Things that made me ( very ) happy in the past few.

[layne67]

In no particular order :

- Game Of Thrones. Saw the final episode last night and oh.my.God. There're endings and there are endings and that was one magnificent ending indeed. I love the show so much that I bought the whole book set. Have started on the first one and oh -

As Warden of the North, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must ... and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, a vengeance-mad boy has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities beyond the sea. Heir of the mad Dragon King deposed by Robert, he claims the Iron Throne.

See? My toes are curling with joy and happiness at the prospect of reading five more books like this. Only thing is, I can't quite decide whether I should read the rest before or after they're aired on TV. Apparently, the TV show stayed true to the books and I really don't want any spoilers as such. It was different with LotR as I read the books years before the movies came out and I didn't mind it with the Bourne trilogy either as the movies differed wildly from the books. Ah, decision, decision.

Love all the characters in the show, even the baddies, but I have a soft spot for Jon Snow. And I adore Peter Dinklage's potrayal of the dwarf, Tyrion, who's definitely *not* a comic relief or anyone's sidekick.

- Downton Abbey. Mary and Matthew continue to slay me as is the whole series from the Lords and Ladies to the kitchen maids with their heart-stopping moments and oh, I just about died with that scene with Daisy and William. And I only just realised that Sir Richard Carlisle and Ser Jorah Mormont from GoT were played by the same actor, and that the maid, Gwen of DA will be in GoT season 2! Oh, to see her tranform from a character in wholesome, sunshiny PG-13 show to a dark and bloody, NC-17 one - can't wait!

I've started reading some of the fics from Downton Abbey, not many, just the slashy ones but I read one with M/M pairing and of course I thought that was slash but it turned out to be Mary/Matthew lol, but it was a good one and I'm so glad that I read it. Can't get enough of those two!

And as I've told Arabia, I'm now more than a bit in love with Dan Stevens ♥♥♥

- Dean/Cas fics. Apart from those already on my flist, the authors are mostly new to me, it's almost like a whole new fandom. You know how it is when you're just discovering new authors and the joy of finding out that so-and-so has a long list of fics that you haven't read yet and see? Toes are still curling! I'm currently reading this and oh, it's so good!!!

I'll be watching the latest episode of Downton Abbey tonight omg the sweet, sweet angst.

Comments

[shadowc44.livejournal.com]

Game of Thrones - Yes, yes, yes!

I've heard that they're going to continue airing some scenes out of order, like they had at least one scene from the second book in the first season, for narrative purposes. I didn't find my enjoyment of the show hindered by the fact that I was reading the book faster than they were airing episodes, but you might feel differently. I couldn't wait to find out what happens next, so I sped through the rest of the books pretty quickly, and only had to wait a few months, I think, for the 5th book.

Keep in mind there's no guarantee when the 6th is coming, out, but there were 5 years, I think, between books 4 and 5 being published. So in that regard you might want to take your time! But there's *so much* going on, I think you'll want to get caught up.

ETA: Beware spoilers for later books, they lurk everywhere
Son of ETA: I bought the DVDs for the first season of Downton Abbey, but I haven't gotten around to watching any of it yet. Hopefully I'll find time for it soon.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

I don't actually mind reading the books before they got adapted into screenplays but I do so love the surprises and the shocks that came with the twists, but I probably won't be able to wait until S2 airs before starting on the second book. Any idea when the new season will start?

Yay, Downton Abbey!!! I watched the first series in one go and now I have to wait for one whole week before the next episode and it's pure torture!

[shadowc44.livejournal.com]

They're already filming the second season of GoT already, and it's supposed to air in April. They did make some changes in the TV show, and I think some characters are going to be combined, and in at least one case they're changing a character's name so the audience doesn't get confused. There are certain scenes they just don't have the budget (or time, in 10 episodes a season) to show, so they're going to skip them, or shorten them quite a bit. Some characters will be left out altogether. So while I think there will be plenty of surprises in the TV series (I certainly ran across things I wasn't quite expecting), I really feel the books can give you a deeper understanding of some of the characters, their motives, and certainly their POV.

One of these days I'll probably watch Downton Abbey in a marathon. That's one of the best things about having DVD sets, besides no commercials...you don't have to wait a week, or more, in between episodes.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

they're changing a character's name so the audience doesn't get confused.

There're certainly more than one Jons and Brandons and Robs in the story!

books can give you a deeper understanding of some of the characters, their motives, and certainly their POV.

Very true. Reading the book I went oh I see quite a number of times.

Heheh, Downton Abbey is polar opposite from GoT, you know, it's more of a family drama and no sign of blood anywhere :)

[shadowc44.livejournal.com]

In this case it's two names that are spelled differently, but I guess pronounced similarly.

Maybe next weekend I'll be in the mood for a family drama rather than bloodshed!