nobodysuspectsthebutterfly said: well, order is the opposite of chaos, but this conflicting motivations is interesting. Varys has always claimed to be doing things for the good of the realm even when he’s causing chaos mind you.
Yes, Varys seems to have a plan, a cause that involves people other than him (given the conversation Arya overhears) and he tries to make things happen that fit his plan and move it along. And sometimes what his plan seems to need is chaos. And sometimes he may need to do things to divert other characters from his true plans. But LF is very opportunistic. He takes whatever comes along and manipulates the situation to further himself. (Someone must have a post listing all of the many schemes he has been involved in, right?) I really don’t think he has any overarching plan besides self-interest.
And, lol, as far as the ladder goes, I was thinking that a pit is actually a decent metaphor for chaos. It might be dark in a pit, one wouldn’t know which way to go or what to expect. But a ladder, one climbs it one rung to the next, pretty standard. One might fall, there is that uncertainty, but the what-to-do aspect is quite straightforward. Unless the ladder transforms midway into a snake or something. That whole speech, ladder and all, might better fit some other concept, like ambition. *Shrug*
The juxtaposition of Varys’ actual motivation (‘good of the realm’) vs. Littlefinger’s psychopathic non-motivation (‘chaos’) was interesting. Of course, I think it was a much quicker reveal than in the books and I don’t know what it loses because of that. (Haven’t gotten beyond ASoS myself, although I have extensively spoiled myself.) LF’s monologue was pretty ridiculous though. I really wasn’t listening much (too horrified about Ros) but isn’t a ladder like the opposite of chaos?
Spoilery thoughts on the episode below the cut:
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comradeocean said: heh I showed N this and he said 1 is kind of easy to dodge because the membership numbers of the official Communist Parties aren’t that big anyway so the loads of people belonging to other far left groups that aren’t the CP can easily say no.
Hi, Comrade. I apologize for taking forever to reply. There were deadlines and I was freaking out. I’m not a member of any political party at the moment. I have not lived in India since I turned 18 and was eligible to vote, and, as a non-citizen, I feel that I have an obligation to not participate in US politics in any formal capacity. But, I guess I don’t get why people are still freaking out about Communism in the US. I mean, yes, Cold War and Individualism, but it’s been a while since the Cold War and if people haven’t yet figured out that individualism and not being ‘dependent on the state’ don’t really work out that well, then… just shaking my head. Communism/Socialism is actually a thing in India. And I believe it has actually helped us. The state I’m from in India (ethnically speaking) tends to alternate elected governments between some form of the Communist Party and some form of Congress (a Left party, something like Democrats in the US). And, of course, there’s always corruption, but Communism has helped poor workers and given them a voice. And it fights caste/class, something people find rather more difficult to escape than financial status. It’s not perfect, but it is something. Okay, end of somewhat off-topic rant.
onetrueharem said: Standing ovation for making it to this step!!!!
Thanks! :D
I submitted my thesis to my committee today.
185 pages
30,127 words
73 figures
That’s almost 3 months of work. Just for the writing, that is. Mostly, I feel dread tightening my rib cage, but I’m hoping some better feelings surface soon. I was elated after finishing the first draft, but now I’m just aware of all that I didn’t have time to fix before sending this off today. And it’s not really done yet. It will only be done some two weeks after the defense, once I’ve made the required revisions and submitted it to the graduate school. I wonder what that will feel like. I’ll be done in a month and I’m really looking forward to that.
Fun (and by ‘fun’ I mean ‘WTF?’) green card questions:
1. Have you ever been a member of, or in any way affiliated with, the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party?
2. Do you plan to practice polygamy in the US?
3. Do you intend to engage in the US in espionage?
No. 3 is my personal favorite. I think I burst out laughing the first time I saw it and immediately imagined myself as a gender-bent James Bond.
