#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. 

[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.