#I am not dealing with this for the entire story

[izalith-witch]

This is an entirely unbaked idea that really only follows the lore as we have seen it in the show and in general for how shows and story structure tend to work...

But with season 3 Haladriel what I would do is definitely have more mind palace shenanigans but have them be more visceral than dream like.

Galadriel on her journey to become The Lady of Light? To get to where she can completely block out Sauron?

I would have this season where she gets as close to the darkness as she will, Galadriel's dark arc. With the stab of Morgoth's crown, I can't imagine there isn't gonna be some fun bound or mind palace shenanigans.

In Act 3 of a supposed 5 act story, this would be were the descent reaches it's depth in the overall story (and I am of the belief that the story is mostly Sauron x Galadriel, people can disagree but idc). Galadriel has been on a steady decline and this is where she'll truly hit rock bottom.

It starts out in Galadriel's mind as a way to discern where Sauron is and his plans but also that secret part of her that uses it as an excuse on why she can't stay away because we know she has to fight to deny him and with the Morgoth STD I think could chisle away are her willpower and make her more susceptible at deceiving herself ala a parallel with Sauron. (Having her fight with her pull to Sauron end in season 2 is so BORING.) And well, Sauron is Sauron and he can't help but play with his bby lady of light. Maybe he teaches her things about how to deal with the bound thing with Morgoths crown or the mind palace itself.

Anyways, lines are crossed, motivations are blurred and Galadriel actually begins to fall to the darkness but still not quite but she is being seduced (give me my fucking kiss and all the they are fucking metaphors Amazon/Tolkien estate).

This would have their most toxic, messy, dramatic interactions as lines are blurry as FUCK and boundaries are crossed.

But Galadriel being her boss ass self comes back, maybe on her own, maybe through Elrond and then from there we would go into act 4 with the momentum of the Saurondriel story where Galadriel can and IS actively resisting Sauron with what he taught her and coming into her own as the Lady of Light where he is defeated in act 5.

Like I said, half baked, all over the place, not fully fleshed out but yah. Would def need some polish and work but that's about how I would do it. Have Galadriel reach a low point but finishes the season firmly on top in the Saurondriel ship and leaves Sauron shaken like season 2 Galadriel as he begins HIS descent and maybe that leads to him fucking up in Numenor or something.

“identify what it is that your opponent most fears.” not to exploit it, but as “a means of mastering it, so that you can master them.”

[sassydefendorflower]

not me getting irrationally frustrated with this eternal pissing contest between Brotherhood and '03 that somehow still seems to happen even though both shows can legally drink alcohol in Germany by now.

(i wanted to say "can drive a car" but, no, I refuse to use a silly little US-centric comparison for this)

They both have pros and cons. They both have strengths and weaknesses. They are not interchangeable and, to be honest, they are such deeply different stories it feels like an insult to constantly compare them to each other.

OF COURSE you're going to hate Brotherhood, if you expect it to be simply a "remastered" of '03 - '03 is a TRAGEDY and it sets itself up as a tragedy from the very first episode on! I mean, ALPHONSE ELRIC IS OUR NARRATOR! Is there anything more ominous than that? Edward Elric is inherently tragic in '03. Even when he's being silly, everything he does is tinged in grey sadness and a heavy cloud of "doomed" hanging over his head.

If you know this character - if you LOVE this character - of course Brotherhood is gonna disappoint the fuck out of you. Because Brotherhood is the OPPOSITE of a tragedy. It is a story about hope. About if enough people believe in the good of humanity, maybe we can actually change the course of history and create something hopeful.

If the story of '03 is "the path to hell is paved in good intentions" then Brotherhood is all about breaking the cycle of violence.

Neither of these concepts is inherently better or worse than the other. But you cannot compare them. Not really.

You cannot look at a tragedy and go "why is nobody laughing? why are they dying? why are they losing hope?" when all of these things are written into the foundation of the story itself.

AND

just as importantly. You cannot look at a story about hope and go "but why aren't the consequences more dire? why are two opposing forces fighting alongside each other? why are we having a laugh if the world is ending?" - when the answer to that question is: to create a better world you first have to dream of one.

You cannot expect Brotherhood to deal with the Ishvalen genocide to the degree of gruesomeness that '03 does (or with the degree of justified rage by Scar) if Brotherhood is fundamentally a story about breaking the circle of violence even when it fucking sucks. I am not saying Brotherhood couldn't have handled it better in parts (never adapted manga chapters, my beloved) but it just fundamentally isn't a story about a justified Ishvalen survivor trying to enact large scale revenge on the Amestrian military - that's '03.

And if you're looking for a darker look at militarism and imperialism (that doesn't try to offer you a idealistic hopeful ending) there is an entire 51 episode show about that! But don't go and complain when that show dares to end in tragedy. Don't complain if there isn't a happy ending, or if all your heroes end up deeply tragically sad and alone.

You can't compare apple and oranges, and you can't really compare Brotherhood and '03 - so any attempt at calling on better than the other kind of falls short.

"'03 is better!" - yeah, a better tragedy. A more realistic look at Ishval. A darker tale about personal responsibility and consequences. And the homunculi are just a touch more fucked up.

"Brotherhood is better!" - It certainly has more in-depth world building! And a very well-rounded ending. It certainly is a better story about hope. About coming together.

But they're not the same story. So, really, they shouldn't be treated as such.

[makorragal-312]

HOW THE HELL DO I GET RID OF THIS EXTRA ENDING NOTE ON MY CHAPTERS!?

IT'S STARTING TO TICK ME OFF!

[biscuitscheesebiscuits]

Reading physical copies of The Queen's Thief series for the first time and realizing that the maps in them are inconsistent???

[thebramblewood]

Even when she's fending off hunger pangs, Helena's got a weak spot for the sexy brash alternative girls (bonus points if they're named Lilith).

Previous / Next

Chapter 4: The Art of Dark Meditation

Helena, thinking: You are not hungry. You are not hungry. You are not h-

[stomach grumbles loudly]

I guess it's back to the drawing board.

-

Julia: Whoa. Where ya off to looking like that?

Helena: Ugh, do I look ridiculous? Is my makeup awful?

Julia: No, you actually kinda look like a million bucks. No more migraine?

Helena: It's under control for now.

Julia: Wait! You didn't answer my question.

Helena: Maybe because it's none of your business. Keep out of trouble, kiddo, and don't stay up past your bedtime.

Julia: But-

Helena: Don't make me call a babysitter.

-

Darling: Helena! You managed to track me down. Guess I owe you that free drink now, huh?

Helena: Oh, I really don't need-

Lilith (Pleasant): One more round, Dar?

Darling: Another round of EAPAs coming up! I'll make you the cocktail of your dreams once I'm finished here, H.

Helena: [stealing discreet glances] No worries. I can wait.

[indistinct conversation]

Darling: Helena, you've barely even touched it! Are my mixology skills that hopeless? I've been practicing!

Helena: Sorry. It's great. I'm just a little... distracted.

Darling: [chuckles] Yeah, that's obvious.

Helena: Who is she? I thought I knew everyone in this place.

Darling: She's new in town, I think. Looks like a tough nut to crack but seems nice enough. Good tipper at least. God, what is her name? I think it's...

Lilith: [faintly overheard] Well, I should pack it in or I'll hate myself in the morning.

Helena: Thanks for the drink, but I've got to go.

Darling: What's with you and the hasty exits these days? [sighs resignedly] Well, good luck chasing down your new lady.

[amazingspider-z]

some more ghost rider sketches, version i guess i wanted to draw some bones,

including a partial prototype of whatever the hell the Rider has going on underneath his skin-suit (which might need more leather 'muscles' but. whatever), a theoretical endpoint of how dead Robbie could get in my verse, which. unlikely? extremely. but fun to draw, and a line-up of Robbie, Lisa, and Gabe

in theory, Lisa's sense of style was inspired by @wazzappp 's post of Claire's fashion Lisa, but, well, outfit design eludes me. so. brightly colored vague y2k vibes are. the best i got

[paigemathews]

There’s always gonna be something about the inevitable tragedy in Chris’s story that gets to me. No matter what happens, there will be a devastating loss that cannot be altered, cannot be changed, cannot be fixed. If he doesn’t remember, it’s the erasure of a fiercely loyal and determined witch who sacrificed more than his life but his very existence to save a world he never saw. If he does remember, he’s of two different worlds that cannot exist together at their core, costing him an entire world of people he can never get back. There is no uncomplicated happily ever after for him and it will always be a bittersweet ending at its happiest. In the end, success encases a profound amount of loss that even magic can’t touch.

[thirdtimed]

unfortunately if i ever developed the lifeseries orv au in my head in earnest i would in no capacity whatsoever manage to be normal about it at all and like. i mean it

[xysidhequeen]

Since Danny opened up his trauma to Jason, did he ever comfort Danny whenever he had nightmare of his parents doing things on him?

Jason has comforted Danny after and during nightmares. Not all of them, he doesn't catch them all.

Sometimes Danny's nightmares are loud. Sometimes they're ice crackling out from him in waves, covering his room and the hallway and Jason just knows. He busts through the ice and the doors between him and his hurting king, melting the ice with his flames until he can finally get to Danny and wake his frozen body and remind him he's safe, he's whole, he's alive. Sometimes his nightmares are deafening, they're a Wail shattering walls and ceilings and everything around him. Sometimes Jason has to push his body one slow step at a time into the middle of a hurricane, bleeding and hurt but not half as hurt as his screaming friend.

But sometimes Danny's nightmares are silent. They're quiet because screaming didn't help. Screaming made it worse. Noise brought their attention back to him. Pleas and cries and screams made them angry, angry he was using their son's voice, their son's body. So sometimes Danny is quiet, locked in a silent prison of his own mind and the only way Jason can tell is if Danny didn't pull his aura entirely back into his body and he's able to feel the pain.

Danny has gotten better about locking his aura down as his mind slowly realizes he doesn't need to anymore, that he doesn't need to be in survival mode and he can make the subconcious decision to ask for help because he knows it'll come.

But sometimes the fear is stronger. And on those nights, Danny is alone.

[dandyshucks]

blinks tiredly. i decide "hm maybe i should try to expand my circle and step outside of it a little, lets go look at the main community tags" and im just greeted with a bunch of edgelords who think saying "fiction doesn't affect reality, don't like don't read" is peak activism and "fighting censorship". head in my hands. this is partially why i do not ever go into the community tags, my nervous system cannot handle blocking fifty weirdos every single day just so i can have a normal experience in the community tags hfdsjkl

[spacespore]

HI TUMBLRR it’s me

[minglana]

guys help..........

[ravenekrops]

i just wished there was a way to transfer thoughts into coherent text without having to write it. i can't write. i feel like my characters and stories and worldbuilding will forever be trapped in my brain and one day i'll die and everything will be lost

[frigidlyauthorial]

code geass has definite flaws worthy of criticism but I will go down forever with the opinion that the Euphemia moment at the R1 finale was perfectly written and a brilliant addition to the show. People who say that it just happened for shock value and didn’t make sense for the characters are objectively incorrect. I can’t believe people think it’s bad just because it’s [checks notes] a tragic and shocking event in the tragedy and shock show.

[yharnamesque]

I ended up reading another 50 pages of Metro 2033 today and every time I get a bit further through the book I come away a bit more confused in the sense of "am I just not getting it". Like in the span of those pages, Artyom:

got beaten up by metro nazis

was rescued by independent communists

had a close encounter with a mutant at a station with open surface access

got traded away as part of a rat race bet

and had an encounter with what I'm pretty sure were specifcally meant to be Jehovah's Witnesses

I very much understand that you're gonna see some real weird shit on a long journey across multiple stations, but the problem is there's no real hierarchy as to how impactful these experiences were on Artyom or their place amongst the metro as a whole. Like I would've thought something like an encounter with the so-called Fourth Reich that almost ended in his death would've had a bit more time and detail given to it, made it a bit more of a meaty event, but it's over kinda as quickly as it showed up

Glukhovsky's writing style doesn't help with the exceedingly long paragraphs, but most of the time I just wanna gently take him by the shoulders and ask where his beta reader was

[saunteringvaguelydownwards]

****

Motherfucker, y'all got me writing again, what the fuck?