#anichatter

[lydiabennett]

i’m going to be talking abt this for years but i just want to throw it out there that nile is the heart & soul of this narrative and that without her everything goes to shit? she’s a powerful and compelling protagonist whose internal conflict is both really fresh and really complicated. without her — her capacity for love, her capacity for compassion, her capacity for loyalty, even when none of these things seem deserved — everything goes to hell. without her, there’s absolutely nothing. she’s the source of andy’s revival, she’s the source of booker’s redemption, and neither of these things come at the expense of her characterization or her narrative importance: they come because she is who she is. she stands on her own without being alienated from the narrative. nile freeman is absolutely everything in this film. 

[carelessgraces]

god i gotta say — and icb i’m saying it but it must be said — i think that cullen was done a disservice by not being involved in a book or a comic or a short film or dlc or whatever? like, i know a big complaint is that he’s in too much, and without the really crucial pieces of his development, i agree, but i also think that this could have been solved by putting him in more. bc the problem with cullen in inquisition — the problem i had, the problem a lot of people had — was that his “redemption arc” took place off-screen. we’re told that over the last three years he’s had to reevaluate his conceptions of magic and mages; we’re told that he’s changed; and yet we don’t see any of that struggle during the events of inquisition. there’s nothing telling us how he got to the inquisition, how cassandra came to trust his judgment so much ( and cassandra, who is so fair-minded and who is so dedicated to justice, even if it means destroying the thing she values most in the world, would not have trusted him without reason ), how he came to be someone who could and should lead the inquisition’s forces regardless of age, experiences in kinloch hold & the gallows, and potentially tumultuous relationship with the hero of ferelden and the champion of kirkwall, both of whom cassandra intended to bring to the conclave to serve as inquisitor. 

     and so we see the result of a lovely arc, one which i think mirrors blackwall’s and that mirrors some of my favorite redemption arcs ( most notably, roy mustang’s: “i have done something horrible, whatever my intentions, and i cannot ever make up for that, but it’s better to stay alive and try to serve the world i harmed and help heal its scars than to simply fade into nothingness, and i have a duty to do just that.” ) but without any of the buildup for it. and the seeds of that redemption are built into storylines that some of us may never see — if your hawke doesn’t side with the templars after the last straw, you don’t ! get ! as much information abt cullen’s feelings regarding the duty of the templars and their responsibilities to mages, you don’t get as much information abt cullen pushing back against meredith, you don’t see that cullen’s willingness to push back against meredith even when she’s at her most volatile and dangerous is so rapid that it suggests that this isn’t the first time he’s pushed back against her. nor do you see that his devotion to the order is not only to his duty to mages and to civilians, but to other templars, many of whom may have been brought into the life believing they were doing the right thing, just like he was. kids who wanted to grow up and be heroes and knights and who ended up doing the chantry’s dirty work.

     and so we see the end result but not the middle, not the actual hard labor of trying to redeem oneself. the most we get is the occasional sidelong comment, and cullen’s struggle with addiction, which is more about cullen than about his attempt to divorce himself from the parts of the templar order that were so abhorrent to him. and that could have been the topic of a really fascinating book, or comic; that could have provided so much in the way of excellent and thorough characterization; and instead we got a choppy narrative that involved a lot of missing pieces and that made cullen’s reappearance in inquisition feel unnecessary and gratuitous.

[fenmere]

Let's nip some arguments in the bud regarding Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. News agencies have to use "alleged" and "accused" in their articles, even if they are trying to report fairly for the gravity of Amber Heard's evidence, because of libel and slander laws. What that means is that even good reporting ends up casting doubt on her voice. Throw in the vast majority of journalists that just straight up don't give her that respect, and it's a system that discredits abused women. It's not that hard to overcome it, though: "Amber Heard has put forward considerable evidence to support her case in accusing Johnny Depp of sexual abuse. His chances of convincing a court that he is not guilty does not look good according to legal experts." Then write an editorial where you can state your own opinion: "Faced with the preponderance of evidence that Amber Heard has produced, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that Johnny Depp has committed this crime." Take a close look at that language I used. It still adheres to the whole "inocent until proven guilty" thing. It is only talking about possible judgements. But it is doing so in a way that doesn't inherently discredit Amber and it can be tailored specifically to the amount of evidence found against a given suspect, avoiding slander. Do your job journalists. Heck, you can copy and paste my words if you like! It is, after all, how you prefer to write your articles now days to cut costs, isn't it.

[redqueenthexry-blog]

HC order

meme

daphne is obsessed with order. she is neat, organized -- she thrives on having a space that she knows and can navigate. she does, however, have an appreciation for a bit of chaos -- she’s got a rebellious streak and she loves causing trouble when she thinks it’s necessary. 

     but put daphne in an unfamiliar room and her first instinct is to rearrange it in order to make it as daphne-friendly as possible. however, she’s not always organized -- if you’ve seen elementary, imagine sherlock’s living space. chaos in some regards, pristine in others. that’s daphne. her work space is unbelievably easy for her to navigate but would probably baffle someone else if they tried to approach it. her living space is much the same.

[cleverthcughts-blog]

Positive!Anon challenges YOU: answer this with a nice message / compliment to a fellow Tumblr user & tag / mention them to make their day. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Pass on the challenge to the next FIVE on your dashboard.

oh gosh! can i give a shoutout to a few people?

     first is the ineffable marta, found at myfatherwillhearaboutthisblog && shewolfisms && missauroramalfoy. i think it’s probably obvious to anyone who follows me anywhere that i positively adore her. honestly, there’s not much i can say about her that i haven’t said already. marta’s one of my best and favorite friends, and i am so, so incredibly lucky to have her. marta is, without question, one of the most brilliant and talented writers i’ve ever met, and had the privilege of writing with. she’s changed me, and my characters, and made us all grow, and i’m extraordinarily grateful for that. any time i’ve needed her, she’s been around, and i just? can’t say enough wonderful things about her. marta’s my rp wife and the best wife ever.

     second is the spectacular izzie, found at infernadea && protcctor && rcbelqueen. i honestly don’t know how izzie and i clicked -- it was very recent, but very quick. we’ve reached the “angst and porn” part of friendship and it’s honestly very lovely. we get along beautifully, and it’s been so much fun to explore our characters together. she’s brilliant, she’s an amazing writer, and she’s a ton of fun to talk to and get to know. we haven’t been friends for very long, but it’s been amazing so far, and i hope that i’ll keep being lucky enough to be her friend for a while yet!

     and third is my darling aya, found at nocturnaloracle && ofsensoryperception. aya and i found each other through astorias, and we clicked really quickly. we wrote sisters, we wrote twins, we wrote mother/daughter-in-law, we wrote mother/daughter. the crux of our friendship has been brilliant women and their relationships with other women, and honestly, i couldn’t be happier about it. aya is one of the kindest people i’ve ever met, and she always has time to listen, and she always has time to talk if i need someone to talk to. i’ve known her almost a year now and it’s been a wonderful year!

[aniranma]

#12. Anime that should get more attention from others & #23, #27

Asked by seizeitfairness

It’s hard to pick just one anime, and the image above doesn’t even cover all 80′s and 90′s titles, but so many from those eras are ones I think should get more attention.  That’s why I love Diskotek.  Please watch them, any of them, even if it’s just a few.  There’s so many good ones!  Hulu Plus has quite a few really good options as well!

#23. Unpopular character you love

Okay so it’s not an anime, but unpopular is an understatement for Sonson from Marvel vs. Capcom 2.  I adore her~

#27. Anime you plan to watch in the future 

This isn’t nearly the list, but as for ones I plan to watch this year: ALL THE PATLABOR, re-watch Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers + OVAs I never saw, Berserk (only the original TV series), Ace of Diamond, more Urusei Yatsura, Kimagure Orange Road, Dragonar ep 2+, Gundam 0083, Sukeban Deka, Crusher Joe, Dirty Pair, Magi, Maria the Virgin Witch, Yuki Nagato series, Rinne, and possibly Macross 7.

[alaxdidae-blog]

i'm still here, i swear! i've been doing classwork and it's been eating my brain, and i'm usually on one of my other blogs, but i promise not to neglect cosette again.

[lydiabennett]

you cannot “reclaim” fascist ideologies. you can mock them, challenge them, and change them, but you cannot “reclaim” a fascist ideology. when you try, all you’re doing is parroting that ideology, even if you think you’re being ~ironic~ about it, and in doing so causing harm to vulnerable people, even if you’re vulnerable yourself. there is a difference between ideology & language or symbols and no amount of your own vulnerability makes you inherently immune to either harming other vulnerable people, or making yourself friendly to fascists.

[lydiabennett]

the reason that dragon age works so much better for me than almost anything else (even the witcher, even with my wife) is that the entire series is built on the premise that really loving the world enough to want to save it, even if you really are not qualified to do so and are not a hero by anyone’s standards, it’s that act of all-consuming love and optimism and the desire to help as many people as you can that makes you successful. even though you can play as an absolute asshole the narrative really does not reward that in the slightest. i think that’s why inquisition, despite having the richest worldbuilding, didn’t achieve what origins or 2 could: you start there as a hero and you HAVE to save the world whether or not you want to, and how much you love the world or your home or the people around you really doesn’t factor in as much. 

anyway grimdark bullshit in fantasy is especially infuriating to me because it spits in the face of the power of a protagonist’s capacity for love & compassion for the world around them and that’s why asoiaf / got fails !! where’s my optimism !! you can give me dragons and zombies but not optimism ?? get out of here !!

[lydiabennett]

Happy Pride !! Considering current events, it feels a little funny celebrating much of anything when Black people are suffering and dying because of racist cops, politicians, and systems. Since Pride itself was built on the love, hard work, and sacrifice of people of color, especially Black people, it’s time to offer that same support back. I’ll be celebrating Pride by offering Tarot readings in exchange for donations to any of the following organizations & bail funds —

Black Lives Matter national

Albany Bail Fund for Black Lives

Atlanta Solidarity Fund

Chicago Community Bond Fund

Louisville Community Bail Fund

People’s City Council Freedom Fund

…or any of the other locally specific bail funds listed through the National Bail Fund Network.

I will offer the following readings / packages at the following donation points:

10-card Celtic Cross | $30 Add a 3-card Oracle Spread | + $5 30-40 minutes, available over text or voice call. This is most likely what you’d get if you were to purchase a professional reading at a new age or psychic shop or fair. The Celtic Cross is one of the best spreads for a wider overview of what’s happening in your life, or for more general look toward the future.

6-card Pyramid Spread | $20 Add a 3-card Oracle Spread | + $5 20-30 minutes, available over text or voice call. This spread is best for working through specific problems arising — isolating the cause and the consequences, and re-centering yourself to better understand the next steps you should take. Excellent for introspection and self-reflection.

5-card ‘Ponder This’ Spread | $15 Add a 3-card Oracle Spread | + $5 15-20 minutes, available over text or voice call. This spread is best for taking stock of the present, and getting a good look at where you are in your life before you decide on the direction to take for your future. I also call this a ‘begin-again spread’ and use it often for redirecting my focus where it’s needed.

Decks available: Fairy Lights Tarot (see examples & review here) | Fenestra Tarot (see examples & review here) | Wild Unknown Tarot (see examples & review here) | Deviant Moon Tarot (see examples & review here) | Radleigh Valentine Angel Tarot (see examples & review here)

All of these price points are consistent with ( or even lower than ) what you’ll find with most professionals operating out of shops. A little note on my qualifications: I’ve been reading Tarot for the past thirteen years with a lot of success, and prior to COVID-19 and the stay-at-home orders which followed, I was two months into regular Tarot readings through a local shop, and had been featured in their walking Psychic Fair. I’ve also done Tarot for donations and fundraising in the past, and have been reading for friends for years.

Submit proof of donation to me through Tumblr’s IM feature and we’ll discuss which reading & deck you’d like, and we’ll schedule a time to sit down. All readings available either through text or voice chat; voice chat is much easier and quicker, and will allow us to have more of a back-and-forth as I read.

Disclaimer: all Tarot reading for entertainment purposes. I am not a financial advisor, life coach, or doctor; please use your own discretion and judgment when determining whether or not to follow any direction offered through a reading. I use Tarot as an introspective tool, and encourage others to do the same — how can I better understand my reality and my present, how can I direct my energy in self-reflection and manifestation?

[lydiabennett]

good morning i’m still thinking about this: sam dying while dean lives makes infinitely more sense in terms of fulfilling character arcs because the show begins with sam needing to learn that being like his father doesn’t mean he is his father and that he can love his brother without becoming john — mirroring the most beautiful parts of john’s character without stepping entirely into his shoes — and that he needs to recognize the importance of family, whereas dean needs to learn that he can stand on his own and that he can create a family and a life of his own making if he chooses. it’s about choices. the whole thing is about choices, not about fate. the great big battle against dean becoming michael’s vessel is a battle of choice over fate. lucifer terrifies heaven because he embodies choice over fate. the battle against chuck is a battle of choice over fate. it’s two very different healing narratives — one in which healing requires selflessness and another in which healing requires selfishness — and i genuinely say this as someone who loves sam very much but some character arcs are best served by the character dying and of the boys sam’s the one whose death would have fit the show & the character’s development more

[lydiabennett]

hallie only said she’d marry me if i watched riverdale so if you’ve ever wondered what my liveblogging of pure fucking absurdity looks like check it out here. do not expect quality, do not expect coherence, this is a gift and it is intended to be crap. it is also a sideblog. 

[lydiabennett]

some spn thoughts no one asked for: dean is & always has been a comfort character for me and dean was integral to me getting back on my feet in 2012 & 2013. the show, for me, ended with season five, and while i’ve tried to watch past it i’ve never made it. i’ll watch it eventually, but — dean deserved better, sam deserved better, cas deserved better, the harvelles deserved better, ruby deserved better, rufus deserved better, sarah deserved better, missouri deserved better, every single character deserved better than they got and it genuinely pisses me off that such a lackluster finale that completely ignores fifteen years of character and lore development to give dean the ending he always wanted to avoid and was always afraid would be his: dying in pain and leaving his brother behind, his entire life defined exclusively by the blood he’d shed and the lives he’d ended.

[lydiabennett]

so there’s this like very specific genre of horror that i’m calling “catholic horror” and it utilizes catholic theology alongside catholic aesthetics in such a way that it uses the existence of satan to prove the existence of god / the existence of absolute evil to prove the existence of absolute good (cbs evil, a&e damien, possibly helstrom? will get back to you on that) and every time i find this catholic horror it pretty much absorbs my entire attention and becomes a major piece of my personality so like. that’s where i’m at. 

[lydiabennett]

i’m watching the stand bc i love kat & amber and want to see them kick ass but i’m like five minutes in and already this is one of the most uncomfortable media experiences i’ve had during covid. like i Knew it would be weird but i keep thinking abt the early days in new york, and in italy, and how my grandmother’s hometown got absolutely ravaged, and god. it’s weird. it’s really weird. i’m gonna keep watching it but it’s so weird.

[lydiabennett]

i will take the “there is an inherent power imbalance between all of the immortals regardless of the role they play, and immortal / mortal relationships are inherently imbalanced” arguments remotely seriously when i see them applied to anyone besides nile tbh