#polywrites

[polysucks]

I was feeling a type of way about jeyne and sansa and letting them be teenage girls again. So I wrote a blurb to go along w my drawing. I’m not a writer so don’t come for me if it sucks.

The morning was crisp and unusually bright, the pale sun glinting off the freshly snow-dusted stones of Winterfell’s walls. A sharp wind cut through the yard, carrying with it the sound of wood clashing and boys shouting. Robb and Jon circled each other on the mud-packed snow of the training yard, their wooden swords striking with loud thwacks. Theon stood to the side, lounging against a fence post, smirking to himself with an air of smug self-satisfaction as he waited his turn.

High above, Sansa and Jeyne peered down from the gallery, bundled in woolen covers lined with rabbit fur and bright in color, their cheeks tinged pink from the cold.

“Jon’s quicker,” Jeyne declared wistfully, leaning over the railing to a better look at the boys, her breath fogging the air. “But Robb’s stronger. I’ll wager he wins this bout.”

“Jeyne, you shouldn’t wager on such things,” Sansa chided, though her voice was tinged with laughter. “Nor wager at all. It’s unbecoming.”

Jeyne turned to her, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oh, don’t be so pious, Sansa. You know you’re hoping Jon wins too. He’s so brooding—girls like that, don’t they?”

Sansa gasped, her freckled nose scrunching in mock outrage. “I most certainly do not! And neither should you. We’re meant to cheer for Robb; he’s the heir to Winterfell!”

Jeyne burst into giggles, clutching at Sansa’s arm. “You sound just like boring ol’ Septa Mordane. Shall I fetch my sewing and sit by the hearth instead?”

“Perhaps you should,” Sansa teased in a feigned scolding, though the corners of her mouth twitched with amusement at her friend’s candor.

The girls turned their attention back to the yard just as Robb lunged forward, his sword coming down in a heavy arc. Jon stepped aside at the last moment, snow crunching beneath his boots, and drove the flat of his blade into Robb’s ribs. Robb stumbled, laughing as he raised his hand in surrender.

“Jon wins again!” Jeyne crowed, clapping her gloved hands together. “Well done, Jon! I always knew you were the clever one!” Sansa tugged at Jeyne’s arm, loudly shushing the cheering girl with a grin that split her face ear to ear.

Their voices rang out across the yard, drawing Jon’s attention. He looked up, his dark hair falling into his eyes, and gave her a crooked smile.

“Careful, Jeyne,” Theon called from below, striding forward to take Jon’s place. “You’ll make me jealous with all this talk of Jon’s so-called cleverness.” He twirled his sword in a flashy display and pointed the tip up at the gallery. “You should do well to save some of your applause for me.”

Jeyne cupped her gloved hands around her mouth and shouted, “I will when you deserve them, Theon!”

Sansa clutched her sides, laughing so hard she could hardly breathe. “Jeyne! You can’t say things like that!”

“Oh, why not?” Jeyne replied, her voice a mix of mischief and innocence, reclaiming her seat beside Sansa and playfully slapped at the maiden’s hands as they tugged on Jeyne’s sleeves. “They love it. Just look at them.”

Below, Theon puffed out his chest, preening under the girls’ attention. Robb rolled his eyes, muttering something to Jon that made him chuckle.

Sansa shook her head, still giggling. “If Septa Mordane heard you, she’d have you scrubbing the floors of the great hall from dawn till dusk.”

“Then I’d have plenty of time to think about Theon Greyjoy and his pretty smile,” Jeyne said, fluttering her lashes dramatically.

Sansa dissolved into laughter again, leaning into her friend for support. “You’re horrible,” she said between gasps. “Completely incorrigible.”

“So you say,” Jeyne said with a grin, her breath catching in the cold air. “But do you disagree?”

Sansa only responded with more laughter. The sound of wood against wood rang out again as Theon and Jon squared off, their movements swift and precise. The girls leaned in to one another, their blankets rustling, as they watched the spar with rapt attention. Jeyne’s cheerful banter filled the air, and Sansa’s laughter rang out like a bell, bright and unguarded, as if this moment could last forever.

[retrocompmx]

Software retro de notación musical

9 publicaciones atrás hablamos de Phill Farrad, programador y webmaster, creador de Finale, el software de notación musical.

Cuando comenzó a trabajar como editor de música, se frustró al trabajar con música impresa en papel, por lo que comenzó el proyecto Polywriter. Cuando se libero al mercado costaba 495 usd y la tarjeta MIDI Apple costaba 195 usd.

Polywriter era un software de notación musical, previo a Finale para la Apple II y Apple IIe, y podía transcribir, editar e imprimir música MIDI polifónica a diferencia de su competidor Notewriter.

#retrocomputingmx #polywriter #AppleII

[iapetusneume]

Vivian, Fenris, and Dominick - Do they prefer to go out to a restaurant or stay in and cook?

This is a really hard question, and would probably depend on when in the relationship we’re talking.

If it’s before they have kids or after the kids get a bit older, the answer could really go either way. Vivian loves to cook and is a chef, but she also really enjoys being able to eat great food from great restaurants. And because cooking for others is one of the big ways she shows her love, it’s something she really cherishes.

Dominick is an ok cook, but is the sort that enjoys making something himself once in a great while. Being the workaholic he was and how dangerous it had previously been in the Monberin-Promethian War, going out to eat at restaurants in a time of peace is a luxury he never thought he’d have. And with Vivian’s knowledge of Earth foods, he delights in her taken him somewhere new. (And so much is new to him, especially at first.) He does enjoy making classic Monberin dishes, especially when they come over to his place.

Fenris is a lot more likely to make something simple (but good) for dinner when he knows they’re busy, but doesn’t feel confident enough in his abilities to make a “date night” dinner. He’s more the sort that notices the take out that a person prefers and will get that for them for a night in.

When the kids are fairly young, Vivian would lean more towards going out to eat. Going out would mean a date night which means that someone (either some of Vivian’s other partners or a family member) is watching the kids. Fenris and Dominick pick up on this pretty fast, so when they have a date night planned they will often have some restaurants to suggest when they plan.

[theoldguardevents]

Hi I got two different writers writing for my art/prompt, I just wanted to double-check if that means they'll both get the exact piece of art work? Or should there be adjustments so they would both get a more individual piece? thanks

Hi Nonnie — the answer is: up to you as the artist!

But please don’t feel obligated. As we have iterated in the claims email in the polywriter section:

Artists are not expected to create new or distinct artwork for each writer. The proposed artwork for claims is the only piece they have committed to. So yes, by this definition, writers who work with the same art prompt get the same artwork by default.

Artists can create pieces tailored to each writer (or just more artwork to share, if the artwork is general enough or the stories similar enough) if they want.

Writers, you have agreed to share an art prompt when you ticked the polywriter box. Kindly refrain from pressuring your artist to create artwork just for you. They may not have time.

Have fun! And when in doubt, send us an ask✨♥️🔥

[bodiedhorror]

officialballora replied to your post: *slurps chrysanthemum tea out of a tiny cardboard...

Tbh u r a irl hero

I Am The Most Powerful Polywriter

[poly-jnpr]

Visitors

It's become customary for Jaune to take a long nap after every mission. Sometime, if he's lucky, he'll even have someone to curl up with. (Usually Ren, as Pyrrha has a strange objection against taking naps and Nora can never fall asleep in the middle of the day, even when she's dead tired.)

So he was asleep, having a rather nice dream if he does say so himself, but he was alone in the apartment today. The others either out on missions or visiting friends out of town. Jaune doesn't blame them, he did come back two days earlier then expected after all.

So he was asleep. Until he wasn't.

Sloth, the old stray Nora had dragged home almost a year ago, was barking loud enough to wake the whole damn city and Jaune really should get up because they can't afford another sound complaint but he really really doesn't want to.

It was such a nice dream.

With a sigh Jaune heaved himself up out of bed, shoulders slumped with the lead weight of exhaustion. The floor is cold under his feet, even through his fuzzy socks (a gift from Ren for Christmas years ago).

The barking doesn't let up, even as Jaune yells at the mutt to please keep it down. (The look of utter disappointment in the other threes eyes when he first swore at the dog will haunt him forever. But honestly it's nothing against the dog, Jaune just swares at everything that keeps him from precious hours of sleep. With obvious exceptions.)

He sighs as he heaves the door to the living room open. "Has Nora been feeding you pancakes again?"

"Jaune?!" The voice is familiar except how it wasn't. He hears it almost every day in the echoes of memories and a much older women. An older Ruby.

Who is standing in his living room, along with Ren, Nora and....himself? All of them a good two decades younger then when he last saw them. And hey, younger him even still has both eyes. Lucky bastard.

All four of them stared at him in open bafflement, frozen in place, weapons half raised.

There is a long moment of shocked silence. Then Jaune, him him, not young him, turns back to the room to get his scroll. "I'm going to call for pizza, Ruby and Ozpin. In that order. Just take a seat any where and leave the weapons on the rack by the door."

[polysucks]

Arya "I'm not a boy!!!!" Stark vs Brienne "doesn't correct a stranger who misgenders her" of Tarth. One of these characters is trans and gee whizz I wonder which it could be.

(Additionally jaime is a gay bottom who just wants to be tenderly pegged by Brienne)

Cw for a cis-woman talking about gender lol

I want to touch on the idea that Brienne might be an egg, but I have to disagree. I want to preface by saying don’t inherently oppose anyone who thinks otherwise. Art can be interpreted subjectively, especially in ASOIAF. Everyone can have their views, and I love that.

That being said, I'm approaching this discussion about Brienne and Arya and their gender identities from the perspective of a cis-woman, so trans and gender non-conforming people, feel free to weigh in! I just have one perspective, and how else do we learn about others' experiences if we don't make time and space for others to share theirs?

Also, this might sound a bit TERF-y on a surface level, so let me say upfront: TERFs, get lost. We can discuss femininity and gender without TERF opinions, because TERF opinions don’t matter. Trans women are real women. Trans men are real men.

It’s easy to understand why some might believe that their struggles are rooted in gender identity—but that doesn’t necessarily mean the argument holds water.

I personally feel like it's dismissive of exploring gender identity as a deeply personal experience and reductive to assume that anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into gender norms must actually be trans. gender-non-comforming cis people exist because gender is a social construct.

It makes total and complete sense why someone might perceive Brienne and Arya as struggling with their gender identity, and I am not here to deny that! They do not fit into traditional femininity, they are often mistaken for boys, and they are both deeply frustrated by the roles imposed on them.

But assigning transness or gender dysphoria to them without deeper critical thinking feels like a reach that flattens their very real struggles as cis-women in such a strict society. Their battle is not one of personal identity—it’s one of a rigid community refusing to acknowledge them as women on their own terms.

That being said, there is beauty in seeing oneself in them. If a trans or gender-nonconforming person finds kinship in their struggles, that is valid and meaningful. The power of storytelling is that we see ourselves in narratives, even when the struggles and experiences depicted do not perfectly align with our own.

I feel the same way about the Northmen and the Starks being NDN/Indigenous-coded—it is not explicit canon, but the cultural parallels are undeniable. Westerosi gender roles are stricter in the South, while Northern culture—like many Indigenous cultures—allows for a broader understanding of strength, womanhood, and survival.

Brienne and Arya’s journeys are universal in that way. They do not have to be trans or gender-nonconforming to be relatable to those who are. But at their core, their stories are about expanding the definition of womanhood, not escaping it.

That being said, let's fuckin YAP!!

Brienne and Arya: Women on Their Own Terms

They Are Women Rejected by Society—Not by Themselves

Brienne and Arya defy Westerosi femininity, but their conflict is not with their own gender—it’s with a world that refuses to accept women who do not conform.

They do not reject being women. They reject the restrictions placed on them as women.

Their struggles are external, not internal—it is society that refuses to acknowledge their strength, not themselves.

Brienne's silence on misgendering is not gender dysphoria—it is indifference to the opinions of those who diminish her. She does not waste energy correcting people who already dismiss her. As for Podrick, he is not questioning her gender, only how to respectfully refer to her.

Arya, similarly, never expresses a desire to be a boy—only frustration that being a girl limits her. She says it herself in ACOK

“I don’t want to be a lady,” Arya flared. “I want to learn to fight.”

Wanting to fight does not mean she is not a girl—it means she resents that Westeros restricts girls. When she disguises herself as “Arry,” it is not because she feels like a boy but because it keeps her alive.

Being Mistaken for a Man Does Not Mean They Identify as One

Neither Brienne nor Arya (i mean, she does generally, but not whole-heartedly) corrects misgendering because it serves a purpose in their survival—but it does not define them.

Brienne is called "Ser" because she is a knight. She does not correct it because she knows Westeros will never see her as a proper lady anyway. But she never expresses a desire to be a man—only to be respected.

Arya disguises herself as a boy out of necessity. The moment she no longer needs the disguise, she drops it. She never claims she feels like a boy—only that Westeros treats girls as weak.

At no point do either of them wish to stop being women. Their struggle is not about escaping womanhood—it’s about expanding what womanhood can be.

Brienne, in particular, wants to be both a knight and a woman. Her inner conflict is not about identity, but about a world that refuses to allow her to be both.

They Do Not Seek to Escape Womanhood—They Seek to Redefine It

Brienne and Arya challenge Westerosi femininity without discarding it. They prove that womanhood is not fragile—it can be strong, honorable, and defiant.

Brienne does not wish to be a man—she wishes knighthood wasn’t exclusive to them. She embodies the ideals of knighthood more than most men, proving that a woman can live by the same code.

Arya does not wish to be a boy—she wishes being a girl didn’t mean powerlessness. She does not reject her gender; she rejects society’s expectations of it.

Their fight is not against being women—it is against a world that refuses to acknowledge that women can be more than one thing.

The Stark and Northern Perspective: Strength and Womanhood Can Coexist

Westerosi gender roles are stricter in the South, where women like Sansa are expected to conform to delicate, ornamental femininity. The North, however, values survival, strength, and practicality—traits Arya naturally embodies.

Among Indigenous-coded Northern families like House Mormont, warrior women are not questioned:

Maege Mormont and her daughters fight without forfeiting their womanhood. They are warriors, leaders, and mothers, all at once.

Arya fits into this tradition. She does not need to abandon her gender to be a warrior—she simply needs a culture that recognizes warrior women exist.

In many Indigenous cultures, gender roles exist but are flexible—some women are suited for battle, others for domestic life, and both are necessary. This aligns with Arya's arc: she does not need to be a boy to fight. She only needs a world where warrior women are possible.

Survival Shapes How They Are Perceived—Not How They See Themselves

Both Arya and Brienne are mistaken for boys, but their responses are pragmatic, not existential.

Brienne does not correct people who call her “Ser” because she knows it won’t change how they see her. She is resigned to being seen as "unnatural," so she leans into her strength rather than fighting a losing battle over perception. She wants respect, not pity.

Arya actively disguises herself as a boy because it keeps her alive. She knows that if people recognize her as a highborn girl, she will be kidnapped, sold, or killed. The disguise is a survival tactic, not a reflection of her identity.

Neither of them struggles with who they are—they struggle with how the world treats them.

They Are Women Who Break Barriers, Not Women Who Break Away from Womanhood

Brienne and Arya are not trans, nor are they struggling with gender identity. They are women who refuse to conform to narrow standards.

Brienne does not wish to be a man—she wishes men would accept that women are more than single-minded expectations

Arya does not wish to be a boy—she wishes Westeros would stop treating girls as helpless and with only one lot in life

Their battle is not with their own gender but with a world that refuses to see them as full people based on their identified gender. That is what makes them powerful.

And if trans or GNC individuals see themselves in them? That is a testament to their strength and their pride in their existence as it is.

Representation in fiction can be deeply personal, even when it isn’t literal.

That is the beauty of storytelling—there is room for all of us in it.

[polysucks]

Sandor Clegane and Jorah Mormont: Broken Men and the Paths to Redemption An analysis of how Sandor Clegane and Jorah Mormont’s treatment of Daenarys Stormborn and the Stark sisters reveals their overlapping sense of duty and morality

An Essay by Polysocial

Word count: 1,849 Time to read: 6 - 15 min CW for the usual asoiaf themes, the defense of Sandor Clegane and the depiction of Jorah Mormont as a fuckin groomer. Also the victimization of the underage women in ASOIAF. Also bad jokes. and I repeat myself alot. i have no beta im just a loser with a word processing program, a liberal american education, and too much time on my hands. You've been warned.

Sandor Clegane and Jorah Mormont are two men defined by their flaws, shaped by their circumstances, and searching for atonement for two extremely different reasons. Though their lives and choices are distinctly different, both wrestle with their own personal definitions of loyalty, self-worth, and the complexities of their relationships with the women they intend to protect. Their opposing paths shed quite a bit of light on the nuances of obligation, devotion, and the struggle to find meaning in a world that often seems devoid of it and the goreghe does an excellent job exploring the vast array of tones and shades in the beauty and the beast trope he is so evidently fond of.

Sandor Clegane: The Hound’s Bitter Sense of Duty

The Hound is a man defined by violence not only by his own design as a defense mechanism but also perpetuated by how he is treated before he even has a chance to open his mouth. From a young age, he was conditioned to believe his intrinsic value as a person lay in his ability to serve others through the only thing he knows holds worth in providing—brutality and violence. The Clegane family name, elevated to nobility through merciless service to the Lannisters, set the foundation for Sandor’s cynical worldview. His scars—both physical and emotional—are a demonstration of his brother Gregor’s cruelty and the dehumanizing system they are forced to exist in that values strength over compassion.

Though Sandor rejects the concept of honor (especially when it pertains to him), deeming it a hollow façade for the selfishness of the powerful (I mean, he’s got a point), his actions often contradict his words. His protectiveness toward Sansa and Arya Stark respectively and independently exposes a deeply buried and guarded sense of morality. He serves neither out of duty nor personal gain (It could be argued that he “kidnapped” Arya and took her to the Twins for personal gain, but I ain’t going there rn) but because he recognizes their vulnerability and sees in them a reflection of the innocence he never had the chance to love and cherish before it was ripped from him. This reluctant politesse, however, clashes with his belief in his own worthlessness, creating a tragic tension within his character.

Sandor’s relationship with Arya starkly demonstrates this complexity. Though he often threatens her with violence, his bark is worse than his bite [beat for applause]. His threats serve as a disguise, a way to maintain control and protect Arya in a dangerous world. The threats he does act on, however, such as knocking her unconscious during the Red Wedding, are harsh but motivated by a twisted sense of care. Sandor views himself as a necessary evil, someone who must act as a shield against greater horrors (one that was never offered to him), even if Arya herself resists his help. His dynamic with Arya mirrors his own self-perception: gruff and crude on the surface, but marked by an underlying love and genteel that he cannot fully suppress—no matter how hard he tries.

Jorah Mormont: Privilege and Self-Inflicted Exile

Jorah Mormont’s life is a stark contrast to Sandor’s [dodges tomatoes]. Born into privilege as the heir to Bear Island of the north, Jorah squandered the opportunities granted to him. His downfall—selling poachers into slavery to fund an extravagant lifestyle—was a choice born of greed and desperation, not necessity. Unlike Sandor, who was forced into servitude by circumstance, Jorah’s exile and subsequent loyalty to Daenerys Targaryen are the consequences of his own failures and choices he made with personal goals in mind.

At first, Jorah’s service to Daenerys is self-serving, a way to reclaim the honor he lost (it’s not even about his family name either like bro ur dad is so disappointed in you and here u go worshipping a fuckin pregnant teenager--). Yet as his love [crowd boos] for her grows, his devotion becomes what he considers selfless, albeit still flawed. His betrayal when he serves as a spy for King Robert emphasizes the infirmity of his moral compass. Jorah’s love [crowd starts waving pitchforks] for Daenerys is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness, blinding him to the boundaries of their relationship and leading him to undermine her independence and strength in significant ways. Where Sandor sees himself as unworthy of redemption, Jorah clings to the hope that his obsession with displaying loyalty will earn him forgiveness and worthiness.

The Lens of Obsession: Jorah’s Idealization vs. Sandor’s Humanity

Okay hear me out another reason Jorah Mormont and Sandor Clegane are two sides of the same sword [Limp Bizkit – Break Stuff plays ominously from a JBL pill speaker in the crowd] in how they perceive and treat the women in their lives. Jorah’s devotion to Daenerys Targaryen is tinged with an unsettling obsession that often prioritizes her physical beauty over her strength and accomplishments. While Jorah admires Daenerys’s power, he punctuates his observations about her with a fixation on her body and appearance. He deifies her, placing her on a pedestal as though she is more goddess than human— this idealization showcases his incapability to see her as a whole person. (I mean, you could argue that he doesn’t see a single woman as a whole person. He talked mad shit about his wife who died in labor, and then his bitch wife who left him bc she didn’t like the north and bc he only liked her for her tits in the first place). His love for Daenerys, while (one can argue) is genuine, is also possessive, defined by his desire to be the one who protects and supports her—whether or not she wants or needs that from him.

Jorah’s fixation on Daenerys’s beauty exposes the imbalance in their dynamic. While she emerges as a formidable leader, determined to reclaim her birthright and liberate the oppressed (yas queen slay the masters go off), Jorah’s gaze often reduces her to an object of adoration and lust. This dynamic is further complicated by Daenerys’s repeated rejection of his advances. (I mean I can say a whole lot about dany’s sexuality and how she lets her most trusted hand maidens finger her to completion but wont return the Old Man’s advances. AS SHE SHOULD!!!!!! She deserves that. At least ur handmaidens love you girly. And they give a fuck about your pleasure, bc we all know Jorah would just hit it and quit it I bet he doesn’t even know women can have orgasms what a loser) She values him as an advisor and ally but does not reciprocate his romantic (AHEM! Sexual!) feelings. Jorah’s inability to fully accept this boundary leads to moments where his actions undercut her autonomy, as he seeks to align her decisions with his own desires.

In stark contrast (THIS IS MY TED TALK I WILL REPEAT PUNS IF I WANT!!!!), Sandor Clegane never idealizes or deifies Sansa or Arya Stark. He treats them as vulnerable young people in need of protection, not objects of desire or symbols of purity. Even when drunk and speaking bluntly about Sansa’s coming of age, Sandor’s observation is neither predatory nor obsessive.

“You look almost a woman… face, teats, and you’re taller, too, almost… ah, you’re still a stupid little bird, aren’t you?” – Sandor, ACOK: Sansa II

Sansa, from her own perspective, notes that Sandor’s demeanor, though rough, is not threatening. Despite his intimidating presence and harsh words, he is surprisingly gentle with her, displaying a rare restraint that compares dramatically with the violent world around them.

Sandor’s treatment of Sansa and Arya reflects a vital difference in how he views not only women, but the people around him. He sees them as human beings, shaped by their circumstances and vulnerabilities, rather than as ideals to be worshipped or possessed. For Sandor, Sansa represents innocence and a longing for the kindness he never experienced, while Arya embodies resilience and defiance. He respects their autonomy, even as he takes on the role of their protector. Unlike Jorah, who seeks validation and redemption through Daenerys’s love, Sandor does not expect gratitude or recognition from the Stark girls, nor does he ever once make that claim. His acts of protection stem from a sense of morality, not a need to earn their approval or affection.

Jorah’s idealization of Daenerys ultimately reflects his own insecurities and selfish desires. (UNHAND THE UNDERAGE GIRL!!!!) Sandor does not see himself as a hero, and he does not attempt to force his guidance upon the Stark girls. His loyalty is unspoken, and his protectiveness is practical rather than symbolic.

Ultimately, the difference lies in perspective: Jorah loves an idea of Daenerys that is inseparable from her beauty and his longing for her, while Sandor simply recognizes the humanity of Sansa and Arya. Where Jorah seeks to possess, Sandor seeks only to ensure survival.

Parallels: Redemption Through Relationships

Despite their differences, both men find paths to salvation through their relationships with Sansa, Arya, and Daenerys. For Sandor, protecting Sansa and Arya offers a chance to defy the cruelty of the world that shaped him. His actions reveal a taste of honor he claims to disdain, even as he refuses to believe in his own worth. For Jorah, serving Daenerys becomes a way to atone for his past mistakes, his love [Fred Durst is hyping the crowd up for my subsequent ass kicking] for her driving him to act in ways that he considers selfless, but are clear to the readers (though probably not to dany, as all we see of Jorah is from her perspective) is objectively self-serving.

Yet, their redemptive arcs are far from straightforward. Sandor’s rough treatment of Arya and his constant growling threats mask a reluctant kindness, while Jorah’s devotion to Daenerys often borders on possessiveness, revealing his inability to fully respect her independence. Both men are broken, their flaws and virtues intertwined, but their journeys show that even the most damaged individuals can find moments of greatness. (which if you have talked to me at alllllllll in dms you will know that this is like. My overarching opinion about this series and how the geurge depicts humanity through flawed characters as a moral and ethical grey area. There is no “good vs evil” there is no black and white thinking.)

Conclusion: The Trained Dog and the Devoted Bear

Sandor Clegane and Jorah Mormont embody the complexity of loyalty and redemption in a world rife with moral ambiguity. Sandor, the trained dog, snarls and snaps but ultimately protects those he cares for, his actions speaking louder than his words. Jorah, the devoted bear, offers his unwavering loyalty to Daenerys, though his love often blinds him to the ways he undermines her autonomy. Both men, shaped by their pasts, find meaning and redemption through their relationships, even if those opportunities remain incomplete. In the end, their stories remind us that even in the darkest corners of the human soul, there is a capacity for change and a longing for something better.

[polysucks]

To aid your ASOIAF fixation, what's your most dogshit opinion about the series?

Something you know you believe that no one else would agree with you about

Let's pretend I didn't let this ask rot in my askbox for 14 days before I finally had an answer.

if I don't get hatemail for this one, I'm severely disappointed in this fandom.

RHAEGAR WASN'T JUST A LOSER IDIOT TARG WHO SUDDENLY DEVELOPED PSYCHOSIS

Everyone acts like Rhaegar just happened to become a brooding, prophecy-obsessed, harp-playing tragic prince who kicked off a civil war. But have you ever actually questioned how unnatural his entire life trajectory was?

girly pop went from precious baby boy who did nothing wrong to booktok sad boy to war criminal in record time. And conveniently, all of his biggest, most life-changing decisions just so happened to line up with Bloodraven’s long-term goals.

You’re telling me that’s a coincidence?

Brynden Rivers was the most powerful greenseer in recorded history, chillin in his cave north of the wall, plugged into the entire weirwood network like Westerosi LAN

By the time Rhaegar was born, Bloodraven had been merged with the trees for decades. The man had one goal: to ensure that the ptwp would be born.

ok but prophecies don’t fulfill themselves. they need a little push. who better to push than rhaegy????

Rhaegar’s entire personality changed overnight when he read "something in a scroll". One day he was a normal kid, the next day he decided he must be the missing key to the prophecy. (typical targaryen nonsense they're so full of themselves ugh)

What was in that scroll? The official explanation is "something about Azor Ahai." But what if it wasn’t just a scroll?

What if Bloodraven sent a dream to tamper with Rhaegar’s mind so he believed he had to become a warrior to fulfill the prophecy? I mean it wouldn't be too hard all targs are one (1) little woopsie away from being completely fuckin batshit insane MAYBE STOP BREEDING WITH YOUR SISTER MAN IDK

anyway,,

Fast forward to the Tourney at Harrenhal. Rhaegar, now fully down the prophecy Qhole, suddenly does something completely out of character.

This is a man known for his restraint. His intelligence. His careful, calculated behavior.

And then, out of nowhere, he just upends the entire social order by crowning Lyanna Stark as the Queen of Love and Beauty over his own wife.

Then he vanishes with Lyanna, and the next thing we know there's chaos and anarchy and robert with a big hammer

brooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That was not just "romantic folly." GAG

That was a man being steered by something greater.

Rhaegar is convinced that his first son, Aegon, is not the PTWP. He needs a Stark wife to “bind ice and fire.”

How convenient that he chooses Lyanna Stark—the one girl whose abduction would cause maximum chaos.

What if Bloodraven was feeding him selective visions? What if Rhaegar thought he was following destiny, but really, he was being pushed toward Lyanna for Bloodraven’s endgame?

Rhaegar thought he was fulfilling prophecy-- bro can the targs get a new gimmick please it's getting OLD.

He was a puppet being steered by a weirwood-rooted 8D chess master.

[polysucks]

-puts a mirror under your nose to check ur breathing-

hey man it's been a while since you've talked about harrenhal

You know what? you're fucking right. I don't talk much about my obsession with harrenhal on my tumblr. i should do that more often.

[dreamily]

If I could marry Harrenhal I would. Harrenhal’s story is literally just hubris and the inevitable decay of overreaching ambition—fables that we see told time and time again in real-world history. There is nothing the Geyrg writes that isn't derivative of other art before his. but soooooo many rulers, empires, and civilizations have undertaken whack ass projects meant to immortalize their power, only to see their visions trickle down their legs like a wet fart

We got the tower of babel

Which like-- man I don't know shit about the bible and I will preface anything I say that is anywhere NEAR adjacent to religion with that. but. If there is one thing I do know, it's human arrogance in fiction.

it was meant to be a monument to human greatness, defying natural order and even divine power. (womp womp)

It was never completed NOR served its intended purpose, as divine intervention (ayo brynden rivers wasgood) ensured its failure.

Just as Harrenhal became an empty ruin, Babel became a symbol of the dangers of overreaching ambition by desecrating [the] god[s]

Ozymandias (ramses II)

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Ozymandias describes a ruined statue of a long-dead king whose mighty empire has vanished into dust.

Like Harrenhal, Ozymandias’ works were meant to last forever, but time, war, and decay ensured their ruin.

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' fucks so hard and reads as if Harren the Black was gloating himself from the Tower of Dread. what was supposed to be a symbol of unbreakable power instead became an empty, cursed shell that barely resembles what it used to be.

Both remind us that nothing built by mortal hands can really challenge the devastation time and what may come of fate.

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Versaille

King Louis XIV of France built the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of absolute monarchy and divine rule. have i ever mentioned that I love monarchy history?

It was [is?] extravagantly expensive, draining the kingdom’s resources—just as Harrenhal’s construction bled the Riverlands dry. evil rulers gonna be evil i GUESS

Its grandeur could not protect its rulers. By the time of the French Revolution, the monarchy that built it was toppled and executed (bring back the guillotine) much like House Hoare’s yeeting at the maw of Balerion the Black Dread.

Like Harrenhal, Versailles became a symbol of excess and very few people coould hold it successfully (everyone died)

and my absolute FAVORITE.

harrenhal. but it's actually Chernobyl.

HEAR ME OUT.

Harrenhal: Built to be the grandest castle in Westeros, a testament to Harren the Booty's dominion over the Riverlands!!!

Chernobyl: Constructed as part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious nuclear energy program, Chernobyl was meant to be a symbol of Soviet technological superiority.

Harrenhal’s Doom: The castle was still newly built when Aegon the Conqueror came with his baddies in tow and turned it into a Spicy Meatball. Harrenhal was designed to withstand any land-based siege, but it never stood a chance against dragonfire. BECAUSE HE DIDN'T THINK TO BUILD FOR DRAGONFIRE.

Chernobyl’s Doom: The Chernobyl Reactor 4 explosion in 1986 was a firestorm that could not be contained, much like Balerion’s flames. The reactor burned for days, spewing deadly radiation into the air. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT RADIATION POISONING.

Harrenhal's fate: Since Harren’s yeeting, every single House that has claimed Harrenhal has met disaster. The castle is believed to be cursed (it is) its halls filled with ghosts (it is), and no one has held it for long. The only smart thing petyr has ever done is refuse to stake claim over his hold. he should tho. he totally should.

Chernobyl's fate: The area around the ruined reactor became the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where radiation levels are still dangerous and will CONTINUE to be dangerous. Most of the surrounding towns, including Pripyat, remain abandoned, decayed, and overgrown, much like Harrenhal.

Both places have survivors and witnesses who tell and retell haunting tales and rumors and legends—Harrenhal’s curse manifests in tragedy after tragedy, while Chernobyl’s “curse” is literal: those who stayed too long suffered from radiation sickness.

and finally:

both are fucked up horror stories in themselves

Harrenhal:

There are rumors of ghosts—Lady Shella Whent’s weeping specter, the burned souls of Harren and his sons, and wait! There's more! If you call now--

The castle’s YUGE size and GAPING corridors (like ur mom) create an oppressive presence that can be felt all over the Riverlands

No matter who holds it, death follows. (im sorry i have said this so much but it's so fuckin metal)

Chernobyl in Popular Culture:

The real-life horror of radiation poisoning is alarming enough, but Chernobyl has become a breeding ground for horror films, video games, and urban legends. (no one talks about how Tarkovsky's Stalker in 1979 p much predicted the event but ALRIGHT)

There are true stories of mutated animals, less true stories of ghosts of workers, and really real eerie abandoned homes and workplaces that are literally disastrous to the earth's health.

The “Elephant’s Foot,” the mass of nuclear lava inside Reactor 4, is lethal to anyone who stands near it. That shit is so metal. Again. Sorry.

[polysucks]

What’s ur take on Elia/Lyanna

call me robert the way i hate rhaegar targaryen

let's talk about the romanticized martyrdom of these beautiful brown women and the tragedy that is the narrative they are forced to haunt.

Mourned, But Never Saved: How We Failed Elia and Lyanna

Word count: 1651 Time to read: 9 - 15 mins No major CWs except for my opinions, which are classified by the SCP Foundation as optic hazards

In literature, media, and even real-life tragedies, there is an obsession with The Perfect Victim—the young, beautiful, tragic woman whose suffering is romanticized, whose fate is mourned but never queried. She is consecrated in death, turned into an emblem of loss rather than a person with wants, needs, and a right to legacy of her own. It is easier to weep for her than to hold the men who destroyed her accountable.

It is easier to say, how sad, than to say, who did this?

Who let this happen?

Who benefited from it?

This phenomenon is not unique to Elia Martell and Lyanna Stark.

It is everywhere. We see it in the way murder victims—especially young, beautiful women—are transformed into icons of sorrow, their faces plastered across documentaries and true crime podcasts, their lives reduced to cautionary tales or poetic misfortunes for profit of more men who are so far removed from the tragedy they can justify the commodification. We see it in the way literature often treats female suffering as tragic inevitability, a necessary sacrifice to elevate the story of a male protagonist. And we see it in how Westerosi history records women like Elia and Lyanna—not as figures in their own right, but as the lost wives and lovers of great men.

There is a reason the world (and us, the fandom. myself included. I love a good Lyanna deification) linger on their beauty, their youth, their tragic ends, but not their anger.

Not their suffering.

Not their humanity.

The waif aesthetic that dominates social media—the fetishization of frailty, of doomed beauty—allows women like Elia and Lyanna to be preserved in glass (Metaphorically, but Lyanna is literally encased in stone), as if they were expected to die young the whole time, as if their stories had no other possible ending. It allows them to be stripped of their voices, reduced to passive, inevitable victims to their gender, and therefore circumstances, while the men who led them to their deaths remains shrouded in legendary calamity.

Rhaegar was a dreamer. Rhaegar was burdened by prophecy. Rhaegar was torn between love and duty. Excuses.

These justifications place his choices above their suffering, making their deaths seem like collateral damage in his grand narrative. Reduced to pitstops on the journey that is Rhaegar’s lamentable fate.

Their suffering is seen as a necessary part of his legend. Their deaths serve his myth.

Elia’s murder is not seen as an act of racialized violence against a Dornish woman and her mixed-race children, but as a tragic consequence of Rhaegar’s failure. Lyanna’s death is not treated as the cost of her own choices—whatever choices she may have made, but as the romantic conclusion to an ill-fated love story. They are not given full stories of their own. Their deaths are simply moments in his.

This is the same blindness that allows figures like Humbert Humbert in Lolita to frame themselves as misunderstood lovers rather than predators to the untrained eyes, and pseudo-critical thinker. Just as Humbert tells the story of Dolores Haze through his own selfish, delusional lens—robbing her of her voice, her autonomy, her anger, her right to be seen as more than his obsession—so too does Westerosi history rob Elia and Lyanna of their full truths. We mourn them, but only as beautiful ghosts, not as women who deserved better.

But Elia Martell was not just a forsaken wife. She was a Dornish princess with pride in her homeland, a mother, a woman who fought for the survival of her children. And Lyanna Stark was not a stolen maiden. She was a Northern girl with a wolf’s heart, with confidence, with autonomy, a woman who knew what she wanted, even if the world refused to let her have it.

To mourn them without condemning him is to continue the same cycle that destroyed them. It is to let them remain frozen in time, tragic saints of Rhaegar’s doomed love story, rather than women whose lives were stolen by a man’s choices.

We cannot allow them to become hollowed-out saints of tragedy, their stories reduced to romantic footnotes in the Targaryen legacy. They were not just victims. They were women. And they deserved more.

The Women Rhaegar Targaryen Left Behind: The Perfect Victims of a Flawed Legacy

Elia Martell: A Princess, A Mother, A Betrayed Woman

Elia Martell was a Dornish princess, born in a land where women had more agency and political power than most of Westeros. In Dorne, daughters can inherit titles, rule in their own right, and are not cast aside for the crime of being born female. Though, even in this progressive culture, Elia was still used as a political pawn. Under the weight of political pressure on her homeland, she was married off not as an equal partner, but as a tool to serve the Targaryen dynasty—her body reduced to a vessel meant to bridge two kingdoms in subservience, not unity.

Unlike most Westerosi noblewomen, Elia likely grew up learning court intrigue, family honor, and the weight of responsibility alongside her brother Oberyn. She was not a sheltered damsel but a woman of sharp mind and fierce spirit—something we see reflected in Oberyn’s devotion to her memory. He does not recall her as fragile or passive but as someone who deserved better, someone whose suffering should not be forgotten.

When Oberyn confronted Gregor Clegane in King’s Landing, he demanded that Gregor say her name. Not Rhaegar’s. Not Aerys’. Elia’s. He refused to let her become just another nameless casualty of the Targaryen downfall. He forced her murderer to acknowledge that she was more than Rhaegar’s discarded wife—that she was a woman, a mother, a sister. That she mattered.

Yet history continues to erase her. The common narrative reduces Elia to a tragic mistake in Rhaegar’s story, the wrong wife he had to cast aside to fulfill his grand destiny. But Elia was not the wrong wife. She was the right wife—for herself, for her children, and for her people. It was Rhaegar who failed her, not the other way around.

Lyanna Stark: A Wolf, Not a Maiden

Lyanna Stark exists in the public consciousness as a ghost of two extremes: either a helpless girl stolen away against her will or a reckless romantic who doomed herself and thousands of others for love. But neither of these simplifications capture the full truth of who she was.

Ned remembers Lyanna as fierce and willful, a girl with a warrior’s spirit, more like Arya than Sansa. He openly wonders if she would have carried a sword if their father had allowed it. She was not passive, not delicate—she was a Stark through and through, wild-hearted and strong.

She was also perceptive. She saw through Robert Baratheon’s romanticized view of her and understood that he would never be faithful. She knew what kind of life awaited her as Robert’s queen, and she wanted no part of it.

At Harrenhal, she was not just Rhaegar’s great love—she was a girl who made an impact on those around her. She was remembered for her boldness, for her defiance of traditional expectations. If she was, as many believe, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, then she was not some lovestruck maiden swept away by fate—she was a protector, a rebel, someone who took action in the face of injustice. And that act had nothing to do with Rhaegar.

Even in death, her final words to Ned—Promise me, Ned—were not about Rhaegar. She was not mourning her lost love. She was not asking Ned to preserve Rhaegar’s dream. She was thinking of her son, of the next generation, of ensuring his survival. Her last act was not about romance—it was about family, about duty, about love in the way only a Stark would understand it.

And just as her own agency is stripped from her, so too is her son’s identity. Jon Snow is often defined entirely by his Targaryen heritage, despite the fact that Lyanna fought to ensure he would not be a pawn of House Targaryen. She did not die for Rhaegar’s prophecy—she died whilst ensuring her child lived outside of it.

The stories of Elia Martell and Lyanna Stark are not just footnotes in the legend of Rhaegar Targaryen. They are not sacrifices for prophecy, not symbols of doomed romance, not mere casualties of a tragic war. They were women with agency, with convictions, with love for their families that transcended the narrative they are forced to haunt. To remember them only as victims is to betray them all over again—to strip them of the depth and defiance that made them who they were. If their suffering is to mean anything, it must be seen for what it truly was: not a poetic tragedy, but an injustice. Not a love story, but a loss. And not a justification for Rhaegar’s actions, but an indictment of them. We do not honor them by mourning their deaths—we honor them by remembering their lives.

But history, both fictional and real, loves to turn women like them into saints of sorrow—The Perfect Victims. The world mourns them but does not seek justice for them. It remembers their beauty, their tragedy, but not their anger. It allows their suffering to be poeticized, aestheticized, while the men who doomed them remain enigmatic, misunderstood figures.

But Elia Martell was not misunderstood. She was betrayed.

Lyanna Stark was not a tragic mystery. She was a woman who acted.

And that is how they deserve to be remembered.

[polysucks]

*grabs a chair and flings it next to you* let's talk about rhaenyra the absolutely perfect (っ* ॑˘ ॑*c)

Rhaenyra Targaryen: Flawless, Brilliant, Never Did Anything Wrong Ever, Not Even Once

A Completely Unbiased and Factually Infallible Analysis

Since the dawn of time (or at least the year 129 AC), there have been haters. And not just any haters—misogynistic, scheming, bootlicking, rat-faced haters who dared to disrespect the one true Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. These are the same people who, instead of acknowledging her divine right, clutched their pearls and gasped, “must have penis to rule!!!!” as if being male somehow makes you worthy of the Iron Throne (it doesn’t; see Aegon IV).

Rhaenyra Targaryen was a beacon of justice, a natural born queen, and an unproblematic girlboss. If at any point you find yourself disagreeing I diagnose you with Hightower bootlicker disease. Seek treatment immediately.

I. She Was the Firstborn and That’s the Only Qualification That Matters

You know who else was the firstborn and got to rule? Literally every king before Rhaenyra. But suddenly, when she was born, the men of Westeros were like, “holup.” You’re telling me that for hundreds of years, we had no problem letting incest babies with questionable literacy skills (cough Aegon II cough) sit the throne, but the moment we get a smart, competent woman in line, we suddenly care about rules?

Just say you’re sexist.

Viserys I named her his heir. He had twenty years to change his mind, but he didn’t, because he knew what we all know—Rhaenyra was That Girl. Meanwhile, the Hightowers spent those same twenty years whispering in Viserys’ ear like fuckin lobbyists, trying to push their useless nepo baby, Aegon II, onto the throne. And for what? So he could spend all his time being a drunken liability?

Justice for Rhaenyra.

II. Rhaenyra’s Sons Were Absolutely, Definitely 100% Velaryons (Don’t be fuckin rude)

A lot of people (incorrect people) like to bring up the fact that Rhaenyra’s sons didn’t look like Laenor Velaryon. To that, I say:

Who fuckin cares?

Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey were raised Velaryons, named Velaryons, and rode dragons like true Targaryens. That’s more than I can say for most of Westeros’ nobility, whose main accomplishments include inbreeding and dying of dysentery.

Also, let’s not pretend like Targaryens and Velaryons don’t already have wildly inconsistent genetics. One minute you’ve got platinum-haired dragonlords, the next you’ve got Daeron Targaryen looking like a Dornish prince. Also Jon Snow?? Taking after Lyanna? For fuckin real? Who’s to say genetics didn’t just do a little freestyle? It happens so fuckin often in the world. The real issue here isn’t Rhaenyra’s sons—it’s the fact that people kept bringing it up like gossipy washerwomen.

“Wahh, they don’t look like Laenor!” Okay, and? Did they ride dragons? Yes. Were they betterer and braver than Aegon II, who spent most of his reign crying and drinking? Also yes.

Case closed.

III. Alicent and Otto Hightower: [dismissive wanking gesture]

Imagine this: You’re Rhaenyra Targaryen. You’re raised your entire life as your father’s heir. You have a cool dragon, a supportive father, and the kingdom knows you’re next in line. Then one day, your bestie’s dad—aka Otto “I Would Sell My Minor Dyke Daughter for a Promotion” Hightower—decides he’s gonna play “Let’s Marry My Lesbian Girl Child to the King” and suddenly, you’re supposed to just accept that your half-brother gets to steal your throne?

Absolutely not.

Alicent and Otto gaslit an entire kingdom into believing that Viserys suddenly changed his mind about Rhaenyra, despite there being zero written proof of this ever happening. How convenient.

Rhaenyra was the rightful queen. She was cheated out of her throne by a man who was too busy drinking himself into oblivion to rule properly. The Green faction wasn’t about preserving stability—it was about stealing power under the flimsiest excuse imaginable. If you support Alicent and Aegon II, just say you lack critical thinking and move on.

IV. “Rhaenyra Was Paranoid” — Yeah, Because People Kept Trying to Kill Her

A lot of people (again, incorrect people) like to say Rhaenyra became too paranoid, too ruthless. To them, I ask: wouldn’t you fuckin be? She spent her entire life being undermined, slandered, and plotted against. Every time she showed the slightest bit of trust, someone betrayed her.

Gave Alicent the benefit of the doubt? Betrayed.

Made peace with Rhaenys and Corlys? Lucerys still got murdered.

Let Ser Arryk live? Dude literally came back to assassinate her.

At a certain point, paranoia isn’t paranoia anymore—it’s pattern recognition.

Besides, let’s not act like Daemon wasn’t out here doing 283800% more war crimes than Rhaenyra, and history still calls him cool and mysterious. If Rhaenyra did half the things Daemon did, they’d call her the Mad Queen. Double standards? In Westeros? Shocking.

V. The People of King’s Landing Betrayed Her, and They Should Feel Bad About It

Imagine being ruled by Rhaenyra Targaryen, First of Her Name, a true heir of the Conqueror, and thinking, “You know what would be better? A guy who marries his own sister, can’t even speak his mother tongue, and executes messengers for sport.”

King’s Landing turned on Rhaenyra fast, and for what? Because she raised taxes? Oh, I’m sorry, did the war that she didn’t start cost too much? Try blaming the Hightowers next time.

And then, after betraying her, they let Aegon II take over, and he immediately ran the kingdom into the ground. Good job, guys. Real smart. Hope the starvation and executions were worth it.

You’re Either With Her, or You’re Wrong

Rhaenyra Targaryen was a queen, a warrior, and history failed her. The Greens were cheating, lying, backstabbing frauds, and the fact that they won is nothing short of a crime.

If Rhaenyra had been a man, none of this would have happened. If Westeros had any sense, they’d have rallied behind her instead of betraying the best chance they had at competent leadership

LONG LIVE QUEEN RHAENYRA.

This post has been proudly brought to you by the Rhaenyra Did Nothing Wrong Foundation™

[polysucks]

omggg I would luuvvvvv if you could do an essay on the parallels between Katara and Lyanna, that would be so cool.

From what I can think of right now, they both went against societal norms. Katara went against it as there weren’t any water benders to teach her because the fire nation wanted to strip that power from them but she still taught herself, and when she met the northern tribe who were sexist with their views on water bending, she used water bending to fight instead of the traditional healing role set for woman. Lyanna did it by fighting off the squires bullying Howland with a tourney sword (quite unexpected), and becoming the mystery Knight of The Laughing Tree (supposedly but I honestly believe it’s her). Also their innate instinct to help others in need no matter what, even if it dangers them.

Anyways, tysm for answering!!

(ps don’t worry about the yapping, I love it, and I’m exactly the same haha 🤞🏽😂)

Okay I am sooooo sorry I am so late on this but I have been rotating katara and lyanna in my brain since I got this ask and im gonna be one hundo with you real fuckin quick Lyanna is Katara's auntie now sorry i don't make the rules this is canon now geroge told me himself

Quieted, Softened, Sanitized—Brown: The Erasure of Katara and Lyanna’s Accomplishments

Word count: 1521 Time to read: 9 - 15 mins CW for racism discussion, my opinions on racism, the Starks are brown die mad about it

It’s infuriating how women like Katara and Lyanna—brown women who carve their own paths, wield power with confident certainty, and refuse to be caged by expectation—are so often reduced to footnotes, whispered about in soft, mournful tones, as if their strength is something tragic rather than triumphant. Meanwhile, women like Azula and Visenya Targaryen, who share that same unrelenting fire, are exalted as legends, feared, revered, and mythologized in ways that allow them to loom larger than life. The difference? One set of women is allowed to be seen. Their power is acknowledged, even if it’s as something dangerous. But for Katara and Lyanna [and Elia, but this isn’t about her], power is only recognized when it's softened, wrapped in palatable narratives of quiet suffering, of impropriety instead of impact. Lyanna is forever the "willful girl" whispered about behind closed doors. Katara is the "stubborn girl from the South" instead of the master waterbender who faced down the most powerful men of her time and won. Their stories are filtered through loss, restraint, and buried rebellions, while their white counterparts are allowed to rage, to conquer, to take up space in history without apology. It's not just an oversight—it's a pattern. A refusal to let brown women be big the way white (or white-coded) women are already allowed to be—ya know. Despite societal hierarchy.

The Fire Nation tried to erase waterbending from the Southern Water Tribe, but Katara refused to let that part of her identity die. When she finally reached the Northern Water Tribe, she had already proven herself as a fighter—she had battled soldiers, trained Aang, and built herself into a warrior without a formal teacher. She arrived not as a student begging for guidance, but as an equal who deserved to be taught.

But Master Pakku didn’t see it that way. To him, she was just a girl, and girls were meant to heal—not fight. She could be powerful, sure, but only in a way that served others, never in a way that allowed her to claim power for herself.

This is where a lot of stories would frame Katara’s fight as a classic “girl vs. sexist establishment” moment. And while, yes, sexism is at play, Katara’s defiance goes deeper than that. She doesn’t just fight Pakku to prove that women can fight—she fights because she knows she is more than just one role. She already is a great healer. She accepts and embraces that. But she also knows she’s a great warrior. She’s smart, strategic, and terrifyingly powerful when she needs to be. She refuses to be reduced to just one identity when she knows she is so much more.

This is the real reason she fights: because the world tries to tell her that she can’t be both. That she has to pick. That she has to be either soft or strong, either a protector or a destroyer, either a girl who heals or a warrior who fights. But Katara doesn’t accept that. She takes back all of herself, not just the parts that are deemed acceptable.

And despite this incontestable power, Katara is often remembered in a way that softens her edges. Fandom discussions, media interpretations, and even in-universe characters frequently define her by her healing, her warmth, her nurturing spirit—as if her rage, her ambition, her battle prowess, and her political mind are footnotes rather than fundamental parts of who she is. Women like Katara, brown women with unshakable power, are only allowed to be celebrated if they are framed as gentle first, as if their strength is a quiet, reluctant thing rather than something they claim outright.

Where Katara gets to fight her battle in real time, Lyanna’s battle happens after her death—in the way she is remembered, and in the way her story is not hers anymore.

In life, Lyanna was fiercely and proudly Northern, unashamed of her Stark identity, a girl who rode too fast, who fought when she saw injustice, who wouldn’t be controlled. We see this through the little moments—the way she defends Howland Reed at the tourney of Harrenhal [allegedly], the way she’s spoken of as being headstrong, wild, impossible to tame. The world she lived in wanted women to be beautiful and obedient, to be desirable and soft and pretty and powdered and white. But Lyanna was none of those things.

But in death, she becomes something else.

To Robert, she is his lost love, the girl who was stolen from him, the woman who haunts him so deeply that he builds a war in her name. Something to covet and to lust for rather than remember and honor with fondness and respect. To Westeros, she is a tragic figure, a noble lady taken in her prime by a prince (or a demon. The argument is always about Rhaegar’s intentions, not about Lyanna’s choices), her story one of sorrow and longing. And worst of all, to history, she is just another part of Rhaegar’s legacy—a romanticized casualty in the tale of a great man.

But Ned knows better.

Ned remembers her not as a myth, not as a tragic beauty, but as his sister. A warrior, a woman of fierce conviction, someone who lived and fought and made her own choices. He carries the weight of her final moments, the truth of her life that no one else will ever fully understand.

"Promise me, Ned."

She isn’t just asking him to protect Jon—she’s asking him to protect the truth of who she was. Protect the pride of the North. She doesn’t want Jon to be defined by his birth, by the expectations placed on him, by the legacy of men who only care about his bloodline. She wants Jon to be his own person. She wants for him what she never got—for his story to be his.

And yet, Lyanna, like Katara, is remembered through a softened, sanitized lens. She is reduced to whispers, to tragic beauty, to quiet improprieties. She was a woman who fought, but history has rewritten her into someone who was stolen. Her strength is remembered in hushed tones, as if it is something delicate instead of something to be respected.

Meanwhile, her white (or white-coded) counterparts—women like Visenya Targaryen—are allowed to be legendary. Visenya was just as wild, just as politically shrewd, just as fiercely independent as Lyanna, and she is remembered as a conqueror, a queen, a wielder of Dark Sister. She is allowed to be grand, mythical, powerful in a way that does not diminish her. Similarly, Azula, a firebending prodigy who shares Katara’s intensity, is feared, studied, and dissected with fascination. She is allowed to be bold, brilliant, and deeply, unapologetically seen.

This is the pattern: brown women like Katara and Lyanna are remembered only in ways that make their power comfortable to those who look back on them. They are rarely allowed to be truly big the way white women are given excuses to be. Their strength is either erased or reframed into something tragic, something wistful, something mournful rather than something irrefutable.

What makes Lyanna and Katara so powerful is that they don’t fight to prove themselves to other people. They don’t break barriers just for the sake of breaking them. They fight because they already know who they are, and they refuse to be anything less than their full selves.

Katara never questions whether she’s strong enough. She knows she is.

Lyanna never questions whether she has the right to make her own choices. She knows she does.

And in the end, both of them are remembered for what they refused to compromise. Katara walks away from her fight with Pakku not just victorious, but with the freedom to be all of herself. Lyanna, even in death, refuses to be a symbol—because the truth of her story lives on in the promise Ned made, and in the son she left behind.

Both of them are proof that strength isn’t about being one thing—it’s about refusing to let the world tell you who you’re supposed to be.

And maybe that’s why history tries so hard to soften them.

Because women like Katara and Lyanna don’t just challenge the expectations placed on them—they shatter them. And the world has never quite figured out what to do with that.

[polysucks]

-sits down next to you at your table with two sandwiches- I think we need to discuss the parallels between sansan and danyrah. Thinking about how sandor doesn't have anything to him but his honor (which he claims is shit, but he protects both Sansa and arya) and how Jorah could have had everything even after finding Dany but instead he decided to throw that away as well. And like!!! You can train a dog and it will be loyal but you can't train a bear!!!!!!!

-Hands you my pickle bc i don't like them, cracks open 2 beers with my fockin' teeth-

you gave me guest right you made a mistake.

I am severely unhinged and I wrote a ~2k word essay on the differences and parallels between sandor and jorah based solely on this ask.

I am so sorry. I am soooooo sorry.

You can teach a dog to follow; its loyalty can be earned through patience or fear, but a bear is a creature of its own will—wild and unyielding; it may walk beside you for a time, but it is never truly yours to command.

[polysucks]

hi!!! 👋 i don’t wanna be annoying but I love ur blog and ur objectively bad takes /s

you bring up some decent points comparing jon and sansa to each other as far as stupid teenager things go. Can you elaborate a little more on Sansa’s mistakes being stupid teenager mistakes? she’s big naive and wears her rose tinted glasses and that pretty much sets the stage for her character and the growth she experiences in the series, but it’s hard for me to believe an 11-13 year old girl {i forget how old anyways she’s youngg 🍼} wouldn’t consider the weight her choices as a future queen betrothed to the heir of the iron throne would hold.

{almost hoping i become immortalized on ur blog when my anon ask becomes the gateway to ur next metaessay♥️💙💜💗💛💚}

HI OH MY GOD YOU'RE NOT ANNOYING, I LOVE YOU.

I can't believe you fuckin losers want to hear more of my objectively bad takes (stealing that one)

And I lovvvveeeee how you approached me with constructive pushback :) I wish I had more asks like you. Ya'll are allowed to disagree with me, and I hope some of you do. I'm a big fan of (constructive and purely conversational) debate! But imma be real w you. I feel like your argument doesn't hold much weight, either. Speaking as a former idealistic and very stupid 11-13 year old girl-- oh my god I could totally see myself at sansa's age and in her position making the same stupid fucking decisions. Does that make them right? absolutely not. Still fuckin stupid.

I've never been an angsty teenage boy, though, so I cannot attest to whether or not Jon is an accurate representation of cringe 15 year old amab experiences but like. having been around alot of cringe 15 year old amabs? yeah. He seems pretty normal, too.

on that note. Lemme be a li'l unhinged and intellectualize this for a min.

Teenage Dirtbags of Westeros: Jon, Sansa, and the Cost of Being Dumb

some get stabbed and some get stuck pretending to be their creepy uncle’s kid

Word count: 924 Time to read: 5 - 9 mins CW for discussions of gender as a binary, Sansa's character arc which involves grooming and Petyr Baelish is his own warning all by himself.

in the books, we can easily see a parallel between how Sansa and Jon are depicted as lame teenagers with terrible social skills and a comical lack of self-awareness (like most teenagers, of not all.) Both characters begin as naïve, idealistic teenagers thrust into new and exciting circumstances that they soon learn are far beyond their control, yet the consequences of their decisions deviate abruptly due to the difference in societal structures and therefore the disparity in expectations placed upon them. Jon, despite making reckless and shortsighted choices, is – for the most part—spared personal, long-lasting repercussions; his errors largely affect the Wall and the Wildlings rather than his own survival or sense of self. In contrast, Sansa’s mistakes carry devastating consequences for her identity and agency, with her naïve decisions rippling through the entirety of the narrative and altering the trajectory of Westeros as a whole. This discrepancy demonstrates not only the fundamentally gendered lens through which these characters’ arcs are written but also the brutal realities of power and privilege in this universe. And honestly, it’s no mistake. I think Peepaw did this intentionally.

Jon’s mistakes as a stupid emo whiny ass angsty teen often stem from his desire to balance his personal beliefs with his borderline quixotic sense of duty. His decision to trust the Wildlings, for example, ruptures his relationships with his colleagues and new forced family and eventually leads to his murder at the hands of his brothers. Jon’s death, however, is implied to be temporary and functions as a narrative tool to reinforce his role as a messianic figurehead of the series (I mean like I could write a whole fuckin thing about this alone and how the inclusion of Beric Dondarrion and the Brothers without Banners’ influence on Arya’s storyline and how Arya by herself can serve as a parallel for Jon--). Though he definitely faces challenges, the consequences of his actions are contained within the Wall and immediately adjacent—a place already isolated from the political machinations of Westeros by design. His mistakes do not permanently alter his identity or strip him of his agency. Sansa’s mistakes, on the other hand, have far-reaching consequences that compound over time, affecting not only her personal arc but the entire realm. Her choice to approach Queen Cersei and beg for the crown’s protection—a decision born of youthful idealism and trust in the chivalric ideals she’s been taught (blame ur father sweetie. Welcome to the club)—sets off a chain of events that leads to Robert Baratheon’s death, Ned Stark’s execution, and the War of the Five Kings and so on and so forth. Like the 9/11 domino effect but for Westeros. Unlike Jon, Sansa’s errors are amplified by her birth status and specifically her gender, as the stakes of her actions reverberate through the political landscape in ways she could never have foreseen.

This disparity is further illustrated through their respective “deaths.” While Jon’s death is a physical one, Sansa experiences a symbolic death when she is forced to throw away her identity at the hands of her biggest groomer (and fuckin Capital L LOSER) and become Alayne Stone, the bastard daughter of Littlefinger [crowd boos]. Sansa’s transformation is a worse fate because it robs her of her sense of self, forcing her to live a life of manipulation and abuse under the guise of her abuser’s ward. Peepaw even emphasizes this loss of self by titling her perspective chapters as "Alayne" rather than "Sansa," (I cry errytiem) reflecting her inner turmoil as she begins to think of herself as someone other than a Stark. (I mean you can argue that Sansa’s loss of identity began at the Crossing when she was robbed of Lady and you would be correct but this is my meta essay get ur own soapbox. And tag me if u do.) Jon’s (potential) resurrection allows him to return to his true self with renewed purpose, while Sansa’s erasure underscores the brutality of her circumstances and the grotesquely gendered nature of power in Westeros. Sansa’s narrative arc illustrates how the consequences of her stupid teenager mistakes are magnified not because she is less capable than Jon, but because the world she inhabits punishes women far more harshly for what this society considers to be faults. Her suffering and eventual growth reveal the oppressive structures that shape her life, while Jon’s arc—though compelling and holds significant weight narratively and I’m not trying to argue it doesn’t—remains largely insulated from such systemic inequities

The unequal treatment of Jon and Sansa’s naivety is not just a reflection of their personal arcs but of the broader structures of power and gender in Westeros. Jon is allowed to fail without the world collapsing around him because he exists on the fringes of society as a bastard and a member of the Night’s Watch. Sansa, on the other hand, is punished brutally for her mistakes because of the immense weight placed on her identity as a Stark and a daughter and her role in the political machinations of Westeros.

This discrepancy highlights the systemic inequality at play in the series: Jon is afforded the space to grow and learn from his mistakes, while Sansa is stripped of her agency, identity, and autonomy. Her suffering is not just personal—it is woven into the fabric of Westeros itself, as her mistakes become the catalysts for larger political and social upheaval.