RFTIT Tumblr Weekylish Roundup (Part II)

Hey folks! Well, we definitely had enough stuff on the Tumblrs for a two-parter, so without any delay, let’s get to the good stuff:

ASOIAF:

• Medieval inheritance law.
• Thoughts on Whig history.
  • Part II
• Cost of running a court.
• Thoughts on Ramsay MacDonald as PM.
• Was Rasputin magic?
• How strong was medieval/ancient wine?
• Open-handedness in early American politics.
• A long discussion on the Labour Party.
• Does monetarism explain the Great Depression? No.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Should mutants be separate from the MCU? No.
• Thoughts on the Wandavision trailer.
• Wanda and Pietro’s parentage.
• Wanda in Dawn of X.
• What are people’s beefs with Grant Morrison?
• Textual basis for the Summers/Logan throuple.
• Thoughts on Cuomo.
• Thoughts on De Blasio.

RTFIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup (Part I?)

Hey folks! Due to the time that it took for me to finish Arya IX, there’s a lot of good stuff that’s been piled up on the Tumblrs in the last two weeks. I’m going to see if there’s enough here for one or two posts, so here goes:

ASOIAF:

• is LOTR a blueprint for ASOIAF? Not really.
• Theon as parallel for Zuko?
• King’s Landing and charters.
• Sistermen raiding culture.
• Pirates as hostis humanis generis.
• Wealth of the Shield Isles.
• Jousting and popular sport.
• The City of London in the City of London.
• Guilds and professional associations.
• Guild socialism.
• Unions and disciplining members.
• Independent dukes in the Middle Ages.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Thoughts on the Guild of Calamitous Intent.
  • Part II
• Why is Labor Day in September?
• Policy history through memos to file.
• Thoughts on the Great Man theory of history.
  • Part II
  • Part III
• New Mutants questions.
• Explaining Lockheed from the X-Men.
• Kate Pryde and LGBT subtext.
• Amenth and Krakoa.
• Red issues in Dawn of X.
• Franklin Richards’ subtextual queerness.
• Why hasn’t Northstar hit the big time?
• Thoughts on Apocalypse.

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Arya IX, ASOS

“…keep your mouth shut and do as I tell you, and maybe we’ll even be in time for your uncle’s bloody wedding.”

Synopsis: Lone Hound and Cub take a wild ride down the mighty Mississip.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hello, folks! Sam III is now done, and while work will begin on Arya IX as soon as possible, the beginning of the Fall semester and teaching a brand-new class no less, means that it’s not going to be ready next week.

In the mean-time, though, we’ve got some good stuff on the Tumblrs!

ASOIAF:

• Darkstar as an attempt to re-bottle Oberyn’s lightning.
• Why did peasants manage to fight off serfdom in Western Europe earlier than in Eastern Europe?
• Why are GRRM’s castles unrealistic?
• Are the Lannisters tight-fisted?
• How expensive was Valyrian steel before the Doom?
• Could the Westerlands have remained a First Man kingdom?
• Is the wording of Robb’s will significant?
• Did medieval noblewomen go to the shops?
• How much did Edmure affect the Red Wedding?
• Will the Freys find out about the pies?
• Religious syncretism and the Seven.
• Comparing the HOTU and Weirwood.net.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Are the Discworld City Watch novels “copaganda”?
• Book recommendations on medieval guilds.
• Is literacy necessary for democracy?
• Is funerary art the most conservative form of art?
• Why was salvation by grace vs. works and episcopacy an issue during the Reformation?
• Would John Knox have sided with the Catholic Church vs. Henry VIII?
• ATLA questions:
  • Could Ozai have been imprisoned?
  • Should Ozai have been killed?
  • More thoughts on Fire Nation political structure.
  • Favorite minor characters.
  • What if Zuko had married a bender of another element?
• Favorite fighting arcade game?

 

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Samwell III, ASOS

Pages: 1 2

“This is still a dream…oh, make it that I’m still asleep, make it a nightmare.”

Synopsis: Sam and Gilly make it to Whitetree. They meet an old friend, and make a new one.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

Guest Appearance on Ranking Thrones

Hey, folks! A couple of weeks ago, I recorded another podcast with JSLAL and James Kelly at Ranking Thrones, where we compared the first Blackfyre Rebellion and Robert’s Rebellion, to tease out why one succeeded and the other failed.

Have a listen!

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks! Now that the Catelyn V saga is done, next up is Sam III, a lovely little ghost story. But to tide you over until that’s ready, we’ve got some good stuff on the Tumblrs:

ASOIAF:

• Why does the Red Wedding happen partway through ASOS and not the end?
• Did guilds control what members could do?
• GRRM on Aegon I and the White Walkers.
• Moat Cailin and Ukranian/Polish medieval military logistics.
• Why did Jocelyn Stark marry below her station?
• The historicity of goat tracks.
• Why aren’t there more knights, if any knight can make a knight?
• One more time on the Green Fork.
• Realism of ASOIAF castles?

Non-ASOIAF:

• Book recommendation tag is a go.
• GRRM and the Hugos.
• Impacts of historical pandemics.
• Why did English peasant rebellions never succeed in their aims?

Patreon Questions:

• “If the novels gave us a POV for Podrick Payne, how would his view of events like the siege of King’s Landing, Tyrion’s trial and the search in the Riverlands presumably differ from Tyrion, Sansa and Brienne. 2. Were exiled royals like Jalabhar Xho or Dany common? How did they make a living? Any guess, why Martin invented the character of Jalabhar Xho?”
• Well, I imagine his view of the Battle of the Blackwater would be rather similar to Tyrion’s, since he was by Tyrion’s side; Sansa wasn’t around for the trial, so there’s not a comparison there; hard to say vis-a-vis Brienne.
• See here. Probably just for A. world-building so the Summer Isles don’t come out of nowhere later, and B. because people like him were not uncommon in royal courts in the periods Martin was drawing on for inspiration.

If you’d like to get a guaranteed ask as part of these roundups, consider becoming a Patron!

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Catelyn V, ASOS (Part II)

“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories of the death of kings.”

Synopsis: Robb bids farewell to Jeyne, quarrels with Catelyn about Jon, and makes plans for the future. 

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

(Beginning to think I should rename these to Fortnightly Roundups, but I feel like that would be an SEO problem…) Hey folks! So with Part I of Catelyn V in the can, work now begins on Part II, and I’m already up to 1,000 words, so with any luck you’ll all get to see the second half very shortly.

In the mean-time though, we’ve got some really good stuff on the Tumblrs.

ASOIAF;

• Could Robb have gotten the Vale on his side?
• Impact of economic development on peasant living standards?
• Why did Catelyn Stark come back wrong?
• Can someone be stripped of their knighthood?
• Did Jorah leave Longclaw behind out of guilt?
• How does Young Grift riding a dragon work with the burning of KL?
  • Part II
• Why Young Grift is a Blackfyre.
  • Part II
• Series of asks about Lannistet gold.
• Series of questions about the Burgundian State:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Why did Catherine Parr get almost arrested for heresy?
• What’s the deal with Thomas Wriothesly? (Seinfield riff.)
• Why were religious conflicts during the Reformation so intense?
• Long annoying debate about Shavepate and the locusts.
• Why keep a pretender to another kingdom’s throne at your court?
• Slave societies, Slavers’ Bay, Volantis, and Byzantium:
  • Part I
  • Part II
  • Part III
• Jon Snow is not named Aemon, and definitely not for that reason.

Non-ASOiAF:

• Thoughts on Garth Ennis.
• Etymology of “royalties.”
• Long debate about Richard, Duke of York’s claim to the throne.
• Thoughts on Geoff Johns.
• The story of Two-Gun Cohen.
• Don’t give your kids obvious fandom names.
• What’s the military difference between bronze and steel?
• Why I think the Witcher novels don’t deal well with racial tensions.
• Book recommendations on the French Revolution.

 

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Catelyn V, ASOS (Part I)

Pages: 1 2

“For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground/And tell sad stories of the death of kings.”

Synopsis: Robb bids farewell to Jeyne, quarrels with Catelyn about Jon, and makes plans for the future. 

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.