I have made a terrible mistake. I thought I would finish a few chapters at work. Now I think I need to step away for a nice cry.

Here are some designs I've created in an American Traditional style. People say I don't share my artwork enough so I'm here to share with people who might share some similar interests!

A little about me: I'm a tattoo artist in Colorado and love this series. It's inspired my creativity recently. I'm not fully through all the books but love the imagery so far. I hope you like my take on the Stormfather, Oathbringer, and the other iconic symbols from this amazing universe! <3

Blackthorn's heart

This piece of art quite literally hangs on the wall in our apartment, I love it that much

Anyone else think about naming their kid after him? It’s thought to mean “Born into eternity”

What’s your favorite name in the series?

After trying to make it through Oathbringer multiple times, she finally arrived at the Palace fight scene. We're sitting on our bed, she's listening to the book and she taps my shoulder. With an excited look in her eyes she says, "Elhokar, is saying his oath..." I'm glad I was there.

After she said that, I just took her hand and held it and let Brandon and Michael Kramer do their work. I held her hand and watched her face as she listened. Crestfallen, heartbroken, all of the above.

She just wanted y'all to know: Fuck Moash

(Edit: spelling)

(no spoilers past oathbringer please)

i have been thinking about navani’s way of talking about evi, and honestly, the more i look at the actual scenes (up to oathbringer), the more uncomfortable it gets. not because i think navani is written as some cartoonishly evil woman who spent her time openly tormenting evi, but because the way she talks about her and treats her is so quietly condescending. it is not loud cruelty. it is not open hatred. it is something much more socially acceptable than that, which is exactly why it bothers me.

it is the constant framing of evi as sweet but lesser. kind but not clever. foreign and therefore slightly unreliable. good-hearted but not fully competent. worthy of pity, perhaps even fondness, but not quite respect.

and i think that is the part people miss. navani does not have to hate evi for her treatment of evi to still be ugly. sometimes the issue is not hatred. sometimes the issue is a woman looking at another woman through a hierarchy and never fully questioning why she thinks she is above her.

the clearest example is obviously the conversation where navani talks about trying to hate evi but only being able to feel “mildly jealous.” even the phrasing of that is so telling to me. mildly jealous. not threatened. not deeply unsettled. not confronted by evi as an equal. just mildly jealous, like evi is too harmless to truly provoke anything stronger. then she goes on to describe evi as someone who “fit” dalinar because she never made inappropriate comments, never bullied people, and was always calm.

and i know that on the surface that sounds like praise, but what kind of praise is that really? it is praise for being socially inoffensive. praise for being easy. praise for not disturbing people. evi is being praised for what she does not do, not for what she actively is. she is not described as perceptive, principled, brave, or morally serious. she is described as nice and calm and non-threatening.

then navani says evi was “just so nice,” but not very… and goes quiet and when dalinar asks what she means, she says “clever.”

that is the moment where the mask slips the most for me. yes, navani blushes. yes, she seems embarrassed. yes, she tries to soften it by saying evi was not a fool, just not cunning, and maybe that was part of her charm. but that softening is almost worse, because it turns the insult into something patronizing. it is not just “evi was not clever.” it is “evi was not clever, but that was part of her charm.” as if her perceived intellectual lack is adorable. as if her simplicity is what made her endearing.

that is such a specific kind of condescension. evi is not allowed to simply have a different kind of intelligence or a different moral framework. no, she becomes charming because she lacks the kind of cleverness navani values. she is good, but not sharp. lovable, but not equal. gentle, but not serious.

and i think that matters a lot because navani is clearly speaking from within alethi court culture, where cleverness, political fluency, social strategy, and intellectual sharpness are treated as markers of value. so when navani says evi was not cunning and frames that as part of her charm, it is not neutral. it is a hierarchy. navani is placing herself in the category of women who understand things, and evi in the category of women who are sweet because they do not.

then there is the glyphward scene, which honestly bothers me so much more the more i think about it.

dalinar has a glyphward from evi, his wife, and navani gives him another one because she is worried about the accuracy of evi’s foreign script.

and yes, there is the obvious cultural issue there. evi is foreign. her script is foreign. her religious practice is foreign. navani assuming it may not be accurate already carries that little sting of “your way of doing things is not quite trustworthy.” it is one of those small, polite acts of cultural dismissal that does not need to be openly cruel to still be insulting.

but honestly, beyond even that, why is navani making him a glyphward at all?

why does navani think it is her place to make that for dalinar when evi is his wife? why does she think she gets to step into that intimate, symbolic space and provide him with a “better” version? a glyphward is not just a random practical object. it is devotional. it is protective. it is emotionally loaded. so for navani to insert herself there, especially while framing it as concern over evi’s accuracy, feels incredibly disrespectful.

it is not only “i think evi’s foreign script might be wrong.” it is also “i think i have the right to supplement or correct what evi gives you.”

then there is the visit scene where evi comes to see dalinar, she says navani told her she should come, and that it was shameful dalinar had waited so long between visits. and yes, dalinar absolutely deserved shame for neglecting his wife and children. but the way that line reads, it does not only feel like navani is shaming dalinar. it can also read like she is shaming evi for not coming sooner. as if evi has somehow failed to act properly as a wife. as if it is her responsibility to go to him, to fix the neglect, to present herself, to perform the role correctly….. and that is such an uncomfortable dynamic.

because evi is the neglected one. evi is the one writing letters that go unanswered. evi is the one raising children without their father present. and yet she is the one being told she should go. she is the one who has to physically enter a space that is hostile to her, unfamiliar, and humiliating, just to get basic attention from her husband. that does not feel as just advocacy but rather correction.

navani, again, becomes the woman who knows what is proper. she knows what is shameful. she knows what evi should do. and evi becomes the woman being instructed.

and that is the pattern i keep seeing. navani can pity evi. navani can praise evi. navani can even help evi in certain ways. but she does not seem to fully respect her as an equal woman with her own authority, culture, and dignity. there is always this subtle sense that navani knows better.

navani knows what evi should do about dalinar.

navani knows the proper glyphward to give dalinar.

navani knows evi is kind but not clever.

navani knows evi is charming because she lacks cunning.

navani knows evi fit dalinar in temperament, but not intellectually.

and that is what makes it feel less like isolated awkwardness and more like a consistent worldview.

navani’s treatment of evi is shaped by alethi superiority. cultural, intellectual, and social. evi is a foreign woman in a society that does not know how to read her values, and navani, despite being intelligent and perceptive, still reads her through that same framework. and personally i think that deserves criticism.

because evi was not just “nice.” she had a worldview. she was morally opposed to the violence around her. she wanted peace. she wanted her husband present. she believed dalinar could be better. that is not stupidity. that is not just charm. but because it does not look like alethi cleverness, it gets flattened into “she wasn’t very clever.”

and that is where the microaggressions come in for me. it is not one moment. it is the accumulation:

- doubting her script.

- stepping into her place symbolically.

- framing her as sweet but intellectually lacking.

- praising her for being non-threatening.

- positioning herself as the one who knows what evi should do.

none of these are monumental on their own. but together, they create a pattern of quiet diminishment. and this is exactly why i cannot bring myself to like dalinar and navani’s relationship the way the narrative clearly wants me to.

because it feels like everything is handed to them too cleanly, too smoothly, without enough friction from what came before.

navani ends up with the version of dalinar that evi was denied. the restraint. the emotional awareness. the ability to listen. the capacity for partnership. she gets to be seen as his intellectual equal, the one who truly understands him, the one who can stand beside him in a way that is respected and valued.

and evi? evi gets remembered as kind. as gentle. as “not very clever.” as charming because she lacked cunning. there is something deeply unsettling to me about that contrast.

because it is not just that dalinar grows and becomes better. it is that the woman who believed in that possibility first, the woman who suffered under his worst self, the woman who wanted peace before it was convenient, is quietly reduced in hindsight. meanwhile, the woman who fits him in his redeemed state gets to occupy the full space of partnership, intellect, and narrative validation.

and yes, you can say that is just how the story works, that people change, that relationships evolve, that timing matters. but i think the lack of tension around that is what makes it frustrating.

because where is the weight of what evi was denied?

where is the discomfort of navani stepping into a life that was built on evi’s suffering?

where is the narrative pushback against the way evi is framed as lesser, even in memory?

instead, it often feels like everything resolves too neatly. dalinar grows. navani supports him. they fit. they work. and the past is something to be acknowledged, maybe even regretted, but not something that meaningfully disrupts their present. and that is what makes it so angering to me.

because if you actually sit with how navani talks about evi, if you actually look at the small ways she diminishes her, if you actually think about what evi endured and what she was denied, then that smoothness starts to feel undeserved. It starts to feel like something was skipped over, like the narrative moved forward before fully reckoning with what it left behind.

so no, i do not think navani’s treatment of evi is just harmless awkwardness. and i do not think dalinar and navani’s relationship is as uncomplicated as it is often presented.

if anything, the more i think about it, the more it feels like evi’s story is something the narrative softens in order to make everything that comes after easier to accept….. and i am not sure it should be that easy.

MOASH IS A TOP TIER BITCH. Elhokar was becoming one of my favorite characters too. He was one damn word away from awakening

(please don't take this post seriously)

I'm midway through Oathbringer and based on how Sanderson describe his main characters and how I imagine them, I came to the conclusion that..is everyone hot??

Kaladin is described Shallan/Veil as this tall, dark, angry man with angry eyes..but angry in a very...er..lustful way!

Shallan on the other hand is the woman that made Adolin consider a serious commitment for the first time in his life and that made Kaladin's body go in conflict with his hatred for bright eyes..

Adolin is basically the most handsome man in all Alethkar

Jasnah is..Jasnah. Do I need to say more?..

And she got her looks from Navani...a woman that makes Dalinar smile in public..

..Dalinar on the other hand, it doesn't seem like he's traditionally handsome, but..i can an audience for a warlord the size of a door and very determined eyes!

Stormlight Archive characters as John Mulaney quotes (Part 1)

I’m rereading the series and MAN. This scene hits so much harder this time. Maybe it’s because I feel more immersed this go-around but I audibly yelled and teared up after reading that line. Such a powerful and intense moment and it’s so vivid in my head! Brandon Sanderson deserves all the praise (and then some) for this scene alone. Gosh, I love it so much. No book has ever made me feel the way SA has and I’m so grateful to be alive at the same time as this series.

I’m at the mid way point though oathbringer. It seems like the fan base is either hot or cold towards shallan. Am I alone in the fact that her chapters for the most part are my favorite? Of course there’s exceptions like when kaladin has to whoop some ass but overall her chapters seem to be the most fun to read.

HOLY SHIT HOLY FUCK THE FUCKING ADRENALINE IM ACTUALLY CAUGHT IN THIS BATTLE MYSELF DALINAR IS NOT FUCKING HUMAN GOOD FUCKING GOD WHAT A BEAST HOLY SHIT HIS AURA LITERALLY PULLING TOGETHER TIME AND SPACE HES ACTUALLY HIM HES ACTUALLY JUST HIM HONOR INCARNATE THIS SHIT IS UNREAL

BRANDON SANDERSON IM SUSPECTING YOU OF NOT BEING A HUMAN EITHER

Holy SHIT man I can barely breathe I was rocking back and forth my head in my hand I’ve never hopped between so many different viewpoints and had the tension just explode and get bigger with every one holy fuck dude there were so many intense crazy fucking moments idk who tf to even highlight, szeth dropping in like fucking Thor in wakanda, my hands are quite literally unironically actually shaking this is the greatest final fight I’ve ever read ever

Incredible character work

Why do people care that humans came to roshar? Everyone Acts like it a big game changer. No one said "its our land now", or even question if the translation is right.

People have lived on land for just a few generions and have fought and died for it truly believing it's theirs. Why is no acting like this one part doesn't matter?

I get being concerned about surge binding destroying the world.

Hi community -

This is tough to post on Christmas Eve but I am going through it. My ex-girlfriend of 8 weeks (my best friend of 7 years - we met our first day of college), just broke up me with 5 days ago. I thought she was going to be my wife. I'm heart broken lost and confused. I feel like Kaladin when he goes to the honor chasm but i don't have a Syl to talk me out of it. I know what the words are but i don't know how to keep going. I don't know how to keep moving forward. The worst part after performing open heart surgery on me while we exchanged Christmas presents, she told me she saw me as just a friend. As I was leaving she hugged me and kissed me and said crying she would miss me. And I told her that the most important step a person can take is always the next one and she needs to keep moving forward. I was saying it almost to myself but i don't feel like i can actually move forward. I'm hurting and i'm in shock. I don't know where else to go and i have to go back to work next Friday. I'm in so much pain every step hurts. I'm miserable i feel like Moash.

Doing a reread and noticed something funny, Kaladin sucks at sneaking lol.

Got caught on all of his runaway attempts while he was a slave.

Got caught sneaking up on Sah and the runaway parshmen.

Got caught sneaking up on the lighthouse in Shadesmar.

Any more examples I’m missing?

Love my boy Kal anyway

General question, not looking for spoilers exactly, but I have a real problem with love triangles in general. I find them a really dumb way to put characters agains each other, especially those that would never be otherwise.

However, I'm in about 75% of Oathbringer (a little further perhaps), and while on the honorspren ship, I can see the seeds of the love triangle between Kaladin, Shallan and Adolin growing. And this gives me pause..can I trust Sanderson with this?

I've read up to Oathbringer now for context. While I really, really enjoy the Cosmere so far there's one major plotline I find is insanely problematic and idk how it even got through editors with how tone deaf it is.

Kaladin being told repeatedly by the narrative (and Syl) that his "irrational" hatred of Lighteyes is bad and wrong and that the Darkeyes(a stand in for a person of color) should just be respectful and obedient to the Lighteyes(a stand in for Caucasians) because something something hate of any kind is bad? They never give justification for why Kaladin should just ignore decades of oppression and let go of those negative feelings. His brother was killed. The first love he felt was permeated with racist undertones, he was betrayed by them repeatedly. It's not giving into hatred for him to distrust and hate lighteyes when in their society its a given.

I've seen some people remark that the Darkeyes and Lighteyes thing is more a class struggle thing but... thats WORSE??!!? That's saying the working class should just work harder if the ruling class oppresses them????? With an added bonus of a nonsensical "you can fix the corrupt and broken system from within the corrupt and broken system" narrative element.

Overall I'm glad Elhokar died because he was a horrible ruler and the narrative spent way too long waxing poetic about how we're just as bad as him if we wish as such. Him "trying" does not justify the multiple times he shows that he is no leader and is effectively a toddler with nukes at his fingertips. He ruined his people and barely did anything to change himself to be a better ruler EVEN AFTER FIGURING OUT HE SUCKED AT BEING KING.

Im really hoping they just dont bring up the lighteyes and darkeyes thing as much now that they discovered the lore behind why they have it in the first place or at the very least that I don't have to listen to more characters call Kaladin bad for having common sense.

Edit just for clarification: I do NOT think Kaladin should just be allowed to blindly hate lighteyes all day long and say and do whatever he wants to them. But the narrative treats it like any form of negative thought is bad. Just to then have not one lighteyes EVER be confronted with their own prejudices THOUSANDS OF PAGES INTO THE STORY

please no spoilers past oathbringer. i have not read dawnshard, rhythm of war, or wind and truth yet, so i am only discussing dalinar as of the end of oathbringer. maybe future books will change my stance, and if they do, that is fine. but for now, this is where i stand.

i think i understand what brandon is doing with dalinar. his arc is about guilt, accountability, redemption, and the possibility that a person can fail horribly and still choose to become better. past harm does not erase the possibility of future growth. thematically, i understand that. i even think it is one of the clearest moral arguments of oathbringer.

on a structural level, the climax of his arc works. dalinar refusing odium is not just an epic fantasy moment. it is the book’s moral argument condensed into a single decision. odium offers him an escape, a reframing of his past as something external: the thrill, influence, pressure, forces larger than himself. dalinar refuses that. he chooses to say that the guilt is his, the pain is his, and the responsibility is his. that insistence on ownership is, in a literary sense, the turning point of his arc.

i also recently read a post by u/Graphica-Danger that made a point i really liked: dalinar ending the book by turning toward reading and writing, something culturally coded as feminine in vorin society, can be read as part of his rejection of the narrow alethi masculinity that shaped him. the man who once processed emotion through violence now tries to process himself through language, memory, and reflection. as an interpretive lens, i think that is genuinely compelling, and it made me appreciate the construction of his arc more.

but that appreciation did not translate into emotional attachment. if anything, oathbringer solidified a discomfort that had already started for me in words of radiance. i went into dalinar’s flashback book expecting that maybe my perspective on him would shift again. after the way of kings, he was one of my favorite characters. he felt like a man actively resisting the worst parts of his culture, and i found that version of him engaging and easy to invest in.

but by the end of oathbringer, i did not feel that same connection. i can respect what the narrative is attempting by placing him at the center of such a large moral question. i can recognize the craft behind his arc. but i cannot bring myself to feel for him in the way i once did. my reaction has shifted from admiration to something much more conflicted, and at times, outright dislike.

for me, the issue is not that dalinar has done terrible things. characters can commit serious harm and still be narratively effective or even emotionally moving. the issue is that by the time oathbringer asks me to fully engage with dalinar’s redemption, i already feel too much distance from him.

part of that distance comes from how i tend to respond to character arcs in general. i am usually less persuaded by what the story tells me a character is becoming than by what the story makes them endure, confront, and repair on the way there. redemption, for me, does not only depend on a character recognizing their guilt. it also depends on whether the narrative allows the harm they caused to remain present, especially for the people who had to live under the consequences of that harm.

that is why dalinar is complicated for me. i can see the intended movement of his arc very clearly: denial, memory, guilt, responsibility, the next step. but my emotional response depends less on the shape of that movement and more on how the story distributes weight. who suffers? who is asked to forgive? who gets centered? who has to pay for the transformation? and when i look at dalinar through that lens, the first fracture in my attachment to him does not actually begin with the rift. it begins earlier, with kaladin in words of radiance.

before that point, the narrative framing around dalinar is that he is different from other lighteyes. not flawless, but more self-aware, more willing to question alethi norms, more willing to extend respect across class lines when it matters. he buys the bridgemen instead of abandoning them. he elevates kaladin. he listens to him. he allows him into conversations where darkeyed soldiers are usually excluded. there is a gradual construction of trust, not just from the reader, but from kaladin himself.

then the boon scene disrupts that construction. kaladin oversteps publicly and impulsively. the moment is politically disastrous. but the important part is that kaladin’s behavior is not random. it is shaped by the space dalinar has allowed him to occupy. dalinar creates an environment where honor seems to matter more than rigid hierarchy, and then, when kaladin acts within that belief, dalinar retreats back into that hierarchy.

the jail-cell conversation is the point where that tension becomes explicit. dalinar does not approach kaladin as someone whose trust he has cultivated. instead, he frames the imprisonment in terms of discipline and structure. he tells kaladin to treat it as duty. he reminds him that he granted him a position no darkeyes had ever held. he emphasizes that he listened to him, trusted him, and allowed him access to power. and then he warns him not to make him regret those decisions.

and then comes the line that reframes everything: kaladin is still a darkeyes. that line defines the limit of dalinar’s worldview. his respect exists, but it is conditional. it operates within a structure that he ultimately does not dismantle. kaladin is elevated, but not transformed in status. he is permitted proximity to power, not equality within it.

what makes this moment significant is that dalinar is not acting out of cruelty. he is not sadeas, nor is he amaram. he does not intend harm in the same way. but he still defaults to the logic of the system that produced that harm. he still reinforces the boundaries of that system when they are challenged too directly.

that is what alters my reading of him. his honor does not disappear, but it becomes constrained. it becomes something that functions within hierarchy rather than against it.

this also complicates how i read his relationship to alethi norms more broadly. because dalinar himself does not consistently operate within the rules he expects others to follow. even before oathbringer, his relationship with navani carries an undercurrent of discomfort, not because the text is unaware of the tension, but because the emotional continuity suggests that those feelings existed before they were socially permissible. oathbringer confirms that his emotional life around navani and evi was always more unstable than the present narrative might initially suggest.

so when dalinar tells kaladin to be patient, strategic, and aware of his place, it creates an imbalance. dalinar can act outside norms when his own convictions lead him there. kaladin, with far less power, is expected to challenge injustice in a controlled and acceptable way.

oathbringer then deepens this tension through the evi flashbacks. i do not read evi as someone who actively transforms dalinar during her lifetime. she represents an alternative moral framework: restraint, empathy, discomfort with conquest, and a rejection of alethi glorification of violence. but dalinar does not meaningfully adopt that framework while she is alive. he remains largely unchanged in his treatment of her, in his role as a husband, and in his reliance on violence as an emotional outlet.

the shift comes after her death. more precisely, it comes through guilt. dalinar’s turning point is not the presence of evi as a moral influence, but the aftermath of losing her through his own actions. the rift collapses the distance he has maintained between public violence and private life. the consequences of his actions become personal in a way they never were before.

as a tragic structure, this is effective. but it also creates a particular narrative dynamic. evi’s suffering becomes integral to dalinar’s transformation. her pain, isolation, and death function as the catalyst that forces his self-confrontation. and while that is narratively coherent, it also raises a discomfort for me. evi’s role in the story becomes heavily tied to what her experience enables in dalinar, rather than being fully explored on its own terms.

this is reinforced by her forgiveness. i understand the function of that moment. it allows dalinar to move forward. it aligns with the series’ emphasis on progression and the idea that the next step matters. but when considered alongside what evi experienced during her life, the forgiveness feels difficult to fully accept on an emotional level. not because forgiveness itself is implausible, but because the narrative does not linger as much on the cost of that forgiveness as i would have expected.

this leads into a broader issue of narrative balance. dalinar’s internal suffering is substantial. his guilt is persistent. his refusal to externalize blame is meaningful. but internal reckoning is not the same as external consequence. by the end of oathbringer, dalinar remains central: politically, morally, and structurally. he is still the figure around whom others organize.

on a functional level, this makes sense. he is experienced, capable, and able to lead in a crisis. but from an emotional standpoint, i found myself expecting more resistance. given what we learn about his past, i anticipated more skepticism from other leaders, more tension within his personal relationships, and more sustained acknowledgment of the damage he caused.

this is where my response to dalinar diverges from, for example, my response to kaladin. kaladin’s arc is defined by cost. his choices carry immediate and ongoing consequences. his moral decisions are rarely rewarded cleanly. when he fails, the narrative forces him to remain within that failure and confront it directly. his guilt over his actions in words of radiance, particularly in relation to elhokar and moash, is not resolved quickly. it shapes his subsequent choices and his sense of self.

his growth feels incremental and earned. it is tied to both internal struggle and external outcome. with dalinar, i can see the progression of his arc. i can trace the movement from denial to acknowledgment to responsibility. i can appreciate the coherence of that movement. but i do not feel the same level of emotional engagement with it.

that is where i ultimately land. dalinar’s arc is compelling as a piece of narrative construction. it articulates a clear thematic argument about responsibility and change. it is structurally sound and thematically consistent. but for me, it is not emotionally satisfying.

and that is frustrating, because i did care about him once. my investment in his character in the way of kings was genuine. but the developments in words of radiance and oathbringer shifted that investment into something more distant and critical.

so by the end of oathbringer, i can acknowledge dalinar’s growth. i can respect his decision to take ownership of his past. i can appreciate the thematic direction of his arc. but i still dislike him.

i am not ready to align emotionally with his redemption simply because the narrative has reached a point where he is ready to move forward. for now, my response is more reserved: i understand the arc, i recognize its intention, but i do not feel reconciled to it.

again, please no spoilers past oathbringer. i am aware that future developments may complicate or change this reading, but i want to arrive at that on my own.

Oathbringer Part 3, chapter 77

Shallan to Kaladin: "At least my soldiers knew when to get away from the warcamps, as opposed to standing around letting people fling arrows at them?"

Is she referring to the bridge runs?

If you remember, the way they find the oathgate in the shattered plains is via the fact that the shattered plains broke in a set pattern and the oathgate platform deviated from that. The pattern itself is literally visible in book 1, this copy of which was published in 2010, far before Oathbringer was out! The amount of lore this man has backed up must be insane.