How people feel about Louis in the newest version of Interview with the Vampire is a direct result of him being played by a biracial man from Bristol deadass. Him being partly Afro Caribbean (Jacob/Raleigh not Louis as that seems to be unclear), the New Orleans setting, the acknowledgement that their fav white vampire may be a menace are all certi adaptions that people hate because they just want their perfect white colonial vampire fantasy. It's weird ngl and likely racist if not antiblack because the story is much much better than the Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt adaption with the author preferring it. Like??? I dunno I try to engage but on twitter especially people just have the maddest takes and it reminds me that vampires are viewed in the West as the embodiment of a particular type of enduring whiteness and colonial imagery that is very hmmm to me.

The Asoiaf fandom doesn't know how religion works, and tbh that's because GRRM doesn't know how religion works especially not socially and culturally. You can see this when comparing the likes of Dune and Asoiaf and seeing how Herbert could pull from Islam and the cultures of North Africa and create something feasible and tangibly human, whilst GRRM struggles with his puesdo-catholicsm that doesn't work like actual Catholicism and so falls short of being useful beyond a plot device. I think the biggest example of this is a lack on GRRM part to show how embedded religion is in the lives of the day to day people without it being a part of political drama. There's a lack of general belief in what everyone's doing that makes it feel flat, like yes people do these actions but why? The embedded idea that we live with our religion and religious culture around us (at that time historically) The religious aspects are plot devices not revelations about how the world views morality and for me it falls short. Religion says so much about a people, what they believe in, how they conduct their lives etc and changes in religion, upheaval and different sects etc is natural. GRRM doesn't give that because probably he can't in a way that feels genuine to him, I do think American religious trauma is partly to blame as Christianity has done a number on the country historically and present and typically the way Christianity is engraved in America is alongside white supremacy and facism. But yeah, its just weird.

It feeds into Hotd too because the reigning monarchs seem not to care for the symbols of legitimacy such as religion, and there's a derision given to religion that makes no sense for the time or setting. Again weird. (This could also be because I'm guessing most people who write in the fandom are white and or atheist or formerly Christian of the evangelical type, and so don't have the relationship to religion the way I did growing up in a multifaith school and family. Stilllll the ease in which people are like yeah its just religion like medieval muslims and Christians wouldn't be appalled by the nonchalance Lol)

Random but prominent thought; Whiteness toys with the idea of equality and that there are no issues within adopted and non blood family, but ultimately, colonisation demands blood quantum and eugenics. Whiteness takes pride in blood and biological ties, and that's something a lot of people are disingenuous about. Now couple that with the fact that outside of religion, white people in the West do not typically curate community well then how are you creating communities of non blooded people who you treat with dignity and respect? You don't. This is all facets of whiteness, to be honest. To be white is to be an individual, imo and in that individualism, you build relationships based on proximity and nothing more. Now, this isn't because white people can't build community, they can and have but historically most of the community built by white people has been on the backs of colonialism and comparison (we're not like them) so now in a crisis of culture and community where do white people go? Adoption interests me here as does surrogacy because I think whilst I knew alot of individuals adopted by white families, I knew more people who were in close community with poc and not adopted but treated like family. Even the white adopted and long term fostered kids weren't treated like proper family to me growing up, by their white families. And that's stuck with me alot as the grandchild of a woman who'd took in so many of her nieces, nephews and cousins and raised them alongside my mother. Hmmmm food for thought....

People only care about House Velaryon as much as it pertains to creating this upotian idea of racial neutrality. However, when you press to say the optics of whiteness perpetuating a form of ethnic cleansing in the House, everyone is blind. They can't see that, and the reason is because whiteness can never see itself as anything but ulturistic. People cannot comprehend, nor can they write anything that treats non-white characters as people with their own motivations, beliefs, and sense of morality because then they'd have to stop using them as tools. Laenor Velaryon is used in this way in fandom to prop up the Targaryens narrative concerning white supremacy, colonisation, and classism. It's ludicrous that's there is no fanfiction or meta or anything interrogating the possibility that House Velaryon could be justified in their dislike of the succession crisis Rhaenyra causes or that Laenor may be upset with her. He is never more than her gay best friend because that is the only role a gay biracial man can play for a white woman.

This is problematic in as much that making a biracial man support someone who is representative of systems of oppression in any which way without critical engagement is dangerous and an oversight. Making House Velaryon black could have been interesting. Instead, it's invited white people on mass to prop up black people as support for their racist fantasies. By that, I mean any writing/headcanon/thought experiment that sees House Velaryon just be Rhaenyra's strongest supporters without explaining why, is just erasure and tokenism. (Sidenote, no one ever gives a why and I think in part it's because media literacy is dead and whiteness has become so ingrained as the standard people cannot fathom why you would never just support the main white character no matter how asinine they are. There is no good argument, and no one wants to do the work to try to create one. Fair enough, no one can demand your labour, but it leave black characters in a sidelined and tokenistic position that supports white people taking them out for brownie points when needed.)

Laenor isn't a person, he's a mesh of plot relevant reactions and external support to make Rhaenyra and the writer by extension look and feel better. Both Laenor and Laena are shown in fanfiction and the TV show to be useful by the very act of their disposal, and no one pauses to wonder if that is a violent act. (It is. It's antiblack and plays into hegemonic violence against black bodies).

Also, the breeding kink of the white supremacist line of thinking shows itself in the way in which people argue the importance of Rhaenyras line continuing by blood, but conveniently saying that the choice to adopt on behalf of House Velaryon is progressive and their blood doesn't matter, choice does. The parallels between this argument and the likes of the Tuskegee experiment or sterilisation of non white persons with vaginas in hospitals and prisons whilst encouraging white people who are capable of giving birth to do so are immense. The willingness of people to fall into white supremacist lines of thinking when arguing for a fictional character is astounding, however its ultimately a pet peeve on my behalf. There are very few critical spaces in which blackness is welcomed in life, and existential alienation extends into the digital and fictional worlds. People are comfortable with prejudice and white supremacy ,it's is the basis on which the West builds legitimacy and precedent, it is not remiss then to say that the inheritors of these social precedents replicate the behaviour and line of thinking.

This is not to say people are unaware, but often the "fun" of whiteness is to be able to not have to worry about the likes of Black, Indigenous, Asian or Pacific islander people because preservation of white happiness is more important. White people get to live in a utopian ideal all the time when it pertains to race and have the freedom to say that discussions on such topics harsh their vibe so they do not have to engage.

But whatever, who cares what I think, I'm just a Black person on the Internet.

GRRM will never finish ASOIAF because he can't marry liberation theology with a Bentham era panoptican. He didn't finish Naim Ateek, found Edward Said offensive and couldn't understand Frantz Fanon and it shows 🙈 now all he can do is write ill thought out prequels and feed you all crumbs because real change, satisfying change cannot come when people are now politically aware and his contemporaries are giving up the ghosts. He can't write anymore because his chosen audience is dying or exhausted by life and his own internal conversations about Marxism, Orientalism, Liberation theology, Post Colonialism, Catholicism and hereditary monarchy, is driving him up the wall and off the window ledge.

When no one thinks critically and those who can are concerned with bigger, more important things, what's the motivation? The greats are dead and dying, and he is one of the gravestones left in a world where people now get cremated....

There's something Hannah Arendt, Friedrich Nietzsche to say here and to end, I think GRRM always wanted to write his equivalent of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. He wanted to be that guy, say that thing, and I feel a bit bad that he sorta missed the mark and the moment.

Hot take - White women, in particular, live out their fantasies of social and racial dominance through characters like Rhaenyra. Especially in the manner in having a white attack dog for a male partner to do their racist bidding.

Hot take 2 - Alot of white people in Hotd fandom support eugenics and race science. The idea of calculating the percentage needed for someone to ride a nuclear weapon is mad imo.

Hot take 3 - White people who show reverence to Targaryens and Valyria are white supremacists.

Hot take 4 - The reason we will never get diverse fantasy in the main stream is white people will not accept that assimilation to whiteness is not violence and that reverse Racism etc doesn't exist. So we'll always get shitting race bending instead (Avatar) or white washing like with adaptions of Earthsea.

Hot take 5 - Hotd reserves its most violent acts for Black bodies and tries to hide its hand. Yurp and the lower class that Velarhon servant shouldn't have died like that.

Will probably do deeper analysis later but yeah just proof that Whitness sucks in fandom because why would you race bend and not think about the optics? Just everyday black people dying or getting disparage. Thank Jah Netty survived 🙏🏾

American White Religious trauma as a result of Christianity is so annoying because it pervades all discussions of religion generally. That even when religion is used as a motif, it's always assumed to be an allegory to Christianity. (The American evangelical kind or rarely Catholicism) And in fandom, this sentiment is worse. Don't you know religion is bad, duh!

The issue with this is when you put a lens of intersectionality (specifically as a black femme) or you use a lens of assemblage (non black femme) then you get the understanding that the issues non white people have with religion is not the issues White people have. Christianity is Hinky because of its roots in colonial rhetoric and justification, but that's not the issues white people have with Christianity. (This is not to say that exploitation of children and women but churches aren't egregious - they are. But this, conversion isn't about that) its like the anti-religious sentiment is spread everywhere affecting Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Rastas and more, everyone is just catching stray bullets. Religion has to be bad for the non right wing American people, but so much of the good of religion is lost in that discussion. Also there's never the nuance to say hey maybe religion is funked up because America is fucked up? People do fucked up things and try to justify it by any means? Its hard because I grew up religious, left the church and now I'm very much into taking what I need spiritually from wherever, and to be honest that may be the privilege of my culture. But church was a necessary ecosystem and solace many a time, just as mosque was and I think what's scary is that because White people by and by don't really cultivate community and social culture (argue with your mum not me) the social aspect of religion and religious community isn't extended out? Take for example the Sikhs of my local area also give food from the Langar of our local gurdwara and I've known alot of these aunties and uncles since I was a babe. I've eaten there as has so many other homeless people and local business people etc because the food is good, the music bops and the jokes are hilarious. We're community. And when the time comes now at different parts of the year to give back we do, we have to because we're in community. It's mad in my eyes to have all this discourse on religion and never speak of the good things. No one ever talks of breaking fast with friends from school and how exciting it is to be invited round for iftar, or making eid cards at getting to celebrate, giving gifts at Christmas or making gingerbread etc with other people or singing carols. It's always about the fuckeries of religion and never that when people who have little else but God, do amazing things with wonder and hope. Granted, all of this was the privilege of living in a town outside of America that whilst was very small was incredibly diverse and maybe the fact that America is a continent disguised as a country with racial segregation still likely plays a massive part in the PR for christinanity? I say this because the Black church never gets its dues for what it did for the Black community in America and that's probably because overwhelmingly the PR for Christianity in America is White and right wing likely. Like what about Rasta's with political liberty in Jamaica and the Caribbean or Hinduism for the Tamil is religion just white people and Christianity?

Ultimately, I want to have a discussion about it without that specific white lens because religion for us who were colonised and dispossed is completely different.

Still, the general consensus in fandom that all religions are bad by virtue of whitenessess relationship with Christianity is absolutely mad, but what do I know?

I'm a black person on the Internet.

There's something I'd like to get off my spirit after being, writing, and reading in the HotD fandom, and that is how truly insidious the callousness and Racism in the fandom is. I think the issue presents itself more on Twitter and in fanfiction, but that is not an excuse but more an example of media dictating the ease to which someone conveys their politics. One of the arguments I see time again is a feminist reading of Rhaenyra, which has become prevalent despite the pseudo medieval setting. That I wish to draw attention to because if a modern audience is using a modern lens to understand a character, it is not amiss to apply that lens across the board for the media, extending that to the other characters within the story. If by modern sentiments we are living in the time of reparations, land back movements, and greater racial understanding, there is no non-racist argument to suggest House Velaryon deserves the treatment it experiences in the TV show and in fanfiction. The is a particular faction of Lucemond fanfiction that is egregious as it never contends with the idea that black people may want a voice in the white person leading them, that they'd have a right to contest that. I also think this feeds into the very white eurocentric idea of restitution that favours a kiss a makeup approach and not that of pain and punishment and consequences to actions. Yes it is a form of ethnic cleansing if Lucerys has children with white people and installs them as heirs to House Velaryon. You are literally breeding out blackness at the top and then you have to contend with the visuals of a white person leading a house of predominantly black people who are below them in status.

It's giving slavery.

Futhermore, Vaemond also is killed for challenging this and many revel in that. People proudly depict his death as some form of justice which is very interesting when you contrast him with fandom perceptions of Ned Stark. A black man is killed for telling the truth in order to protect a white woman, an action which paints Rhaenyra closer to Carolyn Bryant than to Mary mother of Jesus. Again, I know this is tv show not the books but if you're following me you understand why this is visually problematic and a racist depiction.

This isn't a book issue, I am aware, but it is a fandom issue. I can't do anything if you want to do so write what you like, read as you like but atleast do so with the understanding that you belive black characters to be disposable for whiteness. Also the way many of you react is very suspect on top of everything else, because you're very big and bad and racist behind a screen and say pim when people press you in real life. I've seen so many black people be hurled abuse just for highlighting the writers antiblackness and bias. If fandom is justification for you to call people everything but a child of God I hope you know you are racist at heart, and that fandom is just a medium for you to peddle white supremacist ideology.

P.S mainstream feminism is anti non white women, trans women and disabled women. If it's not intersectional, it replicates the systems of oppression that keep everyone non cis, nonwhite and non able bodied down. Propping up Rhaenyra as a feminist icon and believing that in this life, the 3 dimensional plane of existence we inhabit, just reiterates to me that you're for white women assuming the power afforded to white men and see that as true equality. Feminism is not about that, at its core and I'm sorry no one taught you that and you instead have no proper basis for Feminism and cheapen such a vital movement for equality, equity, justice and eventual liberation.

Anyways, what do I know? I'm a black person on the internet. I hope you all have the day you deserve 💗

Deadass, the one thing that will always piss me off is someone policing the use of expletives. They're words, and whilst I know there's a time and place, it's decidedly classist and racist in my opinion, the way in which society polices them. Especially as they're considered akin to racial slurs when babyyyy I don't think they're equitable. This became salient to me when I finished my schooling, and despite my degrees and letters, people still looked down on me for saying shit or fuck. I also think there's a standard people assume you should hold when you're an academic or working in a corporate environment. No expletives, no contractions etc etc its all bull shit to me, language is to be used dependent on the setting but if I'm talking to tax paying adults and I swear I don't see how that's an issue 🤔 It's weirdddddddd

The empathy white people have for other white people will forever derail any social progress we gain. The idea that someone's intent and 'heart' should be taken into account when it comes to discrimination is diabolical at best and deconstructive at worst. It's infers that white people are victims of the discriminatory thinking that aids in the myth of their superiority and that they are burdened by such. It suggests that unlearning white supremacy for white people is a group task, a collective necessity, and ultimately positions whiteness firmly within victim hood. "They can't help it if they were raised that way!" ... They could they've chosen not to.

Something to consider in fandom and creating community in fandom is how quickly the fandom sympathises with the villain, especially when the villain has colonial, empire coding. White people and what fans want to be able to give the white colonising figure the benefit of the doubt, because they do not want to possibly entertain that the person they feel so closely linked to is a bad guy. In this perception, there is little if any care taken to explore the actions of the individual. Instead, we must understand their inner being, their actions non withstanding. Why is that? Because it divorces actions from conscious thought and allows for a plethora of excuses. I wrote a post time ago as to why forgiveness was inherently a colonial reject forced upon colonised bodies alongside christinanity and I think this step in divorcing action is part too. White people don't want to be responsible for their Racism in and out of fiction, and they won't see themselves acting it out upon you within fandom either. They overdose on media that supports their perception, so be mindful all those in community with whiteness even tagentially. These streets are dangerous atm boo 🙃

Note: Gave my presentation in a conference and got a standing O, sometimes I really am that GYAL 💅🏾

I'm just saying this because it needs to be said. Some of you have lost your mind if you think you can come into my mentions and argue your point about House of the Dragon or ASOIAF. I'm not a nice person, and I don't claim to be, and if you do not have the reading comprehension to understand what I type, then please exit to the left. The reason I say this is because I will drag you up and through this website like old men drag limp testes, sagging skin and all. My mouth is peppery, the worst most of you can say is for me to kill myself, I will ensure that you cry about what I type about your mothers and fathers into your pillows because I will not give you the satisfaction of moving mad on my part of the Internet. Just because your mother didn't have the decency to swallow doesn't mean I'll ingest your bullshit. You have been warned ⚠️ Lastly when I talk about the show or text, I'm not speaking on Canon I don't particularly give a shit, I'm talking about a contemporary audiences reaction to the bullshit. I'm not a white woman, far fucking from it and I'm sick of people who wish to support and defend that white woman finding their asses in my mentions and asks. Go shove your nose up some Rhaenyra blogs ass, this is not the place for you. I reblog black women predominantly, my conversations are about NON white people and media, I'm invested in BLACK and BROWN art, like read the fucking room, if I gave a shit about the melanin deficient than I would be blogging about it. Fuck outta here.

Very random thought, but one in which I think has been a big part of my experience in fandom. Fandom in its current iteration is inherently very Conservative under the guise of liberalism. Now I know someone is going to be like 'your wrong it's inherently transformative," and you may think that but I would disagree. My argument stems from the answer to a related question of the nature of fandoms foundation in its current mainstream iteration. So by that, I mean, do you consider Whiteness to be transformative? Fandom now is built predominantly on Whiteness and the lens of Whiteness through media, its why most fandoms treat East Asian media as if the characters are white, and ignore the prolific media from other cultures and countries (because they do not centre white aligned bodies/people). Most of the 'transformative' nature of fandom is in service to kink, not progression. It's why the A/B/O tag is mostly porn and not a prolific culture conversation, it's why people use trans people and trans ideology in service in service their porn no matter how deamening (boy pussy as a concept is 😒 especially as it came from porn originally and people obscure how trans bodies are treated in porn and on places like pornhub whilst indulging in what they percieve to be the illicitness of trans bodies). Like you don't care about these politics really and it shows. Also, an anecdotal example is the way abortions are treated in English written works. Basically no one with the ability to give birth ever gets an abortion even when it would make sense in the narrative. And there is creative licence but there's also a point in which we have to admit this is a Conservative sticking point for many lol like I dunno I've been in fandom a moment and it's hostile and uncomfortable and everyone wants the freedom to just indulge in their happiness but the question if who gets to be happy is never answered.

NGL, I want to talk about the Einstein Intersection if anyone is available? Like I know the posts everyone is into is GRRM but other people won Nebula and Hugo awards and I wanna talk about the ones that are black please 🙏🏾 🥹 Delany did some legendary shit with the Le Lo La and the idea of discursive gender can we discussssssssssss please!

Why does alot of anglophone fandoms have an obsession with recreating, imperialism, classism and tacit colonialism? It's a trend I notice alot no matter the setting, past, present and future. And whilst I don't particularly find it offensive, after all, I study colonialism, and that's what my second degree speciality is, in fandom It's never a critique of it. It's always in the vein of imagine if this character was rich etc and would weild inordinate amounts of power over others? Like wouldn't that be amazing? And I'm sorry but that's not a good thing and some fandoms are understanding that their faves are shit people who die first and get eaten in the revolution (Sucession) but so many others have dived head first into my favourite rich white person is not that bad and the poor people below them are the real enemy. Which is very.... it says alot about why I think there's not alot of you man in heaven hehe hehe

NGL, it tickles me pink that white women are flocking to trad wife propaganda. It's giving return to default settings, and that sprinkle of conservative politics, transportation, homophobia and racism is just the icing. Like, you really thought little miss richy rich was going to be the bastion for equality? If I laugh too hard I'll pop a blood vessel in my fucking eye.