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To offer more support to this theory: In Row Cultivation tells Todium upon ascending that she changed him into "someone who could bear this power with honor"

Support for my “Cultivation knew Honor wouldn’t survive Todium and it’s part of her long term plan” theory: Lift told the Nightwatcher that her ask was to stay the same when everyone else changed. She meant that she doesn’t want to grow up, which obviously wasn’t granted, but now the Stormlight is gone and she is the only true remaining Radiant…

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negotiation is not giving away your hand

why does halbrand keep telling Galadriel that he doesn't want to be king of the southlands?

We know he wants to conquer the southlands -- that is what is in the documents Galadriel found says Sauron wants. We know he stole that emblem to appear as if he were a royal man. (there is some nice camera shots of him always *appearing* to be putting it down, before he finally claims it at the last moment) So why does he keep saying it?

Because he knows it's what Galadriel wants. So it is the only leverage he has against her.

sometimes in a negotiation you both want the same thing. Party A wants you to do something, and you want to do it -- in fact, you might need to do it. But Party A *doesn't know* you want to do it. So you don't tell them. And now, in the negotiation the thing you want can be a concession you are making.

Anyway Galadriel thinks she is forcing halbrand into this role as king of the southlands. He knew she'd break his promise because Numenor/Miriel/Pharazon would only agree to the plan if a human was spearheading it. So she feels she is in his debt once she broke her promise. She feels that she needs to confess what happened to her; she needs to confess her fears to him when he asks because she feels she asked too much of him.

So now Sauron has exactly what he told us you need to manipulate someone: you need to learn someone's greatest fear, and find a way for them to conquer it.

If he had agreed to be Galadriel's chosen one from day 1, he would not have gotten her confession. This way, he gets everything he wanted, despite having no bargaining position. He wanted to stay longer in Numenor to scheme, he got that.

He wanted a means to control Galadriel -- her vulnerability and trust, he got that.

He wanted to make the best weapons for his army, he got that.

He wanted several ships worth of men to be sent back, not just him and Galadriel, and he got that.

He wanted to destabilize the social order in Numenor, he got that.

(ps: does this mean sauron isn't genuinely in his feelings in this moment? of course not. But his feelings aren't what they seem. He isn't "a person *like* those who died fighting for morgoth" -- i.e. empathy for their common misguided humanity. He IS a follower of morgoth. that was his entire identity and now he has nothing, and he empathizes with loss). (pps. also this isn't to say galadriel is somehow stupid. She believes she is getting everything she wants.)

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J. R. R. Tolkien: no, my books aren't about the war I experienced. It's just a story

J. R. R. Tolkien's works: you cannot go home, war ends entire bloodlines, you are mourning the death of your brother alone, you dug into the earth and permanently scored the land, you cannot explain what you have been through, you cannot go home, "that wound will never fully heal. He will carry it the rest of his life", leaving the women behind does not save them, the young die first, you cannot go home, the parent will bury their child, you have lost the wives and you will never connect with them again, "how shall any tower withstand such numbers and such reckless hate?", you are not the same, you cannot go home, you can never go home, your father will only side with those he sees as worthy bloodlines and you cannot change his mind, it is more meaningful Not to kill, sometimes your sacrifice accomplishes nothing, you cannot go home

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I HATE HATE HATE when authors write a character that’s just terrible to other people but then reveals it’s just a mask so it’s “fine.” the harm they did to other people? doesn’t matter anymore because they had to. doesn’t matter that other people suffered because of them.

they suddenly become the sole victim of what they did to other people.

(yes I’m looking at you rhysand and will herondale).

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I know most people are thinking about the Ghibli movie, but it's so uniquely hilarious to me when Acotar fans, Feysand stans specifically, are comparing Rhys and Feyre to Howl and Sophie. As if Howl in the book isn't literally a dumb green-eyed blonde, who carries around a guitar everywhere, and Sophie Hatter, a stern older sister, who is also a mean hardass.

Like sure, these characters might have some passing resemblance to some Acotar characters, but they sure as hell aren't Rhys and Feyre.

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Do you think Galadriels problem is only with sauron or also with the other men in her life, in TROP ofc? because all i see in s2 is the writters tryin to humble her and make her feel shame for the desicions she took, plus none of the men acepted or apologized with her for them bing WRONG.

I don't see it that way at all, anon. I don't think s2 humbled her down. She was facing the consequences of her actions. I love galadriel to the bits but I love her because she's flawed. She makes a lot of mistake because she is very impulsive. And yes, she was right in s1 about Sauron being alive (even though imo this is more complicated than that) but she did decide not to tell the other elves about it. That's what Gil-galad and Elrond were angry about. They thought her judgment might be clouded by her feelings. Were they wrong? Not really. Was she right anyway? Yes. But, she was still Gil-galad advisor. He listened to her. He did everything she asked him to do. And he was there when she woke up. That elf loves her deeply. It's clear.

Elrond was a little bit more sharp. But he did apologize. Tent scene, my beloved. He said forgive me. He saved her in that tent and he saved her later by using the ring. He changed his mind about the rings because of her. Because he trusted her.

Everyone is in awe of her. And you can see it in every scene. Galadriel and Celebrimbor scene is still one of the best on the show. Arondir is her biggest fan.

And yes, Galadriel's journey in these two seasons is something that we as women go through every day of our life. Stay in your place, apologize, don't be too emotional. That's true. But does that mean that we shouldn't be accountable for our actions? And that's what happened to Galadriel. She needed to understand that she was enough. That she didn't need other men's approval to be herself. To be a good leader. To be a light in that darkness.

And most of all she needed to understand that she was not alone in that fight.

At least, this is how I see it. 🤷‍♀️😂

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The whole “I’m hurting you to protect you” trope only works well when the harm inflicted is lesser than the harm that would have otherwise occurred had a character not intervened. This is a good guiding principle for examining how well this trope fits into a given story. Because if the harm inflicted fails to meet the condition of being lesser than the harm that would’ve otherwise occurred, then the whole relationship is called into question.

Rhysand’s actions under the mountain are a good example of this trope done wrong, because there are very few points where the threat of harm to Feyre genuinely justifies the harm he inflicts upon her. For example, Feyre could have reasonably stayed in her jail cell and remained safe without Rhysand’s intervention, which ultimately, caused her more harm than was necessary. Many fans try to justify his actions by claiming that he was sparing her from the horrors she might witness UTM, but that simply isn’t substantiated by the evidence we’re given. We’re never given a substantial reason that requires drugging and fondling Feyre for nights on end to save her from greater harm. It is never established what might have happened to Feyre had Rhysand not intervened, and the reader is given no reason to think that Feyre would have suffered more had she remained in her cell.

The most blatant example of this however, is when he uses physical force to coerce her into agreeing to a contract that serves his interests. He did not have to twist her broken arm or frighten her into signing the contract, he could’ve just healed her because Feyre beating Amarantha was ultimately beneficial to everyone. Nobody told him to do that and it is never established why he *needed* to hurt her in order to protect her.

This trope is very broad and can operate on a spectrum of severity, but it must involve an established/implied threat for it to reach its full potential. The fact that Maas overlooks this crucial aspect of the trope is further evidence of her incompetence as a writer.

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let us take a moment and grieve for all the lives lost. so many thousand people have been murdered by the zionist entity in the last fifteen months. palestinians in gaza have lost too much, from friends and family to their homes and livelihood.

this ceasefire is not an end to our solidarity with gaza. we will all be here waiting and praying for palestine to be wholly liberated from the occupation and watch her people be happy and free.

in the meantime, please keep donating to palestinian fundraisers. it is essential to support families planning on rebuilding.

alaa is a mother of two young children. her fundraiser has been verified. i request you to help her by sharing and donating to her gofundme.

please donate here

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the way i just saw thranduil called someone easily manipulated by a desire for power... the movie trilogy has done irreparable damage to society

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Briana Boston faces terrorism charges and CEOs are getting free therapy

Briana Boston is a 42 year old mother of three from Florida who is under house arrest for expressing her frustration at her insurance (which she PAYS for) who denied her claim. She owns ZERO guns and doesn't have a criminal record.

She was originally held in prison for $100,000 bail. They have not dropped the charges and she is under house arrest even after widespread backlash.

They are trying to charge her with terrorism. They want her to spend 15 years in prison.

They are calling her a Luigi Mangione copycat. As if she killed someone. She made a indirect, not at all credible threat.

Meanwhile...

I want every woman who has ever faced threats online, stalking, etc to bring this Briana Boston up at every opportunity. Every time you were told by police that there was nothing they could do, know that they not only CAN do something, but they WILL do something, just not for you.

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kicking a hornets nest.

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Listen, sometimes a ship is less about wanting them to kiss or have sex or whatever, and more about needing them to be so endlessly intertwined and connected to the point where they might as well be one creature.

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I'm almost done with Wind and Truth, and wanted to animate just a tiny section of my favorite scene!

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Victor Vale is driving me crazy…the yearning™️

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do people who live in countries that don't have snow know about the snow silence? When you get a nice big dumping of fresh snow and you step outside into an infinitely harshly contrasted world and there's no sound because the snow absorbs it all? I believe it fits the traditional use of terrific both wonderful and incredible but also causing a great terror.

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remember when israel bombed a hospital fourteen months ago they said that they would never do anything like that only to bomb every single hospital in gaza and then target schools and refugee camps and kindergartens and un shelters?

remember how everyone was angry when al shifa hospital was bombed? why are we all silent now when israel is bombing kamal adwan hospital in gaza? where is that anger now? why aren't the events taking place in north gaza on the forefront of your mind?

while we are going about our days, there are multiple massacres taking place in gaza. we are living in comfort while our tax money is being used to bomb children.

are we becoming desensitised to genocide? desensitised to the cruelty the occupation inflicts on gaza every second of every day?

earlier in the genocide, we all came together to help palestinians evacuate. we would do our best to help. now we've simply started tuning out fundraisers. is this what we've come to? ignoring people who are going through a genocide?

i just want people to come together and help my friend alaa. she has two children and needs to feed them and ensure that they're warm in this cruel winter. donate to her fundraiser if you have the means to, share if you can't donate.

donate here || verification

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I‘m done 🥳