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#misogyny #not asoiaf #hedy lamarr #digital technology

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A lot of the “you’re handing the election to Donald Trump” liberals haven’t said a peep about AIPAC + affiliates and their support for election deniers and MAGA cult politicians who enable and uplift Trump. What’s this really about ?

Other asks:

I keep hearing liberal Zionists say they support the establishment of Israel in general but they are against “illegal settlements” and “extremist settler violence”. My friend, how do you think Israel was founded ? How do you think all those villages were emptied of their people ? ...... So tired of media saying Biden didn’t want escalation. You can’t support genocide, bypass Congress for weapons to Israel, violate US law prohibiting arms/aid to human rights abusers, deny Israel’s breaking international law, prevent a ceasefire in Gaza and say you want peace. ...... Liberals that think they invented compromise. Or they uniquely are capable making of compromises. Nonsense. We all make compromises all day, everyday. That’s what living in a society entails. But you don’t have to compromise around moral red lines. That’s called integrity. If genocide isn't a red line issue, then that means they have no red line. No bottom to the barrel. No depths too low.

Yep, yep, yep!!! I wonder what they do say about AIPAC though, when it's brought up?

#ask #not asoiaf #us liberals #us politics #joe biden #palestinian genocide 2023 #israel #zionism

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What do you think of the Maester Conspiracy?

@lizzie-queenofmeigas

I think it's entirely possible that the maesters sent to King's Landing and the maesters close to the royal family had orders to make sure the Targs are whittled down to smaller numbers to "keep them in check". Not so much every maester of every noble house colluding or even aware of this grand mission and complicit, because such an operation requires secrecy and exclusivity to be assured to its plotters.

#asoiaf asks to me #asoiaf maesters #asoiaf theories #asoiaf fandom

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I never cared about Alicent and her children in the slightest but Larys Strong has always been an enigma to me. You never really know who he’s actually working for, what backroom deals he might have going, what he really knows and what he really wants. His belief in the cause or lack thereof is never entirely clear. He also was likely one who leaked major information about the Greens’ operations to the Blacks, or if he wasn’t then he certainly had the skills and resources to find out who it was and put a stop to it but chose not to.

Larys did what Varys didn’t. That is to say, Larys successfully smuggled not one but two Targaryen children out of King’s Landing while the city was under imminent attack from outside forces, in this case Rhaenyra and her dragons. The excuses about Varys not being “able” to save Rhaenys, just Aegon, kind of go into the crapper when you read that Larys smuggled out both Jaehaera and Maelor, not even having to bother with swaps/doubles. This historical anecdote did a lot to solidify my suspicion that there was no baby swap at all and Aegon is really dead, because if Larys could get Jaehaera and Maelor out, Varys, if he’s all he’s cracked up to be, should have been able to do the same with both Aegon and Rhaenys. So either Varys didn’t do it, or he was unable to do it, and if he was unable to do it, then Larys wins that round.

Larys also smuggled out Aegon II and hid him on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s own seat. Rhaenyra had no idea he was there until she went back to Dragonstone and found he’d taken it over. That’s no mean feat either, and Larys’ risk paid off. He became the only sane man left by the end of the Dance, frequently having to remind Aegon II and Alicent that they needed Corlys Velaryon and his House on their side, and they couldn’t afford to petulantly execute Corlys every time he criticised them when the Greens needed every ally they could get against enemies they couldn’t negotiate with like Cregan Stark. He later helped Corlys Velaryon poison Aegon II when he wouldn’t surrender, either that or stood by while it happened, but had the stones to accept execution over exile to the Night’s Watch, merely asking that Cregan Stark cut off his clubfoot after his execution, so it wouldn’t impede him in the afterlife, and taking all his secrets with him. Despite how Aegon II and his family turned out, I think it’s realistic to say that without Larys, the Greens would have lost the war.

HOTD turning such an opaque and inscrutable character into “creepy pervert with a clubfoot jerks off to the queen’s feet” is a massive downgrade. There is no obvious rationale to include it on the show other than ableism, shock value and degradation. There’s no justification for it on canonical grounds. They had already overplayed the creepiness earlier on with Larys randomly and inappropriately leering at Alicent; the foot thing shot the “what the fuck?” aspect to the moon. One of the annoying things about Littlefinger on GOT was that he was so obviously creepy in a way he’d never get away with in the books. Larys is like that, on steroids.

HOTD turning such an opaque and inscrutable character into “creepy pervert with a clubfoot jerks off to the queen’s feet” is a massive downgrade. There is no obvious rationale to include it on the show other than ableism, shock value and degradation.

Agreed. I personally think that he leaned green but was open to going black if it seemed to serve him.

As for the Varys comparison, that's interesting and I haven't pondered over this before. I have to see if Varys ever gave a real reason for why he somehow couldn't get Rhaenys out. When I 1st read it, I remember feeling that he wasn't being totally honest and that she wasn't taken bc she was a girl.

#asoiaf asks to me #larys strong #larys strong's characterization #fire and blood characters #varys #varys' characterization #agot characterization #character comparison #the greens' characterization #hotd critical #hotd writing

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DNA doesn’t matter. If the father accepts the children as his, they’re legally his and have all the rights of inheritance. Period, full stop.

As far as the law of the land was concerned, Stannis, Renly, Balon Greyjoy, and Robb Stark were all illegal rebels. Ned literally had to falsify Robert’s deathbed proclamation to try and take the throne from Joffrey. In terms of the law of the land, he was trying to usurp the throne from the rightful heir.

Without a DNA test, the father’s word on whether or not his “children” are actually his children under the law is the final word. And Robert died before knowing the truth. Renly is dead. Stannis will never sit on the Iron Throne and die after murdering his only child. So who, in all of Westeros, has the legal authority to officially declare that Cersei’s children are not Baratheon ?

Also, let’s not pretend that Joffrey’s parentage had any impact whatsoever on Renly’s decision to try and seize the throne. He indicated that he didn’t even believe Stannis’s proclamation about Joffrey’s parentage, in their meeting at Storm’s End.

Arianne Martell went out of her way to crown Myrcella, never thinking or caring about the rumors of bastardy, and the only argument Arys Oakheart make to oppose her is ‘a son comes before a daughter’, not ‘she isn’t Robert’s daughter, she can’t inherit’.

Declaring someone a bastard is a classical way to usurp the throne. You can just make rumors about a person being a bastard, but as long as they’re born under their father’s name, it’s absolutely impossible to prove. Meaning it really is about how big your army and how competent your soldiers are.

In the words of Littlefinger in AGOT, it’s treason ‘only if we lose’.

GRRM about the noblemen and "laws" of Westeros:

#asoiaf asks to me #westerosi bastards #westeros succession #stannis baratheon #balon greyjoy #robb stark

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The fact that so many people think the Starks are honorable anticolonial fighters and the pinnacle of morality is absolutely insane, they literally built a massive wall to isolated a bunch of people they considered as “savages”, they hunted and slaughtered the Free Folk, the Children of the Forest, giants, exterminated whole houses and clans and took their daughters as “prizes” while conquering the North, etc. The Blackwoods were originally from the North and ruled most of the wolfswood, before being driven out by the Starks and forced to flee south. The Starks are the OG COLONIZERS in ASOIAF.

Even this did not give Winterfell dominion over all the North. Many other petty kings remained, ruling over realms great and small, and it would require thousands of years and many more wars before the last of them was conquered. Yet one by one, the Starks subdued them all, and during these struggles, many proud houses and ancient lines were extinguished forever. — The World of Ice and Fire – The North: The Kings of Winter.

I recently finished a Tiktok series that will probably just be as lost to the internet if we lose TikTok but I had to get out in response to a particular creator who bashes Rhaenyra while also proclaiming themselves as black stans. I think they are really more black stans because they hate Alicent personally and feels the thrill of the side-taking, but that's neither here nor there. 😏

To quote one of my mutuals here [rhaenin]:

It just rings so familiar to the way so many people view the other in real life. Because the Targaryens are overtly, and intentionally written as the other. It's the reason so many people identify with them, and it's the very same reason that other people vilify them. They're not just the in-universe other to the 'default' culture established in the text, but they're also given characteristics that we, the reader and audience, can recognize as other and even sometimes anathema to Western Christian culture. To paraphrase the annoying people that love to cite Ramsay when they feel like it: If you look at a morally complex family surrounded by other morally complex families in a morally complex world in a story that's famed for seeking to challenge your underlying assumptions, and think that their association with fire and brimstone is meant to signify their singular satanic evilness, rather than say... challenge that very Eurocentric assumption, you haven't been paying attention. This vilification mindset where the Targaryens are the singular evil of Westeros is so common to people who seem to want to consume ASoIaF without engaging with the criticisms of the Eurocentric worldview of history at the heart of it. And they end up using the convenient “others” to project all the wrongs of that world onto so they don't need to examine it any deeper. ........... It comes from the same place with how someone pointed out that the baffling bastardphobia that would have medieval peasants giving the side eye is so often people jumping at the chance to “cosplay” as bigots who base their arguments in misogyny and bio-essentialism. Because it's an acceptable channel to indulge in that mindset in a way that they'd often otherwise question, or at least hold back from expressing out of caution.

#the starks #asoiaf asks to me #the evil targaryens #westerosi history #children of the forest #asoiaf giants #first men #andals #feudalism #westeros feudalism #targaryens as colonizers #fandom xenophobia #awoiaf #asoiaf #agot

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TG argument is “Daemon wants his blood on the throne” but... He WILL have his blood on the throne, with Baela as queen consort and her children as kings/queens of the Seven Kingdoms as first then by intermarrying all his grandchildren... With the added bonus of a massive number of Targaryen descendants, all hailing him as a dynasty patriarch.

If Daemon wanted to get rid of his step-sons he would do it right after Aegon III’s birth, there is no reason to let them grow up (3 boys that were used by TG against Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne) and live so long (making them MUCH harder to kill). Especially since y’all paint Daemon as a mix between Ramsay & Gregor Clegane on steroids.

1000x Yes.

#asoiaf asks to me #daemon targaryen #daemon's characterization #fandom critical #asoiaf fandom #hotd fandom #the velaryon boys #jacaerys velaryon #baela targaryen #fandom racism #the velaryons #westeros succession

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No, “Dune” didn’t inspire “ASOIAF” (and Daenerys isn’t like Paul)

#youtube #ozymalek #phoenixashes #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn's characterization #agot characterization #agot #asoiaf videos #media comparison #character comparison #dune #grrm #george rr martin #asoiaf writing #media analysis #asoiaf fav posts #Paul Atreides

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Do you know how to talk about anything else? We're living rent free in your head

Living rent free in places you don't belong is on brand behavior for Israelis tbh

#others' asks #israel #palestinians #not asoiaf

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#palestinian college protests 2024 #current events #not asoiaf

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Gotta love how when Daemon was out of the picture for ten years the justification for usurping Rhaenyra was that her position was too "weak" and that she's a fox whispering sweetly as she's surrounded by hounds and she's just making it too easy to take the throne. So after Alicent proves to be a threat by stabbity stab stabbing her while trying to stab Rhaenyra's son after Aemond jacked a war dragon without permission and it was revealed Alicent has been actively coaching her brothers against her, Rhaenyra decides to strengthen her position by marrying Daemon to make it clear she won't stand by if Alicent tries to usurp her and suddenly the usurpation is justified for the opposite reason.

Hmm... It's almost like there was no right choice for Rhaenyra.

#vhagar claim #interesting points #aemond targaryen #the targaryens #asoiaf dragons #dragonriders #jaehaerys i #westerosi monarchy #hotd episode 7

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medieval gender studies

#what some fans sound like when they talk about any asoiaf woman esp Targ or Valyrian ones #not asoiaf #histiography #misogyny #fav post #medieval history #medieval women #book recommendations

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rhaena and morning

#asoiastarks #rhaena of pentos #rhaena targaryen #rhaena targaryen (laena's daughter) #rhaena targaryen (daemon's daughter) #hotd fanart #hotd #asoiaf fanart #asoiaf

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“the dance isn’t about misogyny” one, if rhaenyra had been born with a dick the dance would have effectively been prevented (or at least stalled). male!rhaenyra would be seen as the undisputed heir to the throne, and if viserys still ends up marrying alicent (but this is an IF situation because aemma might not even die if v has no reason to keep pushing her for a male heir) the *only* excuse she would have to help usurp the throne is for her own want of power. the ‘my children will be in danger!’ line will not work and no one (besides maybe a few upstarts) will back her.

two, aegon had the chance to name a female heir after he murdered rhaenyra and didn’t. both of his sons were dead, his enemy was dead, the only other living male targaryen that he knew of was his captive. it’s *almost* like aegon knew he backed himself into a corner all on the basis of usurping a woman and couldn’t then name jaehaera as his heir. it probably didn’t help that he knew his days were numbered too once word reached the remaining green council of cregan’s army. he *quite literally* fucked himself. repeatedly. an embarrassing number of times, really. dude kept his massive loser persona in tact right up until the very end. props to him for that i guess.

#aegon ii #aegon ii's charcaterization #fire and blood characters #the dance of the dragons #rhaenyra vs aegon #westerosi sexism #asoiaf fav posts

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It's always, "If Rhaenyra were in Alicent's position, she would have done the same or probably worse to Dyana," and never "If Alicent were in Rhaenyra's position, she definitely would have raped Laenor and outed him and destroyed his life if it didn't work."

And one is definitely more likely than the other...

#alicent hightower #alicent's characterization #fandom critical #hotd fandom #asoiaf fandom #fandom misogyny #fandom homophobia #hotd characterization #fire and blood characters

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"Well you see... Rhaenyra, a proto-feminist figure living in a patriarchal medieval context with no surrounding feminist movement doesn't live up to my specific ideas of what a "feminist" should be. Therefore, she has no right to question or challenge gender roles and I have no obligation to view her struggle through a modern or feminist lens. And since her story is primarily about being subjected to medieval-brand misogyny that I've decided she no longer has the right to challenge, it means that I'll probably end up emulating and endorsing those mindsets. But don't you dare criticize how my precious innocent Alicent participates in the patriarchy! It's not her fault and you're only allowed to discuss her through a modern feminist lens about how she's a victim of medieval-brand misogyny but also don't you dare use that lens to point out that she actively upholds that system and weaponizes it against other women she's a product of her time and she's a victim who doesn't know any better!!!!!!!!!!!"

#rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #rhaenyra and alicent #hotd fandom #asoiaf fandom #fandom misogyny #fandom critical #rhaenyra and feminism

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No, House Targaryen is not inherently "doomed" by the very same flaws (and themes) that doomed the civilization that they left.

No, they're not fated to succumb to the Doom that they survived specifically because of the foresight that set them apart from everyone else who perished. Not only would it be terrible, simplistic writing, it would also endorse a terrible, simplistic worldview.

People choosing to make House Targaryen a representation of and thematic successor to not just the civilization that they differentiated themselves from, but the power structure that they chose to leave, literally divested from, and actively worked to prevent from rising again in another form... really rubs me the wrong way.

Why isn't this projection and generalization done for any of the families that come from the cultures that are not coded as other? Why is it only the family that's been separated from their cultural context? Why do the other families each get to be unique, complex manifestations not just of different aspects of their cultures, but of their own specific histories?

Why is the foreign degenerate family both a representation of everything wrong with the culture they come from, and a scapegoat for everything wrong with the system they assimilated into? How is it they represent everything bad about what they left behind, and also everything bad about the land they came to? Even though all those flaws are not only shared by the system as a whole, but are flaws that predate their arrival, that they were punished for resisting, and that they are demonstrated to be incompatible with. Why is it always both?

It just rings so familiar to the way so many people view the other in real life. Because the Targaryens are overtly, and intentionally written as the other. It's the reason so many people identify with them, and it's the very same reason that other people vilify them. They're not just the in-universe other to the 'default' culture established in the text, but they're also given characteristics that we, the reader and audience, can recognize as other and even sometimes anathema to Western Christian culture.

Perhaps the old tales were true, and Dragonstone was built with the stones of hell

A Storm of Swords, Chapter 25, Davos III

I want you to ask yourself: Why is the idea of "fire and brimstone" evil?

To paraphrase the annoying people that love to cite Ramsay when they feel like it: If you look at a morally complex family surrounded by other morally complex families in a morally complex world in a story that's famed for seeking to challenge your underlying assumptions, and think that their association with fire and brimstone is meant to signify their singular satanic evilness, rather than say... challenge that very Eurocentric assumption, you haven't been paying attention.

This vilification mindset where the Targaryens are the singular evil of Westeros is so common to people who seem to want to consume ASoIaF without engaging with the criticisms of the Eurocentric worldview of history at the heart of it. And they end up using the convenient “others” to project all the wrongs of that world onto so they don't need to examine it any deeper.

This is the part where I so often get crucified!

This is the take that so often gets me crucified for "trivializing real world bigotry" in an attempt to "moralize interpretations of fiction" by an onslaught of people with troubling ideologies who then ironically steer the onslaught to moralizing their interpretations of fiction in a way that seeks to either mask or justify their troubling ideologies.

The worldbuilding of ASoIaF is an almost unparalleled projection of the Eurocentric worldview. That's what makes the world feel so rich. That's why GRRM and even the readers and audience are able to craft so many details that feel intuitive. But that also means that how you choose to interpret that world is often driven by underlying biases and ideologies that relate to that worldview — especially if you're not willing to challenge them the way George RR Martin does and encourages you to do.

It means that certain potential biases and ideologies people might balk at outwardly expressing in the real world are recontextualized in a way that feels more comfortable to indulge in.

There are countless examples from countless parts of the narrative. Honestly, you could fill books on the matter. But the one I'll point to right now is how the vilification I pointed out earlier is so emblematic of how the Eurocentric worldview often seeks to project their own flaws onto the other or choose scapegoats for systemic issues.

It comes from the same place with how someone pointed out that the baffling bastardphobia that would have medieval peasants giving the side eye is so often people jumping at the chance to “cosplay” as bigots who base their arguments in misogyny and bio-essentialism. Because it's an acceptable channel to indulge in that mindset in a way that they'd often otherwise question, or at least hold back from expressing out of caution.

And there I go again. "Moralizing fandom" for pointing out that fandom is so often used as a 'safe space' to build communities that share and spread troubling ideologies that you're not allowed to criticize because those ideologies have been 'appropriately' decontextualized from their real-world parallels, even though those parallels are still very much there.

But the problem is that it's impossible to simply 'channel' bigotry and leave it in an 'acceptable' space, because bigotry doesn't work like that. It's not a static object you can carry around in your pocket to play with when you think it's safe to do so. It's a blight. A living poison that feeds and grows and spreads. And if you give it a 'safe space' and continue to feed it with 'acceptable' fuel, it will always find its way out.

#the evil targaryens #the targaryens #asoiaf fandom #fandom critical #xenophobia #asoiaf writing #old valyria #the doom #valyria #fandom xenophobia #fandom discrimination #well done #this works well with the hate againts Dany who will likely move her family's leagacy away from even its assimilation into the Andal society #of which it “partnered” with after the said leaving of the civilization they chose to diffirentiate themselves from even for survival #fandom orientalism