#like tyrion & ned actually have very good reasons to have hang ups about what’s happening.

[atopvisenyashill]

i also think it’s crazy when tyrion gets pulled into this “everyone has a bitter second son” tyrion IS in fact the heir to casterly rock but is denied that status bc his father is a stubborn hateful miserable dickhead who attempts to pit tyrion & jaime against each other and make tyrion the scapegoat of the family due to tyrion being a dwarf. call me crazy here but i actually think tyrion’s complex & barely disguised resentment towards golden child jaime is like, very warranted given the circumstances, and once again, not at all comparable to whatever the hell stannis renly & those alien looking white haired motherfuckers got going on!!!!

[a-libra-writes]

The GoT Characters Reacting To You Being an Artist

this was a request, send eons ago, back in ye olden days. probably?

In this preference, you'll be drawing with: Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, Benjen Stark, Jory Cassel, Dolorous Edd, Mance Rayder, Tormund Giantsbane, Yara Greyjoy, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Missandei, Grey Worm, Tywin Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Bronn, Podrick Payne, Petyr Baelish, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Brienne of Tarth, Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, Oberyn Martell, Beric Dondarrion

NED STARK

He’s the sort to be charmed by something like this, he’s never had a talent for creative pursuits so he appreciates it when he sees it. He likes the devotion you have to it, and the discipline, it’s just another reason to admire you. Ned encourages the hobby, and when he has time he likes to watch your painting or sketching. if you allow it. Ned enjoys your pictures of animals the most, even if they aren’t very good… He thinks they’re cute. If you ever made portraits of the family, he’d absolutely hang them around his office and the sitting rooms at your request.

ROBB STARK

When you were children, Robb used to be terribly impatient, waiting for you to finish sketching and doodling so you both could finally play. You’d make him pose funny so you could have a reference. As he got older, he began to be in awe of your skill as it improved. He still remembers the cute little scribbles you’d make. Now whenever you ask him to sit so you can practice portraits, he blushes under your concentrating stare. He would love to have a portrait of you to take with him on his campaigns, but he’d be too shy to ask directly, so he’d suggest it in the most roundabout ways.

SANSA STARK

She adores watching you work, and the finished product. Sansa enjoys creative pursuits, and although she’s more of a seamstress and embroiderer, you can share experiences and tips with each other. Sometimes she’ll ask you to lightly sketch on fabric so she can embroider over it. As much as she loves your drawings, she blushes whenever you want to draw her, and she can’t imagine being painted. Sitting and being stared at by you is so romantic to her young mind, she can’t focus at all, daydreaming about what it’ll look like when it’s finished. It’s a memory she cherishes for a long time.

JON SNOW

Jon was wondering where you had gone off to at the end of your duties, not that he kept track of that often, it was Ghost that would lead him to wherever you were hiding. He thought it was kind of silly to hide something like this, but then again, you took great pains to get supplies from Mole’s Town. He’s so relaxed when he watches your process, how you so effortlessly transfer things around you to paper. When Jon can, he tries to get charcoal for you to use.

BENJEN STARK

He loves listening to the sound of the charcoal scratching against your sketchbook. He usually hears it when he finds you after his overnight shifts, wanting to see you before he left to sleep. He’ll rest against you and idly watch the picture appear on the paper. Sometimes the sound of that and your breathing is so peaceful, he falls asleep. He likes it when you draw maps for the ranger’s reference because you sketch out the different animals and wildling camps instead of just marking them. It’s cute as hell, and he won’t let anyone insult you for it.

JORY CASSEL

Jory loves your talent as well, he heard people around Winterfell talking about your “charming” paintings and wanted to see for himself. When he was crushing on you and later trying to court you in his own way, he’d bring you art supplies you needed. The fact he paid attention to what you were running low on was flattering. Jory enjoys watching you work, but he’s too embarrassed to sit and pose for anything; he’s relieved if you paint landscapes or animals instead.

EDDISON TOLLETT

He thought it was the oddest thing he’d ever seen, you huddled up in your coat and scarf but no gloves so you could draw the horses or some trees. Well, Sam had his books, and Jon would go off to train, so this was just something you did to keep your sanity on the wall. He liked sitting next to you and observing, making wry comments now and again. Many times he’s joked about you drawing the wall, but a specific section of the wall, because “that’s the prettiest part”. If he can find some charcoal or things to draw on, he’ll keep it without thinking, then remember it weeks later and give it to you with some shyness.

MANCE RAYDER

Mance loves your artistic nature. He’s a musician himself, so he understands the urge to create something, to just let your mind wander and escape in it. You’re sort of an odd inspiration to him; when you both are relaxing in his tent late in the evening, and you’re just sketching something, he feels the urge to get his lute and start experimenting with a new song.

TORMUND GIANTSBANE

He doesn’t really get the “point” of it, but he’s still fascinated watching you paint something across a thin, pale piece of leather you made yourself. Tormund will just be right there next to you, up in your business and wanting to see how you do it. He’s more patient in the evening, content to sit across the fire and just watch your hands move. He wonders how you just know how to move them. Sometimes he’ll trace things in the snow with a stick, trying to mimic your shapes and movements, but falling totally short. It just makes him more in awe of you.

YARA GREYJOY

She doesn’t think much of artistic pursuits, it’s just not in the Ironborn culture to care about things like art and prose. Still, she knows skill when she sees it, and she can admit it’s interesting to watch you sketch something, then she comes back an hour later and you’ve made the drawing almost lifelike. She won’t ever want to be drawn, but there’s a look of pride on her face when you show her scenes of her ship and the men working on it. She might even keep one of them.

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

Dany thought you were writing in that old journal for the longest time, and she realized you were drawing when you were next to Drogon, capturing a rare moment of the dragon calmly sitting. That’s when she playfully demanded to see it, wanting to see what else you drew of her dragons. Instead she found a sketchbook full of scenery, people, horses, flowers, whatever interested you at the time. When she passed over portraits of herself, she wanted to linger and stare, smiling at how shy you’d get. Once in Meereen, Daenerys sets up a studio for you, hoping you can escape to it when you’re stressed. She ends up visiting it just as often, admiring your half-finished paintings as she tries to calm down.

JORAH MORMONT

Jorah finds it to be a darling hobby, something that fits you perfectly, but he’s still surprised by your skill level. In Essos, that sort of talent is coveted by rich merchants and politicians, but you only do it for yourself. When the khalasar stops to camp for the evening, he’ll make his way to you, hoping you don’t mind him sitting and quietly watching. Whenever you mention drawing Jorah, he’s flattered but shy at the idea. He doesn’t think he’d make a very interesting subject in armor or not, so he directs you to the horses or landscape. Whenever he passes by a market, he looks for paints you might like.

MISSANDEI

She’s highly appreciative of your talent, as she has something of an artistic interest. Missandei isn’t much of one herself, but she appreciates art immensely. She can’t hide her curiosity when she notices you painting and sketching, and she’ll want to wait for you to tell her it’s okay to look. Once you two are closer, she’ll ask about your process, about why you chose this color or that subject, what the art makes you feel. You noticed she prefers your more abstract pieces over the simple still-life or portraits.

GREY WORM

Grey Worm has seen all sorts of grand portraits and sculptures in the houses he was sent to guard over the years. He never had a thought about how they were actually made, even after being freed. It was so new and foreign to him. When he watched you work, he loved seeing how it’d go from a sketch to a painting. You’d show him the different paintings and brush strokes to make it happen, but it was still like magic. When you drew him, it unsettled him at first, seeing a non-moving reflection stare back at him. Eventually Grey Worm shyly asked for a small portrait of yourself that he could carry around. It’s his good luck charm.

TYWIN LANNISTER

Well, there are less than savory hobbies young ladies can have, and painting was certainly an accomplishment to be proud of. He admired your skill from afar, you were clearly talented, and he’s a man who appreciates a craft that’s honed and excelled in. This continued in Casterly Rock, and Tywin had to admit he was proud of the landscapes you did of the keep and the ocean surrounding it. He’d have several of your paintings in fancy frames in his office.

TYRION LANNISTER

During your first meeting, Tyrion noticed the odd markings and colors on your dominant hand, and sometimes they were on your sleeves, too. When he spotted you drawing in a secluded corner days later, it made sense. Tyrion was interested in you so he used art as a way to talk with you, and he was pleasantly surprised when you’d respond, letting him see your sketches and later, some of your paintings. It was like he was invited into a private world, and it made him like you all the more. When you’re a couple, he’s always finding interesting paints from Essos or fine brushes made of ivory and sable hair, and he proudly keeps your paintings in his office.

JAIME LANNISTER

Sometimes he lingered in your chambers after you two were intimate, and inevitably you’d start sketching something. He thought it was amusing, some funny quirk, and always had to joke if you were drawing him. When you’d fall asleep he’d look through the sketchbook, admiring your drawings, trying to deny how much of yourself he could see in them, and how they deepened his feelings for you. It was too risky to carry a portrait, but he ended up stealing one of your drawings before he had to leave for his father’s war. He chose a simple detailed sketch of your favorite flowers; you used them in your perfume and you always had them in your room.

SANDOR CLEGANE

The gruff man dismisses it as “some women’s nonsense”, although he couldn’t recall any women in court who had their noses stuck in sketchbooks as often as you did. He’d see you in the gardens almost every day, drawing something in a book. He didn’t think about it until you two were close, and he was able to sit next to you and see the drawings. Sometimes you drew what was around you, and that made sense, but sometimes you drew things from your head, and he wondered how difficult that was. Sandor would absolutely not want anything drawn of him; it makes him uncomfortable and gives him feelings he’s not ready for when he sees pictures you made of him or Stranger.

BRONN OF BLACKWATER

Bronn doesn’t think much of it. He’s a mercenary, what did you expect? He didn’t tease you, but he did like to be a distraction when you were trying to draw something, curling his arms around your waist and kissing up your neck to get your attention. Often when you knew he was stopping by, you’d engross yourself in a project, just to grin at his frustration as he tried to pull you from it. He’s had some curiosity and looked in your sketchbook before, but that’s it. He’s willing to pose for something, but only if you promise him a reward, since he gets antsy sitting so still, having to look at you but not getting to touch.

PODRICK PAYNE

He really admires your skill, it was something he was always interested in as a boy, but he never had the talent for it. When you’re sketching, Pod wants to look over your shoulder, but that’d be rude, so he just waits, a bundle of nervous energy that Tyrion eventually dismisses. He can’t hide his excitement when you offer to show him the sketchbook, and later your studio, which he enters with such reverence, you’re a little embarrassed. Once Podrick is more comfortable with you, he’ll ask about your process and inspiration.

PETYR BAELISH

He admires your talent like he admires the rest of you, it’s just one more reason to adore you. He found out where your secret drawing spot was, where you’d hide away from the court and spend all morning on your sketchbook. This is where Petyr would “chance” upon you, and your art was a way for him to get you to open up. He was well versed in art himself, so he could discuss techniques and artists with you, and later send you nice gifts like rare paints and fine brushes. If he knew you’d accept, he’d offer to give you a tour of some of the fine paintings and ancient statues that were sadly gathering dust in the Red Keep, paying more attention to your reactions than what you were looking at.

STANNIS BARATHEON

Stannis really has no like or dislike for art, it’s not something he cares to think about. Even with that lack of opinion, he can tell you’re talented and you work hard at what you do. Since you clearly enjoy it so much, eventually he’ll shyly offer you a room in Dragonstone to use as a studio. He may not be the best at describing why he likes your work, or what about it is good (please don’t ask his opinion on a piece), but he’ll make sure you have whatever supplies you desire. He’ll be beyond embarrassed if you ask to draw him, but you can quietly sit in his study and sketch, he’ll be none the wiser.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Davos finds your skill to be charming, and something worthy of praise, he’s not shy about complimenting you when he notices you painting. He’d never overstep his bounds and ask to see the sketchbook you’re always buried in, but even just listening to your charcoal scratch at the paper is soothing. Several afternoons he’s sat whittling something while you draw something else, both of you exchanging a few words, then sitting in a peaceful silence. He’s always encouraging of your art, even if he doesn’t know any technical terms or what’s considered “great” vs “good”. It looks nice to him, so he enjoys it.

MARGAERY TYRELL

This is just one of many things Margaery appreciates about you; really, there’s nothing more attractive than someone with many talents. Her favorite thing is to watch you paint, specifically, when you’re mixing paints and deciding which color to use. They all look similar to her, and you’re only using a few strokes of some of them! She likes to sit and chat with you while you work, not even minding when you just respond with a “mm” and “oh”. She has a hand mirror that has a small portrait of you in it; she insisted you paint one she could carry around.

BRYNDEN TULLY

He enjoys sitting next to you when he has a chance, watching you work on your sketchbook while you both chat or just enjoy the silence. It’s what drew him to you initially, a pretty girl with her nose tucked in a sketchbook, totally oblivious to the lords trying to get her attention. Unlike those courtiers, he doesn’t pretend to know a damn thing about art. He just loves to see your graceful hands move across the page and how you furrow your brow in concentration. Brynden outright laughs if you want to draw him, insisting there are far prettier subjects around. His younger, more wistful side wishes someone could capture the express you have when you draw, so he could have that picture in his pocket.

EDMURE TULLY

He likes the hobby, it’s just another amazing thing about you, although admittedly he can get impatient when you’re spending a long time on a painting. He gets a funny, flustered feeling when you paint landscapes of Riverrun, or portraits of your children, once you have them. He’ll hang them up proudly in the Great Hall - or his office, if you’d rather have them there, he’s just so proud! Though, he’s a bit shy about sitting for a portrait. Something about your gaze makes him squirm, and he’d much rather have a picture of you or the kids.

BRIENNE OF TARTH

When Brienne watches you sketch something and later paint over it, it almost seems like magic, although she understands the hard work behind it, and your artistic process. She understands it better than most, considering how hard she worked at her swordsmanship. Brienne is so embarrassed if you want her to sit for a portrait, she just can’t do it. However, if she’s fully armored and you’re sketching her training or on her horse… It gives her a pleasant kind of embarrassment. Your portrait looks amazing, a gallant knight in movement, and she’s so happy you see her that way.

RAMSAY SNOW

Oh, he gets so impatient when you’re sketching or painting and he wants you for something… or just wants you. You’ll see him sigh and fidget in your peripheral vision, if he doesn’t just sit in front of you and call your name. You don’t expect him to understand the point of it, although unbeknownst to you, he has some morbid ideas of art. Best not go to that place. You’re surprised by how much he likes drawings of his hounds, he’ll actually sit next to you and watch you work with interest. Granted, it won’t last more than fifteen or twenty minutes, but there’s a strange… comfort in the warmth of him as he leans in, resting his chin on your shoulder.

ROOSE BOLTON

He doesn’t mind how you spend your freetime, although this pursuit is an interesting one. To keep you pleased, he’d learn the different supplies and paints you used and order new ones whenever you needed them. If you liked quiet while you worked, or being outside, or having someone to talk to, he’d arrange that. You’d probably even have a room for a studio in the Dreadfort, many servants agree it’s a cheerful, welcome addition to the place. Once you two had children, Roose would keep a small portrait you painted of them in his office. It’s an oddly sentimental thing for the man to do, but no one would dare comment on it. 

OBERYN MARTELL

This is one of many things on his list of reasons to love you. He’s a man who loves art and creativity, especially when the paintings are full of life and color. When he notices you’re sketching or painting, he actually approaches quietly, not wanting to interrupt your concentration (and wanting to see what you’re working on). He’s delighted by portraits you make of him, but personally he loves your landscapes of Dorne. You capture his feelings of his country so well, it makes him a little emotional. He’ll absolutely ask you to draw a small portrait of yourself - as scandalous as you can manage! - so he can always have you with him. He keeps it in a small pocket mirror with the glass taken out.

BERIC DONDARRION

The former knight is very charmed by this, in fact, you might think he’s … attracted to it. He tries not to make it obvious, but you notice how he wistfully gazes at you while you draw. It’s never any big or fancy pieces, just what’s around as you travel with the Brotherhood. When you’re together, he makes no secret about it, looking totally lovesick as he watches how you brush your hair aside and focus on the drawing in front of you. What a silly man. He also likes to cuddle behind you while you work, sometimes resting his head on your back and falling into a doze.

[gascon-en-exil]

Joining the Game Late: S1E1 “Winter is Coming”

I’ll be starting off with a brief synopsis of each episode, so those following along don’t have to go back and rewatch or look up what happens in each one.

Synopsis

Suddenly, ice zombies. There’s a dead man at court and the queen and her brother are acting suspicious. Rigid Anglo legalism on display in the North in spite of the aforementioned ice zombies. Heavy-handed foreshadowing with dead animals and Bran climbing stuff. The king has a request for Ned and they’re very close, but don’t worry - there’s a dead woman in there to make it not weird. Jon gets called a bastard every two sentences and this makes him sad. Daenerys’s creepy brother marries her off to ethnic Other eye candy, she gets dragon eggs, and then the eye candy rapes her. Dead man’s widow, also Catelyn’s sister, suspects foul play and flees the capital. Bran discovers the Lannister twincest and gets shoved out a window.

Commentary

I had heard that the first few seasons of GoT were consistently decent to good, and after watching this pilot I have to say I’m genuinely impressed. Admittedly if I were coming into the show completely blind back in 2011 I’d have been overwhelmed trying to keep up with the characters and plotlines this episode sets up in very short order, but that’s one of the perks of approaching this kind of media in hindsight like I’m doing. As it stands there’s some interesting plots and some good material for a number of character arcs already, and I’ll be looking forward to watching some of them in particular develop.

But...yeah, like I thought I’m immediately not really into the Starks as the main PoV family. Ned quipping to Cat that “it’s your gods with all rules” is such a lie even when I barely know anything right now about the pseudo-Catholic faith of the southern kingdoms (except that the tolling of their bells for a funeral service sounds suspiciously similar to the bells rung before Mass), because these Northerners and their “old ways” keep to such simple-minded notions of oaths and justice and such. Also, the men of the Night’s Watch have to be celibate for...some reason; I guess with them freezing half to death at the edge of the world for the rest of their lives they’re expected to have blue balls in addition to blue everything else. It’s not like any of the Starks individually offend my sensibilities - hell, if they keep building Ned like this I might actually have an emotion when he gets executed and loses his decoy protagonist role - but nothing about their culture appeals to me. I hope the action shifts to the south soon, even if it’s mostly to the treacherous King’s Landing.

As for the party come up to visit them in Winterfell: Robert’s a boorish slob and I totally get why Cersei’s not into him, Cersei appears to have been placed in a terrible situation to which she’s responded by becoming terrible herself (fully understandable), Jaime is a handsome dick who’ll attempt to murder kids and has the worst taste in places to have a booty call (I would not fuck anyone on the floor of such a filthy tower), Tyrion gets to be poignant with Jon and has a couple of funny lines besides (what do they say about Northern girls, Tyrion? That they wear medieval jockstraps?), and Joffrey hasn’t said anything but I have no idea why Sansa thinks he’s so hot when he’s decidedly average. A crown in your inheritance is like having everyone around you wear super beer goggles, I suppose.

The Daenerys plotline hasn’t got much to it other than what I’ve already mentioned so far. At first I thought the detail about the Dothraki cutting off their braids when defeated in combat was a sign that they didn’t fight to the death and were more pragmatic than might be expected of a warrior culture...but then one of them gets disemboweled at wedding party and his opponent chops off his braid so what’s even the point? Is it just a dick joke? If that’s the case Khal Drogo is fittingly packing, because up until the rape scene he’s really just a built half-naked guy to ogle if you’re into that primitivist look. It’s not like there’s any other male nudity on offer, apart from a scene of Robb and Jon (plus that one guy who hangs around with them who hasn’t been named yet) all shirtless together and looking as bloodless and unimpressive as Anglos always do. But there’s so many topless women, eesh. I guess I should just try to get used to it. It’s a bit odd, too, because already there’s this undercurrent of how men use sex to control women, or how it’s just a hobby for some of them (like with Robert and Tyrion) even as all these topless scenes were clearly shot with the (straight) male gaze in mind. This plays into my theory as to why the details of Dany’s wedding night were changed from the book, where I’ve heard it’s consensual but where she’s also noticeably younger. The way it goes on the show allows it to keep the creepy factor while also casting an actress old enough to expose herself for the camera. So sex as power play used to subjugate women + fodder for fap material, set against a backdrop of a seaside cliff at sunset like a twisted harlequin romance novel cover.

Oh, and I forgot about the dragon eggs. If dragons are supposed to be extinct or nearly so and their eggs so incredibly rare, isn’t it a little strange that someone just gives Dany three of them as a wedding present? I know she’s the one to eventually hatch them, but it’s not like she or anyone else knows that at the time. Would the Targaryen association with dragons count as reason enough?

One last note on the gore: a minor reason I was holding off on watching GoT was because I’d heard that it was graphically violent which is not something I care for. Based on the first episode however the gore seems unrealistic or stylized enough to not bother me, though that could always change later.

[ruffiorocks]

GOT and some of the sexism claims. I'd say pretty much everyone has been equally screwed over in some way.

I just can't get on board with this sexist rubbish people are spilling . "Women just don't get happy endings on this show, women can't be successful, it's all about the men, they get everything'.

Erm... Really? Most of the male protagonists and antagonists being main or secondary characters aren't exactly at a spar right now .

Robert Baratheon - killed by a pig. Pretty useless as a king but not the worst person on the show.

Ned Stark- executed by a vicious little psycho. The most honorable man the show had or will have.

Jory- Stabbed through the eye, a loyal man.

Joffrey - poisened (by a powerful woman). Vicious little psycho incest kid. His crimes to numerable to go into.

Tommon - committed sucide, a sweet heart not at all suited for the role of King.

Renly - murdered by a shadow with his brothers face (by a powerful woman). Was loved by those that followed him.

Stannis - executed by Brienne ( a powerful woman). Not a great dad but before he went all fire happy was actually very honorable if not boring.

Robb Stark - betrayed and stabbed at a wedding. An honorable man who made a mistake, wanted his family back and paid the price.

Rickon Stark - shot with an arrow. Couldn't zig zag.

Ramsey - eaten by dogs on the orders of Sansa (a powerful woman). A sadist who got his due.

Roose Bolton - killed by his son, another ass who got his due.

Theon Greyjoy - flayed, had his dick cut off and then died heroically defending Bran. So much to be said about him.

Loras Tyrell - blown up (by a powerful woman). A honorable basically out and proud man who loved his king, still stood by the viscous little psycho Joffrey because that's what he had to do. A family man.

Jaime - flattened by rocks (?) So much to be said.

Ser Jorah - died fighting white walkers. Had his redemption.

Ser Barristan Selmy - killed by the Sons of the Harpy

Khal Drogo - died from a cut/magic/smothered by his Mrs (by two powerful women ) One of the most powerful characters died pretty early on

Viserys - killed by boiling gold on his head. Not going to she's a tear

Ollie - hanged as a traitor (because he Stabbed Jon and law is the law)

Ser Allister Thorne - hanged as a traitor

Edd - killed by White Walkers

Mance - burned at the stake and an arrow in the heart because he refused to bed the knee and lead the wildlings to fight Stannis war.

Bran Stark - basically already dead

Euron - killed by Jaime

High Sparrow - blown up (by a powerful woman)

Tywin- killed by an arrow on the loo. One of the most powerful and smart characters on the show. Would have made a good king if a harsh one.

Varys - burned alive (by a powerful woman). Such a powerful man behind the shadows, lived for the people

Qyburn- head smashed in

The Hound - dead by falling and fire. Was redeemed

Hodor - a sweet heart used by and messed up by Bran. F**k you Bran!!

Oberyn Martell - a great character who got cocky and had his head smashed in.

Little Finger - throat cut by Arya (a powerful woman). Totally asked for it but still one of the most powerful men .

Shall I go on?

Male protagonists left?

Jon- knows nothing. Theon had more balls than he does now. Has given up everything to be a lap dog to Dany. Actually died! But came back.

Bran- useless, boring. Honestly don't care what happens to him.

Tyrion- was one of the smartest characters on the snow. Has been reduced to an idiot who drops his friends in it and watches them burn. Not the best at making plans.

Gendry - a sweet heart who deserves a happy ending.

Ser Davos- a sweet heart who deserves a happy ending and has more sense than most of the men left put together.

Grey Worm- used to admire how strong he was given his beginnings, is now dead to me.

Sam - a sweet heart who is way smarter than he is given credit for. Deserves a happy ending. Always true to himself, a total coward but still fought when he had to.

Podrick - a loyal sweet heart who deserves a happy ending.

Can't even think of anyone else right now.

The women?

Cateyln Stark - throat slit. An ass to Jon Snow but a strong Matriarch who loved her children and wanted them back desperately.

Shae - straggled by Tyrion.

Ros - shot with arrows

Osha- a woman was dedicated to keeping Bran and Rickon alive. Killed by Bolton men.

Lysa Arryn - pushed through the moon door. Crazy Lady.

Lady Olenna - suicide, still had the last laugh. One of the most powerful matriarchs of the show. The whole reason Joffrey is dead and wasn't afraid to tell the men to shove it.

Sand Snakes and their mother - all dead one way or another. Not note worthy at all.

Margery Tyrell - Blown up, but a good and caring queen who knew how to play the game and cared for her family.

Missandei - throat cut, defiant to the end.

Melisandre - crumbled and was blown away but not before helping at the Battle for Winterfell.

Cersei - A Queen who stood up to everyone and survived until now, showed she wasn't to be messed with. Is responsible for a lot of death male and female, loved her children. Died under rubble (?)

Lady Lyanna Mormont - one of the best characters, bad ass, had more sense and honour than half the men on the show. Fought a battle against the dead and went out like a boss taking a giant with her!

Women left?

Dany - A Queen, a woman abused, raped and sold, etc. Still standing, a powerful if not losing the plot woman. Still rose up and is much stronger than she started out as.

Sansa - The Lady of Winterfell a woman who was abused, raped etc. Rising up to take back her home, much stronger for it. She learned to play the game or thrones. Took lessons from all her captors and abusers and isn't to be messed with now.

Arya - a child who lost everything, saw to much, became a child killer and faceless assassin. Made it home, killed the Night King, survived Kings Landing.

Brienne - a strong woman loved two men and was heart broken but both. A woman in a mans world refusing to conform. Spends all the time trying to find Sansa and Arya so she can keep a vow to Cat Stark. Managed to capture Jaime Lannister, fought a bear! Broke through Jaime's shell, defeated the Hound. Survived the White Walkers. Finally knighted.

Gilly- an adorable sweet heart who deserves a happy ending. Actually found about Jon but Sam wasn't listening.

Yara - a strong woman in a man's world, had the respect of her men, gave a massive 🖕 to the rules and wanted to be Queen. Open about the sexuality.

Meera Reed - kept Bran Stark alive beyond the wall for years. Basically Bran gave her the 🖕 even after she lost her brother for him.

Honestly I'd say the strong female protagonists are the ones left standing and the ones who have had the most growth, good or bad it's still growth. Even the ones who are gone had growth. The majority of male characters never really changed all that much.

The ones who changed the most are Jon (eventually), Jaime, Dany, Sansa, Arya and Bran. Maybe there are more?

It will most likely end with Jon on the throne, given what happened Dany won't be welcome on it now. But that doesn't mean the show is sexist. The characters plot archs have been asssinated yes but even if Dany has fallen, you still have Arya, Sansa, Brienne God even Gilly! How many stong male characters left? About the same and almost all had their arcs assassinated, Jon is useless, I wouldn't want to be left alone with Grey Worm now, Tyrion seems to have lost all sense.

[fortunatelylori]

You may have answered this already but what are your thoughts on a Targ baby? I'm 50/50 on a pregnancy with more certainty on it never being born if she is pregnant. Story wise there really is no reason for a baby. The only thing it does is give Dany a baby she didn't think she could have show Jon honoring his vow of not having a bastard by marrying her. So foreshadowing a Targ baby is either a legit foreshadowing or a misdirect.

This misdirect can be a complete mislead where nothing happens or it can be a misdirect where if it does happen there will be a twist. Because let’s be real this foreshadowing has also helped with the whole Dany is Fire and Jon is Ice and together they make miracles. (I want to add real quick that for me this Targ foreshadowing has nothing to do with Sansa writing Cat’s wrong and loving a bastard baby. She already loves that bastard baby. Cat not loving Jon had to do with Ned’s choices

and what she assumed about Jon’s mother. It was about their marriage.) This is why I’m 50/50 because I can see it as a misdirect which can be for 2 reasons. I do think it might happen but not exactly how people think it will. (Targ miracle baby). Jon saying he will never father a bastard. After learning what Ned did for him and the choice he made I can see Jon making a similar choice. Choosing to make the baby a bastard for whatever reasons. My guess is to go against Dany.

As far as Dany maybe she has something to do with the child not being born like she did with her Drogo baby?

Hey, nonnie!

I swear this Targ baby foreshadowing business will be the death of me. lol I actually haven’t answered any asks regarding this but this theoretical “b0atie” (isn’t that what the cool kids are calling it these days?) is just everywhere. 

I really don’t know what to say about it honestly …

My main gripe with this baby business is that I don’t like that it’s being brought into the story, particularly since Cersei is apparently pregnant as well. What is this? Days of Our lives?!? How is this supposed to be remotely interesting to me? We have a zombie apocalypse to get through, a Dance of Dragons, Jonsa to finally happen as well as a host of other well loved characters that I want to see through to their endgames. Why the hell bring the whole idea of “b0atie” into this?!? I really, really would hate for this theoretically baby to rob me of precious time with Arya, Brienne, Jaime, Tormund, Bran etc., etc. I genuinely do not care about D*ny and Cersei’s baby drama and in many ways it cheapens their characters. They have enough to do without having to check if they’ve gotten their periods. Just leave well enough alone. 

My second and biggest gripe with b0atie is not so much Sansa related, as is Jon Snow related. Fathering a bastard has been Jon’s greatest nightmare to date. This man stopped himself from having sex with a prostitute because, and I quote: “I didn’t want to father a Snow. It’s not a good life for a child”. This would be a catastrophic event for Jon and he’s been through enough of those, thank you very much.

But … since Cersei is actually going around telling people she’s pregnant and the writers essentially held a huge, neon sign above D*ny and her womb, the b0atie and the lion cub will come into play one way or another. I have no doubt about that. So I don’t think it’s a complete misdirect. 

Now … the real question is will these babies be born? I’m going to go with no on that one. The fact that both Cersei and D*ny’s fertility is brought up at about the same time feels to this simple brain to mean they are paralleling these two supposed pregnancies. Which would make sense since both Cersei and D*ny were given children related prophecies. Cersei’s been told that she will have 3 children and they will all die while D*ny has been told that Drogo will come back to her when her womb quickens and she’s able to give birth to a living child (meaning never). 

We know that Cersei’s baby, if she indeed is pregnant, won’t be born. Does that tell us anything about D*ny and b0atie? I would say yes. Now if you think D*ny’s story is one of triumph and heroism, this might seem like a juxtaposition instead of a parallel. So where Cersei fails to have the baby, D*ny delivers b0atie and she and Jon will be the happy parents of a lizard controlling second coming of Renesmee Cullen (Gods! That’s a stupid name!). Yay! Fun!

If you have been around my blog for long enough, you know that I don’t believe D*ny is the hero of this story but rather the ultimate antagonist, hidden under our noses since the beginning of this story. So going by that, the reason why Cersei and D*ny seem to be sharing this baby story line is in order to draw parallels between the two of them, instead of setting them up as foils. Which means, by extension, that D*ny will not give birth or at least not to a baby. A lot of things can come into play here, of course. D*ny could in fact become pregnant but lose the baby. D*ny might think she is pregnant when she isn’t, in a play on Bloody Mary with her phantom pregnancies which would keep in line with the historical references that GOT/ASOIAF are littered with. 

My favorite theory, though, and one I’ve seen only a few people mention (sorry I don’t have a link on this. I saw it a while back) is that D*ny will give birth … she’ll just give birth to a shadow baby. GOT/ASOIAF has always played with the idea of monstrous motherhood: Lysa Arryn comes to mind, D*ny and her dragons, Cersei and Jofferey and … Melisandre and her shadow king killing baby. 

We know Melisandre is coming back in season 8. Now … it’s pretty obvious that Jon isn’t going to welcome her back with open arms. He promised he would hang her for the murder of Shireen and Jon is a man of his word (or he tries to be … lol). D*ny on the other hand took a liking to Mel instantly, once she heard of the possibility of being even more special than she already thinks she is and adding a new title to her list of monikers: “The Princess that was Promised”  ( I agree with Tyrion. It just doesn’t have the same ring to it :))) ). 

Mel’s intentions are good in that she wants to stop the Long Night and the WW. However she is a religious fanatic with a penchant for burning people alive. She really did a number on Stannis and Stannis was much harder to sawy than D*ny would be. Stannis didn’t believe in the Azor Ahai prophecy, at least not for the most part. D*ny is already inclined to believe just about anything that confirms how awesome she is. So I could see Mel working on D*ny much in the same way she did on Stannis. And what better way of ensuring D*ny trusts her and keeps her around than to give her what Mirri Maz Duur took away from her? 

Of course, Mel’s plans are never truly successful in the long run and she bungles everything she touches (with the exception of bringing Jon back - incidentally the one thing Davos had to talk her into doing) so instead of a baby, D*ny gives birth to a shadow. It would also be a nice parallel to Rhaego and Mirri’s description of him as being monstrous and having been dead for years. And also in another parallel, since I also believe D*ny is Azor Ahai, she will end up burning Melisandre, fulfilling Mel’s dream of dying in the service of the true savior but flipping the whole story on its head because Azor Ahai would not be a savior, she would be an antagonist on the same level as the Night King and Mel would die basically for nothing. 

That’s essentially all I got on that, nonnie and I’m sticking with it until Renesmee- come-again rips it from my trembling fingers! :)))))

Thanks for the ask!

[queenmercurys]

For the fandom thingy!! Got, Cinderella (or would Disney be easier idk), that one Medici show, the white queen/princess, and Star Wars!

thank you so much, hon! :D this is gonna be the longest ask ever, so I’m gonna put the game of thrones first and then cut everything else under the “read more” line ;P but yes, thank you

game of thrones:

Top 5 favourite characters: ROBB STARK (always), ned stark, arya stark, sansa stark, jaime lannisterOther characters you like: I love so many got characters, but besides the top 5, I really love tyrion lannister, margaery tyrell, bran stark, stannis baratheon (mostly book!verse) and myrcella baratheon.Least favourite characters: haha…. walder frey and roose bolton, always. Otps: tyrion/sansa, ned/catelyn, arya/gendry. Notps: robb/margaery, jon/daenerys, jon/sansa. Favourite friendships: jon/robb, jaime/tyrion, sansa/margaeryFavourite family: the starks, always!Favourite episodes: 1x08 (the pointy end), 1x01 (winter is coming), 1x10 (fire and blood), 2x08 (the prince of winterfell), 3x03 (walk of punishment) and 3x05 (kissed by fire)…. all these for very good reasons… Favourite season/book/movie: season 3 and book 3 are both my favorites, but both excluding that one moment that never happened.Favourite quotes: “I’m not fighting for justice if I don’t serve justice to murderers in my ranks, no matter how highborn.” - robb // “you think I’m fighting this war so that they’ll sing songs about me? I want to go home.” - robb // “I asked him, how can a man be brave if he’s afraid? that is the only time a man can be brave, he told me.” - robb // “love’s not always wise, I’ve learned. it can lead us to great folly, but we follow our hearts… wherever they take us.” - robb // “never forget what you are. the rest of the world will not. wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.” - tyrion // “the north remembers.” - various

Best musical moment: robb being named king at the end of season 1. Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: actually that’s also probably the moment robb was named king in 1x10. it’s just such a powerful, strong moment with a character I truly love getting the appreciation he definitely deserves. but at the same time there’s the obvious sense of dread, so I think the scene is done incredibly well.When it really disappointed you: well, ahem. obviously 3x09. it will always disappoint me. I get why it happened but it just sucks and hurts so badly. but other than for heartbreaking reasons, sadly a lot of season 7 disappointed me. I guess to name a single moment, the sex scene between jon and daenerys.Saddest moment: robb’s… departure… in 3x09. always.Most well done character death: *sigh* well, actually, probably ned’s. it’s really heartbreaking, but it had been built up to for multiple episodes, and it was done with a lot of feel and heartbreak. Favourite guest star: I’m not entirely sure who qualifies as a guest star, like how long they can be on the show to still be a guest, but I’m gonna say clive russell as brynden tully. he’s not supposed to just be a guest, but that’s what he turned out to be. still an amazing character.Favourite cast member: richard madden, always. my man. Character you wish was still alive: oh dear. robb stark, all the way, always. he’s still alive in my heart, though.One thing you hope really happens: robb comes back to life, takes back winterfell, saves the world from the white walkers and lives happily ever after. (what? that’s unlikely?)Most shocking twist: well, this is kinda hard for me to say because I actually knew that you-know-what would happen, so it wasn’t shocking when I saw it. in fact, I had tried to brace myself for it for ages. I guess I’m gonna say joffrey’s death, because that was definitely a twist.When did you start watching/reading?: probably in 2013? I honestly can’t really remember but it was in the 2012-2013 era. Best animal/creature: grey wind, always!Favourite location: winterfell!Trope you wish they would stop using: jon being an epic hero who gets one chance after another, forever. not exactly a trope, but I’m sure there’s a trope in there somewhere.One thing this show/book/film does better than others: creates complex, interesting characters with a lot of layer and depth, and shows that even villains can have a very humane side. and besides this, creating a world which is both fantasy, and yet still so very realistic almost to the point you could picture it being real history (which it obviously is not). Funniest moments: I will always a sucker for the moment in 1x01 when arya throws food at sansa and then cat commands robb to take her to bed. idk why, but I love it. as well as that, a lot of tyrion’s puns. and that moment at the end of 3x05 where tyrion and cersei are both acting like grumpy children as tywin commands them both to marry. idk why, but that cracks me up.Couple you would like to see: arya/gendry. I used to have more ships I liked on the show, but at this point that is the only one left I’d like to see.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: well, a lot of my faves are already on the show, but I think rebecca ferguson would be amazing, or alicia vikander. and obviously my girl lily james.Favourite outfit: robb’s outfit in 3x09. despite everything, it’s a freaking gorgeous outfit that makes him look even more perfect than usual.Favourite item: any accessory the starks wear that has a direwolf on it. also many of sansa’s and margaery’s necklaces.Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: oh yes, absolutely. so, so many things. obviously the dvd’s and all that, and the books, but also most of the funko pop dolls, a robb  action figure which is actually mighty accurate, and things like calendars, notebooks and so forth. lots of stuff.What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: well, I would love to be a stark but I would not want to be related to robb. so, wishful thinking, stark through marriage? but if that doesn’t count, I guess I would be a lannister, if not for anything else, then for my apperance. there’s not a lot of blonde families in westeros. Most boring plotline: sorry, but jon and daenerys.Most laughably bad moment: *sigh* sadly, a lot of the dorne scenes, which sucks, because they were supposed to be awesome.Best flashback/flashfoward if any: the moment in season 6 when bran goes to the past and sees young ned going to the tower to rescue lyanna. the moment when bran calls for ned, and he turns around, is pretty heartbreaking.Most layered character: I want to say robb, but I know that from an unbiased pov, that ain’t so. I suppose I would say jaime, then. he is very well developed, and turned from a clear villain to an anti-hero, and to basically a hero at the point where the show is now.Most one dimensional character: I guess show!ellaria sand. I don’t even know what she’s doing.Scariest moment: like scary scary? hmm… I don’t know, maybe that moment at the end of season 2 where sam is hiding from the army of white walkers?Grossest moment: the oberyn vs mountain fight in season 4. I still can’t watch that properly.Best looking male: robb. richard. robb. richard. this man. perfection!! Best looking female: alexandra dowling, who plays roslin. she’s so pretty. Who you’re crushing on (if any): in case it wasn’t obvious by now, robb stark.Favourite cast moment: I feel like any moment at the 2013 comic con fits. I love how close they all seem, and I love seeing richard hanging with kit, alfie, michelle, rose etc.Favourite transportation: in got this is a little hard to answer, but I do love horses, so.. the horses?Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): anything related to winterfell and the north. I also love the shots from iceland with beyond the wall scenery. I love snow and mountains.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: there’s actually so many theories around that sometimes I forget what hasn’t been actually addressed, but… hmm… I guess I would have liked to know more about what ned was actually up to during the war when robb was born (like I get that he went to grab jon, but there’s always been speculation about whether he actually cheated and what he was doing etc etc), and maybe honestly a lot of stuff related to that time period. except rhaegar and lyanna. I do not care what they did and why. but I can’t think of any actual plot errors right now.Best promo: the season 3 promo shoots were mighty good, I loved them. also season 6 just for the sake of them bringing robb back and me dying from excitement, even if it was just one promo picture.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I fell in love with the show quite quickly in season 1, and in the books it’s pretty much the same. maybe around halfway the first book I realized how complex and awesome it actually is.

cinderella (2015):

Top 5 favourite characters: prince kit (my darling), ella, the king, the captain, fairy godmotherOther characters you like: I really like ella’s parents a lot Least favourite characters: probably the grand duke.Otps: ella/kitNotps: anything related to ella and/or kit that isn’t ella/kit? :PFavourite friendships: kit/captainFavourite family: kit and the king!Favourite episodes: I am gonna translate this to favorite moment: forever the moment when kit reveals himself to be the prince and not a guard/soldier when he hears ella’s singing at the end of the movie.Favourite season/book/movie: ok, I guess I’m also gonna translate this to favorite moment :P another one of my faves is when kit is crying by the king’s bed when he’s dying. it’s such a vulnerable, beautiful moment which shows a male character in a light few disney movies had done in the past. plus, richard’s acting is a+++ in that scene. Favourite quotes: “kindness is free. love is free.” - ella // “just because it’s what’s done doesn’t mean it’s what should be done.” - ella // “we must simply have courage and be kind, mustn’t we?” - ella // “we need not look outside of our borders for strength or guidance. what we need is right before us.” - kit Best musical moment: probably the dancing scene, everything about it is perfect. as well as the scene after ella’s dress has been ruined and she runs to the garden. it’s such a powerful moment. I also like ella’s singing at the end of the movie.Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: oh, again the moment where kit takes off his cloak and reveals his identity. I love that so much. but also the moment kit first appears, that just got me so good.When it really disappointed you: I don’t think anything about this perfect movie has ever disappointed me.Saddest moment: when ella finds out her father is dead, and when kit’s father dies. lots of death.Most well done character death: I think it’s gotta be ella’s mother. the build it up nicely and it’s very heartbreaking.Favourite guest star: I guess this means minor character. I think hayley atwell is quite good in her role. also derek jacobi, if he counts as a guest.Favourite cast member: richard madden, always! Character you wish was still alive: well, I think all the deaths actually worked very well into the story, but I’m gonna say the king, since he doesn’t die in the original.One thing you hope really happens: I want a sequel/prequel about kit when he’s at war and how he becomes the person he is in the movie. this is based on the rumor of a prince charming movie happening. if they don’t do it about kit, don’t do it at all.Most shocking twist: I love this movie to bits, but it’s not very shocking. I guess, again, when kit reveals his identity? I keep talking about this scene.When did you start watching/reading?: I got into it the moment it was first announced, and I watched it in the theatres the day it came out march 2015. Best animal/creature: it’s gotta be the mice, eh? Favourite location: the secret garden.Trope you wish they would stop using: I don’t mind anything they used, but I guess it would have been okay if absolutely everyone had not been obsessed with ella when they saw her at the ball. she deserves it, it’s her moment, but it’s still a little bit of an unlikely scenario, no matter who it’s about.One thing this show/book/film does better than others: this movie does everything better than any other movie. but to name one thing: it is a remake of a classic and it does it wonderfully. it keeps true to the original, but it also adds something to it to make it worth watching as its own thing. that says a lot when you compare it to other recent disney remakes.Funniest moments: honestly, the stepsisters are pretty funny when they’re not tormenting ella. I also love the kit/king dynamics when they’re being playful around each other.Couple you would like to see: I think I saw everything I wanted to see, but it would have been nice to see a love interest for the captain, for example.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: well, I mean, since the movie’s already done… I guess I would have really liked to see sean bean as the king because robb/ned feels, but derek jacobi did a fantastic job, no complaints.Favourite outfit: ella’s wedding dress and her blue ball gown. but all the costumes are perfect and oscar-worthy *sigh*Favourite item:  it’s gotta be the glass slippers, right?Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: yep, for sure. the dvd, the blu-ray, the book (two versions), four ella dolls (including the pop funko thingy), two kit dolls, a calendar, a keychain, a necklace… and ella’s dress… etc… I’m pretty much a loser, eh? What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would love to be related to ella, it would be an honor.Most boring plotline: nothing. absolutely nothing.Most laughably bad moment: nothing! Best flashback/flashfoward if any: well, I guess the time jump after ella’s mom’s death was done really well.Most layered character: probably kit, actually. I know I’m being biased, but he definitely shows he’s more than a cheerful, social prince who is charming. he’s been to war, he can be serious, he can be sensitive, and he can easily relate to other people and how they’re feeling. praise this babe.Most one dimensional character: well, the grand duke and the stepsisters, but they served their purpose.Scariest moment: I love this movie, but it ain’t scary.Grossest moment: and it ain’t gross, either.Best looking male: prince kit, always. Best looking female: ella sure is pretty.Who you’re crushing on (if any): kit. richard. my man. always.Favourite cast moment: any cast moment, honestly. I love the dynamic between the cast members, especially lily and richard!Favourite transportation: oh, the pumpkin carriage!Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): the secret garden, as well as the snowy mountains.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: well, it does kinda confuse me how the glass slipper doesn’t disappear along with everything else, but I believe there’s an explanation for that somewhere.Best promo: all the promo they did for this movie is fantastic.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: the minute I heard it was being made. I called it my favorite movie before it even released, and I was right.

I decided to do disney, too, only animated movies:

Top 5 favourite characters: cinderella, rapunzel, snow white, anna, quasimodoOther characters you like: I like a lot of disney characters, but to name a few, flynn, piglet, aurora, pocahontas, king arthur (if only on principle), merida.Least favourite characters: well, I don’t really hate anyone, but I guess I don’t like lady tremaine, the evil queen or some of the other villains.Otps: cinderella/charming, rapunzel/flynnNotps: I really have none.Favourite friendships: I guess anna and elsa are sweet, and I also like piglet and pooh, of course. all friendships are cute.Favourite family: hmm, I guess I like the incredibles family, and the lilo and stitch crew (my terms are on point)Favourite episodes: I guess favorite movie? cinderella!Favourite season/book/movie: another favorite movie? my second fave is tangled.Favourite quotes: “some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” - winnie the pooh // “if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.” - cinderella // “you think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you.” - pocahontas // “don’t just fly. soar.” - dumboBest musical moment: that would probably have to be “I see the light” from tangled. or “god help the outcasts” from the hunchback of notre dame.Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: hmm, I don’t know. maybe when cinderella gets her dress.When it really disappointed you: I can’t say I was the hugest fan of frozen. don’t get me wrong, I like it just fine. but I don’t understand why it’s seen as the best of the best of the best.Saddest moment: basically every scene in the hunchback of notre dame.Most well done character death: probably mufasa in the lion king.Favourite guest star: like a guest voice actor? umm… ok, for reals, I couldn’t think of anyone. they’re all perfectly fine.Favourite cast member: kristen bell for sure, love her! and zachary levi. Character you wish was still alive: I think all the deaths were done well and for good reason, but maybe ariel’s mothe? she could realllyyy have used someone to talk to, and for someone to give her some much-needed advice.One thing you hope really happens: they make a movie based on the nutcracker. kinda like the barbie one. it’s mighty good. and I know there’s some liveaction coming about it, but no.Most shocking twist: I guess hans being a villain was surprising when it first happened?When did you start watching/reading?: when I was very, very tiny. maybe like 2 or 3.Best animal/creature: probably the mice in cinderella, and every creature in winnie the pooh.Favourite location: everything from cinderella, and everything from frozen.Trope you wish they would stop using: they could try making a male and female protagonists (who are approximately the same age and likely love interests to each other) just friends. I know they’ve done it a few times before, but more often than not they always end up getting together. even in frozen, which wasn’t supposed to be about romance. don’t get me wrong, I love romance. but they could try that.One thing this show/book/film does better than others: I think disney is pretty good at making engaging stories that entertain both adults and kids. that’s a balance not everyone can manage.Funniest moments: I think a lot of stuff in the emperor’s new groove is hilarious.Couple you would like to see: well, I guess the couple from the nutcracker, since I said I wanted that.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: richard madden’s voice is perfect, so naturally his voice-acting would also be perfect. also I do feel obligated to say ray chase, because he’s a very good voice actor. though seeing him in disney would be a bit odd. Favourite outfit: cinderella’s ballgown! Favourite item: the glass slippers for sure.Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: yeah! I have a few funko pop dolls (cinderella and rapunzel), some other random items like notebooks etc, and various dvds and such.What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would like to be related to cinderella, or rapunzel.Most boring plotline: I can’t say I’m too fond of some of the movies with animal protagonists, like the aristocats. Most laughably bad moment: I can’t think of anything that’s this bad, but I’m sure there are moments that fit.Best flashback/flashfoward if any: I like how they did the time skip in frozen. Most layered character: probably someone like mulan or elsa, but I think a lot of the characters are well-layered.Most one dimensional character: some of the villains, like the evil queen.Scariest moment: when the evil queen does anything in snow white.Grossest moment: I remember there are gross moments in some of the movies, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember any specific one. maybe ursula and those sea creatures of hers, those who used to be human? Best looking male: I…? I guess I’m gonna say prince charming for the simple fact that he is actually richard madden in my eyes.Best looking female: actually, probably aurora, even though cinderella’s my fave.Who you’re crushing on (if any): none.Favourite cast moment: I don’t really know, but I think the relationship between kristen bell and idina menzel is nice.Favourite transportation: the pumpkin carriage!Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): the whole transformation/ball/aftermath sequence in cinderella.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I am kind of curious about the whole theory of elsa, anna and rapunzel being related. I mean, why not? Best promo: I think all the promo they do is pretty good.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I probably fell in love with this franchise when I was very small, and I never stopped being interested in it.

medici: masters of florence:

Top 5 favourite characters: cosimo (my baby!!), lorenzo, lucrezia, marco bello and brunelleschi. Other characters you like: hmm… uuh… maybe piero, ugo and guadagni? there are not that many characters on the show, after all.Least favourite characters: sorry, but contessina. I just cannot with her. I can’t. Otps: lucrezia/piero and absolutely no one else.Notps: basically any cosimo ship that was canon, but mostly contessina/cosimo and cosimo/maddalena. I was very disappointed with the ships on this show. Favourite friendships: cosimo/lorenzo, cosimo/brunelleschi and cosimo/marco. Favourite family: well, the medici’s! Favourite episodes: I really love the first two episodes, but they’re all very good.Favourite season/book/movie: I guess I can say season 1 since season 2 is coming out? definitely season 1, if not for anything else then for my richard bias. Favourite quotes: “everything I have ever done has been for florence. for you. for the greater glory of god.” - cosimo // “you give me an education. you expose me to great beauty. and then insist I spend my life devoted to money and politics.” - cosimo // “if the medici are to shape history, we must live beyond our lifetimes. the whole tree does not die because one branch falls.” - cosimoBest musical moment: so many moments, but I think the moment when cosimo finds out that lorenzo’s dead in 1x08 is the number one pick.Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: any moment with richard, for sure, but I was so happy to see some of his different acting styles on the show, particularly in the later episodes, like when he confronts the pope in 1x08.When it really disappointed you: I guess I am never, ever gonna be ok with cheating plotlines, and I was also not ok with how bad the show made cosimo look just for contessina’s sake. like it was purposely trying to make the fandom hate one and love the other. and it sure worked *sigh* Saddest moment: when lorenzo dies and cosimo’s reaction to it.Most well done character death: again, I think lorenzo’s death was done very well.Favourite guest star: I thought brunelleschi was a hilarious character.Favourite cast member: richard madden, always!Character you wish was still alive: lorenzo, he didn’t deserve to die.One thing you hope really happens: I hope that at some point they bring richard’s character back, if only in flashbacks, as we actually get to see him happy for a bit.Most shocking twist: once again, lorenzo dying. and ugo being the killer was pretty surprising.When did you start watching/reading?: the moment it first aired. Best animal/creature: I do love the horses.Favourite location: anything in florenze, to be honest.Trope you wish they would stop using: badass female character who needs no man and is sassier, smarter and more powerful than anyone else. really doesn’t work for me. there should be some humanity in there too. One thing this show/book/film does better than others: I know this has been done before, but I think cosimo’s character and his multiple layers were done so wonderfully.Funniest moments: hmm, I think any moment with cosimo and lorenzo goofing around in rome in the first episode.Couple you would like to see: cosimo/happiness, actual happiness. impossible, I know.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: hmm, well, I am gonna go with rebecca ferguson again cause she’s so good. and my girl lily james.Favourite outfit: cosimo’s outfit in 1x01, in the flashbacks.Favourite item: cosimo’s sketch book, just cause I love watching him draw.Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: sadly just the dvd and some posters, there isn’t much merchandise for it.What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: well, again, I would like to be a medici, but not related to cosimo.Most boring plotline: contessina and her fling with her old love interest. why?Most laughably bad moment: none, really.Best flashback/flashfoward if any: all the flashbacks/forwards between older and younger cosimo were fantastic and gave much depth to his character.Most layered character: cosimo, in every way. he has his cold side, but he also has his soft side and richard did a fantastic job at displaying all of it.Most one dimensional character: none are really that one-dimensional, but I guess bianca really didn’t serve any purpose.Scariest moment: none.Grossest moment: hmm, I guess some of the scenes with blood but nothing was too bad? Best looking male: richard madden. cosimo. my baby.Best looking female: um, maybe bianca or lucrezia? I don’t know.Who you’re crushing on (if any): cosimo for sure!! Favourite cast moment: I really liked the premiere in the fall of 2016, the cast seems to get along well and richard looked fantastic (as always).Favourite transportation: horses.Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): anything in florenze.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I think basically nothing was really left unanswered. I suppose there was some ambiguity in how much of a part cosimo had in rinaldo’s death, though.Best promo: I really like the promo pics, everything’s good.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: the minute it aired.

the white queen/princess:

Top 5 favourite characters: elizabeth woodville, henry tudor, elizabeth of york, isabel neville and maybe anne neville.Other characters you like: I like all of elizabeth’s kids, her mother, and edward was sometimes okay. Least favourite characters: I didn’t like richard iii too much, or margaret beaufort. Otps: henry/elizabeth, edward/elizabeth and jacquette/richard mainly due to the book written about them, set before twq. Notps: richard/elizabeth. why. Favourite friendships: isabel/anne.Favourite family: I guess the tudors.Favourite episodes: I really like the later episodes, with the exception of the unnecessary elizabeth/richard romance.Favourite season/book/movie: my favorite season is season 1, as opposed to the white princess, because I never did get to see it.Favourite quotes: “do not doubt my courage. I am match for any man.” - elizabeth woodville // “you are what sustains me in battle. you are my home.” - edward // “she has done her worst. and look at us. we’re still here.” - henry/elizabeth // “how can I prove to you that I am with you except to ask you not to die?” - elizabeth of yorkBest musical moment: I think the music in the last episode is very good.Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: honestly I am gonna say any henry/elizabeth moment, even in twp even though I’ve not seen it. I love these two and ship them despite not seeing it. but I did read the book so that’s something. When it really disappointed you: richard/elizabeth. Saddest moment: I think edward’s death was really sad if only for elizabeth’s sake.Most well done character death: I think that richard’s death was built up quite well, we all knew someone was gonna die (and those who knew history knew who was gonna die), and it was done well.Favourite guest star: I don’t know who counts, so I’m gonna say freya mavor and michael marcus.Favourite cast member: rebecca ferguson, my girl! Character you wish was still alive: maybe richard (I mean elizabeth woodville’s father) cause he and jacquetta gave me all the feels in their book.One thing you hope really happens: they release twp somewhere where I can actually watch it?Most shocking twist: that they actually went there with richard/elizabeth.When did you start watching/reading?: maybe in 2015…? I really can’t be sure.Best animal/creature: I do love the horses.Favourite location: I do like the woodville manor.Trope you wish they would stop using: maybe the men being horrible pigs and the women trying to deal with that? I feel like almost all the men on the show were just the worst.One thing this show/book/film does better than others: I don’t know. I guess some of the characters were portrayed in a nice, human way, and the ships were pretty nice.Funniest moments: some moments between the plantagenet brothers.Couple you would like to see: a prequel series about richard and jacquetta.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: there’s never enough richard madden in the world.Favourite outfit: elizabeth (woodville’s) blue dress.Favourite item: elizabeth (woodville’s) ringDo you own anything related to this show/book/film?: just the books and the first seasonWhat house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: probably the woodville famMost boring plotline: richard and elizabethMost laughably bad moment: anything with richard and elizabethBest flashback/flashfoward if any: the flashforward when henry and elizabeth are suddenly adults was unexpected, but welcome.Most layered character: probably elizabeth woodville if not for any other reason, then because she was the most focused-on character. and rebecca brought great depth to her.Most one dimensional character: probably some of the people like edward’s mother.Scariest moment: none.Grossest moment: the final battle in 1x10.Best looking male: oh god, I don’t know. maybe henry in twp cause he looks slightly like richard.Best looking female: elizabeth woodville for sure.Who you’re crushing on (if any): none.Favourite cast moment: I like any of the cast moments, but I’ve not seen many.Favourite transportation: horses.Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): all the forests and water areas are so gorgeous, especially in the first episode.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: well, there are many plot confusions, but nothing particular. Best promo: I like the promo pic with elizabeth holding the sword in her hand.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: when I first saw it, and started reading it.

star wars:

Top 5 favourite characters: luke skywalker, leia organa, obi-wan kenobi, qui-gon jinn, yoda.Other characters you like: rey, poe dameron, finn, padme amidala.Least favourite characters: I don’t hate anyone, but the emperor sure sucked. I also don’t get the kylo ren hype.Otps: to be quite honest? none. but to say something, I guess rey/finn and padme/anakin (idk, man).Notps: kylo/rey.Favourite friendships: han/luke, obi-wan/anakin, finn/poe.Favourite family: the skywalkersFavourite episodes: I’m gonna take this as favorite generation (originals, prequels, sequels). that would be the originals.Favourite season/book/movie: the return of the jedi.Favourite quotes: “I am a jedi, like my father before me.” - luke // “no one’s ever really gone.” - luke // “hope is like the sun. if you only believe in it when you can see it, you’ll never make it through the night.” - leia // “so this is how liberty dies. with thunderous applause.” - padmeBest musical moment: the moment when luke is gazing at the sunset in a new hope, as well as in the last jedi. the feels. Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: luke coming to everyone’s rescue in the last jedi.When it really disappointed you: the obsession with kylo/rey, as well as some of the political plotlines in the prequels. Saddest moment: luke’s death, I think. though it was kinda bittersweet.Most well done character death: again, luke’s death, but also anakin’s.Favourite guest star: gwendoline christie.Favourite cast member: liam neeson.Character you wish was still alive: luke because what the heck is the next movie gonna have, then? I know it’s still gonna be good but with all of the original cast gone…One thing you hope really happens: kylo redeems himself without becoming a love interest for rey, everyone saves everyone, and they live happily ever after with rey training new jedis. also luke coming back as a force ghost to make bad puns.Most shocking twist: I don’t know, maybe luke dying.When did you start watching/reading?: when I was a tiny kid. maybe 4 or 5. Best animal/creature: well, it does say creature… r2-d2Favourite location: hoth and naboo.Trope you wish they would stop using: the good guy turned villain who is gonna be redeemed at the very last second (ironically, I also wrote that as what I wanted to happen). One thing this show/book/film does better than others: they really give a very good sci-fi adventure which doesn’t seem too hard for anyone to understand, and can interest both adults and children.Funniest moments: I actually really liked the comedic luke/rey moments in the last jedi.Couple you would like to see: I kind of like the idea of poe and rey.Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: there’s never enough richard madden. plus, he loves sci-fi.Favourite outfit: padme had some gorgeous costumes, especially all her blue clothes. Favourite item: luke’s blue and green lightsabers.Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: just the dvds, really. and a star wars lunch box. funnily enough.What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would like to be a skywalker, but I’d probably be bad at it.Most boring plotline: well, the political plotlines in the prequels.Most laughably bad moment: some of the very wooden moments in the prequels.Best flashback/flashfoward if any: I guess I like the flashback they did in the last jedi to what exactly happened between kylo and luke.Most layered character: probably someone like leia, or maybe even anakin to an extent.Most one dimensional character: some of the villains, like count dooku (is that really how you spell it?).Scariest moment: I really, really found darth maul scary as a kid.Grossest moment: the whole opening-up-the-creature to keep luke warm in the empire strikes back (my terms are on point again)Best looking male: idk, man. poe?Best looking female: probably padme.Who you’re crushing on (if any): none.Favourite cast moment: anything with daisy and mark.Favourite transportation: the falcon.Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): hoth.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: well, I mean, rey’s parents. that is the one thing I didn’t really like how they explained in the last jedi.Best promo: all the promo stuff is nice.At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: as a child when I saw the original movies.

[everythingjonsa]

Jon chokes Little Finger

I have so many thoughts about this scene I don’t know where to begin. This scene has been analysed a lot I know,  but I need to get my thoughts out of my system.

To begin with can I take a moment to say, how emotional I felt looking at Ned Stark’s regal statue with a sword in his hand, especially after that heart-warming moment between Jon and Sansa, where he gives her the north. *Sigh*

So this whole scene screamed PARALLELS and we’re not even being subtle about it anymore. There’s a reason why LF got choked by Jon in the crypts by Jon under Ned Stark’s statue. We’re being told, don’t forget Ned choked LF in season 1. The entire conversation was aimed at reminding us about the Ned-Cat-LF triangle that did not work out well for LF. Now look at the choice of words that the writers have used in the conversation.

LF: Your father and I had our differences. But he loved Cat very much. So did I. She wasn’t fond of you was she?

I know this is tinfoil but i see these words as a classic case of History repeating itself. LF might have as well said. You and I have our differences but you love Sansa very much and So do I.

Jon is having a moment with his dead father and LF interrupts that. Jon doesn’t look one bit happy about it. He looks instantly enraged. Remember, Jon knows LF sold Sansa to the Boltons. He also knows that she doesn’t trust LF.  You can see a muscle move in his jaw the second little finger comes and stands next to him. His smirk is so dismissive when little finger asks him to give Lord Tyrion his regards. But LF finger continues his blah blah. So Jon who is getting enraged uses words which are purposefully meant to sound rude and dismissive.

Jon: You don’t belong down here.

But LF doesn’t get the point. He continues to engage Jon and he says the following words.

LF: Forgive me. We haven’t ever talked properly. I wanted to remedy that.

THIS is IMPORTANT. LF has been hanging around in winterfell since the battle of the bastards and Jon has been made KitN, but Jon has never once, I repeat myself, not even ONCE has Jon had any verbal communication with LF. Why not? Can you see LF always lurking in the corner against a cold wall even in the meetings with the Lords and ladies, having no say, no voice and Jon doesn’t even look at him once? This is Jon keeping LF at bay and purposely giving him the cold shoulder. JON detests him for what he did to Sansa. He beat the pulp out of Ramsey and I have a feeling always wanted to do the same with LF but unfortunately LF was responsible in saving his hide in the battle of the bastards and hence he can’t go beast mode with LF. Jon’s avoiding confrontation with LF maybe because he might have choked him sooner if he had.

Now LF knows that D.Targ has Dragons and Tyrion is her hand and she’s planning to take the iron throne. Check out the look that crosses his face when Jon says tyrion is D’s hand. And Jon who happens to be the king in the north, is going to try and convince her to become an ally. This is huge information for LF. This is where the power lies now and he wants a slice of it if not everything so he can find the ladder of chaos at some point. It is essential now to let Jon think that he is an ally, a friend. He’s trying to get Jon to warm up to him.

Then the writers give us the triangle plot. Jon rebukes LF further and avoids him, “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Not even thank you”, says LF and Jon stops walking altogether.( I think Jon wanted to yell, You MF, you sold Sansa to fu***ng Ramsey Bolton and you want me to fu***ng thank you for it. Where’s your slimy neck already?) But he still holds it together.

People, now pay attention to the way this scene has been shot. The camera shifts focus on Jon’s face in close up and Little finger is blurred in the background. We can hear his words but see ONLY Jon’s face and his audible breath that is ragged and uneven as his rage slowly takes over him. Also, Ned’s Statue is visible in the background looming over LF’s profile. They are pelting parallels at us. LF was probably trying to tell Jon that he loves Sansa and he won’t let anything happen to her. But then this happens.

That’s it!! Jon loses it. Look at that sexy raging monster. Has he ever looked better?? And look at the camera angle. LF is sandwiched between Ned and Ned 2.0. Jon actually waits to ascertain the kind of love LF feels for Sansa. The minute he realises that Creepy finger is a creep, the white wolf bares his teeth. But that’s the whole point if this scene too. Jon’s reaction was over the top. LF doesn’t sound very creepy when he declares his love for Sansa. But Jon does this.....

And that snarl that escapes Jon when he does this ranges in a totally different level of sexy. He says, “Touch my sister, and I’ll kill you myself”

I think leaving Sansa alone in winterfell with LF around is not making Jon feel so good. His protective instincts have kicked in and he feels guilty about leaving her alone, taking away from her his umbrella of protection. I think that’s one of the reasons he seeks Ned out in the crypts. It’s like he’s apologizing to his father about leaving his sister alone because it’s his duty to protect her. Remember his words from their re-union.

“If I don’t watch over you, father’s ghost will come back and murder me.”

Well he’s probably talking to father’s ghost telling him that he wouldn’t have left Winterfell if he’d had a choice when the very devil he is worried about walks in to stand beside him. Hence the instant sour face. Also there is a reason why Jon calls Sansa his sister in front of LF. He’s basically trying to tell LF. You may have been close to Cat. She may not have been fond of me. Sansa may not have been close to me growing up. You may think that she’s only my half-sister but she is my family and I love her and I’ll take it very personally if you go anywhere near her. He had to assert to little finger that HE is the one protecting her.

Even after he releases LF, we can see Ned’s statue in the frame, in between LF and Jon. Ned’s haunting LF from the grave. I don’t know about the smirk that LF gave. Maybe he was thinking, you stark men with your quick tempers and your slow minds idk. Anyway he comes out rubbing his neck and looks from Jon to Sansa. Sansa, who is staring at the gates long after Jon rides away fighting tears back. And when LF looks at her, he can see her staring after him. Will this mean anything?? Idk. We’ll know only in the episodes to come.

A good take away from this scene is that LF doesn’t know that Bran is alive. That’ll be an unpleasant surprise for the creep and a good one for us!!!!

Phew that was long!!

[immortalpramheda]

Game of Thrones ‘The Spoils of War’

This episode was epic beyond words. I was not expecting that at all. I am completely blown away. Wow.

The episode starts off with Jaime and the Lannister army after their triumphant win at Highgarden. They've got a wagon full of gold. The Tyrells were one of if the wealthiest houses. Bronn, being typical Bronn, doesn't just want gold, he wants a castle too. But he doesn’t get a castle, yet. Jaime promises that one day he’ll get one. Now their priority is getting the farmers to hand over all their food.

Cersei had promised the man from the Iron Bank that they'll pay in full. And once Jaime returns with all the gold, she will come through with that promise. The crown won't be in debt anymore. Which will be the first time in probably hundreds of years that the crown doesn’t owe any money.

In Winterfell, Littlefinger gives Bran his dagger. The dagger that was supposed to kill him. Catelyn stopped the assassin from killing him, and then she went in search of who it belonged to. She found it belonged to Tyrion, and then all hell broke loose. Wow major throwback. But why would he give it to Bran? What is his reason for doing that? Surely he wants something in return? He says he will do everything he can to protect the Stark children. I still don’t trust him.

“Chaos is a ladder.”

Then Bran, knowing everything, says one of Littlefinger’s most iconic lines. He’s understandably taken aback. That was actually brilliant. I love all the callbacks in this episode.

Meera. She deserves the world. She’s leaving to go home to her family. Maybe this means we’ll get to meet her father?? Anyway, Bran says he doesn’t need her anymore. And he says ‘thanks’. That’s all. This girl dragged you all the way beyond the Wall, was forced to kill her brother, Hodor and Summer died for you, she almost did too, and all you have to say is thanks?? I get that he’s not really Bran anymore, but poor Meera. She deserves so much better.

Arya returns home!! I’ve only been waiting for this since S1, but it gave me chills! It was everything I wanted. The guards don't recognise her and won’t let her in. Just like in S1 when she tried to get back through the gates to Kings Landin, and the guards wouldn’t let her in because they assumed she was just a beggar.

She asks to see Maester Luwin, or See Rodrick, but of course they’re dead. She’s been gone for so long. She really has no idea how different things are. They let her in, and keep an eye on her while they go tell Sansa. But she runs off in true Arya style.

Sansa finds her in the crypts. Of course that’s where she’d go. They have a beautiful reunion! The two sisters hug. They never really got along as kids, but they’re still family. They obviously love each other. Arya tells her that being Lady Stark suits her. She says that she was mad when she found out Joffrey died, because she wanted to be the one to kill him. She lets slip about her kill list, which Sansa awkwardly brushes off. Oh Sansa, you have no idea.

Arya is also reunited with Bran, which is just as awkward as Sansa’s reunion with him. He knows that Cersei is on her kill list. He gives her the Valyrian Steel dagger. Bran has no need for it. That’s going to be very useful for her.

“Are stories aren't over yet.”

It was so heartwarming seeing the Stark kids back together. They haven’t seen each other since the beginning of the show. I got very emotional seeing them hanging out together. Brienne sees them, and she knows that Catelyn would be proud. She kept her promise. They’re back together now, and they’re all safe.

Arya and Brienne have an epic fight. They’re pretty well matched. Arya has some serious skills! That was such a cool scene. Brienne asks her who taught her how to do that, and she replies, ‘no one’. Which is entirely true. She learnt a lot from the Faceless Men. Arya looks up at Littlefinger, like she wants to get revenge on him. He’s not on her kill list, but I hope she does kill him.

I can’t even imagine what is going through Sansa’s mind. Her family are all insane. She’s the only normal one. First Jon died and came back to life. Bran is the ‘Three Eyed Raven’ and knows everything and told her she looked beautiful the night she was raped. And now Arya comes back and has a kill list and mad sword fighting skills. And is a face changing assassin, which she doesn’t know yet. She must think everyone around her is going crazy.

At Dragonstone, Jon takes Dany into the cave where all the dragonglass is. She wanted her to see it before they hack into it. It really is beautiful. She looks around in wonder. She had no idea any of this existed. Then he takes her further into the cave, where there are all these cave paintings. It depicts the Children of the Forest and the First Men, and their common enemy the White Walkers. Even back then they managed to set aside their differences to fight together. Jon tells her they need to do the same if they want to survive. She agrees. If he bends the knee.

He’s not going to. He has too much honour to bow down to a foreign Queen. He’s so much like Ned. He would do anything to protect his honour. But as Dany points out, isn’t their survival more important than his pride? She’s right. And in fact Jon said the exact same thing to Mance Rayder before he was burned alive by Stannis. His fate may very well be the same as Mance’s if he keeps being stubborn.

We all know that Jon has a thing for caves, so I was half expecting something to happen between them in that cave. There was some serious sexual tension in that scene. They way they were looking at each other. The way Jon took Dany’s arm and led her deeper into the cave. When I started watching this show the incest disgusted me. But now seven seasons later, I ship an aunt and nephew togehter. What has this show done to me?

Dany is informed that they won at Casterly Rock. But, she lost the Martell’s, the Greyjoy’s and the Tyrell’s. She’s lost half her allies. Dany is mad. Really mad. And she partly blames Tyrion. It was his idea to send her armies to Dorne and Casterly Rock. She wants to fly her dragons to Kings Landing and burn the city to the ground.

Jon, of all people, is the one to calm her down. He points out that she mad the impossible happen by bringing dragons back. Her followers believe in her. They believe she can build a better world. But burning cities to the ground isn’t the best way to show that. That would make her no different than her father, the Mad King. He threatened to burn cities to the ground, and that caused a rebellion against him. He lost supporters, and lost his life. If Dany lets her anger get the better of her, then why should anyone follow her?

“I've noticed you staring at her good heart.”

Yep, Jon has been staring at her ’heart’. Even Davos can see their chemistry. And he also corrects Jon’s grammar. ‘Fewer’. He learnt a lot from Stannis. They run into Missandei, and have a slightly less awkward conversation than last episode. Where Missandei is from, Naath, they don’t have marriage, so the concept of a bastard doesn’t exist. Davos tries to get her to admit that Dany may have freed her from slavery, but she’s still a slave to her Queen. Umm, not sure what he's trying to prove. Dany doesn’t keep slaves. They’re all serving her because they want to. It’s their choice. As Missandei says, she could leave tomorrow if she wanted, no questions asked.

Then a reunion I hadn't even thought about. Jon and Theon. The Greyjoy ship, the one lone ship that survived it seems, arrives back at Dragonstone. Jon and Theon grew up together. But he betrayed Robb, and took Winterfell, and Jon believed for a time that he killed Bran and Rickon. Jon says the only reason he doesn’t kill Theon right then is because of what he did for Sansa. Serious tension here.

So, Theon has come to ask Dany to help get Yara back, but Dany is gone. She’s not there. So where is she?

Cue, the Lannisters getting ready to head back to Kings Landing. The gold made it safely back. So I suppose Cersei paid the Iron Bank all their debts. But they still need to get the rest of the wagons full of supplies back before nightfall.

Suddenly, they hear a rumbling sound, getting louder by the minute. Jaime, Bronn and Randal Tarly get their armies into line, ready for the attack. Then we hear the Dothraki screams getting closer. It was intense. I was shaking at this point. They get in formation, ready to block an attack.

Bronn keeps telling Jaime to head back to Kings Landing. It’s too dangerous for him here. But he refuses to leave. He wants to fight. But then they hear the dragon roar, and in comes Dragon, with Daenerys riding on her back.

With a simple ‘dracarys’, a whole lot of Lannister soldiers are burnt alive. The Lannister’s are no match against a fucking DRAGON!! It was fucking insane!! They didn’t stand a chance against the Dothraki and a fire breathing dragon! The horses were going down. The people were going down. The Dothraki and Drogon were owning this battle. The way the Dothraki ride their horses and stand up, and then jump off and attack was just epic! They had no fear.

My favourite shot was when Drogon was flying along wiht a steam of fire coming out of his mouth, burning everything in his path.

Jaime orders Bronn to go get their secret weapon, as Dany starts burning the supply wagons. Jaime was so close to being hit, but he somehow managed to get out of the way just in time.

Bronn is kicked off his horse, and his horse gets it’s leg chopped in half. He almost stupidly risks his life to get his gold, but he makes it to their secret weapon. The giant crossbow. They were not expecting this attack, so I didn’t think they’d brought the crossbow. But I guess they knew the Tyrell’s were allied with Dany, so they brought it just in case.

Bronn aims and shoots, and I was so scared that Drogon was going to die. But thank god he missed.

But then he hits Drogon, right in the neck. It injures him, and he’s falling out of the sky. I was so worried that he was going to die, and Dany was going to go down with him. But thank god he found his footing. He found his wings, and landed safely on the ground. He destroyed the giant crossbow and burnt it. Dany tries to pull the giant arrow out. Drogon is in pain. It injured him, but he’ll be okay won’t he?? He better be.

Tyrion is there, overlooking the battle. He sees Jaime. And comments on how stupid he is. Yes he did something so stupid!

Jaime grabs a spear and starts charging right towards Dany! What a fucking idiot. Probably the stupidest thing he could have done at that moment. Did he really think he was going to get a clear shot at Dany?? Of course Drogon is going to protect his mother. He’s about to burn Jaime, but Bronn (I think, but maybe it was Dickon?) pushes him out of the way and into the water. And I guess we’ll have to wait to see what happens. Lets just hope his solid gold armour doesn’t make him sink to the bottom.

I can just imagine what was going through Jaime’s mind. He killed the Mad King because he threatened to burn the whole city down. And now he sees his daughter riding around on a dragon, burning his army to the ground. He wanted to kill her before she did anymore damage.

That was EPIC!! This episode honestly left me speechless. I can’t even put into words how incredible it was. I think that battle tops Battle of the Bastards for me. I mean, we have a Lannister army, against the Dothraki, who are foreign savages form across the sea. Plus a fire breathing dragon. It was just so cool!

And unlike the other battles on this show, I didn’t know whose side I was on. I think I was leaning slightly more towards Dany, but I didn’t want Jaime and Bronn to die. It was such a conflicting battle. And for moment I legit thought that Jaime might die. I’ve waited so long to see a dragon battle like this. I’m blown away!

That episode was completely unexpected. I did not see any of that coming. As this was the shortest episode of the season, I thought maybe it wouldn’t be as good as the rest, but boy was I wrong! We got another Stark reunion and an epic battle! Best episode of the season so far, and one of my favourite episodes overall. This show continually blows me away. If this episode is anything to go by, the rest of the season is going to be insane.

[lesmotsincompris]

Thoughts on GoT S07E06

Since everybody was discussing the leaks, I decided to watch the leaked episode and almost forgot to post my thoughts here as usual.

Anyway: that was terrible, y’all. That was a whole new level of terrible.

The show was awful long before this, of course, but I think this episode perfectly encapsulates how poorly written it can be. Every scene has a lot to tear apart, but let’s try to keep it short:

Winterfell

Oh boy, did that hurt. What D&D have done to Arya isn’t simply character assassination; they murdered her character, shat on the corpse, set the poop on fire, and put the fire out with vomit.

Arya’s lines during this episode seem to come from an anti-Sansa thread on Reddit. It’s so viciously misogynystic and victim-blaming that I’m losing all respect for fans that buy this kind of bullshit reasoning (and I’ve seen them with my own eyes).

Again knitting is brought in a negative context. Again Sansa is called stupid. Again Sansa is portrayed as an ambitious bitch because she didn’t act as the ideal victim is supposed to act. Again Sansa’s forced marriages are used against her. Again we have another reminder that Sansa was raped, because gods forbid we forget it. This isn’t dealing with trauma, this is rubbing in the audience’s faces one of the most hated scenes of this show.

It’s ridiculously out of continuity too. Everything Arya herself did to survive is ignored (hanging out with Tywin on season 2, anyone?). Also she couldn’t possibly think her sister helped the Lannisters get rid of Ned, she was fucking there. If she saw Sansa’s pretty hair and dress, she must have seen her crying and screaming in despair. Watch your own damn show, D&D!

Once more I must ask: what is Littlefinger still doing in this story? He’s trying to put Arya against Sansa, but why? What does he gain with that? Why is Sansa still listening to him? You can’t give me Sansa being snarky at him in one episode and fully trusting him in another, it just doesn’t make sense.

Sansa was rude to Brienne for no reason, and sent her away purely because D&D needed Sansa alone and unprotected in Winterfell again. It’s so forced it hurts.

Apparently Jon didn’t give any news in weeks. Great job, Jon. But hey, couldn’t they use their fucking omniscient robot brother to see what stupidity Jon was up to this time?

I was giggling during the entire briefcase scene, not even The Room can aspire to be this bad.

Dragonstone

“Heroes do stupid things and they die” is the supreme maxim of Grimdark™. It’s also clearly not what GRRM is going for in the books.

We had a scene with the sole purpose of delivering exposition that Jon is in love with Dany. Is he? Why would he be? What evidence have we seen of this? Oh no, but it’s a lot easier to have a character established as "clever" saying "he loves you" than actually showing the process of two people falling in love.

For all their speech abut sparing the innocent, Tyrion says they’ll burn King’s Landing if anyone touches Dany. See, the smallfolk are only important if they bend the knee, otherwise they can die. So much for wheel-breaking.

(we still don’t know what that means, btw)

Again Tyrion tells Dany what to do and how to act; I’m gonna stab with a knitting needle anyone that calls this show feminist. I don’t think Tyrion is wrong in everything he says, but having him mansplaining Dany constantly is annoying. If he “believes” her, why doesn’t he let her to think on her own? If he doesn’t trust her to do it, then why does he follow her?

I can’t blame Dany for being hostile to the whole succession talk. Yes, it’s an important matter, and one book!Dany still has to address, but it came very suddenly and when they had other more important matters to deal with.

Tyrion doesn’t want Dany to go and she goes, and again the narrative will prove Dany wrong for not listening to a man. Fuck this show.

Beyond the Wall

Aaah, le crap de le crap. Don’t get me wrong, Winterfell stuff made me roll my eyes so hard I could watch my own brain cells dying. But Winterfell was filler, while this is supposed to be the big moment, the “go go go, shock shock shock” we’ve been told about, the core of the wham episode of this season.

And it sucks.

Tormund says that smart people don’t go looking for the dead, and I have to agree with him. The whole plan of capturing a wight and touring it around Westeros was incredibly stupid to begin with, so it’s hard to feel bad for the characters when things go inevitably wrong.

Less than five minutes into this episode they were already joking about Gendry being assaulted by Melisandre. Fuck this show.

Gendry being sold to Melisandre, much like Tyrion killing Davos’ son with wildfire, becomes a “look, those characters know each other” gag. This is a very poor choice and ignores the fact that those characters met under traumatic circumstances that deserve a stronger reaction than that.

Of course you don’t hear Beric “bitching” about being killed six times, that would mean death and trauma carry any weight and in this show they don’t. Not anymore.

I’ve been complaining for a while that the show seems to have forgotten why Jorah was exiled, so they answered me with him admitting Ned was right. That’s great, it would have been a significant character development… if we had actually seen it. Character development is a character going from point A to point B, not suddenly being on point B with no indication of how they got there.

Then Jon says he’s glad Ned didn’t catch Jorah. Why? Does Jon knows that Jorah was exiled for selling people? Is Jon okay with that? Since when? He barely knows Jorah and no relationship was portrayed on screen before this moment, why this sudden concern with him?

Sandor says he hates gingers, which is another nail in the SanSan coffin for the show. We already that’s D&D’s NOTP, but the petty ways they find to demonstrate it always amuse me.

I joked about this being the Ultimate Bro Trip - All the Extras Edition, but boy I was right. There’s everything one could expect from this sort of event: sexual assault played for laughs, dick jokes, the most disgusting reference to Tormund x Brienne, heavy-handed hints of R+L=J, lots of walking for nothing, lots of shitting all over GRRM’s careful worldbuilding, lots of dudes bonding over stuff that makes me hate them as characters, poorly executed action with no real stakes. A true winner!

There are small things that worked for me. I kinda like Beric’s speech to Jon, or Sandor turning around when they burn Thoros’ wound. It’s a simple but effective way to remind the viewer of Sandor’s trauma. It doesn’t cost much in terms of dialogue or screentime, and keeps the character consistent and fleshed-out. But those were isolated moments, and isolated moments are not enough to save us from this torture of a scene.

I like the surprise element of the bear attack, but it was too shaky and confusing for my taste. Gendry says the bear has blue eyes, but I could hardly see the bear itself? And how can I care about characters dying if I can’t even see who’s dying? After some point it was The Revenant - Westeros edition, and still not the silliest scene in the episode.

The white walkers now die like vampires from Buffy and one stab is enough to finish them. Worse, they’re following the route of 'kill the boss, every minion dies’. I hate this trope, I’m sure there’s a name for it. It’s particularly bad in this case because now the white walkers’ impressive numbers don’t mean anything; just kill the extra blue dude with a vaguely Japanese armor and presto! Also, you know, it contradicts what we’ve seen so far including in this very episode.

Despite them walking for ages, Gendry goes back to Eastwatch pretty fast. The white walkers are kind enough to wait for no fucking reason while Gendry sends a raven, the raven reaches Dragonstone, Dany gets ready, and Dany flies to the Wall and beyond. This should have taken weeks, but apparently it happens over a day or so.

Look, when people talk about ‘teleportation’ in this show, we don’t mean that the writers must depict every beat of the trip. We mean that the trip needs to make sense considering everything we know about the setting and the resources available in that world. It doesn’t have to be super accurate either, just not physically impossible like this was.

The white walkers not attacking the group makes the previous Plot Armor evolve to a Plot AT Field from Evangelion. If there was going to be battle anyway, why the waiting? You’re already bending space and time for Daenerys to arrive, so I’m sure there would be better ways to have the ice dragon scene without all this contrivance.

The dragon saving scene would have been awesome if not for all the implausibility that led to it. It’s hard to be invested when you’re already angry and disappointed. The contrivances don’t stop there, and Jon takes two levels in stupidity and keeps fighting all macho when everybody else is safe on dragon back. Also Daenerys loves him for some reason.

That spear throwing was the funniest thing. Congrats to whoever did the dragon animations and noises, though, that was a great job. Emilia Clarke’s nearly-crying face would have been a great start for one of Daenerys’ more emotional moments in the show, watching the death of one of her children. Too bad this is basically all the reaction she’s allowed to have.

Jon got Viserion killed out of sheer stupidity and stubbornness, but somehow Dany loves him even more for that! She wants to wait for him, even if that endangers her other dragons. Back at the Wall, she waits for his return, not perhaps a sign of Viserion. When he apologizes for being the worst, she’s not remotely angry at him. It was “good” that her dragon died, because now she understands. Now she knows that in this show men are always right and women pay a dear price for not listening to them.

Can’t see the narrative goal of leaving Jon behind or him falling in the water. Nobody actually expected him to die, even if he should have. Then you have Uncle Benjen Ex Machina holding thousands of White Walkers on his own, as if that somehow prevents a few of them from going after Jon. This whole scene accomplished nothing but stretching our suspension of disbelief further, as if there was any left at this point.

The walkers somehow put chains on the dragon to pull it. Why not just make the dragon fall on land? Viserion returning could have been cool if: a) it wasn’t a product of a conga line of plot contrivances; b) they didn’t take four years to show us his eyes opening, as if this wasn’t ridiculously obvious.

Daenerys can’t mourn her fucking dragon, she’s too busy finding the Ultimate Man to Listen To. What prompts Jon to decide that Dany is now his queen? Why does he call her Dany? How does Dany know the Night’s King name?

More importantly, why do I still care to ask about all this questions when the answer is “D&D are fucking dumb and they’re hoping we are too”?

Extra notes

Should we start printing Euron’s picture in milk boxes? And what happened to Theon?

Fuck this show, fuckindammit, that was a lot of time and energy wasted just to get angry.

[wolvesandfoxes25]

My little input...

So, lets start off with me. I am a Jonsa shipper, but before season 6 happened I was not. I actually would have laughed at you, and say no way! I was dedicated to Tyrion and Sansa. Which still sits in my heart, but not as heavily as Sansa and Jon do. 

Now, if my post angers you, well, you can just skip right along. Cause…I don’t care. 

Jon/Dany: Oh boy, this rumor has been circulating since those leaks came out. And since then, I’ve been looking for proof that these two would be an actual couple. True, there are parallels in the book, but one could say that’s because they are the two last Targaryens living at this point. It does not specify that they will be romantic in any way. Getting off track here. People want them together because they are the hero, the heroine, and there both badass. Well, Jon is, to me Dany is only legit because of her dragons. Without them, she’s basically obsolete. 

Moving on: So…their moral codes. A big thing to me. Jon is not as…power hungry as Dany is. He never has been. All his positions of power have come from being voted in. Dany has ripped apart cities, burning men and people left and right to be the ruler. She’s crucified some innocent people, telling those around her that that is ‘justice.’ Two wrongs don’t make a right. That’s what her lesson was. Point B: She’s the breaker of chains. Well, there are no slaves in Westeros, so, she’s going to seek vengeance, as is Tyrion. Against his family. Jon however, just wants to get through the long night alive, and return to Winterfell, and be with his kin. 

So…why do you want them together? I think most people want them together so they can restart their line. Well, I personally don’t think that will happen. The Targaryens were dethroned because of Aerys, because of his madness, because of his incest background. That is why he was dethroned. If you weren’t with him, you were against him. (Sounds…familiar doesn’t it?) And this resulted in burning people alive with wildfire. (Which Dany has done.) Okay, so I’m NOT saying she’s the mad Queen, cause it’s obvious Cersei is filling this role at the moment. But, Dany is not a good guy. She is drenched in the shade grey. She’s tortured young girls in front of their father, for information (books) She’s burnt Khals alive. 

Continuing: She’s burnt cities down, and the thing is, it would be different if she burnt the people and the cities and left them with a new justice system. She doesn’t even do that. Look at Mereen, she left Daario in charge, with no justice system, only a threat looming over the people that if they step out of line, and try to reinforce slavery again, they’ll be burned alive. Dany rules through fear. Maybe not all the time, but she really uses that as a trump card. 

So…Dany in season 7. Several articles have come out with Emilia talking about her character. Very interesting articles that have specified…

“She’ll be shedding the rest of her humanity this season.” Uh, I don’t know about you, but that does not sound like a good thing. It means, she is getting to the point where there is nothing she won’t do for that throne. Even if it means ripping Westeros into tiny, tiny pieces, considering the two wars they just went through.

G.R.R.M’s take over characters like Dany. It’s been stated time and time again, that George hates war. And Dany…well, she doesn’t really hang on the latter of that statement. She wants fire and blood for what happened to her family, she’s bringing the war to Westeros to fight for her throne. 

“The villain is the hero of the other side.”

Saying all this, why do people still want her to be with Jon, or anyone for that matter? Well, it’s simple, Game of Thrones has painted Dany in a very good…yet deceiving light. Which I think will come to play a the very end. For right now, we need Jon to leave Winterfell and meet up with her. Doing…whatever it is that they’re doing.  For some reason they’re putting him beyond the wall, white hunting. Which sounds absolutely ridiculous, and not very Kingly of Jon. Whatever…moving on. 

I personally see through the wall that they’ve built around Dany, I haven’t cared for her character since season 3. And I’m sorry, but I don’t want Jon to be with her because it doesn’t make sense for them…in moral sense…in personality sense…in familial sense. I really would like them to bond on a family level, since Dany doesn’t think that she has family left at all.

What’s wrong with that? Why can’t it be as easy as that?

Moving on to my next point: Remember in season 6, when Lord Glover told Sansa, “And where was King Robb, when the Ironborn threw my wife and children in prison? Taking up with a foreign whore, getting himself and the rest that followed him killed.”

Sansa also says something interesting in season 6. “My father always said that Northerners were different, more loyal, more suspicious of outsiders.”

So…you’re telling me, after all Robb did, that Jon is going to fall at the feet of a Targaryen with dragons? The same Targaryens that burned Ned’s father, and brother alive. The North wants nothing to do with the south. That’s why I think they’re doing this white hunt, so Jon can show Dany the threat without having to marry, or bend the knee to her. He has more then himself to think about now. He’s the king, not a green boy who’s never seen a pretty lady before. 

Robb thought with his cock and it got him killed. Ned thought with his honor, it got him killed, Rickon thought he could dodge those arrows, and he got himself killed. Cat got killed because of the repercussions of what Robb did. He turned his nose up at the Freys, broke the pact that they had between them, and basically said fuck you, resulting in the slaughter of his bannermen, and some of his family members. Where would this lesson lead, if Jon just stuck his dick in Dany after two episodes of knowing her?

I’ll tell you where. His dethronement, and probably him being exiled. 

The North does not want to kneel again. 

Anyway, add your opinions. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of negative feedback, but it had to be said. I’m sorry if you don’t see it the way I do. 

[bigboybennyposts-blog]

Game of Thrones S7E2 “Stormborn”

Spoilers yo!

I want to clarify one thing about Arya. Starting from her assassination of Walder Frey to the Revenge of the Red Wedding we as an audience should not cheer. I keep seeing “Yas Arya yas” or “Arya is a badass!” However these aren’t triumphant moments of revenge: these are a fall from grace. Both Arya and Sansa have seen the worst of the world and are slowly being consumed by it. Arya has a mad grin on her face as Walder bleeds out and she does not bat an eye to massacring a room of men. Sansa has a cold steely look as dogs rip apart a human being. Sansa went behind Jon’s back and asked for help from Littlefinger and the Vale. It won them the battle but is an indication that her time in King’s Landing had tainted her. Sansa is beginning to scheme and is quite good at it. It is a sad, terrible thing to see the once honorable and naive Stark girls become cold, vicious killers. But that is what happens when you play the Game of Thrones. They saw their honorable father get owned and their brave brother get killed at a wedding. They are good at playing the game but if Ned were to see them as they are now, he would be sad and i doubt he would recognize who they are (not in a good way).

I guess the scene that will resonate the most with people is NYMERIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Oh man. OH. MAN. I was SO happy to see her. Even more so to see she runs a pack. Arya was just as happy to see her. I know that this scene may be confusing to people but the director’s commentary at the end of the episode clears it up. The giant wolf very south of the wall in fact Nymeria. When Arya says “It’s not you” it harkens back to when Ned tells Arya that she will one day be in a castle with a lord with pretty dresses and lots of children. Arya shakes her head and says “That’s not me.” Arya says that to Nymeria because Nymeria is the dog of Arya Stark. “That’s not you” refers to Nymeria. Nymeria is no one’s pet just as Arya isn’t meant to be a dutiful and proper lady. A heartbroken Arya turns into a proud Arya. I also felt a different reason as to why Nymeria left Arya. Nymeria no longer recognizes who she is. She recognizes Arya, of course, but smells the blood on her hands. Arya is not the same girl as when she Old Yeller’ed Nymeria. Shoutout to my boy HOTPIE though. Tip when baking pies, brown the butter.

Sam is having trouble with his life at the citadel. He has a good teacher in Horace Slughorn (haha). The Archmaester is always willing to listen to Sam but quickly reminds Sam of his eventual duties as a maester. They are not warriors, doctors or poets. They are scribes. They are memories and do not hold allegiances. Maesters are timeless and masterless and continue on despite whatever politics go on. We have seen our fair share of bad maesters but we have also seen good ones. Sam’s teacher seems like a goodun. However Sam is not willing to let his attachments or loyalties go. I fear it may get the best of him but for the moment he is doing everything in his power to help his friends. This may lead to Sam being expelled from the Citadel like Qyburn but on the opposite of the spectrum. But, hopefully, Sam’s procedure will help Jorah Bear so he can go see Khaleesi. 

Sam’s loyalty to Jon will definitely put him at odds with his father, who was just recruited by Cersei and Jaime. We know they have a horrible relationship that is akin to emotional abuse. But Sam’s actions may kill his father and even his brother. Sam actually has a loving relationship with his mother, sister and brother. It’s his father that despises him... Certainly between a rock and a hard place situation down the line.

Cersei/Euron has won the first victory. Dany (who loves ships) has just lost her fleet. I had wondered what Euron’s priceless gift would have been and I can’t help but feel it anticlimactic. I was theorizing that Euron would capture a dragon or kidnap Tyrion or Varys but in the end it was the woman who killed Cersei’s daughter. This may hold significance to Cersei but to me, I went MEH. Dorne has definitely been the least interesting realm we have visited and the storyline there was horribly rushed and unembellished. Capturing Elaria and her daughters takes Dorne out of the picture for the time being so the siege on Westeros will no longer be a Westerosi affair. What should have been a pubstomp has just turned into a war and it’s all thanks to Euron. His prowess in battle and tactics are nothing to scoff at. Since season 1 I always got the feeling that the Iron Islands were thieving brigands and not real soldiers. But, as he said, Euron’s exile had made him dangerously intelligent. But the real highlight was the staredown. Euron had Yara and goaded Theon to save her. Yara saw Theon fall apart and Euron knowing Theon did not have the meddle to challenge him. Seeing Theon revert back to Reek was a sad moment as well. We were tricked into thinking he was better but there had been signs. He is not outspoken like he was, he walked around with his head hanging down and allowed total strangers to rag on him. He doesn’t maintain eye contact and now we see that he has never truly healed. 

Like any other GoT season, the beginning episodes are a slow burn. But getting a huge naval battle in episode 2 was awesome. 

[stories-aha-blog]

Why Game of Thrones, ultimately, doesn’t make it among my top ranking series

There are obviously a whole number of things I like about Game of Thrones --- why else would I’ve been watching every single episode so far, and watched particular scenes over and over again on youtube? It’s always a good idea to start with the things you like about a story, rather than the things you dislike. And I promise I’ll try to deliver on this in the future, but right now, I feel like ranting a bit about why, ultimately, I very much doubt that either “Game of Thrones”, the tv series, nor “A Song of Ice and Fire”, the novel series, will ever make it into my top top ranking stories.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: There is the whole “White Walkers” / “The Others” thing, that consumes a lot of screen time, and becomes a major driver of the plot in the later, and that I find utterly boring or “without potential”.

Okay so it’s important to approach things with an open mind. The fact alone, that that it would never cross my mind to somehow make the whole subject of “manifest supernatural evil”, or “evil menace looming behind the horizon” part of one of my stories alone, proofs nothing. When I ask myself "what’s the most similar thing I can think of, that actually DID end up working for me”, at least one thing comes to mind. The Dominion in “Star Trek: Deep Space 9″. If you haven’t watched it: At some stage, very subtly at first, and very much on the margin of what happens, rumors and first signs start to pop up, that there is some other, alien power looming in some other Quadrant of the Galaxy, that has a record of enslaving other races. As the story progresses, more and more facts start to pop up, until there is actually contact, conflict, and ulitmately full out “world war”, or “galaxy war”, resulting from from this, putting the federation on the brink of defeat.

The reason that worked for me, is that ultimately it becomes revealed ---- I’m not gonna worries about spoiling this here, since the series is so old and dated and not really worth watching any more ---- the whole Dominion thing isn’t simply some featureless incorporation of evil, like, say, it is much more the case for the Borg, but that there is a kind of touching backstory behind it, of the creaturs that started the Dominion,were actually a very week and powerless beings, that, as a result, got “bullied” by other neighbouring races, until they decided to make sure this was never going to happen again, by kind of establishing proxy races, that would lead their wars for them, and enslave the neigbouring races, as sort of a somewhat out of proportion preemptive strike.

You know that you are on to something, when you create something that is uttlerly fantastic, but the proves to be quite valuable as a metaphor for describing certain real life constellations.

I wasn’t aware of it when I watched Deep Space 9 in the 90s, but recently it dawned on me, that the Dominion is actually quite a good metaphor for the policies of the present day Iran ... leadership or whatever you want to call them. (I am approaching this from a strictly storytelling point of view here, not from a political angle, or from an angle “which side would I side with?”.) They are technologically inferior, they had the experience of an ongoing draining war with their neighbour Irak under Saddam Hussein, they experienced the US sacking Iraq with their technologically far superior army ---- and, partly as a consequence of this, partly fuelled by religious zeal, they decide to “defend” themselves by establishing proxy armies, like the Hesbollah or, more recently, their ways of strengthening their ties with Hamas, to direct any kind of military threat away from their territory.

Even if this parallel should not resonate with you, you may still kind of agree with me, that something like the Dominion, has far more story telling potential, than the unstructered, language less, Others, whose character less nature makes them more similar to some menace arising from nature, like a volcano, or and earthquake, or what have you.

White Walkers are a waste of Screen Time.

That for me, would be the most obvious place to start.

Then ---  while we are at it --- there is the plot driving element of prophecies.

Prophecies are a perfect means to string people’s attention along. But, like the element of “unstructered, unpersonalized evil” --- they are a bit of a cheap trick, in that they simply can’t deliver. To my best knowledge ---- the real world simply doesn’t allow for anything that comes even close to “real prophecies”. So again, the books and series spends considerable amount of time on something that is of zero value, other than encouraging people to come up with solutions to the puzzles inherent in them. (Who is the Valoncar? Who are the three riders of the dragon? Who is the prince that was promised? etc. etc.)

But it’s not even the most important item for me.

The most important thing for me, off the top of my head, would probably have to be the fact that ... let me put this in a denouncing, devaluing way first, and then try to improve on it ... that George R. R. Martin’s characters are simply too boring, and his fantasies are too simplistic, to warrant spending extended amount of times on them.

Think of the Starks. Ned, Catlyn, Rob ---- all complete bores. Just like Bran, apart from the things that are happening to him. The two girls may have a tiny bit more potential, but as soon as we come to Jon Snow, we are back to complete bore.

To me those are characters, that come pretty close to “insignificant young clerk with no distinctive qualities gets thrown into a position where he has to save the universe”.

The characters that maybe come closest to being interesting in my sense, would probably have to be Tyrion and Oberyn. But even with those, similar things apply. Yes, Tyrion likes to hang out with whores and thieves. But, you know ... that by itself doesn’t make him all that intersting. And Oberyn is too much of a clichee, “throw in a little bit of everything, a little bit of martial arts, a little bit of studying at the Citadel, a little bit of traveling the remote and mysterious part of the world, a penchant for sexual experimentation, with just the right amount of bi curious --- and voila, you have your interesting character”. No. What is Oberyn driven by? By revenge for his sister. And also maybe a bit by providing for his daughters, in his own Obery way. That simply doesn’t make for an intersting character. They’ve both been known to act somewhat non harmlessly, or even ruthlessly, at certain times, so I’ll give them that. But that alone is not enough for me.

And those are the best candidates for interesting characters.

Yes, of course, you got Joffrey and Ramsey. But they are too one track minded vicious to count. How many people seriously empathize with either of them? Now very many, I would imagine.

It’s a bit like Quentin Tarrantino movies: Showing people casually committing atrocities --- to me is not a sign of being willing to explore the darker sides of one’s soul; but a sign of simple nerdiness. A slightly childish joy in shocking suprising the audience, and of indulging in urban legends.

Compare this to, say, some of the stories of Hagra here on tumblr, or ???, where you can see much more genuine drivenness and interest in these things at work.

Yes, “Game of Thrones” does have to count as a “day dream story”, that does make an effort to deliver things that are meant to stirr awe in one’s heart. But they are the fantasies of a person, that is ultimately too harmless for my taste. Yes, he kills off his characters in shocking and unexpected ways, that are not just played for their shock value, but actually do a good job of invicting making one --- or at least making me --- feel the tragedy. But that alone is not enough. Compare this to, say, “The Liaisons Dangereuses”, or the novels of Genet, or even people like Pedro Juan Gutierrez or Bukowski, where the very fact that the non harmless events they show tend to be somewhat less spectacular than in the case of people like Tarantino or Stephen Kind ---- and also, in my mind, Martin --- is a strong hint that they are engaging with deep rooted dispositions, as opposed to “visiting evil for the sake of thrills or entertainment, like a tourist”.

“This time, I will write books as big as my imagination”.

Yes a wall made of ice, that is more 700 feet tall, is a spectacular sight. As are dragons. But they are nerdy spectacular.

“Upping the ante, always has to go in the direction of the subtle, not of the spectacular.”

“A Song of Ice and Fire” is good at many things. It’s good at delayed pay-off. It’s good a posing riddles and puzzles, that inspire fans to come up with their own theories and suggestions for solutions. It’s good at creating drama and tragedy, and it’s good at creating “cozy situations” and settings, like, say, Sam and Jon having converations during their night watch on top of the wall. The writers of “Game of Thrones” the tv show are super good at writing strong dialogues, that have perfected the skill of achieving the maximum effect with “not one word too many”.

Game of Thrones excells at the use of story telling devices.

But no matter how good you are at HOW to tell your story, there will always be an upper limit induced by WHAT you tell. What your story is about. How captivating and deep and intriguing the subject matter of the story is.

George Martin writes Fantasy for a reason.

Yes, his capacity for taking his characters seriously and following whereever they make take him, is impressive. But that alone isn’t enough. Yes he paints a larger than life, alluring-with-respect-to-Marin world. But alluring-with-respect-to-Marin is simply too far removed from the things I find alluring, for the story to make it among my top top faves.