#george martin commentary

[mythserene]

This is a treat. Glad I dug these out.

One of my favorite little George Martin commentaries. On Sergeant Pepper.

Happy New Year. 🎊 🥂

#the beatles #beatles #george martin #sergeant pepper #sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band #isolations #paul mccartney #john lennon #george harrison #george martin commentary #sgt peppers lonely hearts club band #the recordings #beatles recordings #internet archive

[sophiemariepl]

Okay, I know that I’m most likely gonna sound like a boomer, but hear me out:

Today’s HotD fans are a perfect example to me of what is wrong with a large proportion of modern audiences and the way people consume pop culture and media in general.

Ever since the premiere of the Season 1, I am becoming convinced that going beyond black-and-white perspective is… well, beyond capabilities of a growing number of folks out there.

Like, to so many of them it is either Team Black or Team Green.

Either Rhaenyra or Alicent. Or either Rhaenyra or Aegon. Either Daemon or Aemond. Either the Targaryens & the Velaryons or the Hightowers. Et cetera.

And once someone leans more to one side of the story, they just seem to idealize their team and completely demonize the other. Once you love Rhaenyra, she becomes the perfect heir, progressive and feminist, and Alicent becomes a cruel, back-stabbing b*tch and servant of patriarchy. And vice versa, once you prefer Alicent, she is a 100% victim of her circumstances with no agency whatsoever and Rhaenyra becomes a spoiled b*tch who is unable to make anything good out of her opportunities.

And it’s just so beyond the point for me.

People, this is not some football match where you pick your team and wish all the worst to the other.

It’s a fictional historical fantasy chronicle about a downfall of one of the greatest houses in the history of this universe. Nobody here is perfect to rule; in fact, every faction here is in one way or another bad and makes decisions that are just incompetent.

The whole point of George R.R. Martin writing about the Dance of Dragons story is to ask the question:

What happens when among all the heirs to choose from, none of them is good?

And let’s finally stick to that.

#hotd #house of the dragon #team black #team green #rhaenyra targaryen #alicent hightower #daemon targaryen #aemond targaryen #asoiaf #pre asoiaf #black-and-white thinking #lack of nuance #c’mon people it’s George R.R. Martin what were you expecting #hotd fans #hotd comment #hotd commentary #asoiaf analysis #house targaryen #house hightower

[black-is-beautiful18]

House of the Dragon honestly falls short in many ways and it’s mostly the writing. I love it, but having friends who have read Fire and Blood as well as other books in the Game of Thrones series and give me insight makes me feel disappointed a bit. The time skips were annoying. Aging Alicent down and Rhaenyra up. Using Alicent to replace Laena who was very close to Rhaenyra is so weird. So is making it seem like Daemon didn’t care for Baela and Rhaena when he absolutely loved his girls and their mother. Im also pretty sure they cut a lot of the girls scenes, especially the ones where it’s clear that they love Rhaenyra just as much as she loves them. I’m not one for adaptions being 100% like the books but my god. If you’re gonna do it, do it right.

#house of the dragon #commentary #george rr martin #book adaptation #unique writes

[horizon-verizon]

#george rr martin #george rr martin interview #grrm #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd commentary #hotd comments #hotd comment #canon asoiaf #asoiaf canon #Fire and Blood #the rogue prince #hotd fan questions #hotd questions #hotd interview #hotd video

[gameofthronesdaily]

GEORGE R. R. MARTIN'S S1 DVD COMMENTARY: Dany here is appalled by the rape and slaughter that she’s seeing. Khal Drogo is moving, he’s taking his khalasar towards the sea to begin the conquest of Westeros, but it’s quite a way to the sea and, of course, they have to be fed and when they reach the sea they're gonna need a way to get these ships to take them across. So slaving is one of the ways the Dothraki earn money, although they don’t look at it as earning, they look at it as an exchange of gifts. The Dothraki do not actually believe in buying and selling in the same way as the more mercantile civilizations of the West. So Dany can’t enact the idea of “don’t take slaves”, but what she does there is saying “well, I’ll take the slaves. I’m the queen, I’m the khaleesi, all the slaves belong to me” and in that way she can extend some protection over the women who were being raped.

#daenerys targaryen #grrm #gotedit #got #game of thrones #gotdaenerystargaryen #daenerystargaryenedit #targaryensource #asoiafdaenerys #asoiaf #asoiafedit #usermali #userleah #g s1 #g 108 #g #rape tw #by bruno

[georgescitadel]

The Iron Throne in the books is an enormous thing that towers over the throne room, quite deliberately, because Aegon Targaryen who built the Iron Throne wanted that physical dimension… The beaten melted swords and himself perched high above the head of anyone who had to come before him!

- George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones S3E7 Commentary (2014)

On the A Dance With Dragons cover, I put Daenerys at the top of the stairs of the meereenese pyramid. George told me that Daenerys wants equality for everyone, she wants to be at the same level as her people, so I had her climb down to keep it consistent.

- Marc Simonetti, La Garde de Nuit (2018)

#Aegon Targaryen #Daenerys Targaryen #The Iron Throne #Ruling #George R.R. Martin #Marc Simonetti #ValyrianScrolls #ASOIAF

[victoriadallonfan]

Ya know, being in the Parahumans fandom, I tend to forget that larger fandoms have it much, much, MUCH worse off

Like damn, it’s rough being A Song of Ice And Fire fan when the lore books are being written by open racists tossing around slurs at minorities and calling ASOIAF fanfic writers pedophiles (which is ironic to me, because aren’t TWOIAF and “Fire and Blood” basically just fanfic)

There’s a lot to go through, but I think these 3 screenshots sum it up:

Because not even old “Dany was never raped by Drogo” GRRM himself is even writing the books

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #got #game of thrones #a game of thrones #grrm #grr martin #george rr martin

[nicolesainz]

Within The Limits (Ben Chilwell x Jenson Button x OC) Chapter 7

Author's note: Happy Belated Birthday to baby boy Jenson (he's 44 years old) Wish him nothing but the best!!

Warnings: none

If I had the balls to drive all the way to Manchester, I would. Or in this case, if Mason hadn't prevented me from doing so.

I really wanted to comfort Chelsea after what Mason told me had happened. Jenson really followed her all the way to the other side of England, only to offend her? What a joke of a man he is.

I wanted to call her as well, but that may had been a stretch given that, I wasn't her boyfriend, a close friend of hers, or anything else that could possibly explain why I was so worried about her.

I decided to settle for a small text, given it was the only option that wouldn't make me look like an annoying asshole or an obsessed man.

Me: Mase told me what happened. I wish I could've been there as well to help you. I am here if you need anything.

Simple, friendly and caring.

I put my phone on the nightstand before switching off the lights when suddenly there was a notification from my text messages. To my luck, it was Chelsea.

Chelsea: Thank you Ben, this means a lot. I will be better don't worry. And this goes for you to, I am here to listen to you if there is anything concerning you.

A smile softened my worries with Chelsea's sweet reply. She managed to make a thing that was concerning her, turn 180 degrees so she could let me know that my concerns were hers as well.

Now this was a girl worth falling in love with.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It was one of the first few days that I woke up feeling good and not worried about anything. I wasn't thinking about Jenson or guilty about what I said to him. I had finally gotten everything I wanted to say to him out of my chest.

I grabbed my phone and went through all my emails regarding either Formula One or my upcoming commentary for Manchester United. I giggled at the email Crofty had sent me, asking if he could get a signed jersey with all of West Ham players signatures on it. Best part of it was the little PS at the end:

'If you could get Declan's as well, I would be thrilled. Will miss you in the commentary box Chels.'

I was getting very emotional about leaving the Formula One world behind even if that was for two years. I grew up loving this sport more than anything else. I do love football as well, I am not going to lie, but motorsport is my true passion.

I would be leaving behind my friends, the rest of the commentators, Lissie, Natalie, Ted, Crofty, Martin and some of the drivers as well, especially Lando, Alex and George.

I drove to the Sky office in Manchester where I met with Gary who wanted to give me a few updates on the squads, injured players, possible transfers, comebacks. I needed to get my notes ready for tomorrow's game.

"Onana and Amrabat are on AFCON, one of them coming back sooner but will be benched. Maguire still out, Mount is back in the main XI with Martinez as well and Marcus. All clear?" Gary asked whilst looking into his notes for anything else I should be aware of.

"Yes, all clear. Worry not, the game is gonna be a good one." I am lying to myself and probably every other Manchester United fan is as well. Team hasn't been to its best form but they are trying to get back on their feet.

"I will take your word for it little Chelsea. If there is anything else you want to ask, give me a call or Roy. He may be available more often than I am." He advices me as we walk out of the office together.

"How does it feel to be a full time football commentator now? Excited?" Gary kindly asks, even though he may secretly know my answer already.

"Full time may excite me more than part time given that 99% of the time I was jet lagged. If I have you with me then I am sure that things will be better. Plus, it will be easier for my father to tell me to ask the players about autographs so he can cherish in his office."

Gary was one of the first people I got to meet when I became a part of Sky's team. Him and Ted who had been lifelong commentators. Both sports welcomed me wholeheartedly.

At that moment, a white Porsche drove up to us and parked at the side. I instantly recognised it, being Mason's, that he was going to drive us all the way to London for Ben's first game back after the injury.

"Already found friends, didn't you Chelsea?" Gary nudged me playfully. “Those F1 drivers are gonna come for your ass, Mount.” He said to Mason as I was getting on the passengers seat next to him.

“Not for my ass. Maybe a friend of mine’s” Mason winked at me as we both waved goodbye to Gary and drove all the way to London.

During the entire ride, Mason and I mostly talked about football. What were my views on the team’s season, what would happen now that England qualified for the Euros and how is their loss at the 2021 final going to affect them or maybe how the new entries will enhance the dynamic of the team.

Then out of the blue, my phone started buzzing in my bag.

It was Jenson.

“Does he not know what the phrase ‘I need some space’ means?” The Manchester man said in an irritated manner, as we were entering London’s main road.

“It’s complicated. I think I was too harsh on him the other day when I left him. I mean, before he followed me back to my house.” I had a reason to get upset. He basically said I’d be an easy target for all the horny footballers.

“So, my question is, are you boyfriend and girlfriend? Cause I’ve seen the way you look at him during the post race analysis and trust me, but that’s the eyes talking when someone is in love.”

Is it that apparent that I am in love with Jenson? I haven’t had any of the other commentators comment on that. I mean, yeah, Lissie knows what’s going on between me and him but other than that, the rest may believe it’s pure admiration for such a figure. He was a world champion after all.

“Two years ago, I admitted to Jenson how much I admired him and I spoke very highly of him during an interview. Like you said, the way I was looking at him wasn’t the friendliest of all and given that he used to be my father’s favorite driver alongside Mark Webber, Jenson started flirting with me very intensely. I didn’t hesitate to flirt back and after the Canadian Grand Prix, when Jenson had forgot to book a hotel room, I let him stay with me. One thing led to another and now we are here.”

Mason was stunned with what he had just heard. He was trying to say something but he couldn't find the words to phrase it. This made me worry even more with how my relationship with Jenson could evolve soon.

"It sounds so odd. It looks like he was trying to get something out of you. Like he wanted you to be this close to him. I can't really explain it."

Mason could actually explain it very well, he just had to say it as it was, but he didn't want to hurt my feelings. I had to found out myself to eventually realise what was going on.

"My relationship with Jenson has always been a bit bumpy. I think you could tell from how possessive he was acting around me and you with Ben."

"He was so worried that we would seduce you and take you away from his grasp. I get that footballers don't always have the best of reputations and we are labeled as the 'playboys' but we don't want to steal other's girlfriends. Plus, Ben isn't the type of man that would hit on a woman so coldly. He is too nice to act like a dick."

"Hence why we fought. He thinks one of the footballers I will be engaging with, will flirt with me and I will instantly end with him on bed."

Mason's grasp around the wheel got more tight and his knuckled turned white as each word was leaving my mouth.

"I missed the opportunity to knock him out when I was by your house. He's so pathetic to even think that. Chels, I have seen you around the flirt tricks of footballers and not even once you flinched. Always stayed professional. Couldn't he tell by the post game interviews?"

"Also another reason why I stopped being part of the post game interview squad. Jenson was scared I would break in the end and flirt on public television with one of them. Now he can't do anything about it. I will be full time around the players."

"Karma is a bitch they say." Mason laughed and I followed him along. It felt so cathartic to finally get out of my system everything that has happened. I needed to vent to someone and I am more than thankful Mason was willing to listen to me.

"Enough talking about the grandpa. Now it is time to enjoy some Premier League football." When the blinding lights of Stamford Bridge started becoming brighter, my heartbeat rose as the realisation hit me that for the first time I would be in the guest box alongside a world famous footballer.

Mason guided us through the back entrance and was greeted with love, despite being a former player for the club. We made a small stop to the changing rooms, although I wasn't allowed inside. The door was half opened, and peaking would be rude and invasive, so I just stayed at the corner before the entrance to the box.

When the door opened, Mason was carrying a shirt on his hand and a few seconds later, he handed it to me with a massive smile plastered on his face. I took it and opened it wide, only for the name 'Chilwell' and the number '21' to be presented in front of my eyes.

"It was only fitting you took Ben's number since I am no longer in the club. Also he is captaining the team today so it will be an honour wearing his name and number." Mason said with such pride, talking for his former club which was his home for so many years.

I didn't say a word and threw the shirt on, adjusting it against the one I was already wearing. It was the perfect size and Mason's eyes were glued on the name of the shirt.

"He will love it" he softly murmured hoping I wouldn't listen, but yet I did.

"What was that?" I said to catch him off guard, even though I heard what he said clearly.

"Nothing dear. Well, shall we take our seats? The game is about to start." He scratched the back of his neck nervously and guided us to our seats. From where we were sitting, you would have the best view of the Bridge. It was beautiful. The atmosphere was magical and despite the team having another difficult season, the fans were always present to support them.

Crystal Palace was an easy opponent given that Chelsea hasn't lost to them either home or away in years. It would be three easy points to clench and celebrate. Although the nervousness was apparent on the player's faces, besides Thiago's.

Thiago was the saving grace from PSG that decided to follow along Thomas Tuchel and lead Chelsea to ultimate success. He was the defender that would complete the defending duo of Ben and Reece.

"Come on Chelsea!!!" I screamed as loud as I could, even though the male screams were louder than mine. Mason was startled with my scream but eventually got along with it and started singing chants as well.

"I am assuming you are a fan of the club then?"

"Hence the name. And otherwise I would be buried outside of the Emirates."

The camera was always pointing on Ben and a smile would instantly form on my lips whenever my eyes focused on his figure. He deserved to be captaining the team and I was sure the night was going to be successful!

I took out my phone and took a picture of Ben on the pitch from the big screen on top of the stadium. I was giggling like a teenage girl who was stalking her lifelong crush. It took me long to realise that I had a pair of eyes watching my every move next to me which person happened to be the captain's best friend.

"Oh no please, don't let me stop you from admiring good old Chilly. I think he will need all the good luck he can get tonight." Mason gloated and teased me at the same time, earning a devilish eyebrow raise from me.

The game went by pretty smoothly. It was indeed an easy win for the team given that two goals were scored in the first half, with Ben assisting twice and even though Palace draw one goal as well, this didn't stop the team from scoring again and this time, Ben wasn't the one who assisted but instead threw the ball behind the net.

My cheers were indescribably loud and my excitement was off the charts. After an injury and to perform like that was more than incredible. Ben played fantastically and both me and Mason were extremely proud of everyone but most Ben.

After the game finished, the players stayed on the pitch to applause the audience along with Pochettino to thank them for the support and hoping the enjoyed the game. When the stadium started emptying up and the players were still on the grass, I started shouting Ben's name so he could see who else was in attendance.

"Chilwell" I screamed at least 5 times before I left Mason unable to hear from his left ear and finally caught Ben's attention. When he notices it was me and Mason, his eyes widened and a smile formed that expanded all the way from his mouth to the tip of his ears.

Mason took my hand and led us to the dressing room with the entire team and went to congratulate everyone as I was waiting once again outside. This time, when the door opened, it wasn't Mason who's showed up, but the man of the match instead.

I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck and took him in into a tight hug, despite him being all sweaty. His body was warm and I would've loved to stay into his arms for an eternity.

"Congratulations on a wonderful game Benji. I am so proud of you. What a game from your side." I had witnessed a lot of brilliant games and Ben deserved all the recognition tonight.

"Thank you darling. This was all your doing. I sensed your positive energy in the audience and was ready to push. Hope I was entertaining." He wined playfully at me and within seconds butterflies started forming inside my stomach and fluttering around.

"If I could give you all the awards of the world, I definitely would. And maybe luck on indeed on my back tonight." I said cryptically before turning around to unveil the number that was plastered on my shirt.

"From now on, you are my official lucky charm. I will be needing you in attendance to all my games." He joked, although Ben was sounding very serious, which I took seriously as well for a moment. If I was being honest, I would try to attend as many of his games I could. If I had the chance, I surely would.

"I can't promise anything Mr. Chilwell, although be sure that I will be carrying around your number for good luck wherever I go. No matter the game or stadium. Trust me." I was being truthful. If Ben performed so great tonight, I was sure that this good performance would continue in the following games.

#ben chilwell #jenson button #fanfic #ben chilwell x reader #jenson button x reader

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Welp, I’m going to talk about Robb’s Will…

I’ve been seeing some strange commentary on Robb’s Will lately that I found a little annoying and wanted to address. People seem to think that the will is invalid or irrelevant for a slew of reasons. I’ve seen people say that the will is automatically moot because it was made with the assumption that Bran and Rickon were dead, but since they are alive then it’s contents are invalid and can be ignored. Others have also agued that Jon cannot possibly be the named heir since he is not a Tully, so the Riverlords would be unlikely to follow him. This last point has given rise to the rather nonsensical theory that Lady Catelyn was named heir instead of Jon.

I don’t particularly understand or agree with these opinions. While there are several issues with the will, I don’t think it’s fair to completely write off its validity. It’s true that Bran’s and Rickon’s survival complicates matters, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Jon is out of the picture in regards to Winterfell’s succession. The last part about Catelyn can simply be disproven since it’s already been confirmed (through TWOIAF app and the wiki) that Jon was the named heir.

The thing is, I see Robb’s will acting on multiple fronts all of which are working in tandem toward a larger goal. The will:

Legitimizes Jon as a Stark

Names him heir to all of Robb’s lands and titles

Presumably makes allowances for Jon to be freed from his vows, and

Places Jon’s claim over Sansa’s (most probably moves her to the end of the line)

Given all these points, I’m going to try and parse through the text in this post to explain why I think that Robb’s Will can be regarded as a valid document and why Jon is still Robb’s heir.

Disclaimer: I understand that we do not know of the will’s actual contents. The wording Robb used matters a lot and can be subject to interpretation - depending on which side of the aisle the Northern lords will choose to fall under. I am not arguing that Jon will be made King solely based on the Will either, we’ll have to wait for the next two books to see how the situation develops. I will also admit that my knowledge of medieval succession is not extensive. Thus, I’ll try to interpret this purely on the basis of what is provided in the text itself - with some added commentary from George R.R. Martin where necessary.

I. Jon’s Legitimization

So let’s start with what I consider to be the will’s first act, which is Robb’s decision to legitimize Jon. This is probably the most undervalued and the most important part of the document since it’s the very basis of Jon’s legal claim to Winterfell. This is because Jon cannot be made heir before he is legitimized (presumably).

The main point with Jon’s legitimization is that Robb acknowledges him as the last of his brothers. Sansa is still alive but she is currently married to Tyrion Lannister. This does not please Robb as the Lannisters would be able to claim Winterfell through her; and Lady Catelyn agrees that this scenario is quite unpleasant. Robb also knows that Bran and Rickon are dead, as they were allegedly killed by Theon Greyjoy. So, Robb wants to name Jon heir since he is the last living son of Eddard Stark. But first, he must legitimize him in order to give him a legal claim.

“Mother.” There was a sharpness in Robb’s tone. “You forget. My father had four sons.”

She had not forgotten; she had not wanted to look at it, yet there it was. “A Snow is not a Stark.”

“Jon’s more a Stark than some lordlings from the Vale who have never so much as set eyes on Winterfell.”

[…]

He is set on this. Catelyn knew how stubborn her son could be. “A bastard cannot inherit.”

“Not unless he’s legitimized by a royal decree,” said Robb. “There is more precedent for that than for releasing a Sworn Brother from his oath.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

Previously, Catelyn had suggested some distant cousin in the Vale as a potential heir over Sansa, but Robb shuts it down because they would not be familiar with Winterfell. Jon is though, and Robb further recognizes that Ned Stark had four sons - three trueborn, one a bastard. Robb means to reverse the issue of Jon’s illegitimate birth through legitimization and cites that there is enough precedent to do this.

Catelyn, for her part, does not challenge the legality of this. Instead, she later resorts to emotional pleas - the Blackfyre rebellions, Sansa’s and Arya’s rights - to try and get Robb to reconsider, but she is unsuccessful because Robb is set on the idea. Even when she tries to make her case as a mother supporting her son, it doesn’t work:

“I cannot,” she said. “In all else, Robb. In everything. But not in this … this folly. Do not ask it.”

“I don’t have to. I’m the king.” Robb turned and walked off, Grey Wind bounding down from the tomb and loping after him.

- Catelyn V, ASOS

Robb throws his status as king in Catelyn’s face, further cementing that he has the will and the power to legitimize Jon; and Catelyn once again does not and cannot challenge him. So this can be regarded as a legally sound act.

Robb wasn’t the only one who thought that he could use his power as king to legitimize Jon. Stannis also tried to act on his power as King of the Seven Kingdoms in order to install Jon as a much needed northern ally:

“I am the only true king in Westeros, north or south. And you are Ned Stark’s bastard.” Stannis studied him with those dark blue eyes. “Tywin Lannister has named Roose Bolton his Warden of the North, to reward him for betraying your brother. The ironmen are fighting amongst themselves since Balon Greyjoy’s death, yet they still hold Moat Cailin, Deepwood Motte, Torrhen’s Square, and most of the Stony Shore. Your father’s lands are bleeding, and I have neither the strength nor the time to stanch the wounds. What is needed is a Lord of Winterfell. A loyal Lord of Winterfell.”

[…]

He would make me Lord of Winterfell. The wind was gusting, and Jon felt so light-headed he was half afraid it would blow him off the Wall. “Your Grace,” he said, “you forget. I am a Snow, not a Stark.”

“It’s you who are forgetting,” King Stannis replied.

Melisandre put a warm hand on Jon’s arm. “A king can remove the taint of bastardy with a stroke, Lord Snow.”

- Jon XI, ASOS

The context here is a bit different since Stannis offering Jon the position of Lord of Winterfell and not king. However, legitimizing Jon is still something Stannis has to do in order to install Jon as Lord of Winterfell. Even further, I would think that it’s the first thing he ought to do since this is what would give Jon the legal right to hold this position. Stannis’ offer here, much like Robb’s Will, would act on multiple fronts: first Jon has to be legitimized, then he has to be made Lord of Winterfell. So legimization presumably stands on its own unless Stannis specifically states that Jon is only legitimate insofar as he serves as Winterfell’s lord. Though I’m not sure how this could even be worked into the royal decree or how necessary it would be.

We also have more evidence for a bastard being legitimized and made heir with Ramsay Bolton - this happened due to the lack of any other successors.

When asked about the issue of Robb’s Will, GRRM stressed that only a king has the power to legitimize a bastard.

As to what is and is not moot... the key point is, only a =king= can legitimize a bastard......

- SSM, 08/20/2000

It’s important to note the context for this SSM, as the person asking this question was talking about the validity of Jon rejecting Stannis’ offer given Robb’s Will. Still, the point is that a king can legitimize a bastard and, well, Robb was the King in the North.

So, Jon is legitimate. Full stop. Even if Bran and Rickon are revealed to still be alive, this part cannot be changed. In fact, part of Catelyn’s argument is that the legitimization of a bastard cannot be undone.

“[…] If you make Jon legitimate, there is no way to turn him bastard again.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

So there you have it. And because Jon is legitimate, he now has a legal claim to Winterfell.

We don’t know the specifics of where legitimized bastards are placed in the line of succession, and I’m sure that Martin will want to explore those tensions should there be a Stark succession crisis. However, as things stand, Jon is the oldest legitimate surviving son of Eddard Stark. His age over his siblings’ also gives him an advantage per the normal rules of succession. That is unless the will was written in such a way that Jon’s legitimization depends entirely on Bran and Rickon being dead, but I see no logical reason why that would be the case. At this point, Robb was very sure that his two younger brothers were dead and so Jon’s legitimization would not be impacted; and it’s likely that they would not be mentioned anyway. So, until the next two books state otherwise, I consider Jon’s legitimization to be an act that stands on its own regardless of his siblings’ status.

Now, there is obviously an issue with this first clause because we can assume that Robb legitimized Jon as the son of Eddard Stark. As we know, Jon is not Ned’s natural born son. He is Lyanna’s. So we ask, can the will still be valid if this one singular point is false? I would argue, yes!

“Mother.” There was a sharpness in Robb’s tone. “You forget. My father had four sons.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

Ned may not have sired Jon, but he still took him in and claimed him as his son. Bastard or not, in the eyes of the North, Jon is Ned’s son. This recognition is the sole reason for Jon having a bastard’s surname, unlike unrecognized bastards like Gendry. And Jon being so publicly recognized as Ned’s bastard is a big deal, at least to Catelyn.

Many men fathered bastards. Catelyn had grown up with that knowledge. It came as no surprise to her, in the first year of her marriage, to learn that Ned had fathered a child on some girl chance met on campaign. He had a man’s needs, after all, and they had spent that year apart, Ned off at war in the south while she remained safe in her father’s castle at Riverrun. Her thoughts were more of Robb, the infant at her breast, than of the husband she scarcely knew. He was welcome to whatever solace he might find between battles. And if his seed quickened, she expected he would see to the child’s needs.

He did more than that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him “son” for all the north to see. When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence.

- Catelyn II, AGOT

It seems that the expectation was that Ned would provide for the child and leave it at that. But Ned went beyond that and even installed Jon in Winterfell before Catelyn and Robb even got there. As Catelyn laments, Ned took Jon in “and called him “son” for all the North to see”.

Not only did Ned claim Jon and choose to raise him along his true born siblings in Winterfell, Jon also grew up to look like Ned; something that could not be said for any of Catelyn’s own sons.

Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow that made it worse.

- Catelyn II, AGOT

It’s important that Jon looks so much like Ned in universe. His identity as a Stark cannot be challenged; and we see this when he meets people, e.g., Craster. Because Jon looks so much like Ned, his identity as Ned’s son is ironclad.

The North, in general, is very aware of Jon’s status as Ned Stark’s son.

Alys knelt before him, clutching the black cloak. “You are my only hope, Lord Snow. In your father’s name, I beg you. Protect me.”

- Jon IX, ADWD

And Jon himself is not afraid to remind the Northern lords of this when necessary.

“[…] I may seem a green boy in your eyes, Lord Norrey, but I am still a son of Eddard Stark.”

- Jon XI, ADWD

And that’s not all. You see, everyone knows about Ned Stark’s bastard son.

“You were never the boy you were,” Robert grumbled. “More’s the pity. And yet there was that one time … what was her name, that common girl of yours? Becca? No, she was one of mine, gods love her, black hair and these sweet big eyes, you could drown in them. Yours was … Aleena? No. You told me once. Was it Merryl? You know the one I mean, your bastard’s mother?”

- Eddard II, AGOT

“Snow, the boy is called,” Pycelle said unhelpfully.

“I glimpsed him once at Winterfell,” the queen said, “though the Starks did their best to hide him. He looks very like his father.”

- Cersei IV, AFFC

“I am Tyrion Lannister.”

“I know,” Jon said. He rose. Standing, he was taller than the dwarf. It made him feel strange.

“You’re Ned Stark’s bastard, aren’t you?”

- Jon I, AGOT

The singer rose to his feet. “I’m Mance Rayder,” he said as he put aside the lute. “And you are Ned Stark’s bastard, the Snow of Winterfell.”

- Jon I, ASOS

“My lady?” Ned said at last. “You have a baseborn brother … Jon Snow?”

- Arya VIII, ASOS

“I will permit you to take the black. Ned Stark’s bastard is the Lord Commander on the Wall.”

- Jaime VI, AFFC

Myranda gave a shrewed little smile. "Yes she was the very soul of wisdom, that good lady. [...] There's a new High Septon, did you know?. Oh, and the Night's watch has a boy commander, some bastard son of Eddard Stark's."
"Jon Snow?" she blurted out, surprised.
"Snow? Yes it would be Snow, I suppose"

- Alayne II, AFFC

“Ned Stark was here?”

“At the dawn of Robert’s Rebellion. The Mad King had sent to the Eyrie for Stark’s head, but Jon Arryn sent him back defiance. Gulltown stayed loyal to the throne, though. To get home and call his banners, Stark had to cross the mountains to the Fingers and find a fisherman to carry him across the Bite. A storm caught them on the way. The fisherman drowned, but his daughter got Stark to the Sisters before the boat went down. They say he left her with a bag of silver and a bastard in her belly. Jon Snow, she named him, after Arryn.

- Davos I, ADWD

As far as Westeros and the North know, Jon is Ned Stark’s son because he was claimed as such. So, should Jon’s true parentage be revealed, a crafty supporter may argue that since Ned claimed Jon as his own, raised him in Winterfell, and gave him a lordling’s education, then the will could be taken as a form of legal adoption. Of course, Robb had no idea of Jon’s true parentage but given that he had no other options at the time, I believe his decision would still have been the same if he knew.

The wording may once again make or break Jon’s case. If the will specifically states that Jon is legitimized as a true born son, born of Ned’s body, then there’s very few loopholes that can be exploited. However, if the will’s language is vague enough, then Jon can still be regarded as the oldest surviving Stark child.

It also depends on Howland Reed’s position since he is perhaps the only person who knows that King Robb Stark’s heir is Prince Rhaegar Targaryen’s last surviving son. We will have to wait for the rest of the series to see how Reed navigates this issue, but it is by design that he is seemingly the nexus of all this information regarding Jon Snow. Robb’s envoys were specifically sent to Reed, so we can safely assume that he has a part to play in the upcoming novels.

II: Jon as Robb’s Heir

The minute Jon became legitimate, he gained a legal claim to Winterfell. Again, we do not know where legitimized bastards fall in the line of succession but I will assume that their inheritance over any trueborn heirs would be contested unless stated otherwise.

This brings us to the next point, that Robb specifically designated Jon as his heir once he legitimized him. The wording in this part matters since there is the chance that this clause is conditional. Obviously, Jon became Robb’s heir in the event that Robb did not sire any sons of his own; and we know that Robb died without issue. There’s the question of whether Jon was named heir presumptive or heir apparent given that this will was to be acted on in the future; though it’s most probably the former option. All we know is that, per the will, Jon was set to inherit everything once Robb died without heirs of his own.

But we know that Robb’s siblings are still alive and they would have inherited too so the question becomes, how does Jon fit in with his siblings?

Arya is missing and believed to be dead so it’s safe to assume that Robb makes no allowances for her in the will.

“[…] No one has seen or heard of Arya since they cut Father’s head off. Why do you lie to yourself? Arya’s gone, the same as Bran and Rickon […]”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

Arya may very well turn up alive with a giant wolf pack at her back, which would undoubtedly prove her identity as a Stark, but again we are not sure if she could take precedence over Jon now that he’s the eldest legitimate son of the previous, previous Lord of Winterfell.

Sansa has a claim but that can be challenged since this entire situation arose out of Robb wanting to prevent the Lannisters from claiming Winterfell and the North through her or her potential sons by Tyrion. As such, the will either bumps her down the line of succession or perhaps provides some stipulations that prevent her from inheriting so long as she remains wedded to Tyrion Lannister. We do not know the exact wording. Either way, we can assume that Jon is placed above her.

“A king must have an heir. If I should die in my next battle, the kingdom must not die with me. By law Sansa is next in line of succession, so Winterfell and the north would pass to her.” His mouth tightened. “To her, and her lord husband. Tyrion Lannister. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that. That dwarf must never have the north.”

“No,” Catelyn agreed. “You must name another heir, until such time as Jeyne gives you a son.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

Bran and Rickon, I think, are the main problem here. Bran is often regarded as Robb’s heir throughout the series and even holds the title Prince of Winterfell, which denotes this status. Rickon also holds this title as Bran’s heir. So some lords may ask, “how can Jon be Robb’s heir when the true born brothers are still living?” And, there are some Northern lords who do know of the boys’ survival, considering that Wyman Manderly has pledged to join King Stannis should Ser Davos bring him Rickon Stark. This is definitely a problem and they might need to work things out through means outside of this will’s framework - i.e., whatever the northern lords ultimately want because this part of the will is possibly very open to interpretation. Arguments will certainly be made over who is more fit to rule given age and experience; and both of these would work in Jon’s favor.

I would also imagine that the wording makes all the difference. Does Robb reference Bran’s and Rickon’s deaths? Or does he only allude to his own lack of a son? We simply don’t know but I would argue that even if Bran and Rickon were mentioned, Jon is still not discounted from inheriting Winterfell. This is because it goes back to the first point: Jon is now the oldest surviving legitimate son of Ned Stark.

Anyway, what we do know is that Robb mentions wanting Jon to succeed him if he dies without issue.

“Jon is the only brother that remains to me. Should I die without issue, I want him to succeed me as King in the North.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

This point might be hotly contested because Robb thinks Jon is the only one of his brothers who still alive. Again, how the will is worded and interpreted will make all the difference. We just have to wait for the books to come out.

An anti-Jon argument that has arisen from some (specific) sections of the fandom is that Jon could not have been named Robb’s heir because he is not a Tully and thus cannot rule over the Riverlords. The alternative is that Catelyn was named heir instead of Jon so as to appease the Riverlords. Laughably, this is no solution at all and causes even more problems than it solves. I am not entirely sure what basis this theory stands on - though we know why it came about, the originator is notedly against Jon as evidenced by his more general commentary on the character.

Whether or not Jon is a Tully ultimately is not much of a hinderance. Jon would not be taking their castles; the Riverlords would still be in charge, albeit under a different king now. They might want someone with Tully blood to inherit and so they would be inclined to support Catelyn’s children, but the current lord of Riverrurn is a signee of the document. And I would assume that since the will is a legal decree, its contents are biding. And, there is no mention of any of the Riverlords who were present at the signing raising any objections to Robb’s decree as it was passed around. We also know that the Riverlords who signed the will are still alive, free or not, which is a point that George R.R Martin has been keen to stress.

Edmure and the Greatjon are prisoners, true... but you are forgetting the envoys that Robb sent to Howland Reed... Galbart Glover, Maege Mormont, Jason Mallister... they are all alive and free.

- SSM, 08/06/2000

Coupled with the confirmation on the WOIAF and the Wiki, Jon is Robb’s heir and a legal claimant to not just the King in the North title, but the King of the Trident one as well; of course, this is dependent on whether the Riverlords would want to rejoin the Northern kingdom down the line.

III: Jon and the Night’s Watch Vows

So we’ve come to the last point - that is the issue of Jon’s vows as a sworn brother of the Night’s Watch. The vows dictate that Jon cannot hold any lands and titles so long as he remains a black brother.

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post.

- Jon VI, AGOT

As far as we know, these lifelong vows are taken very seriously and the very first chapter in the series even features a Night’s Watch deserter being executed.

So the main problem is: even if Jon is legitimized and named as Robb’s heir, he still cannot inherit due to his vows. And this problem is a big one. Well, it seems that Robb intended to make allowances for Jon to be relieved from his post:

“Jon is a brother of the Night’s Watch, sworn to take no wife and hold no lands. Those who take the black serve for life.”

“So do the knights of the Kingsguard. That did not stop the Lannisters from stripping the white cloaks from Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Boros Blount when they had no more use for them. If I send the Watch a hundred men in Jon’s place, I’ll wager they find some way to release him from his vows.”

- Catelyn V, ASOS

The dismissal of Ser Barristan and Ser Boros from the Kingsguard - another lifelong sworn brotherhood - is taken as enough precedent for Jon being released from the Night’s Watch vows. This part is quite tricky, though, because it seems that the Watch has to be the one releasing Jon from his vows. We’re not exactly sure how much power Robb can wield over the Watch since it’s technically an independent institution; thus, Jon’s situation is different from Barristan’s and Boros’ since the Kingsguard answers to the crown.

However, there are still some loopholes that Robb seemingly wants to exploit. The Watch is not in its prime and it’s resources and manpower has dwindled considerably over the centuries. Robb seems to recognize that they desperately need men and so intends to work that to his favor. He argues that the trade of 100 men for one boy seems fair enough and may even be beneficial to the Watch.

Catelyn does not push back on his reasoning. She seems to implicitly agree that there is precedent for Jon to be freed from his vows. She instead brings up Jon’s bastardy, which has already been addressed in previous sections. And her later objections do not mention that the Watch may refuse to cooperate or that Robb has no power to do this. She instead tries to make emotional appeals to Robb - appeals that have nothing to do with the Watch. So while this act may be tricky, it’s reasonable to assume that it can be done through some work arounds.

And once again, Robb is not the only one who thinks that Jon can be released from his vows given the right authority. When Stannis offers him Winterfell, Jon mentions that he swore vows not to hold lands or father children. Yet Stannis does not seem to care about this as much as Jon does. Instead, Stannis completely bypasses this point and goes on a tangent about the conflict with the wildlings and the need for a united north under a lord who is sworn to him. In fact, he doesn’t address it at all.

“Yes,” he said, hesitantly, “kings have legitimized bastards before, but … I am still a brother of the Night’s Watch. I knelt before a heart tree and swore to hold no lands and father no children.”

[…]

“As you wish. But consider quickly. I am not a patient man, as your black brothers are about to discover.” Stannis put a thin, fleshless hand on Jon’s shoulder. “Say nothing of what we’ve discussed here today. To anyone. But when you return, you need only bend your knee, lay your sword at my feet, and pledge yourself to my service, and you shall rise again as Jon Stark, the Lord of Winterfell.”

- Jon XI, ASOS

We’re back again to the main point of Stannis’ offer: that he will legitimize Jon as a Stark and make him Lord of Winterfell. Once again, there is an implicit understanding on Stannis’ part that he has enough will and power to bypass Jon’s vows. And it seems that this was Robb’s thought as well.

And we know that there have been people who were offered kingship despite being sworn to a lifelong vow. Maester Aemon, who serves as one of Jon’s parallels, is one such example. Aemon reveals in AGOT that his vows have been tested three times.

“Three times the gods saw fit to test my vows. Once when I was a boy, once in the fullness of my manhood, and once when I had grown old. By then my strength was fled, my eyes grown dim, yet that last choice was as cruel as the first.”

- Jon VIII, AGOT

One of these times is presumably an offer of kingship, which was extended to him in 233 after the death of Maekar I. This is what the wiki tells us:

A Great Council was called in 233 AC after Maekar's death in the Peake Uprising. Since Prince Aegon was considered by some lords to be "half a peasant, it was suggested that Aemon could be released from his sworn vows and thereby succeed his late father. Aemon quietly refused, however, ceding rule to his younger brother, who became Aegon V.

ref.

So there is historical precedent, beyond just Robb and Stannis, for someone being offered an out from their vows.

Martin has also touched on the topic of exceptions made for those sworn to lifelong vows:

Q: The second concerns the oaths of the Night Watch, Maesters, King's Guard, silent sisters, etc. Both Robb and Stannis, and presumably Robb's great lords, thought it was possible that Jon could be released form his oaths. Other than the precedent established by Joffrey with Ser Barristan, is there any other past precedent with any of the other organizations were the members swear poverty, celibacy, etc. to be honorably released from their vows? I ask because if the NW has been around for 8000 years, and many great lords and/or their families may have joined (not entirely willing in some cases), there seems to be a lot of potential for "exceptions" to develop as time went on.

A: Yes, there have been a few other cases, but they have been very rare. Such vows are taken very seriously.

While he acknowledges that such vows are taken seriously, he does not challenge the notion that exceptions develop over time. So the point is, while the NW vows are sworn for life, Jon can be freed from them based on precedent and given the right authority. Robb, as King in The North, seems to think that he is that right authority. We do not know exactly how he planned on approaching the Night’s Watch or if this clause to free Jon from his vows was specifically mentioned in the Will. However, since the will is essentially an emergency document, I think we can assume that Robb made some allowances for this should he be unable to see things through.

A Conclusion of Sorts

If you’ve had no patience to read that wall of text, here’s a TL;DR

Jon is legitimized by Robb and his legitimization stands on its own. Arguably, it is not dependent on Bran and Rickon being alive. As such, Jon is now the eldest of the legitimate Stark children. Though there is an issue with him not being Ned’s natural born son, one can argue that Ned still claimed and raised him as one.

There is no reason to believe that Jon was not made Robb’s heir. We have plenty of meta-textual confirmation that he was the named heir in the will. Bran’s and Rickon’s survival is a roadblock, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that Jon is now legitimate, older than both, and has more experience than any of his siblings.

Jon being a sword brother of the Night’s Watch is certainly a big issue, but there is precedent for people being released from lifelong vows. Because the will is an emergency document - was made in the event that Robb dies without heirs of his own - it’s safe to assume that Robb provided some sort of framework that could be used to remove Jon from his vows.

All this to say that in spite of the various issues surrounding it, I don’t see why Robb’s Will cannot be regarded as a valid decree. And thus, I cannot see why we shouldn’t say that Jon is Robb’s heir.

Before I close out, allow me the opportunity to ask a Doylist question. If the will’s contents can so easily be thrown aside, why would George R.R Martin go out of his way to write it in (two chapters before the Red Wedding, mind you) if it wasn’t to play a role somehow? Why would he spend page time not only writing the conversation between Robb and Catelyn, but also writing cases of historical precedent that can be used in Jon’s favor?

The will’s purpose can’t just be to create drama between the Stark kids. There is plenty of that without Jon being added as a factor - especially since Jon wasn’t even a claimant before the will was written. Now that Robb is dead and Winterfell needs to be restored to the Starks, Martin obviously intends to do something with the will. He even made sure to emphasize that a bastard can be legitimized by a king and there are people still living who know of the will’s contents when asked about it.

I’m not arguing that Jon will automatically become king solely because of the will. What I am arguing is that the will is a valid document and Jon now has as much right to Winterfell as his siblings.

So as it stands, Jon is Robb’s legal heir. How that pans out and develops? Well, we’ll just have to wait for the next two books.

#jon snow #asoiaf #robb’s will #valyrianscrolls #my stuff

[sophiemariepl]

Another problem with the rushed narrative in HotD is that the series is in many ways not understandable to a viewer who is not already familiar with the source material. And that is a bad sign. Because the point of a good adaptation is that it conveys the story in a way understandable to a viewer who meets this story for the first time.

Like, sorry for anegdotic example, but I realized that when I watched HotD for the first time - with my mom. Her whole experience with Martin’s universe is reading “A Game of Thrones” 10 years ago when GoT season 1 aired. She stopped reading the book in around 25% due to lack of time. She continued to watch the show tho, and she understood the plot well.

Meanwhile, when we watched HotD, I literally had to explain the plot to her so many times, I think that at some point we had to pause every 5-15 minutes so that I could explain to her what other part of crucial information was cut out from the series.

And of course, this is the fault of cuts made due to the budget being eaten mostly by CGI for dragons, which in turn is a by-product of David and Dan’s failure with GoT season 8, which left HBO not being as willing to fund this universe as much as before.

Now think how great HotD could be if David and Dan did not f**k up GoT.

#house of the dragon #hotd commentary #i love hotd in general the cast was phenomenal but writers made lots of bad choices #hotd #asoiaf #pre asoiaf #george rr martin #hbo #David and Dan screw you #got season 8 #game of thrones season 8

[goosemixtapes]

max's february 2024 reads

REALLY good reading month! so much good stuff :)

fiction

Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J. Kim (↳ can't pitch this one better than the title does.)

the end of A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (review)

Dare Me by Megan Abbott (review)

Cheer by Megan Abbott (↳ the short story from which Dare Me stemmed! cw for sexual assault)

the first half of Leslie Feinberg's Stone Butch Blues

Roger Crenshaw: The Vampires of New Haven (review)

An Unauthorized Fan Treatise by Lauren James (review)

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (reread)

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin (review)

Paradise Lost book 1 (reread for class)

i also tried to read robert graves' i claudius but you can see how well i did

nonfiction

Plato's Symposium (reread for class)

Computing Machinery and Intelligence by A.M. Turing (↳ the origin of what we call the turing test! and way more fun than i expected)

Gender Criticism Versus Gender Abolition: On Three Recent Books About Gender by Grace Lavery (↳ sort of a book review, sort of a commentary on bioessentialism)

the first third of Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

started Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith

other

a bunch of catullus poems & the isobel williams bdsm translations

the latter four episodes of Dropout's Burrow's End

the first three episodes of the Dare Me TV show

#max.txt #readings #this looks like so much. and i guess it is but a lot of it was school-related #and also i am dying egypt dying

[thephantomcasebook]

What is even the point of having Aegon sexually violate his mother??!!! Had a cringefest yesterday with my friend after reading that speculation. The sad part is none of this shi* is beyond Hess...and even Ryan, who openly implied in the GOT Con that Daemon was probably 'in love' with Viserys. They were ready to take inc£st to a whole new level. 😭

I think there is a great trap that is absolutely inherent in George RR Martin's writing, in general.

His stories are built on an incredibly subversive and nihilistic foundation that was meant to challenge fantasy tropes that J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Howard created in the 1930s/1940s.

However, the problem with that is that GRRM has the discipline - most of the time (Read @duxbelisarius military analysis of "The Dance) - to know what the line is for his universe and how far one can take the nihilistic nature of the story and then pull it back. the Dunk & Egg stories are a masterclass in that type of 1960's Marvel Age morality tales in which doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do and you don't get rewarded for it, but the main characters do it anyway and it costs them dearly every time.

However, if you don't recognize that, than the ASoIaF Universe with all it's Nihilism and Brutality is just the type of world that is seductive to lazy and bad writers to dream up and bring into existence some of the most horrific and degenerate situations, because, they believe that is the world of "Game of Thrones". They believe that everything is awful and bad things happen to people all the time. So they can make or write something exploitive, because, they believe it is in the very DNA of Westeros.

That type of small minded thinking is also tempting for someone who has a personal mission to write in their political or social agenda to torture and languish female characters by turning every male character into a monstrous rapist, abuser, or generally unhinged in order to make some bullshit Sapphic social commentary about the treatment of women in the real world and how men hold all the power and patriarchy and all that bullshit.

The issue remains that they fundamentally don't understand the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee type of morals that GRRM is trying to set down. Yes, bad things happen. Yes, humanity is capable of true evil. And the right thing is hard and can be stupid, and you can be punished for doing it. But that doesn't mean that you don't do it. GRRM is constantly taking characters and evolving or degrading their morality, based on the Marvel Age principle of the 1960s Comics he grew up loving.

You give a writer a story in Westeros and they'll show you what kind of storyteller, good or bad, they are by the end of it.

#House of the Dragon #Game of Thrones #Dunk and Egg #A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms #Aegon II Targaryen #Alicent Hightower

[rebeccadumaurier]

2023 Books in Review

a tiered ranking of all the books i read in 2023! originally i was going to write up my commentary on each one but then i was like hahaha.....no, so below the cut is just a list of the titles/authors in each tier instead.

changed my brain chemistry

The Idiot, Elif Batuman

Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang

The Borrowed, Chan Ho-kei (trans. Jeremy Tiang)

My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier

Vagabonds, Hao Jingfang (trans. Ken Liu)

The Membranes, Chi Ta-wei (trans. Ari Larissa Heinrich)

Under the Pendulum Sun, Jeannette Ng

Severance, Ling Ma

He Who Drowned the World, Shelley Parker-Chan

Vita Nostra, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)

Network Effect, Martha Wells

top-tier stuff

Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell)

Brainwyrms, Alison Rumfitt

The Door, Magda Szabo (trans. Len Rix)

The Lover, Marguerite Duras (trans. Barbara Bray)

Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

Strange Beasts of China, Yan Ge (trans. Jeremy Tiang)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, Kim Fu

Tell Me I’m Worthless, Alison Rumfitt

Bliss Montage, Ling Ma

How to Read Now, Elaine Castillo

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer

The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin

If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin

My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante

The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri

good, well-written

Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu

Life Ceremony, Sayaka Murata (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori)

Yellowface, R. F. Kuang

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine

Assassin of Reality, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko (trans. Julia Meitov Hersey)

Witch King, Martha Wells

Tokyo Ueno Station, Miri Yu (trans. Morgan Giles)

Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler

Peaces, Helen Oyeyemi

Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

The Pachinko Parlor, Elisa Shua Dusapin (trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins)

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse (Murderbot #1-4, #6-7), Martha Wells

Revenant Gun, Yoon Ha Lee

The Dry Heart, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Frances Frenaye)

Gods of Want, K-Ming Chang

Paradais, Fernanda Melchor (trans. Sophie Hughes)

The Mushroom at the End of the World, Anna Tsing

Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced An Emergency, Chen Chen

The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon

Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie

An Unauthorised Fan Treatise, Lauren James

Upstream, Mary Oliver

The Art of Death, Edwidge Danticat

Meander, Spiral, Explode, Jane Alison

alphabet, Inger Christensen (trans. Susanna Nied)

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

flawed, but enjoyable

The Wicker King, K. Ancrum

Exit West, Mohsin Hamid

Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters

Flux, Jinwoo Chong

Bang Bang Bodhisattva, Aubrey Wood

The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Claudia Gray

Natural Beauty, Ling Ling Huang

The Monster Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson

Certain Dark Things, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Likeness, Tana French

The Cabinet, Un-su Kim (trans. Sean Lin Halbert)

The Kingdom of Surfaces, Sally Wen Mao

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On, Franny Choi

good, well-written, but not my cup of tea

The Good House, Tananarive Due

The Transmigration of Bodies, Yuri Herrera (trans. Lisa Dillman)

Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky (trans. Olena Bormashenko)

The School for Good Mothers, Jessamine Chan

At Night All Blood Is Black, David Diop (trans. Anna Moschovakis)

Family Lexicon, Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Jenny McPhee)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo

The Kingdom of This World, Alejo Carpentier (trans. Harriet de Onís)

Against Silence, Frank Bidart

flawed, less enjoyable

Tenth of December, George Saunders

Counterweight, Djuna (trans. Anton Hur)

Authority, Jeff VanderMeer

Comfort Me with Apples, Catherynne M. Valente

Babel, R. F. Kuang

The Genesis of Misery, Neon Yang

Carrie Soto Is Back, Taylor Jenkins Reid

not ranking

These are nonfiction and they aren’t literature-related, so it just felt weird trying to rank them.

Visual Thinking, Temple Grandin

On Web Typography, Jason Santa Maria

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo (trans. Cathy Hirano)

#ange.log #ange.book

[silverstonesainz-archive]

i paused writing blurbs because i saw someone on tiktok say how many shots they would need to sleep with an f1 driver so i'm gonna do it here with the 2022 grid. how many shots do i need to approach and then sleep with an f1 driver, with commentary. no one asked but here i go.

for a frame of reference, it would take me about more or less 7 shots of hard liquor to get me to a good kind of drunk. anything beyond that i will be very stupid.

RED BULL

max - 2. i just need a bit of liquid courage to walk up to him. otherwise i think i could handle myself fairly well. also max lately??? whew. it doesn't take much to convince me. checo - 10. he is simply not my cup of tea. i look at him like a cool older cousin.

MERCEDES

lewis - 4. i just know his aura would be so intimidating but in the best way. i need all the help i can get to even APPROACH THAT MAN. george - 20. not a fan. will need to be blacked out to get through it.

FERRARI

charles - 3. another man with an intimidating aura. i feel like i couldn't get to him as easily, and i will need the alcohol to calm my weird and erratic behavior. but also look at him? i don't need much to convince me. carlos - 2. only needed to walk up to him. again, i think that i could pull that man if i tried hard enough. i would charm him. i also need to be about my wits if i ever sleep with this man are you joking?

MCLAREN

daniel - 5. i think i can match his energy, i just need the shot before i walk up to him. the other 4 is to get through the fact i'd be sleeping with someone who i share a name with. like imagine moaning your own name???? no. lando - 0. i can pull this man with minimal effort. he's easy, he looks easy. and i wanna be about my wits if i sleep with another scorpio man.

ALPINE

esteban - 7. he's also not my cup of tea. i think i could approach him and talk to him sober, but i need to be drunk to do it. fernando - 16. please i literally call him tío. i can't do it.

ALFA ROMEO

valterri - 6. im gonna need my sorority personality to be more amplified if im gonna pull anything from this man. he's so put together and im just naturally a hot mess. so yeah. zhou - 10. also not my cup of tea, not my type. so i need all the alcohol i can get to muscle through that.

ALPHATAURI

pierre - 1. for confidence. that man lowkey seems easy, i think i can pull. yuki - 20. pls hes so smol and i think of him as a little brother. i simply would not be able to take him seriously if i have any less than 20.

ASTON MARTIN

lance - 8. he's cute but he also doesnt do it for me. i also think that i wouldn't do it for him LMAO. but yeah like the first 3 to approach him, the last 5 to simply get through it. seb - 12. only because i do look at him like a fun uncle. but rbr seb? ferrari seb?? different story

HAAS

mick - 4. for sheer confidence. but i think i can charm him?? i think??? also like i want to be semi about my wits if it happens. kevin - 6. he also seems like such a stoic man and has that aura about him. i will need all the confidence i can get.

WILLIAMS

alex - 5. for confidence and to relax. i think hes so sweet, and i need that extra help to not come across as psycho. nick - 5. ngl... him post japan kinda hit different. im not normally attracted to him so 5 is a good middle ground to get through it all.

#d rambles #max verstappen #checo perez #lewis hamilton #george russell #charles leclerc #carlos sainz #carlos sainz jr #daniel ricciardo #lando norris #esteban ocon #fernando alonso #valterri bottas #zhou guanyu #pierre gasly #yuki tsunoda #lance stroll #sebastian vettel #mick schumacher #kevin magnussen #alex albon #nicholas latifi

[georgescitadel]

Sansa flees back to her room and it looks like the battle is lost. The Hound finds her there. The Hound who is now disgraced and broken because he could not face the fire again. He is this great, fearsome warrior, that's his whole identity. He is the Hound! He is one of the most terrible and deadly knights in the realm and his place was taken by a dwarf. His men were led by a dwarf because he didn't have the courage to lead them out into the fire again. So he has lost everything, he essentially lost his place with the Lannisters, he has lost his identity and he seeks out Sansa and we don't know in that moment, in Sansa's bedroom, if he is going to kill her or rape her or protect her. It's a very charged scene and probably my favorite scene in the whole Battle of the Blackwater sequence as I wrote it in the books!

- George R.R. Martin, Game Of Thrones Commentary

#Sandor Clegane #Sansa Stark #Identity #George R.R. Martin #ValyrianScrolls #ASOIAF

[esther-dot]

I double-checked and heard '100' as well. I'm the same as you, honestly it sounds positive to me but people are going to spin headlines. The fact he's opened up about struggling alone probably indicates he's feeling better about it - I guess speaking personally, when I was able to verbalise that I was having trouble at all with my writing, that was already the point where I was beginning to untangle it.

I'm more interested in GRRM's process from a writer's POV as opposed to waiting morosely for the endproduct, so that's the angle I like thinking about. His work is extremely ambitious, because he's got multiple working elements at once: not just multiple perspective characters, but he's trying to pull off a deconstructive commentary (I mean this in the literary criticism sense, not the sense used in fandom spaces which is 'thing bad? what do about it?') in addition to marrying the weighted moral/thematic complexity of a classic novel paired with the fantasy genre. LOTR is much more firmly in mythic territory than that imo.

I say this as someone who's not necessarily an ASOIAF superfan, but I find his work interesting just because holy fuck, George, of course it's taken you twelve years.

(about this post)

Yeah, I think looking at this from a writer’s perspective gives one a lot more sympathy for how long it’s taking him to write. I've criticized him a fair bit myself, so I don’t feel overly protective of him, but most fans seem to ignore the vast difference between typical genre fiction and what he’s doing. I’ve said before, it’s literature, with all the layers and complexity that implies. Hence it taking a decade + to bring his story together just so (in addition to all the other reasons) and ghost writers not being a workable solution for him.

I've written some original stuff and with that, and with my fics, I have a similar style with the whole, knowing certain things, even having later bits of dialogue written, but not using an outline and just, writing until I reach those moments naturally. In the interview, Cornwell said he's a true gardener, doesn't even know how his own stories will end, but Martin has created a headache for himself by having established endgames, major beats, and what he's called set pieces that he's determined to naturally find. It's a difficult way to write. I think it does allow him some great characterization, but I honestly feel sick to my stomach when I think about what he has to be going through with that method and this series.

I'm sure no one is more anxious for him to finish the book than he is. Fanfic writers feel a weight over their unfinished fics, meta writers groan over metas sitting in their drafts, but none of us had the showrunners of the most popular TV show waiting for us to wrap it up, contracts with publishers, a mouthy worldwide fandom, our legacy hanging in the balance. Martin even talked about wanting to write the best book he could, knowing he's already kept people waiting so long, which means he's putting additional pressure on himself. I personally wish he took on fewer projects (distractions! demands!), but he has the right to a payday even if it is coming from HBO after the travesty of s8. He mentioned in that interview how there were times he thought his career was over, and I'm sure he never imagined he'd be so successful or become this wealthy. He should enjoy it!

I know there was a discord for Jonsas at one point, and I hope someone does that again when TWOW is gonna come out so people have a safe place to talk. I actually might wait for some Jonsas to post about their thoughts before I read it. I like spoilers, and I've stuck around this long to support the Jonsa fandom ( +spite for all the people who harassed us), so I don't think I'd be able to dip when TWOW comes out.

#dot chat