#* &. re // asher forrester.

[burnsblue]

tag dump !!!

[kateis-cakeis]

Gared, More Than A Man (Meta)

Based on evidence collected both from in-game and the Game of Thrones wiki, it seems to be suggested by the writers that Gared possesses abilities beyond that of a regular man. He shows signs of being both a Forrester by blood and a greenseer, with evidence scattered throughout all episodes of the game. 

First, some definitions from both the Game of Thrones & awoiaf wiki:

Greenseer is the title given to people who possess the magical ability to perceive future, past or distant events in dreams known as Green Dreams. According to legend, greenseers were much respected by the Children of the Forest. 

In the A Song of Ice and Fire books, greenseers were the wise men of the Children of the Forest who had magical abilities that included power over nature and prophetic visions. While one in a thousand men is born a skinchanger, one skinchanger in a thousand is born a greenseer. 

Below is a compilation of evidence that suggests that Gared has abilities that reach further than that of a normal, lowborn squire.  

Gared claims to have been hearing the weirwoods whisper to him since before he “was a man grown”, and that because he didn’t understand the sounds, it frightened him. 

If not for this, it could have been suggested that it is only the weirwood specifically outside the North Grove that whispers to those that pass by it, but it’s clear that there is someone or something (the children of the forest?) attempting to contact him each time that he’s close enough to be reached.

Unfortunately, as it seems he was a child when he heard the majority of the whispering, he was perhaps not in a position to attempt to work out what it all meant. This is further backed up by the fact that he appears confused by the whispers he hears by the weirwood outside of the North Grove.  Clearly it isn’t every person, or even every Northerner, that can hear the trees contacting them --- so why can Gared? 

“Hear the weirwoods whisper.” (Can anyone in possession of the map hear the tree, or is it possible that Gared is uniquely qualified to be the one to complete this mission?) 

To listen to the whispers, Gared first has to focus on the tree, before it then begins to speak to him. As he begins to listen, however, he is interrupted by Shadow, leaving it unclear what the weirwood would have said to him if he were able to keep listening. It’s interesting that he is interrupted by a warged animal, a power often held by greenseers. Visual foreshadowing?

It’s also important to note that the Wall is known for being a barrier of magic, and that any magic south of it is significantly weakened. Bran, for example, becomes far more capable of accessing the weirwood’s visions when beyond the Wall. Gared’s power may also have been weakened by living in the North, and only when beyond the Wall can he have full access to it. 

This may be why the weirwoods whispers were implied to be much quieter when he was a child, as his ability to hear them was weakened. He swears to have “actually heard them” as a child because it was not loud enough for him to be certain. Therefore, when beyond the Wall, with no barrier to his abilities the whispers are both louder and clearer -- the only reason he still does not hear what he is being told is because he’s interrupted far too early to hear anything of meaning. 

Another suggestion that Gared has powers is his ability to control the undead wildlings within the North Grove, something that Elsera was previously only able to do, and only because she used blood magic to achieve this. She also has to use her voice to command them. 

Gared, however, only uses a gesture of his own sword to control them, and it’s not even the specialized ironwood knife that he’s gifted by Elsera that he uses to achieve this. Even if Elsera told them to listen to Gared, it still does not explain how he does not need to use his voice like she does. Could this link into the Greenseer’s ability to control nature and their surroundings? 

It’s also possible that his powers stem back to the fact that he may be of Forrester blood, which in turn may allow him access to the weirwood’s whispers, and the power of the North Grove. This is arguably first implied in Episode 1, when looking at the tapestry of the Forrester’s. Gared has these words in particular to say about Lady Forrester: 

“Lady Forrester. She’s always been kind to me. Treated me like I was a Forrester myself.” 

There’s also the fact that, for the most part, Gared seems to possess the facial features of the Forrester’s, as opposed to those of his own family. 

A side-by-side comparison of Gared and Lord Forrester. It’s difficult to tell under the beard, but the jawline, cheekbones, ears and nose are of similar structure. 

Meanwhile, here’s a comparison of Gared and his father.. who look nothing alike.

As you can see, Gared looks nothing like his father. And I know, I do know that allllll his genetics could come from his mother but... his entire face? Nothing like his father? No way, I’m not buying it.

You know who Gared does look like? Gregor the goddamn Good. 

And I know what else you may say, Telltale would re-use assets. But why re-use Gregor’s features? And why make Gared’s father and Duncan have similar features (like their ears) but not make Gared have the same?

See? It makes no sense. Gared looks like Gregor, he looks far too similar to the Forrester children as well.

It’s also telling that Gared survives the season regardless of the player choices, despite not even being a “Forrester” himself, the family that the game is focused on.

There’s also this....

“Ryon. Never easy being the fourth-born son.” 

So, fourth-born, ay? Lemme see here, sooo, we have... Josera, Rodrik, Asher and hmmm, who would come next if they were related... Oh! Gared! Of course, and in that case, he’d be the fourth-born. This could be some interesting foreshadowing.

It’s also interesting to note that weirwood and ironwood share a lot of common properties that make them a lot alike. They’re both known for their hardness, durability, being found beyond the Wall, and resistance to flame. This isn’t established in the books in regards to ironwood, so perhaps the writers created this parallel on purpose to even further suggest that the Forrester’s and the weirwood trees are closely linked to one another. Could ironwood also be linked to the children of the forest, and therefore, House Forrester as a whole? 

EDIT: So, @blakegamingpage​ and I were convinced there was something which said that the Children of the Forest taught the Forresters about ironwood. And this entire time, it was a line that was said by either Royland or Duncan. (Although I can’t find where it was said, it was in the files. So, it might not be canon but still, this is a theory). “It's said one of the Children of the Forest taught the first Forrester how to grow ironwood, and how to harvest it so that it keeps its strength.“ This is a final link for the two trees, both are linked to the Children of the Forest. 

The Children of the Forest helping the first Forrester cultivate the wood, so it keeps its strength? That seems like a strange thing for the Children to do, unless they had reason to, with the first Forrester being able to hear the weirwoods whisper, maybe.  Sure, it could be a myth, but it’s a strange myth to be passed down the generations, over more than 1500 years. Perhaps the first Forrester started out in the North Grove, and they migrated down to the Wolfswood, knowing ironwood would always survive beyond the wall, keeping a promise to the Children to protect the grove?

Another possible visual metaphor is that, enclosed within the Forrester pendant, which has an ironwood tree engraved on it, is a weirwood tree, suggesting that the two are closely linked. It is not just the ironwood trees that are suggested to be linked, but the Forrester’s by extension too. 

Side note: is it not strange that Talia just so happened to give Gared the piece of the puzzle he needed to find out exactly where the North Grove could be found? The way she runs up to him suggests that she had to give it to him before he left -- perhaps Lord Forrester once instructed her to make sure Gared had the necklace on him if he were to ever travel to the Wall? The way she says ‘Be safe’ suggests that she knows he’s gonna be on a harder trek than just the Wall. (Also, she doesn’t say goodbye, which I think is even more suspicious).

“You must swear, tell only your Uncle Duncan.” 

The way he says that line ^, so seriously... It suggests so much. Tell only Gared’s uncle? Someone who has been friends with Gregor since they were teenagers/kids? Well, who else is gonna know all of Gregor’s secrets? Especially, someone who is as close to an advisor as anyone can get. 

(I think I should also mention that, the way Gregor insists, absolutely demands for Gared to go is very telling). *cough, cough* Gared is his son *cough, cough*

Anyhow, I believe this means that Duncan knows a lot more than he’s ever told Gared. 

“I can’t say anything more just yet.”

Say, that Gregor knocked a woman up and he was in a spot of bother. He’s married to Lady Forrester, he has Rodrik and Asher (and Josera and Elsera, probably born before he was married). Perhaps even Lady Forrester is pregnant with Mira. But, unfortunately, there’s another pregnant woman in the mix. So, Duncan steps in. He offers up his brother as a way to get out of this mess. So, his brother marries this woman and Gared is born, in wedlock, as a Tuttle. Which means Gregor’s son gets to have the privilege of a legit second name. 

Therefore, Gared is slowly worked into the ranks and becomes Gregor’s squire because, that’s the best way to spend time with your illegitimate son, without raising any eyebrows. 

Perhaps Duncan didn’t tell Gared everything because the more you know about The North Grove, the more you’d know the whole truth. Perhaps it’s something linked to people with Forrester blood, people with certain abilities (much like Josera and Elsera, who’s to say their powers don’t come from Gregor). I mean, it’s possible that Gregor and the Forrester children have abilities as well. But the magic barrier restricts those abilities from showing in fully-fledged form. 

However, if Gared is a Forrester, being sent North of the Wall means his abilities get to develop as they should... perhaps a bit like Josera and Elsera? Maybe the legit Forrester children have to stay south so that they can inherit the Lordship of the House. Perhaps it was the plan all along. That these children, who can’t inherit the house, should be sent North to protect a long held secret, a long held Forrester secret. 

All the Forrester children had the necklaces to solve the puzzle. So, it was a thing that more than one of them may have had to leave Ironrath to go to The North Grove. However, with Gared on the scene, maybe they were told if he were to go North, they had to give a necklace to him. Hence, Talia gave hers away. Maybe she didn’t know why she had to, or maybe she did, nevertheless, she gave Gared the guide directly to The North Grove. 

Duncan was stupid, if this is correct. If he does know all this, he’s only risked Gared further. What else did he have to lose in telling Gared? Well, other than Gared being in too much shock to continue on his quest. Perhaps those were his motives. 

Or perhaps Telltale just wanted a bigger reveal. 

Written by Me and @blakegamingpage

[twobigears]

What does this engagement training look like? Like, what are the games you might play for that?

Most of what I’ve learned about engagement has come from Michael Ellis’ materials. Denise Fenzi also has a lot to offer on this subject, and I like the way she lists out five stages of engagement.

Handler starts the engagement by bribing the dog with offered food/toys/play

Dog starts the engagement with eye contact (cookies/toys are hidden, and appear with the eye contact)

Dog starts the engagement with sustained focus while moving around

Dog starts the engagement with stage 2, stage 3, and offered work/behavior

Handler starts the engagement (without bribing as in stage 1)

Many people get stuck at stage 1, or try to skip from stage 1 to stage 5, but stages 2-4 are the critical ones that make stage 5 possible.

What does the process look like? You can see visuals through the resources below, but here is a basic breakdown.

Allow the dog time to acclimate to the environment, sniff around, potty (if outside), etc

Pick a spot and just stand there. Dog should be on a leash. 

Eventually the dog will get bored and check in with you. As soon as they make eye contact, mark it with a “yes!” (or whatever your marker is) and provide the reward. Generally food, and if so you want the dog driving into your hand for the food, rather than you reaching towards the dog to deliver it. I move backwards so the dog has to move towards me to get the food. If you watch the videos linked below, note how much the handlers are moving around. Movement and contrast is motivating and helps the engagement process.

If the dog is maintaining connection, mark and reward again.

When the dog is focused, release them back into the environment. “All done” is my cue.

I also mix in some repetitions of cuing “get it”, toss a piece of food on the ground (make sure you dog can see it on the surface), and as soon as the dog gets the food and stops sniffing for more, mark it with “yes” and reward from my hand. The dog gets faster to stop sniffing and re-engage as they learn there is nothing more on the ground and it’s more rewarding to engage back with me.

Rinse and repeat. As with everything else in training, choose your environments carefully and start in a no/low-distraction environment. Such as inside your house. And gradually move to more busy and distracting environments.

There is technique involved in the marking and rewarding process that increases the dog’s motivation. How you hold the food, how you move your hand, making the dog sometimes miss the food to increase frustration and drive, having them spin around, etc. More details about that in the resources below.

Honestly I don’t really allow my dogs to play with each other, especially not inside. Partly because of the dogs I currently have, and partly because I don’t want that chaos in the house. I do not allow Ryker and Chandra to play at all, because Ryker is an asshole who can quickly go from “happy happy play” to “fuck off you fucking fucker”.I did allow Solstice and Chandra to play together, but only outside. And it was structured so that I did training/engagement sessions with them first, then they were allowed to play. Or at the very least, Chandra had to give me eye contact before being released to play with Solstice.

If Asher’s engagement at home is an issue, then I’d start requiring Asher to go through you to play with Gunner. Eye contact, release to play. Sustained connection, release to play. Basically moving through the stages of engagement and building up to Asher doing more and more with you before he gets to play with Gunner. This might require restricting the dog’s access to each other or not allowing free access when you’re not around, until Asher is engaging more easily.

Free resources:

Youtube search “Michael Ellis engagement”. Here are a few, you can find more and other related videos

The Importance of Engagement in Dog Training

Engagement, Reward Timing, and Positioning

Keeping Your Puppy Engaged with Michael and Cappy

Youtube search “Forrest Micke engagement”. Forrest studied under Michael.

Cueing Engagement

Denise Fenzi’s blog series on acclimation and engagement

Acclimation

Stages of Engagement part 1

Engagement - A Little More

Engagement - Part 3

Engagement: Why the Extremes?

The Collared Scholar

The Rules of Engagement

He’s Just Not That Into You

Are You Building Engagement or Missing the Mark?

Paid Resources

Engagement Skills with Forrest Micke

The Power of Training Dogs With Food DVD

Advanced Concepts in Motivation DVD

Dog Sports Skills book series, book 4 in particular is all about focus and engagement

Engagement online class at Fenzi Academy

Teaching Engagement Skills online class at Leerburg

[littlxtalks]

SMALL HEADCANON » asher forrester / re: christmas

asher was never a big fan of the holiday season when growing up. back when he was a kid it was exciting because of the presents and whatnot, but as time passed and he started drifting off his siblings and the relationship with his parents got more and more strained, they stopped being so much fun. of course he always tried to keep an upbeat attitude when they were all together, before he got kicked out, but it was mostly for his younger siblings’ sake. to him, the holidays had become more of just awkward formal dinners in which he had to sit through four courses pretending to be in good terms with people who barely tolerated him anymore (and he barely tolerated as well.) most times he barely managed to make it to the present exchange before leaving 

however, after things start going rough for him, that he gets kicked out of the house and spends some time living by himself somewhere else, he starts reflecting on a bunch of things. and then is when the holiday spirit kicks in. once he goes back to london and reunites with his family (specifically his siblings,) the holidays become more of an opportunity for all of them to be together again, spend some quality time together, which was very much needed after spending so much time estranged from them..

so on his first christmas back he goes all out - buys socks to hang over the fireplace, cool gifts for basically everyone he knows, makes sure with a lot of anticipation that his schedule is clear for those days and, most importantly, he buys christmas sweaters. and not just that, but also matching christmas sweaters for all his siblings. 

overall, he’s just very happy when the holidays come along. it’s a happy time of the year and he gets to spend it with his siblings again and he’s just really into it - always in a good mood, would immediately help decorate the house with no questions asked (would decorate your house if you let him) and just. he doesn’t feel bad for feeling so happy, he embraces it. and he figures the ugly christmas sweaters show off his attitude towards the celebration, and guess what, he does like showing of so of course he has a different sweater for each day of the week leading to christmas. all in all, he’s just a big happy kid that goes around hugging people and giving them sweaters and singing christmas carols. not to mention always having a small christmas tree on his desk at the precinct starting december 1st.