Game of Thrones: Brienne, list of favourites , Artur Dayne

[alexandral]

I am still spending all my free time finishing the batch of gif-y icons. And what great fun that is, I think gifs appeal so much to the geeky side of me! But I have to say that LJ's 40K limit on icons seems almost criminal, optimizing your gif icons is so so hard. The limit has not changed for the last, how many years?

But! Having two days in a row and not posting about Game of Thrones ? It seems from the news that the actress for Brienne is finally chosen, but they won't tell us who she is. I want to KNOW so badly!!! I hope she is tall (she is supposed to be just slightly shorter than the Hound) and I hope she is NOT good looking (I will be forever bitter if they chose one of pretty actresses). And I would rather prefer if she was not in her 40s (as the rest of the cast), I am ready for some younger faces.

Brienne, of course, is my all-around favourite character in the series, and my top five favourites list is as follows:

1. Brienne. Because she is the character I identify with the most. I am no beauty, don't possess much of the feminine side, and would have loved to have a big sword I can chop the heads off with.

2. Tyrion. Because as they say in Russia, I usually fall in love through my ears.

3. Sansa. This is the recent change in my favourites, after the first season of the HBO show and my current book 1 re-read. Jon used to be my third most favourite character, but I am afraid that the image of emo/pouty/chubby teddybear that is Kit Harington is forever etched in my brain now and Jon's ratings have plummeted.

4. Sandor Clegane, The Hound. Again, I think this has something to do with identifying myself with his angry character and his honesty (I am not really angry on the outside, but on the inside, I am :D)

5. Jaime Lannister. Because I like redemption storylines and because he is pretty.

Beside these five, I am also extremely obsessed with the character of Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, and his sword Dawn, even though : a) he is already dead and b) there is only about three full paragraphs that mention his name. I think this is the part of me that loves tournaments and sword fighting talking:



Some thoughts on shipping and A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones is probably the first big fandom that I am involved in that is free of shipping wars. There were several shipping discussions recently in GoT communities, and these discussions were full of various and interesting ships. I think this is mostly because the source material is so good, the series are not built around a predictable love triangle, they are build around characters that grow and around fabulous worldbuilding.

Comments

[dianora77.livejournal.com]

I love your GoT posts. :)

[dianora77.livejournal.com]

And homg, so excited about Brienne!!! I'm going to faint when I see her first scene(s) with Jaime, I swear!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I want to know who she is. I hope it is NOT Katee Sacknoff. I might be able to live with this, but please!!!! Cast a NOT-pretty actress! Not everyone has to be pretty!

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'll be actively furious if they make Brienne pretty and shapely and just give her stringy hair or something to make her look pretend-ugly. Furious, I say.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thsi is my biggest fear. but then again, martin says he loves her, and he was the one to insist on her charcteristics.

[dianora77.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't have any idea who'll they get to play her. Can't think of any actress I know that would fit the bill. I hope we'll be pleasantly surprised.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It might be someone we don't know at all, like the girl that plays Shae (like her so far, quite a bit). I would welcome a new unknown actress.

[dianora77.livejournal.com]

The actress who plays Shae is actually not unknown to me. I saw her film When We Leave (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288376/) last fall on Zagreb Film Festival, it was quite a tearjerker. :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Gosh, this looks like my kind of thing, but I guess, someone dies?

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I think Tyrion is #1 for me, and then - in no particular order - Arya, Jon, Brienne and Jaime would round out my Top 5. (I'm limiting myself to the living, LOL.) But I have a lot of love for plenty of others, too: Bronn, Sam, the Hound, Davos, Meera and Jojen...I'm sure I'm forgetting people. There are just so many characters, and most have such depth....

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

it is really hard to limit oneself , isn't it? I also love, in not particular order: Arya, Loras, Davos, Bronn, Sam, meera and Jojen, Arienne, Asha, I can go on and on and on!!!!!! And yes, I am only counting the living. :(

[stoopid-silly.livejournal.com]

My list goes Tyrion, Sansa, Dany, Jaime and then I can't really choose for #5. It's like a million way tie!! Maybe Arya. Or Theon. Or Asha. Or Renly. Or Varys. idkkkkkkkk.

I think the only possible shipping war could be Jaime/Cersei or Jaime/Brienne? Not many people seem to fight about it though, so that's nice.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh how I love Varys. :D

I think the only possible shipping war could be Jaime/Cersei or Jaime/Brienne? Not many people seem to fight about it though, so that's nice.

Yep, this is the only triangly thingy but for some reason folks don't sseem to fight over it: I have seen numerous shipping list that go like: Jaime/Cersei, Jaime/Brienne, Jaime/whatever. This is cool, especially aafter the Asian drama fandom where the love triangles are things of MUST (ven in period and fantasy dramas).

[coffee-n-cocoa.livejournal.com]

I'd say my favorite characters are: Dany, Tyrion, Arya, Jon, Sam, and pretty much everyone in House Tyrell.

The lack of shipping wars in this fandom is refreshing, especially compared to the shipping wars in the Harry Potter fandom. Don't even get me started on the horror that is Harry/Ginny... Here, it's like, "You like Jaime/Brienne? Cool. I prefer Jaime/Cersei." "You do? That's cool, too." Which is awesome.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

Worst part about Harry Potter is that it's still going on. Even with the books finished. Ugh!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Yep! Clearly the author got it ALL WRONG. She did send some confusing messages, though.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I should have added a special number 6 entry in the list just for Oleanna.

HP - i have arrived there too late (I only read the books last year), was terribly spoiledand all, but I can promise you, the first couple of books give the full indication of Harry and Hermione. No wonder the shipping wars.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

Never stop <33 I love your posts on Games of Thrones! I'm so glad to have such great people in my flist as obsessed as I am XD. Can't wait for your icons with gifs!! It's going to be glorious I know XD.

GRRM did a wonderful job with the "secondary" characters. People we barely see but have such impact on our preferences and love for the books. Arthur Dayne is definitely one of them.

Game of Thrones is probably the first big fandom that I am involved in that is free of shipping wars.

Oh! I never thought about it but yes. Some people are very invested in their ship but actually there's no war or agressivity about it. Then again, I think we're all more preoccupied about the fact that our favourite characters will survive or not. GRRM did a fine job about getting us all psycho about this XD.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed making gif so much, it is my new addiction.

Then again, I think we're all more preoccupied about the fact that our favourite characters will survive or not. GRRM did a fine job about getting us all psycho about this XD.

hehehehe! I think I have a high tolerance here, growing up reading Russian classic literature. Everyone always dies there. Like "War and Piece" - the main guy dies in the middle and there are also pages and pages of his slow death. Yep, that's Russian literature for you. Mind you., Honoré de Balzac has some cheery stuff too.

[seven-trees.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd heard about Brienne since before the series even started and for some reason I'm DESPERATE to see her on screen. I've been trying to follow casting updates to see who they get to play her. Also, when the next book comes out someone has to tell me what happens to her. I'm kinda spoiled for a bit of what happens to her in the last published book and I'm dying to find out what happens next.

As for favorite character, it's Tyrion all the way for me. He's by far the most interesting character to me because I've always been a fan of survivors like him. He's so full of life that I don't know how anyone wouldn't love him.

I also really like Dany, John and Arya but not to the degree that I love Tyrion. They all need to be fleshed out a bit more before I can get to that level.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am really keeping my fingers crossed for Brienne's casting. I think she is going be fine in the books, but I AM NOT TOO SURE. :D

In the show, it is Tyrion all the way for me. The actor just lives through the character. he has some glorious stuff coming in in the next two books I tell, you.

[seven-trees.livejournal.com]

I think she is going be fine in the books, but I AM NOT TOO SURE.

The second that book is out I'm diving head first into wiki to spoil myself about what happens to her. It's ridiculous how invested I am in a character I've only just heard about from other people.

The actor just lives through the character.

Absolutely. PD was just made for that role. I mean, come on, he's got charisma oozing out from every pore.

he has some glorious stuff coming in in the next two books I tell, you.

He'd better. He's too good a character to waste.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

There isn't too many "good" characters in ASOIF and Brienne is one of them. I wonder what kind of trouble she has to go through.

He'd better. He's too good a character to waste.

The thing is, more I think about it - every single character is good. There are some smaller ones that didn't make it to the show whom I absolutely adore.

[sunnytyler001.livejournal.com]

We all know the Hound is just a biiiiggg fluffy pupy in the inside XD

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

He totally is. :D I guess this is what I like too. I imagine what a man he could have been without the facial disfigurement. :(

[kem-viva.livejournal.com]

I love your GoT posts!

My top 5 are pretty similar, Jaime, Robb, Brienne, Sansa, Arienne..but it is really hard to choose there are so many amazing characters. I CAN NOT wait to find out who is cast as Brienne :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I actuallty started to worry , as she is my favourite. I didn't worry so much in Jaime's case for some reason, but if I don't like Brienne I will be very disappointed. :(

[roboticduck.livejournal.com]

I am superexcited to see Brienne! She is definitely one of my favorites. It's the way others react to her, even being a skillful fighter, she is still mocked for being ugly, how that shapes her.

I hope they picked a relative unknown AND that she has great chemistry with Jamie.

re: shipping, that is true, I hadn't thought of it. I agree that the focus of the books not being romance anyway, in addition to the fact that there's just so many character, everyone can kinda spread out and not bump elbows :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I hope they picked a relative unknown AND that she has great chemistry with Jamie.

Knowing Nikolaj, anyone will have chemistry with him. I just hope they will make a good choice. ** am so so worried **

re: shipping, that is true, I hadn't thought of it. I agree that the focus of the books not being romance anyway, in addition to the fact that there's just so many character, everyone can kinda spread out and not bump elbows :D

Yes, I think GoT is just not focused on that side of things. . I rememebr "Moonlight", it only had one short season and the shipping wars were some of the biggest I have seen. Another thing that sometimes happene: sometimes the author doesn't keep consistency . Like in "Bleach" (Japanese anime) which always makes it into Fandomwank, or HP.

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

I'm so incredibly curious as to who they've cast as Brienne. She's among my top five as well, though my list is pretty similar to yours. The only exception being Tyrion. While I like him, he is not a favourite, and I would probably have Jon on a top five list rather than him.

And you're not the only one obsessed with Arthur Dayne. In fact, I'm a bit obsessed with the Daynes in particular. There's all those stories about Ashara Dayne throwing herself of the tower, and then Edric Dayne showing up and telling Arya that he and Jon Snow are 'milk brothers'. I'm mean, that family must know something? (which I guess is why we've never really met anyone of them. Everyone that could know something about the whole Lyanna/Rheagar and/or Jon thing are either dead (several Daynes, Ned), missing (Benjen) or refusing to turn up (Howland Reed). Sometimes I suspect Martin keeps suspense up by removing important exposition characters. )

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Brienne might be "make it or break it" character for me, especially for the seasons 2 and 3. If I don't like her, I might lose the interest.

Jon, I definitely gave up on him ** laughs **. I have learned to like the show's Jon, but I will never be mad about him.

Martin has promised to reveal more about Jon's mother in the future book, but we know this might mean anything. And I have always been interested about Ashara's story too.

[dekyria.livejournal.com]

I just began in ASOS, but I can't wait to read more about Brienne.

Tyrion is awesome I agree.

Sansa ♥

the Hound :D

Jaime is cool too.

Then again there's not much chars I really hate! Besides all these chars I really love Jon (I love Kit TBH), Dany and Arya.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Then again there's not much chars I really hate!

Me too, apart from the ones we are supposed to hate, like Walder frey and Roose Bolton and such. With all the discussions I had about Cersei, I think she is growing on me too, I am beginning to see what other people see.

I really love Jon (I love Kit TBH), Dany and Arya.

I think Kit is purely subjectively not my thing (but more for you, right?), but I like the cahracter. He was in top five in the books for me. :D I also really really like Dany and Arya , but all three of them are everyones favourites and characters destined for greatness, so I guess I personally always like an underdog.

[dekyria.livejournal.com]

Cersei is growing on me too :)

Yeah everyone loves Jon, Dany and Arya :p I'm just another person who loves them. Glad you like Jon in the books :)

Love your icon btw .. I won't hatch anything.. brilliant :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I had some problems with some of Cersei's scenes, where she was much softer than I rememebr her. But in the few recent episodes she was JUST right, and I like the actress.

EEEEE! Thank you! I went mad with gifs.