#mycah (asoiaf)

[ladystoneboobs]

imo one of the biggest proofs of sansa's character growth post-agot (which seems to be overlooked) is this, where grrm makes sure we know how her perspective of the trident incident has indeed shifted. why else even say this? it's not what the tyrells wanted to know, they asked about joff's treatment of her in particular, and "he lied about the butcher's boy" means nothing without context (and even if she said the lannisters used that lie to justify killing mycah, i doubt olenna, at least, would care). but for sansa atp, joffrey's sins against mycah are worth remembering and reporting as his first crime (known to her), that incident is now recognized as evidence of joff's montrosity, the wrongs committed against mycah by joffrey personally (as in not even his death) are on par with sansa losing her wolf and being beaten by the kg. sure, she still has some classism remaining, but to say she cares nothing for the smallfolk, and is still the same girl disgusted by mycah's smellyness, who later repeated joffrey's lie about him weeks after the fact and blamed arya for lady's death more than joffrey, that's just demonstrably untrue.

[ladyofchroyane]

something that’s always struck me as beautiful and painfully true is how asoiaf always emphasizes the importance of community in the face of oppression from the very beginning. only with his friends could jon stand up to alliser thorne and protect sam. only with her handmaidens and khas could dany stand up to viserys without fear of further violence. and of course, it’s the pack that survives the winter, not the lone wolf.

an important part of the starks’ characterization is that they are a pack split from the beginning—they left their home and slowly became overwhelmed as the pack fractured further. they are defined by their absence from each other. but both jon and dany’s narratives center the importance of found family, bypassing inherited ties. circumstances placed them in situations where they realized the vital need for community and became builders of it. it’s really special to me that both of them created their own spaces to exist in light of everything. misfits or “barbarians” to others, their found families are theirs, and it gave them not just power, but also the belonging they craved.

this frames jon and dany as creators whose narratives center the worlds they build. it’s so important to me that both characters later created even greater spaces for others to exist in their own right as they gained more power. they constantly reaffirm their people’s personhood against those who’d wish to deny them the right to exist.

it’s also true that both jon and dany had packs before, but that doesn’t mean their packs were right for them. jon no longer had a place at winterfell and viserys was a danger to dany’s wellbeing. eventually, dany was forced into choosing the blood of her blood—her found family—over the blood of the dragon, and jon chose the brotherhood he formed over his true brothers and sisters due to circumstances as well. it’s not that they hated their former packs—far from it, as they love their family—but those situations were not what was best for them. however, i do think it’s paramount that they both reaffirm their old identities, arya stark’s brother for jon and blood of the dragon for dany, in response to hardship in adwd. i see this as a reminder that your identity must encompass all facets of yourself. when you try to ignore who you are—especially by becoming someone you’re not, like the harpy for dany and lord snow for jon—you hurt not only yourself, but the community you’re trying to build.

[ai-manre]

Cant believe there are still people calling Arya unkind and implying she's somehow less moral and less heroic than other characters. When she is TEN years old and does this:

As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!"

Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!"

Rushing through the barn doors was like running into a furnace. The air was swirling with smoke, the back wall a sheet of fire ground to roof. Their horses and donkeys were kicking and rearing and screaming. The poor animals, Arya thought. Then she saw the wagon, and the three men manacled to its bed. Biter was flinging himself against the chains, blood running down his arms from where the irons clasped his wrists. Rorge screamed curses, kicking at the wood. "Boy!" called Jaqen H'ghar. "Sweet boy!" [...]

Going back into that barn was the hardest thing she ever did. Smoke was pouring out the open door like a writhing black snake, and she could hear the screams of the poor animals inside, donkeys and horses and men. She chewed her lip, and darted through the doors, crouched low where the smoke wasn't quite so thick.

A donkey was caught in a ring of fire, shrieking in terror and pain. She could smell the stench of burning hair. The roof was gone up too, and things were falling down, pieces of flaming wood and bits of straw and hay. Arya put a hand over her mouth and nose. She couldn't see the wagon for the smoke, but she could still hear Biter screaming. She crawled toward the sound.

And then a wheel was looming over her. The wagon jumped and moved a half foot when Biter threw himself against his chains again. Jaqen saw her, but it was too hard to breathe, let alone talk. She threw the axe into the wagon. Rorge caught it and lifted it over his head, rivers of sooty sweat pouring down his noseless face.

Arya literally threw herself into a burning shed with falling roof, to rescue complete strangers. The worst she's risking here is not a beating or anything, she's risking her life and that too by making the active choice to go in and rescue people she does not know. Are you kidding me?? You see this and still Arya Stark isn't the kindest heroic character?

[catofoldstones]

I love how George creates the duality of being low-born v high-born in the asoiaf world. The juxtaposition of Catelyn calling all swords and seizing Tyrion at the unsuccessful attempt to kill her son v Mycah’s father being handed his son’s chopped up body, to the point he couldn’t even recognise that it was his son and not a pig, and still not being able to do anything about it but stay quiet. Chilling.

[ilustrandocanciondehieloyfuego]

15_Juego de tronos_Sansa I

 ¿Y tú quién eres, chico? —preguntó en un tono imperioso que no delataba que el otro le llevaba un año.

  —Mycah —murmuró el muchacho. Reconoció al príncipe y bajó la vista—. Mi señor.

  —Es el hijo del carnicero —dijo Sansa.

 —Es mi amigo —intervino Arya con tono brusco—. Déjalo en paz.

  —El hijo de un carnicero y quiere ser caballero, ¿eh? —Joffrey desmontó, espada en mano—. Recoge tu espada, carnicero —dijo; le brillaban los ojos de diversión—. A ver qué tal lo haces. —Mycah se quedó paralizado de miedo. Joffrey avanzó hacia él—.Venga, que la cojas te he dicho. ¿O es que sólo peleas con niñas?

  —Me lo pidió ella, mi señor —dijo Mycah—. ¡Me lo pidió ella! A Sansa le bastó mirar el rostro congestionado de Arya para saber que el chico decía la verdad, pero Joffrey no estaba en disposición de escuchar nada. El vino lo hacía aún más audaz —¿Coges tu espada o no?

  —No es más que un palo, mi señor —dijo Mycah con un gesto de negación—. No es una espada. Sólo es un palo.

  —Y tú no eres más que el hijo de un carnicero, no un caballero. —Joffrey alzó a Colmillo de León y puso la punta en la mejilla de Mycah, justo debajo del ojo. El muchacho temblaba de manera incontrolable—. ¿Sabes que estabas atacando a la hermana de mi señora?

[agentrouka-blog]

"He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once."- Ned(AGOT).

Sansa pleading for Lady reminds Ned of Lyanna please to Ned to save her son's life from Robert's wrath.

"Bending, Ned pulled back the cloak, dreading the words he would have to find for Arya, but it was not Nymeria after all. It was the butcher's boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood."-Ned.

Sandor Clegane brutally killed Mycah an innocent child on orders of Lannisters. This is similar to Gregor and Amory killing Rhaenys and Aegon on Tywin's order.

It seems like history repeating itself in front of Ned at Trident. That Robert and Lannisters are not changed. That innocents are still murdered. That his daughters are in great danger as were Elia and Lyanna.

Indeed. And Ned placed them into that danger.

It's very telling that GRRM places the revelation of Mycah's fate just as Ned has murdered Lady. GRRM is absolutely eviscerating the idea that he did the right thing:

“Lady,” he said, tasting the name. He had never paid much attention to the names the children had picked, but looking at her now, he knew that Sansa had chosen well. She was the smallest of the litter, the prettiest, the most gentle and trusting. She looked at him with bright golden eyes, and he ruffled her thick grey fur. Shortly, Jory brought him Ice. When it was over, he said, “Choose four men and have them take the body north. Bury her at Winterfell.” “All that way?” Jory said, astonished. “All that way,” Ned affirmed. “The Lannister woman shall never have this skin.” He was walking back to the tower to give himself up to sleep at last when Sandor Clegane and his riders came pounding through the castle gate, back from their hunt. There was something slung over the back of his destrier, a heavy shape wrapped in a bloody cloak. “No sign of your daughter, Hand,” the Hound rasped down, “but the day was not wholly wasted. We got her little pet.” He reached back and shoved the burden off, and it fell with a thump in front of Ned.

Her little pet. An innocent bystander.

A heavy shape, wrapped in a bloody cloak. They got that skin. Ned just killed who Sansa pleaded for, Sandor killed who Arya fought for. Is Ned better for sending the body away? Or is he looking into a mirror? A useful idiot serving people who would kill children?

[stromuprisahat]

He was walking back to the tower to give himself up to sleep at last when Sandor Clegane and his riders came pounding through the castle gate, back from their hunt. There was something slung over the back of his destrier, a heavy shape wrapped in a bloody cloak. “No sign of your daughter, Hand,” the Hound rasped down, “but the day was not wholly wasted. We got her little pet.” He reached back and shoved the burden off, and it fell with a thump in front of Ned. Bending, Ned pulled back the cloak, dreading the words he would have to find for Arya, but it was not Nymeria after all. It was the butcher’s boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood. He had been cut almost in half from shoulder to waist by some terrible blow struck from above. “You rode him down,” Ned said. The Hound’s eyes seemed to glitter through the steel of that hideous dog’s-head helm. “He ran.” He looked at Ned’s face and laughed. “But not very fast.”

A Game of Thrones- Chapter 16 (George R. R. Martin)

Objectively, there's nothing funny about this scene, but a few days ago, I've read this post, and yeah... Sandor would be impossible to re-write into a billionaire daddy faithfully.

[thehiddendooronserpentinesteps]

CERSEI’S DOG - PART 2.

Hi there!

In my previous post I was talking about the possibility that the Hound tried to kill Renly on the Hand’s tourney. I argued that Cersei had a motive, that the tourney would have been the perfect accident, that Sandor had all the skills to do that, that the draw could have been easily manipulated. And now, I’d like to argue, that Cersei could have easily get him to do that, for he was her own personal Dog…

We must take it into consideration that Sandor is in a very-very specific position at court. He initially is Cersei’s own dog:

"He's my mother's dog, in truth. She has set him to guard me, and so he does." (AGoT Sansa I.)

“That murder lies at the Hound's door, him and the cruel woman he serves." (AGoT, Arya II.)

„Gregor's head. Ugly thought. Never told the Hound. Let Cersei surprise him." (AGoT, Eddard XIII.)

"The Hound?" Ned asked, frowning. (…)

"Oh, returned with Joffrey, and went straight to the queen." (AGoT, Eddard XII.)

"He says you mean to take the Hound from Joffrey."

Damn Varys. "I need Clegane for more important duties."

"Nothing is more important than the life of the king." (ACoK, Tyrion XII.)

These quotes tell me, that Cersei trusted him completely, his loyalty was out of question for her. She even trusted the life of Joffrey on him. And this is even more extraordinary, if we read her POV. It is clear, that there’s only a few she trusts. But how she gets people to get loyal to her?

Well, for example Qyburn is absolutely nobody, and she gets him in the position where he is.

Falyse and her husband, Ser Balman have the same enemy as her: Bronn.

But in every other case, other than Pycelle, who is an all-time faithful Lannister servant, sexuality is included. She tries to seduce Ned, in order to get him on her side. She tells Sansa that she would beguile Stannis Baratheon if she could. Oberyn Martell tells Tyrion, that Cersei’s kind of flirting with him, and even hints at marriage in exchange of Tyrion’s head. Love-making and trust is mixed in the case of Taena Merryweather as well. Just as she herself says:

“I did not know who to trust, so I … I used the only means that I had to bind the Kettleblacks to me." (ADwD, Cersei I.)

And: „Tears are not a woman's only weapon. You've got another one between your legs, and you'd best learn to use it. You'll find men use their swords freely enough. Both kinds of swords." (ACoK, Sansa VI.)

This is simply the way she gets people doing her dirty work:

Lancel helped her kill Robert, and they were lovers.

Osney killed the high septon for her, and we know she used her body to get him do it, and she did the same when she got him to confess falsely about Margery.

I think she even does the same with Jaime:

"As I was f*cking her, Cersei cried, 'I want.' I thought that she meant me, but it was the Stark girl that she wanted, maimed or dead." The things I do for love. "It was only by chance that Stark's own men found the girl before me. If I had come on her first…" (AFfC, Jaime IV.)

And the Hound? Well:

“It was the butcher's boy, Mycah, his body covered in dried blood. He had been cut almost in half from shoulder to waist by some terrible blow struck from above.

"You rode him down," Ned said.

The Hound's eyes seemed to glitter through the steel of that hideous dog's-head helm. "He ran." He looked at Ned's face and laughed. "But not very fast." (AGoT, Eddard III.)

I link Bran’s vision in AGoT to this topic as well:

“He looked south, and saw the great blue-green rush of the Trident. He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.” (AGoT, Bran III.)

A lot of people suggest, that this is a vision of a future battle between the Hound, Jaime and the Mountain. But I disagree with this. Just before this chapter, there’s Sansa’s and Eddard’s POV, with the full Mycah incident. The visions about Sansa and Arya are linked to this happening. The Hound in his dark armour and Jaime in his golden one are from the Hand’s tourney. Yes, the giant seems to be the Mountain in his Ser Robert Strong “form”, but the point is: they’re all circling around Cersei. She is the one who’s truly responsible for the Mycah incident. Jaime, the Hound and in Robert Strong are all her servants in my opinion.  

All in all, this vision backs up my theory I think: that the Hound in the beginning of the books is truly one of Cersei’s closest servants, and I think she used her body to link him to herself, just as in every other case. Why would he be an exception?

But that doesn’t mean she had any feelings for him. Apart from Jaime, the whole Lannister family took him as a tool:

“It was rather a pity that the Hound had gone rabid. Tommen had always been frightened of Sandor Clegane's harsh voice and burned face, and Clegane's scorn would have been the perfect antidote to Loras Tyrell's simpering chivalry.” (AFfC, Cersei V.)

“Ser Gregor has his uses, as did his brother. Every lord has need of a beast from time to time…” (ASoS, Tyrion I.)

“Then get on your f*cking horse. You too, dog." (ACoK, Tyrion XIII.)

And let’s point out this part, when Cersei’s having sex with Taena:

„It was still no good. It had never been any good with anyone but Jaime.” (ASoS Cersei VII.)

So the Hound and Cersei were some kind of lovers? I suppose, yes. Was it romantically charged? On her side, it wasn’t for sure. But on Sandor’s? Well, who knows? Only Martin.

For Part 1. click here:

For my next theory, click here:

[lego-asoiaf-fan-minifigs]

All ASOIAF Characters as LEGO Minifigures, Part 13: AGOT Sansa 1

Ser Ilyn Payne; Mycah, the butcher's boy

Art used as reference (by alejandrokayart):

[loonylooly]

Regularly fight with my best friend over what happened at Darry, she actively HATES Sansa because of it meanwhile I love sansa so much she's my favorite SHE DID NOTHING WRONG!! WHAT DID SHE DO WRONG??

[cynicalclassicist]

Interesting. From when we see the Hound here he looks like a standard villainous thug, laughing over killing someone. But then we see more the cynic, miserable at the falseness of the world.

why did the hound laugh after killing mycha?

Here's our quote, for reference:

"You rode him down," Ned said. The Hound's eyes seemed to glitter through the steel of that hideous dog's-head helm. "He ran." He looked at Ned's face and laughed. "But not very fast." Eddard II, AGoT

I don't think he's laughing at the idea of killing Mycah, precisely. Because a while later, we learn Sandor's backstory and his bitterness all in one:

"My father told everyone my bedding had caught fire, and our maester gave me ointments. Ointments! Gregor got his ointments too. Four years later, they anointed him with the seven oils and he recited his knightly vows and Rhaegar Targaryen tapped him on the shoulder and said, 'Arise, Ser Gregor.'" The rasping voice trailed off. He squatted silently before her, a hulking black shape shrouded in the night, hidden from her eyes. Sansa could hear his ragged breathing. Sansa II, AGoT

Sandor was abused and maimed, while the perpetrator suffered no consequences. The nobility gave Gregor his ser and recognition. Which has turned Sandor right off the idea that the high nobility of the Seven Kingdoms might ever have good intentions. From there he went further, coming to believe that nobody means well and nobody cares and nobody's suffering actually matters.

What Sandor's laughing at here isn't Mycah's death, it's Ned's horror. From Sandor's perspective, it's fuck that guy and his pompous face, he can't possibly be upset. Not over a nobody little boy.

From there, of course, Sandor's experiences with the Stark girls show him exactly how and why he's wrong - and how far he fell in the process.

[omgellendean]

Some ASoIaF (main books) child-killers and how they feel about their crimes:

Tywin Lannister: 1 (plus however many Reyne-Tarbeck kids there were). Would quote Sun Tzu at you if he could.

Roose Bolton: 1 that we know about. Just another Tuesday for him.

Petyr Baelish: 1 WIP. You won't prove anything.

Gregor Clegane: 2 that we know about. Just another Tuesday for him.

Theon Greyjoy: 2, but not the ones everyone thinks; 1 threat. Pretended not to care but actually feels bad, currently a bit distracted by the horrors.

Olenna Tyrell: 1. He had bad vibes.

Sandor Clegane: 1 that we know about. Had to be repeatedly called out and retraumatised to notice people tend to get upset by murders. Still dgaf about Mycah personally.

Jaime Lannister: 2 failed attempts, 2 threats. Technically shouldn't even be on the list unless we include a half of Westeros, but everyone thinks he belongs here. Jaime agrees.

Cersei Lannister: ~20. Fuck them kids.

[ladyofchroyane]

arya’s disillusionment arc is so near and dear to my heart and also breaks it all the same. it begins when she and mycah were being as childish as one could be—swinging wood sticks around like swords—but not long after both of them get screwed by the inherent nature of feudalism, which makes people with no social protection easy prey for those higher up on the hierarchy. mycah’s death is a double whammy to arya because those arya had been taught would not allow such an injustice to happen failed miserably. but more importantly, there were people with the power to protest mycah’s death; there were people who could’ve raised a voice in the aftermath even though they couldn’t stop it from happening, but no one did. and no one did because mycah wasn’t worth the trouble to them, no matter what they personally felt about the matter. and that is, at its core, a purposeful and beloved (by the higher echelon) factor of the system. they can inflict violence when they want without reproach more often than not, and rarely will others find it worthwhile to step in because there’s little to no social incentive to do so (and they may face repercussions if they do).

arya’s storyline has set her up, from the beginning, to feel the full weight of the oppressive nature of her society, but it’s her refusal to stay passive in the face of her disillusionment that makes me adore her. two of my favorite moments of hers are when she eats the apple (a symbol of knowledge) despite the worm, and her ‘i am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth’ internalization (wood -> steel representing passive compliance to action, and symbolizes a rite of passage from child to adult in asoiaf). they’re such character defining details, and the context of these moments pulls at my heartstrings. both moments set her up as a character willing to see the truth of the world as it is, and also as an active participant willing to get her hands dirty and take the risks needed to meaningfully help others.

another of my favorite parts of arya’s storyline is how impactful needle is as a symbol, and i must say needle represents more than just arya’s family. needle is also a reflection of arya’s feelings of injustice over mycah’s death! it’s the manifestation of her personal call to arms, her refusal to sit quietly and let this happen again! it’s about wanting to protect herself and others, it’s about wishing she could protect those she couldn’t.

ending this off to say that arya’s a character who has actually walked in the shoes of so many others from so many different walks of life. as of now, she’s no one, and that allows her to be anyone—though she’s still arya stark at her core. her story is not a nihilistic one, it’s empathetic. you must empathize with the face you wear to walk in their skin and live their life, and because of this factor arya stark excels in her training.

this physically hurts

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Yes, exactly. The Darry trial simply illuminates why Lyanna begged Ned to promise her to keep Jon safe. At the time, he must have protested that even with the murders of Rhaenys and Aegon, that Robert loved Lyanna -- loved Ned -- he wouldn't hurt her baby‚ Ned's own nephew? Surely not. But Lyanna knew what Robert was. So she pleaded until Ned promised her, and only when he gave her his final promise, did she give up her hold on life.

It's not just because Robert hates Targaryens that he ignored the slaughter of Elia and her children. (And rewarded Tywin for it!) He will kill -- or allow to be killed -- any child, any innocent, even one of Ned's loved ones, if it's in his interest. Or if he can't bother to care, he'll just turn away. Despite Ned's own pleadings.

His old friend‚ closer than any brother. "Please‚ Robert. For the love you bear me. For the love you bore my sister. Please.”

Robert looked at Ned with flat‚ dead eyes and left without a word‚ his footsteps heavy as lead.

The face of the butcher's boy swam up before his eyes, cloven almost in two, and afterward the king had said not a word. His head was pounding.

And Ned knows he cannot trust his friend. Despite his suspicions that the Lannisters were involved in Bran's fall and the assassination attempt, Ned never goes to Robert about it because he does not want to know if Robert played a role in it. (And technically he did!) Because Ned cannot trust Robert not to kill children, because he's learned his best friend is a terrible person, he does another end run around his own plans to warn Cersei to take her kids and escape. And that, among many other factors, is what leads to his doom.

“If the queen had a role in this or, gods forbid, the king himself … no, I will not believe that.” Yet even as he said the words, he remembered that chill morning on the barrowlands, and Robert’s talk of sending hired knives after the Targaryen princess. He remembered Rhaegar’s infant son, the red ruin of his skull, and the way the king had turned away, as he had turned away in Darry’s audience hall not so long ago. He could still hear Sansa pleading, as Lyanna had pleaded once.” -EDDARD IV

love this passage. gives us so much insight into what ned really believes about robert even though he’s blocking it all out and trying to see the friend he once knew + some “ned thinks do jon as his son not nephew” fluff. he’s wondering if robert would allow someone to kill his son, bran, bringing him to lyanna’s pleas for jon’s life. yes, ned knows robert would kill ned’s son if it was in his best interest, he’s always known.

[fromtheseventhhell]

I think it's so funny that people treat Arya like she has no self-control because she *checks notes* stood up to Joffrey and defended her friend from being attacked