americanbrightside reblogged
americanbrightside reblogged
the andalite chronicles are fucking great so far because aside from how they're genuinely interesting and well written it's got. The lore detail that a warrior being pointed out to have Nerd Traits (like skill with technology) is genuinely insulting even if the skills are desirable just on a cultural level. which has fucking HILARIOUS implications for aximili "insecure jock yearning to be a brave warrior" esgarrouth isthill's current situation where he can't go three seconds without being told "in english, four eyes." that particular bit of world building made me stare into space fondly recalling every time the animorphs have treated ax like a weird nerd so far. he's having such a bad time and it's so funny.
it's ALSO fucking great that it's all ohhh elfangor the great warrior poor ax trying to live up to his legacy. and it's like we can Say he was awesome and badass but it's not as true feeling until we see it in action you know? and then we get to the book where we actually see elfangor in the flesh and even at his absolute teenage dorkiest he:
- confidently declares to himself that despite sucking at combat training he'll probably definitely magically be perfect and survive when he gets into a Real combat experience, and then does actually proceed to do just that
- pulls a cool alien girl within like two hours of meeting her
- drives a mustang at 100mph through the desert while blaring the rolling stones and drinking dr pepper
like it's hopeless for ax. No hope even at all for being as cool as his big brother. It's not happening.
americanbrightside reblogged
americanbrightside reblogged
Ha I wonder how many strokes the most complex Chinese character has like maybe eightee-
Has a Chinese son, names him bèng-dá, and he hates me
My beloved son 䨻龘 just trying to write his name in kindergarten
americanbrightside reblogged
Thinking of the larger context of LOTR and like, the fellowship swapping old war stories and shit and Sam just says “Yeah I killed a huge spider…Shelob, I think?”
And Gandalf just blinks and is like, “You what now?”
“Yeah, killed it. Had to save Frodo”
Gandalf elects not to tell Sam that he killed the spawn of a primordial demon.
the daughter of the embodiment of darkness which ate the original sun and moon and almost ate the devil.
That's not important. What is important is that it was a danger to Mister Frodo.
Time for me to info dump about Sam and Shelob.
In lord of the rings lore, there are three tiers of deities. The highest tier and most dangerous includes Morgoth - Sauron’s master, and Ungoliant, Shelob’s master. The middle tier includes Shelob, Sauron. Then there’s the lowest tier, which includes the wizards Gandalf and Saruman as well as the Balrog (this is why Gandalf couldn’t 1v1 the Balrog). It also explains why Gandalf doesn’t take the ring, the magic of a tier 2 deity would absolutely corrupt him. We even see that happen with Saruman and the Palantir.
This leads to the start of the answer to some interesting questions. Why does Sauron tolerate Shelob being in his territory, and why does Sauron tolerate there being a secret back door into Mordor?
On the surface, he does it because he might not be able to beat Shelob in a fight, after all they’re the same tier of deity. And since Shelob’s domain is the secret way into Mordor, he can’t close it off, and he seriously doubts anyone can use it to get in. He doesn’t monitor the path with guards either - Shelob would eat them.
It gets more detailed than that though. Sauron’s boss, Morgoth, and Shelob’s boss, Ungoliant, made a deal. They’d attack the tree of life together. Morgoth would drink the nectar, and Ungoliant would keep all of the jewels and magic they earned along the way. Morgoth broke this deal because there was a particularly powerful gem he wanted (the gem in Sauron’s helmet), and as a result Ungoliant went to war with Morgoth.
Ungoliant won, Morgoth barely escaped with his life.
So not only does Sauron maybe lose if he attacks Shelob. Even if he were to win, it might provoke Ungoliant into attacking Morgoth again, and Ungoliant wins that fight, she’s already done it once.
With all of that established, how the hell does Sam hurt a deity that powerful?
Well, to start, it’s impossible. Shelob’s hide is so tough Sam could never pierce it with all his might. However, Shelob had grown old and arrogant. During the fight, Sam winds up directly underneath Shelob, and Shelob decides to crush Sam with all her strength.
Unfortunately, Sam is pointing sting straight up.
While Sam lacks the strength to hurt Shelob, Shelob herself is plenty strong. She accidentally impales herself on sting, finding herself injured for the first time in thousands of years. Which is the sort of poetry I really appreciate about Tolkien’s writing.
No matter how powerful or evil or ancient or indestructible your foe, if you stand for what is right and hold your sword out, they will impale themselves upon it.
Sam’s backstory in this scene is much simpler. He has to save Frodo.
I love it when tolkien fans reblog posts with the deep lore receipts. Thank you
americanbrightside reblogged
i think my favourite horror trope is what i like to call "it gets better before it gets worse". the evil is seemingly defeated. the worst is apparently over. it was tough, and maybe you didn't all make it out in one piece, but you made it. except that you didn't. you're still infected, still marked. you bring the horror with you wherever you go. and there's no timeframe after which you can say you're safe with any certainty. it might lie dormant for years, just waiting for you to turn your back to it long enough to let it find you again. it knows your scent, now. it can hunt you down wherever you go.
it works so well on a metatextual level too. it's so easy as an audience to let yourself hope that maybe, this time, that's really it. it's really over. the characters you're rooting for won. you can relax now. then you remember what genre you're engaging with, or check the runtime, or page count, and feel your dread crystallise as you realise that there's still enough time left for a final, terrible act.
americanbrightside reblogged
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Past Tense, Pt. 1"
Reblog if it's the same year as it was yesterday, 2024
americanbrightside reblogged
I think I’m going to think about this youtube comment forever
americanbrightside reblogged
hi derin!!!!!!!! i had a question about your writing process - how far in advance do you write your serialized stuff? i feel like I’ve read so much about the process of writing novels and short stories and poems, but so little about how people sustain serialized fiction
I try to maintain a buffer of 3-6 months' worth of updates. This is my personal preference and not a universal rule; every web serial author will give you a different answer to this question. My buffer is much longer than most people I've spoke to; 1-2 months is more common. You absolutely need a minimum of 2 weeks, that's about the closest you can shave things, because you need to be able to cover for any minor blips in your schedule such as changing work hours, unexpected trips, or plain old writer's block. The #1 predictor of having any chance of success in web serial art (writing, webcomics, etc.), unless you're Andrew Hussie for some reason, is consistency -- you must have a schedule and you must absolutely stick to that schedule without big stops and starts. Hiatuses will absolutely kill audience interest. Occasional hiatuses in emergencies aren't the end of the world -- if you're in a bus crash, well, the story might have to go on pause for a month or two, and the audience will understand that if you a) tell them when you're starting again and b) don't make a habit of it. Heal if you need to heal, tend to emergencies if you need to tend to emergencies, but if your web serial is stopping and starting constantly for minor reasons like 'I ran out of chapters and I'm too busy/isolated/uninspired to write more', your chances of building a decent audience plummet. So you need a buffer big enough to handle situations like that and not force you into a hiatus.
Which is different for every author. For me, it's 3-6 months.
The other big exception is Dan Shive, who's out there gripping the knife's edge with his teeth and working with no buffer at all so far as I can tell, but the difference between him and you (and me) is that El Goonish Shive has been running for 22 years and when people have been following something for 22 years they'll offer it some grace re: frequent uplanned delays. Your story and mine will not get that same grace.
americanbrightside reblogged
you know he would have been one of Those kids
inspired by this pic:
americanbrightside reblogged
what’s up nerds school is in session and this year’s crop of 4th graders doesn’t disappoint
their hobbies include writing stories on Google slides, playing Bloody Mary in the bathroom mirror, and being walking shitpost generators at recess
HOT TAKE ALERT: generally speaking I do think that the kids are, in fact, Alright™️
americanbrightside reblogged
How To Fall for Reactionary Conservative Propaganda In A Marx-Honoring Way
americanbrightside reblogged
hush little baby dont you cry. mamas gonna buy you a big horse fly. and if that big horse fly dont fly. mamas gonna buy you another horse fly
[club mix] another horse fly. another horse fly
americanbrightside reblogged
I finally (got help) slapping Wordpress into shape and Runaway to the Stars is now releasing as a public webcomic! Thank you so much for your support over the years, and sticking with me while I'm slowly chewing my way through this book. I'm very excited to share this story! It'll be updating every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday thanks to the massive Patreon backlog. Patreon will continue to update as I finish pages, which happens on a sporadic non-schedule.
If you experience bugs with the site report them to me. Some things may occasionally break, as coding problems tend to be a very "whack-a-mole" affair; and I'm still getting used to the interface.
americanbrightside reblogged
Living Cartoons
IT IS FUNNY BECAUSE HE IS NOT A TOILET for best line of 2020
americanbrightside reblogged
the fallout show was great but I'm going to have to dock a few points on account of the fact that FINAL PAM wasn't in it
I miss her
but I understand why she's not in the show, if she was there there wouldn't be any conflict and the show wouldn't last even two episodes because she would immediately pulverize anyone standing in her just by glaring at them
americanbrightside reblogged
being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors
with faith and perseverance, one day we will sauté the horrors
