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Real Talk: Are King Stannis and Melisandre shagging?


ServantOnIce

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It's pretty much hinted throughout the series - the bed comment, Mel's offer to Davos, soldiers & nobles identifying Mel as Stannis's "real queen," the fact that Stannis specifically pulls away from Selyse when she flings her arms around his legs but doesn't draw away from Mel when she touches him, etc. I get a similar sense of textual implication as I did with Renly & Loras, and we all know how that one turned out.

It may seem out of character for Stannis, but given that this is Westeros, everyone has their failings and hypocrisies.

But it's also highly implied that their sexual relationship is one of magic and power, NOT pleasure. I don't think its out of character for Stannis because I don't think he's doing it because he wants a kinky mistress on the side. It's implied in ASoS that sex is needed to create the shadow babies, and the last time almost killed him.

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I believe they only had sex to produce the shadow babies, and that’s it. Stannis is too much of a straight arrow, too rigid and too single-minded in his mind about the concept of principles and right-or-wrongs, to actually have sex with Mel for pleasure and lust. Mel may be more flexible and open-minded about it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had in the past tried to lure him into bed just out of horniness, but Stannis would’ve rejected such overtures, as horny as he himself might be and as ugly as Selyse is.

As for the comment of his soldiers about Mel being “his true queen”, yes, well, she has been by his side almost all the time : in his small council, in his war council, among his bannermen, on that Bitterbridge meeting with Renly and Cat, almost everywhere, while Selyse was the exact opposite. I wouldn’t wonder why people would start calling her the real queen.

As for the remark about “without Stannis around, her bed had seen little use”, well, that’s just people talking and gossiping.

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I believe Stannis justifies it as some kind of religious ritual to prevent him from feeling guilty, but they are even doing it when it were not absolutely necessary to produce shadow babies. Melisandre enjoys it because she thinks it pleases R'hlor. Stannis enjoys it because he thinks it is helping him obtain the Iron throne.

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He's definitely done it with her at least twice, to produce the shadow-spawn. I personally don't think they've done it any more than that, mostly because Stannis seemed to age noticably after each time he was with her. If they'd been doing it on a more frequent basis he'd be dead by now, she all but outright says it in ASoS.

I also don't think he takes any real pleasure in his "duty" to her. I always figured him to be asexual.

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Yes, I think so.

I mean, something comes out of the hooha, something has to go into the hooha. :lol:

I never interpreted it otherwise, we have Mel's advances on Davos ('pleasures such as you have never known') and her comment that 'her bed saw little use since Stannis left'.

But I doubt Stannis is completely aware that he is fertilizing shadow assassins when he is doing it with Mel, he turns a blind eye on that fact I guess.

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I believe they only had sex to produce the shadow babies, and that’s it. Stannis is too much of a straight arrow, too rigid and too single-minded in his mind about the concept of principles and right-or-wrongs, to actually have sex with Mel for pleasure and lust. Mel may be more flexible and open-minded about it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had in the past tried to lure him into bed just out of horniness, but Stannis would’ve rejected such overtures, as horny as he himself might be and as ugly as Selyse is.

As for the comment of his soldiers about Mel being “his true queen”, yes, well, she has been by his side almost all the time : in his small council, in his war council, among his bannermen, on that Bitterbridge meeting with Renly and Cat, almost everywhere, while Selyse was the exact opposite. I wouldn’t wonder why people would start calling her the real queen.

As for the remark about “without Stannis around, her bed had seen little use”, well, that’s just people talking and gossiping.

Mel says this herself in ADWD. I think it's the most convincing piece of evidence that regardless of how much it's happening, they are doing their own dance in her bed.

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As for the remark about “without Stannis around, her bed had seen little use”, well, that’s just people talking and gossiping.

Not people gossiping - wasn't it from Mel's chapter, like her thoughts when looking at the bed?

It's pretty much hinted throughout the series - the bed comment, Mel's offer to Davos, soldiers & nobles identifying Mel as Stannis's "real queen," the fact that Stannis specifically pulls away from Selyse when she flings her arms around his legs but doesn't draw away from Mel when she touches him, etc. I get a similar sense of textual implication as I did with Renly & Loras, and we all know how that one turned out.

And this is why I really believe/hope the show will clarify this. Like I said somewhere else, would HBO really miss the opportunity of putting even more sex scenes on the show?

It may seem out of character for Stannis, but given that this is Westeros, everyone has their failings and hypocrisies.

Exactly, the same way it was out of character for Tywin to be found with a prostitute (his son's prostitute) on his bed.

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I actually don't think they are. There are ways to obtain a man's seed without actually doing the deed (thank you, Cersei, for your oh so graphic description of exactly how THAT can work). I realize there are some major hypocrisies in Stannis' view of himself, but I do not believe that ice cold asexual by day/flaming lover by night is one of them. And it would fit in so perfectly with my view of Mel for her to be obtaining men's ...um...essence without their knowledge or consent.

Hot damn! You mean they have turkey basters in Westeros? I didn't even know they had turkeys! :rolleyes:

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