Research

[minviendha]

[Poll #1362559]

For a newspaper article - I need your answers. :D

Feeling incredibly upset about the WASL suddenly. Joy.

ETA: What is this RaceFail business? I think I missed a memo of some kind.

Also, the part that made me cry in A Storm of Swords. Minor spoilers.

I wouldn't have to kill him. If I just rode off and left him, he'd die all by himself. He'll die of fever, and lie there beneath that tree until the end of days. But maybe it would be better if she killed him herself. She had killed the squire at the inn and he hadn't done anything but grab her arm. The Hound had killed Mycah. Mycah and more. I bet he's killed a hundred Mycahs. He probably would have killed her too, if not for the ransom.
Needle glinted when she drew it. Polliver had kept it nice and sharp, at least. She turned sideways into a water dancer's stance without even thinking about it. Dead leaves crunched beneath her feet. Quick as a snake, she thought. Smooth as summer silk.
His eyes opened. "You remember where the heart is?" He asked in a hoarse whisper.
As still as stone she stood. "I...I was only..."
"Don't lie," He growled. "I hate liars. I hate gutless frauds even worse." When Arya did not move, he said, "I killed your butcher's boy. Cut him near in half and laughed about it after." He made a queer sound, and it took her a moment to realize he was sobbing. "And the little bird, your pretty sister, I stood there in my white cloak and let them beat her. I took the bloody song, she never gave it. I should have. I should have fucked her bloody and ripped her heart out before leaving her for that dwarf." A spasm of pain twisted his face. "Do you mean to make me beg, bitch? Do it! The gift of mercy...avenge your little Michael..."
"Mycah." Arya stepped away from him. "You don't deserve the gift of mercy."
The Hound watched her saddle Craven through eyes bright with fever. Not once did he attempt to rise and stop her. But when she mounted, he said, "A real wolf would finish a wounded animal."
Maybe some real wolves will find you, Arya thought. Maybe they'll smell you when the sun goes down. Then he would learn what wolves did to dogs. "You shouldn't have hit me with an axe," she said. "You should have saved my mother." She turned her horse and rode away from him, and never looked back once.

Yes, I am aware I'm a sentimental git, and?

Comments

[sakru909.livejournal.com]

http://rydra-wong.livejournal.com/155427.html

It's a pretty accurate summary to the whole thing, she also has a post linking to a bunch of posts about it.

[cat-empress.livejournal.com]

I like reading books that explore the motivations of villains, in particular the sympathetic ones. For example, Jacqueline Carey's Banewreaker/Godslayer duology, which is written from the point of view of the villains. Most people just see it as a ripoff of TLOTR twisted around in an interesting way, but one of the major points it makes, IMHO, is the ambiguity of the Big Bad's motivations, in this case, that he just wants to be left alone, and has to get rid of the good guys army to do so, giving them a completely different view of his motivations, and how different people have different stories about how shit gets started.

I'm beginning to think that in about 99 per cent of fictional villains you can find something that makes them sympathetic to a degree. And then of course there is the remaining 1 per cent, which are just that bad. I tend not to go for those villains, unless they're very special. It's difficult to explain, without going into examples you're not familiar with.

Oooo, that got long.

Sorry, I meant to just reply to the entry in general. I do this all the time.

[ruthlessangel.livejournal.com]

:p My answers kind of suck, but I'm kinda sleepy.

A hot villain is a good villain I always say, though it isn't always the case. And I'm way too lazy to elaborate atm. Perhaps another time.

In other news:

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!