The thing that stuck out way more to me was when Egwene dropped a morat’raken with a ton of people loaded on it, and she thought that some of them might’ve been leashed Aes Sedai, and she was like “well better keep fighting, can’t think about that now” and not to mention, she’s confronting the fucking Seanchan again, who have been nagging her with PTSD for like 9 books... of course she’s not gonna hold anything back.

You know that thing where Egwene murders the sul'dam during the attack on the White Tower? Do you think that was supposed to be a trouble sign for her character, or was it just Sanderson either doing his OOC fan service stuff or not realizing he wrote the hero committing murder? Also her self-hype stream of conscious while she's being carried out, how she's just like a hero of the Horn, etc. The only time a main character came close was Rand in PoD. Danger sign or 4th wall breaking fanservice?

Loving the multiple false dichotomies here that basically translate to ‘do you think it’s bad writing or Egwene Is Evil? No other options are possible’. 

On killing the sul’dam: given that this occurs during a battle (and one in which Egwene is on the initially defensive side), her killing an enemy combatant wouldn’t typically be considered murder by most accepted conventions of warfare, especially those that seem to apply in canon. And she’s hardly the only heroic character with a body count (especially, again, in battle).

On the ‘self-hype stream of conscious’ [sic]: I mean, okay, if you dislike Egwene I suppose it could be annoying to read her thinking good things about herself? But I feel like it takes a fair bit of effort to read it as ominous rather than as a kind of half-delirious, relieved, and exhausted ‘I did it’. Her focus for several books now has been on saving/restoring/healing the White Tower and the Aes Sedai, and the Tower very nearly fell here and she played a rather important role in keeping it from crumbling, and so I read this as just... exhausted victory, and the realisation that she did it. That she faced an existential threat and against all odds held it at bay. Yes, of course there’s a cost, and it’s part of the repeated theme of should-be allies fighting each other rather than the true threat of the Shadow, but that’s a bigger-picture issue and in this isolated moment I think any character would be allowed a moment of relief and pride after so long a time of fighting and struggle and uncertainty.

Also it’s really not the only time we see something like this in a character’s thoughts; they’re not all self-deprecatory all the time.

You see Daemons and Dust

I see Daemon Sand Dust

We are not the same.

I don’t know what I picture them sounding like

give the Aiel Polish accents you cowards

The NRA is a fucking death cult.

Why are you so mean to davos

every Davos chapter:

“I can’t let Stannis down,” Davos thought to himself after fucking everything up yet again due to his abject lack of charisma or likability. He found himself reaching for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them when he fucked up during the Battle of the Blackwater. That reminded him of his many dead sons, which made him very sad, though he did not forget his duty. He never forgot his duty to Stannis, who had spared his life. “I must never forget that Stannis spared my life,” Davos thought, clenching what remained of the fingers on his left hand. Stannis had removed the first joint of the fingers on his left hand as punishment for his crimes as a smuggler. Stannis was a hard man, but just. He reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, only to remember that he lost them. He missed the bones that he kept in a pouch around his neck. They were his luck, and now he had no luck. “Even without my luck, I must not let Stannis down. He could have taken more than the first joints of my left hand, yet he gave me a lordship,” Davos thought. Even though he earned a lordship, four of his sons would never know about it, as they died on the Blackwater, where Davos lost his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck. Davos took a moment to remember his dead sons. “I miss my dead sons,” Davos thought. “Perhaps they would have fared better if they had my luck. Though I lost my luck on the Blackwater. Even then, I must not let Stannis down.” Instinctively, Davos reached for his pouch o’ finger-bones, which he considered his luck.

I don’t wanna turn this into a thing but Robert definitely loves 13% Baltic Porters so he can black out before the hors d’ouevres hit and he doesn’t have to waste time eating because his beers are 500 calories each.

Do you think Stannis would be into IPA's?

I think he would think that they’re too hoppy, too showboaty. You’re a beer, don’t try to razzle-dazzle.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

So Renly would be a huge IPA guy

Do you think Stannis would be into IPA's?

I think he would think that they’re too hoppy, too showboaty. You’re a beer, don’t try to razzle-dazzle.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

Me on almost everything: It’s healthy to question the government’s intentions given what we know from history.

Me on COVID-19: Dude please just listen to the government bro I swear it’s not a hoax please just listen to the experts it’s not a ploy to get Trump out of office please people are actually dying

I would say that the Shavepate absolutely has commonalities with Littlefinger, but not in the way people are suggesting. Littlefinger sows chaos in a very measured way, and doesn’t leave things up to random chance. I also think Shavepate is a different kind of schemer, as he has slightly different motivations, but he also isn’t going to take risks that aren’t sure bets. Old Shavey reminds me a little bit of Janos Slynt. Maybe it’s the City Watch/Brazen Beasts parallel, the social climbing, or just the ability to gather and lead a bunch of strongarms.

Either way, if Shavepate dumps random poisoned locusts on the Meereenese power struggle, he could benefit, but he could not. It’s not a risk he’s going to take. Littlefinger betrayed Ned specifically so he could achieve his personal goal. He helped poison Joffrey specifically so he could achieve is personal goal. His personal goal is Sansa. That’s what makes Littlefinger different; he’s a weird dude with delusions of grandeur who puts himself on a pedestal as the best schemer, the master puppeteer. Shavepate really only has one motivation for shaving his pate and throwing away his tokar. He thinks Team Dany is the winning team, and he can advance his family’s station as such. Littlefinger and Shavepate are similar in the sense that I’m pretty sure Shavepate, who risks getting assassinated every single day by looking how he looks, isn’t going to let a random chance decide whether he gets to rise higher. They both definitely are not extreme risk-takers for chaos’s sake. Shavey’s going to play it safe while Daenerys is in town.

What he does when she’s out of town, however? That could be a completely different story.

So you don't consider the Shavepate as a possible suspect in the Locust Poisoning? The Meerenese Blot convinced me, and its been approved by GRRM as "getting" the Meerenese plot.

This may be a case where I just got it wrong, but to me it never made sense. 

If Dany dies and Hizdahr is king, the Shavepate is a dead man and his entire revolution is destroyed. If his objective was to do a false flag operation, why not do it in a way that implicates Hizdahr - say, by having some of his Brazen Beasts attack Dany in the name of the Sons of the Harpy and Hizdahr King? Why not do it BEFORE Hizdahr marries her and gets political legitimacy? Hell, if he wanted to get rid of Hizdahr, why not have Hizdahr assassinated and blame that on the Sons of the Harpy? That would solve his political problem much more directly.

Look at the chain of events that happened in OTL - you have a poison intended for Dany, that only gets revealed because she brings Belwas with her and Belwas goes hog-wild on them before she even touches them, then the dragon shows up and Dany leaves, then Hizdahr replaces Dany’s entire team including the Shavepate, then the Shavepate has to sell Ser Barristan on a coup. Ridiculously circuitous doesn’t begin to describe it. So it’ll take some explaining in TWOW if that’s what happened. 

Coolest tidbit I’ve read in a while. I will be telling this story at parties.

If you got to be on Drunk History, what subject would you talk about?

Tricky, because my area of research doesn’t quite lend itself to the dramatic anecdote, but I could spin some stories about Harry Hopkins.I do have a fund of good history anecdotes that I could use that don’t come from my own research. Julie D’Aubigny is a great story, the last day in the life of Tiberius Gracchus is a good one, the 1948 Democratic Convention (if I could ever find the paper I wrote about it, might still be at Columbia somewhere) is pretty dramatic, and so on. 

But I think the one that might make the best episode is the story of Two-Gun Cohen. 

Although who knows how far into the story I’d get, because the only booze I like is rum (although I’ve always wanted to try grog). 

Do the Royces know what their runic armor actually says...?

What’s a house that you’d love to know more about?

Maybe the Royces, particularly who was on the wrong side of “surely my runic armor will protect me!”

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

Reblog if you watched Theodore Tugboat and want to hear a roller coaster of a story.

I’m sorry to confess this but... 😔 *sigh* here goes;

There’s something inherently sexy about people who serve the Shadow.

There. I said it.

Be they Forsaken or Darkfriends (not the gross Darkfriends though) I just know if it weren’t for the Trollocs I’d be on board in a heartbeat.

Don’t make me rank sexy servants of the Shadow. Don’t make me do it. So help me GOD.

Now accepting Wheel of Time confessions!

The wheel turns as the wheel wills, but we don’t have to like it! Tell all here.

Vashet: *Beats the shit out of you*

Trapis: Want some ice cream?

Alternative responses to "I Love You"

Kvothe: Thanks.

Denna: A horrible decision really.

Wilem: *finger guns*

Fela: I’m sorry.

Simmon: *laughs nervously*

Devi: Who doesn’t?

Elodin: *laughs hysterically*

Mola: I know.

Auri: Why?

Tempi: YEET

Bast: If only there was someone out there who loved you.

C’thaeh: You only think you remember your parents loved you. Your memory of love is skewed. That’s why you’ll never know love in your life.

Alternative responses to "I Love You"

Kvothe: Thanks.

Denna: A horrible decision really.

Wilem: *finger guns*

Fela: I’m sorry.

Simmon: *laughs nervously*

Devi: Who doesn’t?

Elodin: *laughs hysterically*

Mola: I know.

Auri: Why?

Tempi: YEET

Bast: If only there was someone out there who loved you.

What was the entire purpose of Sandor Clegane’s story in Game of Thrones?