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aboveallarescuer · 4 years

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GRRM interviews about (or mentioning) Dany - Part 1

I went to So Spake Martin and collected excerpts of GRRM's interviews that talked about Dany in some way. Some observations here:

I didn't have access to broken/unavailable links or newspapers that require subscription.

I didn't get video or podcast interviews, only ones that were written down.

I also added some excerpts about how he enjoys grey characters or how he wants to be "realistic" and other topics that may relate ... not necessarily to Dany's character, but to his writing in general. It may be useful for some metas, even if they should not be divorced from the actual text.

I didn't mind collecting interviews about the same topic.

Maybe I did a poor job collecting these interviews or the SSM is incomplete, but, in any case, there are still several key interviews missing; I couldn't find the ones about how GRRM relates to Dany's character or how he wishes the Targaryens were black, for instance.

Even with these limitations in mind, there is still quite a bit to dig into here.

November 1998

The Targaryens have heavily interbred, like the Ptolemys of Egypt. As any horse or dog breeder can tell you, interbreeding accentuates both flaws and virtues, and pushes a lineage toward the extremes. Also, there's sometimes a fine line between madness and greatness. Daeron I, the boy king who led a war of conquest, and even the saintly Baelor I could also be considered "mad," if seen in a different light. ((And I must confess, I love grey characters, and those who can be interperted in many different ways. Both as a reader and a writer, I want complexity and subtlety in my fiction))

December 1998

Was it a conscious decision to paint things in grey, killing off good guys, etc.

Definitely a conscious decision. Both as a reader and a writer, I prefer my plots to be unpredictable and my characters to be painted in shades of grey, rather than in blacks and whites.

July 1999

Just out of being curious how a writer goes about his work -- do you generally write a certain POVs chapters in batches? Or are Dany's chapters, given how generally unconnected they are to the rest of the books as she goes along her own plot thread, easier to do that way? I suppose the momentum can help with a tough character.

Yes, I generally get in a groove on a particular character and write several chapters or chunks of chapters at once, before hitting a wall. When I do hit a wall, I switch to another character. Some characters are easier to write and some harder, however. Dany and Bran have always been toughest, maybe because they are heaviest on the magical elements... also, Bran is the youngest of POV kids, and very restricted as well because of his legs. At the other end of the spectrum, the Tyrion chapters often seem to write themselves. The same was true for Ned.

Jon was not born "more than 1 year" before Dany... probably closer to eight or nine months or thereabouts.

November 1999

Also, just how much impact did the Rhoynar have on the modern customs of Dorne? Beyond the gender-blind inheritance laws, the couple of Rhoynish gods that smallfolk might have turned into saints or angelic-type beings, and perhaps the round shields, that is. In particular, given that Nymeria was a warrior-queen, is there a certain amazon tradition?

The Rhoynar did impact Dorne in a number of ways, some of which will be revealed in later books. Women definitely have more rights in Dorne, but I would not call it an "Amazon" tradition, necessarily. Nymeria had more in common with someone like Daenerys or Joan d'Arc than with Brienne or Xena the Warrior Princess.

September 2000

It has been my intention from the start to gradually bring up the amount of magic in each successive volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, and that will continue. I will not rule out the possibility of a certain amount of "behind the scenes" magic, either. But while sorcerous events may impact on my characters, as with Renly or Lord Beric or Dany, their choices must ultimately remain their own.

November 2000

This third Targaryen might very well be -not- a Targaryen, to quote his exact words... "Three heads of the dragon... yes... but the third will not nessesarily BE a Targaryen..."

He mentioned his frustration that Tranter books don't have maps since Tranter tends to describe journeys using ALL the available landmarks (I also stupidly complained about there not being a map of the landmass Dany's on in the books, and he VERY politely pointed out to me that there was one in SoS [O the shame!]).

December 2000

NG: A Song of Ice and Fire undergoes a very interesting progression over its first three volumes, from a relatively clear scenario of Good (the Starks) fighting Evil (the Lannisters) to a much more ambiguous one, in which the Lannisters are much better understood, and moral certainties are less easily attainable. Are you deliberately defying the conventions and assumptions of neo-Tolkienian Fantasy here?

GRRM: Guilty as charged.

The battle between good and evil is a legitimate theme for a Fantasy (or for any work of fiction, for that matter), but in real life that battle is fought chiefly in the individual human heart. Too many contemporary Fantasies take the easy way out by externalizing the struggle, so the heroic protagonists need only smite the evil minions of the dark power to win the day. And you can tell the evil minions, because they're inevitably ugly and they all wear black.

I wanted to stand much of that on its head.

In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which.

NG: You've frequently expressed admiration for Jack Vance. How Vancean is A Song of Ice and Fire in conception and style? In particular, does the narrative thread featuring the exotic wanderings of Daenerys Targaryen function in part as a tribute to Vance, to his picaresque inventiveness?

GRRM: Jack Vance is the greatest living SF writer, in my opinion, and one of the few who is also a master of Fantasy. His The Dying Earth (1950) was one of the seminal books in the history of modern Fantasy, and I would rank him right up there with Tolkien, Dunsany, Leiber, and T.H. White as one of the fathers of the genre.

All that being said, I don't think A Song of Ice and Fire is particularly Vancean. Vance has his voice and I have mine. I couldn't write like Vance even if I tried... and I did try, once. The first Haviland Tuf story, "A Beast for Norn," was my attempt to capture some of Vance's effects, and Tuf is a very Vancean hero, a distant cousin to Magnus Ridolph, perhaps. But what that experiment taught me was that only Jack Vance can write like Jack Vance

NG: Three more volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire wait to be written. What shape do you expect them to take, and are their titles finalized as yet?

GRRM: Yes, three more volumes remain. The series could almost be considered as two linked trilogies, although I tend to think of it more as one long story. The next book, A Dance With Dragons, will focus on the return of Daenerys Targaryen to Westeros, and the conflicts that creates. After that comes The Winds of Winter. I have been calling the final volume A Time For Wolves, but I am not happy with that title and will probably change it if I can come up with one that I like better.

You tend to write protagonists with strongly negative personality quirks, people who certainly don't fit the standard mold of a hero. People like Tuf in the Tuf Voyaging series, and Stannis and Tyrion inSong of Ice and Fire. Do you deliberately inject your characters with unattractive elements to make readers consciously think about whether they like them and why?

Martin: [Laughs.] Well, I don't know that I'd choose the word "unappealing," but I look for ways to make my characters real and to make them human, characters who have good and bad, noble and selfish, well-mixed in their natures. Yes, I do certainly want people to think about the characters, and not just react with a knee-jerk. I read too much fiction myself in which you encounter characters who are very stereotyped. They're heroic-hero and dastardly-villain, and they're completely black or completely white. And that's boring, so far as I'm concerned. It's also unreal. If you look at real human history, even the darkest villains had some good things about them. Perhaps they were courageous, or perhaps they were occasionally compassionate to an enemy. Even our greatest heroes had weaknesses and flaws.

There seem to be two different styles competing throughout the series: historical fantasy in the Seven Kingdoms series, and a softer Roger Zelazny/Arabian Nights style for the scenes abroad. Is there a conscious split between the two for you, or is it just an aspect of the setting?

Martin: I try to vary the style to fit each of the characters. Each character should have his or her own internal voice, since we're inside their heads. But certainly the setting has great impact. Dany is moving through exotic realms that are perhaps stranger to us than Westeros, which is more based in the medieval history with which we're more familiar in the West, so perhaps those chapters seem more colorful and fanciful.

You do tend to be very brutal to your characters.

Martin: Well, yes. But you know, I think there's a requirement, even in fantasy--it comes from a realm of the imagination and is based on fanciful worlds, but there's still a necessity to tell the truth, to try to reflect some true things about the world we live in. There's an inherent dishonesty to the sort of fantasy that too many people have done, where there's a giant war that rips the world apart, but no one that we know is ever really seriously inconvenienced by this. You see the devastated villages where unnamed peasants have lived, and they're all dead, but the heroes just breeze through, killing people at every hand, surviving those dire situations. There's a falsehood to that that troubles me. A writer can choose not to write about war. You don't have to write about war if that's not a subject that interests you, or you find it too brutal. But if you are going to write about war, I think you need to tell the truth about it, and the truth is that people die, and people die in ugly ways, and even some of the good guys die, even people who are loved.

June 2001

I'm a bit concerned about Dany's skills as a commander. To succeed with the invasion of Westeros, I believe she will need a lot of sound military advice (both tactically and strategically). What's your thoughts on this issue?

She will need counsel, yes... she will also need to learn to tell the good counsel from the bad, which is perhaps the hardest task of all.

Was it difficult to you when you wrote Dany's scene with the slavers in SOS? Was that one of the moments where the character spoke to you and changer their direction? Cause for me that act of Dany's seemed out of character. I know she dislikes slavery, but she must have killed an awful lot of innocent people there, plus her motives to me seemed suspect. Yes she freed the slaves, but she also got a large army for nothing. And right after she left the slavery started up again.

Dany is still very young. She has lessons to learn. That was one of them. It is not as easy to do good as it might seem, no matter how noble your intentions.

February 2002

1. Was Mirri Maz Duur telling the truth when she told Daenerys Targaryen that the latter could never have children again?

I am sure Dany would like to know. Prophecy can be a tricky business.

3. Is Daenerys Targaryen or anyone in her entourage able to tell whether her dragons are male or female? (Is the question relevant to dragons?)

Not yet.

4. Daenerys Targaryen believed that her brother Rhaegar loved Lyanna Stark. Does she also believe that Lyanna Stark returned this love?

Dany is not sure what to believe.

5. Since all of their mothers died, who gave Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister their names?

Mothers can name a child before birth, or during, or after, even while they are dying. Dany was most like named by her mother, Tyrion by his father, Jon by Ned.

March 2002

3) Is your world round. I mean if Dany traveled far enough east couldnt she come to the other side of westeros?

Yes, the world is round. Might be a little larger than ours, though. I was thinking more like Vance's Big Planet.... but don't hold me to that.

Oh, stupid fan question. I've been trying to get a visual of what the Quarth look like in my mind. In terms of what race they might be in our world. Tall and pale but I don't believe their hair color was mentioned. Would they be Western European looking? Slavic? Whenever their culture is mentioned I always think of either Persian or Indians.

I have tried to mix and match ethnic and cultural traits in creating my imaginary fantasy peoples, so there are no direct one-for-one correspodences. The Dothraki, for example, are based in part on the Mongols, the Alans, and the Huns, but their skin coloring is Amerindian. The Qartheen are an even more exotic hybrid, and offhand I don't recall where I got all the cuttings.

April 2002

[Shaun] How do you view Dany's place in the series. She seems an heroic character to me, but the writeups on the back covers always speak of her as a villain...

[+GeorgeRRMartin] to shaun ignore the blurbs on the back cover and make up your own mind who is the hero and who is the villain

[Erix] Dany will be betrayes 3 times. Did ser Jorah betray here once for money? so does this make it 2 betrayels so far?

[+GeorgeRRMartin] to erix no comment (twice!)

He said that in his original plan (when he wanted to write a trilogy) the Red Wedding would take place in book one, and Dany's landing in Westeros in book two. Now he says that Dany's arrival in Westeros will take place in book 5, A Dance with Dragons.

December 2003

Shaw: You created Jon as a bastard and an outcast from the get-go. Yet he's also one of the most attractive characters. Did you choose to make Jon a bastard to make him more attractive as an "underdog," or was his bastard birth central to the shaping of his character itself?

Martin: Almost all the characters have problems in some way. Very few of my major viewpoint characters have all the answers or have an easy path through life. They all have burdens to bear. Some of them are women in a society that doesn't necessarily value women or give them a lot of power or independence. Tyrion of course is a dwarf which has its own challenges. Dany is an exile, powerless, penniless, at the mercy of other people, and Jon is a bastard. These things shape their characters. Your experiences in life, your place in life inevitably is going to change who you are.

Shaw: As the novels unfold, Jon becomes increasingly identified with the northern cold and ice, just as Dany is closely tied to the southern heat and fire. Will these two ultimately embody the central image of the series, Ice and Fire?

Martin: That's certainly one way to interpret it. That's for my readers to argue out. That may be one possible meaning. There may be a secondary meaning, or a tertiary meaning as well.

Shaw: Are all the Targaryans immune to fire?

Martin: No, no Targaryans are immune to fire. The thing with Dany and the dragons, that was just a one-time magical event, very special and unique. The Targaryans can tolerate a bit more heat than most ordinary people, they like really hot baths and things like that, but that doesn't mean they're totally immune to fire, no. Dragons, on the other hand, are pretty much immune to fire.

February 2004

Jon and Dany will be the two focal characters of AFfC (in the sort of way in which Ned was the focal character of AGoT).

May 2005

He doesn't feel that it's fair to call his work gratuitous. He wants the reader to live vicariously though his books (a function of fantasy writing), feel the characters emotions. If a character is at a feast, he wants the reader to smell the food, experience Dany's discomfort at being served an unappetizing dish. The same with the sex scenes-he wants his readers to feel like they are there.

Another bit of information that I found interesting- we *WILL* hear about the POVs who will not have front stage as it were, but will have it in ADwD. The reports of those chars will be somewhat garbled and messy as can be expected from any news that has travelled that distance and is that important. ex) Varys' manipulation of the Dany information, or Theon's skinning of the miller's information (we didn't know it wasn't Bran and Rickon until later). *THOSE* are the kind of reports we will see in AFFC about the missing POVs. We will get information on them, but have no idea which parts, if any, are correct.

I have some more things to add about things I asked, but I will probably trickle out things as I sober up and recall them. :p

The following will show up in ADwD:

Arya, Bran, Jon, Dany, Tyrion, and Asha (she will be in both books, as she gets involved in affairs of the North)

[Note: Spoiler POV redacted] has the most number of chapters in AFFC, while Dany has the most in ADwD. Also, the number of Tyrion chapters is going up from 4 to 7 in ADwD (his storyline is basically beinbg expanded).

GRRM said Dany and the Wall is excluded. That removes Dany and probably Tyrion plus the Wall which presumably means Jon and Davos.

Dragons will deal with Daenerys and the North. He decided to split by character, rather than in the middle of the story, as he wanted a complete book, rather than FfC part I and II.

This is no hoax.

I swear it by ice and fire. I swear that I will never post again should this prove false. I swear I will never touch wine again, if it is not true.

George said it is done.

But he had to make a major change. It had grown too large.

Daenerys will not appear. There will be little if any action in the North. Those chapters will be moved into the next book, which should come out shortly thereafter.

AFFC will be the size of AGoT.

The next book will still be called aDwD. (Dany will be in it after all).

That being said, Dany will be presented with a map of the world from a fellow whose name I cannot remember because the pronunciation was very odd indeed.

There was some talk about the Targaryen bloodline and how it worked when there weren't enough siblings to marry. Uncle might marry niece or aunt, nephew. There were also cousins in that family at one time.

Dany has more chapters than anyone. He also said that Dany's love life is going to become "extremely complex"

Parris has proclaimed that Arya cannot die! (No, she wasn't there :( but he mentioned it when someone said that he's not allowed to kill Dany)

So yeah, in short, book not done but soon, lots of Dany, the Ironborn, and the Dornish, and Renly and Loras were INDEED knocking boots.

October 2005

The main point of discussion was the reason for the five-year wait since A Storm of Swords. I'm sure most of you know this already but, briefly, he wanted a 5-year gap between ASOS and ADWD to allow the kids to grow up. Some characters, mainly the children and Daenerys, really benefited from this, but most of the other characters suffered and the book was degenerating into a flashback-fest. After about a year he decided that wasn't working, ditched everything, and started again.

November 2005

His analogy is that the series is a symphony and each book is a movement, and explained that he likes each character arc to have some sort of finale in each book, whether it's on a cliffhanger, or a completion of some phase of the character's story arc (or death hehe). Ultimately, he decided to divide it geographically as you all know, since Dany's story is taking place in Martinland's China, and the rest is taking place in Martinland's England.

One man asked whether George ever learns of people naming their kids after his characters. He pointed the guy to his website, where he even has baby pictures of Sansas, Aryas, even a Daenarys, Nymeria, Eddard, Bran, Chataya, and several Cerseis. He won't take credit for the Jons, though (hehe). It was great; someone in the audience made a crack about Cersei, and someone else said "as long as they aren't twins"). He mentioned meeting a little girl whose parents had named her Daenarys and he made a joke about how she was really going to hate spelling that when she gets to first grade. He also once got a letter from a 23-year-old girl named Lya whose mother said she was named after a character in one of his stories (A Song for Lya) and wanted to know who the heck Lya was. George sent her a copy! Hehe. He said he finds it flattering overall, but thinks it's a bad idea when the story isn't done yet and some of the characters will come to a bad end, and then those parents will be pissed with him!

He was asked or mentioned most of the stuff that's already been covered, but one thing he talked about that I found particularly interesting was Romanticism. He said that he is a romantic, in the classical sense. He said the trouble with being a romantic is that from a very early age you keep having your face smashed into the harshness of reality. That things aren't always fair, bad things happen to good people, etc. He said it's a realists world, so romantics are burned quite often. This theme of romantic idealism conflicting with harsh reality is something he finds very dramatic and compelling, and he weaves it into his work. Specifically he mentioned that the Knight exemplifies this, as the chivalric code is one of the most idealistic out there, protection of the weak, paragon of all that is good, fighting for truth and justice. The reality was that they were people, and therefore could do horrible cruel things, rape, pillage, wanton killing, made all the more striking or horrifying because it was in complete opposition to what they were "supposed" to be. Really interesting stuff.

At the San Diego signing, I asked GRRM at the Q&A, "Besides Dany's dragons, have all the Targaryen dragons been descendants of Aegon the Conquerors three?" GRRM answered "yes".

And that one of the things he regrets losing from the POV split is that he was doing point and counterpoint with the Dany and Cersei scenes--showing how each was ruling in their turn.

Q: 5-year gap?

A: It worked for characters like Arya and Dany but not so much for the adults or those who had a lot of action coming. He was writing chapters where Jon thought, "Well, not a lot has happened these past five years, it's been kinda nice." And Cersei chapters where she thought, "Well, I've had to kill sooo many people the last five years." So he ended up dropping it. He said he would have done it sooner if he hadn't told so many fans about it. And there is no gap anymore. "If a twelve-year old has to conquer the world, then so be it."

(Petyr is just Peter, for example.)

Some he did say during the course of the evening:

Cersei = Sir-say

Jaime = Jamie (I think that was obvious but just in case)

Sansa = Sahn-sa

Tyrion = Tear-ion

Arya = Ar-Ya (Ex, Are ya?)

Daenerys = Dane-err-is

TARGARYEN KINGS

SUBMITTED BY: AMOKA

[Note: The following information was sent to Amok for his contribution to the Fantasy Flight Games artbook.]

These are all Targaryens, of course, so there should be a strong family resemblence from portrait to portrait. All of them (except as noted) will have the purple eyes and silver-gold hair for which House Targaryen is noted. All of them should be wearing crowns... the same crown in many of the pix, though it will change once or twice along the way, as noted.

The hard part will be making each of the kings an individual, despite the similarities, and evoking each one's character through facial features, pose, clothing, background, and other elements in the portrait.

Here's the lineup:

DAENERYS I. Daenerys Stormborn. No description necessary, I assume. Show her wearing the three-headed dragon crown she was given in Qarth, as described in A CLASH OF KING. Might be good to include the three dragons in the picture. Show them very young, as hatchings, one in her lap, one wrapped around her arm and shoulder, one flying just above her.

January 2006

He repeatedly emphasized that he prefers to write grey characters, because in real life people are complex; no one is pure evil or pure good. Fiction tends to divide people into heroes who do no wrong and villains who go home and kick their dogs and beat their wives, but that reality is much different. He cited a soldier who heroically saves his friends' lives, but then goes home and beats his wife. Which is he, hero or villain? Martin said both and that neither act cancels out the other.

February 2006

NAERYS TARGARYEN

SUBMITTED BY: AMOKA

[Note: The following continues GRRM's series of descriptions of notable Targaryens (and Targaryen bastards) for Amoka.]

The sister of King Aegon the Unworthy and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight was beautiful as well, but hers was a very fine and delicate beauty, almost unworldy. She was a wisp of a woman, smaller even than Dany (to whom she bears a certain resemblence), very slender, with big purple eyes and fine, pale, porcelain skin, near translucent. Naerys had none of Dany's strength, however.

July 2006

George regrets that Cersei and Dany will not be contrasted directly. I told him of how some dedicated boarders try to defeat him and piece together a timeline. George replied that he tries to keep it vague.

He likes the extra breathing room to flesh out the characters. Bran didn't have any chapters and Dany's ending was different. Now he likes the way she ended. I think he actually may be doing more with Dany.

SPOILER: Possible for ADWD

The second Dance of Dragons does not have to mean Dany's invasion.

Geroge stopped himself short and said he shouldn't say anymore. The response came because of my question of whether the dance would take place in ADWD because AFFC and ADWD parallel. So now my friends, speculate away.

February 2007

Some other bits of info from Q&A: In Song, he considers Bran the hardest viewpoint character to write, while Tyrion is the easiest. The Red Wedding was partly based on a historical event in Scotland called the Black Dinner. His biggest lament in splitting A Feast for Crows from A Dance with Dragons is the parallels he was drawing between Circe and Daenerys.

E. His dragons have no front limbs -- just rear legs and wings. He said that although the traditional depiction of dragons as six limbed creatures has become a staple of fantasy -- the fact that no animal in nature has ever evolved in such a way always bothered him. As a sci-fi writer originally, he insists on the depiction of the dragons with just four limbs. I never heard that before and though it was pretty neat.. In addition, he said that although AsoIaF dragons are intelligent, they cannot speak and will never evolve into the sort of dragons we see in Tolkien or Le Guin. Specifically he said’ Drogon is never going to share witty aphorisms with Dany. The Targaryens rule by Fire and Blood and that is what the dragons represent in the story". I guess the power icon is more Nedly for them than some of us thought when they were first rolled out back in AfoD.

F. Cersei and Daenerys are intended as parallel characters --each exploring a different approach to how a woman would rule in a male dominated, medieval-inspired fantasy world.

May 2007

GRRM: Well, the next book out is A Dance with Dragons, of course, and that's the fifth book of the series but in some ways it's really 4B, as those of you who follow the series knows that A Feast for Crows got so big I had to pull it in half. I split it not by chopping it right in the middle but I split it by characters. The one I'm working on now is going to have an awful lot of the characters that that aren't in A Feast for Crows, it's going to have a lot of Jon Snow, a lot of Daenerys, a fair amount of Davos, and it's going to have have a lot of "me" -- Tyrion, who is your favorite, and my favorite, so I'm enjoying writing a lot of those right now.

And you know I got phone calls from people at the studio afterwards saying, "There is a way to make this as a feature. There's a way to do it as a movie. You could just take Jon Snow and Daenerys and just concentrate on them and get rid of some of the minor characters." And it just, it was kind of appalling because, much as I love Jon Snow and Daenerys, I didn't want to lose the other characters. I mean this is an epic and the only way we could conceive of doing it properly was to tell it as a series. And you can't do it as a series where's it interrupted every twenty minutes by a commercial for toothpaste. And you can't do it where I'd have Tyrion saying the things he says and doing the things he says, all of which network TV would have had a huge problem with.

So we really felt from the beginning that the best way to do this was on HBO or possibly Showtime.

August 2007

Just because I still love Popinjay and the Turtle and my other Wild Cards characters does not mean I have stopped loving Arya and Tyrion and Dany.

April 2008

BERBERS AND DANY

[Did the unrest during the transition between Arab and Berber rule inspire Dany's storyline?]

No. Sounds fascinating, but I'm afraid I don't have enough experience with the Berbers or their history to draw on them for inspiration.

July 2008

GRRM was asked the typical question, of where the idea for ASOIAF had come from. He replied that in the summer of 1991, when he was working as a Hollywood screenwriter, in a gap between assignments he began work on a new novel, a sf novel called Avalon ( personal note, no I would not swap it for ASOIAF, but I would have loved to have read it), set in his future history universe. And somehow, he found himself writing the first chapter of AGOT, about the direwolf pups un the snow. And after that came a second chapter and pretty soon he spent the whole summer writing AGOT.

From there he started to plan a trilogy, since there were 3 main conflicts ( Starks/Lannisters; Dany; and the Others) it felt it would neatly fit into a trilogy (ah!), but like Tolkien said, the tale grew in the telling.

April 2010

GRRM said he regretted mentioning the eye color of any of his characters. He also noted that as a brown-eyed person, he finds it annoying that brown-eyed characters are always portrayed as ordinary, while the doers of great deeds always have blue or hazel eyes or something - he notes that he himself was somewhat guilty of this with the violet eyes of Dany or the red eyes of Melisandre.

(25) Any particular storyline he is enjoying right now?

He said that Dany's storyline is emerging in increasing importance. But he is struggling with the Meereenese Knot. So he can't say he is enjoying it. But he is really enjoying writing Arya's story. He could write an entire novel of it. He could write an entire YA novel about her...(at this point the audience starting clapping and calling out YES! DO IT!)...but her entire story isn't part of the greater novel. He has 12 novels worth of info for this book and its hard to fit it all in.

February 2011

Sam Thielman: So, why did "A Dance With Dragons" take longer to write than the other books in the series?

George R. R. Martin: Well, you know, that's a good question and I'm not sure I have an easy answer for that. #1, none of the books have been exactly fast, I mean, I'm a slow writer, I've always been a slow writer, and the books are huge. I mean, they're three, four, five times the size of most novels being published. And they have extremely complex interweaving storylines. I remember back when I did the first book, 'A Game of Thrones,' Asimov's Magazine wanted to publish an excerpt and I pulled out the Daenerys storyline from the first book, and they published that as an excerpt, and after I pulled out all the Daenerys chapters and put them together for Asimov's, I did a word count and discovered, technically, I had a novel, just about Daenerys. I'm never gonna be one of those writers who has a book a year, or two books a year like some of my colleagues do. I simply can't write that fast. I do a lot of polishing and revising, and it's a big task.

July 2011

Tad: Question: Do you purposely start a character as bad so you can later kill them?

GRRM: No. What is bad? Bad is a label. We are human beings with heroism and self-interest and avarice in us and any human is capable of great good or great wrong. In Poland a couple of weeks ago I was reading about the history of Auschwitz – there were startling interviews with the people there. The guards had done unthinkable atrocities, but these were ordinary people. What allowed them to do this kind of evil? Then you read accounts of acts of outrageous heroism, yet the people are criminals or swindlers, one crime or another, but when forced to make a choice they make a heroic choice. This is what fascinated me about the human animal. A lot of fantasy turns on good and evil – but my take on it is that it’s fought within the human heart every day, and that’s the more interesting take. I don’t think life is that simple.

Tad: All of us work with multiple viewpoints – I hear this next question a lot: with story-driven plots, how do you decide which character viewpoint to write from – do you write several characters, taste them, then decide?

GRRM: No, not several, at least not intentionally. I had more choice early in the series, I frequently had situations where 2 or 3 were present at the same time. But as it’s progressed they have dispersed, so I need to be in the viewpoint of whoever’s there. There are some cases when I have a choice and in that case, I weigh which one. Without talking exactly about "The Mereenese Knot" – I’m not going to talk exactly about it, but but [there was a time when] a number of viewpoints were coming together in Mereen for a number of events, and I was wrestling with order and viewpoint. The different points-of-view had different sources of knowledge and I never could quite solve it. I was rewriting the same chapter over and over again – this, that, viewpoint? – spinning my wheels. It was one of the more troublesome thickets I encountered. There’s a resolution not to introduce new viewpoint characters, but the way I finally dealt with things was with Barristan, I introduced him as a viewpoint character as though he’d been there all along. That enabled me to clear away some of the brush.

Tad: Question: do you choose characters because they will provide you with a viewpoint or something characterful?

GRRM: Actually, no. I try to give each viewpoint character an arc of his own, and ideally I would like to think that you could pull the material out – in the early books I was able to pull out the Daenerys chapters and publish them separately as a novella, and I won a Hugo Award for that. It'd be great if I could pull out each [character-arc] and it would resemble a story. In some cases a character died and that was a very short story. My prologue and epilogue characters always die but even then I try to give them a story.

Your books, especially recently, are full of women trying to exert power in a male dominated world who have to compromise themselves along the way. Are you trying to make a feminist statement?

You could certainly interpret it that way. I don't presume to say I'm making a statement of this type or that type. But it is certainly a patriarchal society, I am trying to explore some of the ramifications of that. I try to write women as people, just as I try to write any other characters. Strong and weak, and brave and cowardly, and noble and selfish. It has been very gratifying to me how many women read my work and how much they like at least some of my female characters.

The one thing I must confess to being frustrated by is the first Tyion chapter where you set up this expectation that he’s going to meet Dany, and I got excited. Then about 600 pages later I’m realizing, “OK, that’s not gonna happen, at least not in this book.”

Yeah, it’s the “kind of bring ’em together but don’t give them the confirmation.” In some ways it’s not so different than the sexual tension in TV shows — are Catherine and Vincent [on Beauty and the Beast] finally going to kiss? Same philosophy. This is the kind of stuff I wrestle with. I could have ended the next chapter: Tyrion gets off the boat and there’s Dany. But the journey itself has its own interest.

There’s a point in the series where you feel like you’re reading a bunch of separate stories. Toward the end of Dance, you feel the threads starting to come back together. Is that accurate?

That’s certainly the intent, and always was the intent. Tolkien was my great model for much of this. Although I differ from Tolkien in important ways, I’m second to no one in my respect for him. If you look at Lord of the Rings, it begins with a tight focus and all the characters are together. Then by end of the first book the Fellowship splits up and they have different adventures. I did the same thing. Everybody is at Winterfell in the beginning except for Dany, then they split up into groups, and ultimately those split up too. The intent was to fan out, then curve and come back together. Finding the point where that turn begins has been one of the issues I’ve wrestled with.

There was a fair amount of explicit sex in the series and some fans of the books were taken aback.

One of the reasons I wanted to do this with HBO is that I wanted to keep the sex. We had some real problems because Dany is only 13 in the books, and that’s based on medieval history. They didn’t have this concept of adolescence or the teenage years. You were a child or you were an adult. And the onset of sexual maturity meant you were an adult. So I reflected that in the books. But then when you go to film it you run into people going crazy about child pornography and there’s actual laws about how you can’t depict a 13 year old having sex even if you have an 18 year old acting the part — it’s illegal in the United Kingdom. So we ended up with a 22 year old portraying an 18 year old, instead of an 18 year old portraying a 13 year old. If we decided to lose the sex we could have kept the original ages. And once you change the age of one character you have to change the ages of all the characters, and change the date of the war [that dethroned the Mad King]. The fact we made all these changes indicates how important we thought sex was.

References the chapbook with the first three Dany chapters from 2005 and that it offers insight as to how much the book has changed since then.

There's been an interesting discussion on our forum concerning "orientalism" as it's expressed in your work, and one question it's led to among readers is whether you've ever considered a foreign point of view characters in Essos, to give a different window into events there.

No, this story is about Westeros. Those other lands are important only as they reflect on Westeros.

Part of the difficulty of this particular novel was what you called the "Meereenese Knot", trying to get everything to happen in just the right order, pulling various plot strands together in one place, and part of the solution was the addition of another point of view character. Was this something where you tried writing it from a number of different point of views before settling on a new one? Did you actively resist adding a new character?

The Meerenese Knot related to everyone reaching Dany. There's a series of events that have to occur in Meereen, things that are significant. She has various problems to deal with at the start: dealing with the slavers, threats of war, the Sons of the Harpy, and so on. At the same time, there's all of these characters trying to get to her. So the problem was to figure out who should reach her and in what order, and what events should happen by the time they've reached her. I kept coming up with different answers and I kept having to rewrite different versions and then not being satisfied with the dynamics until I found something that was satisfactory. I thought that solution worked well, but it was not my first choice.

There's a Dany scene in the book which is actually one of the oldest chapters in the book that goes back almost ten years now. When I was contemplating the five year gap [Martin laughs here, with some chagrin], that chapter was supposed to be the first Daenerys chapter in the book. Then it became the second chapter, and then the third chapter, and it kept getting pushed back as I inserted more things into it. I've rewritten that chapter so much that it ended in many different ways.

There's a certain time frame of the chronology where you can compare to A Feast for Crows and even A Storm of Swords and figure out when they would reach Meereen and the relative time frames of each departure and each arrival. But that doesn't necessarily lead to the most dramatic story. So you look at it and try and figure out how to do it. I also wanted to get across how difficult and dangerous it was to travel like this. There are many storms that will wreck your ship, there are dangerous lands in between where there are pirates and corsairs, and all that stuff. It's not like hopping on a 747, where you get on and then step off the plane a few hours later. So all of these considerations went into the Meereenese Knot.

Then there's showing things after [an important event], which proved to be very difficult. I tried it with one point of view character, but this was an outsider who could only guess at what was going on, and then I tried it with a different character and it was also difficult. The big solution was when I hit on adding a new point of view character who could give the perspective this part of the story needed.

March 2012

If you listen to the CBC interview which you'll see the link for under General ASOIAF, much of what he said was repeated tonight. He admitted Tyrion was his favourite, and if he was having dinner with 3 characters, they would be Tyrion, Maester Aemon and then he thought of Arya, but feared she would throw food at him, so he'd go with Dany, because she's hot!

June 2012

Near the end of the signing, a man presented Martin with two books and his daughter. “This is Daenerys,” he told Martin, “I sent you a letter about her five years ago.” Daenerys, a squirmy blonde in a pink jacket, looked about five years old. “Hello there,” Martin said, “do you like dragons?” She nodded, and they made room for the next fan.

Now that we know how the "Meereenese knot" played out, what was the problem with this? For example, was it the order in which Dany met various characters, or who, when, and how someone would try to take the dragons?

Now I can explain things. It was a confluence of many, many factors: lets start with the offer from Xaro to give Dany ships, the refusal of which then leads to Qarth's declaration of war. Then there's the marriage of Daenerys to pacify the city. Then there's the arrival of the Yunkish army at the gates of Meereen, there's the order of arrival of various people going her way (Tyrion, Quentyn, Victarion, Aegon, Marwyn, etc.), and then there's Daario, this dangerous sellsword and the question of whether Dany really wants him or not, there's hte plague, there's Drogon's return to Meereen...

All of these things were balls I had thrown up into the air, and they're all linked and chronologically entwined. The return of Drogon to the city was something I explored as happening at different times. For example, I wrote three different versions of Quentyn's arrival at Meereen: one where he arrived long before Dany's marriage, one where he arrived much later, and one where he arrived just the day before the marriage (which is how it ended up being in the novel). And I had to write all three versions to be able to compare and see how these different arrival points affected the stories of the other characters. Including the story of a character who actually hasn't arrived yet.

October 2012

What's exciting to me about this session is that in this conversation, Martin talks at length about craft. He's been in the business of telling stories for many decades -- as a television writer and as a writer of fiction -- and he has a great deal to say about what works and what doesn't in different mediums. How is information conveyed to the audience (or the reader)? How do you keep sophisticated audiences on their toes? How do you create worlds in which most characters have to choose between the best of many bad options? How do you examine power from the perspective of outsiders, rejects and those who are constrained by conventional wisdom? Martin shared the insights of someone who has been contemplating these questions -- practically and philosophically -- for a very long time.

About midway through the podcast, there's a interesting discussion of his use of "close third person" narration and why that's effective in the creation of memorable characters. It's also interesting to note that he doesn't write the chapters in the order in which they appear in the books, and that he may write four or five Tyrion chapters before stopping and switching to another character. (Another fun fact that emerged -- and I'm sure hardcore "ASoIaF" fans already knew this -- Martin originally signed a contract for a book trilogy. I'm betting his publishers aren't sad he's now working on the sixth book in that "trilogy.")

Eventually, Martin zeroes in on his least favorite thing in any story: Predictability. But he admits that it's "very hard" to shake up the audience, which has grown more sophisticated with every passing decade. When he was writing for the revived "Twilight Zone" in the '80s, for example, network executives wanted the producers to end episodes with a twist of some kind, as the original Rod Serling series had often done. But the audience "could see all these twist endings coming a mile away," Martin said.

He also spoke about his fascination with power and with hierarchies that appear stable but are actually anything but. He mentioned reading a history of Jerusalem in which a mad ruler began killing dozens of courtiers and ordering the hands chopped off the women of the court.

"Why doesn't the captain of the guard say to the sergeant, 'This guy is [expletive] nuts?'" Martin said. "'We have swords! Why don't we kill him instead?'"

But loyalties -- clan loyalties, family loyalties, strategic alliances -- are powerful influences in the lives of Martin's characters, and their personal desires and their traditional duties or roles are often in conflict. And those kinds of unresolvable dilemmas are at the heart of what makes his stories resonate with those of us who didn't begin fighting with swords as children.

Paraphrasing Faulkner, Martin said "the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself." And that's a scenario that is very familiar to anyone who's ever visited Westeros, either as a reader or a viewer of the HBO drama.

Is A Song of Ice and Fire a parallelism or a criticism to our society?

No. My work is not an allegory to our days. If I wanted to write about the financial crisis or the conflict in Syria, I would write about the financial crisis or the conflict in Syria, without any metaphor. However, it’s true that in my novels appear several elements which we can find in world history. Things such as power, sex, pain… I have grown up as a science fiction reader, and it was my first love, even before fantasy. But science fiction, then, presented an idealistic world: the space, a bright future, but unluckily that optimism disappeared very quickly and the future wasn’t as good as we had expected. Nowadays, science fiction is very pessimistic and talks about dystopias: about a polluted world, about a rotten world… Of course I would prefer to be part of another world; a better world, but I can’t. Perhaps winter is not coming only to Winterfell, but in the real world.

March 2013

The readers are unhappy with leaving out the five-year gap?

Well no, some of the storylines from Feast for Crows. I get complaints sometimes that nothing happens — but they're defining "nothing," I think, differently than I am. I don't think it all has to battles and sword fights and assassinations. Character development and [people] changing is good, and there are some tough things in there that I think a lot of writers skip over. I'm glad I didn't skip over these things.

[For example], things that Arya is learning. The things Bran is learning. Learning is not inherently an interesting thing to write about. It's not an easy thing to write about. In the movies, they always handle it with a montage. Rocky can't run very fast. He can't catch the chicken. But then you do a montage, and you cut a lot of images together, and now only a minute later in the film, Rocky is really strong and he is catching the chicken.

It’s a lot harder [in real life]. Sometimes in my own life, I wish I could play a montage of my life. I want to get in shape now. So let’s do a montage, and boom — I'll be fifty pounds lighter and in good shape, and it will only take me a minute with some montage of me lifting weights and running, shoving away the steak and having a salad. But of course in real life, you don't get to montage. You have to go through it day by day.

And that has been interesting, you know. Jon Snow as Lord Commander. Dany as Queen, struggling with rule. So many books don't do that. There is a sense when you're writing something in high fantasy, you're in a dialogue with all the other high fantasy writers that have written. And there is always this presumption that if you are a good man, you will be a good king. [Like] Tolkien — in Return of the King, Aragorn comes back and becomes king, and then [we read that] "he ruled wisely for three hundred years." Okay, fine. It is easy to write that sentence, “He ruled wisely”.

What does that mean, he ruled wisely? What were his tax policies? What did he do when two lords were making war on each other? Or barbarians were coming in from the North? What was his immigration policy? What about equal rights for Orcs? I mean did he just pursue a genocidal policy, "Let’s kill all these fucking Orcs who are still left over"? Or did he try to redeem them? You never actually see the nitty-gritty of ruling.

I guess there is an element of fantasy readers that don't want to see that. I find that fascinating. Seeing someone like Dany actually trying to deal with the vestments of being a queen and getting factions and guilds and [managing the] economy. They burnt all the fields [in Meereen]. They've got nothing to import any more. They're not getting any money. I find this stuff interesting. And fortunately, enough of my readers who love the books do as well.

And meanwhile, you've got Daenerys visiting more Eurasian and Middle Eastern cultures.

And that has generated its controversy too. I answer that one to in my blog. I know some of the people who are coming at this from a political or racial angle just seem to completely disregard the logistics of the thing here. I talk about what's in the books. The books are what I write. What I’m responsible for.

Slavery in the ancient world, and slavery in the medieval world, was not race-based. You could lose a war if you were a Spartan, and if you lost a war you could end up a slave in Athens, or vice versa. You could get in debt, and wind up a slave. And that’s what I tried to depict, in my books, that kind of slavery.

So the people that Dany frees in the slaver cities are of many different ethnicities, and that’s been fairly explicit in the books. But of course when David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] and his crew are filming that scene [of Daenerys being carried by freed slaves], they are filming it in Morocco, and they put out a call for 800 extras. That’s a lot of extras. They hired the people who turned up. Extras don't get paid very much. I did an extra gig once, and got like $40 a day.

It's probably actually less in Morocco since you don't have to pay quite the same rate. If you're giving 800 Moroccans 40 bucks each, you're not going to fly in 100 Irishman just to balance the racial background here. We had enough trouble meeting our budget anyway.

I know for some readers, they don’t care about this shit. But these things are about budget and realism, and things you can actually do. You are shooting the scene in a day. You don't have a lot of time to [worry] about that, and as someone who has worked in television this kind of stuff is very important to me. I don't know if that is answer or not. I made that answer, and some people weren't pleased with that answer, I know. They are very upset about that.

August 2013

Amid reports of a dramatic uptrend in babies named “Khaleesi” and tourism to Dubrovnik, Croatia (aka King's Landing), we're guessing George R. R. Martin doesn’t need much of an introduction.

AC: How do you decide what you're going to work on, whose voice you're going to work in today?

GM: Well, I don't write the chapters in the order in which you read them. I get into a character’s voice. It's always difficult to switch gears, actually. When I do make that transition from one character to another, I usually struggle for a few days trying to get back the voice of the character I'm just returning to after some hiatus. But once I get into it, I tend to write not just one chapter by that character, but three or four. So I'll be writing Jon Snow chapters, and I'll carry that Jon Snow sequence as far as I can. And then at some point, maybe I'll get stuck or not be sure what I should do next, or maybe I've just gotten way ahead of all of the other characters in the books, so I need to sort of rein myself in and make myself switch from Jon Snow to Sansa or Daenerys or somebody like that.

November 2013

We can't leave Martin without pressing him for his thoughts on which of his characters keeps the best table. Would it be the wealthy, sun-loving Martell family with their Mediterranean-leaning flatbreads, olives and spiced snake? The sensualist Tyrion Lannister? Or the moveable feast of the court of Daenerys Targaryen with its duck eggs and dog sausage?

"Oh, Illyrio Mopatis, the magister, no question. Just watch out for the mushrooms."

March 2014

Was it a big shift for you, when you were writing the scenes that take place at Winterfell and suddenly you have the Daenerys scene, with an entirely different location?

Pretty early on, in the summer of ‘91, I had the Daenerys stuff. I knew she was on another continent. I think I had already drawn a map by then – and she wasn’t on it. I’d just drawn the map of the one continent that would come to be called Westeros. But she was in exile, and I knew that, and that was sort of the one departure from the structure. It’s something I borrowed from Tolkien, in terms of the initial structure of the book. If you look at Lord of the Rings, everything begins in the Shire with Bilbo’s birthday party. You have a very small focus. You have a map of the Shire right in the beginning of the book – you think it’s the entire world. And then they get outside it. They cross the Shire, which seems epic in itself. And then the world keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And then they add more and more characters, and then those characters split up. I essentially looked at the master there and adopted the same structure. Everything in AGame of Thrones begins in Winterfell. Everybody is together there and then you meet more people and, ultimately, they’re split apart and they go in different directions. But the one departure from that, right from the first, was Daenerys, who was always separate. It’s almost as if Tolkien, in addition to having Bilbo, had thrown in an occasional Faramir chapter, right from the beginning of the book.

Although Daenerys is hooked into Winterfell, because we hear talk of her family, the Targaryen family, early on.

You see overlaps. Daenerys is getting married, and Robert gets the report that Daenerys has just gotten married and reacts to that and the threat that it poses.

Fortunately, the books were best sellers, I didn’t need the money, you know, so I could just say no. Other people wanted to take the approach of, there are so many characters, so many stories, we have to settle on one. Let’s make it all about Jon Snow. Or Dany. Or Tyrion. Or Bran. But that didn’t work, either, because the stories are all inter-related. They separate but they come together again. But it did get me thinking about it, and it got me thinking about how this could be done, and the answer I came up with is – it can be done for television. It can’t be done as a feature film or a series of feature films. So television. But not network television. I’d worked in television. The Twilight Zone. Beauty and the Beast. I knew what was in these books, the sex scenes, the violence, the beheadings, the massacres. They’re not going to put that on Friday night at eight o’clock, where they always stick fantasies. Both of the shows that I was on, Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast, Friday night at eight o’clock. They think, "Fantasy? Kids!" So I wasn’t going to do a network show. But I’d been watching HBO. The Sopranos. Rome. Deadwood. It seemed to me an HBO show, a series where each book was an entire season, was the way to do it. So when I sat down with David and Dan at that meeting at the Palm, which started out as a lunch meeting and turned into a dinner meeting, and they said the same thing, then I suddenly knew we’re on the same wavelength here.

June 2014

Q: What can you tell us about a warg dragon rider?

A: There is no history/precedent for someone warging a dragon. There is a rich history of the mythical bond between dragon and rider. There have been instances of dragons responding to their riders even from very far away (hmm) which shows it is a true and very strong bond. We will learn more about this. Keep reading (we hear “keep writing” from the back of the room).

Q: What is your favorite line in ASOIAF?

A: I can’t single out one line but my favorite passage is Septon Meribald’s speech about war in… what was it? (crowd yells out Feast for Crows).

November 2014

For people who are not familiar with your work, the series takes place in an imaginary world. There is a struggle for control of the kingdom. This dynastic war is essentially one of three main plot lines. There are the other plot lines involving these sort of superhuman characters, and then there’s the exiled Targaryen daughter who seeks the return of her ancient throne. Why those three main plot lines?

Well, of course, the two outlying ones — the things going on north of the Wall, and then there is Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons — are of course the ice and fire of the title, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The central stuff — the stuff that’s happening in the middle, in King’s Landing, the capital of the seven kingdoms — is much more based on historical events, historical fiction.

Pop culture has grabbed “Game of Thrones.” It’s been featured in “The Simpsons” and “South Park.” What goes through your mind when you see these references?

Well, I think it’s tremendously cool, of course. It’s nice to be doing something that everybody is so aware of and that has entered the cultural zeitgeist in that manner. The only aspect of it that really astonishes me is not that the characters and the story is being parodied or referenced in these various places but the extent at which I personally am. I mean, when I see myself as a character on “South Park” or I see Bobby Moynihan imitating me with the suspenders and the hat on “Saturday Night Live,” when I see companies selling Halloween costumes, not Halloween costumes to be Jon Snow or Daenerys but Halloween costumes to be me, that’s pretty freaky. That’s something I could never have anticipated, and I just don’t know what to think of it.

May 2015

Still, it’s only natural that there’s a few characters Martin would have liked to have seen on the show that did not make it in.

“Strong Belwas, who was part of Dany’s entourage,” Martin said. “I understand why he was cut, but I kind of miss him.” In the books, the massive eunuch warrior is a former pit fighter who joins Dany in Qarth. Belwas’ story elements have essentially been combined with the character of Daario, who is arguably more essential to Dany’s journey.

June 2015

I explained that in my own head, Yandel is in King's Landing, clutching his book, showing up each day for an audience with the king... and each day being told perhaps the next day. Except on those occasions where, you know, they tell him the king's getting married today, and then whoops, Joffrey is dead, etc.

I also noted that of course, given how he wrote about the reign of Aerys and and the rebellion, that if Aegon or Daenerys take King's Landing he may indeed end up having his head chopped off... George seemed interested in the idea, I think. :P

May 2016

4. GRRM and Picacio both made the joke about "you need to pay the artist" and such regarding general fan fiction. And then GRRM said he has issued some sub-licenses to things like art and games, etc. GRRM also mentioned that HBO owns the rights to the exact likenesses of the tv version of the story, meaning, no art can be made where Dany looks like Emilia. He was very careful in avoiding a real link in feeling between him and HBO even though he was asked about it twice. Then GRRM mentioned, and Picacio joined in, how GRRM knew the show would overtake the books. Not too much new.

Reactions after the episode

c. Dany on Drogon seemed random and a repeat of previous seasons.

d. Others loved Dany on Drogon.

December 2016

And the most revealing: he said that for Winds, Winter is the darkest time 'where things die' and many characters will go dark places.

At last I was able to ask him the question I had sent for the tombola. I have always been fascinated by how ASOIAF embodies the theories put forward by Acemoglu and Robinson about countries with extractive institutions (which hamper development). So my question was: Why do you think the political institutions in the Seven Kingdoms are so weak? His answer: the Kingdom was unified with dragons, so the Targaryen's flaw was to create an absolute monarchy highly dependent on them, with the small council not designed to be a real check and balance. So, without dragons it took a sneeze, a wildly incompetent and megalomaniac king, a love struck prince, a brutal civil war, a dissolute king that didn't really know what to do with the throne and then chaos. Interesting answer.

July 2017

To a certain degree, also, it’s so intertwined, tragically and unfortunately, with the character histories. Daenerys doesn’t get to where she is unless she’s sold as a child bride, effectively a slave.

And I should point out, and you probably know this if you’ve read the books and watched the show, Daenerys’ wedding night is quite different than it was portrayed in the books. Again, indeed, we had an original pilot where the part of Daenerys was recast, and what we filmed the first time, when Tamzin Merchant was playing the role, it was much more true to the books. It was the scene as written in the books. So that got changed between the original pilot and the later pilot. You’d have to talk to David and Dan about that.

I had all these meetings saying, “There’s too many characters, it’s too big — Jon Snow is the central character. We’ll eliminate all the other characters and we’ll make it about Jon Snow.” Or “Daenerys is the central character. We’ll eliminate everyone else and make the movie about Daenerys.” And I turned down all those deals.

When you’re walking down the street in Santa Fe, do new character or historical details just pop into your head?

Sometimes it happens to me on long-distance drives. When I was younger I loved to take road trips, and get in the car and drive for two days to get to L.A. or Kansas City or St. Louis or Texas. And on the road, I would think a lot about that. In 1993, I think it was, I visited France for the first time. I had begunGame of Thrones two years before in ‘91 and I had to put it aside because television was happening. And for some reason, I had rented a car, I was driving all around Brittany and the roads of France to these little medieval villages and I was seeing castles, and somehow that just got me going again. I was thinking about Tyrion and Jon Snow and Daenerys and my head was full of Game of Thrones stuff.

You’re in unusual territory, with your characters very much still in your hands but also out in the world being interpreted for TV. Are you able to have walls in your mind such that your Daenerys, say, is your Daenerys, and Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys is hers and the show’s?

I’ve arrived at that point. The walls are up in my mind. I don’t know that I was necessarily there from the beginning. At some points, when David and Dan and I had discussions about what way we should go in, I would always favor sticking with the books, while they would favor making changes. I think one of the biggest ones would probably be when they made the decision not to bring Catelyn Stark back as Lady Stoneheart. That was probably the first major diversion of the show from the books and, you know, I argued against that, and David and Dan made that decision.

In my version of the story, Catelyn Stark is re-imbued with a kind of life and becomes this vengeful wight who galvanizes a group of people around her and is trying to exact her revenge on the riverlands. David and Dan made a decision not to go in that direction in their story, pursuing other threads. But both of them are equally valid, I think, because Catelyn Stark is a fictional character and she doesn’t exist. You can tell either story about her.

Is there anything we didn’t get to talk about?

I suppose there are issues we could have explored more with the whole question of sexual violence and women — it’s a complicated and fraught issue. To re-address that point a little, I do a lot of book signings, and I think I have probably more women readers than male readers right now. Only slightly, but it’s probably 55 percent, 45 percent, but I see women readers at things and they love my women characters. I’m very proud of the creation of Arya and Catelyn and Sansa and Brienne and Daenerys and Cersei and all of them. It’s one of the things that gives me the most satisfaction, that they’ve been so well-received as characters, especially by women readers who are often not served.

August 2017

- My question about Daenerys was chosen as the third question (I was lucky!) but he refused to answer it lol … I asked “How old was Daenerys when she left the house with the red door, and was it located close to the palace of the Sealord of Braavos?” (thanks Butterfly for suggesting it to me) I don’t know why he refused to answer about her age, but about the house with the red door he said there will be more revelations about it in future books.

- He was asked to comment about the differences between the book and show characters, particularly Daenerys. GRRM ignored all the other characters and talked only about Daenerys - he said that the show one is older because there are laws in USA that prevent minors from having sex scenes so the decision was made to age Daenerys. Otherwise, book Daenerys and show Daenerys “are very similar” and “Emilia Clarke did a fantastic job”. (I guess he can’t really say negative things about the show, can he?)

- “Will Jorah ever get out of the friendzone?” (side-eyeing the person who asked this). GRRM: “I would not bet on it.”

August 2018

Q: if you did have a child what would you name him or her?

A: “I don’t know... probably Not Daenerys”

November 2018

“I have tried to make it explicit in the novels that the dragons are destructive forces, and Dany (Daenerys Targaryen) has found that out as she tried to rule the city of Meereen and be queen there.

“She has the power to destroy, she can wipe out entire cities, and we certainly see that in Fire and Blood, we see the dragons wiping out entire armies, wiping out towns and cities, destroying them, but that doesn’t necessarily enable you to rule — it just enables you to destroy.”

[...] “If you read Fire and Blood, you’ll know there’s definitely a bond between the dragons and their riders and the dragons will not accept just any rider,” says Martin. “Some people try to take a dragon wind up being eaten or burned to death instead, so the dragons are terribly fussy about who rides them.”

[...] The prince defeated the threat in the North by driving his sword through his wife’s heart. Will Jon have to do the same to Daenerys? Or is she the prince, Azor Ahai, reborn? Martin suggests all may not be as it seems.

“The Targaryens have certain gifts and yes, taking the dragons and dragon riding and dragon breeding was one of them,” he says. “But the other gift was an occasional Targaryen had prophetic powers and could see glimpses of the future, which they didn’t always necessarily properly interpret because, you know, they were fragmentary and sometimes symbolic.

“But to what extent did they share those gifts, what did he see, what prompted him to do all this? These are things I find really interesting to ponder.

What was interesting from The Guardian interview you did, is this book — as daunting as it would seem for most authors to attempt, and as tough as Winds has been for you — this was curiously easy for you to write. Yes. Partly because it’s linear. Although it covers 150 years or so, it’s very straightforward — here’s what happened in the year 30, here’s what happened in 25. In Winds, I have like 10 different novels and I’m juggling the timeline — here’s what’s happening to Tyrion, here’s what’s happening to Dany, and how they intersect. That’s far more complicated.

August 2019

On the fame thing, does it ever feel surreal to stop and think about the reach that your work has had? I mean, couples meet through Game of Thrones, there are Thrones-themed wedding ceremonies, and babies are named after your characters. Is that something you ever dwell on and think to yourself 'God, my work has had this massive effect on people?'

It's very gratifying when you get letters, emails, and hear stories like that. They definitely do name children after my characters and send me pictures of their babies.

People also name their dogs, cats, iguanas, after my characters. Sometimes, it’s a little surreal. I often wonder about all the young Daenerys’ out there because kindergarten teachers will hate me because they have to spell it!

#daenerys targaryen #resources #grrm #valyrianscrolls

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sserpente · 5 years

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Book review: “LOKI - Where Mischief lies”

Alright, my lovelies. I read it. I read this marvellous book called “LOKI – Where Mischief Lies” by Mackenzi Lee and I loved every single page. It made me cry and scream and gasp and squeal, and I have to talk about it with you guys. Before you read on, beware of spoilers though.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I thought that reading this novel was like reading a fanfiction. When Odin banished Amora to Earth in Chapter 6, I swear to Loki, it was exactly like a fanfiction I once read.

There is so much canon information to work with. Seriously; that was my first thought. This novel confirmed Loki is pansexual because on Asgard, just like we thought, it doesn’t matter whom you love as long as you’re being genuine about it. And Loki is genderfluid. Canonically now. He literally said ”I don’t change my gender. I exist as both.” and the fact that in the novel, he is not willing to accept the concept of being feminine as a man or masculine as a woman being allegedly bad within society, or that certain things like painting your nails and wearing high shoes is something only the female gender should do, is prodigious. Guys. Loki painted his nails black when he was young. I’m in love.

This novel gave us such a perfect insight as to what Loki was like when he was young. The novel takes places roughly two centuries before the first Thor movie (as Odin declares Thor would become his heir in the end) and it proved singlehandedly that Loki (surprise surprise) was never evil has always been misunderstood. It literally states that Thor’s “warrior friends” (e.g. Fandral, Volstagg and Sif, etc.) didn’t want anything to do with him and that out of the two, Thor was the spineless one for the most part. I mean… blaming Loki alone for their failure in Alfheim? Buh, you whore. And Odin… well, Odin has always been a jerk but that’s been canon for a while anyway.

And then all the little details! The concept of there being little to no magic on Earth and your powers being drained from you if you spend too much time there is fascinating and it raises a particularly important question—with Asgard destroyed, what will Loki do? But then again, he has the Tesseract. He can go anywhere he pleases.

Did you notice Mackenzi mentioned more than once that Loki never freezes? That the amount of that blackout powder Theo had to use on him to render him unconscious when he arrived on Earth was strong enough to knock out a Frost Giant?

Oh and now we know that up until the 19th century, at the very least, Loki didn’t know who Shakespeare was. He didn’t know what dogs are, he’s a sweet tooth (though we already knew that thanks to the Junior Novelisation of Thor Ragnarok) and he likes coffee! For some peculiar reason, I’ve always wondered if Loki would like the black brew. He’d either love or loathe it. Now I’m glad I finally know the answer.

Back when he was young, Loki was pretty shy when in love. He did not dare kiss Amora for a long time and rest assured I screamed when he asked her. Loki was soft. He didn’t understand why the nine realms were so against him and why there is “something about him that makes people not trust him”. I dare say that the softness which we see glimpses of in the first Thor movie is not gone. Loki is still soft, especially when in love. I do think he is more farouche now, though. More dominant and hence even more restrained than he already was. Amora ceased to be Loki’s true friend when she turned hysterical and tried to kill him for her own benefit. As for Theo… he had already made up his mind about Loki when he read the myths which Loki wasn’t even aware of until he grabbed that book himself but at least Theo came round. Oh and Loki did like him. Because of his past, which this novel confirms, I think it’d be hard for him to believe that somebody would truly accept, like or love him just the way he is and I love how this plays right into my own Imagines which I’ve written in the past.

Anyway, my personal theory is that Amora is not truly dead. She was swept away by the force of the strong airflow more dead than alive when she let go (writing this I realised Loki attempted the same kind of suicide Amora did… oh my God…) but I highly doubt she died. Mind you she was strong enough to destroy the Godseye Mirror with Loki and drew life force from humans to survive on Earth. What does that mean? Could she possibly make an appearance in the Loki series? In the next novel? At this point, anything is possible. And what about Theo? I remember Loki’s “This day, the next, a hundred years, it’s nothing. It’s a heartbeat. You’ll never be ready.” Loki lied to him because he had to. He couldn’t have brought him to Asgard if he wanted to and he also couldn’t stay on Midgard with him. He knew it’d be so damn hard for him, an Asgardian (since he didn’t know he was a Frost Giant) and a human to be in love. Loki knew that when he told Thor to say goodbye in TDW. Odin would not have allowed Theo on Asgard, especially not if Loki asked. He even compared Thor’s (ex-)girlfriend Jane to a goat when he brought her.

So what did Theo do after? If you read the book, you’ll know that Loki discussed the SHARP Society’s name with him and Loki… Loki suggested SHIELD. I mean…?! Did Loki influence the foundation of SHIELD? Is that what Theo did with his life after Loki had gone?

Last but not least, Odin’s and Loki’s conversation at the end broke my heart. I thought having to witness Odin telling Loki that his birth right was to die was bad but apparently, there is worse:

“The only truth with which you need concern yourself,” Odin said, “is that any man who sticks his hand into a fire will be burned. You have disappointed me greatly today, my son.”

“As opposed to what, exactly?” The vehemence of his own voice surprised him. Before he knew what he was doing, before he had truly considered it, he mounted the stairs and walked up to the throne, uninvited, and faced his father. “You have never given me a reason to believe you were anything but disappointed with me since the day I was born.”

Odin shook his head. “You do not give me reason to show you anything but that.”

“I have done terrible things, but you let me be nothing but those things. Tell me, Father, do you think me evil? Do you think me monstrous?” He spread his arms. “Did you need a villain and I was available? Someone to make Thor look prettier than he is so that when you give him the throne, everyone will be willing to overlook the thousands he’s slaughtered in the name of peace and Asgard?”

“Enough!” Odin roared, […].

I was a sobbing mess. Now tell me if Loki ever had a choice not to be selfish. Who else is going to think about him, consider his opinion and take care of him if he doesn’t do it himself? That he decides to “become the witch and know everything”? And in spite of it all… I am soft for how much he still loves his brother. Mind you, the (actually deleted) scene from the first Thor movie in which Loki tells Thor that he’s looked forward to this day as long as he had, is yet to come. “My brother. My friend. Sometimes I’m envious… but never doubt I love you.” or what he told the Warriors Three after his banishment: “I love Thor more dearly than any of you but you know what he is.” Yes, he led some Frost Giants the way into Asgard to “protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer” (thank God he did, Loki was right, Asgard would have drowned in chaos—not Loki’s kind of chaos but bad chaos) but I don’t doubt the sincerity of his words to Thor before his almost-coronation.

Yet to come is also the revelation that he’s a Frost Giant, for him to find out why he never stood a chance against Odin’s constant disappointment. I should have known from the beginning it was him who took the Norn Stones. For himself. Loki is so relatable it physically hurts.

He didn’t just snap when his whole world fell apart that day. This novel proved that it was only the tip of the iceberg; like a tiny pebble removed from a mountain made of rocks, causing it to collapse.

I am definitely going to read this novel again. It’s incredibly inspiring for Imagines (I’ve already got a pretty angsty Imagine planned based on Loki’s adventures and I’ll make sure to work that in between all the Halloween requests I received) and I am desperate for more details. Mackenzi has to write the next one ASAP.

#loki: where mischief lies #loki where mischief lies #mackenzi lee #loki #marvel #mcu #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #tom hiddleston #book review #thor #the avengers

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dailydoseofcolor · 4 years

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Taking Stock of Barracks in Fire Emblem Heroes: Part 3, Section 2 (Final)

Okay! So I took a few days off for travel and now want to finish this up. From everything above, I’ve pinpointed the 5* exclusive characters I would love to start getting merges for as well as solidifying who my official potential “projects” are. Now I need to start analyzing my priorities and go from there. The sections will be 5* exclusives that won’t need feathers for merging (barring any unexpected demotes, which is highly unlikely for the majority of these); 3-4* merge potential projects that require orbs, and 3-4* potential projects that require grails. First up, 5* exclusives.

After going through my barracks, these are the characters I have isolated as ones that I want to work towards getting to +10:

Micaiah, Mia, Nephenee, Saber, Silque, Myrrh, OG Ephraim, Brave Ike, Y!Marth, Summer Robin, Summer Innes, Halloween L'Arachel

Now, mama didn’t raise a fool. The vast majority of these are unrealistic, but I can at least use this as a guide for what to save for. So these can be further categorized into three sections: Higher Priority, Realistic Goals, and Pipe Dreams:

Higher Priority

Micaiah, +5; She just takes the least amount of merges to complete. She regularly appears on banners, and will eventually come as a pity breaker on other banners.

Mia, +3; She’s my favorite of the fast sword girls. And while she’s slowly getting outclassed in terms of raw speed, she has good balanced defenses and her weapon can still give her a niche. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she lands a resplendent alt at some point.

Realistic

Nephenee, +2; I’ve thought about it, and I let Nephenee’s -Spd bane distract me from her for too long. She’s at +2 with a Spd boon now, and still holds up stats-wise. Her attack is still a little low, but the armor effectiveness in her weapon more than makes up for that. The problem is that she’s on a banner right now that only lasts today. I can’t +10 her just today, but I need to try for a few merges.

Saber, +1; I have a major soft spot for Saber. He held my Summoner Support for a long time, and I think he has a very interesting niche in the over-saturated sword market. He’s a long-term plan.

Silque (Currently Base, could be +2); I love healers, and Silque is my favorite healer from the series as a whole. I haven’t merged her yet because she has a good staff, good special, and Dazzling Staff fodder. But I now realize that I don’t particularly care for Dazzling Staff fodder. That’s added to almost every new healer nowadays, more fodder will come.

Myrrh, +0; Myrrh is the character I wanted most for so long. The first Manakete/Dragon I ever fell in love with, and she’s relevant again. Problem is, the only one I’ve pulled is +Def/-Atk. Amazing boon, terrible bane. I need merges to erase the bane and start really building her. She’s likely in the Top 5 for priorities.

Pipe Dream

Ephraim, +0; Unless he demotes, this is a long shot. I’ve only ever pulled one and now I have other infantry lance users that out-compete him. It would be nice, though.

Y!Marth, +1; Y!Marth appearing at the same time as Bramimond really hurt my ability to justify spending for him, and now I kinda regret it. As far as sword infantries go, he’s super flexible and has great stats. His boon is +Atk, so that helps, but when he comes back, I’ll make a play for him.

Summer Robin, +0 (Will be +1 after Compile Manuals Purchased); My first ever 5* unit! Summer Robin has held a special place in my heart since I first started the game. Back when getting 5* units as a new player was actually rather difficult, I played for about 2 weeks before my first one came up, and it was Summer Robin. She’ll erase her awful -Atk bane with the Compile Manual I’ll get of her, but I’m going to start working on snagging her in the upcoming summer banners.

Summer Innes, +0 (Will be +1 after Compile Manuals Purchased); The first unit I ever spent money to acquire (purchased an orb pack with an old gift card out of desperation). His Bow unit sucks all kinds of ass, and Axe fliers are still one of the rarer categories. He’ll be +1 soon (I love the limited time compile feature, it’s a much better mechanic than the long term compile option), but more merges would make me happy. He’ll be re-run soon.

Halloween L’Arachel, +0; H! L’Arachel’s art might be one of my absolute favorite in the game. Easily Top 5. Green Cavalry Mages are also almost uniformly bad outside of Gunnthra, who needs a refine to maintain her niche. The only one who might be able to compete is Cecilia, but we’ll see where she truly lands after her eventual refine. Either way, more merges for her would be incredible. Sacred Stones is next up in the Hall of Forms rotation. I don’t expect her to be an option, but she’s on the short list of SS seasonals so…there’s a chance.

Brave Ike, +2 (Could be +3); His Refine is incredible. He carries hard in AR and makes PvE content trivial. If anything, this is just to keep his stats sharp. This is mostly just an eventual “this would be nice” thing.

Now, if I take everything above and rank it, here’s what I have:

Micaiah

Mia

Myrrh

Nephenee

Saber

Silque

Halloween L'Arachel

Ephraim

Summer Robin

Y!Marth

Summer Innes

Brave Ike

Okay, I’m fine with this. Micaiah and Mia make the most sense, since they’re the closest to being done. Myrrh, Nephenee, Saber, and Silque are all realistic and will be making appearances on banners soon (other than Silque). The rest are just guidelines; although I will be saving for Summer Robin & Summer Innes return next month, and then saving for Halloween L’Arachel at the end of the year.

_____________________________________________

Now it’s time for 3-4* Potential Projects! My first pass yielded three groups: ones I already have the copies to +10, the ones I still need copies for, and Grail units. At this point, I need to diversify my +10 units by movement type, specifically flying and calvary, with an emphasis on Player Phase units, strong Mixed Phase units, and tome users.

Here’s who I can +10 today if I desired:

Nino, PP, +5, 100k feathers needed; Benefits from being a favorite character, player phase focused, and a tome user. Slight dock for being infantry.

OG Eliwood, PP, +2, 160k feathers needed; Eliwood remains the front runner of this group if only because of favoritism. It helps that his Player Phase capabilities are now some of the best in the game when it comes to red sword users.

Donnel, MP, +2, 160k feathers needed; Again, a strong Mixed Phase character with a new refine, but that pushes him into a Player Phase role. I just can’t swing the idea of building him up for use.

Matthew, EP, +0, 200k feathers needed; Enemy Phase dagger to compliment Sothe’s Player Phase dagger niche. A favorite character, but shares movement type. Plus he requires a lot of support to really shine. Lower priority.

Soleil, PP, +0, 200k feathers needed; One of the strongest 3-4* infantry swords. Great attack and good speed, middling defenses that could be patched up with skill investment. She ranks pretty high, but has a high merge cost from my current supplies.

Ares, EP, +0, 200k feathers needed; Fills a different role than Eliwood, but makes a case given how oppressive Special Spiral + Bonfire can be. Middling priority.

Est, PP, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I love lance fliers and Est is the only one on my short list that isn’t a Grail unit. She’d require some significant investment in terms of resources, but I’ve been thinking of making a dedicated flier team for a while, which she would shine in.

Titania, Support, +0, 200k feathers needed; I love Tactics teams and almost no one runs it better than Titania. She’d require high investment, but I’ve held onto her for years with the plan to invest, it might be time.

OG Tharja, PP, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I really love red mages. My Lysithea sees very regular use, and Tharja’s potential on a Tactics team would be incredible. She remains a very high potential.

Soren, Support, +0 (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; I also love Chill skills, and Soren is one of only a few characters that can pull Triple Chill. I might build him with Triple Chill to see how he handles before I invest. He’s lower priority right now.

Here’s who I have on my short list for potential projects that I don’t actively have all the merges for yet:

Rath, PP, +2 (Could be +7, with a +Atk waiting for deliberation); 160k feathers needed; Rath is the closest on this list to having the merges needed. He’s currently at +2, and I only need another 2 in order to be at +10. He will continue to be higher on the list than others, if only because I’m a sucker for calvary bow users.

Altena, EP, +1, 180k feathers needed; So. Here’s the problem. I love Altena, and she’s likely a Top 5 merge project contender….but I don’t have the merges. She just hasn’t been showing up. She just has to remain on the back burner of priority until I have more merges. I’ll reassess if more start coming along.

Norne, MP, (Could be +4) (No 5*), 220k feathers needed; Norne checks a lot of boxes for me: Infantry, Great Stats, Mixed Phase potential, Bow User. I still need 6 copies to make her +10, but I need to start investing in her now. I know she sits in the exact same space that Altena does, but even having a few more merges changes the calculus. The major major problem is that none of the 5* units I’ve decided are priorities are colorless except for Silque. So the likelihood that she turns up on pulls is less likely. But I think my heart doesn’t really care.

Tethys, Support, (Could be +5, No 5*), 220k feathers needed; Tethys makes this list due to her Support potential. Colorless infantry dagger is mostly filled for me, but she sticks out in my mind. I might just build her low at first to see how I like her, similar to Soren.

I’ve been avoiding this for a long time. I never spend grails because I’m worried the perfect Grail Unit will come along and it’s blinded me to the number of amazing Grail Units that have already come along, and some of these Grails are starting to burn a hole in my pocket. Now it’s time:

Astram, PP/Support, +2, 160k feathers, 2200 grails; I’ve been using Astram in Arena this past week and I’ve really changed my mind about him. His performance is very solid, and he handles a ton of things on his own. He also slots into the mercenary/knight side of sword user instead of myrmidon, which I’ve always preferred. Great PRF, good stat totals; this is biased because Arena bonus unit buffs are one hell of a drug. He’s back in the running.

Joshua, MP, +2, 160k feathers, 2600 grails; Making a completely flip-flopped statement from earlier, since Joshua is on the myrmidon side of sword users, but Joshua’s always been a favorite of mine, and I stupidly used one way back for Windsweep on Sothe…of all things. He’s in line for a weapon refine soon, and depending on how they treat it, could launch him into contention again. He remains a strong front runner. Also, there’s a strong chance he’ll be the Grail option in the upcoming SS Hall of Forms. I would love if it’s either him, Lyon, or Valter; that would be incredible.

Black Knight, MP, +2, 160k feathers, 2200 grails; Obviously TT/GHB were originally conceived of to give us fun side characters and villains, and the Black Knight remains near the top. I don’t usually use Armor units, but he’d hold his own very well, especially considering the number of Fighter skills that exist.

Fallen Ashnard, EP/MP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; The main thing going against Fallen Ashnard right now is how new he is. So his investment will remain high for a while. But it’s hard to ignore how well his stats turned out. Great villain from my favorite series and it’s hard to not be drawn to him. Plus sword fliers are either 5* forever locked or like…Palla (aka Moonbow fodder). He’s got a great niche.

Valter, PP, (Could be +4), 120k feathers, 1650 grails; Another favorite villain from a favorite series in a unit type that is treated poorly by IS. His speed doesn’t hold up, unfortunately, but he’s very likely due for a refine soon, and he could be a part of the upcoming Hall of Forms. He’s higher on the priority list because of his status as a favorite unit, but I should honestly wait for the refine to decide.

Cormag, PP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; The second in a run of lance fliers with generic stats that seemed to last for several months. Cormag has such an interesting character arc in his game, and it’s a shame the way he was treated. To that end, he has a workable stat spread (I just wish his Res was higher). He ranks high on characters I like, which is why he’s on the list to begin with.

Conrad, EP, (Could be +2, No 5*), 180k feathers, 2200 grails; Conrad is on this list because of a person on my friends list who has a +10 Conrad with Distant Counter and…this boy puts in work. I love bulky units, and bulky cavalry units are few and far between. The only other Lance Calvary units that see use in my barracks are Legendary Ephraim and Dimitri, so he’d be filling a good niche in my barracks. His cost just remains really high for a character that I’m not in love with.

Death Knight, EP (Could be +3, No 5*), 160k feathers, 1750 grails; Decent villain from the most recent game with an intriguing PRF. It’s not quite as evergreen as I’d hoped, but I’ve encountered +10 Death Knights in various modes and they certainly hold their own. Less of a cost than Conrad with slightly less bulk, an interesting trade off.

Young Minerva, EP, +1, 180k feathers, 2700 grails; When Young Minerva first debuted, I was almost positive that she would be my first Grail +10. Now that she’s available, I’m hesitating. I have a strong Axe user already, just not one that flies. She’s got great speed, defense, and attack, and she’d see a lot of use. I just have to decide whether I want her more than I maybe need someone else.

Winter Jaffar, MP, (Could be +1), 180k feathers, 2700 grails; Great art as a unit, I just don’t care for Armors usually. Being a green dagger hurts him a good amount, as does the really high cost. I might just wait a bit for him, but I’m sure he’ll be outclassed in a few months anyway.

Lyon, EP, +7, 60k feathers, 750 grails; My pride and joy for a long, long time. I’m waiting to finish him off until he gets a refine, so I know which way to invest. I also love his recent alt, which has helped fill the void that my original left as he started to fall behind other units (especially Sophia, who has stomped all over him at this point).

Arvis, PP/Support, (Could be +3), 140k feathers, 1750 grails; One of the first red tome users I fell in love with, if only because of his decent stat spread and unique skill. I killed one way back for Ploy fodder, so his cost remains high, but maybe we’ll get some kind of rerun in the future.

Brunnya, EP/Support, (Could be +1), 180k feathers, 2700 grails; My AR defense was recently stomped by a Brunnya and it made me look at her in a different light. As an infantry blue tome, she’s got some competition, but she is surprisingly bulky because of her tome. I am quite intrigued by her.

__________________________________________________

Based on my analysis above, here’s where I’m coming down in terms of a road map. Everyone else isn’t necessarily out of the running, but this focuses on my direct needs for strong Player Phase / Mixed Phase units and puts my resources to best use:

Immediate Use: OG Eliwood, Soleil, Est, Norne, Fallen Ashnard, OG Tharja

OG Eliwood will get the bump first because he fills the most immediate niche and already has some investment made into him. I’ll also dedicate resources to Norne and Fallen Ashnard, since they still need time to develop but are high on my list. I also feels like I’m now making Fallen Ashnard the focus of my grails, for when he comes out in two months, we’ll see if someone overtakes him before then (likely one of the SS boys). I’ll upgrade Est and OG Tharja to test out how they perform before committing. Depending on how Est does, she’ll likely get a bump with Soleil.

Eventual Niche: Titania, Young Minerva, Brunnya

Of these, Titania is the most likely to get the bump, as she’s a favorite and would serve as a solid support unit. Young Minerva functions well at +1 and doesn’t need as much investment as others in order to perform. Brunnya will be leveled up and tested to see if she’s worth the investment.

Build Now and Wait: Rath, Altena

I’m pausing raising up Rath for now, I’ll wait until I have enough copies to fully +10 him. I love his character, but he will almost certainly stay PvE, and his current build shines there. Altena will get further looks after I get more copies.

Determine after Refines: Joshua, Valter, Lyon

I really need to watch and wait for my three Sacred Stones boys. I love all three and would dedicate resources to them, but I need to wait and see what their eventual refines bring to the table. I have the highest hopes for Lyon, since he’s proven to be popular, and they gave Sophia of all people a new life, he deserves it. Valter will likely get some extra stats and potentially Panic built into his weapon (even though he doesn’t have the HP to utilize it as much). Joshua will get some kind of refine that doubles down on his decent Resistance. Conditional DC like Saber/Say’ri would be incredible, but I’m not holding my breath. This also gives me time to continue to deliberate on who I want to spend Grails on.

I’m…..done? No, I’m not done. But this is the closest I’ve had to a game plan for this game beyond “oo! Shiny new units!,” so I’m really proud of myself. Time to spend some resources!

#ddc talks #ddc talks feh #fire emblem heroes #fire emblem #long post

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tilltheendwilliwrite · 6 years

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Of Blood and Roses

Chapter Thirteen

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Pairing: Loki x Lauren | Word Count: 8549 Warnings: Fluff, fluff, and more fluff. Loki being Loki

Lauren was both charmed and enthralled by the market and found it horribly difficult to make any progress when with every few paces there was something new and equally wonderous to see. The craftsmanship of weapons, jewelry, clothes, art, and tapestries left her breathless and amazed.

She found herself unable not to touch and exclaim over this and that and quickly fell into a natural rhythm with the merchants. They were all kind, and whether that was because of who she was or who she walked with Lauren couldn't tell, but all smiled and answered her questions with ease.

Interspersed among the merchants were performers. Jugglers, sword swallowers, and fire eaters mixed and mingled with people claiming to read fortunes, and others working small tricks of magic. One intrepid magician had the nerve to invite Loki to try his luck, it was the same ball and cups game Lauren had seen played on Earth, but this time when the cups spun, they were far faster than she could see.

Of course, Loki had no such problem and flicked the right cup over with a fingertip to the delight of both the crowd and the magician.

But so far, nothing has really caught her fancy. Lauren was content to walk and talk, smile and nod, but she had no use for an axe - decorative or not - and always moved on until a colourful window display had her stopping dead in the center of the road. “Oh, my!”

There, hanging in the window, were small glass balls wrapped in leather not so different from the ones she collected for her Gran.

“Ah,” Loki chuckled. “Should we have a closer look, darling?”

She was already heading for the door to the shop, a cheery bell ringing out with her entrance. “Just look at them,” she laughed, carefully touching one floating teal orb. As soon as her fingers made contact, the colours started to swirl and move like waves on the ocean. “It beautiful.”

“I'm pleased you like them,” came a baritone voice from a few feet away.

Lauren turned and found a man in his mid-thirties, his caramel-coloured hair blending into his full beard. Braids and beads decorated the length of hair on his head and his chin, but it was his kind blue eyes that made Lauren smile. A big man, he wore a thick leather apron and stood just beyond the door to the back of his store.

“I'm Duncan Mclaren, milady. Milord. Never thought I'd see the day when the prince and princess of Asgard graced my humble shop.”

“Well met, Mr. Mclaren,” Lauren smiled and gave the standard greeting Loki had explained was traditional for their day. “May the Norns bless you.”

“You humble me, milady,” he said and bowed deeply.

“Do you make these, Mclaren?” Loki asked, motioning to the fairy balls.

“Tis my glassworks you’d be standing, milord. All the work here is mine.”

For the first time, Lauren looked around the shop and noted the shelves with their decorative vases and square boxes full of colourful glass beads. Moving closer, she dipped her fingers inside and let the beads trickle down her palm. “They're wonderful!”

“Thank you, milady. The women use them for clothing as well as hair accessories, or jewelry making.” Duncan made his way a little cautiously toward what likely constituted his cash register and reached beneath, Loki watching warily. “I believe these would be more to your liking. When word came of the prince’s good fortune, I thought it prudent to create a new series.”

Lauren made her way closer and chuckled finding a host of green, black, and gold beads in the box. “Lovely, but it's your orbs I'm interested in.”

“The glass is quite special. A merchant trader from Nidavellir brought me the sand. Each one comes out special without any coaxing from me.” He smiled fondly at the window display.

“We have similar ones where I from but yours are magic. I collect them for my Gran and havin’ one so special from Asgard would just make her year!”

Duncan’s face fell. “Forgive me, your highness, but they aren't for sale.”

“Oh. Oh, I see,” Lauren sighed and smiled sadly. “That's disappointin’.”

“Surely you could make an exception,” Loki interjected. “Money is no object. I'd pay you handsomely for it.”

Duncan shook his head “It's not that, milord. They are all one of a kind. I couldn't bear to part with them. Even for the lovely princess.”

Loki frowned and appeared about to argue, but Lauren patted his arm. “S’okay, Loki. Thank you for speakin’ with us, Mr. Mclaren.”

“If I could procure you more of the sand, would you be content to make one for my wife?” Loki asked before Lauren could walk away.

“Of course, milord! But how could you possibly do that?”

“I can do many things others cannot.” With a twist of his hand, Loki set a small sack down on the same counter. “The orbs Lauren usually collects for Ellie are approximately one and a half times bigger than the ones you have in your window. This is more than enough star sand to make what we've requested of you. Consider the rest payment for your time.”

Duncan stared at Loki for a moment before picking up the sack and pulling open the top. He dipped his fingers inside, and when he lifted them out, Lauren gasped at the beauty of the grains which shimmered and shot light from his fingers.

“This… this is pure star sand! Even better than what the merchant brought me. Milord, it’s too much!” Duncan protested.

Loki shrugged and waved a dismissive hand. “Then make my wife two and keep the rest. When they are ready, bring them to the palace.”

“I will, milord! Thank you! You will have them shortly,” Duncan said, bowing and nodding, a broad smile on his face.

“Come along, darling.” Loki set his hand on Lauren’s back and guided her from the shop.

“Where does that stuff come from, Loki? It was like itty bitty stars in each grain,” Lauren asked.

Loki smiled down at her then turned his hand over and showed her a world held in his palm. “Nidavellir is a world of metal rings wrapped around the heart of a dying neutron star. When the dwarves forge their creations, light from the star ignites the forge and keeps the rings moving. When the sparks of the dying star come in contact with the cold metal of the forge, the sand is a by-product. The dwarves consider it useless dust, though I'm not sure they know it can do what Mclaren has done with it,” he chuckled softly, and the image disappeared.

“Does this constitute spreadin’ our good fortune?” Lauren asked, smirking up at Loki.

“Most definitely,” Loki agreed.

“Did my brother finally find something which caught your fancy, little sister?” Thor asked, arriving beside her to take Lauren’s hand and link it through his elbow.

“I found somethin’ for my Gran,” Lauren smiled up at Thor as Loki drifted over to where Sif studied a display of very shiny knives.

“Ah, the lovely Ellie. She would quite charm the pants off the majority of my court. They would find her plain way of speaking and honesty refreshing. Our elders are all quite revered.”

“She would get a kick outta this place. All the magic and just how grand everythin’ is. I still have a hard time believin’ what I’m seein’ half the time.”

The streets were cobblestone lanes, but then there would be a river rushing through the middle of it and a bridge of steel and glass spanning the width. Buildings of metal and glass intersected ones of ancient stone and carved wood.

Weapons now thought antique on Earth were looked over with great consideration and sat side by side with ones of such advanced technology Tony would be over the moon.

And everywhere she looked nature flourished. Trees and parks wound their way through all the civilization as if it belonged there. Like the city had been built with great care around the enormous trees and flower-filled fields. But something about it all had Lauren curious.

“Thor? Where are all the birds? Do y’all not have things like sparrows and robins? Or the insects. With all these pretty flowers, you’d think the bees would just be buzzin’ like crazy.”

A hint of sadness seemed to befall him. “What creatures live on Asgard returned to the wooded areas many millennia ago after Fjörgynn, mother’s father, our grandfather, passed on. It was said he could coax any animal to his bidding, that even the wildest of our creatures would come to lay their head in his lap. When he died, the animals retreated in grief. What creatures we have in our homes are our pets and companions, but the wild ones, the birds and insects, the weasels and rabbits never venture back within the city. We maintain the gardens and natural places with the magic of Asgard.”

“Oh. That’s so sad,” Lauren murmured.

“It is. Travelling to Midgard is always such a pleasure. Finding fat, nectar drunk bees humming among the flowers makes me smile.”

He looked longingly up at the flowers overhead, and Lauren squeezed his arm. “Do you think they’ll ever come back?”

“That depends on whether or not we have a god or a goddess who could coax them out of hiding,” Thor said before guiding her toward a booth with many wooden casks. “A drink perhaps?”

Lauren nodded, feeling parched. With the sun up and the heat collecting between the buildings, she was finding it much warmer than she had and let her shawl drape from her elbows. She glanced behind her to see Loki walking with Sif. He seemed to be speaking rather quickly, but with the look of shock and slight terror on Sif’s face, Lauren knew exactly what Loki was telling her.

A guilty flush filled her face, but at the same time, she found herself with an opportunity she wasn’t about to pass up. Subtle questions could be asked if she was careful.

Thor turned and held out a glass of deep red liquid. “Try this, Lauren.”

She gave the cup a delicate sniff. “Wine?”

“Made from Ragar grapes and Massinian flowers on the Minwarie homeworld,” he explained.

Lauren sipped delicately and closed her eyes in bliss. “Oh, my stars…” It was like someone had taken rainbows and sunshine and wrapped them in velvet before dipping them in a sea’s foaming spray so refreshing and delicious was the drink.

Both Thor and the wine seller chuckled.

“The princess likes?”

Lauren sighed in pleasure and smiled at the man. He had a darker complexion, one more in keeping with a person from a desert climate than the woods and mountain terrain of Asgard. Even his clothing bespoke warmer temperatures with his lightweight fabrics, flowing robes, and head covering.

“I like it very much,” she agreed, taking another sip.

“I give a cask to you. A gift for Loki’s Ástvinur!” He slapped his hand down on a small barrel and flashed a set of gold-capped teeth.

“Oh, I couldn’t!” Lauren gasped.

“We would be delighted,” Thor easily overrode her objection and bent his head to whisper against her ear, “The Minwarie are a very proud people. When offered a gift, it is considered insulting to reject it. Instead, offer a blessing as thanks and graciously accept.”

Lauren blushed in embarrassment. “Forgive me. I’d be happy to accept, mister?”

“Shallor, highness,” he said, laying two fingers to his lips before bowing.

“Well met, Shallor. May the blessin’s of the day extend to you and yours.” She nodded her head and smiled, drinking the last of the wine.

“Gracious lady. I will deliver the cask personally.”

The man beamed with happiness and Lauren relaxed as she handed back her now empty cup. “It’s a beautiful wine.”

He smiled, and a sparkle came to his dark eyes. “For a woman of such exquisite loveliness, I could offer nothing less but the Minwaries finest, and that is the Sangard.”

“Thank you, Shallor.” A new blush rose in her cheeks while Thor chuckled and guided her away. “Well that was nearly a disaster,” Lauren sighed.

“The Minwarie rarely offer anything for free, dear one. Do not concern yourself with it. They all know you are from Midgard and are yet unused to the ways of the many people who share our universe. You recovered beautifully.” He gave her hand a reassuring pat.

She smiled and felt better. “It was an excellent wine.”

“You are in for a treat. There are many vintages, ales, meads, and other spirits to try. Things no human would be able to stomach. It is a joy and a privilege to help you discover them all, little sister. Everything seems… magical again when you try them for the first time.”

“Aww,” she blushed and leaned her head against Thor’s shoulder. “Y’all are a big ol’ softy. I love you too, Thor.”

He chuckled and patted her hand a second time. “You’re an amazing woman, Lauren.”

A very colourful booth caught her eye, and Lauren tugged Thor toward it. The woman within wore the most exquisitely embroidered apron Lauren had ever seen, but her style of dress seemed… ancient in comparison to the people around her.

“Milady. Your majesty,” the woman smiled and dropped a quick curtsey. “I’m honoured by your visit.”

She was what Lauren would consider the quintessential Norse woman. Tall, thin but strong, with bright blonde hair and big blue eyes.

“This is… wonderful!” Lauren exclaimed, gently touching the intricate patterns.

“They are the traditional garb of our ancient people,” Thor explained. “Very much in keeping with your own Norse ancestors. The Viking people of your past.”

On a stand behind the table, a woman’s dress and cloak held pride of place, and Lauren motioned toward it. “May I?”

“Of course, milady!” the woman stepped back to allow them to pass.

Lauren wasted no time in getting closer. The outfit was stunning, the fabric like a heavyweight wool. The cream outer dress was as soft as velvet and embroidered with dark blue designs, but it was the fabric of the underdress which amazed her. “It’s a weave!” she gasped, astounded. “I thought maybe y’all pressed the pattern down on the fabric, but this is… I can’t believe it! The amount of time that must have gone into makin’ somethin’ so unique.”

“You know your fabrics, milady,” the woman smiled, clearly excited by the praise.

“I have a friend who’s very into clothes at home. She knew everythin’ about everythin’ when we were growin’ up. Sadie would just die if she saw this. And the jewelry. Thor just look at these broaches!” The massive gold ovals appeared to hold the cream outer dress in place. “Are these from Duncan Mclaren?” Lauren asked, lightly touching the short necklace of beads before skimming her fingers down to the middle one of the three on the mannequin.

The woman blinked in surprise. “Yes! He’s my cousin, milady.”

“Such pretty bobbles in his glass works. I can’t tell you how surprised I was to find fairy orbs here. I was ever so disappointed we couldn’t buy one for Gran, but then Loki cleverly provided your cousin with some more of his star sand. Isn't that stuff pretty all on its own? Anyway, your cousin is bein’ ever so kind to make me a couple just for Gran, and I’m so excited!” Lauren giggled and lifted the longest necklace of beads and metal coins up to have a closer look. “Gosh, this is just so pretty. Do you make it all yourself?”

“Every piece besides the broaches and the clasp here.” She indicated the one just below the waist of blue ribbon. “The goldsmith Clareon makes all my gold pieces, highness.”

“The whole thing is just,” Lauren shook her head in awe, “wonderful!”

Thor chuckled, his smile big and full, amusement in her excitement evident. “It appears my sister is quite taken with your talents, miss?”

“Ingrid, your majesty.” She dropped another curtsey.

“Is your mother Runa?” he asked.

“She is!” Ingrid smiled. “I’m surprised you remember.”

“One cannot forget the talents of a woman like Runa,” he chuckled and smiled down at Lauren. “We have a feast yearly to celebrate our ancestors. A time to dress in memory of them and drink to their accomplishments. It was one of Mother’s favourite celebrations, and Runa used to make her costume.”

“Not Madame Lanche?” Lauren asked.

“No, milady,” Ingrid shook her head and lightly touched the embroidery on the outer dress. “Each stitch is as sacred as the design they produce. Just like not every woodworker can carve a rune, not every dressmaker can correctly execute these designs. They honour our ancestors and the Norns.”

“I feel like I have so much to learn,” Lauren sighed softly. “And I swear y’all must have a feast every other day!”

“You have nothing but time, little sister,” Thor assured her. “Do you like the blue? Or would you rather a green?”

“No the blue is so pretty,” Lauren said as she turned to have a look at the other items only to have her gaze land on a set of tiny clothes meant for an infant to wear. “Aren’t these just precious!” she squealed. “Are these ravens?” she asked Ingrid.

“They are indeed, milady,” she smiled.

“Thor?” Lauren called, unaware of the look which passed between him and Loki. “What’s your favourite colour?”

He sidled up behind her. “I’ve always been partial to red. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” Lauren said. “What do you think of somethin’ like this for Sadie? Part of her baby gift, maybe? Maybe in red, so her baby’s doubly blessed by Thor.”

***

Leaving the glassworks, Loki left Lauren in Thor’s keeping, seeing the perfect opportunity to speak with Sif without others growing too curious. As she happened to be perusing a selection of daggers and short knives, it wasn’t an oddity for him to join her at the table.

“See something you like, Lady Sif?” he asked as she checked the balance of a particularly nice blade, double-edged with an attractive black sheen to the steel.

“Fandral’s natal day is coming,” she muttered and put the dagger down.

“Ah, then perhaps this would be more to his liking,” Loki chuckled and tapped a short blade which was as shiny as a mirror.

Sif chuckled softly before tapping one of her own. “You should consider this for Lauren. It’s lightweight, short enough to be easily concealed, and… it’s pretty.”

Loki glanced at Sif and found a light flush on her cheeks before she ducked her head, letting her hair fall forward to cover her embarrassment. It was then he could see it, the longing. The yearning inside the woman for something more. The desire to be feminine.

“This one?” Loki asked, picking up the dagger with the jewelled hilt. An ornate sheath of engraved silver steel looked like vines and roses. The background was red, matching the gem in the hilt. When he drew it from within, the blade shone nicely in the sun. He rolled the dagger over the back of his hand, spun it on his palm, then balanced it on a finger. “Very nice.”

He resheathed it and nodded to the nervously waiting merchant, haggled a bit on the price, and settled on one Loki found acceptable. With a flick of his fingers, he vanished the dagger to give to Lauren later. Then, before she could protest, Loki collected Sif’s hand and tucked it in his elbow.

“Loki?” she frowned, appearing flustered.

“Walk with me, Sif.” He didn’t allow her to deny him, simply led the way and wrapped them in silence so they would not be overheard. “Now, my darling lady. Lauren has spoken to me of your desires.”

She sucked in air, and every muscle stiffened causing her to stumble a step. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You can’t lie to me, Sif,” he huffed. “And while I have no idea what it is you see in him,” he shot a glance Fandral’s way, the man a few booths down from where Thor and Lauren enjoyed a beverage, “I can understand the desire to have your love returned.”

“Loki… I…” She swallowed thickly. “You don’t… approve?”

“It’s not my place to approve or disapprove. We love who we love, and the Norns know things we are not privy to. I never expected to find Lauren, let alone have her be my Ástvinur. I ask you not to hold it against my wife for speaking of your troubles. She has nothing but your best interests at heart, and after everything you’ve done for Lauren, how welcome you’ve made her and how helpful you’ve been, I wish to assist.”

She was quiet for a long moment before heaving a heavy sigh. “I am not even certain how you could do that. I am not even certain of my own feelings on the matter.”

“Sif.” Loki drew her to the side out of the way of the bustling crowd. “I…” He had to clear his throat. “I apologize for never seeing you as anything but another sword in Thor’s arsenal. If you want this if you want to step out of my brother’s shadow and become something more, I want to help you. Lauren wants to help you. And if you desire to explore your feminine side, there is no one better qualified than my Lauren to teach you.”

Sif closed her eyes, seeming overcome with emotion before she lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. “I never really liked you, but I… I have wronged you, Loki. Though I prayed to the Norns you would find your way, I did not truly believe it would happen. And now you stand here before me and say these words to me, and I realize I have misjudged you.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “We misjudged each other, Sif. Now.” Again he collected her hand to his arm and headed after Lauren and Thor. “We will begin anew, and while Lauren assists you with finding yourself, I shall teach you to flirt.”

“You?” she scoffed.

“My darling lady,” he smiled winsomely, “I am the very definition of charming when I wish to be. Tonight we shall start things rolling. An hour before the feast, you will join Lauren and I in our chambers.”

“Why?” Sif frowned at him.

“If you wish to make changes, then there is no better night for it than this. It is a night of great celebration, and if you arrive with Lauren and I in a dress atypical of the norm, it will only be mildly surprising. From there, we work on the rest.”

“I don’t know about this, Loki. What if…” She looked away.

“What if what?” he asked quietly.

“What if… everyone laughs at me?”

She shot him a glance which made his heart ache for her. Never had he seen Sif so uncertain. “They will not laugh.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because, Sif. If anyone so much as snickers when I'm done with you, I will gut them,” he growled.

She burst out laughing. “You know, I always did like your twisted sense of humour.”

“It wasn’t a joke,” Loki smirked.

“And that is what makes it all the funnier,” Sif continued to chuckle. “Alright, Loki. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I trust you.”

“As you should,” Loki snickered and released her when she pulled away, indicating she was for the cart set up with sweet smelling pies, while Loki wandered toward where Lauren and Thor stood admiring clothing of a bygone era.

Lauren’s emotions had been up and excited for a while now. They bubbled so brightly he was helpless but to smile. Then Thor caught his eye and nodded toward the outfit of blue and cream on the stand. When Loki arched an intrigued brow, Thor grinned and nodded so hard, Loki was amazed Lauren didn’t notice. While she remained occupied, he motioned to the woman who owned the booth and nodded toward the stunning costume.

She smiled in understanding, but when she made to remove the outfit from the stand, he waved her off and slipped her a bag of coin. After all the years of watching his mother gush over similar designs, he knew exactly what such a costume was worth and didn’t begrudge her a coin.

When Lauren cooed over the infant clothes and wondered if they would make a fitting gift for Sadie, he moved up beside Thor. “What an exceptional idea, darling,” Loki crooned. “And just down the way is another merchant who sells children’s toys. Perhaps you’d like to have a look there next?”

“Oh, could we?” Lauren asked, happiness lighting up her face.

“Of course, my sweet.” He cupped her chin and kissed her a soft peck. “Pick whichever you like for Sadie, and I’ll have it sent to the palace.”

Lauren gave an excited squeal and turned back to the display. Loki smirked at Thor before nodding to the merchant woman who smiled brightly.

“A blessing on you this fine day,” Loki murmured, knowing Lauren’s patronage would increase that blessing threefold.

Lauren picked the red with the ravens and handed it to the woman, Ingrid, to whom Loki gave another small pouch of coin and collected Lauren’s hand.

He’d sent her flowers from Volstagg’s daughters back to their chambers earlier when it became clear she would need two hands to investigate all the treasures she kept finding.

Finally, she was showing enough interest for him to spoil her as he wished.

On the way to the toy sellers they passed a display of pretty gold jewelry she paused to sigh over, and when a particularly lovely pair of earrings seemed to catch her fancy, Loki bought them before she could stop him, and tucked them through her already pierced ears. They dangled and caught the light, and made her blush when the seller complimented her.

“Alright, that’s two,” Lauren said as they walked onward.

“Two what, my heart?” Loki asked though he knew what she meant.

“Don’t even start, peaches,” she huffed.

“Ah, two presents. Well, one could argue the orbs for your Gran cost nothing more than a bag of sand. And the bunting bag is technically for Sadie, so really I have only purchased these earrings for you. The rest are gifts for other people.”

She gazed up at him in exasperation. “How can you be so logical and yet so tricky at the same time?”

“It’s a gift,” he snickered and turned her into the shop where a host of children rushed and tugged their amused parents around.

“Oh!” Lauren gasped when wood and paper birds flitted near the roof, and butterflies of wire and paper fluttered past her nose. “It’s so wonderful!”

Three stories tall, the toy store was a marvel of magic and imagination and had been a place Loki had loved as a boy. It had changed very little in the years he’d avoided it. It was still dimly lit but for the shelving and displays, appearing to highlight the toys like piles of treasure. The stairwell wound its way upward, wide and made of dark wood. Marks of wear announced the many feet which had trod upon its risers.

Everything one would expect to find in a Midgardian toy store was in abundance. Plush animals and toy boats, board games and balls. Models of spaceships sat beside colourful storybooks. Dolls with pretty clothes waited for a child to love them. Small animals of nearly indestructible material lined one entire wall, and though there were dogs and cats and horses, there were also dragons, Marok wolves, and Bilgensnipes to collect.

Child-sized musical instruments were handled with care. Books of activities and ones to be coloured lined another wall. Action figures of famous heroes and heroines could be found on the second floor. While infant and toddler toys like wooden blocks and rattles, teething rings and small plush creatures spread out over the first. The third floor, if he remembered correctly, contained things an adolescent would enjoy. Games and modified weapons meant to hone one’s battle skills without maiming one’s friends.

Lauren stared for only a moment before she was gone from his side like a graceful deer, wading into the interior where many had stopped to stare in amazement at their arrival. She headed straight for the infant's area only to slow to a stop and smile adoringly to her right.

Three young girls, likely no more than five years of age each, sat around a small table with a fancy tea service.

They stared at her in awe when she pulled out the fourth petite chair and sat gracefully beside them. “What a pretty tea y’all are havin’. May I join you?”

Three little heads nodded eagerly. Two blonde, one dark.

“Thank you very much,” Lauren smiled. “What kind is it?”

“Pretend,” the little dark-haired child said, handing Lauren a tiny cup and saucer.

Lauren took it graciously. “Why that’s the best kind. Made up tea always has the best flavour,” she giggled and held up her cup.

The three little ones mimicked her actions, and soon all four were sipping their imaginary tea, only for Lauren to blink rapidly down at the cup when she pulled it from her lips. “Well, that actually tasted like tea!”

The three girls giggled as Loki went to her rescue. “This a magic tea set, my love. Whatever you can imagine, you can taste.”

“That’s amazin’!” she laughed, the sound of joy ringing out and making the children giggle wildly along with her. When Lauren managed to stop her giggles, she nodded to the girls. “Thank y’all for the tea. It was lovely.”

Loki helped her from the low seat and wondered if she was aware of how devastatingly beautiful she’d been sitting at the tiny table with the three children gazing at her in wonder, her skirts spread around her majestically as she took tea in a tiny cup.

He highly doubted it.

“I could spend days in here. Loki this place is incredible,” she said, grinning up at the ceiling and the mural which moved slowly upon it.

“Perhaps another time when we have the day to spend. There is much to see and still a ways to go before we reach the temple. But let’s find something fun and mischievous for Sadie and her little one first.”

He guided her through to the corner where a host of small infant toys waited and snickered in amusement. “What about this?”

She burst out laughing a second time when he picked up a tiny replica of Mjolnir and gave it a shake to produce a rattling sound.

“Oh, my stars! Does your brother know they make those?” she continued to giggle.

“He will when I tell him,” Loki snickered.

“It’s perfect. Sadie will bust a gut when she sees it.” Still giggling, she made her way past him to a rack of thick, puffy baby quilts and ran her hand down one of sunshine yellow. “So soft.”

Loki tugged at it so the image was displayed and knew instantly it too would be going home with them when Lauren crooned, “Look at the little duckies.”

“That one is a favourite of mine as well.”

They turned together toward the woman who’d spoken, and Lauren’s smile became soft and full of awe when she found the tiny child tucked up on the woman’s shoulder.

“Your Highness. Milady.” She dropped a careful curtsey. “I’m Tara, proprietress of this shop. Is there something I can help you find?”

Her gaze darted down and back up, the question clear and excitement evident in the look. The only thing which could be of greater celebration than the finding of an Ástvinur was the announcement of an impending royal birth.

“A friend recently announced she is with child. My lovely wife is simply collecting items for the child’s natal day,” Loki explained before rumours could run like wildfire. But it was as if he had not spoken at all, for Tara was smiling at Lauren who was intent on the child in the woman’s arms.

“Would you like to hold him, milady?” Tara asked, a knowing light in her eyes.

“Only if you insist,” Lauren said, already reaching for the boy.

It simply astounded him. The woman handed over the child as if she and Lauren had known each other for years rather than seconds, but when he looked at his wife, her smile radiant and eyes full of desire, he could see why Tara had made the offer.

“Oh, he’s so tiny,” Lauren murmured, holding the child cradled against her chest. “How old is he?”

“Three weeks, milady,” Tara said, hovering a little as she stroked a finger over the boy’s cap of rusty red peach fuzz hair.

When Lauren closed her eyes, turned her face into his head, and inhaled deeply, Loki felt it like a kick from Sleipner. She looked good like that. Perfect. And the desire to see her with his child cuddled so close was overwhelming.

“Babies smell just as good here as they did at home. What a precious little thing,” she sighed, swaying gently when the babe began to fuss. She opened her eyes, and his heart clenched when her gaze captured his. Green, a sea of it, held him in thrall while a violet curl seemed to beckon him closer.

Unable to resist, Loki came to her side and curled his arm around her waist. “He’s a beautiful child and fortunate to have such a place as this to grow up in.”

“In my family, they tell tales of you as a boy and a young man. How you used to come here and entertain the children with stories and new games. It is good to see you back, Prince Loki. Perhaps one day you will bring your child with you when you come,” Tara said softly.

“Yes,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Lauren’s temple, heart full of emotions. “I will.”

Lauren gave a shaky breath and gently shifted the boy back so they could see his wrinkled face. “What’s his name?”

“Gendwin, your Highness.”

“Gendwin,” Lauren whispered. “May you be blessed by the Norns, skilled in your chosen trade, and forever true to your heart.” She placed a kiss on his brow, and her magic flowed like a gentle breeze through the room.

Tara gasped softly, then held out her hands when Lauren handed the boy back. “Thank you, Princess! Thank you! Please, the blanket and anything else you desire is yours. Thank you!”

She dropped a hasty curtsey before rushing away, leaving Lauren frowning after her. “What did I do?”

“You blessed her child with your magic,” Loki chuckled, holding her tight when she tried to wriggle away.

“I thought that was Thor’s department!” she huffed and gave in, choosing to wrap her arms around his neck instead.

“All gods or goddesses can bless and curse in equal measure, my love. He will grow to be as you said, blessed by the Norns, skilled in his trade, and forever true to his heart.”

Lauren sighed and let her forehead fall to his chest. “Someone needs to explain all the dang rules! I nearly started an international incident cause I refused a gift from the Minwarie guy, then I bless a child without even knowin’ how. Is there a book I can read? You know, how to be an Asgardian Princess for Dummies or somethin’.”

Loki laughed softly and cupped the nape of her neck to get her to lift her head. “You, my sweet girl, need no book. You are a natural at this. You let your heart lead, and that is amazing.” He took her lips in a slow, drugging kiss which saw her wrap fluttering to the ground when she went lax against him. “You are exquisite. Not even the Minwarie would take exception if you refused a gift. Besides, Thor was there, so I am certain he smoothed things over.”

“He did. Still embarrassin’,” she muttered.

“Ah, but what did you receive from the wine seller?”

“Somethin’ he called Sangard wine.”

Loki hummed softly in excitement. “Now that is excellent news. An exceptional vintage and very rare. Well done, darling.”

“It was like drinkin’ rainbows,” she sighed happily.

This time, Loki burst out laughing. “Yes, yes it is!” Continuing to chuckle, he bent to collect her wrap when a tingle of malicious intent streaked his spine.

He jerked upright in time to see the flash of light catch on the spinning blade and reacted without thought, shooting his hand up. The dagger went straight through his palm and embedded to the hilt, forcing free a grunt of pain.

Lauren let loose a scream and chaos erupted.

“Thor!” Loki bellowed, and the sound shook the rafters. “Assailant!”

The cloaked and hooded individual sprinted through the back of the shop as Thor, Sif, Fandral, and Hogun poured through the front.

“Loki?” Thor shouted.

“Go! Out the back,” he snarled as he jerked the dagger from his hand and dripped blood on the floor.

The sound of tearing had him turning in time to watch Lauren rip a strip from the bottom of her dress. Before he could tell her not to bother, she had his hand between hers, more of his blood staining her skirt while she wrapped the strip of silk and lace around his hand.

“Was that aimed at you or me?” she asked, her breath coming fast and shallow.

He said nothing which was an answer in itself. A shiver racked her frame, became a shudder, and when the cry of a distressed infant came, a tear slid down her cheek.

“Don’t do that, my heart. It's fine everything is well. We will get to the bottom of this.” He produced a cloth to wipe his blood from her face and chest, vanishing it when finished.

A booming crack of thunder ripped through the sky, and the sun through the windows faded into cloud cover. Thor was clearly as angry as Loki and doing nothing to hide his displeasure.

“Your Highness!” Tara gasped as she rushed over, her child fussing. “Are you alright? The princess? I am so sorry, milord!” She made to kneel, but Loki wouldn't have it and caught her by the elbow.

“There is no need for that as none of this was your doing, Tara. Rise and be at ease.”

Tara looked past him at Lauren, her distress rolling off her in waves as his wife tried not to break down in front of all these people. She glanced again at Loki before taking a careful step forward. “Lady Lauren?”

Lauren looked up, but it was clear she was very upset.

“Would you mind holding Gendwin for me while I assure the rest of my patrons? I know he’ll be safe with you and you have a knack with children, I can tell.” Tara held her fussing child out to Lauren with an easy smile.

Unable to speak, Lauren took the boy and began to cuddle, rock, and whisper soothing things. Instantly her pounding heart slowed as the instinct to mother took over. She shushed the boy and turned away from the chaos.

Loki sent Tara an appreciative nod. “Nothing will happen to him. You have my word.”

She smiled, and the faith in it set him on his heels. “Of that, I have no doubt, your Highness.” Tara turned and made her way out into the shop, stopping to speak and soothe as she went.

Only then did Loki turn to be with Lauren and throw up a shield nothing would be coming through.

“It's okay, baby,” Lauren cooed, cuddling and kissing his head. “Your mama will be right back, sweetie.”

Loki wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight, so her back was held firmly against his chest. As she swayed, he swayed with her, listening to her hum a quiet song, different from the one she’d sang for Sara.

The boy’s little fingers wrapped around her torque. His head rested on her shoulder, supported by Lauren’s hand. He whimpered once, but Lauren patted his bottom gently, and he settled against her.

It took a few moments, but her voice soon filled their quiet, protected corner, and Loki smiled when he recognized the song. No, he wasn't a fan of the cartoons the Captain seemed to favour, but the song was familiar, sung by the heroine in the Cinderella movie.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep,” Lauren crooned, gently rocking the child.

Peace seemed to ripple on the air with the words, trickle out and away to build and fill their space before seeping out slowly beyond their corner to fill the room and then creep out into the rest of the shop. It rolled like fog, her voice drifting soft and sweet, tugging at his mind until he felt lulled, sleepy, and calm.

Loki rested his chin on her shoulder and drifted with the softness of her magic.

Only when the song ended, and the spell broke did he notice how quiet the store had become and how the sun had returned. A glance over his shoulder had Loki finding Thor and his entourage, Tara, and many an awed face. Loki gave a jerk of his chin, and Thor turned to shoo the people away quickly.

The looks of amazement on everyone’s face showed they too knew how unique Lauren’s talent was, but Loki knew she’d be flustered and embarrassed if they swarmed her. Lauren was already upset enough by what had nearly happened, and he sent Tara a warning look to be careful with his woman, then turned back to Lauren.

Softly, Loki skimmed his lips along her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss beneath her ear. “Time to give him back now, darling.”

Lauren sighed but nodded, and turned around. “He went to sleep,” she murmured, lightly stroking the boy’s back before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Such a sweet baby,” she crooned.

She looked up at him with her big green eyes, and Loki hesitated only a moment before gently laying his hand on the infant’s back. The quick, shallow breaths. The fast beating of his little heart. Loki could feel all of it beneath his palm.

Then Lauren smiled. Her hand cupped his cheek, and she encouraged him down for a tender kiss. “Thank you,” she whispered when he pulled back to rest their foreheads together. “Always to my rescue.”

“Always,” he murmured. Loki curled his arm around her waist and released the barrier between them and the others before urging her toward Tara.

“Thank you for looking after him, your highness,” Tara smiled and took her child back. “Wow. You really got him to sleep? He’s been a bit of a fussy baby since he was born. I’ve had to carry him everywhere.”

“He’s precious,” Lauren smiled and stroked her fingers down his back.

“I’ll see your things brought to the palace.” Tara bobbed a final curtsey and walked away, leaving them alone in the corner of her store.

“Brother?” Loki asked, trying not to growl when Thor stood there empty-handed.

“They shed the cloak the moment they left the back of the store and with all the people here for the festival, it was impossible to tell who had done it,” Thor said.

“I’m returning to the palace with this to collect Ming and Akio.” Hogun held up the heavy black cloak. “We will find whoever did this.”

Lauren shivered, and Loki stooped to collect her shawl to wrap around her shoulders. The blood on her dress made him irrationally angry.

“Let me see it.” Loki held his hand out for the garment and ran his magic over and through it when Hogan gave it to him. “The fabric is spelled. Your hounds will catch no scent.”

Loki handed it back and looked at Thor. “We will continue as we were.”

“Loki,” Lauren sighed, turning into his chest.

“I will not let some coward ruin this day. I won’t have it!” he snapped. Lauren flinched, and guilt filled him. “The attempt was made and foiled. They will not try again.” He cupped her face and lifted her chin up to see her eyes swamped in tears. “My love,” he whispered. “I will never let anyone hurt you.”

“But they hurt you, Loki,” she whimpered, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

“My sweet, soft-hearted Lauren. This was nothing. Look.” He swiftly unwrapped his hand and showed her the wound gone and healed, not even a mark left. “I am a God of Asgard. If the Hulk can beat me into the ground, and I can pick myself up and walk away, it will take much more than a dagger through the hand to hurt me.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t catch it, Loki,” Fandral teased.

Loki shot him a look which if it could have killed, it would have, and tossed the blade to the blond. “Make yourself useful and see if you can discover the maker and owner of this.”

“Yes, my prince,” Fandral quipped and flourished a bow.

“I will assist,” Hogun nodded and slapped Fandral on the back of the head when the two of them turned to go.

“Lauren.” Loki returned his attention to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Walk with me. You’re perfectly safe, my heart.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But…”

“But?”

A little glimmer of mischief sparkled in her eyes and a small smile curled her lips. “Could you fix my dress first? I mean, I never would have ripped a strip outta the bottom if I’d known you wouldn’t need it.”

He chuckled softly, relieved she was feeling better. “Of course, darling.” Loki smiled and wrapped her in his magic, but instead of fixing the dress she wore, he created a new outfit of pink satin over tulle with a sheer overskirt of embroiders vines, tiny white roses, and small dark green leaves. Thin straps caressed her shoulders, baring more skin than before, but he shifted the colour of her shawl to blush pink and draped it around her, tying the tails together over her chest. The pale colour caused the rose gold of her torque to rise and glow softly against her bronzed skin, complimenting her beauty.

She gave the full skirt a fluff up with her fingers, and a little giggle followed. “Don’t you know just how to make a southern girl smile. It’s so pretty, Loki.”

“It is nowhere near as pretty as you, love.” He caressed her cheek and collected her close. Before she could notice, he flicked his fingers and removed the blood splatter which had stained the baby quilt she’d admired as well as what had dripped onto the floor.

“Flatterer.” She brushed her hand down his chest, then took his hand and held it between hers. “You’re really alright?”

“Perfectly fine, sweet. Now, let’s collect your things and be on our way.” He reached for the blanket with the ducks and handed it to her, placing the miniature Mjolnir on top.

“Is that my hammer?” Thor frowned.

“Ain’t it sweet?” Lauren snickered, giving it a rattle. “Sadie will get a kick out of it.”

Sif stifled a laugh. “Now every child is worthy of the power of Thor.”

“You are so funny, Sif,” Thor grumbled as he stepped forward to steal the rattle from Lauren’s fingers. “Perhaps I should be flattered.”

“I think you should,” Lauren agreed. “It’s cute. Perfect for a child blessed by Thor.” She plucked it from his grasp and headed toward the front of the store where she handed the blanket and hammer to a clerk with a smile, but when she went to step out the door, Loki felt her anxiety spike.

“You know,” Loki said, collecting her hand to his arm and stepping through the door with her. “I believe Oddr’s saddlery isn’t far from here.”

“Saddlery?” she perked up.

“He makes the best tack on Asgard, Lauren,” Sif said, pacing along at Lauren’s side.

Thor hummed in agreement. “An exquisite leatherworker.”

“Y’all should have told me earlier. Let’s go!” Lauren laughed, excitement once again filling his heart stone.

Relieved, Loki in no way relaxed. His mind raced with all the possibilities of just who could be responsible for this attack on Lauren. Immediately he suspected Sigyn, but with their confrontation in the throne room, he’d left her powerless and not for a short amount of time. There was no way she could have placed the spell on the assailant's cloak. Not today. Yes, she could have done so previously, but then such garments were also not unheard of for hunting, blocking an animal’s ability to scent the hunter.

The dagger was their best bet on finding who was behind it. Add in the poor throw, one which would have hit Lauren in the shoulder or arm, and he thought they were dealing with an amateur. The blade hadn’t even been coated with a toxin or poison.

Loki was beginning to think it had been a crime of opportunity and a poorly planned one at that.

Still, he kept his attention on those around them. The women peered worriedly at Lauren, only to smile when her happy chatter reached them. But the men looked at the group of them, at the way Sif and Thor matched their strides and blocked Lauren in, and turned their eyes full of anger and determination to him. Each one gave a nod and a short bow, their promise to seek knowledge of the one who’d tried to attack his wife.

Beyond that, Loki could hear the murmur of anger which rippled around them. People were upset. Lauren’s goodness, sweetness, and soft heart, her charming ways and quick smile had drawn people to her. Praise for her was flying, along with whispers of her beautiful singing voice, and how she’d blessed Tara’s babe.

Already the people were falling for her as he knew they would. That someone had dared try and hurt her was unheard of.

At every intersection and every few yards along the way, an armed knight now stood guard. Thor’s doing, Loki was sure. While he was grateful for the show of force, it pissed him off that they needed it, but he would not spoil Lauren’s day further by acting on the instinct to hunt down and maim the one who’d tried to hurt her.

Not yet. Not now. But soon.

For the moment, he focused on her, on seeing she enjoyed every aspect of the rest of their walk, and he would spoil her ridiculously if she showed interest in the saddlery. He was sure he could talk her into it if the items were for her new steed.

Next Chapter

#Of Blood and Roses #loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki fanfiction #god of mischief #god of mischief fanfiction #asgard au #southern belle #Loki x Lauren

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