#m: son of the century

[artschoolglasses]

Dress sword, circa 1790, set with plaques made by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

From the Victoria & Albert Museum

[synchodai]

HBO's Continued Insistence on Dumbing Down Westerosi Politics

So there have been countless thinkpieces already on how GOT simplified the feudalist politics of Westeros (by giving a lowborn sellsword lordship over The Reach, by having no consequences for destroying the Sept of Baelor, etc.), but I haven't seen a lot of people talking about that for House of the Dragon.

The worst being that the show presupposes that Rhaenyra is the lawful heir when the books showed there are plenty of lawful arguments why she wouldn't be.

Mind you that I've been enjoying the show a lot so far. This is just to vent out my frustration with the writers' failure to fully engage with the values and protocols of the Middle Age-inspired setting. The show seems uninterested in laws of the Realm in a story ostensibly about politics, save for when they're using it as an excuse to amplify depictions of sex and violence.

Blacks vs Greens wasn't a matter of misunderstanding of who each side thought Viserys wanted on the throne. It was the Targaryens' belief of their absolute authority clashing with the Realm's established traditions. Everyone always knew who Viserys chose as heir. In Fire and Blood, Grand Maester Orwyle said as much when he was parleying with Rhaenyra on behalf of the Greens.

Rhaenyra heard his terms in stony silence, then asked Orwyle if he remembered her father, King Viserys. "Of course, Your Grace," the maester answered. "Perhaps you can tell us who he named as his heir and successor," the queen said, her crown upon her head. "You, Your Grace," Orwyle replied. And Rhaenyra nodded and said, "With your own tongue you admit I am your lawful queen. Why do you serve my half-brother, the pretender?" Munkun tells us that Orwyle gave a long and erudite reply, citing the Andal law and the Great Council of 101. Mushroom claims he stammered and voided his bladder. Whichever is true, his answer did not satisfy Princess Rhaenyra.

(For non-F&B readers: Munkun is the Grand Maester who served Aegon III, the king who came after this civil war. Munkun's book, The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling, is one of Fire and Blood's source texts. Mushroom is the King Landing court jester from Viserys I to Aegon III's reign. One is a source written with academic rigor but is secondhand at best. The other is a firsthand eyewitness account but is from a literal fool who will take every chance to make things more scandalous and sexual to please the crowd.)

In House of the Dragon, they replaced Orwyle with Otto and Orwyle's discussion of legal precedent with Otto handing Rhaenyra a book page from Alicent. It's quite evident here that the writers, much like Mushroom, thought a discussion on the actual laws of the Realm were negligible in this story about a succession war.

Even Alicent made no pretense that Viserys chose Rhaenyra over her children and I have no idea why the HBO writers decided to make her mistakenly think otherwise. Maybe they thought a queen regent pushing her son to take the throne over another woman made her appear unsympathetic as a character, but if anything, this only makes show!Alicent less politically savvy and more delusional than her book counterpart, fully believing an addled king's vague muttering on his deathbed was sufficient grounds to change heirs last minute.

Book!Alicent following Andal laws instead of her husband's wishes makes sense given her Andal upbringing, her devotion to the Faith of the Seven which enforces said laws, and her desire to protect her children from Rhaenyra given that Rhaenyra has shown she's not above murdering family (see: Laenor).

In the books, there was a long discussion between the former king's council on who should succeed Viserys.

Here are the arguments for Rhaenyra:

Rhaenyra was older than her brothers and had more Targaryen blood

the late king had chosen her as his successor, that he had repeatedly refused to alter the succession despite the pleadings of Queen Alicent and her greens

hundreds of lords and landed knights had done obeisance to the princess in 105 AC, and sworn solemn oaths to defend her rights.

Here are the arguments for Aegon II:

many of the lords who had sworn to defend the succession of Princess Rhaenyra were long dead [...]

Ironrod, the master of laws, cited the Great Council of 101 and the Old King’s choice of Baelon rather than Rhaenys in 92

the hallowed Andal tradition wherein the rights of a trueborn son always came before the rights of a mere daughter

Ser Otto reminded them that Rhaenyra’s husband was none other than Prince Daemon, and “we all know that one’s nature. Make no mistake, should Rhaenyra ever sit the Iron Throne, it will be Lord Flea Bottom who rules us, a king consort as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was [...]”

Should the princess reign [...] Jacaerys Velaryon would rule after her. “Seven save this realm if we seat a bastard on the Iron Throne.”

Once again, the show chose to cut out this long political discussion. Instead, the council had already made up their mind and decided to stage a coup (when in their perspectives from the books, it would definitely not be a coup).

For all their marketing how two sides are equally grey, HotD is actively delegitimizing Aegon II. The strongest argument for him is how his claim follows the laws of the Realm, but the show doesn't seem to care about the laws of the Realm or the political need to maintain a more predictable/tested transfer of power.

Instead, the show focuses on Viserys's relationship with his daughter and the mysticism of the Targaryen bloodline. In doing so, they emphasize Rhaenyra's strongest arguments for succession — that she's more of a Targaryen than her half-brother and that her father prefered her.

And what for? Because in our modern-day, we don't have male-prefered inheritance and people can only imagine misogyny as the only injustice here? What about the injustice of a monarch exercising absolute control, thinking that his "superior" heritage makes him above the established laws of the native people?

This is not to say Aegon II is unquestionably the heir. But this is to say that the show removed the political nuance of why people are questioning in the first place. Precedence isn't the end-all-be-all of succession, but neither is "because daddy said so".

[chiropteracupola]

c. 1540 CE: a young man from Chalco, and his dragon.

[wonder-worker]

A central element of the myth of [Eleanor of Aquitaine] is that of her exceptionalism. Historians and Eleanor biographers have tended to take literally Richard of Devizes’s conventional panegyric of her as ‘an incomparable woman’ [and] a woman out of her time. […] Amazement at Eleanor’s power and independence is born from a presentism that assumes generally that the Middle Ages were a backward age, and specifically that medieval women were all downtrodden and marginalized. Eleanor’s career can, from such a perspective, only be explained by assuming that she was an exception who rose by sheer force of personality above the restrictions placed upon twelfth-century women.

-Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

"...The idea of Eleanor’s exceptionalism rests on an assumption that women of her age were powerless. On the contrary, in Western Europe before the twelfth century there were ‘no really effective barriers to the capacity of women to exercise power; they appear as military leaders, judges, castellans, controllers of property’. […] In an important article published in 1992, Jane Martindale sought to locate Eleanor in context, stripping away much of the conjecture that had grown up around her, and returning to primary sources, including her charters. Martindale also demonstrated how Eleanor was not out of the ordinary for a twelfth-century queen either in the extent of her power or in the criticisms levelled against her.

If we look at Eleanor’s predecessors as Anglo-Norman queens of England, we find many examples of women wielding political power. Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror) acted as regent in Normandy during his frequent absences in England following the Conquest, and [the first wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, played some role in governing England during her husband's absences], while during the civil war of Stephen’s reign Matilda of Boulogne led the fight for a time on behalf of her royal husband, who had been captured by the forces of the empress. And if we wish to seek a rebel woman, we need look no further than Juliana, illegitimate daughter of Henry I, who attempted to assassinate him with a crossbow, or Adèle of Champagne, the third wife of Louis VII, who ‘[a]t the moment when Henry II held Eleanor of Aquitaine in jail for her revolt … led a revolt with her brothers against her son, Philip II'.

Eleanor is, therefore, less the exception than the rule – albeit an extreme example of that rule. This can be illustrated by comparing her with a twelfth century woman who has attracted less literary and historical attention. Adela of Blois died in 1137, the year of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII. […] The chronicle and charter evidence reveals Adela to have ‘legitimately exercised the powers of comital lordship’ in the domains of Blois-Champagne, both in consort with her husband and alone during his absence on crusade and after his death. […] There was, however, nothing atypical about the nature of Adela’s power. In the words of her biographer Kimberley LoPrete, ‘while the extent of Adela’s powers and the political impact of her actions were exceptional for a woman of her day (and indeed for most men), the sources of her powers and the activities she engaged in were not fundamentally different from those of other women of lordly rank’. These words could equally apply to Eleanor; the extent of her power, as heiress to the richest lordship in France, wife of two kings and mother of two or three more, was remarkable, but the nature of her power was not exceptional. Other noble or royal women governed, arranged marriages and alliances, and were patrons of the church. Eleanor represents one end of a continuum, not an isolated outlier."

[megamindsupremacy]

So. ive been going through your billy batson tag bc im very normal and super hinged about this kid and you ARE right about Billy growing up the normal way and how that would effect him, but I need us all to consider the opposite: The Magic went "Ah, he's pure of heart bc he is but a lad", and not *letting* him grow up. Billy being immortal but stuck as a kid forever. The realization everyone is going to grow up w/o him. That he is *always* going to be a kid. That could be a very bad time too.

OH MY HEART. you're so right and i'm kissing you on the mouth. okay i need to marinate in this now stand by

so I think it's fairly accepted now that the Wizard chose Billy to be Shazam when he was so young because all of the previous Champions were adults, and that went Badly (see: Black Adam). So obviously, if the adults can do the whole superhero thing, then we should give the role to a kid. But then, to take it a step further: if the adults can't do the superhero thing, then we should make the next Champion stay a kid.

And like, it takes a hot minute for Billy to notice. Say he became CM at 8 - he doesn't know the average rate of growth for a boy. He just thinks he's not getting as tall as quickly as his peers. It's not like there's adult supervision around to go "hello small small child, why are you still small and a child?" I could see him going at least a few years before realizing there might be something wrong. Then it takes him a little bit to figure out what exactly is wrong, and then a little longer to be in denial, before he finally has to come to terms with, yeah, he really is 8 years old for the rest of forever.

I wonder how it affects him, mentally? Because you could go one of two ways: either he stays mentally an 8 year old forever and doesn't mature, although he gains knowledge and experience with time, or he does mentally mature and becomes an adult, just stuck in the body of a child.

For angst reasons, I like the second one, but realistically, the whole reason he's in this mess is because the Wizard wanted someone who was pure of heart to stay pure of heart. Why go through all the trouble to not let him physically age but allow his mind to change? So now we have an eternally "both mentally and physically a child" situation.

I feel like, when you're that young, you can't really... process how devastating that is? He's only a little kid - at that age, you can't even imagine turning 18 yet, much less living out the rest of your life as an adult. He doesn't know what he's lost. So instead of Billy angst, it's outsider POV angst. Everyone is growing old and watching Billy stay the same as always. I imagine he reveals his identity at some point, a while into being Captain Marvel, and they have a Twilight moment of "I'm 8" "....how long have you been 8?" ("no, but actually, we've known you for 12 years, you can't actually be 8. what do you mean 'a wizard did it'."). Everyone is just quietly mourning the person Billy could have become, had he not been chosen to be the Champion of Magic, meanwhile Billy is living out the eternal childhood dream of Superpowers + Adult Body w/o Adult Responsibilities. It's tragic in a way Billy can never comprehend because of what the wizard did to him.

Feel free to add onto this post!

[thatone-23]

SPOILERS FOR LMK SEASON 5 EPISODE 1 UNDER THE CUT

THEY MAKE ME SO ILLLLL!!!!! I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS?????

also please no spoilers ive only seen the first 2 episodes that came out in english

[themundanedumpling]

they are so cute omg 🥺🥺

[malinka624-hazbin]

[maedhrus]

"Although perhaps, we shall never be [...] intimate friends [...], still I would not wish a better." (x)

[patrickztump]

still find it funny that pete wentz wrote "i am your worst nightmare" knowing full well this guy was going to be the one singing it

[bravagente]

Working with Luca [Marinelli] has been one of the great privileges of my life. I genuinely believe that he is one of the greatest actors living today. He’s certainly up there with Gary Oldman.

- Joe Wright

[fashionsfromhistory]

Dress & Jacket

c.1940

United States

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: S0896.75.167A-B)

[sigurism]

Luca Marinelli

[b1adie]

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

Piotr Stachiewicz (1858-1938) "Christ's Farewell to Mary" (1900) Oil on panel Located in the Warsaw National Museum, Warsaw, Poland

[quitealotofsodapop]

I'm just imagining , for a few hours at least, Macaque wondering if he should even try to rescue Wukong from Azure in the Century Egg AU. After all, he was a shitty mate who caused his expecting partner to lose his baby. He knows Azure would never do that, the Lion loves kids, he would dote on Wukong...

Then Macaque hits himself with reality.

Prev.

yess.

In Macaque's mind, all he's done by coming back is bring more trouble with him. Azure on the other hand has made Wukong literally Empress of the Universe. How could he compete?

I imagine that the shadow monkey has a breakdown once all the gang comes together to plan their next move. Sitting listlessly in the corner of Wukong's hut.

Luckily he's in a room full of critics;

Pigsy: "We have to find a way to get him and the kid out of there!" Sandy: "Mr McQuack has shadow powers - maybe he can sneak in!" Macaque, gloomily: "I can't." Pigsy: "What do you mean you can't!?" Macaque: "All I've done for last nearly two thousand years is hurt Wukong. I hurt him when I left him under that mountain. I hurt him when I attacked the Monk. I hurt him with my death. I literally killed our first child! Azure has made him an Empress... all I've done is made him a widow. Ever since I came back, everything has gone wrong!" Tang: "Now thats not true!" Macaque: "IT IS! I helped bring the Lady Bone Demon back to life and nearly destroyed the world! I got Wukong possessed by her! And Wukong nearly died having Xiaotian! How has me being here made any positive change to his life!?" (*Mortal and immortal eyes avoid Macaque's gaze, all but one.*) Tieshan: "Your scarf." Macaque: "What?" Tieshan: "Your red scarf. The one you wore every day for almost a millennium. The one you died wearing. Where do you think it went after the earth took your body?" Macaque: "Why does that-" Tieshan: "What do you think Wukong wrapped himself in when he set out to make his second child?" Macaque: (*struck silent, eyes widening with realisation*) Marshal Ma, steps forward: "She's correct. Wukong made sure to be buried wearing only items that belonged to you. He thought that in some far-off way, both your Dao could survive in the child if neither of you were truly meant for this world." Macaque: "He... what does that mean? Why would he-" Tieshan: "He loved you Liu'er. He still loves you. Even when you hurt him in possibly the worst way imaginable, he still cried for you. He never stopped loving you." Macaque: (*openly crying*) "He... he would have been better off with me still dead." Xiwangmu: "I must understand something Liu'er Mihou - because you seem to not know yourself; why did you come back?" Macaque: "I..." Xiwangmu: (*gives him a stare that could set a inferno*) Macaque: "I... my ears told me that the soul I had taken was to be reborn. Reunited with Wukong. I wanted to be there to protect them both. I didn't know it meant literally returned as his child when I went searching for it." Sandy: "Explains why you tried so hard for him to let your stay then. You both still wanted a shot at having a family together." Macaque: "I did..." Pigsy, furious/annoyed: "You do. Get it into your head, bub! Wukong is stuck in that throne room in the arms of some creep, who could just decide some day to toss the kid off the cloud if he so pleases! Are you just going to mope here while that happens!?" Macaque, invigorated: "NO!" Pigsy: "Then what are you going to do?!" Macaque: "I'm- I'm going to need Bull." Pigsy: "Not the answer I was looking for but ok." Macaque, turns to the royals: "Emperor, my Lady, I must ask I great favour of you." Jade Emperor: "Go ahead." Macaque: "Azure will not stand to let even a trace of my magic inside the palace grounds - but he's been in a fair mood since Peng and Yellow Tusk have been returned to him. If we can play into that sense of camaraderie, we can get someone on the inside to smuggle Wukong and the baby out of there." Xiwangmu: "Consider his sentence null and void in the event that he helps saves my grandson and great-grandson." Tieshan, surprised: "Mother! You don't mean-" Xiwangmu: "Tieshan, currently your husband is my least disliked son-in-law. If he can help us retake the throne and save Sun Wukong, I will welcome him into our family with open arms." Tang, fanboying: "We're gonna release the Demon Bull King!!!" Red Son, appearing in a joyful whirlwind of fire: "YEAH!! Baba will kick their butts!" Tieshan: "AHH! Red Son! I thought I left you with the Ao-Longs!" Both of the Ao-Longs in dragon form: "You did." "He tried to take the baby back himself." Mei, mouth full of feathers: "I bit the birdy!"

Of course this leads to the conversation of who can lift the Staff to release DBK if Wukong isn't available.

Macaque isn't his mate's equal for nothing.