it all goes back and back

something to be said about the ADWD winterfell-meereen parallel, where dany plays the role of roose bolton. 1) walled ancient structure 2) besieged from the outside by enemy forces where 3) the quarreling noble families trapped within are almost at each other's throats but are forced by circumstance to remain on the same side while 4) unsolved murders directed by some unknown killer (the hooded man, the harpy) precipitates finger pointing as the leader (roose, dany) tries to hold onto peace by orchestrating a 5) sham marriage for the sake of politics (ramsay-farya, dany-hizdahr) that 6) culminates in a climactic battle outside the walls which will be determined in TWOW (battle of ice, battle of fire)

when asoiaf said either your story will go unrecorded in history and that is violence or your story will be made into an ideal or a warning and that is violence and when it said power is an illusionary thing but it is real and when it said gender and class are both performances utilized to perpetuate an unjust system and when it said dismantling such systems are not easy and it will not happen without violence and when it said the youth will inherit a world destroyed by the older generations and their only choice will be to adapt and rebuild and when it said vengeance is a cycle and catharsis is a lie and only you can stop it and when it said hope and idealism is worth fighting for and when it said over and over and over again atrocities beyond your imagination will happen next to you and to you and the only thing you can do is get up the only thing you can do is keep going despair is the ultimate crime

thinking about the starklings and the intricate web they have going on. hnnrg. gimme a minute,,

theon’s entire Thing is about how alone he is, right? he is so sure that nobody loves him (because, really, nobody in his general vicinity actually does, so sure), and he covers it up with his smiles and his careless faux-cruelty and his jokes and this is so so important to his character. but. but for every single night spent alone and wishing for home, and every night spent alone and feeling the noose around his neck, his mother spends a night walking the halls and calling out for him. every time he cried himself to sleep his mother wakes and cries out for her baby boy. because somewhere, somewhere, there is someone who loves theon greyjoy.

The fact Theon was taken from the very worst birth family ever into what was probably the best possible family available is interesting, because it very clearly showcases how much this hostage scenario would have been abusive, alienating and unbearable no matter the people involved. But instead people use it as a gotcha to prove how much he should have shut up and been grateful.

when a god comes before a mortal they come in disguise: they see a person's true intentions before giving them what they deserve. so it's soooo interesting that ramsay, the devil in human skin of the narrative, comes to theon disguised as reek before finding him lacking and taking theon to his fate

theon greyjoy is a joy to read on the page because he has a very particular combination of egotism and self-loathing that are constantly battling for control in the seat of his soul. like george costanza.

i don't think asha and theon were particularly/uniquely close as children i think they just formed a bond based on being the two smallest and youngest, which is something asha expected would disappear as theon grew into an adult and decided that hanging out with his big sister paled in comparison to getting his ass beat by his older brothers. but then this projected growing apart never had the chance to happen because theon was ten when he was taken away, and both rodrik and maron were dead, which launched asha from third daughter (nothing) into only son and heir. so i do think the plan was "hm. he probably won't recognize me right away. i'll give him a false name and maybe get some small chunk of time to see who he's become without the pressures of a family reunion, so he won't be playing a part with me." but then theon not only miserably failed at every softball she pitched at him he also grew up to be a chauvinistic egotistical asshole who is like sooooooooooooo aaaaannnnnnooooyyyyyiiiiiiinnnnggg. and faced with all of that and the knowledge that theon has completely forgotten the islands and her asha's faced with how badly she's missed him and how much she hates the young man that's come back in his place. arrogant and stubborn and pompous with a head full of rocks and greenlander ideals. so i love that she eggs him on and encourages him and assaults him again even after the jig is up because it's like. it's still love!! it's still a bid at closeness and affection. it's like this recognition that her little brother is dead and buried so this is just some handsome mainland stranger wearing his face. like yes she was out to humiliate him but i also like reading how long she let the esgred farce play out as evidence of just how badly she missed him. like. ok then this is fine too. like i like to think that the purposeful total erasure of boundaries between then that asha knows should exist because she knows that's her baby brother was like a rabid last ditch bid at connection. fine if he can't even see me then at least he wants me like this. waugh.