#also on top of all that theon’s a good fighter

[peeurpantsbitch]

one thing i haven’t seen enough abt in regards to theon/sansa is how fucking funny it is to think abt littlefinger reacting to that. I mean like Theon was the ward of a Great lord, who dreamed of marrying the Red Haired Eldest Daughter of aforementioned Great Lord, but said Redhead was then engaged to someone else that Theon didn’t like. Said Fiancé later Dies, (and depending upon the AU) Theon then gets married to the Redhead, AND she ac loves him

[fedonciadale]

What are your thoughts about the Greyjoys ? Specifically Asha, Euron and Aeron.

Hi there!

Sorry, it took me so long to answer!

I think all the Greyjoys are a bit over the top? Almost walking clichés.

Asha is the bad-ass warrior but at the same time she is super sexy and is also having fun with sex. I rather like her but she seems like a dudebro’s walking dream, female fighter in high heels and bikini. Something like that. Of course it is a little bit more than that. What I like about Asha is that she thinks out of the box, not only in regard to her own claim but also in regard to the Ironborn way of living. She’s open minded in a way and her affection for her mother and her well educated reading uncle shows that she is not frozen in her mind set. So, she has nuances.

Euron is almost a cartoon villain: misogynist, child abuser, evil magician, violent, he has no respect for nothing and no one. He is also full of hubris. I mean, he wants to become a god, or maybe even the Only God. Although he is so evil that he could be funny, I can’t laugh about him. He makes my skin crawl. On the other hand he is the Greyjoy with the least nuance.

Aeron is one of the types I dislike very much: religious zealot. I mean he obviously has PTSD, fleeing from the trauma of his childhood to the security of the Drowned God, a God who will probably fail him in the next book. And as much as I pity Aeron as a victim I still dislike his zealotry very much. I just hate the type who says: Your God wants you to starve yourself, to walk barely clothed, freeze and basically demands abstinence in every regard. Sigh. So, Aeron repulses me and at the same time I pity him.

Victarion is soo dumb he makes my head hurt. I mean it could be funny, if he would be the kind of idiot who is nice. But he also reeks of toxic masculinity, and thinks himself so superior, when he barely has enough intelligence to manage to run over a bucket to spill water (as we say in German). I actually think that Victarion is already dead. He has been revived by the Red Priest and is too dumb to realize that. lol.

Balon? Oh man, I hate him. Competes for the worst father prize and he is high on my list even though he has tough competition.

Theon certainly has the most nuance and he really made me realize how GRRM uses the “Be careful what you wish for, you might get it”. How I disliked Theon in ACOK. In his first PoV chapter we have his interaction with the captain’s daughter, a scene that always makes me want to retch, then there is the Theon and Asha scene, his humiliation by Balon and at some point after his conquest of Winterfell I suddenly became aware that Theon is fucked up by being held captive, by his deep longing for affection which he tries to fulfill by getting respect. I began to pity him even before he was captured by Ramsay. When I saw him again, I could have cried with pity - and I still didn’t like Theon very much. I think his redemption is interesting, because GRRM is courageous enough to keep some of the dislikable characteristics of Theon’s, despite the fact that he is utterly crushed by Ramsay’s torture. I sort of wish a good ending for Theon, because he’s suffered enough and I want a good ending for him so that I can absolve myself for wishing him bad back in book 2. lol.

So, there you have my thoughts. I actually like Asha, I wish Theon well, but as for the other Greyjoys? I really want Victarion and Euron to die and Aeron is a goner already.

Thanks!

[abovethemists]

Do you have a top ten for GoT series/character arcs?

Well all their arcs fell flat on their face as of the final season. The only ones who didn’t get completely destroyed were the ones who managed to die before the last two episodes or so. (Looking at you Jorah and Theon. Wish Jaime would have died in the Long Night).

But I can totally give a top 10 characters! Let’s do it!

10. Davos Seaworth 

Dadvos. And I don’t say that just because he looks SO MUCH like my own dad. Frequently the only voice of reason, a damn good survivor despite not being much of a fighter, and just an all around good dude. I love him. And he had a lot of tension breaking good lines. 

9. Margaery Tyrell 

Too beautiful for this world. Margaery was smart, hot, and way better than anyone around her. She was like Cersei if Cersei wasn’t a complete bitch. Gone before her time. 

8. Oberyn Martell 

Another who was gone before his time. A bicon. Wanted justice for his sister and her children and got it, even though he paid the ultimate price. The whole Dorne plot was frankly an insult to his memory. 

7. Sandor Clegane

Look, this character is so my jam. Big, gruff, scary dude at first glance but my boy has layers. He’s got a soft spot for the Stark girls (in very different ways) and despite being jaded and cynical, he’s a decent man underneath it all. He went from a character I didn’t pay much attention to to one I loved by the end.

6. Daenerys Targaryen 

Was there any greater casualty of this show than the Mother of Dragons? From a sweet, innocent girl who wanted to find home to a mad queen tyrant because fuck overcoming the sins of your father. If you’re a powerful woman, you must be cray cray! I reject Dany’s end because while it could have made sense, the show didn’t bother to try. She liberated Slaver’s Bay but suddenly that was a bad thing because she killed the masters? Um, no. At her core, Dany championed the little people, the forgotten, the women and children and slaves. She wanted to be a good ruler. I’m sad she didn’t get her chance. 

5. Arya Stark 

Arya has always been a favorite even if the writing did go a little too “not like other girls” with her at times. A precious murder child. I think it’s bullshit that she left Winterfell in the finale though. 

4. Cersei Lannister 

I fully admit she’s on this list 100% because of Lena Headey. I loathe Cersei and that’s why I love her. She’s such a good female villain. She’s a fierce protector of her children and an ice queen and a rage monster and a manipulator and sometimes there’s even a hint of humanity to her. I reject her ending too. Cersei Lannister wouldn’t die crying and cowering in the Red Keep. Lions don’t hide in holes. 

3. Sansa Stark 

If anyone can reasonably be said to have “won” the Game of Thrones it’s my ultimate survivor Sansa Stark. We watched her go from porcelain to ivory to steel. From “stupid” little girl to master game player. Sansa learned from the absolute worst. From Cersei, from Littlefinger, from Ramsay. She learned to manipulate and be ruthless, but she never lost herself. She also went from wanting to get away from the North as a child to being the North’s biggest champion. The true Queen in the North.

2. Jaime Lannister

My idiot son. I hated Jaime in season 1. He was arrogant and cruel and spiteful. He was the Kingslayer and Oathbreaker and he pushed a small child out of a window. And that’s why he had the best growth of any character on the show (shhhh we don’t talk about the last five minutes of 8x04 on). As soon as he was paired up with Brienne I knew I was in trouble. Watching him getting taken down from Golden Lion to captive to completely broken. When he laid bare his soul to Brienne about the night he killed King Aerys, when he showed the man who longed to be honorable but no longer believed in honor, he had me and I never looked back. Jaime is so much more complex than anyone ever gave him credit for. His father thought he was an idiot. His sister thought he didn’t care about anything. Ned Stark thought he was an arrogant piece of shit. 2 people in the narrative appreciated Jaime for who he really was, Tyrion and Brienne. He at least had a decent goodbye with one of them. 

1. Brienne of Tarth

The truest knight in the Seven Kingdoms. The best person in Westeros. She renewed Jaime’s belief in honor and goodness in the world. She protected the Stark girls. She was loyal to a fault, to Renly, to Catelyn, to Sansa, to Jaime. She was a gender non conforming woman in a medieval hellscape world. She was too feminine to be a knight, but too masculine to be a lady. She was laughed at and mocked for being herself, but despite that she stayed true to who she was. And it paid off. The first female knight in Westeros and really the only person fit to wear the title of Ser. She got the boy too. If only he didn’t fuck off and die. A legend. I stan. 

I ran out of time/numbers but Honorable Mention to my man Jorah Mormont. 

He takes ride or die to an all new level. 

Another shout out to Tyrion Lannister. 

The writing got stupid once they outran the books, but you were the smartest man in Westeros and I appreciate you even if they did reduce you to dick jokes by the end. 

[flamingjets]

Arya and gendry

He was standing amongst the soldiers behind jamie Lannister and brienne of torth or well his bad ser brienne since obviously she was knighted before the battle horn blew. He had his newly made axe and his hammer ready to go. His cloak was still in the room bend the forge where only what seemed like a few minutes Arya and him had woken up startled by the horn and quickly dressed. It was only a few hours ago he entered that room to give her the new weapon he made for her only for it to turn into so much more. Did he imagine or dream of making love to her hell yes. He dreamed about it so many times he lost count but he also didn't think it would ever happen especially happen in the way it did. And if that's the last memory he has of them together he is going to hold onto it and try with all his might to get back to her alive!

Arya stood onto of the battlements as she stood beside Jon, the hound and ser jorah. Theron was protecting bran at the tree and the women and children along with Sansa were in the crypts where they deemed the safest place but there was no such thing. Looking down at dragon lady's army along with the Lannister army she knew Gendry was down there as well and she felt a slight terror for him being down there on the front lines. Her final memory of him is in the forge and kissing him before running off to get ready for the fight. She didn't want to feel anything or be afraid for anyone but her family but not Gendry was her family and she just realized she wanted him and loved him. She was determined to live through the night and prayed he did too as she saw the white walkers coming closer.

Surrounded by flames brought down by the two dragons flying in the sky burning everything in sight Gendry collapsed to the ground beside jamie Lannister as blood dropped from his axe and hands into the blood stained snow. He pushed himself back to his feet as he heard the sound of retreat and turned to see winterfell on fire behind him. He stumbled over to jamie and gripped his arm as he pulled jamie to his feet. Brienne was coming toward screaming at them to run! They both looked over their shoulder and saw more walkers coming quickly just as another burst of flames from a dragon showered down in front of them blocking the walkers. They both started to run toward the ships that were the backup plan if everything went straight to hell in a picnic basket which it was. Of course it went straight to hell did they actually think they could win this?! The night king didn't even show up which means this fight was a distraction the night king was heading to kings landing! Gendry felt a burning pain in his thigh and the side of his head as he went down hard and slide to a stop. Looking down he saw an arrow in his leg as he screamed in pain as he tore it out. Jamie skidded to his side along with brienne as they picked him up and half carried half dragged him toward the boats.

Arya was attempting to get all the women and children out of the crypts they were no longer safe and she was angry that they even believe it was ever safe for them down there. Sansa was the last person out and she gripped Arya's arm as she saw her sister still alive as they bolted toward the boats after the sound of retreat. Winterfell had fallen and to her dismay the promise of always having a stark at winterfell was officially over there no longer would ever be a stark here unless they were already dead. She apologized to her father mentally as she ran. Arya saw the hound carrying bran as Theon ran behind them occasionally turning around to send an arrow into a white walker as he continued to protect them. He dropped the bow as he ran out of arrows saw Arya and Sansa and ran toward them putting himself between them and the white walkers.

Boarding the ships the fighters on the boats kept shooting balls of fire in order to give others time to board yet not many were left to board as the casualties were too big to imagine. Dragon lady then ordered her dragons to burn winterfell and the remaining white walkers as the ships escaped to the ocean. Jon, Sansa, Arya and bran watched their home burn to the ground. Sansa started to cry as theon hugged her tightly. Arya turned to Jon as he hugged her whispering he was thankful she was alive as she mourned the loss of winterfell.

Arya walked around the ship taking in the wounded and knowing many had lost their lives in the battle field. She handed out supplies to take care of the injuries and blankets to keep warm. She had Jon bandage a wound above her eye brow and she looked after another cut on her hand. Looking around the ship she noticed jamie and brienne near the bow and headed three to see how they were doing. Jamie saw her coming and moved out of the way of a cot that was located behind him and arya immediately was looking at Gendry.

Arya rushed to the cot as she brushed past jamie to check on Gendry. His eyes were closed but he was breathing. A bandage was wrapped around his leg and one around his head. Arya looked at his leg wound first and used some supplies to clean it better and tighten the bandage. Next she looked closely at his head wound. It looked like an arrow had just skimmed his head! He was this close to not making it out alive and that caused Arya's stomach to tighten and her heart to almost stop he was this close to not coming back to her. She cleaned the wound thoroughly and at the same time cleaned up his face of blood and dirt. All the while he never moved or even opened his eyes which scared her even more. Brienne brought over a second blanket and wrapped it around Arya's shoulders and handed her a bowl of soup as Arya kept watch over Gendry. She was getting tired as the adrenaline from battle was leaving her body and fatigue set in but she didn't want to leave gendrys side. So she tugged the blanket and her weapon belt off as she placed the second blanket over top of Gendry as she slide onto the cot with him. She got herself as comfy as she could next to him and in about five seconds flat she closed her eyes as sleep took over her body.

Jon and Sansa walked around the ship and stopped in their tracks when they came across Arya and gendry. Arya's head was in the crock of gendrys neck as her one arm was underneath her and her other arm was on his chest as her hand had a fist full of his jacket in a death grip. One of her legs was placed over top of his anchoring him to her. Not sure if Gendry had woken up or it was instinctive but gendrys body had turned slightly towards Arya's as his legs looked to be slightly protecting hers as his one leg was under hers and his other leg was on top of it. His one arm was wrapped around her waist holding her at his side. His other arm was bent as his hand was gripping her elbow and his head was turned toward hers and slightly bent as his face was half hidden in her hair. Sansa stepped toward them and grabbed the blanket that had slipped off them and gently covered them up as not to wake them. Jon smiled as Sansa stood to take them in again. She never thought she would see the day when Arya would be interested in a man much less possibly be in love with one. But looking at them sleeping she took in the young blacksmith curled around her sister. Was he worthy of Arya? Was he good enough? Could he make her smile? All this and more questions popped into her head and hoping her sister wouldn't get hurt or be heart broken if during this war he died. Would she survive that? He must be special or else Arya wouldn't have gone out of her way to find him and end up sleeping next to him. Jon nudged her leading her away to another part of the ship. He sat down on a near by cot to get some much needed rest as they wouldn't arrive at their location for a while and sleep was important in order to recharge and be ready. Sansa and Jon fell asleep as theon and the hound kept watch over their leaders.

[chid-sen-gan-blog]

My Reaction to GoT 8.03 (”The Long Night”)

Hello! I’m back for another recap/review! 

I’m so sorry this took so long, but I was a bit… uninspired. But it’s here now, and I hope you enjoy! 

Once again, featuring running commentary from my Dad and Brother because I love them and their witty remarks. (all thoughts and quotes are from our first time viewing it, per usual)

WARNING: Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the episode yet, though this warning might be irrelevant at this point.

WARNING 2: My family and I (namely me) weren’t really fans of this episode, so things get… pretty snarky at some points. Also, there’s a lot of shade - no pun intended - thrown at the lighting throughout. A lot. All these are just the opinions of three people, however, and not meant to offend anyone. If you enjoyed the episode, then lucky you more power to you - you do you! :)

And last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to everyone who supported the first two installments! Now, time for part three!

So… the new opening credits still haven’t grown on me. But the inclusion of the crypt for this episode is a nice touch

(I have a sinking feeling that taking refuge in the crypts is going to backfire for those hiding there and really hope I’m wrong)

Yay! Sam! Please don’t die on me. Please…

Pre-battle preparation montages always puts me on edge. Now is no exception

Another Alys Karstark shot and I’m still not sure why the crew keeps including them…

“So, the showrunners keep giving us glimpses of Alys Karstark, but do they actually plan on doing anything with her, or…?” - My Wonderful Brother; so I guess I’m not the only one curious

“With D&D at the reigns, she could be there for anything from the kidnap theory to a faceless man revival.” - My Wonderful Dad

“True. Let’s hope they get their story right right tonight, though.” - My Wonderful Brother

“I don’t see how they couldn’t. They already have all the pieces in place. All they need to do is not try anything random.” - My Wonderful Dad

Awwww. My children! D&D, don’t you dare kill off Jaime, Brienne, or Pod. I will find you if you do!!! And no CGI dragons will be able to save you!

(I’m super worried about Pod. He’s right up there at the top of my list with Theon and Grey Worm. And possibly Jorah, but I’m 50/50 with him)

(Maybe 60/40; if Dark!Dany’s a possibility, she needs to suffer a huge loss in this battle. And considering Jorah’s her morality pet/conscience, he would fit the bill)

(basically if Jorah dies this episode, then my confidence in the show going the Dark!Dany route rises)

Tormund! I’m guessing you’ll live. The writers need some fan favorite B characters to make it through the night…

Ooh, Beric. Yeah… you’re probably not one of them… 

And the Hound will be needed for Cleganebowl, so he’s safe. No way they’re writing off the guy with all the hype surrounding him and his bro’s one-on-one

Actually, he’s one of the few people I’m absolutely sure will live past this episode

Gendry… 50/50 on you, too, sadly. I hope you make it, though

Darn it, knowing I’m never going to see some of these characters again is making me emotional. And it’s not even ten minutes into the episode!!!

Awwww. Poor Edd. You’re definitely a goner, since you essentially doomed yourself last week

Aaaaaaaand now I”m tearing up. Darn it!!! It’s too early to cry!

My new mantra: Please let Sam live

Wow, that shot is… dark. I wouldn’t have known those were horses if not for the whinnying 

GHOST!!! Are we going to see him fight this episode? Because Im so here for it!

My wonderful Dad and Brother are just as pumped to see him as I am. Bless them

“But, seriously, why is Ghost with Jorah and the Dothraki and not with the Northerners in the crypts? Wouldn’t that be more practical” - My Wonderful Brother; taking time from his celebration to ask the tough questions

And here’s Dany to ruin my mood. Absolutely spectacular

“So, do you think she’ll abandon Jon and co during the battle?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Nope, she still wants the North to see her as their hero. It’s more likely she’ll rush in at some point and ruin the plan.” - My Wonderful Brother

Sansa!!! Arya!!!

Hey, remember when Dany stans said that Sansa’s S8 hairstyle was based on their kween’s? Good times, good times

Oooooh. A rider in the night? But who? The gang’s all here, except for Cersei and Euron

Is it Bronn? Kind of bad timing if it is…

No, wait, Carice von Houten was in the credits. It’s Melisandre, isn’t it?

They’re zooming in on Davos, it must be…

Yep. 

“So, let’s none of us question why she’s here or how she got around the undead army marching on the North. Deal?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Deal.” - My Wonderful Brother and Less Wonderful I

And, once again, everything’s super dark, even for this show. Is it supposed to be intentional, or…?

I love how Jorah’s like: “I don’t know who the heck you are or what you want or why you’re here, but sure I’ll do what you ask, weird pretty red lady” 

FINALLY!!! LIGHT!!! Thank you, Melisandre! 

I’ll admit, that was a beautiful shot

I have a real affinity for how Liam Cunningham portrays an angry Davos. I’m not really sure why, but I do

Okay, so Melisandre’s going to die before the dawn. Why do I feel somewhat emotional about it?

(I’m still not over Shireen, so I really have no clue)

Ooooh, that look shared between Melisandre or Arya. Is Arya going to kill her? Maybe because of what happened to Gendry?

Ummmmmm…. Dothraki. What are you doing?

Seriously, what are you guys doing?

Don’t tell me these knuckleheads are actually charging at an enemy they can’t even see…

Oh, shoot. That’s exactly what they’re doing.

………… and now were’s firing the catapults. Umm, hello, don’t we kind of need our supplies for later?! What are you dimwits doing?!?!

No, really, this is idiotic. Why are they lighting things up and charging all gleefully like it’s a 4th of July cookout?!?!

“No, Ghost. Turn around. You’re too smart for this.” - My Wonderful Dad

Well lookie there. The Dothraki charged right into the army of the dead. Who could’ve possibly predicted that? *sarcasm, sarcasm*

“And just like that, the Night King’s added tens of thousands more soldiers to his army. Everyone say “thank you, Dany” for bringing your men who apparently have zero impulse control.” - My Wonderful Brother

“So this is why God didn’t give cavemen fire.” - My Wonderful Dad

You just know that Jaime’s watching this display thinking “why did my men have such a hard time fighting those guys again?”

Aaaaaand the screen’s nearly pitch black again. Dandy 

Oh, look, slow-mo Jorah. At least I think it is. It’s kind of hard to tell…

Ugh. Dany. I’m not in the mood for you

Wow, astounding. She’s not going to stick to the plan. I’m sure this will work out just fine

“Told ya’.” - My Wonderful Brother

Nothing screams true love quite like yanking your arm out of your boyfriend’s grasp and snapping at him. 

(Anyone else ever get CerseixJaime vibes from these two? And I’m not just talking about the incest…)

Grey Worm putting on his helmet is somehow one of the best parts in this episode so far. And I don’t think that’s a good thing

But still, it’s too early to judge, so I’ll shut up

Why hello, Army of the Dead. How was that 4th of July cookout the Dothraki ran into?

And now it’s time for my favorite game - count the fallen red shirts! Let’s see… 1, 2, oh, there’s a third…

And there’s one red shirt who just realized his name’s never been said on the show and booked. I respect his genre-savyness

Meanwhile, back with the important characters…

No!!! Brienne!!! No!!!

Jaime’s “wench sense” prevails again. That’s my boy

Dany’s “ruin-my-mood sense” is also as strong as ever, apparently

Well, at least the dragonfire shone some light on things

Sansa looking awed at Jon on a dragon is so far one of the best shots in the episode

I will forever hate Jonerys, but Ramin Djawadi always knocks it out of the park with his score - even with their theme.

I wonder if he’ll have anything new to present for this episode…

Jon’s gotten a lot better at riding Rhaegal. That could be very useful in upcoming conflicts… *grins wickedly*

Lovely, now Jon’s stuck in a snowstorm. *sighs* Really, I give him one compliment… 

“I just hope that Dany remembers she has to light the trench and doesn’t follow him in.” - My Wonderful Dad

“You’re asking for way too much, Daddy.” - My Wonderful Brother

Aw, Sansa. I’m so proud of you. And this is why I love the Starks - no matter the dangers they face, they’re loyal to their people first and foremost

… Arya, no offense, but your sister’s not much of a fighter. Don’t you think you should give her more than just one tiny dragonglass blade? 

Ah, callbacks. But, seriously, give Sansa another weapon 

Seeing Jaime, Brienne, and Pod together in any capacity gives me all the feels. All of them. Even when they’re fighting literal zombies

And now Dany’s also lost in the snowstorm. Well, on the bright side, at least she didn’t fly directly into it

Theon!……… yeah, you’re a dead man. I’ll sincerely miss you

And we’re back to the battle. That was… interesting editing

16 red shirts… 17 red shirts… 18 red shirts… 

So it’s twenty minutes in and no named characters have died yet. I’m surprised…

And there goes Edd. *cries* Why did I think I was safe?!?! Why?!?!?!?!?!

So that’s one death I guessed. I wonder who else…

Okay, is it even possible for Sophie Turner to look anything but beautiful? I mean, even with this episode’s lighting…

I forgot Tyrion was alive Oops

Still have a sinking suspicion the crypts are going to be overrun with wights…

I honestly admire how calm Tyrion is. If my brother was out fighting an army of undead popsicles, you could bet I would be anything but

Jon and Dany bumping into eachother on dragonback is really making me smile. Even though I know it wasn’t intentional this time

If Jorah doesn’t die, Lyanna Mormont will. I’m calling it now

Grey Worm is so far the MVP of this battle. Now I’m really worried about his survival odds…

Soooooooo… are the dragons just going to be lost in this snowstorm the entire episodes? I mean, they have to play a bigger part than that, right?

(if they don’t then Jon really went through some serious guff for nothing)

Jon calling Dany by her nickname again despite knowing she doesn’t like it gives me life. So what if I’m petty?

And back with Theon and Bran after… nothing really happened

“Is it just me, or does the editing this episode feel a little… off?” - My Wonderful Brother

“Not just you. It has been so far. Strange, considering that’s usually one of D&D’s strong points.” - My Wonderful Dad

Aaaaaaand back to the battle after nothing really happened

“….. really?” - My Wonderful Brother

Brienne checking on Pod is what I live for. Honestly, I’m so far more interested in my J-B-P Family Trio than the actual battle 

(Though I don’t think I’m supposed to be)

And the lighting is pitch black again. Huzzah

Unsullied don’t feel fear, huh? Welp, Grey Worm’s quickly realizing that most Unsullied don’t usually fight dead men

Really, though, this scene is on-point. Kudos to everyone involved

And now Dany can’t see the signal to light the trench. Yippee…

“YOU HAD ONE JOB, DAENERYS!!! ONE!!!” - My Wonderful Dad

On another note, I think I finally figured out why Melisandre conveniently strolled back into the picture when she did

 And there we go

You know, everything has played out so predictably thus far that I feel like D&D are going to pull a huge, random move at some point

One that likely won’t make any sense, knowing them

Oh, I hope that’s not the case

Alright, that shot when Melisandre finally light up the trench is beautiful. I must admit

…………………………………………………………………………. wait, so Jon was just chilling right next to the trench when he could’ve lit it up this whole time?!?!?!?!

Ugh. So far he’s been utterly useless this battle. I mean, I love the guy, but really?

Please tell me they’re just saving his potential for when he fights the Night King. Or, even better, fights him so Bran can take him down

(D&D wouldn’t honestly butcher my boy like this without a reason, right?)

Oh, great. I forgot the Hound has PTSD when it comes to fire. This should be interesting. With any luck, he’ll overcome his fear this episode

Back in the crypts which are still somehow safe

And it’s times like these, when Tyrion touts his own greatness, that I remember he’s much more like Tywin than I’d care to acknowledge

Yes, Tyrion. You would make all the difference out there in the battle. When not even your swordsman brother should, logically-speaking, be near it, given his one hand situation. But, sure. You keep on thinking that. 

Sansa laying some truth down. I stan 

I really do enjoy her and Tyrion’s chemistry. And it’s actually nice to take a bit of a break from the battle

Oh, look at that. Sansa and Dany aren’t besties after their talk last episode after all. Odd, I could’ve sworn some stans said they were

One of which was, apparently, Missandei

Gee, I love you, Missandei, but that comment was totally uncalled for. They weren’t even talking to you

“And maybe if it weren’t for the dragon queen, the wall would still be standing and the dead wouldn’t even be here.” - My Wonderful Brother

“The girl didn’t even light the trench. Which was, again, her one job!” - My Wonderful Dad

*sighs* I really hate brainwashed Missandei. But I’m sure Dany’s stans will find a woman of color being blindly devoted to a white woman totally empowering

(And, before anyone bashes me, I’m speaking as someone who’s got the blood of all walks of minorities in my veins) 

Ad back to Theon and Bran. Are they actually going to do something this time?

Oh, they are! 

So, Bran’s “home” quote was said to Theon. Odd, and here I thought he was supposed to have said it to Dany… oh, well

Ooooh, warging Bran. With any luck, he’ll warg into a dragon at some point in this episode

I don’t even care anymore, just let the poor guy be useful in this battle somehow

So… when the army of animated corpses have better battle plans than your armies, exactly how screwed are you?

Jorah ushering Sam to the walls is actually really heartwarming

As is surrogate dad Jaime checking on his adopted son Pod en route to their battle stations

…… Jon has been sitting on the walls of Winterfell for who knows how long doing absolutely zilch. Not burning wights, not guarding Bran, not even brooding. And I’m ticked about it

What the heck, D&D? I thought you loved CGI dragon stuff

Well, finally. Yes, go fight the head popsicle, even if you don’t kill him. Go, my boy, and redeem yourself

The J-B-P Family Trio dynamic is my favorite thing in this episode thus far. Fight me 

And Sam and Jorah. I want a spin-off named “Mormont and Tarly” with these two just hanging out

So, it’s almost halfway through the episode and only Edd has died out of the named characters. I have a feeling things are about to get bloody

Well, there goes another red shirt. What was I up to? 42?

No no no no no no no no. Bad wights. Not Jaime. Get off my problematic child! Get off him, darn you!!!

Brienne has “Kingslayer sense” confirmed

Who needs plot armor when you have your totally platonic not girlfriend watching your back? 

My children fighting together… *tears up* I’m so proud…

And who needs plot armor when you have your totally platonic not boyfriend watching your back?

Jorah saving Sam with Heartsbane is all kinds of right. That is all

And the Hound is not making any sort of progress with his PTSD. I’m rooting for you, Sandor

Aaaaaaaaaaand…. I’m really tired of ninja!Arya already. I’m sorry. Unpopular opinion, I know, but it seems like the show’s going out of their way waaaay too much recently to make her seem all BAMF. I don’t know, call it personal preference, but I like it when there’s some vulnerability to a fighter

And maybe that hit to the head will take her down a peg. Knowing D&D, though… not likely

Oh, boy. The Hound’s really got it bad. I feel for him….

The fact he cares so much about Arya takes me back to S4, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Ah, the great seasons…

My wonderful Dad and Brother have taken to trying to adjust the brightness on our tv…to  limited success. And this isn’t even the darkest the episode’s been…

Okay, I got over Lyanna Mormont in S7, but I have to say, she got the coolest death ever in the show by far. And I’m glad

Also, another predicted death. Makes me wonder about Jorah’s fate now…

So… the dragons above the clouds is a pretty shot and all, but are Jon and Dany just playing hide&seek with the Night King at this point, or…?

Oh, there’s the head popsicle!

(oh, if only fire could burn the unburnt…)

(speaking of which, how does Wightserion manage to breathe fire if he’s a wight and fire kind of kills them all over again? I’ve been wondering…)

“And after less than a minute of the dragons looking like they’d actually do something, we’ve now transitioned in to a game of tag, you’re it.” - My Wonderful Brother, getting fully annoyed with this episode

“At this point you could put Little Sam out in the field and he’d do more than the dragons.” - My Wonderful Dad, getting fully annoyed with this episode

And now Arya’s playing hide&seek with the wights. What is this, buy none get three day?

So… this scene is going to contribute something other than more bad lighting, right? Please say it is…

And nothing’s really happening…

And nothing…

Nothing….

Okay, so I have a feeling this is supposed to come off as a horror movie kind of thing, but it reads more like Tom&Jerry, imo

Wights have better hearing than me. I’m a little jealous

*shudders* Alright, the way that wight re-died (coining that term as of now) when Arya stabbed it was really gross. I tip my hat to the special effects and make-up team

Arya’s running like mad. And I’m happy she seems human again

(On another note, all this focus on Arya is really making me wonder what D&D are planning on doing with her. I can guess it’s something important…)

Too dark to see too dark to see too dark to see too dark to see…

I’m still surprised the crypts are safe. Maybe I’m wrong and they won’t be taken over by the dead after all

“This episode needs more Sansa. I said what I said.” - My Wonderful Brother

The Hound and Beric’s buddy cop adventures continue

Sweet move, Beric. We should enter you in javelin-throwing

Arya fighting just fine with a head wound. Even though I’m pretty sure she must have a concussion. Oh, what the heck, it’s a fantasy show

Beric sacrificing himself for Arya and the Hound in an honestly brilliant scene… that I could hardly see… -_-*

Beric dying to protect them also means that I was probably right before when I said Arya’s going to play an important role in this fight. Or the Hound

But my money’s on Arya. They’ll want a girl power shield in case their plans fall through

Really, the lighting on this episode looks like the contrast effect I add to my Sony Vegas-made AMVs before filtering the colors

So… Melisandre’s alone in this room surrounded by a bunch of doubly dead wights. Did she kill them all herself? Did she flambe them? I would really like to know

And blue eyes. Wait… no.

“They’re going to have Arya kill the Night King. That’s their big twist” - My Wonderful Brother

“But that wouldn’t make any sense. I mean, what about Bran? Doesn’t his whole story revolve around taking down the Night King?Didn’t Uncle Benjen say in no uncertain terms that without Bran they lose everything?” - Me

“Yep. But it’s still going to be Arya.” - My Wonderful Brother

“But what about Jon?! Doesn’t 90% of his arc center around facing this guy, too?! What about their stare down in “Hardhome”?” - Me

“Maybe Jon gets a crack at him, but it’s going to be Arya who finishes him off.” - My Wonderful Brother

“They wouldn’t!” - Me

“Remember Joffrey’s funeral  scene in “Breaker of Chains” and how they changed it?” - My Wonderful Dad

“……… oh, no. They would.” -Me

And now I’m worried

I mean, I love Arya, I really do. And I love girls being great. But something like that would just feel so… out-of-the-blue

Please don’t let that be the case

(But then again, my wonderful Brother’s always right)

Theon and the red shirts going to war and I can’t even try to appreciate it

Oh, well, I couldn’t see much of it anyway

And there goes Rhaegal and Wightserion fighting in the sky. And I can’t even see what’s happening. Wondrous

*squinting*

No! Not the cloak Sansa made for Jon! Bad dragon, bad!

*more squinting*

… did Drogon just bite Rhaegal? It looks like it. But I won’t jump to any conclusions just yet because I CAN’T FRICKING SEE!!! 

Jon has to be hurt after that fall. There’s no way he only got a few scrapes

Then again, the damage to his body is probably far less than the damage my eyes have taken straining to see the screen

And back to the battle. Time to see if anyone I love is still alive…

*even more squinting*

Ya’ know what, I can’t tell

Oh, great. Dany and the Night King. Well, let’s see if she’s going to kill him and become the heiress of a million more prophecies

Bet you ten bucks she’s going to smile when she burns him

And knock knock I’m here to collect my money

Well, Jon’s staggering around like he’s hurt, at least. That’s good enough for me (at least someone seems to be affected by bodily wear-and-tear)

And the Night King’s not burnt. Oh, this is great!!!

AND THAT SMIRK!!! I CAN’T!!! *falls off chair laughing* 

“Can we stan the Starks and the Night King at the same time? Is that even possible?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Well, Dany, your purpose here is done. Time to go back to Meereen.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Excuse me, but what did the people of Meereen ever do to you to have you wish such a thing on them?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Nothing. I just really want Demanding Tourist out of Westeros already.” - My Wonderful Brother 

Yes, head popsicle. Get the dragon brat!!! Yeeeeeeeees!!!!!!

Aw, darn it. He missed

Oooh, Jon running at the Night King. Here we go! One-on-one!!!

Oh, shoot. He’s running towards him as the guy’s reanimating the corpses?! Is he really planning on sacrificing himself?!??!

(you know what, never mind. It’s Jon - we already know the answer is yes)

Okay, sweetie, all you need is a few good jabs and I’ll be happy. Just get a couple hits on this guy and I’ll be satisfied

Immediately has “Satisfied” from Hamilton play in my head and chooses to ignore it

Ummm… Jon. Why are you stopping? The path is still clear? Just run through!

Oh, shoot, everyone that was killed is coming back

Oh, hey, look, Jaime and Brienne are still alive… and they’re probably not going to be in two more minutes so I better enjoy it. Good thing I have both Wench and Kingslayer sense, or I might not have been able to tell it was them in the dark

Now where’s Pod? *activates Squire sense”*

And there’s the crypts not staying safe. I fricking called it and I wish I hadn’t

Don’t you dare touch Gilly or Little Sam or Sansa, wights!!!

On another note… how did the wights manage to punch through solid stone with their skeletal hands?

My boy Theon still stepping up. *sighs*  I’m really going to miss him… and back from a quick cut, Jon squinting at that dragonfire is me right now, after nearly a whole hour of watching an almost fully-black screen

Giving credit where credit is due, Dany just saved my fav. Thanks for that, but don’t get used to it

Ooooooooh Dany stuck in the middle of nowhere without her dragons surrounded by wights… *pulls out White Walker paraphernalia and foam finger* Team Wights forever!

(What? I did say don’t get used to it)

No Jorah! Nooooooo! Why?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

“WE COULD’VE HAD IT ALLLL!!!!” - My Wonderful Brother

Also, kind of hate how the sword belonging to the family Dany burnt alive is now being used to defend her, but who cares what I think, right?

Jon running past Sam is so wrong on so many levels

On another, however, it shows that he prioritizes Bran - his family - above all else. So, maybe I’m giving D&D too much credit here, but if that’s what they were trying to convey, I can see where they’re coming from

This tunnel run is the most fighting Jon’s actually gotten to do in the episode thus far, which is actually pretty dissapointing

Y’know, considering he was all gung-ho about fighting the Army of the Dead and all

Theon , my boy, you make me proud

Also, what is Bran actually doing? Something important, I hope…

Wow. Dany can magically wield a sword. Where did this sudden skill come from, I wonder…

Are Sansa and Tyrion taking refuge behind Ned’s tomb? *heart breaks into a million pieces*

“YES! WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO SEE SANSA IN ACTION!!!” - My Wonderful Dad

*scene cuts away*

“Hey, I said in action, not inactive! I want to see my girl kill some wights!” - My Wonderful Dad

He’s been a full Sansa stan for only a week yet he gets how awesome she is. I’m so proud of him

Oh, great, Wightserion almost killing Jon

Oh, great, wights almost killing my J-B-P Family Trio

WHY DO PIANO SCORES NEVER MEAN ANYTHING GOOD IN THIS SHOW?!?!?!?!

Yet I’m already loving this score. Let’s see just how much of a next level Ramin Djawadi takes it to

No, bad wights! Don’t kill my children!

No! Don’t make Sam cry!

Noooooooooooo! Don’t say thank you, Bran! Now he’s really going to die!

NOOOOOOO! THEON!!!!!!! *cries hysterically*

Jon… just can’t catch an awesome break this episode, can he? Now he’s got to deal with the dragon he already faced again… *sighs*

And yep. Ramin Djawadi outdid himself with this score. And that’s the hill I die on

Jon, sweetie… why are you randomly screaming at a dragon? Did you hit your head when you fell off Rhaegal? Has the stress of obsessing over the undead finally caught up to you? Did Dany finally break you?

Okay, a white walker’s hair has suddenly turned into a Maybelline commercial

And it’s…

Arya. Oh, boy. Here we go…

Aaaaaaaaand… it’s over. Just. Like. That.

We never even got to know anything about him and that’s it

They Snoke’d him

And Bran was utterly useless, to boot

*left eyes strained from too much squinting twitches*

“They really did it…” - mMe

“Called it.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Well… I guess good for Arya. Right?” - My Wonderful Dad

“No. Not good. Not good. I’m glad she got a chance to shine and I don’t even care about her hitting the final blow. I don’t care who hi it, honestly!!! But Jon and Bran were both completely useless?! EVEN BRAN?! ARE YOU  KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! BRAN’S ENTIRE STORYLINE WAS THE NIGHT KING!!! NOW WHAT’S HE ANY GOOD FOR?! TELLING HIS FAMILY THAT JAIME PUSHED HIM OUT A WINDOW?!?! DON’T GIVE ME THAT! I DID NOT SIT THROUGH SEVEN ENTIRE SEASONS OF GAME OF THRONES AND PUT UP WITH SIX OF THEM WATCHING BRAN’S BORING-AS-ALL-HECK VISIONS JUST FOR HIM TO BE PLAYING WARG THE RAVENS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE EPISODE AND HAVE NO SAY IN TAKING DOWN THE POPSICLE!!!” -  Me, with an unpopular opinion that will get me in so much trouble later

“True. His lack of involvement was… dissapointing.” - My Wonderful Dad

“You know, there’s a way it all could’ve worked. All they had to do was have Bran warg into the Night King to try and keep him at bay to give Arya the chance to finish him off. Show a bit of struggle between all three of them and ultimately have Bran be the deciding factor. Maybe throw in a bit of flashbacks to the guy’s past, while they were at it” - My Wonderful Brother

“Yeah, but that would require making the guy look like a legitimate threat in terms of fighting.” - Me

“Oh, that’s an easy fix. They should’ve let Jon fight the Night King before and get royally owned. That would’ve established him.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Not only that, but it would also heighten the expectation that Jon would make a huge comeback, which would really throw the viewers for a loop when Arya comes to save Bran instead.” - My Wonderful Dad

My family, everyone. Also known as my bright spots in the abysmal world

To be fair, the one thing I like about this is that the knife originally intended to kill Bran eventually saved him. Bravo

Welp, there goes Jorah. My heart is already in pieces, so a few more breaks won’t do anything

*cries anyway*

Guess Dark!Dany is probably coming. At least I hope so. And then we’ll have Bronn fight her or some other nonsensical decision. Who cares anymore?

I can’t bring myself to feel a shred of pity for Dany or an ounce of compassion. Yet even I know Emilia Clarke’s acting in this scene is fantastic

And now at the end of the episode we finally have light. And my eyes actually are having a hard time adjusting to it

So long, Melisandre. I’m surprisingly emotional about this but maybe that’s just because I’m still crying from Jorah

That’s it? Huh. That’s it. Who lived? Who died? Don’t ask me.

I’m going to go work on my AU now. It may suck, but at least I put real effort into it. Maybe I’ll be a screenwriter. It seems to require very little

I’m bitter and ready to be unfollowed

Sorry

[greyestjoy]

CHAPTER TEN

Fandom: Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire 

Rating: It’s Game of Thrones

Summary of the whole thang: 

Joanna Lannister, Tywin Lannister's youngest, is a bastard. Even being named a true Lannister after proving herself as a child, the young lady is still struggling to find her true self. On top of that, she has been nicknamed a shrew, after scaring away every young suitor she meets. On her eighteenth name day, Joanna is given a choice by her father. Marry an old man or become a Silent Sister, devoted to the gods and virtue. But the opportunity to woo Robb Stark arises, and the young lioness agrees, determined to win the north in her favour. Who can say no to gain power in their country? Definitely not a Lannister.

Previous Chapter 

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"If a man listens to what you have to say, you're either in the presence of someone who loves you, or someone who's plotting your death."

- Cersei

"What was it like growing up in Winterfell?" Joanna asked once they were outside the tavern. The two of them had finished their drinks and decided to continue exploring Wintertown.

"It was good," he started as they turned another corner. In the back of her mind, Joanna wondered where they were going. "I was never alone, I always had my half-brother Jon." Joanna nodded intently, implying that she had met him. "And Theon has been in Winterfell since I was young." She watched as Robb smiled, and she could see him remembering the three of them playing together.                                                                                                                                                                                    

"What about your parents?" she asked. Earlier, Robb had brought up something quite important that she had not thought about as much as she should have: Jon Snow. Joanna had no clue how Catelyn Stark felt about her husband's bastard, which could potentially affect Joanna as she was also born a bastard.

"My father is honourable and wise." It was clear he idolized the man. "He is a good fighter too, but he doesn't spar with us often." Joanna could see the happy land of Winterfell in Robb's eyes. It was nothing like Joanna had seen from the castle especially since Brandon's fall. "My mother is strong and fierce." Robb was not giving Joanna the information she truly desired.

"How did your mother feel about Jon?" She asked when they turned another corner.

"She has never been warm to him." That was all Robb seemed willing to share. Joanna simply nodded, thinking.

"What about your other siblings? What were they like growing up?"

"They've always been great. Sansa has been a little lady since she was young, always dreaming of knights." The way Robb seemed lost in happiness, Joanna wondered if the two prettiest Stark children had a good bond. "Arya is wild, and it has been quite funny to watch Sansa deal with her. Rickon is a lot like Arya, except he has more of a temper." Joanna wished she could climb into Robb's mind, see whatever joy he's watching unfold. "Gods," Robb's happy little land was broken all of a sudden. "All Bran ever talked about was becoming a knight."

"Brandon will be alright," she spoke, solidly, as if she truly knew. Robb gave her a look of despair and Joanna grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers, hoping it would soothe him.

"What was Casterly Rock like?" Robb asked changing the subject. They had barely talked about Joanna's life, it made sense that he would ask, Joanna had to tell herself. He had no ulterior motives, Joanna reminded herself. He's just a boy, he doesn't know about the games one must play.

"It was beautiful," Joanna spoke as they rounded a corner in Wintertown and the gravel under their feet began to turn to grass. "It was warm," she closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the view from her room, with the beautiful setting sun on the blue water which crashed against the rocks, and the hills in the distance, which rose so gently, then dropped off in sharp cliffs over the water. "It was a bit lonely," Joana was being honest when she remembered what the view in the daytime looked like, her cousins playing in the water, splashing each other and giggling. "My father always made me tend to my studies and I never spent time with family, except for Tyrion, but he was always a bit too old," Joanna laughed when she remembered all of the times she told Tyrion he was too old to spend time with her, and Tyrion had stuck his tongue out at her, asking if he was still too old.  

"What about when you moved to Kingslanding?" Joanna looked at the surroundings as she thought. Robb had led her off the side of a field, straight to a small bush filled with glorious blue flowers. "It was crowded and scary, I was overwhelmed," Joanna answered honestly, forgetting herself,  lost in the rows of blue flowers. She saw Robb out of the corner of her eye giving her a strange look. "But I was alone, travelling only with a handful of Lannister guards. Your sisters will have each other and your father." That seemed to soothe Robb, who was staring at her, making Joanna feel a bit self-conscious. "In fact, I think your sisters will love it," Joanna kept talking, ignoring the ocean of blue watching her so intently. "Sansa will be perfect for the court, and she can buy Myrish silks in the city.  Sansa mentioned wanting to sew a silk dress." Joanna tried to rattle off more information as she watched Robb bend down, inspecting the flowers at their feet. "Arya will love all of the opportunities. She could probably join a tournament and win, especially the archery competitions." Joanna watched as Robb plucked one of the flowers. She heard the stem snap with ease, then, Robb offered her the flower, and she took it gingerly.

"You look confused," Robb chuckled a bit.

"What kind of flower is it?" Joanna had to ask. There were thorns, which made it seem like a rose, but the petals were blue. During her seemingly never-ending lessons as a child, botany had been a subject rarely touched on, but Joanna was no idiot. Roses were red, not blue.

"It's a Winter Rose," Robb responded, and Joanna nodded looking at the flower again then up at Robb who was now rubbing the back of his neck. "Tell me more about Kingslandning." Joanna nodded, took his free hand then led the two of them back to Winterfell.

"I always knew that I would be married off," Joanna started. "It just never really occurred to me until my father had my maids packing my trunk for me to move to Horn Hill."

"But you did not end up marrying Samwell Tarly..." Joanna nodded at Robb's words.

"I embarrassed him." She answered as they were walking through the town, heading for a gate that leads to Winterfell.

"Embarrassed him?"

"Not intentionally, I was just too intense about sword fighting," she tried to explain. Robb gave her a questioning glance, urging her to continue. "I had been learning how to wield a sword, and I couldn't go anywhere without practising." Joanna was a bit shy talking about her past obsession. "I suggested that Samwell and I spar so that I could show him how good I was," Joanna picked at the thorns on the flower in her free hand. "Lord Tarly and my father saw that I was practically dancing around the boy, and my father stepped in, saying I could not marry a man who could not wield a sword."

"What about the others?" Robb asked, slightly amused by the story. However, Joanna noticed something else about his eyes. The sea was not crashing, but it was not calm either,  it was rolling. She could practically imagine looking out her window and see the waves tumble into one another as if they were thinking.

"Different things," Joanna explained loosely. "But the point that I want to make, is that in this system, women don't choose who we are betrothed to and often times who we marry," Joanna watched as Robb nodded. "But you have that choice," she said.

Robb's hand twitched lightly in hers. "You do have that choice, don't you?" Perhaps I have been appeasing the wrong person, she thought to herself.

"Aye, mostly." After Robb spoke, Joanna stopped him and stood in front. Robb glanced around the square that they had paused in the middle of.

"Out of all the suitors I've had to meet, you are the best," Joanna spoke, their hands still interlaced. "I do not know if I want to keep looking, because you are probably the best I can get," Robb threw his head back laughing.

"Thank you," he said leading her back to Winterfell. "I think."

Next Chapter

TAGS: 

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(Tags are 100% open lol) 

[naturallydemsoc]

I liked the adrenaline rush but too many lived.

Seriously GRRM writes to show the cruel indifference of war and that anyone can and will die. The plot armor in this episode was so thick some characters weren’t even wearing physical armor this battle was tooo glorious. And yes a bunch of people died, but how many does that the audience would relate too?

Plain and simple these whites were coming in literal waves:

- Gorah and Ghost would have been over whelmed and wiped out if they were on the front lines

- Greyworm would not have made it to the back, also over whelmed

- Lyanna’s neck would have been snapped with that first hit

- Sam barely putting up a fight, dead

- The Hound hesitating for that long, dead

- Davos, a large man, standing in the corner as dozen of whites rush by, dead

- Pod, Brie and Jamie were overwhelmed, dragged under, dog piled, and pinned to walls multiple times, all dead

- Dany, dozen of whites got shaken off Drogon as he fled and he didn’t burn them so just having a couple staggering towards you isn’t happening, dead

- Jon....oh Jon, no armor AGAIN, fell off a dragon, ran head first toward the Night King as he was clearly raising the dead several of which were feet away and had him surrounded, fire isn’t that accurate and it’s been established that you aren’t fire proof sooo very dead and that’s before you ran back for your sword and screamed at an undead dragon.

The only characters on the battle field who acted in any realistic way were Drogon who was a good boi but got spooked when his mom neglectfully kept him on the ground for two long, Theon already knowing he was going to died swinging to the last blow, and Arya who kept her wits about her fought when she was able and rested when she could it’s atleast established she can sneak around virtually unheard, she’s not perfect because one of the generals spotted her just before she struck and she been working with that blade so her drop switching the blade wasn’t bad.

To the crypts.....some how we have a reverse problem. These are mostly sketelons why are we just having them bust through the STONE tombs?!? If we aren’t going the secret passage route or having them bust down the doors then have the ones down there trying to move the stone slab on top, most of them won’t be able to but imagine the fear of cowering hearing them rattle and scratch but not knowing which one have enough to get out. Give Sansa and Tyrion at least one kill a piece a they lead the elderly, women, and children to help keep the tombs closed stabbing at those close to coming out, then have Rickon who if kept in that cold place for less than a year would still be meaty easily slip from his tomb and charge at them right before Arya ends the battle.

So many missed opportunities, could have seen the houses that choose not to come, Hodor, Rickon so many.... Them taking out two armies (suspiciously the brown people) just seems like a lazy way of letting Cersei have a fighting chance, because no one would use these fighters like this, I don’t care on how short of a notice. You’d have the dragons swooping down and torching the field BEFORE the blood riders you’d have dug those barriers way further out to stop the dead and give room for the Dothraki to fight, the unsullied would be behind a second fire barrier against the walls of the castle and just in side they are far more disciplined and would handled wall climbers better, Bear island would be protecting the crypts and the rest would be at the gods woods Arya would be relying messages and providing support as needed.

[themermaidstar]

Here are my new predictions on the next GOT episode:

TOP 10 MOST LIKELY TO DIE BASED ON EPISODE 2:

1. Grey Worm ( His scenes with Missandei is basically ringing all the alarms that he’s not coming back to run away with her. He was already really high on the kill list, but now this episode just confirms it, I’d actually be surprised if he wasn’t killed off )

2. Jorah Mormont ( To have the most loyal person and probably the first true friend of Daenerys killed off would be one of the biggest blows ever, especially with Dany’s emotions currently all over the place. He’s already fulfilled his role as her protector especially during their time in Essos. Knowing that he can fully trust Jon to protect her in his stead, his role as her sole protector is finally over, which means a bigger chance for him to die )

3. Theon Greyjoy ( His arc too seems to have ended in the latest episode, with the Starks accepting him back wholeheartedly, and him finally doing the right thing after making the biggest mistake of his life which costed him his “real” family. Him dying to protect a Stark would be a very poetic death and would be very heartbreaking for Yara when she finds out she doesn’t have any family left )

4. Podrick Payne ( I hate to say this, but that training scene with him becoming better at sword-fighting is actually not boding well for me. It makes me think that his skills, despite it’s improvements, will not be enough for him to survive. After all, he is one of the overall weaker characters, physically, among the well-known ones )

5. Bran Stark ( I always thought that Bran might survive throughout all this in some manner. But after that meeting scene with him revealing the Night King’s goal, I’m beginning to think that perhaps the Night King might actually succeed in killing Bran, and this episode has definitely started raising its red flags on Bran’s survival for me )

6. SER Brienne of Tarth ( I REALLY don’t want her to die, especially after she was knighted by Jaime. But it’s precisely for that reason that I’m not very optimistic about her survival, since her being recognized as a knight and her fulfilling Cat’s wish to protect the Stark girls could pretty much signal the end of her arc )

7. Beric Dondarrion ( I don’t know, but I have a feeling that he’ll be sacrificing his life to save the Hound from death. And since it is his last life... well. )

8. Tormund Giantsbane ( Leaders of important houses/clans/tribes have been killed off a lot for the past seasons which I take as a sign of the world truly changing and renewing itself in the end. So as much as I love Tormund and will miss him terribly, I won’t be that surprised if he’ll be killed off to take the Wildlings out of the equation )

9. Ghost ( I hate to say this, but after that very small cameo this episode, I won’t be surprised if he gets killed off just for budget reasons. It’s such a shame really that he wasn’t given more importance or even a reunion scene with Jon. This good boy is important too, you know? )

10. Dolorous Edd ( Same reason as Tormund, which is to extinguish almost all representatives that’s left of the old world before the Night King attacked, in Ed’s case, the Night’s Watch )

Top 10 Predictions After Episode 3:

1. After the Battle of Winterfell, most of the remaining survivors will have to disperse to either the Iron Islands and Dragonstone, two of the safest places to be. The other might possibly be Dorne. I’m not so convinced with the Eyrie, because while it may be impregnable and hard to reach, it could also serve as a trap to the survivors, making it almost impossible to escape unless you have a multitude of dragons.

2. Daenerys will set aside her issues about Jon’s birthright and really reflect if her claim for the throne is really worth it, especially after the huge losses in battle. I’ll be one of those people who thinks that all this “Battle for the True Heir” dilemna is all just a big red herring to piss us off like how they did the Stark family in Season 7. Perhaps a surprise(?) pregnancy will give her a change of heart? In any case, I am highly confident that Dany will not sit on the Iron Throne in the end, especially after all this “I am the Queen” schtick being shown too many times, and I doubt Jon will either.

3. If Jon and Dany do give birth to a child, the Night King might target this baby as his new goal for whatever new reason, especially if this child or Jon or Dany is the prophesied “Prince That Was Promised”. It’ll be the first and only newborn baby born with the blood of both the First Men and Old Valyria after the dragons were hatched, and nobody knows how to truly stop the Night King yet. So perhaps this birth might have some significance to ending the Night King once and for all. One thing’s for sure... a sacrifice MUST be made.

4. Euron and the Golden Company will betray Cersei at some point. And if the Night King/s army will actually reach King’s Landing, I suspect that Cersei might try to reach Jon and Dany for help, for real this time, using her pregnancy as an excuse to sway their opinions, especially Jon’s, which will affect him even more if Dany’s truly pregnant with his child since he dislikes punishing children for the crimes their parents’ made.

5. Bronn will succeed at killing one of the Lannister brothers. The question is who? I’m betting money on Jaime.

6. The reason why I think Davos will survive at least next episode despite not being one of the better fighters is because he still has unfinished business with Melisandre. If she comes out in the Battle of Winterfell, I do not think she’ll die in the battle itself, but she’ll surely play a very large role for the last episodes to make up for all her mistakes. And Davos will be the one to witness it. Varys might also actually work together with Melisandre and sacrifice both their lives for the greater good, which will effectively erase all “relics” from the King’s Council, making way for the new world and new people to play the game.

7. If there is to be a ruling monarch or perhaps a democracy after all this, the person leading the remaining citizens would most likely be... (fight me on this)... Sansa Stark. Compared to Jon and Dany, Sansa actually is a better player in politics and has the perfect balance as a practical leader who both wants to protect her people and actually enjoying having power without abusing it.

8. Arya will go wherever Sansa is. If she had to choose between Gendry or Sansa, she’d no doubt choose her family. Despite her Stark name and Gendry’s Baratheon name, these two will most likely not take part into any politics and will be completely okay remaining in the shadows. I wish these two would end up together, but I won’t be surprised if life takes them into different paths.

9. Tyrion might have to answer to all the crucial mistakes he’s made from the past seasons, maybe with his life. In any case, at the moment I think if there absolutely has to be at least one Lannister left, Tyrion might be that person. I think he’s someone who’s going to be doing a lot of reflecting, with being alive actually being more of a punishment than mercy.

10. All traces of magic will die in the end, including the dragons.

[rhetorical-ink]

Rhetorical Ink: Game of Thrones, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms“ Review

** KNIGHTLY SPOILER REVIEWS BELOW **

One episode down in this series -- is it bad that I want the battle to be held off as long as possible, because I know we’re going to suffer so many losses? Ugh. In any case, here comes --

My Top Ten Thoughts on Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 2:

10. I have never wanted to hug Brianne of Tarth more than in these first moments of the episode as she stands up for Jaime -- Every ounce of my shipping body was fangirling and I love that we see all three of the power-holders in the North react -- Sansa to the loyalty of the north, John Snow to survival, and Dany (fresh off of seeing consequences of her actions towards the Tarley’s) allows Jaime to live. It’s great to see these three personalities at play, here, in this moment.

If the show writers do NOT let Jaime and Brianne have a moment together by the end of this show, I. WILL. RIOT. That is all.

9. I love Arya putting Gendry in his place in showing him she’s a good fighter, but the foreshadowing of him telling her she’d be safe in the crypts left me with a sickening feeling...please let both of them make it out alive!

8. FINALLY, someone confronts Bran on his ability to see into the past. It was a tiny moment, but Jaime’s conversation with Bran was great and chilling -- great because Jaime is the first person to question Bran being something more than he seems, and chilling for that foreboding line he offers to Jaime about there might not being a “future.”

7. Sansa and Dany have a surprising amount in common -- but clearly, at the end of it all, there’s the question of “after the war” and what is to come...I am eager to see how that conversation would continue, but in the meantime, another commonality between Dany and Sansa -- both have a lost love in Jorah for Dany and Theon (so it seems) for Sansa.

6. Bran being bait for the Night King gives me eight thousand vibes of “bad idea,” but what else are they going to do?

I love that at least Tyrion and Bran are getting time to talk together -- I hope it’s something that will come to bear some merit in later episodes. Leave it to the Lannister’s to actually sit down and talk with someone the rest of the North is uneasy around.

5. Leave it to Tormund to be the ever ray of optimism! “We’re all going to die, but at least we’ll die together.” And that look at Brianne -- it’s hilarious, but I still want Jaime to end up with her, if it’s possible. Don’t be a cock block, Tormund! Also that giant’s milk story was just an epic fail, Tormund!

4. Arya and Gendry -- ARYA and GENDRY -- that’s -- that’s really all I can say.

3. UGH -- Brianne getting knighted by Jaime was just as friggin’ rewarding as the scene before it. Just, God, let them live past the next episode so they can get a Gendry/Arya scene too -- is that OKAY?! Also, Podrick can sing. Yay! Does anyone else think he looks different?

2. I’m really glad Jorah and Lyanna have a moment to talk amongst one another -- I’m not sure if I like that Sam gives Jorah his family’s sword -- on the one hand, Jorah gets to protect himself for the future -- on the other hand, how is Sam going to protect himself?

1. I’m glad that Jon went ahead and told Dany, and that both have that “oh God, we’re related” realization, though Dany did not seem as disturbed as Jon Snow -- she treated the revelation with much more “textbook” clarity. Though, the Targaryan’s have been marrying relations for generations, so it’s probably nothing unheard of for her.

So, next episode is the start of the ramp up to the end?

[mmazzeroo]

Chapter 21: ARYA VI - Happy Nameday, Jon

@helloimnotawesome - Last Arya pov chapter in the fic. We’re coming closer to the end of this fic. Thank you so much for the beautiful mood board, sis! Also a big thanks to @thebeautyofjoneryzz for her patient beta work on this <3

ARYA VI - Happy Nameday, Jon:

"I believe it's tradition."

"Tradition?" She sent a sceptical glance at the silver-haired man sitting next to her. "You seriously think Jon's been back long enough to make anything 'tradition'?" She snorted. Tradition! What makes anything tradition, really? A certain number of times, number of years, what?

"Arya, he's been back in Starfall for three years now. Yes, he's had time to make new traditions with his people here. Oh, drop the sceptical act, wolfie lass!" He affectionately bumped his shoulder against hers, "they're his people just as the people of Winterfell are your father's."

Vis was sitting with her in the far corner of the castle garden. Is it a garden though? She wasn't quite sure what to call it. It was high above the city itself so it was quiet, with a floor made of beautiful, smooth sandstone. Maybe it's a terrace? There were little pockets of green spread around. Currently, she  sat under a mango tree; enjoying the subtle, sweet smell of the plump, ripe fruits that reminded her of the winter roses back home in Winterfell. The other corner had a handful of lemon trees, and had for some reason quickly become one of Dany's favourite places when she moved down here. When not working, she could most often be found in the lemon corner camping out on a blanket, book in hand, with the cinnabons, Ghost and maybe a cat cuddled up against her. Looking the most happy and relaxed I've ever seen her.

The centrepiece was a peepal tree from Naath, that still had much growing to do, but was slowly beginning to cast a nice shade. It was a gift from one of the temples Jon had worked with, during his stay on the island. How they'd even managed to get a tree like that here, so far away, unscathed and then have it grow and thrive was beyond her. Quite impressive actually. Scouring the family libraries at Winterfell and Dragonstone, she'd discovered the Naathi considered peepal trees sacred. Similar to how we in the North view our Weirwood trees.

"From what I've seen they're proud of it too." Casting another glance at Vis, before focusing her attention on Theon; who was rather quiet as he tended to the trees, bushes and colourful flowers. They’d attracted a large number of bees and an equal amount of large, colourful butterflies. Every so often, Theon would stop and watch the small flying beings flutter about; as it was the only time there was ever a hint of a smile on his constantly, somber face. Heartbreaking. Would hug him if I knew he was ready for human contact.

"Yes, that's because Jon took his time to interact with them and get to know them. They could have thrown rotten eggs and tomatoes at him. Turned their backs on him. But they didn't. Because your brother is smart enough to know that a way to people's hearts is by meeting them face to face and getting to know each other. He could've barricaded himself in his tower but he didn't. Despite being apprehensive about taking up the lordship of Starfall he's here because at his core your brother is a warrior."

She whipped her head around with a piercing gaze as she glanced at Vis. "Of course he is - he's a Stark!"

"—and a Dayne, Arya. Being a warrior is in his blood either way." Vis poured himself another glass of lemonade as he continued speaking, "now back to this tradition of his: Do you know why he's giving every newborn in Starfall a sword?"

"A wooden sword," she scuffed.

"Does that make a difference to you?" He turned leaning in slightly in front of her and looked her straight in the eyes. An usual seriousness lurking in the depth of Vis' kind purple eyes. Gods damn it!

Embarrassed now, she lowered her eyes as she mumbled underneath of her breath, "I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure."

Vis wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closely so her back was resting against his chest, "picture the scene, Arya: Not only does the Lord of Starfall himself stop by with a gift for your newborn child, but the gift he's presenting is one he's created with his own hands. Do you know how much emotional value that has to the parents? In a heartbeat that piece of wood crafted into the shape of a traditional Dornish-style sword becomes priceless."

"Oh! I hadn't thought of that way," she confessed quietly.

"Just means you've learned something new today, my dear wolf," he stated softly adding a kiss to the top of her head.

She could hear the smile in his voice. She couldn't count high enough to know the number of times Viserys had held her like this. Ironically,  it was as if he was the water to her fire. Always making sure not to quell the flames entirely. Somehow he managed to contain her fire while limiting the damage. Only he had that effect on her. Their difference in age made Vis more like an uncle than brother, despite growing up underneath the same roof. He’d always been her confidant. Didn't big-brother her like Robb and didn't discipline her like mom and dad. He'd patiently let her rant and rage on about her family, or Gendry, her friends, patients...anything really, before gently guiding her towards a more peaceful course of action than her usual 'murder list' impulses. Sometimes he'd tease her by telling her she was more of a dragon than wolf which never failed to make her show him her fangs. That made him laugh harder as he  stated he was sure she had the deepest bite of all the wolves. You bet your ass I do, Vis! Except for maybe Jon...

With a deep, contented sigh, she let the silence between them settle. They were actually down here for Jon's nameday. They'd been enjoying a delicious lunch - all the Starks and Targs - until word came that Lord Dayne's request had been granted. He always sent out a request to visit the new parents, not wanting to overwhelm them any further. So he had jumped out of his chair as if he'd be welcoming a new member to his family. Oh! Wait! From what Vis said earlier that's how he views them, isn't it? As extended family? A big wide smile spread on her lips. They're lucky to have you, brother.

"But still....," she pondered, "—why a sword of all things?"

Vis gave her a little squeeze, "—because this is Dorne, and regardless of a newborn's gender in this land, it'll grow up to be a strong warrior." I knew there was a reason I liked Dorne despite this bloody gods forsaken heat!

"There are more than one way to be a warrior though." She sat up again to turn and look at him. "I mean, Bran's in a wheelchair and Sansa...well, she's not exactly a fighter in the traditional sense either, but I would definitely call both of them warriors in their own right," she said, emphatically.

"Exactly!" He exclaimed, excitement written all over his face as he continued, "—and knowing how Sansa and Jon have connected, I think it's pretty safe to say that he'll make sure every child growing up in Starfall will know and learn that there are several ways to be a warrior and a fighter."

They high-five'd and shared a proud lemonade toast for Jon as they celebrated.

Making sure to look straight ahead with a small, crooked smile upon her lips; doing her best to sound as uninterested as possible she said jestingly, "I know psychologists are good at talking, but you somehow always manage to sound like you actually know what you're talking about."

Vis responded in the expected dramatic manner by placing a hand on his heart when he gushingly answered, "why thank you, Arya! Coming from you that might be the biggest compliment I've ever received. I'll cherish it forever in my heart. Mark my calendar and celebrate it every year as the day of my greatest achievement!" At the end, he burst out laughing, not able to hold it in any longer.  

"Oh shut up, Vis!" She jokingly said as she slapped him on his shoulder making him laugh even more.

"You know us Targaryens - we have a flair for the dramatics!"

"Yeah, I know,” she rolled her eyes, “we grew up under the same roof, remember?" Bunch of drama queens, the lot of them!

When their laughter died down, she leaned in to him resting  her head on his shoulder.

"By the way, thank you for all you've done for Jon," she added quietly.

"It's kinda my job you know."

"I know that dummy," she grumbled, "but I also happen to know that what you're doing for Jon isn't just because it's your job." She gave him a gentle shove with her shoulder, "I know you love him too."

"Of course I love him, Arya. I remember the little boy he was and I missed him too." He took a trembling breath and took a few sips of lemonade before continuing. "Just as I now love him for the man he was made into and for the man he's fighting to become. I love your brother for having a heart soft as butter, a spine hard as steel and the courage to let the world see both."

"Wow Vis, that was unexpectedly...tender," she teased.

"I'm a softie." He shrugged and with a wink added, "you know that."

Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she replied, "wouldn't want it any other way."

"Aunty Aya! Aunty Aya! Aunty Aya!" Little Adei came running as fast as her little toddler legs could carry her.

"Cinnabon!" She jumped up, swooped Adei up in her arms and twirled a few times filling the air with the sound of toddler giggles. Gods I love that sound!

In the background Amador was approaching next to a timid Theon. His little chubby hand wrapped around a couple of Theon's dirt covered fingers. Every time she was with the twins she was amazed at just how different they were from each other. Reminded her of herself and the other Stark siblings. Adei clearly had the wolf's blood. Dad always said the same about me...and Aunt Lya. Quick to smile and laugh, quick to anger, quick to love, quick to protect. The locals loved the little girl's trailblazing spirit. Even more so after Jon had officially named her heir to Starfall. Definitely carries her heart on her sleeve that one. Amador on the other hand... The little boy always had an easy, relaxed smile on his face. His grey eyes, resembling her own, always observing. Patient and always ready to help, ever so gentle with all beings. Must be Mallandei's peaceful constitution. Calm as the ocean on a clear summer's day, but the few times she'd seen her little nephew angry it was like watching a winter storm, thunder and lightning all wrapped up in a tiny human being. It was a beautiful but frightening sight. He's a good warm up for potential dragonwolves. Like his sister, the locals loved him, especially for accompanying Theon on his daily walk outside castle grounds. They both had their parent's gentle heart and no doubt would be a pair you'd always want on your side.

"Theon showed us all the butterflies!" The little girl announced enthusiastically.

"Again?" She asked with a slight chuckle. He shows them to the two of you every day!  

"Yes." A firm nod.

"Are they pretty?"

"Yes!" The little girl bounced excitedly.

Smirking she asked, "prettier than papa?"

Her little niece instantly furrowed her brows and scowled at her aunt. "Papa and Mador don't like being called petty."

"Pretty."

"Yes." Another firm nod.

"Ok, then we won't call them that." Definitely your father's daughter!

Adei grinned, "good."

"Now," she carefully sat Adei on the bench next to Viserys, "time for some refreshing lemonade."

"Yay!" The toddlers rejoiced.

Amador jumped up to join his sister on the bench while Vis poured a half glass of lemonade for each of them.

Arya poured a glass for herself. "I've poured a glass for you as well, Theon. I'll leave it here on the table for you."

"Thank you, Miss Arya. Very kind of you," he muttered while staring into the ground, fidgeting nervously with his hat.

Despite her hatred for being called ‘Miss’ and ‘Lady’, she always bit her tongue when it was Theon who referred to her as such. She so badly wanted to hug him; let him know that he was safe here. No one would ever dare to cause him any harm again. He was protected by wolves, dragons and all of Starfall. What kind of psycho could get any pleasure from breaking a person like that? To the point where he’s become a mere shadow of a man. She felt so much rage inside whenever she thought of it.

"No trouble at all, Theon. It was my pleasure." She walked around the table to stand behind the bench to give Theon space and a clear path to the table from where he stood.

In a few swift steps he was by the table; quickly emptying  his glass.

"Would you like some more?" She’d asked softly. Very unlike her except for patients - and Theon.

He froze for a few seconds before slowly nodding and shakily holding out his glass towards her.

Giving him a reassuring smile she held out the pitcher and poured.

After quickly finishing  another round of lemonade, he put the glass back down on the table as he nodded and went back to tending the garden.

Further up the path, she saw her three brothers by the cherry trees. Jon was playing peek-a-boo with little Arthur who was sitting on mommy Marg's arm.

Leaning down so her face was between the twins' heads she said, "who wants to go pick cherries with uncle Bran and uncle Robb?"

Both of the children gasped and looked up to see their two wolf uncles.

"Nuncle Bob! Nuncle Bob!" Adei sprinted ahead.

Amador walked off at his usual leisurely pace.

Walking back round to sit on the bench she couldn't help laughing, "the fact that my little niece can't pronounce the letter 'R' is an endless source of enjoyment for me."

Vis chuckled next to her. "Give her time she'll get the hang of it."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Vis!"

He just shook his head in amusement.

"By the way, how's Theon doing? He looks better than last time I visited."

"Meeting Jon I thought he was the worst case I'd ever met. At the time he was. But..." he paused, as he slowly blew out a breath, "—if I ever meet a case worse than Theon, I can for a fact say that person will never become a fully fledged human being again. Theon has a chance and I still believe he’ll eventually get there. For outsiders it's difficult to see but he's working so hard to claw his way out of his shell." I can hear Vis' heart break for Theon in every word.

"Don't even know what to say to that. I mean, I'm happy he's getting better, but…," tilting her head back now, she gazed up at the azure-blue sky. "There was a time I thought I wanted to know what had happened to him, but now....,” she shook her head slightly, “—with what you just said, Vis, I never want to know anything. I'd want to hunt them down!" The blood was boiling in her veins, her fists, jaws and teeth clenched. She was ready to pounce if only she knew who to punch the living daylight out of!

"Easy there, wolf." Vis placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "You're right, you definitely don't want to know." There's a darkness to that statement that I've never heard from Vis before. "I'll tell you this much, Arya: Where Jon was all broken bones, open wounds and heartache, Theon is the opposite. Your brother's spirit hadn't been broken. He still bit back, defended himself and others. Theon's spirit, however, had been smashed to smithereens and he had been left to try to piece it together all on his own which is not humanly possible."

She looked to Theon, who was currently standing with Jon. He was still so afraid of human contact that the only ones who could touch him without frightening him were children. Somehow, he instinctively knew that their actions were truly genuine. Vis had challenged him to venture out of the castle grounds once a day, and every day like clockwork, Amador would stand by the castle gate waiting for him. Ready to take his hand and walk the short distance up to the old city gate and back; they made an odd, but sweet pair.

"Want to join the rest of us for some afternoon tea?" Jon's warm voice brought her out of her musings.

Before they could answer they were interrupted by Robb, who came running by with a giggling Amador on his shoulders. The little boy waved eagerly as they passed by.

"That looks like fun." Jon looked longingly after the two.

"It is!" Her and Vis exclaimed in unison before all three shared a good laugh.

"You've never tried it?" How's that possible? She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to.

"No, not like that." Jon turned his head and looked at them. A shadow seemed to have passed through his mind as he continued, "I mean, Uncle Arthur would do the thing where he carried me over his shoulder and pretend like he couldn't find me. I'd laugh and giggle and say 'I'm right here, Uncle' and he'd turn and say 'where?' and everyone around would laugh." A sad smile began to creep upon his face and lips as he suddenly stopped. Everyone in that memory is dead. Including the little innocent boy that Jon was.

"You want to try?" Vis asked enthusiastically.

Jon shook his head clearly puzzled by the inquiry, "—of course I would, but it's decades too late for that, Vis."

"I bet I know a guy who can carry you. Still wanna try?" What are you playing at, Vis?

"I highly doubt that, Vis, but yes I still want to try."

"Great! Come with me then!"

Jon was still laughing lightly as he and Vis walked off.

As she began to collect the glasses and the pitcher, she heard a mixed choir of gasps and laughter coming from further up the garden. As she turned to begin moving up to where the action was she couldn't believe her eyes. Coming down the path towards her was Jon - laughing the loudest she'd ever heard him, with a look of pure glee - being carried on the shoulders of a laughing Rhaegar.  

As the two men made it closer, she could hear their conversation:

"Oh gods this is amazing! No wonder the kids love it. Thank you, Rhae." Jon choked on his tears but there was no denying the smile that was plastered upon his face.

Rhaegar’s head peered upwards, as if trying to see Jon over his head, as he replied, "Happy nameday, Jon!"

[poorquentyn]

Remember Your Name, Part 3: When That Other Man Had Come This Way

Series so far here

“That era has passed. Nothing that belonged to it exists anymore.”

At the end of In the Mood for Love, the film’s protagonist visits the ruins of Angkor Wat. He’d earlier mused to a friend about how back in the day, if you had a secret burning inside that you couldn’t bring yourself to share, you dug a shallow hole into a tree and whispered your secret into it, filling the hole with mud afterwards to keep the truth at bay.

But when our hero decides to try and leave behind the story of forsaken love we saw unfold over the course of the movie, he does not seek out a living thing that can survive and change and grow. He instead unburdens himself to a ruin: a monument to the ravages wrought and distances forged by time. In the sequel 2046, he disappears into the rose-colored fog within, surrounded by his ghosts on parade. Try as he might, he could not seal them away forever.

I have come this way before. It was a dangerous thought, and he regretted it at once.

“No,” he said, “no, that was some other man, that was before you knew your name.” His name was Reek. He had to remember that. Reek, Reek, it rhymes with leek. When that other man had come this way, an army had followed close behind him, the great host of the north riding to war beneath the grey-and-white banners of House Stark. Reek rode alone, clutching a peace banner on a pinewood staff. When that other man had come this way, he had been mounted on a courser, swift and spirited. Reek rode a broken-down stot, all skin and bone and ribs, and he rode her slowly for fear he might fall off. The other man had been a good rider, but Reek was uneasy on horseback. It had been so long. He was no rider. He was not even a man. He was Lord Ramsay’s creature, lower than a dog, a worm in human skin. “You will pretend to be a prince,” Lord Ramsay told him last night, as Reek was soaking in a tub of scalding water, “but we know the truth. You’re Reek. You’ll always be Reek, no matter how sweet you smell. Your nose may lie to you. Remember your name. Remember who you are.”

“Reek,” he said. “Your Reek.”

The Drunkard’s Tower leaned as if it were about to collapse, just as it had for half a thousand years. The Children’s Tower thrust into the sky as straight as a spear, but its shattered top was open to the wind and rain. The Gatehouse Tower, squat and wide, was the largest of the three, slimy with moss, a gnarled tree growing sideways from the stones of its north side, fragments of broken wall still standing to the east and west. The Karstarks took the Drunkard’s Tower and the Umbers the Children’s Tower, he recalled. Robb claimed the Gatehouse Tower for his own. If he closed his eyes, he could see the banners in his mind’s eye, snapping bravely in a brisk north wind. All gone now, all fallen.

Memory and identity are inextricable. Who you were informs who you are, and who you are invariably filters your perspective on who you were. The weight of backstory has always been one of ASOIAF’s central claims to profundity. R+L=J, the story’s central revelation and the beating heart of the fandom, is also the burdensome duty that defined our fakeout protagonist Eddard Stark. What makes Ned’s life so meaningful is that he put it all on the line not to keep the secret that his purported bastard Jon is in fact his sister Lyanna’s son by Rhaegar Targaryen, but in the name of the values that keeping that secret instilled in him.

Time was perilously short. The king would return from his hunt soon, and honor would require Ned to go to him with all he had learned. Vayon Poole had arranged for Sansa and Arya to sail on the Wind Witch out of Braavos, three days hence. They would be back at Winterfell before the harvest. Ned could no longer use his concern for their safety to excuse his delay.

Yet last night he had dreamt of Rhaegar's children. Lord Tywin had laid the bodies beneath the Iron Throne, wrapped in the crimson cloaks of his house guard. That was clever of him; the blood did not show so badly against the red cloth. The little princess had been barefoot, still dressed in her bed gown, and the boy…the boy…                 

Ned could not let that happen again. The realm could not withstand a second mad king, another dance of blood and vengeance. He must find some way to save the children.

Jaime floats in heat and memory in the Harrenhal bathtubs, the truth finally swimming to the surface; Barbrey stares deep into a dead man’s face, the pleasure and pain of it eternally intermingled; Robert himself admits that all he wants most is to leave behind the crown it was all ostensibly for. They all sing the same sad song, the one Reek sings as he rides fearfully into Theon Greyjoy’s past at Moat Cailin: I tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell. They followed the red comet, over the edge. Their songs broke, and broke them in their fall.

Following on Theon briefly coming unstuck in time in his first ADWD chapter, Reek II builds on that disorientation by externalizing it onto his environment. The chapter is thick with memory and riddled with decay, all swathes of mist that give way to fountains of blood, because that’s what the inside of Theon Greyjoy’s head looks like. That opening chapter in the Dreadfort gave us a blood-curdling glimpse of the crucible in which Theon became Reek before forcing him out of it; now, the story goes widescreen, taking in how the North has changed along with our POV since last he stepped out into it.

The hall was dark stone, high ceilinged and drafty, full of drifting smoke, its stone walls spotted by huge patches of pale lichen. A peat fire burned low in a hearth blackened by the hotter blazes of years past. A massive table of carved stone filled the chamber, as it had for centuries. There was where I sat, the last time I was here, he remembered. Robb was at the head of the table, with the Greatjon to his right and Roose Bolton on his left. The Glovers sat next to Helman Tallhart. Karstark and his sons were across from them.

The reference to time’s fire in which we burn (“blackened by the hotter blazes of years past”), the epochal weight of the table filling the chamber “as it had for centuries,” the evocation of the ghosts that haunt Theon--all of it grounds the business of the plot in memory and time, and thus in what’s happened to our POV. 

Theon smiled. Reek cannot. Theon had friends. Reek is a pariah. Theon came to Moat Cailin with an army. Now, that army is dead and gone, except for those who turned on the rest...just as he did. Moat Cailin has been made a ruin all over again, defeat and despair folded into it like Lannister crimson into Stark steel, a testament like Tristifer’s tomb to a shattered kingdom. Theon helped shatter it, and now he stumbles back shattered to help melt down what’s left. He is Moat Cailin, more or less, the broken towers a misty mirror for our broken man, the splintered teeth of his smile writ large. The fog that cloaks the fortress reflects how he’s been forced to compartmentalize his past, which is now screaming its way to the surface. There are ghosts in Moat Cailin, and he is one of them.

(image by warsandpoliticsoficeandfire.wordpress.com)

This sense of desolation and loss is mirrored in the chapter’s purpose in the larger plot. The standoff between the Boltons and the Ironborn over the Moat (and by extension, the North as a whole) is little more than a feast for crows. Both sides went for the direwolf’s throat with no higher cause than plunder and the pleasure of it; all they’re fighting over is who did it more successfully. The Ironborn here were left to rot by their Lord Captain when he went chasing his brother’s crown...

“Victarion commanded us to hold, he did. I heard him with my own ears. Hold here till I return, he told Kenning.”

“Aye,” said the one-armed man. “That’s what he said. The kingsmoot called, but he swore that he’d be back, with a driftwood crown upon his head and a thousand men behind him.”

“My uncle is never coming back,” Reek told them. “The kingsmoot crowned his brother Euron, and the Crow’s Eye has other wars to fight. You think my uncle values you? He doesn’t. You are the ones he left behind to die. He scraped you off the same way he scrapes mud off his boots when he wades ashore.”

Those words struck home. He could see it in their eyes, in the way they looked at one another or frowned above their cups. They all feared they’d been abandoned, but it took me to turn fear into certainty. These were not the kin of famous captains nor the blood of the great Houses of the Iron Islands. These were the sons of thralls and salt wives.

...and the Dreadfort men can’t lay any credible claim to be acting as defenders of the North from the reaving invaders, given the Northern blood they’ve both happily spilled throughout. (Those who hunt people for sport shouldn’t throw stones, and all that.) Ramsay in this chapter is merely mopping up after and reaping the benefits of the hard-earned victory won by Howland Reed and his guerilla fighters, and even that he’s not doing himself, but forcing a helpless tortured prisoner to do for him. The Bastard’s unspeakably hideous treatment of the Ironborn after they surrender to him in good faith is the punchline to a very dark joke, poisoned icing on bitter cake. And of course, it’s all in the service of welcoming an army soaked in the blood of the men and women with whom they sat down to dinner, as allies, as friends, as guests at a wedding.

Three days later, the vanguard of Roose Bolton’s host threaded its way through the ruins and past the row of grisly sentinels—four hundred mounted Freys clad in blue and grey, their spearpoints glittering whenever the sun broke through the clouds. Two of old Lord Walder’s sons led the van. One was brawny, with a massive jut of jaw and arms thick with muscle. The other had hungry eyes close-set above a pointed nose, a thin brown beard that did not quite conceal the weak chin beneath it, a bald head. Hosteen and Aenys. He remembered them from before he knew his name. Hosteen was a bull, slow to anger but implacable once roused, and by repute the fiercest fighter of Lord Walder’s get. Aenys was older, crueler, and more clever—a commander, not a swordsman. Both were seasoned soldiers.

The northmen followed hard behind the van, their tattered banners streaming in the wind. Reek watched them pass. Most were afoot, and there were so few of them. He remembered the great host that marched south with Young Wolf, beneath the direwolf of Winterfell. Twenty thousand swords and spears had gone off to war with Robb, or near enough to make no matter, but only two in ten were coming back, and most of those were Dreadfort men.

Even as Reek struggles to keep Theon at bay (thinking of his life before the Dreadfort dungeons as the time “before he knew his name”), making contact with the people with whom Theon rode to war is stirring something inside him, and that’s reflected in the big picture of what it means for this army to arrive in the North. Grey Wind’s forlorn eyes from the House of the Undying are watching, and judging, and waiting. Wolves prowl and howl through the opening chapters of ADWD’s Northern half, singing the song of their fall, and of Jojen’s solemn promise: “the wolves will come again.” The ghosts of the Red Wedding follow this army to Winterfell, and hang heavy on the Ramsay-Jeyne wedding and everything that follows, crying out for redress. The gods have been insulted, and will have their due. Thankfully, there’s a man going ‘round taking names, and he decides who to free and who to blame...

...but discussion of His Grace King Stannis Baratheon, the Wrath of God, will have to wait for later chapters, as will Wyman Manderly’s culinary interpretation of divine judgment.

For the purposes of Theon’s arc, the Ironborn at Moat Cailin serve as the mirror from which he’s trying so desperately to look away. I said last time that what Reek fears most right now, even more than Ramsay, is being Theon. That name carries so much shame and pain with it that he prefers to be “your Reek,” fearing not only the external consequences of defiance (more torture and maiming), but also the internal consequences of identifying as his old self. All Theon wanted to do in ACOK was take control of his life, and now that’s the last thing he wants, because of what he did with that power once he had it. He returns to Moat Cailin flying a white flag of peace, but it may as well be one of surrender.

“I am Ironborn,” Reek answered, lying. The boy he’d been before had been Ironborn, true enough, but Reek had come into this world in the dungeons of the Dreadfort. “Look at my face. I am Lord Balon’s son. Your prince.” He would have said the name, but somehow the words caught in his throat. Reek, I’m Reek, it rhymes with squeak.

“Ralf Kenning is dead,” he said. “Who commands here?”

The drinkers stared at him blankly. One laughed. Another spat. Finally one of the Codds said, “Who asks?”

“Lord Balon’s son.” Reek, my name is Reek, it rhymes with cheek.

One of the Codds pushed to his feet. A big man, but pop-eyed and wide of mouth, with dead white flesh. He looked as if his father had sired him on a fish, but he still wore a longsword. “Dagon Codd yields to no man.”

No, please, you have to listen. The thought of what Ramsay would do to him if he crept back to camp without the garrison’s surrender was almost enough to make him piss his breeches. Reek, Reek, it rhymes with leak.

What gives this chapter its charge is that our POV is being forced by the man who shattered his old identity to resume that identity. It’s Theon playing Reek playing Theon, and he’s being made to remember his name in order to sway the people who represent his old life, because they’d never surrender to Reek. He knows that, because he used to be like them...or he wanted to be, anyway. When Theon first became a POV, his mind was aflame with song, lashing his in-between identity to the values and visions of the Old Way:

Once I would have kept her as a salt wife in truth, he thought to himself as he slid his fingers through her tangled hair. Once. When we still kept the Old Way, lived by the axe instead of the pick, taking what we would, be it wealth, women, or glory. In those days, the Ironborn did not work mines; that was labor for the captives brought back from the hostings, and so too the sorry business of farming and tending goats and sheep. War was an ironman's proper trade. The Drowned God had made them to reave and rape, to carve out kingdoms and write their names in fire and blood and song.

Aegon the Dragon had destroyed the Old Way when he burned Black Harren, gave Harren's kingdom back to the weakling rivermen, and reduced the Iron Islands to an insignificant backwater of a much greater realm. Yet the old red tales were still told around driftwood fires and smoky hearths all across the islands, even behind the high stone halls of Pyke. Theon's father numbered among his titles the style of Lord Reaper, and the Greyjoy words boasted that We Do Not Sow.

It had been to bring back the Old Way more than for the empty vanity of a crown that Lord Balon had staged his great rebellion. Robert Baratheon had written a bloody end to that hope, with the help of his friend Eddard Stark, but both men were dead now. Mere boys ruled in their stead, and the realm that Aegon the Conqueror had forged was smashed and sundered. This is the season, Theon thought as the captain's daughter slid her lips up and down the length of him, the season, the year, the day, and I am the man.

This chapter, Theon I ACOK, slots right in between Davos I (the one with Lightbringer) and Daenerys I (the one in the Red Waste), both of them positively soaked with messianic imagery and focused on weighty questions of power, prophecy, and the price you pay. But in Theon’s chapter, the launching pad for the most stubbornly secular storyline in ACOK, the messianic mindset is stripped of its finery and exposed as pitiful self-delusion. This is who you are, Chosen One, all the more clearly with neither dragons nor shadowbinders at your back: a mirror-drunk fool dreaming of atrocities while your dick gets sucked.

Three books later, that self-image has been racked and flayed and castrated before being spat back out at us as Reek. He thinks of himself as having been born beneath the Dreadfort, molded like clay from Theon’s blood and pain; are you my mother, Ramsay? He keeps retreating to his new name in his thoughts, a mantra to keep the fear away. The identity of which he dreamed is now the nightmare he cannot shake. And what better way for the author to reflect that than by bringing him up against the death of his dream, the most unshakable images of the rot eating away at the Old Way?

Reek passed the rotted carcass of a horse, an arrow jutting from its neck. A long white snake slithered into its empty eye socket at his approach. Behind the horse he spied the rider, or what remained of him. The crows had stripped the flesh from the man’s face, and a feral dog had burrowed beneath his mail to get at his entrails. Farther on, another corpse had sunk so deep into the muck that only his face and fingers showed.

Closer to the towers, corpses littered the ground on every side. Blood-blooms had sprouted from their gaping wounds, pale flowers with petals plump and moist as a woman’s lips.

Ralf Kenning lay shivering beneath a mountain of furs. His arms were stacked beside him—sword and axe, mail hauberk, iron warhelm. His shield bore the storm god’s cloudy hand, lightning crackling from his fingers down to a raging sea, but the paint was discolored and peeling, the wood beneath starting to rot.

Ralf was rotting too. Beneath the furs he was naked and feverish, his pale puffy flesh covered with weeping sores and scabs. His head was misshapen, one cheek grotesquely swollen, his neck so engorged with blood that it threatened to swallow his face. The arm on that same side was big as a log and crawling with white worms. No one had bathed him or shaved him for many days, from the look of him. One eye wept pus, and his beard was crusty with dried vomit.

“What happened to him?” asked Reek.

“He was on the parapets and some bog devil loosed an arrow at him. It was only a graze, but…they poison their shafts, smear the points with shit and worse things. We poured boiling wine into the wound, but it made no difference.”

This is how the Old Way has always died, with broken towers and the stench of corpses, from Aegon melting Harrenhal to Robert smashing Pyke. Every time it falls, the seeds are sown for its next rise; the ideology’s exposed festering folly is folded into a Lost Cause mythos that weaponizes resentment and ennobles suffering. The last time it fell, part of the price paid was Theon’s identity, and his desperate drive to reclaim it by reviving the Old Way is what led him here. He’s unrecognizable to the very world in which he hoped to finally recognize himself.

The garrison will never know me. Some might recall the boy he’d been before he learned his name, but Reek would be a stranger to them. It had been a long while since he last looked into a glass, but he knew how old he must appear. His hair had turned white; much of it had fallen out, and what was left was stiff and dry as straw. The dungeons had left him weak as an old woman and so thin a strong wind could knock him down.

And his hands…Ramsay had given him gloves, fine gloves of black leather, soft and supple, stuffed with wool to conceal his missing fingers, but if anyone looked closely, he would see that three of his fingers did not bend.

That fall from grace, the violent collapse of his projected identity, is reflected back at him by the sorry state of the Ironborn garrison. They came here as an army, together, one people; they knew who they were. And now...?

Someone seized him and dragged him inside, and he heard the door crash shut behind him. He was pulled to his feet and shoved against a wall. Then a knife was at his throat, a bearded face so close to his that he could count the man’s nose hairs. “Who are you? What’s your purpose here? Quick now, or I’ll do you the same as him.” The guard jerked his head toward a body rotting on the floor beside the door, its flesh green and crawling with maggots.

“I am ironborn,” Reek answered, lying. The boy he’d been before had been ironborn, true enough, but Reek had come into this world in the dungeons of the Dreadfort. “Look at my face. I am Lord Balon’s son. Your prince.” He would have said the name, but somehow the words caught in his throat. Reek, I’m Reek, it rhymes with squeak. He had to forget that for a little while, though. No man would ever yield to a creature such as Reek, no matter how desperate his situation. He must pretend to be a prince again.

His captor stared at his face, squinting, his mouth twisted in suspicion. His teeth were brown, and his breath stank of ale and onion. “Lord Balon’s sons were killed.”

“My brothers. Not me. Lord Ramsay took me captive after Winterfell. He’s sent me here to treat with you. Do you command here?”

“Me?” The man lowered his knife and took a step backwards, almost stumbling over the corpse. “Not me, m’lord.” His mail was rusted, his leathers rotting. On the back of one hand an open sore wept blood. “Ralf Kenning has the command. The captain said. I’m on the door, is all.”

“And who is this?” Reek gave the corpse a kick.

The guard stared at the dead man as if seeing him for the first time. “Him…he drank the water. I had to cut his throat for him, to stop his screaming. Bad belly. You can’t drink the water. That’s why we got the ale.” The guard rubbed his face, his eyes red and inflamed. “We used to drag the dead down into the cellars. All the vaults are flooded down there. No one wants to take the trouble now, so we just leave them where they fall.”

“The cellar is a better place for them. Give them to the water. To the Drowned God.”

The man laughed. “No gods down there, m’lord. Only rats and water snakes. White things, thick as your leg. Sometimes they slither up the steps and bite you in your sleep.”

Reek remembered the dungeons underneath the Dreadfort, the rat squirming between his teeth, the taste of warm blood on his lips. If I fail, Ramsay will send me back to that, but first he’ll flay the skin from another finger. “How many of the garrison are left?”

“Some,” said the ironman. “I don’t know. Fewer than we was before. Some in the Drunkard’s Tower too, I think. Not the Children’s Tower. Dagon Codd went over there a few days back. Only two men left alive, he said, and they was eating on the dead ones. He killed them both, if you can believe that.”

Moat Cailin has fallen, Reek realized then, only no one has seen fit to tell them.

And now they are lost, turning on each other, their god forgotten. Cannibalism rears its head again and again in ADWD, as the taboo wilts in the face of winter and war. Theon came here with the knights of summer; Reek returns to find the living dead. Two different armies, two different peoples, as one in his mind now. After all, he’s been trying to bridge this particular gap for most of his life. The abyss awaited both armies to occupy the Moat, as it awaited Theon. Never forget Kubrick’s parting shot in Barry Lyndon:

In ACOK, Theon tried to shed the Northern self exemplified by that shining army at the Moat like dead skin, giving himself over to the image of the Ironborn self in his head. Now Reek returns to Moat Calin to play that image, only to sacrifice it as he was as a child, sacrificed like the men at Moat Cailin to the Old Way...

“Kill him,” Reek told the guard. “His wits are gone. He’s full of blood and worms.”

The man gaped at him. “The captain put him in command.”

“You’d put a dying horse down.”

“What horse? I never had no horse.”

I did. The memory came back in a rush. Smiler’s screams had sounded almost human. His mane afire, he had reared up on his hind legs, blind with pain, lashing out with his hooves. No, no. Not mine, he was not mine, Reek never had a horse. “I will kill him for you.” Reek snatched up Ralf Kenning’s sword where it leaned against his shield. He still had fingers enough to clasp the hilt. When he laid the edge of the blade against the swollen throat of the creature on the straw, the skin split open in a gout of black blood and yellow pus. Kenning jerked violently, then lay still.

...and then again as an adult, this time to the Bastard of Bolton.

Reek swung down from his saddle and took a knee. “My lord, Moat Cailin is yours. Here are its last defenders.”

“So few. I had hoped for more. They were such stubborn foes.” Lord Ramsay’s pale eyes shone. “You must be starved. Damon, Alyn, see to them. Wine and ale, and all the food that they can eat. Skinner, show their wounded to our maesters.”

“Aye, my lord.”

A few of the Ironborn muttered thanks before they shambled off toward the cookfires in the center of the camp. One of the Codds even tried to kiss Lord Ramsay’s ring, but the hounds drove him back before he could get close, and Alison took a chunk of his ear. Even as the blood streamed down his neck, the man bobbed and bowed and praised his lordship’s mercy.

When the last of them were gone, Ramsay Bolton turned his smile on Reek. He clasped him by the back of the head, pulled his face close, kissed him on his cheek, and whispered, “My old friend Reek. Did they really take you for their prince? What bloody fools, these ironmen. The gods are laughing.”

“All they want is to go home, my lord.”

“And what do you want, my sweet Reek?” Ramsay murmured, as softly as a lover. His breath smelled of mulled wine and cloves, so sweet. “Such valiant service deserves a reward. I cannot give you back your fingers or your toes, but surely there is something you would have of me. Shall I free you instead? Release you from my service? Do you want to go with them, return to your bleak isles in the cold grey sea, be a prince again? Or would you sooner stay my leal serving man?”

A cold knife scraped along his spine. Be careful, he told himself, be very, very careful. He did not like his lordship’s smile, the way his eyes were shining, the spittle glistening at the corner of his mouth. He had seen such signs before. You are no prince. You’re Reek, just Reek, it rhymes with freak. Give him the answer that he wants.

“My lord,” he said, “my place is here, with you. I’m your Reek. I only want to serve you. All I ask …a skin of wine, that would be reward enough for me…red wine, the strongest that you have, all the wine a man can drink…”

Lord Ramsay laughed. “You’re not a man, Reek. You’re just my creature. You’ll have your wine, though. Walder, see to it. And fear not, I won’t return you to the dungeons, you have my word as a Bolton. We’ll make a dog of you instead. Meat every day, and I’ll even leave you teeth enough to eat it. You can sleep beside my girls. Ben, do you have a collar for him?”

“I’ll have one made, m’lord,” said old Ben Bones.

The old man did better than that. That night, besides the collar, there was a ragged blanket too, and half a chicken. Reek had to fight the dogs for the meat, but it was the best meal he’d had since Winterfell.

And the wine…the wine was dark and sour, but strong. Squatting amongst the hounds, Reek drank until his head swam, retched, wiped his mouth, and drank some more. Afterward he lay back and closed his eyes. When he woke a dog was licking vomit from his beard, and dark clouds were scuttling across the face of a sickle moon. Somewhere in the night, men were screaming. He shoved the dog aside, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

The next morning Lord Ramsay dispatched three riders down the causeway to take word to his lord father that the way was clear. The flayed man of House Bolton was hoisted above the Gatehouse Tower, where Reek had hauled down the golden kraken of Pyke. Along the rotting-plank road, wooden stakes were driven deep into the boggy ground; there the corpses festered, red and dripping. Sixty-three, he knew, there are sixty-three of them. One was short half an arm. Another had a parchment shoved between its teeth, its wax seal still unbroken.

“So few. I had hoped for more.” The soul shudders. And oh, how casually “somewhere in the night, men were screaming” strolls into the middle of a paragraph, and Reek rolls back over to sleep...

To be clear, I’m not holding Theon responsible for what happens to his sixty-three fellow Ironborn left at the Moat. He’s in no position to refuse Ramsay, as GRRM makes clear in his inner monologue throughout the chapter. But Ramsay is deliberately putting his prisoner through a gauntlet of the self. He has our POV act as Prince Theon son of King Balon, forces him through a cruel mummer’s farce of “choosing” to stay at Ramsay’s side as Reek, and then viciously annihilates the people who represent Theon’s connection to that old identity. It has exactly the effect Ramsay wants: “He pulled down the kraken banner with his own two hands, fumbling some because of his missing fingers but thankful for the fingers that Lord Ramsay had allowed him to keep.” This is what it means to have been Theon and to now be Reek.

This pattern will repeat itself over the course of Theon’s next two chapters, as Roose and Barbrey conspire to have him give Jeyne away to Ramsay publicly, as Theon, and so help cement Bolton control of Winterfell. At every step, Theon's identity is weaponized and turned against him. He flinches from his past, drinks to annihilate his present, and can barely conceive of a future. He is unmoored, drifting through external and internal fog, and he has once again unlocked the North on behalf of heinous authority figures he desperately wants to please. Indeed, Ramsay has wrought a fearsome image of himself in Theon’s mind, a devil equally at home tempting and punishing, and that dynamic is recreated at Moat Cailin:

One of the Codds even tried to kiss Lord Ramsay’s ring, but the hounds drove him back before he could get close, and Alison took a chunk of his ear. Even as the blood streamed down his neck, the man bobbed and bowed and praised his lordship’s mercy.

On that note, one persistent critique of both AFFC and ADWD is that the violence stopped meaning anything--the author started leaning on brutality for brutality’s sake, because he bought into his own rep and/or was out of ideas. I think it’s a valid complaint when it comes to, say, Biter eating Brienne’s face. But on the flipside, the horrific violence in Theon’s storyline is consistently linked to intertwined themes of memory and identity in a manner that I find resonant. Look no further than the man who accepts Ramsay’s offer, and why:

It was the one-armed man who’d flung the axe. As he rose to his feet he had another in his hand. “Who else wants to die?” he asked the other drinkers. “Speak up, I’ll see you do.” Thin red streams were spreading out across the stone from the pool of blood where Dagon Codd’s head had come to rest. “Me, I mean to live, and that don’t mean staying here to rot.”

The one-armed man walked at the head of the procession, limping heavily. His name, he said, was Adrack Humble, and he had a rock wife and three salt wives back on Great Wyk. “Three of the four had big bellies when we sailed,” he boasted, “and Humbles run to twins. First thing I’ll need to do when I get back is count up my new sons. Might be I’ll even name one after you, m’lord.”

Aye, name him Reek, he thought, and when he’s bad you can cut his toes off and give him rats to eat. He turned his head and spat, and wondered if Ralf Kenning hadn’t been the lucky one.

“All they want is to go home, my lord.” And so does Theon, but he has no home to go back to.

Now, of course, Adrack Humble’s dream of counting up his sons is hardly a utopian vision--he kidnapped and enslaved most of their mothers. But the world to which he belongs is the world to which Theon wanted to belong, believing in it so badly he put his life on the line for it...and it failed him, just as it always ultimately fails your average [H]umble man of the Iron Islands. As such, Reek now thinks that the man who rotted without getting his hopes up was the lucky one. This is how he talked when the Young Wolf’s army marched south...

"But such a battle!" said Theon Greyjoy eagerly. "My lady, the realm has not seen such a victory since the Field of Fire. I vow, the Lannisters lost ten men for every one of ours that fell. We've taken close to a hundred knights captive, and a dozen lords bannermen. Lord Westerling, Lord Banefort, Ser Garth Greenfield, Lord Estren, Ser Tytos Brax, Mallor the Dornishman … and three Lannisters besides Jaime, Lord Tywin's own nephews, two of his sister's sons and one of his dead brother's…"    

Theon Greyjoy was seated on a bench in Riverrun's Great Hall, enjoying a horn of ale and regaling her father's garrison with an account of the slaughter in the Whispering Wood. "Some tried to flee, but we'd pinched the valley shut at both ends, and we rode out of the darkness with sword and lance. The Lannisters must have thought the Others themselves were on them when that wolf of Robb's got in among them. I saw him tear one man's arm from his shoulder, and their horses went mad at the scent of him. I couldn't tell you how many men were thrown—"    

...but his story is always interrupted, his comrades died at dinner, and now he dreams only of blood. We rode to war with songs on our lips, but by the time the last notes faded and left us alone with the silence, we were utterly transformed. When Theon eagerly embraces his wine and his half-chicken and his collar, trusting them to silence the screams, all I can think of is this:

“And the man breaks.

“He turns and runs, or crawls off afterward over the corpses of the slain, or steals away in the black of night, and he finds someplace to hide. All thought of home is gone by then, and kings and lords and gods mean less to him than a haunch of spoiled meat that will let him live another day, or a skin of bad wine that might drown his fear for a few hours. The broken man lives from day to day, from meal to meal, more beast than man. Lady Brienne is not wrong. In times like these, the traveler must beware of broken men, and fear them...but he should pity them as well.”

Two chapters prior to Reek II, half a world away, the Shy Maid sailed through another mournful ruin, and when Tyrion stared into the Sorrows, they stared back.

The grey moss grew thickly here, covering the fallen stones in great mounds and bearding all the towers. Black vines crept in and out of windows, through doors and over archways, up the sides of high stone walls. The fog concealed three-quarters of the palace, but what they glimpsed was more than enough for Tyrion to know that this island fastness had been ten times the size of the Red Keep once and a hundred times more beautiful. He knew where he was. “The Palace of Love,” he said softly.

“That was the Rhoynar name,” said Haldon Halfmaester, “but for a thousand years this has been the Palace of Sorrow.”

The ruin was sad enough, but knowing what it had been made it even sadder. There was laughter here once, Tyrion thought. There were gardens bright with flowers and fountains sparkling golden in the sun. These steps once rang to the sound of lovers’ footsteps, and beneath that broken dome marriages beyond count were sealed with a kiss. His thoughts turned to Tysha, who had so briefly been his lady wife. It was Jaime, he thought, despairing. He was my own blood, my big strong brother. When I was small he brought me toys, barrel hoops and blocks and a carved wooden lion. He gave me my first pony and taught me how to ride him. When he said that he had bought you for me, I never doubted him. Why would I? He was Jaime, and you were just some girl who’d played a part. I had feared it from the start, from the moment you first smiled at me and let me touch your hand. My own father could not love me. Why would you if not for gold?

Through the long grey fingers of the fog, he heard again the deep shuddering thrum of a bowstring snapping taut, the grunt Lord Tywin made as the quarrel took him beneath the belly, the slap of cheeks on stone as he sat back down to die.

And therein lies a theme that runs through ASOIAF but for me finds its richest expressions in A Dance with Dragons: you can’t go home again.

Quentyn did not want to die at all. I want to go back to Yronwood and kiss both of your sisters, marry Gwyneth Yronwood, watch her flower into beauty, have a child by her. I want to ride in tourneys, hawk and hunt, visit with my mother in Norvos, read some of those books my father sends me. I want Cletus and Will and Maester Kedry to be alive again.

Home is haunted, by the love you lost and the family you failed.

The door to the roof of the tower was stuck so fast that it was plain no one had opened it in years. He had to put his shoulder to it to force it open. But when Jon Connington stepped out onto the high battlements, the view was just as intoxicating as he remembered: the crag with its wind-carved rocks and jagged spires, the sea below growling and worrying at the foot of the castle like some restless beast, endless leagues of sky and cloud, the wood with its autumnal colors. “Your father’s lands are beautiful,” Prince Rhaegar had said, standing right where Jon was standing now. And the boy he’d been had replied, “One day they will all be mine.” As if that could impress a prince who was heir to the entire realm, from the Arbor to the Wall.

Griffin’s Roost had been his, eventually, if only for a few short years. From here, Jon Connington had ruled broad lands extending many leagues to the west, north, and south, just as his father and his father’s father had before him. But his father and his father’s father had never lost their lands. He had.

Home is a border wall, a chain digging and twisting.

“Do you have brothers?” Asha asked her keeper.

“Sisters,” Alysane Mormont replied, gruff as ever. “Five, we were. All girls. Lyanna is back on Bear Island. Lyra and Jory are with our mother. Dacey was murdered.”

“The Red Wedding.”

“Aye.” Alysane stared at Asha for a moment. “I have a son. He’s only two. My daughter’s nine.”

“You started young.”

“Too young. But better that than wait too late.”

A stab at me, Asha thought, but let it be. “You are wed.”

“No. My children were fathered by a bear.” Alysane smiled. Her teeth were crooked, but there was something ingratiating about that smile. “Mormont women are skinchangers. We turn into bears and find mates in the woods. Everyone knows.”

Asha smiled back. “Mormont women are all fighters too.”

The other woman’s smile faded. “What we are is what you made us. On Bear Island every child learns to fear krakens rising from the sea.”

The Old Way. Asha turned away, chains clinking faintly.

Home is leagues and years away, and yet so close you can almost touch it.

Bran closed his eyes and slipped free of his skin. Into the roots, he thought. Into the weirwood. Become the tree. For an instant he could see the cavern in its black mantle, could hear the river rushing by below.

Then all at once he was back home again.

Lord Eddard Stark sat upon a rock beside the deep black pool in the godswood, the pale roots of the heart tree twisting around him like an old man’s gnarled arms. The greatsword Ice lay across Lord Eddard’s lap, and he was cleaning the blade with an oilcloth.

“Winterfell,” Bran whispered.

“I have my own ghosts, Bran. A brother that I loved, a brother that I hated, a woman I desired. Through the trees, I see them still, but no word of mine has ever reached them. The past remains the past. We can learn from it, but we cannot change it.”

You have no home. You never will.

Water splashed against the soles of her feet. She was walking in the stream. How long had she been doing that? The soft brown mud felt good between her toes and helped to soothe her blisters. In the stream or out of it, I must keep walking. Water flows downhill. The stream will take me to the river, and the river will take me home.

Except it wouldn’t, not truly.

You’ll give up everything just to get home, please, please...

Jon flexed the fingers of his sword hand. The Night’s Watch takes no part. He closed his fist and opened it again. What you propose is nothing less than treason. He thought of Robb, with snowflakes melting in his hair. Kill the boy and let the man be born. He thought of Bran, clambering up a tower wall, agile as a monkey. Of Rickon’s breathless laughter. Of Sansa, brushing out Lady’s coat and singing to herself. You know nothing, Jon Snow. He thought of Arya, her hair as tangled as a bird’s nest. I made him a warm cloak from the skins of the six whores who came with him to Winterfell…I want my bride back…I want my bride back…I want my bride back…

...but it’s gone.

“I have no wish to die, I promise you. I have …” His voice trailed off into uncertainty. What do I have? A life to live? Work to do? Children to raise, lands to rule, a woman to love?

Home is a time, not a place, and there were so few times that Theon was at home. One of them was here, not so long ago, though it feels like it was. For a brief shining second as the banners caught the breeze, with roaring Umbers and fierce Karstarks, with a powerful army around him, with his brother in all but blood marching to avenge his (their?) father, he knew who he was.

And now, he can’t even remember his name.

How could who I was mean anything if it can be taken away from me like this? I was a Greyjoy among Starks, and then a Stark among Greyjoys; I was Theon and had to become Reek, I am Reek and have to become Theon. Forgive me, he calls through time to the smiling man he used to know, I was not strong enough. But Theon can’t hear Reek and never will.

...and yet.

A light rain had begun to piss down out of the slate-grey sky by the time Lord Ramsay’s camp appeared in front of them. A sentry watched them pass in silence. The air was full of drifting smoke from the cookfires drowning in the rain. A column of riders came wheeling up behind them, led by a lordling with a horsehead on his shield. One of Lord Ryswell’s sons, Reek knew. Roger, or maybe Rickard. He could not tell the two of them apart. “Is this all of them?” the rider asked from atop a chestnut stallion.

“All who weren’t dead, my lord.”

“I thought there would be more. We came at them three times, and three times they threw us back.”

We are Ironborn, he thought, with a sudden flash of pride, and for half a heartbeat he was a prince again, Lord Balon’s son, the blood of Pyke.

We are Ironborn. We are Ironborn. The point isn’t that being Ironborn is, in itself, some great moral progression for Theon. The point is that he just thought of himself as one of them, as Theon, in spite of Ramsay arranging everything that happens in Reek II to convince him that he is not. He has, just for a second, found himself.

This spark grows in strength when Roose Bolton and his army arrives to escort his bastard’s bride home. As I said last time, the identity shell-games extend beyond Theon himself; his arc in ADWD only works as well as it does because it resonates with what’s happening in the plot. The North went south united, but returns divided. Roose doesn’t exactly have “a peaceful land, a quiet people” on his hands, and bringing the hated Freys north will only further provoke Stark loyalists (as we’ll see in later chapters). Moreover, his army had to pass through the Neck, controlled by one of said Stark loyalists, Howland Reed. As such, it’s not safe these days to be Roose Bolton...so he outsourced the job.

Collared and chained and back in rags again, Reek followed with the other dogs at Lord Ramsay’s heels when his lordship strode forth to greet his father. When the rider in the dark armor removed his helm, however, the face beneath was not one that Reek knew. Ramsay’s smile curdled at the sight, and anger flashed across his face. “What is this, some mockery?”

“Just caution,” whispered Roose Bolton, as he emerged from behind the curtains of the enclosed wagon.

This is a terrific way to reintroduce a villain. We haven’t seen Roose since he shed all pretense and revealed himself, a snake with new skin, at the Red Wedding. What could be more fitting than for him to wrong-foot us along with Ramsay upon re-entry? We lean forward to see him, only to hear his soft voice behind us...

Reek pretending to be Theon paved the way for the man pretending to be Roose and the girl pretending to be Arya. It’s a mockery, a mummer’s farce, a hall of mirrors. By weaving the central question of Theon’s story--who am I?--into the characters and plot points surrounding him, GRRM elevates that story. It’s the classic existentialist quest: the eternal hunt of the elusive Real. The question of whether Theon will remember his name fits like a puzzle piece with the question of whether the North will remember its name. And the North remembers.

But Theon, try as he might, is not a Stark...and neither is Ramsay’s bride-to-be.

(image by Elia Fernandez)

Jeyne Poole is not Arya Stark, and everyone knows it. Her presence is a marker of Bolton success: the key to Winterfell, a gift from their Lannister patrons, a declaration that the old has been humbled before and folded into the new. Yet more than anything else, it is the lack of anyone willing to call the Dreadfort men on their fraud that points to their rising fortunes at this moment. This is precisely why Davos’ defiant stand against the Freys in the Merman’s Court (in the chapter immediately prior to this one, worth noting?) hits home so hard. The man who stuck his neck out for the truth will not suffer these noxious lies about what happened to the Northerners who went south, and it’s all the more admirable because he (seemingly) stands alone.

And after a chapter of his identity being used against him, rewarded with a collar for handing his people over to a butcher, telling himself again and again that he is Reek, not Theon but Reek...our POV finally drops the disguise.

The girl was slim, and taller than he remembered, but that was only to be expected. Girls grow fast at that age. Her dress was grey wool bordered with white satin; over it she wore an ermine cloak clasped with a silver wolf’s head. Dark brown hair fell halfway down her back. And her eyes…

That is not Lord Eddard’s daughter.

Arya had her father’s eyes, the grey eyes of the Starks. A girl her age might let her hair grow long, add inches to her height, see her chest fill out, but she could not change the color of her eyes. That’s Sansa’s little friend, the steward’s girl. Jeyne, that was her name. Jeyne Poole.

“Lord Ramsay.” The girl dipped down before him. That was wrong as well. The real Arya Stark would have spat into his face. “I pray that I will make you a good wife and give you strong sons to follow after you.”

“That you will,” promised Ramsay, “and soon.”

It’s only internal. There’s nothing moral about it yet. He’s yet to relate her fortunes to his own. But by allowing Reek to play Theon, Ramsay has unknowingly reintroduced his captive’s pre-captivity identity into his bloodstream like an antivirus, and Jeyne’s arrival crystallizes what this means for our POV. If she’s not Arya, then he’s not Reek.

The past is present. The mud you pack into that hole in the ruined wall won’t keep your ghosts at bay. But (to borrow from Barristan) mud can nourish the seeds from which you will grow, your past the fertilizer for your rebirth.

At the edge of the wolfswood, Bran turned in his basket for one last glimpse of the castle that had been his life. Wisps of smoke still rose into the grey sky, but no more than might have risen from Winterfell's chimneys on a cold autumn afternoon. Soot stains marked some of the arrow loops, and here and there a crack or a missing merlon could be seen in the curtain wall, but it seemed little enough from this distance. Beyond, the tops of the keeps and towers still stood as they had for hundreds of years, and it was hard to tell that the castle had been sacked and burned at all. The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.    

[elliothuntington]

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[tiny-little-bird]

Now you go around saying Sansa is a warrior? Yeah sure ok 😂 You guys just keep twisting stuff around so it applies to your stupid crackship 👍😂 Jon and Dany are together and in love. Put Sansa next to Dany and she withers 😂😂 Dany is a Queen, she has dragons, has conquered cities, has fought slavery, while Sansa has done what exactly? Yeah, nothing. She can't even protect herself lmao 😂 Sansa is anything, but a warrior, she's the stupidest and weakest character in the books and the series.

I’m assuming this is about my reply to this post [x]?

I’ll insert the reply below:

“I’ve honestly always interpreted this quote this way:

Usually when we can’t have something or someone, at some point, we try to convince ourselves we don’t want it, to protect ourselves from pain, hurt and disappointment. It’s a coping mechanism. 

Jon is a romantic, he’s brave, he’s kind, he’s gentle, he’s caring, he has all the traits of a true knight, he’s always dreamed of being a knight, and what do knights do? Protect, take care of and, rescue ladies, and people in general, whom are helpless and that in certain situations can’t protect themselves.Jon is simply trying to convince himself, that he doesn’t want a “Lady”, to spare himself some pain, because in fact, it’s exactly what he wants, but since it’s something he thinks he can’t have, since he thinks he doesn’t deserve it, because he’s bastard born, and well, also because he’s a sworn brother of the Night’s watch, he keeps telling himself, he tries to convince himself, it’s not what he wants.

So yeah, in my opinion it’s a coping mechanism of his, to deal with reality (little does he know, that he’s a Prince, and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne).Now, not to say that he’s only attracted to Ladies, and he doesn’t find warrior women, or better said, strong women* (because let’s face it, the word “warrior” can have many meanings, it can mean strong, brave, fierce etc., it does not necessarily mean, a woman who can fight and kill), *attractive, because he does, but he likes Ladies too, he likes femininity, “I’d like to see you in a silk dress”, “You like women who swoon? Oh a spider! Save me Jon Snow.”, “Sansa looked radiant as she walked beside him.”, “New dress? […] I like the wolf bit.” He loved Ygritte’s singing voice, and look at this quote from the book ADWD, when he’s dying: “[He thought] of Sansa, brushing out Lady’s coat and singing to herself.” immediately followed by him thinking, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.”

So basically what Jon wants, is a strong Lady. If you think about it, Sansa is now a mix of both a Lady and a warrior (not a literal warrior, but you know what I mean). She’s still a Lady, she likes to style her hair, and wear (silk) dresses, but she’s also strong and intelligent, and can take care of herself, but even so, she still needs a protecting sword, because although she’s strong, she’s not a literal warrior, she can’t use an actual sword, her “sword”, her strength is her mind, she’s a warrior in her own way, but in situations of danger, when someone is coming at you with a sword/a knife trying to kill you, the mind is not of much help, and you need an actual sword, a knight to help and protect you.

There is nothing wrong with being helpless, there is nothing wrong with needing help. Besides this quote kind of contradicts with what he is, a protector, a guardian, a shield, a sword, he’s a Black Knight. 

That’s what he does, he protects people, he protects the helpless.

“I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men.”

Besides, Jon/Sansa and protection, is a recurring theme between the two of them in S6 and 7. He wants to keep her safe, he wants to protect her. “I’ll never let him touch you again, I’ll protect you, I promise.”, “Jon is Jon. He’ll keep me safe, I trust him.”

He realizes that she’s not a silly little girl/child any longer, she’s a woman grown, she’s strong and intelligent. He admires her, he admires her strength, but he feels the need to protect her anyway, he wants to protect her anyway, he wants to be her sword, her protector, her knight.

And, she wants and tries to protect him too, “you have to be smarter than father, you need to be smarter than Robb.” They’re trying to protect each other, keep each other safe, alive, and that’s just so powerful and beautiful to me. I’ve said this many times, what one lacks, the other has, they’re both strong and complement each other so beautifully, he’s the sword and she’s the mind.Where I’m trying to get at with this is, Sansa has grown and has learned from her experiences, and at this point she is exactly Jon’s type, all the traits and qualities he likes/wants/admires in a woman, Sansa has. 

To make it short, Jon admires and is attracted to strong women.Sansa is a fighter, she’s strong, fierce, brave, intelligent, beautiful, she has kept her morales, has remained caring and kindhearted (despite all she’s gone trough), she’s highborn, she’s a Lady, she’s a Stark, she’s pretty much everything he’s ever wanted.

She is perfect for him, and there is no question he has all the traits and qualities she’s always wanted in a man (and to top it, he’s a Prince too, what are the odds), he’s perfect for her, they’re perfect for each other, they’re a perfect match.

#JonsaIsComing 💙”

What have I twisted around? Can you read?

Sansa is strong, brave and fierce. She is not weak, and SHE IS a warrior, in her own way, as I’ve said above, there are many types of warriors, and she is one of them, she is a fighter. 

“Jon and Dandelion are together and in love”, Yeah… sure… ok… whatever you say 👍😅

How does Sansa wither next to Dandelion? lol She is beautiful, kind, intelligent, she isn’t power hungry nor obsessed with conquering and being Queen, she cares, truly cares, about her people and their well being and she is a good, capable and competent ruler, which inspires the loyalty of her people. If anything, it’s the other way around…

I honestly can’t wait for season 8, when Jaimie will pledge his sword to her, when Varys will realize that he had the Queen Westeros deserves, right under his nose, the whole bloody time:

The Seven Kingdoms need someone stronger than Tommen but gentler than Stannis. Sansa is stronger than Tommen, but gentler than Stannis.

A monarch who could intimidate the High Lords and inspire the people. Sansa knows how to speak with the Lords, how to listen to them and keep them at bay.

A ruler loved by millions, with a powerful army, and the right family name.  She is loved by her people, the Lords and Knights of the Vale are now loyal to her (more people will follow in S8), and she has the right family name, the Stark name.

Tyrion will also realize at some point, that following Dandelion was a mistake. I think in S8, many characters will end up pledging their swords and their loyalty to Sansa. Theon/House Greyjoy as well. I mean Dandelion didn’t give af that Yara, one of her allies, was captured. Theon had to go help her/rescue her himself, because Dandelion doesn’t give af abt her allies, what a great ruler, what a great Queen, when your friends get captured you leave them behind, how truly inspiring. 

The only thing Dandelion is, is incompetent, the only thing she inspires is fear, the only thing she brings to Westeros is war and destruction and that’s it… “Incompetence should not be rewarded with blind loyalty”

I cannot stress this enough, Sansa isn’t stupid, Sansa isn’t weak. She is one of the strongest characters in the series, a character which has had a strong growth. She has grown from an innocent little girl with her head full of dreams and songs, to a capable, fierce woman, that would do anything in her power to protect, and ensure the safety and wellbeing of her pack and her people.

Sansa hasn’t had the chance to do anything until now, she’s been captive for years, she never had a dragon to flee her enemies ya know? She was stuck with them for years. But now that she is home, she’s taking care of her people, taking care of her brother’s army, ensuring they stay loyal to him, that they don’t abandon him and his cause, she’s not burning the people’s food, unlike a certain “someone”, quite the contrary, she’s making sure that there is enough food for everyone in case they have to flee to Winterfell, she’s reinforcing Winterfell and its walls, she’s keeping the North stable and at peace, avoiding rebellions while Jon is away, she’s executing traitors, whom mean to harm her family and the North. She was given the chance to rule, and she’s doing a fantastic job, she’s a natural.

And sorry to break it to you, but Dandelion can’t protect herself either? She can’t fight/use a sword either? lol What kind of argument is that? Dandelion has protectors left and right, she’s been saved by them more times than we can count, so what’s the deal? By your logic she’s also weak smh

Strenght comes in many forms.

Not being able to use a sword, not being able to fight ≠ weakness

[gotgifsandmusings]

GoT 7x03 Musings

My initial reaction to “The Queen’s Justice”

^I dub thee “Casterly Castle”

I guess the title refers to Cheryl finally delivering that poetic justice for Madison’s death via Poison Ivy lipstick (which I’ve been told was only a thing Ivy did in Batman and Robin; she’s usually just more a dramatic biochemist nerd with pheromones. I’m so sorry, Ivy.). I guess it could also be Deadpan not randomly giving Jon her help for nothing in exchange, because that’s actually a decent sense of justice. It was pretty obvious D&D were writing this one again, with the nonversations featuring strongly. Let’s dive in.

Dragonstone

A lot happened here, and yet nothing did at all.

Jon is a fucking idiot for arriving with just Davos, and it’s beyond clear that he should have listened to Sansa and everyone else cautioning him from going, because he was immediately in a position where he had no capacity to defend himself, and nothing to offer Deadpan at all.

Really glad Tyrion reminded us HOW NICE he is about not raping Sansa when they were married. More points for him being THE BEST. Sorry. If you know me, you know this one is a specific bugaboo.

Some say the dragon CGI didn’t look good, but frankly it didn’t bother me that much. I was much more distracted by Tyrion’s alcoholism jokes and Jon’s mouth breathing

The Mel & Davos scene felt like it worked last night, but after reading over Jess’s review today, I have no idea why I thought that. Mel was literally just saying she was peacing out, and then creepily said she and Varys would both die in Weisseroff, so I guess they will. It was…fine? But also “the plot needs me over here now!”

I felt like Deadpan and Jonny were asserting different things every few minutes. I’m also assuming we’re supposed to view Deadpan as the spoiled entitled shittier leader, while Jonny is a man of the people who drops his g’s at the ends of his sentences.

this would have been somewhat possible to be sold if Jonny hadn’t been given a kingship for being the world’s biggest fucking idiot

Also, Tyrion’s point about “you should just kneel if this war to the North is all that matters to you” is really, really salient. Like…what did Jonny expect in this? He *said* Deadpan needs him, but actually how? What she needs his 4 surviving Wildlings? The Manderly forces?

Oh wait, that’s right, the whole theme of this season has been “how can we illogically deplete Deadpan’s massive and unbeatable army?” She learns about Yara’s fleet and decides not to keep Jonny as a prisoner, but a guest, before storming off.

I’m probably remembering this out of order, but we get some kind of war council scene where she suggests riding her dragon to like…BURN Euron’s wormhole-navigating fleet?

But no. Apparently she could get shot with an arrow so it’s never going to happen. Let’s ignore her biggest military advantage.

We also get Jonny & Tyrion 2.0: who broods best? Aka D&D write shitty lines for cheap fandom jokes.

It is kind of amusing to watch Jonny have his own idiocy pointed out to him

Then Tyrion runs to Deadpan and tells her to play nice, because she’s been a very naughty little school girl lately. Also they need allies because things are going tits up with his masterplan of incompetence. I just can’t take the fucking infantilizing tone, though I did legit laugh when Deadpan called him on “a wise ma n once said.”

Uhhh finally Deadpan & Jonny’s 2.0 scene? She decides to let him mine dragon glass because Tyrion asked nicely. I can’t think anything positively about either of their leadership capabilities, nor do I think D&D have much interest in showing them. Can we just get on to boat sex already?

Cheryl’s Landing

The biggest issue I have is how the smallfolk of Cheryl’s Landing are even more mercurial than the Northern Lords. Now they’re CHEERING Euron despite knowing Cheryl burned everything down? Why don’t they give any shits?

I don’t know who Euron is playing this week. Moriarity? Julia says a bad magician. Are we supposed to find him intimidating?

Legit found Cheryl’s approach to governance compelling this week. She secured an ally with a promise of marriage *after* the war is won (why the fuck is Euron so interested in this?), and was a savvy negotiator with the “we love the slave trade” Iron Bank of Braavos.

I can’t begin to deal with the Faullaria death scene. Longest fucking thing in the world, and it was just D&D reveling in murdering characters we hated because they put no depth into them. Everything about it was horrible, absolutely everything.

even the stupid “poetic justice” of the kiss. Just stop.

Larry loves Cheryl! Cheryl’s maid loves Cheryl’s style! What in the fuck is happening??

Winterhell

BRITTANY’S BACK

Anonymous said to gotgifsandmusings:

"a female character is empowered without resorting to violence, sexual manipulation, or dismissal of typically feminine-coded traits or activities" happened tho, with Sansa's ruling scene. It was one of the scenes I really enjoyed this episode (until littlefinger started to talk)

Yeah man, for sure. It was actually nice to watch, even if the larger pattern of their conception of empowerment is totally fucked. I have a feeling this one won’t be staying around

Also my god, that Batfinger speech was one of his worst yet. It makes chaos is a ladder seem like the smartest thing ever uttered. “See all possible outcomes”? Um…you didn’t, you fucking moron. Remember when the Sansa Marriage Strike blew up in literally everyone’s face?

at least Brittany wasn’t into it

Aaaaand then Bran came with a brand new personality! He wasn’t able to emote or give any shits about his sister, and then forced her to relive her trauma by talking about it in really creepy, deadpan, voyeuristic tones. Yay!

this Bran came out of NOWHERE. He became the Three Eyed Sydow last year (or something), so…where was this creepiness then? He seemed to be able to engage with Meera and Benjen and stuff. Was the baby crossfade THAT momentous?

I’m glad Brittany ran away from him. I rather stanned her this episode

Oh btw Theon is alive.

Apparently the Ironboors who survived can intuit exactly what happened on his ship, rather than thinking he got thrown overboard or something.

Hogwarts

I almost forgot this was in the episode

Greyscale is cured! Forever! This plot really mattered so much!

no are we supposed to be affected that Jorah was contemplating suicide? Are we supposed to care that Sam figured this out from what Jess described as a “wiki-how”?

just someone kick Sam out already. This is going nowhere

THE BATTLES

I’ll direct you back to Jess’s review if you haven’t read it already. She does an AMAZING job at explaining how Tyrion’s voice-over removed all dramatic tension.

Fuck traveling logistics, amirite? Of course Larry can sprint around Weisseroff in two weeks. I feel like they threw that timeframe in there just to piss us off.

Again, the importance of Casterly Castle was never in evidence. Larry didn’t care about it enough to abandon it. Tyrion described it as “impenetrable” and even went on to say how once inside, the Unsullied would *still* be outnumbered.

it makes Tyrion seem like an idiot, especially with Larry knowing he’d take it, so was this supposed to be his hubris? But it was never framed as hubris. So…

Oh look, Euron’s fleet warped from somewhere in between Cheryl’s Landing and Porne to Casterly Castle. That works!

Then Larry just warps and takes Highgarden off-screen, because apparently D&D say that the Tyrells are shitty fighters. What. No seriously, what? Where did that even come from? And taking a castle is still kind of a big deal.

^this was a tad disappointing for Highgarden.

Frankly, where did the Tyrell army even go? Tarly’s an important bannerman, but not like ALL of it

The best part was that Diana Rigg seemed as happy to be done with this stupid show as I was for her, so there was a good amount of energy in her scene.

the whole “Cheryl is the worst” thing didn’t land as usual, especially when immediately followed by her confession about murdering Joffrey, but she was just so gosh darn plucky about it!

Aaaand that’s all I’ve got! Boy Deadpan sure is in a pickle that her amazing “divide and fail to conquer” plan was as bad as @turtle-paced described it last week. Add to that Larry’s sudden competence, and she just might yet need Jonny!

Top 3 nitpicks:

Casterly Castle being single-handedly built by Tywin and Tyrion having actually constructed the sewers himself. Not just running them…constructed them.

The Iron Bank investing in the slave trade

The smallfolk LOVE Euron and Cheryl now

Did this land for you? I was seeing tweets about how smart the writing was and just...WHAT. Though Brittany was boss ass, if I may say so myself.

[v-creeperintensa-blog]

Clash of Clans NEWB TO LEGEND! ★ Top 3 Tips For Beginners ★ Early Town hall Strategy Guide ★

oh hey guys what's up and today we havebeen getting a lot of requests to make anew account and just basically startover so I thought this would be a goodtime because a lot of new people are downloading clash of clans (you can also download from here: https://onhax.io )every single day newpeople joining our channel itself so Ithink this would be a good episode foryou guys also the experienced players togive advice to people we're juststarting out the games so what I wantyou guys to do right now comment downbelow your number one tip to yourfriends who are just picking up the gameand I'll go ahead and feature some ofthe best comments in a future video ofthe series now this episode I just wantto open up with my top three tips andI'll explain them later on as we go inthe video and they'll start to make alot more sense but I just want to sayfour top three tips number one is rateas fast as you can when your army campsare fullnumber two is trophies do not matter andthen number three make sure all yourbuilders are busy alright so the nextpart of this tutorial is this basicattacking all you have to do you havefive wizards and you don't use all ofthem so just maybe drop a couple firstoutside of this little red squarerectangle area and then watch it takedown the cannon alright so that goesdown the first tip like I said you knowyou want to rate as fast as you can whenyour army camps are full what I mean bythat is you also don't want to use allof your troops if they're not needed soyou wanna you want to basically try toconserve troops if you possibly can andagain I'll try to explain that later onas we go so let's just go ahead and jumpright into this Town Hall to attackingstrategies and here's here's kind of onethat I'm talking about right here so wehave a very exposed cannon with anotherexposed camera here another exposedArcher tower but the reason why I'm notgonna attack this is because they havethree defenses I need to take care ofand my troops are pretty low level ofI'm going to actually skip this faceeven though his his defenses are veryexposed he'd he does have a lot of themthough so that is sort of deterring mefrom attackingthis one he has lower level defenses yesto two cannons but it doesn't appear hehas a lot of loot alright so on the topleft what you have is a description ofwhat your what your enemy has to offeryou at 600 gold 1100 elec sir so andthen 30 trophies trophies again does notreally matter these lower town halls donot worry about that do not prioritizetrophies we're just going to look solelyfor some some good loot so 300 lootright now each not not up a lot we'regonna maybe look for something in like2000s range just like this one but againlet's take a look this Archer towerpretty pretty well-protected barbarianstry to attack the nearest availablestructure wizards as well so we got agot to kind of look at the defenses andnot just the loot - this actually lookslike a pretty well protected base I'mgoing to go ahead and find find anotherone one other thing you guys have tokeep in mind is every time I hit nextright here that's going to cost somegold so eventually you do what you dowant to just an attack a base when ithas you know a fair amount of lootbecause otherwise you're just going torun out of gold alright so for tutorialpurposes I think this space is actuallya decent one to attack to prove my pointI do have fifty gold left so if I hitnext I would be my last base to attackso that's another thing if you're tryingto search for bases don't hit next toomany times because you won't make it upif you you know only kind of base withvery little resources so what I'm goingto do this is exactly what I'm talkingabout the cannon is really reallyexposed so if I just drop a fewbarbarians at the very edge right herethey're gonna run straight and they'regonna take down that cannon right hereand those wizards are very powerful so Ido want to say them for a tougher baseif possible so once that cannon getstaken down all that's left is prettymuch a defenseless base now in terms ofwhere the loot is that's another thingthat clashers have to understand whenthey're first starting out is the lootis actually either in the collectors orin the storages and there's also some ofthe in the Town Hall as well but most ofit is typically in the storages andcollectors but how do you know storagesor collectors which one where is where'smore loot well there's the little trickand if you look at this gold mine righthere there's two carts right one on theleft one in the top right and if there'sgold in the top right cart that meansthat there there's a lot of gold in thatcollector that gold mine rather and thenfor this elixir collector if someonecollects elixir then it will have sortof a brown ring in that elixir collectorif not then that means that electriccollector is fairly full so no brownring equals very very full so let's goahead and take a look at that and thenstorages you know it's partially filledbut if it's overflowing that that alsomeans that storages are fairly filledsame thing goes for both the goldstorage and the end the elixir storageas well so remember again what I'mtrying to do is I'm not trying to useall of my all of my troops at oncebecause as you guys know the the troopswill cost elixir to train so if I do useall of them that's kind of like you knowsometimes an overkill and you want towaste your troops and then the lesstroops I use the less troops I have toTrain when I get back and I can justread a lot quickly a lot more quicklyand be able to sort of maximize my mytime in between the raids so don't useall your troops if it's not necessaryand also train troops before going tobattle just to sort of recap that littletip and again we did get a hundredpercent that equals three starswe do get some trophies but again do notworry about trophies at these lowertownhall levels we're going to explainthat in another video all right so nowour army camps have six barbarians -archers three wizards again the Wizardsare just basically a more powerful formof the archer but let's just go aheadand find one more base to attack beforeI do that remember I got to keeptraining troops because once I use thosetroops these troops will start kind offilling the rest of my army camps Ican't use these troops in battle or inthe current battle that I'm going tofind but they will be in my army campsso that I can use them in the next raidafter the raid that I'm about to do solet's go ahead and do those troopsbecause we don't to waste any time andthen I'll build or maybe I'll just goahead an upgrade alet's see what I want to do I'll just doI'll do 10 seconds here but then oncethat happens I'll maybe just finish upthe cannon as well and then come backand do some more upgrades but ideallyagain you just want to keep all yourbuilders busy because you don't want towaste any any any minute rather you knowso you want to keep everything going goup fairly quickly alright so going goingthrough those bases and I'll try tobreak down certain bases again what tokind of look for and what not to lookfor so this this one is a base this is athis is a no base this is do not attackbase because we have the cannons thatare centralized Archer tower that iscentralized and they are very much oncovering the rest of the resources sothis is gold mine gold storages of lookslike the elixir collectors are fairlyfull because there's no brown ring but Iam NOT going to attack this base becauseit is very well protected on this one hehas one cannon upgrading so that cannonis basically offline you cannot attackor that cannon cannot attack you this isa very exposed cannon right here butlook at the loot not that much loot sobecause of that I'm just going to hitnext so basically my eye where it goesto it first goes towards the loot thetop top side trophies again negligiblewe don't need to worry about that so ifI see decent loot then I look at thebase so I'm looking at the base I'mthinking wow this is um this is not badwhat I do what I do notice about it isthere is a lot of gold right herethere's a lot of gold in the storagesand I could potentially I'm thinking Icould potentially just take the gold andthe gold is very very you know it's veryexposed and it's very important but he'skind of putting a lot of emphasis onthis Archer tower and this cannonprotecting you know maybe just like thatyou know these elixir storages righthere and that elixir collector righthere so if I can possibly just take downthis uh this cannon maybe I have somefree maybe I have some free goldstorages so I'm not sure yet but thegeneral strategy if you're going to usebarbarians and archers the archers doshoot over the over the wall so we usebarbarians the tank archers to shootover the wall there youand then me I'll just thrown a wizard aswell just to give some extra addedfirepower but the wizard typically isn'tavailable at these lower Town Halllevels you just got that from thetutorial and we got those archers alsoshooting over the wall so the archers dohave a little bit of range and they'retaking out this gold storage right hereand again giving giving a the troops alittle bit more range that Archer towercan't hit us so I'm just going to letthe raid play out right now I don't needto use another wizard um I we mightactually lose the raid and not get 50%which equals one star which will get ussome trophies but again remember thattip that I gave you guys early on in thevideo trophies will not will not mattertypically at this stage so again becausethe wizard and the archer are arrangedattacker they're basically out of harm'sway at the moment that archer tower isonly taking down the barbarians becausethey're their melee fighter they'reclose range combat so we got the archerfocusing on the townhall wizard on theon the gold storage and as you can seewe took about 2,000 gold which we'vepretty much maxed out our gold storageif you see on the top right side ourgold storage or our gold capacity ispretty much just maxed out we can't holdany more which is kind of bad for usbecause that meant meant we're kind ofwasting gold we should have maybe builta lot more you know other type ofstructures that that cost gold becausewe never want to like waste resourcesthat we kind of pillage or attack orloot from other bases so we could havemanaged our resources a little bit moreefficiently but I'll go ahead and talkabout that concept in another videoabout managing your resources buthopefully you guys kind of get thatpoint you know maybe I should have spenta little bit more gold beforehand onother buildings and things like thatso what I'm going to do we could maybeget this town hall but the archer atlevel 1 is very very weak might not beable to take down this Town Hall so whatI can do is I can just hit surrender wedidn't get any stars we didn't get theTown Hall we didn't get 50% we're goingto lose some trophies but again thatdoes not matter do not worry aboutlosing trophies at these lower townhalllevels probably sound like a brokenrecord at this point but we only lostone trophy which again doesn't reallymatter um alright so I guess that aboutwraps it up for this episode kind ofTown Hallone Town Hall - what basis to look forthe basics of clash guys and for thoseof you experienced viewers who stuck itout all the way to the end feel free togo ahead again if your friends or youknow relatives or whatever are justpicking up clash from the very firsttime feel free to please comment downbelow some of the tips that you wouldgive them if they're first starting outthe game and I'll go ahead and featurethem as sort of tips and strategies inthe next sort of let's play video andthen also I want your guys's comments onmaybe where what direction to take thisaccount I you know I have a lot of ideasbut I also want to hear from you guys interms of what you guys want to seebecause I do have one that's sort of youknow maxing out every town hall level Ihave my main account as well so I don'tknow what to do with this account giveme some ideas love to hear from you guysand also before you guys go don't forgetto Like comment favorite subscribe allthat good stuff but other than thatthanks again so much for watching untilnext time stay classy suit.

[thearabkhaleesi]

Game of Thrones 7x4 “The Spoils of War” Recap/Review

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

All my Game of Thrones episode reviews/recaps are sorted by location & contain no spoilers based on leaks or set photos, but might include predictions for the following episodes/rest of the season. 

King’s Landing

Not much action at King’s Landing in this episode, but Tycho Nestoris strongly emphasized that Cersei has to pay off the debt so that she can gain the support of the Iron Bank. We saw Jaime take the Tyrell gold at the very beginning of the episode, and then Randyll Tarly tells him that all the gold has safely crossed the border into King’s Landing; this means that she’ll be able to pay the debt to the Iron Bank, and in return they will back her against Daenerys by giving her more money, armies, weapons, and more…💸 Cersei also mentioned edthat Qyburn managed to get the Golden Company to fight for them, which is definitely in her favor; the Golden Company is a mercenary, assassin group located in Essos, with a military of about 10’000 fighters… I have to say seeing Cersei gain power is scaring me because I obviously don’t root for her, and she’s stronger and more merciless than ever.

Winterfell

OH. MY. GOD! I’m trying my best to make this professional, so let’s start in chronological order. First of all, we finally see the Catspaw dagger! If you’ve been following me for a while I’m sure you’ve seen that I discussed it many times before, and the fact that there was a magazine cover months ago with Arya holding the dagger. As Littlefinger mentioned, the Valyrian steel dagger, “Catspaw”, was given to an assassin to kill Bran in season 1 (most likely by Jaime Lannister.) I DID NOT expect it go down the way it did, with Littlefinger giving it to Bran, who gives it to Arya! As Sansa said, Littlefinger giving it to Bran is without a doubt suspicious, since he never does something without expecting something in return, as he’s always after his own benefit only. He even subtly refers to Bran as “Lord Stark” because he thinks it might start a rift between him & Sansa. I still think he has tricks up his sleeve and I really thought Bran would have a vision of Littlefinger betraying Ned Stark in season 1, but that could still happen.. I have more predictions but you’ll have to wait for my episode 5 predictions post for more! Notice how during their discussion, Bran tells Littlefinger, “Chaos is a ladder”. Those words are exactly what Littlefinger says to Varys in the 6th episode of season 3, about how he likes to stir up trouble and then seize opportunities for himself amongst the chaos (which is exactly what he’s been doing all throughout the series; Bran mentioning it to him could be his subtle hint to Littlefinger that he knows his true intentions, what he did in the past, and what he wants to do in the future. - Meera left! Even though Bran was pretty emotionless when they said goodbye, I felt sorry for her & a bit sad to see her go, especially considering all that she’s done for him. I also thought it was interesting how Bran says he’s not “Bran Stark” anymore, but remembers what it feels like, and that the real Bran metaphorically died in the 3-Eyed Raven’s cave. Bran’s speech in this scene reminded me of how Arya was training to become no one & leave her identity behind.

Aaaaand.. WE GOT THE STARK REUNION!😭❤️ I don’t know how many times I cried during the reunion this episode. I was in tears from the second Arya looked out from the hill onto Winterfell. Then the scene of her trying to get in the castle was so perfect, and so Arya, & it was a callback to season 1 when the guards at King's Landing didn't allow her to get into the Red Keep. Seeing her happiness just to be at Winterfell and seeing the Stark banners made me extremely happy.❤️ When the guards inform Sansa of Arya’s arrival, Sansa was looking through Maester Luwin’s papers & letters, and I think there’s a possibility Sansa could discover something in the letters in the next episode. Seeing Arya & Sansa reunite in the Winterfell crypts was so emotional for them & for us! I’m so happy that they’re happy and that Arya’s truly smiling again.💙Arya also mentions that being Lady Stark suits Sansa, which is a callback to the last episode where Littlefinger says that leadership & being in command suits Sansa; it’s also a callback to a scene between Ned & Arya where he tells her that she’ll be lady of a castle one day and she says “That’s not me”. And It’s true, being a Lady suits Sansa rather than Arya and I’m just so happy to see them reunited!😭 I loved the conversation between them, with Arya thinking Sansa killed Joffrey and Sansa’s reaction to Arya’s kill-list, which shows that they both really grew and went through so much, and then Arya’s reaction to knowing Bran is at Winterfell and alive was pure joy and it just all made me feel so warm and fuzzy. The full Stark reunion with Bran was so heartwarming, and Bran giving Arya the Catspaw dagger was the cherry on top, I’m so glad Arya has a Valyrian steel weapon now. The shot that got to me the most was most probably seeing the three of them walking around the castle together, showing their bond as a family, walking in their own home after all they’ve been through.😭❤️

I LOVED the scene of Arya and Brienne sparring at Winterfell. It was such a perfect and genuine scene for the two characters; I love Arya & Brienne’s chemistry and am so happy we got to see them reunited in this way, as their past interaction wasn’t quite as happy. I also really liked the nod to the Faceless Men when Brienne asked Arya who taught her how to fight like that and she said “No one”. I hope we see more of their bonding in the future.❤️ It was so evident that Arya saw right through Littlefinger at the end of the scene, she knows he’s playing games and gave him such a knowing look that was awesome.👀 I really really liked Arya in this episode because I felt like it was the first time in a long time that we’ve seen her the true Arya; she’s been through so much and we can clearly see that she has grown & matured, but back to being herself which made me ecstatic. I also loved the detail that Arya was dressed almost exactly like Ned did in season 1.😭❤️ Everything to do with Winterfell in this last episode made me so emotional, the Stark reunion was perfect, I couldn’t stop crying, and I just hope we get to see Jon reunited with them again. (he & Arya especially were the closest, and he’s the one who gave her Needle).

DRAGONSTONE

I like seeing Daenerys & Missandei being so close, and that Dany finally knows that Missandei & Greyworm like each other. Next we see Jon showing Daenerys the cave, filled with “all the dragonglass they'll ever need”, as Jon says. I’m so pumped and excited for them to start mining the dragonglass and turning into weapons, which of course would be vital in fighting the White Walkers.❄️ He then shows her the ancient cave drawings by the Children of the Forest and humans, which convinced Daenerys further that Jon is telling the truth about the White Walkers; & to me it felt like Daenerys does actually want to help Jon but the reason she wants him to bend the knee first is because she needs his guarantee that they’re allies. And in Jon’s defense, the Northerners are already against him for even agreeing to meet with Daenerys, so bending the knee to her could definitely result in a rebellion against him. I understand both of their viewpoints, but they’re both stubborn and proud people who want to help each other, and in due time, they will come to an agreement.🙌🏽 The scene between Jon, Davos, and Missandei was really cute and when Missandei was confused why Jon isn’t a Stark, and maybe I’m reaching here but her not understanding that concept felt like a very subtle to nod to Jon actually being a Targaryen. Missandei’s words about Daenerys also further convince Jon & Davos that she’s a good person and a good leader, since her people believe and have faith in her for who she is. I also think that starting from this episode, we can also see Jon slowly falling for Dany and Dany in turn trusting him. We also get a quick unpleasant reunion between Jon & Theon, with Jon telling Theon he would’ve killed him if he didn’t help Sansa. To be honest, who could blame Jon? If I were Jon I would’ve beaten him up a little too When Tyrion informs Dany of what happened at Casterly Rock, she's furious and at this point she’s had enough; Tyrion has lost her so much and every single plan that he had has failed, proving that he’s a good politician but a bad general. She’s ready to take Lady Olenna’s advice and be the dragon that she is, by taking charge of the situation on her own terms. Asking Jon’s opinion shows that she’s beginning to trust him and knows that he’s a good military commander and eventual ally; therefore, instead of taking her dragons right to King’s Landing and going against the people, she decides to go herself right to her enemies at Highgarden…

HIGHGARDEN

What a battle! The last time I was this tense was during BOTB! Daenerys & Drogon’s entrance was EVERYTHING🙌🏽🐉 The second the appeared with the Dothraki, it was obvious that the Lannister army didn’t stand a chance. Jaime tried to pretend like he was brave and that they could hold them off, but he was clearly afraid and to me it felt like he knew they weren’t going to win. Daenerys, Drogon, and the dothraki were so tough and epic, I love seeing the dragons in action and every time Daenerys yells “DRACARYS!” I feel chills.🔥 I couldn’t be more surprised that Randyll & Dickon Tarly are still alive, as this would’ve been the perfect timing. but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…👀 I’m pretty sure we all hate Bronn now? When he took out the “scorpion” (aka the dragon-killing machine), I felt a lump in my throat. I didn’t expect it to be there and actually started feeling afraid for Drogon. I was cheering so much when he kept on missing the shot but the second Drogon was hit, I started yelling. Seeing Drogon fall through the sky broke my heart and made me so upset and worried that I actually felt like it happened to my child (I don’t call myself khaleesi for nothing)😭🐉 When Daenerys & Drogon landed for Dany to take the spear out of Drogon, to me it felt like Jaime was in awe for a second, until he decided to run at her with a spear. The way Jaime ran towards Dany is also a callback to the way he killed her father, the Mad King, which is through the back. But then Drogon immediately defends his mother, Dany, and was just about to roast him if it weren’t for Bronn rescuing him at the last moment by pushing him (&himself) into the water. Now, Jaime is obviously not dead. It’s too early for him to die, & we’re most probably going to see him wake up in the next episode. As for Bronn, I hope the dirty rat drowns or lives until the day Drogon burns him to death. I thought it was very interesting to see Tyrion there, obviously on Dany’s side, but also wishing his brother makes it out alive; after all, Tyrion & Jaime have a good bond and Jaime was the one who helped Tyrion escape King’s Landing at the end of season 4. A lot of people thought that the Lannisters lost the Tyrell gold during the battle, but that’s not the case. As I mentioned, Randyll Tarly told Jaime beforehand that the gold has made it into King’s Landing; the gold that was thrown on the floor belonged to Bronn only, it wasn’t the Tyrell gold and neither were the barrels that Drogon burnt. Those barrels were the food that Cersei has ordered to be taken from the region.🔥 People have also said: “Why did Daenerys take Drogon into battle on the first attack in Westeros? He’s too valuable, she should’ve taken Rhaegal or Viserion!” WELL to that I tell you that actually in GOT, once a dragon has a rider, that rider cannot ride any other dragon. So Daenerys wouldn’t be able to ride Rhaegal or Viserion into battle, but she could command them as we’ve seen last season. The whole battle (and episode tbh) was epic and mind-blowing; the battle is also a callback to a very important battle during Aegon's Conquest (Dany’s ancestor who first took over Westeros), in which House Targaryen defeated House Lannister using dragons, which resulted in the Lannisters bending the knee to Aegon.🐉🔥