#I got told I look like maisie williams

[ellieluvr420]

Friends? Never. Pt.19 (Ellie Williams x reader)

MASTERLIST (and information about Palestine) Please read!

SYNOPSIS: You and Ellie had been bitter enemies for years now but before that you were best friends. You had always planned to be roommates one day but when that becomes a reality the situation isn't exactly how you both imagined it.

SMUT mdni 🤗

₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

It had been a week since you and Ellie had started your new jobs and the group that you were training was making progress, their aim was improving and their ability to fight was ten times better than it had been when they started. Even Amber had begun to improve and take your advice without challenging you at every step of the way. Clem was thriving at school, and you looked forward to hearing her ramblings of the day more than anything.  

The group was doing shooting practise and you watched quietly as Ellie walked around the group inspecting their stances and their handling of the gun. She had been short-tempered today and it puzzled you but you brushed it off anyway. She had made Harvey and Mike do drills when she caught them messing about instead of sparring but not before she bit both their heads off harshly enough that they had been silent up until now. The sight amused you but you were confused because she was never like this with them. Amber had asked her to help her get more power into her punches and you both saw straight through it, you had to give it to the girl, she was persistent. Even after it being revealed that you and Ellie were together and even after they had walked in on Ellie kissing your cheek eliciting whoops and cheers from them all, she was still hopelessly flirting with Ellie which often gave you both a laugh at home.  

“You’re not tensing your body enough and your movements are too slow. Keep your body rigid and speed up. I’ve already told you this.” She snapped at Amber. 

“But-” 

“Hey can you come here?” She had called over to you, you approaching slightly confused as was Amber until Ellie put her hands on your hips and spun you around to face away from her as she squeezed at the soft of them. “Throw a punch.” She whispered in your ear and the intimacy made your body tingly, this wasn’t like any of the usual demonstrations she had done with you, there was something different about it though you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was that was making you feel strange. You threw a punch as she gripped onto your hips, her hands squeezing impossibly tighter, not to stop your hips from moving, she knew they wouldn’t but she savoured the feel of them in her hands anyway. “See how my hands didn’t move, you’re not tensing so you lose the power.” 

“Can you try that with me? I just feel like I won’t be able to tell a difference unless I know how its supposed to feel.” She smiled coyly as your eyebrows quirked in disbelief at the audacity of her. 

“Can you deal with her please?” Ellie sighed as she stormed off to go watch another pair, you don’t miss the dejected expression on Amber’s face causing you to roll your eyes as you take your place behind her.  

“Do you actually want help or were you just trying to get my girlfriend to touch you?” Her mouth falls open at your harsh tone and she shakes her head as Maisie watches in amusement. 

“N-no I actually want help.” 

“Good.” You gripped onto her hips as you watched Ellie who was a picture of frustration. “Throw a punch.” You held onto her as firmly as possible as she threw the punch and then let go. “Did that feel different?” 

“Yeah I think I understand now, thanks.” You nod and walk off back to your original position. 

After that as you watched Ellie snap at George while he was aiming his gun you realised you needed to figure out what was going on. 

“How many times do I have to tell you your feet are meant to be shoulder-width apart? Do you not know what that means? Do you not know what fucking shoulders are? I’m asking you a question so answer me.” She got in his face and you rushed over to intervene as you dragged her away from the group. 

“You need to chill the fuck out.” She huffs and rolls her eyes. “I’m gonna give them a talk about knives because its long overdue and you can just stand and be quiet okay? You’re gonna get bollocked by Maria so wind your neck in.” You call everyone over and have them sit down so you can talk about knives and explain the importance of them. “Right guys, you’ve practised with guns and you are getting better, still a ways to go but we’ve already seen a lot of improvement but it’s super important you don’t forget the usefulness of a knife. Knives are so underrated but they are so good because as long as you keep hold of it, you can use it over and over again but the main reason they are so good is because they are silent. If you are out on patrol and you encounter one infected and you decide to shoot it, the sound of that gunshot could attract a whole horde towards you. So, that being said, use your knife as your first resort and your gun as your last.” You walk over to where all the weapons are stored and brandish a five-inch knife. “This knife is only five-inches-” 

“Oh come on don’t say only, five is a respectable length.” Harvey calls out as all the group laugh. Ellie goes to step forward with a look that could kill but you hold her bicep hard enough that your knuckles go white as you keep her in place. 

“Thank you so much for sharing that information with us Harvey, that makes want I’m about to say even funnier because it’s not the size of the knife that matters, it’s how you use it.” They all whoop and cheer as you chuckle along while glancing at Ellie that didn’t even crack a smile as she sneered at them. “Once again, the neck is a vulnerable point. I want you all to find your pulse on your neck for me.” They all put two fingers on their neck to find their pulse and you do the same to Ellie noticing how her cheeks redden and she fidgets slightly. “Where you can feel your pulse, that is the carotid artery, you hit that and someone will bleed out in seconds. You need to get good at being able to aim your knives for the vulnerable parts of the body as a reflex. I’ll show you.” You take your knife and press it to Ellie’s neck where you know the artery is just from muscle memory, the knife isn’t pressing into her neck hard but she does gulp as her eyes flicker from the group to you and she bites her lip subtly, the blush never fading from her cheeks. “Ellie, put your fingers where your pulse is, please.” She does that and when her fingers are right below where your knife sat, you mentally pat yourself on the back. “You slash at that or actually stab someone there and you might’ve just saved your life, this does go for infected as well so keep that in mind. I want you to get in pairs and practise what me and Ellie just did, hold the knife up to the other person’s neck, not hard, seriously, and then let them find their pulse and see how close you are. First person to get it spot on doesn’t have to do drills at the end of today!” They all rush towards the knives and start practising. “Do not rush because someone will die, this is important, be adults about this.” You add before walking off with Ellie. “What the fuck is going on with you today? Are you ill? You’re all red and grumpy and it’s scaring me.” 

“Babe I need to fuck so bad.” 

“Oh my god.” Your tone is a mixture of disappointment and amusement. “That’s why you’ve had a stick up your ass all day? Because you’re horny? You are unbelievable.” You can’t help the giggle that erupts from you as she rolls her eyes and huffs at your amusement at her suffering. “Fine, we can fuck tonight but we have to be super quiet because of Clem.” 

“Oh my god babe you aren’t gonna know what hit you. I love you so much, thank you thank you thank you.” She steps towards you and reaches her hands out to your cheeks but you push them away gently with a smile as you flick your eyes towards the group that paid you no attention. She rolls her eyes before slyly grabbing your hand and pressing a sweet kiss to the back of it before looking over your shoulder and smiling at the lack of eyes on you both. It felt strange to sneak around but it excited you both more than you ever expected.  

You both watched as the group continued trying to find each other’s pulse’s until you heard a triumphant cheer from Amber as she jumped around. “I got it! I got it! I got her pulse!” 

“Congrats Amber, you now know how to kill someone quickly.” You deadpan. 

“Oh come on you were the one that made it a competition.” Ellie reasons with you as she smirks. “Amber! Lucky you. No drills for you today!” She smiles properly for the first time all day and everyone shares questioning looks at her sudden change in demeanour, you barely manage to hide your giggle as Amber continues jumping around and shoving it in everyone’s faces that she won. It all went quiet as Joel wondered in.  

“Hey kiddo!” He says to Ellie as he reaches you both. 

“Joel! They aren’t gonna fear me if you call me kiddo.” 

“They ain’t gonna fear you either way.” He chirps with a teasing grin.  

“I dunno Joel, they were shitting themselves today when she lost her shit at them.” 

“Yeah but I bet you scare the shit outta them all the time.” You nod your head in agreement as Ellie glares at you both. 

“Well that’s only because you got to deck Harvey on their first day.” She near-enough whines. 

“Shouldn’t have frozen and made me do all the talking then huh?” You smile sweetly as she huffs, you notice the group all quietly making their way over to the three of you, curious as to what you were all speaking about, nosy, you thought. 

“Guys if you wanna talk about a good shot, you gotta talk about this guy. He taught me everything I know.” Joel chuckles at Ellie’s words and bows his head to hide the blush that graced his cheeks slightly. 

“Is he your dad?” Harvey enquires causing Ellie to look like a deer in headlights as she glances from the group to Joel and back to the group. 

“Errr... y-yeah, yes he is.” She flashes a tight-lipped smile at Joel who mirrors her expression before clearing his throat and squeezing her shoulder.  

“Well I best get goin’, old and tired an’ all that. Best of luck to you all!” He smiles at them all and they all smile back, it’s sweet to you, their reaction to him. “Don’t work ‘em too hard eh.” He chortles before taking his leave as you turn to Ellie and grin at her, she notices your cheeky smile and scrunches her eyebrows in feigned confusion at you. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Youuuu said Joel’s your dad.” You tease. 

“Oh whatever, he is kinda isn’t he?” 

“I’m glad you see it that way, I agree though.” You each smile and you see an idea flash over her mind before she grabs your wrist and checks your watch as she refuses to wear one herself. 

“Guys! We’re gonna call it a day early. Enjoy the rest of your day and we’ll see you back here-” 

“9AM SHARP!” They all finish her sentence causing her to chuckle as she nods them off, ignoring your confused look. 

“Come on! We’ve got an hour until Clem finishes school. Now we don’t have to be quiet.” 

“Oh you genius you! Don’t think Maria’s gonna be too happy about us calling off training early to fuck though.” 

“Well are you gonna tell her?” 

“Not likely.” You both giggle as you practically jog back to your cabin, both ecstatic at your last-minute plans, Ellie fighting the urge to skip like a giddy child. 

₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

“Oh fuck I missed this so much.” 

“We’re literally just kissing Ellie.” 

“I know I love kissing you.” Ellie rushes out before she presses her lips onto yours again like she was trying to suck the air out of you. Her hand snakes down your stomach and traces the curve of your hip before roughly running her hand down the outside of your thigh and squeezing as she lifts it to wrap even tighter around her hip. She’s pressing herself down onto you like you’re both magnetic as her tongue savours the taste of your mouth like she would never know it again. You raise your legs higher up Ellie’s hips and pull her into you more causing her to groan at the friction of your cunts rubbing together, even through each of your underwear, she felt like there was lightning coursing through her. 

“Aw someone’s needy.” You pout at her as you tease her and she scowls as she roughly grinds her clothed pussy over yours eliciting a quiet whine from your lips, she smirks as you roll your eyes before she leans down to feather kisses down your neck as she grinds herself down onto you even harder, her pace picks up as her attack on your neck intensifies and just as she begins to suck on the skin below your ear you push her off. “Ellie! You cannot give me hickeys, we’re parents now we have to be responsible.” 

“I hate that you’re right.” 

“Thought you’d be used to it by now.” 

“Oh whatever.” You giggle as she grabs a handful of your boob and squeezes, her head coming to rest in the crook of your neck. You’re both panting and gasping as the friction between you both was heating up your cores and tensing every muscle in your body. You couldn’t help but giggle at the way you were both about to come from dry-humping but it had been awhile for you both, not for most people but you each had the sex-drive of a teenage boy so for you, it had basically been months. “Shit I’m gonna cum this is so embarrassing.” 

“Hey I’m right there with you.” You breathe out through choked moans and as if you had spoken it into existence you both came with a symphony of groans, accompanied by the steady tremble of both your legs. You expect Ellie to collapse on top of you but she doesn’t, instead flashing you a cheeky grin as she ripped your underwear down your legs before hopping off the bed and straight to her drawer that you knew she kept the strap in. The memory of the day she found it flashes through your mind causing you to chuckle. She eyed you over her shoulder suspiciously before fixing the harness around her hips and walking over to you. She stands at the bed with a smug expression on her face as the bright pink appendage hangs from her hips. 

“You know I’d find it way sexier if you weren’t wearing batman boxers right now Ellie.” 

“You said you liked my batman boxers.” She frowns as you throw your head back in fits of laughter. 

“I-I do, I’m sorry I was kidding, come on babe.” You pat the bed next to you as you try to console yourself. You couldn’t help but wonder, first, where the hell did she find them? Secondly, how did you not notice she was wearing those until now? 

“You’re so lucky I love you.” She goes to climb on top of you once again but you sit up with a shake of your head as you press her down on her back before straddling her hips and gazing at her shell-shocked face in amusement. You sunk down onto her like you were two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly and as your hips met hers you shivered at the feel of the dick lightly brushing against your cervix. You lean down, pressing your hands into the bed by Ellie’s head as you peck her lips over and over again, the slow rolling of your hips making you both gasp. 

You sat back up again and as you sped up the grinding of your hips against hers, you lifted your top, holding the hem between your teeth and squeezed your tits, pushing them together, giving Ellie a show that had her practically drooling. You were whimpering softly as the strap was hitting all the right spots in you before you felt her hands on your hips, gripping them to stop your movements. Your mouth drops open, dropping your top back down with it, as you furrow your eyebrows and she chuckles at you before snapping her hips up into you harshly enough that you keel over so your ear is right by her lips. 

“Sorry babe, you know I get impatient.” She whispers before drilling into you at such an unforgiving pace that tears roll down your cheeks as you bite down onto her shoulder. You felt like you were no longer on the planet and you were just floating up to heaven as your legs began to shake, your release rushing at you so quick you could barely catch your breath. She cooed at you as you unlatched from her shoulder and let a pornographic moan escape your lips as your body convulses with your orgasm. She slows to a stop and rubs at your back as you stay laid on top of her desperately trying to return your breathing to normal, the moment so sweet and intimate you felt like you were melting into her. “Babe, we gotta go get Clem.” You whine just a little, despite the excitement at seeing her precious little face, you felt completely drained causing Ellie to chuckle as she helps you off of her, laying you down on the bed. “Don’t worry I got it, I’ll let you recover.” She teases smugly as she removes the harness and starts redressing herself. 

She presses a quick kiss to your lips before rushing off to go pick up Clem as you lay there completely dazed trying to will yourself back to full consciousness. 

₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

You were sitting on the sofa, watching a film as you gulped down your third glass of water when a frantic knock sounded at the door causing you to rush over to it and fling the door open. 

“Oh fuck... Hi!” Dina is standing at the door, tears pouring down her cheeks despite her attempts to hurriedly wipe them away. “Sorry, er- is Ellie home?” 

“No she’s picking up Clem, come inside, what’s going on?” 

“No no it’s okay, I’m being stupid anyway, can you just tell Ellie I need to talk to her please?” 

“Dina come inside and sit down for a sec, Ellie won’t be long anyway.” She takes a deep, shaky breath before nodding and walking inside, refusing to meet your worried eyes. You usher her over to the sofa as she desperately tries to stop the sobs that weren’t slowing down even for a second. “What’s going on? Are you okay? Is Jesse okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah he’s fine, I’m fine, I- I just...” She chokes out another sob as her face falls into her hands, you rub her back until she calms enough to speak. “I- I think I’m pregnant.” 

“Oh.” She dryly chuckles and you realise that was not the best reaction. “This is gonna sound silly but how do you feel about it?” 

“It doesn’t sound silly, I’m being silly. I’m not even upset I don’t know why the fuck I’m crying.” 

“Well I’m sure it’s all very overwhelming, you’re allowed to have mixed feelings about it.” 

“Thank you, it’s not that I’m upset and I’m not worried about how Jesse will react, he’s basically born to be a dad but what if I’m not born to be a mom? I’m nineteen for fuck’s sake and we live in such a fucked-up world and I just- I’m scared to bring a baby into it you know? What if I fuck them up?” 

“Oh Dina, you’re joking right? You’ve been mothering everyone around you for as long as I’ve known you. That kid is gonna be so lucky to have you and Jesse as their parents and yeah the world is fucked-up, but Jackson isn’t, as far as I can see, that kid has won the fucking lottery.” You comfort her softly and for the first time she smiles brightly, beaming at you before pulling you into a tight hug. 

“Thank you, you’re an angel. Fuck okay, I- I feel like I can breathe again. I think I just needed someone to help me process this, sorry for lumping all this on you.” She gestures towards her and specifically her stomach and you can’t help but chuckle. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m really happy you told me. I’m so fucking happy for you D.” You both beam at each other before giggling like school girls. 

“How has it been with Clem anyway? You and Ellie are basically my experts on parenting which is a scary thought.” That makes you chuckle. 

“You’re telling me. D, they’re the fucking best. Clem is the sweetest kid I have ever met, I can be in the foulest mood and I see her face and all of a sudden it’s gone. The other day I was on my period and I felt like shit, like I was laying in Ellie’s bed crying because my cramps were so bad and she just waltzes in, climbs in the bed with me and tells me a shitty joke that she obviously got from Ellie and I could barely feel the cramps anymore because I was laughing so hard. Seeing Ellie with her too, I could watch them all day long, Clem is basically a carbon copy of Ellie and I swear it’s the best entertainment around. I fucking love having Clem and you are gonna love having that little one too.” 

“Oh that is so sweet, you have made me feel so much better...” She trails off before giggling. “What was the joke?” 

“What is the downside of eating a clock?” You pause as she thinks for a moment before shrugging her shoulders in defeat. “It’s time-consuming.” You both erupt into laughter as you clutch your stomach, tears sprouting in your eyes.  

“Oh my god that is awful but so Ellie.” 

“I know.” You both calm down and Dina smiles at you appreciatively before the door slams open, revealing an out-of-breath Clem bursting into the hallway.  

“Hey you so cheated!” Ellie’s voice booms through the house. 

“Nuh uh. You’re just slow!” Clem replies defensively before she spots you in the living room and comes bounding towards you, jumping onto you and wrapping her small arms around your neck. “Mommyyyy! I missed you. I beat Ellie in our race!” 

“Oh did you now? I am not surprised one bit and I missed you so much more baby, seriously I missed your cute little face since we dropped you off this morning.” She giggles before turning to Dina as she rests her head on your shoulder.  

“Hi Dina! Are you okay?” She enquires noticing the wet sheen of her cheeks and her puffy eyes. 

“Oh yeah I am all good sweetie. Your mommy here just told me one of your jokes and I laughed so hard I cried!” 

“Which one! Which one!?” 

“The clock one.” 

“That’s one of my favourites.” Clem yawns as she finishes her sentence. 

“Mine too.” Dina agrees as Ellie walks into the room, rosy cheeked with a confused look on her face as she makes eye contact with Dina. 

“Hey D, you okay?” 

“Oh yeah, yeah I’m fine.” 

“Er me and Clem will give you two a minute alone.” You beam before letting Clem clamber off you and leading her out of the room and towards the garden, kissing Ellie hello quickly as you pass her.  

You and Clem sit in the afternoon sun as she tells you all about her day down to every last detail and you were enthralled the entire time, you could listen to her ramble on for hours and hours, for a lifetime even, which is good because that’s how things seemed to be going, a quiet moment always interrupted by the welcome chatter of either Ellie or Clem, often both. 

After fifteen minutes Ellie walks outside coming to sit beside you as she kisses your cheek and whispers a small ‘hey’.  

“Is Dina gone?” 

“Yeah she’s uh- she's gonna go home and talk to Jesse.” 

“Probably best, wow right?” 

“Wow isn’t even the word, holy fuck.” You don’t even condemn her lude language in front of Clem anymore as it seems to only spur her on further. 

“I’m happy for them though, they’re gonna be amazing.” 

“Oh yeah for sure. She kept going on about how they’re so young and it made me realise we are all just kids doing our best for littler kids, you know?” 

“Oh I know. Isn’t it the best though?” 

“Wouldn’t change it for the world.” She beams at you and you rest your head on her shoulder as you watch Clem who was dancing around to music only she could hear, she was so perfect, you’d do anything to be the best for her. 

tags: @emiliabby @readbydayana @radioheadfan699 @lil-elliesgf @isitadinosaur @amberputh @maelovescashew @a-little-bit-of-everybody

[jinkookspencil]

bts x game of thrones

my personal headcanon (idek if i'm using that word right) for how bts would think of game of thrones. i think none of them watched it so this is more within the context of "would/if they watch it in the future". disclaimer: my opinion, but this is so open for discussion! a quick little post in honor of the house of the dragon finale!

would they watch game of thrones?

namjoon: yes

seokjin: yes

yoongi: yes

hobi: yes

jimin: no

taehyung: no

jungkook: ONLY if his friend/partner loved the show and wanted to show it to him and watch it with him. otherwise no.

would they also watch hotd:

namjoon: yes

seokjin: maybe once s1 is over

yoongi: no

hobi: no

jungkook: maybe once s1 is over

who would their favorite got characters be:

namjoon: tyrion + jon

seokjin: tormund + tyrion

yoongi: tyrion + jamie

hobi: daenerys + jon 

jungkook: arya + daenerys (maybe jon too!)

taehyung & jimin (if they watched): sansa + daenerys

bts bias of different got/hotd characters

jon snow: jin + hobi

robb stark: namjoon

sansa stark: jimin

arya stark: jungkook

daenerys: jungkook + yoongi

tyrion: jin + namjoon

cersei: would be an anti

jamie: jin

sam: namjoon

margaery: taehyung + jimin

tormund: namjoon + jin

missandei: namjoon

daario: jungkook

rhaenyra: yoongi

daemon: hobi + yoongi

alicent: taehyung

viserys i : namjoon

got x bts moments:

jungkook

ned’s death & the red wedding would traumatize jungkook. you’d be secretly recording him, his jaw would drop and he would just get so upset “YOU KNEW?! AND YOU LET ME GET ATTACHED TO THIS SHOW?! THATS WHY YOU ACTED WEIRD BEFORE TONIGHT’S EPISODE!!!!” (may have begun writing a fic of this because i can't control myself... coming soooon!!!)

he'll pout and be so upset about it

jungkook will buy a tiny iron throne figure for his apartment and he’ll let different action figures sit on it (istg i wrote this then realized i did this in the past my fucking soulmate)

jungkook would be loyal to house stark

he’d freak out when he finds out maisie williams is an army + a jungkook bias!

would be impressed by all the guys’ beards in the show and he’ll try to grow out his facial hair for a couple of days or he'll just say that it's very very cool but not something he'd do

might seriously consider a fencing lesson because he thinks the sword fighting is cool too (if he has a sort of spear/sword toy at home, he’ll recreate the movements, especially oberyn’s)

would LOVE the theme song

and would also imitate the night king's hand raise

daenerys would 100% bias jungkook imo because he's not only so physically active and capable, but he's also incredibly clever AND would be devoted to her! idk he has a link to daario, but better of course

hobi

hobi would love it but he’d think the violence and gore is excessive

he wouldn’t mind it, he just thinks it’s a bit much. 

hobi would look away but he’d freeze during joffrey’s death

he'll go "i need a drink"

daemon would bias hobi because arson and jack in the box is just so his vibe.... hobi would be SHOOK if someone told him this connection though (& i don't think he'll like it >.< sorry hobi i just see it)

jin

jin would be a very casual watcher. he’d be into it but wouldn’t look up much about the show or the books. if he has a question he’ll either just wing it & continue in the hopes that he understands later on or he’ll text a friend (*cough cough, text me jin*)

he'd be such a casual watcher that he might accidentally skip an episode then try to connect the dots himself

could actually see him enjoying the battle episodes

most popular member among the got characters - i just think that so many of the characters would love to joke around and go drinking with jin, he'd free them from the constraints and dreariness in their everyday lives

yoongi

in another universe i could see yoongi being someone who listened to the audiobooks

but i think he’d be a casual watcher, mostly, but he’d remember very specific and weird details that most people would have neglected  

but he’d watch a youtube video of something if he feels like he’s lost on something or the lore - he wouldn’t finish said video though

yoongi wouldn’t be very reactive while watching, even during the shocking bits, but i can see him letting out a little disapproving “….wow” at cersei blowing up the sept 

favorite scene: “tell cersei, i want her to know it was me”

rhaenyra would bias yoongi because he's just so chill while also being a badass, minds his own business, and is incredibly clever - i could see them working well together

namjoon

namjoon would love tyrion so, so much, he’ll use one of tyrion’s quotes as an instagram caption 100% 

or a picture of his dog moni with a direwolf/stark related caption like “my very own dire wolf”

namjoon would get AFFECTED by the show like he’ll spend time pondering over morality and what he’d do if he were in a character’s position, considering the characters' povs, link it to the real world.....

namjoon would especially be mad as fuck at how jamie’s arc ended, i think

his favorite scene would be tyrion’s trial

would be so so into the show that he’d avoid consuming content about the show like the plague in case he accidentally comes across a spoiler

i don't think he'd hate the ending....

idk i'm so so SO curious to know namjoon's thoughts on the show i feel like i could be way off on his reactions

bonus / more than one member:

jungkook, hobi, and namjoon would be obsessed with the dragons

but namjoon and jungkook would be as equally obsessed with the direwolves

i said jungkook would love the theme song, but i think namjoon would too. If he hears jungkook singing the theme song, he’ll join in 

jin and hobi could develop crushes on emilia clarke

as i said i don’t see tae watching the show, but i think he’ll see one or two scenes somehow & that’ll stick in his mind - im guessing the scene of daenerys getting the unsullied 

i think sansa will definitely bias jimin because of how kindhearted and sweet he is and how that's just a part of his nature, he'll remind sansa of the good in the world <3

if any of the members were to post something got-related (like namjoon’s direwolf post i mentioned), taehyung would “respond” by posting a picture of yeontan with the caption “tan, the real king” 

expect user uarmyhope to comment with "LORD STARK" a bunch of fire, snow, dragon, wolf, crown emojis - on both thv and rkive’s posts

the way they’d all go ?????? at ed sheeran’s cameo - hobi would burst out laughing and post it on his insta stories with the caption “hey buddy!”

[phoneybeatlemania]

I don't like going on anon with moots but:

you have a complicated relationship with your sister lol (don't ask me why this is the first thing I thought of)

when it comes to document applications, you are a Pages evangelist

people tell you you look like Maisie Williams a lot IRL

YES to all of these ^^^ (sort of) with exception to the Maisie Williams once because I haven’t been told that much since I got a fringe [but still get told it a little lol :)]

tell me a fact(s) you’ve learned about me since following me

[dippydots]

Woods

(✨Update on the kiddos :)✨)

"Here we go gathering nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May! Here we go gathering nuts in May on a frosty morning!" Edmund sang aloud as he pulled the red wagon full of supplies. "It's June," Edith said tiredly. "Oh yeah May's next month." Edith didn't even try to correct him on that. It would just lead to another one and begin an endless loop. It was their first day on this journey, a rather stupid one in Edith's opinion. They got up at around six and then climbed out the window a few minutes later. She assumed that they would be back by the afternoon or evening, Edmund would most likely get tired of walking by then, and Maisie would probably be ready to go home. "Where are we going, again?" Maisie asked, a chipper look on her face. "I think the better question is 'why are we going?'" Edith said, smiling a little bit. Edmund scoffed. "You were there when Uncle Victor swung by, Edith." That was true.

Last week Victor was babysitting the twins, and the conversation eventually came around to Victor's childhood. "I had two brothers and one sister, very interesting bunch, we often got into a lot of trouble every now and then." Edmund had asked, "Where are they now?" Victor's smile faltered. "Well, truthfully I haven't talked to my family in ages. Elizabeth, she's got an art studio somewhere with her partner Justine, and little William, hmm how old would William be now?" He counted on his fingers. A look of shock and a mix of horror appeared on his face. "Oh my God he's 23 now!" Edith furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought you were 23," she said. "Oh, I wish I was 23."

"Wait what about your other brother? Where's he at?" Edmund asked. Victor blinked a few times. "I'm not sure where Ernest is. We never were that close, he was always sick in bed. Elizabeth usually keeps me updated on family events, but she's never mentioned anything about Ernest." After an awkward moment of silence, Victor had changed the subject to making spaghetti-os for the twins. For some reason, Edmund was hooked on what Victor had said. What happened to Ernest? Where was he? Victor hardly smiled, would seeing his brother make him happy? Seeing Edward made Edmund happy, so the same would apply to Victor, right? That's what he thought, at least. Eventually, he made plans, and decided that he was going to find Ernest for Victor. He had invited Edith to come with him to the treehouse to discuss his plans. "You're joking, right?" she had asked. "Nope " he said, "I'm completely serious." He held up an upside-down map. "If we cut through the forest, there's a village on the other side. Then we can start asking if anyone's heard of Ernest Fronkenstein."

"Frankenstein."

"That's what I said. Anyways, we go through the village, and surely we'll find someone who knows. I've already asked May to come with me, so that just leaves you!" Edith raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't ask Anaïs to come with you."

"She falls asleep too much, and I don't want to bring too many people, you know?"

"Do Mum and Papa know?" she asked. Surely, he told them. "We'll be back before they even notice! It shouldn't take too long, Cherry!" Edith did agree afterwards. This wouldn't take too long, right? Their parents would be fine, right? Edith didn't really know. But she did hope that they'd go home soon.

[more-quiverfull-sims]

And Babies Make Ten!!

Today I found some adorable pictures from my childhood. I even found some of Nathaniel and Ruthie, back when they were just best buddies! I showed the ones of me to Ruthie, but she said most of them were a little depressing. I laughed--she has such a great sense of humor. 

Mama wasn’t sure about Ruthie and Nathaniel being friends at first...but she lived just down the street! We all got to know her really well! My sweet Mama, she was just worried about us girls being influenced by Ruthie’s pants-wearing and outspoken manner.

Anyway, I have a set of new family photos. These are a little outdated already, but I wanted to share them anyway because they are just so sweet! You can tell that Mama and I went dress shopping before this...we match!

There’s four families here! Mine is in blue. 

Thaddeus’ family! He and Chelsie are expecting baby girl #3. They did not get the memo about the family matching, LOL! But neither did Ruthie and Nathaniel!

Ruthie and Nathaniel’s sweet family! They forgot to send me their portraits for my blog, so I took this from the big family photo! You may be able to tell that Ruthie is expecting twins, Amelia and Maisie. Nathaniel told me that they are NOT planning to have any more. This grieved my heart greatly, but I knew that I could not question him! He is Ruthie’s authority!

By the way, you may notice something if you look carefully at Ruthie and Nathaniel’s family--yes, they had a little one! William Snyder! They waited a few years, and Ruthie said they’re only having two more at the most...guess I need to keep praying over her that she finds the way of righteousness!

I’ve been spending more time with Ruthie lately. It’s been really fun to share sweet fellowship! I don’t really understand Ruthie’s worldly ways, but she does have a lot of fun stories about going to school. I never went to school, and I do enjoy hearing about all the sinfulness that I missed out on--so that I can be extra grateful to my Mama and Daddy for keeping us on the path of righteousness!

I thought I should share some snapshots from my daily life as a Godly wife!! It may be hard to believe, but it’s not ALL sunshine and rainbows all the time! My days are full and brim with joy, yet they are also full of toil and labor! I am forever caring, correcting, loving and teaching! It really is such a gift!

Making some delicious treats for my hubby.

Snuggling baby #5, Katlynn! I named her after my Mama, but gave her an extra “n” for a bit of flair! I wanted her to be unique!!

Here I am correcting our sweet baby #4, Isaiah Stetson!

Here is me making a NUTRITIOUS meal for my family. I’m not a huge fan of vegetables, so I mostly cook grilled cheese!

Here I am homeschooling my boys. They are so overjoyed and love to learn! Sweet little Hope Geraldine JUST aged up to childhood, so she will be joining us next.

Eating with my hubby and enjoying our day! This is what it’s all about!

HERE are updated family shots. Can you BELIEVE how our family has grown?? Who would have ever thought when we married ten years ago that we would be married with SIX kids? And now we are expecting twins, FINALLY! I wept and prayed for twins for SO long, especially since we had a miscarriage in between Isaiah (#4) and Katlynn (#5), and then struggled to conceive with #6, John Brice!! We are so grateful for the family we have and can’t wait for it to continue to grow...and we cannot wait to welcome little Patience Praise and Victor Duggarson in six short months!!!

That’s right, I will soon be thirty with EIGHT children, just like my hero, Michelle Duggar! Michelle technically has me beaten, as her eighth child came just BEFORE her thirtieth birthday, instead of six months AFTER. Pray for me that I may become more like her!!

[marshmallow--3]

TW: child abuse, trans/enbyphobia, violence, arson, fire

Dream got kinda crazy. Dreamt that my circumstances were similar to what happened between m** and I irl, but more severe. Also my character was played by Maisie Williams.

She kept dead-naming me and bouncing from man to man, I'd keep correcting her and whichever husband she had in that moment and I'd get ridiculed for it. In one scene, I was wearing the necklace my German friends got me for Christmas, the one with Sam engraved on with a little enby flag pendant, m** ripped it off my neck, snapping the chain. I had a blackout vision of murdering her, not for the first time. In this vision, the police arrived and asked me what happened - I told them straight that I killed her for what she did, then they took me to the police station and cut my hair which only made me smile because it was getting shorter and fluffier, just how I wanted it to present as male.

When that vision was over, there were various arguments between us. I'd said I'd be moving out soon, she laughed and asked "with what money?". One of her husbands found my used condom in the bin, lectured me about it, she found out and I rolled my eyes, saying, "well I'll bet Gran already knows about it". There's no privacy in this family, everybody has to know everyone else's business.

Anyway a few more arguments and in the end I told her she owed me money for various things she's broken. That's when she snapped, she grew aggressive, I locked myself in my bedroom and she poured alcohol at the door and lit a match, trapping me inside with the intent to burn me to death. It was traumatising as hell, so much so that flash-forward to later, when I'd survived, I was non-verbal, communicated only with sign language, and I was homeless.

I refused to beg for money or food, so I grew really skinny, the clothes I left with were baggy on me, you really wouldn't recognise me. In one instance, I was mistaken for a worker in a supermarket, I was asked to go into the back to get something from the reduced shelf. I looked at pork chops for stray dogs, but wasn't sure how I'd cook them for them, didn't have a phone to see if dogs could eat raw meat, so I left it. But I found meals big enough for groups marked down in price due to damaged packaging or short Use By dates. I attempted to steal them but was caught, but I pretended to be confused by the instructions I'd been given, showing I was signing and the supervisor was like, "oh.".

And that's the end of it, really. Need to go back to sleep to see if the story continues.

[arabian-bloodstream]

Gendrya are married. Period.

*I decided to just post this here in its entirety.

I believe that Arya and Gendry are married. Period. And (almost) all of the clues were right there in front of us. Why was it sub-textual instead of clearly there in the text? I have three thoughts on that. One is that I think that D&D miscalculated in thinking that viewers and even die-hard fans would over-analyze the series like they had in the past looking for answers. That simply was just not going to happen since this was the final season and viewers expected definitive answers.

I did analyze (and over-analyze) everything having to do with Arya and Gendry’s arc and this is what I’ve come up with… you may or may not agree. I think it’s pretty clear, however, when taking in all of the following that Arya and Gendry were wed when Game of Thrones came to a close.

A Wedding Foreshadowed

The Fruitful Mother 

Cloak of Protection 

What Gendry Knows 

That's Not Me 

Life Versus Death 

A Gift To No One 

His Wife 

Third Time's The Charm 

She Begins Where He Ends 

She Wore His Colors 

The Ship That Was Promised 

Circles and Secrets

To the End of the World 

Happily Ever After

  Below the cut (because this sucker is long) I break down all of the above.

A Wedding Foreshadowed

The night before what many thought was going to be their last day, Arya briefly joined the Hound on the parapets. This scene held significance or three reasons. Firstly, it set-up their conversation in the fifth episode, "The Bells," where the Hound once more fights for Arya. In that, his fight for her is his determination to turn her away from his path of dying for revenge and turn her towards living.

The second is one that had played throughout the season, how his story with Arya was connected to Gendry’s with Arya. When Arya first saw the Hound, Gendry came right behind him. When Arya first spoke to the Hound, it was in defense of Gendry, and Gendry was witness to their reunion. In the following episode, Gendry and the Hound discussed Arya, Gendry went to Arya, and her next scene was with the Hound, a thread of life and death, choosing life or death running through them.

Finally, Beric showed up and joined Arya and the Hound and spoke to Arya, in so many words, apologizing for how things ended with them. Viewers who remembered their history knew that his apology was for selling Gendry to Melisandre. The Hound’s question to Arya if Beric was another one on her list and her acknowledgement that he was for a short time was another nod to her history with Gendry.

And the nods to that history are important to note because of the Hound’s line when Beric first came upon them and the scene that played right after Arya left the “two miserable old shits.”

Oh, for fuck's sake, may as well be at a bloody wedding.

Three people in the cold, dark night in a castle of thousands and that is what he said… hmm. And right afterwards, Arya laid with Gendry for the first time.

The Fruitful Mother

Prior to the actual lovemaking—and yes, it was lovemaking. She had to have sent word to him where she was otherwise, he wouldn’t have known. It was Gendry that she wanted, period. Ahem… prior to the actual lovemaking, any type of sexual situation with Arya and Gendry happening was *obviously* going to happen in the forge. Because, you know, Gendry=the forge, thus the hashtag #forgesex was well associated with Arya and Gendry literally years before season 08.

In fact, even after Arya and Gendry actually had sex in some random storage room, their lovemaking is still referred to as forgesex. Here’s the thing, though, was it random? Where Arya and Gendry did the deed was on sacks of grain. Why not in the forge? Arya had already gone and sought her weapon once before. Wouldn’t it have made sense for her to go looking for that weapon yet again as an excuse {wink*wink} to see Gendry in the conveniently empty forge for… wait for it! …. Forgesex! Actual forgesex.

Nope, instead, they were in a storage room filled with sacks of grain. Yes, grain. Hmm. And what does grain make one think of? Harvesting, and digging deeper, we can look at mythology and my mind automatically went to the Greek goddess of harvest, Demeter. Although, she is often described simply as thus, she also presided over the cycle of life and death. (See that section below). Around 205 BC, the worship of Demeter was merged with that of the Roman agriculture goddess Ceres. In Roman culture, married women were taught to emulate Ceres, the devoted and fruitful Mother.  By following these rites, it was believed that would help ensure a good harvest and increase the fertility of those who partook in the tradition.

So, instead of forgesex, we got grainsex. Grain=harvest and harvest=fertility, life, renewal, rebirth, many things that Arya eventually chooses for herself in the end and when this reference comes into play Gendry is literally joined with her in this particular process.

A reach, perhaps, admittedly, but it’s yet another piece to add to the whole.

Cloak of Protection

Arya’s third and final scene in the second episode held yet another significant clue. Cloaks are a major symbol of marriage in Westeros.   During weddings, a bride wears a cloak of her house (called “the maiden’s cloak”) and during the ceremony, the maiden’s cloak is removed and the groom places a cloak of his house and colors upon her shoulders. This signifies her moving from one house to another and that his bride is now under the protection of her husband and his house. (Recall the humiliating situation that Tyrion found himself in when he was unable to place his cloak on Sansa during their wedding due to Joffrey having the stool removed.)

When Gendry came to Arya in the storage room with her weapon he was dressed up as nicely as we’ve ever seen him. Including wearing a cloak that featured, oh so coincidentally, the House Baratheon colors. (Nice, Gendry.) The fur was a burnished beige-ish gold and the rest of the material was black. And in that final scene when the two lay atop those sacks of grain in the aftermath of their lovemaking—while Arya was dealing with all of the feels she’d unleashed, she was covered by Gendry’s cloak, kept safe and warm from the cold.

Yes, indeed. A small thing, but yet another one.

What Gendry Knows

One of the most important scenes in Arya and Gendry’s story was when he chose to stay with the Brotherhood without Banners. He did so because he’d never had a family and he chose them for that chance to have one. Arya told him then that he could be her family, and in doing so she was telling him that she loved him. We know because Maisie Williams told us that she was directed to say that line like “I love you,” and that was the take that was used. Gendry’s response was that she wouldn’t be his family, she would be “milady.” Bluntly put, Arya offered herself to Gendry and he turned her down.

When Gendry proposed to Arya, it was a reverse of *that* scene. In other words, it put them on equal standing in absolutely every way. They are not only now both technically a lord and a lady, but they had both offered themselves to the other and been rejected in turn. Instead of saying “I love you” in so many words with “I can be your family,” as Arya did to Gendry, Gendry actually said the words. He told her, “I love you.” He said: “Be my wife.” He offered himself to her, and she turned him down.

So how is this a good thing and part of the Gendrya Wedded Belief? Well, since we had Gendry rejecting Arya, and Arya rejecting Gendry how does the narrative go? Third times the charm. When they next meet, the offer to be with one another will come again and this time it should be accepted. How do we know this for sure? Again… it was all there on the screen, in what was said. Gendry made it perfectly clear where he stood. He knows exactly what he wants. He always has. That has been a consistent with this character. This is what he told Arya before he got ahead of himself and made his drunken, clumsy proposal:

All I know is you’re beautiful and I love you and none of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me.

There was a reason this line was included in their scene. Especially that last part. “None of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me.” What was the point of that if it didn't matter? Everything, because *it did* matter.  For Gendry, none of it is worth anything without Arya, so... he is going to give it up. We just didn't see it. Because, again, as I stated atop, D&D perhaps thought that fans would over-analyze like they had in the past and figure it out themselves.

And so the pile keeps growing.

That’s Not Me

First off, let’s get the meaning of Arya’s infamous "That’s not me," out of the way. The full conversation was essentially about gender inequality.

Arya: [Bran] wants to be a knight of the Kingsguard. He can't be one now can he? Ned: No, but someday he could be lord of a holdfast or sit on the king's council or he could raise castles like Bran the Builder. Arya: Can I be lord of a holdfast? Ned: You will marry a high lord and rule his castle. And your sons shall be knights, and princes, and lords. Arya: No, that's not me.

So, yeah, Ned—as great a father as he was—essentially told Arya, yeah, you're just going to be some man's property and pop out his babies. THAT is why Arya said, "that's not me." So when Gendry (drunkenly and thus stupidly) phrased his proposal as he did, he put her right back in that position of just being a lord's wife who was expected to pop out his babies, and, no, that is not her.

However, that's not who he wants. He has zero interest in a lady like that because he's most definitely not a lord like that. However, he didn't say any of that, instead he just asked her to be his lady and so she kissed him sweetly and softly and she told him that he would be a wonderful lord and any lady would be lucky to have him. She did that because she wants him to be happy, and, yes, because she does love him. You could see that written all over her. She loves him so much, it was shining all over her face, radiating from her very being.

That's not the only reason she said no, though. Once she had made her decision to tell him no, it was only at that point that she allowed herself to show him her love—thus his confusion. Prior to that moment though, when Gendry told Arya that he loved her and proposed, she looked terrified. And that made perfect sense.

Think of how the episode began. She had lain fire down on a funeral pyre for a man who had sacrificed himself to save her life. She felt the pain of that after being numb for so long, Arya had only recently begun to allow herself to begin to feel again. Feelings that include pain. She's not ready for that. Compounded by that, she doesn't want Gendry getting hurt or dying. She never wants to feel that pain. So, she's going back to the numb persona from her years on her own, before she saw Gendry again.

Plus, she had made her decision to go to King's Landing and finish her list. Arya was going to kill Cersei Lannister and she didn't expect to survive. So how could she tell Gendry she would marry him if she was planning on dying? She couldn't. So she fell back on her old stand-by. She wasn't a lady, not in words, not in action. It just hadn't occurred to her that Gendry wasn't a lord in words or actions either.

But it will, because Gendry isn't going to remain drunk forever. He knows Arya, and he's going to figure out where he went wrong—especially because she pretty much spelled it out for him. He doesn't want a lady like she described. That's not him.

Life Versus Death

I mentioned in the first section about how the Hound’s story with Arya was connected to Gendry’s with Arya throughout all of season 08. It was because they represented opposite choices of her life going forth.

The Hound is death. Gendry is life.

It’s all tied up together. Gendry (life) chose to walk away from her all those years ago, and then Arya ran away and was captured by the Hound (death). In episode 04, Gendry (life) offered himself to her, but she chose to walk away and met up with the Hound (death).

This is the reason that Arya’s story was entangled with the Hound and Gendry all season long. And it absolutely was.

In her very first scene Arya saw the Hound and literally a few seconds later she saw Gendry. Of particular interest was that the Hound was on a BLACK horse and Gendry was on a WHITE horse. Throughout history, mythology and literature, black horses are often associated with death and darkness, while white horses are associated with peace, fertility and life.

When the Hound first saw Arya, Gendry was there, and of course, when Gendry first saw Arya, the Hound was present. This was in their reunion scenes with her that were literally combined. Gendry’s was just extended so that when the Hound was gone… Arya was still there with Gendry. Yes, again… when the Hound (who represented death) was gone, Gendry (who represented life) remained.

As mentioned in the first section, the night before the Battle of Winterfell, Arya left the Hound (and Beric who died during that battle to save Arya) to be with Gendry.

The Hound (of *all people*) told Gendry he should be celebrating life (with Arya)… not Davos, not Tormund, not Jon, but the Hound!

When Arya left Winterfell–and Gendry–she left on a BLACK horse and met up with the Hound. Remember when the Hound first arrived in Winterfell, he rode a black horse.

Arya left death and destruction behind her in King's Landing on a WHITE horse. Again, remember when Gendry first arrived in Winterfell, he rode a white horse.

Maisie Williams mentioned in her pre-season press tour that Arya would be torn and that is something that we hadn’t seen prior to episode 05. After episode 04, I had believed the struggle would be that Arya was torn between choosing death or life. And that is exactly what happened.

It eventually came down to Arya making the choice herself to walk away from death–which I believed that the Hound would push her to do–and choose life, and as I’ve pointed out, in many ways, Gendry equaled life just as the Hound equaled death. And that is what opened her eyes and did give that final push. As the Hound told her while the Red Keep was falling down around that them:

You think you’ve wanted revenge a long time? I’ve been after it all my life. It’s all I care about and look at me. LOOK AT ME! You want to be like me? You come with me, you die here.

This is what David Benioff said about the scene itself in “Inside the Episode” right after the show aired.

It’s a small scene, but it’s also, for us, one of the most important scenes in the whole episode because it’s the culmination of their story together. The road to vengeance always ends in one place. Which is what the Hound is saying to her here. "I’ve made my choice a long time ago, and this can only end in one possible way for me. But for you, you have so many other options.

The Hound has genuinely come to have affection for Arya. I think he loves her, as much as he’s capable of loving someone. And he knows that if she comes with him at this point, she’s not going to make it out of there.

And here’s where we go back to the section above. Arya knew that that she wouldn’t get out alive too. After she turned down Gendry’s proposal–in my analysis, rejecting life–and joined the Hound on the road to King’s Landing to kill Cersei, expecting to lose her life in the process, she rode a black horse.

After listening to Sandor’s words, after choosing to let Cersei die by a means other than her hand, running through the streets of death and chaos, she fought to live, fighting to try and help others live. She survived because the God of Death declared that no, my former pupil, death was not happening, not today, Arya Stark stood amidst all of that death and she stood in the light. The sun shone upon her and she saw a way out of that darkness, away from all of that death, back to life. She saw a white horse.

And she rode on that white horse away from death. To life? To Gendry? I think so. Why? Well, that brings me to another couple of key scenes that led me to my Gendrya Wedded Belief: the first and last scene with the Hound.

In the first scene, Gendry and the Hound were at the feast celebrating the North’s victory over the undead–Arya’s victory. And, of course, Arya was nowhere to be found.

Gendry: Have you seen Arya? The Hound: You can still smell the burning bodies and that's where your head is at? Gendry: I just want to thank her– The Hound: I'm sure you do. Gendry: Look, it’s not about that. The Hound: Of course, it's about that, you twat. Why shouldn't it be? The dead are dead. You're not.

The Hound made it pretty clear that he was well aware that Gendry wanted to *be* with Arya and when Gendry tried to deny it, the Hound called him on it and, surprisingly, pointed out that it was exactly what he should be doing. Now, let’s make this clear. Gendry wanted to celebrate LIFE with *Arya* and the Hound flat-out told him that such was exactly the thing he should be doing.

Contrast this with the final conversation the Hound had in the episode.

Arya: You're heading to King's Landing. The Hound: I have some unfinished business. Ayra: Me too. The Hound: I don't plan on coming back. Arya: Neither do I.

So, there we had the show using the Hound to illustrate that *Gendry* is life as Gendry wanted to celebrate life with Arya–who you remember was “celebrating” by shooting arrows at a target–and on the opposite spectrum, that Arya had indeed once more chosen to pursue death. Therefore, the conclusion to draw from those scenes that bookended one another so beautifully—when taking into account that Arya did choose life in the next episode—is that in choosing life, she will choose Gendry.

Gendry came riding into Winterfell on a white horse. The Hound rode a black horse. Arya left Winterfell and headed to King’s Landing on a black horse, expecting, intending to die. The Hound did die, Arya lived, and rode out of King’s Landing on a white horse.

The Hound is death. Gendry is life.

Arya chose Gendry. Just because we didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Everything added up to such is exactly what did indeed happen.

A Gift To No One

Now, taking all of the above into account, the Arya and the tangling of Gendry and the Hound–which just had to be deliberate because it was so meticulously crafted–this little bit of tidbit gave further credence to my Gendrya Wedded Belief. In early Spring of 2018, D&D helped create a new Spotify playlist: Game of Thrones: The End Is Coming. Upon doing so, they told For the Record in an email:

The answer to the ending is one hundred percent hidden in the playlist choices. No one will believe us, but it’s true.

One particular song caught my attention specifically because of a video on the official Game of Thrones YouTube channel. It’s title: Game of Thrones | Season 8 Episode 5 | The Hound’s Gift (HBO).  The description of the video is: "Maisie Williams explains Arya’s choice."

Why *this* was interesting is because prior to that episode I had been going on quite a bit about Arya having to make a choice between life and death. I had even written a post before episode 04 titled “Arya’s choice.”  That one essentially revolved around much of what the previous section here entailed. In the video Williams was talking about the "gift" that the Hound gives Arya.

This is a really important moment, the Hound realizing that “I don’t think this kid knows what she’s gonna get into.” And turning around and giving her this incredible gift, which is the second ticket to a new life.

He’s wanted revenge his entire life, and do you wanna be like him? “Is that what you want?” Just a moment in Arya where all those emotions that she’s been trying to suppress and trying to ignore and trying to focus on the task at hand all bubble up again, and this man who she cares so much about and has learned so much from and admires so much turned around and says ‘You don’t want this. You—you go.’ She realizes there is another way. There is another life that she could have.

Breaking down what she said, it obviously lined up completely with where I had seen her arc going. Arya stepped away from her whole list-friendly, emotionless persona and having Sandor basically tell her that she doesn't want to be a miserable old shit like him was a real wake-up call.

Her first “ticket” to life was obviously the coin from Jaqen Hagar. This was her second, and getting that from the Hound who had seen and been through so much with Arya, as well as seeing the devastating horror of rampant death and destruction all around her brought that message home loud and clear. She doesn't want that life, his life. That life which is death. She is choosing now to take what she wants. And what does she want? Well, that brings me to that Game of Thrones Spotify list and those clues that D&D talked about.

While going through the songs, and having watched this particular video clip the day before, I was pretty damn shook when I got to the end of “No One Knows” By Queens of the Stone Age. Here are the complete lyrics. However, what I want to focus on is the chorus and the outro as we close out the song.

[Chorus]

And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I

[Outro]

Heaven smiles above me What a gift here below But no one knows A gift that you give to me No one knows

That’s right.

What a gift here below / but no one knows / A gift that you give to me / No one knows

The Hound gave Arya a gift. Arya was No One.

No one knows a gift that you give to me. The Hound gave No One (Arya) a gift (life). And what had the show made clear—as I’ve already shown? Gendry represents life.  What happened prior to Arya choosing life, she had rejected Gendry’s proposal because she was choosing death.

Now look at the chorus again.

And I realize you’re mine / Indeed a fool am I / And I realize you’re mine / Indeed a fool am I

Arya’s choice. As Maisie Williams said, Arya would be torn during the season. She was torn between choosing life and death. Arya made her choice. Life. Sure, life doesn’t necessarily mean Gendry… but so much points to that it does, doesn’t it? It’s just all adding up.

His Wife

Quite a few people noticed this one. While Arya was reeling through the destruction of King’s Landing, trying to get out of there alive, she ran into someone who looked vaguely familiar. He wasn’t a character we knew; he was just a random citizen of King’s Landing who was desperately trying to survive, and more importantly, he was desperately trying to find his wife.

Why he looked familiar to so many is because, quite frankly, he looked like Gendry from earlier seasons before he’d cut his hair from when he and Arya had traveled together in their youth. There were countless tweets and comments on Tumblr about how much this guy looked like him. That was interesting enough, I mean, of all actors to cast in this small role, they cast someone who has the same coloring and hairstyle as Gendry opposite Arya from when they were together before. (Although, really, the man didn’t look all that much like him. It was just that in the quick flash of time we saw him in the chaos, the similarity to Gendry is what was striking.)

However, we then get to the why of the scene at all? Why have a guy who looks so much like the Gendry of old—the Gendry that Arya first fell in love with (per Maisie Williams)—grab onto Arya in the midst of all this madness as if to momentarily ground her and ask for his wife? It’s almost like it’s a reminder that the last time Arya saw Gendry, it was that he asked her to marry him!

But, wait, there’s more! This Gendry-look-alike’s wife’s name is Alanna. OK… and? Well, you know, Alanna sounds quite similar to Lyanna. As in Lyanna Stark, Arya’s aunt, the one that Arya is compared to quite a bit in the books—if not in the series, but there are quite a bit crossover book readers/show watchers. Oh, and Lyanna also just happened to be the woman that Robert Baratheon—that would be Gendry’s father—was in love with.

Yeah. A reach, maybe. But it’s yet *another* reach and if you keep on reaching, eventually you’re going to get your target. We’ve been reaching quite a bit.

Third Time's The Charm

So, despite everything in the narrative pointing to Arya choosing Gendry, the offer presented and accepted this third time, it didn’t happen. In fact, there was just a blip of interaction between the two in their “scene” in the final episode. That scene was in the Dragonpit where they were surrounded by others and basically didn’t actually interact at all. All that happened is that after Arya threatened Yara, we got a clear focus on Gendry’s reaction which many a fan interpreted as ‘Yup, that’s my murder bae!'

OK, I’m half-joking here, however, they did make a point of including Gendry reacting differently to her threat than everyone else, and his look did rather read like, ‘she’s so cool.’  And Gendry was looking over at her, making sure that he got a good, nice view. So, what was the point of that? Really, what was it? I can’t think of any other than to remind viewers that, yes, Gendry still has the feelings for Arya.

Despite what she told him to do, he sure isn’t ready to just move on. Nope.  Of course, that was made clear in another way, sartorially-speaking. Gendry is the fourth male (now) legitimate Baratheon we’ve seen, and thus attired in the official House Baratheon garb. His, however, is the first to have claw marks on the shoulders slashing into the leather. Perhaps (as in, absolutely!) letting the world (as in, Arya) know that he belongs to a certain wolf. Outfitted as such, is it that much of a stretch of imagination that once the votes were cast, Gendry had a word with the newly-appointed King about his lack of qualifications to be the lord of Storm's End?

After all, Storm’s End clearly has been running fine without a lord there since Gendry showed up all nicely garbed. That is something we actually can be pretty certain of. How? Well, no one was lord there for quite some time which means a steward was probably in charge and quite capably so, definitely better than Gendry would be–again, he has literally zero no-how in the lord-ing department. We know all this about Storm’s End because we were literally told that by Daenerys when she legitimized Gendry. She asked (in so many words):

Hey, who’s running Storm’s End? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? No one knows? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Here, you! Yeah, you, kid who has zero experience, no-how, nothing, you can have it since your daddy was a big ole whore. No big. It makes me look good.

Oh, and speaking of that, not only was Gendry a Fleabottom-bastard-recently-made-legitimized lord with no lordly training, he was legitimized by the Mad Dragon Queen. There’s not going to be too many people who are going to be all in for this guy as the Lord Paramount of one of the biggest regions of Westeros for those two reasons alone.

Finally, remember, as he told Arya when he saw her after he was given the title and the lands and all of it:

None of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me.

They both survived the Battle of Winterfell. She survived the Battle of King’s Landing. And here they are meeting once again. Third time’s the charm.

She Begins Where He Ends

This is a very small thing, and may likely not mean anything at all, but… in the first episode, Arya saw Gendry in her first scene. He wasn’t looking at her, so he didn’t see the way she was looking at him, but she definitely saw him and she liked what she saw.

In Gendry’s last scene, he was looking at Arya. She wasn’t looking at him, so, like him in her first scene, she didn’t see the way he was looking at her, but,he definitely saw her and he liked what he saw.

Again, a small thing, but that bookend of their scenes—Arya’s first was her looking at Gendry, admiring him, and his was looking at Arya, admiring her—had a lovely symmetry to it.

Another reach? Sure, but they add up.

She Wore His Colors

In the first and second episode of the final season, Arya is wearing a cute capelet (her version of a cloak) and the colors are those of House Stark: Grey with the fur, a mixed shade of grey and white. In the final episode, when she tells her family that she is going West of Westeros and when we see her on the bow of her ship, she is wearing a similar capelet. There is a very distinct difference, however.

The material of the capelet is now black, and the fur is a beige-ish gold color. You may recognize those colors as described above from the “Cloak of Protection” section. They are the colors of House Baratheon. Also from that section:

Cloaks are a major symbol of marriage in Westeros.  During weddings, a bride wears a cloak of her house (called “the maiden’s cloak”) and during the ceremony, the maiden’s cloak is removed and the groom places a cloak of his house and colors upon her shoulders. This signifies her moving from one house to another and that his bride is now under the protection of her husband and his house.

In addition to the capelet now bearing House Baratheon colors, the prominence of her dagger and sheathe—both golden in color—highlight even more so the gold of House Baratheon next to the black of the capelet (cloak) that she is wearing. (Here’s a comparison of the colors.)

In other words, after seeing Gendry at the Dragonpit—after seeing Gendry upon deciding to choose life—the very next time we see Arya, she is wearing his House colors. Arya Stark is no longer wearing the colors of House Stark, instead she is wearing the colors of House Baratheon. The only time a maiden wears the cloak of a house other than their own is when they join that house which they do… by marrying into that house.

Arya doesn’t generally follow the rules, but, again… added to everything else, yeah.

The Ship That Was Promised

This is another reach admittedly, but I think it maybe, might (probably doesn’t) mean something. Arya and Gendry are two characters who were both connected with ships/boats coming and going by the end of the series. Yes, you had the Greyjoys, but they were about the sea, ships in general. And other related characters, who were seaworthy (Davos, for instance), but again, it was in generalities. But with Arya, the fourth season ended on her on the ship leaving Westeros and then arriving on that same ship in Braavos in season 05. It was an important part of her journey, partially, because when she left Westeros, she was essentially leaving Arya Stark behind her.

The same was the case for Gendry. When he left our screens for an extended absence of time, it was on a boat and normally such a thing wouldn’t be a big deal. However, Gendry on a boat became quite the meme; it even made it onto the show when he returned. ("Thought you might still be rowing.")

Now, Arya is embarking on an extended journey on a sea vessel, just like Gendry. Once again, the two are on similar paths. Yeah, it’s a small thing, and likely this one really doesn’t mean anything, but it caught my attention.

Circles and Secrets

This is for the book readers mostly and could honestly be one of the reasons why we didn’t get the definitive, ‘yes, Arya and Gendry are married.' Although, we did get the well-known quote from the first episode from Robert to Ned:

I have a son, you have a daughter. We'll join our houses.

Arya and Gendry being wed is definitely the payoff to that line. However, D&D simply did not seed the parallels between Arya/Gendry and Robert/Lyanna that are lain throughout the books into the television series, so that payoff that will almost definitely be there in ASOIAF just wouldn’t land in the show even with that line from the Pilot.

Here's the thing, Gendry and Arya are essentially the getting-it-right version of Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark. Gendry is strong, stubborn, handsome like his father, but he’s also good and loyal and knows to treat his Northern lady with respect and love for exactly who she is. Arya is strong, willful, beautiful like her aunt, but she’s also loyal and steady and would never betray her vows, her home and leave the rest of the world to destroy itself.

Robert and Lyanna began this story and it ended quite badly. I think that George R.R. Martin–with all of his foreshadowing and seed-dropping (I mean, he wrote a love song for Arya and Gendry) intends for them to *finish* this story happily. Arya and Gendry joining the Stark and Baratheon Houses brings the story full circle. They are the ship that is promised.

Now as for the couple that got it wrong, let's talk about Lyanna for a bit. As I mentioned above, it didn't happen much in the show, but in the books, there are quite a few comparisons between Arya and her Aunt Lyanna. And what did her Aunt Lyanna do? She defied convention and ran off with a married man, an enemy of her family, left her betrothed in the dust and secretly wed him. Now, obviously all of Westeros didn’t know this. They believed that she had been kidnapped, but Lyanna damn well knew what she had done. And a war—and so, so, so much more happened—because of her actions.

While the circumstances aren't the same, if Gendry did give up his wardenship and Storm’s End (I doubt he would have given up the legitimacy) to be with Arya, that would have caused quite a stir. Arya marrying him despite him doing so might cause an even bigger stir of its own. And, naturally, she wouldn’t want the fuss of all of that, so a secret wedding may have taken place… but again, it’s something that we didn’t see.

Because as I stated above, Arya doesn’t follow the rules. That’s not her. So, yes, I could absolutely see Arya deciding to follow in her aunt's footsteps and marrying Gendry, who like her, was officially a noble in name only and ready and happy to just live an unencumbered life without restrictions.

So we didn’t see it happen on the show, but all signs point to it happening in between the Dragonpit meeting and her telling her family that she was going West of Westeros. Again, a reach? I don’t think so. I just don’t.

To the End of the World

After Arya and Gendry re-connected in the first episode, Maisie Williams said something very interesting in one of the “Behind the Scenes” clips about Arya’s feelings for Gendry.

I think for Arya, it's remembering who she was before. Like, I used to be that girl and that's who I was in love with and thought I would follow to the end of the World.

As the series ends and when we last see Arya, where is she going? West of Westeros. Yes, West of Westeros, which as far as anyone knows, yup, that is the end of the World.

Interesting turn of phrase used in retrospect, isn’t it?

Happily Ever After

Yes, a bittersweet ending for a show like Game of Thrones was always in the cards. However, I find it hard to believe that not one Stark, hell, not one main character received a romantic endgame after eight seasons! Sam and Gilly did, but (a) Sam is a supporting character and (b) the resolution of their love story (i.e., the two coming together as a pair and staying as such) was back in season 05.

So, yes, not one of our main characters got a happy, romantic endgame... except for possibly Arya Stark. She is the only one who had a love story that developed during the season and with someone with which the foundation was there. The seeds of the endgame nature of her love story with Gendry was essentially planted in the Pilot with Robert's line to Ned about their children that never had pay-off in the series. (But definitely will in the books!)

With everything else that happened between the two, all of the subtext, the costume points of reference and the behind the scenes interviews and quotes, well, I think it does add up to Arya indeed being that one character who got her full-on happily ever after.

I mentioned the D&D GOT Spotify playlist above. There are a few other songs that clearly reference Arya and Gendry (”Howlin’ For You,” "No One Knows" (already referenced), "Killer Wolf," "The Time is Now," "Devil's Spoke" (possibly). Now, there is one more song that screams an Arya/Gendry endgame with references to wolves and packs and howling winds (a.k.a. the fury of a storm). It’s about a youth who’s lost to the wild, but brought back to humanity by love. A restlessness remains, but a wolf can never be tamed. Still....

Here are some key phrases (Here are the full lyrics) ...

I heard my mother shouting through the fog / It turned out to be the howling of a dog / Or a wolf to be exact / The sound sent shivers down my back / But I was drawn into the pack

When suddenly a girl wandered aimlessly /But she didn't seem to see / She was listenin’ for the angels just like me

So I took her by the arm / We settled down upon a farm / And raised our children up as gently as you pleased / And now my fur has turned to skin / And I've been quickly ushered in / To a world that I confess I do not know

But I still dream of running careless through the snow / An' through the howlin' winds that blow / Across the ancient distant flow / It fill our bodies up like water till we know

There’s another very key thing to bear in mind that I found quite, quite interesting. The song is called “Furr.” That title clearly references the narrator (a male, but still, clearly in this case would be Arya) being a wolf. The group name is Blitzen Trapper. Blitzen is, of course, famously known as one of the reindeer who pulled Santa’s sleigh. Yes, science has now proven that all of Santa’s reindeer were likely female as male reindeer shed their antlers in December, however, it is highly unlikely that when the tale was first told that such was known therefore we’re going with the original conception that Blitzen is indeed male. And since Blitzen is known as a male reindeer, well, another name for a male deer is a… stag.

So, not only does the song itself alone howl to the winds an Arya and Gendry endgame (it really, really, REALLY does) but the group name + the song title + the meaning of the song literally = The Stag caught the Wolf with his love.

Yeah. Arya and Gendry... Endgame.

In Conclusion…

Over and over I repeated that some of these were a reach, were small things, that they didn’t mean much and I don’t deny that, however… when you add them all up, put them all together, well, it makes quite a compelling argument, I do believe. All of these things are parallels and hints and bits and pieces that when woven together make a very clear picture, and I do think they prove that Arya and Gendry were wed by the time Arya’s ship set sail at series’ end. We just didn't see it happen.

But, but, but… why not make it clear that Arya and Gendry were together in the end? Give us something obviously concrete. The quick conversation between Gendry and Bran, that secret wedding (similar to the Lyanna/Rhaegar one) or… or… at least Gendry on her bed in the cabin as she was getting dressed in the final scenes. Something!

Well, I mentioned one theory at the top. Another is that because D&D saw it so clearly in their minds they didn’t feel there was a need to because all of the signposts were there that they felt the audience would know it was going to happen. We all know how D&D are... they figure the audience will fill in the obvious blanks. Such as how we didn't need to see Arya and Sansa's reaction to finding out who Jon really was. Or Jaime and Bran's initial meeting. Or... or... or... (You know, fill in your blanks...)

However, I don’t think that’s the case because if it were, D&D would have maybe confirmed the two were wed by now. Instead, honestly, I think that they didn’t want it to be concrete. Maybe they deliberately went with the leaving it open for analysis to have it both ways. A single Arya for those wanting her off sailing free and unencumbered by love because “that’s not her,” but also playing fair for those who want the love story to read the clues into the well-lain narrative of a happily-ever-after with Gendry.

Now, there is a third possibility, and this is actually the one that makes the most sense in light of the decisions made with wardrobe, with interviews, with the Spotify playlist, with the Hound=death/Gendry=life, etc. HBO didn’t want Arya to have a definitive romantic endgame in leave their options open for an Arya Stark spin-off. Honestly, that would explain a lot of the narrative decisions that all seemed to lead to a very clear Arya and Gendry happily-ever-after endgame.

And everything with Arya—with Gendry—pointed to that happening for her and for them. D&D would have written, planned everything out most likely before HBO might have put a little whisper in their ear. Since Arya is the only one that allows for a spin-off that would work without any other Game of Thrones actor (aside from Maisie Williams, of course) it makes sense that they would prefer that such a definitive endgame not happen for that specific character.  Alas.

If that is what happened, it doesn’t change the fact that all of the other key points leading up to that definitive endgame *were* indeed in place. Furthermore, until such a spin-off potentially happens nothing says that Arya and Gendry didn't get married. So… Gendry Baratheon and Arya Stark Baratheon, lord and lady in name only, sailing the high seas, living their best lives.

It all adds up; nothing contradicts this theory. It works for me, how about you?

(This was originally posted at GOT_TheUnbroken.)

[fandomjuxtaposition]

Arya’s behavior vs. Gendry’s

I’ve been thinking about this a lot today, and I want to clarify something I said in response to a post recently. In discussing the way Arya is portrayed in fics, I said something along the lines of I understood why fic writers have trouble dealing with the behavior we were shown on screen. Trying to explain it, rationalize it, etc. Because the Arya Stark that occasionally popped up in season 8 was absolutely not the Arya Stark that I know and love, and I said that Arya’s behavior was, in my mind, worse than Gendry’s and that he had the right to be angry with her, and I feel like I need to explain what I meant, because I do not mean her behavior as a whole. I mean one very specific thing, and that’s the way she left him vs. the way he left her.

Putting the rest of this under a cut because I am very wordy and don’t want to make you scroll endlessly if you plan to ignore this.

When Gendry left her in season 3, as far as they both knew, she was about to be reunited with her family. With her mother and her brother who was the King in the North. Gendry was absolutely correct that she would not have been allowed to be his family. She would have been removed from his company and she would have been "m'lady." 

Their class differences as a highborn lady and a baseborn bastard would have been glaring, and there's no way Catelyn Stark would have let him have any kind of relationship with her. He would have been relegated to the sidelines of her life, and he was well aware of that. So he chose to remove himself before that could happen. 

And he had no way of knowing what was going to happen. He had no way to know that he would be sold or that her family would die, or that she would end up all alone. To his mind, finding a home with the Brotherhood probably seemed like the best option at the time. And he regretted it, you could see it in the way he spoke to her, in his body language. He was sorry to have to do it. But he did, and he told her he was doing it.

Yes, it hurt her. It hurt her very badly because she couldn't see it. In her mind, he was rejecting her, not the unfortunate circumstances, but her, and that hurt. And I'm not saying Gendry was wrong or right to choose to stay or she was wrong or right to be hurt by it. Because there's two sides to it, and they're both valid.

Now, if we look at solely what was shown on screen, Arya's leaving of Gendry, to me, doesn't compare in the same way. I'm not talking about her rejection of his proposal, although the way they had her just turn and continue shooting was needlessly cold. And I'm not saying she should have accepted it as it was worded on screen. (Let's be honest anyway, that proposal existed solely to break them apart, it simply doesn't make sense.) 

What I'm talking about is the after. They never interact again on screen. He's left standing there heartbroken, and they make her out to be almost indifferent to it which I think is completely and utterly wrong. So, I try to rationalize it that she's not indifferent, she's suppressing all those emotions because she's scared of what they mean, and her heart eyes and the way her face falls could be interpreted that way (Thank you, Maisie Williams for the way you played those scenes). 

But her not speaking to him ever again? Just sailing off and completely ignoring the man who had once meant the world to her? That's hard to explain, and that's the thing I mean by worse because there's no good reason for it. Not at all, no matter how you look at it. And Gendry would not be wrong to be angry or hurt about that.

He would understand why she turned him down. He's not an idiot. He knows he said things the wrong way, but to have a friend, a very good friend with whom you underwent the trauma they did together, the only person you could really trust at one point, to have that person ignore you? To walk away and (going by what we saw on screen) never look back? That shit hurts, and it's completely understandable for him to be hurt/angry/upset by her on screen behavior.

Now, if they had shown the two of them having a conversation after that stupid proposal, something where they had some kind of closure or just anything that acknowledged their shared history, their friendship that existed before they slept together, then I don't think we'd have so much to try to explain. But we got nothing. No resolution, no logical following of story structure, no explanations. 

Instead, we got Arya who had spent years trying to get back to her family, just sailing away because according to the script she's no longer Arya Stark, and that's BS. If we had gotten that conversation, then I don't think Gendry would be angry when she returned, but because we didn't, because the last thing we saw between them was Arya turning her back on him and then never speaking again, then I think he's allowed to be a little angry and hurt, even when he's thrilled she's back.

Because people are allowed to be angry when someone they love hurts them. It doesn't make them bad people or mean that the one who acted poorly needs punishing, but real people apologize when they hurt someone. Especially when they hurt someone they love. It's part of growing as a person, admitting when you've done something wrong or hurtful and owning up to it and accepting that there are consequences to said behavior. 

And I don't think it’s wrong to look at Arya’s on screen behavior and think she acted poorly. It was shit writing, and the character of Arya Stark would never behave that way, but that's what we were given. And that's what I meant when I said I understood how difficult it is to reconcile it.

Do I think he'd hate her for what she did? Absolutely not. Does she need to be punished? Hell no. But apologizing is not punishment. Recognizing that you hurt someone is not punishment. Having someone upset with you is not punishment. Not immediately getting over something is not punishment. They are human reactions, and in my opinion, completely understandable ones. 

So, yeah, considering all of this, I think that if you compared the way they left each other, Arya’s behavior is worse then Gendry’s. That doesn’t mean I hate Arya or think she deserves to be treated badly, or that Gendry should punish her for leaving that way. I think when she shows back up in Westeros (because she is coming back, none of this Arya sails off the edge of the world nonsense), he might be mad for about a day. Occasionally, he might be reminded of the hurt he felt and need a little space to brood about it, but ultimately, none of it matters because he loves her and he’s more than willing (and happy) to get over his anger and hurt because he wants her and she wants him. 

[hillaryschu]

WIP - modern AU

This is an excerpt from a modern AU I’ve been playing with that kind of incorporates/plays off of the song “Oceans” by Seafret (which—I literally had no idea until now—features Maisie Williams in the video).

In it, Brienne is in love with Jaime but thinks it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s not interested and never would be. Jaime, on the other hand, kind of knows there’s something there (on both sides) and is just slow-playing it. Waiting for her to catch up to his feelings. You know, the yoozh.

Anyway, this might get altered a bunch before it’s finally usable (I’m so far from this fic going anywhere right now).

They are in the car on the way back from Tyrion’s wedding. Brienne was driving and seemed distressed (because Oceans was playing and it was making her emo) so Jaime made her pull over the car.  

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

“What is going on?” he presses softly.

“I…uh, well…I’ve been thinking and maybe we should spend less time together...” she practically whispers—struggling to get the words out.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I just think we need to meet some new people.”

“New people? What new people? I don’t want new people.”

“Jaime…” She says it imploringly—begging him not to make this any harder than it already is. “Look…I want a family someday. I want to find someone who will love me and want to be with me. I’m not going to meet anyone with things the way they are now.”

“Meet someone? A man? Some other man?” he exhales sharply. “Okay, I just…I thought...” Jaime kind of stutters out the words, confusion clouding his face.

“Hyle asked me out for drinks last week.”

“Hunt?! When did that asshole come back? What is happening right now?!” Jaime seems completely bewildered—like he’s watching a movie and the plot just took a sharp turn.

“I told him ’no,’ Jaime, but I don’t know…I’m reconsidering...”

“You can’t be serious, Brie.”

This is all so frustrating. How can she make him understand that she can’t build a life for herself—not the kind she wants—when she’s hung-up on him? How can she say it without actually admitting her true feelings? Without flat-out screaming “I’m in love with you, you idiot!”

“I -“ her voice cracks a little. “I know you don’t understand, Jaime. You see me through a best friend lens…but we all aren’t golden and beautiful and charming and clever. If I’m going to find someone who wants to spend their life with me…I’m probably going to have to make some compromises. Hyle’s got a good job, and he’s…kind of smart? Look—I don’t know! Obviously I can’t go out with Hyle, Jaime, but if I want to meet someone, I’m going to have to put myself out there and let go of some fantasies that I’ve held onto for awhile.”

Jaime’s looking at her through narrowed eyes, seeming to scrutinize what’s she’s said—trying to process it. “So what am I supposed to do while you’re busy putting yourself out there?” “Don’t you want to meet someone? You could have any woman you want.”

“Really? Any woman?”

“Yes, and some day you’ll meet a beautiful, sophisticated, and perfect woman and you’ll just…” Brienne can see it so clearly. “...you’ll match. It’ll make sense. People will see you and think ‘what a gorgeous couple.’” 

“Is that what this is? We’re talking about what we look like?”

“What? I’m talking about the future, Jaime.” Why is he being so obtuse?

“Sure. But I thought it was you and me. You and me against the world. Dynamic duo.”

“Jaime, I can’t just be your sidekick.”

“Is that what you think this is? Buddies? We’re ‘friends?’” He says it with such distaste that Brienne becomes even more confused.

“Aren’t we?” ------------------------------------------------------ [header graphic by @scoundrels-in-love​]

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 127

Chapter Summary - Danielle and Tom return home and organise themselves for their next time apart, but Danielle's trip to the shops leads to a peculiar situation.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

Copyright for the photo is the owners, not mine.

I WILL get there, it is my dream!

All image rights belong to their owners

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​​ @jessibelle-nerdy-mum​​ @nonsensicalobsessions​​ @damalseer​​ @hiddlesbitch1​​ @winterisakiller​ @fairlightswiftly​​ @salempoe​​ @wolfsmom1

‘Where are my best boys?’ Both dogs were almost frantic to get to Tom and Danielle as she knelt down in front of them. Mac got there first on account of his longer legs and Bobby tumbling en route. When he righted himself, he decided to seek attention from Tom before both dogs seemed to hear a silent signal and both swapped humans almost as though they had choreographed it. ‘Did you miss us?’ Bobby all but climbed into her arms and licked her face.

‘What happened to not rewarding this behaviour?’ Tom asked as he scratched the fur on Mac’s chest.

‘I saw you do it first.’ She grinned as she cuddled the pup in her arms.

They got the dogs into the car, securing them before heading back to the house. Tom spoke about different engagements to do with Early Man as they went.

‘Did you spend much time with the rest of the cast for the movie?’ Danielle asked.

‘No, you don’t with voice work, you are in a recording studio, mostly by yourself.’

‘Do you know the rest of the cast well, bar Redmayne?’

‘Not really, I mean, I met most of them a few times, the British circuit is a smaller one, but I will have to spend the most of my time with Maisie and Eddie for the promotion.’

‘Maisie Williams, right?’

‘Yes….’

‘I like her, she and I spent way too long talking about her stunts when she and I were on the set together, she is mad in the loveliest possible way.’ Tom stared at her. ‘She’s in Game of Thrones you absolute numpty.’ Danielle laughed.

Tom shook his head and chuckled. ‘Oh course, how foolish of me. You will see Redmayne before me though.’

‘No, he is there for the second week, he is doing stuff for Early Man the first one.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘I may have checked the schedule on the flight back.’

‘Elle!’

‘What, you were asleep and I am leaving first thing, so I wanted to get ready and that way get in the shopping and walk the dogs at home instead of readying for this.’

Tom nodded slightly. ‘That does sound like a better idea, in all fairness.’

‘So, we drop the dogs and bags back, I get some shopping while you sort the house and...why are you looking at me like that?’

‘You’re not even going to be here, why are you getting the shopping?’ Tom chuckled.

‘Because I don’t forget half the list because some people recognise me and then forget why I was there, leading to a return to the shop fifteen minutes later to forget….again!.’

‘That was one time.’

‘You mean you only forgot twice one time, it is not the only time you did that.’ She laughed. ‘You can remember Hamlet, including five soliloquies but you cannot remember to get red currant jelly.’

‘I am a terrible man.’ Tom chuckled, taking her hand and kissing it.

‘Well, you had to have some faults. Contrary to many of your fan’s beliefs, you’re not actually a deity.’

‘You seem to think me a deity when we’re in bed.’

‘Behave.’ She warned, giving him a momentary glare, but there was a grin edging its way into her features as she did.

When they got back to the house, Mac saw fit to mark the two cars as well as the two brick gate posts before finally going inside, Bobby having already went to ensure their bed was still where it had been before. Tom and Danielle brought in their bags and their gifts that they had gotten, into the house.

‘I am not going to lie, your way of doing this is far easier.’ Tom beamed as he took his suitcase upstairs as Danielle brought hers to the back kitchen to the washing machine.

‘Well, it makes more sense, all the dirty laundry in one bag, the clean in the other, otherwise you are forced to wash everything, and that is not practical.’ Danielle explained as she ascended the stairs after him.

‘Very thrifty, Ms Hughes.’

‘I am a very practical woman.’ She smiled as she entered the bedroom, laughing as she watched Tom jokingly toying with her unused underwear, a cheeky grin on his face. ‘You fecking eejit.’ His smile only widened at her reaction. ‘How are you a man that is assumed to be so professional and proper and here you are, messing with my panties?’

‘I am a very talented actor.’ Tom beamed proudly.

‘Fecking eejit.’ She laughed. ‘I am going to get some shopping.’ She grabbed her purse that she had left at her side of the bed and left the room.

‘What about…’

She paused on the stairs as a concerned looking Tom came out of the room. ‘Yes, love?’

‘Why would you pay for the food when I am the one that will eat most of it?’

‘Because there is a water charges bill that needs paying on the counter, they will be about the same.’ She dismissed.

‘Fair enough.’ Tom shrugged. ‘Don’t forget the Hobnobs.’

‘I plan on getting two packs.’

‘I love you.’

‘You love Hobnobs.’ Danielle laughed.

‘I love you more though.’

‘Good to know.’ She chuckled as she grabbed her jacket and went to the shops.

*

Danielle paid little heed to anything around her bar the road as she parked and paid her ticket before grabbing a few bags from the back seat and rushing into the first shop.

It did not take long to get what she needed, eggs, milk and other such items, before heading to the butchers for meat. Grabbing the few things for the rest of the week, she didn’t really think too much of anything before bagging her purchases and leaving again. It was at the last stop, a small Tesco Express not far from the car to get Tom’s biscuits that she paused and frowned.

She had seen Tom on magazines before, especially after the whole Taylor Swift situation, but seeing herself and him on them seemed to make her brain incapable of processing it. On the front cover of three different magazines, there were photos of her and Tom on their arrival to Rome, as well as a comparative picture with him there with Taylor, and a few headlines that made her brow raised. Shaking her head, she turned slightly only to see a women flicking through one of the magazines only to stop at the page of her and Tom, the woman reading ardently what few lines that were there before noticing Danielle next to her.

‘My daughter is stone mad about him, he’s not bad to look at. Could do with a shave though.’

‘I prefer a beard, personally.’

‘Well, his girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind. Poor Amanda was gutted to see him with someone, as though she’ll ever even meet him.’ The woman rolled her eyes. ‘She seems too down to Earth for all that madness, look at that outfit, she’s not trying to show off her knickers like half of them.’

‘I don’t blame her.’ Danielle smiled before going to get the biscuits, laughing to herself. As she grabbed Tom’s favourites she fell into fresh giggles and forced herself to breathe deep before laughing again. When she got to the checkout, the girl behind the counter was looking at her oddly, which did little to help Danielle’s giggles. She barely uttered out thank you as she took her change, noting the girl checking her hand. Danielle, unable to stop herself, turned over her hand and gave a pretend saddened face before thanking the girl again and walking off, another checkout girl nearby laughing loudly as she did, also saying “I told you it was her” as she did so.

Danielle was still laughing when she parked the car in the driveway and collected the bags of shopping and heading into the house. She was about to see where Tom was to tell him her funny story when she heard him speaking on the phone.

‘So nothing too mad then? No, I told you I wasn’t going to propose. No, she loved it. She needed the break, work has been hard on her recently.’ Danielle closed the door gently and went to make her way into the kitchen quietly so not to startle Tom and interrupt his call. ‘No, I haven’t asked her.’ Danielle paused for a moment. ‘She could tell I wanted to ask her something and I froze.’ She frowned at his words, remember the odd look he was giving her and her questioning it before he dismissed it. ‘Because she will say no and everything will become awkward and it could very well destroy everything.’ Danielle felt odd about what Tom was saying, not sure what he was wanting to ask her. ‘She actually allowed me to embrace her and she kissed me, in public, I am not risking all that. I….I can’t. If she said no and felt as though I was pressuring her and...no, it’s not worth it. I know I do, but not at the cost of her.’

Deciding not to let the conversation continue without Tom knowing she was there, Danielle inhaled deeply and used her elbow to open the door. Tom swung around, clearly startled by her appearance. She gave an attempt at a smile as Tom ran his hand through his hair before clearing his throat.

‘Luke, I need to go, Danielle is back and I need to help her get sorted here. I’ll talk to you more tomorrow. Yes, I will send back the paperwork to them as well. Bye.’ Tom hung up the phone and rushed over to Danielle. ‘Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you were getting everything.’ He smiled as he brought the meat to the fridge. ‘Was there anything of note in the village?’

‘No, here?’ Danielle asked, wondering if Tom would think to mention the earlier content of his call.

‘Nothing much. Luke rang, as you gathered, letting me know that there was a few pictures and articles, nothing of note.’

‘We are on the front page of a few magazines.’ Tom stared silently at her. ‘There are a few of the weekly trash ones with the pictures of us in Rome on them. Going by the publishing dates, if there is any of us elsewhere, they will happen in the next issue.’ She did not even look at him as she put the rice and other foods in the cupboard.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Fine, you?’

‘Fine.’ Tom eyed her cautiously. ‘Are you mad?’

‘About what, the magazines?’ He nodded. ‘Not at all, I couldn’t give a fuck about them, I thought it was funny if I’m honest. I giggled the whole way around Tesco’s and the entire journey home about it actually.’ She stated as she all but threw the groceries away. ‘I am going to get changed. Are we both walking the dogs or am I going alone?’

Tom could not help but notice her harsh manner. ‘I thought we were both going?’

‘Well, we better get started so, I need to get an early dinner as I have to be up at stupid o’clock to get the half six flight.’ She left the room and a baffled Tom behind her.

For the whole of the walk, though Danielle ensured she kept her tone light and spoke casually, Tom did not reveal anything of the conversation that concerned her with Luke, upsetting her slightly.

He tried to suggest ordering something or going out to dinner since they were tired out after their holiday and Danielle was up so early, but she insisted on cooking, making sure both their steaks were done as they liked them and putting together a delicious dinner to go with them.

‘Thank you, Elle, that was incredible.’ Tom kissed her cheek as she soaked the dish she had put the roast potatoes in. ‘I am going to miss you terribly.’

‘Yes, it is odd after so long of both of us in the house to be apart again, but we are well able for it.’ Danielle smiled. ‘Unless we don’t count my hell hours.’

‘How will Safeguard do without you around for two weeks?’

‘Well, I will have a shit-tonne to do again on my return, obviously, but for the most part, I am needed to ensure the set is ready but that is going to be mostly before shooting, I can deal with a lot of the paperwork while on site, so I will be fine, just checking over everything when I...stop that.’ She gently pushed Tom, who was snaking his hands down her sides. ‘You are insatiable.’ His lips pressed against her skin. ‘The dogs are looking at us.’

‘So?’

‘Tom, I am not a prude, you know that but we are not going any further in front of our pets, that is not something I am into.’ She nudged him again.

‘Then leave the dishes and get away from the dogs.’

‘I need to tidy and pack.’

Tom groaned. ‘Spoilsport.’

‘Finish these and let the adult get her work done.’ She scoffed, drying her hands and tossing the tea towel at him before leaving the room.

When Tom joined her upstairs half an hour later, Danielle had a fresh bag packed and everything she needed ready. ‘I will bring that down for you.’

‘You’re fine. I am going to get a cab in the morning, let you sleep in.’

‘What? No, I will drop you.’

‘You don’t have to, I’m better off getting there myself.’

‘Elle, are you alright, you have been bothered since coming back from the shops?’

‘I’m fine, I just don’t want you having to get up early for no good reason.’

‘Seeing you off is not “no good reason”.’

‘Are you that desperate to get rid of me?’ She joked, putting her arms around him. ‘Tom, I mean it, nothing happened when I was out today, well, it did, but positive, I was actually in a great mood from it all.’

‘But you seem …’

‘Don’t go looking for issues when there are none,’ She warned, throwing a pair of folded clean socks at him. ‘I am trying to get myself ready for two weeks of hard work after a fortnight of shit, then a nice break, it’s a lot to organise in my head.’ She explained.

‘I’m sorry, I just don’t want something like magazines coming between us, I don’t want to lose you to something so inconsequential.’

‘Do you think you will?’

‘No, or I hope I don’t, but the way you kissed me, you actually leant up and kissed me, in front of others, in full view of everyone...I…’ There was some emotion in his face that Danielle found difficult to place, it was almost like happy disbelief. ‘I love you, so much. And the idea that we are developing this much...You have no idea how incredibly happy I am, Elle.’ She could not help but smile as he looked at her adoringly. ‘I love this, I love you and I love us.’

‘Tom, you are too loving, do you know that?’ She smiled. ‘I love you too.’ She leant up and kissed him. ‘But no matter what, I am not going to run off over something small, I promise, so don’t ever feel you can’t talk to me about certain things that are bothering you, okay?’

Tom’s brows knitted together slightly before he nodded. ‘I know.’ He kissed her and pulled her in against him, but said nothing else on the matter, causing Danielle to wonder again as to what it was he was referencing in that phone call.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Blyat

ne of the films i was looking forward to, like, years ago was The New Mutants. If you follow this blog, then you know I'm a massive fan of Magik, the teleporting mutant sister of Colossus and Hell-Lord of Limbo. In come canon, including the main 616 Marvel universe, Illyana Rasputin is even in line to be Sorcerer Supreme. The second Fox announced there would be a New Mutants flick, i knew my darling Darkchylde had to make an appearance and, much to my joy, she would, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy. Perfect f*cking casting, man. And then the film was relegated to oblivion for years. Whispers of a movie that should never be screened abounded and i was loosing hope it would ever be released. I lost interest after a while but, after he Disney merger, it got a release date! And then the Wuha happened. Eventually it was dumped into theater with absolutely no fanfare. Recently, there have been digital releases and the hard copy blu rays are coming out in a few days so i bit the bullet and decided to finally check it out.

The Great

Look, i told you before, the only reason i wanted to see this movie was because of Illyana and the fact they cast Anya Taylor-Joy was straight up perfect. This sh*t is tantamount to RDJ as Iron Man or Jackman as Logan. It was just that perfect. And, like those other actors i just mentioned, she embodies Magik as a character, even if her accent is a little iffy. Magik is easily the best thing about this film and, overall quality be damned, Anya’s portrayal is worth the price of admission.

The Good

The concept of a capeflick meets horror film was a stroke of genius to me. I thought, similarly to a Doctor Strange flick, that melding of genre could be incredibly interesting. There’s a lot of potential that can be tapped there. The fact that they opted to adapt the Demon Bear arc of the New Mutants story line lent itself to a horror narrative perfectly. I was glad this was the narrative they chose to bring to the big screen first.

The visual prowess of this film is unassailable. This thing looks much more expensive than the budget they were given. Magik’s soul armor, the ethereal visage of the Demon Bear, that hellish flair of Limbo, and even the Smiley Men are all rendered with aplomb. I really enjoyed the look of this film.

The escalation of Dani’s powers was portrayed pretty earnestly. The fact that Dani Moonstar can manifest the nightmares of those around her so, having that as an anchor to this films conflict was a stroke of genius. You can get some pretty incredible visuals when the narrative revolves around the nightmares of traumatized teenagers.

There is some solid direction in this thing. You can tell that there was a story to be told and

The representation in this cast, and the cast as a whole, is amazing. I absolutely adore it. Dani is native American and they cast Blu Hunt in the role, an actual Lakota. That was dope. Dani is also, canonically, lesbian. They didn’t even shy away from this, writing a relationship with the Scottish mutant, Wolfsbane, portrayed by Maisie Williams. I was actually really surprised they would even present that aspect of the character, which frustrates me even more that this thing didn’t get the necessary attention it should have. That level of representation continues with Henry Zaga as Sunspot, both of whom are Brazilian. Even Dr. Reyes is represented by a woman of color in Alice Braga. That sh*t is dope as f*ck. I also need to mention Charlie Heaton’s Cannonball. That southern accent was hilarious. Plus, as kind of a bonus, f*cking Marilyn Manson voices the Smiley Men. What??

I just really want to emphasize how much i adored the relationship between Dani and Rahne. That sh*t was f*cking beautiful!

That f*cking Demon Bear, tho!!

LOCKHEED!!!

The Bad

The pacing in this flick is borderline schizophrenic. You never feel like you have enough time with these characters or their development but, simultaneously, we spend way too long getting to the next scene. It’s weird to see in a proper, big budget, flick tied to a blockbuster franchise like the X-Men.

This film was edited by someone with tourettes. It feels like there is a whole ass second movie that can be constructed by what’s missing from this one. It’s coherent enough but there is definitely a cut of this film that has more exposition and far more fleshed out characters

The climax, while riveting and everything i wanted to see in a New Mutants film, seems rushed. This thing should have been a whole ass spectacle but they didn’t have the budget for it, which sucks, because this thing could have been one of the best X-Films if the studio actually believed in the damn thing.

The writing in this thing is pedestrian at best. People don’t talk like this, let alone teenagers. It’s weird hearing certain things come out of these character’s mouths, like it’s forced or rushed. I think the script could have used at least one ore rewrite to really focus these characters and make them feel like proper people and not just tropes in a movie.

The Verdict

This movie feels small, almost Shyamalan-esque, but with none of the genius and all of the limitations. Watching this makes me fell all of the disappointment i felt at the end of Glass. Just like the bookend to the Unbreakable trilogy, The New Mutants has lofty ideal and well of potential but it never reaches any of that. I mean, the premise is genius, the framing mechanism is brilliant and the cast is perfect. None of it comes together in a coherent package, though. It feels all over the place, like there is no direction or focus. I can see the forest through the trees but i don’t think anyone in charge of this production could see anything other than dollar signs and it really shows. New Mutants isn’t as bad as Dark Phoenix but i can tell that this version is a completely different movie than what was originally presented and i think that film might have be absolutely terrible. New Mutants feels like a first attempt, like a Phase One MCU film. It’s not Thor, for sure, but it ain’t Iron Man ether. It;s literally about as good as Incredible Hulk. Yeah, that’s a good comparison. They’re both entertaining movies with great ideas, solid cast, and decent performances but it’s nowhere near as good as the rest of the better films in their retrospective franchises. The New Mutants is worth a watch if you’re a fan of the X-Frachise but, if you wanted to pass on it, you wouldn’t be missing much.

[captainfangirlll]

So I gonna put in this post all the proves we have for Gendrya end up together feel free to comment if you know more and I will add it:

1) Joe in Spain

We all know Joe filmed in spain and also knows how the show ends, we know they only give the scripts to the actors who are actually in the episodes, bc Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont) told she only got the ones she appeared, so she don’t know how it ends but Joe said he does, so hes gonna be in the next 2 episodes.

2) Maisie and Joe interviews

As I told you guys you can’t buy what they said in interviews bc they are terrified to let escape spoilers, is on their contracts (just remember how Maisie acted on Jimmy Kimmel) the things you have to analyzes are the hints, and these two idiots gave us a lot.

(Yes these are Maisie and Joe dancing on this gif)

- Maisie almost said Arya was romantic and then changed it for Sansa bc it was a spoiler, When in seven hells has Arya been romantic? Not yet guys but based on this we will see it.

- Joe making Gendrya press for the final episodes, why? what’s the need to talk about a dead couple in a newspaper like New york times with just 2 episodes left?

- Maisie saying Arya will be torn, so we can assume she will have to make a decision and that decision is about feelings and revenge, so her arc is about that and who is the one who has been doing Arya awake feelings? Gendry, not Jon, not Starks: Gendry, why it have to be him? They could easily use Jon or Sansa but they did it with Gendry, so when Arya reconnects her feelings he is the one she will look for.

- Joe said his arc this season is about recconect with Arya. Coincidence?

- And this Diamonds Joe gave us in his last interviews:

"I don’t think necessarily that all the trimmings that come with Lords of Storm's End are really the kinds of things that he was after. Power and the land and the wealth that you would imagine Gendry would acquire now, that’s all kind of superfluous to him. I think the main thing that he would take from it is the legitimacy and that he’s no longer a bastard. The fact that he’s been recognized as a legitimate son of somebody—it can be as simple as that.

Uh oh! So he can just take the name and go away? Yes, but also he don’t mind he just want to be someone family, simple as that.

“Afterward, possibly it’s the realization that she’s not, at least not now, capable of that kind of love, because of what she’s been through.”

“Gendry is ver attracted to the woman Arya has become, but all the things he likes about her are the thing that will never her be with him that way”

So Joe and his big mouth is actually saying in that moment Arya is not ready but she will be in other way in future?

This Maisie gave us:

“It was really interesting because it’s a very human relationship for Arya,” Williams says. “This is something she’s stayed away from, an emotion we’ve never really seen her engage with."

YOU SEE FOOLS IT WASNT JUST SEX!

3) Beric Dondarrrion actor and The Hound

Beric’s actor said his final words to Arya were cut and it was only a word “Live” and what is the thing The Hound said to Gendry when he’s looking for Arya?

“The dead are dead. You are not” that was the phrase he said to approve Gendrya relationship...

4) They cut Gendrya part from GoT Behind scenes

Why? If the relationship was over and the arc closed they could have easily talk about that as a closed arc because it wouldn’t be anything to spoil about, but they didn’t why? Also Maisie haven’t mention a word about that scene not even on twitter just Joe, that’s because we can’t know Arya’s perspective yet, because we all know she does love him.

5) Gendryas love theme

The theme is not completed yet, and if their arc is finished we all know the theme would have been completed, and there is no way ramin djawadi (GoT musical composer) wouldn’t finish a theme, so we can assumed is gonna be another scene when their theme will be complete.

I let you more about this point (is a very huge analysis aboout Arya musical themes in the show) here:

6) They filmed in Storms End

So this is actually an information by: @miladyaryastark im very grateful for this fbi abilities, the GOT crew filmed in cushendun caves, know as Storms End because they have filmed before there the scene with Melissandre and shadow baby, so the scene was filmed the same day Maisie said goodbye to GoT on instagram bc she filmed her last scene, we know the last scene Maisie filmed was alone so this is a theory but what if the last scene she filmed was in a horse in the way to Storms ends? then if she filmed something with Joe for Gendrya endgame could have been filmed before that, bc it would be inside the castle and that not necessarily have to be filmed in cushendun caves.

7) THE LEAKS

This is just for all the cunts out there believe this things, first you don’t have to believe everything said on reddit, if is not a trusted sourced it can’t be true at least they have a solid prove like images or something stronger, also the leaks that are from trusted sources (the ones have failed with information already) don’t mention Arya at all. So stop the crap.

8) THE SCARS

In the sex scene between Arya and Gendry the director said that they let Maisie decide how much nudity she will show, but also they said to her that the part when Gendry see the scars was important. I haven’t see the importance until now, at least we have an scene about that in next episodes?

9) NOT A LADY BUT A LORD OF HOLDFAST

In the comments @reyloshiiiper remember me the conversation between Arya and Ned first season, and that conversation is the one when Arya said to Ned that she’s not a Lady “That’s no me”.

Arya asked Ned about Bran and Ned told her Bran is not gonna be a Kingsguard as he dreamed but he can be a Lord of a Holdfast and Arya said

— Can I be lord of a holdfast?

But then Ned gave her the talk about marry a high lord and be a lady, and that’s when Arya said that’s not me. But she see herself in a holdfast ruling it, we know Gendry don’t even know how to use a fork🤷🏻‍♀️ So Who would be the one rulling the Casttle? Arya.

Also other interesting thing is that in the same episode we see Gendry for the first time. Coincidence?

Let you the scene:

https://youtu.be/cve-FeN9etg

undefined

10) ARCORN GENDRYA REFERENCES FROM BOOKS IN ARYA APPEARANCE

We all know Arcorn is a Gendrya thing based on the books, in SO1E04, we meet Gendry for the first time, and Arya in that episode happens to be wearing a dress decorated with acorns. And this latest seasons Aryas hair have changed a lot she use now an Acorn bun hair, but not always just in specific scenes like the episode where Davos goes to get Gendry from King’s Landing (S07E05), his reintroduction again, and this season she used that Acorn bun hair in all episodes but not in 3, the only episode she don’t have scenes with Gendry. I let you the original article here: g

https://www.quora.com/What-is-something-you-noticed-in-Game-of-Thrones-S8E4-that-you-believe-others-have-missed/answer/Angela-Florence-3?ch=10&share=a7eafd44&srid=TU353

11) THE FEATHERBED SONG

We are so lucky beacuse Gendrya have a own love theme in the show and an own love song in books, in books is the featherbed song, and it happens that the song tells a history about a lord who propose a girl who don’t want to marry but at the end they accept their love in the woods! and is practically Gendrya history this season I will put the letters and made comments between them:

“My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I’ll lay you down,

I’ll dress you all in yellow silk (Baratheon colors)

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love,

and I shall be your lord.

I’ll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword. (Gendry’s proposal)

And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him,

no featherbed for me. (Arya’s rejection)

I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hair with grass,

But you can be my forest love,

and me your forest lass.” (Endgame)

So we are actually at the middle of the song❤️.

So if you have more evidence (veridic one not reddit crap) comment and I will added it! We wait for Gendrya 6 fucking years when everyone told us that will never happen and look where are we know, waiting for their endgame.

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Blyat

One of the films i was looking forward to, like, years ago was The New Mutants. If you follow this blog, then you know I'm a massive fan of Magik, the teleporting mutant sister of Colossus and Hell-Lord of Limbo. In come canon, including the main 616 Marvel universe, Illyana Rasputin is even in line to be Sorcerer Supreme. The second Fox announced there would be a New Mutants flick, i knew my darling Darkchylde had to make an appearance and, much to my joy, she would, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy. Perfect f*cking casting, man. And then the film was relegated to oblivion for years. Whispers of a movie that should never be screened abounded and i was loosing hope it would ever be released. I lost interest after a while but, after he Disney merger, it got a release date! And then the Wuha happened. Eventually it was dumped into theater with absolutely no fanfare. Recently, there have been digital releases and the hard copy blu rays are coming out in a few days so i bit the bullet and decided to finally check it out.

The Great

Look, i told you before, the only reason i wanted to see this movie was because of Illyana and the fact they cast Anya Taylor-Joy was straight up perfect. This sh*t is tantamount to RDJ as Iron Man or Jackman as Logan. It was just that perfect. And, like those other actors i just mentioned, she embodies Magik as a character, even if her accent is a little iffy. Magik is easily the best thing about this film and, overall quality be damned, Anya’s portrayal is worth the price of admission.

The Good

The concept of a capeflick meets horror film was a stroke of genius to me. I thought, similarly to a Doctor Strange flick, that melding of genre could be incredibly interesting. There’s a lot of potential that can be tapped there. The fact that they opted to adapt the Demon Bear arc of the New Mutants story line lent itself to a horror narrative perfectly. I was glad this was the narrative they chose to bring to the big screen first.

The visual prowess of this film is unassailable. This thing looks much more expensive than the budget they were given. Magik’s soul armor, the ethereal visage of the Demon Bear, that hellish flair of Limbo, and even the Smiley Men are all rendered with aplomb. I really enjoyed the look of this film.

The escalation of Dani’s powers was portrayed pretty earnestly. The fact that Dani Moonstar can manifest the nightmares of those around her so, having that as an anchor to this films conflict was a stroke of genius. You can get some pretty incredible visuals when the narrative revolves around the nightmares of traumatized teenagers.

There is some solid direction in this thing. You can tell that there was a story to be told and

The representation in this cast, and the cast as a whole, is amazing. I absolutely adore it. Dani is native American and they cast Blu Hunt in the role, an actual Lakota. That was dope. Dani is also, canonically, lesbian. They didn’t even shy away from this, writing a relationship with the Scottish mutant, Wolfsbane, portrayed by Maisie Williams. I was actually really surprised they would even present that aspect of the character, which frustrates me even more that this thing didn’t get the necessary attention it should have. That level of representation continues with Henry Zaga as Sunspot, both of whom are Brazilian. Even Dr. Reyes is represented by a woman of color in Alice Braga. That sh*t is dope as f*ck. I also need to mention Charlie Heaton’s Cannonball. That southern accent was hilarious. Plus, as kind of a bonus, f*cking Marilyn Manson voices the Smiley Men. What??

I just really want to emphasize how much i adored the relationship between Dani and Rahne. That sh*t was f*cking beautiful!

That f*cking Demon Bear, tho!!

LOCKHEED!!!

The Bad

The pacing in this flick is borderline schizophrenic. You never feel like you have enough time with these characters or their development but, simultaneously, we spend way too long getting to the next scene. It’s weird to see in a proper, big budget, flick tied to a blockbuster franchise like the X-Men.

This film was edited by someone with tourettes. It feels like there is a whole ass second movie that can be constructed by what’s missing from this one. It’s coherent enough but there is definitely a cut of this film that has more exposition and far more fleshed out characters

The climax, while riveting and everything i wanted to see in a New Mutants film, seems rushed. This thing should have been a whole ass spectacle but they didn’t have the budget for it, which sucks, because this thing could have been one of the best X-Films if the studio actually believed in the damn thing.

The writing in this thing is pedestrian at best. People don’t talk like this, let alone teenagers. It’s weird hearing certain things come out of these character’s mouths, like it’s forced or rushed. I think the script could have used at least one ore rewrite to really focus these characters and make them feel like proper people and not just tropes in a movie.

The Verdict

This movie feels small, almost Shyamalan-esque, but with none of the genius and all of the limitations. Watching this makes me fell all of the disappointment i felt at the end of Glass. Just like the bookend to the Unbreakable trilogy, The New Mutants has lofty ideal and well of potential but it never reaches any of that. I mean, the premise is genius, the framing mechanism is brilliant and the cast is perfect. None of it comes together in a coherent package, though. It feels all over the place, like there is no direction or focus. I can see the forest through the trees but i don’t think anyone in charge of this production could see anything other than dollar signs and it really shows. New Mutants isn’t as bad as Dark Phoenix but i can tell that this version is a completely different movie than what was originally presented and i think that film might have be absolutely terrible. New Mutants feels like a first attempt, like a Phase One MCU film. It’s not Thor, for sure, but it ain’t Iron Man ether. It;s literally about as good as Incredible Hulk. Yeah, that’s a good comparison. They’re both entertaining movies with great ideas, solid cast, and decent performances but it’s nowhere near as good as the rest of the better films in their retrospective franchises. The New Mutants is worth a watch if you’re a fan of the X-Frachise but, if you wanted to pass on it, you wouldn’t be missing much.

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Protect My Heart: Part 9

Fandom: Marvel (Bodyguard AU)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You’re an actress and after an assassination attempt on your life, your manager hires a bodyguard that will be with you 24/7.

Warning: mentions of anxiety attack

A/N: For @buckthegrump ‘s writing challenge.

As you got ready to meet with Brock, you took the time to reflect. Despite you telling Bucky that you loved Brock, it felt wrong to say such a thing. You had strong feelings for him, but love? You don’t know why you said you loved Brock. Maybe you felt the need to prove you had good judgement to Bucky? Or were you trying to prove to yourself that any inkling of feelings for Bucky no longer existed. 

But aside of all this emotional drama, this was your life that was at stake. 

You could see in Bucky’s eyes, his genuine fear and concern was written all over his face. If you didn’t believe him and you ended up going on this weekend trip with Brock, there’s a chance you could never come back. There’s a chance that you could die. Did you really want to risk this? Risk your life? 

No. Feelings or not, you very much want to stay alive. If Bucky was right about this and they catch Brock and whoever he may be working with, you live. And that’s all that really matters. Fuck your feelings right now. You just want to stay alive. 

As soon as you sat down at the cafe, Brock tossed a tabloid onto the table, a picture of you and Bucky staring back at you, “What the Hell is this?” 

You bit your lip hesitantly. Your eyes roaming around the cafe, desperate to look at anything or anyone than Brock. For a moment, your eyes catch Hope’s. She gives you a nod, a silent encouragement that you could do this. 

You sighed, “Something happened. I-” You can do this, Y/N, “Ever since Bucky and his team came to protect me after my attack, I felt a bit lost. Bucky, well, despite him being a pain in the ass, he helped me. He provided support and friendship and a distraction. We got close and, well, he confessed that he had feelings for me.”

“So what, you cheat on me?” Brock’s face expressed a mixture of hurt and anger. Boy, he’s good. 

“I’m sorry, Brock. I like you, I do, but...I also like Bucky. There’s just something about him, I don’t know what. I mean, I wanna punch him in the face because he can be such a total dick sometimes, but he also makes me laugh. He comforts me, he listens to me. He’s different.”

Brock scoffs, “So that’s it? You’re gonna pull a Whitney Houston and fall in love with your bodyguard? Y/N, what about my family? They were so excited to meet you this weekend!” 

You shook your head, looking down at your lap. Your hands were shaking, “I-I’m sorry, Brock.”

Brock glared at you, immediately standing up from his chair and pointing a stern finger at you, “I’m going to destroy you, Y/N L/N.” without another word, he stormed out of the cafe. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you. Your body felt heavy, you suddenly were having trouble breathing. 

You needed to get out of there. 

Seeing your distress, Hope hurried over to your side, helping you stand, “C’mon, Y/N, let’s go home,” and guided you out of the cafe. 

_______________________________

You were still having an anxiety attack when you arrived back home. Seeing Hope assist you inside, Bucky ran over to you, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Hope led you to the couch as she said, “Panic attack.”

You lowered yourself to the couch, breathing heavy, panting, as silent tears fell from your eyes and down your cheeks. Bucky gently cupped your face, “Y/N, look at me,” he said softly. Blue eyes captured y/e/c eyes, “Good. Now, follow my breathing, okay? In, one, two three. Out, one, two, three. In, one, two three. Out, one, two, three. Can you do that?”

You nodded and followed breathing pattern, breathe in, one, two, three. Breathe out, one, two, three.”

“Good, sweetheart. Keep going.” and you did, eyes staring back at Bucky’s as you began to control your breathing again, the panting eventually fading back to your regular breathing after a few minutes.

“Th-Thanks,” you mumbled.

He wiped your tears away, thumbs softly stroking your cheeks as he whispered, “You’re welcome.” he then stood up to give you space. He looked towards Hope, “What happened?”

She sighed, “He didn’t take it very well. Told her he was going to destroy her and marched outta there.Y/N did really well though. She was just probably shaken up by the entire thing.”

You looked up at Bucky, “Now what happens?”

He let out a deep breath and then ran a hand through his hair. You realized he does that when he’s often frustrated, “Now, we play the part. I still go wherever you go, but now we act like the couple everyone thinks we are.”

You looked down at your lap, concern written all over your face. You were really scared. The whole thing with Brock could ruin your reputation. Your name is going to be dragged through the mud when word gets out that you supposedly cheated on Brock. But you supposed that was better than dying, right?

_______________________________

When Steve told you he got you a last minute interview on the James Corden show, you were beyond thrilled. You needed something like this to really distract you from all this mayhem. You will be replacing Maisie Williams, whom was also supposed to play Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts with James. Looks like you’re replacing her in that as well. 

You sat in the green room watching on the screen James interview David Tennant for his role in the Good Omens show. However, you weren’t really paying attention to what was going on. You were beyond nervous. This was your first time on the show. You always admired James and his talent. You also loved the show, so if you messed up or something went wrong, there might be a chance that you’d never be able to appear there ever again. You didn’t want that. 

Bucky, noticing you bouncing your leg and biting your lip sat beside you on the couch, “Hey,” he place his hand on you bouncing knee and as soon as he made contact, the bouncing stopped. You looked up at him and he softly smiled at you, “You’re gonna do great out there.”

“I just...I don’t wanna make a fool out of myself.”

He shook his head, “You won’t. But if you do, people will probably think you’re quirky and adorable.”

You scoffed, “No one will think that, Bucky.”

He shrugged, “I do.”

You could see the softness in his eyes. The softness that you’ve been seeing for months now. It wasn’t there when he first started this job. But now...

There was a knock at the door and one of the assistant producer’s opened it, smiling at you, “Hi, Y/N, you’re going on in five, so please follow me.”

You groaned, looking at Bucky with wide eyes, “Oh God. What if I-”

He immediately shook his head, “You won’t mess up. You’re going to be amazing and you’re gonna knock ‘em dead. I believe in you, Y/N. You got this.”

You nodded, looking a little more relaxed, “Yeah. Okay. Thanks. I got this. I got this.” 

“And if you feel anxious, just look my way, alright? I’ll be sitting in the audience watching you.”

“A-Alright. Thanks, Bucky.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” you both then exited the green room, following the assistant producer. It’s showtime!

Protect my heart taglist (CLOSED): @badassbaker @mrsdaamneron @avengersbabe13@hiddles-rose @denimandcabernet @courtmr @bitchwhytho@thebookwormslytherin @emilysallysmith @partiallyinthecloset@randomfandompenguin @thefridgeismybestie @wellfucksorrymum@moonlightbae14 @feelmyroarrrr @chewymoustachio @doctoranon@winchesterandpie @myawkwardnessisshowing @aletheladyinred @lilbit-ofsunlight @hennessy0274-blog @farfromjustordinary @msanimeotaku181 @evilzinblr @desibarnes @usernamemingmei @ravenshadowsoldier@viarogers @ediblemurderer @mavelfanatic @justrepostandlove

[bonesgadh]

My take on Arya Stark’s ending in Game of Thrones (a.k.a why I firmly believe she is going to return to Westeros eventually)

Disclaimer: I still don’t agree with the way D&D chose to end Arya’s arc—and probably I never will. However, I wrote this very long-ass meta because I’ve been trying to find a meaning behind her ending, and in case you are still in denial as I am I hope this helps you get some closure.

Let’s begin (as I just said a very long-ass meta coming right up, I promise it’s the last one):

The last two weeks have been rough. Now that my mom™ has given up on GOT I’ve been forced to keep my theories and headcanons to myself (although I’ve shared my rants with you it’s not the same because it’s not a proper conversation with actual feedback). I’ve spent a good portion of my days thinking about how shitty the GOT finale was and how stupid it was for Arya to leave her family and her home behind just to sail into the unknown. I know there’s people out there who are pleased with her decision, saying that Arya was always a free spirit and is not meant to be bound to one place for long, and that she is destined for greatness and a life of adventures. There’re also others out there (like me) who are not happy at all because even though Arya is a free spirit, she is not a lonely wolf. She is fierce and independent but she also has strong bonds with her family and her home and there’s no way she would give that up to follow a life of uncertainty away from those she loves. Anyway, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

That said and in case you haven’t noticed, I’ll proceed to make the following statement: I’m a complete Arya Stark stan. Arya is one of my three favorite fictional characters ever and I have loved her ever since I first saw her on screen ruining her embroidery. I love how she talks, the things she says, how she thinks, how she loves and feels. I love the way Maisie Williams portrays her and speaks on her behalf in interviews and bts videos; she gets Arya in a way no one does and that’s what a good actor is supposed to do, to become its character’s custodian (like Carrie Fisher was Princess Leia’s).

I have spent years studying Arya. Profiling her, analyzing her, trying to get inside her head to understand her motivations. “What is Arya thinking in that scene? What motivates her to do what she is doing? What are the real reasons behind her actions?” I’ve used all my training as a psychologist to get to know her better, to love her more. When I study a character I like to pretend we are in therapy; I’m their therapist and they are my patients.

Now, why didn’t I support Arya’s decision to go find out what’s west of Westeros? Because for the first time since I started watching GOT I couldn’t understand why she wanted to do it. I couldn’t. Obviously because her leaving brings a sad end to the Stark rhetoric of “the lone wolf dies but the pack survives”, but also because I just didn’t get why someone who had finally embraced life would embark in such a suicide mission. I was left speechless (and yeah I know she mentioned wanting to make that trip before but she did it once and at a time of her life when she thought she was alone in the world).

As a Gendrya shipper I didn’t like her rejecting Gendry’s proposal but I understood her reasons. I knew she had something else to do, besides she had never been drawn to the life of a lady because that’s not her (even though I strongly believe changing your mind about something you said when you were a child is completely valid and it doesn’t mean you’ll become a different person but whatever). Besides it made sense after what Maisie said about Arya being torn between life and death. It hurt but I knew why she did it. That didn’t happen to me during the last episode.

Arya leaving to see what’s west of Westeros didn’t make sense to me because it seemed as if she was embracing her “no one” persona again. What makes you ‘”someone”? Your home, your family, your friends. What makes Arya Arya? Winterfell, her siblings and those she holds dear (besides her family, Gendry is the only meaningful relationship she has now that the Hound is dead). Arya choosing the life of a reckless adventurer meant giving up her home, her family and her friends. I couldn’t stop scratching my head at the thought of Arya going back to being no one because it pretty much destroyed her entire arc from at least seasons 6, 7 and 8 (her returning home after years away, reuniting with her loved ones, finally embracing life and recovering her humanity).

Arya’s decision has haunted me for two entire weeks. I couldn’t stop asking myself: “Why?” Well, after sleeping for approximately 70 hours over the last fourteen nights I think I finally have the answer:

Her choice goes beyond wanting to see what’s west of Westeros, beyond a longing for an adventure that she gets to choose for once, beyond living wild and free.

Arya is looking for the meaning of her life.

For years, Arya‘s list worked as a lifesaver. She held on to it as tightly as she could and it’s what helped her survive all the shit she went through. In “Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor Frankl says:

Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any 'how’.

When you lose whatever gives meaning to your life (your partner, your children, your parents, your job) you suffer the most serious existential crisis of them all.

Arya’s entire existence revolved around getting revenge, about avenging her family and making those who had hurt them pay. However, with her list gone, Arya has now lost the “why” Frankl talks about. Chances are she can’t stop asking herself what happens next, followed closely by:

”Who am I without my list, a list that gave meaning to my life?”

For those at Winterfell she is a hero, the slayer of the Night King, the savior of the world. For Gendry she is the woman he loves, the one he wants to marry. For Jaqen and the Faceless Men she is a girl, a girl that is no one. For those who have known her for most of her life she is a lady.

But Arya rejects all of the above. She said it herself to the Hound: she doesn’t like heroes. She doesn’t see herself as one even though she is. She rejects Gendry’s proposal because she is not interested in being a Lord’s wife (although she has feelings for him she doesn’t want to live in a man’s shadow). She rejects the identity set on her by Jaqen because she knows she’ll never be able to let go off her thirst for vengeance. She rejects being a lady because that’s not her.

It seems to me Arya is very aware of the things she is not, but she doesn’t know what she is.

In that case, who is Arya Stark? What is her?

“Who are you?” is probably the hardest question you can ask a person to answer. My guess is Arya doesn’t even know it herself. That’s why her whole plot with the Faceless Men makes sense and it’s not really about her learning cool skills, it’s more about her trying to learn who she is. Even though she knew she was Arya Stark of Winterfell what does that even mean? Strictly speaking it’s nothing else besides her name and the place where she was born. However, things with the Faceless Men would never work because if there’s one thing Arya knows is that she is not no one. She defended her right to her identity until her last day in Braavos.

I mentioned earlier three of the things that make you you are your home, your family and your friends. Let’s break them down:

Home

A crucial part of Arya’s overall arc was her constantly trying to return to Winterfell, her very long road back home. However she abandoned her quest and went to Braavos instead, and for a while she seemed to have forgotten her earlier wish. A year and a half later she told Jaqen she was going home after she decided to leave the Faceless Men, but she wasn’t planning on going back North. She only decided to head there after she heard her family had recovered Winterfell. She told Nymeria she was going home because at that moment she thought the North was her home. 

But then why did she leave without saying goodbye after the Great War? Perhaps she didn’t want to worry her family by telling them what she planned to do, or maybe (and for the record I don’t agree with what I’m about to say) the months she spent there made her realize Winterfell was not her home anymore—or it didn’t quite feel like home yet—. When she and the Hound were inside the Red Keep and he told her to go home, my guess is Arya had no idea where to go. The place she believed to be home was not anymore, so where was she supposed to go? That’s why she didn’t really abandon King’s Landing after she rode away on the white horse—she only used it to leave the immediate destruction but chose to return to check on Jon, because she had nowhere else to go.

Family

Now, let’s compare Arya’s position in the finale with that of her siblings:

Jon left to live with the wildings, the people he loves and who love him in return. He is meant to be with them and maybe even lead them, Bran kind of hinted at this during their goodbye after Jon apologized for not being there for him when he needed him. I don’t remember the exact quote but if my memory doesn’t fail me he said something like “You were exactly where you were supposed to be”, and that’s what gave Jon the idea of permanently leaving with the wildings.

Sansa was crowned Queen in the North. She is officially the leader of the pack and the alfa, and her new mission is to protect and guide her people. Thanks to her the Starks recovered Winterfell, she fought for independence and the northerners love her.

Bran was elected King of the Six Kingdoms and he will help rebuilt the realm after the war’s atrocities and prevent everyone from reprising their mistakes.

Strictly speaking her siblings don’t need her right now, the three of them are relatively safe and they have all found the meaning of their lives and their place in the world. Arya, on the other hand, hasn’t. Her list gave her a meaning for years, but now that it’s gone for good she is trying to find a new one. You would think killing the Night King would give her some sense of purpose, but I honestly believe finding out you were born to save humanity would give you an even bigger existential crisis than anything else.

”Hey, but didn’t the ending already establish finding out what’s west of Westeros is the new meaning of her life?” You might ask.

The answer is no, it didn’t. The way I see it, Arya wanting to know what’s west of Westeros is like an item from her bucket list. A few weeks ago I found a very good post that said it would be great if Arya replaced her killing list with a “living” list full of things she wants to do. “Seeing what’s west of Westeros” definitely sounds like a bucket list item to me.

Also just take a look at each of the Stark’s endings by the time the credits roll:

Jon, Sansa and Bran’s endings are very “final”, sort to speak, while Arya’s was the most ambiguous of them all. When you get exiled you get exiled for life; if you are King or Queen you are until you die. However, a journey is, by definition, a temporary thing. Arya can’t—and won’t— spend the rest of her life travelling to nowhere. A person that has been as hurt as Arya has needs stability, something safe to hold on to, and living an errant life is the exact opposite of this.

Besides she is Sansa’s heir. Even if Sansa is young too we can’t know for sure if she’ll ever get married and have kids and therefore it’s way too risky to make their entire lineage depend on her. That’s why a King or Queen’s siblings try to have two-three children themselves, just in case they come in hand.

Goodbyes

GOT is a show that puts a lot of emphasis in goodbyes. When they wanted to close a storyline, most of the times they gave those involved a closure scene (this doesn’t include Gendrya because their final scene didn’t give them closure at all, but that’s another story). The ones I can remember now:

Daenerys never got to meet Rhaego and still she was able to say goodbye to him and Drogo during her vision.

Davos giving the wooden stag to Shireen.

Sansa telling Ramsay to his face how much she hated him and how his house would go extinct after his death right before giving him to his own dogs to eat.

I would dare to say the scene where Talisa and Robb talk about their baby right before they are murdered during the Red Wedding serves as a goodbye between them.

Theon and Yara’s final scene from 8x01. 

Jaime and Brienne’s conversation before he left for King’s Landing.

Obviously the Hound and Arya’s moment at the Red Keep when he encourages her to save herself.

Tyrion thanking Jaime for being kind to him before helping him escape

I was pissed we didn’t see Arya saying goodbye to Sansa. They wasted a good two minutes on Tyrion rearranging furniture but they didn’t give us the Stark sisters wishing each other good fortune? I call bullshit. Nevertheless I now believe it was probably a good thing we didn’t (if you are a Gendrya shipper this applies to them as well).

The reason why we saw Sansa, Arya and Bran saying goodbye to Jon was because it was meant to be the last time the three Starks would see their half brother/cousin. However we didn’t see Sansa, Arya and Bran saying goodbye to each other because they will definitely reunite in the future. Theirs is not a permanent goodbye while the one with Jon was, and that’s why they showed it during the episode (besides Arya’s exact words were: “I’m not going back North” but she didn’t say she would never return. The way I see it she meant: “At this moment I don’t intend to go North.”)

Some parting thoughts

I don’t know if what I wrote makes any sense and no matter how much I try to understand it, I’ll never agree with D&D’s decision of sending Arya away and giving her that ending. However, because I think I know her I want to believe she chose to embark on her little suicide mission because she needs to clear her mind and gain some perspective about what she wants to do with her life. I’ve seen some people refer to it as her taking a gap year before college, others say she just went on sabbatical, I personally like to call it a Rumspringa-like trip around the world.

As I mentioned in a previous meta, sometimes we forget Arya is still a very young woman because she is such a badass. She is only 18 years old and she has her whole life ahead of her. She will use her journey to see what’s west of Westeros—which apparently is Asshai in the books’ canon—to discover who she is, instead of what she is not. A recurring theme in Arya’s arc has been her being forced to repress her own identity (pretending to be Arry instead of Arya; pretending to be a boy instead of a girl; pretending to be a mason’s daughter instead of a Lord’s; pretending to be no one just to be accepted into the House of Black and White; pretending to not being scared about potentially dying). But now, she’ll get to construct her identity at her own pace, without being constantly afraid of everything being taken away from her. 

She will arrive at Asshai and discover the known world is round, but she’ll decide to travel across Essos instead of simply turning back. She’ll visit Qarth, catch a glimpse of the Red Waste, go to Dragon’s Bay and stay at the cities Dany was in. She’ll sneak a peak of the Dothraki Sea and Vaes Dothrak, and then she’ll sail for the Valyrian Peninsula. She’ll go to the Red Temple of Volantis and the red priests and priestesses are going to be delighted to meet the person who ended the Long Night. She’ll travel north to Myr, Pentos and Braavos and finally, after a year or two of backpacking through Essos she’ll reaffirm Winterfell/Westeros is her home, and she’ll be ready to return to her family and loved ones as a healed new woman *If you are not a Gendrya shipper you can stop reading right now* First she’ll go to Winterfell to catch up with Sansa, then she’ll go to King’s Landing to say hi to Bran and finally she’ll make her way to Storm’s End.

And Gendrya will get the soft epilogue they were denied in the final episode.

[misseffie]

arabian-bloodstream replied to your post “GoT fucked up a lot of things for Gendrya and omitted a lot of really...”

They didn't "fuck up a lto of things for Gendrya." Joe Dempsie was a GROWN-ASS MAN playing opposite a teenaged 13-15 year old Maisie Williams. They COULD NOT do all of that Gendrya stuff from the book without it coming across across as perverted and sick shit. PERIOD. End of.

And it wasn't Cogman who gave us the GLORIOUSNESS of the "I can be your family." It was Joe FUCKING Dempsie and the director! Cogman wrote that line about "You woulldn't be my family, you'd m'lady," as Gendry pissed at Arya, annoyed that she didn't get the difference, and Joe didn't want to play it that way. He didn't believe that Gendry wouldn't realize where Arya was coming from, and that Gendry cared too much for Arya to treat her like that.

And it was the director of the episode who decided that Maisie should play the "You can be my family" line like "I love you." So give credit to that stuff to Dempsie and the director.

As for D&D they are the ones who gave us all of the overall marvelous Gendrya stuff because THEY ARE the ones behind everything that happened overall  including the fact that Gendrya reunited and flirted, Gendrya made love, Gendry told Arya he loved her, she was beautiful and that in the dragon pit scene, Gendry was looking over at Arya, and he had wolf claw marks on his doublet. Finally, in her last two scenes, Arya was wearing Baratheon colors. D&D oversaw ALL OF THAT.

@arabian-bloodstream

Okay. I’m not sure if you’re directly responding to my post or to some of the replies but I never specified that it was D&D who fucked up things (I said that GoT fucked things up), nor was I adulating Cogman in my original post. I think that the “I can be your family” scene can be credited to a lot of talented people: Joe Dempsie (who made it more emotional), the Director, the writing team, the editor (I adore the editing in that scene and how it gives us a slow emotional back and forth, and time to really focus on Arya and Gendry’s emotional state. Katie Weiland edited that scene btw). 

However, Cogman did write that line by Arya saying that she could be Gendry’s family. And even if Gendry’s response was supposed to be more angry/bitter, that’s not entirely out of character for book Gendry?? Gendry was consistently bitter about their class difference and I believe that maybe it was Cogman’s attempt to make a callback to this book moment:

“I'm too bloody lowborn to be kin to m'lady high.” Arya was taken aback by the fury in his voice. “That's not the way I meant it.” “Yes it is.”

Now imagine that Gendry had said that line “You wouldn’t be my family, you’d be m’lady” in a similar way in the show... It wouldn’t be as emotional or as satisfying maybe, but it would make sense and is pretty consistent with Gendry’s character. Gendry acts pissed about it because it hurts him. Gendry tends to lash out when he’s hurt. So I’m not going to diss Cogman for his writing in THAT episode. I like what he wrote. And I like that the Director and Joe added even more depth and emotion to the scene. Not to mention Maisie’s INSANE talent in that episode.

I also didn’t say that I wanted creepy/romantic moments between them in the early seasons. Though I will admit that I don’t quite understand why they cast an adult guy (as much as I love Joe) to play Arya’s love interest - since, as you said, it meant that they couldn’t do a lot of book scenes without Gendry looking like a giant creep.

But I wasn’t even referring to that. I was mostly referring to how they messed things up for them in the final season.

Even though I enjoyed a lot of stuff about their interactions in season 8 I also think that a lot of their interactions were kind of frustrating and ooc. Gendry was kind of ooc for most of seasons 7 and 8 minus a few moments. Same goes for Arya. Just because I enjoyed a lot of the Gendrya stuff they gave us doesn’t mean that I enjoyed watching how they butchered their characters in other ways.

And it’s not even that they don’t end up together that annoys me, it’s that there’s absolutely no resolution or acknowledgment that they even know each other past episode 4, so it leaves you wondering why they even addressed their relationship to begin with. They might not end up together in the books, but I expect that the reasons why will make more sense beyond “Arya doesn’t need a man!!!1 She’s too independent!!! She’s a cold-blooded killer who doesn’t need love or her family anymore!!111 FEMINISM OR SOMETHIGN!!!”

Also, I wouldn’t credit D&D for putting Arya in “Baratheon colours”. That’s pretty much a fan theory that hasn’t been confirmed, and I’ve always had some doubts about it, as much as I like the idea. Gendry’s outfit is pretty much a nod to Arya, but I’m not sure that D&D even had much of an opinion on costume design, so I can’t really credit them for that either. Also saying that D&D made ALL of the creative decisions and are solely responsible for the few good gendrya moments is kind of dismissive of all the other people involved in making those moments come to life. Especially since they didn’t write or direct the first two episodes.