#and Alice to write her books

[victorluvsalice]

Welcome back to the Chill Valicer Save, where – after introducing new member Marm L. Iser the Servo to the family last update – we get to see how Marm is fitting in on the farm and helping out at the store! How did things go for him and the rest of the fam this fine Fall Wednesday? Well –

-->I started with Victor and Alice in bed and Smiler and Marm watching romantic TV together (though if this stirred any feelings between creator and creation, they didn't act upon them). I decided to check on Marm’s enhancement status while they were both chilling, and upon learning he could indeed be enhanced, had Smiler upgrade him so he’d charge a bit faster going forward. Nice! Marm then got to recharging on the couch (apparently robots can take naps, who knew?) while Smiler lectured Surprise on scratching the furniture (Surprise, in a typical cat move, pretended to have no idea what they were talking about) before heading out to the porch to ask Shadow, sadly chewing on her ball, what was wrong. Turns out Shadow was feeling down and needed hugs and treats – Smiler was only too happy to provide, along with a brushing. :) I then had them feed Toothy before heading down into the barn basement to make some strawberry nectar – I mean, they were feeling flirty anyway, so why not? I don’t think it had any effect on the final product, of course, but it feels like it should have. :p

-->While that was going on, Victor and Alice both woke up around 3 AM – I immediately put Victor on “upgrading the tub in the black-and-yellow bathroom” duty, since he had a want to increase his Handiness (and in fact was very close to maxing it). Had him give it a water recycler (using eco parts, of course), pulsating jets, soothing jets, and a self-cleaning coating. I mean, he did all that for the shower, might as well do the same for the tub! Alice, for her part, talked to Snappy the Sixam Mosquito Trap for a bit (it was a want), then got back to working on her book. In Smiler’s room, because of course she did – never mind that I clicked on HER computer in HER and Victor’s room. *sigh* I really should lock the various computers to their owners, shouldn’t I?

Anyway, while Victor and Alice were thus occupied, Smiler finished their nectar and put it in storage (the vitality and potato nectar Victor found in the prairie grass the other day also made it in there), then went upstairs to stand by the robotics bench so I could sort out the pictures in their and Alice’s inventories and pick my favorites from the recent family reunion to put up. The best two of Alice’s pictures of the group and Marm himself, along with one of Smiler and Marm’s selfies, went into the free “column of three pictures” frames they got from the reunion and hung up near the robotics station, while another Smiler-and-Marm selfie went up in Smiler’s room, on the side wall between the windows (over their yoga mat). :) So now Marm has a presence on the walls of the house, nice. Though, while I was doing all that, I noticed there was a Potion of the Nimble Mind in the household inventory for some reason –

-->And then looked in the barn basement and realized that Victor’s potion display was missing a cube! >.< Yeah, back when I did the small house renovation and jazzed up the basement, I had trouble getting that top left corner display case to slot in, but I didn’t expect it to just POP OFF THE WALL! (If you’re wondering what happened to the shelf itself, I am pretty sure I recycled it by accident.) Even more annoying, I was actually able to move the display right below it up into that slot no problem, then add in a new case into the vacated spot. *shakehead* These snap-together shelves sometimes, man. At least I was able to fix the display!

-->With pictures sorted and Victor, Alice, and Marm all occupied, I had Smiler head into the greenhouse to clean up some cursed objects there (a slime monster and a creepy doll), then had them clean Moory’s shed (which really needed it) while making the recently-awakened Marm clean the chicken coop instead of watching Politi-Sim (trust me, Marm, you don’t wanna watch politics). Smiler then pulled the recyclable trash out of the bin, before returning to the greenhouse to drop off Elmer and Bugs the gardening bots and put them to work! Because we hadn’t used the little bots in a while, and judging by the state of the greenhouse, Victor was going to need the help. XD

-->Speaking of Victor, by this point he’d finished all the tub upgrades (without maxing out his Handiness, boo) – he went and had a little chat with Alice as she finished off her book, then showed a little love to Shadow before heading downstairs to finish off the last of the banana split waffles while I had Alice clean up some of the dirty plates around the place. And as for Marm – well, having FINALLY gotten around to the front of the house to throw away the chicken poop, he decided he wanted to play with the cowplant. I allowed this, but I first made him turn on hover mode so he’d move quicker. Because a walking Servo walks VERY SLOWLY, I have discovered. *grimace* Like, EA, seriously, what the hell is the deal with THAT?? *sigh* This is why I stick to occults like vampires and spellcasters...

[fascinationstreetmp3]

ALICE

[lagosbratzdoll]

Honest thoughts on Alicent Hightower?

I have a lot of empathy for women like Alicent Hightower. I know and love quite a few women like her, with similar experiences, and fears, and who make similar decisions. 

Some women who align with the system that is oppressing them do so due to their inability to envision the possibility of freedom. Therefore, they opt to join the oppressive system in the hope of gaining some power from it. They sacrifice their dreams to the patriarchy and more often than not, they're fine with this exchange because they can wield power as wives, as mothers and less commonly as daughters.

Which is understandable, sad but understandable.

It is a miserable existence, and they feel resentment when they see other women who do not want to conform to the narrow lane that patriarchy (especially African patriarchy) designates for us. They become bitter and resentful, but they never direct that bitterness towards the men who are oppressing them. They direct their bitterness towards the women in their lives, bucking patriarchal oppression as best they can, instead of the men who are actively oppressing them. 

It makes them very dangerous. Women whose entire identity is tied to the men in their lives will gladly set you on fire to keep a man, any man, warm. They'll rarely encourage men to hurt you explicitly, but they'll cheer when they do. They'll tell you that being hurt by the patriarchy is the price that you have paid for stepping out of line. For daring to aspire to more than three predetermined roles that women are destined for.

My whole life has been balancing my love and my anger at the patriarchy princesses in my life. How do you love someone who is in community with people who want you dead? In my experience, painfully and from a distance. 

[mintytrifecta]

@trans-pickles

THE PLACE? THE DESERT. THE TIME? HIGH, TEATTIME NOON.

Out from a rugged field of sand and the occasional viper, a beautiful horse rides on into a tiny, beat up, too-dang-colorful-for-it's-own-good town. The shiny city sign labels it as [Wonderland], home to all mad enough to stay in it. And mad they are, for in this town lies the Queen of Hearts, bandit of the west who lives like a royal, and her sketchy henchman who comes and goes faster than a clock strike, the White Rabbit. A colorful town, indeed.

The horse's rider hides her face from the terribly shining sun as she descends further into town, brim pulled low enough to cast her whole face in shadow. Her figure is draped in clothes both regal and sharp, like an armadillo casting a shell to protect itself, she too hides her seldom-aged form from the world under spike and shadow. She comes to a stop at the local Saloon, The Haberdashery, and gracefully climbs off her horse.

"Easy, Dinah," she says leading her to the trough before the entrance. "Just one more stop and we'll be sure to find him, I swear it."

And with that, she walks in.

In a curious turn of events, this strange saloon offers tea, refusing to hand out alcohol until teatime is over, so every person in the saloon who can spare it drinks enough tea to drown their sorrowful lack of booze. On the stage, a chorus of saloon girls hold intricately weaved flowers into tight bouquets before throwing them to an adoring audience, voices fluttering in the wind like petals in a golden afternoon's breeze. The interior is brightly colored, as the rest of the town, no doubt with paint gotten by bloodied heart-cards grunts.

The rider makes her way to the bar, hobbling carefully to the high seat and calling the tender over. He smiles, wide, but his eyes are glassy, as if he's not all there. "what can I do for you, love?"

She looks up, big blue eyes betraying fear over her brave face. "My name is Alice Liddel. I'm looking for the White Rabbit."

[rewrite-canon]

white authors who love to write about oppression they have never experienced themselves are dropping like FLEAS rn

[paldogangsaan]

the most frustrating part abt the scene with alicent and rhaenyra (other than it being ridiculous) is the attempt at portraying alicent as a passive victim with zero agency (TO BE CLEAR she's a victim of both otto and viserys, that's not a question, she had no choice there. she did, however, have a choice in other moments and those are what i'm talking abt in this post). the writers essentially made her go "oh i thought he was talking about MY aegon. well, it's too late. i am a tragic figure who never wanted war. oh no" like ?? some of us have eyes and can see that alicent has been actively trying to gain power, undermine rhaenyra, and divide the family even before the time skip. she shows up to rhaenyra's wedding late and wearing green, she sows discord between their kids, spreads rumors of rhaenyra's children being bastards despite knowing it could get them killed (+ in the book the only ppl yapping abt them being bastards were alicent and criston cole bc the point of spreading rumors was to undermine and hurt both them and rhaenyra, if it was true or not was irrelevant), and she literally hits aegon and insists that rhaenyra will kill him to cement her claim to the throne even when there's been no indication that she would. alicent did not have to do any of those things, she actively chose to

and rhaenyra was willing to leave all that in the past by marrying helaena and jace thus ending the (then metaphorical) war between their sides of the family, but alicent refused bc she wanted power and for rhaenyra to not have any, so she made active choices to ensure that, and didn't care for the consequences. now her son is the king, she never prepared him for it so he's shit at it, she can't control him, she has no power, and the only person surprised is her (and otto). but again, these are choices SHE made or helped make. making an enemy of rhaenyra, and everything that came bc of that, was a choice. she would've helped put aegon on the throne whether viserys quoted the prophecy to her or not, be it usurpation (which it was) or not. that was a choice alicent made. stop portraying her as a passive victim of the dance when that role belongs to helaena

[crapimgay]

I totally didn't just binge read all of Radio Silence today

No bc can we talk about how great of an author Alice Oseman is????

Like the way that she tackles mental health in her books while not romanticizing it or being insensitive?

And the way that she challenges traditional book tropes and relationships

Like I love how she shows relationships (and people) that are all wildly different from each other, without making it seemed forced (like what is now very common in media)

And her writing style omg, I actually love it so much. It feels like you know the characters on a deep level, you know them as well, if not better, than they know themselves/others.

But truly, I could go on for hours about her writing. She's just such an amazing author and you can tell that she deeply cares about her writing. She's doing this because she loves it, and I'm so greatful that she has created these amazing stories and decided to share them with us. I could not be more thankful.

[gojuo]

so they're gonna make alicole have sex during b&c instead of the canon f&b where alicent is also assaulted by b&c and forced to watch them torture her daughter and kill her grandchild ............. literally why. alicent is also a victim of b&c's brutality. why give her a shitty sexist fetishist ableist "foot scene" that never existed but remove her from the event that canonically traumatized her..................

[kataraavatara]

alicent’s “in all of king’s landing, is there no one to take my side?” speech really points out how silly hbo’s decision to completely ignore ladies in waiting as a thing is because realistically she should be surrounded by like five or six ladies from the reach going “exactlyyyy” every time she opens her mouth to complain about Rhaenyra. like girl. where are your cronies???

[sukibenders]

Me when I see people compare the Cullens calling/referring to Jacob and the rest of the wolf pack as "dogs", "mutts" or "mongrels" to being the same as them being called "bloodsuckers" "leeches" or even, in Rosalie's case "blonde.":

[dr-george-ordell]

Page 91 of "For Your Own Good Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence." by Alice Miller, 1980 - (Am Anfang war Erziehung, 1980) / Chapter 7 of "Another Time" by @imadewritingmyjob on Ao3.

Theres so much I can analyse from chapter seven in regards of Julius, and the interesting language he uses which was highlighted in this post. It's clear in Julius' speech highlighted in the post that he is both parroting his own fears about what he could be himself, a "pansy" or "weak", descriptors that Julius despises in others, and most certainly fears to be true about himself.

Alongside the quote "The child's plasticity, flexibility, defenselessness and avaliablity make it the ideal object for this projection," particularly stuck out in regards to Aaron, since in AT as a child he has a heightened sensitivity to his surrounding, compared to Franklin due to being a much younger child and also autistic, and Julius definitely did not like to deal with that further vulnerability of his younger son, hence treated him much much worse as a result of that fear and disgust Julius holds.

It also implies failure on his part to "toughen" Aaron up as well, and in his mind he is too perfect to "fail" to parent the desirable son. Instead in Julius' own mind, its soley the child's (Aaron's) fault for his own flaws, as it is believed and stated in the practice of poisonous pedagogy Miller speaks about.

And so punishment and retribution is the only way Julius expresses his negative feelings of that failure and percived disobedience/disrespect from Aaron, in the form of those training sessions, not to truly prepare Aaron from the horror's he'd seen at war, but rather punish and also discipline what Julius sees as a part of himself which is wholly unprepared, something which the older man cannot allow, lest he allow an extention of himself and also his property to be harmed in the process.

[dulcewrites]

Seek and Destroy

Summary: Alicent swears she is not naturally a cruel person. Any semblances of cunning or coldness has been taught, slowly and surely. A gift bestowed to her from the age of ten and five. Something she was weened onto like a babe that suckles for milk from its mother. She has learned at the feet at the best - or maybe the worst. King’s Landing has fallen to Rhaenyra. Her children are scattered around the realm. Lives have been lost already. Alicent’s heart has finally callused. Nothing left but a shell and the venom that seeps out of it.

A/N: This is just something I have been working on. It is not finished obvi. I don’t know if I will expand on it. If I do I will probably post it to ao3

Her father’s blood had splattered into her mouth when she cried out. At first, Alicent did not want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her body shake in worry. Bones rattling together under neath sheathed of silk. Green silks. Or let them take glee in seeing fear in her eyes. She wanted to stand tall as the execution begun. Her father being first to go was for a reason.

Even in his doom, Otto Hightower managed to make his presence looming.

Alicent wanted not to shed a single tear. But then she felt ten and eight again. Just a girl with two children, and burden pressed firmly on her chest to the point where it was hard to breathe. He was unruly and fickle but without him, she would be alone… again.

Her brain settled between ‘This is all his fault. His debt comes due, as it should’ and ‘Daddy, please look me. Tell me you love me, that I made you proud despite of how it ends for us’.

But all her father told her was to look away. As if to shield her from a terror that had already came. A terror he brought. The horror was on their doorstep now. She was rutted in each night against her wishes; she bore four children - ones she could not save. They bore her grandchildren that she loved in a way she was not able to love her own children. Maybe if she could not help her own, she could do better with the littlest ones.

Jaehaerys. Oh, my poor Jaehaerys.

Everyone is gone. If not in person, in spirit.

Gwayne is gone. Her brother dragged into this mess. When he had arrived in King’s Landing, she has almost missed him amongst the other Oldtown knights. Her heart had sunk lower that she thought it could at the thought of not even recognizing her own kin. His face was one that was no longer burned in her brain.

Helaena’s mind and heart has been rotted from the inside out. On a good day, Alicent can force her to eat and drink. She bathes her daughter as if she still a babe. There is no light in Helaena’s eyes.

Alicent’s mouth feels as if a pile of sand has been dumped in her mouth if she thinks too long about how cold she was when Aemond left for the Riverlands. He gave her a kiss a cheek and muttered a pitiful sorry.

It was all he had said since coming back from Storm’s End. Different variations of the same thing. He never begged for forgiveness from the Gods but from her.

Sorry, mother. I’m so sorry mother.

If she could crush skulls with her bare hands, Alicent would. Not off strength, she’s always been a slip of a woman. But off the hatred that seemed into her bones.

She was prepared to die. She thinks she has been from the moment Viserys said he would marry her. From the moment the maester congratulated her on being pregnant with Aegon. Death had been a thing she even welcomed at times. When the lonliness felt too deep, when she could not stomach being called to Viserys chambers at night, when she had to look at her children for too long. She eyed Criston’s sword one too many times to admit. So, when Daemon leers over her with that cruel, ugly smile of his, she straightens her back and sniffs away her tears. He, of course, got the honors to kill her father; a task Alicent is sure he has wanted to do for decades.

It was Daemon who pushed her hair to the side with such gentleness it made her a bit sick. The coolness of Dark Sister pressed softly against her neck.

Alicent says a quick prayer to the Mother for her children. She knows it is to no veil; they were doomed the moment they came out of her. Mayhaps, this is her punishment for bearing them.

She does not sob over herself. Her lot in life has been well accepted. But Alicent wants to claw at her own face, peel back her own flesh so she is frayed out, when she thinks of her kids.

Let the Mother keep them safe as they do what is only imaginable in their wildest nightmares. May the horrors committed not leave them too soiled.

“Wait,” Rhaenyra’s voice calls out in the Grand Hall. It echoes so loud that Alicent flinches, the blade swiping gently against her neck. She still shivers from head to toe.

Daemon huffs, before removing the blade cautiously.

Alicent peers up at the stairs that lead to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra gestures softly to her husband to come up the stairs. Daemon does not fully sheathe Dark Sister but complies anyway. A piece of Alicent’s hair obstructs her view, but through it, her eyes stay trained on Rhaenyra. Or whoever the person wearing the crown is.

The woman looks like the Rhaenyra. The same long silvery blonde hair styled elaborately on top of her head with the rest hanging in a braid. Her long riding dress is a deep black with red stitching and a red dragon collar. Red and purple dragons snaking their way up her sleeves. The woman has Rhaenyra’s eyes and nose, but Alicent has never felt more confused about who stands at the feet of the Iron Throne. The woman’s mouth pinches the way a young Rhaenyra’s would when she was distressed.

Rhaenyra’s look makes Alicent think of the stories of warrior queen Visenya. Rhaenyra would often laud the might and cunning of her ancestor during their girlhood. After the pain, humiliation, and anger post Aemond losing his eye, Alicent had chucked softly to herself at the thought her son riding the Conqueror Queen’s beloved dragon. Because of course it would be one of her kids to claim the old bitch.

But despite the styling callback, a warrior Rhaenyra is not.

And based on the look of disgust settling on Daemon’s face, he thinks the same of his wife.

He will never see you as an equal, she wants to call out. It does not matter how many crowns you put on your head, how many dragons you claim - you always just be his little niece… a silly woman. The means to his end.

Their conversation reaches a cacophony and Alicent desperately wants to know what it being said. Is Rhaenyra asking him to make it as gruesome as possible? Maybe they will drag her body out in front of the castle for all the small folk to see. A warning for what can happen if they defy their queen. Alicent already knows the heads of those that helped Aegon and his kids escape will be next once they catch them.

Rhaenyra reaches out to grab Daemon’s arm, but he is already down the stairs muttering expletives out his mouth. Alicent hears the word whore, and scoffs internally. She fights back a sad smile that almost forces itself on her face. Not the first time she has heard that, and surely will not be the last. Poor Daemon has never been clever with his insults. They are as simple as he is. She is the nasty deceitful, whore that seduced Viserys and ruined everything. Used her wily, womanly magic, her cunt, to lure the King of the Fucking Seven Kingdoms into submission. She always noticed how Daemon always acted like she stole Viserys from him.

The same way the maidens whose virtue Daemon stole must be whores too. The same way Queen Aemma must have been inadequate since she did not give Viserys what he wanted. Something must have been wrong with Rhea and Laena too. Maybe even Daemon’s own daughters are not enough. Surely, something is wrong with Rhaenyra. Something that makes Daemon’s stomach curdle. Such is the way with men like him.

Viserys will be remembered as a peaceful king, and a gentle man. A king who was so averse to conflict that he raped Alicent for children he then neglected once they came. He was so kind he made sure his first wife died in a pool of blood with nothing but screams of agony and pleas of mercy dying in her lips.

She wonders if Rhaenyra knows that charming story. Would she still have felt safe under the patronage of Viserys if she knew such? Imagine the horror that Alicent felt when she overheard maesters whispering of such when she was pregnant with Aegon.

Alicent is sure Daemon will die being known as a ‘true’ and ‘honest’ warrior. Apparently, there are those that think there is some sort of honor in being upfront about ones rotting heart. As if his cavalier attitude negates the atrocities on his hands. The world has taught Alicent that type of ruthlessness is only tolerated at the hands of a man.

And Alicent, in all her attempts to do right, to keep her head above water, to appease and break herself down into a small enough package that all can accept her, will be known as a whore. A seducer, a scheming bitch that stole the agency of a grown man. She will die being blamed and accused.

It only seemed right she supposed.

Viserys the Peaceful. Daemon the Honest. Alicent… the Whore.

Her confusion mounts when Daemon does not come back to her to finish the job. Instead, he continues walking, right past and leaving the hall in a fit of anger and rage. Alicent knees have begun to ache from being crouched. Rhaenyra clears her throat, and Alicent eyes slowly go back to her. Dark bags rimmed Rhaenyra’s eyes, only drawing more attention to the extremely dark limbal ring that surrounded deep amethyst. When Alicent heard about Lucerys’ death, it had shaken her to her core. Frankly more for Aemond’s sake than for Rhaenyra’s or the boy’s. The thought of peace still naively in her mind. Alicent always seemed to the last one to arrive at the right conclusions. A fatal flaw of hers unfortunately.

You were already ill-fated, you foolish boy! Why make yourself accursed as well!

But when Alicent heard of Jacaerys’ death, she knew what was to come. There are few things a parent loves more than their first born.

…. Alicent had never known what the smell of burning flesh was like till Aegon.

“I have decided to spare your life,” the few people that stood in the hall, her council, begin to whisper to each other. Rhaenyra shifts uncomfortably at the eyes on her. “For the sake of my father, who loved you once.”

Alicent blinks once, then twice, then three times. She is almost a bit disappointed. Rhaenyra has taken so much and now she has taken death off the table too.

And is that what they are calling what Viserys did to her? Love? Rhaenyra could not possibly believe that. Not now after everything. After the way Rhaenyra would so seamlessly twist the knife when she had the chance, when she was backed in a corner. Rhaenyra knew there was no love there. Not for Alicent and definitely not for her children.

The words crawl up her throat before she can stop them. She must know. “And what of my girl? What of Queen Helaena?”

The queen part slips out truly on accident, a panicked slip of the tongue, but Rhaenyra’s mouth curls a bit in a sneer.

If her Helaena is to die at the hands of one of Rhaenyra’s butchers, to meet the same evil fate Jaehaerys did, then Alicent might beg for the sword. Or a rope and one of the high ceilings of the Red Keep.

Something cold and numb flashes behind Rhaenyra’s already hallow eyes. As if she is just now remembering that she had a sister that still occupied the castle.

“The princess will be spared as well.”

Rhaenyra waves a ringed hand at the guard to have Alicent taken away. Before she can even register was has happened, she is dragged away by the arms.

“Let her be bound in a manner fitting of her new station,” Rhaenyra sits in the Irone Throne elegantly as Alicent goes.

Alicent’s frantic eyes look at her father’s limp body one last time. His blood spilled on the ground. His head separated from the rest of him. It is the first and only time Alicent has ever seen her father so… small.

If Otto was alive now, and they were alone, he would tell her that he was right. He said as much after Jaehaerys was killed. Right before Aegon snatched the hand pin off his grandsire’s jacket and screamed at him that all that cunning had gone to waste by Otto being a ‘bastard that was too thick in the head for his own good’. Otto would say they should have had mercenaries go to Dragonstone and do the deed while they had the chance. He would still be alive. As would Gwayne and Jaehaerys. Helaena would not be in a fugue state beyond repair. Alicent’s boys would be home, and well. Daeron could have come back to King’s Landing for a coronation that was not rushed nor interrupted. Aemond would not have blood on his ledger.

Aegon would be king with no one in his path.

You know it. You're no fool and yet you choose not to see it. The time is coming, Alicent. Either you prepare Aegon to rule, or you cleave to Rhaenyra and pray for her mercy.

She stumbles all the way back to the Holdfast with thoughts swirling in her head.

Alicent did not prepare Aegon, the way she should have. But she was not prepared for such things; so how did anyone expect her to know better. How can a child help a child. How does the blind lead the blind. She may not have done what she needed for Aegon, not in that moment. But she refuses to cleave now. Mercy is not a luxury she has been granted for some time.

Have you ever imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?

No, of course not. Alicent can be naive, but never stupid. Never foolish or too hot on herself. Her veins have turned ice cold. She does not have her children the way she would want to. Alicent has never had a dragon to threaten others with. The army at her disposal is elsewhere fighting a futile battle. Not even Criston is here.

She just has herself, and right now that has to be enough. It must be enough.

[wonder-worker]

Within this broader condemnation of Alice's behaviour, a number of specific themes can be identified. These include sexual immorality, political influence, and [...] numerous and repeated references to greed and avarice. This is particularly striking in two literary representations which may have been inspired by Alice: Chaucer’s Wife of Bath and, most compelling, William Langland’s Lady Meed in his allegorical poem Piers Plowman, a character whose name has become a byword for venality. Meed, like Alice, established her presence at the royal court and acted as a counsellor to the king, but was eventually banished on accusations of being a whore and undermining the workings of law and justice. In particular, in introducing Meed to his audience, Langland describes her hands as covered with rings of the “purest perreize,” a word meaning precious stones or jewels, which would seem to be a play on Alice’s surname, Perrers, and thus directly identifying her with Meed. Chaucer also notably named the wife in the Wife of Bath Alisoun, raising the possibility that she was in part based on his direct contemporary Alice Perrers. The Wife had a husband named Jankyn, similar to the name of Alice’s first husband, Janyn, and was a businesswoman with a mercantile and urban background, echoing Alice’s own early life in London. The Wife was notoriously prolific in her lustful desires, but invariably they had a financial motivation, fusing, in the words of Paul Strohm, “the categories of economic and sexual assertiveness into a single epitome of contemporary male dread.”

— Laura Tompkins, '"Edward III's Gold-Digging Mistress": Alice Perrers, Gender, and Financial Power at the English Royal Court, 1360-1377", "Women and Economic Power in Premodern Courts" (edited by Cathleen Sarti)

[littlequeens]

asoiaf vs the show vs my portrayal

margaery does not want to be “ the queen ” as the show so boldly claimed. she is not the mastermind behind her house; her father not a stupid and jolly santa character.

her father and her grandmother are the masterminds behind the tyrell ambition. however, this doesn’t mean margaery is weak and lacks ambition. she was raised to be extremely cunning just like her grandmother and has a very high IQ. I headcanon that margaery has been aware of her role for a long, long time and has accepted it. she often sits in with them when discussing plans (I like to believe that all the siblings are very well informed of all the plans), so that they can formulate strategies from all angles. she loves her family above everything and would do anything for them.

now, onto the whole “ I want to be the queen ” business. this is her family’s wish for her. however!!! because it’s been instilled into her for such a long time, margaery is not completely opposed to the idea. but more-so approaches it in a “I think I would do a really good job and help a lot of people” way. she is a very kind and thoughtful person who genuinely believes she could accomplish a lot of good as queen. she has the brains and the resources for it. but she’s not disillusioned by the fairytale idea. she understands the game of thrones and that’s what she despises the most and what has turned her off to the idea.

also in regards to the show: listen. lol. I love natalie dormer but her casting was absolutely criminal. she is WAY too old. in the books, margaery is around 17 at the time of the purple wedding and 19-20ish at the end of affc. she has dark brown hair (see my other headcanon about this) and big brown eyes. I don’t have one specific fc for her but a mixture of nina dobrev as katerina petrova (I know, I know IM SORRY), gabrielle caunesil, and dina denoire. I also have a lot of fan art saved if you need more examples.

[2ndstar-ontheright]

I know it's been said and done to death, Alice in wonderland isn't about being on hallucinogens or experiencing a state of mania. It's about a little girl's transition from childhood to adulthood.

(and ofc it's up for interpretation but no you don't need a “dark” retelling of Alice where she overdoses on LSD or something)

[normalpeoplethiings]

i spend a lot of my time thinking about what books alice might write in the future