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derangedrhythms · 1 year

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Beside us the lake murmurs. I drown in her eyes.

Martin Steyn, The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories: Volume One; from 'Kira', tr. James D. Jenkins

#martin steyn #the valancourt book of world horror stories #kira #prose #eyes #o #~

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x-aefx · 2 years

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Wish we got to see more of Savannah as Laena.

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spryfilm · 6 months

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Trailer: “House of the Dragon: Season 2" (2024)

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iris-sistibly · 2 years

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The Targ Talk (a review series): House of the Dragon episode 5

[🔥]

This is just based on my own understanding, but the more Alicent interacts with her father, the more I understand why she acts and think the way she does. She wasn't just forced to whatever she is told, she was groomed by her father to believe into whatever he says.

Fan theory: In the earlier part of the episode where Alicent and Otto spoke before the former Hand left King's Landing, he made his daughter feel guilty for defending Rhaenyra. And when Alicent pointed that it was because Otto had been persuading Viserys to name Aegon his heir, he brought up some shit about the people questioning or being against Rhaenyra should she be crowned queen (which was possible considering that in this timeline, many believe that women were more fit to be consorts, for bedding and giving birth than ruling a kingdom). However, even if it was true it was still fucking shady for Otto to plot his way into getting closer to the iron throne through Alicent, and I've noticed how the young queen never questioned that. Meaning, Alicent obviously had always known of her father's plans and she supported it, thinking that whatever her father says or do, it's always for the "gOoD oF tHe rEaLm." This is the very reason why Rhaenyra couldn't trust her, even if Alicent [still] considers the princess as her friend, she has always been bound to betray Rhaenyra because the queen's loyalty will always be towards her father.

Speaking of which, I liked how Alicent reacted when she realized Rhaenyra fooled her. She went from being in denial into I-am-so-coming-for-this-bitch mode, and I was thinking, this is the Alicent I've been waiting and been wanting to see. In Fire & Blood, I love and hate her at the same time, the same feelings I've harbored towards Cersei in GoT.

That grand entrance Alicent made in the midst of Viserys' speech. I love how she became fiercer and more cunning, her wearing that green gown sent Rhaenyra a clear message: the battle is on.

Fun fact: In Fire & Blood, when the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent was becoming more tensed, the court became divided as well: "the party of the queen," and "the party of the princess." During the fifth wedding anniversary of Viserys I and Alicent, the queen wore a green gown while Rhaenyra wore red and black. Thus, it became customary to address the queen's supporters as the "Greens" while those who supported the princess were called "Blacks."

I love the mutual understanding between Laenor and Rhaenyra ❤️ also, their respect for one each other was the reason why they didn't have any problems on getting married. They both knew what and/or who they want, and they were both well-aware that their union was nothing but political, and they both agreed to might as well benefit from it.

The wedding scene where the Velaryons made a grand entrance! I mean, Alicent made a pretty good impression with her 2.0 version BUT the Velaryons owned it.

For me, what I loved most about this episode was the dance. I think whoever choreographed it did his/her/their homework well. Watching Laenor and Rhaenyra's dance was like watching 2 dragons doing some sort of a ritual before the actual mating process. All in all, the entire dance number was a literal dance of the dragon and I enjoyed watching it.

Speaking of the wedding scene, I love how Daemon casually gate crashed the party and was like, "what's up bitches?" and Viserys had no choice but let him stay 😂.

DAEMON AND RHAENYRA DANCED AND ALMOST KISSED EACH OTHER!!! Aaaaand Viserys' face upon seeing the two of the together was so fucking priceless.

Another funny scene was when Gerold Royce came up to Daemon and accused him of killing Lady Rhea, the prince brushed him off and stated his claims on whatever his late wife left instead, leaving the guy speechless. This is why I love this motherfucker.

[Meh]

Okay so...Lady Rhea Royce was literally introduced and killed on the same scene. I mean, she didn't really have any heavy role to play in both the book and the show but...I feel bad. I like her sarcasm though.

Fun fact: Rhea Royce did fell off her horse while hawking, but it was entirely an accident. She died nine days later.

[WTF]

I never liked Criston Cole in both the novel and the show. But in this episode, I strongly agree with everyone that he's a dumb bitch:

For those who feel bad for him after he got rejected by Rhaenyra, don't. He said it himself, his title as knight was all he has, whilst Rhaenyra even though she herself did crazy things, she has her father, the King who always puts up with her shits and protect her. He has NOTHING, once everyone finds out he broke his oath, he will be disgraced and punished. To save his ass, he planned on using Rhaenyra. He knew he could benefit from her, but what would Rhaenyra gain from him? Nothing. Aside from the fact that Viserys will disinherit her once she decides to runaway with Criston, she will be shamed, and will be left with nothing. In other words, Criston could not give her whatever Viserys provides her.

Yes, I've also considered the fact that it was Rhaenyra who initiated that uh...moment, but still, I cannot fathom at how he didn't understand that Rhaenyra is a princess and future queen, therefore it is her duty to make allies with other strong houses through marriage. Considering Criston's background, does he really think he stood a chance against Laenor? Or even the other lords who competed for her hand as far as marriage is concerned? This may seem cruel, but let's face it, he will never be good enough for her. The only reason why Rhaenyra turned to him in the first place, was because she got frustrated with Daemon (remember the brothel scene?).

Fun fact: In Fire & Blood, There were two contradicting accounts about what happened between Criston and Rhaenyra. According to Septon Eustace, Criston did beg the princess to elope with him and asked for her hand in marriage but Rhaenyra rejected him stating her reasons that she was blood of the dragon, blah, blah, blah and if Ser Criston could set aside his vows as Kingsguard, why would marriage vows mean any more to him?

In Mushroom's accounts however, it was Rhaenyra who went to Ser Criston and told him to take her virginity but Criston remained true to his vows and rejected Rhaenyra's advances.

Another scene where Criston was proven to be stupid was when he confessed to Alicent about having sex with Rhaenyra. Why the fuck would he do that when the queen was suspecting Daemon? Daemon. If he was so worried about getting stripped off of his title, and getting punished, he should have kept his mouth shut.

HoD won't ever be called GoT's prequel without a fucking bloody wedding. Yes, Joffrey was killed by Criston during the tourney (in celebration of Laenor and Rhaenyra's wedding). He died six days later, and during his last days, Laenor was beside him. In the show, I couldn't believe how they didn't even give the poor guy time to grieve or at least process everything that happened. He was immediately dragged into the ceremony and could barely even say his vows. At this point, idk what's worse, the red wedding or this.

[Special Shoutout]

This will be the last episode where we'll be seeing Milly Alcock and Emily Carrey! I miss them already, but I really enjoyed watching these two. They truly are deserving to be part of this show, both are amazing actresses ❤️ Cheers to Milly and Emily! I feel sad that I won't be seeing them on the show anymore, but I am looking forward to Emma and Olivia taking over starting episode 6 next week, also excited to meet the rest of the Targaryen & Velaryon fam (and spoiler alert: the Strong sibs too 😬).

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geekcavepodcast · 2 years

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House of the Dragon Trailer

House of the Dragon, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, is set 200 years before Game of Thrones and follows the story of House Targaryen.

House of the Dragon stars Paddy Considine (King Viserys Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Emma D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Princess Rhaenys Velaryon), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria), Wil Johnson (Ser Vaemond Velaryon), John Macmillan (Ser Laenor Velaryon), Savannah Steyn (Lady Laena Velaryon), and Theo Nate (Ser Laenor Velaryon).

House of the Dragon hits HBO Max on August 21, 2022.

#house of the dragon #fire & blood #house targaryen #game of thrones #paddy considine #olivia cooke #emma d'arcy #matt smith #rhys ifans #steve toussaint #eve best #sonoya mizuno #wil johnson #john macmillan #savannah steyn #theo nate #hbo max #george rr martin #TGCLiz

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robynsassenmyview · 2 months

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Ode to the Patron Saint of Mediocrity

TAKE that! Antonio Salieri (Alan Committie) above, in a fit of jealousy with Mozart (Mark Elderkin). Photography courtesy of Montecasino Theatre. WHEN YOU THINK of Amadeus, Peter Shaffer’s perfectly wonderful play of 1979 that cast mischievous light into the mysterious nooks and untold crannies of the life of 18th century Vienna composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the first thing that comes to…

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bubbleteycosplay · 1 month

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All actresses/actors we have already considered for the role of Sigyn in the Marvel films/series:

Jessica Alba

Meryl Streep

Lily James

Emilia Clarke

Angel Coulby

Holliday Grainger

Rebecca Ferguson

Imogen Poots

Katie McGrath

Zawe Ashton

Amy James Kelly

Jennifer Connelly

Olivia Cooke

Natalie Dormer

Evan Rachel Wood

Ellie Bamber

Alana Boden

Phillipa Soo

Anne Hathaway

Ritu Arya

Sandra James Young

Niamh Walsh

Emily Carey

Romola Garai

Perdita Weeks

Britt Lower

Georgie Henley

Sophia Lillis

Sofia Wylie

Naomi Ackie

Alia Shawkat

Karen Fukuhara

Gratiela Brancusi

Gina Stiebitz

Joanna Douglas

Moses Ingram

Dilraba Dilmurat

Zoe Boyle

Freida Pinto

Charlotte Riley

Penelope Wilton

Jing Tian

Annabelle Wallis

Sophie Rundle

Alicia Vikander

Gemma Arterton

David Lindstrom

Isla Fisher

Gabriella Wilde

Hannah Dodd

Deepika Padukone

Marion Cotillard

Ksenia Solo

Denée Benton

Mia Wasikowska

Julia Lester

Ginnifer Goodwin

Malina Weissman

Naomi Scott

Ashley Johnson

Àstrid Berges-Frisbey

Millie Bobby Brown

Tamla Kari

Dianne Doan

Aisling Loftus

Pedro Pascal

Jessie Buckley

Felicity Jones

Lucy Martin

Sadie Sink

Lana Parrilla

Katheryn Winnick

Golshifteh Farahani

Vanessa Kirby

Kaley Cuoco

Alicia von Rittberg

Rachel Shenton

Meryem Uzerli

Jeanne Goursaud

Sophie Skelton

Léa Seydoux

Claire Holt

Sophie Turner

Nicola Coughlan

Sophia Myles

Regé Jean Page

Sara Gadon

Kelly Marie Tran

Hugh Dancy

Lydia West

Amanda Seyfried

Oona Chaplin

Billie Piper

Charithra Chandran

Keira Knightley

Elizabeth Debicki

Bella Heathcote

Savannah Steyn

Jodie Comer

Eleanor Tomlinson

Clémence Poésy

Jodie Turner-Smith

Charlotte Hope

Madeleine Mantock

Simone Ashley

Georgia Tennant

Jessica Williams

Daisy Head

Ana de Armas

Jessica Brown Findlay

Mimî M Khayisa

Lolly Adefope

Amy Adams

Jessica Chastain

Bryce Dallas Howard

Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Susan Wokoma

Aiysha Hart

Sophie Okonedo

Imelda Staunton

Anna Shaffer

Emilie de Ravin

Elle Fanning

Ruth Wilson

Anna Popplewell

Nathalie Emmanuel

Freema Agyeman

Rose Leslie

Halle Bailey

America Ferrera

Jeanne Goursaud

Drew Barrymore

Sogol Faghani

#sigyn #marvel #justiceforsigyn #lokiswife #marvel comics #marvel movies #marvel studios #marvel series #marvel fancast #mcu #multiverse #mcu fancast #sigyn fancast

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waywordsstudio · 7 months

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13 Days of Halloween: "Kira" Short Story Review by Martin Steyn -

#shortstoryreview #halloween #horror #horrorstory #13DaysOfHalloween #books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #kira #southafrica #martinsteyn

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indiejones · 2 years

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INDIES 8 GREATEST WORLD CRICKET XV's OF ALL TIME !

I. INDIES 1ST CRICKET WORLD XV.....OF ALL TIME ! I.E 'CRICKET'S FOREVER UNBEATABLE XV' ! 1. Sachin Tendulkar 2. Don Bradman 3. Rahul Dravid (wk) 4. Mohammad Azharuddin 5. Brian Lara 6. Garfield Sobers (C) 7. Kapil Dev 8. Shane Warne 9. Bishen Singh Bedi 10. Dennis Lillee 11. Joel Garner 12. Viv Richards 13. Anil Kumble 14. Mohinder Amarnath 15. BS Chandrashekhar II. INDIES 2ND CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Wally Hammond (wk) 2. Virender Sehwag 3. Zaheer Abbas (wk) 4. Vijay Merchant (C) 5. George Headley 6. Vijay Hazare 7. Sanath Jayasuriya 8. Richard Hadlee 9. Colin Croft 10. Erapalli Prasanna 11. Jeff Thompson 12. S. Venkataraghavan 13. Malcolm Marshall 14. Courtney Walsh 15. Curtly Ambrose III. INDIES 3RD CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Saeed Anwar (wk) 2. Sunil Gavaskar 3. Martin Crowe (C) 4. Clive Lloyd 5. Javed Miandad 6. VVS Laxman 7. Imran Khan 8. Wasim Akram 9. Allan Donald 10. Waqar Younis 11. Muttiah Muralitharan 12. Hashim Amla 13. Javagal Srinath 14. Manoj Prabhakar 15. Saqlain Mushtaq IV. INDIES 4TH CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Desmond Haynes 2. David Warner 3. Kumara Sangakkara (wk) 4. Ricky Ponting (C) 5. Jacques Kallis 6. Greg Chappell 7. David Gower 8. Ian Botham 9. Lance Gibbs 10. Andy Roberts 11. Glenn McGrath 12. Mohammad Nissar 13. Michael Holding 14. Venkatesh Prasad 15. Mushtaq Ahmed V. INDIES 5TH CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Gordon Greenidge 2. Adam Gilchrist (wk) 3. Greg Chappell 4. Aravinda de Silva 5. Sourav Ganguly 6. Kane Williamson 7. Denis Compton (C) 8. Chaminda Vaas 9. Dale Steyn 10. Ian Bishop 11. Pervez Sajjad 12. Dimuth Karunaratne 13. Leary Constantine 14. Khan Mohammad 15. Mushtaq Mohammad VI. INDIES 6TH CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Len Hutton 2. David Boon 3. Mark Waugh 4. Michael Bevan (wk) 5. Ross Taylor 6. Angelo Mathews (C) 7. Shaun Pollock 8. Asif Iqbal 9. Chris Cairns 10. Wes Hall 11. Rangana Herath 12. Mohammad Farooq 13. Iqbal Qasim 14. Ijaz Faqih 15. Farooq Hamid VII. INDIES 7TH CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Navjot Singh Sidhu 2. Geoff Marsh 3. Mahela Jayawardene 4. Dean Jones 5. Arjuna Ranatunga 6. Inzamam ul Haq (C) 7. Karsan Ghavri 8. Harold Larwood 9. Sydney Barnes 10. Fred Trueman 11. Nathan Lyon 12. Intikhab Alam 13. Graeme Swann 14. Sarfaraz Nawaz 15. Mike Hussey VIII. INDIES 8TH CRICKET WORLD XV....OF ALL TIME ! 1. Alastair Cook 2. Graham Gooch 3. Kepler Wessels (C) 4. Matthew Hayden 5. Mohammad Yousuf 6. Marcus Trescothick (wk) 7. W G Grace 8. Mohammad Rafique 9. Aaqib Javed 10. Mitchell Johnson 11. Abdul Qadir 12. AB DeVilliers 13. Colin Cowdrey 14. Clyde Walcott 15. Frank Worrell

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derangedrhythms · 1 year

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Martin Steyn, The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories: Volume One; from 'Kira', tr. James D. Jenkins

TEXT ID: A lake is different from the sea. There isn't the constant energy of the surf breaking on the shore, it's like something that breathes. That waits.

#martin steyn #the valancourt book of world horror stories #kira #prose #~

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jozistyle · 2 years

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The Beauty Queen of Leenane

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE by Martin McDonagh directed by Charmaine Weir-Smith starring Jennifer Steyn, Julie-Anne McDowell, Bryan Hiles and Sven Ruygrok “Spellbinding” The Observer “McDonagh re-creates traditional Irish family drama only to set it ablaze with a postmodern blowtorch” LA Times The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a theatrical masterpiece by acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh…

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techstartro · 2 years

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#GameofThrones #HouseofTheDragon #Serial

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leer-reading-lire · 3 years

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The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories

Edited by James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle

What if there were a whole world of great horror fiction out there you didn't know anything about, written by authors in distant lands and in foreign languages, outstanding horror stories you had no access to, written in languages you couldn't read? For an avid horror fan, what could be more horrifying than that?

For this groundbreaking volume, the first of its kind, the editors of Valancourt Books have scoured the world, reading horror stories from dozens of countries in nearly twenty languages, to find some of the best contemporary international horror stories. All the foreign-language stories in this book appear here in English for the first time, while the English-language entries from countries like the Philippines are appearing in print in the U.S. for the first time.

The book includes stories by some of the world's preeminent horror authors, many of them not yet known in the English-speaking world:

Pilar Pedraza, 'Mater Tenebrarum' (Spain)

Flavius Ardelean, 'Down, in Their World' (Romania)

Anders Fager, 'Backstairs' (Sweden)

Tanya Tynjälä, 'The Collector' (Peru)

Frithjof Spalder, 'The White Cormorant' (Norway)

Jose María Latorre, 'Snapshots' (Spain)

Luigi Musolino, 'Uironda' (Italy)

Martin Steyn, 'Kira' (South Africa)

Attila Veres, 'The Time Remaining' (Hungary)

Lars Ahn, 'Donation' (Denmark)

Bernardo Esquinca, 'Señor Ligotti' (Mexico)

Cristina Fernández Cubas, 'The Angle of Horror' (Spain)

Christien Boomsma, 'The Bones in Her Eyes' (Netherlands)

Elisenda Solsona, 'Mechanisms' (Catalonia)

Michael Roch, 'The Illogical Investigations of Inspector André Despérine' (Martinique)

Solange Rodríguez Pappe, 'Tiny Women' (Ecuador)

Bathie Ngoye Thiam, 'The House of Leuk Dawour' (Senegal)

Marko Hautala, 'Pale Toes' (Finland)

Yvette Tan, 'All the Birds' (Philippines)

Ariane Gélinas, 'Twin Shadows' (Québec)

Flore Hazoumé, 'Menopause' (Ivory Coast)

Now for this exciting follow-up volume the editors have expanded their search to even more countries, finding more of the world's best horror fiction and making it available to American readers for the first time. Featuring a wide variety of tales from Brazil to Malta to Nigeria to Japan, and all points in between, this new anthology is a must-have for any horror fan or anyone interested in contemporary world literature.

Included in this volume are some of the world's best horror writers, many of them unknown in the English-speaking world:

Luciano Lamberti, 'The Nature of Love' (Argentina)

Roberto Causo, 'Train of Consequences' (Brazil)

Braulio Tavares, 'Screamer' (Brazil)

Yavor Tsanev, 'The Recording of the Will' (Bulgaria)

Zhang Yueran, 'Whitebone Spirit' (China)

Teddy Vork, 'The Wonders of the Invisible World' (Denmark)

Indrek Hargla, 'The Grain Dryer of Tammõküla' (Estonia)

Mélanie Fazi, 'Dreams of Ash' (France)

Konstantinos Kellis, 'Firstborn' (Greece)

Gary Victor, 'Lucky Night' (Haiti)

Steinar Bragi, 'The Bell' (Iceland)

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, 'Shelter from the Storm' (India)

Stephan Friedman, 'The Pallid Eidolon" (Israel)

Yasumi Tsuhara, 'The Old Wound and the Sun' (Japan)

Anton Grasso, 'The Ant' (Malta)

Dare Segun Falowo, 'Olowabi Olowolagba' (Nigeria)

Wojciech Gunia, 'The War' (Poland)

Ana María Fuster Lavín, 'Footsteps of Hunger' (Puerto Rico)

Val Votrin, 'The Regensburg Festival' (Russia)

Bora Chung, 'Mask' (South Korea)

Viola Cadruvi, 'The Runner' (Switzerland)

#horror fiction #horror books #horror short stories #short fiction #short stories #book covers #book cover #pilar pedraza #bernardo esquinca #world literature #contemporary fiction #literatura contemporánea #cuentos de terror

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geekcavepodcast · 2 years

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House of the Dragon “Fire Will Reign” Promo

House of the Dragon, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, is set 200 years before Game of Thrones and follows the story of House Targaryen.

House of the Dragon stars Paddy Considine (King Viserys Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Emma D’Arcy (Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Princess Rhaenys Velaryon), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria), Wil Johnson (Ser Vaemond Velaryon), John Macmillan (Ser Laenor Velaryon), Savannah Steyn (Lady Laena Velaryon), and Theo Nate (Ser Laenor Velaryon).

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO Max on August 21, 2022.

#house of the dragon #game of thrones #george rr martin #fire and blood #house targaryen #hbo max #TGCLiz

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weirdletter · 3 years

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The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume 1, edited by James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle, Valancourt Books, 2020. Illustrations by M.S. Corley, info: valancourtbooks.com.

What if there were a whole world of great horror fiction out there you didn't know anything about, written by authors in distant lands and in foreign languages, outstanding horror stories you had no access to, written in languages you couldn't read? For an avid horror fan, what could be more horrifying than that? For this groundbreaking volume, the first of its kind, the editors of Valancourt Books have scoured the world, reading horror stories from dozens of countries in nearly twenty languages, to find some of the best contemporary international horror stories. All the foreign-language stories in this book appear here in English for the first time, while the English-language entries from countries like the Philippines are appearing in print in the U.S. for the first time. The book includes stories by some of the world's preeminent horror authors, many of them not yet known in the English-speaking world.

Contents: Editors’ Foreword – James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle Acnowledgments Uironda – Luigi Musolino (Italy) Mater Tenebrarum – Pilar Pedraza (Spain) The Time RemainingAttila Veres (Hungary) The Angle of Horror – Cristina Fernández Cubas (Spain) Down, in Their World – Flavius Ardelean (Romania) The Collector – Tanya Tynjälä (Peru) Señor Ligotti – Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico) The Illogical Investigations of Inspector André Despérine – Michael Roch (Martinique) Menopause – Flore Hazoumé (Ivory Coast) The Bones in Her Eyes – Christien Boomsma (Netherlands) Twin Shadows – Ariane Gélinas (Québec) Backstairs – Anders Fager (Sweden) Pale Toes – Marko Hautala (Finland) Kira – Martin Steyn (South Africa) Donation – Lars Ahn (Denmark) Tiny Women – Solange Rodríguez Pappe (Ecuador) Mechanisms – Elisenda Solsona (Catalonia) The House of Leuk Dawour – Bathie Ngoye Thiam (Senegal) The White Cormorant – Frithjof Spalder (Norway) All the Birds – Yvette Tan (Philippines) Snapshots – Jose María Latorre (Spain) About the Authors

#book #anthology #world horror #weird fiction #horror fiction #dark fiction #dark fantasy

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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House of the Dragon: Game of Thrones Prequel Trailer Breakdown

https://ift.tt/3BiDiJV

It’s been far too long since TV viewers got to spend time in Westeros. Thankfully, we will all be returning soon. Today HBO Max revealed an official teaser for House of the Dragon, the first of many planned Game of Thrones spinoffs. Check it out below.

This story is a prequel that picks up roughly 200 years before the events of the epic HBO series. The Targaryen dynasty is on its fifth king of the Seven Kingdoms. They’ve got all the dragons they could want and things are going great in Westeros. Surely, no petty family squabble over succession could possibly ruin such a great thing! Unfortunately for the Targaryen family, George R.R. Martin kind of lives for this shit.

House of the Dragon is set to cover a major event in Westerosi history known as the Dance of the Dragons. This is when a crisis of succession leads to an enormous civil war that devastates the continent and kills off a large percentage of House Targaryen’s dragons. And those dragons are pretty important, you see. As the voiceover in the teaser indicates “Gods, kings, fire, and blood. Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did.”

Though this teaser is only just over a minute long, it packs quite a bit of exciting imagery within it. Let’s break down exactly what it is we’re seeing here, using Martin’s prequel text Fire & Blood as a guide.

Ser Otto Hightower

TV

House of the Dragon Photos Offer First Look at Thrones Prequel Characters

By Alec Bojalad

Fans of Game of Thrones should immediately recognize the pendant on the chest of this unseen character. That is worn by the “Hand of the King” who is essentially the King of the Seven Kingdoms’ chief of staff. Some Hands of the King are more historically significant than others and the House of the Dragon will depict a particularly important one. Though we don’t see his face, this character is certainly Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans).

The Hightowers hail from Oldtown in The Reach, one of the biggest and most powerful cities in the Seven Kingdoms. In fact, before Aegon I’s arrival on the continent and the creation of King’s Landing, Oldtown was THE city in Westeros. As such, the Hightower family that rules Oldtown is extremely powerful. Though Otto’s brother is the Lord of Oldtown, Otto has been a mainstay of King’s Landing for years. He is a deeply political man who counts the king’s brother Daemon as his biggest rival. His daughter is also quite attractive and may or may not catch the eye of King Viserys I.

King Viserys I

Ah yes, King Viserys I: the head honcho. Viserys I (Paddy Considine) is the fifth king of the Targaryen dynasty. He seems to be doing a decent job but that might just be because his reign followed that of his grandfather Jaehaerys I – perhaps the greatest king Westeros ever had. Viserys’s biggest “sin” is his love of his daughter Rhaenyra. Viserys is grooming her to be Westeros’s ruling monarch despite the precdent of patrilineal succession being set under Jaehaerys’s reign.

The prominent inclusion of Viserys’ sword in this shot might not be a coincidence. All Targaryen kings through Aegon IV wielded Aegon I’s Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. Should someone hypothetically nab that sword in a civil war it would lend an air of legitimacy to their claim.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). This may be the closest this story has to a “main character.” Rhaenyra is the apple of her father King Viserys’s eye. In fact, for much of her youth she was pretty much the apple of everyone’s eye. Known as the “Realm’s Delight”, Rhaenyra has a very positive approval rating in the Seven Kingdoms. She is Viserys’s only child from his marriage to Queen Aemma of House Arryn. She appears to have a clear path to the Iron Throne … unless her father does something crazy like say, get remarried.

Daemon Targaryen

Here we have Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen. Daemon (Matt Smith) is the king’s younger brother and therefore Rhaenyra’s uncle. In the war to come, Daemon will be one of the most important players. He is an excellent warrior but also a bit unbearable. Otto Hightower hates him and Viserys himself isn’t too taken by him. His niece certainly loves him though. Perhaps a bit too much.

This may not be a particularly important moment but it does serve as a reminder that the Targaryen fashion sense is so rad. This also, however, could be a fateful duel between Daemon Targaryen and Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), the latter of which loves a morningstar and who will play an important role in the palace intrigue to come.

Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. The Sea Snake

Now THIS guy is very important. This is Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. The Sea Snake (Steve Toussaint). Think of him as House of the Dragon’s Tywin Lannister, that is to say: the most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms who does not sit on the Iron Throne. House Velaryon dates its lineage back to Old Valyria just like the Targaryens. As such the two families are quite close, with Corlys even marrying Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best).

Even beyond his family’s power, however, Corlys is a particularly impressive man. He is a prolific sailor and adventurer who has traveled all over the world, bringing many riches back home with him. Should a civil war break out, he would be a very important ally to win.

Speaking of Velaryons, here is the whole crew. It’s unknown who is who here but the following actors have been confirmed to be a part of the Velaryon family:

– Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon – Younger brother to Coryls Velaryon and commander in the Velaryon navy – John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon – Son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen – Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron – Daughter of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen – Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon – Son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen

I believe we’re seeing the adolescent Ser Laenor to Corlys’s left. His wife Rhaenys is also accompanying him.

This is a conspicuous shot of the Iron Throne – the thing that each character is striving for and the thing that also no longer exists, thanks to Drogon.

Mysaria

Here we see Sonoya Mizuno (Devs, Ex Machina) as Mysaria, Daemon’s Mistress of Whisperers and also just his mistress. Mysaria is pretty rad. She’s a dancer from the Free City of Lys in Essos who caught Daemon’s eye. She comes to serve a pretty important role in the Dance of the Dragons and is involved with at least one unbearably cruel act. Much of Westeros comes to know her as “Lady Misery.”

Lady Alicent Hightower

Told you Ser Otto Hightower’s daughter was attractive! This is Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooker), who will soon catch the king’s eye. Here, however, she appears to be in distress. She’s running through the court in Maegor’s Holdfast and holding what could be the same Valyrian dagger that caused so much strife in Game of Thrones. What events could this cursed thing have set in motion here? It’s hard to say but it may involve her son Aemon losing an eye.

Remember how much fun the jousting episodes were in Game of Thrones season 1? So much can happen at a tourney. It’s a fun place for highborn and commoners alike to take in some sweet violence. It’s also dramatically fertile ground for many schemes to take shape. Based on the heraldry of a red archer on a green field, this tournament is being held in Horn Hill, home of House Tarly (yes, as in Samwell Tarly). The two participants in this particular joust appear to be Ser Criston Cole again and a House Tarly knight.

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In Fire & Blood, the events that set the Dance of the Dragons in motion begin at a tourney in King’s Landing. Alicent Hightower is adorned in green and Rhaenyra Targaryen in black, so when the factions eventually divide they are known as the “greens” and the “blacks.”

At first glance this appears to be a simple training session. But then it becomes clear that these two combatants really hate each other. We are likely seeing here a skirmish between one of Lady Alicent’s sons and one of Lady Rhaenyra’s. You might think that the blond-haired boy is Rhaenyra’s son but curiously all of her and her blond husband Laenor’s kids come out with jet black hair. He almost looks a little bit more like Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr). Interesting.

House of the Dragon will premiere in 2022 on HBO and HBO Max.

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