Why should anyone support any Baratheon ever?

[Pod The Impaler]

What about Edrick storm?

And Gendry ?

And Mya Stone (who is apparently the eldest of his bastards ) ?

[Ser Areo Mace]

A fat, lazy, drunk, stupid, lecherous moron takes over and immediately begins running the kingdom (into the ground). This goes on for a few years until the idiot finally manages to get himself killed, and then the realm is thrown into utter chaos because the drooling drunkard managed to get his house in such disarray in such a short time that he's succeeded by a psycho kid who isn't even his biological son.

When Robert won the crown he was described as "tall, broad shouldered and muscled like a maiden's fantasy". He could easily win over enemies and was very well liked and charismatic. He defeated the evil "Mad King" and his kidnapping son. He also brought peace to the realm.

[StannisBamfatheon]

That's hilarious, if you remember that Orys Baratheon was one of Aegon's generals. If the Targs are eeevil, then so is their catspaw.

Did he go to the Wall to protect the kingdom, or did he rather run away when he had no options left? I'd be a little bit more impressed if his "right choice" wasn't his only choice.

That's a very good point. Exactly one person likes Stannis, shame on those who deny it.

It was my understanding that when discussing the Baratheon "dynasty" it meant Robert and his bro's. My bad. Yes Orys Baratheon fought for the Targaryens, hell he was practically a Targaryen himself, but the current or atleast AGOT incarnation of the house never subjugated an entire country.

How on earth is his "only" choice going to the wall? He could have held up in Dragonstone, gone to Essos....instead he fought a battle where he was outnumbered 20-1(not exactly an easy choice) and saved the realm from a wildling horde.

Man...where's apple martini when ya need her, Stannis being disliked is a myth. His men wouldn't have followed him to the wall and the subsequent valley forge blizzard if he didn't inspire loyalty in his bannermen. They could have betrayed him countless times or just left. They remained.

A Targaryen and the qualities they embody are simply anathema to what I would want in a leader.

[Darth Visenya]

The Baratheons never subjugated 7 countries forcing them into one despite their many cultural, economic and social diffrences. And by subjugate I do mean kill their armies until they swear fealty to them.

The Baratheons never lorded over Westeros with a crazy, incestual dynasty that dragged the realm into civil wars.

The Baratheons never had a king who murdered innocent people, got his sexual jollies from burning people alive, and was a general despotic tyrant.

The Baratheons never said to one of their own kin "I would let his whole whole horde fuck, all 40,000 of them, and their horses too"

The Baratheons have never been talked about in terms of...when one is born their either great or mad.

You say all that like it's a bad thing.....

[998]

Because Stannis has a great sense of humor, if it hasn't been mentioned already.

[Queen Cersei I]

Why I support Stannis but None of the Other Baratheons (A Parable)

There was once a fair lady (lady Cassanna of House Estermont) who had a dream. She dreamed that her and her husband, the good Lord Stephon Baratheon, would have three lusty black haired beauties.

The next day she told her husband of her dreams.

"Wife," said the good lord Stephon, "Next time you are abed, you must bid the gods to send our own children gifts. For surely this dream is a foreteller of things to come!"

So that night, as Casanna lay abed, she had a dream, and rich and strange it was. The many gods appeared unto her, and poured forth the gifts that should be laid upon her firstborn son.

"I hereby give him the gift of swimming!" Exclaimed the rain god.

"I hereby bequeath upon him the gift of goodness and excellence,” proclaimed the father.

“I hereby give him the gift of mercy, so that the world shall know kindness as well as might,” announced the Mother.

And so on and so forth, so did the gods bequeath their mighty gifts.

And so time went on, and day faded into night, much and more, little and less.

And when the last god took the stage, Cassana was aroused as one from a trance.

“Wait!” She exclaimed. “Surely mine own first son shall not be the sole recipient of such bounty! Surely you, the gods, must spare gifts for all of mine own sons!”

Hearing this, the gods in their wisdom did realize their folly. And so they did bequeath upon fair Cassana of House Estermont a gift—a magical box made of turquoise slashed with crimson rubies, containing all the worldly gifts and virtues that a child should ask for.

“Herein this bounteous box lies wisdom, virtue beauty, knowledge, and all the other gifts any human can ask for. Yet since these gifts are finite, you must ensure that you doth distribute them equally amongst your sons, giving each their fair share of glory and goodness.”

Thanking the gods lavishly, the fair Casanna did return home, and soon she found herself with child .

After giving birth to a large, black haired, lusty son whom (and I’m sure this meant nothing in the way of foretelling) was roughly 5 times fatter than your average Westeros infant, Casanna fled to her room to retrieve her box.

She quickly opened it and heard the shrieking of winds, then gasped and shut it again. She looked down and then saw she had shut it too early, and that her infant had only received two worldly gifts: strength and virility.

Next, Cassanna was determined to not make the same mistake twice. So when she bore forth another son into the world, who was gaunt, gum grinding, and (once again, I’m sure it’s noting) even balder than your average baby, she made sure she would give him a bounty. So she opened the box and the win shrieked and moaned, but Casanna was determined to let the blessings flow for minutes, and not until some time was up did she let the lid of the box fall.

When she looked down, again she gasped. For intelligence, dry humor, loyalty, decency, good lines, modesty, interestingness, battle prowess, determination, duty, personal strength, humanity, depth, and good sidekicks had all been bequeathed upon this babe. Casanna gasped. Why, with all those gifts, surely all the gifts of the gods had been spent already!

So Casanna prayed to the gods to close her womb, and for years they did comply. Until, years later, she again bore forth a child into this world—yet another boy, much younger than the others and extremely good looking, though otherwise not much of note.

Again she placed the near empty box upon her lap, and again did she open it.

But this time, instead of a gasp of furious wind, all she heard was a harsh, wheezy intake like that of Walder Frey.

Casanna gasped, turning the box upside down and shaking it in her panic. As she wept and rattled the box, finally one last blessing of the gods did fall upon her last born son. And as she heard the blessing fall, she looked down in trepidation to see what this last gift of the gods, which would surely be the defining trait of her lastborn son Renly, would be.

It said....great hair.

The End.

Moral: I’d support Stannis Baratheon for King, but I wouldn’t support Renly or Robert to run my local drugstore. Not all brothers are created equal.

Or: Stannis for King; Robert for Royal Beer Taster; Renly for master of ships laws coin fashion.

[Naathi Prince]

Look at the source of the "Stannis is disliked" rumor. It is Renly (who wants to rule the Kingdoms himself because he can make them fabulous with Ser Loras) and Littlefinger (who is afraid Stannis will stop him from making money).

[StannisBamfatheon]

Why I support Stannis but None of the Other Baratheons (A Parable)

There was once a fair lady (lady Cassanna of House Estermont) who had a dream. She dreamed that her and her husband, the good Lord Stephon Baratheon, would have three lusty black haired beauties.

The next day she told her husband of her dreams.

"Wife," said the good lord Stephon, "Next time you are abed, you must bid the gods to send our own children gifts. For surely this dream is a foreteller of things to come!"

So that night, as Casanna lay abed, she had a dream, and rich and strange it was. The many gods appeared unto her, and poured forth the gifts that should be laid upon her firstborn son.

"I hereby give him the gift of swimming!" Exclaimed the rain god.

"I hereby bequeath upon him the gift of goodness and excellence,” proclaimed the father.

“I hereby give him the gift of mercy, so that the world shall know kindness as well as might,” announced the Mother.

And so on and so forth, so did the gods bequeath their mighty gifts.

And so time went on, and day faded into night, much and more, little and less.

And when the last god took the stage, Cassana was aroused as one from a trance.

“Wait!” She exclaimed. “Surely mine own first son shall not be the sole recipient of such bounty! Surely you, the gods, must spare gifts for all of mine own sons!”

Hearing this, the gods in their wisdom did realize their folly. And so they did bequeath upon fair Cassana of House Estermont a gift—a magical box made of turquoise slashed with crimson rubies, containing all the worldly gifts and virtues that a child should ask for.

“Herein this bounteous box lies wisdom, virtue beauty, knowledge, and all the other gifts any human can ask for. Yet since these gifts are finite, you must ensure that you doth distribute them equally amongst your sons, giving each their fair share of glory and goodness.”

Thanking the gods lavishly, the fair Casanna did return home, and soon she found herself with child .

After giving birth to a large, black haired, lusty son whom (and I’m sure this meant nothing in the way of foretelling) was roughly 5 times fatter than your average Westeros infant, Casanna fled to her room to retrieve her box.

She quickly opened it and heard the shrieking of winds, then gasped and shut it again. She looked down and then saw she had shut it too early, and that her infant had only received two worldly gifts: strength and virility.

Next, Cassanna was determined to not make the same mistake twice. So when she bore forth another son into the world, who was gaunt, gum grinding, and (once again, I’m sure it’s noting) even balder than your average baby, she made sure she would give him a bounty. So she opened the box and the win shrieked and moaned, but Casanna was determined to let the blessings flow for minutes, and not until some time was up did she let the lid of the box fall.

When she looked down, again she gasped. For intelligence, dry humor, loyalty, decency, good lines, modesty, interestingness, battle prowess, determination, duty, personal strength, humanity, depth, and good sidekicks had all been bequeathed upon this babe. Casanna gasped. Why, with all those gifts, surely all the gifts of the gods had been spent already!

So Casanna prayed to the gods to close her womb, and for years they did comply. Until, years later, she again bore forth a child into this world—yet another boy, much younger than the others and extremely good looking, though otherwise not much of note.

Again she placed the near empty box upon her lap, and again did she open it.

But this time, instead of a gasp of furious wind, all she heard was a harsh, wheezy intake like that of Walder Frey.

Casanna gasped, turning the box upside down and shaking it in her panic. As she wept and rattled the box, finally one last blessing of the gods did fall upon her last born son. And as she heard the blessing fall, she looked down in trepidation to see what this last gift of the gods, which would surely be the defining trait of her lastborn son Renly, would be.

It said....great hair.

The End.

Moral: I’d support Stannis Baratheon for King, but I wouldn’t support Renly or Robert to run my local drugstore. Not all brothers are created equal.

Or: Stannis for King; Robert for Royal Beer Taster; Renly for master of ships laws coin fashion.

This was absolutely brilliant. :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

And I support Stannis for all the qualities you mentioned, well done QCI.

[Third World King]

While King Bob was certainly a poor King, Stannis is the man and the only reason he didn't prevail in the first place is Littlefinger knows that Stannis is too strong of a man for him to manipulate.

Oh the irony....

[Khal Jhaqo]

Well, any reason any houses would support another is only if it serves them well.

Enemy of your enemy is your friend etc.

[Every]

Look at the source of the "Stannis is disliked" rumor. It is Renly (who wants to rule the Kingdoms himself because he can make them fabulous with Ser Loras) and Littlefinger (who is afraid Stannis will stop him from making money).

I'm fairly sure Ned and several other characters note that Stannis isn't widely liked. He would be a good leader in many ways, but for all his virtues he doesn't seem to have the charisma of his brothers.

[Alayne's Shadow.]

I don't hate any of the Baratheon brothers. Renly was decent, and I did not enjoyed Robert's actions in AGOT, but he seemed like a great option when compared to Aerys back then. As for Stannis... I'm not interested in him. If he does take the Iron Throne, he will be a good ruler, and I understand he has some avid followers here and Davos, but for me... Not so much. I highly dislike Melisandre, so that might help.

[Booknerd2]

Cressen's comments regarding them are interesting. He raised them pretty much. Some of what he said proved valid.

[Third World King]

It was my understanding that when discussing the Baratheon "dynasty" it meant Robert and his bro's. My bad. Yes Orys Baratheon fought for the Targaryens, hell he was practically a Targaryen himself, but the current or atleast AGOT incarnation of the house never subjugated an entire country.

How on earth is his "only" choice going to the wall? He could have held up in Dragonstone, gone to Essos....instead he fought a battle where he was outnumbered 20-1(not exactly an easy choice) and saved the realm from a wildling horde.

As usual, the Stannis fanboys, make the victory over wildlings, something more than it was. Jon and Mormont commented that a small force of rangers could probably take out most of the rag-tag freefolks in a battle. Even, Mance, the king beyond the wall, openly admitted that any of the Westeros knights could annihilate his bunch of wildlings.

Man...where's apple martini when ya need her, Stannis being disliked is a myth. His men wouldn't have followed him to the wall and the subsequent valley forge blizzard if he didn't inspire loyalty in his bannermen. They could have betrayed him countless times or just left. They remained.

A Targaryen and the qualities they embody are simply anathema to what I would want in a leader.

What? Everyone despises Stannis, the castellan of Storm's End didn't even wanna hand over the castle to Stannis, even after Renly's death. That says a lot. Oh, and the men that Stannis took from Renly, ran back to a dead guy, at the first opportunity. The men that Stannis insisted are his by birth-right. A ghost is more likeable than Stannis, it seems.

If that's not enough, Stannis ran away from Dragonstone with a measly host of 1500 men, Shagga has more loyal men than that.

[Gurkhal]

Why I support Stannis but None of the Other Baratheons (A Parable)

There was once a fair lady (lady Cassanna of House Estermont) who had a dream. She dreamed that her and her husband, the good Lord Stephon Baratheon, would have three lusty black haired beauties.

The next day she told her husband of her dreams.

"Wife," said the good lord Stephon, "Next time you are abed, you must bid the gods to send our own children gifts. For surely this dream is a foreteller of things to come!"

So that night, as Casanna lay abed, she had a dream, and rich and strange it was. The many gods appeared unto her, and poured forth the gifts that should be laid upon her firstborn son.

"I hereby give him the gift of swimming!" Exclaimed the rain god.

"I hereby bequeath upon him the gift of goodness and excellence,” proclaimed the father.

“I hereby give him the gift of mercy, so that the world shall know kindness as well as might,” announced the Mother.

And so on and so forth, so did the gods bequeath their mighty gifts.

And so time went on, and day faded into night, much and more, little and less.

And when the last god took the stage, Cassana was aroused as one from a trance.

“Wait!” She exclaimed. “Surely mine own first son shall not be the sole recipient of such bounty! Surely you, the gods, must spare gifts for all of mine own sons!”

Hearing this, the gods in their wisdom did realize their folly. And so they did bequeath upon fair Cassana of House Estermont a gift—a magical box made of turquoise slashed with crimson rubies, containing all the worldly gifts and virtues that a child should ask for.

“Herein this bounteous box lies wisdom, virtue beauty, knowledge, and all the other gifts any human can ask for. Yet since these gifts are finite, you must ensure that you doth distribute them equally amongst your sons, giving each their fair share of glory and goodness.”

Thanking the gods lavishly, the fair Casanna did return home, and soon she found herself with child .

After giving birth to a large, black haired, lusty son whom (and I’m sure this meant nothing in the way of foretelling) was roughly 5 times fatter than your average Westeros infant, Casanna fled to her room to retrieve her box.

She quickly opened it and heard the shrieking of winds, then gasped and shut it again. She looked down and then saw she had shut it too early, and that her infant had only received two worldly gifts: strength and virility.

Next, Cassanna was determined to not make the same mistake twice. So when she bore forth another son into the world, who was gaunt, gum grinding, and (once again, I’m sure it’s noting) even balder than your average baby, she made sure she would give him a bounty. So she opened the box and the win shrieked and moaned, but Casanna was determined to let the blessings flow for minutes, and not until some time was up did she let the lid of the box fall.

When she looked down, again she gasped. For intelligence, dry humor, loyalty, decency, good lines, modesty, interestingness, battle prowess, determination, duty, personal strength, humanity, depth, and good sidekicks had all been bequeathed upon this babe. Casanna gasped. Why, with all those gifts, surely all the gifts of the gods had been spent already!

So Casanna prayed to the gods to close her womb, and for years they did comply. Until, years later, she again bore forth a child into this world—yet another boy, much younger than the others and extremely good looking, though otherwise not much of note.

Again she placed the near empty box upon her lap, and again did she open it.

But this time, instead of a gasp of furious wind, all she heard was a harsh, wheezy intake like that of Walder Frey.

Casanna gasped, turning the box upside down and shaking it in her panic. As she wept and rattled the box, finally one last blessing of the gods did fall upon her last born son. And as she heard the blessing fall, she looked down in trepidation to see what this last gift of the gods, which would surely be the defining trait of her lastborn son Renly, would be.

It said....great hair.

The End.

Moral: I’d support Stannis Baratheon for King, but I wouldn’t support Renly or Robert to run my local drugstore. Not all brothers are created equal.

Or: Stannis for King; Robert for Royal Beer Taster; Renly for master of ships laws coin fashion.

Great post. I think you may go a bit to hard on Robert but otherwise good.

[mcb]

It was my understanding that when discussing the Baratheon "dynasty" it meant Robert and his bro's. My bad. Yes Orys Baratheon fought for the Targaryens, hell he was practically a Targaryen himself, but the current or atleast AGOT incarnation of the house never subjugated an entire country.

If the Targs get the blame for what they did three hundred years ago, then it's only fair that the Baratheons get the same. Especially considering that their lordship over the Stormlands roots from their help in Aegon's Conquest.

How on earth is his "only" choice going to the wall? He could have held up in Dragonstone, gone to Essos....instead he fought a battle where he was outnumbered 20-1(not exactly an easy choice) and saved the realm from a wildling horde.

OK, he could run away to a different continent, or run away as far as he could on the same continent. Hiding either on Dragonstone or in Storm's End would be equal to a delayed capitulation.

Man...where's apple martini when ya need her, Stannis being disliked is a myth. His men wouldn't have followed him to the wall and the subsequent valley forge blizzard if he didn't inspire loyalty in his bannermen. They could have betrayed him countless times or just left. They remained.

And pester Selyse for lands and women, so I'd say they're there not out of love for their rightful king. Can you recall one lord, one knight, who genuinely likes Stannis and isn't named Seaworth?

A Targaryen and the qualities they embody are simply anathema to what I would want in a leader.

But we already have a Targaryen hate thread. This is about Baratheon (lack of) qualities. And fifteen years proved that House Baratheon on the throne was an ill-advised experiment, and enough is enough.

One more comparison: it took the Targaryens over a century to fuck up royal succession and throw the realm into a civil war. The Baratheons accomplished the same in mere fifteen years. Go stags!

[StannisBamfatheon]

As usual, the Stannis fanboys, make the victory over wildlings, something more than it was. Jon and Mormont commented that a small force of rangers could probably take out most of the rag-tag freefolks in a battle. Even, Mance, the king beyond the wall, openly admitted that any of the Westeros knights could annihilate his bunch of wildlings.

What? Everyone despises Stannis, the castellan of Storm's End didn't even wanna hand over the castle to Stannis, even after Renly's death. That says a lot. Oh, and the men that Stannis took from Renly, ran back to a dead guy, at the first opportunity. The men that Stannis insisted are his by birth-right. A ghost is more likeable than Stannis, it seems.

If that's not enough, Stannis ran away from Dragonstone with a measly host of 1500 men, even Shagga has more loyal men than that.

"Stannis fanboys" If you have to resort to personal insults to make your points, you shouldn't post dude. Golden rule.

Why would he "run" away from Dragonstone? No one was attacking him, it was his seat of power. He went to the aid of the Night's Watch at the behest of his advisor Davos, and had a revelatory moment when he realized he was indeed putting the cart before the horse, and should be protecting the realm to win the crown. He defeated an army where he was outnumbered 20-1 I don't know how you can belittle that acccomplishment.

[Lady Lea]

Getting my popcorn out for this thread.

[Lady Lea]

The Baratheons never had a king who murdered innocent people, got his sexual jollies from burning people alive, and was a general despotic tyrant.

I'm sorry Bamf, but this is just golden. You're right, Stannis didn't burn people alive because it made him hard. He just did it because some lady told him it would bring good winds or whatever, and he didn't even really believe that crap.

I'm sure it was a consolation for those people in the bonfires! "Well at least he's not aroused by this, THAT would have sucked".

[StannisBamfatheon]

I'm sorry Bamf, but this is just golden. You're right, Stannis didn't burn people alive because it made him hard. He just did it because some lady told him it would bring good winds or whatever, and he didn't even really believe that crap.

I'm sure it was a consolation for those people in the bonfires! "Well at least he's not aroused by this, THAT would have sucked".

hah come on LL, must you sass me agaaaaaain! In Stannis' defense I would say burning people as a means of execuion is slightly better than burning them for no reason and pitchin' a tent.