Aejohn the Conqueroo

Nothing says good like BBQing people alive to avoid the inconvenience of poor winds. I'm going to say that all of the prophesies are bunk.

I believe that the Wall and the distorted seasons are aspects of the wrong state that the world exists in and as such they have to be corrected for the story to end. Alternately, if the story ends and the Wall is still standing and the seasons are still erratic I would suggest that this is a 6000 (maybe 8000, maybe 2000) year cycle that the planet is stuck in and whatever resolution the story has will slowly erode over the next 6000 years and lead us back to where we began. But then, why would the author be telling us about just one of a series of repeating stories? Wouldn't it make sense to tell the story of the first (which we know this isn't) or the last?

Don't the Children of the Forest refer to themselves as singers or something like 'those who sing the song of the earth'? I think when we see singers tortured, thrown in the soup or whathaveyou it's a bit of a callback to some pivotal events of the age of heroes. I think the bowl of brown, being that it's constituents all kind of meld together is something of a weirnet analogy...then we have Tyrion throwing a singer in the stew because he sees him as a rival for his woman's affections... It's a pattern we've seen before, isn't it? I don't remember the manner of Arya's killing of Daeron. Did he end up in the canals? Anyway, I don't think the author 'hates singers', but I think that largely they're doomed because of the role they generally play. Let's see what happens to Tom when we get Winds.

2. I think that's being deliberately done and Edric will at least be suggested as the Baratheon heir when he returns to the story.

Naw... Bloodraven uses him

Yeah, I want to take another look at this now and some of the things said in the wake of Renley's death and the redistribution of his army. How much of the Stormlander sentiment was pro Renley and how much of it was Never-Stannis is what I'm curious to see, if it can be seen.

He never made that argument, I don't think he believed it. If his campaign had been based upon the fact that the legitimate heir was a demon worshipper and the Lannister kids were bastards and he was reluctantly stepping into the void that history had created for him then I would have accepted it. It's a good argument. He never said it and it was right there in front of him. What's the conclusion other than he didn't believe it himself?

I'd have to check that. Not having done so though, could that be a timing thing? I'll take a look this evening. Forgot about those. Yeah the Stormlands split pretty evenly didn't they? Thanks. So he's charismatic. I live in Canada and the last 7 years of charisma don't do much to recommend it, lol.

I don't think that's fair. If anything the book Mace is less of a cartoon character than the Tellerite HBO portrayed him as. His checkers game seemed to be good enough for Renley. Wasn't plan A to get Margery married to Robert? That failed so Mace checked down to the tractable brother. What Mace would have done, and what Renley would have done as time went by can only be guessed at. Mace is still standing though and his plan to have his daughter marry the King is still standing as well. Renley, not so much. The War of the 5 Kings was not an election and those armies that he gathered to him were all gathered and provided by the Tyrells anyway. What if Loras had a thing with Tyrion instead of Renley?

The guy was a vain usurper. His disregard for succession would have meant war when he died and war when whoever won that war died. He didn't understand the Rebellion, and he didn't understand why his brother was on the throne and he didn't recognize that he had made himself a pawn of Mace Tyrell. His only claim to the throne was the strength of the armies backing him, the ultimate 'might makes right' champion.

I don't think I'd want to spend too much time with the guy, but I enjoy the hell out of Victarion Greyjoy's chapters. I giggle like a kid who just heard a new curse word. It's not so much her character as her perspective, but I also really enjoy Brienne's chapters. When I read negative comments about Feast I just don't get it. Of the main three I think I would rate them Jon, Tyrion, Danny. Would have been Tyrion, Jon, Dany pre dance, but Tyrion gets a little hard to take at times during dance. Dany's 'I'm just an innocent girl and know little of these things' or whatever she actually says kind of hurts her in my eyes in ways that things like crucified masters and sleeping with douchebags like Daario don't. The author lets her get away with it too much and it just feels like we're all in on a cheap joke that these idiot locals in slaver's bay don't get. Reduces everyone involved. I enjoy all of the doomed pretenders except for Euron. I enjoy the Iron Born's struggle with Euron, but my skin crawls when he's on page. The only POV character I don't really care for is Cat. Honestly I think she's a casualty of rereads, I didn't have troubles with her the first time through. She's so negative though, and so smug. It's not that it doesn't fit, given what she's been through by Storm, it's just hard to read (the fourth or so time). Favorite minor character is Nimble Dick.

I got nothin going on this morning. I'll read it.

Then why do the old men 'go hunting' instead of hoping in the stew pot? It would likely be some sort of exchange so that people could avoid eating their own parents, but if cannibalism is accepted why are they letting all of that good meat go to waste?

Caught me.

It's a possibility. It seems like transgressing taboo is an important step in acquiring power in ASOIAF so it wouldn't be out of the story's character if Greenseers turned out to be wholly sustained by blood spilled at their tree's roots or something in that vein.

There's plenty of food for someone hungry enough to eat it. He'll get there. It's not like he'd starve and lose before entertaining cannibalism.

Quentyn is Shiera Seastar

Not really 'gone' though, is he? Maybe a little sidelined, but he has his vision and he has agents. I don't see why he couldn't have had Darksister sent down.

Essentially, yes. Even if he didn't though, we know he has at least Dark Sister if not both swords and we know he has the means to have seen what was going on and even if the extent of his powers is what we've seen from him so far, he could have managed to have an agent or two courier them down to Rhaegar if he felt that was what he wanted to do.

I believe that he could have had one if Bloodraven had wanted him to, so either Bloodraven felt it wouldn't have made a difference and didn't send it down to protect it from falling into Robert's hands, or he knew it would make a difference and didn't send it down because Robert's Rebellion was something that he didn't want to prevent (and perhaps he had already decided that Blackfyre would go to Rhaegar's son). I kind of think it would have made a difference, especially in his showdown with Robert, but I wonder if we won't hear from BR himself about that one at some point.

The oath was only ever implied by Illyrio and inferred by Viserys. Drogo never made it. Anyway though, even if a binding pact exited in the eyes of the gods, Viserys was by his own words, satisfied with being crowned. "He says you shall have a splendid golden crown that men shall tremble to behold." Viserys smiled and lowered his sword... "That was all that I wanted" he said. "what was promised." Last words were "I am the dragon, and I will be crowned! Seems to me whatever obligation Drogo had to Viserys was satisfied.

Because that's a silly superstition? What's the chair's criteria for deciding if a ruler is worthy or not anyway? I dunno, if there's something left in animal skulls as Bloodraven and his pals suggest then it could be that there's something left in those dragon skulls too... could they influence the interactions between the king and the throne? Maybe Robert wasn't cut (one would have to think that if it's the dragon skulls behind the cutting they would want to cut the usurper) because he got them out of the throne room? I don't see it myself, I think there's a bit of inevitability in play when you're sitting on a chair made of swords. Robert probably just didn't sit the throne that much, or any cuts he did sustain were minor and he kept them to himself knowing how all of his lords an nobles would be reduced to old wives by the power of their superstition and the sight of blood.

I don't think he allowed it, I think he encouraged it. Domeric may be his son, but he was not the stuff that Lords of the Dreadfort are made of. I think Roose would have been contemptuous of the little fop. I wonder though if it wasn't the baby mother who did the actual poisoning on her son's behalf and he's just the beneficiary of her ambition.

I think it's Lady Falyse' head myself, but I also think that Ser Gregor's was the one Ser Swann took to Dorne.

That's frog blood on the spear in his sigil. Obviously Meera's father.