#but i've rewritten it thank goodness i had it drafted on my computer originally

[aurelim]

How Far Did Aurie Get on Her WIPs? (11/15/23)

Hello! Welcome to the November 2023 special edition of "How Far Did Aurie Get On Her WIPs?" Let's see how "far" she has gotten!

I am fifteen days behind, but better late than never, right? Right!

I haven't done much this past month, especially considering the new game that Alby and I released taking up literally every second of free time that I had during the entire month of October.

ACTUALLY, if you want, you can go check out the game over on itch.io! Here is the game and here is the intro post. Enjoy!

Needless to say, I have no major updates on my games. Although...

I got covid last week, actually! If you know and follow ST4RDOM's account, you likely already know this.

For the sake of my mind, I'll copy and paste what I wrote that's relevant to this:

This is actually my first time getting covid, or at least testing positive. It hit me really hard (like I was close to 104°F, which is 40°C) and I swear for three entire days I was just sleeping. It's been exactly a week since I felt those symptoms, and though I am still testing positive I feel much better and more in the mood to write! Though I can't say I have done much on ST4RDOM 😅 I was working on another project of mine just yesterday (which was my first time actually touching my computer ever since I got sick and writing), and I nearly fell asleep doing so lol

I still have brain fog, also. It wasn't in this quote, but I have brain fog thanks to covid and unfortunately I still have it, so progress on ATOL and all other games will be slower than normal until I can get my brain rebooted.

So I haven't done much, other than coding and writing this upcoming project of mine (which is listed in the masterpost lol). I first created the first draft back in January and just recently I've upgraded the UI and rewritten parts of the prologue. Which was yesterday.

Sweet! Now it's further ahead than ST4RDOM, which I literally created an account for because I thought I was going to have that game done soon. (Though I already had the original prologue, so all I'm doing is revamping it 😅)

Anyways, this game was originally meant to be my MAIN main game; the one I am meant to throw every coding skill I know into it. So I think that is why.

That's all from me, I think. I can't think of anything at the moment, so I am going to sign out now 🫡 hope you all have a good day, and stay safe from covid.

See you all on the next episode of "How Far Did Aurie Get On Her WIPs?" :)

[nrgburst]

Podsa Ship Manifesto

I know, I know, there's like three of us that ship this and I'm probably gonna get anon haters in my askbox for the trouble, but here's my reasoning for thinking they could still be endgame post-canon, and it's not just because they're both still alive! (Which is totally reason enough, but I have like, actual reasons beyond NOW KISS.) This meta is based on Game of Thrones the TV show, not the A Song of Ice and Fire books. The canons have diverged pretty starkly (hehe) and both characters are much younger in the books as well, so while I know there is also supportive evidence in the books, I'm not mentioning it on purpose, though feel free to add your own addendum with book evidence! GIFs were all made by me.

I like that both Sansa and Podrick started out as Bad Minor Players: Pod's a bumbling squire; Sansa is a spoiled nobleman's daughter. And yet they both learned, through painful mistakes and persistence, how to get to their Ultimate Goal by series end. Character parallels abound; they're both idealists who have to learn to be pragmatic, endure abuse and disrespect, having hidden skills and strengths, flourishing once learning to both play within and outside The Rules), their trajectories crossed a bunch of times and while I know D&D threw in as many red herrings as actual foreshadowing details, this was their Meet Cute in 3x08:

Tyrion is supposedly talking about himself, but do you see who else is framed in that doorway, literally entering her life?! Combine this with how intensely Sansa grows to regret this particular statement from 1x06:

and what kind of person Podrick shows himself to be, and I'd argue that seeds for this ship were subtly planted waaay back when.

After Joffrey's murder, they're both hustled out of King's Landing, and they don't share screentime again until 5x02, although they don't actually meet or speak in the scene. However, Pod recognizes her voice from across a tavern and sees right through her disguise of dyed hair, identifying her from behind via a single phrase and her face turned in profile once.

I'm sorry, but that kind of instant magnetic knowing is Romance Tropey AF and I'll be forever disappointed at fandom for not going off about it. Siiigh.

They don't meet again until Sansa finally escapes the Boltons in 6x01. And when Brienne offers her sword and service again (and by extension, Pod's), this time Sansa replies like a true lady and accepts. She starts off her vows correctly, but she's been ripped from the life of knights and ladies for so long that she falters partway through. Podrick's gentle assist to jog her memory, right after winning a swordfight to protect her clinched it for me: that was her brave, gentle and strong man, right there. (That scene was such a huge highpoint in all of their arcs, actually. *sobs* THIS SHOW WAS SO FREAKING GOOD.) 

And he continues to serve her right up to the end of the series, when it's shown that he's become Bran's Kingsguard, which opens up so many delightful possibilities at last. Like I love this cleverly edited GIFset from 8x04, but since Theon had just died and Pod was still in her service, nothing could have happened?

Politically, they aren't a good match, but only on the surface: Podrick is a distant cousin to Ser Ilyn Payne, who was responsible for executing Sansa’s father. (House Payne is a vassal house to House Lannister, and he comes from a lower branch of it.) However, Pod helped Brienne rescue Sansa from the Boltons, trained soldiers and fought for the North in the Battle For the Dawn. He earned his knighthood with his own merit, and he continues to serve her brother. He is still an unlanded knight (and there's this pesky vow not to marry or father children that may still exist) but Sansa's no longer waaaay out of his league now that he has a title and battle experience. And actually, the fact that he's an unlanded knight is actually a good thing. (More on that later.)

As for why Sansa might find Pod an attractive prospective for her consort beyond the fact that he's you know, attractive and rumored to be fantastic in bed (and I think she would consider how to get herself a Stark heir very pragmatically now): he's still one of the people she trusts absolutely, who was there for here at every stage of her journey, even the worst bits, and he was loyal and supportive throughout. He's of noble blood and well-educated, but he has no power base, so no army will swoop in and claim her throne/lands by deposing her in favour of their child. (She's seen this happen too many times now; she is NOT going to let it happen to her.) He has no political ambitions and his defining character trait is  loyalty- he's always just wanted to be a knight, and to serve somebody worthy. And yet he's not just some grunt in armor either- he's well versed in the politics of “which House married which and who hated who,” he speaks up when he doesn't think something is right, and they actually have similar interests: they both like to sing.

All in all, I think they'd make a sweet couple post canon. I also think there's a kind of delicious irony in Tyrion's former squire ending up with the child bride he didn't want.  

Fic recs:

The first time I actually saw Podsa in the wild was in @scrubclubwrites​'s amaaazeballs Gendrya HP AU fic love, war and a few things in between (M, 52884 words.) Pod and Sansa aren't just in the background here, they have a sweet, slow burn relationship in this and if you don't scream when they finally kiss, you probably aren't human.

I've already recced my own fic, The Watcher, which is a Podsa pre-ship fic. (It’s more of a Sansa deals with her trauma fic, and there’s explicit Gendrya sex in it, although it’s not meant to be a shippy Gendrya fic. E, 6833 words)

Also love this young Pod/Young Sansa fic by bryndentully, which shows how they both started out as romantic idealists perfectly: i loved a maid as white as winter

I'm still trawling the archive (the pain of shipping a rarepair means they get tagged in lots of fics that they are barely mentioned in) but I will add to this post as I find more fics I love! Or if somebody else could do a rec list, that would be wonderful!