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[ADWD SPOILERS] The Wayward Bride


Xray the Enforcer

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Great chapter. I love how things are actually happeningin this book, in contrast to Feast. Asha is obviously not dead, and I wasn't bothered by the sex scene at all, its fairly obvious that's what she likes.

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Well, obviously, she probably was aroused earlier than George let on - its called artistic license. He's playing with our expectations.

I agree. I honestly thought she was going to legit kill Qarl afterwards when he was asleep and she said "where are my daggers?" But then she started getting all gooey (the fact that she was wet isn't a viable clue that they weren't actually together imo, being wet proves jackshit, men can get raped and still get hard).

I actually like how it was played out, it was a good scene imo.

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Was no-one else outraged by the very sexist way in which Martin wrote about the rape scene?

I was going to ask the same question. I was quite disturbed by the misogyny in this scene. Of all the scenes he's written, this was the most offensive to me.

Otherwise, I really liked the chapter--except for the too convenient info about the latecomer.

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chapter with sentient trees! Arboreal attack

hahahahha i thought it was just birnam wood is come to dunsinane.

That was my first thought too. I wonder if it was deliberate nod to old Bill.

Regarding the "rape" scene: I was very uncomfortable initially, and genuinely a little horrified for Asha. However, I think this was deliberate misdirection by GRRM. It's there to fool you, and then reveal the nature of their relationship (in, admittedly quite a brutal way). Manipulative, but not necessarily misogynistic.

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Regarding the "rape" scene: I was very uncomfortable initially, and genuinely a little horrified for Asha. However, I think this was deliberate misdirection by GRRM. It's there to fool you, and then reveal the nature of their relationship (in, admittedly quite a brutal way). Manipulative, but not necessarily misogynistic.

Exactly how I read the scene, although I'll go a bit farther and say that it's definitely not misogynistic. It only took a couple more sentences before it was clear that this was consensual sex -- and not even "dubious consent" at that. Just two people who like to play it a bit rough.

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I was going to ask the same question. I was quite disturbed by the misogyny in this scene. Of all the scenes he's written, this was the most offensive to me.

Otherwise, I really liked the chapter--except for the too convenient info about the latecomer.

I didn't see anything misogynistic about this scene at all. Asha's personality supports this type of sexual encounter and it is very clear about 3 sentences into the description that this is most definitely consensual. It's just how she rolls. Later in the chapter when her history with Qarl becomes known, it just makes this scene even that much clearer.

This is a girl who let her own brother molest her just for the kicks of messing with him. Not much is probably off the table.

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I really hope Asha is dead. Her character got on my nerves. She's more of a stereotypical "warrior woman" than Dany, Arya, or Brienne.

I agree with this part. I wish Asha wasn't such a good fighter - she's really got no right to be since she's not particularly large or strong. I'm cool with the captaining ships thing - that's more about leadership. But all out melee where she kills like 20 guys? Unrealistic unless you're Brienne. :P

I'm sure that Asha will treat with Stannis and try to convince him to help free Theon from Bolton and steal back the Seastone Chair, in return the Ironborn will swear fealty to Stannis. Their causes align at this point.

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Unrealistic indeed. I'm glad she didn't slay the champion, I would've stopping reading the book right there. Everyone has their limits, that was asha's. She's too aggressive of a character, not to mention annoying. Someone like Brienne or even Arya is a more realistic fighter/individual

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I thought she was dead when the dude came at her with a spear. for some reason I skipped over that he was coming at them and read it like it had happened. Anyway I don't think she dead at all. the guy is about to raise his axe and then trumpet blew. she probably passed out from either blood loss or exhaustion when Stannis came.

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I thought she was dead when the dude came at her with a spear. for some reason I skipped over that he was coming at them and read it like it had happened. Anyway I don't think she dead at all. the guy is about to raise his axe and then trumpet blew. she probably passed out from either blood loss or exhaustion when Stannis came.

I just don't see why Stannis would think Asha Greyjoy would make a good hostage. Euron doesn't give two shits about her, though I suppose maybe Stannis doesn't know that.

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I just don't see why Stannis would think Asha Greyjoy would make a good hostage. Euron doesn't give two shits about her, though I suppose maybe Stannis doesn't know that.

Or he could temporarily join forces with her. I don't know if that's his intent as it seems to go against he character, but it would make a little sense. She has ships, Stannis needs those, she has men, stannis needs those. Their common enemy is the boltons so a temporary alliance to get rid of them could happen i guess.

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Was no-one else outraged by the very sexist way in which Martin wrote about the rape scene?

I was put off at first, though yep, a few lines in and you see that this is very much consensual sex.

The descriptions in this sex scene/s though were almost one of a kind. A fair way in and she couldn't tell 'who had the cunt and who the cock'? I understand that this is a real, plain-speaking, gritty narrative, and also Asha would feel herself as powerful as any man, but still...

And finally, finally a chapter with sentient trees! Arboreal attack! Even a fighting shrubbery.

Yay sentient trees!

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Book is really getting good. I enjoyed the chapter a lot, except for, ... well, in a moment.

Oh hey, look, a female point-of-view who is not Daenerys. This is hardly some sort of sinister campaign against the female povs; it's just the way the Feast/Dance division happens to have shaken out. But I really am noticing. The ratio of male to female povs is the lowest it's ever been, by some distance I think. I know this is temporary and not a bad thing in and of itself, but it is a thing.

The scene: I had a couple very uncomfortable moments here, definitely, but I think it becomes pretty unambiguously clear what their relationship is fairly quickly. It may seem icky to us, but certainly doesn't to Asha, and hey, everyone has their thing. I do, however, have a bit of a problem with it for another reason, which relates to some of Asha's internal thought process in AFFC about the sort of persona she presents to the men she commands and how she relates to them. This has a lot to do with the twice-as-tough-as-any-of-you-motherfuckers attitude Asha consistently has to adopt in order to make it in the aggressively masculine ironborn society. [The connection's a bit tenuous, I know, but could you think of her almost as a more successful, martial Cersei?] It seems a bit uncharacteristic of that delicate balancing act that she'd be having rough sex with one of the men she commands, during which he technically disobeys her direct orders. Seems to me there's a lot of potential for things to go wrong for her there, since she's the commanding officer and one day she might say back the fuck off and really mean it.

Still, she and Qarl have known each other for quite some time. And none of her peeps seem to have any trouble at all taking orders from her. There's no question during the attack that she's absolutely the boss, which is interesting to see in such a misogynist society. I guess we have to remember that Balon groomed Asha for command, and that we're seeing her at the right end of years and years of struggling to be taken seriously and listened to when it's time to hand out orders. So I suppose all I'd want in terms of the Qarl/Asha relationship is some sort of deeper exploration of it, to see where her boundaries are and how she balances it with command. As it is it seems not wrong, but a little superficial in a series that's usually quite in to exploring the struggles its female characters face when clawing for respect. Shame we probably won't get more chance to explore it; Qarl's dead as like as not.

I definitely didn't get the impression Asha was dead though.

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