#is the green one from house of the dragon? i don't remember an alys but the dude looks like you know the dude

[diospirando]

Not only refusing the apology, but thanking you for giving me what I was secretly hoping for

👀👄👀

If I may ask, do you have a favorite illustration that you've made (and why is it your fav)?

i hope you forgive me but i have a few favourites!! i can’t choose just one I’M SORRY it’s not that i think i’m the greatest artist to ever love (i’m definitely not haha) but i like these for different reasons :)!

i really like this one when it comes to composition! i just feel like this piece idk flows very nicely and everything fits well to create a cohesive whole!

this one’s so so simple but i like how i included small details (con’s suit being too tight, ken’s being too big, the stars around logan’s “golden children” and tears by the “weak dogs”) to convey the intricacies of the roy family!

i’m just SO proud of how alys turned it this piece — character design is one of my interests and i’m definitely not the best at it but i enjoy it SO MUCH! i just love the outfit i created for her and idk i think she looks pretty cool :)

i used not to work in black and white at all and i just think this piece is SO strong when it comes to the contrast between the whites and the blacks! :)

[bl00dlight]

i saw this ask on another blog and then recently i came across a reddit post abt this exacttt thing. but it did make me wonder, cause I know u got some opinions but, what do u think about Aemond being a blood supremacist? alot of team greens deny it but idk... he literally says it in the show? the blog also disagreed I think to. also love love love ur fic nd I like how u haven't made aemond and visenya like besties. cause I agree with ur other rant to, there is soooo much soft, Mary Sue stuff with aemond and it dosent really fit him as a character at all.

First of all thank you sm for reading the fic. I literally just cracked open my mother fucken laptop one day and was like "IM OVER IT!!!". But yes, I agree, so many fics really like project an idealised version of Aemond. Which is totally fine, no hate no hate but, I just prefer canon accurate characterisation with everything.

But to answer your question, I feel like it's pretty straightforward and I'm also really surprised this a debate? Yes, Aemond is obviously a valryian supremacist. Almost all the Targs are to some degree and the Velaryons. But Aemond quite literally references the importance of keeping their valyrian blood pure and is deeply obessesed with dragons. "It would keep our Valyrian blood pure." Coming from a 13 year old boy is like a clear indicator that, yes homie is pro-targ supremacy. He is also the mirror of Daemon... who is also pro-targ supremacy.

I don't believe that Aemond commented on Helaena in ep7 just to display how "dutiful" he is. We know for a FACT Aemond is not dutiful, he is ambitious/power hungry. That is his whole arc, especially in Fire + Blood. Homeboy is dutiful in the same way Daemon is. It's not about actually caring for what is right or wrong, it's about his own proximity to power. I think alot of people really misinterpret Aemond's lines regarding duty as being a display of dedication. When in reality, it's narcissistic grandiosity lol. Like straight up. His envy of Aegon isn't "ugh I'd be a much better King because I care about protecting the realm, helping the smallfolk, maintaining order, doing what is right." It's "ugh, I'd me a much better King because I'm BETTER." We can see that in ep 9 when he literally gives out a list to Cole, why he would make a superior King to Aegon. Not once does he mention anything outside of what he perceives as his own brilliance. This is a book Aemond quote when he becomes Prince Regent and wears Aegon the Conqueror's crown "It looks better on me than it ever did on him,". So here we have another indicator that this isn't about being a good dutiful brother, this is about him living out his Rogue Prince fantasy.

I feel like people may bring up Alys Rivers as a counterpoint but again, I don't see why? Because remember, Aemond literally slaughtered her entire House because he hated the Strongs. He would make fun of Jace and Luke's appearance in Fire and Blood for like lack of Valyrian features. He left Alys alive so he could take her as a "prize" to use as a 'bedmate' / 'paramour'. This wasn't recorded as a consensual reltionship, and of course Alys went with it because what else is she gonna do? Fight him? He just slaughtered her entire bloodline, just BECAUSE of their blood. She's on thin ice. By today's standards she was put into sexual slavery. (unfortunately fire & blood is an unreliable text and it was written to be contradictory, so literally there is no actual canonical understanding of their relationship) Also a significant amount of fire and blood was written by those from the Greens side, and there are claims she bewitched him etc etc so that he wouldn't kill her. Regardless, the point is, Aemond fucking Alys isn't a marker of his progressive belief that Targaryen's aren't superior? If anything it reinforces it because he has literally chosen a woman who in every single way is completely socially 'inferior' to himself. Again, it's about power and vengeance. Him taking Alys is saying "look at me, I can do whatever the fuck I want. I can burn the Riverlands down, I can slaughter an entire House and then, I can fuck the last very last woman left because I CHOSE TO KEEP HER ALIVE." And he did it again, he abandoned Alys at one point and left her captive to another mother fucker just to get more vengeance on the Blacks after Helaena's last child dies (i can make a post on the suspicious Helaena x Aemond parallels in fire and blood) and then eventually came back to get her again. He don't really give that much of a fuck, in my opinion. She is not an example of him not being a bigot. And we see this in the real world too. Powerful bigots have historically sexually enslaved whom they oppress. *cough cough, literally ww2*. Sex is a power exchange in many ways, and Aemond taking Alys to fuck, after he spent his entire life loathing her family and KILLING THEM, is not some star-crossed lover shit. It's him continuing his reign of abuse on the Strongs. He kept one of them alive, just to fuck. That is an active example of his supremacist beliefs. There is also speculation Alys got pregnant, but it's never confirmed. However, his son would be another Strong bastard. And it wouldn't mean shit to him, because is that not the ultimate "haha im superior" to interject himself into the Strong line? To be the one which controls it's survival?

Also again, we see it time and time again with Targ men. They believe in Targ supremacy, actively want to participate in their 'traditions', while also wanting booty calls. Daemon does the same thing, homie fucks women left and right, yet still loved /married Rhaneyra because she was a Targaryen like him. Viserys iii also, fucked other women, yet canonically wanted to marry Daenerys once he assumed the throne to continue their bloodline.

Because marriage is very different from sex in this universe. Marriage and sex are two completely separate ideas. So it makes sense for Aemond to believe that Targaryen's should maintain their Valyrian blood through marriage because it is a marker of supremacy; while he also wants to exclaim is dominance through having sex with a woman who is 'beneath' him. Aemond is also an actual misogynist in the books too. So again? In what world does he look at Alys as his equal?

Thus, why marriage/love/legitmate children is reserved for Targaryen women, and sex is reserved for prostitutes, bedmates etc. People be forgetting, in this society women are used at the whims of men, LAWFULLY - like it's their right to do so, and women are very much given social status based on how men view them sexually. Madonna/Whore complex.

Which is kinda interesting if we even go further to talk about Helaena and Aemond...

Funnily enough, this exact topic will come up in my fic. Anyway, that's my take on it. That's kinda why the strong niece fics never made sense to me, because it is so contradictory to the motives behind what he does.

[witheredoffherwitch]

If you had the chance to change something about the dance of the dragons (TV show or book), what would it be? For example, how a character dies, which team a house is on,or an entire character personally. How would you change it to make the story better, in your opinion?♥️🖤💙💚

Hi nonnie 🤗

I've seen this question answered by a few of my moots, but I tried my best to avoid reading their answers 🙈 Overall, I prefer the show adaptation over what we got from F&B. I know this may not be a popular opinion on this platform, but I believe the characters are much more developed in HoTD. However, that doesn't mean the show is perfect. In fact, there are some BIG inconsistencies and ridiculous dialogues that take away from the seriousness of the story. While reading F&B, I couldn't give two shits about any of the Targaryens (whether they were on Team Black or Team Green). The only ones who slightly intrigued me were the side characters like Alys, Nettles, Addam Velaryon, or even Mysaria. Surprisingly, I actually thought the aftermath of the Dance was a positive thing since it meant the end of dragons and an opportunity for equal footing in Westeros. If I had to choose a favourite Targaryen from the Dance era in the books, I would have probably picked Rhaenys. Now it's quite funny because after watching season 1, I can't stand her character anymore 😭

BUT the show has me fully invested in characters like Alicent, Aemond, Aegon and Rhaenyra. Although I still don't have a strong team bias, I am still heavily invested in TG characters more than any of the TB ones. Out of the TB characters, only Rhaenyra keeps me intrigued while I have a strong desire to learn more about Jace and the twins.

Now if I had to make one change in the show, it would be Corlys' character. In the books, Corlys Velaryon read like a larger-than-life figure who is just as competent and dangerous as he is prideful. But in the show, he comes across as such a loser. My man is basically a glorified cuckold at this point in the story. His blind loyalty to Rhaenyra becomes nonsensical when considering how much his family suffers at her expense. If it's his granddaughters forcing his allegiance, then at least let him play a stronger role or have some kind of bargaining power instead of blindly following Rhaenyra like a pathetic loser. Knowing how his story unfolds in the books, it's unlikely that he will be remembered as a strategic mastermind or even a winner considering how many L’s he takes throughout his journey.

I'm not too bothered by the rest of the story, as my loyalty lies not with any specific team or group, but with the characters who all meet a painful end. I find satisfaction in the pyrrhic victory (if you can even call it that) of Dance's conclusion. I have made a post before, in case you are interested in checking it out. The continuation of Aegon III's storyline after Aegon II’s death adds an interesting dynamic as the victors must now recognise their own queen's usurper as the rightful claimant to the throne. The dance ultimately destroyed House Targaryen and set them on a path of decline. It was a lose-lose situation for all of the inbred blondes who had long boasted about their supposed superiority as descendants of Valyria - but it also spelt victory for the other lords who could now breathe easier without the looming threat of formidable dragons.

[pangolinheart]

I was tagged by @irisopranta so here's a little trivia!

Share your wallpaper: It's... just the default MSI wallpaper (I have commitment issues lol.) I could probably use a screenshot or a commission of a suitable dimensions, but meeehhhhh.

My mobile wallpaper is this Dragon Age Tarot-style commission from @needapotion

I've been thinking about changing it, but I'm not sure to what.

The last song you listened to: The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance (I mostly listen to music while driving. Shockingly this song is not on any of my many playlists)

Currently reading: Uuuuhhhh I don't read as much as I should, but when I do I've been bouncing between: The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack by Nate Crowley, which I really enjoy but have been trying to finish for like a year and half (it's not long i'm just lazy). An inventive nautical zombie romp with a dash of social commentary.

Asian Ghost Short Stories: An Anthology of New and Classic Tales. The intersection of folklore, horror, and culture was the topic of both of my undergrad senior papers, though they mostly focused on Japan. I've already read most of the traditional Japanese stories in this book, but I don't know very much about ghosts in other Asian Countries, so it's been an interesting read! I was also drawn to it because it contains translations of new short horror stories by unpublished Asian authors. The Black Bestiary: A Phantasmagoria of Monsters and Myths from the Phillipines by Budjette Tan (Author), David Hontiveros, Kajo Baldisimo (Illustrator), and Bow Guerrero  (Illustrator). See above. This book is really interesting, because it's an illustrated compedium of myths and monsters, but the entries are written from the perspective of modern-day monster hunters recording their experiences in a journal. Apparently it's a sequel to a book called The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo, which I'll have to pick up sometime. The art is very cool. One of the illustrators, Kajo Baldisimo, is the main illustrator of a comic series called Trese that semi-recently received an animated adaptation with audio available in both English and Tagalog. I've been meaning to consume both of these at some point as well.

Last Movie: Uuuuuhhhhhh.... I'm not much of a movie person, so I don't really remember, but I guess maybe Dune?

Craving: Curry and rice (I'll make some the next time everyone else is out of the house >_>)

What are you wearing right now? Black leggings and a sweatshirt with the word "Catnip" over a collage of images of cats and slogans like "Cheap Thrills" in the style of an old-school Reefer Madness poster.

How tall are you: 5'4 (164.56 cm) (People always say "I thought you were taller!" Including someone i worked with in-person for more than a month-and-a-half.)

Piercings: Just the boring regular ear piercings.

Tattoos: None, sadly. See: fear of commitment

Glasses? Contacts? Neither.

Last drink: Ice water (I'm trying to drink more water, but I'd rather gargle metal shavings than drink room-temperature water.)

Last show: Hmm this one was also a while ago. I think it was Dragon Age: Absolution.

Last thing you ate: Pork roast (bleh) and potatoes for dinner.

Favorite color: This is a cop-out but I like lots of colors. I guess maybe green, orange or red? But I also like white, black, most shades of blue (navy can get fucked), purple, yellow, pink, silver/gray, etc.

Current obsession: FFXIV

Unrelated obsession: Dice! I love hand-made ttrpg dice sets! They're so pretty and unique! Sadly, not playing in any actual games has not put a damper on my bankruptcy-inducing dice habit.

Any pets: Two cats (Hansel and Gretel) and a dog (Isabella).

Do you have a crush on anyone? Nah.

Favorite fictional character: This one is really hard... There are probably so many I'm forgetting. The Justice of Toren/Breq from the Imperial Radch series, Matthew Swift from the Matthew Swift series, Alistair from DA:O, Anders, Fenris, and Isabela from DA2. Garrus from Mass Effect. Esteem from FFXIV, Alisaie from FFXIV (though I also really like Haurchefant, Y'shtola, Hilda, Ysayle, and Fordola.)

Honorable mentions to the characters I used to have keychains of on my pen case (I would try to encourage shier, nerdier students to talk to me by watching/playing things that were popular with high schoolers and putting my favorite character from the media on my pen case, which students would get very excited about): Chuuya from Bungo Stray Dogs, Childe from Genshin Impact, and Cu Chulainn from various Fate-related media.

The last place you traveled: Uhhhh I guess my last major trip was to... here (America)! My last "vacation" was to Sapporo (that was right before the pandemic.) I do occasionally take shorter day trips to towns around my area, but the furthest afield I've been recently is Grand Marais in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I will be in Las Vegas for the FFXIV Fan Expo this summer though!

Tagging: I think everyone I interact with has already been tagged in this, but if you haven't done it and want to here is your unofficial tag!

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

AGOT: Bran VI (Chapter 53)

Lord Rickard himself led them, his sons Harrion and Eddard and Torrhen riding beside him beneath night-black banners emblazoned with the white sunburst of their House. Old Nan said they had Stark blood in them, going back hundreds of years, but they did not look like Starks to Bran. They were big men, and fierce, faces covered with thick beards, hair worn loose past the shoulders. Their cloaks were made of skins, the pelts of bear and seal and wolf.    

Must be the male line, because Alys Karstark is described as looking similar to Arya.

Starks are smol beans, confirmed.

+.+

Only two days ago one of Lord Bolton's men knifed one of Lord Cerwyn's at the Smoking Log.

Oh look, a Bolton man knifing an ally.

+.+

"Don't act the boy with me, Bran," Robb said.

(...)

He was using the voice of Robb the Lord when he said it; Bran knew that meant there was no appeal.    

The dichotomy between man and boy is a persistent theme with all male Starklings.

+.+

"Twelve thousand men, or near enough as makes no matter."

(...)

"He must march soon, or not at all," Maester Luwin said. "The winter town is full to bursting, and this army of his will eat the countryside clean if it camps here much longer.

Tell me again how on top of all their own people, Winterfell will host three dragons, eight thousand Unsullied, and every man from every khalasar during winter.

Almost like that was bullshit.

+.+

The only tricky part was doors. Sometimes Hodor forgot that he had Bran on his back, and that could be painful when he went through a door.     

I know what this is referring to, but I’m not sure how.

+.+

His baby brother had been wild as a winter storm since he learned Robb was riding off to war, weeping and angry by turns. He'd refused to eat, cried and screamed for most of a night, even punched Old Nan when she tried to sing him to sleep, and the next day he'd vanished. Robb had set half the castle searching for him, and when at last they'd found him down in the crypts, Rickon had slashed at them with a rusted iron sword he'd snatched from a dead king's hand, and Shaggydog had come slavering out of the darkness like a green-eyed demon. The wolf was near as wild as Rickon; he'd bitten Gage on the arm and torn a chunk of flesh from Mikken's thigh. It had taken Robb himself and Grey Wind to bring him to bay. Farlen had the black wolf chained up in the kennels now, and Rickon cried all the more for being without him.    

Noo the baby. :(

But also, clues?? Rickon vanished, half the castle searching for him, and when they found him he was in the... crypts? No, I don’t like that.

BUT he’s also fighting with a king’s sword, aided by his demon direwolf?

Man, I don’t know! I’m going to ask the audience.

+.+

Stout, grey-haired Maege Mormont, dressed in mail like a man, told Robb bluntly that he was young enough to be her grandson, and had no business giving her commands … but as it happened, she had a granddaughter she would be willing to have him marry.

x

Lord Cerwyn means to take his daughter south with us. To cook for him, he says. Theon is certain I'll find the girl in my bedroll one night.

Want to know how I know something was terribly off about Jon and Sansa’s storyline on the show? While attempting to secure allies for two separate wars, at no point did anyone petition for marriage.

+.+

"She says Father conspired at treason with the king's brothers," he read. "King Robert is dead, and Mother and I are summoned to the Red Keep to swear fealty to Joffrey. She says we must be loyal, and when she marries Joffrey she will plead with him to spare our lord father's life." His fingers closed into a fist, crushing Sansa's letter between them. "And she says nothing of Arya, nothing, not so much as a word. Damn her! What's wrong with the girl?"                 

Bran felt all cold inside. "She lost her wolf," he said, weakly, remembering the day when four of his father's guardsmen had returned from the south with Lady's bones. Summer and Grey Wind and Shaggydog had begun to howl before they crossed the drawbridge, in voices drawn and desolate. Beneath the shadow of the First Keep was an ancient lichyard, its headstones spotted with pale lichen, where the old Kings of Winter had laid their faithful servants. It was there they buried Lady, while her brothers stalked between the graves like restless shadows.

Robb, you’re a bright young man, surely you could figure out if your father is imprisoned, your sister is not the one composing these letters. Not your best moment.

She lost her wolf. :(

+.+

She had gone south, and only her bones had returned.

People loved to use this as a predictor for Sansa’s future. How could they not see it’s screaming Lyanna?

+.+

A faint wind sighed through the godswood and the red leaves stirred and whispered. Summer bared his teeth. "You hear them, boy?" a voice asked.    

(...)

"No, stay," Bran commanded her. "Tell me what you meant, about hearing the gods."                 

Osha studied him. "You asked them and they're answering. Open your ears, listen, you'll hear."

Is it the Old Gods or is it something else?

Brandon the Builder sought the aid of the children while raising the Wall. He was taken to a secret place to meet with them, but could not at first understand their speech, which was described as sounding like the song of stones in a brook, or the wind through leaves, or the rain upon the water. - TWoIaF

+.+

Maester Luwin sighed. "I can teach you history, healing, herblore. I can teach you the speech of ravens, and how to build a castle, and the way a sailor steers his ship by the stars. I can teach you to measure the days and mark the seasons, and at the Citadel in Oldtown they can teach you a thousand things more. But, Bran, no man can teach you magic."    

Wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE. I think he did it again!

I can teach you the speech of ravens -> Bran

How to build a castle -> Jon

The way a sailor steers his ship by the stars -> Arya

No Sansa or Rickon, but have no fear, Maester Luwin is unable to teach Bran how to be a Queen or High Septon. Like the Maiden & Warrior, sometimes a kid or two is missing.

JON THE BUILDER. 🤩

+.+

Beyond the castle walls, a roar of sound went up. The foot soldiers and townsfolk were cheering Robb as he rode past, Bran knew; cheering for Lord Stark, for the Lord of Winterfell on his great stallion, with his cloak streaming and Grey Wind racing beside him. They would never cheer for him that way, he realized with a dull ache. He might be the lord in Winterfell while his brother and father were gone, but he was still Bran the Broken. He could not even get off his own horse, except to fall.    

How could you possibly read his point of view, and passages like the one above, and come away with the opinion that two Targaryens and a pretend one are the key to saving the world? This fandom is tragic.

+.+

"Hodor?" he said sadly.                 

"Hodor," Bran agreed, wondering what it meant.

Final thoughts:

On a re-read it’s almost laughable how obvious it is Robb is marching to his death.

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