my past coming to haunt me.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards, hoping the chill water would distract him from the painful twist he felt in his heart at his own words. He wouldn’t cry, not here, not now. “Is there anything I can do to help?” He gave a small smirk despite the pain. “Stop the rain?” She snorted, standing to move in front of him again. “There must be something to cheer you up. Tell me how I can make you smile.” He shook his head, still facing the sky. “I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait this out, the only person who could get me out of these moods was my brother.” “Well what did he do?”

He paused to look at her, confused. “What did he do to help you? I can try.” He shook his head again. “It wasn’t what he did so much as who he was. He was always happy about something and somehow found ways to share that joy with me.” He swept back his wet hair from his face, smiling sadly. “He used to collect rocks, claiming each one was special. He’d give one to me every once and awhile. He’d come and sit with me wherever I went to sulk and brought me out of my thoughts. Mostly just him talking with me helped.” He sighed again, fidgeting with his fingers, trying to keep himself from getting emotional. He huffed lightly. “Once I decided to be stubborn and shut him out, that didn’t end well for me.” Kaladin smiled warmly, remembering that day. “He found it rather rude that I was ignoring him and tickled me as punishment. He was especially ruthless when it began to cheer me up.” Syl cocked her head, confused.

“What?” He asked as she kept looking up at him, puzzled. “What does ‘tickled’ mean?” He froze, heat rising to his cheeks. Did she really not know? He supposed she didn’t know a lot of things, but of all things to explain it had to be this? “Kaladin, why are you blushing? Do you have a fever, I told you the cold could make you sick-“ “I’m fine, Syl.” He cut her off. “Do you really not know?” She shook her head, sitting in the air as if on a stool, legs crossed and arms folded. “If I did I wouldn’t have asked” he sat up trying to compose himself. If he explained, she may try it on him, if he didn’t she might find out anyway. “Well, it’s uh” he cleared his throat. “It’s when you gently touch someone in certain spots and it makes them laugh. It’s an unbearable feeling that makes you panic and you laugh as a result.” He felt like his face was on fire, instinctively wrapping his arms around his middle. Syl smiled. “If it makes you laugh, then can I do it to you? Unless it hurts.” He wrapped his arms tighter, a nervous smile threatening to pull at his lips. “It doesn’t hurt, no, it just feels very strange. It just tickles, I don’t know how else to describe it.” She hummed, standing again. Anticipation spren began to appear around him, twisting in the wind mockingly. “You’re getting nervous.” She observed, watching him as he shifted around, trying to not squirm. “I can’t help it- please don’t.” The last part was squeaked as she started to get closer. A wobbly smile began to spread across his face. “Why not? It’s already working.” He was sure she didn’t intend for her words to seem teasy, but that didn’t mean they weren’t. “Just tell me how to do it, unless you want me to just figure it out on my own.”

Kaladin tried to force himself to relax, she was just a spren, he wasn’t even sure if she could physically touch him. How bad could it really be? He forced his arms to unfold, stiffly trying to bring them down to a resting position. “Alright, you can try.” He gripped the fabric of his trousers, still sitting cross legged. Why couldn’t he just calm down? “The motion is mostly fingers, poking and scratching. Different spots are sensitive to different things.” He flinched hard when she darted forward, placing small hands against his ribs. She must be doing something new, he could feel where her hands were. The anticipation spren around him grew and fluttered as an anxious pit in his stomach formed, strained titters escaping his lips. “Why are you laughing? I’m not doing anything yet.” She asked sincerely. “S-shut up. Teasing makes it worse.” He risked a glance down, seeing her smile up at him mischievously. “If you hit me I’m going to be very mad.” And then she dug in.

Kaladin was surprised when a squeal left his mouth, tiny scratching hands sending electricity shooting up his spine. He fell onto his back, clenching his fists in an attempt to not swat her away. She was quick, scratching and poking and kneading as she darted around his torso, doing her best to not let him get used to any particular sensation. Though he tried to fight it, he was already giggling. She darted up to his neck, scratching at the skin below his ear. “Aww! See? You’re happier already!” He turned away, snickering, half hearted pleas for her to stop slipping in between breaths. He hated to admit it but she was right, his clouded mind was clearing by the second. Kaladin gasped suddenly when Syl shot back down, worming her way under his bridgmens' vest and teasing the bare skin underneath. He couldn't see her but she grinned as he switched to wild cackling, laughter spren zipping through the air around them. His eyes squinted as his face twisted into a mirthful expression, but he could still see the glowing yellow specks flying around him. He would have been happy to see them if it weren't for the small blue pest climbing up and down his ribcage, creating unbearable sensations he couldn't halt for fear of hurting her. "Please!" He gasped out, a squeal following after. "Please stop!" He kicked out, starting to lose control. "Just a little more? You seem like you're having so much fun!" She chided, moving down to poke at his taut stomach. His cackling fell into deep belly laughs, a joyful and playful sound, legs trying to tuck up to his chest as he gripped his hair, still fighting to not try to squish her. He rocked side to side on his back, unable to keep still. This couldn't possibly get any worse.

Then she decided to shove her hand into his bellybutton.

A loud shriek exploded from Kaladin, silent laughter following after. Syl quickly zipped out of his vest, fearing she had hurt him, but smiled when she saw his bright red face. He kept giggling as he calmed down, sitting up in a relaxed but equally exhausted manner. "You-" he breathed, trying to compose himself. "Are way too good at that." Syl giggled lightly and bowed as if she had just completed a grand performance. "Glad to be of service, Kaladin Stormblessed." He smiled back at her, looking up and noticing the rain had stopped, the sky starting to turn shades of purple and orange as the sun began to set behind the thin layer of clouds. "Not a word of this to anyone, understand?" He tried to sound stern but the smile plastered this face took away any venom in his words. "Not even to Rock." She rolled her eyes and nodded, moving to sit on his shoulder again.

"Not a word, I promise."

Bonus:

Rock and Teft went looking for Kaladin once the rain stopped, though it wasn't abnormal for him to disappear he normally came back once it got close to time for the nightly campfire. It wasn't until they heard sounds of struggle and shouting that they began to worry, hustling to find the crew leader. Needless to say they were very confused to find Kaladin on the ground, rolling around and laughing like mad, begging to seemingly no one to cease what they were doing. Teft squinted, making out tiny laughter spren whizzing around in the air around the younger man, but no one else there with him. Rock, however, smiled fondly. He could see Syl clearly, and how happy Kaladin seemed to be. They both winced at a loud shriek that split the air, Teft scoffing and Rock shaking his head amusedly. "Must have finally lost his mind, poor kid." Teft grunted, turning to make his way back to camp. Rock glanced at him incredulously. "Why do you think this thing? He seems to be very happy. He and the spren that follows him are simply playing, it does the heart good." Teft snorted, turning back briefly to stare down the taller man. "Say what you want, but any man sat on the edge of a cliff laughing his ass off in a storming puddle is mad. And I don't care if there is a spren behind it, it's just not natural." He began to walk away again, leaving Rock to watch Kaladin struggle from afar. He chuckled fondly, turning to walk back to camp as well.

"Airsick lowlanders."