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The appearance of The Others


miyuki

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The Others appear in total two times throughout the series, in the prologue of the first book and again for one chapter in the third book. Now, after decade(s) of re-readings, fanart and a television adaption, I'm interested, how do You imagine them when you read the books? Their description leaves out some details, so there is room for all sorts of imaginations. 

Personally, I imagine them as very tall, over 2 meters, and very slim, sort of Slenderman-esque. I don't imagine them having any facial hair of any sorts nor any scales like they do in the show. The head is basically just a white skull with with skin. I get some strange otherwordly vibes from The Others so they also somewhat look like classic stereotypical aliens (but white instead of green). 

So how do You see them?

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On 7/14/2019 at 7:30 PM, Ckram said:

Like Marc Simonetti depicted them in TWOIAF, just really translucent.

Similar to this, but not translucent so much. The shifting colors of their clothing/armor is really cool to imagine. Rather like icy wood elves who are very pale and ethereal, half corporeal and half...something else. With lots of blue!

I think I read once that GRRM said they're supposed to be like an icy version of the sidhe (or aos si/sidhe people). One site describes the sidhe people as opal men. That iridescent, multi-colored quality sounds a lot like the Other garb.

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8 hours ago, Ice Queen said:

Think the Predator shimmering in the trees. 

Yup

Even in the AGOT Prologue where Waymar Royce dueled one Other, while the other Others watched ... it suggests the Others have a code of honor.

It's a callback to the finale fight in Predator 2 between Danny Glover and one Predator, while the others watched ... suggesting the Predator aliens have a code of honor too. But Danny won in the movie.

Hell, even the House Royce sigil has the Predator's written alien language.

 

Oh yea besides being honorable, the Others and the Predators both have camouflage and are very sneaky.

In the movie, the Predator decapitates a man named King Willie (Will?) ... like what HBO GoT did differently than the book AGOT.

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Not to split hairs, but I think that there is a distinction between the White Walkers and the Others- all White Walkers are Others, but not all Others are White Walkers. I think the humanoid form is only one form taken by a polymorphous race that includes at least the White Walkers and Ice Dragons, and probably a primal or original form.

As for the WWs, I picture them pretty much as shown in TWoIaF, like Sidhe made of glacial ice.

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1 hour ago, hiemal said:

Not to split hairs, but I think that there is a distinction between the White Walkers and the Others- all White Walkers are Others, but not all Others are White Walkers. I think the humanoid form is only one form taken by a polymorphous race that includes at least the White Walkers and Ice Dragons, and probably a primal or original form.

As for the WWs, I picture them pretty much as shown in TWoIaF, like Sidhe made of glacial ice.

It's clear that Others and WW are interchangeable terms, bit like Free Folk and Wildlings or Blood of the Dragon and Valyrian.  

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On 7/23/2019 at 11:21 PM, Ice Queen said:

Think the Predator shimmering in the trees. 

Exactly this but not the dreads and weird face tubes. Predator-like on the surface like a chameleon reflecting their surroundings. The zombie look is just for wights as I take it. ("Creatively it made sense to us")

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1 hour ago, Ser Uncle P said:

It's clear that Others and WW are interchangeable terms, bit like Free Folk and Wildlings or Blood of the Dragon and Valyrian.  

From what?

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On 7/14/2019 at 11:58 PM, miyuki said:

The Others appear in total two times throughout the series, in the prologue of the first book and again for one chapter in the third book. Now, after decade(s) of re-readings, fanart and a television adaption, I'm interested, how do You imagine them when you read the books? Their description leaves out some details, so there is room for all sorts of imaginations. 

Personally, I imagine them as very tall, over 2 meters, and very slim, sort of Slenderman-esque. I don't imagine them having any facial hair of any sorts nor any scales like they do in the show. The head is basically just a white skull with with skin. I get some strange otherwordly vibes from The Others so they also somewhat look like classic stereotypical aliens (but white instead of green). 

So how do You see them?

 

Ice elves.

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22 hours ago, hiemal said:

From what?

From the way the characters mention them. E.G. Aemon on his deathbed to Sam "them how it is upon the Wall . . . the wights and the white walkers, the creeping cold" 

 

or Sam's first chapter in ASOS "The horn blew thrice long, three long blasts means Others. The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy, riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood . . ."

 

Making it clear that "Others" and "White Walkers" are synonymous

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On 7/31/2019 at 11:15 PM, Ser Uncle P said:

From the way the characters mention them. E.G. Aemon on his deathbed to Sam "them how it is upon the Wall . . . the wights and the white walkers, the creeping cold" 

 

or Sam's first chapter in ASOS "The horn blew thrice long, three long blasts means Others. The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy, riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood . . ."

 

Making it clear that "Others" and "White Walkers" are synonymous

I think they mean that some Others are wights and not White Walkers.

 

@Ckram Old Nan says "that is when the Others came" which comes out strange, like the big mass of their army isn't made up of WW, when they come it won't be only WW so I take the liberty to deduce Others means wights and WW.

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I always took them for Ice Vampires but like the yuuzhan vong if any one knows that species from star wars when the EU was canon. I think they have a warrior caste and then another caste because there are at least female described as inhumanely beautiful. Just glad they don't sparkle.

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On 7/31/2019 at 5:15 PM, Ser Uncle P said:

From the way the characters mention them. E.G. Aemon on his deathbed to Sam "them how it is upon the Wall . . . the wights and the white walkers, the creeping cold" 

 

or Sam's first chapter in ASOS "The horn blew thrice long, three long blasts means Others. The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy, riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood . . ."

People also thought the Others were either extinct or a fantasy to begin with.

On 7/31/2019 at 5:15 PM, Ser Uncle P said:

Making it clear that "Others" and "White Walkers" are synonymous

 That some people think they are, anyways.

 

 

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15 hours ago, Destiny Arrives said:

I always took them for Ice Vampires but like the yuuzhan vong if any one knows that species from star wars when the EU was canon. I think they have a warrior caste and then another caste because there are at least female described as inhumanely beautiful. Just glad they don't sparkle.

I suspect we are going to learn quite a bit about their culture, origins and motives before long.

I just can't decide who will be our POV lens into the origins and nature of the Others? Will it be Bran? Or will it be Jon? Melisandre maybe?

 

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On 7/31/2019 at 6:17 PM, Sigella said:

@Ckram Old Nan says "that is when the Others came" which comes out strange, like the big mass of their army isn't made up of WW, when they come it won't be only WW so I take the liberty to deduce Others means wights and WW.

Oh, ok.

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Of all the adjectives used to describe the 'Others', it's the word 'beautiful' that sticks with me.

Pale, translucent skin (that cannot bare sunlight) with blue veins visible beneath. I also imagine them to have a pearl effect to their blue armour. What stands out most of all is their burning blue eyes. Like when you have the air-hole fully open on a Bunsen burner. I think they're actually very delicate creatures.

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On 8/2/2019 at 12:14 PM, Jabar of House Titan said:

I suspect we are going to learn quite a bit about their culture, origins and motives before long.

I just can't decide who will be our POV lens into the origins and nature of the Others? Will it be Bran? Or will it be Jon? Melisandre maybe?

 

It has to be Bran 

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