Many characters like Jamie Lannister, Barristan “The Bystander” Selmy, Sandoq, and Bobby B all have better feats than him. If you want to keep going you can say Oberyn, Harras Harlaw, even Lothor Brune all have better feats than him. All he has going for him is slaying the Smiling Knight. I get that GRRM has stated that he’s the “greatest”, but when you give your alleged strongest character next to no concrete feats it kinda ruins their reputation.

Well, we know that the Crown owes millions of golden dragons to the Iron Bank from AGOT and AFFC, and we also know they back your rivals if you do not pay your debt in time, whether you're a lord, prince, or king.

However, do you think the Iron Bank rules the entire world? Would the Iron Bank go to the extreme lengths, such as killing an heir of a Great House, in order to retrieve their gold?

Sometimes I just wonder about the keyholder families of Braavos: they prob take a huge sip from their wine and look down upon the wealthiest houses of Westeros, Lannisters and Tyrells, and view them as petty and poor compared to themselves.

June 2010: 4 chapters moved from ADWD to TWOW

July 2010: another chapter moved from ADWD to TWOW. 100 pages so far.

April 2011: Martin predict he’ll finish the book in three years.:.

July 2011: ADWD published

October 2012: 400 pages… but only 200 finished page. The other 200 need revising and editing

April 2015: hope to finish by 2016 because that when the book will enter WOW territory

Jan 2016: multiple missed deadlines z

Jan 2017: not much progress and thought the book would been out last year

July 2017: working on Fire & Blood. A Westeros book will be out next year

April 2018: Winds not coming

June 2018: Winds top priority

ANov 2018: Fire and Blood published. Say he took a pause to finish Fire and Blood

May 2019: made a joke about being imprison til the book complete

June 2020: a long way to go. Pandemic mean he stay home

Feb 2021: wrote hundred of pages last year and hope for hundred more. 2020 a great year

March 2022: wrote less in 2021 than 2020. Also heavily involved in spin-off show for HBO + second volume of Fire and Blood and more D&E novellas

October 2022: 3/4 done. Some character arcs finished.

Dec 2022: 400-500 manuscript page left. Longer than Swords or Dance

April 2023: KOTSK announced. Martin need to write more D&E + others.

Nov 2023: 1100 page completed. Getting hard.

Jul 2024: scold impatient fans. Say he’ll announce it on his blog. Say Winds first before D&E

Sept 2024: got some pages done for Wind and F&B v2

Oct 2024: talk about Braavos, D&E, and Winds. Say winds first

Dec 2024: doomers right

Apr 2025: winds is his curse

Jul 2025: Winds near completion according to an interview penguin did for Martin. POV arc finished but need to tied them together? Oh working oba. Elden Ring film?

Aug 2025: harassed by a rude fan that left him rattled at Con

Oct 2025: unfinishedz refuse to let AI finish it. Also have other side projects like Dark Winds and HbO spin off

DEc 2025: want to do a knight challenge but all fans care about are Winds

Jan 2026: KOTSK debut.. 3 novella for first three seasons but what about after? Still need to finish winds. Consider himself a failure if not. Also say the series ending be diff and need to cut back

Apr 2026: fake news about completion

Aug 2026: Martin depressed and struggling.

Okay not much progress since 2023. Around 2024-2025 that when he hit a snag. Although looking at this timeline, this do like good progress for someone so old. I assume the rest 500-600 part of the book is the final part of Winds so he need to tied them together. Oh and my guess is the secondary pov character are finished at least. And by finish… they’re likely dead. Considering he start ddompotijg around 2025 and 2026 was a bad year… it seem he lost it

The comments made me realize how many people given up on it and they want to man to lay down his pen or pass it over

“This year has been… stressful, to say the least.   So much has been happening, it’s been overwhelming.   Some great things, exciting things.  Dreams coming true.  But there have been nightmares too. “ : this was his last blog post. There were talks about the bad things. But they’re also great things like the award ceremony for KOTSK s1. Mad king play is also one onvisoul. Maybe the game? Maybe more thing in development?

We know from Parker he working on Dunk and Egg.

Source: https://theweek.com/feature/briefing/1022767/a-complete-timeline-of-george-rr-martins-progress-on-the-winds-of-winter

Other ASOI&F in the interim:

The Mystery Knight (2010)

The Princess and the Queen (2013)

The Rogue Prince (2014)

The Sons of the Dragon (2017)

The World of Ice and Fire (2014): well he mostly provided notes.

Three will be collected and put into Fire and Blood (2018)

We can say he had other projects going on at the time.

Also the editors for Wild Cards XXI - XXXIII (2011-2025)

So something just dawned on me. Criminals are sent to the wall as punishment instead of receiving other forms of punishment. However, when they arrive at the wall they aren't actually a part of the order until they say their vows. Mormont gives the men a chance to back out one last time before being sworn in. What's to stop those men from not taking the vows and just leaving at that point and starting a new life under a new name? That would be very difficult I understand but still. Are they sent back to where they came from? Is anyone informed that they chose not to finalize their vows?

Like most of them control about the same amount of land as any of the pre conquest kingdoms of Westeros

How is ygritte's death only like 40 pages after the red wedding?? Why is GRRM so cruel? At least in the show there's a whole season in between these 2 things. I'm really enjoying my first read thru of the books though, I'm excited to see how else it differentiates from the show going forward

I love Sansa, I think her storyline has the most potential out all of the Stark children because she's the most politically-centered of all.

I didn't like how the show handled her storyline post season 5, the ending was good but not very well written. The way they took out Littlefinger by using Bran as a plot device took away from Sansa's own agency and character growth, will she ever stop being a pawn and become a player?.

To me Sansa is in position to take down Littlefinger, and as Alayne she can inherited his lands and titles and take control of the food supllies he's been hoarding. But how she will get there?

I think Robyn Arryn will have a part to play as well, he deslikes LittleFinger and Hardying and I do see him making a move to avoid Harrdyn/Alayne marriage from happening.

So what do you guys think her Vale storyline is going to be and how will LittleFinger meet his end?

We all read the "I'm a gardener" quote from Martin but sometimes I don't see been talked enough is how you can see where Martin is going by "counting the seeds".

*What do you mean by that?*

I mean that when Martin wants something to happen, he will start planting "seeds" for that, regardless of whether those "seeds" grow you can kinda figure out what's the intention is/was.

When Martin started writing AGOT I don't think he knew how the war between Starks and Lannisters (mainly Cersei and Jaime) was going to start only that it needed to happen so what he did was keep "planting them" in hope something would "grow".

Catspaw, Jon Arryn's death, Bran's fall, Ned's hating Jaime, Jaime becoming warden of the south (?).

Most of the "seeds" didn't develop but the intention is clearly visible.

I think this same approach can be applied to theories, let's take FAegon, for better or worse Martin has planted two different "seeds" about an infamous/hated cadet branch of the Targaryens in the east that has some sort of claim to the throne(brightflame/blackfyre).

The only characters that can be tied to those branches are Daeny, Vyserys and FAegon, logic suggests it's FAegon

It's a bit of a stretch but even Daeny's prophecies

*"The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them"* (Daeny 2, ADWD) And "cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd" (Daeny 4, ACOK), can be seen as "seeds".

If Martin keeps planting seeds there must be a reason

In House of the Dragon, Viserys tells Rhaenyra about the prophecy of A Song of Ice and Fire, but was that prophecy actually called 'A Song of Ice and Fire'? All this time in the books, only Azor Ahai and The Prince That Was Promised were mentioned. A Song of Ice and Fire was mentioned for the first time in the book A Clash of Kings during in the House of the Undying, where Rhaegar Targaryen writes a song for his son.

“Aegon,” he said to a woman nursing a newborn babe in a great wooden bed. “What better name for a king?” “Will you make a song for him?” the woman asked. “He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.”

Rhaegar was a musician who enjoyed composing songs. Previously, he had composed a song with a nearly identical title, A Song of Love and Doom

Prince Rhaegar was returning from Dorne, and he and his escort had lingered here a fortnight. He was so young then, and I was younger. Boys, the both of us. At the welcoming feast, the prince had taken up his silver-stringed harp and played for them. A song of love and doom, Jon Connington recalled

So 'a song of ice and fire' something created by Rhaegar, inspired by a scroll he found or perhaps by a dragon dream he had regarding the union of the forces of ice and fire ?? 🤔

“They bond with men… some men… and the why and how of that, and how it came to be, will eventually be revealed in more detail in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRINGand some in BLOOD & FIRE.  (Septon Barth got much of it right).   Like wolves and bears and lions, dragons can be trained, but never entirely tamed.   They will always be dangerous.   Some are wilder and more wilful than others.  They are individuals, they have personalities… and they often reflect the personalities of their riders, thanks to bond they share are.    They do not care a whit about gold or gems, no more than a tiger would.   Unless maybe their rider was obsessed with the shiny stuff, and even then…” (Not A Blog: Here There Be Dragons)

I have to ask about this. So like do dragons pick people (Targaryen or those with Valyrian blood) with similar temparwmbt to them or is that the dragons don’t have a preference and their personalities become like their rider?

Take Vhagar: Three of their rider were warriors although I can’t imagine Visenya, Baelon, and Aemond having the exact same personality. Although Laena wasn’t not to say she wasn’t ferocious. Does this mean Vhagar preferreed those with a martial spirit

Than is Drogon becoming more like Daenerys at the end of book five Or is Daenerys becoming more like Drogon.

And since it mention direwolves. I wonder if the stark direwolves characteristic are influenced by their owner like is Ghost silent yet deadly because of Jon? Or is Lady a lady because of Sansa? Or do Ghost nature influence Jon?

That remind me if Jon bond with a dragon? Would he prefer a dragon that like him. Loyal, silent, but deadly? A dragon that have a similar temperament like Ghost and him? But what if he bond with a dragon different?

Of course Ghost could die before he meet a dragon but it would be interesting to see how he handle two beasts

In GOT, when Jon first meets Mance and Mance asks why Jon wants to join them, Jon talks about Mormont knowing about Craster's offerings to the white walkers and he wants to fight for the living. Using the truth to tell a lie, very Cersei of him.

In ASOS, when they first meet, Jon says this:

Jon took another swallow of mead. There is only one tale that he might believe. "You say you were at Winterfell, the night my father feasted King Robert."

"I did say it, for I was."

"Then you saw us all. Prince Joffrey and Prince Tommen, Princess Myrcella, my brothers Robb and Bran and Rickon, my sisters Arya and Sansa. You saw them walk the center aisle with every eye upon them and take their seats at the table just below the dais where the king and queen were seated."

"I remember."

"And did you see where I was seated, Mance?" He leaned forward. "Did you see where they put the bastard?"

Mance Rayder looked at Jon's face for a long moment. "I think we had best find you a new cloak," the king said, holding out his hand.

In Jon's first POV chapter in AGOT, his first line is about the fact sometimes he was happy to be a bastard and that was one of those times. Though Jon was also really drunk at the time.

Sometimes I'll se a video by someone who will take apart why the dragons GRRM depicts are not plausible. Since they would need an impossible amount of food. would not be able to fly with their proportions

And this always irritates me. Because to me it misses the point completely. And I don't just mean "You need to suspend your disbelief, it's fantasy DUH!"

I mean the fact that the dragons are not plausible is kind of the point. They aren't just random animals that GRRM put in there for set dressing, like direwolfs, mammoths Lizzard lions and this stuff. Those are more or less supposed to function like real animals even if they don't quite match what the real life inspiration for them was like.

But dragons are different. They are unnatural creatures, created through magic. And magic in ASOIAF is not a wholesome or whimsical thing.

The impossible sized they grow to despite not eating nearly enough for it. (And yet already consuming heaps of food). And them still being able to fly despite their size. Those animals shouldn't exist, and yet they do. And people use them.

And that's such an imporant part of the theme. There's something deeply wrong and unsettling about such a creature.

And it should really influence how people view those who use them.

I think everything about them, the dragons, the practice of incest, the madness that afflicts many Targaryens, are supposed to tell us that there is something wrong with what is going on here. It's such a common meme to think that GRRM wrote the incest parts because he's just a little freak (maybe he is. I don't know him). But I think the main point of it is, to show us that there's actually something deeply messed up about having to keep your blood pure.

In my opinion GRRM does something extremely smart here, he clearly shows us the very questionable choices people have to make in order to control dragons. But he shows them trough characters that we instinctually want to root for (like Dany) and through tropes we naturally buy into (There's this magical beautiful family, that is meant to save the world / People have to make tough choices for "the greater good" that conveniently benefit them.)

Dany gaining her power through dragons should concern you. What she needs to do to hatch them should concern you.

The entire conflict with Mirri Mas Durr is supposed to be a red flag and test your dicernment. The Drogon eating a little girl in ADWD is a bad sign.

The thing the Valyrian Dragonlords are most known for, is how badly they treated their slaves.

Marrying brother to sister is not some neutral quirk. It's messed up. And we get the exapmple of Jamie and Cercei, that shows us that it's not something that well adjusted people do.

I highly doubt that the point of the story will end up being that Danerys was truly the messiah that saved the world and everything made sense in hindsight. And wasn't it good, that we have dragons?

I was re reading the series (TWOW any day now am I right???) and I'm belly laughing at how much he ragebaits catelyn in this ACOK chapter.

If he is cowed, he hides it well, Catelyn thought. “A man chained hand and foot should keep a more courteous tongue in his mouth, ser. I did not come here to be threatened.”
“No? Then surely it was to have your pleasure of me? It’s said that widows grow weary of their empty beds. We of the Kingsguard vow never to wed, but I suppose I could still service you if that’s what you need. Pour us some of that wine and slip out of that gown and we’ll see if I’m up to it.”
Catelyn stared down at him in revulsion. Was there ever a man as beautiful or as vile as this one?

“Why should I tell you anything?"
“To save your life.”
“You think I fear death?” That seemed to amuse him.
“You should. Your crimes will have earned you a place of torment in the deepest of the seven hells, if the gods are just.”
“What gods are those, Lady Catelyn? The trees your husband prayed to? How well did they serve him when my sister took his head off?” Jaime gave a chuckle. “If there are gods, why is the world so full of pain and injustice?”
"Because of men like you.”
“There are no men like me. There’s only me.”

“If you lie to me, this session is at an end.” Catelyn held out her hands, to show him her fingers and palms.
“The man who came to slit Bran’s throat gave me these scars. You swear you had no part in sending him?
“On my honor as a Lannister“
"Your honor as a Lannister is worth less than this.” She kicked over the waste pail. Foul-smelling brown ooze crept across the floor of the cell, soaking into the straw
Jaime Lannister backed away from the spill as far as his chains would allow.
“I may indeed have shit for honor, I won’t deny it, but I have never yet hired anyone to do my killing. Believe what you will, Lady Stark, but if I had wanted your Bran dead I would have slain him myself.”

"I made no such claim. The Starks were nothing to me. I will say, I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did, and reviled by so many for my finest act. At Robert’s coronation, I was made to kneel at the royal feet beside Grand Maester Pycelle and Varys the eunuch, so that he might forgive us our crimes before he took us into his service. As for your Ned, he should have kissed the hand that slew Aerys, but he preferred to scorn the arse he found sitting on Robert’s throne. I think Ned Stark loved Robert better than he ever loved his brother or his father…or even you, my lady. He was never unfaithful to Robert, was he?”
Jaime gave a drunken laugh.
“Come, Lady Stark, don’t you find this all terribly amusing?”
“I find nothing about you amusing, Kingslayer.”
“That name again. I don’t think I’ll fuck you after all, Littlefinger had you first, didn’t he? I never eat off another man’s trencher. Besides, you’re not half so lovely as my sister.” His smile cut. “I’ve never lain with any woman but Cersei. In my own way, I have been truer than your Ned ever was. Poor old dead Ned. So who has shit for honor now, I ask you? What was the name of that bastard he fathered?”
Catelyn took a step backward. “Brienne.”
“No, that wasn’t it.” Jaime Lannister upended the flagon. A trickle ran down onto his face, bright as blood

keep in mind, Catelyn had just learnt that Bran and Rickon had died (Well, not really) and then she had to deal with jaimes bullshit 😭. I love him though, he is so fucking unserious. My personal favourite one is this:

Jaime drank some more wine. “Ask your next.”
Catelyn wondered if he would dare answer her next question with anything but a lie. “How did my son Bran come to fall?”
“I flung him from a window.” The easy way he said it took her voice away for an instant. If I had a knife, I would kill him now, she thought, until she remembered the girls. Her throat constricted as she said, “You were a knight, sworn to defend the weak and innocent.”
“He was weak enough, but perhaps not so innocent. He was spying on us.”
“Bran would not spy.”
“Then blame those precious gods of yours, who brought the boy to our window and gave him a glimpse of something he was never meant to see.”
“Blame the gods?” she said, incredulous. “Yours was the hand that threw him. You meant for him to die."
His chains chinked softly. “I seldom fling children from towers to improve their health. Yes, I meant for him to die"

I've been thinking, George obviously has problems both getting out the book, and the passion for it is waning a bit. Mainly because he is genuinely feeling the pressure from the fans, and he doesn't want to split the book like he did with AFFC, and ADWD. So perhaps, in order to both satisfy fans a bit more, and to get more space for TWOW, could George rerelease, and rearrange Feast and Dance? Think about it.

ADWD is split up into 2 parts, Dust and dreams, and AFTER THE FEAST. In other words, the first part of Dance occurs simultaneously, as AFFC. So why not take this book, remove some elements like Quentyn Martell to put into Dance part 2(aka the true ADWD) and just make AFFC absolutely massive?

Sure the book would be ridiculously big, but it would be a very solid book, and imo fit even more with the themes of feast. At the same time, this let's call it "ADWD Encore" would feature stuff from TWOW that should have been in Dance(like the battles of ice and fire) and will give fans enough new content to satisfy them, while giving George plenty of time to go deeper into certain aspects of Winds, without constant rewrites, or trying to overly condens the book.

Now this strategy does risk George seeing this as a free opportunity to bloat up TWOW even more, and i haven't read Winds, to know if the dance leftover material makes any sense to use within that context anymore. But frankly, the fans need a win, and more specifically, George needs a win. GRRM has clearly been struggling with depression recently, and overwork at his age. So I think releasing some new content, and offloading the work load could genuinely help a lot. As someone who has also had depression problems in the past, the best way to overcome them, is to give yourself a win here and there. Getting genuinely new ASOIAF content, and freeing up the path to Winds and Dream, is imo the best way to go about it at this point.

I realize this postbis filled with hopium and very unrealistic, but I genuinely do think this could be a good idea for George, and especially his publishers.

I'm sick and tired of slavers Bay.

Once Dany leaves Vaes Dothrak with her giga Khalasar, she should head west rather than go to Meereen. Team Daenerys should join her there once they win the battle.

To everyone saying this would ruin Tyrion and Tywin’s thematic arc if Tyrion is Targaryen

No. It liberates Tyrion from Tywin.

Tyrion spent his entire life craving Tywin’s approval and affection because he believed Tywin was his father. That rejection cut deep. He kept trying to copy Tywin, emulate him, become him — even though Tywin was never a good role model. This revelation shatters those wrong lessons. It stops Tyrion from blindly following Tywin’s path. It releases him.

Tyrion is not like Tywin. Not even close.

Tywin doesn’t give a shit about the whores he sleeps with. Tyrion does. He cared about Alayaya. He wanted to marry Shae off to a knight Ser Tallad the Tall so she’d be safe. He has empathy. He has kindness. He’s loyal to people who are loyal to him. He looked after Penny even while drowning in his own dark, suicidal state. He was kind to Jon and Bran. He saved Jorah He protected Sansa. He even felt a flicker of pity when Joffrey died. Tyrion has a moral compass and a conscience. Tywin never did.

The biggest irony? The man Tyrion idolized and tried so hard to become was never even his father. And after all that effort, Tyrion still couldn’t turn into Tywin — because he isn’t him.

Tyrion doesn’t sleep with whores out of pure lust. He does it because of the trauma with Tysha. He craves love. When he was with Shae he stayed faithful to her in his own way. When he was married to Sansa he felt guilty after being with Shae — he thought about his vows. Tyrion needs love. He is not Tywin.

And then there’s the dream from the books:

“That night Tyrion Lannister dreamed of a battle that turned the hills of Westeros as red as blood. He was in the midst of it, dealing death with an axe as big as he was, fighting side by side with Barristan the Bold and Bittersteel as dragons wheeled across the sky above them. In the dream he had two heads, both noseless. His father led the enemy, so he slew him once again. Then he killed his brother, Jaime, hacking at his face until it was a red ruin, laughing every time he struck a blow. Only when the fight was finished did he realize that his second head was weeping.”

Two heads. Just like Maelys the Monstrous, the Targaryen bastard.That feels like a deliberate hint.

This doesn’t just free him from the stigma of kinslaying. It cuts the lifelong chain Tywin had on him. It forces him to re-examine everything he learned from that man. It might be the one thing that keeps him from going fully dark. At his core Tyrion is a good person. Nothing like Tywin. This gives him a chance to start over.

People had no problem accepting that Jon is a Targaryen and that it didn’t destroy the relationship between Ned and Jon. So why are so many people clinging so hard to Tyrion and Tywin? Tyrion would still be a Lannister through Joanna.

Edited -

To all those saying there would be no point to Tyrion and Tywin’s arc, etc., I think you’re looking at Tyrion as if his entire purpose is to be Tywin’s “puppy.” Tyrion is not limited to being Tywin’s son or a Lannister. He is one of the main protagonists of the books, and he still has a major role to play. His ambitions and desires are far greater than simply being the son of Tywin.

Tyrion could even become one of the major villains of the story.

And if Tyrion is revealed to be a Targaryen, it would only make his story bigger.nobody really cares about the Lannisters except for tywin and the power and reputation he built for them. Tyrion has spent his entire life being looked down upon, insulted, and degraded because of who he is.

Now imagine that same Tyrion discovering that he is a descendant of the Targaryens, a dynasty many people see as almost godlike. He would be the brother of Daenerys and the uncle of Jon. Suddenly, the man who was always treated as lesser would have a completely different place in the world. He would be valued for his intelligence, respected for his bloodline, and potentially have a dragon.

He could become one of the three heads of the dragon—the three central Targaryen figures at the heart of the endgame. Alongside Daenerys, he could help set the stage for a second Dance of the Dragons against the false Aegon.

And maybe, for the first time in his life, Tyrion would have something beyond revenge or survival: a family. A sister. A nephew. People he can actually live for.

Tyrion has spent his entire life feeling alone and unwanted. Discovering that he belongs to something bigger could give him another chance at life

Games of Thrones spin-off series. Ever since the end of Game of Thrones television series in 2019, we got lot of spin-off series and that have taken a lot of time out of George and why Winds will never be finish.

-House of the Dragon： first announced in 2019. Season One premiere three years later in 2022. Followed by season two and three in 2024 and 2026. Final season in 2028.

-Knights of the Seven Kingdom: first announced in 2023. Season One premiere three years later in 2026. To be followed by at least two more seasons in 2027 and 2028 respectively. All three seasons will be based off the first three Dunk and Egg novella. After that, well Ira Parker have outlines to rely on and George have three more years to write either the village Hero or the she-wolves of Winterfell. Shouldn’t be hard.

- Games of Thrones: the Mad King: first announced in 2021. The stage play debut five years later in 2026. Covered the Tourney at Harrenhal (Part one) and Robert’s Rebellion (part two). Infersinrgly enough, it was previously belive Martin was a writer of the project.

Seven years and three shows so far. And winds of winter is just 1100 manuscript page but their other show in development

Games of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest: officially announced in 2026. Talks of the film appeared around 2023-2024. The film likely to debut in 2028. So that one thing George been working on with the producers and writer of the film.

Ten Thousand Ships: still in pre-development phase but the show been known since 2017 with first pilot pitches appearing in 2021. Since 2024, Eboni Booth is working on a pilot and it ha d been two years so announcement soon? (2027-2028)

GOT sequel: first announced in 2026. Dotn expect anything out of this.

The Golden Empire: an animated series set in Yi Ti. Time period unknown. First announced in 2021 than a year later, George Martin gave an update. It 2026 and while I’m uncertain how long animated series take..it won’t be long.

Nine Voyages: animated series about the young Corlys Velaryon great adventure. In development since 2021. The latest new is that veteran animator Genndh Tartakovsky is attached to the project. Curious of their gonna be nine seasons: one for each voyages. Although the book only describe three or perhaps one aka his final journey.

Other cancelled or scraped show: include Bloodmoon (First Long Night) and Empire of Ash (Doom of Valyria).. what a shame because I’m certain the writers of the project had lengthy discussion with Martin bout the event as they worked on their pilots.

R’hllor granting magical favors in exchange for blood sacrifice. The Deep Ones breeding coastal communities to create hybrid fish people. The Weirwoods assimilating human consciousness and encouraging cannibalism. The Others literally harvesting Craster’s sons. “Only death can pay for life”. My theory is that the various gods feed on human life in some capacity (blood, consciousness) and are, in various ways, working to establish an agricultural relationship, are cultivating and domesticating populations by motivating them with magic (or maybe sacrifice is in fact causally necessary), and are competing for “market share” of this human economy.

So a while ago I started to make similar polls for the different houses of the Stormlands in another asoiaf fan reddit and really enjoyed the results. In order to get different points of view on it, I figured I'd ask here for the Crownlands this time. So which of the options above best represents the peak strength of House Massey?

When Lord Varys kills the Lord Regent Kevan Lannister in the Dance with Dragons Epilogue, he mentions Aegon, and refers to him as Aegon the son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell, thereby proving that Aegon is not a Blackfyre as many suspect, but rather.. the trueborn Targaryen heir (or well would've been Rhaegar's heir).

For the longest time, I thought that the reasons for Varys lying were overstated by everyone, not that I didn't like the idea of Aegon being a Blackfyre, but because I thought everyone was reading too much and going way too deep into the interaction, which to me was simply Varys dropping his plans (sort of a villain gloating moment) in front of his mute tongueless spies/assassins and a dying man.

All of the stuff that someone was hiding in the tunnels or whatever, I just think would be way too contrived, sometimes Varys tells the truth okay?

However, something changed my mind - Varys is someone who believes entirely in magic, and knows the different magical abilities that are used in world

1. Glass candles - if you believe the theory that Marwyn the mage is also in kahoots with Varys and Illyrio, then he'd probably know about the abilities that Marwyn has. He would obviously think that if Marwyn has the ability, anyone could have it, like the priests of R'hllor who he knows practice fire/shadow magic (see his conversation with Tyrion after the timely death of Ser Courtnay Penrose, castellan of Storm's End), or anyone else at the citadel. Maybe he knows of Marwyn, but doesn't trust him etc.

2. Warging/bird magic - a white raven from the Citadel is the last thing Kevan Lannister sees before Varys shoots him with a crossbow bolt. Ravens are perhaps the animals most discussed when warging/old magic etc is mentioned in this book (see Bran and Bloodraven). In the olden days, ravens were utilised as messengers themselves not just message-carriers and maybe Varys recognises the possibilities when he sees this animal. Maybe it could be warged by a maester at the citadel, maybe by someone like Marwyn or a red priest, maybe even Bloodraven himself if you want to go meta about it.

"Stay where you are, my predeccesor Lord Bloodraven, a son of your most hated family is not here to do the thing you spent your entire life trying to prevent. No, in fact, he is a trueborn Targaryen, restoring the dynasty you spent your entire life trying to protect."

TLDR: I don't like the reasons often cited for Varys lying to Kevan (his little birds, acting even to himself etc) but when you take the possibility of magical spying, it makes a lot more sense.

A lot has been said about GRRM's confused writing when it comes to how much money is worth in Westeros. Somehow gold dragons in A Game of Thrones are worth less compared to gold dragons in later books in ASOIAF, where each golden dragon coin is worth an insane amount of money. Anguy claims he lost all his winnings due to drinking and whoring in King's Landing after the Hand's Tourney, which is just freaking impossible for him to have done given the sheer amount of wealth he has. Even if he was really really living it up.

Unless...

Had the thought that Anguy probably just fibbed about losing all his gold dragons (10,000 gold dragons, from winning the archery contest in the Hand's Tourney). If you’re a commoner that doesn’t have a manse or guards you can trust to safeguard your assets, you probably really wouldn’t want to go around advertising how rich you are. Additionally, other winners include Thoros of Myr who won the melee (20,000 gold dragons), Sandor for the joust (40,000 gold dragons), and Loras for being the runner-up for the joust (20,000 gold dragons).

Given that Anguy/Thoros/Sandor each don’t actually have private estates to send the gold to (unlike Loras), Littlefinger may have had the gold sent off to the Bank of Oldtown or the Iron Bank with accounts in each of their names (I know Westeros doesn't have traditional banks, but man what the heck do you do with a silly amount of gold like this? It would have to be stored somewhere, and the Red Keep probably doesn't want to hold on to cash it can't legally access). Given how much gold it is, logically they couldn’t literally carry all of it off and it would probably be quickly stolen if they tried. I imagine small payouts were made to Anguy/Thoros/Sandor, and exhausted quickly in the city. And Sandor probably had his account seized when he abandoned the Kingsguard. Anguy/Thoros's accounts would be less clear, though they definitely wouldn't have access to the funds after becoming the Brotherhood Without Banners (both due to geographical distance and perhaps due to having their assets taken from them like the Hound, though I imagine Anguy is less likely to be identified).

Assuming the above is true, perhaps the IOUs the Brotherhood gave out were genuinely based on something. When the war was over, and if Thoros and Anguy were still alive, they may have reckoned they could actually go and claim a portion of or all of their winnings, come back and pay those they owe. Assuming their accounts weren't seized and that whoever won the war would not consider them criminals.

A lot of very big ifs there, but this seems like a somewhat syntactical train of events to me. Thoughts?

What are your favourite crack theories that have been stewing since the books stopped releasing?

Mine are:

- greywater watch is a secret valyrian Apachi that's going to be vital in TLN. All the ppl who have 'vanished' in the neck are actually taking a crash course in piloting.

- Cersei and Jaime are the bastard targs, NOT Tyrion. (I no proof to support this other than how funny and stupid it would make Tywin look)

- Varys is a mermaid (my most favourite theory ever)

POV character u wish for? I was sorta hoping for someone like Maege Mormont or an older generation (twenty or so years ago) character for the North storyline esp because all the remaining Starks left are children and the North POV are told through the eye of the Ironborn (Asha and Theon)

U know you wouldn’t believe the amount of POV (like 3? + Daenerys who wish to learn more) that knew Rhaegar (although little) and I was hoping for some POV of those who knew Lyanna (even little)

Surely some of those northern women were once her companions and could give some insight about her.