If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings, or seen the movies, or even if you only half-remember The Hobbit cartoon from the ‘70s – I have a non-spoiling spoiler for you (because it applies to writing online and life in general):

More evil doesn’t beat evil. Good beats evil. Duh. 

You can try to harness the darkness to conquer the darkness, but it’s a losing proposition. As tempting as it may be. Even if it seems to work for a minute. 

The regular Earth takeaways from Middle Earth go like this: 

You don’t have to fight with other people to win. 

You don’t have to be loud, obnoxious, or tone-def to be heard. 

You don’t have to be anything but kind.

You just have to do good. 

Good beats evil. 

Bonus (boundary) points: You can’t take it all, but you sure can give it your all. Which isn’t to deny the importance of boundaries either! But it is to say, be a giver and not a taker. And, don’t give to takers beyond what you need to, in the name and spirit of being good.