Cosmere Characters Do Their Taxes

It was just Tax Day in the US! Let's say that Cosmere characters had to pay taxes. How would that go for them?

Sigzil: Knows the tax code inside and out. Saves his receipts. Is basically the IRS's dream guy.

Hoid: Does not pay taxes. This is canon.

Kelsier: Does not pay taxes. This feels canon.

Marasi: Always pays her taxes.

Vivenna: Always pays her taxes.

Denth: Sure talks a lot about how complicated mercenary taxes are but if you listen carefully, he never actually says he did them...

Nale: Rigorously follows the tax code of whatever country he is in.

Wyndle: Claims Lift as a dependent. Reports all illegally acquired income at fair market value, as the tax code requires.

Lightsong: Does not pay taxes because he's, like, a god. But it's always bothered him, somewhere in the back of his mind, for some reason...

Adolin: Cheerfully hires someone else to do his taxes, at least so long as he's single.

Shallan: Does her own taxes, Sebarial's taxes, and Adolin's taxes post-marriage.

Steris & Wax: Do their taxes together. Romantically.

Wayne: Gives so much money to charity that he never owes any taxes. Orders his accountants to find a way for him to pay taxes anyway.

Straff: Does not pay taxes in the way rich people don't pay taxes--through, like, legal loopholes and off-shore accounts and shit

Elend: Rewrites the tax code to pay more taxes.

Lirin: Committed tax fraud. But only once.

Taravangian: Is not allowed to file his taxes when he is too stupid--because he cries about how confusing it is--or when he's too smart--because he's too good at finding all of the super obvious tax loopholes and anyway he's obviously way better than the government at knowing how to spend his own money!

Painter: Got in trouble once for not filing taxes because he knew he didn't make enough to owe any taxes. Seemed kinda stupid to him.

Moash: Makes an ethical argument against taxes, since the tax laws are written to benefit the rich and screw over the poor and he has no control over what the government uses his taxes for.

Kaladin: Is torn between paying his taxes like Dalinar ordered or not paying his taxes since he promised Moash he wouldn't until he finally files his taxes at, like, midnight on tax day

It's a whole thing.

Cosmere inktober day 19: Prayer

I wanted to explore how faith and devotion or shown throughout the cosmere, plus I’m excited that my twin just started reading warbreaker. That being said, NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS

Kelsier

Lightsong

Wax

Adolin

Vin

Blushweaver and Lightsong designs.

I want to do a more detailed piece with them soon but I’m not about to design their complex outfits halfway through drawing it so I did some more simple full body sketches first.

So for some reason warbreaker is popping off on the tiktok the last few days, I've seen so many people talking about it, and I love videos where I can tell why they're upset based on the location of the bookmark in the book.

We all know Kaladin will win so everyone else is fighting for second.

This is one of my favorite books!

I started this uhm *checks watch* February of 2021. You want to know why I abandoned it? Because I didn’t want to draw Nightblood (the sword). So that’s some art reality for you.

Anyway I finished it. Because sometimes I think about the people who run the Coppermind, and I want to be helpful.

If you have no idea what Im talking about, feel free to carry on scrolling — 😅

i did it! i finally finished warbreaker.

man what a boring book, the plot? boring. the characters? boring. the ending? not boring but it felt so rushed that i couldn’t enjoy it.

lightsong dying? for the god king? rest in peace my beloved lightsong, you deserved so much better.

the dynamic between vivenna and vasher was a nice addition towards the end, nightblood is one of the best characters of the cosmere.

from what i gathered online the sequel won’t be happening any time soon and i hate brandon sanderson for that.

back to stormlight, next book is edgedancer (people told me to read it before oathbringer)

I have a LOT of mixed feelings about Warbringer, but one thing I am absolutely certain of, is that I absolutely adored Lightsong the Bold. His particularly brand of chaotic gremlin snark was to die for.... (and yes, I'm still screaming about the ending TnT). I wasn't certain whether or not to bother making stickers or prints of this one, so me know if you think I should.

actual footage I took at the scene

Warbreaker as a Story About Growing Up

I recently (within the last several months) read Warbreaker for the second time, and it struck me that through each of the main storylines (Siri, Vivinna, and Lightsong) there is a prevailing theme of maturing and taking responsibility. This theme manifests itself in different ways according to the different characters, but it can be found in all three of the plot lines. Allow me to explain.

Let’s start with the most obvious, Siri. You can pull more than one theme from Siri’s story, but I want to focus on “putting away childish things.” When we first meet Siri, she takes pleasure in being “unimportant” and the lack of responsibility that comes with it.  While her siblings study and prepare for their duties, she spends her time exploring on her own and bringing colorful flowers to the children of her city (which is not encouraged by her religion). Mab the kitchen mistress calls her out for skipping her tutoring and “shirking responsibilities.” Because of this carefree attitude, when Siri is thrust into her role as the god king’s wife she is completely unprepared and forced to mature quickly. Throughout her time in the palace of Hallandren she learns responsibility and control. By gaining control over herself (example: controlling her hair while talking to the god king’s priest) she is also able to gain some control over her situation, which can be seen as she takes charge and uses her position in the palace as “vessel” to her advantage. By the end of the story she has matured quite a bit, which can most obviously seen in the control she gains over her hair color. Despite these changes she never loses her joy and wonder. Good thing, too, as Suesebron says it is one of the reasons he likes her. 

Now for Vivenna. Vivienna is set up to be the complete opposite of Siri. She studies diligently, maintains complete control over her composure, and puts her duty above all else. Her father thinks of her as “composed, simple [modest], hard, and capable.” The perfect Idrian and the perfect daughter. Vivenna seems to think highly of herself as well, saying that if she had been sent to the god king she could have stopped the coming war. Vivenna’s character arc is about realizing that she doesn't know as much as she thought she did. Through the course the story she is completely humbled, and her worldview and understanding are challenged. In order for her to mature she must first realize just how immature she was in many ways. Vasher points this out when he comments on how “stupid” she was to be manipulated by Denth. But Vivenna does learn, and she does grow in maturity and wisdom to the point where she is able to free Vasher from Denth. When at the end of the story she chooses to go with Vasher it is with a new understanding of herself and the world. She knows that she can’t go back to what she was before. She has been changed too much. With her newfound maturity she chooses what path she will take, without having others plan her life for her. Interestingly, her maturity manifests itself in a way that could be considered immature as she learns to lighten up. Specifically I’m referring to when she called Vasher “wartlover the ugly” as they set off together (as out of place as this line may seem it does demonstrate her character development well). When she rejects the propriety expected of her as a princess, in a way she is rejecting the old, naive self that lived a sheltered life in the castle taught to hate the Hallandrens. She is more world-wise now and has grown into her own person.

Lastly, we have Lightsong. I thought about calling this post "Warbreaker as a coming of age story" but Lightsong never comes of age. He is a fully fledged god, after all. Still, his story begins in a similar place as Siri's. Lightsong treats his role in the government and religion of Hallandren flippantly, and says that the other gods do the same. The only duty he takes seriously is his reviewing of artwork, and even that he is tempted to brush off on occasion. His journey to maturity kicks off with his obsession of who he was in his previous life. Interestingly, "finding my identity" is a common theme in many coming of age stories. The other driver in Lightsong's story is, of course, Blushweaver. She encourages Lightsong to step up as a ruler and religious figure of Hallandren (although she does so to gain power in the court). Slowly, influenced by his troubling dreams and the memory of someone important to him, Lightsong begins to take more responsibility to the point where he takes sole control of a large portion of the lifeless army. Even so he continues to treat much of his new involvement like a game, as can be seen by his brash attack of the Phan Khal in the tunnels. The danger finally becomes real to him when Blushweaver is killed. In the end, though, Lightsong is able to accept his role as a god and give his life for Susebron, something he previously had said he would never do. 

If Siri, Vivinna, and Lightsong’s stories are about taking responsibility, then one possible interpretation of Denth’s story is giving it up. Denth’s motives are never really explained by the story, but Vasher accuses him of simply selling his sword to whoever will pay. Denth does have his own goals - killing Vasher being the main one. It is also possible that Denth wanted a war between Idris and Hallandren, but he never says as much and there are no reasons given as to why it would be advantageous for him. With the information we are given, Denth can be read as using his position as a mercenary as a way of having someone else to blame. He does not decide what his employers want him to do - he simply does it. (Honestly, upon further reflection this isn't an interpretation I'm 100% sold on, but it fits the theme of this post so I thought I'd mention it.)

Returning to Susebron, with all this growing up and maturing that happens throughout the book, I would have liked to see Suesbron mature a bit more as well. By the end of the story he still seems a bit too childlike to me. Ah well. That’s another topic for another time.

P.S. I was going to cite all the chapters I reference here, but I only have the pdf download from Brandon’s website which isn’t the best for looking things up. I guess you’ll just have to trust I’m not making this all up lol

If Cosmere Characters Had Real-World Jobs (But Not The Obvious Ones)

In this list, I wanted to try to give Cosmere characters jobs in our world while avoiding the jobs that would be the most obvious picks--like, for example, the real world equivalent of whatever their canon job is.

1. Kaladin: Professional Football Player

It's a dangerous job that Kaladin's dad would scoff at, but the other kids in town think it's really cool and also the recruiters are coming through town and, I mean, he's really good at football.

2. Lirin: Public Defender

If we avoid the obvious job (doctor), then Lirin still needs a job where he is doing good, but it's pretty thankless and the general public are suspicious and think he might actually be evil somehow. So I figure: public defender. He's highly educated, helping people who need it, and just getting nothing but grief as a result. Worst of all, his smart son wants to be a FOOTBALL player!

3. Marsh: Masseuse

I feel like people who are good at hemalurgy know about the body and its pressure points and things like that. And frankly, "acupuncturist" felt too on the nose.

4. Shallan: Park Ranger

Shallan HATES to be confined, so no way she's going into an office job. Plus, she likes nature and animals, but I'm trying to avoid the more obvious jobs (like botanist or ecologist). It's just too bad that Shallan is SO bad at staring a campfire, though.

5. Navani: Wedding Planner

Navani is VERY good at managing people and events, as seen when she had to manage everything while Gavilar was off plotting. She's also very organized and literally invented wristwatches. So I think she's be very good at this job.

6. Elend: Grad Student

This one may be too obvious, but I figure something like "politician" or "philosopher" are more obvious. But to me, Elend has major grad student energy.

7. Nale: Insurance Adjuster

Nale is a cop, of course, through and through. But if he wasn't a cop, then he'd need some other job where he uses the rules to screw people over. So I see him as, like, an evil insurance guy who's denying people medical coverage because the company wants him to.

8. Blackthorn-Era Dalinar: Debt Collector

If flashback Dalinar couldn't make a living mowing people down in battle and had to find a less obvious job, then I could see him being the guy to hunt down people and demand money they don't have. He doesn't really care about the money. He just likes the hunt.

9. Adolin: eSports Player

It's a job where you can head-to-head battle people and your dad is vaguely puzzled and thinks you should be doing something more important with your life.

10. Lightsong: Customer Service Agent

In canon, Lightsong's job is to face down a huge line of people and tell them "no" in response to them asking for something they want. So, I mean, I feel like that's equivalent to one of those shitty customer service jobs where you're not really allowed to help people (until, of course, Lightsong goes rogue and does start helping people, but that's another story...)

11. Stormfather: Bus Driver

He has his route, and he's not deviating from it. And if you miss the bus, he's not stopping. He's not going back. You can try to run, but you will not catch up to him.

12. Tress: Mechanic

As a Sprouter, Tress had to figure out how each of the spores worked and how to use them. I just feel like she'd be good at diagnosing issues in machinery and then fixing them.

13. Steris: Programmer

She's precise, she's smart, she likes rules. I think coding would suit her.

14. Yumi: Waitress

She could stack the plates SO high.

15. Marasi: Investigative Reporter

Which, honestly, is what I wish she had been rather than being a cop like in canon. I think it would suit her! She'd get to research, investigate, find the truth...

16. Kelsier: Motivational Speaker

He tells you about the power of smiling no matter what, so that you are never defeated. He tells you to carry something small, some memento or photo, to help you find your motivation. You tells you that no goal is out of reach--you just have to find the right people and the right steps to move forward. And he tells you that the most important thing is to survive.

Oh my god I literally made my last post and then I HAD AN IDEA FOR A COSMEME

Desperate for my rep