sam

Something neuroscience-y that helps with prose: attention is selective. A character will not notice everything in a room. They will notice what matters to their goal, fear, desire, training, wound, or obsession. A jealous character notices hands. a hungry character notices food. A soldier notices exits. A lonely character notices pairs. Description becomes character when attention has a bias.

obsessed with the worldbuilding in fma 03. The philosopher's stone is not just an object but a concept, something people strive for, kill for, wage wars for. Wars creating more philosopher's stones, an inevitable consequence of alchemy. The way alchemy, imperialism, racism and death are so deeply tied together. Religion being used to sow infighting, pave the way for an army. The way alchemists claim to be scientists who disbelieve in god yet believe in Alchemy like a religion anyway, not knowing alchemy is literally being powered by death from the other side of the gate. Alchemy being used for more death and genocide in an endless cycle. Equivalent exchange being rejected out of hand because there's no equal trade for suffering. Amestris itself being built on top of a city of the dead. It's very foundation built of corpses piled high, it's citizens blind to this. They could see it too, if they just looked. Alchemists trying to undo death and suffering over and over and ending up making homunculi and chimeras instead. Creatures who suffer endlessly. Are they human, or are they not? Should we kill them, should we not? who decides that? And who else will they declare non-human along with them? The gate watches it all, unknowable, uncaring, merciless, and it always takes its tolls.

that’s my man 🤤