#-even IF I disagree with his actions ?

[fascinationstreetmp3]

i really don't care if lestat is 100% always telling the truth in s3 and that he's not actually that much of a liar because he's still going to be filtering his past experiences through his own perspective, which to me, makes it not an objective truth. even if the show isn't focusing on the unreliable memory thing anymore, memory can still inherently be unreliable. so im not about to treat lestat as the only one who can recall a clear unbiased recollection of the past now

[dreamsaflame]

Mouthwashing is so prescient on discourse about inaction. So many people asking why Curly brushed aside Anya's fears and remained lenient with Jimmy. So many people asking why Swansea didn't immediately take action after the private convo in the cockpit.

And now, in real time, you can see people trying to defend both men. And I don't think this is done out of malice, or any intention to downplay the horror of Anya's situation. I think it's pretty human nature to want a better world, to want to soften the blow. There's so much we don't know (the timeline, the details of the convo, the actual nature of Curly's friendship with Jimmy, etc etc ad nauseam), so there is space to hope for a gentler moment, even if we all know the aftermath is unbearable and impact is imminent. We still want to believe things could be different, that things could be better. It doesn't change anything, but still. But still.

Maybe Anya had still held on to a little bit of hope, futile though it would have been. Maybe she didn't feel completely isolated the entire time. She was failed by both Curly and Swansea in every way that matters, but maybe she could have sat by them and not feel like her world had fully imploded. Maybe there were moments where the world allowed her to breathe.

Maybe Curly didn't know. Maybe he did try to keep Jimmy away from Anya. Maybe he was doing what he could, despite his desire to see the best in people (Jimmy). Maybe there wasn't enough time for him to even do anything. Maybe Swansea tried to step up afterwards. We don't know. We only see through the eyes of one man who only wanted to see the good in the world, and then through the eyes of one man who only saw himself.

And the game's prescience even about the end––wishing doesn't change anything. Anya dies putting away her conviction that your worst moments don't define you, that they don't make of you a monster. Daisuke dies having helped no one with his hope and sacrifice. Swansea dies filled with regret, having done nothing, protected no one. Curly watches till the end as his freeze reaction ensures he stays frozen, unable to act, to help.

Even Jimmy, wishing he was better, that he was a hero––and in the end, even Polle turns away from him.

[aha-chuu]

Can't stop thinking about the fact that Wriothesley is a former underground boxer.

Was it... legal? Did he do it for money? For the thrill? He's called a "Duke" now, but it's unclear if that was a title awarded for his ascension to the head of the Fortress of Meropide (like the monarch "knighting" outstanding people (Sir Patrick Stuart for example)). It's perfectly likely that he had a humble start in life.

The livestream also confirms that Wriothesley is a somewhat recent addition to Meropide, so I'd say he's only had this role for a few years at most. Does that mean he was boxing up until recently too?

Wriothesley is covered in scars (there's a huge one on his neck)... Is that from his past? Did someone pull a knife out in a fight, or was he attacked afterward from some disgruntled opponent?

If this was an illegal practice, he could have been set up to lose a fight and refused, then attacked by whatever mob bosses he fucked over.

Idk. I enjoy the idea that in his younger years he wasn't quite so upstanding - I have this image in my mind of little twenty-something Wriothesley getting caught when the underground fighting ring got taken down. Everyone's put on trial but really Neuvillette & the courts care about the organisers, not the fighters that got caught in the crossfire. And Wriothesley is all freshly scarred and clearly not guilty of all the financial crimes going on behind the scenes.

Obviously there's some class disparity in Fontaine. Wriothesley has that voiceline "don't break the law... seriously" but he also reformed Meropide and treats the reasonable inmates as equals. Imagine if that came from his history, seeing his peers be punished for actions that society forced them into. And maybe Wriothesley got off lightly, but he'd be able to empathise with all the people who didn't.

And there's that official art of Wriothesley and Neuvillette in the office together, which obviously doesn't confirm that they have met (yoimiya & Kaeya art lol), but they almost certainly have. So I wonder if it was that near miss with a guilty verdict that put Wriothesley on Neuvillette's radar. Neuvillette is caring, so maybe he took steps to help the people who got caught up in the fighting, including Wriothesley. And it's those connections that later allow Wriothesley to take a position in Meropide, making the reformations that treat those who are guilty more fairly.

Anyway yeah. Wriothesley.

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

Yeah, people like to think that (adult) Jason’s snarky, cutting, and unapologetic post crisis characterization and the (mostly) “watered down”, docile personality he’s had from N52/rebirth onwards are irreconcilable, and that the shift was just an editorial decision with the intent of marketing him as a “likeable” hero.

While that last part might be true, have they considered that textually it makes perfect sense that being consistently in contact with an abuser just does that to a person. Wears them down until they feel like nothing but a husk, without any discernible direction or opinions of their own. If it isn’t completely burnt out yet, they (consciously or unconsciously) suppress that part of themselves that thinks independently either for self-preservation or to keep the peace. Considering anyone, even “mentally strong” people could fall victim to mental abuse, it’s actually pretty realistic imo.

[agnesandhilda]

one criticism of iron widow: I think revealing that shimin was physically forced into alcohol dependence by his captors is a weak narrative choice. taking away that last bit of his autonomy was necessary to getting zetian to fully sympathize with him (she would never be comfortable with a guy she even suspected had been manipulated into sacrificing women via his addiction. and why should she?), but the overwhelming subtext of constraint surrounding shimin's alcoholism was already there. zetian has already seen shimin's cell, that he's not allowed to leave unless he is literally bound, she already knows he's had all forms of art and self-expression besides the chrysalis (where he's used as a human weapon) taken from him. is it so hard to believe that someone would organically develop an addiction in those circumstances? is shimin's addiction more sympathetic and easier to understand if the liquor was forced down his throat, as opposed to something he turned to in response to---I don't know, being kept in a cell the size of a shoebox for years when he's not released so that he can be exploited?

[angelsdean]

what makes someone fundamentally a good or bad person? and what's the point of making that distinction? not being a hater, i don't think dean is a bad person, i just really don't get it. he's just a person with the capability for good and bad just like everyone else

i agree with you but i think the distinction IS important when you're dealing with fans who refuse to see that there's a difference between doing something from a place of good intentions VS believing they are willfully acting malicious and "abusive" because they secretly wanna control everyone and everything. i think dean is a generally good person who tries his best but like any other person is bound to get things wrong sometimes, make mistakes, act imperfectly. i think we all have the capacity to do both good and bad but like, it's not a tipping scale where X amount of wrong-doings equals You Are Now A Bad Person (often Regardless Of What Your Intentions Were) which is where a lot of "deancr*t" fans come from, and in this case i do think the intentions of a character are important when we're analyzing characters motivations and actions and why they may have made a certain choice.

also soo many fans will crucify dean for something that other characters have done too!! and they clearly don't view that other character as a Bad Person and they're able to give nuance and understanding for why that character did that thing and why it still doesn't make them bad, yet they don't offer the same grace to dean?? it's exhausting so yes, i will make posts saying "dean is fundamentally good to his core" to remind people that doing a bad thing or making a poor choice or acting imperfectly in response to trauma / stress / fear does not automatically make you a horrible irredeemable "abusive" person.

also it's very like this for me, a deangirl:

deangirls talking to other deangirls: acknowledge the intricacies of dean's issues, flaws, and behaviors, where they stem from and why, and also discuss the other characters' flaws and behaviors and how other characters have ALSO hurt dean. and those actions do not make them bad people either !!

deangirls talking to the world at large who keep acting like dean is the sole character who a has ever made a bad choice or hurt someone: dean is good !! dean has done Nothing wrong !! pls stop and look at every other character in this narrative and recognize that they are all deeply flawed and complex

[mbirnsings-71]

I'm so normal totally *has sent a 17 minute long voice message about Bruce and Jason's relationship to my friends because it is apparently Jason Todd brain rot hours.*

[shorthaltsjester]

nothing more morally reprehensible than a cleric (checks notes) using the key features of their class…? surely that can’t be where we are regarding analysis of character actions in cr at this point.

[yuhenglesbian]

I stand with my cancelled wife (jiang cheng)

[july-19th-club]

hodgins is my favorite guy on bones bc all he has to do is say even a medium leftist take with a little grin on his face and it makes american-flag-colored steam start coming out booths ears

[oimoi-op]

About your tags on the Lucienne post: oh we usually aren't even half this nice LMAOOO I could be a lot meaner but like. Both our posting about her and also the anger and frustration comes from the same place of love for and fascination with her. There's so much to talk about it's insane

Literally tho like!!!!! she's such a compelling character on so many levels, yet a lot of the fandom reduces her to the "mom friend" or other similarly reductive if not misogynistic stereotypical roles so for me (someone not super involved in the fandom these days) it's so refreshing to see you and others discussing her on her own merits and not just an accessory/afterthought for someone's white slash ship lol

[pepprs]

hm. i think i am going to stop going to counseling. he does not understand me. he pathologizes things that are not pathological.

[magentagalaxies]

chatted with bruce on zoom today!! apparently in addition to announcing the buddy cole doc at his rivoli show he also promoted it in a sirius xm interview he did about the new sketch show he's executive producing (the dessert)!! which is so freaking cool like he's using his platform for a bigger show he's working on to promote a doc i'm directing??? omg???

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Does anyone else, like, entirely lack a belief system of any kind and just run on primal instinct? I’ll listen to multiple sides of an issue and understand every bit of nuance, get emotionally invested, and then not pick any of them, because I think the reasoning of the respective beliefs cancel each other out when compared side-by-side. Then primal instinct takes over and forces me into acting more adjacent to one side than the other, but my brain does not necessarily agree with the entire position— only a portion of it; while also believing a portion of the other positions.

Or perhaps I merely think I have no opinions because the majority of today’s belief systems are so one-sided, while my positions are four-sided, and therefore unacceptable because I’m “not allowed” to agree with more than one side in any capacity without being ostracized by all of them.

I am proverbially lukewarm and in the process of being vomited out of the mouth of Christ.

[vvitchy]

i know in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter but people who don’t watch spnwin and then complain about how bad it is and are all happy because they want it to be cancelled…… i think maybe you’re in a cult. no independent thoughts or opinions

[sprnigup]

(tags by @grandadtwelve)

Re-watching Doctor Who: World War Three (Series 01, Episode 05)

I’ve seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it’s all clever and smart. But tell me, just answer me this: Is my daughter safe?