people who only use conventional social media are so funny bc they’ll casually be like “can I see your tumblr??” are you Insane. this is no instagram or twitter. this is my vault of secrets
I wonder what was going through Renarins head when Dalinar started having what to their knowledge must have looked like strange seizures and him and Adolin immediately decided to start tying him to chairs. He must have known that is absolutely not what you are supposed to do
I love the genre of posts where people document their first steps into the Cosmere. It's like:
OP: Fist few pages, I don't get the hype
Commenters, trying not to scare them off: Just stick with it, it gets better.
OP: okay, I think I love (character who's about to go through an emotional meat grinder before getting kick repeatedly in the balls, and then set of fire) I sure hope nothing happens to them!
Commenters, with a god tier pokerface: Yes. I also enjoy that character.
OP, after reading the ball kicking scene: Why did you people recommend this book to me?
Commenters, rubbing their hands manically: just wait
OP, after reading favorite character's defining bad ass one liner scene: WHY didn't you people recommend this book to me sooner?!?
Commenters: Sanderlanche.
OP: what?
Commenters: Sanderlanche. It's just around the corner. Brace yourself.
OP:?!
OP, with tears in their eyes, visibly distraught, with the finished book in hand: Oh FUUUUUUUUUUUU K YOU, BRANDON SANDERSON! I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET A WHITE MAN PLAY WITH MY HEART LIKE THAT! YOU SHOULD BE LOCKED UP! INSTITUTIONALIZED! REMOVED FOR HUMAN SOCIETY. WHERE'S THE NEXT BOOK? INJECT IT DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS
Commenters, chanting cultishly: Suffer like us! Suffer like us!
dalinar kholin in like the third flashback is so funny to me. You're at a feast with your brother, who is trying to get important people from far away to like him. You just want to eat your steak, but you don't have a knife! oh no! you must have left it with your friend. So, you go out into the Deadly Weather Event to the bunker that your friend is in. oh, it's locked, how pesky! You cut open the lock with your magical sword. This is what you're doing with your magical sword, i suppose. Anyway, your friend says that he gave your knife back to you. Oh well, wonder where it went? On your way back to the feast hall, you see a giant mysteries glowing entity with spindly legs. This is normal, you flip it off and proceed back into the feast hall, your cup now filled with water from the Deadly Weather Event.
The important person from far away seems a bit weirded out for some reason and walks off. you sit down and your brother tells you that you going into the highstorm really impressed that guy. That's cool, not what you were trying to do though. You try to summon a server to bring you a knife, (everyone else has one but you didn't get one??) and one comes over. They try to correct the gesture that you used to summon them, so of course you flip them off as well. In a while, they come back with a knife for you. However, it's too weak and little for you to eat your steak with. You and your pals continue to talk, until one of them points our that your knife is now bent, and asks you how that happened. You reply, "dunno". Your brother asks why you're at war, (he just does this sometimes,) and you give your best explanation. Oh hey, the other emissary (the one who's a woman) is over there. Wow, her hair is really pretty. Wait, is that an assassin?
You kill the assassin, and take his knife (finally). After dipping it in your wine to clean it, you use the newly acquired knife to cut into your steak, resolving YOUR main conflict of the chapter. almost as an afterthought, you agree to marry that girl from earlier, resolving your brother's main conflict.
Most infuriating part of writing is having an idea and thinking oh, this is gonna be so good and wanting to IMMEDIATELY share the vision with other people because it's gonna be good but then you start writing it down and - it is gonna be good. Except. It is also gonna take so, so, so long to finish. And in the meantime. You are the only one with The Vision. Alone. Losing your mind. 😭
Let me explain. For the longest time, I never understood why Sadeas reacted so strongly to Wit joking about him sleeping around. He's clearly very securely monogamous. His wife is an excellent court politician with the most extensive spy network and a deft manipulator. They're both geniuses united in ruthless ambition. The only person one trusts completely is the other.
But that's the thing. All the things that make Ialai so beautiful to him aren't readily apparent to the public. He himself admits she's not conventionally attractive. She's not very highly placed and comes from a family that's tacky enough to give her a perfectly symmetrical name. A lot of people probably think he had to marry low because he was considered a backwater warlord when they got together. He's probably heard a million jokes about it.
He probably heard a joke about him sleeping around as Wit calling her ugly and "HOW DARE YOU YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A WONDERFUL MASTERMIND SHE IS DO YOU KNOW HOW LUCKY I AM????!!!"
I don’t care how disgusting or fucked up a fic is. NO writer should EVER be harassed for writing taboo fics, especially when the warnings are properly tagged and you choose to go ahead and read them on your own free will.
you’re not morally superior for harassing real people for the sake of fictional characters and fictional stories. you’re just a bully.
Stormlight archive but everyone has a WhatsApp group and men can only send audios because they can't write, and women have to send audios too because men can't read either, but then the girls write to each other in that same chat and all they do is criticize all the men that are in that group
Let’s return to the questionnaire format. Here are some thoughts I consider when creating a religion.
1. What are the fundamental tenets of your religion?
These are essential. I’ve read many fantasy religions with detailed descriptions of temples, holy days, and rituals, but they often lack depth. What does this religion stand for? If a typical follower were asked to summarize their faith, would it be about sacred days and ornaments? Probably not, unless the faith is more respected during times of crisis than in daily life.
Often, fantasy religions default to models based on Christianity or Wicca—either focusing on forgiveness and love or on nature and agriculture. This doesn’t always make sense. For instance, a desert-dwelling people likely wouldn’t revere nature in the same way as a rural community would. Think about logical principles for your world. How do the inhabitants survive? Which gods do they believe are responsible for their well-being? What practical tasks could become religious rituals?
2. What are the relationships between the gods?
Many fantasy gods feel flat because they are created in isolation with stereotypical personalities. A goddess of fertility, for example, is often portrayed as calm and nurturing. What relationships do these gods have? Study mythologies to see how gods interacted. For instance, why was Apollo associated with poetry, medicine, and prophecy? These connections are complex and can enrich your narrative.
Even in a monotheistic setting, people will create stories about their gods. Explore how divine legends accumulate around a central figure.
3. How do gods interact with mortals?
In too many fantasy novels, gods interact in ways that bore the reader. The classic notion is that gods are so powerful they can solve everything with a wave of their hand, which leads authors to keep them distant. This is based on flawed assumptions about their power and influence.
Gods can be portrayed in various ways—distant, intrusive, or even indifferent. The key is consistency. If gods are distant, rituals and prayers should not yield visible results.
4. How does your religion handle apostasy, heresy, and non-believers?
Unless a religion is truly global, there will be issues with heresy. Historical conflicts show that religious wars can be brutal. Often, fantasy authors depict one religion as "good" and another as "evil," leading to cardboard characters and simplistic narratives. And where are the atheists and agnostics? Characters who don’t believe are rare in fantasy, yet many worlds should have them, raising questions about their silence or indifference.
Religion can be a deep source of conflict in fantasy if handled thoughtfully. Unfortunately, many authors simplify these complexities.
prguitarman
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
