venusintheblindspots-blog

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Nettles and Race.

George is great at both analysing and subverting genre tropes. We see this with his portrayal of the Targaryens as bad white blonde powerful elf like people. Or his understanding consistently in his works that beauty doesn't equal morality. This is surface level, and he does have his shortcomings (how he portrays the Dothraki in a lot of aspects, etc) but I find it really interesting the amount of tropes and conventions he addresses and subverts with Nettles specifically in such a short span of the book. George uses specific racial imagery with Nettles that we don't see often from him, in short. Here's a list:

Implementation and Subversion

1. The most unlikely is, the most unlikely:

Oftentimes, in fantasy stories, the least likely is a white disenfranchised person. The majority of the time, it's because they are poor or treated poorly. Nettles is a black girl who is poor, orphaned, and marked for thieving, and none of that hinders her own feat of claiming a dragon or the accepting initially that she does. She's unlikely, extremely unlikely, the most unlikely choice.

2. Black girls are allowed to feel:

Nettles cries and grieves. Of all the dragonseeds, she's the only one positioned to feel remorse and loss after the Battle of Driftmark. She is foul-mouthed (though not written into the narrative) and fearless. Often times their is a need for black women to be strong (not have access to their emotions) or angry (the only emotion they're allowed because they're "loud"). Nettles is crass and sensitive. She's multifaceted.

3. White people don't center black narratives:

Typically, black characters in fantasy are centred around white protagonists. Nettles distinctly isn't when you focus on her. This is different from being impacted. To be impacted means you're a part of the plot. To have someone be centred in your narrative would be for your existence in the narrative to entirely depend on your relationship with them. You don't exist outside of them. Nettles does. She has an entire life up until she claims Sheepstealer without any intervention from the Targs, and after she leaves the main narrative of Fire and Blood, she has a life. This is even in a Targaryen history book.

4. Black girls deserve to be protected and loved:

Nettles is protected by the men around her in the narrative. Oftentimes, this is something not afforded to black characters, far less for black women in fantasy narratives, but she is protected. Not just by Daemon, who is someone who has extreme emotional stakes with her but by the men of Maidenpool and Lord Corlys. All of whom are white in the books. Nettles is protected by men unquestioningly. They may decide how to do it or have a bigger motive, but protecting her is never a question.

5. Promiscuity questioned:

Nettles is never shown to be a promiscuous character through an unbiased lens. Every time a person brings up Nettles' sex, it's through the lens of necessity or heavily implied to be a dramatic assumption. The two biggest cases, "her raising her skirts for sheep" by Septon Eustace is counteracted by the fact that she's marked as a thief and claims a dragon called Sheepstealer who she's likened to in the narrative and by Rhaenyra who is disproven from her "she seduced the prince with spells" theory by both the men of Maidenpool who don't believe her and Daemon who let's Nettles go. Anytime her promiscuity is presented, it's immediately questioned by who we are told she is.

6. White women tears:

Historically and in fiction, the tears of a white woman are enough to derail any existence of a black character permanently or are at least meant to. Black people, fictional or real, are consistently tormented with the notion of white woman tears or emotional outbursts. Their actions cause a major consequence with white women. With Rhaenyra, this would be Nettle slowing her head for her suspicions. Nettles does not and gets away from. The narrative. This is unheard of. In fantasy doesn't occur because most times, the black woman would be punished, but in fandom, this idea is also reflected in the call for Nettles to be replaced.

7. Relationship with the lead man:

Daemon, for better or worse, is the lead man of the dance. Nettles finds herself attached to him in a relationship that seems, for lack of a better word loving. They seem comfortable, happy, and he's doting towards her. They spend all their time together, and it's paralleled with his other 'living' relationships as well. She's portrayed as his last great love and in the universe, the singers say as much. Issues aside, this is rare. (Martha Jones, I'm sorry I wasn't your writer)

8. Power and Worship:

Nettles is worshipped and seems to become a Goddess in her own right at the end of her narrative departure. Nettles is viewed as a deity because of the power she claimed by herself. Revolutionary. Also it isn't some blink and you can avoid it thing. It ties into the main story of Game of Thrones and her clan, the Burned men helping Tyrion Lannister.

9. Mammy, Sapphire Jezabel ext:

Mammy: Maternal black woman. Lives to serve white people and nothing else.

Sapphire: Rude, loud, stubborn, malicious, 'dumb' black women, nothing else.

Jezabel: raw, sexual, can barely restrain their sexuality and live to tempt (white) men. Nothing else.

Not once does Nettles tie into any of these tropes without it being questioned in the narrative or simply ignored in her story. So many representations of black women, especially in fantasy, fall into the first two or friend not lover trope, help mate trope, etc. anything that justifies their existence by tying them to white characters with no other outlook. Nettles subverts this.

10. Season of the Witch:

Black witches and their history save me. Black witches and their history save. This aligns itself with African spiritually and the otherness assigned to enslaved women who practised both 'witchcraft' and medicinal herbology for lack of a better word.

Witchcraft is also often tied to the imagery of the irresistible black woman as it's almost inhuman to be that attracted to black women when white women are available.

So when it's said that Nettles is a witch, imagery similar to the justifications of white women during slavery are being invoked but not followed through because no one believes her.

11. Disposable Black Love interest

This is also a big issue across genres with black chapters. It happens with Laena in the show as well. When the plot calls for it (or in a lot of cases fans) you dispose of the black love interest in place of a white one. Nettles removal from the narrative immediately calls for both Daemon's and Aemond's removal from the narrative. She isn't disposable. She's a linchpin. Also, Daemon does not go back to Rhaenyra after Nettles leaves. He just dies.

12. Nothing Special:

Magical black negros that helps the protagonist, welcome to your tape.

The magical black negros trope is this convention within fantasy where a black character will appear only to be an aid to a white character by their use of magic. They don't exist or have a life outside this purpose. Nettles could've fallen into this trap.

The idea that she isn't Valyrian could have easily been tied with the spells angle outside Rhaenyra’s bias. Instead of that, however, we get the idea that Nettles is just smart and interesting. She's allowed to be smart and interesting. The narrative defends her being smart and interesting.

She might not be Valyrian. She might not be a witch or seductress. She might be just a really clever girl who defies the odds and conventions.

Conclusion

I think Nettles was both an active effort on George's part to defy conventions and subevert stereotypes and tropes as well as a way to question his reader's bias. Nettles is often reduced to trivial, replaceable, and minor when she's not. You just have to want to pay attention to her.

#nettles asoiaf #nettles #netty #hotd #nettles and sheepstealer #house of the dragon #love these #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Nothing annoys me more than when people say Jaime and Brienne are “so pure” that their relationship would be ruined by sex.

Like, what planet are you on? They’re not pure, they’re utter filth.

They try to have a sword fight, but end up having a metaphorical sex scene that is all swords kissing, forwards backwards, blood on thigh, straddling.

Jaime tells Brienne his great secret and she’s like *he looked so hot in that bath, couldn’t tell you a word he said but he looked smoking*.

Jaime goes within four feet of some slightly tepid water and he’s like *do you remember Brienne naked in that bath? Cos I sure do!*

They both try to think about normal things and then *unbidden* they’re both thinking about each other in conjunction with sex and babiez.

Like, where is the purity?

#brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #braime #🩵 #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

riverlands peasant or fleabottom resident?

#riverlands peasant. #but only because i CANNOT survive in fleabottom #i would die in the first five years

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Brienne spending most of asos w Jaime sobbing on the back of the horse shaved bald and covered in shit and next book she’s imagining their wedding. ppl like ‘she could do better’ she doesn’t want better she wants That

#brienne is REAL #braime #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #asoiaf #🩵

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

really hate how casual misogyny is so embedded into supposedly feminist spaces in fandom.

i mean people that call alicent “alicunt” or express how she should be raped “as punishment” then preaching about how they’re against gendered insults and gendered violence. ones who ignore the fact aemma was subjected to a multitude of forced pregnancies with no respect to her own autonomy and even murdered at the behest of her husband to hype up her and viserys as a loving relationship (—which they aren’t. loving relationships can only occur when they have respect for the other person’s autonomy, to which viserys does not.) in fact aemma wasn’t even being told what was happening as he gave the okay for them to cut her open. i’m talking about the people who insult rhaenyra for going through a traumatic labour and being a victim of grooming since childhood. who don’t like to admit that alicent wanting to see joffrey just after birth was cruel (even if she had the option to let someone else take him - mothers do not like separation from their newborns and you can’t fault her for that). i mean the people who refuse to admit helaena’s emotional torture and later suicide was not an event of misogyny or the ones who try and say she and her children deserved it. who refuse to admit laena’s death was a hyper violent and unnecessary change. the people who insult and dismiss baela. who ignore rhaena almost entirely. the people who are so threatened by the mere existence of nettles that they use racist rhetoric and misogyny. like none of that is feminist behaviour in the slightest, and i’ve seen it on both sides of the fandom and it needs to stop. there’s a bad case of “misogyny is bad only when it’s against characters i like” in this fandom and it needs to be addressed

#victims of abuse can also be perpetrators and that’s important to admit. but in defence of one you cannot be unnecessarily nasty to another #<THIS #hotd #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Question Game

Are we tired of these yet?

What is your nickname?

When is your birthday?

What was your longest relationship?

What is your favorite book?

What is something you're insecure about?

5 Male celebrity crushes

5 Female celebrity crushes

What is your dream job?

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

What is a fact about you that nobody would believe?

What were your highs and lows for this last month?

Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

How do you de-stress?

What are your favorite apps besides tumblr?

Describe yourself in one sentence.

What do you think makes you attractive?

What is something you're really good at?

What is something you're really bad at?

A time that you told a lie.

What's a totally random and useless fact that you know?

Who knows you the best?

What is your most prized possession?

What is your longest friendship?

When did you first feel like an adult?

Do you/ Have you played any sports?

How are you feeling right now?

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Favorite song lyrics right now?

What does self care look like for you?

Describe yourself with 3 singers.

What makes you nervous?

What’s a pet peeve you have?

What will always make you cry?

What kind of first impression do you think you make on people?

Free Pass! (Ask any question you want that's not on the list)

#ask game

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

i think it’s so funny how brienne keeps having dreams where renly turns into jaime or is replaced by jaime and she just wakes up and is like ok i’m not going to unpack that at all ❤️ so real

#brienne of tarth #🩵 #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Bethany is real as fuck for not wanting her hair braided to wear a wig but to just shave it off?

I have to stan.

#REAL #bethany antonia #baela targaryen #hotd

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Apparently Miles is a JJK fan (in the comics)

If you put these two in a room together I think the result would be adorable 🥺

#itadori yuuji #miles morales #jjk #across the spiderverse #this is so good omg

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

one thing that's great about the song of ice and fire books is the way nobody ever knows what the fuck is going on. like somebody in a bar will be like "long live good king renly!" and somebody else will be like "oh he died. like a month ago. yeah lady catelyn stark stabbed him" and somebody else will be like "actually I heard he was stabbed by a shadow his brother fathered on a priestess" and a fourth person will be like "wait didn't renly literally just win the battle of king's landing last week" and then they're all like "well, whatever. long live good king whoever it is now. next round's on me"

#i love this post #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

no im not even kidding ive just seen a TikTok that appears to reason that Jaime and Brienne are sexually attracted to each other but in a platonic way. that they are into each other but incompatible with intimacy it would be wrong for them. they are a romantic beauty and the best but in a platonic way. DO YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW RIDICULOUS YOU SOUND I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE

#refusal to view brienne as a human being (yes with desire) as opposed to a paragon of virtue guys do you not see the irony !!! #“its not that story/thats not the characters” sex is such important part of jaime's character. deconstructing his relationship with cersei #< prev tags #braime #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

#sudan #darfur #keep eyes on sudan #keep eyes on darfur #eyes on sudan

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

George wherever you are please release winds so this fandom can have something new to talk about!!!

#from the latest stark sister discourse #to people arguing that an empire that practiced slavery and blood purity is ACTUALLY THE MOST PROGRESSIVE in the series #and let’s not forget the harassment of hotd actors. #this fandom is insane #anti asoiaf fandom #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Does anyone (besides me) believes that the Andals having no magic means something?

The First Men, the Valyrians, The Rhoynar, all have magic of some kind. And in a way their gods seem to be real as well. Same with the Ironborn or the ones that whorship R'hllor. And pretty much every other religion and race in ASoIaF has magic, except the Andals.

The Andals have no magic, they most likely hate it (the Maesters) and their religion is the only one that seems to be non-existent. It just seems so weird.

Also, the Hightowers (dance era and prior) are Andals and religious zealots and always seem to be fucking up the Targs (the most obviously magical house). It just really gives me bad vibes.

#sooo much to say about this. #how can a culture that practices slavery be progressive? !? #in terms of whiteness #there is only one group of people in ASOIAF that come close to it and it’s the valyrians #as the person above said #just stan the rhyonar and call it a day. please. #house targaryen #old valyria #house hightower #old town #george rr martin

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

I’m sat.

Back in my posting about Nettles sounding like a state of delusion era. We're so back.

Welcome to new blogs, I'm sorry.

#nettles asoiaf #nettles #netty #asoiaf #lovely moots 💕

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

Even with the limited scenes that they had in season one, there still is enough of a distinct difference between the two of them.

We can't tell Baela and Rhaena apart is okay as a criticism of their small part in the show, not as you not being able to tell them apart. Keep that to yourself.

#hotd critical #anti hotd fandom #hate it here fr #rhaena and baela #asoiaf

[venusintheblindspots-blog]

It's absolutely abhorrent the treatment of Actors of Colour and Queer/Non Binary actors from the house of the dragon fandom.

Bullying actors who were literally children at the start of production because you don't like the way they do their job and communicate their process.

Abusing actors with slurs against them because you don't like their character or the fact that they are a person of colour in this universe.

Utilising the unconscious brutal imagery invoked by the show to fuel your hatred and take it out on the actor.

Misgendering out and proud non binary actors.

Going further than the show did to contribute to the minimising of these black characters. Going as far as to say that the actresses are interchangeable.

Using racist, transphobic, sexist language against the actors for portraying characters.

Removing women in their written narratives because you don't agree with their actions yet no words about the atrocities of male characters there and coming.

Calling actors ugly and using ai especially to take their faces and distort them into your own perversions.

So much more things that can be added, but don't come to mind yet they occur. There seems to be a disconnect between these actors and who they portray.

The fact that this is their job and not their life. The fact that black and brown characters are allowed to be written into these fantasy genres without extra hatred for being bipoc and nuanced. The fact that Trans and Non binary actors can exist within this space with the understanding of separating them from the gender of the character they portray. The idea that you shouldn't bully children as the majority of this fandom is adults.

We are too grown to have these conversations about basic respect. You all are too grown to conflate actors with their characters and hurl abuses towards them because you don't like their character or pit them against each other as though they are in competition.

Get a fucking grip.

#this fandom continues to be one of the worst to be in #hotd #house of the dragon #anti hotd fandom