saying this is NOT the same thing as saying that the situation is no big deal and everything will be fine - but the truth is, when things look really bad, ceding defeat before you've actually been *defeated* is a completely useless strategy.
I really have lost my former tolerance for "we're doomed/fucked/it's all over/they've won" takes at this point, in that they're the most dangerous attitudes one could possibly have when confronted with a truly existential political threat (which we still DO have levers to address).
Despair creeping in? Worried things ultimately won’t work out for you? Is Hell getting a bit too Hellish? Consider setting those worries aside and trying Grim Determination and focusing on helping who you can however you can
Ask your doctor if Grim Determination is right for you
I was gonna say "I think that's Mistborn" but no, "The world will break you and eexpect you to perform feats of heroism despite that, and maybe nobody will stand up for what's right with you and maybe you'll be alone and broken and traumatized in doing what's right, but damnit, maybe you won't" is
I'd totally forgotten that mistings had to "snap," but yeah it's a part of Stormlight I've thought about a lot
Trying to remember if any of the other investiture powers required trauma or not
I don't think the one from Elantris did
Elantris kinda does, yeah. At least, the "main" one, there's one or two other manifestations of investiture shown, and I don't think they all do, but becoming Elantrean makes you fundamentally Other in an inescapable way
Extremely worth reading but also a BEHEMOTH of a saga, would suggest trying the original Mistborn trilogy or the standalone Warbreaker book to see if Sanderson's style suits ya first
mistborn is so insanely fucking good it singlehandedly shaped my vision on fantasy as a child (until i got my hands on Warhammer that is)
also he then on a whim wrote a sequel 'in-between' book that turned into like four books about MAGIC VICTORIAN COWBOYS YEAHH-
