#Wyman has in plan

[turtle-paced]

If asoiaf anti revenge. Then shouldn’t the North Remembers be seen in the same light as Stoneheart revenge quest

This assumes that "the North remembers" and Lady Stoneheart are the same.

They're not.

Which is not to say that the effort by large chunks of the remaining Northern nobility to reinstall a Stark in Winterfell is not motivated by revenge; it absolutely is. That's why we've got Wyman Manderly re-enacting the Rat Cook.

But there's more to it than that. What is it that the North remembers? Better days. They want that back. There's an agenda there beyond "kill lots of Freys and Boltons."

That's something that Lady Stoneheart does not have. At all. She hangs Pod for goodness' sake, a child, whose only 'crime' is working for someone who might work for a Lannister. She hangs Brienne, a loyal and faithful friend, because Brienne's opinions of Jaime differ to her own. Lady Stoneheart has no plans for the future. It's all about the destruction in the now.

These things have their similarities, but they have important points of difference. Which is why the narrative looks at them differently.

#asoiaf #valyrianscrolls

[gendrie]

i will never understand how arya is just brushed aside where the north's future is concerned. she is not even considered wrt northern leadership, but arya has interactions with numerous northern houses + riverlands houses (a part of robb's kingdom) and other characters associated with the north. which is, contrary to popular belief, actually very significant.

house manderly: imprisoned in harrenhal alongside wylis

house cerwyn: imprisoned in harrenhal alongside lord medger

house glover: imprisoned in harrenhal alongside robett glover. arya/weasel is introduced to him after she instigated weasel soup to help free him. glover is now plotting with wyman manderly to retrieve rickon.

house karstark: imprisoned in harrenhal alongside some soldiers and arya showed karstark men mercy at the stoney sept before they were killed for their crimes

house frey: formerly betrothed to elmar, worked alongside him and other assorted freys in harrenhal

house bolton: arya served as a cupbearer to roose. "arya stark" is married to ramsay and is the current lady of winterfell

house smallwood: arya was treated kindly by lady smallwood and noted their sigil at trw bc of that kindness

house tully: arya sees firsthand the mixed reception that her grandfather has amongst the people of the riverlands

the red wedding in general: this was an attack on ALL of the north and motivates many lords to seek vengeance against its perpetrators. arya is one of the few northerners to survive the red wedding.

the brotherhood without banners: a group started by (none other than) ned stark to seek justice in the riverlands against the mountain. the bwb still has a few of winterfell's men within it's ranks most notably harwin

house wull, house flint of the mountains, house liddle, house norrey and house mormont: all join stannis to save "the ned's girl" aly mormont is "lady arya's" female companion at present

the night's watch: yoren saved arya in king's landing and tried to deliver her home. arya traveled with his recruits until they were attacked. after he was killed arya insisted that she and gendry dig a grave for him. arya defended samwell when he was nearly jumped and offered him food. arya executed dareon for desertion.

wildlings: a ship full of refugees from hardhome washed up in braavos. the wildling women and children had been enslaved until the sealord seized the boat. arya informs the faceless men that the lyseni sailors plan to go back to hardhome for more slaves which is likely why the iron bank end up supplying ships to help jon

"winterfell's people": arya underfoot maintained a close relationship with the smallfolk of winterfell like hodor, old nan, jory, maester luwin (ect) and continues to cherish their memory throughout her journey

this is just an overview. arya is constantly interacting with northerners throughout her story. the bulk of her time is spent in the riverlands, but that is where the war for the north was fought. even when she left to go to braavos she is still involved in the events of the north whether its via northern characters arriving in braavos (which will keep playing out in twow) or via her name being used.

honestly? its absurd to assume sansa will have "governance" of the north when she's yet to interact with a single northern character who wasnt a blood relative or her friend. arya has fought alongside the northerners, been imprisoned with the northerners, sacrificed for the northerners, given food and mercy and justice to northerners. more so than the vast majority of characters in this series. it makes absolutely no sense for her to be disregarded like this because arya is, clearly, the frontrunner for northern leadership.

#asoiaf nonsense #in my head im retired but this one was sitting in my drafts anyway so #whatever #that person always has some stupid shit to say about arya too #my own b tbh i shouldve blocked them awhile ago

[jackoshadows]

In the books:

White Harbor

“Was ever snow so black?” asked Lord Wyman. “Ramsay took Lord Hornwood’s lands by forcibly wedding his widow, then locked her in a tower and forgot her. It is said she ate her own fingers in her extremity…and the Lannister notion of king’s justice is to reward her killer with Ned Stark’s little girl.” - Davos, ADwD

Winterfell:

"The bride weeps," Lady Dustin said, as they made their way down, step by careful step. "Our little Lady Arya." ... What do you think passes through their heads when they hear the new bride weeping? Valiant Ned's precious little girl." ... "Lady Arya's sobs do us more harm than all of Lord Stannis's swords and spears. - The Turncloak, ADwD

The Boltons about the Northmen marching with Stannis:

“Even ruined and broken, Winterfell remains Lady Arya’s home. What better place to wed her, bed her, and stake your claim? Let Stannis march on us. He is too cautious to come to Barrowton…but he must come to Winterfell. His clansmen will not abandon the daughter of their precious Ned to such as you. - - Reek, ADwD

The northmen marching with Stannis:

"Winter is almost upon us, boy. And winter is death. I would sooner my men die fighting for the Ned’s little girl than alone and hungry in the snow, weeping tears that freeze upon their cheeks. No one sings songs of men who die like that. As for me, I am old. This will be my last winter. Let me bathe in Bolton blood before I die. I want to feel it spatter across my face when my axe bites deep into a Bolton skull. I want to lick it off my lips and die with the taste of it on my tongue." - The King's Prize, ADwD

Stannis to Lord Commander Jon Snow:

… more northmen coming in as word spreads of our victory. Fisherfolk, freeriders, hillmen, crofters from the deep of the wolfswood and villagers who fled their homes along the stony shore to escape the ironmen, survivors from the battle outside the gates of Winterfell, men once sworn to the Hornwoods, the Cerwyns, and the Tallharts. We are five thousand strong as I write, our numbers swelling every day. And word has come to us that Roose Bolton moves toward Winterfell with all his power, there to wed his bastard to your half sister. He must not be allowed to restore the castle to its former strength. We march against him. Arnolf Karstark and Mors Umber will join us. I will save your sister if I can, and find a better match for her than Ramsay Snow. You and your brothers must hold the Wall until I can return. - Jon, ADwD

Lord Commander Jon Snow on the Wall:

"He's to marry Arya Stark. My little sister." Jon could almost see her in that moment, long-faced and gawky, all knobby knees and sharp elbows, with her dirty face and tangled hair. They would wash the one and comb the other, he did not doubt, but he could not imagine Arya in a wedding gown, nor Ramsay Bolton's bed. No matter how afraid she is, she will not show it. If he tries to lay a hand on her, she'll fight him. "Your sister," Iron Emmett said, "how old is …" By now she'd be eleven, Jon thought. Still a child. "I have no sister. Only brothers. Only you." Lady Catelyn would have rejoiced to hear those words, he knew. That did not make them easier to say. His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton's throat as easily. - Jon, ADwD

You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird's nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … I want my bride back … "I think we had best change the plan," Jon Snow said.

The roar was all he could have hoped for, the tumult so loud that the two old shields tumbled from the walls. Soren Shieldbreaker was on his feet, the Wanderer as well. Toregg the Tall, Brogg, Harle the Huntsman and Harle the Handsome both, Ygon Oldfather, Blind Doss, even the Great Walrus. I have my swords, thought Jon Snow, and we are coming for you, Bastard. - Jon, ADwD

Stannis sending Arya to Jon Snow for a debt owed

"Oh, and take the Stark girl with you. Deliver her to Lord Commander Snow on your way to Eastwatch." Stannis tapped the parchment that lay before him. "A true king pays his debts." Pay it, aye, thought Theon. Pay it with false coin. Jon Snow would see through the imposter at once. Lord Stark's sullen bastard had known Jeyne Poole, and he had always been fond of his little half-sister Arya. - Theon, TWoW

Even the traitors Karstark pretending like the others:

Lord Arnolf shoved himself up, a vulture rising from its prey. One spotted hand clutched at his son’s shoulder for support. “We’ll take (Winterfell) for the Ned and for his daughter.” - The Sacrifice, ADwD

Us reading A Dance for Dragons: The North is marching for Lady Arya Stark of Winterfell, daughter of Ned Stark. Arya Stark is a pivotal character, a Key to the North around whom the North plot revolves. Various Northern factions are uniting behind her, the Lord Commander broke several oaths of neutrality and died trying to save her, two kings tried to save her.

Sansa stans/Jonsa shippers:

They hate it so much that the North plot revolves around Arya that the only thing they can do again and again is gaslight the fandom with this false equivalence that talking about Arya's importance to the North is making light of Jeyne's rape and abuse.

Also, Ramsay marries Arya Stark to give legitimacy to his stake over the North as Lord of Winterfell. Which is why Manderly wants Rickon because his claim supersedes Arya's. These morons pretending that discussing this plot is an insult to Arya while they hand over all of Arya's book themes, characterization and relationships to their fave is hilarious.

Like every other day there is a post of how Sansa is the MOST IMPORTANT because EVERYONE WANTS TO MARRY HER and she is the ONLY KEY TO THE NORTH - because the Lannisters, Tyrells and LF are all plotting to marry her off etc. The whole Jonsa shite is about Sansa deigning to make the poor bastard Jon legitimate by marrying him etc. Their world revolves around Sansa's marriage. But apparently discussing how Arya's marriage to Ramsay to hold the North is driving the Northern plot is insulting to Arya's character 🤣

When even the author has given all these interviews pointing out that replacing Jeyne with Sansa on the TV show changed the entire story because 'Fake Arya' is essential to what is happening in the North, these stans can only regurgitate this tired old nonsense and attack book readers for discussing what is actually in the books instead of making up headcanons on how their unqualified fave is the only candidate to be QITN

#anti Sansa stans #Why even tag this on the Arya Stark tag?

[ceoofhelaegon]

Idc how popular/unpopular this opinion is but Helaegon in the show deserves to be portrayed as a complex relationship and not as Aegon/Naerys 2.0 that this fandom desperately want.

Not to be offensive to anyone but saying that A*mond/Helaena are the original Naerys and Aemon is a braindead take

Received similar asks and I thought it was better to reply to both at the same time…so here we go:

Aegon IV:

Aenys was weak and Maegor was cruel and Aegon II was grasping, but no king before or after that would practice so much willful misrule.

—writings of Kaeth in Lives of Four Kings

'Fire and Blood' were the words of House Targaryen, but Dunk once heard Ser Arlan say that Aegon's should have been, 'Wash Her and Bring Her to My Bed'.

—thoughts of Duncan the Tall

Naerys: I have done my duty by you, and given you an heir. I beg you, let us live henceforth as brother and sister.

Aegon: That is what we are doing.

—Naerys and Aegon IV Targaryen

Nine mistresses:

Falena Stokeworth

Megette

Cassella Vaith

Bellegere Otherys

Barba Bracken

Melissa Blackwood

Bethany Bracken

Jeyne Lothston

Serenei of Lys

Other:

Daena Targaryen

Elaena Targaryen (rumored)

Daughters of Lord Butterwell (rumored)

Many others

Aegon II:

“When his grief had passed, King Aegon Il summoned his loyalists and made plans for his return to King's Landing, to reclaim the Iron Throne and be reunited once again with his lady mother, the Queen Dowager, who had at last emerged triumphant over her great rival, if only by outliving her. "Rhaenyra was never a queen," the king declared, insisting that henceforth, in all chronicles and court records, his half sister be referred to only as "princess," the title of queen being reserved only for his mother Alicent and his late wife and sister Helena, the "true queens." And so it was decreed.”

“Though Blood and Cheese spared her life, Queen Helaena cannot be said to have survived that fateful dusk. Afterward she would not eat, nor bathe, nor leave her chambers, and she could no longer stand to look upon her son Maelor, knowing that she had named him to die. The king had no recourse but to take the boy from her and give him over to their mother, the Dowager Queen Alicent, to raise as if he were her own. Aegon and his wife slept separately thereafter, and Queen Helaena sank deeper and deeper into madness, whilst the king raged, and drank, and raged."

I was going to put Aegon II’s lovers here but we don’t know them, he’s alleged to have 3 bastards, and none of them are confirmed.

Aemon:

Arianne: And the Dragonknight? The noblest knight who ever lived, you said, and he took his queen to bed and got her with child.

Arys: I will not believe that. The tale of Prince Aemon's treason with Queen Naerys was only that, a tale, a lie his brother told when he wished to set his trueborn son aside in favor of his bastard. Aegon was not called the Unworthy without cause.

—Arianne Martell and Arys Oakheart

Not every man has it in him to be Prince Aemon the Dragonknight or Symeon Star-Eyes...

—Wyman Manderly to Davos Seaworth

When he was born they named him for a hero who had died too young.

—Samwell Tarly recalling Aemon's namesake

Aemond:

Prince Aemond Targaryen, also known as Aemond One-Eye and Aemond the Kinslayer…

One-eyed Prince Aemond, nineteen, was found in the armory, donning plate and mail for his morning practice in the castle yard. "Is Aegon king?" he asked Ser Willis Fell, "or must we kneel and kiss the old whore's cunny?"

Helaena:

"Helaena was a pleasant, happy girl, and all agreed she would make a fine mother. And so she did, and quickly."

Naerys:

She almost died in the cradle and was sickly for most of her life, finding most physical activity to be very taxing. She ate but little and was painfully thin, almost emaciated.

She was also devout in her faith, and often found solace in the pages of The Seven-Pointed Star. She would have become a septa, had her father allowed it.

Aegon IV DESPISED Naerys, he disrespected her and by extent his own trueborn son because of that.

No matter what gaslighting the show tries to do, or other greenies that hate our Aegon…Aegon/Naerys/Aemon will NEVER be Aegon/Helaena/Aemond and in the words of Tywin Lannister:

Is not an opinion, it’s a fact!

#ask #anon #answered #aegon ii targaryen #helaena targaryen #helaegon

[daenystheedreamer]

"Grand northern conspiracy" what part of the last 5 books makes you think ANY of these people have the ability to collaborate with each other independently be so real rn. ned had been IMPRISONED and the manderlys and umbers were fighting over hunting lands they are NOT planning anything together they just all hate roose that much

exactly plus what have we learned about people. They Do Not Shut The Fuck Up EVER. r+l=j only stayed secret because it was JUST ned and howland and they never said anything ever ned lied to his wife for fifteen years. there is no way, in such a tense climate, every lord and lady in the north could a) keep their mouth shut b) coordinate despite conflicting loyalties c) not have any of their hundreds of men blab even accidentally. also ravens is not texting its not immediate and you can just shoot that raven dead. the grand northern conspiracy is several seperate minor quests that slightly overlap.

my thoughts on the gnc (based on the ASX video, i hate the forums) below the cut

WINTERFELL

the snowmen lords (barbrey, wyman, harwood stout, whoresbane umber) have their rickon conspiracy. this is the davos one, most obvious, confirmed etc. i believe what has been explained and hinted is straightforward.

ROBB'S WILL: MAEGE AND GALBART

maege and galbart are ambiguously with howland in the neck with robb's will that says jon is heir. there's evidence they made it and maege is "with lyra and [jorelle]" but probably not at bear island, because lyanna is the only one there. there have since no mentions of galbart's whereabouts

howland of course is the last living person with knowledge of r+l=j

robb's will was made under the belief that bran and rickon were dead and that sansa and arya were ???, leaving that document in limbo. also jon is dead

my belief is maege and galbart had their meeting with howland and are in some kind of hiding rn. i don't think howland told them about r+l=j because it's honestly sooo unrelated to the northern political situation. all it does is make things way more chaotic and puts jon in a really precarious position.

ROBB'S WILL: LADY STONEHEART

LSH has robb's crown and since cat was at the signing of the will it's possible she could crown jon. people link her to maege and galbart but lsh is clearly doing her own thing right now and does not gaf about her bastard stepson

the lannister/freys lost the brotherhood somewhere in the neck so its possible LSH is up there slaying it up with howland.

i think the LSH/howland collusion is a little iffy. LSH is not in her right mind because her brain is rotting in her cracked skull. i just dont see her scheming a huge political conspiracy rn.

personally im of the opinion LSH is on a course towards arya and/or sansa, not jon. or at least her nexus is at her daughters. she is on a revenge quest, not avenge quest. she wants to kill RW participants, not complete robb's will.

plus imo if LSH and the brotherhood are scheming anything, its a red wedding 2.0 massacre

RIVERRUN

tom of sevenstreams is spying on the lannister riverrun camp on behalf of the BWB and is clearly colluding with edmure.

edmure frees brynden

brynden is a robb loyalist and is now running around possibly knowing whatever edmure knows from tom

two riverrun tully guards choose to join the night's watch. where JON is!!!

also jeyne westerling is confirmed to feature in the TWOW prologue

this stuff is wayyy more circumstantial. the line of thought is that the BWB knows about robb's will -> tom knows -> tom tells edmure -> edmure tells brynden -> brynden becomes jon snow #1 fan or whatever. + those tully men are sent judge jon/inform him/whatever

again this is all under the assumption that this is LSH's plan, which i doubt. i think this part of the conspiracy is the least credible and i think a lot of these 'clues' or whatever are probably about a possible red wedding 2.0 (or attack on the lannister camp) as opposed to Everything Is About Jon. those tully men are sus though...

---

jesus okay i got bored here once i got to the part about stannis army politics. i only have enough space in my head to care about one conspiracy per contingent and i picked night lamp for stannis' army. i think there are conflicting loyalties and the fArya situation + bran rickon thing will complicate it further but jesus christ theyre on a military campaign. they do not have time to hook up with fuckn wyman manderly. everyone is freezing and starving okay.

flint and norrey have some shit going on. plus the fuckin liddle that met bran. god. what ever. basically its several minor conspiracies that happen to overlap and some are probably unrelated. but anyway everyone go watch and draw your own conclusions<3

i think the bolton-held winterfell is a powder keg waiting to explode is the Point or whatever. everyone runnning around with conflicting loyalties lying hating each other loving their family etc etc human heart in conflict with itself. way more fun and thematically appropriate. plus its so unneccessary... its like how people try and make littlefinger have bigger and crazier plans. his plans are already big and crazy you dont need to throat him so hard. now i think wyman does deserve a good throating but he's already an awesome schemer do we need to include lady stoneheart. let her murder more people on her own for her own reasons. god forbid women do anything

#grand northern conspiracy #ask #boghierophant #jesus thats long my bad

[fromtheseventhhell]

Bran and Rickon are still alive and both ahead of Sansa in the line of succession. Wyman Manderly wants to make Rickon king. Robb disinherited Sansa and named Jon his heir. Some of the Northern lords are rallying for Arya. Sansa’s first marriage hasn’t been annulled, and Stannis refused to give Winterfell to Sansa.

How will the plot address them ? Is the plot going to get rid of Bran & Rickon ? Is the plot going to revive Lady ? Is the plot going to get the North to trust Littlefinger and the Vale lords to march North when their people are starving and winter is here ? Is the plot going to annul Sansa’s marriage and make sure Tyrion doesn’t find out ? Is the plot going to make Sansa get North before anyone else and grant her Northern support out of thin air ?

It’s amusing to see that as always Sansa fans can’t actually draw any substantive textual evidence. It’s always just hearsay and speculation and vague admonishments about traditional femininity.

Yeah, there's just...a lot that needs to be rearranged in order for Sansa to end up as the ruler of Winterfell. Not to say that it's impossible it's just very, very unlikely. I'm in the group who thinks that George put all these obstacles in her way for a reason, call me crazy. Even without getting into the specifics of succession, Sansa has no involvement in the Northern plot at this point and is stuck in the Vale for the time. She still has a plot left to play out there/with LF and the weather isn't going to allow her to travel North. It's possible she could gather support via the Vale but that would have little effect on Northern politics.

As far as a resolution to all this, they just assume that the books will follow the same lines as the show. So Bran just doesn't want Winterfell and becomes King (which they don't really like but they don't care enough about Bran to make new theories for him), Rickon just dies off insignificantly, Jon doesn't want it/can't have it cause he's a bastard, Arya isn't even a candidate, the direwolves aren't important at all, her marriage to Tyrion magically doesn't matter, Robb's will is a red-herring, etc, etc. They imagine that once she makes it North all of the lords are just going ignore their plans and support her cause #keytothenorthsansa

#ask #anon #I swear they only read her chapters cause there's no way they've read all of the books and come up with these opinions #their theories are glued together by show nonsense reddit theories and dreams #her show plot is a complete fabrication on d&ds part but they still hope that it will happen in the books

[windriverdelta]

On the Grand Northern Conspiracy

Somehow I have been thinking a lot about the Grand Northern Conspiracy, an ASOIAF fan theory that posits that in AFFC/ADWD the lords of the North and Riverlands are plotting to install Jon Snow as King in the North. Well, no time like present to write a comment.

TL;DR I find it extremely implausible and would very surprised if TWOW featured anything even resembling that. It's a far-fetched conspiracy theory.

First of all, as other people like @turtle-paced have pointed out, there are lots of barriers to communication between the supposed conspirators and no evidence that they could coordinate their actions. Now, there is evidence in Arya's ASOS chapters that the Brotherhood Without Banners has contacts to the Riverlords and one wonders if Jaime Lannister in AFFC is being deliberately steered to Brienne, but that doesn't mean the Northerners can do the same.

Second, where is the set-up for the Northern lords using Stannis like that? Late Walder Frey is amply established as a traitor, opportunist and oathbreaker two books before the Red Wedding, there is no foreshadowing at all for Mormont, mountain clans etc. This isn't Game of Thrones, spectacular betrayals do not come out of thin air in ASOIAF. In this context, it's worth noting that foreshadowing in ASOIAF usually takes the form of a few unambiguous meaningful events, not a lot of very ambiguous little things that can interpreted in multiple ways like the infamous "Corn Code"

Three, Jon Snow does not work very well as a fulcrum for such a conspiracy. Ignoring for a moment that nobody has bothered getting his buy-in for such a plot (what if he deems it dishonourable and sleazy and ices out all the participants?), there is no indication that any physical copy of Robb's will survived the Red Wedding. Remember, the various lords and ladies are referred to as its "witnesses", and most of them are now prisoners of the Freys. Look at it from a character's perspective: Two lords who somehow survived the Red Wedding, claiming that Robb wanted to make Jon king. Why would anyone believe them? Especially Jon Snow, who knows in ADWD that Robb was killed by his own men, he has no reason at all to believe Maege or Galbart. And without the will, Jon Snow would just be an usurper and deserter from the Night's Watch.

Narrative-wise, I don't see much foreshadowing of Jon being king in the north in the main series - all so-called "foreshadowing" I've seen are ambiguous allusions or far-fetched interpretations. I see no thematic or character purpose, either - I tend to think that R+L=J, the three dragons and his assassination lead into him being a dragonrider and fighter against the Others. In my opinion, the political side of the Northern storyline is Sansa and Stannis' job. And there is plenty of potential conflict around them without the need for a king in the north scheme.

But the big sticking point is that the actions of many of the supposed conspirators don't fit with theory. Just to cite a few examples:

Lady Stoneheart is not crowning Jon with anything but a noose, not in a million years, there is no evidence whatsoever that she's anything but a revenge zombie.

Wyman Manderly is entrusting Rickon Stark to consummate Stannis loyalist Davos Seaworth, which makes no sense at all if he planned to betray Stannis later - why would he risk Rickon becoming Stannis' hostage?

We have no reason to believe that Barbrey Dustin is lying about not liking the Starks - for one thing, Dustin troops are noticeable by their absence for the War of Five Kings, true to her word. She'll probably jump ship if Roose falls, but that's not the same thing as becoming a Stark restorationist. In fact, I could see her supporting Stannis to take the Starks down a peg.

People keep citing Lyanna Mormont's defiant letter to Stannis as proof of Bear Island not being truly on his side, but not only is she (as Jon points out) not in charge of House Mormont, we later see Alysane marching with Stannis. She almost certainly is in contact with Maege given her comments to Asha about her family; I doubt that this is a right hand vs left hand situation. I am not even sure that she has much of a retinue, either - the problem with Rickon above may exist here too. Finally, recall that in AGOT Maege challenged Robb, telling him that he was so young as to have no business giving her commands. The Mormonts don't let anyone boss them around, that doesn't mean that they are Frey Lite.

In short, this theory requires lots of poorly foreshadowed OOC behaviour to enable a rather pointless political ploy that doesn't fit the narrative very well.

#asoiaf #the winds of winter #stannis baratheon #jon snow #grand northern conspiracy #rickon stark #wyman manderly #lyanna mormont #alysane mormont #barbrey dustin #robb stark #lady stoneheart #anti grand northern conspiracy

[omg-hellgirl]

can you talk more about the power struggle between Mick and Brian? Especially when that dynamic shifted? And what do you think Keith's role in this was (do you agree with Marianne abt whoever allied with Keith had the power in the band?)

*UPDATE 03/16/2024: Read until the end for updates on my reading.*

Well, it's important to highlight that as some like to point out, it may all be just "gossip", so you choose what to believe. I'm merely reposting what I DID read. I'm not taking the book I use as a reference as a bible and I'm not saying that EVERYTHING happened exactly that way, so if anyone has a complaint, it's NOT my fault (I didn't write the damn book) and I don't care.

I plan to buy Keith Richards' autobiography to read and then consolidate some of my opinions and discover things that differ from stories told out there. Until then, most of what I know and think comes from others.

According to Christopher P Andersen's book, Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger, Mick and Brian (who at the time was known as Elmo Lewis) met at a Jazz club in Ealing. He and Keith were impressed by Brian's ability to play guitar and went to talk to him as soon as the show ended.

According to the book, within weeks what would come to be known as The Rolling Stones was formed and that the choice of the name was a deliberate choice by Brian and that initially the other members of the band didn't like the name.

By then, this is set in early 1962 and in addition to Brian, Mick and Keith, two musicians called Dick Taylor and Ian Stewart were also in the band. Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts would come later, respectively.

Despite gathering a respectable amount of audience, Mick was not committed to the band and was still studying at the London School of Economics. He moved into a two-bedroom apartment at 102 Edith Grove with Keith and Brian (the stories about that apartment, honestly, I was shocked).

It is said that they did not have money to run the electric heater and that all three of them slept together in a double bed to keep warm. For certain types of behavior (not necessarily at bedtime), Mick was called King's road queen by Keith and Brian.

Somehow the narrative begins to explain how Mick began to feel jealous of Brian for stealing Keith from him. While Mick was studying and had classes all day, Keith and Brian were alone in the apartment, rehearsing. When it got cold, Keith and Brian would lie down together to stay warm.

Mick also received an allowance from his parents and had money to eat at restaurants, which he did alone, while Brian and Keith had to "crash neighborhood parties in search of food or break into neighbors’ apartments so they could rifle through dresser drawers looking for‘spare change."

Basically, Brian and Keith were very close and Mick supposedly wanted to break them up (it is also said that Mick realized that Brian was determined to replace him with the singer P. P. Pond). Mick’s attitudes were: Seduced Pat Andrews, the mother of Brian’s son Julian, and Brian himself.

Now, here it gets confusing because it is said that instead of messing with Brian emotionally, it was Mick who was messed with. Although it is not detailed how. It was Anita Pallenberg who spoke about this. She is mentioned as "it was from Brian that Pallenberg learned the details of his relationship with Mick."

“Brian did break up a lot of things by actually going to bed with Mick,” Pallenberg said. “And I think Mick always resented him for having fallen for it. In later years, there have always been rumors about Mick being gay, but then it was as if Brian violated Mick’s privacy by revealing his weak side.”

There is nothing more said about this. It is also said that "While Mick commanded the spotlight, Brian worked tirelessly behind the scenes to land the Stones a record deal. He enlisted the help of his friend Glyn Johns, a recording engineer at IBC Studio, in cutting a five-song demo. When seven record companies rejected it outright, no one was more devastated than the mercurial Mr. Jones."

ALSO

"While Peter Jones listened politely, each repeatedly interrupted the other, making it painfully evident that Mick and Brian were locked in a fierce battle for the title of team leader."

This Peter Jones was a journalist linked to a record company, and that was the impression he had of them. The 1964 interview I captioned shows Brian interrupting Mick as he speaks, it's interesting. They definitely competed.

According to the book, Brian tried to get rid of Mick again when he formed (on behalf of the group, which showed that Brian was at the forefront of things as a leader) a partnership with Andrew Oldham.

Brian Jones handled negotiations for the Stones, and Brian’s first suggestion was that Mick, his archrival in the group, be booted out. Oldham’s business partner, Eric Easton, agreed. “This Jagger fellow,” Easton said, “just can’t sing.” Oldham’s response was swift and unequivocal. “You are both,” he told Brian and Easton, “completely insane.”

The beginning of the end between Keith and Brian and the beginning of the power shift that would be followed by Brian's heavy drug use and lack of commitment to rehearsals and shows was when Brian moved out of the apartment he shared with Keith and Mick to live with his girlfriend Linda Lawrence.

Oldham, acknowledged by Keith to be both “a fantastic hustler” and “an incredible bullshitter,” rushed in to fill the power vacuum created by Brian’s abrupt exit.

Explaining it in detail would make it even longer but basically Brian started using a lot of drugs and missing rehearsals and even concert dates; It got to the point where it was a miracle that he showed up and they no longer counted on Brian's presence at rehearsals.

Not to mention that some shows were sold as “Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones". The one who the fans thought was the leader must have had a direct impact on the dynamics within the group.

Say what you want about Marianne but I think she has a place to speak. I believe she meant that Keith, as the third founder (Bill and Charlie came later and probably didn't have as much say in the decisions at the beginning), the third wheel, had decisive power. If Mick and Brian were at odds, whoever Keith supported had the advantage. So yes, I see logic in the reasoning.

Also, Brian and Keith's relationship naturally began to deteriorate along with Brian and Anita's relationship and Keith's infatuation with the woman. At one point, it also brought him closer to Mick.

I hope this has clarified something for you, XOXO

*If there is something different in Life, Keith's autobiography, which I haven't read yet, I am inclined to believe his direct words more.

UPDATE 03/16/2024: I started reading Keith's autobiography, and there are some disagreements with the information in Christopher P. Andersen's book. I advise, after reading this, to read this.

#mick jagger #marianne faithfull #keith richards #brian jones #the rolling stones #old rockstar #classic rock #blues rock #andrew oldham #anita pallenberg #christopher p andersen #Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger #book quotes #quotes #60s music #60s era #60s rock #60s #anon ask

[mitchipedia]

Los Angeles’s Bradbury Building is a gorgeous edifice built in 1893. You’ve seen the Bradbury if you’ve seen “Blade Runner;” the Bradbury was the setting for the Toymaker’s workshop. And the building has been featured in a million other movies and TV shows.

99% Invisible:

From the outside, the Bradbury just looks like a brick office building at the corner of 3rd and Broadway, downtown. It seems unremarkable, but the magic happens when you step inside.

The Bradbury is basically a tall, narrow courtyard, walled in with terra cotta, covered with a glass ceiling, and flanked with two iron, clanking hydraulic-powered elevators. Human conductors still operate them.

There’s a reason the Bradbury is in so many films. Aside from being beautiful, it’s also practical. The balconies allow the crew to shoot from many different angles and create a whole range of different moods for various genres. The Bradbury’s ceiling height can accommodate all the lights and the camera equipment. Also, the Bradbury is located near a parking lot (for all the vans and trailers), as well as places downtown where a film crew can go get lunch.

Lewis Bradbury, a gold-mining millionaire, commissioned the buillding in 1892, from notable architect Sumner Hunt.

As the story goes, Bradbury didn’t like any of the plans that Hunt showed him, and so, disappointed, was on his way out when, for some reason, one of Hunt’s young draftsmen caught his eye. George Wyman, the draftsman, had no professional training as an architect.

Bradbury pulled Wyman aside and asked him to build his very important half-million dollar office building.

Wyman consulted the spirit of his dead brother before deciding to take the offer.

The design of the Bradbury was directly inspired by a novel called Looking Backwards by Edward Bellamy. Written in 1887, the book takes place in the year 2000.

In other words, the design is a 19th Century vision of what a 21st Century skyscraper would look like. And the vision was fulfilled, because the Bradbury is still standing today.

As of the time this article was published, 2015, the Bradbury was being used as office space for the Los Angeles Police Department internal affairs division. And that’s why I called up this article to re-read it: I’m currently reading “Angel’s Flight,” a police procedural murder mystery by Michael Connelly, and some of the action takes place in the Bradbury. The novel was made into a season of the TV series “Bosch”—another place you can see the Bradbury on-screen

… movies don’t shoot in the Bradbury as frequently as they once did. Generally, filming is not as welcome downtown now that people live and work there. These days, film crews can’t blow up cars in the street or have 300 zombies stampede down Broadway in the middle of the workday.

[killed-by-choice]

Germaine Newman, 14 (USA 1984)

It was June 14 of 1984. A 14-year-old girl named Germaine Newman was pregnant in the second trimester. She had an abortion done by Wyman Garrett at 22 weeks pregnant.

Soon after, Germaine started vomiting. The young girl was in agonizing pain. Her mother took her temperature and discovered that Germaine had a 100-degree fever. Alarmed at the state of her daughter’s health, she called the abortionist, who told her that Germaine’s symptoms were normal and prescribed antibiotics without examining Germaine first.

Germaine seemed to be feeling slightly better, but then quickly deteriorated to the point where she was even worse than before. Her mother planned to bring her back to the facility and have someone examine her.

But before Germaine’s mother even had a chance to bring her in, woke up to her worst nightmare. Her 14-year-old daughter was found dead on the bathroom floor.

Germaine’s autopsy revealed that the 14-year-old girl had been killed by her massive infection, which was identified as diffuse acute peritonitis. Her uterus had been punctured and her abdomen was full of pus and adhesions.

The New Jersey medical board investigated Garrett and discovered that he had illegally altered Germaine’s medical records. Garrett also had an extensive criminal record and multiple other cases of abortion malpractice, including a 16-year-old girl who had to be hospitalized after Garrett tore a 1-inch hole in her uterus and a mother who was discharged from the abortion facility with a severed head left inside of her.

He also had a history of related violent crime. In 1971, during a teacher strike, Garrett (who was a school board member at that point) told a school trustee "We know where you live. We're going to get you." He then turned to a reporter who was taking notes and said, "You'll have to give me your notebook or you won't get out of this building alive." Garrett then summoned two men to beat the reporter up and take his notebook and wallet. Two weeks into the trial, Garrett plea-bargained down to interfering with people at a public meeting and paid $2,000 in fines and costs.

In 1986 the board concluded that Garrett was guilty of gross negligence, abandonment of patients, and professional misconduct. He failed to recognize and treat complications in a timely manner, they found. Finally, Garrett was banned from performing abortions or other any surgery. In 1987 his license was fully revoked.

#tw ab*rtion #tw abortion #tw murder #abortion #pro life #pro choice #abortion debate #unsafe yet legal

[greenhikingboots]

Shadrich = Howland DAMMIT!

Introduction Alright, team, today’s the day! I’m going to finally explain why I like the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory. I’ve done a version of this once or twice before, but only buried in a mess of other theories or in tags that were quickly overlooked. So here’s a renewed, concentrated effort to do it again. I’m saving my favorite part of the theory for the very end, so if you lose interest between here and there, maybe skip ahead instead of abandoning the post completely. A few more notes before I dive in: People who do not like this theory tend to say “not every new or minor character has a secret identity!” While I totally get that notion, let’s keep a few others in mind: 1. Martin certainly isn’t shying away from using secret identities. 2. It makes a whole lot of sense for Howland Reed to enter the story sometime soon. 3. After keeping his whereabouts unknown for so long, it would make sense for his entrance to involve some finesse. 4. If you like the Northern Conspiracy theory, it also makes sense to have a Stark loyalist (Howland Reed) trying to help Sansa the way another Stark loyalist (Wyman Manderly) is trying to help Rickon. More on the Northern Conspiracy theory later. Comparison Evidence Okay, with that out of the way, let me go over the evidence. I’m going to compare what we know about Ser Shadrich against what we know about Howland Reed. I’ll organize this section (and later ones) with subheadings. 1. Appearance - Height and Hair: A. Ser Shadrich is short and has orange hair. Howland Reed is also short, like all crannogmen. We do not know his hair color. B. A lot of people who don’t like this theory say Howland’s hair is probably brown because both his children have brown hair. But as one person pointed out somewhere on the world wide web (I’ve forgotten where but will include other links where I can throughout this post), Meera’s hair color is brown but Jojen’s hair color is never mentioned. Could this be an intentional omission on Martin’s part? C. As Meera’s telling Bran the Knight of the Laughing Tree story, Bran pictures the unnamed crannogmen looking like Jojen, just older. This could be another hint that, yep, they both have orange hair, Martin just hasn’t said so yet. D. Generally speaking, the crannogmen of ASOIAF might be inspired by a combination of cultures including the Irish and Scottish (see crannogs on Wiki). And Ireland and Scotland have more redheads than the rest of the world. So there’s that. 2. Appearance - Face and Nose (And Hair Again): A. Ser Sharich is fox-faced with a sharp nose. We don’t know much about Howland’s face or nose. B. But! According to The World of Ice and Fire, crannogmen are sly, a word that seems fitting given what we know about their guerilla tactics, their reputation for being difficult to conquer, and - oh yeah - how Greywater Watch moves. Sly characteristics and fox-like features often go hand in hand. C. Again, pointing to something I read while researching this theory, the Neck and the Twins are fairly close to one another which means the Neck is also fairly close to another swampy area, Sevenstreams. A character from Sevenstreams, Tom, is described as having fox-like features and orange hair like Ser Shadrich. Therefore, they could be from similar places geographically. 3. Backstory - Blackwater Bay and Varys: A. Ser Shadrich’s backstory is that he fought for Stannis at Blackwater Bay. After losing, he had to pay a ransom which left him in financial ruin. He took Vary’s money and, upon meeting Brienne, implies he plans to return Sansa to Varys. B. Supporters of the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory often say this is a cover story and not true at all. But one Reddit commenter pointed out that it could, in fact, be true. I’ve edited the comment below to make it a bit clearer. *** “Ned supported Stannis's claim, so it's probable that some of his bannermen fought on Stannis's side at the Blackwater. Let's say Howland sent his kids off to safety at Winterfell before he joined up, not predicting that Winterfell would become unsafe. Then, after managing to ransom himself, he's completely broke, he can't get home because his home is in a warzone, and he doesn't have a hope in hell of finding his own kids. So he takes Varys's money and goes off to look out for one of Ned's kids, intending to take her somewhere safe. It all kind of fits and even explains why Howland Reed hasn't appeared in the story before.” (link) *** 4. Backstory - A Familiar Horse, Perhaps: A. Ser Shadrich’s horse is a chestnut courser. B. The last horse Sansa rode in King’s Landing was a chestnut courser. (ACOK Tyrion IX). It could be the same horse, which Varys passed along, which would further support the idea that Ser Shadrich’s backstory has truth to it, even if it’s not the whole truth. 5. Tourneys of Old and New: A. Ser Sharich tells Brienne that he is no tourney knight. Then, in TWOW Alayne chapter that’s been released, he says he will not joust during the upcoming tourney in the Vale. B. This might be an attempt by Martin to make us think of Howland Reed, how he was present but not participating during the Tourney at Harrenhal. It could even be a little nod, like Lyanna was the Knight of the Laughing Tree, not Howland. 6. Martin-esque Writing: A. So Brienne is searching for Sansa and, while describing her appearance, is overheard by Ser Shadrich. He then approaches her and mentions Sansa by name. And then this happens: *** Brienne kept her face a mask, to hide her dismay. "Who is this Sansa Stark, and why do you seek her?"  / "For love, why else?" / She furrowed her brow. "Love?" *** Ser Shadrich then talks about love of money and gives his backstory about Blackwater Bay and Varys. B. But I mean, c’mon, everybody!! If he is Howland Reed, wouldn’t that be such a Martin thing to say!? To say he seeks Sansa for love - and mean it sincerely - and then quickly misdirect? More Speculative Evidence Okay, I don’t think I have any more side by side comparisons, but let me clear up some related thoughts before I move to new ones. Again, I’ll organize using categories. 1. More about Varys: I tend to believe Young Griff is Fake Aegon and Real Aegon is lurking somewhere else in the story. I won’t get into all that in this post, though, because it’s a super unpopular theory and I don’t want to distract from the one I’m already focusing. But! I should clarify that, regardless of Fake or Real, Varys probably wanted to find Sansa to marry her to Griff/Aegon and had no idea Shadrich/Howland had his own plans. 2. Ser Shadrich’s Sigil: It’s a large white mouse with red eyes on bendy brown and blue. Supporters of the Ser Shadrich is Howland Reed theory will often say it’s meant to make us think of weirwood trees (which makes sense for a character with a connection to the North) and it has been repainted to support his secret identity). But I’d like to go a step further and say that his shield that has this sigil is *the* shield Lyanna used as the Knight of the Laughing Tree. Howland kept it as a momento. It seems so obvious to me, so forgive me if others have said that before and I’m not giving due credit, but I don’t think I’ve seen it written anywhere else online. 3. Back to the Northern Conspiracy: Near the top of the post I said it makes narrative sense for Howland to enter the story soon. Let me expand on that. But let me make things easier on myself and just and quote people on Quora and the Forum of Ice and Fire. When Kelsey Hayes talked about the Northern Conspiracy (link), she said: *** And finally there's the Howland Reed angle. Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover supposedly rendezvoused with Reed with news of Robb's will. Howland is also privy to that other factoid about Jon, and it's possible that Robb's will is the catalyst for the information finally coming out. Howland was perfectly happy to give the ironborn hell in the Neck, but left the Bolton forces unmolested when they came back north and also when they retook Moat Cailin. This might suggest that Howland is also biding his time, allowing the Boltons to get into place before a move is made against them. *** And some bloke (I think) on the forum said: *** The Mad Mouse is now in The Vale with the open intention of kidnap Sansa Stark. If the Mad Mouse was Howland Reed, why is he hunting for Sansa? The easiest answer is that Galbart Glover and Maege Mormont reached Howland Reed and told him about the last of Robb Stark's decrees. Being one of the very few who knows an important secret, he should have realized the trouble that decree might cause in the future, so he decided to hunt for the last of Robb's heirs.But before the end, the Mad Mouse might tell Sansa an important secret. So, when the “Stark Succession Crisis” unfolds and Robb's wish is revealed making Jon his heir, Sansa will blurt out: ‘But you are not a Stark.’ *** This resulted in some Sansa Stark Defense Squad action, but I think it’s possible Sansa could say something like that but not in a being-mean-to-Jon kind of way. By this point in the books, she’s eager to see Jon again, remember (it would be so sweet). So,  rather, she’d be saying it with similar concerns as Howland. Kinda sorta makes me think of the line from the show where she’s like, “Jon’s not a Stark, but I am.” And cue the weird look from Jon. But I digress. 4. Why Does It take Martin Ten Trillion Years To Circle Back to Some Things: Oh! Both of these posts also talked about part of the Northern Conspiracy being that they wanted to keep Robb’s will and Jon’s parentage a secret until after Stannis and/or the Boltons were out of the picture. As in, let Jon keep being a bastard at the Wall and not a threat to anyone else’s claim and therefore avoiding putting a target on his back. That makes a lot of sense to me. But, again, I digress. Back to the main theory of this post! Time for new thoughts!!! Other Characters That Might Be Involved So late in AFFC, Ser Shadrich is in the Vale as Littlefinger’s hired hedge knight. His fellow hired hedge knights are Morgarth the Merry and Byron the Beautiful. And, oh boy, do I have thoughts about them!! They aren’t as detailed or as important to me as anything mentioned previously in this post, but still worth addressing, I think. 1. Morgath: A. Morgarth is burly with a thick salt-and-pepper beard. He has a red, bulbous nose with broken veins and large, gnarled hands. B. The Elder Brother of the Quiet Isles is a tall man, with a large, square head, shrewd eyes, a veined, red nose, and a heavy jaw. He shaves his head. C. The nose is the important part here. Morgarth the Merry could be the Elder Brother now growing out his hair. 2. Byron the Beautiful: A. Bryon is young and elegant with thick blond hair. B. Gulp. I know people will think it’s hogwash but here goes. Brienne of Tarth, also called Brienne the Beauty (!), has blonde hair and is often mistaken or compared to a man. Martin also wrote Arya and Sarella Sand passing as boys, and how great would it be if, when appearing as a man, the beautiful thing is sincere instead of a cruel joke? Bryon’s also a bit more flirty with Sansa in the scene when they first meet and it’s like, “Dear God, she doesn’t need another creep in her life.” So I like the ideas of Byron, the flirty one, actually being Brienne who we know to not be a creep at all. C. The biggest argument against this is that the last time we see Brienne, she’s meeting up with Jaime, apparently on orders from Lady Stoneheart, and has that injury on her cheek from their run in too. Like, how can that work with this Bryon/Vale theory? Hear me out! D. Think back to Brienne leaving some dudes whose names I can’t remember right now at the Old Stone Bridge. As she’s leaving, she worries that Ser Shadrich might be following her. But it is actually Podrick Payne who appears in that scene. But!!!! What if Shadrich really was following her and the readers just don’t know it yet? 3. So tying this section together now… A. Shadrich might have intervened when Brienne was in danger with Stoneheart. And either the Elder Brother was already with him or they went to him next and he helped heal her because - don’t forget! - can do that. B. I’m not sure what that means for the timeline for the scene with Jaime, but I think there’s a scenario where it could all make sense. C. Also, in the Vale chapters Ser Lyn Cobray has a new, loutish squire. Rumor has it that Lyn took him on for coin. I think Stumpy’s re-read project altered me to this tiny, tiny character. There was a comment like, “Who is this person that seems completely unimportant but also why mention him at all if he isn’t going to play a part in the story?” D. Well, I have no idea who he is! If he were Pod, Sansa would recognize him. And I can’t figure out who else, if anyone, the books describe as loutish. But I think he could be working with the trio of hedge knights. Does Gendry or Edric Dayne coming back into the story here make any sense at all??? Bleh. I hate those ideas but maybe? Now that you know the above theories, any ideas for me? E. Okay, for real to wrap up this section now. There's less evidence to support anything here than with the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed evidence above. But I just really like the idea of Brienne meeting both Shadrich and the Elder Brother in AFFC and then the three of them showing up in Sansa’s last POV chapter of the same book, working together and pretending to be people they aren’t. I think that would be some beautiful, clever writing.  Saved the Best Evidence for Last I’m almost done now. Back to just the Ser Shadrich = Howland Reed theory. Forget those other characters. Here’s some evidence I really, really, really love, but I haven’t seen anyone else talk about it online. (I think I’m a genius!) To explain, I first need to talk about Lyn Cobray some more. Recall that in AFFC there’s a moment where he threatens Littlefinger, but Littlefinger later tells Sansa that he’s paying Lyn (notoriously in need of coin) to fein hatred, join every conspiracy against Littlefinger, and report back. Okay. So. In TWOW Sansa chapter that’s already been released, she and Myranda talk with Lyn. Basically, the reader finds out that Lyn is unhappy because he’s been his older brother’s heir for a long time but will not be for much longer. And it all thanks to Littlefinger who helped the older brother find a second, fertile wife after his first wife died. And then there’s this insane line: *** The venom in his voice was so thick that for a moment she almost forgot that Lyn Corbray was actually her father’s catspaw, bought and paid for. Or was he? Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man pretending to be Petyr’s foe, he was actually his foe pretending to be his man pretending to be his foe. *** AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS!?!?! *** Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin. Alayne turned abruptly from the yard… and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her. His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall. *** That’s right, team, right after Sansa thinks this insane, head spinning thing about Lyn, who should appear but Ser Shadrich - who is definitely Howland Reed!! Let me break it down: *** Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man (a hedge knight Petyr is paying for) pretending to be is foe (saying he’s working for Varys when he meets Brienne), he was actually his foe (a Stark loyalist trying to save Sansa) pretending to be his man (again, a hedge knight) pretending to be his foe (again, lying to Brienne). *** I mean, Martin included his infamous ellipses and everything!! Alyane turned abruptly from the yard… AND THE PART RIGHT BEFORE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. And that, at last, is all I have to say about that.

#ser shadrich #howland reed #it's actually a good theory team #lets stop dismissing it so quickly #there is more weight to it than just them both being short

[leftfield-fm]

The first broadside came because Andrew had written provocative notes on the cover of our second album. We knew nothing about it until we saw the finished record; but Andrew's doodlings in the bath one night pitched us into a major controversy, causing questions to be asked in the House of Lords. He wrote: "Cast deep in your pocket for loot to buy this disc of groovies and fancy words. If you don't have bread, see that blind man, knock him on the head, steal his wallet and low and behold you have the loot, if you put in the boot, good, another one sold!"

"Sheer damned bad taste," declared the National Association for the Blind. "It is extraordinary that a company like Decca should print anything like this." Decca's chairman, Sir Edward Lewis, responded: "I am told that this inscription was intended to be humorous, but I am afraid this jargon does not make sense to me."

Mick told a newspaper: "The stuff about the blind man has nothing to do with us; we didn't write it," while Keith commented: "It is just a sick joke. I'm sorry if the blind people are upset, but you can see a lot sicker things on TV." Andrew said he composed the words for fun: "I'm fed up with writing the usual blurbs on sleeves."

Many people, though, continued to find the remarks offensive. On 16 March, Lord Conesford asked in the House of Lords what government action was planned and if the attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions had been drawn to the "offensive" album cover. The Home Office Joint Parliamentary under-secretary replied that the director was aware of the matter, but in his view, there was "no evidence that these words have been published in circumstances constituting a criminal offence." The heat of the controversy was reduced when Sir Edward Lewis instructed that the offending words be deleted from future pressings of the LP. We had survived another round.

excerpt from Bill Wyman's memoir, Stone Alone

#the rolling stones #cancelled #cancel culture #60s music #60s pop #offensive #andrew loog oldham #controversy #british politics #vinyl records #60s rock #ableism

[aegor-bamfsteel]

While I can understand Cat's fear about Jon usurping her kids rights to inherit WF, I don't understand why she thinks Robb naming some distant cousin from Vale his heir would be better option. Won't they pose same threat as Jon?

“MY LORDS!" [Greatjon] shouted, his voice booming off the rafters. "Here is what I say to these two kings!" He spat. "Renly Baratheon is nothing to me, nor Stannis neither. Why should they rule over me and mine, from some flowery seat in Highgarden or Dorne? What do they know of the Wall or the wolfswood or the barrows of the First Men? Even their gods are wrong. The Others take the Lannisters too, I've had a bellyful of them." —AGOT, Catelyn XI

Not at all. The distant cousin from the Vale has a small claim because their great-great-grandmother was Jocelyn Stark, and unfortunately there are no other closer lines of descent (Rickard was an only child, and none of his children bar Eddard had any legitimate issue), but there’s nothing else to recommend them to the North as heir; they were born in the Vale, likely educated and knighted there, raised in the Faith of the Seven, probably aren’t related to any other northern families, etc. Considering how loyal many of the Northerners are to their land and the Starks, a Vale ruler would be a last resort due to Robb’s desperate position (and it was a backup plan anyway, because he and Jeyne were earnestly trying for a child). If Jeyne and Robb had an heir, the Vale cousin wouldn’t pose a threat because nobody in the North would want them as a ruler; Robb died heirless and Wyman Manderly is sending Davos to find Rickon rather than court a potential Vale heir. Meanwhile, Jon was raised in Winterfell as Ned’s natural son and keeps to the old gods, so at least he’d be considered a true Northman with close descent from the Starks; that seems to be the basis for Stannis offering him Winterfell, and Robb’s reason for probably naming him heir in his will: "Jon's more a Stark than some lordlings from the Vale who have never so much as set eyes on Winterfell." —ASOS, Catelyn V

#ask #asoiaf #jon snow #robb stark #the vale #the north #law

[westerosoliviapope]

The Brewing Sand Storm (Scandal Westeros - Episode Seven)

Following the events of "By the Old Gods & the New..."

When Sarella Sand and Wyman Manderly's Plan A for Westeros's looming Prime Minister race falls through, they're forced to reconsider running People's Councilman Robb Stark as their candidate, but on one condition: Sarella must be in a "very loud, very PUBLIC" relationship to head off any potential rumors about her past with the [engaged] Northern legislator. A trip home to the Summer Isles for an annual family gala will give her the perfect opportunity to debut her new beau. And she has just the man for the job.

That said man is determined to obliterate her carefully-laid boundaries in exchange for his help? And her mother and grandmother will likely hate him? Small details.

The Brewing Sand Storm (Scandal Westeros - Episode 7) on AO3.

#scandal westeros #sarella sand #sarella sand fanfic #modern westeros au #modern dorne au #modern summer isles asoiaf

[torntruth]

this  quote  of  emily’s  is  my   FAVORITE.   we  don’t  get  to  see  her  humor  often,   but  between  this  and  the  letter  from  her  significant  other,   we  can  determine  that  emily  actually  has  a  wild  sense  of  humor:     “ I can't say I have a solid plan yet, but you know how well I improvise in desperate situations. Remember the time I kept a straight face during the Watch Officer's report, all the while sitting at my desk without pants? If I survived that, I'll get through all this. “    

and  here’s  the  quote  from  wyman:    “ I didn't want to wake you this morning, but you'll forgive me since we must have said goodbye a hundred times yesterday night. And the only chance I get to see you with your hair all whichever way is while you're asleep. As soon as the sun rises, you'll put on your Empress face. It makes me happy that I know your real face, the one that laughs at our silly rhymes. “

#— ch / emily kaldwin ‚ the daughter of the void. #i don't have much to say except i love her to DEATH #and that she canonically does have a humor #and that there IS a big difference between just emily and empress emily. #i love small details so much

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Opera

Dario Argento’s camera prowls relentlessly through the corridors of Parma’s Teatro Reggio in OPERA (1987, Shudder, Tubi), aka TERROR AT THE OPERA. With cinematographer Ronnie Taylor’s color work accompanied by excerpts from Verdi, Rossini and Puccini operas, it’s the most sumptuous of all his films. When the actual score by Brian Eno, Claudio Simonetti and Bill Wyman cuts in, it’s almost a disappointment. More disappointing is the failure of Argento’s script to measure up to the visuals. It’s not a bad idea. An understudy (Crischristtina Marsillach) becomes an overnight star when she takes over the leading role in Verdi’s MACBETH, only to be stalked by a killer. For all the beautiful camera work, Aregento can’t seem to resist lapsing into strange excesses like shots of a pulsating brain as the killer stalks Marsillach and flashbacks that pop in with no preparation. At times you’re not sure if you’re watching the current action or the traumatic past. And as in many horror films, the plot advances because the characters do inexplicably stupid things. More effective is a callback to his earlier CREEPERS, with vengeful ravens, in place of the earlier film’s love-starved chimp, playing a key role in the climax.

The film holds together better thematically. The killer uses a device to force Marsillach to watch his crimes, a metaphor for the way directors like Argento force audiences to watch unspeakable acts. Like many slashers, the film has lots of shots from the killer’s point of view as he stalks the young woman. There’s a shadowy figure spying on her through the ventilation system in her apartment. And one victim makes the mistake of staring through a peephole for too long.

The one element that matches the visuals best, however, is the acting. Along with Argeto regulars like former partner Daria Nicolodi, who’s very funny as Marsillach’s manager and studly Urbano Barberini as a police detective, he has William McNamara making interesting physical choices in his film debut as the stage manager (though you’d have to wait a year for his voice to catch up; he’s dubbed with a British accent in this one) and Ian Charleson, in his last film, as a horror film director taking on this highly conceptual production of MACBETH (Argento had been fired from a production of RIGOLETTO a few years earlier, which partly inspired this film). Best of all is Marsillach. She’s a total naif off-stage, an inexperienced, self-doubting young singer who moves like a child. But when she steps on-stage to play Lady Macbeth, she’s as fierce as Verdi’s music. When Charleson comes up with a plan to catch the killer during the performance, she manages to combine that commitment to the role with her character’s trepidation at the thought of facing her tormentor. And at the end, she accomplishes something rare in the giallo — character growth. Far from the shell-shocked heroines in so many horror films, including Argento’s, she develops a degree of self-determination that’s rather moving.

#dario argento #giallo #slasher films #william mcnamara #daria nicolodi #ian charleson #brian eno #claudio simonetti #bill wyman #giuseppe verdi #gioachino rossini #puccini