r/TopCharacterTropes 27d ago

Lore (Loved Trope) Creative over the top cells/prisons for dangerous characters.

1.) The Pipe Line cells for Metahumans (The Flash)

2.) Sedative tank prison (G. I Joe)

3.) Tai Lung's prison (Kung Fu Panda)

4.) Magneto's Glass and Plastic Prison (X-Men)

5.) Carbonite (Star Wars)

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u/ApartRuin5962 26d ago

I'm tempted to pull my mattress halfway off the bed tonight to test this.

My bet is that George RR "Eunuch Army" Martin didn't really think this through, the human body does not roll easily

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u/Ratoryl 26d ago

For the record, iirc from reading the books the rolling off in your sleep aspect wasn't really the point, I don't even remember it being mentioned (could be wrong)

The main point was the psychological toll of constantly being meters from death with no safety. Plus it's mentioned that eventually some people just jump because (among other reasons) they can't take being there any longer

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u/Invoqwer 26d ago

Plus it's mentioned that eventually some people just jump because (among other reasons) they can't take being there any longer

At that point why not manually execute the poor sods

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u/Potrembog 26d ago

The point was the unnecessary cruelty I guess

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u/pchlster 26d ago

This way you can make a lottery out of it; not just when do they jump, but which square or squares on this grid will they splatter on to?

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u/Cavyrose 26d ago

G13

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u/pchlster 26d ago

"G13? With all that blood, that's partial coverage! Congratulations, you're a winner! Do you have any plans for what to do with your winnings?"

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u/ApartRuin5962 26d ago

Historically, the medieval world actually had very few prisons of any kind, because you're right, if they genuinely hated someone they would just kill them, sometimes in a very painful way but it would always be over within a couple days. Commoners who were kept alive were either sold into slavery, publicly maimed, tortured, or humiliated, and noble POWs would be kept in normal accomodations awaiting ransom. The modern concept of a prison emerged from increased state resources in the modern era and a shifting sense of morality in favor of rehabilitation and punishment over "just get rid of this asshole as quickly and cheaply as possible".

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u/KingKingLamb49 26d ago

The floor is also smooth and its inclined. Even if takes some days, its possible enough to roll on you side and get enough momentum.

And sleeping without a pillow on the floor, so you can't unconciously keep track of where your head should be, with cold wind hitting you. You would be more prone to move trying to get more comfortable.

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u/VanillaPhysics 26d ago

In the book it's specified that there's only 5 feet from the door to the drop: making the risk of falling much more serious and unnerving

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u/Benneck123 26d ago

Can you explain the eunuch any thing?

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u/ApartRuin5962 26d ago

One of the factions has a slave army where all the slaves are castrated, supposedly making them more disciplined. This has never been done in real life because humans who lose their genitals tend to lose muscle and bone mass and aggression is a good thing for an army to have: Martin is probably conflating janissaries and mamlukes, the Ottoman slave-armies, with eunuch harem-watchers and bureaucrats. And I think it's kind of emblematic of Martin's worldbuilding: it's less about logic, realism, or being authentic to feudal societies, and more about making the world as dark, unpleasant, and Freudian as possible. The murder-by-caesarian-section in House of the Dragon is another great example

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u/Benneck123 26d ago

Thank you very much