I just watched kings and generals video about the sea people literally 4 hours ago this morning, and now I’m watching this and randomly see this comment. I love when that stuff happens lol
The Minoans were already driven to the edge of collapse by the Theran eruption. The Mycenaeans then swept in at some point thereafter, and took control of their remaining settlements and infrastructure on Crete and in the Aegean. The Minoans were not wiped out. Like the Etruscans with Rome centuries later, the remainder of Minoan culture/population almost certainly simply assimilated with Mycenae and later Hellenic society. The thing is that we already know sooo much of ancient Greek literature is lost to time. There's a good chance that an equivalent work to Homer's Iliad was written about the fall of the Minoans and their culture afterwards, but it's so far back that it's only remembered now in the myth of the Minotaur, Minos, Ariadne and Theseus. The fact that Minos was given such an illustrious ancestry as Zeus himself (and Europa for whom the continent is named) is a testament to the fact that the Minoan story meant a lot to some fraction of the Hellenic population.
Biter being a distant spawn of the Deep ones absolutely blew my mind, the fact that it fits so well in Briennes story while also not being a prevalent or important detail is why I love George’s writing and the theorycraft it inspires me to
me too, i can't believe i never made the connection but at the same time so covert. preston's brienne, gender, and the squishers series was the first time i even really thought about brienne's link to what nimble dick said
I would have to reread, but yes. It would even have narrative meaning. Chapter 1 - Introduce the concept. Chapter 2 - Reaffirms the concept. Chapter 3 - Payoff - Biter.
This is the only ASOIAF channel that not only gives Nimble Dick and his warnings the importance that they deserve, but celebrates Nimble Dick for the legend that he is. RIP
This is the next best thing to George actually finishing the series Your ability to keep digging out new and fascinating connective tissues between these texts is amazing.
@DavidLightbringer If he ever manages to finish it, I imagine it's going to blow everyone out of the damn water. I really hope everything that you speculate is at least mostly accurate because DAMN!
I know this is an old comment, but it's still true and relevant as ever! Great point.. never thought of it in that context but it's definitely true! It is definitely the next best thing to George finishing the book... 😊
I think the light magic of ASOIAF is so cool because there are plenty of fantasy books where no one would question this at all because all the of magic is central and obvious, but in ASOIAF the magic is just uncommon enough to lurk in the background and make both the characters and a lot of readers think it’s “just a story”
When I realized that the bronze age collapse coincided with attacks by mysterious "sea people" I thought about George hearing of that for the first time and imagining them as monsters from the sea. I have to stop thinking about how history relates to ASoIaF all the time.
No, please don't stop. This was an interesting and astute observation. You are only thinking critically and that is a good thing. We are meant to make connections between the things we read and the real world, history, life, etc. I may never have made that connection,
Hahahaha i love it when that happens. Bugs me when something pops up and it's uploaded like hours ago. The entire reason i sub, bell on to certain channels is because i need to see it immediately!
That's why the scientists at Squisher Laboratories worked tirelessly to create a new, innovative formula of Nimble Dick's Moisturizer, so you never have to worry about chafing again and you can put your mind at ease knowing your Dick will always be Nimble.
@@DavidLightbringerGreat video David. Based on your work I’m now more convinced than ever that Theon Greyjoy is really a Brandon Stark (or possibly even Ned Stark) bastard, obtained somehow by Balon Greyjoy who planned to use him to capture control of the North. Balon in a planned invasion of the North would have revealed that Theon (a Stark name importantly) had Stark blood as a means of obtaining legitimacy (perhaps to deal with the ‘there must always be a Stark in Winterfell’ thing). We’re never given a very good explanation of Balon’s Rebellion but the probable cause was his refusal to return Theon to the Stark’s after the plot was revealed somehow. All of this is apparent in how Theon is treated when he returns home, and how Balon immediately tries to execute his original plan anyway, clearly showing that keeping Theon as a “ward/hostage” never in any way exerted any leverage over Balon simply because he was supposedly Balon’s last male heir. Balon immediately thrust Theon’s life into danger with no regards towards him and tired to use him to capture the North. This also explains why Rob Stark’s wolf was named “Greywind”, it was supposed to be Theon’s, while Rob is almost certainly Petyr Baelish’s son (as revealed in their strange half exchange of question with no answer when we see them together in Kings Landing). Rob’s illegitimately is the true source of Catelyn’s anxiety and hatred towards Jon Snow. Whether Theon is another Ned bastard (I believe Val is Ned’s daughter) or a Brandon Stark bastard remains a mystery to me, but I’m certain it’s one or the other.
i swear, everyone gives biter every benefit of the doubt, saying things like "he filed his teeth to look like that" besides just believing he is a squisher
Well, one tht might be more likely is tht he comes from a culture tht worships them. How? Taken as a slave as a child. But thts boring, so I go with him being a squisher as well. Why go with the boring explanation until its confirmed to be the boring answer?
Here is something horryfing I noticed. Who does Patchaface a mouthpiece for the deep ones spend all his time with. Shireen a young girl and you know what the deep ones do.
@@debater452i always thought he knew about her fate(of getting burnt by red woman) and wanted to save her.... maybe I was too optimistic about this story when I know i shouldn't be 😂
It’s heavily implied that “Greyscale” is a disease created by a former avatar of The Drowned God (the disease thrives on the wet and damp, it turns humans into scaly insane creatures, etc) so it makes sense.
I love how George sprinkles fantasy throughout his world like this. They’re never explicitly mentioned but there’s so much underlying evidence if you really wanna dig in and speculate. I really appreciate the work you do it really makes me appreciate this world more!
"These are fun, you're enjoying them, right?" Every single one. I've been here for many years (while GoT was still on air) and haven't missed a video, and that includes binging on the back catalogue from before I found the channel.
55:32 Patch face wouldn’t have had any context about what was happening to him. It would just have been alien and terrifying, that’s why his mind broke. Where the iron born are raised to believe that’s a desired religious experience.
I love this series on the Iron Born and Deep Ones. It's become one of my favorite parts of ASoIF, and how it weaves in and out the legends across Grrth. Keep up the excellent work!
Long time fan, long term cephalopod here: Thank you for breaking down our cover AHEM the Squishers' cover story! Living around the corner, so to speak, from Providence RI, I've been a fan of Lovecraft since before the stars were right... The stars do certainly seem right for all sorts of strange weird and wild horrors, nowadays... I'll be on the lookout for fish people, snarks and grumkins!
They say there actually are mermaids and mermen. The stories about them are dark af. Almost always murderers. Can we call variants like them human? Can we hold them to our laws?
Why should we assume House Manderly only became squishers after they settled in the North? They could have already been squishers when they were still living along the river in the Reach. Perhaps being a human-fish hybrid contributed to their exile from that region.
@@sophiawilson8696This just shows how cruel jaehaerys and alyssene to their daughters . Manderly was not only very old, his family's fish ancestory wouldn't make him a good looking grandpa either 👀 Just what were they both thinking while marrying their daughter to that squishy grandpa?
@@sophiawilson8696Viserra wasn't the wild one, Sierra was. Viserra was just a vain person who was too much into her beauty, and the fact that she wanted to marry her widowed older brother baelon because she didn't wanted to marry an old guy....this was used as an excuse to give her bad name.
i’m at work and saw your ig story and said to my friend i think today’s the day the deep ones video drops (she always is listening along with me when i listen to your videos at work - she asked where cleo was in this video LOL) and when it dropped i screamed and she’s like the video dropped didn’t it?! lol thank you for another amazing video and getting us through the day! this is one of my favorite series you’ve done!
That Brienne/biter fight was so anxiety producing just reading it. Hearing your inflection and delivery makes the material seriously terrifying to imagine
@@dersuddeutschesumpf5444 agreed. My read on it was he 'bum rushed' her while she was distracted kicking rorge's butt. And biter is really only able to hiss so he didn't do any battle cry
Great point about how the fandom is like the maesters when it comes to squishers. They’ve been built up as much as the others and the dragons just a tad more subtle, and I think it’ll all culminate with Euron’s apotheosis where they really come into the spotlight. Great vid as always 👍
It’s insane how much bigger this series seems to become with every new video essay I see. It’s no wonder GRRM has essentially came to a halt, theres too many threads to even try and resolve in just two books. He really should have dialed it back on these subplots.
Frey Pie and Sister stew! Human food hybridisation is a thing! The cannibalism in the story is all over. Biter eats Brienne. When Theon eats the Iron Islands "fish stew" for the first time after he comes back he feel sick... The Pots of Brown in Kings Landing, aka Singers Stew, have people in them. The Children with the "filed teeth" who fights for entertainment. Davos is from Flee Bottom, he loves the "Sister Stew". He is reborn from the sea. He's a Squisher hybrid himself!
I love the format of these videos! This one in particular makes me want to see you tackle a video based on The Dornes - according to the lore, due to Valyrian conquest, the vast majority of the Dornes are actually of Rhoynar ancestry!! Not only were the Rhoynar Lovecraftian as well, they were proficient in water magic too which I believe must have helped them out a lot living in the Sands of Westeros. How ironic that they continued to give The Valyrians a hard time even after they changed continents? I also lovedlovedLOVED the mention of Aeron Greyjoy and the Tullys! Aeron is a literal descendant of the Deep Ones so it’s no surprise that drowning would activate any latent magical abilities lying already dormant inside of him. In comparison, Patchface was a human through and through which is why he had to basically give that up in return for his new abilities as an undead human avatar of the Drowned God. Poor Lord Tully too lol, like he still managed to come out of the tv show alive which really says something! He’s so overlooked, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. I wanted to finally mention how happily surprised I was as well on your thoroughness, it’s not every day that someone makes sure to clearly distinguish between a human avatar of the Gods of the Deep Ones (Patchface), fishy human hybrids, Basilisks, merfolk (species with literal fish tails), our amphibious brethren (Toads) who def deserve a mention, and descendants of all of the above who might have a genetic inclination towards water-breathing and water magic! Truly a testament to your love of all things C’thulu!!
About the Winged Man Hero at the Eyrie region of the Arryn seems to match on the city of Winged Men on fartherst east Essos near Carcossa and the Hidden Inner Sea region.
Why did they keep Patchface around? I know that now he makes Shireen happy, but what about before she was born? Patchface arrived, and was drowned, in 278 AC, but Shireen wasn't born until 289. I find it strange that anyone would want to keep such a broken person around, even as a fool, especially as he is a walking reminder of the deaths of Steffon and Cassana. So why did they?
Great question. In westerosi society, Patchface is a third class citizen in that he's a jester, a foreigner and has the strange effects of his drowning experience. That combination would seemingly be extremely distasteful to any "proper" aristocratic family. You'd think they would have thrown him out or at the very least made him a baker's helper or some out of sight role. Quite a lot of generosity of spirit isn't it?
@@LitcheTheArsm Maybe they kept him because Steffon wrote such a glowing review of him in one of his final letters. And Patchface condition is a result of their actions so maybe someone was genuinely being kind to him by letting him stay on. Hard to believe but it's possible
All lore aside, the second Nimble Dick started talking about “squishers” I already figured that it meant they are very real and may even play a role in the story. It’s a fantasy series and that means that stories with unique monsters meant to scare children are usually gonna be real (Others, and giants are two in universe examples).
Dagon Drumm sounds so fascinating. Named after lovecraftian father of the deep ones...Son Of Uragon Drumm.....Family won a Valyrian Steel sword called Red Rain...Captainof Crimson tide...He was a necromancer.....there is so much deep one...symbolism it's insane.
It makes me wonder if Cotter Pike’s description was about a combination of things or just the selkies being opportunistic and having a snack when they tried to flee.
Dick describes the Squishers as "fish belly white," which I assume looks similar to a waterlogged corpse. Cotter is doubtless more familiar with wights than squishers so he might have seen them and assumed they were wights. Gonna look up his background now
Ooops, his last name is spelled PYKE. Cause he's from the Iron Islands. So he very well could have been raised on stories of Squishers eating bad little kids. Maybe he just wrote "dead things in water" to avoid confusion. He didn't want Jon to read his letter and be like "fish men conspiracy from Cotter's childhood? Lol ok bro." Pyke wants to make it clear in no uncertain terms something bad is going down regardless of who exactly it is
@@elijahsnow3119 thank ye. I had to look it up since I was not aware of any of Squishers on my first few read-throughs. He is much more important once you learn the horrifying truth of the Iron Islands
@@ThommyofThenn Honestly this was the only reason on thinking it over that I suspect it was wights. Someone like Pyke might actually know the difference.
I'm really not a reader, except for a few, key fantasy series. When I read the part with Brienne, I was at a coffee shop, and I had to go outside to keep reading (my choice) because I kept having real, physical excitement while reading it. Like, gasping and shaking my fist and going "ooooh, man". I've only had reactions like that once or twice, otherwise. I think that's the sign of an excellent writer.
If we're considering the merling/mermen as squishers, I found another bit of possible evidence of their dealings in the crownlands. The Velaryons were supposedly granted Driftmark in Blackwater Bay via dealing with a Merling King. There's also a structure in Blackwater Bay named The Merling Kings Spears. Both of these places are reasonably close to Cracklaw point where the Crabbs live. This is evidence of possible interaction between the squishers and the valyrians
This video was so good i watched it start to finish. At first i was like nope it's an hour long im just going to hear some of it. But i ended up watching all of it.
This video is awesome and this is by far my favorite format. Not a huge stream/collab fan personally but when its just LML's soothing voice, eerie music, and cannabis-fueled insights, I can totally lose myself in the video.
Feel like validation is a big reason Aeron is so much more put-together than Patchface. The revelation broke Patchface's world because he couldn't make sense of it. Aeron was raised in a faith that meshed perfectly with his new knowledge so it made his world more coherent, not less.
Your knowledge is amazing. I loved this video! Actually just sat n watched for the whole hour. Thats rare for a lore video, yet alone an hour long one! Great content!
I've been going through watching old videos and streams and I gotta say, watching your hair grow over the last 3 years has been a weirdly amusing cherry on top of this delicious mythical astronomy cake 😅
This one was great. Ironborn and Nights Watch are my two favorite factions/houses. I am also a Lovecraft nut so this one was right up my alley. Thanks!
About the myth of the Crabb king it could also be a reference to the Nordic myth of Mimir and Oddin in which after Mimir was decapitated Oddin used magic to reanimate his head in order to keep receiving his council, even having Mimir be the one to tell him about how the world would be renewed after Ragnarok.
Havent visited your channel in a good few years but so good to see your killing it and keeping those esoteric vibes strong. Legend mate, loved the vid.
Fantastic as usual! Looking like a very cool kind of wizard if I can say... A grand wizard even!... Wait.. The scripting of that ad-read was smooth as the hair of the mutton-chops that cover Tywin's gills! Thanks for your work!
I'm really enjoying your Ironborn and Squisher videos. Im not sure if youve mentioned this yourself or not, but one thing all this Fishman to Ironborn stuff has made me think about is how the Seastone Chair seems to have gone from an altar for ritual sacrifice to a throne, and the Weirwoods seem to have gone from thrones to altars for ritual sacrifice (by Craster at least). More amusing manifestations in the massively messed up morass of magic, maybe.
Thanks for the series man this was SO interesting, I couldn’t agree more with those theories. I now have a totally different perspective not only on the iron born but on all old marine houses
I need to read these books which is bad timing now being a father of 5 young daughters (glad I now live more inland) and have almost no free time anymore. Thank you for doing videos for all these mysteries I have no time to read now. Also I love those ads you do with Rhaegar. Hilarious! I can't help but think of how ads sounded during the Golden Age of radio when you do them. I sometimes wish I could play the Rhaegar role and install your VPN secretly, :)
Absolutely love the theory crafting and the deep ones as a whole, however I think lord Manderly simply being a rage filled father to the point he would eat the family that killed his son is more narratively impactful than him being a deep one
Im so grateful for your content right now LML trying so hard not to spiral from the state of the world right now, i just gotta pop on your videos and zone out of reality for a few 💚
1. Why are the squishers reproducing with humans? One possibility is: because they must; otherwise they will go extinct. The end of the Long Night (the last Ice Age on Planetos) may have resulted in permanent changes in water temperature, ocean currents, or other climatic factors, which in turn made it impossible for the original merfolk to breed. Many kinds of fish, particularly oceanic fish (merfolk in ASOIAF seem to be oceanic), practice external fertilization. Take cod, for example (as in House Codd). The male will create a bower, a sort of bowl-shaped depression in sand or fine gravel, and invite the female to lay her eggs. If she does, he will release his sperm into the vicinity of the eggs, which then swim through the open water to fertilize them. The eggs must then be protected (often by the breeding pair) until the embryos grow big enough to be able to hatch and live on their own. Meanwhile, the temperature, salinity, acidity, and so on must stay within a specific range for the eggs to survive. The end of the Ice Age may have caused alterations to something like the Gulf Stream, making their breeding grounds too cold. Or it may be that melting glaciers introduced vast quantities of fresh water into the ocean; this would substantially change the salinity of the water, causing vital salts inside the eggs to transfer out into the water via osmosis. Likewise, if the water became too acidic (fresh water tends to be more acidic than salt water) the egg shells may dissolve before the young can hatch; or perhaps a low PH interferes with the fertilizing action of the sperm, which require alkaline conditions to function. Being unable to reproduce naturally, the squishers might have turned to hybridization as a sole means of survival for their species.. There is another potential factor that might have been impacted by climate change: temperature-dependent sex determination. In some species of fish (as well as amphibians and reptiles) the gender of offspring is determined by the temperature of the eggs during gestation. Generally speaking, warm temperatures correspond to female offspring, and cool temperatures correspond to male offspring. Permanent cooling in merfolk breeding grounds might have meant that the species could only produce male offspring. (As far as I know, all but one of the tales involving squishers describes them as male.) If so, the species would go extinct in just one generation, unless they opted to reproduce with human females. (Hybridization could be deemed preferable to going quietly into that long night, pun intended.) Along similar lines, if warm temperatures (such as in the womb of a human woman) correspond to female offspring, it may be the merfolk are simply trying to increase the numbers of females (albeit hybrid females) in their population, to correct a severe gender balance issue. An entirely different reason the merfolk could have to reproduce with humans is to introduce the heritable magical traits found in other species, such as greenseer genetics, or Valyrian stuff, into their own population. Finally, setting all that aside, it could be that merfolk females practice extreme hypergamy. Suppose the Deep One has claimed ALL the females for himself, driving the other males onto land to reproduce with human females.
sorry Colin I had forgotten to circle back for this, after asking you to leave it here, haha. In any case... these are all really interesting suppositions! If we think about parallelism, the wwnet is altered and the Others cast out at the Long Night - the green see is polluted in other words - so maybe it's the same with the real sea. Maybe the oily stone in the water is responsible, or one of the things you mentioned. We'll never get the answer of course but Martin may well have thought about this stuff, for sure. Probably obtaining human magic (or cotf magic) was a key factor.
I'm obsessed with the idea of Aeron starting to scream "Drown them all!" Because the Foresaken chapter seems very similar to King Aerys' kidnapping in the dungeon at Duskendale.
1)you are fantastic i will say it again and again.I just know that one day your channel will blow up. 2)this presentation is amazing.I think you should do something similar for your older azor ahai and the long night videos.I know some people who say they couldnt read your old essays due to how long they were.This presentation wich brakes it into smaller parts with many pictures etc would maybe help 3)i never expected to be intrested in iron born bistory but here we are.I would like to ask you if there could be similar videos about the rest of westeros especially house Dorne or the reach.I mean videos about symbolisms or whatever .(you mentioned something about oldtown and my heart skipped a bit i cant wait to explore that city with you as our guide of course😅).
Amazing video. Its pretty crazy how all thisfish stuff is right in front of us but you don’t realize it when reading, I had read the books 3 times all over and I’ve never caught on that biter was a fish man.
I've watched this three times already. There was so much fantastic information! 🐡 Comedy bits sprinkles in were on point! I laughed out loud more than once. Rhaegar's "Mario Kart" and the Others' speech bubbles...OMG😂😂😂
I’m so glad the TH-cam algorithm did it’s thing and recommended this video to me. I had no idea about your channel but I’m loving it so far! I subscribed immediately 😊
Just found the channel. So far I'm really enjoying the deep dive (heh) into the lore. I love the speculation and theory crafting of the history of Westoros. Keep up the good work.
I'm rereading asoiaf for the first time in over 10 years, and your videos have made me really excited to get to the Nimble Dick chapters, which I kind of skimmed through the first time because I didn't care about all these new characters.
Maze-makers getting steamrollered by squishies sounds like the Minoans getting wiped by the sea people in the bronze age collapse.
Correct
Archaeologists don't want you to know that the Minoans actually got wiped by the Deep Ones lmao
I just watched kings and generals video about the sea people literally 4 hours ago this morning, and now I’m watching this and randomly see this comment. I love when that stuff happens lol
Until you realize them Sea People were just fishy Athenians 😅
The Minoans were already driven to the edge of collapse by the Theran eruption.
The Mycenaeans then swept in at some point thereafter, and took control of their remaining settlements and infrastructure on Crete and in the Aegean.
The Minoans were not wiped out.
Like the Etruscans with Rome centuries later, the remainder of Minoan culture/population almost certainly simply assimilated with Mycenae and later Hellenic society.
The thing is that we already know sooo much of ancient Greek literature is lost to time.
There's a good chance that an equivalent work to Homer's Iliad was written about the fall of the Minoans and their culture afterwards, but it's so far back that it's only remembered now in the myth of the Minotaur, Minos, Ariadne and Theseus.
The fact that Minos was given such an illustrious ancestry as Zeus himself (and Europa for whom the continent is named) is a testament to the fact that the Minoan story meant a lot to some fraction of the Hellenic population.
Biter being a distant spawn of the Deep ones absolutely blew my mind, the fact that it fits so well in Briennes story while also not being a prevalent or important detail is why I love George’s writing and the theorycraft it inspires me to
me too, i can't believe i never made the connection but at the same time so covert. preston's brienne, gender, and the squishers series was the first time i even really thought about brienne's link to what nimble dick said
I never imagined we'd get any kind of backstory for biter. Its sweet to hear especially cool lore.
I would have to reread, but yes. It would even have narrative meaning.
Chapter 1 - Introduce the concept.
Chapter 2 - Reaffirms the concept.
Chapter 3 - Payoff - Biter.
I just realized they talk about him being pale and fish-like the whole time
Reminds me of a certain Lovecraft story.
This is the only ASOIAF channel that not only gives Nimble Dick and his warnings the importance that they deserve, but celebrates Nimble Dick for the legend that he is. RIP
They're gonna eat ya
Ne'er was a Dick so nimble this side of the narrow sea.
Maybe Nimble Dick isn't the hero we needed, but the hero we deserve.
His name was "Nimble Dick" and that alone should be respected!
Nimble Dick shall live forever in our...hearts?
This is the next best thing to George actually finishing the series
Your ability to keep digging out new and fascinating connective tissues between these texts is amazing.
it's part of why it takes him so long to write, most other fiction simply isn't layered this deeply
Mmm connective tissues…
There is no next best thing, sick of waiting on that lazy porker.
@DavidLightbringer If he ever manages to finish it, I imagine it's going to blow everyone out of the damn water. I really hope everything that you speculate is at least mostly accurate because DAMN!
I know this is an old comment, but it's still true and relevant as ever! Great point.. never thought of it in that context but it's definitely true! It is definitely the next best thing to George finishing the book... 😊
I think the light magic of ASOIAF is so cool because there are plenty of fantasy books where no one would question this at all because all the of magic is central and obvious, but in ASOIAF the magic is just uncommon enough to lurk in the background and make both the characters and a lot of readers think it’s “just a story”
That's why I prefer low fantasy over high fantasy where nearly everything is magical.
When I realized that the bronze age collapse coincided with attacks by mysterious "sea people" I thought about George hearing of that for the first time and imagining them as monsters from the sea. I have to stop thinking about how history relates to ASoIaF all the time.
Why stop? That's what makes this all the more relevant IMHO 😊
No, please don't stop. This was an interesting and astute observation. You are only thinking critically and that is a good thing. We are meant to make connections between the things we read and the real world, history, life, etc. I may never have made that connection,
Never stop, seriously!
that´s great, the pharao fending of the deep ones
Hahah you’re not gonna stawp! You’ll never stop, now!
I can’t stop. I try and i try and it does little and less. But being me right back here
This popped up 20 seconds after being posted - the Deep Ones wanted me to see it 😂
Join the cult
Hahahaha i love it when that happens. Bugs me when something pops up and it's uploaded like hours ago. The entire reason i sub, bell on to certain channels is because i need to see it immediately!
Exactly 😅
Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.” - Derek Zoolander. Moisture Lotion
thank you, I had forgotten to make a Zoolander joke 🤣🤣
That's why the scientists at Squisher Laboratories worked tirelessly to create a new, innovative formula of Nimble Dick's Moisturizer, so you never have to worry about chafing again and you can put your mind at ease knowing your Dick will always be Nimble.
I think i got the black lung pop! cough-cough-cough.
Mer-Man!! Cough-Cough.... Mer-MAN!!!!
The squishes are deader to me , than their dead mothers
"but then dies by axe to the forehead, which is a fatal condition." I love this channel 😆
THE DEEP ONES SEND ME PSYCHIC MESSAGES OF FISH DUDES KISSING
hahahaha
Careful, that's how they get ya!!!
I searched for this comment
@@DavidLightbringerGreat video David. Based on your work I’m now more convinced than ever that Theon Greyjoy is really a Brandon Stark (or possibly even Ned Stark) bastard, obtained somehow by Balon Greyjoy who planned to use him to capture control of the North. Balon in a planned invasion of the North would have revealed that Theon (a Stark name importantly) had Stark blood as a means of obtaining legitimacy (perhaps to deal with the ‘there must always be a Stark in Winterfell’ thing). We’re never given a very good explanation of Balon’s Rebellion but the probable cause was his refusal to return Theon to the Stark’s after the plot was revealed somehow. All of this is apparent in how Theon is treated when he returns home, and how Balon immediately tries to execute his original plan anyway, clearly showing that keeping Theon as a “ward/hostage” never in any way exerted any leverage over Balon simply because he was supposedly Balon’s last male heir. Balon immediately thrust Theon’s life into danger with no regards towards him and tired to use him to capture the North. This also explains why Rob Stark’s wolf was named “Greywind”, it was supposed to be Theon’s, while Rob is almost certainly Petyr Baelish’s son (as revealed in their strange half exchange of question with no answer when we see them together in Kings Landing). Rob’s illegitimately is the true source of Catelyn’s anxiety and hatred towards Jon Snow. Whether Theon is another Ned bastard (I believe Val is Ned’s daughter) or a Brandon Stark bastard remains a mystery to me, but I’m certain it’s one or the other.
Wow!!
The reason why children don't survive long in Asshsi is because they are being given to the Deep ones as a sacrifice
i swear, everyone gives biter every benefit of the doubt, saying things like "he filed his teeth to look like that" besides just believing he is a squisher
Well, one tht might be more likely is tht he comes from a culture tht worships them. How? Taken as a slave as a child. But thts boring, so I go with him being a squisher as well. Why go with the boring explanation until its confirmed to be the boring answer?
Here is something horryfing I noticed. Who does Patchaface a mouthpiece for the deep ones spend all his time with. Shireen a young girl and you know what the deep ones do.
yeah it's an odd choice of babysitter
@@DavidLightbringer He even takes her by the hand and ask of her to go under the sea
@@debater452i always thought he knew about her fate(of getting burnt by red woman) and wanted to save her.... maybe I was too optimistic about this story when I know i shouldn't be 😂
It’s heavily implied that “Greyscale” is a disease created by a former avatar of The Drowned God (the disease thrives on the wet and damp, it turns humans into scaly insane creatures, etc) so it makes sense.
Wow, I didn't think Wyman's pies could get MORE disturbing. I was wrong
comment of the day
Nimble Dick never struck me as a man from the Bayou, but now I can't believe anything else
yeah I mean it works so well I do wonder if GRRM thought of it
I love how George sprinkles fantasy throughout his world like this. They’re never explicitly mentioned but there’s so much underlying evidence if you really wanna dig in and speculate. I really appreciate the work you do it really makes me appreciate this world more!
"These are fun, you're enjoying them, right?"
Every single one.
I've been here for many years (while GoT was still on air) and haven't missed a video, and that includes binging on the back catalogue from before I found the channel.
"No, Rhaegar. The Matrix isn't real."
Only in your videos would a line like that exist. 😂
And only in LML’s videos do I actually WATCH the add! I love his roommate! Rhaegar is starting to acclimate and enjoy our culture, lol.
@tracymetherell8744 right! LML's ads are the only ones I enjoy and don't immediately fast forward with a grunt of exasperation
55:32 Patch face wouldn’t have had any context about what was happening to him. It would just have been alien and terrifying, that’s why his mind broke. Where the iron born are raised to believe that’s a desired religious experience.
Yay, a fresh lullaby from David Lightbringer just in time for bed 🎣🛌
The deep ones send their regards.
I, for one, welcome the return of our Squisher overlords.
ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Very few channels can claim the sponsored bits are nearly as entertaining as the rest of the content, but you’re chief among them.
I love this series on the Iron Born and Deep Ones. It's become one of my favorite parts of ASoIF, and how it weaves in and out the legends across Grrth. Keep up the excellent work!
Long time fan, long term cephalopod here: Thank you for breaking down our cover AHEM the Squishers' cover story! Living around the corner, so to speak, from Providence RI, I've been a fan of Lovecraft since before the stars were right...
The stars do certainly seem right for all sorts of strange weird and wild horrors, nowadays... I'll be on the lookout for fish people, snarks and grumkins!
They say there actually are mermaids and mermen. The stories about them are dark af. Almost always murderers. Can we call variants like them human? Can we hold them to our laws?
It genuinely just keeps getting better and better
Why should we assume House Manderly only became squishers after they settled in the North? They could have already been squishers when they were still living along the river in the Reach. Perhaps being a human-fish hybrid contributed to their exile from that region.
Imagine House Manderly was just close to marry a Targaryen princess a wild one at that. Unfortunately ☹️ she was killed.
@@sophiawilson8696This just shows how cruel jaehaerys and alyssene to their daughters . Manderly was not only very old, his family's fish ancestory wouldn't make him a good looking grandpa either 👀
Just what were they both thinking while marrying their daughter to that squishy grandpa?
@@sophiawilson8696Viserra wasn't the wild one, Sierra was. Viserra was just a vain person who was too much into her beauty, and the fact that she wanted to marry her widowed older brother baelon because she didn't wanted to marry an old guy....this was used as an excuse to give her bad name.
i’m at work and saw your ig story and said to my friend i think today’s the day the deep ones video drops (she always is listening along with me when i listen to your videos at work - she asked where cleo was in this video LOL) and when it dropped i screamed and she’s like the video dropped didn’t it?! lol
thank you for another amazing video and getting us through the day! this is one of my favorite series you’ve done!
hahaha thank you for this update ❤️❤️
This is incredible! I haven't watched a video from this channel in like 2 years but the quality has gone through the roof!!!
Fantastic work.
The drowning ritual being a test for successful hybridization is a great insight!
That Brienne/biter fight was so anxiety producing just reading it. Hearing your inflection and delivery makes the material seriously terrifying to imagine
To be fair, he did surprise her. I doubt he would have been enough to actually cause her trouble in any other situation
@@dersuddeutschesumpf5444 agreed. My read on it was he 'bum rushed' her while she was distracted kicking rorge's butt. And biter is really only able to hiss so he didn't do any battle cry
@@dersuddeutschesumpf5444 but yeah, in a 'regular' sword fight she would have tartare out of him in about 3 seconds
Best cereal commercials ever are on this channel.
Great point about how the fandom is like the maesters when it comes to squishers. They’ve been built up as much as the others and the dragons just a tad more subtle, and I think it’ll all culminate with Euron’s apotheosis where they really come into the spotlight. Great vid as always 👍
It’s insane how much bigger this series seems to become with every new video essay I see. It’s no wonder GRRM has essentially came to a halt, theres too many threads to even try and resolve in just two books.
He really should have dialed it back on these subplots.
Not to bad mouth the guy, it’s undeniably impressive and he still the best at world building. I just think he needed some more self control.
Frey Pie and Sister stew! Human food hybridisation is a thing! The cannibalism in the story is all over. Biter eats Brienne. When Theon eats the Iron Islands "fish stew" for the first time after he comes back he feel sick... The Pots of Brown in Kings Landing, aka Singers Stew, have people in them. The Children with the "filed teeth" who fights for entertainment. Davos is from Flee Bottom, he loves the "Sister Stew". He is reborn from the sea. He's a Squisher hybrid himself!
Oh shiiit, Davos is from flea bottom? Neat
so much covert and overt cannibalism...the "roast goat" at Harrenhal being a more overt example 🤢
I love the format of these videos! This one in particular makes me want to see you tackle a video based on The Dornes - according to the lore, due to Valyrian conquest, the vast majority of the Dornes are actually of Rhoynar ancestry!! Not only were the Rhoynar Lovecraftian as well, they were proficient in water magic too which I believe must have helped them out a lot living in the Sands of Westeros. How ironic that they continued to give The Valyrians a hard time even after they changed continents?
I also lovedlovedLOVED the mention of Aeron Greyjoy and the Tullys! Aeron is a literal descendant of the Deep Ones so it’s no surprise that drowning would activate any latent magical abilities lying already dormant inside of him. In comparison, Patchface was a human through and through which is why he had to basically give that up in return for his new abilities as an undead human avatar of the Drowned God. Poor Lord Tully too lol, like he still managed to come out of the tv show alive which really says something! He’s so overlooked, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.
I wanted to finally mention how happily surprised I was as well on your thoroughness, it’s not every day that someone makes sure to clearly distinguish between a human avatar of the Gods of the Deep Ones (Patchface), fishy human hybrids, Basilisks, merfolk (species with literal fish tails), our amphibious brethren (Toads) who def deserve a mention, and descendants of all of the above who might have a genetic inclination towards water-breathing and water magic! Truly a testament to your love of all things C’thulu!!
Mr Lightbringer you have made my afternoon! Keep up the good work of spreading knowledge and provoking thought.
About the Winged Man Hero at the Eyrie region of the Arryn seems to match on the city of Winged Men on fartherst east Essos near Carcossa and the Hidden Inner Sea region.
Let’s get DEEP!!!! Making everyone’s afternoon with this one
Why did they keep Patchface around?
I know that now he makes Shireen happy, but what about before she was born?
Patchface arrived, and was drowned, in 278 AC, but Shireen wasn't born until 289. I find it strange that anyone would want to keep such a broken person around, even as a fool, especially as he is a walking reminder of the deaths of Steffon and Cassana. So why did they?
Great question. In westerosi society, Patchface is a third class citizen in that he's a jester, a foreigner and has the strange effects of his drowning experience. That combination would seemingly be extremely distasteful to any "proper" aristocratic family. You'd think they would have thrown him out or at the very least made him a baker's helper or some out of sight role. Quite a lot of generosity of spirit isn't it?
This is genuinely such a good question. I read ur comment when i started the vid and 40mins in my mind is still 🤔🤔🤔
Some sort of noblesse oblige?
@@LitcheTheArsm Maybe they kept him because Steffon wrote such a glowing review of him in one of his final letters. And Patchface condition is a result of their actions so maybe someone was genuinely being kind to him by letting him stay on. Hard to believe but it's possible
Maestrr Cressen took pity on him and Stannis's wife felt it important to have a fool at court for visiting King Landings nobles
@@ThommyofThennCressen the Maester did so to honor Stefen and because he pities Patchface
All lore aside, the second Nimble Dick started talking about “squishers” I already figured that it meant they are very real and may even play a role in the story. It’s a fantasy series and that means that stories with unique monsters meant to scare children are usually gonna be real (Others, and giants are two in universe examples).
Are you saying that the Dark God and the others are myths or myths?
Dagon Drumm sounds so fascinating. Named after lovecraftian father of the deep ones...Son Of Uragon Drumm.....Family won a Valyrian Steel sword called Red Rain...Captainof Crimson tide...He was a necromancer.....there is so much deep one...symbolism it's insane.
The argument was so convincing that when an ad came on for Mr Clean I was suspicious. Mr Clean is Bald and very pale. Hmmm?
The drowning ritual makes so much sense now omg ! I'm flabbergasted
the second I heard you mention House Drumm my brain went straight to Gandalf reading the account of Moria being invaded by orcs. DRUMMS IN THE DEEP
It makes me wonder if Cotter Pike’s description was about a combination of things or just the selkies being opportunistic and having a snack when they tried to flee.
Dick describes the Squishers as "fish belly white," which I assume looks similar to a waterlogged corpse. Cotter is doubtless more familiar with wights than squishers so he might have seen them and assumed they were wights. Gonna look up his background now
@@ThommyofThenn I believe Pike was an Iron Islander though that’s from memory.
Ooops, his last name is spelled PYKE. Cause he's from the Iron Islands. So he very well could have been raised on stories of Squishers eating bad little kids. Maybe he just wrote "dead things in water" to avoid confusion. He didn't want Jon to read his letter and be like "fish men conspiracy from Cotter's childhood? Lol ok bro." Pyke wants to make it clear in no uncertain terms something bad is going down regardless of who exactly it is
@@elijahsnow3119 thank ye. I had to look it up since I was not aware of any of Squishers on my first few read-throughs. He is much more important once you learn the horrifying truth of the Iron Islands
@@ThommyofThenn Honestly this was the only reason on thinking it over that I suspect it was wights. Someone like Pyke might actually know the difference.
2:55 Love the one on the right that looks like he's about to start dancing.
This might be my favourite video from the LML universe after vedic origins of Dany
I'm really not a reader, except for a few, key fantasy series. When I read the part with Brienne, I was at a coffee shop, and I had to go outside to keep reading (my choice) because I kept having real, physical excitement while reading it. Like, gasping and shaking my fist and going "ooooh, man". I've only had reactions like that once or twice, otherwise. I think that's the sign of an excellent writer.
An hour long video on The Deep Ones??? Hell yeah man, praise be to Nimble Dick!!
Respect for crediting human artists.
Tack!
If we're considering the merling/mermen as squishers, I found another bit of possible evidence of their dealings in the crownlands. The Velaryons were supposedly granted Driftmark in Blackwater Bay via dealing with a Merling King. There's also a structure in Blackwater Bay named The Merling Kings Spears. Both of these places are reasonably close to Cracklaw point where the Crabbs live. This is evidence of possible interaction between the squishers and the valyrians
This video was so good i watched it start to finish. At first i was like nope it's an hour long im just going to hear some of it. But i ended up watching all of it.
and now you have the faith of the Drowned God in you
This video is awesome and this is by far my favorite format. Not a huge stream/collab fan personally but when its just LML's soothing voice, eerie music, and cannabis-fueled insights, I can totally lose myself in the video.
Feel like validation is a big reason Aeron is so much more put-together than Patchface. The revelation broke Patchface's world because he couldn't make sense of it. Aeron was raised in a faith that meshed perfectly with his new knowledge so it made his world more coherent, not less.
Your knowledge is amazing. I loved this video! Actually just sat n watched for the whole hour. Thats rare for a lore video, yet alone an hour long one! Great content!
Got home from work to see this.......let's GOOOOOOO I've been waiting for this masterpiece!!!
I've been going through watching old videos and streams and I gotta say, watching your hair grow over the last 3 years has been a weirdly amusing cherry on top of this delicious mythical astronomy cake 😅
I haven't cut the long part in about a year and a half!
@@DavidLightbringer it looks good, man!
Keep the deep ones content coming! Love how it's all coming together! (Also that black jacket is awesome and I want it)
Excellent video DL. Really ties a few seemingly unrelated things together nicely.
I’m so happy that this part finally came out. I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat for it.
Congrats on 100k subs David! You deserve it brother, been watching a few years now. Keep prospering!
This one was great. Ironborn and Nights Watch are my two favorite factions/houses. I am also a Lovecraft nut so this one was right up my alley. Thanks!
About the myth of the Crabb king it could also be a reference to the Nordic myth of Mimir and Oddin in which after Mimir was decapitated Oddin used magic to reanimate his head in order to keep receiving his council, even having Mimir be the one to tell him about how the world would be renewed after Ragnarok.
**nods**
Havent visited your channel in a good few years but so good to see your killing it and keeping those esoteric vibes strong. Legend mate, loved the vid.
I hope someone as brilliant and passionate legally knighted by Martin continue with the story telling of his world. So many mysteries yet to be told.
Fantastic as usual! Looking like a very cool kind of wizard if I can say... A grand wizard even!... Wait..
The scripting of that ad-read was smooth as the hair of the mutton-chops that cover Tywin's gills!
Thanks for your work!
exceptional production quality homie, definitely subbed and will watch more!
Whole hour of produced content?! So rad. Thanks so much for all you do! 🙏
Your videos are my favorite new hyperfixation!! Thanks!
We're 35 seconds in and you've already made me laugh...
Grr Martins Girth 😂
I'm really enjoying your Ironborn and Squisher videos. Im not sure if youve mentioned this yourself or not, but one thing all this Fishman to Ironborn stuff has made me think about is how the Seastone Chair seems to have gone from an altar for ritual sacrifice to a throne, and the Weirwoods seem to have gone from thrones to altars for ritual sacrifice (by Craster at least). More amusing manifestations in the massively messed up morass of magic, maybe.
Thanks for the series man this was SO interesting, I couldn’t agree more with those theories. I now have a totally different perspective not only on the iron born but on all old marine houses
I need to read these books which is bad timing now being a father of 5 young daughters (glad I now live more inland) and have almost no free time anymore. Thank you for doing videos for all these mysteries I have no time to read now.
Also I love those ads you do with Rhaegar. Hilarious! I can't help but think of how ads sounded during the Golden Age of radio when you do them. I sometimes wish I could play the Rhaegar role and install your VPN secretly, :)
I bet youve already considered this but would audiobooks work for you? Listening while commuting and doing chores could be something?
Hoping Rhaegar scores David a sweet Audible promotion! Lol
Five daughters...a lot of weddings in your future...start saving while you have time as the grandcildren will appear soon after!!❤🎉❤🎉😮
Love these shows! Keep the deep dives coming!
Absolutely love the theory crafting and the deep ones as a whole, however I think lord Manderly simply being a rage filled father to the point he would eat the family that killed his son is more narratively impactful than him being a deep one
Very fun video. I love how Martin weaves this stuff in seemingly in the background
Very much loving Renly’s crown in the top left on top of that wooden sculpture
Im so grateful for your content right now LML trying so hard not to spiral from the state of the world right now, i just gotta pop on your videos and zone out of reality for a few 💚
"theres plenty of fish in the sea" and they took that literally
1. Why are the squishers reproducing with humans?
One possibility is: because they must; otherwise they will go extinct.
The end of the Long Night (the last Ice Age on Planetos) may have resulted in permanent changes in water temperature, ocean currents, or other climatic factors, which in turn made it impossible for the original merfolk to breed.
Many kinds of fish, particularly oceanic fish (merfolk in ASOIAF seem to be oceanic), practice external fertilization. Take cod, for example (as in House Codd). The male will create a bower, a sort of bowl-shaped depression in sand or fine gravel, and invite the female to lay her eggs. If she does, he will release his sperm into the vicinity of the eggs, which then swim through the open water to fertilize them.
The eggs must then be protected (often by the breeding pair) until the embryos grow big enough to be able to hatch and live on their own. Meanwhile, the temperature, salinity, acidity, and so on must stay within a specific range for the eggs to survive.
The end of the Ice Age may have caused alterations to something like the Gulf Stream, making their breeding grounds too cold. Or it may be that melting glaciers introduced vast quantities of fresh water into the ocean; this would substantially change the salinity of the water, causing vital salts inside the eggs to transfer out into the water via osmosis. Likewise, if the water became too acidic (fresh water tends to be more acidic than salt water) the egg shells may dissolve before the young can hatch; or perhaps a low PH interferes with the fertilizing action of the sperm, which require alkaline conditions to function.
Being unable to reproduce naturally, the squishers might have turned to hybridization as a sole means of survival for their species..
There is another potential factor that might have been impacted by climate change: temperature-dependent sex determination.
In some species of fish (as well as amphibians and reptiles) the gender of offspring is determined by the temperature of the eggs during gestation. Generally speaking, warm temperatures correspond to female offspring, and cool temperatures correspond to male offspring.
Permanent cooling in merfolk breeding grounds might have meant that the species could only produce male offspring. (As far as I know, all but one of the tales involving squishers describes them as male.) If so, the species would go extinct in just one generation, unless they opted to reproduce with human females. (Hybridization could be deemed preferable to going quietly into that long night, pun intended.)
Along similar lines, if warm temperatures (such as in the womb of a human woman) correspond to female offspring, it may be the merfolk are simply trying to increase the numbers of females (albeit hybrid females) in their population, to correct a severe gender balance issue.
An entirely different reason the merfolk could have to reproduce with humans is to introduce the heritable magical traits found in other species, such as greenseer genetics, or Valyrian stuff, into their own population.
Finally, setting all that aside, it could be that merfolk females practice extreme hypergamy. Suppose the Deep One has claimed ALL the females for himself, driving the other males onto land to reproduce with human females.
sorry Colin I had forgotten to circle back for this, after asking you to leave it here, haha. In any case... these are all really interesting suppositions! If we think about parallelism, the wwnet is altered and the Others cast out at the Long Night - the green see is polluted in other words - so maybe it's the same with the real sea. Maybe the oily stone in the water is responsible, or one of the things you mentioned. We'll never get the answer of course but Martin may well have thought about this stuff, for sure. Probably obtaining human magic (or cotf magic) was a key factor.
I'm obsessed with the idea of Aeron starting to scream "Drown them all!" Because the Foresaken chapter seems very similar to King Aerys' kidnapping in the dungeon at Duskendale.
I laughed too hard at westiiiiide 😂😂😂 Had me throwing gang signs bro 👌👌
All Hail our Squisher Overlords! Great series, thanks LML!
Great video as always quality continues to elevate and it is very appreciated
Finally had time to watch this. Wow. You continue to hold the crown for the best ASOIAF content out there. You truly are in a league of your own!
1)you are fantastic i will say it again and again.I just know that one day your channel will blow up.
2)this presentation is amazing.I think you should do something similar for your older azor ahai and the long night videos.I know some people who say they couldnt read your old essays due to how long they were.This presentation wich brakes it into smaller parts with many pictures etc would maybe help
3)i never expected to be intrested in iron born bistory but here we are.I would like to ask you if there could be similar videos about the rest of westeros especially house Dorne or the reach.I mean videos about symbolisms or whatever .(you mentioned something about oldtown and my heart skipped a bit i cant wait to explore that city with you as our guide of course😅).
Amazing video. Its pretty crazy how all thisfish stuff is right in front of us but you don’t realize it when reading, I had read the books 3 times all over and I’ve never caught on that biter was a fish man.
it used to be tinfoil but I'd like to think I've made it cannon hahaha
@@DavidLightbringer I’d agree after watching your vid, you’ve got yourself a new sub
Been waiting for this Dave. Watching now
I am so excited for this. Thanks for all the great content LmL!
I've watched this three times already. There was so much fantastic information! 🐡
Comedy bits sprinkles in were on point! I laughed out loud more than once.
Rhaegar's "Mario Kart" and the Others' speech bubbles...OMG😂😂😂
thank you orange tabby!!
just got my garth purple shirt ...loved it and wife now wants one.....keep up great work
nice! I'm hoping mine arrives today
I’m so glad the TH-cam algorithm did it’s thing and recommended this video to me. I had no idea about your channel but I’m loving it so far! I subscribed immediately 😊
Just found the channel. So far I'm really enjoying the deep dive (heh) into the lore. I love the speculation and theory crafting of the history of Westoros. Keep up the good work.
I’m so glad David just gets to crush it. This content is amazing.
I'm rereading asoiaf for the first time in over 10 years, and your videos have made me really excited to get to the Nimble Dick chapters, which I kind of skimmed through the first time because I didn't care about all these new characters.
Excellent video!
Great video, im loving the iron born/deep ones series! Please keep it going as long as you want, roll with it bro
i wish i would have found you earlier. This is great! thankyou.