Let's Talk About Steris! 

Began to warm up to her since the second book, love her now. Man, her list of "Wax scenarios" she handed to the innkeeper was hilarious.

You think he secretly laughs at the fact that he signs all these with "BS".

I love Steris, she is my favorite character in Era 2, followed closely by Wayne. Her budding relationship with Wax is the most enjoyable romance in the whole Cosmere novels IMHO. She has this Stannis aura in that she is so stiff but the more you spend time with them the more you love them, and that they are accidentally funny. Like her contract with Wax or the list she makes with everything that could go wrong.

I love Sterris and I think the scene with the engagement at the beginning of Alloy of Law was so phenomenal to introduce all of those characters very well in a short span of time! And I've loved how each book has more and more Sterris and how her and Wax's relationship has evolved! Also the moment where she was prepared with extra metals for Wax but had it in a weird solution instead of whiskey was also fantastic. Or her binder for the hotel they stayed at of everything that could go wrong and as they left, oh this is on page 87!

I asked him a similar question in person at a signing and he gave a similar response. Even said he used to sit in on Psychology lectures to understand different people. Top guy.

Steris has what is definitely one of the best character arcs in the Cosmere. I like how learning that she is on the spectrum is both surprising (coz I didn't realize it before) and also MAKES SENSE!

Well you indeed managed to pull it. When i started Era 2 i read Steris like 'haha, weird character is fun' and by the end of the third book i loved her so much it became one of my favorite Mistborn characters.

A lot of people are surprised that Steris is on the spectrum and that's understandable. Women with autism often have very different behaviors. There are biological and sociological reasons for this. What the general public knows about autism is derived almost entirely from movies and studies done with boys/men. For instance, women on the spectrum tend to be more empathetic and capable of understanding emotions even if they don't know how to respond to them. They tend to be more interested in the arts over scientific fields. They learn how to fake normalized behavior and "fit in" even if they're still the quiet/awkward girls in the class.

I really appreciate how much thought, care, and time Brandon puts into researching things like this. It really helps his books appeal to a large audience, and he's continuing to get better and better at it.

Sterris, I love Sterris! She is my favorite.

I love how much I hated her the first time I read through the book. She was like a character from a bad romance novel. The thing is she was a character from a bad romance novel. Because that is the role she thought she should play.

As an autistic person, I really, really loved reading Steris' interactions after reading Elantris, because the effort you put in shows, and it shows beautifully. Really, it's impressive. What I will say as a piece of advice, should you have interactions with our broader community and a lot of mental health/low visibility disability communities is to avoid saying that someone has or copes with autism. While some people are comfortable with it, the general rule of thumb is that we prefer to be called autistic people, as it's very fundamental to our experience of the world. Additionally, it's very alike to ADHD in that we don't usually cope with or grapple with The Thing At Large, we address symptoms. For example, I use noise-based music during online lectures to manage sensory pain from bad microphones or patchy signal, I don't use it to Fix My Autism. Ditto for social and communication strategies. We don't grapple with our own existence except through how it is othered by social norms, but we do have to face specific disconnects that stem from said existence.

I love the way Brandon writes characters like this. He's really good at avoiding making them a 1 dimensional stereotype. Steris has grown on me quite a lot. She actually a really good match for Wax and I loved their little bonding moment of sorting out the house finances. my head cannon is that she is the one writing the adventures of Nicelle Sauvage.

Steris is very sweet, and I think she is very realistically characterized. Definitely a multifaceted personality.

Steris is my favorite Cosmere character. By a pretty significant margin, too.

Steris is a character that I just love. Once she has bought into something she goes all the way, and more than that I love the way all the other characters react to her. It is so fun. Definitely a highlight of the Wax and Wayne series. LOVE HER!

Steris is my favorite character in Mistborn Era 2. You did such a wonderful job with her.

Steris' arc was so damn good. I don't think I've done more of a 180 on my opinion of any character I've read than I have with her (except maybe Verin in WoT, those who know, know!). I loved how it completely subverted my expectations of a possible romantic drama and just became super wholesome instead!

So the key to writing great characters is to have great friends.

Honestly the moment that sold me on Sterris was when she explained Vax tax work like detective work.

Your research payed off. Sterris is one of my favourite characters from Mistborn, and the scenes with her an Waxillium are just so wholesome!

Ah, Steris. One of the best characters in that series. Just after Wayne... and Wax... and, well, Marasi is pretty great too... Basically, can we get the finally for Wax and Wayne soon, please? Please?

Steris was one of the crowning jewels in The Bands of Mourning to me. She felt like the heart of the group, and I was so happy that she had plenty of ways to show off what she's about.

Hey this is my question! Thanks for posting the clip! It was great to hear Brandon’s explanation. I’m not on the spectrum myself but I have a special place in my heart for those who are, so Steris is one of my favorite characters. Thanks for ensuring wonderful representation in your books Brandon.

Steris is great! On top of the representation, I really thought we were going for the cliche love triangle resolution where the "boring but stable" existing partner would get ditched for "the fun one." I hate that trope so I love how you subverted that AND developed her beyond that role.

I also really enjoy Steris as well. Reading her really caused some strong unexpected emotions and that is why I love fiction stories.

Steris is BY FAR my favorite character in the W&W books! This was so much fun to listen to. Thank you for sharing!

I love that Brandon put so much effort into more accurate representation of a woman on the spectrum than most media I've seen. One of the things my partner (who is on the spectrum) and I have discussed frequently is that, even in cases where women on the spectrum are depicted, a lot of shows/movies present them with traits that are more common among men.

I loved Steris from the moment she presented the 20-page contract for marriage, including provisions for mistresses. I said, "This woman does not believe that anybody will ever love her, or that she is even worthy of anyone's love. If someone chooses to love her anyway, she is going to transform." And I should know. I married a woman like that.

I am one of those suprised by Steris being on the spectrum, and I like that was it wasn't obvious. Thank you for all the care you put into your works.

Steris has become one of my favourite Sanderson characters (ever since Alloy of Law even) and Wax and Steris are my favourite Cosmere couple. They are just so perfect together.

Wait hold on. How didn't I realize she was autistic. I mean, I'M autistic.

I love Steris! 💕 and it's such refreshing to see a bit of a different approach to the romance as well 😍

this sounds like my personal preffrence for what i like to call Characters who are "X", over "X" Characters. The main difference being Characters who are "X" (X being whatever you want Gay, autistic, disabled, etc) are characters who have that descriptor along side everything else; where "X" Characters ARE that descriptor.

One of my favorite characters of yours - Fantastic to hear a little more background.

Steris and Wax are my favorite characters of the Mistborn era 2 and like many I didn't know she is in the spectrum. I love how it was never addressed and how its left to us to interpret as we like. Great insight vid!!

A little offtopic but when I've heard Brandon talking about his friend keeping stuff and wanting to be prepared I imidiately thought about me in all the RPGs I have played and how many potions I had in my backpack at the end of each one of them :D

Interesting how much better of a character Steris was in Bands of Mourning. Didn't care for her in Alloy of Law but turned out really caring about her character by book 3, and even happy Wax was marrying her.

Steris is such a wonderful character.

Steris is one of my favorite characters! I really feel like I can relate to her.

Reading Steris was amazing, as I have never connected with a character so strongly before, start to finish. Seeing this analogy of her character actually explains a lot of why. I'm always trying to be prepared for anything (not a hoarder though, if anything I toss things easily) so I can always be helpful, but have also been told (usually after dating or trying to date people) that I'm super cold (aloof) and no one ever takes the time to actually get to know me. Hence why I'm probably still single, as I don't have the advantage (using the term loosely) of a contracted marriage that essentially makes someone have to take the time to get to know me. I'm willing to take risks (go on the adventure) but it takes a little coaxing. Nothing made me happier than Steris actually getting her happy ending, but as you see from her character, she didn't get there easily, and neither did Wax for that matter.

I hated her in Alloy of Law. but mostly because I thought she was just *in the way* of Wax. Imprisoning him with rules and stern lectures and what i wanted in a relationship between him and marasi. But somewhere around half way through book two and definitely book 3, she became one of my favorite characters. Her deadpan humor, her dry wit, and the foil she creates with wax and wayne are just...sublime.

Steris is definitely one of my favorite characters

You’re an amazing writer!! Proud of you!

I miss new wax and Wayne books so much.

Steris is amazing and wonderful and I loved her throughout books two and three

What a coincidence, my signed copy of BoM arrived today! I also got a broadsheet pack with it, I'm super excited.

Steris is one of my favorite

Okay now I'm even more excited to get to the later Mistborn books.

Funnily enough, I still have a cape I wore in a school play when I was a kid. Thought about scrapping it for cosplay, but decided not to, because maybe one day I would need a cape for a kid.

Not gonna lie... I’ve read era 2 twice and didn’t know Steris was on the spectrum...

Very cool.

I love these snippets so much!!

Steris has made my second favorite character. I just love a character who is prepared for everything and I just flat out enjoy Steris's outlook. She's got such a great perspective for a story where everyone else is a super physically capable or intelligent character. She's basically the kid who has really high grades just cause they do they homework. She's not a genius that is 12 leagues ahead of you she just thinks about stuff all the time.

I was so glad wax truly fell for her rather than the troupe of the love that was outside the "arranged marriage"

I really like steris and cant wait for the last book

I’m autistic and Steris means a lot to me...I always found her an interesting character.

I learned from a bit of Word of God on TV Tropes that Sanderson confirmed it a while back. I don't think I would have picked up on it throughout Alloy or Shadow, but when she really gets a lot of screen time and bears herself to Wax in Bands, I feel like I would have concluded. It was extremely well executed and I came to really love her as a character by the end of Shadows and throughout Bands. Will be glad to see her one more time as the tetralogy caps off.

Used to hate her for being such a seemingly arrogant snob in The Alloy of Law, but then The Bands of Mourning happened and now she's my most favorite character in Era 2. Her awkwardness is just so relatable and endearing. Better chemistry too with Wax as opposed to Marasi (who's also an awesome character btw).

she is my fav character in the w&w.

I gotta say... I absolutely love Elantris but that plotline is so rough, younger Brandon still had a lot to improve on hahaha I find very little negative things to say about his later books, they are incredible!

I loved Steris, she and Wayne are my favourite characters in Era 2

sterris is one of my all time favorite characters because of the depth and complexity of her. she feels real

Steris is my one true waifu in the Cosmere.

Steris is the absolute best, honestly

Things tend to blow up around Wax

Steris ... Amo a ese personaje

Steris is my favorite character.

I am actually on Bands of Mourning now. I was just wondering why she starts becoming more likeable especially during the train holdup scene. With the way Marasi obviously feels about Wax how is this gonna play out. Love triangle? Someone will end up hurt.

Just finished BoM Cannot stop gushing about Steris. I absolutely love how I went from finding her annoying to absolutely loving her and hating myself for mis-understanding her.

Steris definitely became close to my favorite character in the whole cosmere Didn’t realize she was on the spectrum . Interesting

One of my favorite character

Best Girl.

Repeat Comment Number 197: Steris is one of my favorite characters but I did not realize she was intended to be on the spectrum. I was just thinking, "I know people just like that." I wanted Wax to end up with her but genuinely didn't expect it to happen. I loved how realistic their relationship was without being cynical.

I didnt know steris was supposed to be autistic but it all makes so much sense in hindsight

Had no idea the character was on the spectrum. Shes one of my favieites

TIL Elantris has a character on the spectrum. Wife is a BCBA, in the field for 15 years and neither of us caught that.

Steris is lovely ❤

Someone just adding a new wall outlet behind them

Yeah I didn't like Steris all that much when she was first introduced but as she showed up more I've loved her character more and more.

Let's talk about when the that mistborn book is finally coming out

I really love Steris

Steris is autistic? I took her as having high anxiety, she's so much like my sister with her worrying about everything that might happen and being distant from others. At first I didn't like Steris, but as we've came to know her through the books, she's become one of my favorite characters. Side note, my sister (whose yet to read the books) I told a little bit about Steris when she first appeared in the books, my sister recognized Steris' habits and what's going though Steris' mind, but didn't tell me until I noticed it as well.

I totally thought this was going to be about how Steris goes from a non-love interest to love interest. Basically how she became more attractive to Wax.

Steris is the best girl in Cosmere. No one can change my mind.

Steris is a 7! Perfect

As someone on the spectrum, I'm not sure why people care about making people autistic in stories and such. But you certainly do it the correct way, at least.

Steris is awesome, I like her better than W&W lol

I sincerely wish a tenth of the Hollywood writers had enough intelligence to take this approach, or one tenth of your talent as a writer.

Sterris was one of those characters that felt like an obstacle in the first book. Like you kind of roll your eyes every time she enters the scene. Then in the second book you get to know her and have some sympathy for her, and by the third book she shows amazing, but realistic, growth and you keep counting on her to literally have something up her sleeve. She's a very well developed character, especially for really only being a side role

It just hit me-Kaladin could use some DBT

she was your best romance in my honest opinion. I thought it was wonderful.

I didn't realise she was autistic, but it makes perfect sense now that it's pointed out.

Steris is the best cosmere character. If you disagree, your opinion is invalid.

Juat finished bands of mourning today

Is Brandon dying his hair? I don't see white at all.

steris was terrific

“like most of us in this community are”

ah, yes, best girl. Confirms her to be Based at 3:16 .

I'm on the spectrum. What's funny is I didn't even put two and two together that Steris was on the spectrum lol