does Lyanan say she love Rhaegar at her deathbed? And was their anything about Rhaegar and her being connected so once he dead her time is up
1) So she says to Ned that Jon was born of their love and that he didn’t abduct her - but I think her “loving” Rhaegar is a bit of youth and cope. As previously mentioned she gets kind of obsessed w the prophecy (in my mind as the only way to justify the human cost of her actions) once she learns of Brandon and Rickard’s deaths. To Lyanna Rhaegar represents at least the “love” half of “love v duty” which is a Theme hammered home pretty heavily in the play - marrying Robert was her duty and it’s what she was desperate to avoid. It’s understandable imo she’d stick to that original “view” of Rhaegar. But crucially, in my opinion, when she gives Jon to Ned she eschews the very reason she believed in Rhaegar - she says don’t raise him to know who his father is don’t tell him anything abt the prophecy etc etc. Raise him as a stark.
2) she doesn’t say anything about being connected to Rhaegar such that when he dies it’s her turn to die / she can’t live without him. She does say smth along the lines of as she’s dying that she’s realizing this is the fate she tried to outrun but it fell upon her anyway. Earlier on in the play she says multiple times that she doesn’t want to be “trapped in a lords tower giving him heirs”; that’s what she’s trying to avoid by running off w Rhaegar but she ends up exactly there anyway!!! It’s Greek tragedy shit tried to avoid her fate and created it. So that’s what she’s saying. Also when she finds out Rhaegar is dead at tower of joy she’s heavily pregnant and starts hallucinating / thinks she’s back at Harrenhal and starts talking about the harrenhal weirwood vs the winterfell one and her connection to rhaegar v his prophecy song… but she doesn’t say that bc he died she has to die. It’s just tragedy / prophecy as destructive v all consuming obsession that she doesn’t want to to pass on to Jon type shit…
The prophecy / aegon’s dream is really framed in the play as a corrupting force that drives anyone who seeks to fulfill it to madness via unrelenting obsession.
Aerys reveals in an exchange w his son Rhaegar that he also both knew about the prophecy and tried to bring it to fruition (“I tried too!”), hence Rhaella having 5 stillborn children before Dany, desperately trying to produce the third “head” of the dragon.
Elia early on in the play condemns Rhaegar as too obsessed with the prophecy to effectively carry out the political maneuvers needed to win the nobility over and depose Aerys. She says “you’re as mad as your father!” when he won’t stop talking about it when she’s trying to convince him to speak to the assembled nobility about the necessity for a coup; he cannot effectively govern the realm or tend to its needs or even see them bc he’s so blinded by obsession with the prophecy. The first thing he says after she nearly died giving birth to Aegon is could she have another (at which point Ashara Dayne corrrectly says he’s unworthy of her)
We get scenes where bc of Aerys’s behaviors and actions Rhaegar and Elia’s plan is winning over the Starks and Baratheons - but by crowning Lyanna Rhaegar immediately destroys any possibility of a peaceful exchange of power, condemning the realm to war and sacrificing its immediate peace and prosperity to fulfill it.
Then after Lyanna and Rhaegar run off she, who believed in some prophetic / fated connection to Rhaegar bc she had wolf dreams, gets extremely obsessed w trying to fulfill the prophecy once she’s learned that Brandon and Rickard died - because of course otherwise her dad and her brother died for nothing and her actions were responsible! She has to believe there’s some greater plan and purpose but also when Lyanna becomes obsessed her actress is almost manic! Like trying to find meaning in and fulfill the prophecy is itself driving her to a sort of madness. And it does doom her as much as it doomed Rhaegar! She ends up “trapped in a lord’s tower giving him heirs” - a future she tried to avoid by running from Robert but a fate she was trapped in and bound to anyway; pursuit of prophecy led her there! And when she gives Jon to Ned she recognizes this - she says don’t tell him anything about it, don’t tell him about his heritage about the prophecy, raise him as a Stark etc. she realizes the destructive power of believing in and trying to bring about not only prophecy in general but this one in particular.
The prophecy as madness rune and corrupting force also aligns w it as a supposed justification for Aegon’s conquest. The first Targaryen to know of it used said knowledge to justify, as Aerys says in the play in his one moment of true lucidity, widespread slaughter, destruction, and conquest. It seems to be and in the play especially can be read as a corrupting force of madness that destroys the lives and goals of people who pursue it, King in Yellow style.
And what is the name of one of the random cities in Essos that’s on the map but never mentioned in the story?
It whipped ass here’s some of my favorite aspects from a character perspective:
- Elia got so much more content; she’s one of the main characters of this play. She was one of the drivers of the coup to overthrow Aerys and replace him w Rhaegar and she’s the one who proposes the “win the tourney crown me your queen of love and beauty and we can win the nobles over” pivot after Aerys shows up unexpectedly. She’s explicitly the one doing most of the actual politics while Rhaegar is busy being prophecy pilled and she gets increasingly frustrated at his inability to understand the immediate threat to the realm Aerys’s continued rule represents. Fuck the prophecy help me coup your dad right now!!!
- Similarly in act 1 a lot of time is spent showing how the Starks and Baratheons are , bc of Aerys’s behaviors and actions, amenable to Rhaegar and Elia’s scheme (see: Robert dead parents amiibo Aerys gives him). But the shit Elia complained about - Rhaegar being too prophecy pilled to focus on the immediate threat and do politics - culminates in the Lyanna crowning which dashes those hopes and pisses everyone off. It’s the epitome of that Flaw of Rhaegar’s and one of the many moments throughout the play where the prophecy and obsession w it are framed as destructive.
- When Elia gives birth to Aegon Rhaegar immediately asks if she could have another and Ashara says you aren’t worthy of her get his ass. The Ashara/Elia relationship is heavily implied as is imo genuinely Ned/Robert.
- Elia and her political ambitions are central; she’s laser focused on “here’s how Dorne can still win”. She schemes w Oberyn and Llewyn after the Rhaegar/Lyanna escape , she says she understands Rhaegar / Lyanna as long as they uh come back and don’t do that shit (and her children still have their claim) when Rhaegar dies she’s pretty much immediately like okay Rhaenys can still be queen if we engineer a match between Viserys and Rhaenys LOVE how much they gave her.
- The way Rhaegar / Lyanna was handled I actually quite liked - she has wolf dreams canonically and sees Rhaegar as a way to escape from the life she doesn’t want and the future she’s running from, namely, “to be trapped in a lord’s tower giving him heirs”. I always assumed she went willingly but regretted her decision later à la Helen and Paris, what I really like is that after she learns Rickard and Brandon are dead she gets extremely into the prophecy as a coping mechanism- Lyanna’s actress is almost manic during this scene and Rhaegar is the one telling her it’s pointless and fake. But to me it reads as her desperately trying to find meaning bc if this prophecy isn’t real then she made this choice that doomed her father and brother for nothing! She has to justify it! And at the end of the play when she gives Jon (who has no targ name OF COURSE) to Ned she says fuck that prophecy I don’t want my son to know about it I want him to grow up a stark with you I want to go /home/. The tension between her /saying/ she loved Rhaegar and particularly at the end of the play her absolute rejection of the prophecy that destroyed him and the fact that again she is living out what is textually her nightmare scenario calls that into question IMO!
- speaking of the prophecy one of the best scenes was between Rhaegar and Aerys in act 1 (Aerys was incredible he absolutely ran away with it) where Rhaegar has a chance to kill him but doesn’t want to be branded a kinslayer). Previously Rhaegar had talked about how Aegon conquered Westeros bc of the prophecy that said the realm must be united to face the evil the prophecy foretells but! In his one moment of perfect lucidity Aerys tells Rhaegar Aegon just said that to justify the slaughter and violence of the conquest what he really wanted was power. It’s propaganda!!! It’s self serving! It’s an evil prophecy that destroys all who try and chase it!
- Young Jaime was incredible and they kept some of my favorite lines (“we’re supposed to protect her too / but not from him” etc). Ashara and Jaime calling out Bystander Selmy was quite good
- NedCat wedding scene was very good I loved Catelyn taking charge and convincing him to go to bed with her
- NedBert lowkey real he jumped into Robert’s arms when he won the melee lol
- Elia Ashara yuri quite real as well!!!
- probably forgetting a lot that I liked but ask me anything
Lyanna essentially saw her future (trapped in a lord’s tower giving him heirs) and thought it meant that’s what would happen if she married Robert and so she tried to change it but in trying to change it brought it about very classic greek tragedy stuff of course she’s in love with Rhaegar bc he represents that chance at freedom BUT SHE LIVES OUT HER NIGHTMARE SCENARIO BC OF HIM AND RENOUNCES PROPHECY AND TARG SHIT AT THE END AND SAYS RAISE MY SON NORMAL TO NED her ILLUSION IS SHATTERED!!
LAST BOOK I READ: Just finished "Like You'd Understand Anyway", a collection of short stories by Jim Shepard my friend read and some? were quite good :) I was straight up not even going to consider reading it because the title made me think it was like contemporary litfic which I don't enjoy but I was delighted that like half the stories were HISTORICAL FICTION!!! Hadrian's Wall and The First South Central Australian Expedition were absolutely fantastic and deeply engrossing to read. It's very impressive to do the amount of research he did for each of like 10 short stories set in very different times and places.
A BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: I think everyone should read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall series; I know it's a basic ass answer but they're historical fiction constructed with such care and understanding and effort and a real attempt to tap into the mindset of someone living in that time period .... I have to say perfect books I really do believe it. Thomas Cromwell now my oomf.
A BOOK I COULDN’T PUT DOWN: I think I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell without stopping for air which is a feat because it's a LONG ass book but it was SO incredible.
A BOOK I’VE READ TWICE OR MORE: I just finished my third read of the entire (so far the other two ARE coming) A Song of Ice and Fire series since it's HotD season ... they fucking hit every single time and really are that good. I get more out of them every time; this time I'm kind of thinking ASOIAF is a family abolitionist text.
A BOOK ON MY TBR: I've got a few; I need to read the new Clodia biography Clodia of Rome that came out recently for research, I want to read Patrick Wyman's Lost Worlds because I listened to a LOT of Tides of History during my PhD, I really want to read the book about the Paris Commune Massacre but just don't have a copy right now... My normie co worker who also loves ASOIAF said I should read Assassin's Apprentice so I'm putting those on there too...
A BOOK I’VE PUT DOWN:
Through no fault of its own, I put down Post Captain (the second Master and Commander book) because the formatting on the epub I illegally downloaded was so fucked I genuinely could not figure out what was going so I'll pick it back up when I get a physical copy. I put down K-Ming Chang's Organ Meats bc I was just unclear about what was going on and didn't enjoy reading it. I also have a lot of nonfiction books on indefinite pause sorry.
A BOOK ON MY WISHLIST: I NEED a copy of Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune quite badly, the only thing stopping me from reading it is the lack of a physical copy in my hands and I have done everything short of ordering a copy from Amazon to try and find it LOL
FAVORITE BOOK FROM CHILDHOOD: I'm transgender so I have to say the Animorphs series.
A BOOK I’D GIVE TO A FRIEND: I do think everyone should read Wolf Hall and others because I do think it's the best historical fiction I've ever read. But I also want everyone to read ASOIAF if they haven't.... hmm. pick your poison then those are the two options .
A BOOK OF POETRY OR LYRIC THAT I OWN: I own a few different collections of Latin elegiac poetry but I straight up don't know what modern poetry is "good". Or how to judge or interpret it in any way. But remember when Propertius said have fun dying in Bithynia I'll be sucking the toes of military wives.
WHAT I’M CURRENTLY READING: Currently reading Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian which I never actually read earlier in my life... the prose is incredibly beautiful and haunting and that's not even getting into how she constructs a very realistic and understandable portrait of the character of Hadrian from basically nothing, but I know what she's drawing from and I enjoy her interpretations quite a bit.
WHAT I’M PLANNING ON READING NEXT: Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South is the next book on my reading list; the miniseries was really good but I'd like to read the actual book especially since it seems like it was her giving her friend's idea of "writing something from the point of view of the employer" the best possible try she could. And Thornton still kind of sucks bc she really truly understands that, morality aside, there straight up is no way to be a 'good' capitalist!
Six got a lot of my friends on here so uhhhh tagging @madqueenalanna, @felicedellarovere, @izzychao, and? the girl reading this :)
A lot of transphobia has this underlying assumption that people who transition are a random sample from their AGAB. Like, if you imagine a world where you took all the 10-year-old "boys" in your country and randomly selected 1% of them to go on to transition later in life, then that world would be essentially the same as this one.
And that assumption is useful to transphobes because it means they can uncritically extend properties of the AGAB group to the subset who transitions. E.g. they will say AMAB kids are likely to have behaved like X or experienced Y in their youth, therefore trans women are likely to have behaved like X or experienced Y in their youth. And they can say this without ever checking if it's true about trans women, because if everyone knows it's true of cis boys, they will assume that extension to trans women.
But like, if you took down the details of every 30-year-old trans woman right now, then went back in time 20 years, and studied that group of 10-year-olds, you would find they already had properties that differed from the 10-year-old-AMAB average in 2006. Perhaps they would be a little quieter, perhaps they would have a couple more female friends, perhaps they'd have fewer friends in general, perhaps they would have more anxiety, perhaps they would have more depression. Perhaps none of these and something else, idk.
But, the point is, people don't just decide to transition *at random*, there is a whole history of life experience in each trans girl leading up to that realisation "I am trans" and that decision "I should do something about it", and that common history of all these kids would be reflected in some group average differences from the AGAB cohort even long before that realisation took place.
And this is what makes "male socialisation" rhetoric so frustrating. Because the very fact of having all the life history that led up to your realisation that you were trans, the life history that *caused* that realisation, that very history marks you as someone with an atypical social experience compared to your AGAB average.
Literally if you had to select the 1% of AMAB people *least* likely to have had a typical "male socialisation", it would be the ones who come out of that experience thinking "you know what, I'm actually a different gender to all these men". And yet it's trans women who are tarred with the brush of "male socialisation" more than any other group.
We’ve got walking and talking. We’ve got municipal governance. We’ve got alicent advising from house arrest as rhaenyra’s conscience. We’ve got Daemon coke rants. We’ve got Rhaenyra ratfucking herself for later by alienating all her minor nobles for an epic communism moment. We’ve got Rhaenyra alienating daemon and her dragonseeds and Corlys. We’ve got fake Daeron. We’ve got bastardphobia. We’ve got gradual alienation of the faith. We’ve got being forced to confront what you are and what you have to be in one hundred different ways. We’ve got Rhaenyra contemplating really doing it this time in front of a pile of burning Hightower banners realizing she has to destroy a whole lot of things
Mechanic (Demeas)- Demeas, son of Democrates, was born and raised in Syracuse. He comes from a long line of intellectuals and inventors. He sawed off his arm and replaced it with a complicated prosthetic to prove a point. Demeas is a hard worker and often loses track of time while working on his projects. He is friendly when around people and likes to cook for his teammates. He, Taran, and Haribert work together a lot and bond over a shared love of science. He wears light, loose-fitting clothing since his role has little combat. He wears a sundial that was passed down through the generations. When I drew him with a beard, I did not intend for him to look like Socrates, but here we are.
Spear bearer (Menecreates)- Menecreates left his mother and sisters in Mytilene to earn some money and kill people. His spears are heavy, and he takes care of (and names) each one. He is soft spoken and intelligent, but also violent. His shield serves as decoration more than protection. He works well with most of the other mercs and tolerates Ireneus. He spends his free time polishing his spears or talking with Haribert. His father was killed in the Mytilenean revolt, and he feels a sense of responsibility to protect his family. His dialect is very different from the more "central" ones the others have, which causes some language barrier.
Observer- The observer is an Athenian spy. He does not share personal information. He is one of the more isolated group members, and he has no problem with that. He wears fine linen and soft leather sandals that allow him to move quietly. He used to wear lots of oils and perfumes, but had to stop because enemies could smell him before he could backstab them. He relies on a small dagger to get the job done. In terms of relationships, he has more enemies than friends. He has a little in common with Haribert and Demeas, and sometimes fraternizes with them. He butts heads with Ireneus a lot.
Chemist (Taran)- As a chemist, Taran uses his knowledge to create various combustible substances and brew beer. He lost his eye in an explosion, but he is still just as dangerous without depth perception. He wears bronze armor, a tunic, and a cape, which is a lot for the Mediterranean, but he looks cool, and that's all that really matters. He is friendly with the enemy hoplite and often sneaks out to hang out with him.
Surgeon (Haribert Hludwig)- Haribert came from Germania to study Greek forms of medicine, and also to flee the penalties for medical malpractice. He wears a cloak and chiton, which he dries his hands on, but in the cases where he goes on the battlefield, he wears more protective armor. Since this is taking place (very roughly) around the 400 bcs and Archimedes (the person) lived around 200 years later, Archimedes (the dove) is not named after him. It's just a coincidence. Medic's prescription is pretty low, so he doesn't wear glasses, even though Demeas offered. He is happy just to experiment in his iatreion, tend to the doves, or chat with Menecreates.
Archer (Milon)- Milon was abandoned by his Cretan parents and found and raised by a Spartan couple. They tried their best to raise him as a hoplite, but his Cretan aim prevailed. He is patient and cautious in battle, which translates to his behavior out of battle. He and Ireneus "hang out" often, which basically constitutes Ireneus running around while Milon whittles. He is polite with the rest of the team. He and his parents exchange letters often. They don't agree with his lifestyle, but they love him nonetheless. He usually wears light linen and leather boots, given that he is a ranged fighter and there is less of a need for heavy armor. He has a water bladder for various liquids.
Foot soldier (Irene)- Irene is a Spartan hoplite. He was actually born underweight, and his parents abandoned him. Despite that, he somehow survived and became a Spartan hoplite. He has brain damage from past head trauma and other psychological issues, which have a huge impact on his personal relationships. He also has ear damage. He surprisingly gets along well with the other mercs, so long as they keep telling him that they are Spartans. He wears heavy armor, which is both protection and a symbol of honor. He rarely takes his helmet off, and he even sleeps in it sometimes.
Courier (Ireneus)- Ireneus has an Athenian father and a Corcyrean mother. He doesn't know his father's identity, only that he is Athenian, which he resents. He prides himself on his "λαγνεία βόμβος" tattoo, which he bears in honor of his idol Timaeus Jonas. He wears two small sticks with unique notches as a form of identification, aka dog tags. He doesn't wear shoes (against the Observer's demands) since footwear gives him blisters.
Fire-bearer- The fire-bearer wears a Greek chorus mask and bandages, either to hide nasty burn scars or their identity. No one on the team knows where they came from or their name. They (mis)use an incense burner by swinging it in a way to oxygenate the flames. They stick close to Irene and Ireneus, but are not at all opposed to playing with the other mercs or bothering the Observer.
I pumped this out pretty quickly, but I'm happy to answer questions/just talk about the au!! I understand that there are some inaccuracies, some of those are intentional. I'm really excited about this...
I should finish the side characters' designs today or tomorrow.
RIP menelaus u would have hated having to breathe in ur brothers secondhand smoke because the only time hes actually in a decent mood to be talked to is when hes got some tobacco in his mouth
What if a castle ate blood and it was so good at it that it also ate time and warped the narrative around itself so that everything starts and ends there. What if it was a living ruin with blood in the walls and burnt-out towers that scream in the wind. What if the staging place and slaughter house in every major westerosi land war remembered it was this. What if a castle was perfectly ordinary and its “curse” was just that it so happened to do to feudal lords what those lords do to peasants.
