sansa286

[sansa286]

your sansa is so beautiful!!!! woukd you do a portrait of her? i love ut!!!!

🤍 THANKSSSS!!! 🤍

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“The stakes are so high that if he doesn't get another rider, he will have no chance against the Blacks. And they will lose the throne if Aegon continues to be king. In his mind, he's doing what's right for his house.” — Geeta Vasant Patel, Inside the Episode

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Jon Snow Appreciation Month Day 17 - Women in Jon’s life

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In the past, I defended HoTD making Baela reject Driftmark, and I still do think that wasn't a bad call. My issue is with the reasoning they gave.

Baela's rejection of Driftmark makes sense for a couple of reasons, with one influencing the other. She's going to be the future queen of Westeros. As it stands (not taking into future accounts that we, the audience know, but the characters don't) Baela will marry Jayce, the future king, and whenever Rhaenyra passes away he will inherit the throne after her. Baela is set in terms of inheritance because she will effectively be the most powerful woman in Westeros. You could argue that part of the reason why book!Baela was so adamant about staying with Jace early in the dance and insisted on marrying him was on the chance that he would have to take his mother's place sooner than later, and thus needing to secure her position.

Which brings me to the second reason: Rhaena. Baela clearly cares about Rhaena and knows about her insecurity with feeling like an inadequate member of the family, of which is understandable given her circumstances. She is not a dragonrider in a family where dragonriding is core part of their identity, and the person she was engaged to who would've been the heir to Driftmark was killed, leaving her with no dragon, no proxy-inheritance, and symbolically severed from meaningful relations to both her father and mother's houses, and on top of all this, has been shipped away across the sea to babysit their little brothers while all the rest of their family stays and contributes the war. You'd think that in addition to Baela knowing how her sister feels, and knowing that she herself is covered, that she would at the very least mention that to Corlys? But no, instead of saying something along the lines of "I will be Queen of Westeros one day, but my sister Rhaena is legitimate and in need of purpose" we get that weird fire & blood vs salt & sea line. It feels so out of place, and like a missed opportunity.

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I think of one Ned’s funniest moments is when Cersei slaps him and he repeats to her what she said to Robert after he slapped her

Like… your accusing her kids of being bastards and your JOKING right now????

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the thing is Cersei could have no scoped that interrogation if she just decided to be catty about it. “Oh so it’s suspicious that all three of my kids are blond while Robert’s bastards look like him? Meanwhile I’ve been to your house and FOUR of your kids are improbably ginger and your bastard looks like you but did I barge into your kitchen and accuse your wife of fucking her brother 🤨?” like Ned would have had to back off immediately

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cersei's chapters in affc are the most hysterical thing in the world because she'll be thinking something so homophobic about loras tyrell she's 2 synapses away from inventing the word "faggot" and then you turn the page and she's like:

taena breasted boobily in my direction. I wonder what it would be like to suck those massive perfect tits until they turn red and she screams my name in pleasure with that sexy accent of hers. I am a heterosexual.

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any thoughts on Cersei and Taena?

yeah, i love cersei and taena. their sex/rape scene is one that reliably makes me cry on every reread. cersei edges so close to perceiving the enormity of what was done to her and then turns away as quickly as possible.

unfortunately, taena is written in a deeply racist and orientalist way. it is a consistent and pervasive problem grrm has throughout the series. taena is exotified, objectified, and given no personhood or depth of her own. she serves to develop cersei's story (that in and of itself is not a bad thing. i've mentioned before that jeyne (notably a white girl) exists within theon's story to give him character development and that's fine because stories need tertiary support characters who develop their main characters) and is a non-person otherwise. but taena is not just an example of a tertiary character, she is part of a grrm tradition of giving his non-white characters little to no voice/interiority/depth, something his white characters (especially those with other marginalized identities) get in spades.

this is both disappointing and consistent. i would love if twow dropped with sudden taena pov chapters but there is absolutely no chance that will ever happen. this makes me sad because i find cersei and taena extremely compelling, especially cersei's cruelty towards taena that is so inseparable from her desire for her. this is just how cersei lannister is. i love her to pieces.

the fact that after cersei's walk of shame she asks for taena to be brought back to her really rips me to shreds. i wonder how taena would feel receiving that summons!!

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love reading an older fic (10-20 years+) because you get these hilarious author’s notes but ALSO because you get the occasional “shout out to Jessica….without you telling me to write this fic it wouldn’t exist” and then the author proceeds to write the best 100k fic you’ve ever read and the whole time you’re thinking to yourself, where is Jessica these days? does she know she sparked this amazing fic? shout out to Jessica hope you’re doing well girl

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“wow i can’t believe george conveniently wrote all of dany’s enemies to be CARTOONISHLY evil, no redeeming qualities whatsoever he obviously did this on purpose to set up the mad dany arc.” i don’t know how to break this to you but that’s just how slave owners are. like yeah you would have to be pretty cartoonishly evil to consider another human being your property…pick up a history book.

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There's just something about Ned being kind and courteous as expected of him to everyone. Even when it's someone he doesn't like or is opposing he isn't half as cruel as he could be.

The most prominent example I have is how he treats Cersei after finding out about the bastards. He invites her to the Godswood, he touches her face where Robert struck her and politely but firmly gives her the option of leaving. That scene stuck with me because you can feel Cersei softening. I felt myself understanding her more because Ned treated her like a person and held the belief that she was capable of doing the right thing.

It just made me like her a lot more because up till that point all we saw was a stony-faced Queen, Tyrion's japes and children who held hyperspecific views of her that did not align with reality.

The way that Ned interacts with everyone makes you have sympathy for them. Robert especially, the fact that I felt some semblance of empathy even after he hit Cersei and went on and on about killing Dany who mind you, is his second cousin and a literal child, is mostly thanks to Ned and his perspective.

Point is Ned somehow makes even the objectively worst people seem likeable and loveable which is kind of amazing.

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a world without trans people has never existed and never will

prints

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Daenerys Targaryen they could NEVER make me hate you.

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no we skipped over this a little too quickly what do you mean "her knife"? her knife that sansa keeps on her bedside table?? knife???

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Cersei x Oberyn but in a 'I hate you so much but my life would be boring without you' way

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Reading the dire wolf trial, I tried to find what GRRM said about it as to why Cersei and Robert reacted in the ways they did. He said ages ago that Robert gave in at the end about the direwolf because he was trying to save his marriage.. but I struggle understanding this. Robert doesn’t seem to care about his marriage. Do you think it was to do with the fact she’d spent 3 days yelling at him about it and wanting Arya punished, so he gave in? What’s your thoughts? Upsetting Ned/hand/BF for that?

OK, so I was trying to find a source for that GRRM quote about Robert trying to save his marriage, and finally found this quote from GRRM's interview in St. Petersburg in 2017 -

Robert Baratheon definitely did not have an analytical mindset — he was an angry man, following his emotions. And if Sansa had told everything as it happened, he would have directed his rage at Joffrey rather than at the direwolves. But this is not accurate: at that time, he tried first of all to save his marriage.

However, that struck me as not at all like GRRM says things, and well, that's because that's actually a translation to English from the Russian translation of GRRM's response in English. So I looked harder (thank you, searcherr.work), and found what GRRM actually said:

Robert was not a, what you call, an analytical thinker. He was an impetuous, emotional man who was swayed by his emotions. And if Sansa had said what actually happened, he might have directed all his wrath at Joffrey and less at the direwolves. But it's not certain by any means, because at the same time, he was always trying to keep peace within his marriage and keep Cersei happy.

So! Clarification completed, why did Robert want to keep his marriage peaceful by keeping Cersei happy, or in other words, "save his marriage"? Why didn't he just say, "fuck it, you're right, Ned, my son's a liar and my wife is a bitch", let the direwolves go free, and divorce Cersei?

Well, two reasons. First of all, it's not for Cersei's sake. Like you said, Robert doesn't care about Cersei. However, the reason he married her in the first place was because Tywin was a powerful ally and his strength was needed to keep Robert on the throne.

"Cersei… I have Jon Arryn to thank for her. I had no wish to marry after Lyanna was taken from me, but Jon said the realm needed an heir. Cersei Lannister would be a good match, he told me, she would bind Lord Tywin to me should Viserys Targaryen ever try to win back his father's throne." —AGOT, Eddard VII

And by the time of AGOT, it's not just military strength that Tywin is providing for Robert, but money, and lots of it.

Grand Maester Pycelle looked to Littlefinger and asked, "Will the treasury bear the expense?" "What treasury is that?" Littlefinger replied with a twist of his mouth. "Spare me the foolishness, Maester. You know as well as I that the treasury has been empty for years. I shall have to borrow the money. No doubt the Lannisters will be accommodating. We owe Lord Tywin some three million dragons at present, what matter another hundred thousand?" Ned was stunned. "Are you claiming that the Crown is three million gold pieces in debt?" "The Crown is more than six million gold pieces in debt, Lord Stark. The Lannisters are the biggest part of it [...]" —AGOT, Eddard IV

Now, why the crown is in debt is a complex question (spoilers: the answer is Littlefinger), but three million gold pieces is a lot of money. If Robert drops Cersei like a hot rock, then the Rock wants its gold back. Losing all that Lannister money and military strength -- not to mention angering Tywin -- leaves Robert in an extremely vulnerable position.

[Which is why Renly planned to introduce Margaery Tyrell to Robert to eventually replace Cersei. A Tyrell girl specifically, because the Reach is extremely strong militarily (it has the most population of any region of Westeros because it's so enormous and fertile), and also extremely wealthy (the Hightowers, Tyrell vassals and in-laws, are allegedly "as wealthy as the Lannisters"). The fact that this would replace a Lannister stranglehold on Robert with a Tyrell one, look, Renly's lover is a Tyrell, he's perfectly happy with that situation.]

Secondly, but no less significantly, Robert wants to keep Cersei happy because it's easier for him than having her unhappy. Yes, she did yell at him for three days, but that's not the main issue here. Again, citing GRRM:

Of course, that scene also says something about Robert. And that's ominous, I think, that Robert doesn't stand up to Cersei in that scene when she demands, you know. Lady was completely innocent of the whole incident, but she's being a little vindictive there, and Robert is caving in. And that gives you, I think, an indication of the character of Robert. Robert does not like that kind of conflict. Robert likes the kind of conflict that he can win by hitting his opponent with a war hammer. But he doesn't like the kind of verbal argument, wrangling, and back and forth. That sort of thing just drives him crazy, he just wants it over with. 'Okay, you want that, I don't care about that, do it, let's stop this.'

Robert's primary flaws as a ruler are (1) he is lazy, does not want to rule, lets other people do the work, and does not care about their malfeasance; and (2) he hates verbal discussions and wants every solution to be something he can hit. And hitting Cersei was not a solution here, not in public in front of hundreds of people at least. (Especially in the hall of a house notably loyal to the Targaryens.) Talk about news getting back to Tywin, and Robert has enough issues without people actively gossiping he's like Aerys the Mad or Aegon the Unworthy. But "why didn't Robert just hit Cersei to make her stop bothering him" is a reddit-ass question so we'll put that hypothetical away in the garbage where it belongs.

Anyway! To sum up, Robert wanted to keep his marriage peaceful, and gave into Cersei on the direwolf question, because it was much easier than otherwise. Over, done, moving on now, where's the food. And as for upsetting Ned... well, Ned took it, didn't he, and that loyalty above all is one of his greatest flaws.