This post is just a collection of my speculations on how the final two installments of George RR Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series will unfold, based on what I personally think will be most saatisfying, and the little bits we can glean from Martin's chapter readings at conventions (those parts being in bold, as they're definite).
THE WINDS OF WINTER
*Having dealt Khal Pono and the Dothraki a harsh lesson, Daenerys will be taken by Drogon to Old Valyria, where she will discover of the truth of the Doom.
*In Dorne, Prince Doran Martell has decided to send young Myrcella Baratheon/Lannister home to Kings Landing with and armed escort. He and his daughter Arianne will then learn of Aegon(Griff), and Doran will decide to send Arianne to him (Arianne I).
*In Meereen, Tyrion Lannister will prove himself useful in the Queen's absence, but get along poorly with Ser Barristan Selmy and her other generals.
*In the Riverlands, the warrior maid Brienne of Tarth will hunt down her friend Ser Jaime Lannister to kill him, because of the promise she made to the undead Lady Stoneheart(Catelyn Stark), in order to save her own life and that of her squire, Podrick Payne. She will spend most of the book looking for him, wrestling with her conflicted feelings, and remembering the horror of her undead former mistress.
*Jaime Lannister, meanwhile, will be dealing with the rebels and outlaws in the Riverlands, including trying to track down the escaped Ser Brynden 'Blackfish' Tully. He and Brienne will not cross paths yet.
*In the Vale, Littlefinger will put his plans in motion to kill young Lord Robert Arryn and marry Sansa/Alayne to Harry the Heir.
*Arianne Martell will travel to Griffin's Roost to meet Aegon(Griff) and Jon Connington, discovering some cave paintings by the Children of the Forest on the way, but on arrival will learn that Aegon(Griff) is not there, that he pushed on and took Storm's End. She will receive an invitation to mett him there, and be advised against going because it sounds peculiar and might be a trap, but will decide to go anyway (Arianne II).
*In the Stormlands and the Crown Lands, lords and armies will rally to Aegon(Griff) and lay siege to Kings Landing, but be unable to take it. The Tyrells will initially withhold support, as they try to defend themselves against the Ironborn on the west coast (besides which, Margaery is Queen, wed to the Baratheon/Lannister king Tommen, if they declare for Aegon(Griff) they lose that position of power). The war in the North having largely been won, the loyalist lords will bring their armies south to meet Aegon(Griff) in the field.
*In Kings Landing itself, Cersei will find herself increasingly marginalised on the small council and in court, and without the guidance of her father Lord Tywin, her uncle Kevan or Grand Maester Pycelle - she will still suspect that her brother Tyrion the Imp is nearby, and is responsible for the murders. Her bother/lover Jaime will not have come to her aid either. She will have only the monstrous undead Ser Gregor Clegane to protect her and her son.
*After some time missing, Daenerys will return to Meereen and find it a mess, first terrorized by her other two dragons Viserion and Rhaegal, then enslaved by the Ironborn pirate Victarion Greyjoy (who has brought the dragons to heel with the magic horn he's brought with him). She will overthrow Victarion and reject his marriage proposal, and meet Tyrion, who will tell her what he knows of Aegon(Griff), Jon Connington and the Golden Company. She and her court will then make plans to head west and take Westeros.
*In Oldtown, Sam will forge his maester's chain in near-record time, and with Pate/Jaqen H'Gar and Alleras the Sphinx (Sarella of Dorne) will learn that the horn he carries is the Horn of Winter. He'll leave Gilly with his mother and sisters, and bring the Horn back to Lord Commander Jon Snow in the North, realising that it has to be used to restore balance to the world, but he'll find Jon dead.
*Sansa/Alayne will remain in the Vale, cross Littlefinger and save little Robert Arryn, betraying him for his part in the downfall of her family and because she is genuinely kind. Littlefinger will be imprisoned, or go on the run.
*In the North, Theon Greyjoy will atone for his sins by helping Stannis Baratheon and the Starks defeat Ramsay Bolton, and then Stannis will execute him.
*Asha Greyjoy will return to the Iron Islands to discover that her favourite uncle, the Reader, has been murdered by his brother Euron Crow's Eye. She will decide to kill him in retribution.
*Pate/Jaqen H'Gar will return to the Faceless Men in Braavos with what he has learned in Oldtown, and will meet Arya again. As a result of their conversation, she will quit the Faceless Men, take Needle and head back to Westeros, either to warn Jon of something or to get revenge with her new assassin skills.
*The Wall will be brought down with the Horn of Winter, restoring balance in the seasons and freeing the dead Jon Snow from his vows. But it will come down too soon - the White Walkers and their army of undead will swarm across the North, bringing the full power of winter with them. The whole of Westeros will be threatened.
A DREAM OF SPRING
*Daenerys will arrive in Westeros with her army and dragons, and will be greatly impressed with Aegon(Griff) and his leadership of the armies that are amassed in the Crown Lands.
*The Faith will declare for Daenerys when she lands with her dragons, and will set upon Queen Cersei and little King Tommen in Kings Landing. Cousin Lancel will be told he can only atone for his treason and fornication by killing the little king born from incest.
*Rhaegal the green dragon will seem to bond with Aegon(Griff), and he will ally with Daenerys. Thus, the conspiracy to kill Daenerys and put Aegon(Griff) on the Iron Throne as dead Prince Rhaegar's presumed-dead son Aegon will be go awry as Aegon(Griff) first proves himself worthy of the throne and then joins forces with his main rival, contrary to the plans of the conspirators, who meant for her to die so that he could be named her heir.
*Arya will return to Westeros, cross paths with Brienne of Tarth and meet Sandor Clegane (the Hound), and go on to kill Roose Bolton and Walder Frey/warn Jon of a plot discovered by Pate/Jaqen H'Gar in Oldtown.
*In the North, Melisandre will kill Stannis Baratheon and the direwolf Ghost to restore Jon Snow to life, believing him to be Azor Ahai. Jon will thus have been separated from the outward symbol of his Northern heritage. He will have spent time as a wolf north of the Wall, and been with Summer, and so Bran is aware of him. This resurrection will make Melisandre confident in her powers as she has never been before.
*Bran will have seen various crucial pieces of information about how to defeat the White Walkers and about Jon's true identity through his time with the Three Eyed Raven, but will be saved from going too far down that path by Meera and Hodor. He will pass on the crucial information to Jon, and Sam will tell Jon all he has learned while forging his chain in Oldtown.
*In the Vale, Sansa/Alayne will declare herself, and the Vale will rally behind her. She'll send soldiers north to help Jon at the Wall. But things will go wrong, Littlefinger will escape imprisonment and attempt to exact revenge on her, and she'll retreat up to the Eyrie with little Sweetrobin and find herself beseiged for the remainder of the war. Sandor Clegane will go to her aid.
*Brienne will finally confront Jaime, but will find herself unable to fulfill her promise to Lady Stoneheart, and will let him go. She'll believe she has disgraced herself, and will wander, waiting to be caught by the Brotherhood Without Banners and killed.
*The plot to kill Daenerys will be exposed before it can come to fruition, and the plotters - Varys, Illyrio and Prince Doran of Dorne - will be imprisoned, executed or banished. Varys will be revealed as a Blackfyre, cousin of Daenerys and uncle of Aegon(Griff) - the 'Mummer's Dragon' - his sister being the wife of Magister Illyrio Mopatis of Pentos, Aegon's true father. It will transpire that Varys was made a eunuch because his Blackfyre blood/flesh held power. Ser Jorah will die proving his love for Daenerys, saving her from the betrayal, and she will forgive him.
*When word reaches Daeaerys and Aegon of the dire situation in the North, he will fly into war beside her, but will not have the control of the dragon that he will soon need.
*When Jon Snow is able to tame/control the unruly white dragon Viserion when Daenerys and Aegon arrive in the North, it will be revealed that he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, having been raised by Lord Eddard Stark as his alleged bastard to protect him, at the dying Lyanna's request. The resurrected Jon will thus be the third head of the dragon. Viserion will be the most unruly of the three Dragons, but Jon will be able to control him through the unique gifts of his mixed Targaryen/Stark heritage. Jon will thus have traded Ghost (a symbol of the North, and the Old Gods' protection) for a dragon, a symbol of his true parentage.
*Cersei will flee Kings Landing and go to Casterly Rock with Tommen, to save him from the zealots who would kill him, but her cousin Lancel will follow them there, and will succeed in murdering Tommen. Cersei will thus have failed to save her last child - her own actions will have gotten him killed, and Maggy the Frog's prophecies will all have come to pass.
*The North, the lands beyond the Wall and Skagos will unite behind young Rickon with the aid of Osha, Ser Davos Seaworth and Lord Manderly, and will bring reinforcements to help Jon and his armies fight the White Walkers and the wights.
*When Melisandre plans something particularly terrifying, Ser Davos will sacrifice himself to kill her.
*Daenerys on Drogon, Jon on Viserion and Aegon(Griff) on Rhaegal will win the fight against the White Walkers and their army of undead, but Aegon(Griff) and the green dragon Rhaegal will die in the battle.
*Sandor Clegane will die defending Sansa and Robert Arryn from Littlefinger's lackeys. Sansa will be trapped in the Eyrie as winter rages outside, but will finally be rescued by Jon on his dragon.
*Jamie will go to Cersei at Casterly Rock and find her mad with grief, babbling about prophecies and confessing her every sin, and he will strangle her and then fall on his own sword. Tyrion will therefore inherit the Rock and become Hand of the King - his father's true heir, in an ironic twist of fate.
*Princess Arianne of Dorne will succeed her father.
*Asha/Yara will rule the Iron Islands and the Stony Shore from Pyke, making peace with the North.
*If Shaggydog dies, Rickon will become little more than a beast. If Rickon dies, he will live on in Shaggydog, out in the wild.
*Bran will become the Stark in Winterfell, married to Meera Reed. Summer will leave him, but they'll retain a connection, and he will warg into Summer in his dreams for years to come, running with Shaggydog/Rickon.
*Arya will reunite with Gendry and eventually become his wife, and the Lady of Storm's End, but neither will spend much time there. Nymeria and her pack will contribute to the downfall of the Freys, but the big wolf will eventually go north to be with Summer and Shaggydog, and so Arya will run with her brothers in her dreams.
* Jon will marry Sansa Stark, having always had a thing for redheads (Ygritte the Wildling, Melisandre the Red Priest and - on TV's Game of Thrones - Ros the redheaded whore) and being revealed as her cousin rather than her half-brother. She will have learned that heroes and knights are not always the same thing, and to look beyond his bastard status, having spent time posing as a bastard herself, and having gained experience at the Game of Thrones. He will have proved himself the sort of hero she always dreamed of, with the honour and bravery of her father and the command experience gained from his time on the Wall. They will leave Bran to restore Winterfell and head to Kings Landing to rule together, their strengths complementing one another.
*Jon Connington will die mourning Aegon(Griff), but not before he tells Jon and Daenerys all he remembers about Rhaegar and Lyanna.
*Littlefinger will be executed, Prince Doran will die of old age and illness, and Varys will escape.
*Lady Stoneheart will persist long enough to see her husband and eldest son avenged, and will learn that her other children are in fact safe, then will relinquish the last vestiges of life, saving Brienne from her wrath. The Blackfish will have died at Jaime's hand after rescuing Edmure Tully and his Frey wife Roslin. Edmure and Roslin will survive the winter and the war, rebuild Riverrun and name their children Brynden and Catelyn.
*Daenerys will decide that her place is not in Westeros after all, it's not her home. Having won the Iron Throne, she will abdicate, leaving her sole surviving relative - Jon Snow - on the throne, with his beautiful wife Sansa beside him. Daenerys will return to Essos to continue her work with its reformation - ruling from Meereen or Volantis. She will keep Drogon with her, but not her other two dragons (one of which is dead, the other of which has flown off somewhere). When she eventually dies, Drogon will return to Valyria, and with the Targaryens and Blackfyre lines extinguished, dragons and magic will disappear from the world.
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The above is just what I personally think will be the most logical and satisfying set on conclusions. I tried to take into account the fact that are going to be several castles that need lords by the end of the story, and thought about who it makes the most sense to fill them, as well as what we as readers WANT for these characters we love - bearing in mind that we're not likely to get many happy endings (and we'd probably hate it if we did).
ReplyDeleteSo:
We all like Jaime (and some of us like Cersei too), but he is a messed up guy, she's a messed up girl, and they just can't have a happy ending - the incest thing and how damaged and changed they both are prevents that. So them dying together has a poetic 'doomed love' thing to it, while also acknowledging the impossibility of their situation and letting them be who they are, and see each other for who they are. They came into they world together, they leave it together. Weirdly romantic.
We all like Tyrion, and we want a happy ending for him, and yeah, that could be on the Iron Throne, but I think that considering his main drama has been the terrible treatment he's received from his family, it feels more like justice if he gets Casterly Rock - of the various Lannisters, he's certainly the most like the legendary Lann the Clever. And he'd make an excellent Hand.
I really don't see a happy ending for Brienne, she's just had such an unfortunate life and I don't think it's realistic that that's going to change much. She's learning the hard lesson Jaime learned - being caught in a web of conflicting oaths and obligations - so she's going to finally understand him, better than possibly anyone else ever has (even Cersei). And ending her story this way, she gets the respect from someone she likes and admires that she's so craved, and that's got to mean something, right?
As for the Starks:
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's very controversial to support the R+L=J theory, it's the strongest case for Jon's parentage and pretty widely accepted. What might be controversial, however, is suggesting he won't end up Lord of Winterfell. Yeah, he COULD, it'd be that same sort of family justice that Tyrion gets in this scenario, but I don't think it's likely that GRRM would give two characters the same arc. Besides, R+L=J means that Jon is not a Stark by name - he's a Targaryen bastard (or maybe Rhaegar married Lyana to have two wives, like Aegon the Conqueror, which would make Jon a full Targ). I think we probably all want there to 'always be a Stark in Winterfell' - it's part of the romanticism that got us hooked in the first place, right? So Jon's now automatically excluded.
Who does that leave? Well, Arya and Sansa are out, because as soon as they marry they're no longer Starks, and Winterfell passes into some other House's name. With Robb dead, that only leaves Bran and Rickon. And we don't really know Rickon, do we? He's not a POV character, and he sometimes seems more beast than boy. So I think that makes Bran the most logical and satisfying choice. As for him marrying Meera Reed, well, I think it makes sense. She will have been with him for five books out of seven by the end (if she's still alive), he obviously likes her, she's protected him and accompanied him on his mystic journey, they both shoot bows... they'd be a good match (just because his legs don't work doesn't mean he won't be able to make an heir with her, either, before you raise that objection). And hooking up with Meera builds on the relationship Bran's father Ned Stark had with Meera's father Howland Reed, too - she;s from the Neck, and the Neck is the Key to the North. It's just good strategy.
(Bran's also the most 'Northern' of the Starks - he's both a warg and a greenseer - two very Northern magical traits. He's already been 'acting' Lord of Winterfell in Robb's absence and learnt how to listen to bannermen and make decisions, he's well-versed in the tales and lore of the North thanks to Old Nan... he really is the best choice by far).
ReplyDeleteAs I said above, we don't really know Rickon, he and Robb were the only two Starks not to get POV chapters, and Robb died, so that doesn't bode well for lil' Rick. But he has to serve some story purpose other than just having the same dreams as Bran, so what might that be? I expect the Northmen will rally behind him as the Last Stark, believing Robb, Sansa, Arya and Bran all dead. He'll unite them against the White Walkers and the Wights, bring them into the fight, and then I expect he'll die after either Bran or Sansa is revealed to be still alive.
As for Arya, it's a bit hard to know what to make of her journey - she seems to be losing herself, going down a road that we can't follow. If she actually becomes a Faceless Man, she forever ceases to be the girl we love - I don't think any of us want her to do that. We want her to gain awesome assassin skills but retain her sense of identity (and Needle!), come back and deal out death and justice to the evil cunts who took her family away from her. I think the revelation that Sansa, Jon and Bran are still alive will be what eventually saves her soul. But she can't take out Cersei - that's Jaime's arc. And Joffrey is dead. She could take out the Hound, but he seems to be on a redemption arc - I think she'll realise she got him wrong and will spare him.
As for who she'll marry, well, ideally, it'd be nobody - she's said she doesn't want to be a Lady. And she seems to have connections to people and cultures with greater sexual freedom than what most of Westeros finds acceptable - her wolf was Nymeria, named for the Dornish queen of old, and the Dornish are pretty sexually liberal. She's spent lots of time with whores and Summer Islanders in Braavos, and Summer Islanders have a healthy attitude to sex. So I think she'll fight it - but I think Gendry will be legitimized as the sole surviving Baratheon, and inherit Storm's End, and Arya has a definite connection there... If she said she didn't want to be a Lady before she reached her sexual awakening, she may reconsider. So I think she'll either become Gendry's Lady wife or his Mistress (the latter would be cooler and would allow her to retain her freedom, so I prefer that option).
Now, for Sansa/Jon/Daenerys.
ReplyDeleteWhat I've said above about Sansa and Jon marrying is probably the most controversial point. Most people want Jon to end up with Daenerys Targaryen, to become one of the three heads of the dragon in the oft-repeated prophecy. People seem to think he HAS to marry Dany for that to happen. But I think that too much is being made of the fact that the original dragon trio consisted of Aegon the Conqueror and his two sister wives... I don't think Jon has to MARRY Daenerys to fulfill the prophecy. Maybe they just have to be lovers for a while. Maybe it's enough that they're closely related and share Targaryen blood. But I believe SHE'S the focus of the prophecy - he and Aegon(Griff) are less important. SHE brought the Dragons into the world, SHE's the pure-blood. The other two are half-breeds, but half-breeds with a much better blood-connection to the mystical than the average person in Westeros or Essos.
I think Dany and Jon are going to clash. Jon is learning to be a democratic leader, Dany believes she has a birthright. Meeting Aegon(Griff) and Jon is sure to challenge her beliefs about her right to rule. And then there's the fact that other than this supposed birthright (which, let us not forget, is founded on a history of bloodshed, conquest and dark magic), Daenerys HERSELF has very little connection to Westeros. She was born there, sure, but she's spent her whole life in exile in Essos - the house with the red door is more her home than Kings Landing or Dragonstone ever were. I think Dany is going to realise that she doesn't BELONG in Westeros, I feel like for her to deserve my respect she has to give up this stupid claim to a birthright. She would do far better to make her home in Essos and do what she can to overthrow the institutional cruelty of the slave trade and stop Dothraki warmongering.
Right, that's Daenerys out of the way. And like I said above, I fully expect Aegon(Griff) to die - I believe he's a Blackfyre pawn of Varys, Prince Doran and Illyrio Mopatis, and like Robb and Rickon he's a major player who's not a POV character so the outlook's not good on him surviving.
ReplyDeleteSo who gets Kings Landing? Well, Jon's the obvious choice, with Tyrion, Daenerys, Aegon(Griff) out of the way (Nobody wants Littlefinger on the throne, amirite?) If Dany takes the Iron Throne and abdicates, it passes to her nearest blood relative - and who should that be but her recently-discovered nephew Jon! And putting Jon on the Iron Throne has the nice bonus of having a Stark (of sorts) ascend to the highest status in the land after being put through absolute hell, and brings the magical traits of the two most magic families in the land together in a good king. Jon will be, for all intents and purposes, BETTER than a pure Targaryen.
Now, FINALLY getting to Sansa, I had thought she could go anywhere, really, if Bran doesn't get Winterfell then that's where she ends up, guaranteed. But it wouldn't FEEL right, to me. Sansa's very much a southern Lady, like her mother. She'd suit the Eyrie or Riverrun better. But I believe the end of the series will be something of a return to status quo... a Baratheon in Storm's End, a Greyjoy in Pyke, a Martell in Dorne, a Tyrell in Highgarden, a Tully in Riverrun, a Stark in Winterfell, a Targaryen (of sorts) on the Iron Throne... so if little Robert Arryn survives in the Eyrie (and grows the fuck up), and the only surviving Tully (Edmure) is in Riverrun, where does that leave for Sansa to go? She's one of our main characters, she's not going to end up in some dismal holdfast or in the place her mother and brother were murdered (the Twins). She spent her life dreaming of Kings Landing, and she spent a lot of time there and learned how to survive it, and she has more of a personal connection to it than Jon does. But she can't be queen there in her own right. Sansa BELONGS in the capital, and after all the horrible things she went through there, it would feel like JUSTICE for her.
And then there's this very good post I discovered, which did more to change my expections for ASOIAF than anything else I've read: http://ludus.tumblr.com/post/29934664521/why-i-ship-jon-x-sansa-and-you-should-too-i
ReplyDeleteIn a nutshell, it makes the case that Jon and Sansa's story arcs complement each other perfectly - both had expectations of a place they wanted to go (he the Wall, she Kings Landing) and the sorts of people they'd meet there (he the Brothers of the Nights Watch, she 'true' knights and ladies), and both were sorely disappointed. He had to learn to accept people as they are, and prove himself worthy to lead, she had to learn that a person's status doesn't make them good or bad, and how to play the Game. He had a lover who bore a resemblance to his supposed half-sister (actually his cousin), she experienced life as a bastard for a while, making her more sympathetic to Jon. Though they were distant to start with, on account of their perceived status and his believing he didn't belong in Winterfell, they begin to think of each other increasingly often and would each love to see the other again. And it wouldn't be at all incesty (at least, no more so than any other marriage in Westeros), because they're not really half-siblings, they're first cousins.
Of the Stark kids, she's the most like Catelyn, he's the most like Ned, so there's a pleasing mirroring of the previous generation. Of the surviving Starks they're the only two who don't still have a direwolf by the end of the story (if I'm right about Ghost - I'm pretty sure I am). Their skill sets will complement each other's nicely. And if Daenerys does abdicate and the rest plays out as I expect, Sansa fulfills the 'younger queen' part of Maggy the Frog's prophecy rather well. And as with Jon, her ascension to the highest status a woman can achieve in Westeros has a nice 'underdog comes out on top' vibe to it.
I firmly believe that Sansa will be Jon's queen. It just feels right, and their story arcs are leading them back to one another with greater love, respect and understanding of one another.
It's also just occurred to me that Tyrion as Hand to Jon as King works out well - he's already kindly disposed toward Jon from their time together at the Wall, he did an excellent job with the sewers in Casterly Rock and the defenses of Kings Landing, and he was never really anti-Stark or anti-Targaryen, he was merely loyal to his own messed up family.
ReplyDeleteAs for Tyrion being married to Sansa, well, they never actually consummated the marriage, and if Tysha comes back into his life, he's still technically married to her, isn't he? That first marriage would take precedence over the latter one, he'd be a bigamist but the second marriage could be easily annulled. It wouldn't cause too much awkwardness between him and Sansa, though she hated him for being a Lannister he was never cruel to her, never forced himself on her or treated her unkindly. It might be a little weird that he's seen her naked but I think they could live that.
Oooo, and it's occurred to me, that if Jon and Sansa end up in Kings Landing together, and Arya ends up in Storm's End with Gendry, that's three of the Stark kids in close proximity - Jon and Arya were always close, and Sansa and Arya are going to overcome their differences and reconcile, I bet. Bran will be the farthest away, but he was arguably closer to Robb anyway. And if Sam takes up his father's castle, he'll be nearby too with Gilly.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that Melisandre has to die - she's not evil, but she is awfully misguided and there's something definitely not right about her - is she dead, like Beric Dondarrion and Lady Catelyn? She's killed a lot of people, and I'm pretty sure she'll eventually kill Stannis - she has her comeuppance coming...
ReplyDeleteSer Davos is possibly the noblest man in Westeros. Melisandre hates him. They've been fighting for Stannis' soul since the second book. It's fitting that one should triumph over or utterly destroy the other, I can see it going either way. If she kills him, his death will turn Stannis against her, and Stannis will destroy himself to destroy her. I can't see Davos killing Stannis - he's too loyal.
Or, if Stannis destroys Melisandre, it's quite possible that his wife, Lady Selyse, will then stab him in the back. However it goes, I don't expect any of these three to survive.
As for Stannis' poor daughter Shireen, it's entirely possible that Melisandre will burn her, unfortunately.
I can't quite decide what will happen to Margaery Tyrell. If Loras dies, and Margaery decides that it's ultimately Cersei's fault, I can see her turning on Cersei and possibly being killed for it, or possibly fleeing to Highgarden. Either way, I expect it will mean the Tyrells will switch sides.
ReplyDeleteA second possibility is that after Tommen is murdered by Lancel, Margaery is thrice widowed and considered cursed. Or, she may end up marrying again - maybe little Lord Robert Arryn of the Vale?
I expect Hodor will Hodor into Hodor and Hodor all the Hodor.
ReplyDelete