#i cannot emphasize how much of a hoot it is to watch all the characters twist themselves into knots over why blackthorne is here

[thevalleyisjolly]

Rewatching Shogun is so much funnier with the knowledge that Toronaga is just keeping Blackthorne around as his funny little guy. The Blackthorne-Mariko-Buntaro drama, ordering them all to live in the same house, that one time he arranged for Blackthorne to visit a courtesan and made Mariko go along under the pretext of spying on him... Toronaga truly living his best life as an RPF shipper stirring up as much drama as possible by putting his blorbo in situations.

[cellarspider]

3/30: Meet David

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We return to the movie I want to bite down on with all of my teeth, Prometheus.

This time, we meet a man so bored he has invented new solo sports and started doing his hair like his blorbo, T.E. Lawrence. 

Meet David (Michael Fassbender). He’s implied to be a little over two years old, and he’s been completely alone for the vast majority of his life.

Actually, I lied. The movie first wants to throw another small strain on our suspension of disbelief: David has a VR visor he can use to view the dreams of the human crew in suspended animation. This is technically a plot point, and thus it is delivered with all the grace of this deer.

I cannot emphasize enough how clunky the movie becomes when plot or deliberate character arcs are being communicated through dialog scenes. 

We find out from dream-peeping that Elizabeth Shaw’s father (horror actor Patrick Wilson) was a devout christian of some variety, possibly a missionary, and her mom  died when she was young. She was given a cross necklace, which we see in blurry montage-o-vision before David wanders off.

We see David’s routine: Pick up tiny specks of dust, send out first contact messages and receive no response, perfect the lonely sport of solo bicycle-riding shootout, eat android breakfast and take a Proto-Indo-European language lesson, watch Lawrence of Arabia (1962) while dying his roots, quote the most Definitely Not Suffering line to himself over and over again as he does his hair like Peter O’Toole and wanders the halls, waiting for something to happen. “The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.”

David is going to later profess to have no emotions, but I think that given the chance, he would at least admit his enclosure needs enrichment.

This is one of the strongest scenes in the movie. David is a novel creation of humanity, and he has been left alone, with only the memories and dreams of humans to extrapolate off of. He has been abandoned without thought for his needs, stuffed down into Plato's Cave. We don’t know yet whether the people on the ship see him as a person, but we know they’re thoughtless in how they’ve treated him. He’s bright, he’s inventive, he’s chosen a way he wants to be seen, but he’s seen by no one. 

I’m sure this is going to turn out great for everybody.

And as a side note, while I didn’t know it at the time, David’s language tutor is the actual historical linguist that they employed for the movie, Anil Biltoo. His and Fassbender’s pronunciations were strong enough that even a hobbyist in linguistics could tell that they were really, really trying to get it right. They even reference Schleicher’s fable, the first piece of text anyone ever created from reconstructed Proto-Indo-European. This level of nerdy detail made me excited.

Side note to the side note, Biltoo also has an introductory textbook on Sanskrit you can buy, if you’re a maniac like I am.

This scene kept part of me hopeful for the rest of the movie, because it’s so strong. The “not minding that it hurts” line is a little on the nose, but overall it has the feel of something that could be expanded into an extremely melancholy short film. Or, hell, a Tarkovsky-esque feature film. Moon (2009) could be another point of comparison. In any case, this scene gives you a little space to feel all the quiet suffering of David’s existence. 

But unfortunately for the movie as a whole, this sets David up as the most sympathetic character. I personally had already been drawn in by the promotional “advert” for the David-8 model android (see part 1). Now I was invested in this particular David’s story. The rest of the film didn’t manage to yank back much sympathy for anybody else. 

Because the general vibe I soon picked up from the rest of the crew was that they were absolute hooting jackasses.

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Sources alt-text facts:

1. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-ron-perlman-nearly-ruined-the-alien-resurrection-basketball-shot/  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0766970/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t50

[novelmonger]

I just finished The Silver Chair and thought I’d pop over to let you know I enjoyed it this time through (you said it’s your favorite, recently), and also that I figured out why it was one of my least favorites as a kid. It’s a sort of middle-aged book. I am, of course, referencing Screwtape’s advice to Wormwood that “The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather. You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere.” Of all the Narnia books, it’s the one that requires the greatest perseverance from the characters (and thus from me, the reader), with the least “reward” along the way. There are no respites at the Beavers’ house or bright days of sailing in fair weather or rides on a winged horse to break up the slog through marsh and moor and underground maze. Every apparent respite is just more danger and discomfort in disguise. Even the season is the grimmest, hardest part of the year as the tail end of autumn slides into the bleakness of early winter.

And then there are the adventures. I am petrified of snakes, and a serpent plays a prominent role in this story. I am terrified of heights and can’t even watch characters in a movie stand on the edge of a cliff without nausea clawing up my throat, so Eustace falling over the edge of that cliff and Jill flying through the air on Aslan’s breath provoke a deeply uncomfortable physical reaction for me. And I, like Jill, also cannot bear being shut up underground. I identify a little too strongly with her POV to enjoy their trip to the Underland—especially since Lewis keeps emphasizing her discomfort!

But! This time through, I found Puddleglum a hoot. The parliament of owls too, with their odd, backwards view of humans. Jill is incredibly relatable to me, not only because of her fears, but also because she is so ordinary and she bickers with Eustace and she wants a warm bath and a hot meal so badly. That’s exactly how I would feel in a like situation. Her negligence in reviewing the Signs is also more relatable than I like to admit. The enchantment scene with the witch is a brilliant presentation of how secular culture tries to reduce faith to something ridiculous and imitative through denial and mockery. And it’s presented in a way that children can see the flaws in the witch’s words.

As for the “middle-aged” atmosphere—well, I’m old enough now to have hiked my own Ettinsmoor and Underland. I can appreciate the virtues endurance and patience in a way I didn’t as a teen. So all that is to say that I guess I’ve finally grown up enough to appreciate this book. It’s still not the volume I’m most likely to pull off the shelf, what with the physical and emotional discomfort, but I definitely see more in it now.

To clarify: The Silver Chair is my favorite of the BBC miniseries. Of the books, my favorite is The Horse and His Boy.

I think a big part of why I love Silver Chair so much is because it was the first of the BBC adaptations we owned, so I watched it over and over (as well as the animated LWW, which I love aspects of but also recognize that the animation is...special).

But I also identify with Jill most out of all the children, I think. She just seems so normal. She doesn't become a queen. She almost feels like a hero by accident, because she was showing off and ended up being the only one to hear the Signs. I mean, it's all part of Aslan's plan, and none of the children were chosen because they were particularly special (other than that Aslan chose them!). But Jill just feels a bit more relatable to me. Also, everything about forgetting the Signs was really convicting to me as a kid who often thought of Scripture memorization as boring and pointless.

Then there's the climax, with the Queen of Underland almost convincing them there's no Narnia, no sun, no Aslan! But Puddleglum comes to the rescue! His dourness and pessimism, which seemed like little more than a funny sort of character quirk before, turns out to be exactly what they needed at that moment to save the day. And what he says about how he'd rather believe in Aslan, even if he's not real, than the Queen's depressing "reality," has always struck such a deep chord in me.

And then there's Prince Rillian! That whole part where they're all suspicious but then he says Aslan's name sends chills down my spine to this day.

And then, specifically from the BBC version...I honestly can't imagine anyone better than Tom Baker for Puddleglum, and Barbara Kellerman is a fantastic Green Lady/Queen of Underland (and White Witch, but that's a whole other post).

Anyway, I never thought of Silver Chair as being "middle-aged," though I see what you mean. Maybe I've just always been an old soul or something XD Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[davidmann95]

Comics this week (12/1/2020)?

calvatronlordofall said: Today’s comics?

Far Sector #9: Another comic I won’t understand until it’s done and I can reread the whole thing but that I’m enjoying anyway. Really, really hope Jemisin continues contributing to the medium in some form after this, because she absolutely has a gift for it.

Strange Adventures #7: He doesn’t care for tyranny, folks. And JEEESSSUUUUS, Doc

DCeased: Dead Planet #6: Some quality DC Comics nonsense problem-solving, but not sure at all whether the chips are gonna fall in favor of the stuff about this I’ve been really liking or the aspects I simply don’t care about at all.

Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War Of The Gods: While I’ve seen plenty of them around the periphery in anthologies and so forth I think this is Vita Ayala’s first full work I’ve been exposed to, and tbh I can’t say I’m taken, even given the pretty threadbare-seeming material for them to work with. I’ll still give Children of the Atom a try, but my expectations have been lowered. Nice seeing Trish Mulviihill’s colors though, thought they looked familiar and it turns out she worked on my beloved Superman & Bugs Bunny.

Batman: The Adventures Continue #7: Yeah, now that it’s all said and done, definitely the best take on the death and return of Jason Todd.

Batman #104: Art’s taken a hit, but Ghostmaker’s getting more and more fun as a character the more that comes out about him. And surprising seeing Dick in his real Robin suit in flashback, Dark Designs had him still rocking that New 52 abomination. It really seems like the policy RE: costumes in flashbacks with him remains up in the air at any given time?

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the long-awaited BatCat?

Anonymous said: Bat/Cat the objectively best comic of the week. Thots.

Batman/Catwoman #1: I imagine disappointingly, quite few - both the best and worst part of this book is that King’s entire spiel on “This is gonna be such a different animal from my regular run, this is my DKR, this is my ultimate prestige statement on the characters” was pure hype, this is just the next issue of his Batman run with Clay Mann as the new main artist. And it’s good! I like it! I think it’d take awhile for anybody to tumble onto the ‘three timelines’ aspect of it if they didn’t go in knowing about it since the color of Catwoman’s suit is the only obvious tipoff for a chunk of it, but it’s still a well-constructed piece of comics in line with the story up to this point, even if it’s so in line with it that it pretty much puts the lie to the notion that this was originally conceived of as a special prestige project in the same way as Strange Adventures or Rorschach. Mostly I’m just struck now that it’s out by the guts of doing a straight sequel to Mask of the Phantasm, given that’s maybe the singularly least divisive major Batman story: everybody on every side of the Batman-loving aisle recognizes it as hallowed ground, so nobody’s gonna not be let down if you fuck it up. I really need to rewatch it, it’s been well over a decade and unlike Return of the Joker my memories of it have almost entirely faded.

Black Widow #4: The further in I get the more I’m struck by the cleverness of the central conceit. How do you construct a drama around a century-old woman whose business has her have to mostly forsake most normal human connection? Make the literal supervillain plot that she’s been forced to have incredibly intimate human connections, and now she’s just gotta deal with that on top of what would otherwise be fairly routine Black Widow stuff.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21: Hate to say it folks, but even discounting the severity of the delays this arc’s been a dud. Really hoping it finds its feet again soon.

King In Black #1: Holy cow, this was ass. I went in thinking “well, I’ve resigned myself to having to get this to understand the crossovers into books I’m already getting and tie-in minis I do care about, but Cates still has a baseline level of competency so it should still be perfectly readable”, but this is just...nothing. This is that modern Dan Jurgens tier where it’s so bland and perfunctory and inoffensively executed it loops back around to infuriating, except Dan Jurgens’s writing if nothing else at least doesn’t strut around in tangible self-regard as the next great sales-shattering triumph of the Punk Rock God Of Comixxx like Cates’. And when was the last Marvel event on this scale with such little hype behind it? Even Empyre seemed like it had more weight on arrival, and much as I enjoyed it I’m pretty sure that book mainly existed to fill space until we got this. Maybe it’s just the circle I run in. I swear I remember Thanos Wins being pretty fun, and I just reread Atomahawk and that was still a hoot, so it’s a shame Cates has turned out this way, and worse he’s ended up Marvel’s new golden boy. Unless my dad likes it (and if so hey, he’s not alone, I imagine this is selling gangbusters) I’m sure not grabbing another issue, so I guess I’ll have to do my best with context clues in figuring out what’s going on for...Guardians of the Galaxy, S.W.O.R.D., Daredevil, Namor, Return of the Valkyries, the Joe Fixit Immortal Hulk one-shot, Iron Man/Doctor Doom, and the next book below. Fuck.

The Union #1: I’ve only read Everything Used To Be Black And White for Jack Staff but I was definitely curious what Grist would do here, and it didn’t disappoint! Fun little story, bunch of neat character ideas I’m looking forward to seeing developed further, very lived-in feeling slice of its corner of a superhero world.

Marvels Snapshots: Civil War: An excellent little parable that I’m surprised we didn’t actually see the likes of in ‘06, and frankly worth getting a mediocre Miles Morales arc for (even if it was disappointing that that one had to be where the ball was dropped) if this is where Ahmed’s attention was going instead.

Daredevil #25: So I turned two pages at once and accidentally spoiled myself at the last possible moment for the big reveal of the issue, so that sucks. Still a great issue though - one that manages to function as a logical extension of an incredibly street-level story even though it can only possibly exist as an extrapolation of the wildest excesses of the Marvel universe - but I cannot imagine how the hell the next is gonna cleanly pivot into King in Black shenanigans.

Kill A Man: A new OGN by Steve Orlando, cowritten with Phillip Kennedy Johnson and with art by Al Morgan and letters by Jim Campbell, the reductive though not inaccurate pitch is ‘queer Creed’. But since this is likely to sail under the radar I need to emphasize this is one of Orlando’s absolute best works, a real triumph of the form that’s among the best comics of the year (good GOD does this put to shame 99% of superhero comics fight scenes by the end), and a must-buy for any fans of his work. I’m just gonna let how hard the title and solicit text go speak for themselves:

“As a child, James Bellyi watched his father die in the ring as payback for slurs thrown at the other fighter. Today, he's a Mixed Martial Arts star at the top of his game, and one of the most popular fighters in the world...until he's outed as gay in his title shot press conference. Abandoned overnight by his training camp, his endorsements, his fans and his sport, to regain his title shot Bellyi is forced to turn to the last person he ever wants to see again: Xavier Mayne, a gay, once-great fighter in his own right...and the man James once watched kill his father.”

[manikas-whims]

Messing with Her

Pairing: Shouto Todoroki X Momo Yaoyorozu

Words: 1711

Rating: T

Read on: AO3 | FFnet

One. They are supposed to share just one lesson with the students of class B every week and yet somehow it has become the least bearable thing for Shouto. Although he isn’t much of an extrovert, he can bear with a few new faces but this doesn’t mean he’s ready to share seats with said new faces. And as if this isn’t enough, fate decides to play a dirty trick on him by giving him the worst possible seatmate for this particular class— Neito Monoma.

Not only does the blond hold some kind of personal grudge against class A but he is also nearly deranged. His obsession with annoying people is seriously worrisome. Negativity is known to eat away one’s inner conscience, deprive the person of liveliness and joy yet this boy thrives in chaos. Disaster fuels him like no drug can ever. And Shouto is extremely disgruntled to have to share a seat with him for a whole year.

He doesn’t pay heed to the crazy boy’s taunts and focuses on Sir Cementos, who is explaining something about strategizing which they’ll have to apply later on in test missions. His eyes glance ahead, stopping upon the back of a girl with silky, black locks next to an orange haired girl from class B. He sighs. It was his lovely, dark haired, seatmate herself who had suggested this new seat arrangement by drawing lots so as to help the two sections become more accustomed to one another and to make some new friends. Well he certainly does not need new friends. He is content with having her, Midoriya and Iida.

“Ohh so Mr. Cool Guy here is now ignoring me.” Monoma speaks, feigning a hurt expression.

Shouto finds the nickname funny, considering how hot-headed he gets when having to deal with idiots like these. But just like the rest of his classmates, he’s promised his class representatives that he’ll try to learn from this experience, not pick fights. And so, he tries to concentrate on what is being taught right in front of him.

“Is it your class rep, you’re thinking about?” Monoma says, his eyes now fixated on Yaoyorozu.

“Oh I know..” Monoma clicks his fingers, as if he’s discovered Shouto’s deepest, darkest secrets. “You’re thinking you’d rather sit with her than having to face a genius like me.”

Shouto huffs, cracking his neck to diffuse the annoyance building up within him. He has to! He promised Iida and Yaoyorozu.

“You think she’s better than me?” Monoma asks haughtily. This guy doesn’t know when to give up, does he?

Shouto ignores him.

“She is intelligent, I’ll give her that. But isn’t her kindness off-putting? I dunno, she almost seems too good to be true. Hey! Maybe she’s faking being nice to-”

“Fuck Off” The words escape Shouto’s lips before his rational mind can stop him.

It is only when the whole class turns towards him, some gasping in shock whilst several others hooting in approval of the possible incoming argument that he realizes he’s said the curse words loud enough for everyone to hear. He looks away, unfazed by everyone’s undivided attention on him. He only swears if it is to humiliate his bastard of a father. But people like Monoma press the right buttons, pushing him to lose his composure. It would’ve been fine if the arrogant boy had kept his snarky comments limited to him but he tried to insult Yaoyorozu, someone whom Shouto holds very important in his life, just like his other friends. He assures himself with that thought but wonders if he’d actually reacted the same way had it been Midoriya or Iida. Anyways, he couldn’t have just sat there and let the guy say whatever.

Sir Cementos puts down the chalk in his hand and opens his mouth to berate him for his language but Yaoyorozu beats their teacher to it.

“Todoroki-san! How could you?” she stands up, disappointment clear in her voice.

How could he? Normally, he would’ve simply told her that this stuck-up class B student just badmouthed her. But with an audience around, he can’t. He just knows that’ll hurt Yaoyorozu more than Monoma’s false remarks. So instead of stating the truth, he decides to lie. “Because he deserves.”

From the corner of his eyes, he can see Iida itching to chide him but is stopped by Midoriya.

“Swearing is wrong!” Yaoyorozu emphasizes, her hands resting on her hips. “Whether or not a person deserves it, is not as important as you spoiling your tongue by using such foul words.”

Here it is, her ‘good girl’ speech. Although she’s right, she can’t force everyone to stop swearing. And he’s already not the most ideal boy in his class. He is kind of a brooding, no-nonsense, cool sort of guy but that doesn’t mean he’s not bad. It may not be apparent but he’s just as handful as any other teenager. He doesn’t answer much to his sister and he treats his father like trash (which the man actually is). Oh! And not long ago, before the sports festival, he used to be pretty rude and uncaring about others. Its surprising that she and the rest of his classmates collectively decided to forget all of it as soon as he started opening up. So yeah, he doesn’t really care if swearing is wrong.

“It’s my tongue I’m spoiling, so you don’t need to worry.” He says with a shrug, earning some collective ‘oohs’ from the other students.

Her expression darkens at the nonchalance in his words. “I’m not worried. I just want you to apologize.”

Shouto’s eyes widen for the fraction of a second before returning to his stoic demeanor. Apologize? Him? To this jerk? And that too for cursing at Monoma because the blond was mocking her kind character? Not in a million years. If asked, he can share his soba with her but he will definitely not ask for this obnoxious boy’s forgiveness. He cocks his head to the side as he responds, “Or what?”

His words ensue a set of gasps, hoots and snickers. Even Bakugou quirks a brow in amusement. The sassy intonation in his words, makes Shouto question himself too. Crude words are one thing. But where is this coming from? He doesn’t remember ever speaking like this to anyone. Especially, since he had only meant to decline her request. Somehow he ended up saying these..challenging words!? He’s not in the position to challenge her for correcting him. So then, how did he let such words slip out of his mouth? Must be due to his time spent in the company of Bakugou and others at the provisional training.

Or is it because he enjoys messing with her? He knows she’s genuinely too sweet to scream at him for his words. Plus, he has noticed her always blushing cutely when he says something unpredictable. He isn’t sure why she reacts the way she does towards some of his actions but he likes it. He likes getting under her skin. He wants to witness how much she can take until she finally snaps back at him and takes action.

“Or..” she begins through gritted teeth, “I’ll never talk to you.”

His brows furrow immediately. The last time she stopped speaking to him was a disaster. Yes, he had talked it out with her. But he doesn’t have the energy to repeat that because he knows most of class A will be eavesdropping on them like the other time. He balls his palms into fists, the temperature rising on his left side whilst decreasing equally at his right. This isn’t fair. He didn’t expect her to be this strict on him. He isn’t saying that he’s special but she always does make him feel so. Wishing him good luck during tests, lending him spare stationary material by actually using her quirk to create it for him, offering him her expensive variety of tea and so much more. It’s just that her little gestures make him feel warm and happy..make him feel special and loved.. So now that she’s the one reprimanding him, it’s disheartening. Still, he cannot apologize to Monoma. He just can’t.

“It’s okay, Yaoyorozu-san.” Fortunately, the orange haired girl from class B intervenes. Kendo right? She’s the one who keeps her classmates in line. “I know Monoma is a bit provoking in nature.” She says sheepishly. “So there’s no need to say sorry to him. I think a written apology to your homeroom teacher will be better.” She suggests, looking awkwardly between Todoroki and Yaoyorozu.

Yaoyorozu bites her lip as if contemplating if she should agree or not but then relaxes visibly. “Fine then. Todoroki-san, please write an apology to Aizawa sensei.” With that said, she turns around, a frown still etched on her face to express her disappointment in him.

He watches the others turn back to Cementos, assuming the matter is over. But not for him. For some inexplicable reason, Shouto can’t get enough of this. He knows this isn’t a competition and that she wasn’t serious when she said what she did. He knows. Yet..

“Or what?”

“Or..I’ll never talk to you.”

The statement echoes in his head. He can’t believe that she shot back to his pugnacious words.

Shouto knows that it’s unnecessary and he’s being childish. But he can’t help himself from wanting to have the last word in this silly, one-sided argument with her. Maybe it’s his adolescent hormones kicking in but he wants to spite her, test her some more..

“Well then you better keep an eye on me or I won’t be writing that apology letter.” He drawls out but he doesn’t get to wait long. He sees Yaoyorozu instantly push her chair back with a noisy screech. In a few quick steps, she stomps towards him, glaring Monoma to get her message across. The blond boy immediately vacates the chair for her and she sits down next to Shouto, passing him a fiercer glare. He smirks, relishing in the hooting that follows anew as a result of his playful words.

Seriously, if all it takes is a few swear words and silly comebacks to make her sit by his side, then he’ll gladly do it all over again.

A/N: Amongst class A students, i think Shouto is the most badly behaved one. He's rude to people he doesn't like or doesn't respect, regardless of their age. There's so much I've noticed about him that I feel like he is the Bad Boy type right next to Bakugou 🤭

Well, I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing..

OH, I'M OPEN FOR REQUESTS NOW

If you have a scenario, AU or just sn idea about todomomo and you want me to write it, please comment about it here ☺

[tacitwhisky]

Jon / Sansa Reread - Bran I, AGOT

In which Bran sees an execution, talks to Jon, talks to Ned, and then finds some direwolves.

I always love when other people do rereads, so I’m trying my hand at it, with a focus on Jon and Sansa and how Martin writes them. This is essentially fanfic research, and for that it’s always best to go back to the original source.

So if this is a Jon and Sansa reread why am I starting with a Bran chapter? Because while on the surface Bran I is about Bran, it’s also equally about introducing the male side of the Starks and so has a lot of valuable insight into Jon’s character. It’s also one of my favorite chapters in the series for just how sparse and laconic Martin’s style is throughout.

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life.

This is such a great hook to open a chapter and the book as a whole with and ticks a lot of important boxes in just a paragraph: the setting, Bran’s age and state of mind, and a good hook. Who is being beheaded? Why is he being beheaded? Why is a child going to go see it? As a writer you almost always want to have an underlying tension or question that the reader wants answered to drive them forwards.

Bran’s bastard brother Jon Snow moved closer. “Keep the pony well in hand,” he whispered. “And don’t look away. Father will know if you do.”

It’s interesting Martin has Jon play the role of older brother here rather than Robb. Despite his half-brother bastard status Jon is clearly close with Bran, as we’ll see later when he visits Bran’s bedside after he falls. He doesn’t coddle Bran though; partly this is to emphasize the Stark coldness, but also I think it’s an insight into Jon’s character.

There’s a recurring thread through these early chapters that Jon doesn’t have quite the same leeway as the true born Starks in Winterfell. He’s probably especially sensitive to disappointing Ned. After all, his existence at all is already an embarrassment and spot on Ned’s honor.

Bran’s father sat solemnly on his horse, long brown hair stirring in the wind. His closely trimmed beard was shot with white, making him look older than his thirty-five years. He had a grim cast to his grey eyes this day, and he seemed not at all the man who would sit before the fire in the evening and talk softly of the age of heroes and the children of the forest. He had taken off Father’s face, Bran thought, and donned the face of Lord Stark of Winterfell.

As Ned’s son Jon does exactly this in ADWD when he has to don his own Lord Commander face. While in this chapter we don’t get to see into Ned’s head, in ASOS and ADWD we’ll see just how much it costs Jon to maintain the cold Lord Stark persona both personally and politically when he makes Gilly touch the fire and give up her child, or forces Sam to travel south, or demands child hostages from the Wildlings to cross the Wall.

Jon’s cold practically is an aspect of his character that doesn’t really get explored much in fanfic, or even really included at all. There’s a couple reasons for it, I think. First, even if they have read the books, the show’s presentation of Jon tends to be what sticks in most people’s heads, and the show has definite habit of softening and whitewashing Jon’s character so he can be the Hero, not to mention Kit Harington’s constantly plaintive look.

Second, I think a lot of fic writers prefer to have Sansa be the cold hard one (which is also a show invention, but we’ll get into that later) paired with Jon as the emotionally softer one. Which is fair. I love that contrast and dynamic. But I do wish we got a little more examination and exploration of the parallels between how they both got to their Stark face and how they interact now.

The head bounced off a thick root and rolled. It came up near Greyjoy’s feet. Theon was a lean, dark youth of nineteen who found everything amusing. He laughed, put his boot on the head, and kicked it away. “Ass,” Jon muttered, low enough so Greyjoy did not hear. He put a hand on Bran’s shoulder, and Bran looked over at his bastard brother. “You did well,” Jon told him solemnly. Jon was fourteen, an old hand at justice.

Just in case you were wondering if Theon was a terrible person or not.

“The deserter died bravely,” Robb said. He was big and broad and growing every day, with his mother’s coloring, the fair skin, red-brown hair, and blue eyes of the Tullys of Riverrun. “He had courage, at the least.”

“No,” Jon Snow said quietly. “It was not courage. This one was dead of fear. You could see it in his eyes, Stark.” Jon’s eyes were a grey so dark they seemed almost black, but there was little they did not see. He was of an age with Robb, but they did not look alike. Jon was slender where Robb was muscular, dark where Robb was fair, graceful and quick where his half brother was strong and fast.

Jon calling Robb “Stark” here is interesting for a couple reasons. Partly this is just Martin trying to set up really quickly for the reader Jon’s bastard status; even Arya, who Jon is closest to, will in her inner narration call him her half-brother quite a bit. But it also signals a kind of a acknowledged formal space between Jon and the other Starklings, even if it’s one they’re used to.

Robb was not impressed. “The Others take his eyes,” he swore. “He died well. Race you to the bridge?”

“Done,” Jon said, kicking his horse forward. Robb cursed and followed, and they galloped off down the trail, Robb laughing and hooting, Jon silent and intent. The hooves of their horses kicked up showers of snow as they went.

There’s a really chilling kind of casualness to the older boys’ reaction to the execution. Even Jon who treats it more seriously than Theon is still able to shift modes easily. Part of this I think is just early installment weirdness, but it also nicely shoves the reader into the medieval mindset of westeros in a way that the show never quite achieves. Though it’s underrated, the underlying medieval mindset is one of the key differences between books and show and causes havoc in later seasons as the showrunners have to adjust and soften character to make them more palatable to a modern audience while not changing the underlying actions themselves. It creates a sort of cognitive dissonance and some of the themes logical coherence slip through the crack.

The contrast between Robb laughing and Jon silent and intent is a great character detail. Robb isn’t taking this as seriously as Jon, because Jon takes everything seriously. He has to. It’s another way his bastard status influences his personality. Robb can lose and he’ll still be lord of Winterfell one day. Jon? Not so much. So this is how Jon treats everything in his life: seriously. It’s a also a bit of a childhood and teenager thing.

Bran thought about it. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”

“That is the only time a man can be brave,” his father told him.

This is one of the clearest articulations of Martin’s ethos and the theme in all of his work, but especially ASOIAF, of existential heroism. When we talk about Jon as a hero, it’s that which makes him one in the end, not the magical sword or rags to riches; when it comes down to it he does the right thing no matter how much it costs him personally (ASOS) or materially (ADWD). It’s also one of the themes the show completely misses, instead espousing that being honorable makes you stupid.

His lord father smiled. “Old Nan has been telling you stories again. In truth, the man was an oathbreaker, a deserter from the Night’s Watch. No man is more dangerous. The deserter knows his life is forfeit if he is taken, so he will not flinch from any crime, no matter how vile. But you mistake me. The question was not why the man had to die, but why I must do it.”

Bran had no answer for that. “King Robert has a headsman,” he said, uncertainly.

“He does,” his father admitted. “As did the Targaryen kings before him. Yet our way is the older way. The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

“One day, Bran, you will be Robb’s bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.”

This has been explored more and better in other meta, but the Starks and the north in general has a far more personal view of justice and governing than the south. This isn’t to say it’s better, but it is different. Later as Lord Commander we’ll see just how much of that ethos Jon picked up from Ned: in beheading Janos Slynt, in the mission creep at Hardhome, and in his failure to really use his institutional power to make changes to the Night’s Watch. There’s a strong sense of personal responsibility and connections in northern governance.

Half-buried in bloodstained snow, a huge dark shape slumped in death. Ice had formed in its shaggy grey fur, and the faint smell of corruption clung to it like a woman’s perfume. Bran glimpsed blind eyes crawling with maggots, a wide mouth full of yellowed teeth. But it was the size of it that made him gasp. It was bigger than his pony, twice the size of the largest hound in his father���s kennel.

“It’s no freak,” Jon said calmly. “That’s a direwolf. They grow larger than the other kind.”

Theon Greyjoy said, “There’s not been a direwolf sighted south of the Wall in two hundred years.”

“I see one now,” Jon replied.

Notice how calm is Jon with Theon here. It’s a bit of a cheap shot at Theon to make us like Jon more as a character, but is also very in line with his character. Very rarely even in later books does Jon react emotionally to things (with a few exceptions like when he tries to murder Alliser Thorne); he tends not to from a place of emotion and almost always takes time to think things through. The reason for this is Jon is calm because he has to be. It’s a result of his marginalized status in the Stark household. There’s no leeway in his bastard position for emotional outbursts: Catelyn isn’t going to put up with that shit, and he’s already enough of an embarrassment to Ned just by existing.

While we don’t ever really get much thought from either Jon or Theon about their relationship with each other, their interaction in this chapter is I think indicative of it as a whole; slightly adversarial and only cordial because of their mutual friendship with Robb. Theon as a whole is a really interesting foil to Jon; irreverent where Jon is serious, emotional where Jon is calm, dismissive where Jon is willing to learn about others.

They both have outsider status in the Stark household, but instead of bonding, Theon is significantly closer to Robb. While Jon does have privilege, Theon has more (he is the Greyjoy heir after all) and more importantly, has internalized it far more. It makes sense that aside from just personality differences Theon would think himself above Jon and be drawn to Robb as a source of privilege.

“Born with the dead,” another man put in. “Worse luck.”

“No matter,” said Hullen. “They be dead soon enough too.”

Bran gave a wordless cry of dismay.

“The sooner the better,” Theon Greyjoy agreed. He drew his sword. “Give the beast here, Bran.”

In case you had any doubt Theon is in fact the worst, here we have him enthusiastically ready to commit puppy murder.

“Lord Stark,” Jon said. It was strange to hear him call Father that, so formal. Bran looked at him with desperate hope. “There are five pups,” he told Father. “Three male, two female.”

“What of it, Jon?”

“You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord.”

Bran saw his father’s face change, saw the other men exchange glances. He loved Jon with all his heart at that moment. Even at seven, Bran understood what his brother had done. The count had come right only because Jon had omitted himself. He had included the girls, included even Rickon, the baby, but not the bastard who bore the surname Snow, the name that custom decreed be given to all those in the north unlucky enough to be born with no name of their own.

Their father understood as well. “You want no pup for yourself, Jon?” he asked softly.

“The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. “I am no Stark, Father.”

I don’t have a lot to say about this passage, but it’s a good example of Jon choosing to do the right thing despite how it won’t benefit him and also show just how much he loves his siblings that he’s willing to do this for them.

Halfway across the bridge, Jon pulled up suddenly.

“What is it, Jon?” their lord father asked.

“Can’t you hear it?”

Bran could hear the wind in the trees, the clatter of their hooves on the ironwood planks, the whimpering of his hungry pup, but Jon was listening to something else.

“There,” Jon said. He swung his horse around and galloped back across the bridge. They watched him dismount where the direwolf lay dead in the snow, watched him kneel. A moment later he was riding back to them, smiling.

“He must have crawled away from the others,” Jon said.

“Or been driven away,” their father said, looking at the sixth pup. His fur was white, where the rest of the litter was grey. His eyes were as red as the blood of the ragged man who had died that morning. Bran thought it curious that this pup alone would have opened his eyes while the others were still blind.

This is such a powerful moment to me. Remember that of all the direwolves Ghost never growls or howls or makes any sound at all. And yet Jon hears him somehow. Even though we just met Jon we understand by this point just how left out Jon feels, and here he has a creature that wants him, needs him, loves him. Later when Jon makes the decision to refuse Stannis’ offer of legitimization we’ll see just how much Ghost means to him.

(I’m not bitter about how the show forgets about Ghost and all the direwolves for long periods. Really. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s fine.)

“An albino,” Theon Greyjoy said with wry amusement. “This one will die even faster than the others.”

Jon Snow gave his father’s ward a long, chilling look. “I think not, Greyjoy,” he said. “This one belongs to me.”

“I think not, Greyjoy” is low-key my favorite line of the series as a whole, and I hate that they cut it from the show. Instead Theon says Ghost is the run of the litter and Jon gives Theon a look that’s neither long nor chilling and actually feels more like he’s slightly annoyed that Theon is right. It goes back to the difference of how the show softens Jon and casts him more as the reluctant and slightly dense Hero instead of sharp and smart and slightly vicious at times.

That’s largely it for Bran I. Overall it’s a really great insight into Jon’s character and his place in the Stark household while also setting up character threads later chapters will pick up. Speaking of, next up will be Jon I, in which Jon gets drunk and talks with Tyrion. I’m aiming to try and get one of these rereads out a week, so subscribe @tacitwhisky if you’re interested.

Next Chapter (Jon I)