#raper not rapist

[isawthismeme]

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Ep6 - Rewind the Tape

"After Louis tells Claudia that Lestat wants him to know he's still cheating, Claudia compares Lestat to her rapist, with the show literally putting Bruce's image over his. Immediately after, Louis' narration tells us he'd become numb and dissociated, "a vessel of acceptance." What do you think Claudia, Louis, and the show itself are suggesting about consent in this new domestic arrangement?"

@iwtvfanevents

A lot of the fandom H A T E S that Claudia was raped (even more than the Loustat fight), and they especially hate what Rolin Jones said about it toughening her up. But despite its inclusion/execution/explanation, I DO see where RJ was going with it all; as I've also mentioned how Claudia & Louis were deliberately put on the same level, as were Lestat and Bruce.

We know Carol Cutshall designed Lestat's matador costume for the "villain sequence" in Ep5 to emphasize his patriarchal hegemony over "the housewife and the mistake." Matador in Spanish literally means "killer." Through the matador costume, AMC brilliantly tied the Wolfkiller Lestat with Bruce the Killer.

We also have a hard time w/ instances of physical/sexual violence by Les against Lou--I saw a spicy post just the other day about whether or not the Disassociating scene was Les raping Lou or not.

I think in Lou's mind, sex with Les while he was disassociating wasn't rape. Louis himself pointed out that Lestat's affair with Antoinette was all tangled up in Lou's lack of libido due to his diet; and his later depression, ignoring Les' "considerable considerables." He WANTS Lestat ("I wanted him dead, I wanted him all to myself"), and when he comes back online he IS into it, cuz he loves the stupid man. I think he DOES consent, and TRIES to stay present--but "there were THREE of you" in that bed, and in that relationship.

I think in Claudia's mind, Lestat really was raping Louis. I think SHE had put Lestat & Bruce on the same level, convinced that Les felt the same way about Lou that Bruce did about her--and that Lou felt the same way about Les that she did--not understanding Loustat at all.

Claudia trips people up a lot wrt arrested development & stunted growth--she's either a little girl or a SUPER old woman or both or neither. How much can she REALLY know, process & experience?

Cuz in some ways, AMC!Lestat (& book!Louis) kinda did rape Claudia. Aside from the more sexual meaning, one can take "rape" in the original Latin sense (rapio/rapere: "to snatch, grab, carry off, abduct, rape, steal"); or we can take it in the vampiric sense, turning Claudia without her consent, and force/violence done to one's fledglings. Les is a bad Maker to Louis, but GODAWFUL to Claudia.

Lestat even puts himself above & beyond Bruce, saying he can and WILL do far worse than "defiling her pocket;" he'll KILL her.

Lestat snatched away Claudia's consent, & snatched her from the train crying & sobbing. He violated her autonomy just like he'd violated her privacy by reading her diary when Louis told him not to.

And what's sad is that because Claudia's a sadist like her father, she was initially charmed by Bruce & how he killed; just like she was charmed by Lestat's "extravagant" killing style. "He had a way about him." AMC!Claudia's the one who gives Bruce his epithet, but in the books his his name's just Killer (IIRC he's never given a real name).

But we soon see the gradual jadedness in Claudia. Her killing loses the bubbly giggling glee from her early years, as she becomes cold & far more calculating/methodical. Plus, she realizes that the men in her life that she initially THOUGHT were great heroes & "knights" & "angels" that had saved her, were really just HELL DEMONS. Lestat's not a cheeky "Brat" anymore, he's the frikkin Devil. The "darkness in her that wasn't there before" Lestat talks about is just REALITY; the dawning realization that Lestat, Louis, Bruce, NONE of these men were good to her. All good things died with Charlie.

She's desperate to go to Europe, cuz she's holding onto hope like a lifeline, that not all vampires are as bad as Bruce & Lestat. Unfortunately, Lestat was right when he said they're actually vicious and "far worse" in Europe. 😬

[princessbellecerise]

are you aware that by lying about the bastard status of her children Rhaenyra committed treason? You know what the punishment for treason is yes? Aegon is the heir wheither you want it or not. If Rhaenyra had legitimized her children we wouldn't have this problem. She was being stupid.

Are you aware that both the King, Corlys and Laenor recognized these boys as legitimate and treated them as such? Are you aware that they KNEW, DIDN'T CARE, and STILL named them as heirs?

Any bastard recognized by the King or the Lord they are inheriting from as legitimate are thereby treated as such. But let's not even get into that, and get into the fact that despite it being obvious in the show, in the book Jace, Luke and Joffery are NEVER proved to illegimate as no one knows what Laenor or Harwin looks like. These are simply just misogynistic rumors spread by, yes, you guessed it, the Greens as just another excuse to justify usurping Rhaenyra.

Truth be told they have no proof and they don't actually care. They only say this weaken her claim.

But no matter which way you spin it, Aegon is not and never will be the rightful heir. First of all, there is no such thing as a 'rightful heir.' You do not earn that status by simply being born as the first male as there is no set law in Westros that establishes this. The next ruler is chosen by the current King on a case by case situation and Viserys named RHENYRA was heir, not Aegon. If you want proof, check out this 1999 article where GRRM himself says himself that there are not succession laws in Westros:

Here is the snipit: "There are no clear cut answers, either in Westeros or in real medieval history. Things were often decided on a case by case basis. A case might set a precedent for later cases... but as often as not, the precedents conflicted as much as the claims."

Second of all, Aegon is a rapist. Rape believe it or not is ILLEGAL in Westros. Men who were rapers got sent to the wall or castrated or executed, as seen when Daemon literally cuts someone's dick off during his rampage. Any crime committed is crime against the King, which is treason. Therefor your logic is invalid because technically, your boy committed treason as well. Multiple times.

Third of all, you cannot call Rhaenyra stupid for making a choice to save her life and her claim.

Having bastard children is not illegal or treason but trying to put them on the throne IS. If Rhaenyra had announced that her children were bastards then she would be put to death along with Jace, Luke, And Joffery (who, mind you, is an innocent little kid). Viserys would probably have no choice but to execute Daemon as well seeing as he probably knew, and anyone else like Harwin, Lord Lynol (his hand at one point), Rhaena, Baela, Laenor if he was still alive (which would greatly weaken the crown because there is no World in which Corlys would support him after that).

You really expect this woman to put herself, her entire family and others in danger for what - rumors started by Alicent? Because once again I reiterate - just because the show makes it oblivious, does not mean it was ever actually proven.

Rhaenyra giving into those stupid rumors would cost not only her, but the realm so much. And I find it funny how you are so eager to put her children in danger when you probably think Blood and Cheese is wrong.

Well, news flash, advocating for Rhaenyra to admit to treason would mean little kids die anyways. Luke, Rhaena, Baela, and Joffery who is around the same age as Heleana's children would be put to the death but I find it funny how you have no sympathy for them.

But back to the point - Westros is an absolute monarchy. The King's word is law and there are no if, ands, or buts. What Viserys says, goes, and even if you threw everything I just said out of the window, THE KING, and I repeat, THE KING OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS NAMED HER AS HEIR. HIS WORD IS LAW. THERE IS NO ARGIUNG WITH THAT.

If you think Rhaenya is still not the rightful heir even after the King has said she was and never relented to his death, then it is because you have a problem with a woman on the throne. It was always supposed to be her and not Aegon, and the Greens usurped her not because Aegon was the rightful heir, but because they hated the idea of a woman on the throne.

I leave you with all this and if you disagree that's your problem. But remember, even Aegon himself once said:

"What kind of a brother steals his own sister's birthright?"

[esther-dot]

HELPPPP, I KNEW THAT DAENERYS STANS HATED MIRRI MAZ DUUR, BUT AT LEAST, I THOUGHT THEY DIDN’T HATED HER FOR KILLING DROGO. GUESS I WAS WRONG.

https://www.tumblr.com/swordsandarms/716956244482637824/ultimately-mirri-was-selfish-outside-of-how-it?source=share

I talked before about how Drogo didn’t follow Mirri’s instructions, so I’m not sure she can be blamed for his death (link) and of course, the same thing applies with Rhaego:

And, if Mirri did intentionally set out to kill Drogo, I support that, just as I would support Dany if she had determined to kill him. The man is a rapist and a slaver, if his victims chose to take him out, I’d have no complaints!

I don’t think OP’s statements about Mirri take the facts of Rhaego or Drogo’s deaths into account, and I certainly disagree with the whitewashing of Drogo. If we go back and read the set-up, I would argue we’re being guided to sympathize with Mirri—not him. I think that view/the Dany view is being undercut:

Across the road, a girl no older than Dany was sobbingin a high thin voice as a rider shoved her over a pile of corpses, facedown, and thrust himself inside her. Other riders dismounted to take their turns. That was the sort of deliverance the Dothraki brought the Lamb Men.

I am the blood of the dragon, Daenerys Targaryen reminded herself as she turned her face away. She pressed her lips together and hardened her heart and rode on toward the gate.

[…]

Slaves, Dany thought. Khal Drogo would drive them downriver to one of the towns on Slaver's Bay. She wanted to cry, but she told herself that she must be strong. This is war, this is what it looks like, this is the price of the Iron Throne.

[…]

"I've told the khal he ought to make for Meereen," Ser Jorah said. "They'll pay a better price than he'd get from a slaving caravan. Illyrio writes that they had a plague last year, so the brothels are paying double for healthy young girls, and triple for boys under ten. If enough children survive the journey, the gold will buy us all the ships we need, and hire men to sail them."

[…]

"You heard my words," she said. "Stop them." She spoke to her khas in the harsh accents of Dothraki. "Jhogo, Quaro, you will aid Ser Jorah. I want no rape."

The warriors exchanged a baffled look.

Jorah Mormont spurred his horse closer. "Princess," he said, "you have a gentle heart, but you do not understand. This is how it has always been. Those men have shed blood for the khal. Now they claim their reward."

Across the road, the girl was still crying, her high singsong tongue strange to Dany's ears. The first man was done with her now, and a second had taken his place.

"She is a lamb girl," Quaro said in Dothraki. "She is nothing, Khaleesi. The riders do her honor. The Lamb Men lay with sheep, it is known."

"It is known," her handmaid Irri echoed.

"It is known," agreed Jhogo, astride the tall grey stallion that Drogo had given him. "If her wailing offends your ears, Khaleesi, Jhogo will bring you her tongue." He drew his arakh.

"I will not have her harmed," Dany said. "I claim her. Do as I command you, or Khal Drogo will know the reason why."

"Ai, Khaleesi," Jhogo replied, kicking his horse. Quaro and the others followed his lead, the bells in their hair chiming.

"Go with them," she commanded Ser Jorah.

"As you command." The knight gave her a curious look. "You are your brother's sister, in truth."

"Viserys?" She did not understand.

"No," he answered. "Rhaegar." He galloped off.

Dany heard Jhogo shout. The rapers laughed at him. One man shouted back. Jhogo's arakh flashed, and the man's head went tumbling from his shoulders. Laughter turned to curses as the horsemen reached for weapons, but by then Quaro and Aggo and Rakharo were there. She saw Aggo point across the road to where she sat upon her silver. The riders looked at her with cold black eyes. One spat. The others scattered to their mounts, muttering.

All the while the man atop the lamb girl continued to plunge in and out of her, so intent on his pleasure that he seemed unaware of what was going on around him. Ser Jorah dismounted and wrenched him off with a mailed hand. The Dothraki went sprawling in the mud, bounced up with a knife in hand, and died with Aggo's arrow through his throat. Mormont pulled the girl off the pile of corpses and wrapped her in his blood-spattered cloak. He led her across the road to Dany. "What do you want done with her?"

The girl was trembling, her eyes wide and vague. Her hair was matted with blood. "Doreah, see to her hurts. You do not have a rider's look, perhaps she will not fear you. The rest, with me." She urged the silver through the broken wooden gate.

It was worse inside the town. Many of the houses were afire, and the jaqqa rhan had been about their grisly work. Headless corpses filled the narrow, twisty lanes. They passed other women being raped. Each time Dany reined up, sent her khas to make an end to it, and claimed the victim as slave. One of them, a thick-bodied, flat-nosed woman of forty years, blessed Dany haltingly in the Common Tongue, but from the others she got only flat black stares. They were suspicious of her, she realized with sadness; afraid that she had saved them for some worse fate. (AGOT, Daenerys VII)

The author wants us to know how horrific this is. The author tells us how abused these women are. And then the author has a sly line about Dany which initially leads us to side with Dany, believe these women are unnecessarily worried about her intentions, but what eventually befalls Mirri?

"You will not hear me scream," Mirri responded as the oil dripped from her hair and soaked her clothing.

"I will," Dany said, "but it is not your screams I want, only your life. (AGOT, Daenerys X)

The fires swept over Mirri Maz Duur. Her song grew louder, shriller … than she gasped, again and again, and her song became a shuddering wail, thin and high and full of agony. (AGOT, Daenery X)

A malicious, painful death at Dany’s hand. I simply don’t think the point of any of those scenes is that Mirri is a baddie.

[rise-my-angel]

Tyrion: "Ah, rapers. They were given a choice no doubt. Castration or the Wall. Most choose the knife."

Jon: *has a slightly uncomfortable expression*

Tyrion: "Not impressed with your new brothers?"

Okay, I get Tyrion is being hyperbolic to make a greater point. But to be fair, I do in fact think its perfectly normal for a guy like Jon to not want to spend significant time around a rapist. Especially when this one is looking at him like this before even speaking to him:

[mrsparrasblog]

Given how date rapers are usually a repeat criminal, not just a one and done, I would imagine medic has done this to other soldiers. So if there is justice for Johnny and she faces the consequences for her actions, there will be justice for any other victims. And kudos to you for the male sexual assault awareness through this story; it is important to recognize sexual assault occurring to both men and women.

Thank you I was honestly afraid to write about it because I thought Id get a lot of hate but to see everyones reaction is so great. I think the awareness is one of johnnys Problems because like she said no one belives him its hard to speak out about SA but as a man you can imagine the reaction. And dont worry I wont let a rapist survive my Storys

Sorry for spelling writing this in nightshift pls someone motivate me to not Fall asleep 😭

[rf-times]

Rape as a crime has historically been considered theft, it’s in the very name from Latin it derives from: “rapio, rapere” to seize. It’s a crime one man could commit against another, to steal his female kin away from him and threaten that man’s sexual ownership without proper payment or legal ceremony. It was not and to a great extent is still not considered a crime against women (originally considered a crime against the male kin, it is now considered a crime against society in general, which is why rapists are rarely convicted or given appropriate sentencing). None of this takes into account the woman’s experience, or understands rape as it truly is: sexual torture.

Rape laws being about men’s abduction of women does not mean that men did not recognise and fear rape from other men (nor is it “misandry” or a lack of regard for men’s dignity that men are often legally not considered capable of being raped), it’s because men were far more focused on the sexual act itself with male on male rape rather than any property element. It was considered a crime against the man’s dignity and we can see this fear of male rape in sodomy laws rather than rape laws, which reflect this and homophobia (which is heavily filled with the fear that men will be able to treat other men the way they treat women).

[quinntamsin]

Denna let out a cry of joy as the ship crested over a wave and hut the end of it with a hard think. The wind was causing their vessel to speed quickly across the ocean as she and Kwynn headed south to attend a wedding in the neck. The banner of House Ceallach, a white raven on a black banner, sailed above on the mast. Her wife, the Lady Ceallach was busily speaking to the captain as they were only perhaps a few miles before making port.

House of the Dragon S1E8 "The Lord of the Tides". We open with the Lord of Hightide injured from fighting in the Stepstones. Vaemond seems intent on taking it from his own family. Rhaena stands beside Rhaenys as she sits the Driftwood throne. I like how there is still succession debates going on among the Houses of the Blackwater Rush. Is it a Valyrian trait to turn on family; I wonder how they plan on introducing the next Lord of Driftmark, Alyn Hull aka Velaryon. The King tries to focus on the happy as Alicent prays for lord Vaemond. They toast Lucaerys as everyone else including Aegon the fuckwad decides to be a fuckboy. Seriously, that little rapist would reserve the death he gets later. Switching to Dragonstone we see that new fortifications have been built on the great fortress as we zone in on the firemount for some reason. Deep within a crevasse, we see someone stealing a Dragon Egg? It's Daemon he pries the egg from a strange almost dragonglass-made nest. Daemon seems happy about the new eggs as he receives a message from his daughter. Grown-up Jacaerys definitely is lighter in hair than his younger self, as he practices High Valyrian over Aegon's epic table. He is dismissed as Daemon enters to give information to hise Niece-Wife, about the ongoing turmoil of Hightide. Vaemond's own action makes me think he's been causing more problems as we see the Strong Children getting their status questioned. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past Lord Otto to play up the bullshit. The Velaryon-Targs make their arrival back in King's Landing where they hope to put aside ongoing issues with Lady Rhaenys. THey are welcomed by no one, the Queen isn't there (way to go Ali-Karen) and a person pops up without notice. Inside the Red Keep is silent, everything is darker as there's more evidence of the Seven. The typical bullshit of the Andals as many of the Valyrian accouterments have been removed. The Queen Wears a seven-pointed star like it's a fucking shield on her as we see the Greens are trying further to attack the kids. It would have been less outward about it. Sir Erryk alerts the Queen to what we will find out is Aegon being a raper (and her being a total White Karen and pushing to cover it up). Rhae enters her father's chambers with Damon as they are much darker and more forlorn than before. Viserys' illness has spread farther than before. The right of his face is almost entirely bandaged as only his nose is left free. WE can see that the King is fading, Daemon informs the King of the Sea Snakes fall in battle. When Daemon pushes the King seemingly just repeats it. WHen he meets the youngest boys including Visery II and Aegon III, his stuttering scares the children. I mean they are kids. In the Queen's presence the girl is crying, her face roughed and ruffled I am they didn't fucking show us the actual scene. The aftermath is all we need when it comes to the GoT TV series' history of treating women. She tells him how she asked him to stop and the Queen appears to have some mercy for the girl. Some sympathy but honestly, as I watch I know it's all fucking fake. Alicent proceeds to basically threaten the shit out of the girl showcasing that she's not just a bad mother, but also a terrible Queen! She even pays the girl off like a fucking Corporate HR Karen. This scene is so seriously horrific as the girl is forced under duress to drink Moontea to abort the child. So, wow, I really wished they didn't have this, but I will say this Alicent is trying. The soon to be future King as he's ignoring everything all the Queen can do is strike him. Yup, this is a real Bateman hotel. He's ignoring Helaena, and then he tries to whine about how the world is so hard. Helaena pops up and being the just pure soul she is asks for Dyana to watch the kids. Her walk in to speak to Alicent ends as predictably as it could. The Strong Lads head out to the training yard dressed in dark cloaks as befitting their status as scions of House Targaryen. They discuss their current status as Aemond being a total badass in the fighting ring faces off against Sir Criston. Aemond is just so fucking unhinged as he asks his Nephews if they wish to train. In the situation pops Vaemond who is here to be the pissant he is and we prepare as the Lord of the Tides is to be decided. Otto does it all under the guise of putting a child in command. This could easily be decided by Rhaenys standing as a fucking Regent. She has served with her husband and we know Daemon is also a battle-ready fighter. Whatever it is, we travel to the Godswood where Rhaena leads in Rhae to speak to her family. Rhae is right that Rhaenys is there to proclaim herself. Laenor is still alive, and we know Rhae hatched the scheme to let him fuck off under the lie of being dead. It makes me wonder how Rhaenys come to side with the Black Council if she's just going to ignore shit. The Hightowers are going to pry away at Rhae for her status and for her children. We know that Laenor tried to have sex with her, but gave up for his own boundaries. SO she turned to someone to help and that was sir Harwin Strong. If Larys had not broken his family apart as a fucking Kinslayer the Strongs would have been there to back the Black Council. Rhae pops up in the night to speak to her father about the "Song of Ice and FIre". The writers here are leaning hard into more Dreamer work, but we know that Aemond's future came true. Rhae admits she likely didn't really want to lead the kingdom, she's lost a lot here. How all of the ongoing weight of the future and her desire to rule are so damn overpowering. Watching Rhae beg her father is so fucking heartbreaking. She is trying so hard, but her former best friend and her father are tearing it all apart. And the King can do nothing because he's falling apart from his own illness.

Valar Morghulis. As he is wrapped again by the Maesters he speaks to Otto as he calls for supper in the redkeep. He wants his family, his fading vision of family unification, to be somewhat true, even for a moment. As he taken back to bed we see sores covering his body as a shadow of the Seven paints the room. Back in the throne room Otto stands before the chair facing toward those issue and sits upon it. THe fool. Vaemond is up, he goes with the History, and goes on his purist bullshit. The Velaryons have married into the Targs enough for both Houses to have a healthy CLaim. I mean that he pushes harder on declaring the Strong Kids as illegitimate. Rhae's argument begins as someone else, the King enters, and he's hobbling worse than Maester Aemond is. Half is face is masked in gold much like Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. His walk to the Iron Throne is painful as he glances between his wife, brother, sons, grandchildren and his daughter. He basically tells Otto he's there to sit, even in pain, he will sit the Throne. Valar Dohaeris. Bearing down on his cane he is helped up by his brother who for once seems above his own bullshit in this scene. Daemon picks up his brother and the Crown and settles Viserys into the Iron Thone. Excellent acting done by Paddy Considine. THe King's actions here will mean that Vaemond get's set aside, and so does Luke. Baela sits with the Strong Kids, she mentions the fucking marriage agreement. But this seems like a nice build up as Lord Vaemond decides to go full on bullshit. He throws a tantrum and decides to argue with the King. He is about to say it when we see that Daemon is about to go stepdad on his ass and murder the fucker. He calls it out before the King. and insults the heir-apparent of the Seven Kingdoms. And as the king calls for his tongue he beheads Vaemond using Dark Sister. I will be honest, this was an epic as fuck scene, as Lord Rhaenys sits over the body of Vaemond is prepared for funeral. Rhaenys speaks of the STranger, of how Death has haunted her House too much recently. First her daughter, then her goodbrother. Laenor is not included since he was willing to traumatize his family to fuck off. Yes, I get it he wanted to go do his shit, but he left his mother with a lie instead of at least a clue. "It both gladdens my heart and fills it with sorrow." He makes a point at going straight for the jugular at the division of the Hightower and Velaryon Targaryens. He removes his mask to showcase the damage done to his face by the disease that has been eating at him. Valar Morghulis, the king shows him his true face. He's trying so hard for his family to not continue this bullshit. If only Alicent would -just- let shit go. He -begs- them to let it go, and we can see that Alicent is filled with emotion. Which will result as Rhae gives Alicent a compliment, and apology. Rhaena tosses the woman another fucking olive branch, one that could have ended all of this. ALL OF THIS. She admits that Rhae will make a fine Queen, but there's Otto in the background ready to stir shit again. Can someone just off or detongue the bastard. Aegon is a literally drunken fool, and Aemond is a war-weary asshole.  And Aegon decides to insult to injury and Jace stands like a man. He could apologize for attacking Aemond (which would have done nothing, but made him appear the bigger person). He did the smart thing though in not playing to Aegon's childishness. Helaena pops up and talks about how horrible her husband is and this was great. Aegon deserve to be eaten by a fucking Dragon as Jace walks off to be with Helaena. This is a pairing that should have happened, but no Karen Queen had to push them together. The family seems happy hear at least a little bit, Aegon is a fuckwad who should be gelded. Rhae is smiling even Aegon is happy as is the Queen. For a night, the King gets his dream, a family without stsrife, but this is a false narrative. He is dying, we can see as the pain begins to take him and Daemon watches. Aemond decides to open his fucking mouth, decides to level another insult, he decides. Alicent is trying at this point, we can see that it is now the generational feud that is spreading now. She says she will return on Dragonback, but I don't think the Princess will return. We switch to the dark of the Keep as music plays in the background. Someone is stalking somewhere in the night. Is this Daemon visiting the White Worm. No it is someone else. We sweep into the King's bedroom where he is struggling with the pain of his illness. I do rail against ALicent, but the woman IS trying. She is dealing with a father who encourages her to cover up and not actually deal with her sons problem. She is surrounded by men who have pushed her into this situation. And she is in a marriage where her husband is a walking corpse. In his throws of pain he speaks of the prophecy of the Song, and he eventually pushes ALicent into a position which is foolish. If anyone writes a good Alaenyra story giving Rhae and her a good start I will jump on that bitch fast! Alicent leaves her husbands room after hearing his rambling as she thinks he wants Aegon to succeed. Knowing nothing of what he meant she will take this as the King Breathe's his very last it seems. He tears up, seeing how the ravages of his future will result in the death of his line mayhap. Thus the King died, Long LIve King Aegon II and thus came the Dance of Dragons. Gay Canon Damn, like seriously damn, I have some really good ideas involving a few characters here. I wanna say that once I finish up some work I will be dabbling in an Alaenyra story for next season. A sort of spite to the fuckery that is the sexism of Westeros. I want to be clear, this is me spiting what Weiss and Benioff did to a sound storyline. I like what HoTD is doing, I think it has a solid story in its hand. At the same time I want to take in hand what I think could have been a take on the Targs not descending into the sickening rot that will become of their future Kin. Hottakes The Driftwood Throne is pretty bamf.

Thank gods they didn't actually show us that gender violence scene.

I like how they are playing up Aemond as a childish almost sociopathic clone of Daemon. The stand off near the end mirrors their ended together well above the Gods Eye.

This show is really doing a good job as expressing and showcasing generational trauma.

Helaena is fucking precious.

All of these time skips are fucking with my head.

They say only four seasons, I would have made it six with fewer time skips.

[warningsine]

The fourth chapter in the True Detective saga, subtitled Night Country, is good. Really good, in fact. As Navarro, Reis brings a bristling intensity, whether she’s pinning down a bad guy or reluctantly opening up about her mother’s unsolved murder. The 37-year-old more than holds her own among a heavyweight cast, led by Oscar winner Jodie Foster, after two forgettable seasons fronted by Colin Farrell and Mahershala Ali, respectively.

With Night Country, Reis and Foster have guided the show back to the brilliance of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s searing first series, but in a very different way. Foster plays Liz Danvers, the cantankerous police chief of a small town on the fringes of the Alaskan wilderness. She and Navarro must work out how and why a group of polar scientists left their station and ended up naked and frozen to death in a jumble of bodies out on the ice. In McConaughey and Harrelson’s Louisiana-set series, women fell into three categories: sex workers, “nagging wives” or dead. Night Country flips these tropes on their head. “This series wouldn’t work with two female nurses,” Reis says. “You have two detectives in a male-dominated world who have a gender fluidity that you can see throughout the series. They have this very masculine energy they both have to carry in this profession.”

It didn’t take long before this role reversal drew the ire of misogynistic “bros” – to use series director Issa Lopez’s term. The showrunner recently spoke out against “bros and hardcore fanboys” who review-bombed Night Country on Rotten Tomatoes, posting negative ratings to sabotage the show’s score. “If they could just get their heads out of season one’s ass, that’d be great,” Reis asks of the critics. “Issa did not attempt to rewrite the first season; there are connections to the first season, there’s an homage to the first season, but it is not trying to duplicate it.”

In a recent interview with The Independent, Christopher Eccleston (who plays Danvers’ married lover and boss) praised the series’ stereotype-defying sex scenes. “In the first episode you see both female detectives coming to men for sex and then leaving. Both men are shown trying not to come because they want to please the women, who are absolutely in charge,” he said. In the scene Ecclestone describes, Navarro flips local musher Eddie Qavvik (Joel D Montgrand) on his back and rides him while grabbing his throat. “I got accused of my character being a raper!” Reis says incredulously. “I’m like: what century do you live in?”

Sex scenes are new territory for Reis, who marks just her third-ever acting role in Night Country. The newcomer made her screen debut in Catch the Fair One, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s 2021 revenge thriller about a boxer who voluntarily joins a sex trafficking ring to find her missing sister. It was an obvious route into the acting world for Reis, who had built a name for herself as a professional boxer with a formidable record of 19 wins – five by knockout. Put her name into YouTube and you’re more likely to find clips of her bludgeoning opponents in the ring than a BuzzFeed puppy interview. “Everything was so new,” she says of filming the more intimate scenes in True Detective, “I was like, ‘OK, you guys gotta explain everything, is there tongue in there?’”

There were some more familiar fight scenes, too, of course. In one, Navarro goes on a self-destructive rampage, picking a scrap with three barflies who give her a beatdown (after taking a few thumps themselves). Was it hard for Reis’s boxer ego to get handed her first knockout defeat? “Navarro wasn’t knocked out, she was just knocked down,” Reis is hasty to point out. “That was a little tough, though, but I took notes from the people I’ve knocked down in the ring.”

Today, appearing from her home in Philadelphia, the former world champ looks comfortable. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail and she’s wearing a baggy T-shirt with the slogan “Stay Trippy” on it. Her face is punctuated by silver jewellery in her ears, cheeks and septum, and her nails are pointed black claws. She’s conscious that, from the outside, both she and Navarro might appear intimidating. “Being a professional boxer, you can hand me a gun and I can stand there and look mean,” she says. “The hard part is being able to bring the audience in without saying a word.” Throughout the series, the detective’s icy exterior melts into moments of fragility. “There are a lot of ways I’m like Navarro and there are a lot of ways I’m not,” Reis says. “I believe for me, personally, that my strength has come from my vulnerability. As soon as Navarro allows herself to become vulnerable, that’s when she finds her true strength.”

In 2017, a year after Reis won the WBC female middleweight title, her brother died from brain cancer. “Boxing was our thing,” she explains. “After he passed away, I didn’t want nothing to do with it.” As a result, Reis started exploring other options. She’d always been creative, or as she puts it, “a little Virgo” – “I asked for a violin aged nine for Christmas.” She laughs. Her mum, who raised Reis and all five of her siblings by herself, was always “throwing” her into plays as a child, whether she liked it or not. Besides that, though, there really wasn’t much thought behind her new career choice. “I was like, ‘You know what? Acting seems kind of cool.’ I don’t know, it was on my radar. I was thinking I could land like a cameo in a commercial, be an extra? I just wanted to try it.” Just one week after Reis put out some feelers, Wladyka reached out to her on Instagram about Catch the Fair One. “And here we are,” she says.

Both that film and Night Country deal with the murders and disappearances of indigenous women, a cause that Reis is extremely passionate about. The actor is of mixed Cape Verdean and Wampanoag Native American ancestry, while Navarro is Iñupiat and Dominican. “I am not Native Alaskan, Iñupiat or Inuit, but there’s a collective group of morals that indigenous people share,” she says. “So it’s very important for me to be able to have this type of project done the right way. We had Alaskan native producers going through the script with a fine-tooth comb. I don’t want to make the age-old mistake of assuming I know about a culture.”

We’re speaking the day after Lily Gladstone made history by becoming the first Indigenous American woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, thanks to her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. “When she won the Golden Globe [another historic first], I was sitting folding laundry,” Reis remembers. “I literally burst out screaming and crying. This is an amazing time for Native American Indigenous talent.”

It might only be her third-ever acting gig– she also had a small part in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s yet-to-be-released paramedic thriller, Asphalt City – but Reis carries Navarro with the assuredness of someone who knows they’re in a role they were born to play. “It’s funny, looking back at it now: I’ve been training to be an actor my entire boxing career,” she muses. “The constant ups and downs; repetition, repetition, repetition; being able to take criticism; thinking on your feet.” She compares directors to coaches, and likens working with two-time Academy Award winner Foster to training in a “gym full of champs”. “I’m not walking into a gym to be the big dog; I want to be the worst one in the room so I can get better,” she says.

The Silence of the Lambs star sounds like the perfect sparring partner for an up-and-coming talent. “She doesn’t take anything too seriously – if she screws up, she screws up,” Reis says. “And she’s so generous with her knowledge, her time, her ideas. She’s an amazing person.”

The cast also had an incredible set to work with, I tell her, addressing the elephant in the room, or rather: the “corpsicle” in the ice rink. In episode two, the frozen bodies of the scientists are transported to the local hockey rink to thaw in a mangled mess of limbs and frostbitten private parts. It performs a surprisingly central role in the series, with characters returning to it again and again like a demented version of the Central Perk café in Friends. “It was so amazingly made,” Reis says; “everything was so detailed, every hair, every testicle – the frostbite on the feet.” It didn’t take long to become desensitised. “By day two I was drinking coffee next to it, giving the dead dudes a fist bump.”

Without giving too much away, thawing the corpsicle promises to unlock the key to cracking the case. “It’s gonna shock everyone,” Reis teases of the forthcoming series finale, and the big reveal of who has been behind the murders. “I really think it’s gonna throw people off – in a good way.”

Reis now has “Prestige HBO Drama Star” to add to her list of titles. Will it be enough to tempt her out of the ring for good? “My career and women’s boxing as a whole has been on a really great trajectory,” she says with a smile. “I haven’t hung up the gloves just yet.”

[salted-caramel-tea]

it makes me violently uncomfortable how many men on tiktok are comfortable using the label rapist or raper in their usernames as a joke . like it makes me physically angry when i see it

[horizon-verizon]

Saying the writers failed miserably in making Aemond a likeable character is wishful thinking, unfortunately. Had they been more faithful to the book, he wouldn't have had half the stans he has today. He was for sure one of the most hated characters and Targaryens before the show, not even the few Greens that existed back then seemed to like him as much as they do today given how cruel and incompetent he was described to be in the book, but now that they've given him a sympathetic characterization and background - a bullied child - and they've got a good looking actor playing him? I'd say the opposite, the writers have succeeded in making him relatable and sympathetic for a lot of people. Yeah those people are largely Green leaning, misogynistic and tradcath types and so on, but does it really matter? They're part of the audience (and a lot of people seem to underestimate how many of them actually are out there sadly) and the writers know it. Also, Aemond commiting atrocities in the future =/= those actions not being whitewashed (Luke's murder being an example - who would've guessed it was going to be an accident in the show really? no one). Tbh if anything I'd say it's Aegon who's actually the (more) hated one but strangely enough, even he has stans who, for example, are in denial about him being a rapist in the book and are gaslighting other people about this being not true.

Post anon is talking about is HERE.

Like in that post, I say that Aemond is one of the most loved characters of this show, so no the writers didn't fail to make him "sympathetic".

I just got off a few reactions to the show, and yes, thankfully all of them have very negative reactions to Aegon the Raper.

"Also, Aemond commiting atrocities in the future =/= those actions not being whitewashed"

I know I must be reading this wrong, but I can't make sense of this?

[isawthismeme]

[ogre4leonkennedy]

SINNER SINNER SINNER STOP RAPING HIM RAPIST RAPIST FAG RAPER

we have school tm go to your room and im not even touching him hes trying to take a nap but your banging on my door plus hes 20 years old

[esther-dot]

Brave black crow," she mocked. "Well, long before he was king over the free folk, Bael was a great raider."

Stonesnake gave a snort. "A murderer, robber, and raper, is what you mean."- Jon(ACOK VI).

Replace Bael with Rhaegar. It's basically Lyanna and Rhaegar story. Like Bael, some considered Rhaegar loved Lyanna while others claim him rapist. Ygritte also told Jon that every lady fall in love with Bael in his songs and his truth is different from theirs

Most interestingly Jon considered Bael a liar and he was surprised that the Stark girl loved him. Personally I hate both Bael and Rhaegar.

(about this ask)

Oh, I hate Rhaegar too 😂 However, I think how we feel about characters/plot developments is a distinct category from speculation/what we think Martin is saying. The best part of his series is that he wants each character's POV to feel true to who they are, for each to shade our understanding. So, I agree with you that Rhaegar could be substituted for Bael here, but I think it makes sense that Ygritte would have one view, a Northman another, to clearly illustrate and maintain the conflict of the cultures (that is elaborated on via Jon and Ygritte's relationship), and from that I conclude that we, the readers, are expected to develop a more nuanced understanding as a result of the conflicting views, not conclude that one of the other is entirely correct.

And, if the goal is to understand where Martin is going, we should take the new revelations regarding Rhaegar seriously. Robert’s version is evil rapist, Ned’s thoughts make that difficult to believe, Dany’s vision makes us realize, oh, not lust driven, prophecy driven, and then we have Bran’s and Meera’s convo which starts to (maybe) contradict the Lyanna as an abductee narrative and suggest, maybe she was enamored with Rhaegar’s singing as Martin starts to indicate, all women were? I guess I think it’s worth the effort to pay attention to the wrinkles Martin is introducing into the story.

Also, I can’t remember if I’ve seen a meta on this, but Rhaegar is a little Biblical David-y, what with the harp playing, the paranoid king, going after someone else’s wife (betrothed), and of course, everyone recognizes Jon as a take on a Christ figure, which fits with that reading too, so I kinda…feel like Martin is likely wanting to say more, not less, with his version. That doesn’t mean justifying his actions ofc. I would think Jon will be appalled when he learns the truth.

[expfcultragreen]

There are guys who think of themselves and all men as potential rapists, like they have been taught not to see it as an uncrossable line but as a fact of their nature ....and usually as a corollary, the nature of anyone else with a dick (and if we're being fine-grained, a "functioning" endocrine system; ie one that functions as they deem desirable personally), 2nd corollary they see trans men as jokes mainly but possibly also as psychopathic women who rape to prove their manhood, which they dont want to call projection at all of course lol. There are also guys like me........but we'll ignore me and how i am, and say, there are also guys for whom its simply an uncrossable line

But some women and the men whove trained/victimized them into contorted shapes, well, they would never believe that or think it was relevant to the conversation that revolves around how "its just a fact of nature that yes, they Are ALL like that, you naive clown"

This is a core problem within the gender studies discipline, the tension between people believing this horseshit and people trying to pierce the veil of ignorance

Learned behaviors can and must be approached much differently than inherent natures...its 9 ballparks over

We need satisfactory enticement for the remaining bastions of opposition to concede to our side of the culture war.....secretly they want absolution, by the way...and right now, they only get it from eachother, thats the honey keeping them in the Kill All Rapists pot

Absolution shouldnt look like permission, no handmaidens plz

And frankly, depending on the details, ymmv about what you can be friendly about

Some rape may in fact be funny

This is my highschools mascot btw, total nonsequitur of course.....

Jk, eeeeeeverybody knows thats rapethreat bee

Now, the problem with finding it funny is, the people who find that harmful and upsetting are correct

Anyway theres this marilyn manson lyric, "i rape the raper" which IS related, tho, ive never raped anyone, to the best of my knowledge.....now, the problem with hanging around certain groups is, theyre cryptos and actually theyre trying to entrap you because their consent was conditional on you being a future detransitioner for them to tokenize

I wouldnt know of course, thats hypothetical....insomuch as its happened to people ive known and lived with but not me YET

[atomic-taco-muffin]

Xaldin reuniting with Jessica true pacifist au:

Kana: s-sis c- GET OFF FUCKING RAPIST!

Raper: get off the damn phone whore

Hana: OH FUCK NO!

Hana: *rushes out*