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"I had expected the Stranger to come in many shapes," Tywin Lannister said, "but I didn't foresee you to look like Loras Tyrell, of all people."
They were in the solar of the Hand, although mere moments before, Tywin had been atop the battlements of the Red Keep to oversee the progress of the preparations of the King's wedding and the repairs after the Battle of the Blackwater.
The handsome apparition in front of Tywin Lannister shook his brown locks and smiled.
"I daresay that the afterlife is a new concept to you, that's why you're facing surroundings and a depiction of me that you can deal with," the Stranger said. "Besides - the whole appearance according to the faith is a tad outdated, wouldn't you say?"
"I don't particularly care about any form you might choose," Tywin answered. "Do tell me - what has happened to me? A moment ago, I was atop the battlements."
Loras the Stranger inclined his head and looked as if he were inconsolable.
"Yes, yes, I know. Now - this is a most deplorable situation. A mistake if you will. You see, my trainee accidentally triggered off a lethal heart attack for you although your heart was not affected by any physical damage and your were meant to live for another month, or even a little longer. Well until after your grandson's wedding."
Tywin Lannister would have blinked, had he had a body.
"You've got a trainee?"
Loras the Stranger waved his hand.
"Very recent development; the Faith hasn't noticed anything yet. Anyway, I would like to extend my apologies."
Tywin was still confused. The shock of death, likely.
"Another month, you say? How should I have died?"
"Oh, THAT!" The Stranger waved his hand again. "You were supposed to be poisoned... and to be shot at the privy by your son Tyrion with a crossbow."
Had he had a body, Tywin would have uttered something like a mix of a snarl and a hiss.
"I knew him to be such a base, evil creature! To think that he'll try to style himself as my heir...!" He paused for the briefest moment. "I should have remarried and should have had a proper heir. And I must hold you accountable for this gross mistake. I didn't think that even gods are so incompetent. Though... it would have explained why you took my wife away from me too soon. Lead the way to her now! I can't wait to be reunited with her."
The handsome Stranger shook his head.
"Now here were coming to another problem. You see - your wife is in the Seven Heavens, but you've done a couple of foul deeds, so your soul is meant for the Seven Hells."
Tywin tensed. Mentally speaking.
"This is no option. You've cut my life short, and now you're telling me I'm supposed to be separated from my wife for all eternities? NO! This won't do. It won't, have you understood?"
The Stranger pinched the bridge of his nose and bethought himself.
"Hhhhhh. Now. I guess I must offer you something as a compensation for my mistake."
Tywin jumped at this option.
"The Red God can revive people. You could do the same and give me the chance to do something good to save my soul."
Loras the Stranger smiled sadly.
"That won't be possible, I fear. When you had your heart attack, you fell off the battlements. Your body is just a red blob in a courtyard anymore."
Tywin felt sick.

The Stranger went on, "I can only offer you one alternative. It would last for a little more than a month, until you'd have normally died. As it happens, Balerion the tomcat has just ended his ninth life here in the Red Keep. His body is still intact, and a feline existence -"
"A CAT!?" Tywin cut him short, his very soul frothing.
The Stranger shrugged.
"It's close enough to your sigil. That or the Seven Hells."
Waves of wrath pulsated around Tywin.
"That's blackmailing!"
Loras the Stranger smiled.
"I see you are aware of the concept. And this is my last word on it. Do you accept my offer?"

My boy loves it when I sing to him!
So where does he react most positively?

Greensleeves
Hijo de la luna
Cohen's Halleluja
self-written lullaby
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...
In the Jungle
The odd opera aria, occasionally

Had to go to the children's doctor. The little one had problems with the navel and the spine. And digestion.
Now, the stroller has got a puncture.
Stressed.

We've put up the baby bed in the nursery, and we've decorated the room. Finally! Now that I've recovered enough from the Caesarean, I can carry heavier things again.

I've been thinking about which consequences the war with the Others will have on Westerosi society, and I've come up with comparing the development to the end of post-Second World War Germany. Like any comparison, it won't work completely, but it may be a beginning.

First of all, one should consider that the society of pre-WWII society was a bit more flexible when it came to social rise and decline than the Westerosi society, but it's in no way comparable to today's situation. It was common to die in the class you were born into.

Now, what happened at the end of WWII? Of course, many people had died by then, leaving certain positions empty. Many people - also old elites - lost their homes, either from the bombings or because they were driven away from their home regions/expropriated.

After that, those parts of the old elites who were lucky and managed to escape the fate of becoming refugees, were at least partly able to keep/re-establish their social positions, because there were education, possessions, and old networks in the background. Refugees who got expropriated and who were driven away from their home region lost everything, including their old contacts, so permanent social decline was possible.

At the same time, so much was destroyed and so many positions were vacant that social rise in society was possible, too. You had to have some competences: education/quick apprehension, flexibility, energy, survival & business instincts, and often enough, a certain ethical shadiness was helpful, too.

Considering all these aspects, one can say that there was an increased social flexibility after WWII.

Let's switch to Westeros now. We've got a rigid class system there. Social rise and social decline are comparatively rare and if they happen, they're usually linked to a ruler's wrath or generosity. Rare examples of social rise are the Clegane family and Petyr Baelish. When we look at Baelish, there are some parallels to things I've mentioned above: education/quick apprehension, flexibility, energy, business instincts, and a certain ethical shadiness. When it comes to the Cleganes, it's Lannister support that has made their social rise possible.

However, there are still limits as to how far you can rise, especially within 1-3 generations. Petyr ruthlessly tries to push these boundaries, and with some temporary success, but even these men notice the social glass ceiling at every turn. There are things they simply can't do without having to fear repercussions from the establishment.

So what will the apocalypse of the ice zombies in the North mean for the Westerosi society?

There are already many vacancies from the previous wars, and there's destruction almost everywhere on the continent. Add to that deprivation from an extremely long and harsh winter. Then add the havoc caused by invaders (Dany, ice zombies...).

In book canon, we can already see how wildlings enter the Seven Kingdoms and are integrated at the Wall (we know the price Jon Snow has to pay for this, but still - it happens). I believe that these tendencies will continue and increase.

I think we'll witness great changes in the Westerosi society. The established, rigid system will crumble (perhaps alongside with the Wall?), and there will be a phase of great fluctuation where things will become possible that haven't been possible before.

If we believe show canon, upstart Petyr Baelish is doomed. I keep wondering what will happen to Sandor Clegane, and I keep asking myself which parts of the old elites might survive - and under which altered circumstances. I'm pretty sure GRRM will come up with interesting ideas.

Time is flying, really. Been busy with social media woes these last days. At least Dreamwidth is stable and works! I still mean to digitalise my hand-written stuff here on this blog, I've just not gotten anywhere of late...

Been up since 2.30 a.m. Haven't been able to sleep since. Almost broke down on my stroll home from work. Meditation? Didn't work. And just when I was relaxing a tad, the postman rang the bell. So I've been oscillating between bed, bathroom and sofa, doing nothing productive.
BLEH.
Sorry, needed to spew this out.

Today's programme:

- job (which was fine & my plans worked out nicely)
- empanadas for lunch, home-made, with a bell pepper filling, yummy
- long nap back at home
- didn't make it to the mail office to retrieve a parcel, will have to do so tomorrow
- now, I'm working on an update for a fanfic
- will go to bed early because of early shift tomorrow

Since the last update here, I've really managed to write a lot by hand. I guess it's good to re-activate this blog since I've used this platform to start digitalising this text (friends-locked).
Status: My handwritten version is nearing the climax of the story (YAY!!). I've also planned how to realise it.
After that, I'll turn to the sub-plot. Originally, I hadn't planned for one, but it does make sense. So it's great I'm still enjoying this project. I had never thought of getting so far, and it started out as a fun thing, but here we are.
SMILE

Will my blog on Tumblr be deleted or not? I mean, I did post erotic content there. Rather harmless in comparison to what others had, but still...
Le sigh.
I hope I'll be able to stay in contact with some people.

So last night, I had a total Tywin x Sansa dream, a real story… and strangely enoug a modern AU.

Lannister Enterprises has produced this fancy new all-terrain bike, the ultimate must-have product for fit people with some excess money. And Kevan has had this idea for a PR campaign: that all the leading houses should be invited to send someone on a cross-country trekking tour through the Seven Kingdoms.

Tywin is the opposite of enthusiastic when his brother tells him that it’ll be his task to lead the group. Tywin, as the boss, is supposed to function as the exclusive front salesman by setting an example for an exclusive target group, so to speak.

Ned and Sansa turn out to be the representatives for House Stark. They’ve planned it as some daughter-daddy activity. And when the tour starts, Sansa is incredibly enthusiastic. In the evenings, at the camp fire, she is usually sitting next to grumpmaster Tywin and keeps pointing out all the beautiful things they’ve seen over the day. It seems to be her mission to cheer him up - and Ned is totally underwhelmed about her mode of action.

When Sansa has got an accident and temporarily has got to stay in hospital, Tywin realises that he can’t remember anything nice about the respective tour day in the evening. And he realises that in Sansa’s presence he has felt more alive than ever since Joanna’s death.

Soon, Sansa returns and in a quiet moment, Tywin grumpily admits that she’s showing him things he’d never see himself. Flattered, Sansa places a chaste kiss on his cheek - and to their endless confusion and embarrassment, they somehow exchange the shortest, most hesitant kiss on the mouth, they look into each other’s eyes and realise that a harmless peck is far from enough, far from what they want… and they see this realisation reflected in each other’s eyes, and they UNDERSTAND.

And then, I woke up. Damn!! That was the wrong moment!! Got my own cliffhanger for once. And I’m utterly mind-blocked by the intense pictures and can’t write this down… I want to know what happens when they can’t help being drawn towards one another and right under Ned’s undoubtedly disapproving, but still ignorant nose. Gaaah!! Halp!!

With the exception of the screw-in-the-tyre incident I've been in a very positive mood for days now. Thankfully, the new tyre was a little less expensive than anticipated.

I know there are some challenges ahead and I know I have to save money, but I'm not daunted. I've got a lot of energy and motivation these days, and on average, I'm also sleeping a bit better, too. I don't know exactly why, but I'm grateful.

Everyone else has had infections of late, but I haven't even had a cold. I've got some of my old health problems, but I'm glad to see that my blood sugar is back to normal. Normal! I was developing diabetes, and now, it's normal!

I've also been reading and commenting on some thoroughly enjoyable fanfiction.

The weather was very cold today, but good, and I walked to work and back. Had a nice, warm curry for lunch and warm home-made chocolate pudding (XXL portion) afterwards.

So yeah, things can go on like this!

So a long weekend off from work is coming to an end. On Friday, I had an appointment with a doctor. He found some helpful words.

On Saturday, we made a day trip by train. We visited a lovely old city. The historical scenery reminds you of Lannisport, because there are lions everywhere. We did some shopping as well. I found three lovely pieces in a second-hand-shop: a skirt, a blouse with embroidery, and a pair of red trousers in Ferrari-red. Next, we went to an "Unwrapped Store" we didn't know yet. Since we had heard of it from the Internet, we had several containers with us. So we got veggie-spread, soy flakes, white lightbulb-shaped chocolate, candied orange peel, poppy seed and red lentils without any extra wrapping. Oh, and we got freshly ground coffee at a coffee roaster. After that, I was emanating a most delicious scent in thick wafts, so I got myself an aroma-safe tin. We also had a special bread bag with us and got some rolls and fresh bread at a local bakery - even at a reduced price. YAY.
Sadly, there was a right-wing demonstration in a nearby town, so the train was full of according supporters on the way back, and there were flocks of police in "heavy armour". Bleh. Not a nice experience, but at least we got out of this unscathed.

Today is a "kitchen day". I made a sauerkraut hotpot for lunch, which also contained onion, lentils, letscho vegetables and smoked tofu. The dessert was apple crumble. YUMYUMYUM.
In the afternoon, I used up two sweet potatoes. I cooked and mushed them. One half went into sweet potato-pecan-muffins, one half into veggie-patties I can take to work tomorrow.
I still mean to make some bulgur salad that can go along with the patties tomorrow.

With regard to writing: I've been very active. I've written a first draft for a query letter. Otherwise, there's a lot on thought and pondering level, and I've had some ideas for the writing project I mean to recycle. At the moment, I'm kind of tailoring my unfinished first draft witht the chainsaw. So yeah, very active days, even if you can't read so much right now.

So I'm content with how things are going.

Yesterday, I was at the biggest local store. What truly shocked me that they didn't have a single orange juice in a glass blottle anymore! Honestly, what the effing eff?? One of the brands that used to sell their juice in glass bottles has just switched to plastic bottles. It makes me sick! Why is beer in glass bottles still pretty common, and people keep saying that it doesn't taste as good from plastic bottles, but when it comes to juice, the same argument is suddenly irrelevant??
Result: I bought orange juice in re-usable and returnable glass bottles at the local organic shop.

Still making lots of ginger-mint-lemonade myself, quick and easy. And really tasty.

Today, I walked over to a big local drugstore. Drugstores are "plastic land", so I didn't expect much. However, I did find a few good items: soap bars made of 100% natural veggie oils in cardboard boxes, big paper tissue boxes made 100% of recycled paper in recycled cardboard boxes, and organic olive oil.
They also had plastic-free sanitary towels with organic cotton, to my great surprise. Only I've still got enough of those, and for the hours at home, I've got the fabric sanitary towels I've ordered. Experiences: those are softer and more comfortable than anything I've ever worn in my life!! 100% recommendation.

Sooo, we've booked cards for the Comic Con in Rotterdam in March. My husband and I are so looking forward to this!
Christopher Lambert - there can be only one!
And... CHARLES DANCE!!
Praying to the Seven that we'll all be fit on this day.
We'll be going by train. We've booked some seats at a table so I can bring my netbook/paper notebook/what have you and write. And the hotel is right near the railway station. Perfect is perfect!

What was not perfect is that I've lost my railway discount card, so I've had to reorder one. Otherwise - the hotels aren't exactly cheap during those days. No surprise there, but the woman at the travel agency has certainly done her very best.

What else?
I'm back into reading and commenting mode on AO3.
Today, I've read The Highgarden Marriage Bureau by Isola_Caramella. Very recommendable if you're into Jaime x Brienne. Or 19th century contexts.

When it comes to writing, I want to focus on my original stuff for the time being. After all, I want to publish something one day.
And it's good I can post things here friends-locked. I think I know who I can trust.
:-)
I'm just working on one of my old projects and trying to recycle it according to the snowflake method - and wham! am I finding out about some underlying problems I had never realised before. This method is absolutely great!

My ongoing project to produce less plastic is slowly picking up speed. SLOWLY. The point is that I've had so many products on my storage room still wrapped in plastic that changes don't come about all too quickly.

But.

Things are going on.

I've got a hand mill to grind my coffee beans now (including to-go-function), and I've got a permanent filter. Grinding your coffee beans is like a fitness training for your arms, I can tell you! Thankfully, the taste of the coffee is worth the effort. YUMYUMYUM.

I've also found a wonderful homepage that helps me with tons of entries on how to avoid plastic waste.
It is quite shocking to see how much plastic we've got in the drugstore department when some 5 basic, harmless ingredients that have been around for ages can achieve the same.

What I love is that we've got a "unwrapped" shop in the next big town. You take your private boxes and glasses there, weigh them, get a sticker with the weight, and then you fill them from big canisters. No extra waste. Be it shampoo, toothpaste, chocolate, oils, pasta, different kinds of grain, coffee, nuts and so on and so forth. You decide hw much you need, there's no prescribed size of a container. Afterwards, you go to the counter, where the containers are weighed again, minus the container's weight. And that's it!

I'm also scanning every shop for products now that aren't wrapped in plastic. Some areas have got more hits than others. Sweets are notoriously underrepresented. I'm glad we've got good bakeries nearby where plastic isn't necessary. One bakery sells cookies loose, which is perfect for my needs. I simply hand them a box, say "Fill it with a nice variety, please!", and that's it! And these things are all so tasty.

Things I can easily get in glasses/glass bottles or paper boxes: some drinks, milk, yoghurt, flour, vegetable spreads, oats, couscous, bulgur, lasagna plates. Add fruits, loose nuts and vegetables to it (especially from the farmer's markets), as well as pickeld stuff and bread from the bakery in paper bags, and you've already got many basics at your disposal.

Okay, some products are more expensive (partly, because it's organic quality), but you can also save money.
What I want to try at some point is to bake muffins in empty glasses; those would be easy to transport and welcome at work, I'd imagine. Some empty glass containers could surely be used to transport lunch to work.

I've also got some glass bottles now so I can make my own lemonade: squeeze one organic lemon, add some freshly sliced ginger and some sweetener, as well as mint leaves (some sort of sieve is helpful here). Fill up with boiling water (about one litre) and let cool down. Not much work, and it tastes great. Before thowing them away, I also use the remaining empty lemons to scrub the water taps etc. because the lemon acid removes stains from the water etc.

Some experiments are interesting, some fail.
Example: I've read that the green of carrots is edible. I tried it out today, found it edible indeed, and made carrot green pesto for my hubby for tomorrow. Then, I tried out a recipe for a veggie spread, because I had all the ingredients at home... and I nearly puked. I guess you can't learn without goofing.
The interesting thing is that I'm far more concerned with basic recipes, because I make more things from scratch - and yet, on average they taste more refined, simply BECAUSE they're made from scratch, i.e. with fresh, basic ingredients. So this is all very recommendable.

Something I've tried out is to wash my hair with a paste of rye flour and water, nothing else. The texture of my hair was different afterwards, and less greasy, which I found great. However, this is not something for every hair type.
Something I find ridiculously easy to do is to replace liquid soap in plastic containers with soap from little cardboard boxes. The bars of soap last longer (=much cheaper, despite organic quality), and I've heard that there are faaaaar fewer bacteria than around the plastic containers of liquid soap. I'be also got a bar of shampoo soap for the hair now, but I haven't started to use it yet.

What else?
I've bought plastic-free sponges for the kitchen. I think they're base on cellulosis or something.
Something else I want to try out at some point is to make "vegan milk" from grains/nuts. We'll wait and see. I've already got a cheese cloth for it.

So that's it for the moment. I'll give you more updates as we go along.

So... At the beginning of June, I had a proper car crash. NOT FUNNY. Damage of some 18.000 €. I can be happy I've got a good insurance. And nobody was hurt - that's the most important thing.

Been working on my fantasy novel (editing) and on my Steampunk novel (typing).

And I've bough my first Shred DVD. Man, do I have sore muscles now! I've been quite relaxed about my diet these days, and I haven't put on any weight. GREAT!

And I'm enjoying my time off from work. YAY.

I'm a bit ill today but already getting better so I can go back to work tomorrow.
At work, I've just finished a very stressful phase. I'm relieved about it.

I've managed to finish the second round of editing with regard to my fantasy novel.
Despite all the stress at work.
So. Proud.
But also exhausted these days. A deep tiredness within. I need a few days off to reload my batteries.

Absolutely focused on my job these days. Can't take care of my diet like I used to do these last months, but I'm still fighting and not giving up. I've known this would be a difficult time - and in comparison to the last years, I'm doing better with regard to food and not stuffing so much unhealthy stuff into my belly.
Lots of interesting new recipes on my SD card, too. Clean eating and stuff.
So yeah, I'm stressed, but still on the upper side of everything. Ask me again tomorrow - big day in two ways. LALALALALA

Did I say "no fanfic writing"? I've been so very, very wrong. I've had an explosion of creativity over the last days. This is what happens when you try not to write a fic you've had in your head for months. It's bottled up, under pressure, and needs to get out at full speed.

My job is pretty challenging at the moment. No time for fanfic writing for the next two weeks, sadly. I'll try to edit at least a chapter or two of my original fantasy novel.

Been cooking ever since I've come back from my holiday trip. I've put on some 3 kilos, and I want to get rid of them again. After all, I don't want to gain all thos 28 kg again, which I've lost since last July. So I've returned to the Weight Watchers programme.

Yesterday, I made lentil fussili with a zucchini-rucola topping. This morning, I turned the remaining rucola and parmesan into pesto, together with pistacchios. For lunch, we had a rice bowl with bell peppers and peas, and a curcuma-lemon-sauce (the sauce sadly wasn't so very tasty, but the rest was good). From this dish, I had some leftover lemon juice, so I also made some ginger-mint-lemonade. Tomorrow, we'll have penne with the pesto, broccoli and dried tomatoes.

Bleh. What a shitty first half of the day! Had a hard time to recover in the afternoon.
Now, I've at least started to edit my novel to get something out of the day, so to speak.

Came back home today after a week with my parents. I guess I've put on a pound.

Tomorrow appointment with my doctor. *le sigh*

Today, I had a second session at the local swimming pool. Yay! Swimming clears the mind, and I could ponder many things. Fandom matters, too.

I had to take my hubby to the station this morning. There was a rainbow in the sky. It made me happy and romantic to see it.

Afterwards, I went straight to the local swimming pool. It's brand new. Wow, I loved it. Light, spacey, elegant architecture. I'll repeat this mode of action again tomorrow. And the day after.

Dreamwidth terms of conduct:

"You agree that you will not use the Website to:
[...]
8. Provide any material that is illegal under United States law;
[...]"

Is pornographic material (such as a sexually explicit fanfic or drawing) forbidden then? I don't know exactly what the laws are like in the USA, or whether they're the same nationwide in this respect...

Today is my parents' 40th anniversary. We're just returning from a Greek restaurant.

SanSan Fandreaming again

1. Sep 2013 at 7:06 PM

In my feverish dreams yesterday I managed to come up with a more or less complete SanSan story. That was nice to see it in pictures and it helped to recover. This was how the story went:

Joffrey is killed (hey, he always dies soon in my stories *grin*), and Sandor is supposed to be punished because he couldn't keep his king safe. At the same time, Cersei detests Sansa so much that she thinks she can be guarded elsewhere, too - so they're both thrown out of the Red Keep and sent to a humble - though in comparison acceptable - house in Flea Bottom. Now, Sansa still can't flee King's Landing, because all the guards know her face, but in Flea Bottom the queen's control isn't half as intense as in the Red Keep.
At first, Sansa - always the proper lady - is shocked by the living conditions in Flea Bottom. Then, however, she pulls herself together, starts earning some money with her embroidery, and at the same time she starts to help the poor people in Flea Bottom, much to Sandor's distaste. Soon, she teaches children in rags, and all kinds of people come to her, seeking her aid and good advice. The criminal rivaling bands establish a new, unwritten rule in the code of honour: no bloodshed around the "Queen of the Fleas".
Sansa and Sandor also fall in love, and after a while she is pregnant, so they marry in front of the septon of the quarter, a shabby drunkard who would even "marry a goat and a cheese" for the right amount of money.
In the Red Keep they finally notice they've made a big mistake and plan to dispose themselves of Sansa, but they have to realise that killing her would be too dangerous, because it would make her a martyr and mark the beginning of a revolution far worse than the bread riots.

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