dazed, confused, and inspired

capsicled:

sweetsyren replied to your photoset: alayne-stones: shewolfs: #THE BIGGEST ‘FUCK…

Alright…i’m asking…why is it laughable to ship these two?

Okay, to be fair, the ship itself isn’t laughable, per say (it isn’t one I ship; it isn’t one I support; it is, in my opinion, just generally not a good ship to ship; that being said, I only know of one Sansa-related ship that’s actually laughable in its badness and this isn’t it). What I find laughable is the people who genuinely believe that it’s a romantic ship, and the reasons they throw out there to support that theory.

Which generally come down to “Tyrion didn’t force her to sleep with him!” and “Tyrion seems to be somewhat fond of her!”. And while I suppose the second reason is not the worst possible reason you could have for shipping a couple, I am genuinely more in favor of ships in which both parties are interested in the other, and Sansa very clearly does not want to be involved with Tyrion.

…as to the first reason, if you find it laudable that a man would be enough of a fundamentally decent human being to not sleep with a girl who is half his age and obviously terrified, like, if you think Tyrion should be celebrated for deciding not to rape her, I don’t want to live on the same planet as you.

If you actually have decent reasons for shipping this, by all means, go ahead, but I have yet to encounter anyone who does.

I ship them, even in the books. I don’t know if my reasons count as decent, but:

1. Of course I don’t ship them as they are right now. I think they both just need a break. In fact, I’m not sure I could ever see them actually getting together in the series; I don’t ship them until they’ve had quiet, calm time to get to know each other, which isn’t ever going to happen in this universe.

2. I like them both as characters. I think they both actively try to do the right thing, usually, which is not something that many characters in this series do.

3. I think that their personal strengths and weaknesses balance each other well. Tyrion is secretly a romantic who believes in true love and doing anything for the one he loves, but he’s also occasionally bitter, sarcastic, and crude. Sansa is soft and daydream-y (even now, after everything she’s been through, though it has been curtailed, slightly) and brave, but she can also be shallow, too trusting, and insecure. Tyrion would put her on a pedestal, if he fell in love with her, but his sarcasm and bitterness would also temper some of her trust in the world and force her to look beneath the surface more often. Sansa would support Tyrion and show him that he really is worthy of true affection, if she fell in love with him, but she’d also force him to confront the fact that there still is some goodness in the world, that his bitterness and sarcasm can be selfish and sometimes more damaging than he intends. Basically, I think they would both help each other grow.

4. I don’t understand those who hold Tyrion’s thoughts on the wedding night against him. It’s not that I want to “celebrate” Tyrion for “mastering” his impulses or whatever, I just never understood them to be thoughts he intended to put into action at all. He was going through a rough time too, that night: here he was, matched with a girl he cared for, albeit not in that way, and forced to be the villain when all he wanted to do was keep her safe. It was yet another sign of how, in his life, he was always going to be the bad guy, that no one would ever look underneath the surface enough to truly care for him. So, in a bitter moment, he wondered what it would be like to actually PLAY the villain, to stop caring and just take instead of being taken from. But he didn’t, because he’s better than that, because he finds no joy in hurting others. Because it was never a serious consideration for him, it wasn’t in his character. So I don’t celebrate him for this, but I also don’t hold his own thoughts against him.

5. I also don’t understand those who argue that Sansa’s too good for him. What would you say to people who say Tyrion’s too good for Sansa? How is holding the female character up and trashing the physically-flawed male character who might actually treat her right any better than holding the male character up and trashing the physically-flawed female character who might treat him right? Sansa “deserves better”? All that does is turn her eventual love interest into the “prize” for Sansa, not a character with his own strengths and weaknesses. I know at least some people who make this argument would be disgusted with the same argument being levied against a female character. Sansa’s lack of physical interest WOULD be damaging to this ship, for me, only I think that she might be more interested after she actually got to know him, which, again, I don’t think will ever happen in this universe.

6. The age difference doesn’t bother me so much. I know “different cultural values” is kind of a cop-out, so I’ll just say that, after Sansa does reach a more adult age, I don’t see the age difference as mattering so much. People die all the time in this universe. Love might as well be encouraged where it’s found. I mean, I also support Tommen/Margaery, where the age difference is just as bad. I don’t support anything happening until Tommen’s older, of course, but I don’t think age is such a barrier in this world as in our own.

7. Basically… it all comes down to the fact that there’s not really a single other major character in this series that would treat Sansa as well as Tyrion would and vice-versa. I like them and I want them to be happy. If they fell in love with each other, I think they would be. They’d be brilliant at the game, as well as in many other aspects of life. They’d also be dedicated to each other, like Cat and Ned were. I can’t help it; I like couples that I see to be a good psychological/personality fit, and I think this would be one.

It was the expression on his face when he said “Lady Stark, you may survive us yet” that did me in. ADMIRATION. He understands and ADMIRES her. Just. Yes.

Yes, exactly! See, he is surprisingly close to a “true” knight (will do what he can to protect the innocent, most tellingly, especially in THIS series…). the only issue is that he doesn’t look like a stereotypical knight. If he looked like Jaime/Joffrey, Sansa would be head over heels for him, with little question. But he doesn’t, so Sansa is disgusted. If she could get past his appearance, though, she would find a calm, kind, strong man who is willing to do whatever it takes to defend those important to him.

On the flip side, Tyrion has a known weakness for innocence/sweetness. His first love is a perfect example, though Penny is another. Penny is the strongest connection he’s made in a long time; although, admittedly, she’s too sweet and innocent for him to think of her in a romantic way. Sansa, on the contrary, is actually quite accomplished in thinking in a political way, more and more so as the series continues. She is growing to be his intellectual match, while retaining her innate belief in the goodness of the world, which is almost a superhuman ability, after what she’s been through.

He’d show her that she still can be beloved and cared for and treated as an equal, intellectually, which is something no other man has come close to offering her. She’d show him that it’s possible for someone in this awful world to actually love and believe in him, despite his flaws, which is something not even his family could convince him of.

… I just ship them so hard, I can’t help it. And I know they’re “married,” so I should in theory be excited about that, but the circumstances of the marriage are too ridiculously awful to think about, and it will probably operate as more of a hindrance than a help to this couple actually happening permanently, so… I can’t be too thrilled. But I just love them both and feel like they would be perfect balms to their many hurts.

Always and forever my favorite piece of THG fanart/possibly my favorite scene as well. Accept no substitutes.

All credit to julvett on DeviantArt.

Anonymous asked: The Hunger Games is a ripoff of Battle Royale. The Running Man is similar to The Most Dangerous Game. However Battle Royale is nowhere near what those other two are. HG/BR are youth forced to fight - TMDG/TRM are just people who end up being hunted. I bet you think The Lion King isn't a ripoff of Kimba either.

The Hunger Games and Battle Royale ARE both youth forced to fight; just like in Greek mythology, when two tributes, a boy and a girl, were sent every year, after being picked by lottery, to face the Minotaur. Doesn’t that sound a lot like the plot of The Hunger Games, too? A lot more than Battle Royale does, despite them both involving a huge battle as a plot point.

I will not deny the two are similar. But The Hunger Games is not a direct copy, and neither of them is a truly unique idea. Suzanne Collins has stated that she did not know of the existence of Battle Royale before she wrote her books. That’s good enough for me.