onionjulius:

Tywin’s argument is essentially that the RW would kill the northern cause for good and all and the war would be over, minimizing the casualty count in the long term. Unless I’m mistaken, and I could be, it’s the same skeleton of the argument that gets used when arguing for Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The difference is that when you join an army you knowingly sign up for the risk that you might die. When you’re a civilian you don’t. Those involved in the RW, besides Catelyn, are still an army, but they were in an arguably civilian setting. The RW was deception, whereas open war, well, isn’t. Does that fundamentally change the honorableness of killing? I don’t know, and I think Tywin brings up a compelling dilemma, a moral conundrum worth philosophizing over. If you do see the wedding feast as fundamentally indistinguishable from the battlefield, and if you don’t agree that all war is murder, then the only murder really committed is Catelyn, as far as I’m aware. But not everyone WILL agree that a wedding feast is fundamentally indistinguishable from a battlefield, and not everyone WILL agree that all killing in war is murder (otherwise Karstark’s sons were murdered by Jaime Lannister, no?). 

But here’s the thing. If you agree that all war is murder, then what should Tywin have done for the greater good? CALL OFF THE FUCKING WAR. The only reason he won’t is he refuses to give up the utter supremacy of House Lannister over everyone else.

The debate I saw on asoiafuniversity said not that Tywin said that the RW was noble, but rather that war isn’t. I could agree with that (again though, I’m not sure what I think about all killing in war being murder, even though I’m very strongly anti-war … because I’m anti-violence and anti-killing). But I don’t agree that what Tywin did was really in the interest of the greater good, not in spirit, even if it did bring an end to a major arena of the war and even if you do buy the utilitarian argument that in the long run fewer people died. Because of the third option: peace.

PEACE IS ALWAYS AN OPTION!!!!

Tywin invoked this war in the first place, don’t forget that. Tywin flouted the king’s authority (everyone else has to go through the king, why the fuck not Tywin?) and set Gregor loose upon riverlands CIVILIANS, egging Edmure on into war. Tywin isn’t responsible for Stannis and Renly deciding to go to war, and it’s not his fault that Joffrey ordered Ned killed and earned the enduring enmity of the north, but Robb was going to come help the Tullys anyway, at the very least, so the open hostilities that happened in the duration of AGOT are pretty much, as far as I’m concerned, started by him. Furthermore, though he didn’t want Ned Stark dead, he doesn’t actually have to stop them from seceding in retaliation to Ned’s death. The reason he does? Power. Ultimately all the desires for dynastic power, while they seem proper and procedural when you start ASOIAF, slowly become obvious for the nakedly destructive and wantonly callous greeds that they are. If Tywin really cared about the greater good, he would have done what Edmure Tully did and put the lives of innocent civilians above dynastic strength in the first place. (This goes for other parties involved in the war too, not just Tywin Lannister.)

TL;DR Tywin Lannister made a fairly compelling ethical argument without really caring about the ethics of the scenario at all. In doing so he deflected Tyrion’s accusations, which was his only objective, because Tywin Lannister is the human form of Teflon.

Tertiary Characters Picspam → Falyse Stokeworth

Lady Tanda was bracketed by her daughters, placid dull Lollys and acid-tongued Falyse.

viα georginakincaid: s.p.e.c.i.e.s series » VAMPIRE

vampires are beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures. although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into western europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent. this increased level of vampire superstition in europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.

your-bloodless-light:

I thought Relapse’s artwork was awful. This is the sorriest piece-of-shit album art that I’ve seen in quite some time. Appallingly bad in so many ways.

no seriously this is some shit, count all the things wrong with it, just fucking look at it, al jourgensen, ministry,

luxilux:

I’ve always wanted to meet Peter Pan but I never see him when I got to Disney World. :( …This only makes me want to meet him that much more! <3

birdsy-purplefishes:

referenceforwriters:

euclase:

I had a disturbing exchange with a high school-aged person today that prompted this…

• Beer, wine, mead, and cider are fermented beverages.
• Mead is made from honey.
• Cider is made from apples.
• Beer is made from grains.

• Beer tastes like beer because they flavor it with hops.
• They used to flavor beer with dandelions.
• Ain’t that cute?

• All beer is either ale or lager.
• Ale is fermented at room temperature.
• Lager is brewed and store cold.
• Barleywine, bitter, porter, and stout are ales.
• Pilsner and bock are lagers.
• Most of the crap people drink in America is pale lager.
• Mosft of the crap people drink in Ireland is dry stout.

• Butterbeer isn’t real.
• (Except actually I think it is, and I heard it tastes like cream soda)
• Miruvor isn’t real, either, but it probably would taste like squash.
• Ent-draught isn’t real, either, but shit, it would be awesome if it were.

• Wine is made from fermented fruit juice, usually grapes.
• Red wine is made from red grapes.
• White wine is made from green grapes.
• The name of the grape is the name of the wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are all varieties of grape)
• Unless you live in France.
• In which case, the name of the place supersedes the name of the grape.
• (for example: Burgundies are made in Burgundy, France, but Burgundy wine can be Pinot Noir or Chardonnay)
• Champagne is any sparkling white wine.
• However, Champagne can also be wine that comes from Champagne, France.
• Drink red wine with beef. Drink white wine with fish.
• Act like it tastes good. 
• Keep a Diet Coke in your bag for later.
• You’ll be fine.

• Brandy is distilled wine.
• Cognac is brandy aged in oak barrels.
• Don’t fuck around with the French about their cognac.

• Fortified wine is wine with added alcohol.
• Sherry is fortified white wine made in Spain.
• Port is fortified red wine made in Portugal.
• Vermouth is fortified white wine plus grape spirits.
• Sweet vermouth has added sugar.
• Dry vermouth has added spices like nutmeg.

• Liquors are distilled spirits that contain ethanol.
• Liqueurs are liquors that have sugar and flavors added.
• Liquors can be made from grains, fruits, or vegetables.

• Grain alcohol is liquor made from grains. Duh.
• Gin, Vodka, and Whisky are grain alcohols.
• Vodka is grain alcohol and water.
• Be careful with vodka. Homemade vodka is poisonous.
• Gin is (basically vodka) flavored with juniper berries.
• Absinthe is (basically gin) flavored with anise.
• Whisky is grain alcohol aged in wood barrels.
• Malt whisky is made from barley.
• Grain whisky is made from all the other grains.
• Scotch is whisky made in Scotland.
• Bourbon is Kentucky whisky mostly made from corn.
• Don’t fuck around with the Scottish.
• Don’t fuck around with people from Kentucky, either.

• Tequila is liquor made from the blue agave plant.
• Rum is liquor made from sugarcane.
• Schnapps is liquor made from fruit “must” (smashed fruit that still contains seeds and skins).
• American schnapps is grain alcohol mixed with fruit flavors and sugar syrup.
• Drink apple schnapps only while playing Tekken 2.

• Sake is rice wine that’s brewed like beer. Or something.

• Avoid these cocktails: Grog, Long Island Iced Tea, Manhattan, Dark and Stormy, Jack and Coke, Piña Colada, Scorpion. They contain huge amounts of alcohol and/or a huge number of calories. That Long Island Ice Tea is the worst motherfucker of the bunch. Just avoid them. Have a lemon drop martini instead.

• Don’t drink on an empty stomach or you’ll puke.
• Don’t drink too fast or you’ll puke.
• Avoid Long Island Iced Teas. Like I said.
• Don’t drink and drive because you might kill my Mom. You fuckers.
• If your friend has had too much to drink and needs to crash, make sure she’s lying on her side so she doesn’t choke on her own vomit. 
• Don’t leave a drunk friend alone.
• Passing out is a sign of being severely goddamn sick. If someone drinks and passes out? They are dying right now. Call 9-1-1. 
• If you are drunk, don’t drink coffee or caffeine to get sober. Sip cold water and nibble some saltine crackers.
• Don’t be a fucking idiot. Don’t smash my mailbox.
•  Now you know some stuff. Maybe.

♥

Good information except you’re 112% wrong about Long Island Iced Tea, Jack and Coke, and especially Piña Coladas. They’re fucking amazing and unless you drink them stupidly you’ll be fine. Fuck calories. If you wanted to be healthy you wouldn’t be getting drunk.

Lemon drops is shit. I refuse to make getting drunk a shitty, gross chore. Alcohol is like dessert.

 No, don’t, don’t cut my hair, Ned loves my hair.

nobodysuspectsthebutterfly:

onionjulius:

… please? :D

I’m looking for this quote about how maybe the reason war and violence or something keeps continuing is that nobody forgets.

It might have been an Ellaria quote or a Catelyn quote or … somewhere else.

LOLLLL does anyone know what I’m talking about?

Ah, this may be it — though I’m not sure, since IIRC you haven’t read/finished ADWD. But if it’s not, it’s still an excellent quote relevant to the topic:

“So you are fighting over a crown that one of you took from the other back when the Casterlys still held Casterly Rock, is that the root of it? The crown of a kingdom that has not existed for thousands of years?” He chuckled. “So many years, so many wars, so many kings … you’d think someone would have made a peace.”

“Someone did, my lord. Many someones. We’ve had a hundred peaces with the Brackens, many sealed with marriages. There’s Blackwood blood in every Bracken, and Bracken blood in every Blackwood. The Old King’s Peace lasted half a century. But then some fresh quarrel broke out, and the old wounds opened and began to bleed again. That’s how it always happens, my father says. So long as men remember the wrongs done to their forebears, no peace will ever last. So we go on century after century, with us hating the Brackens and them hating us. My father says there will never be an end to it.”

“There could be.”

“How, my lord? The old wounds never heal, my father says.”

“My father had a saying too. Never wound a foe when you can kill him. Dead men don’t claim vengeance.”

“Their sons do,” said Hoster, apologetically.

“Not if you kill the sons as well. Ask the Casterlys about that if you doubt me. Ask Lord and Lady Tarbeck, or the Reynes of Castamere. Ask the Prince of Dragonstone.” For an instant, the deep red clouds that crowned the western hills reminded him of Rhaegar’s children, all wrapped up in crimson cloaks.

“Is that why you killed all the Starks?”

— Jaime Lannister and Hoster Blackwood, A Dance With Dragons

malkatz:

i hate when people vilify psychiatric pills as ‘mind-altering drugs’

like

yes

that’s exactly what they are

they are for mental illness

mental

if i had a kidney-related illness, i would hope to have kidney-altering drugs on the market

highfiveshiningstrike:

Remember that time Hollywood actually whitewashed actual people that actually existed and were still quite alive?

A Game of Oh Shits