I love that you made Coldhands, not someone important to canon history, but personally important to Bloodraven.

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

Honestly, this (not him being exactly Thomas Rivers but someone similar, unimportant to history but important to BR) or him being the Nights King is like canon to me.

Preston has really adopted Georges writing style. Even thw time it takes to write a chapter.

@yggdrasil2

8 ай бұрын

Underrated comment.

@dv6298

8 ай бұрын

He has warged into George like Bran did into Hodor.

@jimmyjamsburner6944

8 ай бұрын

Give credit to his minions too

Calling Hodor by his real name and not using him like a Coldshands brought a tear to my eye.

@zeoxyman

8 ай бұрын

Great moment, though I reckon in a chapter or two he'll have changed his mind :-(

@Charles-In-Charge

8 ай бұрын

The character growth we needed, but never hoped to achieve

@bobbehwitchie

8 ай бұрын

It hits every time I'm on my 4th listen. It shows growth in Bran. Flippin well done to Preston and editors. I'd like a video giving a shout out to the editors. These chapters are so well done I'd love to know all the ppl behind the scenes. I'm loving this so much.

So many great lines this chapter. But "his sister melted away, leaving no one" is so excellent, it made me tear up even!

When Bloodraven said how he didn’t send the visions to Jojen I got chills. Such an amazing chapter and I can’t wait for the debreif

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

Right? So do we have a Bloodraven =/= 3EC thing going on here?

@drakengarfinkel3133

8 ай бұрын

@@reddest-x That's exactly what I think is going on. The Three-Eyed Crow is Time Traveling Bran.

“Child of bat and wolf” is such a fascinating title for Bloodraven to call Bran, great to bring the Whent heritage into it. The Coldhands explanation was also fantastic!

@jonathanyaloussa

8 ай бұрын

Oi, mate! Don't you have law exams to study for?

@overlookers

8 ай бұрын

so Preston choose to just make Coldhands a warged wight? Occam's Razor I guess.

@QuinnTheGM

8 ай бұрын

@@jonathanyaloussa you sound like my dad

@KumarAnshs

8 ай бұрын

@@QuinnTheGMWouldn’t it make more sense to call him a child of Trout and Wolf? Cause his mother was a Tully not a Whent.

@midasderrek

8 ай бұрын

​@@KumarAnshsNo, because the point is highlight the matriarchial line and Trout is his mother's father's sigil, not his mother's mother's

“Lord Brynden?” “Brandon” That would have gone right over my head if I hadn’t watched the time-travelling Bran videos. “Bran saw his own reflection in it” ☺️

@ivandankob7112

8 ай бұрын

Yep, he was 3 eyes crow all this time

@rhaegarmalfoy1985

8 ай бұрын

“You did. They still died.” Such an awesome time traveling hint.

The characterisation of Meera was beautiful in this chapter. While consistent with what we've seen in previous books, there's a lot of development that's very real for a teenage girl who has lost her brother and is desperate to find a way to deny it. Felt that one hard. Meera has always been among my favourite characters. ❤❤

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

After the show I almost forgot that Meera is a reasonably fleshed out character... She isn't even one-note in the later seasons, she's no-note. I completely forgot she didn't really believe in Jojen's/Bran's visions.

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

So all that to say I agree, PJ is reviving Meera as a character in my mind!

@manmanman2000

8 ай бұрын

Bran's storyline from when he met Jojen and Meera onwards is probably my second favourite storyline in the entire series. The whole setting and the characters and how they work toghether is simply awesome.

@cardwitch91

2 ай бұрын

I was about to leave a comment saying the same thing. Meera is one of my favourite character and she’s characterised so well here. She was always a sceptic and now she feels vindicated

I have probably been anticipating this one more than the actual book by George

@Jordan-zl4pn

8 ай бұрын

I gave up on George finishing years ago. This community effort has my heart 🥹

@notthis9586

8 ай бұрын

Only in that I stopped anticipating George... Chapter was incredible though!

@cherylbaxter8986

8 ай бұрын

So this is Fan Fiction

@gokbay3057

8 ай бұрын

@@cherylbaxter8986 Well yeah, it is even in the title.

Loved how you returned it back to writing bran like the boy he is. After Bloodraven ends his long sad Monolog about cold hands with a reference to corn, Bran starts thinking about food and dinners he used to have instead of contemplating the serious, grave story he had just heard. Just how a little boy would react from a serious conversation he cant quite comprehend. Very well done!

This chapter was amazing, thanks to everyone, who contributed to this one

That was insanely good. AND TO THE POINT. TIME TRAVELING BRAN THEORY IS ALIIIIIVE

@isakkallsmyr9854

8 ай бұрын

Time traveling BRANS*

@ivandankob7112

8 ай бұрын

HOLY SHIT BRAN = 3YC CONFIRMED !!1

There is no better way to appreciate your work as to say that truly forgot that I was reading a fanfiction. This was just brilliant.

"He was on a rocky bluff, red ivy about his roots, limbs rustling in the wind. The music of waves echoed around him, and he could feel the rush of water between his toes as the sea surged into the caves and tunnels beneath him. On the shore below stood men clad in strange armor. One by one they walked into the surf. Water crashed around them, but their march was unflinching. Soon their heads passed under the waves, and never surfaced." .... do I detect some squisher vibes?

@honeywine3166

8 ай бұрын

I thought it was the iron islands, drowned men going to the water. There were once weirwoods on the iron islands (ygg tree)

The different passages and their smells made me think of easter eggs for the different storylines... the smell of salt and fish (Ironborn), apples and cider (Oldtown), Septon Chayle's scent (the Faith). It really makes you think how much influence Brynden and the Singers have over all of Westeros...

@overlookers

8 ай бұрын

Patchface's sea-walking vision/prophecy is also featured, implying Ironborn baptism was originally lotted human sacrifice.

@Mj_Jetson

8 ай бұрын

@@overlookers oooh I didn't notice that - good catch!!! This one, right? "We will march into the sea and out again. Under the waves we will ride seahorses, and mermaids will blow seashells to announce our coming, oh, oh, oh." (Jon XIII ADwD)

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

I took this to imply that the passages actually lead to the Iron Islands (or at least the coast,) the Reach? (Not sure I agree apples and cider is Oldtown,) and Oldtown (where the Faith is located.) I'm kind of surprised we didn't get more like maybe a tunnel with arid air that smelled of hot peppers and lemons, or perhaps a tunnel that smelled like Winterfell and ash.

Funny, after months of discussion, hints, outlines and intended plot elements in videos and livestreams, I feel like I knew everything that was coming in this chapter. And still, I think it's the most gripping read of the fanfic so far. Even my high expecations have been shattered, like human skulls at the bottom of the sinkhole. Incredible to think that, if the fanfic were published as one volume, this would be actually be an early chapter, because it feels like some kid of climax for sure. Bravo.

@teblesz5783

8 ай бұрын

agreed

@KumarAnshs

8 ай бұрын

The chapter was eh. Too slow for me.

@thedemonhater7748

8 ай бұрын

@@KumarAnshs”to slow” >1 minute in >Meera shows up w/dark sister Lmfao

Absolutely love the Sandkings vibes the end of this chapter gives us.

@mtoddlaw

8 ай бұрын

My favorite short story

This chapter was so good it makes me worried that the real winds of winter won’t live up to it.

I think the woman in silver and gold might be Donelle Lothston (her sigil has a white and yellow background) and the creature with a black cloak and furry face has to be one of her bat-creatures!

@nickfinan6031

8 ай бұрын

Yeah, she had a (giant?) bat familiar, the Donellr being pregnant angle was interesting. Is the implication that her daughter married the first lord Whent?

@yggdrasil2

8 ай бұрын

@@nickfinan6031 There is a theory that I think was started by Company of the Cat, stating that all the weird stillbirths in the series associated with magical events, are actually a type of sacrificial blood magic. Maybe that's why Preston wrote her as being preganante, to hint her magic powers?

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

​@@nickfinan6031I actually thought this was canon for the longest time and almost used it as evidence as part of a theory before I looked it up and realized it's not canon, lol. So it makes sense to me

@overlookers

8 ай бұрын

"Tolkienian Vampires" wasn't on my Preston Jacobs bingo card. These bats were bred for war.

@rhaegarmalfoy1985

8 ай бұрын

@@overlookersI did a double-take at that part lol, can’t wait to hear the debrief

Omg Bran doesn’t know Robb is dead yet

@gokbay3057

8 ай бұрын

He mentioned the dreams he had of him. And it seems like Summer definitly knowns. I think it is less that he doesn't know and more that he is in denial. He suspects it at least I would say.

When Bran called out to bloodraven in his dream, it responded with "brandon" as if reciprocating the greeting but by the end you can see he was correcting little bran

Love that Deamon was the brother Bloodraven loved, adds to the tragedy of the Blackfyre rebellions. Think Alt shift X mentioned this idea it its Bran video years ago. Could also explain why Bloodraven hated Bittersteel somuch, as he convinced Deamon to rebel, thus causing Bloodraven to have to kill him.

@dominator1914

7 ай бұрын

Though then, why didn’t Bloodraven fight for Daemon then? Why stick with Daeron?

@BurningMad

4 ай бұрын

​@@dominator1914 some people choose duty over love.

@KaiHung-wv3ul

2 ай бұрын

@@dominator1914 For what he believed was the good of the realm.

I see nobody mentioned “he was his mother’s son, and he knew he had the blood” catch to the dragon X gene theory. Was excited to see its reference it’s my favorite of the theories. These keep getting better.

@liamreeves344

8 ай бұрын

I think "he was his mother's son" just means he was rebellious

I like that the people walking into the sea could be Squishers but you have plausible deniability that they're those Ironborn who followed Lodos to go see the Drowned God.

@thedemonhater7748

8 ай бұрын

The Ironborn killed all of their weirwoods though.

LETS GOOOOOOOO

You absolute madlad, you've gone and done it. You've convinced me of Time Travelling Bran via a fanfiction.

Great backstory for Bloodraven.

I hope Bran discovers how to fly like Arthur Dent! as 700feet high frozen waterfall is pretty high to climb!

Incredible chapter! Well worth all that time in the oven. The prose truly rivals George's - and the team's dedication to capturing its feel and the way it changes across POVs is what I appreciate most about this project.

Listening to this on a stormy night. Perfect atmosphere.

> Sweetcorn The one who controls corn controls the Universe. Those are the words of House Swyft.

@josephbulkin9222

8 ай бұрын

Awake! Awake!

@iliaponomarev1624

8 ай бұрын

@josephbulkin9222 It's like with Lannisters. There is official "Hear me roar" that no one remembers, and there is actual "A Lannister always pays his debt" that everyone knows.

@Mj_Jetson

8 ай бұрын

omg ADoS epilogue: Tyrion dies of alcohol-induced liver failure, Tommen dies of beet-related tooth decay, and House Swyft rises from the shadows to take control of Westeros, ushering in a thousand-year dynasty of prosperity, corn and chickens. YES!!!

The end of the chapter gave me chills. So well written and anxiety inducing. Well done

Dark sister having a dragonbone hilt, if canon, is more support for my theory that the catspaw dagger belonged to Rhaenys

@Rodneyjackson11

4 ай бұрын

I’d love to hear the theory

@reddest-x

4 ай бұрын

@@Rodneyjackson11 check out the interesting nerd club! They have an episode of mini theories of mine that includes this one

Bran hoping Robb has won back Ice brought tears to my eyes.

I was almost expecting the ending to be Meera and Summer finding Jojen's body. The CotF don't seem to be mindful when it comes to cleaning up the remains of creatures that die in their caves. But glad it wasn't, that could be another chapter, or maybe don't reveal the fate of Jojen's body at all. Just leave it a mystery.

Every time Bran saw a version of himself dead on the ice spikes, I kept hearing the sound from your Time Traveling Bran videos when he is trying to get out of the sinkhole and falls, then starts again.

Easily my favorite chapter of this project so far. Congrats to Preston, the contributors and the editors. Preston gets a lot of flack for his theories, but I feel this collaborative approach maintains his great insight and observations of the material while keeping everything fairly grounded (as grounded as thousands of dead Brans). Keep up the awesome work, can’t wait for the next chapter!

You sure know how to end a chapter, I'll tell you that much.

@chrisrubin6445

8 ай бұрын

stole it from "Sandkings" by GRRM, lol. almost word for word.

@wisdommanari6701

8 ай бұрын

​@@chrisrubin6445bad artist steal from one person...

The best compliment I can give this series is that each chapter makes me more eager for the next one.

Dark Brandon confirmed?

One of the other Time traveling Bran has a beard and one is older than Rob. That means he is at least 20ish. Does that mean the Other Invasion will take 10 more years?

@paulbutts5620

8 ай бұрын

Or maybe one of the changes a previous Bran made the invasion happen sooner than before.

@carter9449

8 ай бұрын

Yeah maybe the key to beating them is to bait them in before the army gets too big, not hold it off

Well done PJ! Maybe your best fan fic chapter yet ! That ending was 🔥🤟

"...Father will know if you do." 😭😭😭

Incredible! PJ and the team, I’m sure this was the hardest chapter to write so far; but it was worth it. Everything feels so George, yet it keeps the plot moving. I’m seriously impressed with everything you guys have accomplished

People with weird armor walking into the ocean, then Bloodraven talks about the various ways animals hide away from winter. Squishers??? Are we hardcore confirming that things like the Squishers and Others are people who genetically modified themselves to survive a nuclear winter? oooooooooooooo

@Mj_Jetson

8 ай бұрын

That was my thought as well...

@reddest-x

8 ай бұрын

Possibly. Could also just be Ironborn doing Ironborn things (but I like the Squishers/nuclear fallout theory better.)

@Mj_Jetson

8 ай бұрын

So there's the squisher idea (I think this is the one Preston is going for, with the talk of fishes and worms hiding in winter), plus there's a Patchface song probably about disaster at Hardhome: "We will march into the sea and out again", plus there's Lodos, an Ironborn king who filled his pockets with stones and walked into the sea during the Conquest (though he's specifically just wearing robes, not weird armor or anything...)

@alanpennie8013

8 ай бұрын

​@@Mj_Jetson It's always summer beneath the sea...

This is absolutely insane. I'm losing my mind right now.

Arguably, the best chapter yet ! I had a lot of expectations, and I was not disappointed in the least, on the contrary ! Keep up the good work guys

This was absolutely beautiful. Massive thank you to everyone involved and a huge bravosi bravo to Preston. (I don’t know if bravosi say bravo but heh it paints a nice enough picture in the third eye of a raven.)

Love that Sand Kings reference at the end.

I want to re-iterate how amazing this initiative is and how much I am looking forward to all of these chapters. Thank you for putting in the time and effort for this massive undertaking, it doesn't go unnoticed. I can imagine this was a very hard chapter to write, but you have amazing things to show for it. After all these years of theory videos, it's very cathartic to read how the theories can be turned into actual stories.

Excellent job Preston and everyone involved. Really looking forward to the Daemon video, the dragon egg hatching video and the Maegor video. Thanks again Preston your theory videos are the best!

Best fuckin notification 😭 PRESTON KING!!

This was the best chapter so far, great atmosphere, so depressing and poetic, and the great ending of course

Way to start off the day!!! thanks Preston!

It’s a rainy day here and it was perfect atmosphere for this- absolutely stellar chapter. Go team, you guys are the best 🥰🥰🥰🥰

This was absolutely incredible. You guys are all killing it so hard. Can't thank you enough for taking on this project. X

Just starting now. I've definitely been anticipating this one! You brought Hotah to life so well that I'm sure you have something good in store! Edit: the line about so many historical Starks being named Brandon was funny to me. It felt like a reference to the Omni-Bran/Brandon the builder theory. Pretty sure Preston doesn't like that theory so I'm suprised. And the bit around 18:55 feels like a reference to Preston's theory of man surviving the Long Night/nuclear winter underground? The Coldhands identity makes sense and I like the descriptions of what it's like after death. In my mind coldhands will always be Benjen though lol, regardless of what George says. The visions were great. The Arya vision was so sad. I liked the knight of the laughing tree thing too. Nice and freaky ending lol

The brains sparkling in the frost is such a beautiful line for such a horrific description 🥹 Special thanks to whoever wrote that beauty

Words are useless for this excellent work. Your narration is so fluent, intense, powerful that I read it with a great amazement and enthusiasm and I enjoyed every words,sentences, seconds of it. The time when he talked Meera about Bloodraven and followed her through the cave within Summer's body, his thoughts in Summer's body and generally about Meera, his conversation with Bloodraven, the time when he saw Arya and desperately tries to make her hear his voice, burning with longing for her, the time when he understands that Hodor is not his tool, he is a person with his own will and calls by his own name, his longing for his family, Winterfell,his desperate denial of the truth that his mother and brother are dead,his last scene... All of them,every piece of it are very precious.

Gave a thousand likes and one.

26:04 to 26:22 When Bloodraven called Bran "my child of bat and wolf" was he implying that Bran was _his descendant?!_ He also said that there was power in Lady Catelyn's blood. There is a theory going around that Bloodraven had a child with the sorceress Mad Danelle Lothston and that after Danelle was put down this son was made the new Lord of Harrenhall under the name of Whent This is supported by their sigils. The sigil of House Whent is eerily similar to the sigil of the disgraced House Lothston i.e Black Bat on a field of Gold. Bran's mother Lady Catelyn was the daughter of Lord Hoster Tully and Lady Minisia Whent. That means Bran and his siblings carry the blood of House Whent and according to the theory the founder of House Whent was a child of Mad Danelle Lothston and Bloodraven. If true, as the writer here seems to imply (he called Bran. _MY child of wolf and bat_ ), then Bran and his siblings decend from Bloodraven. Here's the punchline, Bloodraven was the bastard son of King Aegon Targaryen 4th of his name. Which would mean that Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon all have a drop of Targaryen blood in them which would be *BEYOND* hilarious if it was true. Idk if this is true in canon, but it seems _heavily_ indicated in this fanfiction 😂😂😂😂

I hope the chapter analysis on this is like two hours

Pretty bold to just announce Dark Sister right at the top

Let's go Brandon

The sand kings ending was big hype

Bravo! it was worth the wait. Crazy Cahpter. Now all i can wish is to go and find what Arya was doing in Braavos, or maybe finelly we will see a little aftermath in Castle Black? i'm all here for it

"his sister melted away, leaving no one" Gunna writing fire gif

uff why did this kinda goo super hard?. really good chapter. I especially liked the writing style and the building up to the ending.

Every time I've read Bran's chapters the clash of Bran and the raven gives me chills and makes me sad, Preston, you and your team absolutely did the same this time. Absolutely one of the best chapters written for the TWOW

It keeps getting better. Bravo Preston. Bravo

Ohhh yes!! Here we go.... bran , now we are gonna get deep!! Thanks to all who made this happen! Thankyou preston! 😊❤😊

Really solid stuff, I loved all the weirwood visions and of course the finale. The detail of the bleeding weirwood at Harrenhal is very nice (and i think the seaside one was mentioned in your earlier chapter skeleton, but I don't remember where it is) One thing, I'm a little surprised how much Meera knows about Bloodraven, and how forthcoming he is with Bran afterward. I would've thought it's a bit more realistic for the Bran/Meera to figure out his identity from his own words. "A thousand eyes and one", "A brother that I loved/a brother that I hated", etc. Dark Sister is a great clue and it makes sense that Jojen was killed for learning too much (?), I'm just surprised Bran/Meera know these details about BR killing all the Blackfyres and deserting from the Wall. It makes me think that Old Nan was somehow a Blackfyre sympathizer which feels doubtful (I'm guessing she doesn't care much either way?). Anyway, I definitely see the upside of speeding along the story like this, so not a big issue for me.

It's finally here!

Preston I think this might be the most beautiful chapter so far! Well worth the wait!

20:28 - 20:33 Preston referring to his old sign-off? 😁

I cant wait for this chapter breakdown. This was phenomenal.

Preston putting George out of business skekskssksks I kid I kid 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾

It's been well over a year Preston, where is Jaime I?

@Aliexei

8 ай бұрын

Feels like George, doesn't it 😅

@carter9449

8 ай бұрын

He's getting them all up to the same point in time, Bran III is in the first half of ADWD

Wow i didn't even know this was fan fiction until i came in the comments 👍👏👏 well done

"A thousand deaths aimed skyward" - blimey hats off to whoever wrote that line

The work all of you are doing keeps getting better and better

Leaving no one. Epic

Hey Preston. This is so well crafted and true. Thank you dude for keeping the fire alive and waking the sleepers.

Absolutely MARVELOUS

incredible. especially the sequence with Bran and Hodor at the door. and the part about Thomas

Finally have some downtime to listen to this chapter and it turned out gorgeous! Very happy to have been able to submit to this one.

These are getting better and better. Thank you!

George better be taking notes

wow that was pretty powerful. Great job to Preston and the writers/editors who contributed to this.

I hope George doesn’t shut this down 😂😂 this is pretty good

Thank you so much for your work!

I’ve been waiting for this for months and it comes out as soon as I get to work 😂

And we are back

I had this idea a few weeks for the fanfiction project back when I was listening to The Mystery Knight, and there was someone who said if the stories about Aegon the Unworthy were true then half of Westeros would have the dragon blood. The drops of the dragon blood are again mentioned in Fire and Blood in parts of Westeros and Essos, specially Dragonstone. Not to forget there is enough talk about that in ASOIAF books too. Now, I'm not a "super fan" like Preston Jacob is or other big names in the fandom are and don't comprehend how George writes his stories. However, we know that there is genetic magic linked to the targaryens and their descendants exclusive (even if they didn't have blonde hair and purple eyes) and they have prophetic dreams too that some times drives to madness) so we know for certain there is a significant population in the world who the dragon blood in them. The Baratheons, The Martells, The Velaryon, The Plums, The Second Sons, some vague people in the free cities and even some main characters with uncertain parentage. *And for Bran,* we know that his weirwood magic allows him to warg into people, call for people, and maybe manipulate people (the mind magic is a bit vague to me. I bit other fans understand it better) specially in the present, since he did called theon and was heard, and Bran himself was seeked by Bloodraven almost through the whole books. *SO,* the idea is that a dramatic event in the second half of the book (or leave it to aDoS) happens to Bran beyond the wall, so he warg his tree, seek Daenerys Targaryen as she's the purest blooded dragon living to maybe warn her about the Other, maybe ask her to bring dragons and come to fight. I'm not actually sure how this would work out. But the event is powerful that this calling reach to everyone living with a targaryen blood. It could be a simple night dream it could be a day dream I don't know but it should be something similar to what happened in "Attack on Titans". This is just an outline I came up with. It could be used the same way Jacob used the white ravens massage "Jon March, Beware Wine" but instead Bran be something like "Wake Up, Let The Dragon Burn Them All!!" It can be even hinted that this event is so violent it effected past targaryens in some kind of time traveling way that it what made them mad and obsessed. It could be linked to the "Hold The Door" (hodur is Jacaerys grandson so it works. Why not?) It could what drives Danny to madness at the end. Also, each of the main characters could have their different interpretations since it would be unclear to them and see it differently. This is a story about prospectives at the end. Even the common population could see it differently and just fuel event in the story. The worshippers of R'hllor would say it is a promise from the God, the worshippers of the seven would say its a warning from the gods, others would say its madness plague. I don't know to be honest. It's so complex for me to detail or to express but it doesn't have to be complex. It just needs to be something that drives the story forward and I'm certain experienced writers can make it work.

Excellent work preston and team this is so good

After all the years of listening to your Bran theories I am equal parts apprehensive and ridiculously excited for this chapter.

This is so good! I really appreciate this, Preston!

This was really good ! Thanks for writing and sharing it !

More people should know about this. Incredible work

I’ve been looking forward to this one so much!!