Will's Life

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Name
Name Will's Life
Date
Date Aug. 1, 2017
Entries
Entries 78
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#1 Copy

Windrunner

What book or author would you recommend to someone who has read all of your books, preferring Cradle->House of Blades -> OKAK

Will Wight

I always have a difficult time giving recommendations. The only authors I recommend with no caveats tend to be very well-known. If you're not familiar with the wuxia / xianxia genre, that's what Cradle is, and there are some great examples over on WuxiaWorld.com. They're all fan translated and written daily, so there tend to be some difficulties with prose, but once you get used to it the stories can be off-the-charts hype.

#2 Copy

Lil' Blue

What's your writing soundtrack?

Will Wight

I tend to string together songs you could choreograph a fight to. It used to be rock, but then it transitioned to epic trailer-type music, and now I almost exclusively listen to nerd rap. It's been a weird cycle.

#8 Copy

Hjorth

Since you don't like coffee, what would you drink if you wanted to relax?

Will Wight

Those Monster Energy drinks in the white can. Idk what they’re called. Apparently they’re zero sugar and zero carbs, but idc about that, it’s my favorite energy drink flavor. I assumed it was like normal Monster but worse, and I could not have been more wrong. It’s like drinking the blood of an angel.

#11 Copy

Lil' Blue

Are your Facebook posts carefully planned out or more stream of consciousness?

Will Wight

Not planned at all. People said I needed to post more, so I started posting memes and stuff.     I kind of hate doing it, but I try to make them a little fun for me.
#12 Copy

Aru

I haven't played League of Legends in a few years, is everyone still as salty as I remember? Also, is my boy Darius still meta?

Will Wight

Darius is actually really strong right now. There have been some great changes in the last few years, especially in terms of the client and UI.     The community is still cancer.
#13 Copy

sadly_streets_behind

Will, have you read Overlord or watched the anime adaptation?

Will Wight

Yes, both! I think that's one of the web novels with the most squandered potential.     In particular, I think it's let down by the MC being undead. So he doesn't have any emotional reaction or physical response to anything.     Therefore, the stakes never feel personal and there's no connection to him. However, Nazarick and the floor guardians are the best ideas anyone in that genre has ever had.     I'm super jealous.
#15 Copy

Aru

For real though, one of my favorite activities is logging into Reddit writing prompts or one of my online stories that still has a following and writing "There will be an update soon." And then never releasing an update. It keeps them all in suspense.

Will Wight

That's my release date policy.     ...
#16 Copy

Aru

Will from now on will you invest all of your income into garlicoin?

Will Wight

What do you mean from now on? That implies I was once paid in other, inferior currency.  
#17 Copy

Polycore

And guys really, a blog post on the 1st of April? Will's posts are already insanity on a regular basis, imagine the kind of shit he would have to pull off on the 1st of April

Will Wight

I have done April Fools Day posts in the past, and I enjoy them, but I don't do them every year. Doing it well takes some thought and time, plus someone always takes it seriously. I did an April Fools short story called "House of Cool Swords" that was a parody of House of Blades, and some people still emailed me breaking down why they didn't like my new style.

#18 Copy

Tievel

Hi Will. I wasn't able to comment on your blogpost, but tell all those folks at Hidden Gnome that they're my heroes

Will Wight

Will do, Tievel! Thanks!     They're the ones who flog me into productivity.

Tievel

That's what makes them my heroes. And apparently it helps your productivity to boot, so even better
#22 Copy

TransEmo

Given the choice of drinking a hot Gatorade on a hot day, or a chilled Gatorade on a freezing day, what is the air speed velocity of a unladen swallow?  

Will Wight

African or European?

#24 Copy

Your Benevolent Dictator

Do our constant questions annoy you?

Will Wight

Not these, no. But I get some questions multiple times a day for which I've already provided an answer, and those irritate me. Like all the people who ask if there will be another book in the Cradle series or if I'm done writing them.

#25 Copy

Secret Agent Book Theif

Terry Goodkind says that reading other people's books is bad because it influences your writing. Would you say you have been negatively influenced by the writings of your students while you were teaching intro to creative writing? Or any other work for that matter?

Will Wight

I would...strongly disagree.   I would strongly disagree with many of the other things Terry Goodkind has said as well.
#26 Copy

Lil' Blue

Have you read all 80 threads about when the book is coming out?

Will Wight

I think so. I try to read everything, except for Discord channels other than this one.

Footnote: This is referring to Ghostwater.
#29 Copy

Decadakon

Did you review Infinity war? if not how did you like it?

Will Wight

I haven't reviewed it yet, but I did like it.

I intended to review it, but the book launch made that timing awkward.

#31 Copy

Your Benevolent Dictator

Why did you choose the name Uru

Will Wight

Uru has been one of the names I’ve used since high school; I thought it was cool that it was short, spelled the same forwards and backwards, and made up of two letters that are also words.   Originally, I used the name for a character in a short story I half-finished. He was a wizard that acted as an intermediary for a pantheon of warring gods that couldn’t move against each other directly. He would hire him out to the god that would reward him with the most powerful artifact.
#32 Copy

Tievel

Hey Will, have the additional region releases helped the book numbers significantly?

Will Wight

No, the regions have not helped the book numbers significantly. 90% or more of my sales come from Amazon.com.   I was never concerned that the absence of the UK and the other regions would jeopardize my bottom line, but I still want fans in those regions to have a better experience at launch.
Footnote: This is referring to Ghostwater.
#33 Copy

Lil' Blue

Will, what's the most recent show/movie that's made you cry?

Will Wight

I can't think of any that ever has.   Devilman Crybaby punched me in the gut, as you'd expect.
#35 Copy

Hjorth

Who is your favorite LoL character, and why is it Udyr?

Will Wight

Are you ghosting me right now? I've literally been playing nothing but Udyr since the book was out, because he's busted this patch.   I'm playing Udyr right now.

Lil' Blue

We can see who you're playing on Discord. Discord is creepy.

Will Wight

Oh, for real? I've only ever seen "playing League of Legends."     Thanks, creepy Discord!
#36 Copy

Lil' Blue

Srs question, how was your game?

Will Wight

That last game was impossible to win. I did pretty well, but our bot lane fed like crazy. They had given up thirteen kills by fourteen minutes.   Otherwise, doing pretty well.
#39 Copy

Your Benevolent Dictator

What about warlock punch?  

Tievel

Not sure what that is

Will Wight

The superior Falcon clone  

Your Benevolent Dictator

The only character I use in smash is ma boi ganon

Will Wight

Yeah, I’m a decent Ganondorf. He’s my go-to heavy

#40 Copy

Questioner

Who is your favorite Disney character and why?

Will Wight

Disney owns too many characters now. I can't be certain my own characters aren't owned by Disney somehow. But my real answer: Carl Fredricksen from Up. I aspire to be him when I am older, but with an even more tragic backstory.

#41 Copy

Questioner

If you could only have one app on your phone, what would it be?

Will Wight

I don't know, Safari? I'm not very good at these social media-type questions. If www.WuxiaWorld.com had an iOS app, it would be my most-used app and the one I would keep above all others. I spend most of my time on Safari reading web novels.

#42 Copy

Questioner

What five things could you not live without?

Will Wight

1.) The four elemental crystals that keep nature in balance, without which all of humanity would be scoured from the face of the planet by constant natural disasters.

 

2.) The ring I inherited from my great-grandfather that tells me what every child wants for Christmas.

 

3.) My artificial heart.

 

4.) The collar that keeps me from transforming into a werewolf every night.5.) Terraria on PC.

#44 Copy

Questioner

When will Underlord be released?

Will Wight

This was by far the most common fan-submitted question.

...

 

The time approaches when ravens cry with the voices of men. I see a day when lakes and rivers reverse their flow, when dogs and cats merge into the perfect pets, and when the moon cackles and stares at the people below while blood leaks from the corner of its mouth. Ia! Ia! These are the signs that the time of Underlord is nigh!

#46 Copy

garbagiel the racoon

So the guy who writes the messages in my fortune cookies also writes the books I read?

 

Will Wight

Curb your expectations, and you will curb your disappointment.Your lucky numbers are: 1-20-118

#47 Copy

Saucy1990

When is the Rithmatist 2 coming out!?!?

Generally entitled and agitated fantasy reader

Yea Will, I really feel like you're not putting enough work in Doors of Stone. Don't you understand how hard this is for ME?

Will Wight

If I was writing Doors of Stone, it would have been out years ago, but it also would have been much shorter and less polished. I suggest waiting.The Rithmatist, though, that I'm almost finished with.

#48 Copy

Zach

This. This right here. See this is just... exactly what I come here for. Well, I mean, and books. But mostly this.I will read all the new books you see fit to publish and I don't even care what order. Thanks, Will, for being you.

Will Wight

I like having fun with blog posts. Sometimes I don't get to or don't have the energy, but these are way more fun for me.

#49 Copy

Bear among men

Will you don’t fail to disappoint, even in a cryptic sort of update blog post! Can’t wait for the next book to be out, no matter the series! I’m sure everyone else feels the same way as me and appreciate all of your hard work!

Will Wight

When I set out to disappoint, I always succeed!

#50 Copy

Encouragement…hopefully.

For some strange reason, I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the commenters who write encouraging messages. Discouragement does not help people to write…or to do anything, really.Thanks for your books, Will! They’re great!

Will Wight

Thanks! And fortunately, I get a lot more encouragement than discouragement from fans.

#51 Copy

Lil' Blue

Are you happy for the slow hurricane season?

Will Wight

I'm always happy when I don't have to clean debris out of my yard, but I do wish it wasn't eighty degrees here today. In mid-November.

#52 Copy

Decadakon

Thoughts on smash?

Will Wight

My thoughts are: "Why am I not playing Smash right now?"

 

For real though, I feel like they should have done this concept last time around. Putting everyone on the roster just makes sense; Smash doesn't have to be balanced, as long as there are a few competitively viable people. Why NOT have a massive roster?

 

I'm excited. Smash Bros is one of my secret joys.

(Jk, it's not secret.)

#54 Copy

Decadakon

What movie are you looking forward to in the next year?

Will Wight

Like everyone else, I’m looking forward to Infinity War 2, but I can’t imagine it will hold up to part one. If it does, I’m buying cardboard cutouts of both Russo Brothers. I haven’t seen Overlord yet, but I really want to, because I want to see the next tier of advancement after Underlord with my own eyes. Fantastic Beasts: I’ll probably love the actual fantastic beasts and tolerate everything else, like last time.

#56 Copy

John

How far do you outline?

Will Wight

I always have a plan, but often I leave details vague just in case I have a better idea or change my mind later. Gives me some elbow room.

I do a TON of world-building before I start, but a lot of it is fluid. When I'm writing the book, if what I planned doesn't serve the story as well as I imagined it would, I'll change the planned backstory as needed. Nothing is set in stone until it shows up in a book.

As for parts that are more narrow than world-building elements--like characters, scenes, twists, etc.--most of those I design as needed when I'm working on the book. I don't determine their fate several books ahead of time.

However, that's for MOST characters and scenes. There are a few incredibly specific elements that I've already determined way ahead of time, including several that are still four or five books away.

TL;DR - Me setting up a specific character twist two books ahead is uncommon, but not terribly rare.

#57 Copy

Sean K

Congratz! I just want to say one more time that the Cradle books have been amazing! I even had to buy my friend Unsouled for his birthday! I also bought the Crimson Throne, but I haven't gotten to read it yet as I was finishing up the Nice Dragons Finish Last.

On a side note, how has your total sales growth been growing? I remember you mentioning that you had a huge sales growth on all of your books when you released Unsouled and Soulsmith. Do you normally sell 1k books a month? Which months are the slow month (So I know when you buy friends books!).

Granted, feel free to tell me "STFU, that's my income, I aint tellin you!" I'm just curious more so about the growth of your sales as you keep on adding so many great books as opposed to the sales figure!

Will Wight

I'm always more than happy to talk about my sales numbers. It's hard to find information like that out there from other independent Kindle authors.

Every time I add a new book, everything else gets a small bump in sales (especially previous books in the series). Putting a book on sale tends to do something similar.

I normally sell way more than 1k books a month. 1k would be a slow month. 10k would be a high month (probably a release month), but on average would be somewhere around 5k sales.

Which months are slow months? I'm honestly not sure. I'd have to look through my records, and it's still hard to tell. It depends on when I release, really. Release months are big months, and the sales trend steadily downward over about 4-5 months until the next release.

That fact, combined with the fact that there's a two-month delay between me selling the books and receiving the money, is what makes my income so...swingy. I have to save most of it and predict how much I'll be making for the next few months, otherwise I could find myself in an uncomfortable scenario.

I.e., "I'm not making any income, and even if I released a book tomorrow, I won't be making anything for the next two months."

The amount the books have generated is pretty huge (at least by my standards): almost $600k in three and a half years.

"How could you ever have financial problems?" you may be thinking. "That's way more money than you need!"

It's true, that's way more money than I need. And honestly, I haven't had any financial problems, but only because I've saved and planned ahead.

The problem is, that's gross income. Not profit for Will. So all taxes come out of that--and being a self-employed single guy means I'm paying a ridiculous amount of taxes--and so do all business expenses (all trips to conventions, everything I do to isolate myself and write, any computer equipment required for me to write, all book shipping, covers, editing, ordering hard copies so we have some to give away, and so on and so forth). On top of that, I pay all my insurance, which a salaried position would usually cover, out of pocket.

So bottom line, my PERSONAL takeaway is basically like a 50-60k salary.

Which is still very comfortable for me personally. It's WAY, WAY more than I ever expected to make writing, and I could certainly do with a lot less.

But imagine you're living on a 50k salary, but sometimes your boss says "Eh, you might not get paid for the next two months."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I try to keep up frequent releases.

#58 Copy

David Titus

I join your other fans in congratulating you on a huge milestone-300k sold is fantastic. Thank you for your honesty and openness on how KU works. My sense is you regard yourself as well treated by KU, something I had hoped is true but had no info about.

Being somewhat new to you and your blog, I may have missed an estimate of how many volumes you expect Cradle to be. Hearing from you on this, even if it is a rough guess, would be a great way to share with you where all of us are in the Journey, and a nice way to celebrate 300k sold.

Or, maybe you could share with us a tidbit on the creative process. Is there any recurring challenge, and how do you come out on top, or try to? When or how do you know you have a good idea for a series? Really any insight into how you work would really interest us and would be a way your fans could join you in celebrating a major milestone in your literary career.

Oh, and many thanks for this blog, which I am enjoying, while waiting for Blackflame.

Will Wight

I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but I've been VERY well-treated by KU. It's the bulk of my monthly income nowadays.

As for the Cradle volumes...SPOILER WARNING, I guess, although this is so fluid and subject to change that anything I say can't really be much of a spoiler because I haven't made my own mind up yet.

I'm planning 12 volumes actually on Cradle. It could end there...or not. It depends.

The answer to most of those creative process questions you've asked is "I fly by the seat of my pants."

Recurring challenge: getting up every day and going to work. I get paid regardless, there are no deadlines, and no single day is going to matter in the completion of a book. I combat that by putting myself in scenarios where I have no choice but to write--I'm locked in a hotel room without the WiFi password and no books or games. Writing it is.

Recurring challenge #2: demotivation. In every book so far, roughly into the 2/3 - 3/4 mark, I'm convinced that it's a pile of crap, the worst thing I've ever written, and completely broken from stem to stern. I just know that I'm going to have to throw it all out and start over.

It hasn't been true yet, but each time I'm sure that THIS is going to be the time.

And that's where I'm currently at with Blackflame. I am convinced it's garbage. But by this point I'm learning to predict my own issues, and I was ready for this. A week or two from now I'll be saying "Hm, this is better than I remember it being."

Or maybe for the first time it really is crap, and the book will be delayed.

How I know when I have a good idea for a series: when it sells well, because that means people are reading it.

For instance, I thought Elder Empire was a great idea. Much better than the ideas behind Traveler's Gate or Cradle. I crammed too much into the setting, that's true, but the "dueling perspectives" thing and the "epic fantasy with a Lovecraft backdrop" thing are both rich ideas. Plus it's more character-driven by definition, which is a neat change of pace for me.

Then not many people read it, so evidently it was not a great idea. Live and learn. Unsouled has outsold all of the Elder Empire books combined, I think, and if it hasn't yet it will soon.

So apparently that was the better series concept.

Less jaded and cynical answer to the same question:

I choose which new series to write based on what book I think I can enjoy writing AND what I can complete in a reasonable amount of time.

With Cradle, for instance, I'd been reading a lot of translated wuxia and xianxia novels, so I wanted to try writing one. I was passionate about the genre, I had a few twists on the established formula I was excited to include, and it seemed like it would be very possible to write without any hidden obstacles along the way.

That's pretty much it.

Xianxia stories are fairly formulaic to start with, so I knew I could at least write the first 80-90k words of one without much trouble. And initially I'd planned to release Unsouled as a free twice-weekly release here on the blog, but that's another story.

That was a much longer answer than I intended, I'm sorry. The creative process is a big topic--maybe I should talk about HOW I work more.

Problem is, I often feel like the answer is "I just kind of make stuff up until it all fits together." It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle, but instead of looking for the right piece, you just 3D print one to fit.

#59 Copy

Nocturniquet

With this interaction with the readers who constantly point out things they notice, or suggest ideas or desires for the plot...do you find yourself affected by it in such a way that you change your plans for the plot at all?

Like suppose something in this post sounds great but you change your mind about doing it. Is it because of your own plans or is it something a reader said, or a combination of both?

Will Wight

I do change my mind based on reader response, but it's usually not a direct correlation.

When I hear from readers, it gives me an idea of what they expect from the series. Which helps me better understand how to play on those expectations.

For instance, let's say I was planning to kill Lindon in Book 3 and have a new main character take over (I was at no point planning on this). Reading all of these comments might at first make me go "Ha! No one expects this! I'm doing the unexpected!"

...but I would very shortly realize that the reason they weren't expecting it is because they're reading for Lindon's progress. If he stops making progress, they'll stop reading.

Then I would change my mind.

As for suggestions, I can't remember ever hearing someone suggest something that I hadn't already considered. However, sometimes hearing it out loud makes me reevaluate; maybe someone will suggest an idea I've already rejected, but they make it sound workable, so I'll consider it again. Or they'll suggest an idea I'm actually planning on doing, but hearing it from someone else makes it sound lame, so I reconsider.

It's a very fluid process.

#60 Copy

Questioner

Gotta go with Simon (with the mask of course) vs the flash golden era. Nye essence vs speed force. My favorite from your work vs my favorite from DC.

Will Wight

You know, I'm not a big DC buff, but my understanding of the Flash drawing on the Speed Force is that he's basically as fast as he needs to be.At first, Simon is going to be able to keep up and fight back by drawing deeply on the Nye essence, but he'll never be able to land that one good hit that would kill the Flash. At the same time, the Flash's punches won't do much against someone drawing on the steel.But at a certain point, the Flash is going to get so fast that Simon won't be able to do anything. At that point, the Flash will vibrate his hand through Simon's heart.

#61 Copy

Questioner

What do you think about Simon at the end of House of Blades before Crimson and his mask vs Harry Dresden with his Winter Knight powers?

Will Wight

Considering the nerf in recent books to Harry's Winter Knight powers, I'm not sure they're an advantage at all. Which I'm still bitter about.

That said, Harry would still win that one. In House of Blades, Simon doesn't have access to the ghost armor yet, so he can't block magic. So, even though he has superspeed and Harry doesn't, Harry has dealt with enough super-fast threats that he'd be ready.

He could stop Simon with his shield bracelet for long enough to catch him in place and burn him alive.

#62 Copy

Questioner

Apprentice Match up: Simon vs Kylar Stern (Brent Weeks, Night Angel)

Master Match up: Kai vs Durzo Blint (Same series as above)

Doubles: Lindon and Yerin vs Atticus and Granuaile (Iron Druid Series)

Queen/Ruler Match up: Leah vs Egwene al'Vere (Wheel of Time)

Will Wight

1.) Apprentices

This may be egotistical of me, but I give Simon the edge in this contest. He has strength greater than Kylar has ever displayed, and the magic-eating properties of the black ka'kari will be of no use against Valinhall, while Kylar's own unformed magic won't slow Simon down.

I say Simon cuts his head off without having to put on the mask.

2.) Masters

The tricky part here is that the full extent of Durzo's power is never revealed. I would imagine he has the edge, by virtue of centuries more experience. Even if he can't kill Kai immediately, he could almost certainly withdraw and gather enough information for a more lethal second attempt.

That said, since he's passed on the black ka'kari to Kylar, his abilities are more limited. Plus he's lost his immortality and his accelerated healing.

Too close to call. I think it might come down to luck, unless Durzo has learned some secret magical skills over the course of his endless journeys.

3.) Doubles

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the Iron Druid series to answer this. I've only read the first two books, and I don't remember who Granuaile is. Isn't she his apprentice or something?

4.) Queens The hard part about this matchup is the incompatibility of the two magic systems. Leah can't block/shield anyone from the Source, because she's not a channeler, and she can't sense, slash, or counter weaves. In the same vein, though, Egwene can't sense Leah's presence or power, and can't counter any of her powers.

Barring balefire, I'll give it to Leah. Her eye is more likely to be able to detect Egwene's magic than Egwene is to be able to sense Leah's abilities, and Leah has access to enough weapons in Ragnarus that her first strike on an unaware target will be enough.

But if Egwene decides the situation is grave enough for balefire and gets the chance to use it, there's really nothing Leah can do but be burned out of existence.

#63 Copy

Questioner

1. Incarnatios Zakereth v. Valin. I believe these two are the strongest, more than Alin and Indirial. Simon needed the white light to beat the king, so I say Zakereth wins.

2. Simon vs Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, Mueruem individually. Naruto can lift about 600 tons (he lifted a giant rhino in the Pain fight). Bleach characters can slash meteroires easily. Simon might stand a chance against Luffy. Probably not. Simon is barely stronger than Earthbound, who have bear strength in Steel Diplomacy.

3. Suriel vs Whis and Omni king. The omni king destroyed six universes because he was mad. I think DBZ wins. By the way Will, is there any Wuxia character who could murder Goku (Suriel might) or Superman?

4. Simon vs Rand, Vin from Mistborn, Brent Week chatacters. I havent finished the series so I think only Rand could kill Simon

5. Eithan vs Ywach from Bleach. Ywach can literally change the present. You kill him, he just changes fate and recressurects himself. He is like Eithan, except more omnipotent. I think Eithan could win here as he would dode everything and Ywach does have a weakness with a silver arrow that rakes his powers away. Yeah. massive Dues Ex Machina

Will Wight

1.) Incarnation Zakareth vs. Valin

Zakareth has the edge here. Ragnarus powers were largely what brought down Incarnation Valin, in the end.

2a.) Simon vs. Naruto

I feel like Naruto would be a pain to fight. Tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu creates a thousand clones, and Simon has essentially no AoE. That said, Naruto is also pretty vulnerable; he doesn't have a power that stops him from dying if he gets cut in half.

This would be a weird fight, and I think it comes down to where in the story Naruto is. Since you're referencing Sage-mode Naruto, that's pretty far in, so I'd give it to him. I don't think there's anything Simon could do to efficiently combat the clones, so while Naruto doesn't have the firepower to threaten Simon as much as some other characters do, he would eventually wear Simon down.

But at the peak of Naruto's power, he's older than Simon, which may give him an unfair advantage. If they were the same age, and thus Simon has been given longer to explore the House, I think Simon might be able to get this one.

This is, of course, assuming that neither character is protected by plot armor.

2b.) Simon vs. Ichigo

Ichigo has no defined powers, what he can and can't do varies from week to week, and the magic system has no rules. Simon kills Ichigo and sticks his head on a pike as a warning to future authors who might be developing a system of superpowers that make no sense.

2c.) Simon vs. Luffy

It's established that Luffy can be cut by bladed weapons, so I give it to Simon.

He can counter Gear Second with Nye essence, Gear Third with steel, and Gear Fourth by virtue of Valinhall powers lasting longer. If he needs to, he can wear the mask.

Bottom line is, Simon can endure Luffy's attacks, while Luffy can't take Simon's.

2d.) Simon vs. Meruem

Meruem gets it hands-down. He has virtually unlimited strength and resilience, and he learns and adapts instantly. He's better than Simon at everything Simon is good at.

Meruem wins, Simon is turned into a Chimera Ant.

3.) Suriel vs. Whis and Omni King

The Omni King is established as omnipotent, but as seen onscreen, his powers take time to activate. He starts to will Suriel out of existence, at which point Suriel just leaves that reality entirely.

Whis wouldn't participate in this fight; it's above his pay grade.

3a.) Is there any wuxia character who could murder Goku or Superman?

Yes.

4.) Simon vs. a bunch of characters

I'm...not really sure how to answer this.

Vin's powers are pretty similar to Simon's, but I think Simon takes it. Rand is basically Fantasy Jesus at the end, so I don't think that's even fair. If all of Brent Weeks' characters ganged up on Simon, they would certainly win.

5.) Eithan vs. Yhwach

Bleach's magic system makes no sense, Yhwach's powers are never adequately explained and have no rules, and he only wins or loses at the whims of the author.

Eithan wins by virtue of having consistent powers. He dismembers Yhwach and paints a message in his blood: "MAGIC IS ONLY COOL IF IT HAS LIMITATIONS" as a warning to the world.

#64 Copy

Questioner

Let's get some Sanderson up in here! Let's pit Simon against a Mistborn. I would still give the edge to Simon, but the push/pull on metals might give the Mistborn an opening to get a solid hit in.

I would say Simon vs a Knight Radiant, but we don't really know what an armor-bearing full-oathed knight is like yet.

Will Wight

Yeah, Simon vs. a Mistborn would be a BIT weird, because their powers are so similar. And pushing/pulling on metals would make things awkward for Simon at first.

But even if he drops his sword and fistfights, I still think he wins. They would need a significant supply of atium to even keep up with dolls + Nye essence, and even if they could, he seems stronger and more resilient than they are.

Based on what we've seen of the Knights Radiant, I suspect an oathed-up, Shardplate-armored, Shardblade-wielding Knight Radiant beats him handily. The armor is too big of a factor to ignore.

#65 Copy

Questioner

Eithan vs. Hellsing: I think Hellsing would lose, but how would the fight go?

Eithan vs. Queen Mab from the Dresden Files

Eithan vs. Thor

Yerin vs. the Juggernaut (from x-men)

Lindon vs. the Wolverine

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR BLACKFLAME**

Eithan vs. the turtle in Blackflame: We know already that the turtle will win the awesomeness fight, but in a death match, which would walk out? (The turtle was mentioned in the previous blog)

Will Wight

1.) Eithan vs. Alucard

I'm assuming you mean Alucard as an individual and not the Hellsing Organization as a whole. Eithan would win because, as overwhelming as Alucard looks, he has a number of exploitable weaknesses.

One-on-one, Eithan would just keep cutting him up until he fully released his powers or ran out of regeneration. If he fully released his powers, then his original body is vulnerable, and since Eithan can instantly sense everything around him in a fairly broad space, he would know that and kill the original.

Even in the situation where he had to go around killing all the individuals, an army isn't really much threat to an Underlord.

2.) Eithan vs. Queen Mab

I...am going to skip over this one for spoiler reasons.

There's a subplot in Blackflame that revolves around what Path Eithan is on, and I can't answer this question without affecting your interpretation of the Path.

3.) Eithan vs. Thor

If you mean the Marvel comics Thor, that would be a good fight. Thor can fly and summon lightning, which would be difficult to deal with, but in the end if Eithan was really motivated to kill him, he could.

No specifics, again, because I don't want to influence your reading of Eithan's Path.

4.) Yerin vs. the Juggernaut

I'm not sure...this is a cool matchup to consider. I'm playing this fight out in my head, and I think it would come down to how long it took Yerin to figure out that she needed to get his helmet off.

She couldn't break the armor, but at the same time he'd be too slow to hit her. I'd think she'd probably kill him through gaps in the armor, cutting him slowly with sword madra. Death by a thousand cuts.

5.) Lindon vs. Wolverine

Wolverine tears him apart. No contest.

Now, if you mean Lindon versus A wolverine, I think he could probably handle that.

6.) SPOILER ALERT

Eithan vs. The Turtle

NONE CAN STAND AGAINST THE MIGHT OF THE TURTLE!

(...but not really, Eithan would win.)

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Questioner

Lindon vs BATMAN?

Suriel vs Matthew Malloy(X-men)

Simon vs Godzilla(from the newer movie)

Will Wight

1.) Lindon vs. Batman

I'm forced to answer in the same way that I would in the case of anyone versus Batman: Batman wins, because he's Batman.

However, this is a death match, and he can't kill. If he did, he would give up being Batman.

So either Lindon would live because Batman would let him, or Lindon would die and Batman would hang up the cape. Either a draw or mutual defeat.

2.) Suriel vs. Matthew Malloy

This is the first comics reference that I actually didn't know.

Based on his Marvel Wiki article, it looks like he would be able to actually have a fight with Suriel, but I'd suspect she would win. She has training in her power and knows how to control it, and has regularly fought with and against beings on a similar scale. She also has weapons and devices designed to harness, control, focus, and enhance her power, while Matthew Malloy does not.

3.) Simon vs. Godzilla

This would be a cool one, actually.

I think Simon would win, because he can damage Godzilla more easily than Godzilla can damage him (it being hard to hit something small and quickly moving). That said, a single hit from Godzilla would cripple Simon or seriously inhibit his ability to keep fighting, while Simon would have to injure Godzilla hundreds of times to make a difference.

In the end, I think they probably couldn't kill each other. Simon would cut Godzilla a bunch and Godzilla, realizing that he can't hit Simon, would retreat into the sea where Simon couldn't follow.

Of course, then there's the possibility that Godzilla turns from a safe distance and fire-blasts the city, which has a decent chance of killing Simon.

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Questioner

Indirial pre-incarnation VS Vaelin Al Sorna at the end of book one, fully in tune with his Blood Song.

Initially I give the edge to Indirial, who is faster and stronger.

Vaelin's Blood Song MIGHT be enough to give him a chance though. He is naturally gifted with the sword- much like Kai- and the advantage the Blood Song gives him could be similar to the knowledge of the Iron Scroll.

As for weapons, we know that Vasha is nigh-indestructible and since we also know that Vaelin's star-silver edged blade can also cut through armor and break other swords, I'm going to assume that they are on par.

As it is, I say Indirial wins IF he kills Vaelin before Nye runs out. Thoughts?

Will Wight

That's pretty much exactly what I would have said.

If the Blood Song is enough of an advantage to keep him alive longer than the Nye essence lasts, then Vaelin has a chance to win. However, even without the Nye essence, Indirial is still a big threat; he has super-strength, and Vaelin doesn't.

But the Blood Song doesn't have a time limit, and it could conceivably be used to dodge Indirial and deal wounds in return.

If the fight lasts three minutes or less, Indirial wins.

More than that, and it depends on how the Blood Song works. I'd say Vaelin takes it if he rolls high, and loses if he rolls too low.

Now, if it's Tower Lord Vaelin, he probably kills himself before Indirial even enters the ring

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Questioner

1) Bliss vs Gavin Guile ( in black prism before he starts going blind)

2) Alin vs Kip

Will Wight

1.) Bliss vs. Prism Gavin

It's a little hard to say, because Gavin is so powerful and versatile. I lean toward Bliss, simply because she can counter Gavin's powers while Gavin can't counter hers, so it could easily come down to a physical fight. Which she would win, Gavin being no stronger than any athletic man in his forties and her wielding an ancient weapon crafted from the bone of a Great Elder.

However, it wouldn't be EASY for her to counter Gavin's powers, because it would require her to use her powers precisely. Which her powers specifically resist. So there's certainly a scenario in which Gavin wins.

Maybe Bliss 60-40?

2.) Alin vs. Kip

Barring any Lightbringer shenanigans, I don't see a scenario in which Kip wins.

Kip is drafting colors as physical materials, but for Alin, each color in his arsenal is a new superpower. Mostly powers that Kip doesn't have.

Plus he can fly.

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Questioner

Drizzt vs. Kai or Simon?

Garth of Lords of Dus vs. Simon or Kai (or someone who'd be better matched)?

Josef from Rachel Aarons Eli Monpress series vs (drawing a blank on who'd be interesting)

Will Wight

1.) Drizzt vs. a Valinhall Traveler

The hard part of this matchup is that Drizzt doesn't actually have superhuman strength or speed. He can conjure darkness and faerie fire and summon a panther companion, but there are Valinhall answers to all of that.

However, in a pure swordfight, Drizzt would certainly beat Simon. And probably Kai as well, given that Drizzt has had hundreds of years to refine his craft, and is known as one of the most gifted fighters ever to come out of Menzoberranzan.

2.) Garth vs. Simon

I don't know who this is. If you mean Lords of Dust, the DnD campaign, I don't remember there being a Garth.

3.) Josef vs. Anybody

You know, it's been a while since I've read Eli Monpress, and I don't remember the details of Josef's powers. I mostly remember his sword, which would be difficult for most of my characters to deal with.

(Heart of Stone, I want to say? Heart of the Mountain? It was a mountain-sword, I remember that.)

Going down the power scale:

Yerin's master wins. He's fought against weapons with similar powers before.

The Emperor wins because it becomes a fight about manipulating the properties of ancient weapons, and that's his thing.

Eithan wins because he kills Josef without ever being hit by the sword.

Simon...this could go either way, depending on specifics. Here's where my lack of memory about Josef's particular powers hurts me, because I don't know mechanically how his attacks work. I'll call it 50-50, but it might be in Josef's favor.

Yerin almost certainly loses, unless Josef makes some stupid mistake.

Lindon gets his butt kicked, but he would know that, so he'd try to cheat somehow. Maybe poison.

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Questioner

Simon vs Steelheart (it comes down to is Simon afraid of him)

Actually, anything in that series vs anything in any of yours that you think might make for an interesting match.

Questioner

This is a GREAT idea!! I would wager that the "Mega" supers like Steelheart and Limelight are around Underlord level in strength. What Eithan does seems to be a weakness free version of the guy Daniel and Megan kill at the start of the first book. But Eithan ALSO has incredible strength that we haven't directly seen yet. Still I am pretty sure that means that Steelheart and Limelight would both beat Simon.

Most other supers wouldn't stand a chance against him. Oblivion, however, is too hard to kill. Simon MIGHT be able to get him by traveling that mile in less than 24 seconds before Oblivion can teleport away again.

Fire Fight also is too hard to kill, as true resurrection on the next dawn is kind of hard to deal with. Obviously Suriel would just banish them all to another dimension.

Will Wight

Yeah, the specific weaknesses would give my guys headaches.

Honestly, the most suited to adapt might be Lindon, who would be the only one of the bunch likely to start by watching and gathering information. Shera would too, actually.

So, I can list some of my characters who would most likely be able to kill the bigger Epics:

1.) Shera vs. Steelheart

Shera's not afraid of him, or anyone else, and Syphren's powers get stronger based on the strength of the opponent. She tears out his soul.

2.) Firefight vs. Lindon

At the end of Blackflame, Lindon wins.

At the end of Soulsmith, it depends on how much time he's given to prepare. And how many resources. He could come up with a way to break illusions and burn her to death, IF he could gather enough accurate information to know that's what he needs to do. Maybe Eithan could tell him.

3.) Obliteration vs. Simon

Depends on how his teleportation power works. How does it identify danger? How fast does it activate?

Otherwise, Obliteration vs. Eithan. Eithan gets close to him quickly and either kills him before his powers activate, or follows him post-teleportation and kills him then.

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Questioner

Have you read Hard Magic by Larry Correia? Jake Sullivan only has one talent (mainly) but I'm curious how Simon would match up against someone who can control gravity pretty much completely.

How about Alcatraz Smedry with his talent to Break things that often acts in his own self-defense (let's go with him at the end of book 4, not the end of book 5) vs. Simon and vs. Lindon. I think Lindon might have the edge here because he's developed a sneakier, trickier mind than Simon.

Eithan vs. Alex Verus could be fun, to see how far ahead each of them could read to trap & counter-trap each other.

C.B. Wright's Curveball (whose power, admittedly, is explicitly not clearly defined) vs. Simon and vs. Eithan would make for entertaining fights regardless of the outcome.

Will Wight

1.) Simon vs. Jake

I think this would likely be settled very quickly.

If Jake goes all-out before Simon does, then Simon doesn't have the strength to resist and gets crushed/immobilized immediately.

That said, Simon has superhuman speed and Caela. So he's likely to get the first move, and if he does, I suspect he could push through Jake's magic long enough to score a lethal hit.

2.) Alcatraz vs. Simon / Lindon

This is kind of cool, because I think you're right: this is the first matchup in which Lindon actually has an advantage over someone with more superpowers. What do you know?

While Simon is going to rush in and find out about Alcatraz's powers the hard way, Lindon would gather information, experiment, and adapt.

That said, this still boils down to that classic case of someone WITH superhuman strength and speed against someone WITHOUT. Eventually, Alcatraz is probably overwhelmed by either one.

Though I think Lindon has the easier time.

3.) Eithan vs. Alex Verus

Boy, this would give me a headache.

Eithan is stronger and faster, but he can't actually see the future. I suspect he could keep the pressure on as Alex is desperately scanning possible outcomes until eventually Alex makes a mistake/gets exhausted...

...however, that doesn't account for what you mentioned: traps. Alex would be not only looking for the future that allows him to survive, but the one that lets him lure Eithan closer to a trap.

But Eithan is aware of anything in the area, so is he going to leave a possibility of actually landing in a trap?

I have no idea how I'd write this.

I think it comes down to what kind of destructive magic Alex has access to / what artifacts he has prepared, versus how seriously Eithan takes this from the start. Because he might actually be able to overwhelm Alex before Alex has a chance to scan and select the future.

But I don't know. It might even just be this mental chess game where they're both standing there trying to out-predict the opponent as they read subtle cues in the enemy's body language and act on those, thus changing the future, thus changing the enemy's action, thus changing their own intended action...

4.) Curveball

I don't know who this is. Google tells me it's a comic, but not what kind of powers he has.

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Questioner

Goku vs Elders and Emperor. If Goku loses, then Beerus comes in

Will Wight

Based on what we've seen from Dragon Ball Super recently, even the creators of the show have no idea what power levels mean. We have Super Saiyan Trunks fighting evenly with Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Vegeta, which makes NO sense. Plus Goku gets pricked by a poison needle during his fight with alt-universe Freeza, which seems to violate canon in like three different ways.

This effectively means that recent events have suggested that Goku isn't really THAT strong.

Anyway, disregarding recent events that retcon Goku's strength and using our own reasonable standard of his power level...

1.) Goku vs. the Emperor and the Elders

Let's assume, first of all, that Goku doesn't just blow up the planet and cause everyone to lose.

...although, now that I'm thinking about it, that would be the worst thing he could do. Without the existence of Intent-wielding humans, the Elders would be free of their confines, and they would escape into their true forms. At which point they would unmake Goku at a conceptual level. The Emperor would still die, but his team would win the battle.

However, assuming Goku doesn't destroy the planet, he would tear apart the Emperor and about half the Great Elders. Any of them that work physically: Nakothi, Othaghor, Kthanikahr. He'd blow up their minions, fly in, and tear them to pieces.

But against the more metaphysical Great Elders--Urg'naut, Tharlos, Ach'magut--I suspect he'd have his mind devoured or his soul ripped out or something. As far as I can tell, he has no ability to resist powers like that.

And I can't imagine Kelarac wouldn't be able to outwit Goku.

2.) Beerus vs. Elder Empire

It depends on how Beerus' powers as the God of Destruction work in a universe that isn't his own.

If he can still unmake entities the way that he unmade Zamasu, then he would certainly win. The Great Elders actually can't be unmade this way, so they would re-form in the void and attack some other, random world, but that's not enough to invalidate Beerus' victory.

However, if he's relying on sheer strength and not his authority as the Destroyer, then he has the same result as Goku. He might be able to resist one or two of the metaphysical Elders, because presumably gods have some kind of spiritual/mental fortitude, but all of them working together could probably defeat him.

Whis, on the other hand, likely just wins. I can't see the Elders beating him physically or metaphysically.

Questioner

Woah. I thought you would say Goku would lose immediately.

How about Naruto. Him vs Emperor.

And vs physical Elders, not metaphysical.

Use Sage of Six Paths Naruto

Will Wight

I've seen nothing in the series to suggest that Naruto could ever compete on Goku's level, so I'd think Naruto loses to everybody.

Now, that's assuming he walks in and tries to fight Nakothi (or whoever) on his own. As part of a team, like for instance one of the Emperor's teams that actually went against the Great Elders, I think he'd be a huge asset. And a big threat to the Elders.

Naruto vs. the Emperor would be the closest fight. Naruto's powers are more physically threatening than the Emperor's, since he can use blasts of destruction and the Emperor can't. However, the Emperor's powers of Intent can also counter a lot of what Naruto's capable of doing--the Emperor would have superior elemental control to Naruto, for instance, and he could likely make Naruto's clothes shrivel up and start strangling him. He effectively controls the whole world around him.

So the incompatibility of powers makes this a little bit of an awkward matchup, but I'd PROBABLY give it slightly to Naruto. 51-49. The Emperor is smarter and older and wiser, but Naruto has many crazy powers in one body.

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Questioner

When reading TG Chronicles, The first Queen died as the Hanging Tree sucked her dry when trying to seal Rhalia.

How come when Leah tries to seal Zakereth she isnt sucked dr?

Will Wight

During the Chronicles, the first queen is using her blood to feed the Hanging Tree a sacrifice.

Leah doesn't get to that point. The Tree would have needed a blood sacrifice to power it very soon. In seconds, in fact, or Zakareth would have just broken free.

But Simon decapitates him before that becomes necessary.

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Questioner

No, not the Simon from Travelers GateI'm talking about apprently the strongst animne character, stronger than Saitama and Goku.Its Simon the Digger from Gurren Lagoon.Here is a link explaining himhttp://aminoapps.com/page/anime/4368923/simon-the-strongest-character-in-anime

Will Wight

First of all, I'm a little insulted that you thought I needed a link to know who Simon from Gurren Lagann was.

Why do you think the son of Kalman is named Simon?

However, I do have an answer to this matchup.

1.) Simon the Digger vs. Suriel

Personally, I don't subscribe to the theory that Simon and his various Gurrens are actually growing big enough to hurl galaxies like Frisbees. Having that literally happen would break way more rules than the series accounts for, most notably gravity. An existence that enormous would measurably affect every object in every galaxy, destroying most if not all life.

There's evidence to suggest that Simon and the Anti-Spirals have actually ascended to another dimension superimposed over their own, and it just happens to look like a colorful version of the universe speckled with galaxies. So they're fighting in their own sealed-off space, so to speak, and they're visible in Earth's atmosphere because of a plot-convenient rift overlooking their battle.

In that case, Suriel banishes him beyond time and space.

However, if we go with the explanation that everything in Gurren Lagann is literally happening, we have to explain HOW. How are they battling on a universal scale and using galaxies as individual, solid objects instead of the vast collection of gravity-caught particles they effectively are?

There's only one answer: Spiral Energy. Which means that Spiral Energy is in effect the power to break the laws and rules of existence. The power of chaos. The power that defies the Way, which is the source of Suriel's authority.

In other words, dealing with entities like that one is literally Suriel's job.

Someone else would fight Simon and destroy him--Razael probably, Ozriel if the damage was too bad and they needed to burn everything to the ground. Then Suriel would come into the world and fix what could be fixed. That's her role.

The problem with Suriel fighting him directly is that everyone ELSE would die. The first thing she would do is re-establish the logic of the Way, which means gravity would have its usual effect again, and then the galactic combatants would instantly collapse into singularities and all inhabited planets would lose alignment and be destroyed.

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Jacob

I've wanted to know why Denner is a specialist in taking down flying creatures since I first read it in the Crimson vault. But it's not answered! Not even in the short story about him in Avernus! So if you could please enlighten me and others like me? :)

Will Wight

Honestly? It started as kind of an inside joke among the original Dragon Army. They made Denner fight the flying creatures that are annoying to fight, and then they kept making him do it with the justification that he had more experience.

Eventually, he got good at it.

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George

Are there any obscure objects in the house of blades like "the stone cup of bladder control" that aren't life savers but just kind of convenient?

Will Wight

Every prize in Valinhall was created to solve a specific problem that you'd face while fighting enemy Travelers.

None of them are useless...but yeah, some of them are weird.

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Questioner (paraphrased)

What is the connection between Great Elders and Incarnations?

Will Wight (paraphrased)

An Incarnation has become a living manifestation of their Territory. They're carrying the physical laws of their world around with them, so to speak, and earth warps to meet that.

In a similar way, the Elders are using their Intent to corrupt the world around them. It's a part of who and what they are. Each of them exists for a specific purpose, and they're constantly trying to recreate the world in their image.

It's not much of a distinction in effect, I'll grant you that. But Elders and Incarnations are different. For one thing, Elders were never human.

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