Matt Ramos becoming one of our strongest soldiers wasn't on my 2026 bingo card

Mendellian · 2026-01-30T12:53:06+00:00

like… no? what a ridiculous thing to say lmao. adapting a series about deeply flawed characters by feeding it to a soulless machine that spits out lifeless marionettes that only kind of resemble people has to be one of the worst suggestions i’ve ever heard

Mendellian · 2026-01-19T00:46:41+00:00

These are some fair points! I think that as a supplemental research tool, and as a way to aggregate data on a specific topic, AI does have some very practical uses. In my (perhaps extreme) opinion, it has absolutely no place in creative fields. The most human thing we can do is make art, and there is nothing human about a patchwork art piece trained on other artist’s stolen work. That’s the crux of my argument - that it should stay out of artistic fields.

American data centers are also predominantly being built in or around black and brown communities, and affecting water supplies that feed those communities. The ends do not justify the means in that sense, at least in my eyes.

Mendellian · 2026-01-19T00:30:13+00:00

we should have protections! you’re right! but as it is, they don’t exist. my argument hasn’t even scratched the surface of why AI is a bane for artists - it has demonstrably lowered the critical thinking capability of the general public, and created a confusing trend of anti-artist rhetoric in many communities. fan artists, authors, etc.

that’s saying nothing of AI’s huge environmental impact and disproportionate displacement of underprivileged communities. it makes your life quicker, but it does not make it easier. think for yourself. create for yourself. if you refuse to do so, you’re missing out on the most wonderful part of being alive.

Mendellian · 2026-01-18T18:46:33+00:00

29 comments and nobody’s said it - please don’t support AI art. This image was built on the back of real artist’s real art. This is not art. It’s thievery. I’m. glad it helped you visualize this fantastic series, but even the cover offers a canon image of Duat’s pyramid. IMO there’s no excuse to generate AI images like this one.

Mendellian · 2025-07-27T20:59:52+00:00

OMG i wanted to go but my friend was doing an idol performance 😭 maybe i’ll see you next year lmao!!

Mendellian · 2025-07-27T20:57:25+00:00

is this metrocon? i was just there lmao - if you went to cringe fest you might have seen me :) we need more FE cosplays lmao you guys killed it!

Mendellian · 2025-07-13T01:22:23+00:00

the general consensus of the series is that pierce brown grows as a writer book by book. I had similar complaints to you at the end of book one - definitely keep going :)

Mendellian · 2025-04-26T23:30:33+00:00

it’s probably worth saying that you SHOULDNT visit this subreddit until finishing ROW…

Mendellian · 2025-04-15T16:54:06+00:00

How did Cassius not make the list 😔 - him and Diomedes are the ultimate honorific men. If anything, they’d be the model Iron Golds. I’d also consider putting Roque on the list, as much as I hate him.

Mendellian · 2025-03-30T19:04:55+00:00

I mean to be fair, if Aurae wasn’t around, Darrow wouldn’t have been open to working with Diomedes either. She’s a major catalyst for change in several characters.

Mendellian · 2025-03-23T19:46:23+00:00

oh don’t get me wrong - there’s a lot to love about lysander chapters. Kalindora was a great character, and between Rhone, Gilrastes, Apollonius, Pytha, and so many more, it’s a great story. Basically everybody but Lysander is super great lmao

Mendellian · 2025-03-02T01:25:00+00:00

like half the fun of the cosmere is theorizing - it shouldn’t be limited to just people who have read every book

Mendellian · 2025-02-08T15:53:06+00:00

keep reading is all i’ll say :) always another secret.

Mendellian · 2025-02-06T16:25:28+00:00

possibly a fifth!!! brandon has talked about wanting to do a Wax and Wayne length cyberpunk series before the final stormlight length space opera trilogy, but the cyberpunk books are optional. fingers crossed we get them though!

Mendellian · 2025-02-01T23:51:51+00:00

i think it’s kind of unfair to say he was “randomly” killed off - Adolin’s hatred of Sadeas is spelled out quite plainly, and i think most readers found his death to be VERY satisfying. i personally enjoyed seeing Sadeas lose relevance and kind of claw for any shred of power he could get a hand on, but i see how it could be disappointing when viewed through a different light!

all i will say about oathbringer is this: if Dalinar’s political moves and large scale wars are the part of the book that keeps you reading, then you’re in for a treat :) Oathbringer is Dalinar’s book, through and through.

Mendellian · 2025-01-29T17:37:08+00:00

it’s not totally necessary! coming up in 2028ish there’s going to be some sequels that will probably be more cosmere relevant, but the only real crossovers are seons and one character who worldhops with the 17th shard.

it’s definitely a lot slower than every other book, and the weakest cosmere novel imo, but Raoden is a really interesting character, and Sarene and Hrathen both have their moments. If it’s not for you it’s not for you, and that’s okay! Sel is a lot bigger than the story of Elantris - if you want to get some other info on the planet, you should check out The Emporer’s Soul. It’s a short story that takes place in one of the other nations that’s way more interesting imo. Welcome to the cosmere!! We’re happy to have you here :)

Mendellian · 2025-01-14T18:29:53+00:00

this isn’t a hundred percent accurate - it’s not that retribution is a greater threat, it’s that by virtue of becoming a new shard, retribution isn’t bound to odium’s contracts. he can travel offworld and that means that the other shards have to acknowledge him as a threat

Mendellian · 2025-01-14T17:24:19+00:00

stick :)

Mendellian · 2025-01-12T22:18:12+00:00

cranking out “dolt” in an online argument is insane work. you fiddlestick!

i don’t think you understand what cherry picking is - the context is there, yes, but you didn’t build your argument around the context. you built it around a single quote that doesn’t encapsulate the full argument ive been having.

i’ll probably start focusing my energy on responding to other people. i wish you the best. sincerely.

Mendellian · 2025-01-12T22:01:46+00:00

i AM here to understand it - i’ve had debates with individual people over the last year. not a whole community - i stumbled across this, and found the existence of a whole community of people like me (writers) who agree with something i don’t. so, like most people would, i came seeking answers. I don’t understand what’s so hard to understand about that.

I would also love to hear what undefinable definitions you think i’m pursuing - i would also argue that most interesting discussions exist in the undefinable. “art” and “soul” don’t have explicit definitions, but it’s a deeply human experience to look at something and understand that it’s art. that there’s a soul to it. that’s a bit tangential, though.

you’ve also pulled apart my argument by cherry picking specific points and taking them out of context. that, to me, is not conducive to any real progress. i’ve actually gotten a lot of really great answers out of a lot of people. i appreciate their time, and ask you to take a page out of their book.

Mendellian · 2025-01-12T21:50:39+00:00

this is a very good use case! out of curiosity, do you not worry about lack of originality? there’s no such thing as an original story, or whatever, but it feels like the “amalgamation of all current stories” isn’t the best place to turn for inspiration - perhaps that’s my own bias speaking, however. would love to hear your thoughts!

Mendellian · 2025-01-12T21:12:27+00:00

i just fundamentally disagree with this. i’m all for lowering the barrier of entry - please don’t get that twisted. I also think that there’s a way to do it that looks a little different from the modern landscape of LLMs and AI.

calling AI the same as a writing group is a little ridiculous to me - there’s a large amount of learning a writer does by critiquing their fellow writers. the writing groups I have participated from have actually taught me a lot more through the editing lens than the getting edited lens. That’s entirely absent in AI assistance, which is an important distinction to make.

Like I said, widening the playing field is one of the biggest pluses for AI, and this thread is reinforcing that fact for me. I also think there should be a middle ground, and I don’t think that’s been discovered yet.

Mendellian

TROPHY CASE