sansa was lowkey a badass in a very understated way. when she said to joffrey “or maybe he’ll give me yours” and looked him dead in the fucking eyes like “yeah, i said what i said”…do you know how unhinged that was? that boy had just executed her father and pretty much every northman that came to king’s landing with them and she had the balls to say that to him???
modern asoiaf aus are interesting to me bc seeing how they reckon with cersei and jaime’s whole…. thing….. is like a delightful little window into authorial intent and the story they want to write like. ive seen some people who go full hog with it – jaime and cersei have a long term sexual relationship with incest babies and all – and some people dodge it entirely – their sibling relationship is normal, or they’re not siblings at all. I think its kind of a betrayal of the source material though to pretend NOTHING is wrong there, bc like its so essential to both of their characters that they have a weird thing going on with each other that is actively affecting their lives in a major way. I can understand not wanting to write incest but imo the characters dont make sense without SOMETHING. when i wrote that bit i just posted i was trying to figure out where in the middle i wanted to fall, and i landed on a weird unconsumated too-close-for-comfort sibling relationship, which i think is a good middle ground. saw these tags on a fanfic that were like “no incest bc jaime and cersei’s relationship is fucked up enough without it” which i also think is a graceful way to handle the issue
I'm in hysterics watching the scene where Athos and Aramis tell the other everything. Sure, it's dramatic and awful and very bad stuff happens - justice for Lemay and Marguerite :(((! - but also: Treville experiencing more emotions in those 2 minutes than he had in his entire life up to this point? Porthos being so angry he expresses it by angrily hugging Aramis? D'Artagnan, notoire adulterer, having the most disappointed and long-suffering expression?? "You could have done that by not sleeping with her"?? Athos' look of pure resignation??? Each "there's more" eating away at Treville's sanity??? Treville flinging the hat??? Comedy gold.
I will never not be OBSESSED with the Famous trope + Found Family trope with the Party 😭 The headlines would be so chaotic? Like:
Famous Rockstar Eddie Munson is seen eating lunch with two time Pulitzer winner Nancy Wheeler, Highest Paid Photographer Jonathan Byers and Successful Entrepreneur Argyle Alvez. How does he know these people???
Three time Grammy Winner Eddie Munson seen in a McDonald's with World Renowned Astronaut Dustin Henderson and New York Times Best Seller Will Byers-Wheeler and Mike Byers-Wheeler. What the actual fuck???
Eddie Munson, seen in a Chicago Bulls game looking confused as hell, mere seconds after finding out his second album just went Multi-platinum, with his husband, Steve Munson. Also seen in pictures, Eddie Munson hugging point guard Lucas Sinclair and his wife, Max Sinclair. How???
MSG Sold Out Performer Eddie Munson seen in Chicago Medical Center with World Renowned Surgeon Dr. Erica Sinclair. Our insiders say that the rockstar is FINE and was only having lunch with the doctor. What in the multiverse is happening???
Eddie Munson and his husband seen in line at the book signing of rising Linguistics Author Robin Buckley. They ended up laughing so hard when they reached the author, they almost got kicked out. Turns out they all knew each other???
Rock Star Eddie Munson bringing packed lunch in pajamas to a small Chicago preschool where husband, Steve Munson and known friend, Jane Hopper works. Why??? How??? What???
Third most followed person on Instagram Eddie Munson, just broke the internet by posting a group picture with Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Jonathan Byers, Argyle Alvez, Dustin Henderson, Lucas, Max and Erica Sinclair, Mike and Will Byers-Wheeler, his husband Steve Munson and family friend Jane Hopper. HOW DO THEY ALL KNOW EACH OTHER?! WHAT A WEIRD GROUP?!
The more people speculate, the more they say shit. Like people ask them how they know each other and they all just throw out the weirdest answers.
Nancy gets asked in a press conference how she knows Rock Star Eddie Munson? Nancy answers with, "I was driving myself to California when I was 19 and I picked him up as a hitch hiker along the way. We’ve been friends since then."
Robin gets asked in a lecture how she knows the Sinclair Clan? Robin answers with, "I go way back with Dr. Erica. She once saved me from Russian Doctors trying to cut my toe nails."
Eddie goes on an interview in National TV and the host asks how he's friends with Argyle and Jon? Eddie answers with, "I got kidnapped by a killer clown when I was 17. They saved me by crushing the clown's still beating heart with their own bare hands."
Steve gets bombarded with questions online of how he knows Nancy, Robin, Jon, Argyle and even Eddie (his husband)? Steve answers with, "We were stuck in detention every Saturday when we were in senior year. We all became friends when Eddie Munson started singing Don't You (Forget About Me)."
Will and Mike gets asked in an interview about their friendship with Basketball Star, Lucas Sinclair? Will says, “Lucas once gave my dog CPR, ultimately, saving it’s life and we’ve been friends since then.” and Mike just goes, “Who???”
Erica once got asked how she knew Genius Astronaut, Dustin Henderson. Erica rolls her eyes, “That boy owes me his life. Ask him, not me.”
Dustin gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Dustin goes with, “Eddie once saved me from a feral army of bats and almost died. I’ve never let go of him since then.” The fans think this one might actually be true, they’ve seen the scars on Eddie, they’ve got theories and Dustin just gave them a puzzle piece.
Argyle got asked in a Business Magazine how he knows this weird, interconnected group. Argyle says, “Oh dude! Those are my life long friends! It started with a pizza van, a dead man, and a road trip to Utah. There was also a bald girl involved. In the end, the real treasure really is the friends we make along the way.”
Jonathan gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Jon gives the softest, sweetest smile and says, “We were in a satanic cult together.”
Jane Hopper gets asked once in public (how she knows all these famous people), someone filmed it and it went viral on Twitter. El says, verbatim, “Oh. It all started when I was kidnapped by an evil scientist who tested stuff on me like I was a lab rat. Long story short, they saved my life and they are my family.” By then people already don’t believe any of them because they all give out the most ridiculous answers. Hopper still grounds her for that even though she doesn’t live with him anymore. (Owens, who hasn't called them in 15 years, reached out with a warning).
It’s something that has been annoying me for a very long time. Why the writers of Game of thrones/house of the dragon feel the need to make so many antagonists sexual predators.
I’m gonna take 3 very obvious examples:
Joffrey Baratheon: Did we need the se*ual assault and murder of the two prostitutes to understand what kind of boy he was. We saw him torture Sansa again and again, killing kids, being a coward…Did we really need to see him torture those women? Some will argue that it was to show us what man he would become but I think we got a pretty good idea of what kind of man he was.
Ramsay Bolton: he was the worst monster you could imagine, he r*ped women (off screen), chase them with his dogs, tortured Theon, skinned people alive for fun. We knew who he was, what he was. The r*pe of Sansa was just to shock the audience, it was no character development, certainly not for Sansa, that girl went through so much already, way too much. That scene was just made to make people talk about the show on social media.
Aegon II Targaryen: we could have for once in the got universe an antagonist major who was not born a monster but become one but the writers may have realized that we would feel too much sympathy for the boy after seeing as a teenager victims of abuse so they decided to kill that sympathy and use the most despicable way to do so. They made him a r’*apist. I remember a producer of the show saying that it would be different in hotd, if someone was r*pe the trauma would be focused on the victims, they would not make a r*pe scene for nothing. It may have been true for Alicent but not for Diana, her trauma will never be addressed and let’s be real if we ever see her again it would be for her death scene. The only thing her agression brings is the scene between Aegon and Alicent and since Alicent is really religious, if Aegon had a consensual sexu*l relationship with another maid or a prostitute the scene would have be the exact same. They wanted us to hate Aegon and the green before the start of the dance. It can also either be seen as excuse of the abuse « see, he was rotten from the start, they were right » or he was beaten up and treated like shit by his family so now he hates women and r*pe them. I’m really angry about Aegon.
Bonus (yeah it’s the kind of post with bonus): we all choose to forgot about it because it was so stupid and unnecessary but Jaime did r*pe Cersei in front of the dead body of their youngest son. But apparently both Cersei and Jaime forgot about it.
I would not make a post about Dany because I really wanted to talk about the way the antagonists of the shows were written and how it was always women who were victims but their trauma was never addressed. most of the time it was useless, or just use as a tool to make us hate a character faster so their work as writers would be easier (don’t have to write a nuanced character) but of course I think about her too, it’s a little different because her trauma was indeed addressed in the show, even if they waited s7 to use the word r*pe. But the way D&D filmed the scenes was to be remembered and once again shock the audience, it was also traumatic for Emilia.
You can write a good antagonist without making him a r*pist, in the fact those 3 characters would still have been great villains without that.
an underrated detail in pride and prejudice is that elizabeth bennett was home alone on the day darcy proposed because she had a headache. can you imagine. this was in the pre-painkillers era. you're at home with a headache and then this asshole walks into the room and tells you he loves you and wants to marry you even though he hates your whole family and you're beneath him. imagine having to deal with that while also having a headache. she doesn't even have ibuprofen
No but imagine Aegon rocking up to the free bar at the funeral of some woman he’s never met, getting pissed, falling asleep outside in a ditch and coming round to find little bro is down an eye and they’ve got a new pet to feed. 💀
Aegon “What the fuck did I drink last night” Targaryen
When I say that some ATLA fans treat Iroh like the literal christian god, I'm not exaggerating. They literally act like there can be no redemption if it isn't found in him, and granted by him. Not liking Iroh means that someone must be incapable of redemption, and if Iroh doesn't approve of them that must mean that they are inherently evil. Also, someone can only be redeemed if they Follow Iroh's Ways and do everything he says.
The funny thing is, Wilhelm for all his anxiety, and insecurities and messy personal life and raw grief is actually the best man for the job. Being king, being a leader comes naturally for him. Because it's not about being arrogant and power drunk, it's not about pulling rank. It's about using the resources you have to your advantage.
He knew exactly how to persuade his schoolmates. He knew when and how to one up August, hit him where it hurts. He knew how to negotiate, with the queen herself mind, and knew when to accept what was given. He knew when to hold his ground and he knew when to let go. It's exactly where August goes wrong all the time because he has a giant savior complex. He has to be everybody's knight in shining armor.
This anxiety riddled boy got up on stage, in front of so many important people, in front of the queen, his mother, and managed to not only take back control of his narrative, but he did it completely impromptu. This boy who didn't even want to speak in front of his class changed his initiation speech midway because he knew he had to stand up for what he believed in. The fact that he has doubts and questions his abilities, if anything makes him uniquely qualified. Because if a 16 year old, royal or not, isn't a little phased by responsibilities that heavy, then they're not the man for the job.
He's grieving the death of his brother, dealing with almost zero parental support and a backstabbing cousin. And he's a goddamn teenager. He's doing better than most people would have. And I, for one, can't wait to see crown prince Wilhelm run the show in s3.
The writers better give us a third season 🔫
The demonisation of Alicent Hightower and her choices regarding her children remind me so much of the way this fandom chose to condem outline Sansa for her own decision about her son it's not even funny.
Outline Sansa didnt cause the conflict between the Starks and Lannisters - they caused that themselves. Sansa was only responding to it by protecting her kid. We have no idea how the Starks would have felt about her son. For we all know they would have insisted on them being sent to the Wall or the Faith. Catelyn calls the potential children Sansa might give Tyrion "vile" (understandable, given what was happening) so I don't think it's an entirely unrealistic assumption. Seriously, why the hell should outline Sansa be condemned for choosing her kid over her family? They married her to Joffrey in the first place.
Similarly, Alicent didn't cause the dangerous situation, Viserys did. It doesn't matter if her children honoured Rhaenyra's right to succession - her children would always be seen as a threat, if not by Rhaenyra then by her unpredictable husband.
I mean, I do get Catelyn’s POV and I sympathize with her, but rereading the part where she tells Ned she won’t have Jon in Winterfell always pisses me off. Especially when my siblings are close to his age, like, that’s a baby, ma’am. My mind has been changed on Catelyn in the past few years, but I’m never going to get over her. She is not invited to my house.
But it also brings up the fact that Ned is the real villain of this story, because he should have planned for Jon’s future from the start. It’s really stupid how he just sort of never seems to have considered ANY of the kids’ inevitable need for resources.
Like, for example, Arya and Sansa should have dowries and lands of their own being held in consideration at this point, and SOMETHING(land, keeps, money) should have been put aside for the boys, including Jon(which would have been standard practice IRL). It’s also pretty silly how Robb’s marriage apparently isn’t even being considered at this point?
Arya comes across as even more of a spoilt brat on the reread. I realized this isn’t just a class. There are a bunch of ladies with them, indicating that Cersei must have brought SOME kind of household, or that she has one for Myrcella. So Arya throws her tantrum in what amounts to a social gathering and leaves her sister and the septa to clean up afterwards.
Also, cute when she does her little sulk about how Sansa can’t run a household because she’s not as good at math as Arya, knowing that in a few books Sansa will be running the Eyrie easily. So Arya’s chapter here is basically her being wrong about nearly everything and having a fit over it.
It still bothers me how no one seems to notice that Arya does a few stitches, notices that they’re crooked, and just gives up. I think ppl would be more sympathetic to her plight in universe if she actually tried. It seems like if she’s not immediately good at stuff, she just decides it’s stupid.
Also, why do ppl expect me to believe Arya’s being bullied? This whole thing would have been a perfect opportunity for some mean girl style bullying and the worst that happens is that Jeyne smirks a little. And given the fact that Arya thinks of Jeyne with nothing but rudeness, that’s not surprising.
She’s honestly one of the most annoying characters in this series and it makes sense that she’s so close to Jon, because my god, this dude is really just… he’s the equivalent of styrofoam touching styrofoam in human form.
People really think that Sansa lying at trial on Trident to save her bethrotal. As if Sansa words could change the decision that was taken by king. They really think Sansa had power similar to the adults around her. When Ned told the truth, it didn't have impact then why king and queen will take Sansa words for evidence. If Sansa had told the truth, Cersei could easily debunk it by saying she is just a child and her confession was probably influenced by Ned. No one cared about her condition.
What's fun about this whole discussion is that everyone who condemns Sansa for being a liar ignores the minor detail that we don't know what Sansa was going to say because she was interrupted.
His eldest daughter stepped forward hesitantly. She was dressed in blue velvets trimmed with white, a silver chain around her neck. Her thick auburn hair had been brushed until it shone. She blinked at her sister, then at the young prince. "I don't know," she said tearfully, looking as though she wanted to bolt. "I don't remember. Everything happened so fast, I didn't see …"
"You rotten!" Arya shrieked. She flew at her sister like an arrow, knocking Sansa down to the ground, pummeling her. "Liar, liar, liar, liar."
"Arya, stop it!" Ned shouted. Jory pulled her off her sister, kicking. Sansa was pale and shaking as Ned lifted her back to her feet. "Are you hurt?" he asked, but she was staring at Arya, and she did not seem to hear.
The next time Sansa speaks is at the end of the hearing when she begs for Lady's life. We don't know what all Sansa would have said because she only had the chance to speak 13 words.
This is similar to what happened in Arya I where Arya assumes the worst and loses her temper. It isn’t a coincidence that the pattern repeats. The author purposefully inserted that. And if Sansa was already nervous, after being tackled and beaten, there was no way she was going to recover and intervene with the truth. Let's reread that initial paragraph:
His eldest daughter stepped forward hesitantly.
First, we’re told she told Ned the truth earlier, and I think we can infer from her behavior here, he didn't coach her or assure her that the truth is what she should say. From the get go, she doesn't know what to do.
She was dressed in blue velvets trimmed with white, a silver chain around her neck. Her thick auburn hair had been brushed until it shone. She blinked at her sister, then at the young prince.
Oh, interesitng, she’s torn, she knows she is choosing between one or the other, that speaking is choosing a side.
"I don't know," she said tearfully, looking as though she wanted to bolt.
She is in way beyond her depth. Saying she doesn’t know can read as a simple “I don’t know what happened” but it is also true in the sense that she clearly has no idea what to say here.
"I don't remember. Everything happened so fast, I didn't see …"
I’m not convinced this is entirely a lie. Arya believes it is because she is primed to judge Sansa harshly, but the reader knows things Arya doesn’t. Namely, Sansa had been drinking. I do think it was hard for Sansa to comprehend what was happening in the moment and still hard for her to explain/talk about it after, not only because of the drinking, but also because of the suddenness of the escalation. It did happen fast. And, we aren’t privy to what she was going to say she “didn’t see” or what all she would have finally said (a defense of Arya or a condemnation of Joffrey) because she was stopped by the impact of a furious Arya. Describing what happened as Sansa lying (to me) gives a totally different impression than what I have when I read this section, and I think if you compare this to Arya’s first chapter you notice that while Arya assumes the worst about Sansa, we don’t necessarily know that she’s right to do so. In fact, I think knowing how Martin likes to play the POV game with us, and some of the other uncharitable things she thinks about Sansa, I’d say we know Arya isn’t right. Arya assumed Sansa was about to totally defend Joffrey, but being that Sansa already told Ned the truth, I don’t think she was about to lie. 🤷🏻♀️
Regardless, the choice to ignore Cersei and Robert’s roles here, the real point of the scene IMO, is very odd. Continuing:
"The girl is as wild as that filthy animal of hers," Cersei Lannister said. "Robert, I want her punished."
"Seven hells," Robert swore. "Cersei, look at her. She's a child. What would you have me do, whip her through the streets? Damn it, children fight. It's over. No lasting harm was done."
The queen was furious. "Joff will carry those scars for the rest of his life."
Robert Baratheon looked at his eldest son. "So he will. Perhaps they will teach him a lesson. Ned, see that your daughter is disciplined. I will do the same with my son."
"Gladly, Your Grace," Ned said with vast relief.
Robert started to walk away, but the queen was not done. "And what of the direwolf?" she called after him. "What of the beast that savaged your son?"
The king stopped, turned back, frowned. "I'd forgotten about the damned wolf."
Ned could see Arya tense in Jory's arms. Jory spoke up quickly. "We found no trace of the direwolf, Your Grace."
Robert did not look unhappy. "No? So be it."
The queen raised her voice. "A hundred golden dragons to the man who brings me its skin!"
"A costly pelt," Robert grumbled. "I want no part of this, woman. You can damn well buy your furs with Lannister gold."
The queen regarded him coolly. "I had not thought you so niggardly. The king I'd thought to wed would have laid a wolfskin across my bed before the sun went down."
Robert's face darkened with anger. "That would be a fine trick, without a wolf."
"We have a wolf," Cersei Lannister said. Her voice was very quiet, but her green eyes shone with triumph.
It took them all a moment to comprehend her words, but when they did, the king shrugged irritably. "As you will. Have Ser Ilyn see to it."
"Robert, you cannot mean this," Ned protested.
The king was in no mood for more argument. "Enough, Ned, I will hear no more. A direwolf is a savage beast. Sooner or later it would have turned on your girl the same way the other did on my son. Get her a dog, she'll be happier for it."
That was when Sansa finally seemed to comprehend. Her eyes were frightened as they went to her father. "He doesn't mean Lady, does he?" She saw the truth on his face. "No," she said. "No, not Lady, Lady didn't bite anybody, she's good …"
(AGOT, Eddard III)
Jaime says later that Cersei meant to have Arya’s hand which means Arya was in danger here and Ned’s reaction confirms that the author intended us to understand that in this moment. However, Lady’s fate is decided by the dynamics of Cersei and Robert, not by the events at the Trident, but Robert’s obsession with Rhaegar and Cersei’s ability to press his buttons. Not even Ned’s intervening could save her which is why I believe we’re meant to understand this scene works primarily as a continuation of the discussion of justice and how the king fails to deliver it. It also is the beginning of Ned’s downfall (taking an innocent life, a gift of the gods), and the crack in Ned’s relationship with Sansa leading to her disobedience later, but I just don’t think the point is that Sansa did something wrong. So, I agree with you that it’s silly for people’s takeaway to be that Sansa could have stopped this if she wanted. If she told the unvarnished truth it could have fed Cersei’s fury and made her demand Arya be punished more insistently and there’s no telling how much effort Robert would have put into refusing her. I think we’re meant to understand that the situation is very precarious, so precarious even Ned wasn’t sure that Arya was safe.
I wrote this in defense of Sansa a while ago
and I really think readings in which Sansa is made responsible miss them entire point of justice and injustice, Sansa as a representative of innocence, and instead substitute in a very simplistic view that does nothing for the characters or themes (link).
And of course, the association the girls have with their direwolves that Martin just established must be ignored in order to make Sansa somehow guilty here too
so I don’t think it’s stan nonsense to push back on the idea that the author intended for us to find Sansa culpable here. There are lots of reasons to doubt that (link).
To me, there’s no reason to think this ends in a better way, no matter what Sansa said, but the fact remains that Sansa was stopped before she had a real chance to relay what happened, and based on the previous interaction of the girls, based on the emphasis on Lady’s innocence and the connection between the direwolves and their girls, I think we’re meant to know better than assume that Arya’s interpretation of Sansa is correct.
Also, like, “Arya’s only nine”, she’s been in sewing classes since she was a toddler. She should be able to embroider and make a few simple things(at age seven, kids in the 19th century were expected to make a shirt, for example). If she doesn’t know how to do simple embroidery, at this point she basically doesn’t want to learn. Sorry, not sorry, these are basic skills.
If Arya didn’t know how to read and write, it would be a cause for concern. If the only barrier to her learning to write was not wanting to accept feedback and running out of the room every time someone gave her feedback on her alphabet, even the most ardent fan girl would concede that she was simply spoilt.
Guess what? It’s a preindustrial society, and sewing is as important as reading, and, no, marrying a wealthy guy will not save any woman from that.
Arya is literally refusing to learn a basic life skill and the only argument that her stans can come up with is that she’s basically too precious and special to have to learn.
That’s pathetic.
I will never not be OBSESSED with the Famous trope + Found Family trope with the Party 😭 The headlines would be so chaotic? Like:
Famous Rockstar Eddie Munson is seen eating lunch with two time Pulitzer winner Nancy Wheeler, Highest Paid Photographer Jonathan Byers and Successful Entrepreneur Argyle Alvez. How does he know these people???
Three time Grammy Winner Eddie Munson seen in a McDonald's with World Renowned Astronaut Dustin Henderson and New York Times Best Seller Will Byers-Wheeler and Mike Byers-Wheeler. What the actual fuck???
Eddie Munson, seen in a Chicago Bulls game looking confused as hell, mere seconds after finding out his second album just went Multi-platinum, with his husband, Steve Munson. Also seen in pictures, Eddie Munson hugging point guard Lucas Sinclair and his wife, Max Sinclair. How???
MSG Sold Out Performer Eddie Munson seen in Chicago Medical Center with World Renowned Surgeon Dr. Erica Sinclair. Our insiders say that the rockstar is FINE and was only having lunch with the doctor. What in the multiverse is happening???
Eddie Munson and his husband seen in line at the book signing of rising Linguistics Author Robin Buckley. They ended up laughing so hard when they reached the author, they almost got kicked out. Turns out they all knew each other???
Rock Star Eddie Munson bringing packed lunch in pajamas to a small Chicago preschool where husband, Steve Munson and known friend, Jane Hopper works. Why??? How??? What???
Third most followed person on Instagram Eddie Munson, just broke the internet by posting a group picture with Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Jonathan Byers, Argyle Alvez, Dustin Henderson, Lucas, Max and Erica Sinclair, Mike and Will Byers-Wheeler, his husband Steve Munson and family friend Jane Hopper. HOW DO THEY ALL KNOW EACH OTHER?! WHAT A WEIRD GROUP?!
The more people speculate, the more they say shit. Like people ask them how they know each other and they all just throw out the weirdest answers.
Nancy gets asked in a press conference how she knows Rock Star Eddie Munson? Nancy answers with, "I was driving myself to California when I was 19 and I picked him up as a hitch hiker along the way. We’ve been friends since then."
Robin gets asked in a lecture how she knows the Sinclair Clan? Robin answers with, "I go way back with Dr. Erica. She once saved me from Russian Doctors trying to cut my toe nails."
Eddie goes on an interview in National TV and the host asks how he's friends with Argyle and Jon? Eddie answers with, "I got kidnapped by a killer clown when I was 17. They saved me by crushing the clown's still beating heart with their own bare hands."
Steve gets bombarded with questions online of how he knows Nancy, Robin, Jon, Argyle and even Eddie (his husband)? Steve answers with, "We were stuck in detention every Saturday when we were in senior year. We all became friends when Eddie Munson started singing Don't You (Forget About Me)."
Will and Mike gets asked in an interview about their friendship with Basketball Star, Lucas Sinclair? Will says, “Lucas once gave my dog CPR, ultimately, saving it’s life and we’ve been friends since then.” and Mike just goes, “Who???”
Erica once got asked how she knew Genius Astronaut, Dustin Henderson. Erica rolls her eyes, “That boy owes me his life. Ask him, not me.”
Dustin gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Dustin goes with, “Eddie once saved me from a feral army of bats and almost died. I’ve never let go of him since then.” The fans think this one might actually be true, they’ve seen the scars on Eddie, they’ve got theories and Dustin just gave them a puzzle piece.
Argyle got asked in a Business Magazine how he knows this weird, interconnected group. Argyle says, “Oh dude! Those are my life long friends! It started with a pizza van, a dead man, and a road trip to Utah. There was also a bald girl involved. In the end, the real treasure really is the friends we make along the way.”
Jonathan gets asked how he knows Eddie Munson. Jon gives the softest, sweetest smile and says, “We were in a satanic cult together.”
Jane Hopper gets asked once in public (how she knows all these famous people), someone filmed it and it went viral on Twitter. El says, verbatim, “Oh. It all started when I was kidnapped by an evil scientist who tested stuff on me like I was a lab rat. Long story short, they saved my life and they are my family.” By then people already don’t believe any of them because they all give out the most ridiculous answers. Hopper still grounds her for that even though she doesn’t live with him anymore. (Owens, who hasn't called them in 15 years, reached out with a warning).
I need more Silly season 3 Steve Harrington with Eddie Muson because you know Eddie would love it but also be so confused. Like King Steve has a personal Handshake with Dustin?? King Steve giggles?? King Steve is sassy and wears strawberry lip gloss?? This is not the person he hears rumors about, King Steve didn't fling his arms around so much, king Steve knew how to flirt with girls. What is going on?? And why is this so attractive??
I also need more Mom Steve and Eddie Munson. Imagine Steve has to bring something to Dustin at school and Eddie is walking on the table when there a shout "Eddie Muson! Get down before you break your neck!" Steve just stands there with hands on his hips, The kids rolling their eyes like God Steve stop being such a mom. Eddie doesn't know what to do so just sits down with a quiet "Yes, Mommy." Pulling his hair in front of his face. Then Steve pats his shoulder, maybe even a little kiss on the forehead with a "Good boy." Says hi to the kids before leaving.
Eddie is screaming inside, the whole cafeteria is confused and Steve doesn't realize what he did until he's laying in bed later that night.
Turns out King Steve Harrington is kind of weird.
Eddie post a Tiktok where the background is various photos of Steve in his Scoops Ahoy uniform and says, “James Harrington never did a single good thing in his life except for, in the summer of 1985, deciding that his son needed to learn responsibility with a summer job at nautical themed ice cream shop. May we all look down upon him in hell and say thanks.”
Later that day when Eddie is on live in the studio, Steve comes in all hands on his hips and huffy, before throwing his hands out like ‘why????’ and says, “I work at a middle school, Eddie. Those kids are going to see that video and bully me.”
“You love being bullied by middle schoolers.”
sansa’s ableism on the night of her wedding, which she did not consent to, where she was molested and almost sexually assaulted by a grown man who happened to be disabled, is apparently more insidious than ableism exhibited by jon, robb, bronn, jaime, etc. based on the number of essays written about it meant to condemn sansa
What do you think of Starklings' reaction to Sansa divulging Ned's plans to Cersei? Will there be anger or resentment or forgiveness? How do you think George is going handle this plot?
Ned divulged Ned's plans to Cersei.
Littlefinger divulged Ned's plans to Cersei.
Sansa? Asked the queen if she could be allowed to stay in KL because her father had zero effort to spare to try and explain to her why he was ripping her away from the place had had sacrificed her wolf for. Then was grilled about the name of the ship they were going to take North.
GRRM might use this detail in his Stark sister conflict resolution plot, as a misconception to overcome. Seems like the kind of "every lie contains a kernel of truth" bit of information he likes to twist and exploit.
Key word: lie.
And really, the only Starkling who would actually fall for that lie? Arya. The others lack her negative bias, Bran likely watched the whole thing live on TreeVision, and Jon has his own Ned anger issues to help him understand just why Sansa did what she did.
It's going to be nice seeing Arya overcome her bias and "look with her eyes", which was Syrio's final lesson about perception of fact v. prejudice.
Satisfying, don't you think?
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I have to say, the doll incident in the show is very much a symbol of the problems in Ned’s relationship with Sansa.
Ironically, since it was probably supposed to be a part of Ned being hurt by Sansa rather than her being hurt by him, it blatantly shows how little he cares for her.
If he’d taken even the slightest bit of interest in his kid, he would have already known she was no longer playing with dolls. He would have known how she spends her time(sadly, we didn’t get to see as much of Sansa in her element bc D&D are stupid), and he would have been more kind and careful with her. Instead, he basically ignores her, ignores her interests, ignores her passions, even when she’s basically standing in front of him, begging him to look at her.
The doll, when given to Sansa in this context, is as much an insult as it would have been if given to Arya. It’s a symbol of how little he actually cares for her.
Much is made of how Sansa keeps the doll and seems to value it, just as much is made of the way Ned chooses to renounce his honour, in order to protect her.
But when held in the context of their actual relationship, these two acts have a very different meaning.
Sansa keeps and values the doll because it’s literally the only thing Ned ever gave her. If he’d given her something else with any kind of emotional depth, the doll would not have held the importance it did.
Ned renouncing his honour, protecting Sansa, seems like love on the surface. Until you realize that it’s the only time he actually seems to show that he values her at all. And even at that point, I truly doubt he could tell us so much as her favourite colour.
“You’re going to go through life thinking that women don’t like you because you’re a dwarf. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole. (And a Lannister.)”
—
Sansa Stark to Tyrion Lannister at some point probably (via clara-the-slytherin-graduate)
This is the greatest thing in the history of the asoiaf fandom.
(via bluecichlid)
it’s 2022 and i’m still mad over the game of thrones scene where ned gives sansa a doll
d&d and the fandom really do paint it as sansa just being ungrateful but i would argue it’s the exact opposite
first off, in the show sansa is 13 years old.
13 year olds in westeros are seen as a midway point between child and adult, the closest concept they have to teenagers. sansa is betrothed, she’s 13, giving her a child’s toy is completely inappropriate
and then there’s her line “i haven’t played with dolls since i was 8.” i love arya and this isn’t criticizing her, but i do think it’s telling that ned gets arya sword lessons and clearly takes an obvious interest in her life yet misses sansa not playing with dolls for 5 years.
Rhaegar married Elia Martell for her distant Targaryen ancestry to fulfil the Prince That Was Promised prophecy. This only happened because Steffon Baratheon was unable to procure a bride from Volantis from a noble line descending from Old Valyria - all with the silver hair and purple eyes. But then Rhaegar got obsessed with another prophecy and thought he had to have three children because "the dragon must have three heads".
When it was medically unviable for her to bear more children after two, he got obsessed with the "song of ice and fire" part of the prophecy and pursued Lyanna, a teenage Stark girl, to fulfil it with another child probably because of misinterpreting the failed Pact of Ice and Fire during the Dance of Dragons. I'm gonna bet he even convinced himself that the Starks had Targaryen blood because of it with all those rumours about dragon eggs being left under Winterfell. Lyanna died in childbirth because she was too young and physically unfit to bear a child just yet.
For all the romanticisation that certain parts of the fandom engage in, if his sister Dany was born sooner rather than after his death, Rhaegar would've ditched both women for her to make more prophecy children happen, which is why Jaehaerys II married his sister Shaera and had their children Aerys II and Rhaella marry each other. All in the name of prophecy.
Ultimately, Rhaegar stealing Lyanna and Aerys II's murders of her father and brother and key members of other Houses became the undoing of House Targaryen by triggering Robert's Rebellion. It turned out that Dany herself was that prophecy child and that prophecy might not even mean anything good because she is the Fire Threat personified with her dragons. And Rhaegar's little failed attempt at prophecy children will oppose Dany at the end for a variety of reasons. Thereby creating another kind of Dance of Dragons to wipe out dragons again and throw out the Targaryen dynasty again but also end it for good.
Targaryens didn't have to be like Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Unworthy or Aerys The Mad King to be "mad". Targaryen "Madness" includes its obsession with greatness and willing to gamble a number of lives to make it happen.
It's the same reason Aegon V's actions to hatch dragons resulted in the Tragedy of Summerhall almost wiping out his family. The same reason Dany walked into that funeral pyre truly believing she would hatch her dragons when it has backfired a number of times within her family and she just lucked out. Aerion Brightflame believed he could survive drinking wildfire because "fire cannot kill a dragon" and Dany has the same mindset, even if she is a very different person.
“Rhaenyra’s bastards’ father doesn’t matter because their claim goes through her line”
ok if that’s so then why did she not just say this in-universe to justify herself and shut everyone up instead of killing/torturing/maiming everyone that brought up the Strong rumors?
*sighs* yes, aegon’s claim is actually very valid. he is not some second distant cousin pretender usurper. he is first born son of a king, in a land, where male primogeniture is an actual legal thing.
“viserys, the king, named rhaenyra an heir. not aegon.” - well, that’s nice and all but did he legally changed the primogeniture? did he made an actual law that woman when elder was to inherit instead of their younger male counterpart? no, he didn’t because that would challenge his own position. that’s the joke. viserys wanted rhaenyra to be the queen, which is totally fair and reasonable, but he was too comfortable to take the kingship from rhaenys.
viserys wasn’t some kind of progressive feminist king - he just had favorite child. and aegon, while ill-fitted to be the king, had a good claim. if viserys wasn’t the blind fool he was, he would realized that but he didn’t. that’s all.
i think i read a post of you that said western leftist can't write conservative religious women without reducing them to being brainwashed or insecure. as a western leftist I'm curious how you would have written alicent for hotd?
You mean how would I personally rewrite Alicent's character? Or how I would have liked to see GRRM's Alicent written in the show?
Either way; I'd say: Western leftists can't write a traditionally religious woman unless she's a hypocrite, brainwashed, or actively using religion to cope or to feel superior. They can't write a religious woman who genuinely and intellectually believes in and is devoted to her own religious conventions and ideals. And when they do - which is very rare - they always feel the need to attach a moral or intellectual judgment on her. She must always be "lesser". Unless she's pagan and they can co-opt her paganism to uplift their own "progressive" ideology 🙄
Anyways, I hated how they made Alicent cling to her faith as a means of "repentance" in the show. She should have clung to her faith as a means of resistance. Of claiming her identity and power back.
This will give the "Green Dress" moment and the "Where is duty? Where is sacrifice?" moment real meaning.
It's not that she can't sincerely believe in her religion and still subconsciously use it to heal her psychological and emotional wounds. It can happen. It's not mutually exclusive. But her ability to use her religion to heal should be originated from and motivated by her sincere belief in her religion.
The Faith of the Seven was always the hard and the soft power that kept the megalomanic, blood-supremacist Targs in check after they conquered Westeros. The Targs were forced to compromise and adapt to Westeros instead of forcing Westeros to be assimilated or fully subjected to Targ culture and religion.
Alicent's ambition should have reflected this spirit. Her need to have her son crowned as King should have been her own way to keep the Targs in more chains. To mold the Targ dynasty to benefit her and her children and Westeros as a whole.
What better way for an oppressed woman to feel liberated than to have the power to put her oppressors in chains? and to have the freedom to live by her own conventions and ideals without sacrificing her dignity and sanity?
I can't wait for Mike to finally gain a healthy outlook of his self-worth. He deserves to be confident and to stop downgrading himself and realize he doesn't need to be needed to obtain the selfless love he wants. Mike deserves to express himself without worry or fear after feeling invalidated for so long. He deserves to validate himself and take time to be amazed at how smart he is.
Mike deserves to see that he's more than what his self-sacrificial mind thinks. He needs to stop overthinking and listen to his heart more, follow his heart more, and finally understand that he is worth the time/effort/attention because he simply exists. He's alive and breathing and he just exists and it's just as easy as that.
Mike Wheeler deserves to feel good about himself.
perhaps controversial idk i’ve never seen anyone talk about it but i do agree with what mike said about them using el’s powers too much and depending on her and solely her (which is not an assumption lmao they shut the fireworks idea down because they were relying on her) i just don’t think he went about it right but i understand why he’s like that and while el can make her own decisions and only el, she would do anything for them even if it kills her so it’s not like she’s doing things out of her own interest or benefit resulting in unnecessary and harmful sacrifice so it’s not that simple