#don’t get me wrong big brother robb is also Very important to me

[northsballadmoved]

i am Once Again thinking about how impactful robb & sansa as twins is to the narrative. opposite sides of the coin. the eldest son is forced to take his father’s place, to go as far as bearing a crown, in the name of duty and family. and on the other side, the eldest daughter is forced to play little bird, to hide her teeth behind courteous smiles, to be an unwilling bride in the name of duty and family and keeping herself alive because that is what this world forces women into. a part of sansa cracks when she loses lady, but when robb dies, she loses it. a fragment of something that she’ll never know again. ( they used to share wolf dreams and now that they are both gone, sansa will never dream again. )

[gwidhiel]

Bran in Season 8

A modest proposal

I get why many people found GoT’s treatment of Bran - and his endgame - in S8 to be completely baffling and frustratingly unjustified. As with many all of the characters, the show collapsed a lot of Bran’s development and made some significant alterations to his story, e.g. by making his nemesis be the show-only character The Night King, whose apparent motivation for getting past the Wall and attacking Winterfell was specifically to get to Bran. I too was very frustrated by how little attention was paid to Bran, even in S8 when they knew he was going to end up King in the South.

But as I reflected on what few tidbits they did give us about Bran’s journey to becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, a version of Bran’s story that comports with what happened in the show started to come into focus, with motivations that would have made sense for Bran. The important tidbits I see are:

The Night King’s mark on Bran’s wrist: in S6 when the NK surprised Bran while he was greenseeing, he grabbed Bran’s wrist, which left a burn-like scar. And that seemed to allow the NK, in the real physical world, to precisely locate the Three-Eyed Raven’s lair and to break its warding spells. That set Bran fleeing back south of the Wall, which was still an effective barrier against the NK (but not for long). In S8 the show went to the trouble of visually reminding us about Bran’s scarred wrist, which led some fans to erroneously conclude that Bran was the Night King. So what was the show trying to convey?

My interpretation is that they were implying that a psychic link existed between Bran and the NK, one which allowed the NK to always know exactly where Bran was, and quite possibly to eavesdrop on conversations that Bran participated in or listened to. Perhaps the NK could even spy on Bran while Bran was greenseeing. This would explain a few things that happened in S7 & S8:

Why Bran very coldly sent Meera back home after they’d reached Winterfell. He didn’t tell her “hey, we’ve only got a temporary reprieve from the White Walkers because my dumb-ass half-brother cousin is about to give the Night King what he needs to get past the Wall and then he’ll make a beeline for Winterfell.” He didn’t mention any danger at all, but he was most insistent that Meera shouldn’t stay at Winterfell. Why not mention the coming danger?

Speaking of the coming danger, Bran could have but didn’t let Sansa know with plenty of lead time about the NK coming, which would have allowed her to evacuate all of the non-combatants from places like Last Hearth, and Winterfell itself. Why?

For that matter, why didn’t Bran try to warn Jon and Team Daenerys that their wight expedition would end disastrously and make the situation in the North far more perilous?

Why was Bran so casual when he gave Arya the Valaryian steel dagger, not even mentioning its effectiveness against White Walkers?

And why didn’t Bran mention that the Winterfell crypts probably weren’t the best place for the women and children to shelter?

In the pre-battle planning meeting, Bran sat and listened as Jon laid out their defensive plans, and then interjected to make it clear exactly where he would be and exactly what kind of guarding he’d have. The takeaway from that discussion was that Bran was going to be beneath the weirwood tree with a handful of archers to protect him because they were all pretty confident in their defensive plans and in the ability of the dragons and the assembled fighters to keep the Night King’s forces at bay.

So my take is that, by never letting on that he knew the Night King would end up able to breach the Wall, or that he understood how easily the Night King could overpower Winterfell’s planned defenses (even bolstered by dragons!), Bran lured the Night King into believing he’d be able to get to Bran with ease and to underestimate the risk he was taking to do so. The show made it clear that the White Walkers themselves weren’t deployed in the fight, they were just standing idly by. By doing nothing, Bran set and sprang the perfect trap for the Night King. “Doing something by doing nothing” had been foreshadowed, first by Tyrion in S7 and then by Sansa in S8. There are also echoes of what Robb did in the Whispering Woods to lure Jaime into an enormous tactical blunder.

If I’m right, that was rather clever of Bran - and rather clever of the show. So why wouldn’t they have explained this after the fact? Why not have that all revealed so that the audience could enjoy it too, instead of being puzzled about what the heck Bran was supposedly doing during the Battle of Winterfell?

I think the problem the show faced was that, if they revealed that Bran was smart and was able to know in advance what was going to happen and made calculated moves based on his enemy’s overconfidence, they’d have to address why he didn’t then try to prevent Daenerys’s destruction of King’s Landing.

To be clear, in-universe I think from Bran’s perspective it would have made sense to let The Mother of Dragons, aka the other monstrous magical force that threatened Westeros, go South to her doom once she’d conveniently served her purpose in the North as a diversion for the Army of the Dead. Her armies were depleted and one of her dragons was wounded and was about to be killed. She was still bad news for Kings Landing, but not as bad as she’d have been with two healthy dragons (or three!), and her original Dothraki and Unsullied forces.  But:

if the show had made it clear that Bran had known what would happen, or could have easily known if he’d wanted to, there would have been a huge fuss about why he didn’t stop Daenerys “before she turned dark.” D&D might have realized that, if they’d made it clear that Bran could have at least warned Daenerys about what might lie ahead for her, many in the audience would have grasped at pinning the blame for the genocide she committed on Bran rather than on Daenerys herself. I’ve seen people try to do that anyway!

D&D had decided they didn’t want to devote more time to fleshing out the story, they wanted to wrap it up quickly. And they were unwilling to show their hand about Dark!Dany until the 11th hour, so they couldn’t have shown too much about what Bran was up to or capable of before then, because it would have spoiled their Big Surprise. Yet another way that their blinkered approach to storytelling yielded a very unsatisfying end.

This is all obviously speculation but this read of what D&D showed us about Bran, and why they didn’t show more, leaves me much more reconciled to his end game. I could be very wrong, of course. And even if I’m right in part or whole, I don’t think the show handled his story well at all.

[dany-is-my-queen]

Born To Be Yours | Part II

Sansa Stark x Fem! Baratheon! Reader (Daenerys Targaryen x Fem! Baratheon! Reader eventually)

Season 1-8

Word Count: 1,795

Note: I’m back!!!

Part 1 here Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8 Pt.9

“You shouldn’t interfere when it’s none of your business.” Joffrey was still angry with you.

“Don’t mess with the ladies and we’ll be in peace.” You calmly said.

“Always so honorable... the hero saving the day.” Your mother mocked.

“Why you say it like that, mother? I would do it over again, you are so heartless and extreme about little matters.” You rolled your eyes.

“You don’t care about your brother's honor. That’s the real reason you defended those pathetic girls.” She spat.

“I do care about him. It’s the other way around. You are a pampered kid. You should start acting more like a man, Joffrey.” And with that you left his room.

“May I come in, princess?” The sweet voice of the oldest Stark daughter rang. You were on just a pair of trousers, definitely not wearing proper clothes to be talking to her.

“Of course, my lady. Just give me a second, please.” You put on a dress. “Let her in.”

“I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. You saved my wolf’s life, I’ll be forever thankful, my princess.”

“It was the right thing to do. I would have preferred her to stay by your side, though.”

“She’ll find a new home. I hope she returns to the north, where she belongs.” You gave her a soothing smile. “Does prince Joffrey hates me?” She asked sadly.

“No no, he is just a bit... irritating and gets easily offended. But it’s not personal, my lady. You are promised to him so with time your relationship will evolve.”

“I hope so. I’ll leave you to enjoy your evening, my princess.”

“Lady Sansa, if you need someone to talk to you can always come to me. You and your sister. I pray for your little brother to wake up. She nodded.

“You are very kind.”

~~~~~~

“Did you found a suitable candidate up in the North, niece?” Uncle Renly asked with a droll voice.

“I met a boy... very good looking and a gentleman but he wasn’t my type. He’s the eldest son of Lord Eddard.”

“Sounds quite the man.”

“We didn’t have the chance to get closer so I’ll forget about him.” You might never see him again after all.

“Princess Y/N, what can I do for you?” The tall man greeted.

“I haven’t had the chance to thank you, my lord, for accepting to be the new hand. I know it was a difficult choice to make, leaving your home. My father really needs you. He lacks of loyal friends and I believe you’ll be very helpful around here.”

“Oh, I will do my best not to let Robert down.” He smiled.

“A raven came this morning. I- I forgot to deliver it earlier, my lord hand.” Maester Pycelle said with his usual stutter and left.

“Good news?”

“My Princess! I didn’t expect to see you.” A voice that didn’t please you stated.

“Lord Baelish.” You faked a perfect smile.

“Lord Stark, perhaps you’ll like to share the news with your wife.”

“She’s on Winterfell.”

“Is she?”

“I won’t tell my mother. Lord Baelish knows I can keep a secret. Can I join you?” The relation you had with Petyr was not the best. He informed you of things your parents won’t share with you. Despite that you never liked him nor his personality.

“Better not keep her waiting.” You reached his brothel unnoticed.

“I’ll talk to her when you’re done. I’m not a spy. I can be trusted but I prefer to stay out of your business, Lord Eddard.” And it was true. You had no interest in gossiping.

“Thank you.” They entered. Not before he took Baelish and throttle him suspecting this was a trick.

“Lady Catelyn.” You bowed your head.

“Princess Y/N, what a surprise...” She looked at you with dismay.

“It’s fine. I won’t tell a soul. I am glad to hear that little Bran is finally awake. And also, I wanted to let you know that I’ll keep your daughters safe. Now that you both are here I give you my word. My family is complicated and tends to have a reputation. I will look after Lady Sansa and Lady Arya, as long as I can, I promise.” Since the incident with the direwolves you had this enormous feeling of responsibility, deep down you knew their stay in King’s Landing won’t be as enjoyable as they thought. You hoped you were wrong. Prevention was a good idea.

“I will be in your debt, my princess. Knowing this gives me relief. It’s hard to find good people here in the capital.”

“It certainly is. Say hello to Lord Robb from me.” You wished her good travel home but sensed trouble in her.

~~~~~~

“Y/N! Want to spar? I’m so bored and Myrcella is doing lady stuff.” Tommen asked you, holding his little sword.

“That’s not proper for a princess to do and mother doesn’t approve.” Joffrey hissed.

“But father does. We are not useless like yourself, big brother.” You rumpled your brother’s hair. “Let’s go Tommen.” You found Arya in the courtyard with his dancing teacher. “Mind if we join the class?”

“This is Syrio Forel, he is from Braavos.”

“My Princess, my Prince.” He did a small reverence.

“I want to learn how to be a knight!” Tommen said excitedly. After a long time practicing you got tired. Syrio was surprised when he saw the way you wield the wooden blade.

“Natural talent, Princess Y/N.”

“Thank you. My father was the first person that taught me how to properly do it so I can defend myself when there are no guards around. Ser Jaime also instructed me of some techniques.”

“That’s my intent too. Not wearing dresses and attending to councils. I was born for this.” Arya said sure.

“No one will be able to stop you when you are old enough, perhaps not even now.” She grinned.

You could see yourself in this girl, you have a lot in common. She was fearless and didn’t seem to want to marry a lord and live in a castle. You could also see the similarities between Lady Sansa and you. You love to fight and go hunting, use a bow, but you knew how to weave as well, how to properly greet the lords and ladies, and you wished to get married someday. You were a proper daughter, with dignity and manners, your father was always more fond of you, your mother on the other hand... she loved you in her own way, you were the perfect child in everyone’s eyes.

“Lady Sansa, I am happy to know your brother is fine.” You put a hand on her shoulder.

“He won’t be able to walk ever again. But it was a miracle. Thanks for your prayers.” She answered.

“Would you like to visit the Throne Room? Your septa can join us.” She nodded.

“Someday your husband will sit there and you by his side, then you’re going to present your son to the court. All the important people of the Seven Kingdoms will gather here to see the prince.” Septa Mordane stated.

“What if I have a girl?” The Stark inquired.

“If the gods are good you’ll have girls and boys, plenty of them.”

“They all going to be beautiful children. Just like her mother.” You complemented.

“But if I only had girls...”

“The throne will pass to Tommen, my little brother.”

“And everyone will hate me.” She harried said.

“No one could ever hate you, Sansa.” Her septa affirmed.

“Your Septa is right, my lady. I already told you. As your friend, I won’t let anybody speak ill of you. Besides, you are lovely.” You squeezed her hand.

“Thank you, my princess.”

“Sansa, do you remember your lessons? Who built the Iron Throne?”

“Aegon the conqueror.”

“And who built the Red Keep?”

“Maegor the cruel. My grandfather and uncle were murdered here, by orders of the Mad King. Why?”

“You should speak to your father about these matters.”

“You are dismissed.” The old woman left. You walked towards the throne indicating her to follow you.

“Would you like to seat on the throne, my lady? It’s not a comfortable chair but it was forged from the one thousand swords that had been surrendered to Aegon in the War of Conquest by the lords who had offered their fealty, though the actual number of the swords is less than two hundred. These were melted down by the fiery breath of Balerion the Black Dread.” You conclude telling her.

“You seem to like these type of stories, Princess. Your knowledge for the topic is quite vast.” She was surprised yet amused.

“Yes, I enjoy to read and uncle Tyrion told me a lot about this when I was just a little girl. What kind of stories enthralled you, sweet lady?”

“The ones with honorable knights, chivalry and love.” A dreamt sigh left her mouth.

“I like those too. Especially this tale about Ser Florian called Florian the Fool, he was a legendary hero of the Riverlands from the Age of Heroes. He felt in love with a maiden named Jonquil. Singers compared the sudden marriage of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne Targaryen to their great romance.

“I know that one! Is my favorite tale of all time. But I didn’t know they compared them with the Targaryens of that period. It’s very romantic.” She blushed a little.

“And one of the songs... I think this is how it goes, Six maids there were in a spring-fed pool... oh my gods! I sound terrible.”

“No! You have an adorable voice, princess Y/N.” You grinned.

“You are lying! I found that song a bit creepy. He was watching Jonquil and her sisters bathed. The face of the girl turned just like her hair. I didn’t mean to ruin it.” Both of you laughed.

“It’s alright. I still love it.” The throne room was never your favorite place to be, it was hollow and boring. You imagine all the horrible things that happened here. But now with the presence of such a pretty lass it felt different, not gloomy at all.

The next day it was the tournament in the name of Eddard Stark. Though the man didn’t attend. You sat next to the oldest Baratheon boy. Tommen was inpatient so as your father. Lady Sansa smiled at your brother but he looked away, avoiding her completely.

“Is it so hard to be nice at your lady?”

“Shut up.” You return the smile to her. She was half disappointed it wasn’t Joffrey and half happy you did notice her.

“Start the damn joust before I pissed myself!” And the opponents made their appearance. Ready to begin.

[itubainaretro]

Like the rivers feed the sea know that you, are all that I will need

In a parallel universe coronavirus was still a thing but Robbe and Sander stayed together during lockdown.

OR

Little snippets of Robbe and Sander's life during lockdown.

read it on AO3 or under the cut (5.8k)

When news broke that the cases of coronavirus were spreading faster by the day and that Belgium was headed towards a lockdown because they’ve been hit hard by the pandemic Sander and Robbe didn’t know how they would go on about the situation - they didn’t know if they would spend the lockdown together or apart, each one with their own families. They only knew that they had to make a decision and stick to it, cause they shouldn’t be roaming around the streets of Antwerp after a certain date.

They talked about it with their moms, both of them telling them they were free to choose for themselves and if they wanted to spend it together they were welcome whichever home they decided was best for them.

Robbe told Sander he wanted them to be wherever they felt most comfortable being. He knew how important it was for Sander to be in the familiarity of his own home and room, and he also knew they were about to face something bigger than them and totally unpredictable, so he didn’t want to add to that the anxiety that being out of your comfort zone could bring.

And ok, they had spent the night at each other’s places before, but they could always come and go whenever they pleased, so having to decide where they needed to stay for good for almost a month - at least - seemed like something big and even though Sander agreed that maybe it was better to stay at his own house, he didn’t want to make Robbe choose between him and his own mother. Robbe didn’t have to say anything for him to know that he didn’t want to leave his mama alone in times like these, so they decided to stay at Robbe’s house.

Sander didn’t worry too much about his mama, since she would still have his father and little sister, Cara, to keep her company, so he packed a bag with all the essential things he would need for the foreseeable future - clothes (not too many of those, since Robbe cleared out one of his drawers to give it to him recently and he had plenty of stuff at his place already), toiletries (he needed to change the toothbrush he left at Robbe’s anyway), books, his pencils and charcoal, his sketchbook, his school stuff, his notebook and camera -  and went.

-

In the beginning, it felt like they were still in school and that everything was as it always has been (minus the not going out part) with all the school work both of them got from their professors, so they focused on that first, but as the days went by they had less and less work to do and almost too much time on their hands so it almost started feeling like they were on vacation.

-

At first, it felt great, having that much time to do anything they wanted to, just them, so they started by binge watching Netflix because Elite’s latest season had just come out and Robbe insisted that Sander watched it with him. Sander rolled his eyes at him when he suggested it, but later on, admitted he saw the first and second seasons and kinda loved it. 

They watched the whole season in one day.

-

After catching up with all the series they were behind, they moved on to movies that had made their way into their To Watch list throughout the time they’ve been together. There were quite a few, from different genres, going from Lady and the Tramp because, “how on earth have you never watched it, Sander? you have a little sister and you were a kid once in your life too, you know? Besides, it’s a classic”, to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off because, “this movie shaped me as a rebel, Robbe”, ‘what are we gonna do?’ ‘the question isn’t what are we going to do, the question is: what aren’t we going to do?’, Sander quoted to prove his point and finished saying, “this is a classic, love”.

Their favorite one was a brazilian movie, called Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, that Robbe had already seen once and mentioned it to Sander in one of their various conversations about movies, a long time ago. 

They were enjoying the song playing while the credits rolled when Sander asked softly why Robbe chose that particular movie.

“The first time I watched it was when I was starting to wonder about my sexual orientation and thinking that maybe I was not as straight as I thought I was”, Robbe started with a hushed voice. “It was a very difficult time for me, as you know it, and things at home weren’t that great either.... and this movie was the only spark of love and hope that I saw in the middle of all that chaos and self-hatred that I felt inside - it was the only thing telling me that maybe things would be okay, and I wanted to share the feeling with you”, he finished, bashfully. 

Sander’s eyes were filled with tears when he pulled Robbe closer to tell him how much he loved him and how proud he was of the person he became. He kissed every part of Robbe’s face he could reach: his eyes, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, and finally his lips.

After some time, Sander grabbed his phone and typed something and the same song from the ending scene and credits started playing and Sander pulled Robbe up from the bed. 

“Come on, we’re going to dance.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

And who was Robbe to say no to Sander when there was indeed too much love to go around these days?

-

They read some books too, each boy with their own, at first.

As the days went by, though, they grew tired of being in silence together, so after finishing their respective books they agreed on one they would read together, aloud.

As per Sander’s request, Robbe was the one to read it.

“Please? Your voice is soothing”, Sander smiled at Robbe, “I like listening to it, it’s like music to my ears.”

“Shut up”, Robbe rolled his eyes fondly and shook his head, smiling.

“It’s true, though. You do have a nice voice”, Sander reaffirmed, a smile never leaving his lips.

So he read from the book they chose, one hand holding the book, the other playing with Sander’s hair from where his head was resting on his lap.

“Good morning, he said.

Be at home in your head.

Make sure joy is well fed.

Don’t let dread hog the bed.

Good night now, and rest.

Today was a test.

You passed it, you’re past it.

Now breathe till unstressed.

Good morning, stunner.

You’re just getting started.

Your age doesn’t matter.

The sun is up, the day is new.

You’re just getting started.

Good night, stunner.

You’re just getting started.

Your age doesn’t matter.

The stars are out, the night is warm.

You’re just getting started.

Good morning.

Good gracious.

Your smile is

contagious.

Good night then.

Good gracious.

You’re one

for the ages….”

When Robbe finished reading the poem and closed the book, Sander was already looking at him when he looked down.

They met halfway in a soft kiss.

You are loved and we like having you around.

-

As the days went by, things started shifting. 

The days seemed longer and duller, there seemed to be a cloud of uncertainty hovering over their heads, the amount of information they were always receiving on the news seemed like too much. They missed the feeling of fresh air on their faces, they missed going to the skate park or seeing street art around Antwerp.

Everything felt like too much and not nearly enough at the same time. Too much information, too much bad news. Not enough space to roam around, not enough fresh air, not enough freedom. And Robbe’s mama was the first one to notice.

Robbe and Sander seemed quieter than usual, no music, no fits of laughter - usually heard from the kitchen three rooms away from Robbe’s room - were coming from there.

She went to check on them and upon seeing their frowny and preoccupied faces, took the matter into her own hands and decided to ask them for their help to prepare dinner.

They usually helped with setting up the table and cleaning after they ate, but she wanted them to keep their minds off of everything for as long as they could, so purposefully choosing something that would take them hours to get made, she decided their dinner would be pasta. Made from scratch.

They spent the entire afternoon preparing everything and didn’t even notice how time flew by while they were cooking, talking, and keeping busy enough to not have to deal with the outside world.

After cleaning up the kitchen they headed to their respective rooms and fell asleep quite instantly from how exhausted they were.

It was a good day, after all.

-

Some days later Sander’s mum called, claiming Cara, Sander’s four-year-old sister, missed her big brother too much and wouldn’t stop complaining about it.

Robbe and Sander spent almost the entire day facetiming her.

They talked about everything, engaged on her games the best way they could while being separated by a screen, watched Moana at the same time so they could talk about it with her, and finished their day by reading her a bedtime story, with Sander and Robbe making the funniest voices possible for each character to make her go to sleep with a smile on her face.

-

Later that week, Sander first noticed something was wrong when he turned around and saw Robbe - always the first one of them to wake up early in the morning - still in bed, cocooned by all their blankets, even though it was past 10 am. 

Noticing how the pattern of his breathing didn’t seem as even as it would be if he was asleep, Sander realized Robbe has probably been awake for quite some time already. 

“Good morning”, Sander said after dropping a soft kiss on Robbe’s shoulder. 

Robbe hummed and after what felt like a million years muttered a quiet, “Morning”.

“Did you sleep well, love?”

Robbe only nodded and that was enough for Sander to understand Robbe probably didn't feel like talking - they’ve known each for long enough to notice the little things and knew better than to push. 

After some time Robbe turned around until he was face to face with Sander and pulled the other boy closer, hiding his face on Sander’s neck and soon enough Sander felt tears leave his boyfriend’s eyes, leaving a wet trail on his neck and t-shirt. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m here. We’ll be alright”, Sander tried calming Robbe down, rubbing soothing circles on his back with the tips of his fingers, “It’s going to be alright”.

Robbe’s voice was hoarse when he said a few minutes later, “Logically, I know that. It’s just I’m-”, Sander felt Robbe’s voice breaking before he even heard him, “I’m worried. I’m always so worried. About my mama, about you. I don’t want to lose either of you, but this fucking virus… it’s messing with my head”.

“Robbe, baby, we’re safe here. We’re all safe. Your mama and I aren’t going anywhere, okay, love? We’re right here. With you”, Sander tried reasoning with the gentlest voice he could muster. Robbe nodded but Sander could still feel his tears falling down his eyes freely, so he tried a new approach.

“What if you and I play a game?” Sander asked. “I believe you already know the rules and I’m almost certain you were the one who taught me how to play it. It’s called Sander and Robbe, minute by minute”, he said gently, smiling when Robbe looked at him, eyes still gleaming with tears. 

After Robbe nodded, Sander continued, “In the next minute we’re just going to lie here and breathe together, is that okay?”

When Robbe nodded again, Sander took his hand and placed it on his chest so they could match their breathing. Robbe grabbed Sander’s hand and put it over his own heart and there they stayed for the next minute.

When their breathing was even Robbe asked quietly, “In the next minute, can I kiss you?”

Sander didn’t even bother answering, grabbing hold of Robbe’s jaw and pressing their lips softly together instead.

In the next minute, Robbe seemed much more settled and calm, so they just stayed there, lying together in bed, Robbe’s head tucked on Sander’s neck, Sander’s hand playing with his hair.

Neither of them noticed they had fallen asleep again, so Robbe was surprised to wake up to an empty bed next to him hours later.

Only it wasn’t that empty when he looked closer and found a card placed on Sander’s pillow, with Sander’s careful handwriting on both sides.

I know it’s not much, but I want you to know that we’ll get through this together, baby. It’s you and me against the world, forever, in all universes. 

We’ll be fine.

I love you.

PS: I’m waiting for you in the tv room with your chamomile tea 

And that was just how Robbe found Sander later, in the tv room, like he promised, with his chamomile tea, watching a movie with Robbe’s mama.

Sander made space for Robbe to plaster himself against him on the couch and passed him his tea once Robbe was settled. At Robbe’s surprised face at the tea still being warm Sander explained, “You always go to the bathroom to wash your hands and face after you wake up, no matter what, so I put the kettle on when I heard you”.

God, Robbe loved him so much. 

He smiled.

They would be alright.

-

It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to keep that mindset, but they tried, and even though the days seemed to be getting impossibly bluer as the news didn’t get any better and there was no indication of when everything would go back to normal, there were some good things that happened that helped them keep their hopes up. 

Like when they found a family of four kittens near their garage one Thursday morning.

Eileen was making coffee and Sander and Robbe were setting up the table for breakfast, talking about the last movie they’ve seen, when Robbe heard a sound coming from outside their home.

He looked up at her and said, “Mama, did you hear this noise?”

“What noise, dear?”, Eileen asked, turning around. “I heard something coming from outside, I think there’s something in the garage.” “What are you talking about, Robbe?”, Eileen was still confused. “I heard it too, actually”, Sander chimed in.

Robbe scrunched up his eyebrows when he heard another sound and both Sander and Eileen looked at the door. 

They went outside and started looking for the source of the noise. 

Near their garage there was a small spot in the wall reserved for pots of plants, where Eileen usually left a nice vase with colorful flowers to brighten up the place. That spot was now empty. Well, not exactly empty, but lacking flowers, more like.

Instead of the usual flowers occupying said place, there now stood three little kittens, while one was trying to climb up the wall, trying to get closer to their family. That explained the noise they heard, as the vase that once stood there was now shattered on the floor. 

They tried gently approaching the kittens, Sander and Eileen being the only ones to succeed, and when the kittens finally trusted them enough to let themselves be taken by the pair, the three of them walked back inside, hands full of cute kittens.

Eileen took care and examined each one of them, paying close attention to see if any of them had any injury or needed medical care, but they were all fine and healthy, so they fed them and played with them, forgetting about breakfast.

Almost an hour later, when Robbe’s stomach grumbled and the kittens were half asleep on their laps they got up and went to the kitchen to finally have breakfast, leaving the kittens sleeping on a makeshift bed Eileen had put up with some old cushions and sheets she had laying around somewhere around the house.

“They need names”, Robbe said as soon as he sat on the table and poured himself a cup of coffee.

They had discussed the possibility of keeping the kittens earlier, when they were still playing with them, and for the time being, Eileen agreed to it, asking the boys for help to take care of them.

“They do”, Eileen agreed. “Any suggestions?”, she looked at Robbe and Sander.

“Freddie, Roger, Brian and John”, Sander said easily, a smile plastered on his face.

Robbe raised his left eyebrow. “Really?”

Sander nodded.

“I’m surprised you didn’t suggest Bowie 1, Bowie 2, Bowie 3, and Ziggy Stardust”, Robbe teased.

Sander stuck his tongue out at Robbe and both Robbe and his mama laughed.

“I like it, Sander”, Eileen smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Sander stuck his tongue out at Robbe again.

“Shut up”, Robbe rolled his eyes at him but couldn’t help smiling.

They listened to Queen the whole afternoon.

-

Robbe wished all days could be as easy as the day the kittens were found and the days that followed them, when each day one of them learned how to do a new thing and everyone was endeared by them and the days passed by in the blink of an eye, filled with laughter, warmth, and happiness, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the case.

A week and a half later Robbe noticed how everything was starting to catch up with his mama and things became kind of too much for her as well. 

He noticed it during breakfast, when all of them were gathered around the table, still half asleep, eating croques made by Sander and drinking coffee. She looked like she was in another world completely, her eyes missing that natural glint that always assured Robbe that things would be fine. He worried for her and because of her, but he also knew that there was not much he could do. 

He just wished things could be easier for her.

-

A couple of days went by and Robbe’s mama still didn’t feel that well, spending most of the time in her room, only leaving to make them food or occasionally go to the bathroom.

Sander saw how worried Robbe was so he asked him if there was anything they could do to help her, or if there was anything she liked to do when she felt down, like he liked to immerse himself into his art when he was having bad days, Eileen probably had something that took her mind off of things when she felt down as well. So Robbe wrecked his brain trying to think of something until he remembered.

“She likes gardening”, Robbe smiled, thinking about all the times he found his mama caring for the flowers of their garden when he was a little kid. It has probably been ages since Robbe last helped her and just the thought of it made something break inside Robbe’s chest.

“I have no idea how to do any of this, but maybe we can try? For her?”, Sander was already rummaging through his clothes to find something comfortable to wear.

God, Robbe really loved him. He nodded and after changing into some old clothes that were bound to get dirty he dragged Sander to the garden, looking for where they kept the gardening things they would need. 

After some hours, a lot of dirt staining their clothes and a garden that looked half arranged, they heard some noises coming from the inside of the house and some minutes later Eileen opened the door to the garden and made a surprised noise. As she got closer to them, Freddie, Roger, Brian, and John, or Queen, as the four of them were often called now, following close behind, Robbe noticed she had a smile on her face and looked a bit more rested.

“We know it’s not much and that we’re probably not doing it the right way, but we tried”, Robbe broke the silence, shrugging his shoulders.

“And if you want to help us finish it, you’re more than welcome, Eileen”, Sander added. “And if you also want to show us a better, more efficient, and less messy way to do it we would love to learn”, he finished smiling, pointing to their dirty clothes as a way to emphasize what he was saying.

Eileen smiled at them both and after giving each boy a hug she pulled her sleeves up and got to work, showing them how to care for the plants and the flowers and how to turn the slight mess they made into a beautiful garden.

They spent the rest of the day gardening and when they were finished with it, Sander got his camera and they had a little photoshoot in the freshly revived garden, all of them still dirty, with the kittens running around causing mayhem.

Eileen loved them more than she could put into words.

-

The days seemed to be more hopeful after that.

There were still bad days in the middle of the good ones, but they helped each other get through it and they knew they would make it.

-

Before they knew it, it was Sander’s birthday and Robbe had a day filled with surprises planned for him.

It started with Robbe and his mama getting up earlier than they usually did to bake Sander a birthday cake. They decided on the chocolate cake because Robbe knew it was Sander’s favorite and he still remembered that one time he called Sander basic for liking chocolate cake and earned himself a full lecture on why the chocolate cake was anything but. 

After they put the cake in the oven Robbe prepared a tray of food to take to their room so Sander could eat breakfast in bed. All of Sander’s favorites were there: croques, pancakes, orange juice, berries, and black coffee. After managing to securely hold everything into the tray he made his way to his mama’s garden and plucked one of the beautiful flowers that had blossomed in the past week, with her permission of course, and decorated the tray and made his way to his (and now Sander’s) bedroom.

As setting everything up took longer than he originally thought it would when Robbe came to their room Sander was already awake, still laying in bed, lazily scrolling through his phone, probably answering people’s birthday wishes, and when he saw Robbe he smiled.

“Good morning, angel.”

Robbe smiled back at him, completely enamored with Sander’s freshly woken up face.  “Good morning, birthday boy”, he came closer to the bed and gave Sander a soft kiss before placing the tray in front of him.

“And what’s this?”, Sander asked, a smile never leaving his face.

“Breakfast in bed for you”, Robbe smiled again.

“It looks delicious, baby”, Sander said, “thank you.” He grabbed Robbe’s neck and pulled him closer to kiss him, getting lost in it. He broke the kiss a few moments later. 

“Is there something burning?”

“Only my desire for you”, Robbe jokingly teased.

“No, Robbe”, Sander said, sniffing the air. “There’s something really burning.” 

“FUCK”, Robbe exclaimed, getting out of bed in a hurry. “Your cake.” He ran to the kitchen to take the burnt cake out of the oven before the kitchen caught on fire and heard Sander laughing, slowly getting out of bed and following him.

Sander got into the kitchen in time to see Robbe with a frown on his face setting the cake pan into the sink, mumbling about how there was no way to salvage the cake anymore.

“I can survive a year without a birthday cake, you know”, Sander tried to soothe Robbe, coming closer to him and setting his hands on his waist. “It’s okay, baby.”

“There’s no way you're not getting a birthday cake today, Sander”, Robbe protested. “You’re already stuck at home, I didn’t even get the chance to get you a nice birthday gift… the least I can do is bake a fucking cake”, he sounded frustrated. “I’m going to ask mama where the recipe and the ingredients are.”

“Hey, relax”, Sander looked into Robbe’s eyes, “it’s alright.” He lowered his voice and whispered into Robbe’s ear, teasingly, “if the cake thing doesn’t happen I’ll still have buns right here”, and gave Robbe’s ass a squeeze, just to make him laugh. 

Robbe didn’t even have time to react before Eileen cleared her throat from where she was standing by the door, holding Freddie in her arms. 

Robbe detangled himself from Sander and tried not to think about his burning cheeks and the clear blush that he was sure was adorning his face. “I burned the cake”, he said quickly.

Eileen laughed. “Yeah, I smelt it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, dear, these things happen”, she moved her hand in a nonchalant way, “especially if you’re distracted”, she teased.

Sander barked out a laugh and Robbe glared at him.

“Is it okay if I try to make another one?”

“Of course”, Eileen nodded. “Here’s the recipe.”

“Thank you, mama.”

“Do you need any help?”

Robbe shook his head, “No, thank you. I’ll pay more attention this time”, he promised.

“I’ll help him if he needs anything, Eileen”, Sander reassured.

“Okay, I trust you two”, Eileen smiled at them. “The ingredients are in the cupboard on top of the stove and oh, dear, happy birthday”, she gave Sander a hug before leaving the kitchen.

As soon as his mama was out of earshot Robbe glared at Sander and gave him a punch in the arm. “You’ll still have buns right here? Are you fucking serious?”

Sander tried to stifle his laugh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think she would hear… or see that for the matter”, he ended up laughing anyway.

“Sander, I live with my mama, what did you expect?” Robbe tried not to laugh.

“I don’t know, she could be in the bathroom, or taking care of Queen, who knows?”

“Clearly not you, you idiot”, Robbe laughed. “You’re the worst”, he shook his head.

“But you love me.”

Robbe sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“Heeeeey”, Sander whined.

“Okay, fortunately”, Robbe relented.

“That’s better”, Sander smiled, already invading Robbe’s personal space once again to give him a kiss.

“Happy birthday, baby”, Robbe wished once again before kissing Sander.

-

There were no more incidents in the kitchen and the chocolate cake Robbe and Sander made turned out to taste delicious, Eileen telling them so after they each ate a piece of it after lunch.

Sander spent the entire day talking to his friends and family, everyone that wanted to wish him a happy birthday, making sure to make an extra call to talk only to Cara because she missed him too much.

Sometime during the afternoon Robbe called for Sander from their bedroom and when Sander got there he was surprised to see all of Robbe’s friends on the screen of his computer shouting surprise when they saw him. The Broerrrs, the girls, and even Milan and Senne were on a Zoom meeting to wish him happy birthday. They all had funny backgrounds and fake balloons to pretend it was a birthday party and Sander couldn’t have been happier about it, thanking all of them after they sang happy birthday and saying it was the best birthday ever.

At night, Robbe cooked dinner and made Sander’s favorite food for them to eat together. 

When everyone was at the table making a plate for themselves Robbe’s mama got up after helping herself.

“Mama? What are you doing?”, Robbe asked, lifting an eyebrow after seeing her grabbing her plate, utensils, and glass of water.

“I’m going to my room so you boys can enjoy the night”, she said matter of factly. 

“Mama.”

“Eileen.” Both boys said together.

“You know you don’t have to do this, Eileen”, Sander shook his head.

“I know, darling, but I want to”, she smiled at them. “You two deserve tonight”, she winked at them.

“Mama….”

“Robbe, dear, it’s alright. It’s one night”, Eileen insisted. “Besides, I won’t be alone, Queen will be there with me and I’ll be listening to music on those nice headphones you so gently lent me”, she turned around, leaving. 

Robbe made a confused face, “I didn’t lend her anything”, he whispered to Sander.

Sander shrugged.

“So enjoy the night”, Eileen yelled from the corridor. “..... and use protection”, she added as an afterthought.

Sander burst out laughing.

“MAMA”, Robbe yelled back, embarrassed.

They enjoyed the night to themselves anyway.

-

Robbe wished that day would never come because seeing Sander sad made him sad, but it did, as it did for his mama and himself during the time they were on lockdown and it was bound to happen to Sander too and it did a few days after his birthday. 

They woke up like they always did at around 8 am and went to the kitchen to have breakfast with Robbe’s mama. They ate together in a comfortable silence and after cleaning their plates Sander told them he was going back to bed because he wasn’t feeling that well and he wanted to sleep it off. Robbe knew better than to push or ask too many questions, so he kissed him on the forehead and sent him off to their room, saying that if he needed anything he would be in the tv room with his mama and Queen.

Robbe spent the entire day with his mama on the couch, working on his school projects and watching some movies when he was done with everything. Occasionally he heard Sander going to the bathroom and then going back to their room, where he stayed the whole day.

Some hours later, when it was already early evening, Robbe got an idea and asked his mama for help and after an hour or so he had everything set up.

Sander woke up and came to the kitchen half an hour later.

“Sorry if we woke you up”, Robbe said, opening his arms to welcome Sander.

“No, you didn’t”, Sander shook his head, nestling himself in Robbe’s embrace. “I was already awake, but I decided to come here when I smelt the popcorn”, he smiled.

Eileen smiled at them. “Well, I think everything is set”, she said while turning off the stove. “You boys enjoy the night and get some rest, okay? I’m going to bed.” She gave each of them a kiss before making her way to her bedroom.

Robbe dismissed Sander’s confused face and asked him how he was feeling.

Sander sighed. “I don’t know. Weird? Today was weird”, he looked at Robbe with downcast eyes. “Everything feels weird, actually.” Ever since that day Robbe found Sander in the Academy all those months ago they promised each other to always tell the truth about how they were feeling, even if they couldn’t exactly explain it themselves or if it didn’t make much sense, and Sander remembered that.

Robbe nodded. “Everything is weird at the moment”, he agreed. “But it’ll pass”, he kissed Sander’s forehead. “And we’ll be okay, okay?”

Sander nodded. 

Robbe gave him another tight hug and after dropping another kiss to his head, whispered in his ear, “Come”.

Robbe took Sander’s hand and led him to the tv room and before getting there he turned around and said, “I have a surprise for you, so close your eyes.” And after he was certain he did, he went behind him and covered his eyes with his own hands because he knew Sander and he knew he would try to sneak a peek.

“Are you ready?”, Robbe asked as soon as they entered the tv room.

After Sander nodded, Robbe took his hands away from his eyes and said, “I know it’s not much, but I hope you like it and that it cheers you up a bit… you can open your eyes now.”

And when Sander did his eyes filled with tears immediately. 

There, in the middle of the tv room, was a blanket fort, decorated with shiny Christmas lights and filled with soft cushions and blankets inside. Netflix was already on and laying on the many blankets there were some food and drinks for them to share. It was something so simple, so small, but it made Sander so happy he couldn’t even form words to thank Robbe.

“You made this for me?”, he finally let out, voice unsteady.

“Mama helped a little”, Robbe smiled.

Sander turned around and hugged Robbe as tightly as he could. “I love you, so much.”

“I love you too.”

They stood there for minutes, just hugging and enjoying each other’s presence until Robbe remembered the popcorn and went to the kitchen to grab it.

When he came back he saw Sander just standing there, looking amazed at their blanket fort.

“Shall we?”, Robbe broke the silence, asking Sander if they should enter the fort and settle down for the night.

After arranging themselves around one another, not even an inch separating them, finding the perfect position to cuddle and watch a movie, Sander thanked Robbe again.

“I still don’t know what I’ve done right in the world to deserve someone like you”, Sander shook his head, forgetting about the movie that was playing for a minute.

 “Please know I feel the same way”, Robbe chuckled, lazily playing with Sander’s hair, soothing them both at once. “I’ll never understand how I managed to have someone as amazing as you by my side, but we did it, and we deserve each other”, he looked down at Sander, finding his gaze from where his head was laying on Robbe’s chest, “because we’re both good and we deserve good things. We deserve each other”, he reassured him.

Sander nodded, tears brimming his eyes once again.

“And we’ll keep doing so every day, baby, no matter what, okay?” Robbe assured. “It’s you and me. 100%. Forever....”

“... in every universe”, Sander agreed.

They kissed each other then.

-

A few days later new measures were taken and people were finally allowed to leave their houses for little walks and exercises outdoors. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to bring a fresh wave of hope that things would somehow be okay eventually, so Robbe and Sander took every opportunity they could get.

They knew things weren’t suddenly back to how they always were, but they took things day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, just like they’ve been doing since that day Robbe found Sander in his art room at the Academy and they knew that for the time being it was enough.

They had each other and it was enough.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- first of all thank for reading! i hope you liked it! if you want to, tell me what you think!

- secondly: thank you @ayellowcurtain​ for proof reading this, you’re an angel

- and last but not least:  Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho is called The Way He Looks in English. The song playing in the credits is There’s too much love - Belle and Sebastian. The book they’re reading together is Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

[madamebaggio]

Notes! IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

I don’t know how many of the non-latins here will get this reference, but I’m sure Brazilians -such as myself -and if there’s any Mexican around will. I can’t say about other Latin countries, or any of our northern neighbors and everybody that’s beyond that…

Have you guys ever heard about the Mexican band RBD? That’s a good way to start this conversation.

Back in 2004 (if I’m not mistaken) there was this Mexican telenovela called “Rebelde”. It was a remake of an Argetinian telenovela (“Rebelde Way”), and it told the story of a bunch of rich kids in a boarding school. Well, not all the kids were rich, but you get the idea.

From the telenovela came the band (RBD), which had six members, who also played characters in the telenovela.

I was 14 at the time and I was absolutely mad over it. It was great, cheesy and corny in the best possible way. I have many fond memories of the telenovela and great regret that I never got the chance to see RBD playing live.

Anyway, the band broke up around 2009, but many fans still love them (maybe it’s just us Brazilians, we have a hard time letting go of stuff…)

Recently their albums finally were made available on Spotify and it got me thinking and…Well, this is the result.

I’m not saying that this is what happened to the actors after the band/telenovela was over. It was just another crazy idea that popped into my mind and wouldn’t let go until I wrote it down.

So… Yeah.

***

Chapter 1

Arthur was passing by Catia’s room when he heard it.

“You’re such a hooligan.”

He knew the voice, he knew where that sentence came from. Before he even noticed what he was doing, he’d pushed Catia’s door open and caught her watching TV.

He saw himself on the screen, much younger -God, so much younger -talking to the pretty redhead.

“And you’re a brat. So what?”

“I didn’t know you liked this show.” He said, startling Catia.

“Arthur!” She paused the scene, and turned to him. “I’m sorry. Did you…”

“I didn’t know they had that on Netflix.” He spoke before she could finish her sentence.

“Oh.” She looked at the TV like it was guilty of something. “They put it on it last week.”

Arthur hummed his understanding.

He didn’t really mind seeing himself as Michael Rivers, the poor student at High Tower Academy. It’d actually been his first role in TV, many years ago. The show (which was cringely called ‘Rebel Way’) was about an exclusive boarding school, and he was the underdog who fell in love with a rich girl.

Oh yes… They also sang. They made it cool before High School Musical came along. The show wasn’t actually a musical, but his character and a few friends were part of a band in it and in ‘real life’.

The show lasted three seasons -their time at the Academy -and the band still lasted two years after that.

“I can turn it off if you want.” Catia offered quietly.

Arthur shook his head. “No. It’s okay, Catia. You can watch it; I just didn’t know you liked the show.”

“It’s fun in a silly way.” She confessed with a giggle.

Arthur chuckled. “I know. I’m not embarrassed by it or anything.”

He left Catia to her show, and tried not to think about his time spent on it.

His mobile rang; it was Bedivere, his agent.

“Olenna Tyrell called me.” Bedivere told him without preamble. “She wants to talk to you.”

Fuck.

***

Sansa sat there as the hairdresser fixed her hair for the shooting. George was an artist, and he was making amazing curls on her hair.

Brienne was sitting on the couch nearby, checking her phone as they prepared and Sansa was talking about a new restaurant with George.

His new assistant kept throwing nervous glances towards Sansa, and the woman wondered when she’d get the courage to ask what was on her mind.

“Oh Seven, Lindsay. Just ask her already.” George told the girl, rolling his eyes when her fidgeting got on his nerves.

“I’m sorry!” Lindsay blushed terribly. “I didn’t want to bother you, Miss Stark.”

Sansa gave the girl a gentle smile. “It’s fine, Lindsay. What did you want to ask me?”

Lindsay bit her lower lip, clearly worried about saying what she had on her mind. However, she seemed to find her courage.

“I… I’m a big fan of Rebel Way.” She finally said. “I know it’s been a long time and all… But your character, Mia, was my first fashion icon.”

Sansa chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that. I loved her clothes.”

Lindsay seemed excited by it. “I made a uniform by myself when I was eleven.”

“Which uniform?” Sansa asked. “I liked the one in the first season better.”

“Me too!”

“Sansa.” Brienne cut in gently. “It’s a call for you. You might want to take it.”

Sansa frowned, wary of Brienne’s tone, but took the phone her agent was offering her.

“Sansa speaking.”

“Hey, Stark.” Margaery’s sugary sweet voice called from the other side. “We need to talk.”

***

Margaery knew Sansa wouldn’t be happy with the idea, but she’d promised her grandmother she’d do this for her.

Olenna was the only person that could get Margaery to do absolutely anything. She’d hide a body for her grandmother.

It took some convincing, but Sansa eventually accepted coming to the meeting. A part of Marge had wanted to hide some things from Sansa -like who was going to be there -but she knew it was unfair. They’d been friends for a really long time, and Marge wouldn’t risk it just to make her task easier.

She was in a peculiar position: on one hand, she was really happy with her life now, on the other, she genuinely thought that her grandmother’s idea was a good one.

When Marge entered the cast of Rebel Way, she was supposed to be the star of the show. Her grandmother was producing the whole thing, so it was a given.

She hadn’t liked Sansa at first, because it was clear that she’d get a lot of attention too. Their characters -Mia and Rosalie -were rivals for a big part of the show -they only became friends at the end of the second season. 

Marge and Sansa managed to become friends much earlier. Probably because Marge started dating Sansa’s brother, and Robb wanted them to get along.

It was very difficult to say ‘no’ to Robb Stark.

Which reminded Marge…

He’d be there as well.

Oh hell…

***

With the years, people stopped recognizing Robb as Daniel Cross from Rebel Way. He’d been way younger then, and now he had a beard so most people didn’t recognize him.

Some of the old fans still could, and he never changed his name; but generally he lived a pretty normal life.

“Mr. Cross.”

Some people were just fuckers. “Can I help you, Jon?” He glared at his long-time friend.

“Sansa’s on the phone.” Jon informed him, offering his own mobile. “She said she needs to talk to you and your phone is turned off.”

Robb frowned. Sansa was supposed to be in Madrid for a photoshoot. Why would she be calling him in the middle of the day?

Robb’s phone was dead, and he’d forgotten to recharge it, but if Sansa had called Jon looking for him, it should be serious.

Right?

“Hey, princess.” Robb said softly as he picked the phone. Jon waved at him, before leaving the room so they could talk.

“Hello, Robb.” Her voice was warm. “Do you have a minute?”

“For you? Always. Is something wrong?”

There was a pause. “Not exactly.”

“This doesn’t sound promising. What happened?”

“Margaery called me.” She sighed. “Olenna wants to meet with us.”

“What does Her Majesty want with us?”

Sansa took another long pause. “It’s about the show. Margaery just wouldn’t say what exactly.”

Oh shit. Robb did the math quickly in his head. He was almost certain that the show was about to reach its 15th anniversary. If he was correct, this couldn’t be just a coincidence.

“I really hope this isn’t a revival.” Robb joked softly. Lord, no!

“I don’t think it’s about the show, to be honest. I think it’s about the band.”

Robb cursed under his breath. “If it’s about the band…”

“They’re all going to be there.” Sansa finished for him.

“Shit. I’m going to call Theon.”

“That’s why I called you.” She confessed.

Robb sighed. “Thank you for the heads up.”

“Just be ready when you get the royal call.”

Robb snorted.

***

“Thank you for coming, Theon.”

Theon shook the hand of the man. “It’s always my pleasure, Tom.”

“You bring a lot of comfort to those kids. You make them realise it’s possible.”

Theon gave Tom a vague smile. “I’m glad to be of help.”

He waved and started leaving the room. Theon had mixed feelings when he heard things like this. On one hand, he was very proud of himself; it hadn’t been easy to get sober and remain sober. On the other hand… He didn’t feel like a good example, like he was someone any of those people should aspire to be like.

Yes, he’d been sober for almost seven years now, but it had been one hell of a messy journey.

When he reached the parking lot, he was shocked to see Robb there, leaning casually against his car.

“What’s up, Stark?” He called.

Robb looked at him and grinned. “Hey, Greyjoy.” They hugged it out. “Listen… Have you checked your phone?”

Theon was immediately wary. “No. I turn it off during meetings.”

“Right…” Robb cleared his throat. “So you’ll probably have some missed calls.”

“Robb, you didn’t come here to play the answering machine to me. What the fuck is going on?”

“Olenna is calling all of us.” Robb admitted. “Called Sansa, then me… And probably you.”

“Why?”

“Sansa thinks she wants to get the band back.”

“Why?” Theon repeated, this time disconcerted.

“I have no clue, but we’re getting close to the show’s anniversary.”

“Oh shit.” Theon grumbled. “I knew there was something weird going on.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should start checking Twitter.” Theon told him dryly. “Last week they put the show on Netflix. ‘Rebel Way’ is trending.”

Robb groaned. “Now what?”

“I’ll be honest… I want to know what the Queen wants.” Theon confessed. “Let’s see if I have a message waiting for me.”

***

“Have you heard? Sansa Stark is going to be exclusively with Versace this year.”

Maggie ignored the gossiping assistants and tried not to sigh.

She couldn’t escape Sansa’s name, since they were basically in the same industry, but it was never easy to hear it thrown around so casually.

Fashion Week was almost upon them, and people had often questioned the lack of interaction between the two former band mates.

Maggie was used to people asking her why Sansa -one of the highest paid models in the world -never worked with Maggie -the rising star of the fashion world.

Maggie wished she had a simple answer to that. She normally said that their schedules never worked out, and she knew Sansa had answered the same a few times.

The truth was Maggie resented Sansa a bit. She didn’t hate the model or whatever some people thought, she just…

Those years working together hadn’t been easy on Maggie. That was it. She wasn’t ready to just get back to it.

Her phone rang and when she picked it up, she saw a strange number calling. She ignored the call and was ready to put it away when it rang again, and Arthur’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hello, Arthur.” She said as she answered it.

“Oh you answered, great.” Arthur let out a relieved sigh. “Listen, Olenna Tyrell is going to call you. I’m calling first to warn you: she wants a meeting.”

“Oh. Slow down.” She asked, her head spinning. “What meeting?”

“A meeting with all of us; the whole band.”

Maggie had to sit down. “You can’t be serious.”

“I talked to her myself a few hours ago.” He told her. “The old witch wouldn’t tell me exactly what’s on her mind, but if she wants to see us all…”

“Are you sure she wants to meet with all of us at the same time?” Maggie pressed, desperate for a negative answer.

“She said that. ‘Get the kids back together’.” Arthur copied -poorly- Olenna’s voice. “Bedivere thinks it’s about the songs, but I think it isn’t that simple.”

“It never is.” Maggie grumbled, massaging her temples.

“Listen, if you don’t want to go, I’ll stand by you.” Arthur said, and she knew he meant it. “We don’t owe her anything.”

“Well, technically…”

“No ‘technically’, Maggie. We don’t need to do this.”

Maggie sighed. No, they didn’t, but she needed to. Some things had to be discussed, some problems had to be solved, and this was the only way she’d get some closure.

She needed to face the music -and the band.

[ladycatofwinterfell]

Consequences, part 1

Catelyn and Ned decided to walk different ways after their relationship of three years, for good reasons. Ever since that Catelyn have kept a secret from him. When she one day, ten years later, decides that she should tell him they meet for the first time since the breakup. It takes them no time at all to fall back into old habits. The problem is that Ned is married, and that Catelyn is still keeping that damn secret. The only thing they can be sure of is that actions have consequences.

This feels incredibly messy, but I hope it’s worth the read. Enjoy!

She looked up at the house, felt her heart beating hard and fast in her chest. It was a stupid idea. A terrible idea. So many years had passed, but she had to talk to him, had to see him. Because in those ten years that it had been since they had broken up she had thought of him every single day. Every time she looked at her son she thought of his father. Not that the boy knew who his father was, she had never told anyone. Not even the father in question.

Catelyn took one last deep breath, then she stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. She walked towards the frontdoor of the house, never taking her eyes of it. If she hesitated for even a second she wouldn’t be able to do it.

The door flew open before she reached it and she froze for a second when a child ran out. The boy also stopped when he saw her. He looked to be a few years younger than Robb.

“Who are you?” he asked and looked at her with big, surprised eyes.

She had to be at the wrong house.

“Uhm, my name is Catelyn. I’m looking for Eddard Stark, do you know where he lives?”

The boy looked at her for a moment.

“That’s my dad.”

Well, that certainly complicated things. Ned had at least one child. And probably a wife too. He had done what she had never been able to do. He was living a happy family life. But he also didn’t know. He didn’t know about the wonderful little boy who sat in her brother’s kitchen and did his homework. Robb.

“Jon! Who are you talking to?”

A woman appeared in the doorway. She looked at Catelyn very suspiciously. Catelyn couldn’t blame her, if a stranger had stood in her garden and talked to her son she would have been worried too.

“My name is Catelyn Tully” Catelyn introduced herself. “I’m looking for Ned Stark, is he home?”

The woman was quiet, just watching Catelyn with her lips pressed together. Catelyn wanted to turn around, get back in her car, and get away from there. What had led her to doing what she was doing? Was she going mad? They had done so well for so long, why had she decided to ruin it?

The woman turned around and talked to someone, then she turned back and a person came up behind her. And Catelyn’s heart stopped beating. His hair was graying and he had a beard, but it definitely was him.

“Catelyn!” he exclaimed.

She managed to find her voice, couldn’t hold back a smile.

“Hello, Ned.”

“I didn’t know you were coming here, but it’s nice seeing you again.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. I’m sorry for showing up unannounced, that was terribly rude of me, but...” she began.

Ned’s wife interrupted her.

“How do you know each other?”

“Oh, we were friends long ago” Ned said.

They almost got married long ago, but it wasn’t necessary to tell her that.

“Some ten years ago” Catelyn added. “I just came here to–“

No. She couldn’t. She could not ask him to talk with her in private about it. Not after seeing him like that. He stood there with his wife and his son, the son he knew he had. He had a good home, a family. She couldn’t ruin that by telling him that he had another son. That wouldn’t do any good for anyone. It was better if he didn’t know. It was better if she kept that to herself.

“You know what? Forget it, it was nothing. I’m sorry for wasting your time, I’m going to leave now.”

She turned around and began walking back to her car, blushing furiously. She was so stupid. So terribly stupid. What had she been thinking of?

“What?” Ned called out.

She turned around, forced herself to smile again.

“It’s nothing, really. Just forget I was ever here.”

~*~

It had been a week since Catelyn came there, and Ned had been thinking about it constantly ever since. She had very clearly wanted to say something. He had no idea about what it was, but the thought of never knowing was slowly killing him. She had showed up without a warning, asked for him and then just told him to forget about it. And she had been every bit as lovely as she had been ten years earlier.

Her red hair, and blue eyes, the way she blushed when she got upset. And her smile. Nothing had ever been more beautiful than Catelyn when she smiled.

That was what he was thinking of when he walked up the stairs to the apartment where she lived. He had to ask her about it, what she had wanted to say. His wife had not been very happy about it, but he had promised her that it was nothing. He just had to talk to Catelyn.

And suddenly he walked right into someone. The person fell backwards with a shout, dropping the plastic bag they had been holding in one hand.

“Ow! Fuck!” Catelyn swore. “Watch where you’re going!”

“I’m so sorry!” Ned said, horrified.

Only then she seemed to realize that it was him.

“Oh, Ned” she said as she got up and picked up the plastic bag. “What are you doing here?”

Excellent question, what was he doing there?

“Well, I know you told me to forget about it, but I couldn’t. I was just wondering what it was you wanted to say.”

Catelyn chuckled, looking down at the floor. Her long hair fell forward, partly hiding her face. Still he could see the blush that creeped up on her cheeks. And despite all the years that had passed he still felt that nervous sensation when he saw her smile.

“That was quite weird, wasn’t it?” she almost whispered.

“A bit, yeah.”

She looked up at him again.

“Uhm, we could go up to my place. Better than just standing here in the stairwell” she suggested.

“That would be very nice” Ned replied.

“Great, I just need to take out the trash. But it’s the next floor, the apartment to the right. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Then she disappeared down the stairs. He had to just stand there for a moment before continuing his way up. Seeing her again, he had not imagined it would feel that way. It felt like the first time they met, not like when they had walked separate ways.

He continued up to the next floor, but decided to wait outside for her. It felt weird to just walk inside. No matter what happened in their past, there had been ten years since they met, they were essentially strangers with a past. He barely knew anything about her, apart from that she lived alone with her son.

For a moment he couldn’t help but wonder why. Anyone would be lucky to be with her.

“The door isn’t locked, just go inside.”

He flinched and turned towards her. She laughed and walked past him, opening the door.

“Still always lost in your own thoughts?” she said.

“I guess.”

He followed her into the apartment. It was a bit messy, but still very homely. There were shoes everywhere in the hall. He remembered that it had been that way when she was young too. She had excused it with that she had more important things to do. He wondered if her excuse had changed or if it still was the same.

“I’m sorry about the mess. We’re not very good at cleaning” she said.

“Just like it’s always been.”

“Some things just doesn’t change, I guess. Do you want coffee? Oh, wait, why am I even asking, you don’t drink coffee. Do you want tea?”

She still remembered.

“No, thank you, I’m good.”

“Are you sure? I have a lot of it, my son, Robb, barely drinks anything else.”

She lit up when she mentioned her son, it was very sweet.

“He’s with a friend right now. He’s very social, he hates being alone” she said. “Well, now I’m just rambling, I’m sorry. I’m a bit nervous, I suppose.”

“Don’t be” he smiled.

“Let’s just go inside.”

Catelyn led him into a small living room and sat down on the couch. He sat in an armchair, and tried to not look around too much. He didn’t want to be nosey.

“Look, I’m sorry about last week, I don’t know what I was thinking of” Catelyn said.

“It’s fine, you know, you haven’t actually done anything.”

She was quiet, thinking. She chewed on her lip, another habit that she apparently still had. When they were together he had always found it very endearing. And he found that he still did.

What the hell was he doing? He had a wife, a son. And he loved them with all his heart. He knew he did. So why was he in Catelyn’s home finding everything she did so perfect? Why did it feel like there had not been ten years since they last saw each other. It was like no time had passed at all, like nothing had changed. But everything had changed.

“No, I was going to tell you something. I decided not to, because I realized that it would do no good for anyone.”

Ned waited for a moment, to see if she would say something more, but she stayed quiet.

“I would really like to know. Clearly, it was important to you.”

Catelyn sighed.

“It is important to me. But it’s better if you don’t know, really. It’s better if no one knows.”

~*~

“You can tell me anything, Cat” Ned said softly. “You know that.”

It is surprisingly easy to fall back into old habits, Catelyn had become aware of that in the five minutes it had been since she ran into Ned in the stairwell. Apparently he was falling into old habits too. And hearing him call her ‘Cat’ made her all warm. And his voice when he had said it, when he had told her that she could tell him anything. Like they had never broken up. And when he sat there in front of her she found it very hard to remember why they had broken up.

A part of her still loved him, a part of her always would. She wanted him to be happy. And he would not be happy if she told him he was the father of her son and ruined his marriage. She had nothing to lose, it was just her and Robb. But he had things to lose.

“Not this. I can’t tell you this.”

She could feel tears rising in her eyes. She couldn’t cry, it was such a bad time to cry. She hid her face in her hands, breathed deeply.

“I want to know what is troubling you. I want to help you.”

Suddenly she felt his arms around her and she leaned against him almost on instinct. Ten years had passed, so many things had happened, but in a way things between them had never changed.

They sat like that in silence for a few minutes. What were they doing? He was married. But still she couldn’t bring herself to move away from him. The safety of his arms was a comfort she had wanted for so long. And when she finally had it, she never wanted to let it go.

But eventually she moved away from him, gathering herself.

“I’m sorry about that, it’s a lot right now, I’m a bit emotional.”

“Please don’t apologize” he said, putting one hand on top of hers. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I don’t know what I’m doing. Contacting you was the stupidest thing I have ever done. Everything would have been better if I had just continued like I have done for the past years. You should go and forget this ever happened. You’ll be better off if you do.”

She turned away from him and pulled away her hand. If whatever they were doing continued she would ruin his life. And she didn’t want to do that. She desperately wanted him to be happy. What was wrong with her, why had she not been able to move on when he had done it perfectly?

“I don’t want to lose you again” he said. “I care about you. A lot. And I don’t believe I will be better off without you.”

She had to laugh. But even she could hear that it was bitter.

That had been the reason exactly for why she had not gone to him earlier. She knew none of them would be able to step away. But she had to do it. For him.

“You will be, trust me. If you know what’s good for you, you should leave now. Go home to your wife, to your son. Care about them, live your life, forget about me. I’m doing fine, I promise.”

“Both you and I know I won’t be able to let you leave again. I just got you back. We can be friends.”

The despair in his voice was enough to break her in the middle. But he knew just as well as she did that they would never be able to be just friends. It was everything or nothing at all, as it had always been for them. And nothing at all was the only possible option.

She turned to look at him.

“You know we can’t. We won’t be able to do that. Just this week we have proven that staying away from each other is something we’re not good at. I thought that after ten years I would be fine, but still I came crawling back to you. And now you’re here.”

He sighed, looking down at the floor.

“You’re right. I want to kiss you so badly right now.”

And she wanted to kiss him so badly that she couldn’t put words to it. But she couldn’t do that. She was an awful person for even considering it, but she would be even worse if she actually did it.

“You’re married” she managed to force out, in a last, desperate, attempt to not let it happen.

But somewhere deep down they both knew that it was inevitable.

“I know” he said.

Fuck it.

“Kiss me.”

He did kiss her. For a moment she was just still, processing that she was actually kissing him again after so many years. Then she pressed herself against him, tried to come as close as she possibly could. She felt her tongue slide along her bottom lip and she eagerly opened her mouth for him.

All the thoughts of his wife and his two sons, both the one he knew of and the one he didn’t, were gone. It was just them.

Catelyn had never believed that she would be the kind of person to have sex with someone she knew was married. But apparently she was. But it wasn’t just “someone”, it was Ned. And Ned would always be hers, as she would always be his. Despite all the consequences.

When she fell back on the bed, trying to regain her breath, it all came rushing over her. She had so many questions spinning around in her head.

“Oh my gods, what have we done?” she breathed, not looking at Ned.

“Exactly what we both knew we would do. It would have happened sooner or later anyway. It always does.”

“It always does” she repeated, knowing it to be true. “We’re terrible, aren’t we?”

“More or less.”

It had been a lot better two minutes earlier. She had not been thinking, all that had existed had been pleasure of having him back in her arms. He had still remembered all the tricks and ways to make her come completely undone in a way no one else had ever managed to do. She had tried dating a couple of times, but it had always been for nothing, because no one could match what he could do.

“Your wife, what’s her name?” she asked.

“Ashara.”

“I feel sorry for her. Why did you marry her?”

“I thought you and I were over. But we’ll probably never be.”

“We can be. This can be a onetime thing” she tried. “You can go home to her and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

Ned snorted.

“We both know that won’t happen. We’re weak, Cat.”

“Do you love her?”

“I think so.”

“Then why are you here with me?”

“Because I love you as well.”

It would be better if she didn’t say it. And everything in her screamed at her not to say it. But still she did it. Because, as Ned had put it, she was weak.

“I love you too. But we can’t continue this.”

“No, we cannot.”

“But we will, won’t we?” she sighed.

She didn’t want to be his mistress. But she knew herself, she knew that she would happily keep on seeing him in secret as long as that meant that she could see him. She was pathetic. And she loved him.

“Most likely.”

She pushed herself up on one elbow so that she could kiss him. It was a much softer kiss than before, it spoke of different things.

“I’m sorry” she mumbled when she broke away. “I’m sorry for doing this to you.”

“I think this is on both of us” he said.

That brought a smile to her face, but she didn’t know exactly why.

“The difference is that I don’t have anything to lose. I don’t have a husband, it’s just me and my son. You do have something to lose, you have your wife.”

“I know.”

He got up from the bed, started gathering his clothes from the floor. She laid there, watched him while he dressed so that he could go home to his wife. No matter how much she disliked it she would always be the other woman, the affair. Ashara would be his first, she would always go first. Catelyn had to be happy with being second.

“When will I see you next time?” he asked.

“You shouldn’t be asking for a ‘next time’” she reminded him.

“I shouldn’t be having sex with you either, but here I am.”

“Shouldn’t we at least try not to?” Catelyn asked.

“We should.”

“So no next time.”

“No next time.”

His eyes met hers just before leaving the bedroom. And if they hadn’t been sure of that there would definitely be a “next time” before, they were in that moment.

“Goodbye, Cat” he said, despite that. “Take care of yourself.”

“Goodbye, Ned.”

Catelyn had never been more confused, but at the same time sure of what she wanted. She was happy to have Ned back in her life, and sad because they weren’t able to be together as they had been before. She felt bad for Ashara and the boy, Jon, while at the same not caring at all about them. All she knew was that she loved Ned. Like the absolute idiot that she was.

***

I honestly don’t know what this is, but it sure is something.

The Ashara mentioned as Ned’s wife is Ashara Dayne, their son is the Jon Snow, Cat’s boy is Robb. The rest of the starklings are not present, but who knows about the future? I’m also not saying that Ned is right in cheating on his wife or that Cat is right in participating in it, that’s very much a dick move, I’m just exploring the scenario.

[chappedandfadedvds]

Oct 27th, Tuesday 11:35

„Are we waiting for something specific to happen?“ Aaron asked puzzled, plopping ungracefully down next to Jens with an already opened pack of crisps, munching happily away. It was lunch break. For some minutes now. The cafeteria started to fill up by incoming students and Jens had made sure to get a table, that directly overlooked the main entrance. Much to the broerrs confusion, who had just joined him at his very unusual spot.. Robbe and Moyo taking the chairs across of him. Aaron to his left.  

„Any reason, why we are sitting here instead of outside?“ Aaron tried again to get Jens out of his thoughts. It wasn’t that he didn’t hear his friend, he just wasn’t ready to tell them, what he tried to accomplish here.

After Amber‘s message last night, he had looked at it, settled on an uninspired ‘k’ and then intended to simply treat it like any other lunch as well. That was until he had gotten his tray, with two big slices of pizza and some ice tea, to swiftly sit down at this table right here in the middle of the fucking cafeteria, waiting for a certain dutch boy to walk in. He was a fool.

„Okay, suit yourself.“ The decision has apparently been made between his three friends to move on, and thus continued their ongoing conversation from their way over.

„Hey, sorry, hope it’s alright? I saw you come in from over there.“ Lucas explained gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder towards a smaller table in the far left corner behind him: „I had last period off and Amber told me, you guys were cool with me joining you for lunch? New kid status really sucks!“

„Sure, feel free.“ Robbe said friendly, about to clear his backpack and jacket from the seat beside him, til he noticed that Lucas took the seat right next to Jens’s right.

Jens was dumbstruck. How didn’t he see him before? Why did he sit here? So eager to see the boy, that apparently didn’t thought much about keeping distance, Lucas’s knee bumbed into his under the table.

„So Jens!“ The dutch boy clapped his hands gleefully, that definitely got the attention of him, as he turned his head. Immediately caught to look into the stunning blue eyes again. There was some nervousness gathering in the pit of his stomach, as he couldn’t quite figure out what to expect.

„Now seems to be the time.“ Lucas told him mysteriously, as if Jens should know what that meant. He did though, he realised, the moment the boy smirked and stretched out his hand towards Jens, who copied said move, grinning himself.

„Jens Stoffels, utterly pleased to meet you.“ He introduced himself properly as they shook hands, in a very over-the-top polite manner.

„Likewise. Name’s Lucas van der Heijden.“ The two of them should have definitely stopped shaking their hands by now. But they both didn’t let go, as they grinned stupidly at each other, lost in the other boy’s gaze.

Jens believed this to be the most obvious situation in his life. Every person in the room must have known now what went on in his head. Clearly Lucas must have noticed it, right? However people can be wrong sometimes and Jens most certainly was at this very moment.

„You know each other?“ Moyo asked, oblivious to the way Lucas looked at Jens, or vice versa. But perhaps Jens was imagining things, interpreting things into it that weren’t there to begin with? 

The only thing he knew for sure was the discontent he felt, when Lucas withdrew his hand.

„Not really, but we crossed paths yesterday morning, when Amber was showing me around. He actually joined us for half of it. And because she was to involved in her tour, Jens and me, we decided to give the whole greeting another go another time.“

We. The way Lucas explained it, it felt like Jens actually had done more than tugged along. The we implied that they actually had a conversation, that never really happend. In all honesty, Jens had barely opened his mouth. It also seemed to be enough to satisfy the questioning looks of his three friends, who began to also shake hands with the new addition to their group and started to interview him on his schedule, what courses he was in. How his first day had been. And so on. 

Lucas turned out to fit quite great within the group. He was friendly and funny and easy to talk to. The others really seemed to like him too, eager to get to know him better. He intended to memorise everything.

Lucas told them that he was from Utrecht, but moved here because of his mom. That he did some sightseeing, but really just the main tourist spots. Lucas has no siblings, but grew up with a best friend. Who is technically like his brother, though with the whole move, it seems to be harder to keep in contact.

That he loves the ocean, and is a bit sad that he moved further away from it.

His favourite food: Cake.

Jens took one of the now cold pizza slices on his untouched tray, suddenly remembering that it was lunch time and he hadn’t eaten anything. And as if they had been best friends for years, he found that Lucas had grabbed the second one, looking mischievously at Jens. In a very cocky manner too, that Jens should hate, but instead kinda liked, so he let it slide.

„Now that you already got it, enjoy and chocke on it.“ He joked, which earned him the cute snort that Lucas had done yesterday too. Looking pleased with himself, the dutch boy rolled up the slice and went on to completly shove it into his mouth. Jens regretted not having bought more.

„Impressive!“ Robbe provided now biting his lip to keep himself from laughing, definitely having assotiated something entirely else with it other than eating pizza. Not that that thought hadn’t crossed his mind either, watching Lucas next to him. The same could be said for Aaron and Moyo who both hollered at the same time: „What the fuck, bro?!“

Indeed.

„Sorry, I just got reminded by a thing Isa and me..“

„Isa?“ Moyo asked.

„One of my closest friends back from Utrecht. I’m not even quite sure what had started it. But one day last summer, she told me that people could apparently fit a whole hot dog into their mouths. Sweet Isa and her dirty mind sometimes.“ Lucas smiled fondly, while thinking about this girl that apparently meant a lot to him. „Well we fucking failed hard. But that didn’t keet us from trying it anytime one of us brought it up. It was a little game as well as an inside-joke. For my part, I like to believe that I got much better at it.“

„Geez.“ Robbe provided amused.

„Yeah, now that you bring it up, it definitely is weird. Sorry.“

„Bro, don’t worry. But tell us more about her, were you a thing before you moved? Is she hot?“ Jens sat upright in his seat, as he waited for Lucas to answer Moyo’s question. It felt very important to Jens to know if that assumption held any truth in it.

„Oh no! No, no, no, no, no. Never. I may have told her that one time, but certainly never meant any of it. That doesn’t mean I don’t love her, just not romantically, nor anything similar to it.“

„You told your best friend you were in love with her, withought meaning it?“

„Uuh, sounds about right. I do a lot of stupid shit. Especially back then I did my worst. You know, I’m not the greatest when it comes to socially interact with people. Fuck. I just stole half of Jens’s lunch, barely knowing this guy for a minute. He could as well have punched me square in the face.“

„Fair point.“ Aaron concluded and checked his phone. „Guys! We need to go. You’ve got P.E. as well right?“ 

Lucas nodded, while all five of them collected their things and went to put the trays on a cart left by the entrance.

„Hey, Jens?“ Lucas said quietly a bit later to his right, as they tailed behind the rest of the broerrs.

„What’s up?“ Jens managed to get out, realising even though they spent the whole lunch break together, he barely had spoken a word.

Lucas leaned in closer in a whisper, enough for his breath to reach Jens’s ear, which sent a soft shiver down his spine.

„Did I fuck it up? Was I too awkward? I probably shouldn’t have said half of the things I did.“

Where did that sudden insecurity come from? Why did he felt okay enough to share this with Jens? And why was Jens’s opinion on it so important? To him the boy always appeared to be quite confident in himself. But it seemed like he actually worried about it, so Jens gently shoved his own shoulder against the one from Lucas and shook his head. 

„Nah. They are good. We are good. You are good.“

[theplaguebeast]

Watching Game of Thrones is a Form of Self Harm

AKA ALL MY GAME OF THRONES LIVEBLOG POSTS

101 + 102:  oh man i forgot dany gettin fkin raped is in the first ep man they really set the tone for this shitshow early

103:  “War was easier than daughters” BRO YOU HAVEN’T PAID ATTENTION TO HER INTERESTS IN FIVE YEARS NO WONDER SHE’S DIFFICULT

104:  Baelish: *literally tells Ned he’s untrustworthy* Ned: *trusts him anyways*

105:  Bobby just threatened to take away the job Ned didn’t even want like that was gonna make him not quit lol what a dumbass

106:  every time viserys speaks there’s a muppet superimposing on him in my mind going 'i aM tHe DrAgOn!’

107:  Joff after being king for .5 seconds: KILL THEM ALL

108:  Drogo: *promises to rape, kill, pillage, and plunder* Drogo: *does these things* Dany: *surprised pikachu meme*

109:  Robb ‘We’ve basically accomplished nothing’ Stark

110:  hey Dany doesn't even have dragons yet and she's burning someone alive as punishment so uhm people were surprised when this continued?

201:  Robb ‘I want to rescue my sisters but holy shit, politics’ Stark

202:  Theon ‘I think i’m much more important than i really am’ Greyjoy

203:  Renly desperately trying to consummate his marriage like ‘i’m too fucking gay for this fuuuuuuck’

204:  Littlefinger popping up in Cat’s life like ‘so your husband’s dead can we bone maybe?’ and gets surprised she pulls a knife on him

205:  Theon ‘I want dad’s approval so i’m gonna stab my brother in the back’ Greyjoy

206:  Jon ‘I can definitely kill a pretty girl, I swear it’ Snow

207:  you know nothing jon snow is first used in reference to fucking and SHE’S RIGHT

208:  Yara ‘you’re a fucking moron, brother’ Greyjoy

209:  i love that tyrion getting his nose chopped off with an axe turns into a delicate slice that knocks him out

210:  Robb ‘u let the kingslayer go u can’t tell me it’s dumb to marry a rando when i’m promised to another’ Stark

301:  Tyrion ‘oh my god there’s a thin line running across my face i’m a MONSTER’ Lannister

302:  Loras is fkin RUDE yo

303:  Podrick ‘the whores won’t take my money’ Payne

304:  Dany’s acquisition of the Unsullied proves she’s 100% willing to do a bad faith deal like

305:  Jaime full on sexually harassing Brienne here like an asshole

306:  T^T POOR FUCKING ROS MY BABY

307:  BRONN CALLING TYRION OUT ON HIS WANTING TO FUCK A VERY TALL 13YR OLD GO BRONN

308:  Olenna poking fun at how fucked the tyrell-lannister family tree is bout to get with all these weddings what a boss

309:  awww how sweet jon’s learning to stand up to peer pressure

310:  Jon ‘u said u loved me you’ll never hurt me RIGHT?’ Snow;  Jon ‘shot full of arrows’ Snow

401:  Oberyn is #triggered by the lannister song

402:  w00t joff’s fukkin ded m8

403:  Stannis ‘blood magic is fine but I WON’T BUY AN ARMY’ Baratheon

404:  poor pious little tommen didn’t stand a chance against a tyrell on a mission (also, s’fuckin creepy aight she’s bein predatory af and no one ever seems to call it out bc she’s, yanno, female)

405:  HODOR

406:  HEY LOOK DANY IT LOOKS  LIKE INDISCRIMINATE VIOLENCE MAKES PEOPLE MAD AT YOU WHODA THOUGHT

407:  Petyr ‘you could’ve been my child but i still kissed you full on the mouth’ Baelish

408:  Baelish acting like it’s some big secret he wants to fuck Sansa, talking to her like she’s too dumb to know the man who KISSED HER FULL ON THE MOUTH wants under her skirts, what a cocky shit

409:  hi Ghost (where, uhm, where tf has he been?)

410: grabby hands, popping outta the snow, LIKE DAISIES

501:  Danaerys ‘my dragons are my children but since they’re not listening to me i’m gonna lock em in a dungeon and then get surprised when they’re upset with me’ Targaryan

502:  man brienne just keeps getting character assassinated by everyone in fkin westeros poor gal

503:  Janos ‘I DIDN’T VOTE FOR YOU’ Slynt

504:  Sansa’s last Big Mistake: when LF says ‘do you believe me’ and she goes ‘yeah sure’

505:  a good mother disciplines her children BITCH THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU DID YOU JUST SHOVED THEM IN A HOLE, NOT EVEN THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY DID THE THING YOU’RE UPSET ABOUT

506:  OH NO. OH NO. OH NO.

507:  Cersei’s like ‘my son loves his wife where did i go wrong?’

508:  ’killing and politics aren’t always the same thing’ THE FACT SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL HER THAT

509:  Hizdahr zo Loraq is like ‘bitch do you know ANYthing about the culture you’re trying to destroy?’ (the answer is no)

510:  Stannis: *sacrifices his own daughter on a fire* The Men: *desert* Stannis: *shocked pikachu meme*

601:  Up to their chests in ice water mfers gonna get the hypothermia

602:  HI JON U HAV A NICE NAP?

603:  Tormond ‘your dick’s not big enough for you to be a god’ Giantsbane

604:  For someone so good at peeling people Ramsay can’t peel a fuckin apple for shit

605: 

606:  *compulsively humming along with the theme song*

607:  HI SANDOR! I bet u had a VERY nice nap huh

608:  Stealing Lem’s boots after hanging him, what a power move

609:  Jon ‘I want to die’ Snow

610:  RIP Pycelle, Margaery, Loras, Mace, Kevan, Lancel, High Sparrow, a bunch of Faith Militant, and like 100 various members of the court (and random peasants outside, too); also Septa Unella (the bitch), and Precious Tommen; ALSO Walder Frey and uhm like 30-40 other Freys?

701:  Jon, derisively: And how should I be smarter? By listening to you?

702:  Everyone: DON’T GO SOUTH JON SNOW Jon: I’m gonna go south.

703:  Jon, with the ‘who even ARE you?’ is his most legit moment since he came back from the dead

704:  Dany: Wat do i do Jon: DO NOT BURN PEOPLE, ANYTHING BUT THAT

705:  ”I’m not beheading them” BECAUSE BURNING THEM IS BETTER??????

706:  Using your +1 Flaming Longsword to cauterize a wound

707:  Everyone: Jonathan, PLEASE LEARN TO FUCKING LIE

801:  Dany: Whatever they want. Me: OH SO MORE CHILDREN THEN??

802:  HEY DANY REMEMBER A WHILE AGO WHEN YOU SAID IT WAS COOL FOR THE KINGDOMS TO ASK FOR THEIR INDEPENDENCE? NO? ah, okay :\

803:  THE CRYPTS WERE A MISTAKE

804:  Murderuncle roadtrip 2.0

805:  RIP QYBRUN I REALLY LIKED YOU, YOU CREEPY LITTLE SHIT

806:  genuinely surprised tyrion’s not already on fire

[nerjaveika]

I like Jens and Robbe friendship, there I said it, f u haters. They just click for me. It’s that simple. Their dialogs seem believable. I’m from highly homophobic and overly toxic masculinity ass of a country, so relations they have in their group seems more than common among guys where I’m from. I’d say it’s all normal, minus maybe only Moyo’s homophobic jokes, they were never ok. Tho again freaking believable to me... The way Robbe always tried to win Jens attention over Moyo, since he’s more girly, it especially shows in earlier seasons...all groups of guys in my experience have hierarchy...it’s actually easily visible...Jens on the top in their group (in all remakes)...that’s why Moyo always shuts up when Jens defends Robbe. But I love the fact that Jens never actually switches to Moyo to be his best friend, he kinda always comes back to Robbe. He never cuddles Robbe (most see it as a minus, for me it’s not that bad actually, Robbe always tries to act tough and Jens gives him the opportunity). He said several times that “without Robbe it’s not that fun” It’s actually a very lovely statement in my eyes... I disagree that all he cares about is the Vlogs, I just think it’s an excuse to hang out and have fun together and do silly shit. He asked Robbe if everything’s ok several times, but it’s impossible to know what’s wrong, if the other side doesn’t want to talk no matter what u do (i’ve been there). I repeat he doesn’t watch the show with us, he can’t know all we see. All that matters how he handles the info when he knows!!

So I’m waiting for tomorrow’s coming out scene like crazy...it’s my fav scene in original, from my pov only original scene never takes it too far, but shows that it’s possible to stay friends with people u used to hang out with...things won’t change for the bad...in my pov it should be a little awkward like in original, but accepting. Main message. I just love how people in this fandom is so dismissive of the friends you hanged out 24/7, like “fuck them” Robbe doesn’t need the boy squad...all he needs is Milan now...now that he’s found a boyfriend, since only Milan and Zoe can understand him...WRONG!! that destroys the message, that you can be yourself and keep your friends, you enjoyed being with before coming out. So I think keeping boy squad is very important. Even homophobic ass like Moyo, I need to see them grow...if all people were accepting from the get go, there wouldn’t be any problems in the world, but people can change and understand.

These opinions are deeply subjective and personal - each person likes different remakes for their reasons (some hit closer home and so on) and I think it’s great this way...i’m just stating mine... In France I didn’t dig Yan and Luca starting from 1st season...like I don’t believe they’re best friends at all, sorry...like from season 1 I couldn't see it and it never changed for me and coming out scene was horrendous...Yen was just too selfish... Basil and Arthur are the cutest, but a little too enthusiastic... too cartoonish for me..tho i love them with all my heart. Italia is just not my thing, like literally all of it. Gio is awesome, but for me he feels more like a big brother than a friend...a bit less realistic for me... Original is just perfect, all of it, hat off... I also very much liked Druck scene, tho I just think Matteo is far braver than other Isaks. Other remakes - a bit another meaning in the scene...so i can't include it here.

So I pray that tomorrow’s scene won’t disappoint me and I’ll include it in my favs list. I believe they have all the potential to make it work.

[tormundjonthings]

GOT Politics Thoughts! (I know, I’m not original)

So I’ve been thinking a lot about the last couple seasons again after reading the finale script last week, specifically about how Game of Thrones handled politics in it’s last few seasons. A lot has been written about how the characters or relationships or fantasy elements were bungled, but I’m interested in how they  muddled the political end too. And not just the in universe politics, like conflicts between houses or the challenges of moving/feeding armies. Although...that also pretty much vanishes, outside of that stray line of Sansa’s from s8 about feeding Dany’s armies (which is mainly there so Dany can get in a sick line about how cool dragons are.)

No, I’m more interested in how the larger political questions / parallels to politics in the real world vanish or become so confused that any message is lost entirely.

Lets venture back a few seasons, say to like season 5, and look at  some of the big political topics being addressed. (This got SUPER long, so more under the cut) 

Political Question One: What are borders? 

The storyline at the Wall was always one of the most interesting parts of the show to me, mostly because of the nature of the conflict between the Nights Watch and the Free Folk. The the Wall was always a foil to the pettier political games happening elsewhere in the series. That whole Mormont quote “when the dead rise, do you think it matters who sits on the Iron Throne?” Like they’ve got a big, giant existential disaster to deal with, makes all the squabbling between houses look pretty damn silly!

Yet they also participate in some of this political squabbling, which is very interesting to me! They spend several SEVERAL seasons dealing primarily not with the existential threat at hand, but trying to fight off people who largely just want to escape to safety. 

The reason Jon Snow is one of my favorite characters in the series is that he’s one of the very few people who looks at an underlying bit of “common political wisdom” in Westeros, something that’s been unchanged for thousands of years regardless of who sits on the Iron Throne, and says, “Hey, this is both very wrong and very dumb.”

He meets the Wildlings, notes that they follow the same religion as the North, speak the same language, have a lot of the same customs, and most importantly notes that they’re just people trying to live their lives in safety. 

Some of them raid and kill, yes. But lets be honest...plenty plenty plenty of people born and bred in the Seven Kingdoms do that too.

The division between people of the Seven Kingdoms is entirely arbitrary. Other people in the series have noted this (Benjen, Tyrion) but Jon actually tries to do something about it. He says they’re all the same, that the Free Folk are part of the realms of men, and manages to get many of them south of the Wall. 

This is incredibly controversial; he’s broken a huge political taboo here. The northern Lords hate “Wildling invaders.” Many members of the Nights Watch don’t care much about the White Walkers and see the Free Folk as their primary enemy. This is so controversial that Jon is murdered for it. 

Now, if you live in almost any part of the world right now, you’ll note that this has many, many parallels to real life events. Especially if you see White Walkers as Climate Change. People trying to escape to safety from disasters and the complete immorality of holding up largely arbitrary borders in the face of existential threats to humanity is already an enormous political issue, and likely to be more so in the years to come. This is a good thing, maybe an essential thing, to explore and talk about through fiction right now. 

So how is it handled after Jon is resurrected? Well...it kind of isn’t really. Some of the northern Lords are pissed about it when Jon asks for support during the Battle of the Bastards, but Robb’s old mess-ups are generally more the issue there. Apparently all the Nights Watch members who were uncool with it get hung for treason and...no one else in the manned castles says anything. There are some pissed off northern Lords again who mention Wildling invaders once they’re back in Winterfell but its pretty much skated over and they still all crown Jon king like immediately. The focus on borders and arbitrary divisions, how harmful and damaging they can be, which was a big part of the Wall plotline for several seasons, is pretty much just dropped. 

Political Question Two: What is a Revolutionary?

So this is pretty much the whole question surrounding Dany’s plotline. I do  think, especially in her earlier seasons, that Dany genuinely felt sympathy for enslaved people in Slavers Bay and wanted to free them. Like, if Jon is one person who looks at the underlying nature of this world and sees injustice, the other person who does so is Dany (at least initially.) I do truly think she saw parallels to her own terrifying situation when Viserys sold her to Drogo, and she wanted to help.

The problem is, despite her dragons and her military power, she is absolutely the wrong type of person to lead a revolution. 

This is actually a quote from my sister, we were talking and she said “Dany is the kind of person who believes in a better world, but can’t see that she’s not the one who can bring that world into being.” 

Dany was raised by an insanely scary brother who constantly went off about his rightful claim to the throne and their noble family history. The only adults in her life were the kind of Targaryen loyalists who wanted to see the precious heirs safe, or else the kind of people who thought they could get something out of Viserys and repeated his own bullshit back to him. 

This has all clearly sunk into Dany; despite the fact that she started the incredibly huge political project of ending slavery, something that will require years YEARS of work, she still constantly wants to go off to Westeros and rule because she believes it’s her right. She’s also got a huge self myth about herself as a queen, and what that means, versus an interest in being a leader. 

I’m not a politician, I’m a queen. 

She likes to command, demand, pull the whole fire and blood thing. This all comes from her upbringing, from her understanding of who the Targaryens were and what they conquered/deserved.

Her status as someone from an old Westerosi house also means that she has a tendency to trust the rich and well named, especially rich people from Westeros, waaaaay more than she should. Trusting Tyrion, for example, is a huge huge error. Especially, again, given that she’s attempting the truly revolutionary project of ending fucking slavery. Tyrion is part of an old rich house, part of an old rich system. He is from a culture that does not have slavery, but he is still from a culture with a HIGHLY stratified class system. Fundamentally, he’s got more in common with the slavers than the slaves. Which is why he listens to the slavers, why he comes up with the oh so reasonable compromise of phasing slavery out over several years, and why he gives the slavers HUMAN BEINGS as presents to seal the deal.

One of the most interesting scenes in the entire series for me is the bit directly after Tyrion makes this deal, when we see Missandei and Grey Worm’s reaction to it. They are horrified. 

Because the ones with a real read on this situation, the ones Dany should let have more input, are absolutely Missandei and Grey Worm. They are the two people the former slaves look to most when they have questions. They are seen as leaders by Dany’s base in the city, the formerly enslaved peoples. They are the ones who have suffered under the hands of this system, who know that it is not wise to make “reasonable compromises” with the kind of people willing to own human beings. The kind of person willing to buy and sell people will always try to take advantage, there is nothing to which they won’t sink. You don’t use them, they use you.

Yet Missandei and Grey Worm’s power is largely often ceremonial. Dany makes a lot of her real big choices listening to people like Jorah, like Tyrion. People from old Westerosi houses. Because she’s been raised to value that kind of power.

Dany’s whole plotline; her freeing slaves quickly without a plan, then letting the slavers into her ear, letting them take back some control, and ultimately leaving the situation in a whole mess to gain more personal power, is a great example of why top-down revolutions, revolutions where a wealthy savior wants to free/help the less fortunate, do not generally work out. 

For a revolution to stick, for it’s ideas to stick, it needs to be led by those from below, people who are fully invested, people who understand the monstrosities of the system. People like Missandei and Grey Worm.

That whole scene where Dany talks to Tyrion about breaking the wheel is also super interesting to me. Because...they are both part of the wheel. And as long as Dany’s goal is still to rule, and Tyrion’s goal is to help her, they aren’t going to break that thing. That wheel won’t break until monastic power, until rule by a few families, ends, and that’s not really Dany’s goal. Because she wants to rule. And her family is part of the wheel. 

Again...all of these poltical questions are important. We live under a system where the few, the very rich, rule us. This power is often inherited (because money is often inherited.) Some of them say they want to help...but ultimately nothing really changes. 

And there’s a pretty recent example in world history of slavery ending, but politicians failing to root the perpetrators of that system out of power. Letting those people stay in power, letting them use influence and take advantage, led to slavery essentially returning in a different form (hello 13th amendment of the US Constitution!) So it’s an important thing to explore through fiction.

I kind of thought all this was going to come to a head, especially with Missandei and Grey Worm. Dany clearly trusts them with some power, but she lets Westerosi advisors like Tyrion make more and more of her decisions. The whole plotline with Missendei and Grey Worm is them moving past their trauma and becoming more self-actualized people. I thought they’d start to challenge Dany. I thought maybe they’d take issue with Dany’s desire for power at any cost, especially use of the Dothraki, who famously take and sell slaves. I thought they’d take issue with Dany wanting to leave  for Westeros at all, with leaving the slaves of Mereen in such a desperate, hopeless situation. I thought maybe the show would highlight how becoming more folded into the powers that be in Westeros and ignoring the downtrodden people she met in Essos led to her downfall. It certainly seemed to be heading that way.

But then...Missandei and Grey Worm were relegated fully to the background. They don’t differ with Dany on anything at all in the last half of the series. Issues were raised with how Dany was approaching power, but most of these were centered around her individually being a bad person, having the “Targaryen madness,” not with her being part of a system that sees rule by a few powerful families as just and right. It’s just all a problem of one person being insane and power hungry! Not a problem of systems!

And then a member of another house on the wheel takes control at the end, but he’s from the Good House...so it’s framed as a win!

Political Question Three: What happens when the rich ignore the poor / What happens when religious movements redirect class consciousness? 

This is one I really really wanted the series to get more into. The smallfolk are often talked about and seen in the background as the true victims in the wars that tear through Westeros. They suffer and starve and die because of things they had absolutely no say in, so a few people they’ll never meet can have a little power. And this tension between the poor and the rich was building throughout the series; the smallfolk were getting pissed the fuck off. That riot in King’s Landing where the poor literally tear the septon to pieces still gives me chills. 

And we finally, finally started to see this start to come to a head with the Sparrows. I think it’s really interesting that they chose to use a religious movement. Religious grifters often do swoop in during moments of desperation and steal the energy / direct people away from class consciousness to build their own power. And the poor are so desperate for something anything different that it becomes easy for these grifters to thrive. 

And the High Sparrow is this kind of religious grifter to his bones. It’s very interesting to me that when we finally learn his backstory, he wasn’t truly poor. He was a merchant, and one doing pretty okay. If Westeros had an emerging middle class, he was part of it. He wasn’t the lowest of the low in Flea Bottom; Gendry for example was likely worse off. But the Sparrow presents himself as of the poor, part of the poor, truly one of the people, and because of this he is able to build a shitton of power very quickly from smallfolk who are fed up with all the bullshit and want to see something anything done about it.

And I was very interested in this! Again, this is a good political problem to discuss; religious movements and charismatic grifters build power all the time by telling people that really they’re unhappy because of “these sinners or outsiders” and not because of the larger systemic issues. A LOT OF THAT has been happening lately. 

Like this was the moment that the political scheming of people like Cersei and her absolute lack of interest in helping the people she’d supposedly ruling should have come home to roost. I was interested to see what would happen; how that tension would be resolved, IF that tension could be resolved.

And then...Cersei just blows up the Sept of Baelor and apparently every single member of the reactionary religious movement was inside of it because it’s never really brought up again. 

There are no riots, no anger from the smallfolk at her destroying both the major religious figures AND the major religious site for a large chunk of Westeros. People still gladly flock to Cersei when Dany shows up with dragons, even though they KNOW Cersei is very willing to blow people up. It’s just..all dropped. Cersei spends the next several seasons drinking wine and wearing spiky dresses. 

Granted, there were a few big political issues that D&D still tried to discuss through the end but uhh...I don’t think they did very well. For example - 

They Tried! #1 - White Walkers = Climate Change and the Uselessness of the System as Usual in the Face of Existential Threats

So I do think D&D were kind of going for this a little bit, and it was certainly discussed a lot in all the blogs and meta posts leading up to season 8. And there was a lot of talk, especially in season 7, about how silly the petty political differences between Cersei and Dany were in the face of such a threat.

But the fact that the White Walkers were destroyed relatively easily all things considered, without fundamentally changing the existing power dynamic, without being forced to resolve the differences between Dany and Cersei...kind of ruins this whole parallel. Jon’s been saying throughout the whole series that they needed to fully unite to defeat the threat but uhh...they didn’t unite with Cersei and they still won so I guess it was all good! 

Don’t worry guys, we don’t need to fundamentally approach politics differently to deal with climate change, lets just go to Antartica and stab the carbon emissions monster in the heart!

And the fact that ultimately the main battle of the series, the finale of the series, was focused on the various ruling houses opposing each other...kind of ends up saying that the most important thing really is the petty politics after all. 

Well that’s a bad message!

They Tried! #2 - Dany the Imperialist

Now of all the political messages D&D were trying to get across in the series, I am absolutely 100% certain this one was intentional. They were trying to draw parallels between Dany and modern imperial regimes, specifically the US. 

It’s all over that last script, explicitly. The dragons have frequently been portrayed as weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, and in the script here there is an explicit connection between the destruction of King’s Landing and Hiroshima, an atrocity committed by the US. In the finale script, they also use the phrase “they burned the village in order to save it” which is a famous quote from a US general regarding the destruction of a Vietnamese village by American troops during the Vietnam War. 

And Tyrion’s whole speech about Dany destroying evil men looking great from afar but horrible when you’re on the ground / closer to the reality of it has clear US parallels. The US often uses humanitarian justifications for war (taking out dictators, spreading democracy, etc) and does not much care about the atrocities the actual human beings who live in those countries face when their countries are torn apart by war (Afghanistan and Iraq are prime examples of this.)

They are very very clearly trying to make this parallel. To make a political point about how imperialism is bad. But Jesus Christ, it’s so muddled. 

For one, it’s uhhh not great that the perpetrators of these atrocities are largely non-white and the victims are members of a culture that closely parallels western Europe. Given that the way the last several hundred years have played out...it’s usually been the other way around. This shows a lack of care in D&D’s part in truly wrestling with this topic, a lack of interest in really dealing with real world politics and history. Just no interest exploring how imperialism and white supremacy, how the idea that “we come from a ‘superior culture’ so clearly we know what’s best and can go around the world doing as we please” are INCREDIBLY linked.

For two...it’s mostly just Dany that’s the problem. Jon doesn’t want to destroy King’s Landing, Varys doesn’t, Tyrion doesn’t. Grey Worm does, but he’s barely a character at this point in the story. They all give her like, a million outs. Especially the bells. And those bells ring, the battle is won, but Dany decides to go on her murder rampage anyway. 

The problem isn’t a system, it’s one person who has “the madness!” It’s one person being a psychotic dictator, and all the problems are solved when that person gets stabbed. 

Which is absolutely not how it works in real life. We didn’t just go to war in Afghanistan in Iraq because George Bush was a bad person. If we had, we would have been out when Obama got into office. The US went to war in those countries because of a giant system of war and profit, a system that benefits many many people, that has been built over the past several generations. The US went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and stayed there, because weapons contractors wanted to be there so they could make money. Because oil companies and heavy mineral companies wanted the resources those countries had. Because the military itself has a huge amount influence over the government, and to justify their massive budget and continued influence they need to have things to do. The Afghanistan War continues loooong after the death of Osama Bin Laden because of a whole web of CEOs and lobbyists and generals and politicians, all of whom benefit from it. The problem is not one person. It’s a fundamental flaw in how the system is set up. How it rewards those who can buy influence. 

And it’s so so clear to me that D&D do not understand this. Like...even a little. They don’t think in terms of systems, just good people and bad people. That’s why the end of the series, which is still a fucking monarchy, is framed positively. Because it’s not the system of power that’s the problem, it’s just that bad people were in charge! But now the good people are in charge, so it’s all good!

They like talking about the tragedy of war, like referencing historical atrocities in scripts, like talking about how deep it all is. They love to talk about how they wanted to create a fantasy series grounded not in magic, but political reality. But they have no understanding of political reality beyond the most basic basic shit. Like war is bad dontcha know! Yeah, no shit!

So these two messed up the characters, they messed up the fantasy, but they also messed up the part they claimed to care about most, the politics. Because they’re dumbshits. 

Jesus this got long. If you read all this, thank you for listening to the ramblings I wrote while I should be working. 

[acourtofhopeanddreams]

Sleeping Beauty (Once Upon A Time in Westeros #1)

Written as the first story in a series of fairytale retellings starring different Game of Thrones couples

To marry Princess Myrcella Baratheon, Prince Robb Stark has to complete the trial designed by the enchantress. And so Myrcella finds herself waiting in a tower surrounded by thorn bushes until the love of her life fights his way through and beats the dragon.

Retelling of Sleeping Beauty

Once Upon A Time, in a Kingdom far away from here, Princess Myrcella Baratheon let out a deep sigh while she moved her white horse. “Checkmate.” She leaned back in her comfortable chair and yawned. “Want to play again?” She looked at the pretty red haired woman in the seat opposing hers.

Her long red hair waved over her shoulders and she cocked her head more gracefully than most princesses did. “I have more important matters to attend at the moment.” She leaned across the table, over the chessboard, and she tucked a long blond curl behind Myrcella’s ear. “Your patience will be rewarded. Your Prince is on his way.”

Myrcella bent her head. “Why is this ritual necessary? Why does he have to complete this stupid trial before I can marry him? I love him!” Her voice went up and she fought the tears burning in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but those old fashioned rules and customs were driving her insane.

“Your parents have to know for certain that your prince will be able to protect you.” The woman spoke soothingly. “They will leave you and their kingdom in his hands.”

Myrcella raced her eyebrows. “I can assure you he’s very good with his hands.” Myrcella mumbled and her cheeks heated up slightly. “And he’s a Stark. I know that my parents don’t like the Starks that much, but they are amazing rulers. They’re kind and just and loyal and understanding and brave and…” She stopped talking when she saw the look in the enchantress’ eyes. “What if he dies during the trial?” Her voice was barely a whisper now.

“He won’t, Myrcella.” The enchantress shook her head. “I promise that nothing will happen to Robb Stark.” She leaned a little closer towards the young Princess and smirked. “But I think it is much better if you will never tell him or your parents that he has never been in true danger.” She placed a hand on Myrcella’s tensed shoulder. “Men like to be our heroes. And although we know very well that we can look after ourselves, there is nothing wrong with once in a while giving them the chance to put those sword fighting lessons to good use.”

The echo of her last word hadn’t even died out when the enchantress disappeared.

All of a sudden the room in the top of the tower was awfully quiet.

Myrcella could hear her own heart beating rapidly in her chest. The adrenaline rushed through her veins and she stared at the clock above the chimney. Even though she had already spent three days in this tower, time seemed to pass way slower now. Seconds seemed to last minutes and minutes seemed to last hours.

She attempted to read one of the books she had gotten to keep her company, but after having to read the same sentence at least five times Myrcella gave up. Then she attempted to write a letter to her younger brother, to tell him about her experience and her excitement. But her hand was trembling and her words were barely readable, so she ripped the letter to pieces and threw it in the small wooden bucket next to the small desk.

Eventually she simply sat down in the windowsill and she stared at the countless of thorn bushes surrounding her tower. They were too high for her to see anything. She didn’t know if her Prince was fighting his way through it. And she also didn’t know if he had already faced the dragon he was supposed to kill. And even though the enchantress had promised her that nothing would happen to Robb, Myrcella didn’t dare to be certain until he would climb the stairs and threw open the door to take her back home.

The sun already started setting when she saw smoke climbing higher and higher. A faint glow was visible a few layers of bushes away from her. A deafening roar echoed through the absolute silence and Myrcella felt her heart skipping a beat in her chest.

“Please survive, please survive.” She knew she could do nothing to help him. Even though she had some useful skills, she wasn’t allowed to. But her hands were itching and the closer the flames and smoke came, the harder it was to just sit by and watch. “Please let this be over soon, please let this be over soon.” She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs, pressing them to her chest.

Another roar echoed all through the valley, but then all of a sudden the roar ended in a painful scream.

A smile spread across Myrcella’s face and quickly she stood up from her seat. She checked her reflection in the mirror and she combed her hair once more to make sure it was gleaming golden in de late evening sun. She painted her lips a little redder and she applied some blush to her already glowing cheeks. The pink dress she was wearing showed more cleavage than her mother had ever allowed her to show before, but she hoped Robb would like that.

“Myrcella?” He yelled and Myrcella quickly walked towards the giant bed taking up almost half the room.

Carefully she laid down. She made sure her hair laid perfectly spread out on the pillow, surrounding her face like a halo and she folded her hands on her stomach. Then she closed her eyes and waited.

“Myrcella!” Robb threw the wooden door of the room open and it slammed against the stone wall. His footsteps sounded heavy and hurried when he rushed towards the bed.

She tried to keep her breathing steady, to really let him believe she was asleep, but she felt a pleasant warmth spreading through her entire body when he placed his hand on her arm.

He did it. He fought his way through the thorn bushes without being staked. He beat the dragon without being flamed. Now there was only one last thing he would have to do and they could finally live happily ever after.

She felt his warm breath on her face less than a second before he pressed his soft lips on hers. For a short second she allowed herself to enjoy this moment, his subtle touch, the silence and the privacy. Then she opened her eyes and smiled. “I knew you would save me, Robb Stark.” She threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her up from the bed to carry her down the stairs towards his noble steed.

“Did you ever truly doubt I would?” He smirked and Myrcella shook her head.

“But I do know what our first decree as King and Queen should be.” She raised her eyebrows. “I want to get rid of this stupid ritual. My children can marry whoever they love and I don’t need proof that they’ll marry a hero.”

Robb planted a soft kiss on her nose. “If I had to, I would rescue you a million times more.”

“And I you.”

But luckily they didn’t have to. They got married in the big church in the capital, surrounded by as many people in the country as could fit in. When her father died, they started their reign and they raised their heirs to be just and loyal, to be fierce and strong. And that was all they needed to live happily ever after.

[dachi-chan25]

GoT Season 8 Episode 1: The Pointy End Recap

Gods I am back on my bullshit but I can't help it 'cause I had too many thoughts about yesterday's episodes.

Disclaimer: So if you know me or my blog you know I don't root for D Targy (I write it like this cuz i don't want this post to pop up in her tag) and that she sometimes annoys the crap out of me, also i don't root for her bland ass romance or anything magical lizard related. I support House Stark 100% so ofc I believe in Pol!Jon (and more over I am a Jonsa shipper so ofc Imma write about that) and if you don't agree or don't feel confortable with any of those things this Recap is not for you (if you come here to troll I'll just ignore you anyway so don't waste your time and energy like that)

With that said let's begin!

.

-The episode starts with a young boy running to meet the Queen's entourage, we already see a lot of peasants and common folk gathered there, Arya sees the boy and smiles fondly (she is totally reminiscing when she did the same when King Bobby B visited WF) This shots made me feel very nostalgic as they parallel very closely S1.

Another parallel that it's included here is Jon and D arriving all regal couple like, I was just remembering about Bobby B and Cersei, and things are already on a visual side not working for them (d looks totally out of place with that flashy awkward coat, I mean the color, the cut, the red details, all of it makes her stand out like a sore thumb. On a visual level alone she does not belong there). The music is also worth noting, it starts off on a very ominious tone and then gets some heroic B bright undertones as Dr and Jon ride closer to he camera, but again falls into an ominious conqueror-villian entrance song.

The perspective shifts to Arya watching Jon and D riding (she doesn't seem happy to see D she kind of looks confused) but smiles when she sees Jon, we also see The Hound (Arya looks really confused, cuz she probably thought he was dead) and Gendry (she gives the cutest smiles ever,and yassssss Gendyra lives!!) riding behind them.

We get Varys and Tyrion riding in a carriage of sorts, and an unnecesary enuch joke *sigh* even Varys calls out Tyrion for it, and he is like idgaf cuz i got ballzzzz!! (Classy dude)

The common folk is not diggin this dragon kween business and obviously don't cheer or grovel at d's feet, she is very upset at this and Jon is like "I told you so", then the dragons approach and the people are terrified, they scream and run, worst of all D smiles and seems so smug (fuuuck her a thousand times, this proves she doesn't give a fuck about poor people unless they adore her, and that fear is just as well for her as respect, cuz this bitch is just like Cersei but dumber) and we don't really get to see Jon's reaction but come the fuck on!! This people Jon knows, some of them he has seen since he was a little boy, these are the people he is trying hard to protect and you think he is not gonna care for them just cuz d is pwetty?? Nah dude, he knows she cares about being worshipped (I meaaaan her long ass list of titles) but he thinks she is mostly harmless (may i remind you he still doesn't know about the TARLYS)

The camera follows the dragons and we see Sansa looking at them with worry (my poor girl, that's the adecuate reaction when you see monsters terrifying your people)

K, now we are seeing Jon in the courtyard, he sees Bran and immediately runs to him (you can clearly see Jorah helping D dismount in the background and that's hillarious cuz 2 seconds in WF and he is already leaving her ass behind in favor of his family), we even get a forhead kiss and Jon is pretty emotional at seeing his baby brother all grown up (tbh i find Bran's deadpan deliveries so funny, Jon looks confused af) he sees SANSA and biiiitch (I wanted to screenshot his face but I just gave up cuz it's very quick) the softness of his stare, the parted mouth, the way he just dives into her arms (Sansa stares at D while they hug like bih fuck off he is ours) . I want to address something real quick, yeah it was a shorter hug than we expected, but not less emotional ( Sansa was smiling and the look on Jon's face when he saw her) still it was 10000x times better than any Aegony scene because the affection is mutual Jon goes straight for a hug and Sansa opens her arms as opposed as Aegony scenes that rely heavily on D. Also I think this hug was shorter (and we see Jon pulling apart first) cuz d is watching, not only that but a lot of people are and i do think this season until the parentage reveal is out in the open they will be trying to keep their distances cuz they have feelings siblings are not supposed to have.

Jon asks for Arya, and Sansa says she is lurking somewhere with a smile (this reminded me of Cat asking about Arya on ep 1) and D approaches with the most forced smile ever, Jon introduces Sansa with her proper title first and then is like she is the kween D Targy forsaking all her thousand titles thank god. Also the first thing Jon says is that Sansa is his sister which I'll talk about later. So D tries (and fails) to be charming, saying how beautiful WF and the North (she says it's as beautiful as Jon said) and compares Sansa's beauty to it which had me wondering stuff.

A) so we never get Jon and D talking about Jon's siblings (another aegony is doomed moment) but he does mention briefly Arya and Bran cuz he thought they were dead, but Sansa??? Unless a thrid party brought her up he never talked about her which leads me to think D had no idea about Sansa being Jon's sister and that is why he breaks the hug and introduces he as his sister frist of all.

B) By talking about Sansa's beauty and how Jon talked about it, it implies they did talk about Sansa and that Jon said she was beautiful ??? Cuz that's the way D made it sound xdddd.

Ofc i think the A to be more like lyrics cuz Jon is playing his cards very close to his chest, but I thought it was funny.

Sansa brushes her of and delivers the WF is yours your Grace bs. Duuuude she is not even trying to be charming (she is corteous enough but barely) like she would have played the modest naive Maiden and said "not as beautiful as you, your grace" (bihhh d would have loved this shit) nor even a gracious thank you. And i wonder whyyy?? As far as she knows she is an ally, and yeah she doesn't trust her damn she doesn't even like her but that hasn't stopped her before like damn she was all charm when she met Roose and Ramsey for the 1st time and she hated them!!!! What I think is happening is that LF'S words are still in her mind about Jon marrying D, and Jon separated too quickly from their hug, and now he is standing beside this woman calling her queen, and yeah I see the jealousy maybe she doesn't know why fully maybe she is just starting to realize her feelings and is all projecting them onto the he betrayed the north's trust but I do feel it goes beyond that and it shows.

Bran interrupts before things get uglier with D and Sansa, with news about the wall, D looks shocked (bet she thought she was the only one who could control dragons) Jon looks like he is about to have a pánico attack.

They have a meeting with the northern Lords in the Great Hall (it is very curious that Jon is seated between d and Sansa, when befitting her new title D should be in the middle, D&D are driving this love triangle home) but from the get go we see that Sansa is the one running stuff and doing everything a queen should, she asks Ned Umbr about his people, he says they need more wagons and horses (I am sideeyeing D so hard at this moment) Sansa bids him to go to Last Hearth and bring as many ppl as he can.

Lyanna Mormont then proceeds to rip Jon a new one (but Lyanna like everyone else isn't really getting the full picture) and Jon looks at Sansa for support (like curious, as Lyanna is talking about D and she is his lady love and stuff you'd think he would look at her to gather strenght or resolution for what he is about to say but nope) but she is like 'dude you deserve it' and I would say she is right but like wasn't Sansa defending him to everyone that would listen last season ??? She literally said she respects Jon's desicions, nah this is her jealousy this is a go on prove me wrong, talk, give them (and me) and explanation of why u betrayed our trust for her. And Jon does look crushed when he sees he is not getting any support from her cuz if pol!Jon is right he did it! He listened to her, he was smarter than father and Robb, he brought an army home, and Sansa the one he did all this for still won't trust him that the North is his heart and home and he would do anything to keep it safe (like still pretty fucking unfair he wants sansa's blind faith without giving her anything in return but I get where he is coming from) and if pol!Jon is not real then they really destroyed Jon's character in favor of the blandest romance ever and I can't get behind that way of thinking because before I even shipped Jonsa I was a fan of both Jon Snow and Sansa Stark and I believe and support them both.

Honestly my boy doesn't even try to sell D, he is just like we need allies!! Tyrion just about gives up cuz he thinks Jon is a bumbling fool with no idea of how the game is played (lmaooo) and tries to sell D plus the idea that Cersei is sending them the Lannister army (I think is very important jon didn't mention this and I will go on about it later) Sansa is just about fed up with this bs, and asks a real important question about how da fuck is she supposed to feed this big ass army plus 3 dragons that she didn't account for and she doesn't have any obligation towards, like that's d's job, even worse d's haughty response (you can see Jon doesn't like this one bit) like honestly I had never felt more annoyed by d she is already a villian threatening Sansa in her own home for daring to care more about her people than about d's lizards, and i don't know how people are ok with that, like dude y'all are entitled to your own opinión and to loving your faves, but this shit was awfull.

We see carts of dragonglass in the courtyard, Gendry is giving instructions and Lord Royce is just leaving Sansa looking at all this activity when Tyrion approaches Sansa.

This is already to long and I have much to say about the Tyrion-Sansa convo, so let's go on in part 2!!

[summerseachild]

Summersea’s GoT Season 4 Rewatch 2019

Otherwise known as: “The Long Slow Slide to D and D Running Out of Material from the Books”

4x01: 

1. The visuals of Ice getting melted down are SO PRETTY (while RoC plays on the background 😎 living my best Lannister Life over here.)

2. Jaime getting the sword and trying NOT to be Lord of Casterly Rock and HOLY SHIT TELLING TYWIN NO and getting away with it.

3. Tyrion is trying so hard to greet the Dornish politely... poor guy.

4. It’s pride month so I’m just pointing out that Oberyn is soooo biiiii and This Bi Girl loves him. And him playing with the flame and Ellaria trying to stop him from killing the Lannister who insulted him... I just love their dynamic.

5. Drogon is just a big happy dragon-Cat and in Dany’s first appearance of this season. He PURRS.

6. I love Jaime and Cersei’s scene with Jaime’s new hand. They snipe at each other, but it is SO how they interact.

7. Jon and Sansa reacting to Robb’s death :(

8. GUESS WHO DID NOT MISS JANOS SLYNT OR ALLISER THORNE AT ALL THATS RIGHT MEEEE. Also Alliser is Peter Knox in a Discovery of Witches so I just HATE HIS FACE.

9. TREAT THAT BOOK MORE CAREFULLY JOFFREY YOU LITTLE SHIT and treat your uncle more nicely too. Jaime looks a little taken aback at what a little turd his oldest has become, but handles it well I think.

10. Jaime and Brienne trying to sort out how to keep his vow to Catelyn 🤣

11. YES ARYA GET NEEDLE BACK. Also Sandor being like NO CHILD COME BACK HERE DO NOT RUSH INTO DANGER WITHOUT ME is precious.

12. Sandor Clegane saying FUCK THE KING gives me such satisfaction

13. I should not be so happy about Arya re-enacting the time when Polliver

14. But I am happy that Sandor got his chickens

4x02

1. So I had forgotten that the girls who were in the scene where Theon gets cut are Myranda and the girl Ramsay is hunting later. I remembered how much I hate the Myranda thing real quick, though.

2. I love Tyrion being understanding of Jaime’s disability because HE WOULD BE. Also Tyrion pouring wine on the table to be like “look spilling is no big deal” is PRECIOUS.

3. Bronn knocking Jaime around while sparring is a great source of joy to me.

4. Theon finds out that Robb is dead when he’s got a RAZOR TO RAMSAY’S THROAT I can’t with Alfie’s face.

5. Every time I see Joffrey chop that book in half I want the purple wedding to be right now.

6. Tyrion trying to make Shae leave :...(

7. KEEP AWAY FROM SHIREEN, RED WOMAN, said Davos probably a lot

8. Question: why don’t the direwolves being food BACK to the hungry humans? Especially when Bran can warg into them?

9. So I want to go through every frame of that vision Bran has with the weirwood because the one we haven’t seen before is a Dragons over King’s Landing. Those ARE THE ROOFS YOU SEE IN THE NEXT SHOT FOR THE WEDDING.

10. Haha oh right this IS the purple wedding ep ooops I’d almost forgot. Not sorry for wishing death on Joffrey but sorry for Cersei’s sake and everyone else it fucks over.

11. Loras having eye sex with Oberyn cracks me up I mean they both have eyes and good gaydar... (bi-dar? queer-dar?)

12. Is Margaery... flirting with Brienne? Or is that just Margaery’s personality?

13. JAIME’S FACE when he sees Brienne and Cersei talking is SO FUNNY he’s like shit shit shit DANGER

14. What did Qyburn DO for Cersei that she is recommending to other women? She told him symptoms were gone in a previous ep in a weird mysterious way... did he help her end a pregnancy?? How long has it BEEN since Blackwater? This never comes back again but I’m super curious. 

15. Oberyn has zero chill around Tywin and I love it.

16. Margaery looking like she is is going to murder someone during the war of the five Kings show is A Mood. (I mean... there IS about to be a murder.)

17. I don’t think the Tyrells planned it but Joffrey being a shit and making Tyrion touch his wine goblet and SANSA TOUCHING IT TOO played right into their hands.

4x03: oh brother here comes altar sex

1. I want very much for Hector Barbossa to be waiting at the top of that ladder for Sansa after approaching the ship and the creepy fog. But no it’s Petyr Baelish. Ew.

2. Hello new Tommen! Good to see you again after Karstark killed your identical cousin! Also Tywin being like GOOD KINGS ARE SMART AND LISTEN TO THEIR SMART ADVISORS. (That moment when a sitting US president needs to listen to Tywin. Scary?)

3. Altar sex has not aged well for me. I’m not a J/C shipper who thinks they’ve got a healthy relationship that’s all sunshine and kitties. I know the two of them have a messed up dynamic, but this scene misses the mark in so many ways and I hate it. I wish they would have left it out rather than done it wrong. (Also I think it was a tryout for me for “can you get a valonqar scene right?” And the answer was a resounding NO.)

4. Speaking of healthy relationships though Sam and Gilly are cute and sweet and awkward and everything that is good and pure in this world.

5. And so is Davos telling Shireen about his smuggling adventures.

6. Oberyn sat his beautiful self right in the middle of the Kinsey scale and said THE VIEW IS GREAT HERE. What an icon. Also offering Tywin fricking Lannister a seat on the bed where you were just having sex with like FOUR DIFFERENT PEOPLE was A Move.

7. Tywin TELLS OBERYN ABOUT DANY and Oberyn looks like this is the first he’s heard of it.

8. Tyrion saying goodbye to Pod gave me a decent sized lump in my throat.

9. Daario taking down the Champion Of Meereen with one thrown dagger and one slash of a sword is sexy as fuck and I don’t care who knows I think so.

4x04

1. Missandei teaching Grey Worm and just hanging out with him is so important to me this time around.

2. Jaime and Bronn are weird friends and I kind of love it.

3. The Kingslayer Brothers: coming soon to a stage near you. I’d buy that band’s shirt.

4. Olenna Tyrell is a STONE COLD LADY and I love that about her. She protected her granddaughter and I respect that.

5. That is A LOT OF WINE IN THAT GLASS Cersei my love. Also Jaime TRYING to convince her Tyrion didn’t do it hurts me. He loves them both so much, but they all hurt each other.

6. Ser Pounce is a big fluff like my Freya!

7. OATHKEEPER AND THE WHITE BOOK AND THE ARMOR. Brienne’s face is so pure when he gives it to her.

8. I had near forgotten all of this stuff at the wall with Olly and Jon and the cannibals and the mutineers at Craster’s and waiting for Mance’s army. (We know where my heart is though, don’t we...)

9. SIT DOWN LOCKE. I forgot that human shitstain showed up at the wall looking for Bran.

10. We didn’t need the mutineer plot. What did it add? What did we learn about the world or its people? Nothing we didn’t already know. What. Was. The. Point. We’d already seen the walkers and knew about the babies, we knew the world was violent and classist. WE KNEW.

11. I love when Summer is like HELLO BROTHER GHOST OH NO A TRAP

12. The white walker riding across the frozen lake... what a gorgeous image, and the ice henge...

13. WHAT DO THE BLUE EYED ICE BABIES GROW UP TO BEEEEE DO WE EVEN KNOW

4x05

1. I’d say long live King Tommen, but I’d cry.

2. Cersei is beauty she is grace she wants to punch Margaery in the face. (But actually is acting like she might need Margaery to help Tommen? That scene was hard to read.)

3. Meereen has a lot of cool geometrical carvings.

4. Dany thinking about what kind of ruler she wants to be and what responsibilities she has to the people she freed? THAT IS WHO SHE IS, D AND D YOU DICKS.

5. Sansa’s like “greeeeeaaaaat another creepy little kid” when she meets Robin.

6. And Lysa lets it ALL OUT about what Petyr has had her do... wow.

7. Cersei is going along with the Tyrell marriages way too easily what is her game.

8. Tywin is... almost treating his daughter like someone he can trust and have a conversation with? What is this?

9. And then there’s the stupidity about the mines running out. Wtf.

10. Arya is a little drama queen with saying the Hound’s name last while HE WAS LISTENING.

11. Lysa is SO DAMAGED. Poor Sansa.

12. Aw Brienne you don’t know what a loyal kid you’ve got in Podrick give him a chance.

13. Arya practicing water dancing is so cool.

14. Cersei and Oberyn talking is actually really interesting. And they talk about Myrcella :....( and Oberyn is TELLING THE TRUTH about her being happy.

15. Cersei got her A BOAT for her birthday because she LIKES THE OPEN WATER I had forgotten that and I am freaking out for fic reasons because of fics I haven’t written yet that involve Myrcella being good at boats.

16. Geez Pod I don’t know how to skin a rabbit but I know you need to before you cook it. And... does Brienne actually need help with that armor, or does she realize Pod needs to feel useful? I’m going with the second.

17. I had forgotten how creepy Jojen’s visions were.

18. Bran warging into Hodor and killing Locke is... problematic, but Bran had every reason to think Locke was going to kill him. Good fucking riddance.

19. Jon being happy to see Ghost XD

20. So... there’s just a troop of Crasters daughters out there still? Idek.

4x06 the laws of gods and men (and by men we mean Tywin)

1. Braavos is so pretty! I love her. I love her canals, I love the Titan, I love the domes, I just love her.

2. I remember when people lost their shit over Mark Gattis being in this episode. He is quite good here, and Davos is quite clever.

3. Salador’s joke about the red shirt is FUNNY and I’m not afraid to say so.

4. No one wants to see Ramsay having sex.

5. EVERYONE wants to see Yara giving a great speech.

6. She... ran from some dogs when she was burying her axe in dudes’ GUTS five seconds earlier? LAAAAAAME. Yes yes she also saw how fucked up in the head Theon was (more awards Alfie deserved and didn’t get), and she did want to lose any more people when he wasn’t willing to come but the way this was cut it reads like she was all OH NO DOGS which is the stupidest thing ever. 

7. NOOOO POOR GOATS. I get that dragons have to eat though...

8. I cannot believe Dany didn’t take the time to FIND OUT WHICH MEEREENESE WERE LESS TERRIBLE. They would have been fucking allies. BUT NO LET’S JUST CRUCIFY PEOPLE WITH NO IDEA OF THE NUANCES OF THE LOCAL SITUATION. What stupidity.

9. At least she’s trying to learn??? She’s so small on that throne in a huge room. What a great shot.

10. Oberyn is a bisexual who CANNOT SIT IN A CHAIR NORMALLY. I am not complaining.

11. I cannot see the scene of Jaime and Tyrion walking down into the courtroom for the trial without giggling at the memory of the outtake where they dance like dorks into the room and down the aisle.

12. Jaime looking at Tyrion like YOU ARE NOT HELPING YOURSELF is a mood.

13. How did they get the poison necklace? Didn’t Littlefinger throw it in the Blackwater FAR off shore? A bit AFTER he killed Dontos? How does Pycelle have it here? Maybe they washed up together? Maybe D and D forgot Petyr tossed it in the bay? WHO KNOWS???

14. Jaime trying to convince Tywin one last time and offering to leave the kingsguard in exchange for Tyrion HOLY SHIT I FORGOT HE DID THAT. Cersei never would have spoken to him again if he’d left her and married and gone back to the Rock and given Tywin what he wanted. Jaime KNEW he was screwing over a relationship that means SO MUCH TO HIM but it’s TYRION’S LIFE we’re talking about here. That’s how much he loves his little brother. 

15. Tywin is like DONE so fast Jaime barely gets the offer out lol

16. And it all would have worked if Shae hadn’t walked through those doors.

17. Do we know WHY Shae agreed to testify to this? What did Tywin offer her or threaten her with?

18. WHAT ARE YOU DOING LITTLE BRO WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS?! is Jaime’s face all the time this scene.

19. Tyrion’s “confession”is such a piece of acting wow Peter enjoy your Emmys.

4x07

1. Jeez Tyrion didn’t know Jaime COULDN’T save him. He had no idea that losing his hand had affected his abilities that badly. That... hurts.

2. Arya, Sandor, and the dying farmer is such a great scene... And Arya only killing that asshole only after Sandor learns his name for her so she knows the name of the man she’s killing.... A++ would watch again.

3. Everyone LISTEN TO JON he has seen things none of you have.

4. Tyrion finding out Bronn has been bought is so very upsetting but I love this scene.

5. But really though once Tywin named The Mountain champion, anyone who Tyrion asks to be his champion at this point he’s basically asking to die.

6. Dany’s like “well I guess fucking Daario isn’t going to cause a political disaster at least.”

7. I had forgotten how fascinating Selyse and Melisandre’s interactions are.

8. IS THAT SETTING UP BURNING SHIREEN FUCK THAT.

9. Dany is capable of nuanced thought when it comes to innocence and guilt of whole groups of people and WE JUST SAW IT with how Jorah changes her mind and I’m JUST SO ANGRY.

10. That is the only time we get the story of Sandor and the fire from his own mouth and I did not mean to be this moved.

11. Hot Pie talking about food (oh yeah and Arya) is so precious. And now I want steak and kidney pie. With gravy.

12. “Using honest feelings to do dishonest work is one of her greatest talents.” The truest thing Tyrion has ever said about Cersei.

13. What a great snow castle. Too bad Joffrey part 2 knocked it down.

14. Ew ew ew Petyr kissing Sansa is so skeevy and gross.

15. “A great deal might change between now and never” is a great line though.

16. I hate Petyr but it’s good he pushed Lysa out the Moon Door before she killed Sansa.

4x08

1. Jon and Co all reminding Sam that Gilly is a survivor is so great. Brotherhood at its best.

2. Missandei and Grey Worm are young people with old souls and their relationship is precious to me.

3. Alfie is SO GOOD at showing how deeply Ramsay has him under his control even when he’s alone with the Ironborn.

4. Petyr is part Braavosi? Fascinating.

5. Sansa TOLD the Lords of Vale who she was??? Her testimony is such a good bit of acting on Sansa’s part. It’s a lie hidden in a lot of truth, and she was QUICK to think it through and come up with it.

6. Jorah telling Dany about the pardon is a scene that breaks my heart. 💔 She is HARSH here but I love the full blown Targaryen on display.

7. Roose being like TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE like the Lion King cracks me up so hard.

8. I will never give Ramsay the Bolton name in anything I write as long as I am a fan of this show out of pure hatred. He is Ramsay Snow forever and always.

9. I remember I was so worried that they were going to have Petyr try to sexually assault Sansa. OH I WAS A SWEET SUMMER CHILD.

10. Arya laughing at the news of Lady Arryn’s Death is an immensely human reaction and I love that she just CANNOT STOP.

11. I know people hated that scene with Jaime and Tyrion talking about beetles but I have two takeaways: first, a septon tried to touch Jaime once???? Headcanon: Little Jaime looked that septon dead in the eye and said “my father wouldn’t like that” and it never happened again. The septon was summarily replaced. Second: Jaime has never thought about ANYTHING in his whole life as deeply as baby Tyrion thought about beetles.

12. Oberyn is so fun to watch fight and Jaime agrees with me.

13. You don’t need him to confess Oberyn really you don’t you GOT HIM my beautiful prince.

14. How did the Gods make their will known if BOTH champions killed each other dead, huh Tywin? (The Mountain is... less Dead?)

4x09

1. Sam mulling over the legalistic interpretation of their vows and Jon trying to explain what sex and love are like are both SO CUTE.

2. I love that everyone around that fire has heard the “Tormund fucked a bear” story and I’m kind of sorry Ygritte didn’t let him finish.

3. Maester Aemon revealing his Targaryen identity was lovely. Also Sam Cussing to get Gilly in the gate= AMAZING

4. Alliser Thorne ADMITTING HE WAS WRONG? I am dead of shock.

5. Sam and Pyp talking about fear and bravery is... so darling.

6. They have A GIANT RIDING A MAMMOTH and I will forgive a small amount of nonsense for giving me that image.

7. See Alliser looking at the horn blower like REALLY? IN THE FUCKING MIDDLE OF MY SPEECH? Before they realize it’s the horn at Castle Black is PRICELESS.

8. Speaking of which I may not like Alliser but he gives a good “let’s not die” speech.

9. Bless Grenn for getting Janos Slynt off the wall.

10. Pyp dying in Sam’s arms was not something I was ready for.

11. You’ve heard of horsepower... now get ready for MAMMOTH POWER (wildling used mammoth salesmen probably)

12. Sam remembering that being NICE to Olly when asking to go up the wall rather than just screaming at him is... telling.

13. Grenn is THE BEST KID AND I LOVE HIM

14. Ghost is going to EAT SOME WILDLINGS

15. Ygritte :...(

16. How is Tormund even ALIVE??? He’s like a frickin PIN CUSHION.

17. “They held the gate” is a line that will make me cry now. Grenn and co. Didn’t let that giant through :...(

3x10: back when D and D remembered the Children existed that one time

Also back when Jaime had a plan that didn’t end with ANY OF HIS FAMILY KILLING EACH OTHER BUT TYWIN ENDS UP DEAD ANYWAY WHY ARE WE LIKE THIS.

1. Jon deciding single-handedly that he’s going to KILL Mance Rayder. Boss move.

2. Oh FFS. Pull the stick out of your ass Stannis and let Mance be.

3. Qyburn is like “out of my way bitch I’m doing necromancy”

4. Cersei telling Tywin the truth to get out of Marrying Loras is... still... making my jaw drop and I KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO DO IT. And there’s ACTUAL EMOTION on Tywin’s face and EVERYTHING SHE SAYS ABOUT PAYING SOME REAL FUCKING ATTENTION TO HIS FAMILY IS TRUE

5. Ah yes “Jaime writes his family’s dialogue” part one. I CHOOSE YOU OMG AND SEX IN THE LORD COMMANDER’S OFFICE I CANNOT BELIEVE WE GOT THAT. Even if I’m still on the fence about whether Jaime would be ok with doing it THERE I’m mostly on board because she JUST TOLD DAD THE TRUTH AND TOLD HIM HE WAS THE ONE SHE WANTED AND I DON’T KNOW WHO LET THE SHIPPERS WRITE THIS SCENE BUT YAY.

6. Dany is still learning all kinds of nuance... I feel like the year contract thing was an attempt to balance her need to be a liberator and the reality on the ground?

7. You are telling me that the Dany who was that upset at Drogon eating ONE child let him burn a WHOLE CITY? I call bullshit.

8. Also this is a CLASSIC example of “one sibling does something wrong and the other two get punished for it” poor Viserion and Rhaegal.

9. Maester Aemon knows how to give a mass eulogy.

10. MEANWHILE NORTH OF THE NORTH HI BRAN meet the hugest weirwood in Westeros AND SOME ICE ZOMBIES

11. POOR MEERA I FORGOT SHE HAD TO HELP JOJEN DIE

12. If the children can do that WHERE ARE THEY LATER

13. holy shit bloodraven is creepy

14. Arya and Brienne meeting :) so cute

15. And Sandor being like YOU ARE TOO NAIVE TO PROTECT HER is cute in its own way.

16. Wow Brienne and Sandor really knock the shit out of each other how are they still alive.

17. Sandor saying awful things to Arya to make it easier for her to kill him was tragic and you can see the desperation in his eyes even as he says the worst of it.

18. JAIME LANNISTER MAKES DECISIONS HE WILL REGRET LATER LIKE NOT GOING ALL OF THE WAY TO THE BOAT WITH TYRION

19. I Had forgotten how rough that last conversation between Tywin and Tyrion was and how devastating those performances are.

20. Varys being like oh fuck those bells I’m going too... prescient.

21. Love the music with Arya on the ship to Braavos!

[joanna-lannister]

Meta: Will the Lannisters end like the Targaryens?

WARNING: possible mentions of spoilers/leaks

@fcrncody Thank you Ana, my partner in crime, for being my beta reader! 💖

First of all, this theory is purely for the show, not the books (even if I'm gonna use some quotes from it). I do believe the fate of some characters will be different, I could be wrong tho.

"History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again." I'm quoting G.R.R.M here but as a big History nerd, I always say that History repeat itself and I think that what's going to happen with the Lannisters : their downfall will be a parallel to the Targaryens one at the end of Robert's rebellion. I have this theory in mind for almost 2 years now and since I keep thinking about it, I needed somewhere to write it down.

During the rebellion, we had 4 Targaryens still alive : Aerys, Rhaella, Rhaegar and Viserys (plus Dany and Jon on the way). I'm not sure if I should count Maester Aemon since he took the black and I don't count Elia and Rheagar's children since he disinherited them. Now for the Lannisters, we have Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion still alive, plus baby!Lannister on the way. I think their deaths or possible survival will be a mix of how these last Targaryens died or survived.

First, the Lannisters have always been connected with the Targaryens one way or another:

Tywin wanted Cersei to marry Rhaegar and she wanted it to

Tyrion and his obsession with the dragons

Jaime killed Aerys

Tywin used to be friend with Aerys and his Hand

Cersei and Tyrion both used wildfire

Joanna was harassed by Aerys

And I could go on...

But one of the biggest connection we can make between the two houses is the incest. The perpetual incestuous marriage between the Targaryens slowly brought their house to the extinction and Cersei and Jaime's relationship caused the war of the five Kings and thus, their own downfall. They have been compared to the Targaryens more than once, by themselves or by other characters.

The Targaryens wed brothers and sisters for 300 years to keep bloodlines pure. Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We shared a womb. We came into this world together. We belong together. - Cersei, S01E07 You Win or You Die

Tyrion: Sins? The Targaryens... Cersei: Wed brother and sister for hundreds of years, I know. That's what Jaime and I would say to each other in our moments of doubt. It's what I told Ned Stark when he was stupid enough to confront me. Half the Targaryens went mad, didn't they? What's the saying? Every time a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin. Tyrion: You've beaten the odds. Tommen and Myrcella are good, decent children, both of them. - S02E07 A Man Without Honor

You think I disapprove? Why? Because people disapprove of that sort of thing where you are from? They disapproved of Oberyn and me where you are from. Here no one blinked an eye. 100 years ago, no one would have blinked an eye at you if you'd been named Targaryen. - Ellaria, S05E09 The Dance of Dragons

We could marry him to Myrcella, once we've sent Sansa Stark back to her mother. That would show the realm that the Lannisters are above their laws, like gods and Targaryens. - Jaime, ASOS

"I am sick of being careful. The Targaryens wed brother to sister, why shouldn't we do the same? Marry me, Cersei. Stand up before the realm and say it's me you want. We'll have our own wedding feast, and make another son in place of Joffrey." She drew back. "That's not funny." - Jaime, ASOS

Then, we have Tywin and his ambition. He wants to outshine the Targaryens and build a dynasty that could last 1000 years.

The future of our family will be determined in these next few months. We could establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years. Or we could collapse into nothing, as the Targaryens did. - Tywin, S01E07 You Win or You Die

Cersei wants to emulate her father.

I understand we're in a war for survival. I understand whoever loses dies. I understand whoever wins could launch a dynasty that lasts a thousand years. - Cersei, S07E01 Dragonstone

The parallel is clear here, I have even made a gifset. The funny thing in that conversation between Tywin and Jaime is the fact that Tywin points out they could collapse into nothing when it's already happening, because of his own children. And again, he compares himself to the Targaryens. Foreshadowing?

Before talking about each characters, I want to say that if this theory is correct, I don't think Jaime and Cersei will die together. This show is full of plot twists, irony, parallels and yet, anti-parallels and the characters don't get what they want, this is not a Disney fairytale. And dying together is something they both want, they expressed it numerous times, in the show and in the books, maybe too much?

Bronn: How do you want to go? Jaime: In the arms of the woman I love. - S05E04 The Sons of The Harpy

We've always been together. We'll always be together. We're the only two people in the world. - Cersei, S06E06 Blood of My Blood

I cannot die while Cersei lives, he told himself. We will die together as we were born together. - Jaime, ASOS

We will leave this world together, as we once came into it. - Cersei, AFFC

If he were dead, I would know it. We came into this world together, Uncle. He would not go without me. - Cersei, ADWD

It's so obvious, as viewers (and also readers sometimes), we expect it to happen. The cast keep telling us how unpredictable the end is, I honestly take everything they say with a grain of salt but I think I'll make an exception for this time. Also, the writers omitted the Valonqar part in Cersei's prophecy. On purpose? So we are going to be surprised if Jaime is indeed the Valonqar? I find it weird when it's already obvious like I said and when they dropped clues back in S7.

Cersei:You murdered your own brother. Euron:You should try it. Feels wonderful. - S07E01, Dragonstone

Olenna: She'll be the end of you. Jaime: Possibly. - S07E03, The Queen's Justice

But I could be wrong and the writers will choose the easy path... However, while it's tragic for Jaime and Cersei to die together, killed by each others, I think it would be even more painful for their characters to die apart. Like us, they expect to die together. They are twins, they spent their whole life together and they think it will always be that way, Cersei only feels complete with him... and ripping Jaime away from her? Yeah, sadly poetic.

And now for the characters...

JAIME: ↳ Rhaegar / Aerys

I start with Jaime first since I think he's going to die first.

Source: (x), (x)

In the first still (from the 8x02?), he's wearing a Northern regular armor, similar to the one Robb used to wear. In the EW promo, the armor is almost the same but more more redish, more Lannister, and looks a little like bit the one Podrick used to wear back in the previous seasons.

I presume the costume change will happen after the battle in 7x03. My guess is that battle will not be the last. Wrapping the White Walkers storyline in 1 episode? No, impossible. The war will happen in two times: first that battle, Winterfell is destroyed and the White Walkers are still a threat, Jaime comes back to King's Landing (with the Starks?) [if I remember Nik was spotted on the King's Landing set, could be for this or something else] and then another battle and Jaime dies during this one by the hand of Night King.

Why the Night King? Simple. One of the most important moment in Jaime's life was when he killed the Mad King, a man obsessed with fire. He was mocked all his life for breaking his vows, nicknamed Kingslayer, when he took the right decision.

And then when the king turned to flee, I drove my sword into his back. "Burn them all," he kept saying. "Burn them all." I don't think he expected to die. He ... he meant to... burn with the rest of us and rise again, reborn as a dragon to turn his enemies to ash. - Jaime, S03E05 Kissed by Fire

Most people in the fandom think he will kill either the Night King or the Mad Queen, I bet on the other way. I admit I also thought about Dany becoming the Night Queen and killing him, a nice parallel since he killed her father but I don't see her branding a sword even if she becomes the Night Queen so I stand with the idea of the Night King, a creature made a ice. Honestly, a Kingslayer murdered by a king? What an irony... And, A Lannister always pays his debts.

That was for the Aerys part, now for the Rhaegar part. They are both warriors and if Jaime dies in a battle, it will already be a parallel with Rhaegar dying at the the Trident. Nik also said that Jaime's obsessive love for Cersei "follows him until his very last scene of the show". At first, I was; okay my theory is wrong but then I remembered that quote about Rhaegar:

Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman's name. - Daenerys, ACOK

We don't know for sure who was the woman Rhaegar mentioned but Jaime murmuring Cersei's name would completely fulfill the parallel with him. And again, a bit ironic here since Cersei wanted to marry Rhaegar.

CERSEI: ↳ Rhaella / Aerys

Now, Cersei, the next who's going to die, in my opinion. I think she will behave somehow like Aerys at the beginning of the season but her death will be a total parallel to Rhaella, and by extent, Joanna and possibly Lyanna.

Source: (x), (x)

Like Jaime, with the costume change, Cersei is wearing the Lannisters colors again. Someone on tumblr (I don't remember who, I'm sorry) said that her grief is over and it could mean she will subvert the villain trope or something along the line. I do agree with the grief part, that's why I don't think she will lose baby!Lannister. Why would she wear her house colors if she had lost her child?

Source: (x), (x), (x), (x), (x), (x)

Notice she has the Lannister sigil back too, as a necklace. It was a link with Myrcella and after Tommen's death, she never wore it again. Only as embroidery on her gowns. The pendant is strategically placed on her "bump", it fits her character; she's (was) a mother, she's pregnant and that child is the future of her house. Also, some people said we can see a baby bump. I personally disagree, I believe it's only the dress.

I know part of the fandom will scream at me that she's not pregnant or she will have a miscarriage because of the prophecy. First of all, I do believe she's pregnant (or at least she thinks she is) and of course, a miscarriage is still a possibility. Second of all, prophecies are tricky, ask Melisandre. The prophecy was already debunked back in S1 when Cersei told Catelyn about the black haired boy she had with Robert.

I lost my first boy, a little black-haired beauty. He was a fighter too... Tried to beat the fever that took him. - Cersei, S01E02 The Kingsroad

Yet, Maggy still mentioned 3 children:

Maggy: The king will have 20 children and you will have three. Cersei: That doesn't make sense. Maggy: Gold will be their crowns. Gold their shrouds. - S05E01 The Wars to Come

Since she was also pregnant with Robert's child in the books, we know pregnancy doesn't count for that prophecy to work. Now, in the show, she gave birth to that boy. He was sick, or got sick, but was alive. My conclusion is that the birth doesn't count either. The only fact that matter is if she raises the child. So Cersei could carry her pregnancy to term and give birth to an healthly, surviving child if she dies in in childbirth or soon after. Which brings the Rhaella parallel.

And again, I know most Cersei stans (and JxC shippers) hate that idea. I confess I wasn't pleased at first but now, the more I thought about it the more it feels like a full circle. Motherhood has always been an important theme in Cersei's journey.

First, her mother: Cersei was a little girl when Joanna died in the most gendered way. She was traumatized by her death and she grew up resenting her little brother for this.

Second, her love for her children: one of the main reason that drives her to do some... things. She repeated countless times how much she loves/loved them and tried to protect them and yet, they all die. Cersei "sacrificing" her life for her last child and giving him a chance to survive is not so far stretched.

Now, how it's going to happen... Maisie said :

After reading the scripts I went back and watched season 1 again, because so much of it refers back to that season. There are so many scenes that will look similar. And also I watched just to remind myself of the arc I've taken already. I wanted Arya to go full circle and try for some kind of normalcy like when she was younger.

I'm not sure if Maisie is only talking about Arya here, however we already know we are going to have a parallel with Jon and Daenerys arriving at Winterfell like Cersei and Robert back in the season 1. Then, if the leaks are proven to be true (Euron forcing Cersei to have sex with him and her saying she "enjoyed" it as much as she did with Robert), we can assume their relationship will be similar to the one she had with her previous husband. I think Cersei will lie and pretend that baby!Lannister is Euron's child just like she did with Robert and Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.

Jaime: Who will you say is the father? Cersei: You. - S07E05 Eastwatch

Remember that? I'm pretty sure it was a red herring for Cersei playing Euron in the season 8. Now, we all know what happened to Robert before he had the chance to learn the truth so I bet on Cersei killing Euron in the middle of the season, maybe during the 8x04? Or maybe Jaime. Could be another parallel with:

Ned: Has he done this before? Cersei: Jaime would have killed him. - S01E07 You Win or You Die

After Euron's death (or shortly before), I predict the Starks (moslty Jon) coming to King's Landing to seek refuge or an alliance because Winterfell is destroyed and they have no other choice. Lena and Kit were spotted on set (and I think Sophie too). It could be a decoy but let's say it's a real scene. Jon looked like he bent the knee to Cersei, I believe we will have a replay of the famous scene with Ned in S01E07.

You must be gone by then ... you and your children. I will not have their blood on my hands. Go as far away as you can, with as many men as you can. Because wherever you go, Robert's wrath will follow you. - Ned, S01E07 You Win or You Die

I think Jon will propose the same deal to Cersei : giving mercy to her and her child (and maybe Jaime and Tyrion) if she leaves King's Landing/Westeros after the end of the war if she accepts to help them (bet we'll see Qyburn's scorpion again). I see her somehow accepting it unlike the first time and maybe that person who said she will subvert the villain trope was right, after all we have that quote:

You love your children. It's your one redeeming quality. That and your cheekbones. - Tyrion, S02E01 The North Remembers

Once the war is won, and Jaime probably dead, the Starks break their promise and want to judge the Lannisters for their crimes, which would be a little parallel with Aerys, when he opened the gates of King's Landing and let Tywin take the city. And like Rhaella, she will escape to her ancestral home, maybe with Tyrion and the help of Qyburn.

You'll be queen. For a time. Then comes another, younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear. - Maggy, S05E01 The Wars to Come

It would fit the prophecy. She has nothing left, no power, no crown, her brother/lover is dead... She loses the throne and survives the game. Again, a bit ironic since she's one of the biggest player since the beginning and the one who instaured the famous:

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground. - S01E07 You Win or You Die

And then, she dies tragically giving birth... Yeah, full circle.

TYRION: ↳ Viserys / Maester Aemon?

Tyrion... Oh Tyrion... He's the one I'm on the fence, for every theory that I have, honestly. He escaped deaths numerous times but all good things come to an end. I feel we don't have enough clues about his future death or his possible survival. Of course we have that famous quote:

In my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a maiden's mouth around my cock, at the age of eighty," he replied. - Tyrion, AGOT

Or that one:

One day, after our queen has taken the Seven Kingdoms... I'd like to have my own vineyard. Make my own wine. The Imp's Delight. Only my close friends could drink it. - Tyrion, S06E08 No One

I don't think that's gonna happen but if my theory is right, I assume he will take Viserys place, mixed maybe with Maester Aemon, but like I said, I'm not sure if I should count him as a Targaryen. We still have moment that tho:

Jaime: Tell me you're not thinking of taking the black. Tyrion: And go celibate ? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock. I just want to stand on top of the Wall and piss off the edge of the world. - S01E02 The Kingsroad

If the White Walkers are defeated, I see no reason to build another Wall and no reason to have another Night's Watch, I think it's more like a metaphor for Tyrion being casted away from Westeros and going in exil, and raising his nephew/niece.

Source: (x), (x)

Unlike his siblings, Tyrion's new costume is more subtle. He doesn't seem to wear the Lannister colors and yet... In the first still we got for the S8, he is wearing the usual outfit he has since he joined Dany Team: same shape, same colors... and in the EW promo, his clothes doesn't look really different at first because they are still black and he still has the Hand of the Queen's pin but they are! The shape of the jacket is similar to the one he used to wear in the first seasons, the clips are back and golden and the sleeves have hints of gold.

Source: (x), (x)

The patterns aren't the same tho but we can guess the connection with his family will be back once he comes back to King's Landing after the destruction of Winterfell.

Like I said for Cersei, once the war is over, I believe the Starks will want to judge him for his family's crime. Not sure if he's going to escape with his sister, it would fufill Viserys parallel but I think he will be captured/imprisoned for some time like he was during the S1. Then, he either escapes or the Starks send him in exil with baby!Lannister.

Now, why would he raise baby!Lannister? I think the clues are in the S7 finale. When Tyrion learned Cersei was pregnant during that emotional scene, they made a secret pact. No one know what is it about, neither the viewers or the characters (including Jaime). The only thing we can speculate is that this pact will ensure the safety of the child. And maybe the throne.

You say you can't have children, but there are other ways of choosing a successor. The Night's Watch has one method. The ironborn, for all their many flaws, have another. - Tyrion, S07E06 Beyond The Wall

Our child will rule Westeros. - Cersei, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

During the S7, Tyrion was concerned by the possible lack of heir after Dany's death, now he has a potential one. The fandom think Cersei betrayed the pact by not sending her troups in the North and that Tyrion is too naive for believing her but... is it true? Yeah, Cersei said to Jaime she didn't trust their brother and she was lying the whole time but nowhere she informed him about the pact and the fact she broke her promise... Why? I always wondered if Tyrion wasn't the one behind the idea to not send the soldiers North. And from the leaks, it looks like he's trying to buy some time. And honestly, look at his costume in that episode:

Source: (x), (x)

Like for EW promo and the previous seasons, the jacket have the Lannister shape and the pattern, while slightly different, looks similar to Tywin's jacket. Everyone always screamed how Cersei's gowns was inspired by Tywin but here...

That pact is gonna bite him in the ass, but maybe not the way we can imagine. I mentioned above a possible parallel between Cersei and Lyanna and it wasn't only about the "dying in childbirth" trope; it was about Cersei asking Tyrion to take care of her child, like Lyanna did with Ned. Unlike Lyanna and Ned, Cersei and Tyrion have a complicated relionship; they hate each others but yet, I think deep down they somehow "love" each others. And Cersei knows her brother loves(d) her children (except Joffrey but that's another story).

I loved them. You know I did. You know it in your heart if there's anything left of it. - Tyrion, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

I don't want to destroy our family. I never have. - Tyrion, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

Cersei: I only care what it cost us. It cost us our future. Cersei: If there's no future, then why are we here? Why did you allow me to come? - S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

She knows her child will be safe with him. Add the fact: Cersei asking the man; she blamed her whole life for the death of her mother and dying the same way, to take care of her child and Tyrion, who was considered like the black sheep of his family, raising the future of his house: again full circle.

BABY!LANNISTER : ↳ Daenerys / Jon?

I'll be quick here. While I do think in the books that child will never exist, if this theory is correct, in the show, I believe he will survives and take either Daenerys or Jon role, but mostly Dany. If Tyrion dies, then I assume the Starks will raise him and he will not know who are his real parents like Jon but seriously, a blond baby? LOL. If Tyrion survives, then Dany.

We already have a little parallel with Dany and her conception during the 7x03, even if the circumstance are a little bit different. And if Cersei dies like Rhaella, it would be a complete replay of Dany's birth.

Then, Tyrion raises him like Viserys, but in better way, you know. I don't remember if D&D spoke about a flashforward for the end of the show but I could see that happening: the Starks living happily and the last scene is baby!Lannister being introduced and saying he wants to avenge his family/take what should be is. What goes around, comes around... for the Lannisters, for the show.

TIMELINE :

I have made a little timeline of how I think these events are going to happen but some of them can switch, I guess?

Great battle in 7x03, Winterfell is destroyed

Jaime comes back to King's Landing

Euron dies

The Starks seek refuge/an alliance with Tyrion

End of the war - Jaime dies

The Starks betray the alliance

Cersei escapes to Casterly Rock and die giving birth

Tyrion takes care of baby!Lannister

I'm not sure if my post makes sense, it feels more clear in my mind to be honest and I feel like I forgot a bunch of stuff but I really wanted to post it before the premiere. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who have that theory in mind and if you have read all of this, first thank you and second, you probably think I'm crazy so I'm gonna hide under a rock...

[leviloviatar]

You literally understand these characters so much i love it. It’s by no means a matter of course esp with this crap show that butchers Arya and Gendry’s characters (and bran too :(() but what are your favourite character traits of Gendry? And in what ways are Robert and Gendry similar and different?

OK YOU GUYS I AM EXCITED

First of all anon thank you so much!!! Not only was I blessed with this amazing ask, but I also got this similar one:

You’re active again omg I love your blog and your gendrya posts :D so I wanted to ask in which ways Gendry and Robert are similar and in which ways are they different? I think he is kind of a mixture between Robert and Stannis

I don’t know what I did to deserve my asks to blessed with these amazing anons but I LOVE YOU and since you both just happened to ask me about one of my favorite subjects of all time…*cracks knuckles* 

Let’s talk about some burly, beautiful, Baratheon boys, shall we?

So the most glaringly obvious similarity between Gendry and Robert has got to be the “Baratheon Look,” right? GRRM takes great pains to remind us, time and time again, that Gendry looks like Robert. They both have the classic Baratheon features - tall with dreamy blue eyes, thick black hair, and very big muscles. 

*Its important to remember, that although when we first meet Robert Baratheon he’s gotten old and fat, back in his day he was a damn fine looking man.

Fifteen years past, when they had ridden forth to win a throne, the Lord of Storm’s End had been clean-shaven, clear-eyed, and muscled like a maiden’s fantasy. Six and a half feet tall, he towered over lesser men, and when he donned his armor and the great antlered helmet of his House, he became a veritable giant. He’d had a giant’s strength too, his weapon of choice a spiked iron warhammer that Ned could scarcely lift. In those days, the smell of leather and blood had clung to him like perfume.-AGOT, Eddard I

For reference as to how ripped Robert was, Ned Stark, who wields a two-handed broadsword (note: that’s really fucking heavy) can barely even lift the warhammer Robert is swinging around…Robert was ripped. 

Speaking of hammers, Gendry has literally grown up swinging a hammer (albeit around a forge) but remember when Tohbo Mott tells Ned that Gendry was made to swing a hammer? And since we now have show!Gendry swinging a warhammer, I have high hopes that book!Gendry will also follow in Robert’s footsteps as to his weapon of choice. In case all that hammer imagery doesn’t hit hard enough (pun intended and also I’m so sorry lol) GRRM is constantly reminding us that Gendry looks like Robert. I mean, when Ned first discovers Gendry, the reader is given the literary equivalent of a big blinking neon sign that says ‘hey look at this kid, he looks just like King Robert’ - 

The master called over a tall lad about Robb’s age, his arms and chest corded with muscle. “This is Lord Stark, the new Hand of the King,” he told him as the boy looked at Ned through sullen blue eyes and pushed back sweat-soaked hair with his fingers. Thick hair, shaggy and unkempt and black as ink. The shadow of a new beard darkened his jaw.-AGOT, Eddard VI

And just so we seriously don’t forget, there are plenty of reminders throughout the books that hey, this guy really looks like a Baratheon.  For example:

Strands of thick black hair, still wet from the bathhouse, fell across his deep blue eyes. - ACOK, Arya II

When she spied Gendry, his bare chest was slick with sweat, but the blue eyes under the heavy black hair had the stubborn look she remembered. -ACOK, Arya VIII

Remember when Brienne first sees Gendry, and for a second she thinks its Renly?  (AFFC, Brienne VII, I think?) Well, despite his inconsistent eye color…“Renly was handsome as Robert had been handsome; long of limb and broad of shoulder, with the same coal-black hair, fine and straight, the same deep blue eyes, the same easy smile.” (-ACOK, Catelyn II).

Another thing Gendry shares with Robert is a bit of that famous Baratheon temper. “Ours is the Fury” are the house words, after all. This is especially true of Robert, who is a bit infamous for his “fury,” and we see his temper quite often. For example:

“Gods,” the king swore, the word exploding out of him as if he could barely contain his fury. -AGOT, Eddard VIII

and with the king in such a black fury … -AGOT, Eddard VIII

Robert was in a fury, until he heard talk of some monstrous boar deeper in the forest. - AGOT, Eddard XII

Robert Baratheon’s fury had soured the ironmen’s taste for the new gods, it would seem. - ACOK, Theon I

This is also the man who, despite already having killed Rhaegar Targaryen, still dreams about killing him every single night of his life. Have you ever been so angry at something that after you’ve smashed it to bits, you still want to smash it? Robert Baratheon has. But for me, the very worst example of his temper that we see as readers is when he slaps Cersei, and then threatens to do it again (I feel like the fact that Robert feels guilty about this says a lot about his inability to control his temper, more on that in a sec). Point is, Robert has a bad temper. 

But we also see traces of this famous ‘Baratheon fury’ in Gendry. Although it mostly surfaces as his stubbornness (oh hi Stannis), we do get to see instances of Gendry’s temper getting the better of him (my personal favorite being the Peach, but also see jealous!Gendry). But the important thing is, that Gendry is able to control his temper much more effectively than Robert. This is most likely due to the fact that he has to. Robert is the king, he can do whatever he wants with no consequences. But Gendry? A lowborn bastard with no money or connections? Yeah, he can’t go around doing that. Losing his temper could also mean losing his life, no matter how strong he his, because of his position in society, which brings me to the most important part about these two which is their Big Differences: 

Robert is the legitimate son and heir of a wealthy and powerful noble family

Gendry is a very poor, lowborn bastard with no family

Robert was an infamous womanizer who fathered many bastard children

Gendry is a blushing virgin who only has eyes for Arya Stark and would literally never touch another woman ever fight me

I feel like Robert and Gendry are sort of like a case study in nurture vs. nature. Despite their many genetic similarities, their vastly different socioeconomic environments shaped them in very different ways. Robert grew up as the eldest son of a Great House - he lived in a castle, knowing that he would inherit that castle, and all the lands, titles, and privileges that come along with it; other lords owed him allegiance; he was wealthy, powerful, and on top of that, he was good at everything he did (much to the chagrin of his younger brother Stannis). He wasn’t just any lord, but the Lord of Storm’s End, a very important position in society, and then he went on to become the fucking King, arguably the most important person in society. So what does he do with all his money and power? 

Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures -AGOT, Eddard I.

And what does Robert have an appetite for? In his own words: “warring and whoring, that’s what I was made for.” - Robert to Ned, AGOT, Eddard VII. Drinking, fucking, fighting, that’s what he likes. (We could talk about how much of that is actually a coping mechanism but let’s save psychoanalyzing Robert’s actions for another, crazier post lol).

Gendry being both a lowborn and a bastard is crucial in shaping the man that he becomes. Gendry grew up in essentially the exact opposite circumstances that Robert did. Not only was he lowborn and extremely poor, but he had to live with the added stigma of being a bastard (and an ‘unrecognized’ bastard at that, which we see in ASOIAF is very different than being a ‘recognized’ bastard). As we know, being a bastard is something that Gendry is painfully aware of. (Unlike Robert, who doesn’t seem to give a single fuck how many bastards he leaves behind). Gendry hates the father he never knew. And on top of that, his opinion of Robert is pretty damn low as well…

“That old drunk?“ said Gendry scornfully. “He’s dead, some boar killed him, everyone knows that.” - ASOS, Arya II

I think the reason Gendry doesn’t have the inclination to abuse alcohol or women in the way Robert did because this is the world he was born and raised in. Gendry could never afford to be the womanizing drunk his father was.  Of course, I’m not saying that if Gendry had the same upbringing as Robert then he definitely would have turned out the same - maybe, maybe not. I’m merely saying that the possibility of becoming someone like that doesn’t exist for Gendry. This is someone at the very bottom of the social ladder, someone with no money to spend in taverns or brothels. Actually, even engaging in consensual sex would be pretty risky for Gendry, because it could lead to huge ramifications, for example, fathering a bastard he couldn’t afford to care for, or pissing off the wrong father or brother. Stepping out of line could literally mean his life, since someone like Gendry could be killed in the slums of Flea Bottom with literally no ramifications. 

To me, this is also what makes Acorn Hall such a big fucking deal - Gendry Waters pulling Arya Stark down to the floor and rolling around with her like that is BOLD AF and Gendry knows that. It’s one of the main reasons I squeal every time I read it. I really do think there’s a very Baratheon-like part of him that comes out, especially where she is concerned. Speaking of which, Gendry and Robert both have remarkably similar (excellent) taste in women - all those Arya/Lyanna parallels aren’t there for no reason!

Another interesting parallel between Robert and Gendry is their experiences with war. Robert loved war. I mean he really loved war. He was good at it. It made him feel exhilarated. And most importantly, the horrors of war didn’t really impact him because he was part of the aristocracy. Gendry’s journey, by stark contrast, has literally taken him through the devastating impacts of war on the common people. He has seen the worst of it - the myriad of ways that wars waged by the nobility literally destroys the people those lords are supposed to be protecting. In my opinion, these experiences are exactly what would make him a good king, not only better than Robert, but also better than Stannis or Renly, because Gendry understands on a very real level the suffering of the people. 

(Personally, I would love to have more about the young!Baratheons, like growing up at Storms End together, and see how their personalities developed into the men they became. If this is a fic, somebody link me!) 

Ok so I’m really gonna wrap this up now before it becomes so long that no one ever leaves me asks again, but remember what Donal Noye said about the Baratheon brothers?

“Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He’ll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he’s copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day.”

Well, I know I’ve said this before but I think Gendry is Valyrian Steel. He was forged differently from the others, but because of that he is uncommonly strong, sharp, and exceptionally valuable.

[douxreviews]

Game of Thrones - ‘The Iron Throne’ Review

And now their watch has ended.

In what was supposed to be Supernatural's final episode – but turned out to be a full ten years too early – writer Chuck bemoaned the fact that 'endings are hard'. And they really, really are. I can think of so many finales that have disappointed me in various ways over the years. And just this week, I've watched two endings that have been a long time in the making (the other one was the end of twelve years of The Big Bang Theory, which I quite liked, for the record).

And in the end, I think I'd put this in a fairly favourable spot in my all time Worst - Greatest Finales ranking list. It wasn't perfect (only Sex and the City has managed to stick a perfect ending, and they wrecked that with the movies). But it was pretty good, generally speaking, and there were moments of true greatness.

Daenerys and Jon

So, I didn't hate last week's episode for its developments in Daenerys' storyline. I haven't exactly loved her descent into the Mad Queen, for all the same reasons as everyone else – the show is dangerously close to implying all female rulers are lunatics, Dany's descent into madness and tyranny has been rushed and doesn't quite feel earned, and it's a bit saddening to watch a character we've loved so much for so long become a villain instead of the powerful, wise ruler we all hoped she would be.

Having said that, I do think the seeds for this have been planted since the beginning – it may be rushed, but it hasn't come out of nowhere. Daenerys has been promising the Dothraki that they will pillage the Seven Kingdoms, raping, burning and killing (which we have been told numerous times is what they do) ever since Season One. We all loved Khal Drogo because he was cool, but he was not a fluffy bunny and nor is Dany. She crucified the Masters in Meereen, and while her execution of Sam's father and brother could be justified on the grounds that they refused to bend the knee, it wasn't her only option, nor did she have to do it immediately, on the battlefield, by dragon fire. So while it makes me a little sad – and makes my "I'm not a Princess, I'm a Khaleesi" shirt a bit dubious – I can see that this has been where Dany's story has been heading all along, and I can understand it, and I'm OK with it.

I was a bit disappointed that Jon ended up killing Daenerys though. I was sure Arya was going to do that – it almost feels like their big kills ended up the wrong way around, with Jon the soldier denied the chance to kill the Night King and Arya the ninja assassin denied the chance to kill the dangerous tyrant. But Jon is truly a son of Ned Stark (by adoption) and if he has decided someone has to die he will swing the sword himself – though perhaps it's the tricksy Targaryen side, or the trained undercover agent of the Night's Watch, who does it by taking advantage of her (and Drogon's) trust.

Drogon's reaction was interesting. It felt like perhaps even Drogon thought what he had done with Dany went too far, and that his mother had been corrupted by her desire for this hunk of metal. (When she touched it, I said out loud I thought she should sit in it quickly if she wanted to - we were denied a shot of her actually on the throne, after all that!). Presumably that's also why Drogon let Jon live. Of all the individual character endings we saw in this episode, I think Drogon and Grey Worm's were the saddest - they've both been through so much, and they're both totally alone.

Tyrion and King Bran

I don't like the 'Bran the Broken' title, as appropriate as it might be for a pseudo-medieval society, so I'm just gonna call him Bran.

I have to confess, I really didn't see this one coming. Since he became the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran has been emotionless and rather difficult for either audience or in-universe characters to connect with. His warging ability hasn't really come into play since the death of Hodor, so the power he has doesn't seem to have played much of a role in the last stages of the wars, and the implication that he has some knowledge of the future makes him kind of a dick for letting the entire population of King's Landing get torched (was this a Dr Strange-style one chance in 14 million situation? If so, we haven't been told that).

From a books-reading point of view there's a certain sense to this. The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, opens (as they all do) with a Prologue from the point of view of a character who immediately dies, then shifts to the first main character point of view chapter – Bran's. Bran, like Jon, is such a traditional fantasy character it almost hurts – a noble but disabled boy who suffers and undergoes lots of hardship, but discovers he has magical abilities which give him an advantage over his enemies and eventually allow him to triumph.

But the television show – oddly, considering Benioff and Weiss have known the ending all along - has never really focused on Bran's story in that way. He's an important character, sure, but not all that significant - he disappears for an entire season! And whatever happened to "I can never be Lord of anything, I'm the Three-Eyed Raven", Bran's statement to Sansa in Season Seven? Now he's King of all the remaining kingdoms? Really? I will defend their attempts to sow the seeds of Daenerys' madness throughout, however clumsily, but the television series really hasn't prepared us for this one, and it really doesn't feel earned.

The most satisfying aspect of the resolution to the leader of the Now-Six Kingdoms, though, is the new Small Council, which is a thing of beauty. The new political set-up – essentially an oligarchy with a lifelong selected leader – is Tyrion's creation, finally fulfilling the political and diplomatic promise he showed way back in Season Two. Tyrion is Hand of the King once again, but this time without dragons or his psychotic family around him, and that gives us hope that he will do a good job. Brienne as head of the Kingsguard makes me very, very happy, almost as much as Bronn, Lord of Highgarden and Master of Coin. Davos as Master of Ships makes perfect sense and it's great to see him survive too, while the only possible objection to Sam as new Archmaester is that Maesters are supposed to be celibate and Sam has a partner and nearly two children to support - but perhaps, as Archmaester, he can change that rule.

The only sad part about this scene is the huge space where Varys ought to be. There is no Master of Whispers for the moment, and his absence is really felt. Plus it would have been awesome to see Varys serving under yet another King as the eternal survivor. Of all the deaths this season, Varys is the one I would change if I had the power. He deserved better, Tyrion.

The Starks

The most satisfying moment of this episode by far for me was seeing Sansa, looking like Elizabeth I (long red hair, white dress), crowned Queen in the North. For one thing, this was absolutely essential to avoid the implication that women with power are all utter lunatics who need to be assassinated. But it was also a truly fitting and satisfying end to not just her character arc, but that of the Stark siblings in general. The Starks belong in the North and Robb's crowning as King in the North was one of the great punch-the-air moments of Season One. Jon kinda made a mess of the job, but to see Sansa take up the reigns was a great moment. And whereas a war with Daenerys would likely have ended in disaster, with her brother on the throne in the South, we can hope the two kingdoms will work closely together from now on.

Arya's ending was probably the least satisfying of the three (Bran is barely human any more, never mind a Stark). There was nothing wrong with it, exactly - she's gone off to discover America, we guess. (Let's hope this universe *has* an America and she's not just going to keep sailing until she starves to death!). It just came a bit out of nowhere, and seemed rather a shame after she went to so much trouble to recover her identity as Arya Stark. Jon's was the most predictable, but no less satisfying for that. He belongs in the true North, with Tormund. I think it's safe to say, from the look on his face as they rode away, that Jon won't be returning to Castle Black (and I don't think he ever intended to stay there – that's why he told Tyrion he would never see him again). He and Ghost will run wild in a land without kings or titles and be much happier for it.

And so there we have it – it's been a wild ride, but now it's all over. Some endings were great (Sansa, the Small Council), some were fine (Jon, Arya) some were baffling (Bran) and some frustrating (Drogon, Grey Worm) but while the series may not have entirely stuck the landing, for me, it hasn't crashed and burned either.

Coming up with an ending everyone was going to be happy with was always going to be completely impossible, so while I may not agree with all their decisions, I want to give a shout out and all our thanks to Benioff and Weiss. They've created a phenomenal series with a great cast, fantastic production values and absolutely amazing music. (Seriously, go back and listen to both the musical score and the sound design on this season. It is phenomenal. Ramin Djiwadi's music is as beautiful and astonishing as ever and the eerie, disconcerting sounds that play as Daenerys attacks King's Landing are incredible. The use of the series' themes has been great too, from playing out Cersei's downfall with 'The Rains of Castamere', to the theme tune playing as Daenerys approaches the Iron Throne in this episode).

Bringing these sprawling books to the screen has been a huge achievement, and carrying on when the books ran out to give us a conclusion to this story is no less an achievement for the fact that it hasn't entirely satisfied everybody. Perhaps it's unfortunate that this aired within a month of Avengers: Endgame, which managed the end of a saga a little better - but Endgame has its detractors too. I'm not sure any of us will really know how we feel about this ending until we've had time to let it sink in, but for now, I say thank you Benioff, Weiss and Martin - thank you for the ride, and thank you for all the gory, sexy fun we've had along the way. More than anything, thank you for making an epic fantasy show one of the biggest on television! For someone who still remembers when reading The Lord of the Rings in school made you a social outcast, that means a lot.

Grumpkins and Snarks:

- RIP: Daenerys Targaryen, Stormborn, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, Lady of Dragonstone, Mother of Dragons. Sniff.

- I didn't expect the scene where Tyrion finds Jaime and Cersei's bodies – that was truly heart-breaking (and kudos to Peter Dinklage, as ever). Oh Jaime, my love, I so wanted you to die a hero. At least you didn't die a villain, which is something.

- Grey Worm was really under-served by this finale, and this whole season. At least he lived, I guess?

- The final straw that really drove Jon to kill Dany was his desire to protect his sisters, both of whom would have been dragon meat in the long run because he had told them about his parentage. Just how much of what happens on this show has been caused by attempts to protect Arya and/or Sansa? And sometimes Bran. Which worked out, I guess?

- The two noblest, most honour-obsessed characters (Jon and Brienne) both became Kingslayers (Daenerys and Stannis). Which, unlike rain on your wedding day, is truly ironic.

- I'm so happy that Brienne didn't turn out to be pregnant. If the most awesome female character on the show ended up reduced to Lannister baby mama in the finale, I'd have been really pissed off.

- Look how much Robyn Arryn has grown up! I'm absolutley amazed his character made it to the finale, and seeing the kid who first appeared on screen being breastfed as an adult is definitely disconcerting!

- I was disappointed by the lack of Hot Pie, but choose to assume that means he's still alive and happily cooking pies in the busiest inn in Westeros.

Final analysis: Hey, it's still less divisive than How I Met Your Mother's ending! Three out of four dragons.

Thanks to all who've read our Game of Thrones reviews and articles and joined in the endless conversation and speculation over the years. It's been epic!

Juliette Harrisson is a freelance writer, classicist and ancient historian