wasted_wallflower @wasted-wallflower-blog - Tumblr Blog

one of my gripes about house of the dragon is the lack of a true royal court. in game of thrones, we were shown a red keep bustling with people, both servants and nobility alike. we were shown ladies-in-waiting and noble men and women at court attempting to seek favor from the royal family like cersei, margaery, etc. there were always people around and spectators to be careful of when conducting your business in the castle. we really are not gifted this in house of the dragon. sure, we’ve seen some small glimpses of the royal court and castle life but nothing significant enough to even be close to comparable to that of game of thrones, which is such a shame because it adds so much to the idea of nobility/royal life. in a way, it makes hotd sort of dull, lifeless, and empty in the red keep, dragonstone, driftmark, etc. as well as making the world small and sort of isolating around the targaryens/velaryons/royalty/small council, and not even in an “untouchable” sort of way, just sort of in a “there’s just nobody around” way. not to mention, depicting the royal court/nobility more would be significant in a show centered around a power struggle for the throne. and seeing team green and team black truly navigate court prior to viserys’ death as well as during this war would have added so much more to the story such as depth, significance, etc. even in appearance, the red keep seems dull whereas in game of thrones, the castle was vibrant, decorated, bustling.

this also plays a role in that i’m personally not a fan of how the show depicts royalty/nobility. from the lack of extravagant clothing (though i feel like the show has done just a tad bit better this season), lack of court/castle life, to the way people tend to blatantly disrespect the royal family without punishment (with the exception of vaemond), even the way they sometimes speak, the show lacks in giving me the sense of “THESE are the TARGARYENS. THIS is how ROYALTY are like. THIS is how the HIGHEST NOBILITY live.”

personally, the show just isn’t depicting royalty/royal court/castle life/nobility to the extent it should and can even come across as sloppy at some points.

scarredhound-deactivated2024083

Traveling in Westeros; distance and time, extended headcanon

for those interested in relatively accurate travel distances and how long it would take in Game of Thrones, here is a list so that your writing can be as accurate as possible ! I have chosen the main cities to focus on, and a few smaller places that I know are of interest. This headcanon can be reblogged and utilized at your discrepancy ! **reminder: only open headcanons can be utilized by many on my blog** city distances: x x time period travel time: x x

the rest of the headcanon is set up to help like this: Sandor Clegane travelled from King’s Landing to Winterfell, which is roughly 1,460 miles. If he is on horse and traveling at 7 mph and traveling for 8 hours a day, it would take him 26 DAYS to get from King’s Landing to Winterfell. ( i literally did this math because the sources provided no mileage that I saw from KL to WF and fml I hate math )

all calculations in this headcanon are rough calculations, and are based off measurements by the sources above, simply compiled into one comprehensive source for writers. This list will be based on the ASSUMPTION that your character is traveling at 7 mph on horse, for 8 hours a day !! A.K.A. 56 miles per day on land, 168 miles per day on water - given knots ( all figures rounded up )

WESTEROS, BY LAND and WATER. - King’s Landing to Winterfell, 1,460 miles (2349 km) - 26 days - Casterly Rock to Lannisport: 40 miles (64 km) - 1 day - Casterly Rock to Deep Den: 240 miles (386 km) - 4 days - Highgarden to King’s Landing: 760 miles (1223 km )- 14 days - Highgarden to Crownlands: 600 miles (965 km) - 11 days - Riverrun to Casterly Rock: 420 miles (675 km)- 8 days - Riverrun to Harrenhal: 255 miles (410 km)- 5 days - Harroway to King’s Landing: 400 miles (644 km) - 8 days - Maidenpool to King’s Landing: 270 miles (434 km) - 5 days - Bloody Gate to Eyrie: 70 miles (113 km) - 2 days - The Sisters to White Harbor (BY WATER) - 275 miles (443 km) - 2 days. - King’s Landing to Casterly Rock: 830 miles (1136 km) - 15 days - King’s Landing to Storm’s End: 385 miles (620 km) - 7 days - King’s Landing to Sharp Point: (BY WATER): 320 miles (515 km) - 2 days - Sharp Point to Dragonstone (BY WATER): 100 miles (161 km) - <1 day - King’s Landing to Dragonstone (BY WATER): 430 miles (692 km) - 3 days - Storm’s End to Evenfall Hall (BY WATER): 180 miles (290 km) - 2 days - God’s Grace to Sunspear: 250 miles ( 402 km) - 5 days - Winterfell to Castle Black: 650 miles (1046 km) - 12 days - Whiteharbor to Winterfell: 340 miles (547 km) - 6 days - Winterfell to Dreadfort: 350 miles (563 km) - 6 days - Winterfell to Torrhen’s Square: 230 miles (370 km) - 4 days - Iron Islands to Bear Island (BY WATER): 1,500 miles (2414 km) - 9 days - Iron Islands to Lannisport (BY WATER): 650 miles (1046 km) - 4 days - Iron Islands to King’s Landing (BY WATER AND LAND): 1,520 miles (2446 km) - 20 days

WESTEROS TO ESSOS BY WATER. - Tyrosh to Storm’s End: 450 miles (724 km) - 3 days - Tyrosh to Dragonstone: 700 miles (1127 km) - 4 days - Pentos to Dragonstone - Roughly 600 miles (966 km) - 4 days

ESSOS, BY LAND AND WATER. - Astapor to Yunkai (BY WATER): 280 miles (451 km) - 2 days - The Stepstones to the Wall (BY WATER): 2,870 miles (4619 km) - 17 days - Volantis to Myr: 725 miles (1167 km) - 13 days - Vaes Dothrak to Volantis: 2320 miles (3734 km) - 41 days - Vaes Dothrak to Qohor: 1850 miles (2978 km) - 33 days - Meereen to Yunkai: 145 miles (233 km) - 3 days - Meereen to Vaes Dothrak: 1115 miles (1794 km) - 20 days - Myr to Pentos: 650 miles (1046 km) - 12 days

imbecamiel

Most infuriating part of writing is having an idea and thinking oh, this is gonna be so good and wanting to IMMEDIATELY share the vision with other people because it's gonna be good but then you start writing it down and - it is gonna be good. Except. It is also gonna take so, so, so long to finish. And in the meantime. You are the only one with The Vision. Alone. Losing your mind. 😭

greenbloods

i dog and i dog on grrm but every time i go on that damn subreddit i get so defensive of that old man. oh you think it's so easy? you think it's all fun and games to write a thousand page book in a multipov multicontinental densely structured narrative setting with all the world's eyes on you? go ahead u/chudmeister0621 pick the pen we're all waiting

jessaerys

like to be clear i enjoy many things that are bad. but if they were bad and big, that would be a problem. a bad show/film/book is inoffensive to me. a bad show/film/book that is being given endless accolades makes me feel like there's women in my yellow wallpaper

ghostofcrowss

I was talking to someone on discord last night and they pointed out that people still often say and believe George R. R. Martin is a nihilist, but that has never felt right to me. There is too much tenderness in the way he writes ruin. The world he has written aches because there are those within it who still believe that goodness matters, even when it loses. Victory, particularly ‘goodnesses’ victory in GRRM’s world is never clean. Everything is layered with consequence. People die, oaths break, mercy is rarely offered, yet something endures all the same. That something is fragile and human and often unseen, but still undeniably enduring.

I don’t think it helps people look at other fantasy writers and see worlds shaped for light, where goodness prevails because the universe was built to let it. Martin’s world is shaped for choice instead. Hope survives not because the world is kind, but because some people are. Because they try, despite knowing they may fail and that poison often prevails. Hope in GRRM’s world is not grand or eternal. It lives in the small and the stubborn. It is the flicker of a candle in a storm, the hand that reaches back when it does not have to. The kind of hope that still believes in love, even when the story does not and will not promise a happy ending.

That is not nihilism. It is faith made fragile and rawly human.

The best way I can think to simplify it is by saying asoiaf is not a story about goodness nor is it a story that underlines the end of goodness. It is a story that demonstrates that goodness survives through choice. It stands out against these other fantasy worlds where goodness is portrayed as a light that cannot and does not fade, while in Westeros and Essos that light is kept burning DESPITE the world around it.

ferocioustrout

“morally grey” characters who are all on the same level of bad (according to quite a bit of fandomites on here):

guy who killed one billion children for fun (but he’s hot and white so it’s ok)

teenage girl who was kind of mean one time. probably also black or brown

guy who abuses his wife and kids and kicks little baby kitties and puppies every day for fun (but he’s hot and white so it’s ok)

girl who is really sweet but she gets in the way of a yaoi ship so everyone hates her and has to make up reasons why she’s actually evil

Stalker Guy John whos only personality trait is harassing women (but he’s hot and white so it’s ok)

8 year old girl who is loud and annoying because she is 8 years old

white supremacist priest (but he’s hot and white so its okay)

woman who wants her husband to stop dealing drugs

Ted The Molester (he’s hot though) (and white) (so it’s okay)

literally just a black woman. she didnt do anything wrong she is just a black woman

currentlycryingaboutlancelot

at the start of every month everyone reblogs some insane poetry that’s like “august has arrived and again I swallow my bones in the burning sun” and every time I’m like damn that makes no sense. but kind of true.

currentlycryingaboutlancelot

omg guys happy bone swallowing august

unfuckablebogtroll

Fandom needs to go back to it’s roots of shipping without any expectation of canon agreement, shipping characters that have never even met, shipping characters from entirely different properties that came out decades apart, shipping just for fun, and generally speaking mostly not bothering the creators about it. Put fandom back in the shadows, being profitable has only made everything worse as grifters saw easy marks and forcing creators to play pattycake with fandom has led to so much open resentment.

circadianaa

you’re laughing. they’re horrifically misinterpreting my favorite character’s personality and you’re laughing

champagnemoon

It’s very hot when a man is clearly deranged about you but restraining himself to try to be normal… it’s like the opposite of whatever most men do where they fling out their sexual thoughts and urges with no self constraint

plumebeat

The swords kissed and sprang apart and kissed again [...] steel rang, steel sang, steel screamed and sparked and scraped [...] A red flower blossomed [...] "Come on, come on, my sweetling, the music’s still playing. Might I have this dance, my lady?”

Jaime III, A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin

bluecoolr

The Hammer and The Anvil

Prince Baelor Breakspear struck the rebel rear with a host of stormlords and Dornishmen, shattering their lines and the battle was ended. Prince Maekar led the rest of the forces to crush the rebels between them.